June 12, 2008
Vol. 18, No. 45

In this issue:

• New Double-Degree Masters Program Offered In Arts, Management
• Remedial Instruction Can Create "Buff Brains" To Help Poor Readers
• Research Uncovers Possible Link Between Different Forms of Epilepsy
• News Briefs
• Personal Mention
• Calendar Highlights

New Double-Degree Masters Program Offered In Arts, Management

Carnegie Mellon's Institute for the Management of Creative Enterprises (IMCE) is partnering with the University of Bologna, Italy, to offer a double-degree masters program in international arts and cultural management. "Students in this program will be exposed to a more diverse set of management practices and, most certainly, a larger context for the work," said IMCE Director Dan Martin. This partnership is the only initiative of its kind focusing on global cultural management, honing the skills of future leaders of arts institutions worldwide.  

Starting in fall 2009 with classes in Bologna and Pittsburgh, the program takes between 28 to 30 months, equaling six academic terms. Students will earn both a master's degree in arts management from IMCE and a master's degree in innovation and organization of culture and the arts from the University of Bologna's School of Economics.

For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/June/june4_doubledegree.shtml

Remedial Instruction Can Create "Buff Brains" To Help Poor Readers

In a study appearing online in the journal Neuropsychologia, researchers in the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging (CCBI) have found that 100 hours of remedial instruction - reading calisthenics, of sorts - not only improved the skills of struggling readers, but also changed the way their brains activated when comprehending written sentences. The findings may pave the way to a new era of neuro-education. "Any kind of education is a matter of training the brain. When poor readers are learning to read, a particular brain area is not performing as well as it might, and remedial instruction helps to shape that area up," said Marcel Just, director of the CCBI and senior author of the study. Co-authors are CCBI research fellows Ann Meyler and Tim Keller, Vladimir Cherkassky of the CCBI, and John D.E. Gabriel of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/June/june11_buffbrains.shtml

Research Uncovers Possible Link Between Different Forms of Epilepsy

Carnegie Mellon neuroscientists have identified what may be the first known common denominator underlying inherited and sporadic epilepsy - a disruption in an ion channel called the BK channel. Although BK channels have been linked to a rare, familial form of epilepsy, their involvement in other types of seizure disorders has never been demonstrated. The researchers discovered that BK channels become abnormally active after a seizure. This disruption results in the neurons becoming overly excitable, which may be associated with the development of epilepsy. The scientists were able to reverse this abnormal excitability using a BK channel antagonist, which returned the post-seizure electrical activity to normal levels.

These findings, published in the June issue of Neurobiology of Disease, offer new hope to individuals suffering from epilepsy. Co-authors of the study include Alison Barth, assistant professor of biological sciences, and Sonal Shruti and Roger L. Clem, graduate students in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition.

For more: http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/June/june12_bkchannel.shtml

News Briefs

• Carnegie Mellon won the distinction of being a Campus Sustainability Leader in the Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card 2008. The report looks at environmental protection practices among 200 of the nation's top universities and awarded all As and Bs for Carnegie Mellon's campus operations. For more: http://www.cmu.edu/corporate/news/2008/features/sustainability.shtml
• The 2008 Summer Fitness Challenge is encouraging participants to walk their way to better cardiovascular fitness. The goal of the challenge is to walk 10,000 steps (approximately five miles) a day, four times per week from June 15 to July 27. Each participant will receive a pedometer, while supplies last, when they submit a completed registration form to the Equipment Desk in the University Center. A raffle will be held and prizes will be awarded to all participants who meet the challenge from noon to 1 p.m., Thursday July 31 in the Danforth Lounge. Please contact Pattye Stragar (pls@andrew) or Nicole Kujawski (nek10@pitt.edu) with any questions.
• From June 19 to 22, scores of the world's leading economists will gather at the Tepper School of Business for the 2008 North American Meeting of the Econometric Society, the most prestigious learned organization in the field of economics. The annual event is the signature forum of the society, founded in 1930 to advance economic theory in its relation to statistics and mathematics. Throughout the event, a range of pressing issues at the forefront of economic theory and practice will be addressed in such areas as monetary policy and financial markets, neuroeconomics, the economics of health care, and dynamic public finance. For more: www.tepper.cmu.edu/2008econometric
• Adult swimming classes are being offered from 4 to 4:45 p.m., June 23 - 26 at the University Center pool. The classes are designed to help the non-swimming adult and basic beginners learn survival skills and stroke development, overcome fears with swimming and improve overall fitness level. The program cost is $60 for four sessions. Registration forms are available at the Equipment Desk in the University Center. For more information contact Pattye Stragar, 412-268-1235 (pls@andrew).

Personal Mention

• Evangeline Levis, who retired from the university after 35 years of service last year, died of cancer on May 15. She began her employment in the University Libraries' Cataloging Department, but for most of her career worked as a library specialist in the Arts and Special Collections in Hunt Library. Levis graduated from the College of Fine Arts in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in art, and studied calligraphy with Carnegie Mellon's renowned calligrapher and design professor Arnold Bank. She learned bookbinding and the care and repair of books from Thomas Patterson and Jean Gunnar in Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.
• Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited has elected Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon to the company's Board of Directors. Cohon had previously served on the Board of Directors of Trane Inc., which Ingersoll Rand acquired on June 5.
• Abiola Fasehun, who graduated in May with a degree in ethics, history and public policy and an additional major of professional writing, was awarded the Archie D. and Bertha H. Walker Scholarship to the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. The award is one of 18 scholarships for artists and writers of racial and ethnic minorities, and it funds tuition and housing for the center's summer program.
• The 2008 Judith Resnik Award was awarded to Hanadie Yousef, a 2008 honors graduate with a degree in chemistry and a minor in Hispanic studies. The award is presented annually to an outstanding woman graduating in the sciences or engineering who plans to attend graduate school and whose academic performance, creativity and vision illustrates potential for high academic achievement in her field.
• Janet Madelle Feindel, associate professor in the School of Drama, will be presenting at the International Congress on the F. M. Alexander Technique, in Lugano, Switzerland. She has also been invited to present at the "Choice for Voice," sponsored by the British Voice Foundation and the Guildhall School of Drama and Music. She will be giving a workshop in Koln, Germany, and is also coaching for Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh this summer.

Calendar Highlights

• Monday, June 16: Credit Union Annual Meeting, open to all members. Noon, Connan Room, University Center (UC).
• June 16-20, 23-26: "FITT" Camp, sponsored by the Athletic Department. Campers between the ages of 9 and 15 will participate in lifetime sports/skills using Carnegie Mellon facilities. Noon - 4 p.m. Cost is $15 per day, discounts are available for Carnegie Mellon employees. For more information contact Pattye Stragar, 412-268-1235 (pls@andrew).
• Tuesday, June 17: Special Presentation for Managers and Faculty:  "When and Why People Engage in Unethical Behaviors." 9 a.m. - noon, McKenna/Peter/Wright Room (UC). Francesca Gino, post-doctoral fellow, Tepper School of Business, will address ethical questions and present evidence that suggests that even ethical people, under certain conditions, behave unethically. To register, email LDhelp@andrew.cmu.edu.
• Wednesday, June 18: Presentation Skills workshop. Ron Placone provides practical tips on the importance of audience analysis, techniques for developing persuasive organizational patterns, and ways to improve delivery. 9 a.m. - noon, Connan Room, UC. To register: https://acis.as.cmu.edu/gale2/servlet/HRLearn2
• June 24 - 27: 23rd International IEEE Symposium on Logic in Computer Science (LICS 2008), sponsored by the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Mathematical Foundations of Computing in cooperation with the Association for Symbolic Logic and the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science. For more: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~brookes/LICS2008/LocalInformation/
• For more news and events, visit http://my.cmu.edu/site/events/