Some of you may have seen the e-mail from two faculty members in the political science department who called a University wide meeting today to share information about the impact budget cuts and the economic downturn have had on academic units. I think all faculty members also received a response to their e-mail today from the chair and vice-chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee. I wanted to reiterate what the latter said, reconfirmed in a meeting the deans had with the provost this afternoon: the University has absolutely no plan to terminate tenure-track or tenured faculty and, because President Bruininks is still recuperating from his prostate-cancer surgery on February 1, no decision on furloughs will be made until he returns.

Those faculty e-mails had a salutary effect on the University's thinking about how it communicates about the budget. As Provost Sullivan said today, times like these require more two-way communication more often in order to keep everyone informed and to reduce the number of unfounded rumors. I mentioned our weekly "Monday Minute" as a possible model for other colleges and maybe even the University as a whole to follow, since they have served not only as a means to convey information quickly and efficiently, but also as a way for you to get back to me with questions or concerns that you have. I appreciate the time you take to read these missives, and I value your response to them. While more frequent communication cannot eliminate our budget challenges, it can make them easier to understand and resolve.

Tom

Transmaterial 3 offers a survey of technological advances in materials with a special emphasis on new developments in the field of biopolymers and various agriculturally derived products; biomimetic products, systems, and processes that seek to emulate natural examples including low-embodied-energy and biochemically manufactured products; "grown" materials; nanoscale materials; renewable energy technologies; "second-life" materials derived from repurposed waste; and responsive, interactive, and transformational digital interfaces that harness pervasive communication networks and are powered by low-energy illumination sources.

Greenscreen film screening of Dark Circle
Wednesday, February 10, 2010, 6 p.m., 225 Rapson Hall

Design in the Dark film screening of Valentino: The Last Emperor
Friday, February 12, 2010, 5-7 p.m., 33 McNeal
Join the Goldstein Museum of Design for the stories behind the top fashion designers. The Goldstein Design in the Dark series presents features, documentaries, and short works on design and designers. Admission is free; concessions will be available for purchase.

Opening reception for "Native Viewpoints: Paintings and drawings by John Koepke"
Friday, February 12, 2010, 5-7 p.m., Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library
The drawings and illustrations on exhibit in the Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library span more than a decade of Koepke's work, featuring his newest watercolors and illustrations. The playful display of the work expresses Koepke's affinity for nature and appropriately integrates the inventive character of his work with real elements from the landscape.

Exhibitions

HGA Gallery, Rapson Hall

Andrea Palladio -- 500 years
January 16-February 28, 2010
Opening reception Saturday, January 16, 6-9 p.m.
This exhibition was organized in conjunction with the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of "the most imitated architect in history" and whose "influence on the development of English and American architecture probably has been greater than that of all Renaissance architects combined." The show consists of photographs displaying Palladio's architectural projects for private residences in the Veneto Region, provided by the Istituto Regionale Ville Venete and highlights the stylistic evolution of the architect's more than forty years of activity.

Goldstein Museum of Design, McNeal Hall

How Secretaries Changed the 20th-Century Office: Design, Image, and Culture
February 6 - May 23, 2010
During the 20th century women poured into offices all over the U.S. to work as "typewriter girls," stenographers, and secretaries. New spaces, furnishings, and clothing emerged to meet their needs, while popular culture glamorized them. The exhibition explores transformations in the workplace and women's lives and features office equipment, furniture, fashions, magazines, and much more.

Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library

Native Viewpoints: Paintings and drawings by John Koepke
February 12 - May 14, 2010. Opening event Friday, Feb. 12, 5-7 p.m.
The drawings and illustrations on exhibit in the Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library span more than a decade of Koepke's work, featuring his newest watercolors and illustrations. The playful display of the work expresses Koepke's affinity for nature and appropriately integrates the inventive character of his work with real elements from the landscape.

• Spring 2010 College of Design events, lectures, and exhibitions
• Download the Spring 2010 College of Design events and lectures poster (.pdf; 7.4MB)

Questions? Contact Laura Walton at 612-626-6385 or lwalton@umn.edu.

The group's final presentation was covered by Angie Riebe for the Mesabi Daily News (the article is behind the publication's paywall).

Partnership seems to be the watchword these days.

Friday I served on a panel with other University colleagues and Hennepin County officials, discussing ways we could partner to do more with less. I heard the same plea for new partnering relationships when I gave a talk several weeks ago before the Association of Minnesota Counties. The recession appears to have provided a powerful incentive for organizations and communities to reach out to others, knowing that none of us can do all that we need to do amidst shrinking financial resources. Figuring out how to do that remains, I think, one of the great creative challenges we face.

I saw a premiere example of partnership this past weekend, at Greenlight's charrette on developing housing, retail, and open space next to a lake and wetland in St. Paul. Faculty, students, practitioners, and community members came together to present their work, creating tremendous value as they gathered to address a complex problem. Workshops like those of Greenlight could become a model of how we might partner with communities as well as offer additional educational opportunities for our students.

Everyone lacks financial resources, but universities and communities have an abundance of human assets: dedicated, creative, and knowledgeable people who remain the real wealth in every organization. Leveraging that wealth involves engaging people in meaningful, creative work, something that I saw in abundance on Friday and Saturday.

Tom

Opening reception for How Secretaries Changed the 20th-Century Office: Design, Image, and Culture
Friday, February 5, 2010, 6-8 p.m., Goldstein Museum of Design
During the 20th century women poured into offices all over the U.S. to work as "typewriter girls," stenographers, and secretaries. New spaces, furnishings, and clothing emerged to meet their needs, while popular culture glamorized them. The exhibition explores transformations in the workplace and women's lives and features office equipment, furniture, fashions, magazines, and much more.

(in)sight Senior Fashion Show
Saturday, February 6, 2010, 5:30 & 8:00 p.m., Rapson Hall Courtyard
(in)sight, the 2010 University of Minnesota annual fashion show, will feature 14 seniors in the Apparel Design program exhibiting their own work. The senior fashion show has a long-standing tradition of showcasing fine fashion and illustrating the skills developed through the program as the seniors near the completion of their degrees.

Reminder: College of Design Honors and Awards nominations due March 8, 2010
Information is available on the Honors and Awards section of the college Web site or by contacting Laura Walton at lwalton@umn.edu.Nominations are due in 32 McNeal Hall or 101 Rapson Hall no later than March 8, 2010.

Exhibitions

HGA Gallery, Rapson Hall

Andrea Palladio -- 500 years
January 16-February 28, 2010
Opening reception Saturday, January 16, 6-9 p.m.
This exhibition was organized in conjunction with the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the birth of "the most imitated architect in history" and whose "influence on the development of English and American architecture probably has been greater than that of all Renaissance architects combined." The show consists of photographs displaying Palladio's architectural projects for private residences in the Veneto Region, provided by the Istituto Regionale Ville Venete and highlights the stylistic evolution of the architect's more than forty years of activity.

Goldstein Museum of Design, McNeal Hall

How Secretaries Changed the 20th-Century Office: Design, Image, and Culture
February 6 - May 23, 2010
During the 20th century women poured into offices all over the U.S. to work as "typewriter girls," stenographers, and secretaries. New spaces, furnishings, and clothing emerged to meet their needs, while popular culture glamorized them. The exhibition explores transformations in the workplace and women's lives and features office equipment, furniture, fashions, magazines, and much more.

• Spring 2010 College of Design events, lectures, and exhibitions
• Download the Spring 2010 College of Design events and lectures poster (.pdf; 7.4MB)

Questions? Contact Laura Walton at 612-626-6385 or lwalton@umn.edu.

The camps are competitively priced and may be tax deductible. They're conveniently located on the University's Minneapolis campus and offer working parents flexible drop-off and pick-up times.

The 2010 Science Discovery Day Camp starts Monday, June 14, 2010 at $230 per week per child. Weeklong camp sessions run through September 3, 2010. Registration begins Monday, February 22, 2010 by phone. Camp listings, hours, and registration details are available on the Bell Museum's Web site.

How Secretaries Changed the 20th-Century Office: Design, Image, and Culture
February 6 - May 23, 2010, Goldstein Museum of Design
Opening reception Friday, February 5, 2010, 6-8 p.m.
Co-curators lecture Thursday, February 18, 2010, 6 pm, 33 McNeal Hall
Film series, April 20-22, 2010, 6 p.m., 33 McNeal Hall

• April 20: Skyscraper Souls (1932)
• April 21: The Best of Everything (1959)
• April 22: Nine to Five (1980)

During the exhibition, donate gently-used women's office wear to 364 McNeal for Women Achieving New Directions (WAND), a 20-year-old organization providing career and job services to low-income single mothers.

• "History of the secretary experience" by Danielle Nordine, Minnesota Daily
• "Secretaries get their due in new exhibit" by Adam Johnson, the651.com

Following Eble's lecture, a reactor panel consisting of Dean Tom Fisher (Architecture); Mary Jo Kreitzer, director of the Center for Spirituality and Healing; and Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment, will share their expertise and perspectives on issues around economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The event will close with a light reception and opportunity to visit with Joachim Eble and colleagues in the Humphrey Center Atrium.

Sustainable Communities: Lessons from a European Approach
February 23, 2010
3-5 p.m.
Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Center