News in Brief

Four named finalists for business dean
The university has named four finalists for dean of the School of Business.

The finalists were recommended to Chancellor John Wiley by a 19-member search-and-screen committee after a nationwide search. The committee was chaired by James M. Johannes, faculty member and associate dean in the School of Business, and made up of faculty, academic staff, non-represented classified staff and students.

Andrew Policano, who announced in January that he was stepping down as dean to return to teaching, formally left the post Sept. 1. The finalists are:

• Lawrence Benveniste, associate dean of faculty research and U.S. Bancorp professor of finance in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Benveniste previously served as chair of the finance department at the University of Minnesota.
• Michael Knetter, associate dean and professor of international economics in the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Knetter previously served as vice chair of the department of economics at Dartmouth.
• R.D. Nair, interim dean, executive director of the Center for International Business Education and Research, and PricewaterhouseCoopers professor of accounting and information systems in the School of Business at UW–Madison. Nair served as senior associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Business until Sept. 1.
• Mark Zupan, dean and professor of economics in the Eller College of Business and Public Administration at the University of Arizona. Zupan previously served as associate dean of masters programs in the School of Business Administration at the University of Southern California.

The dean of the School of Business oversees about 100 faculty, more than 2,000 students and an executive education program that serves more than 15,000 clients each year.

The university will invite finalists to meet with administrators, faculty, staff and students. A decision is expected this year.

Snowball earth? Theorist to talk
Paul F. Hoffman, professor of earth sciences at Harvard University and a Lewis G. Weeks Distinguished Lecturer, visits UW–Madison Oct. 11-12 to discuss the controversial “Snowball Earth” hypothesis.

This theory claims that more than 580 million years ago, the Earth was sheathed in thick layers of ice. Stretching across the globe, these layers would have smothered many life forms and caused dramatic changes in the atmosphere. Though some scientists dispute the theory, Hoffman has found geologic evidence suggesting that such an event was possible.

His Thursday, Oct. 11 lecture, “Neoproterozoic Cap Carbonates: Sedimentological and Geochemical Signatures of Snowball Earth Meltdowns” is scheduled at 1 p.m., 212 Weeks. Hoffman will discuss techniques used to test the hypothesis.

In a more general talk Friday, Oct. 12, 3:30 p.m., AB20 Weeks, Hoffman will review the history of the theory, its theoretical basis, geological and geochemical evidence, alternative hypotheses and limits of global change.

“One of the major challenges of future civilizations is to understand how and why climates change and one way to do that is to look at what’s happened in the past,” says David Mickelson, a UW–Madison geologist. “The Snowball Earth hypothesis is a major controversial theory about the history of the Earth. Understanding it can help us understand what might happen in the future.”

Civic scholarship is focus of lecture
An internationally known expert on “civic scholarship” will urge researchers to collaborate with their communities when he visits the university Monday, Oct. 15.

University of Michigan professor Barry Checkoway focuses on expanding the definition of research at large universities to include “civic scholarship,” or community-based research developed in collaboration with local social service agencies. He argues that the current definition of research at UW–Madison and around the country is too narrow.

Checkoway’s free campus lecture, “Renewing the Civic Mission of the American Research University,” is scheduled at 4 p.m., On Wisconsin Room, Red Gym. Checkoway is the founding director of the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, the University of Michigan’s counterpart to UW–Madison’s Morgridge Center for Public Service.

Information: 263-2432.

Friends book sale offers 15,000 books Oct. 17-20
More than 15,000 books on almost any subject will be on sale in a fund-raiser for the Friends of the Libraries Oct. 17-20.

The materials are donated primarily by faculty, staff, students and area residents. The public sale helps fund an annual lecture series, special purchases for the libraries’ collections, preservation projects, and a visiting scholar support program. In the past four years, nearly two dozen campus libraries received more than $100,000 through a grant program supported by the book sales.

Among the special collections being offered are books covering religion and philosophy, history, foreign languages, literature and art. The sale will be in room 116 Memorial Library, 728 State St.

A preview sale ($5 admission) will be held 5-9 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 17. The regular sale, open to the public at no charge, will be 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday and Friday, Oct. 18-19.

On Saturday, Oct. 20, from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., bring your own grocery bag and fill it for $2. More information: 265-2505, Friends@library.wisc.edu.

Theoretical chemist gets Hirschfelder prize
Bruce Berne, widely known as the first person to perform computer simulations of molecules, has received the Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize in Theoretical Chemistry.

The prize is one of the largest awards in the field of theoretical chemistry. It carries a $10,000 stipend and is given annually by the Theoretical Chemistry Institute and Department of Chemistry.

Berne, a faculty member at Columbia University since 1966, continues to be a pioneer in the fields of molecular simulation and molecular dynamics. For his work, Berne has received numerous awards. Berne is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has been a Guggenheim fellow. As a recipient of the Hirschfelder Prize, Berne will visit the UW–Madison campus and give three talks in 1315 Chemistry:

• “A Personal Retrospective on Molecular Dynamics,” Monday, Oct. 22, 4 p.m.
• “Polarizable Force Fields for Water and Aqueous Solution,” Tuesday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m.
• “Simulating Quantum Dynamics in Condensed Systems,” Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2 p.m.

Established in 1991 by a gift from Elizabeth Hirschfelder, the prize is named after her late husband who founded the Theoretical Chemistry Institute and who made major contributions to modern theoretical chemistry.

Chemist Somorjai to give Hilldale physical sciences talk
Gabor A. Somorjai, professor of chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, will present this year’s Hilldale Lecture for the Physical Sciences Division Tuesday, Oct. 16, 1 p.m., 1800 Engineering.

The lecture is titled “Surfaces: Favorite Media of Evolution and New Technologies.” The green leaf where photosynthesis occurs and the human body that is full of biopolymer-water interfaces (the skin, the heart, the brain) show the importance of surfaces in evolution.

International forum planned: ‘U.S. in a changed world’
The International Institute will sponsor an open forum entitled “The U.S. in a Changed World: Where Will We Go After Sept. 11, 2001?” The forum, developed to address issues raised by the terrorist attacks last month, will be Thursday, Oct. 18, 4-6 p.m., 3650 Mosse Humanities.

“This is both an “inreach’ and an outreach program,”says Catherine Meschievitz, associate director of the International Institute. “Many of us on campus feel this is an especially important time to reach out to share our reactions and insights concerning recent events. Perhaps we can find a way together to relate what we know about the world and international issues back to our country and the concerns of many Americans,” Meschievitz says.

The forum, to be moderated by David M. Trubek, Voss-Bascom Professor of Law and director of the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy, will consider several foreign and economic policy issues. Featured professors are Michael Barnett, political science and Middle East Studies; Bruce Cronin, political science; Charles Engel, economics and La Follette School of Public Affairs; Gay Seidman, sociology and Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies and African Studies; Anne McClintock, English, Women’s Studies and African Studies. More information: 262-5590 or 262-2042.

UW launches sex assault prevention campaign
The university, in partnership with Dane County, is launching a new, student-generated campaign designed to help prevent sexual assault.

Leaders of the initiative held a news conference Oct. 9 to kick off the campaign, which carries the theme “I have the Courage, We have the Power to stop sexual assault.” The campaign was developed by UW–Madison students in a class on public relations campaigns.

The first phase features bright yellow ads posted inside buses and around the campus. The next step will direct students to organizing opportunities on campus and in the community. Next spring, men on campus will be encouraged to become involved in prevention efforts.

Dane County Executive Kathleen M. Falk says, “Sexual assault is a violent crime. It is made worse by the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. I’m grateful for the good work of the students, University Health Services and other campus offices in carrying out this campaign to make women and children in our community safer.”

“Success will require partnerships with the broader community and between diverse departments of the university,” says Kathleen Poi, director of University Health Services. “It will require the involvement of students — especially men, who often don’t consider their role in prevention efforts. The “Courage’ campaign offers hope, because it nurtures and empowers just these sorts of connections.”

Sponsors of the campaign include Dane County, UW–Madison Police, the Chancellor’s Office, University Health Services and the Dean of Students Office.