November 18, 1999 / Volume 19, Number 10
News Bureau | Calendar | II Info | II Archives
- Consume less trans fat, more vitamin B6 and B12, studies suggest
- The pastries, pizza, potato chips, french fries, margarine, cookies, crackers and bread that Americans consume by the millions of tons contain trans fatty acids formed during the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. That such foods don't make for a healthy diet is not new. What is new is a study by UI scientists -- published in the November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- that sheds light on why and how such a diet contributes to the development of heart disease.
- Legislation should help stem tide of chronic child abuse, scholar says
- After years of heading in the wrong direction, government policy finally seems ready to put the safety of children first when dealing with dangerous homes.
- Synthetic enzyme shows promise as way to make hydrogen cheaply
- A look-alike enzyme active site synthesized by scientists at the UI may move the world much closer to an energy-efficient, hydrogen-based economy.
UI's rehabilitation services scrambles to keep pace with technology
18th-century organ fulfills donor's wish after 17-year search
Adaptation of 'Peer Gynt' features international cast
Art professor educates and entertains with life-size sculptures
Allerton Holiday showcase is Nov. 27-29 ... Grants for Online Public Service available ... Phone book recycling procedures ... Duderstadt to give Henry lecture ... Order your holiday carry-outs ... Special rates for Illini Union, Housing ... Volunteers needed for activity study ... Directory correction for fall 2000 ... "HotWIRED" concert is Nov. 18 ... Krannert hosts photographer for World AIDS Day
- Still time to donate to the Campus Charitable Fund Drive
- Office of Business Affairs offers training
The pastries, pizza, potato chips, french fries, margarine, cookies, crackers and bread that Americans consume by the millions of tons contain trans fatty acids formed during the hydrogenation of vegetable oils. That such foods don't make for a healthy diet is not new.
What is new is a study by UI scientists -- published in the November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- that sheds light on why and how such a diet contributes to the development of heart disease.
Most of the products are made with flours deficient in vitamins B6 and B12 and magnesium, says Fred A. Kummerow, professor emeritus of food chemistry in the department of food science and human nutrition. The combination of fat and the vitamin and mineral deficiency is partly responsible for the formation of calcified ridges that can block the flow of blood in arteries, Kummerow's team reported.
So what should people do? Eat less trans fat and more foods rich in magnesium, B6 and B12, Kummerow said. But it's not that simple: "People can't easily lower their trans fatty acids intake, because they can't tell how much they are getting by looking at labels," he said. "Some products in Canada list percentages voluntarily, but U.S. food-makers do not, nor are they required to do so by the Food and Drug Administration."
Kummerow and colleagues Qi Zhou and Mohamedain M. Mahfouz conducted the study. They used arterial cells cultured in a medium containing trans fatty acids from hydrogenated oils and compared them with cells cultured in the fatty acids in unhydrogenated oils. They isolated the cells, pulsed them with radioactive calcium and observed the calcium influx.
Significantly more calcium was incorporated into the cells cultured with trans fatty acids. Calcification of arteries is a hallmark for coronary heart disease. The researchers also reported in the paper that the calcification can be mitigated with adequate magnesium.
"This paper shows us under what conditions trans fatty acids are a risk factor to the calcification of coronary arteries, which is the beginning of atherosclerosis, and if you translate this to the human diet, it means that adequate magnesium may modify the formation of calcified streaks," Kummerow said.
Calcification can begin early in life, as reported by Jack Strong and Herbert Story of the Louisiana State University Medical School. Story chaired an American Heart Association task force of 12 medical schools, including the UI at Chicago, on the issue. Researchers conducted autopsies of victims of accidents, homicides or suicides. Fatty streaks, or ridges of calcium, were found in 100 percent of 2-year-old children. By young adulthood, as much as 17 percent of the abdominal aorta already was calcified, the task force reported.
To help combat the dietary trends of Americans, Kummerow said, flour producers should be required to include B6 and B12 in their mixes, in addition to requiring food-makers to list the amount of trans fatty acid in their products. Both vitamins prevent high homocysteine blood levels, another recently discovered risk factor in heart disease.
Flour already is fortified with thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid and niacin -- all B vitamins -- as well as iron, but it is incomplete without B6 and B12, he said. At Clemson University in South Carolina in the early 1940s, Kummerow helped in the push to have niacin added to corn grits, a success that effectively stopped deaths attributed to pellagra in the South.
Despite years of debate, the evidence against trans fat is becoming clearer, Kummerow said. His findings and those of others in recent years, he said, suggest that pregnant women should reduce their trans fatty acid intake and that a baby's first solid foods should be supplemented with magnesium. Adults, meanwhile, should eat more foods containing B6 and B12 (chicken, fish, meat, eggs and dairy products) in their own diets.
Changes mandated by Congress for foster care and adoption, which are now filtering through state legislatures and welfare agencies, should help curb the chronic cycle of child abuse in some homes by placing children out of reach of violent parents, a legal scholar writes in the UI Law Review.
Cristine H. Kim, an editor at the journal, notes that parents are the perpetrators in 80 percent of child-abuse and neglect cases, while other relatives contribute another 10 percent. "Sadly, abuse and neglect is the number one killer of children age 4 and under," she wrote. Nearly half of the deaths are known as "reunification murders" because welfare agencies or judges had earlier removed the child from parents because of their abusive behavior.
Kim cited the case of 3-year-old Joseph Wallace whose mother put him on a stool and wrapped an electrical cord hanging from the ceiling around his neck. "She waved good-bye and kicked the stool out. Just months before, a Chicago judge had torn Joseph from a loving foster home and sent him back to his troubled mother, despite extensive documentation of her psychotic behavior."
When such horror stories make the news, politicians and the public blame local authorities for placing a child back into the hands of violent parents. But a key factor at work, according to Kim, was a garbled 1980 federal law that called on welfare agencies to make "reasonable efforts" to reunify families rather than move abused children to foster care and adoption.
Because Congress and the Supreme Court never clarified what constituted "reasonable efforts," welfare agencies were not able to terminate parental rights and free up children for adoption until the courts were satisfied that the agencies had met the reasonable efforts requirements. Confusion over the issue often resulted in long foster-care stays for children as welfare workers made repeated attempts to reunite troubled families.
"Termination was not easily accomplished and it still takes years in many states, even in obvious cases of severe neglect and abuse," Kim wrote.
The 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act has placed greater emphasis on moving eligible children toward adoption. Every foster child, for example, is entitled to a permanency hearing 12 months after entering foster care to determine a permanency plan for the child.
While it is too early to say how the courts will interpret the new law, Kim expressed guarded optimism that "common sense" will prevail to protect young children from unfit parents demanding that the state give them back their property.
A look-alike enzyme active site synthesized by scientists at the UI may move the world much closer to an energy-efficient, hydrogen-based economy.
Amid growing concerns over pollution and energy shortages, an economy based on clean-burning hydrogen fuel could curb future energy crises and ease global warming. But scientists have been stymied in their attempts to develop a process for producing an inexpensive and abundant supply of this gas, even though it is the most common element in the universe. Current manufacturing methods -- such as electrolysis and the catalytic stripping of hydrogens from hydrocarbons, are both costly and inefficient.
"Fortunately, nature has already solved the problem by designing numerous microorganisms that efficiently make or use hydrogen in support of their metabolic activities," said Thomas Rauchfuss, a professor of chemistry and a researcher at the university's Materials Research Laboratory. "If we can fully understand how this natural process works, perhaps we can duplicate it commercially."
About two years ago, the hydrogen-producing enzymes for several microorganisms were isolated, purified and crystallized. "Late last year and early this year, the chemical structures for two of these big biological catalysts were announced, and it was as though the curtains had been drawn back," Rauchfuss said. "We immediately went to our lab and began efforts to make a look-alike for the natural catalyst."
Rauchfuss and his fellow molecule makers -- visiting postdoctoral research associate Michael Schmidt and graduate research assistant Stephen Contakes -- have successfully synthesized much of the active site of one hydrogenase enzyme. The researchers presented their results at the American Chemical Society national meeting in New Orleans, Aug. 22-26. A paper reporting their findings appeared in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Like the original enzyme, the hydrogenase look-alike contains an integral metal-metal bond, connected to several ligands -- including iron sulfide, carbon monoxide and cyanide. "Nature really designed an amazing structure," Rauchfuss said. "Carbon monoxide and cyanide are poisons. This enzyme is not something you would normally associate with life."
Unlike the original enzyme, however, the new version does not yet fully function as a catalyst. "We can get it to spit out some hydrogen, but then it stops for some reason," Rauchfuss said. "We don't yet know how to make the system 'turnover' for continuous hydrogen production."
Because the synthetic replication process is still in the early stages of development, "there is considerable room for improvement," Rauchfuss said. "For example, the natural enzyme contains thousands of atoms, whereas our synthetic version contains only 25 atoms, so it is not surprising that our simple model is not perfect. But this is a very big step in the right direction."
It's been a half century since the UI established itself as the pioneer of disability services on college campuses.
The campus was the first to establish a comprehensive program for students with disabilities, which has often led the way in areas like sports, building accessibility standards, and independent living for those with severe disabilities.
And though the campus no longer stands alone in these efforts, it still is recognized as being at or near the top of the disability-friendly scale. Over the last year and a half, New Mobility magazine has ranked the campus as No. 1, WE magazine ranked the campus No. 7, and Enable placed it in the top 10. All three publications are directed at people with disabilities.
A further indication of the UI's reputation came with last month's $50,000 Henry B. Betts Award, given to Timothy J. Nugent, the retired founder of the UI program that became the Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES). The annual award is presented "to recognize leaders who effect meaningful change that enhances the quality of life experienced by people with disabilities."
Despite its many accomplishments, DRES can't afford to stand on reputation, but instead is adapting to meet new challenges and goals.
Perhaps none of those challenges is more important than dealing with a gap rapidly widening in accessibility to information through the Web and other information technologies, said Brad Hedrick, director of DRES.
"Back when everything was in print, and we didn't have an Internet, we were just one slowly read book-to-tape from having equal access. Now, Web pages are proliferating at some exponential rate, and many if not most are inaccessible. And one of our greatest concerns is we don't want to re-create in cyberspace the inaccessibility it took us 50 years to remove from the physical environment."
Students with disabilities which do not substantially impair vision, upper extremity use or language processing are already benefitting from the growing use of the Web. But many others with blindness, learning disabilites, and/or limited motor function or control, who are dependent on assistive technologies such as screen readers or voice command systems, are finding themselves facing new barriers, Hedrick noted.
Logic might suggest it shouldn't be this way. "The medium itself has incredible potential for multi-model presentation," Hedrick said.
But browsers and many other Internet tools have not been designed to communicate to someone who is visually disabled what they might be missing outside of standard text, says Jon Gunderson, the DRES coordinator of assistive communication and technology.
A chart full of numbers, for instance, may be read only as "image" by a Web browser. A Telnet search program may be useless because it doesn't work with a computer screen reader.
In many cases with Web pages, Gunderson said, alternative text could be easily incorporated to explain what the user is missing. Most Web-page designers, however, don't have this in mind, and the design programs they're using don't cue them to consider it. Like the designers of buildings 50 years ago, "you've got a lot of people out there creating Web content with no idea or thought of accessibility," he said.
"Ideally, you want people to create accessible things without them even really knowing about it," Gunderson said. Software "curb cuts" could be incorporated as part of the software design process, just like real-world curb cuts now are built into street and sidewalk projects, he said. Purchasers of software could look for and encourage accessibility features.
Instead, like breaking up the concrete later, which takes more time and expense, assistive technology must be developed or adapted to deal with the finished product -- which likely will change by the time you have a solution, he said.
"We're trying to build solutions to yesterday's technology," Gunderson said. Instead of the curb cut, he thinks of the photo he saw of a bridge in Central America, after the river it once crossed had been diverted by a hurricane: "We finally have this bridge, but now the bridge is in the wrong place."
He is facing this problem in his own effort to develop a software tool that can convert PowerPoint presentations into accessible pages for the Web.
As another part of his efforts to promote accessibility, Gunderson participates in the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), chairing a working group within its Web Accessibility Initiative. The W3C posts several pages of accessibility guidelines on its Web site, but it also provides a business card with quick tips for Web-page design.
Along with those guidelines, Gunderson places at least as much emphasis on the idea of universal design, which goes beyond just accommodating disabilities. By considering people who are older, people who are "impaired" by the technology they use (modems, mobile devices, telephones), users of older technology, software and Web-page designers can at the same time address many of the needs of people with disabilities, he said.
"We want to make information more accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities, not just for people with disabilities."
Another part of the DRES effort in the last couple years has been the expansion of access to assistive technology throughout campus.
Whereas the Rehabilitation Education Center was once about the only place for students to use specialized equipment, they now can go almost anywhere on campus. About 50 work stations with larger screens, adjustable tables and other accommodations now exist in more than 40 instructional computer labs and library reference areas, Gunderson said.
They also have established five alternative reading rooms, with more advanced technology like reading scanners, in four campus libraries, he said.
The funds to accomplish this, about $170,000, have come from Educational Technology Board and library grants, and from a DRES endowment.
Gunderson said he thinks this "distributed access" model will be the model of the future on college campuses. Just like most parking lots provide a space for disabled use, this model provides a place in many labs for students with disabilities to do their work.
All of these efforts are important because the goal of DRES is not just to get students with disabilities to their degree, but to expand their job and life opportunities. And whereas accessibility requirements are often met in K-12 through the use of surrogates in reading, writing and other tasks, employers are not required to provide surrogates as part of the "reasonable accommodation" required by the law, Gunderson said.
So just as learning Braille can double the chances for someone who is blind finding employment, being able to use the Web and e-mail can only improve on that, he said. Those skills, in fact, should now be considered essential, he said, "and we want to be a model of delivering that."
Hedrick noted that in terms of traditional accessibility, the UI has few peers. A survey by university researchers of graduates with disabilities from 1952-1992 showed no significant difference in incomes between them and their nondisabled counterparts, after controlling for factors such as gender, major age and health. In a world where still 70 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed, "that says a lot for the benefit of this degree," Hedrick said.
"But the virtual environment is here," he said, "and now the leader in post-secondary accessibility will be the university that steps to the plate and says we're going to create a virtual campus that is as accessible as the physical campus that we committed ourselves to making 50 years ago."
LINKS TO ACCESSIBILITY AND DISABILITY RESOURCES
When UI organ curator John-Paul Buzard first laid eyes on the 18th-century Schultz chamber organ recently acquired by the School of Music, he knew he'd found the instrument the school had been seeking for nearly two decades.
"I first saw the organ on the balcony of the erecting room at Henry Willis & Sons Organbuilders of Petersfield, England," Buzard said. "It kind of 'listed to port' and looked as though it had been in better condition at one point. But when I saw it, it fairly beckoned to me. It had a certain elegance, albeit faded by time's ravages."
Buzard was further convinced the organ -- a "gem" in his expert opinion -- should have a new home in Smith Hall's Memorial Room after a quick test drive.
"I went over to it and opened the cover over the worn but nicely preserved ivory keys," he said. "Pumping the bellows by foot and drawing the stops, playing the organ revealed a quiet, delicate sound which was most charming."
Buzard said he returned to the UI to report his find to music school director James Scott, all the while feeling "sort of like the boy who wants to bring home a lost puppy."
Well, the boy got his dog, and the music school got its organ. The benevolent master -- mistress, actually -- most responsible for making it all happen, however, was a generous UI alumna from Springfield, who first began discussing the idea of providing gift funds to purchase such an instrument with UI Foundation staff member Bernie Freeman back in 1982. Though the benefactor, the late Agnes Sloan "Jimmie" Larson, received degrees in liberal arts and sciences and home economics from the UI, Freeman said she was a lifelong music appreciator.
"Larson's gift, which was received in July 1982, was specifically set aside to purchase a chamber organ," Freeman said. Since the gift amount was not enough to purchase such an organ at the time, the money was placed in a fund, with the expectation that other such gifts would follow. As it turned out, the original gift grew over time, making the purchase of the Schultz organ possible when the opportunity arose 17 years later.
The organ -- most likely the oldest of its kind west of Colonial Williamsburg -- was built in 1792 and can be traced to John Schultz, a merchant in London in the mid- to late-18th-century. Not much is known about Schultz, according to Buzard. "He could have built this organ, or he could have had someone else build it. We simply don't know."
What we do know is that the organ's public debut at Smith Hall attracted quite a throng of curious organ enthusiasts. More than 70 people attended a formal dedication program Nov. 15. The program included a recital of 18th-century chamber music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Friederich Handel, Johann Christian Bach and others. Performers included the music school's newly appointed organ professor, Dana Robinson, and various student singers and accompanists.
Scott, the music school director, said the organ -- designed to be played in an intimate setting, probably a private residence -- is a greatly appreciated addition to the school's collection.
"We have begun to put together an early music program, and the Schultz organ will tie in with that initiative," he said. "We want our students to be aware of the organ -- its tracker and sound characteristics -- so when they play music of this type they know what it sounds like on an instrument it was written for.
"It does have the original pipes, so we are hearing it as it was designed to sound 200 years ago."
Scott said students studying with Robinson and harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax, who heads the Early Music Initiative, will have access to the instrument, for study and performance purposes.
Though the organ's foot-pumping feeder will require new interior valves, necessitating blocking off the foot-pumping mechanism at this time, the organ has been restored to working order largely through the efforts of Buzard.
"I had the Willis people do some restoration, since they would be dismantling it for shipping, [and that] would be the perfect time," he said. "They re-covered all the pallets with leather, replaced all the felt punchings in the actions, and generally cleaned things up a bit."
After the not-quite-ready-for-prime-time instrument arrived at the UI, Buzard went to work on it further, repairing the case, which had bowed in places, and took measures to make the case more sturdy overall. He also added a modern electric blower and regulating curtain valve, rendering the organ "easy to use for us modern people."
"It provides a nice, steady stream of light-pressure wind to play the pipes," Buzard said. "In fact, we did a fair amount of research on the wind pressure for this little organ. It plays on 1 1/2 inches of wind -- in a water column. Most continental organs of this period play on 2 inches of wind. We could verify this because of the shadows of the bellows weights on the top of the bellows, and the fact that the pipes themselves didn't want to play on higher pressures."
If there's a moral to this long-winded story, it might be that pipe dreams
can come true -- though not without a love of the hunt, plenty of patience,
dedication and organization.
He's an arrogant yet charismatic rogue, known for stretching the truth and liking the ladies a little too much and in the end, his salvation is the love of a loyal woman.
While this description is one some people might apply to at least one character in thelong-running, political passion plays staged in the nation's capital at the close of this century, it actually refers to the title character of Henrik Ibsen's 19th century drama "Peer Gynt." And that character -- along with the Mountain King and the Woman in Green, among others -- is about to be dusted off and brought to life again in an ambitious new musical production orchestrated by UI music professor Ian Hobson.
Hobson, the conductor and music director of the UI-based Sinfonia da Camera chamber orchestra, is the mastermind behind the project, a collaboration involving Frank Hauser, the author of a new abridged adaptation of Ibsen's original five-hour play, and British stage, screen and TV director Hugh Wooldridge. The premiere of the updated show -- which features incidental music by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg -- is set for Nov. 19 at the UI's Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
Grieg composed the music in 1876 for the first abbreviated version of Ibsen's 1867 drama, which was based in part on Norwegian folk legends, Hobson said. That version was performed in various locations throughout Europe, but the musical drama was rarely performed after that, in part because it remained somewhat lengthy. Grieg's music, however, proved to be far more enduring; in fact, a handful of works from "Peer Gynt," including "Solveig's Song," "Anitra's Dance" and "In the Hall of the Mountain King," remain popular today.
The new adaptation of the Ibsen-Grieg collaboration promises to be something of a spectacle. In addition to the musical score, which Sinfonia da Camera will perform upstage -- behind the bare-bones set and action unfolding onstage -- the production will feature vocal music by the UI Chorale and dance, choreographed UI dance professor Philip Johnston, and performed by 16 students. UI graduate theater students will get into the act as well, performing alongside a cast of featured professional actors from England and Wales.
The cast, assembled by Wooldridge, includes English actor David Rintoul in the title role; Welsh actor John Cording as the Mountain King; Welsh actress Rachel Bryant as Ase, Peer Gynt's mother; and American actress Connie Kunkle in dual roles as Ingrid and the Woman in Green.
"This is something I've been thinking about doing for 12 or 13 years,"
Hobson said. "It is difficult to say if anything like this has been
done before in this century, in this country, but I rather doubt it because
it is a big undertaking."
For Christiane Martens, bigger really is better. And in her own humble opinion, the commissioned sculpture she recently completed for Southeastern Illinois College is the biggest and best example of her work to date.
"It really was a monumental undertaking it took three 12-hour days to install," Martens said, referring to the giant-sized stainless steel wall sculpture, which is 24 feet high and 46 feet long.
The title of the piece, "La Notte di San Lorenzo (or Night of the Meteor Shower)" refers to the saint who, she said, was martyred in A.D. 252. Legend has it that when this occurred, "the heavens opened up and there was this great meteor shower," Martens said, adding that the occasion is still celebrated each year by Italians on Aug. 10 -- "when activity in the sky is more dominant."
As you gaze at Martens' sculpture, which hangs just inside the new visual arts and theater building at the Harrisburg community college, it's not hard to envision meteoric activity.
"The sculpture represents a wild motion of things and shapes shooting down from the wall and rotating," she said. "Each sphere has a distinct texture. It looks different at different times of the day, which adds to the character of the piece and makes it really alive in my mind."
In addition to the large inside sculpture, the college also commissioned a smaller, free-standing sculpture, sited just outside the arts building. Martens said it is somewhat similar to one of her pieces recently installed at the Wandell Sculpture Garden in Urbana's Meadowbrook Park.
As usual, when Martens creates large-scale stainless steel works -- her trademark -- she sought assistance with fabrication and installation from Champaign's Silver Machine Shop. There, longtime collaborator Rick Lovett and his assistant, Bob Booker, helped with the SIC sculptures.
For Martens, one of the most rewarding aspects of the project was witnessing the reaction of students and passersby as it was installed in the arts building at SIC.
"Students were glued to the wall watching," she said. "They are totally in love with this piece."
She also said she was honored that the college asked her to give a talk about her work to a class of art students, who then were assigned to write about her lecture and her art.
"It was one of the nicest experiences I've ever had," Martens said.
Back at the UI, Martens is quite at home in the classroom talking about her own work, and about site-specific sculpture in general. Among her course assignments is Art 199, open to students in the Campus Honors Program. That class presents both challenges and rewards for Martens, because many of the students enrolled have very little formal training in art.
"It's really trying to bring them from zero to something," she said. "And the students you worry about most are the ones who come out OK."
One of the highlights of the course is "a day of art," when the students are required to create corrugated cardboard sculptures for location on the Quad.
Although an equal dose of artistry and engineering is required to design and build Martens' brand of large-scale sculpture, the student engineers in her course sometimes have the hardest time with the assignment, she said.
"Last time around, some did tackle it, but some were paralyzed."
On the other hand, for some reason, she said, "the pre-meds and pre-vets really get into it, and say this is the most challenging class they've taken at the university."
In the Nov. 4 article about the lighting of the Altgeld bell tower, the facts surrounding the naming of Altgeld Hall were incorrect.
As stated, the building formerly housed the Library. When the Library was moved into its new facility the building became known as the Law Building while the 1919 and 1926 additions became the Mathematics Building. The name "Law Building" also was carved into the stone above the north entrance where "Library" was originally inscribed in a raised relief. In late 1940, the Law Building portion was renamed Altgeld Hall after Gov. John Peter Altgeld, while the southern section of the structure remained known as the Mathematics Building.
Thanks to Christopher L. Marx, network analyst at the Grainger Engineering Library, for helping set the record straight.
UI doctor wins competition with medical poetry
It was a case of biochemistry. An elderly woman hospitalized for a painless ultrasound of her esophagus and heart complains of fatigue and shortness of breath 45 minutes after the procedure and appears to be headed for unconsciousness.
No, it wasn't a scene from NBC's popular television series "ER." This was an actual case at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. The patient had suffered a rare, potentially fatal reaction to an often-used topical spray applied as a local anesthetic to ease the passage of a tiny scope through the esophagus.
Quick diagnosis and treatment of methemoglobinemia -- a hereditary condition in which the absence of an enzyme leads to the wrong mix of methemoglobin and hemoglobin in the blood -- helped the patient recover quickly.
Dr. Nancy Wozniak, a resident in internal medicine, was on her rotation in the intensive care unit when the patient was admitted. She chose the case as her entry in the 1999 Clinical Vignette competition of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine (ACP-ASIM), the largest medical specialty society in the world. Wozniak, who describes herself as a reluctant writer but artistically inclined, put her case to poetry and PowerPoint. She proceeded to win the local vignette competition held at Carle, and then the statewide competition Oct. 6 at the UI College of Medicine at Chicago.
Wozniak earned her medical degree in 1998 from the UI College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. She was the first participant from the Urbana-Champaign campus to win at the state level. Wozniak, a visiting clinical associate in internal medicine in the College of Medicine and a second-year resident, will travel free to the ACP-ASIM national meeting, April 13-16, in Philadelphia. There, she will present her abstract.
"Poems seemed to have been well received by those presenting their cases in the past, and I thought it was the best way to present my case," Wozniak said. "It took me months to put my poem together, but it wasn't a big effort," she said. "I just kept it in the back of my mind, and whenever I thought of a verse or part of a verse that would fit, I wrote it down. I always had a very clear idea of what I wanted to convey: the biochemistry, how that sometimes an isolated fact, or pearl, that someone remembers can occasionally carry the day or make a difference in the outcome of a patient."
The pearl, in this case, she said, was a tidbit of information about pharmaceutical reactions and antidotes, which medical students learn about during their first year.
A contestant's abstract and oral entry must report on a single concept or pearl in a way that lets a clinician recognize an unusual presentation or manifestation of a disease or a pitfall in the usual medical problem-solving process. The oral presentation must be brief (less than five minutes), illustrative and entertaining. The rules urge creativity. Wozniak's written abstract was titled "Topical Acetacaine and Methmoglobinemia." Her poem was called "The Case of Milk Chocolate Hypoxia."
"Dr. Wozniak was lucky enough to find a classic case that allowed her to directly incorporate information she had learned in the medical school's biochemistry course," said Susan K. Roth, acting associate dean of academic student and educational affairs in the College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign, "She went a step further by crafting the information into a delightful poem that was quite well received by the judges at the vignette contest."
Roth assisted the residents in preparing their entries. Dr. Robert Healy, a clinical professor of internal medicine, served as Wozniak's faculty author on her abstract. Wozniak credits Dr. John Hill, an attending physician and graduate of the internal medicine residency program, with the initial management of the patient.
Wozniak grew up near Kansas City, Mo., and had earned a bachelor's degree in business at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana. She also has a long-standing interest in art, particularly children's literature and book illustrations.
Sullivan is regarded as one of the theater world's most active and sought-after free-lance directors, according to theater department head Bruce Halverson.
"Dan Sullivan is universally recognized as an artist of exceptional talent, and his work has helped -- in a significant and lasting way -- to shape the theater of today," Halverson said. "He directs new works by this country's finest playwrights, and our most gifted actors want to work with him.
"We are thrilled he is joining us," Halverson added. "No other theater department will have a director of his stature and ability on its faculty. He is truly an exceptional theater artist, and our students will benefit from his presence."
Sullivan was artistic director of the Seattle Repertory Theater from 1981-1997. In 1990, he received a special Tony Award recognizing the Seattle Rep's critically important role of introducing and nurturing some of the country's finest playwrights.
Swanlund Chairs are endowed professorships funded through a $12 million gift from the late Maybelle Swanlund. The professorships were created to attract leading figures in the arts and sciences to the university and to recognize outstanding scholars already on the faculty.
Donations help serve critical human needs. Just reading a newspaper or seeing a televised news report reminds us daily of how many people need help.
Thanks to all who gave so generously last year and for caring enough to share your good fortune this year. If you have not done so, please turn in your pledge card to your unit volunteer by Dec. 1 to help all of us reach our goal.
Built as the private residence of Robert Allerton in 1900, Allerton House, now the Conference Center, is a 40-room manor house. Designers will transform the rooms with festive holiday décor. A horse-drawn carriage will take visitors to the visitor center where artists will display their creations in the Artists at Allerton exhibit. Many of the items on view will be available for purchase.
Admission to the showcase at the mansion is $8 per person. Limited reservations are available for a luncheon at $20, which includes admission. Admission to Artists at Allerton at the visitor's center is free.
Children are welcome to join their parents at this event for a free carriage ride and to view exhibits at the visitor's center but children 8 years old and younger will not be allowed in the mansion due to the fragile nature of some of the displays.
For more information, call 333-2127 or 762-2721 or go to the Allerton Web site at www.conted.ceps.uiuc.edu/rapcc/html/hshowcase.html.
The dollar amount for grants awarded under this program will vary with the complexity of the project and the amount of content involved, but the typical range will not exceed $10,000 to $15,000. Unusually ambitious programs or those with broad impact may justify additional funding.
A detailed request for proposals for this new funding initiative is available online at www.online.uillinois.edu/public_service/rfp/. Proposals are due no later than 5 p.m. Dec. 17. For more information, contact Charles Evans, assistant vice president for academic affairs and director of University Outreach and Public Service, at cevans4@uillinois.edu or at 333-1460.
Phone book recycling within the Housing Division will be the same as last year. Housing again will collect books separately through the end of November or at least until the new student/staff directories are delivered. For questions about recycling in residence halls, contact Vonne Ortiz, 333-3454.
In the tradition of the Henry lecture, a panel of UI faculty members will respond to Duderstadt's presentation. A question-and-answer period will follow.
The teaching and research interests of Duderstadt have spanned a wide range of subjects in science, mathematics and engineering, including work in areas such as nuclear systems, computer simulation, science policy, higher education and information technology. Duderstadt also serves as director of the Millennium Project, a research center concerned with the future of higher education.
The Henry lecture series, which focuses on issues in higher education, was established by the UI Board of Trustees and the UI Foundation in 1971 to honor president emeritus David Dodds Henry. Henry served as the 12th executive officer of the UI for 16 years until his retirement in 1971.
Orders must be placed by noon Nov. 22 and may be made by calling 333-1140 or returning an order form to Illini Union Food Service, MC-384. Orders will be available for pickup between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Nov. 24 in the Colonial Room of the Illini Union. Free parking will be provided that day in lot D-10, just east of the union.
Reservations for these accommodations may be made by calling the Illini Union, 333-3030, or Housing Division 333-5656. Call as early as possible to make certain that rooms are available.
Employees who are in need of overnight housing on campus because they choose to stay or have been warned by highway officials not to drive because of impassable roads may arrange for accommodations in the Illini Union or university residence halls on a space-available basis at the following rates (which must include overhead charges): Illini Union -- $46 single, $49 double; Housing Division - $45 single or double.
Interested individuals are asked to send an e-mail with the subject "activity study" to bblissme@illinois.edu. Include your name and campus address with mail code.
Performed by the UI New Music Ensemble on Nov. 18, "HotWIRED" celebrates International Electroacoustic Music Week. The event begins at 8 p.m. in Krannert's Tryon Festival Theater.
UI faculty composers Zack Browning, professor of music, and Scott A. Wyatt, professor of music and a senior research scientist at the UI's National Center for Supercomputing Applications, are joined by guest composer Steven Everett and percussionist Peggy Benkeser.
The program features Wyatt's soundscape "Aftermath," which features the composer performing the work over an eight-channel sound projection system located throughout the hall. Browning's "Impact Addiction" mixes rock and art music with instruments and computer-generated tape to create the ultimate millennium mix.
For ticket information, contact the Krannert Center ticket office, 333-6280 or e-mail kran-tix@illinois.edu.
Jones' presentation will be based on her book, "Living Proof: Courage in the Face of AIDS." The book of portraits is the result of two years' work with people living positively with HIV and AIDS. Jones' presentation will be followed by a showing of Kermit Cole's documentary film, which follows the people featured in Jones' photo project. Admission to both the lecture and film is free. Donations of non-perishable food items for the Greater Community AIDS Project will be welcomed.
The courses:
The Office of Academic Human Resources, Suite 420, 807 S. Wright St., maintains listings for faculty positions. More complete descriptions are available in that office during regular business hours. The Employment Center lists the academic professional positions available on all campuses at http://www.uihr.uillinois.edu/jobs. Faculty job opportunity information is updated weekly and can be found on the AHR Web site at: http://webster.uihr.uiuc.edu/ahr/jobs/index.asp Any other information may be obtained from the person in the listing.
faculty
Art and Design. Assistant professor, graphic design (two positions). Master's degree in graphic design or terminal degree in related field and demonstrated expertise in typography or image-making and active research in one or more of the following areas required: information design, critical theory, design history, human-computer interaction or use and development of emerging communication technologies. Teaching experience and interest in interdisciplinary collaboration desired. Available: August 2000. Contact Ken Carls, 333-3887 or k-carls@illinois.edu. Closing date: Feb. 7.
Linguistics. Assistant professor, South Asian linguistics. PhD and strong commitment to teaching and research in South Asian linguistics with a focus on Hindi required. Available: Aug. 21. Contact Chin Kim, 333-3563 or cwkim@illinois.edu. Closing date: Feb. 1.
Political Science. Faculty (rank open). PhD and a record of demonstrated excellence in research and teaching and strong analytic/methodological skills required. Scholars who study national political institutions preferred. Available: August 2000. Contact Peter Nardulli, 333-3880. Closing date: Feb. 1.
academic professional
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Network analyst, Information Technology and Communications Services. Bachelor's degree and two or more years' direct and practical experience administering networks and providing user support. Must have experience with Windows NT server and/or Novell Netware, Windows 95 installation and support, TCP/IP and Appletalk networking, hardware and software installation and troubleshooting. Available immediately. Contact Nancy Mickenbecker, 244-0477 or nancym@illinois.edu. Extended closing date: Dec. 15.
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Extension specialist, Spanish language programming. Master's degree in education, Spanish, adult education, family studies, human development, continuing education or related fields and three years' experience in Spanish translation and working with Spanish-speaking audiences required. Must be fluent in both written and oral Spanish and English. Available immediately. Contact Carrollyn Hunt, UI Extension, 1716 N. University St., Ste. 1, Peoria, IL 61604. Closing date: Dec. 15.
Broadcasting (WILL-AM). Creative specialist. Bachelor's degree required; graduate degree plus a minimum of two years' full-time experience as a news reporter and producer of feature-length material for use in magazine-style information programming preferred. Must demonstrate an active interest in and knowledge of the significant events and issues that constitute the news of the day and an ability to conceive of and produce programs that reflect that insight. Must be able to type with accuracy. Available: Jan. 20. Contact Tom Rogers, 333-0850. Closing date: Dec. 20.
Business Affairs-Business Systems, Office of. Network analyst. Bachelor's degree in computer science, management information sciences or related technical field or equivalent experience and a minimum of five years' work experience with computer systems required. Must have high level of expertise in the areas of microcomputer support, BackOfffice services, Microsoft NT server and have a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office and be able to troubleshoot problems of specialized applications. Available immediately. Contact Terri Palumbo, 333-6797 or tpalumbo@illinois.edu. Extended closing date: Dec. 15.
Cell and Structural Biology. Research specialist in life sciences. Bachelor's degree required; master's in biology, biochemistry or related field preferred. Prior experience with molecular biology, biochemical techniques, histology, microscopy and cell culture preferred. Available immediately. Contact Joyce Woodworth, 333-6118. Closing date: Dec. 8.
Community Health. Project coordinator (Grants projects for the Rehabilitation Continuing Education Program). Master's degree in rehabilitation or closely related field required; PhD and CRC or CRC-eligibility preferred. Experience in preparing curricula and technical assistance materials, providing technical assistance and conducting continuing education training with community-based providers and staff, conducting training seminars and/or conferences preferred. Available: Dec. 21. Contact Laurna Rubinson, 333-8334. Closing date: Nov. 23.
Engineering. Web project specialist. Bachelor's degree in business, CS, MIS or related field with recent experience in Web-site development, graphic design and layout required. Must be proficient with HTML, Active Server Pages, SL and Javascript. Should be skilled with a variety of Web development tools and be able to work with NT (IIS) and Unix (Apache/NCSA) Web servers. Available immediately. Contact Heidi Rockwood, 333-2152 or rockwood@illinois.edu. Closing date: Nov. 22.
Foundation, UI. Regional director of gift development (New York/New England). Bachelor's degree and two to four years' fund-raising experience or the equivalent, preferably in higher education required. Must have a track record of successful major gift solicitations. Available immediately. Contact Ron Hermann, 244-0471 or hr@uif.uillinois.edu.
Human Resources, University Office for. Training coordinator. Bachelor's degree in human resources, education, business or other related field and two years' professional experience required. Available immediately. Contact Jackie Hunter, 333-2590 or jnhunter@uillinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 6.
Instructional Resources, Office of. Coordinator of classroom support and training. Bachelor's degree, preferably in instructional technology, vocational education or related field required. Must have successful experience developing and implementing training sessions in the use of systems that include various technologies, experience with PowerPoint, Web utilities and other multimedia tools, and have demonstrated ability to write training manuals and other related documents. Available: Jan. 4. Contact Jean Prentice, 333-0506. Closing date: Dec. 3.
Illinois Natural History Survey. Insect collection manager, Center for Biodiversity. Bachelor's degree in entomology or related field required. Must be skilled in the identification of insects, have a thorough knowledge of insect curatorial techniques, and be competent in the use of database, word processor and presentation software using Macintosh computers. Available immediately. Contact R. Edward De Walt, 244-7515 or dewalt@illinois.edu. Closing date: Nov. 18.
Intercollegiate Athletics, Division of. Program coordinator, Atkins Tennis Center. Bachelor's degree, teaching certification from either USPTA or USPTR, and a minimum of two years' experience in teaching and running instructional programs required. Must have thorough knowledge of NCAA rules and have demonstrated ability with computer systems and software, including graphic design, spreadsheet applications and word-processing applications. Available immediately. Contact Harriett Weatherford, 244-4286. Closing date: Nov. 22.
Intercollegiate Athletics, Division of. Head varsity coach, women's gymnastics. Bachelor's degree required; master's preferred. Must have demonstrated coaching expertise in planning and directing; proven ability to select, recruit and develop highly qualified student athletes; and knowledge of personnel management and staff development. Computer literacy and minimum head coaching experience of three to five years at Division I preferred. Available immediately. Contact Kelly Landry, 333-2687. Closing date: Jan. 1.
Life Sciences. Research programmer. Bachelor's degree and two years' experience in the computing field required. Experience with UNIX, Windows NT and Macintosh environments desired. Previous experience in system administration and computing consulting desired. Available: Dec. 11. Contact Jeffrey Hass, 333-7525. Closing date: Dec. 6.
Online/Virtual Campus, UI. Research programmer, database/Web programming. Bachelor's degree and a minimum of two years' relevant experience required. Intermediate or advanced Web/HTML authoring and scripting skills and proficiency in at least two programming and/or scripting languages required (preferably Java, JavaScript, Perl, Visual Basic, Visual Basic Script, SQL). Available immediately. Contact Lynn Ward, 244-6465 or lynnward@uillinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 13.
Planning and Budgeting, University Office of. Network analyst. Master's degree and one year's professional experience or bachelor's degree plus equivalent experience required. Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Windows NT Server, Microsoft Exchange, Internet Information Server, Windows 95/98, Microsoft Office, and TCP/IP essential. Available immediately. Contact Judy McCoy-Lindauer, 333-6600. Closing date: Nov. 29.
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of. Chief information officer/associate provost. Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 10 years' experience as a faculty member or an administrator in a research university or equivalent organization with extensive experience in the development or use of advanced information technology; at least five years' management experience with significant responsibility for program, budget and personnel required. Available immediately. Contact Carol Kirkpatrick, 333-6677 or cio-search@illinois.edu. Closing date: Jan. 15.
Social Work, School of (Chicago). Visiting research specialist, Office of the DCFS Research Director. Bachelor's degree preferably in social work and a minimum of two years' work experience with data or computers required. Must be familiar with basic social work research. Available immediately. Contact Mary Ann Hartnett, (773) 834-2583. Closing date: Nov. 25.
Social Work, School of. Assistant dean. Master's degree in social work or related field, preferably from an accredited School of Social Work. Computer knowledge, grant-writing expertise and prior experience on a university campus desired. Available: Feb. 1. Contact Tonya Manselle, 333-2260. Closing date: Dec. 6.
Supercomputing Applications, National Center for. System engineer (one or more positions). Bachelor's degree and two years' relevant experience in system administrations, computer repair or user support required. Must have experience with networked environments and a variety of software and hardware. Available immediately. Contact NCSA Human Resources, 333-6085 or career@ncsa.uiuc.edu. Closing date: Nov. 30.
Supercomputing Applications, National Center for. Senior system engineer (one or more positions). Bachelor's degree in computer science, electrical engineering or related field required; master's preferred. Must have five to eight years' relevant experience beyond the bachelor's degree as project management experience as well as detailed training in specific technology areas such as microprocessor architectures. Available immediately. Contact NCSA Human Resources, 333-6085 or career@ncsa.uiuc.edu. Extended closing date: Nov. 24.
University Audits, Office of. Specialist, information technology auditor. Bachelor's degree plus a professional certification such as CISA and/or an advanced degree in the fields of computer science or business administration required. Must have five years' professional auditing experience; CPA, CIA, or CISA certification may be substituted for one year of auditing experience. Available immediately. Contact Njara Stout, 333-0900 or nstout@uillinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 6.
staff
Personnel Services Office is located at 52 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign. For information about PSO's Employment Information Program, which provides information to those seeking staff employment at the university, visit the Personnel Services Office Web site at www.pso.uiuc.edu. To complete an online employment application and to submit an exam request, visit the online Employment Center at www.uihr.uillinois.edu/jobs.
A report on honors, awards, offics and other outstanding achievements of faculty and staff members
agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences
The European Council for Agricultural Law (CEDR) awarded its Silver Medal to Margaret (Peggy) Rosso Grossman, professor of agricultural law in the department of agricultural and consumer economics. Grossman won the medal for her eminent contributions to the scientific work of the CEDR. She frequently has been a U.S. reporter to the council, aiding members in comparative agricultural law work. The Board of Management awarded the medal to Grossman at its 20th European Agricultural Law Congress in September in Amsterdam. The European Council for Agricultural Law strives to examine, compare and develop agricultural law and related academic disciplines. Grossman is one of only three Americans who have been elected as associate members of the CEDR.
The American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) presented the John Deere Gold Medal to John C. Siemens, professor emeritus of agricultural engineering, for outstanding accomplishments in teaching, research and extension work. Siemens was recognized for his "pioneering tillage research that laid the foundation for modern conservation tillage and the resulting reductions in soil erosion." The award was presented at the ASAE 1999 Annual International Meeting held in conjunction with a meeting of the Canadian Society of Agricultural Engineers.
commerce and business administration
Narasimhan Jegadeesh was honored as an endowed professor by the department of finance at an investiture ceremony Sept. 29. He was named the Harry A. Brandt Distinguished Professor in Financial Markets and Options. On the faculty of the College of Commerce and Business Administration since 1993, Jegadeesh is an expert in the areas of stock evaluation and investment strategies. He has been published widely and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Securities Markets. The professorship was established in 1987 by a gift from Harry A. Brandt.
engineering
Joseph E. Greene, professor of materials science and engineering and the director of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, has been selected as the 1999 recipient of the David Turnbull Lectureship from the Materials Research Society. The lectureship recognizes the career of a scientist who has made outstanding contributions to understanding materials phenomena and properties through research, writing and teaching. Greene also will receive a $5,000 honorarium.
Sung-Mo (Steve) Kang, professor and head of the electrical and computer engineering department, has received the Technical Excellence Award from the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC). The award, which recognizes Kang for contributions to computer-aided design for reliability of very large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits and systems, was presented June 30 at the SRC summer retreat in Vancouver, British Columbia. The award is given to key contributors of innovative technology that significantly enhances the productivity and competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Lee H. Sentman, professor of aeronautical and astronautical engineering, received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) 1999 Plasmadynamics and Lasers Award. The award is presented for contributions to the understanding of the physical properties and dynamical behavior of matter in the plasma state and lasers as related to need in aeronautics and astronautics. The award was presented in June at a luncheon in conjunction with the AIAA Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference in Norfolk, Va.
fine and applied arts
The UI department of theater, a resident producer of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and a unit of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, was among the Medallion Recipients for "Significant Achievement and Contributions to Theater for Children and Youth in the United States." The award, presented by the Children's Theater Foundation of America, was presented to Robert Graves, acting head of the department, at an award ceremony on July 31 in Evanston, Ill. The department received the medallion to acknowledge its participation in the Illinois High School Theater Festival (IHSTF) since the festival's initiation some 24 years ago. IHSTF is considered a national model as the nation's largest non-competitive high school theater festival.
Five music professors have been chosen as ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publisher) award recipients. William F. Brooks, Zack Browning, Erik Lund, Kazimierz W. Machala and P.Q. Phan received cash awards granted by an independent panel. The awards were based upon the unique prestige value of each writer's catalog of original compositions as well as recent performances of those works in areas not surveyed by the society.
law
Lynn Branham, visiting professor of law, was awarded the Walter Dunbar Award by the American Correctional Association at its annual meeting in August. The award, given for "outstanding contributions" to the ACA accreditation process, was in recognition of Branham's efforts to augment and improve the ACA accreditation process during her eight years of service as the American Bar Association's representative on the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections and six years of service on ACA's Standards Committee.
William J. Davey was honored as an endowed professor by the College of Law at an investiture ceremony Oct. 18. He was named the Edwin M. Adams Professor of Law. On the faculty since 1984, Davey is an expert in international trade law. He is the author of "Pine and Swine: Canada-U.S. Trade Dispute Settlement" and co-wrote "Legal Problems of International Economic Relations" and "European Community Law." He was the director of the legal affairs division of the World Trade Organization from 1995 until earlier this year.
liberal arts and sciences
Braj Kachru, director and professor, Center for Advanced Study, and Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was the keynote speaker at the 12th World Congress of Applied Linguistics in Tokyo. He also was the main speaker and chair of a special session on "World Englishes in the Asian Context" at the sixth International Conference of the International Association of World Englishes held in Tsukuba, Japan.
Lillian Hoddeson, professor of history, has been awarded the 1999 Sally Hacker Prize of the Society for the History of Technology for her book "Crystal Fire: The Birth of the Information Age" (W.W. Norton, 1997). The book was co-written with Michael Riordan. This prize is awarded for the best history of technology published in the previous three years that is aimed at both popular and scholarly audiences.
Julian Rappaport, professor of psychology, received the Seymour B. Sarason Award from the American Psychological Association's Division of Community Psychology. The award recognizes novel and critical rethinking of basic assumptions and approaches in the human services, education and other areas of community research and action and is based on career contributions, rather than any single piece of work. In connection with the award, Rappaport gave an invited address, "Community Narratives: Tales of Terror and Joy," at the annual APA meeting in Boston in August.
national center for supercomputing applications
Michael Norman, professor of astronomy and senior research scientist at the NCSA, has received the IEEE Society's 1999 Sidney Fernbach award. Norman was recognized for his "leading edge research in applying parallel computing to grand challenge problems in astrophysics and cosmology." He will receive the award, which includes a $2,000 cash prize, at the Supercomputing '99 conference in November.
senate
The following Urbana-Champaign Senate members achieved perfect attendance during the 1998-99 academic year: Tom Anderson, professor of educational psychology; H. George Friedman, professor of computer science; Michael Grossman, professor of animal sciences; Al Kagan, professor of library administration; Stephen J. Kaufman, professor of cell and structural biology; Gil Mendoza, professor of natural resources and environmental sciences; Wright Neely, professor of philosophy; Bruce Reznick, professor of mathematics; Bob Rich, professor of law; James L. Robinson, professor of animal sciences; Mark Roszkowski, professor of business administration; Richard Schacht, professor of philosophy; Alex Scheeline, professor of chemistry; Steve Seitz, professor of political science; Linda Smith, professor of library and information science; and Bill Walker and Kam Wong, professors of civil and environmental engineering.
Interview by Huey Freeman
HOMETOWN: A Champaign native, Banks earned a bachelor's degree in applied trumpet and a master's in music education at the UI.
JOB: Director of the African American Cultural Program. He has been involved with the program since its inception 30 years ago, first as a student playing in its band, as a graduate program assistant, as its assistant director and then as the director since 1997.
Helena I. Bruno, 71, died Nov. 4 at her home in Champaign. Bruno worked in the UI's Division of Operation and Maintenance for 12 years. Memorials: Nursing Solutions or Provena Covenant Hospice.
Jack Irving Morgan, 83, died Nov. 6 at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana. Morgan retired as a pharmacist from the UI's McKinley Health Center. Memorials: an organization of the donor's choice.
James C. Neill, 83, died Nov. 9 at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana. Neill retired in 1981 as a professional scientist emeritus with the Illinois State Water Survey in Champaign after 30 years with the survey. Memorials: First United Methodist Church of Champaign or the American Cancer Society.
Paul S. Pettinga, 85, died Oct. 28 at the Carle Arbours, Savoy. Pettinga retired in 1975 as a professor and associate director of the School of Music. He also served as a guidance counselor and therapist with the Student Counseling Service at the UI for seven years.