The World in Minnesota

In early October, the college will launch The World in Minnesota: Diverse Families, Shared Dreams, a yearlong program. An October 6 kickoff celebration will honor influential fashion designer and businesswoman Lila Bath and welcome her gift of indigenous Mexican costumes to the Goldstein Museum of Design. On October 7, the first in a series of community dialogues will feature the consul general of the Mexican Consulate in Chicago discussing planned partnerships between CHE and higher educational institutions in Mexico. Future conversations will feature advocates from diverse communities talking with CHE faculty about issues such as housing, family violence, and bicultural parenting. Their talks will showcase the richness of Minnesotans’ differences and similarities across cultures—and explore new ways the college and the community can work together to strengthen  families in our increasingly diverse state. For more information, visit www.che.umn.edu/outreach/WorldinMN.html or contact Beth Emshoff, bemshoff@umn.edu or 612-625-1254.

Donor/Scholar recognition

CHE’s annual Donor/Scholar reception and ceremony on October 22 will honor CHE students who have been awarded scholarships for 2004–05. Scholarship donors and recipients’ families also are invited.

Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives

Cutting-edge research from the College of Human Ecology and other colleges at the University is poised to have a major impact on the food industry and consumers’ food choices. The Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives: Setting the Agenda conference November 2–3 at Coffman Memorial Union will bring together University researchers, scientists, state government officials, and corporate executives from the food industry. The goal: To come up with new ways to put research on food and health to work for consumers, producers, and manufacturers. For more information, contact Mindy Kurzer, mkurzer@che.umn.edu or 612-624-9789.

Online social work CEU courses

The college is developing online CEU courses for accredited social workers under a $10,000 grant  from the University’s Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. CHE plans eventually to develop CEU offerings in all its departments and in several cross-disciplinary courses. For more information, contact Joel Dickinson, jdickins@che.umn.edu or 612-625-3107.

Volunteer opportunities

• Mentor a student through The Mentor Connection. Mentors and protégés meet on a regular, self-determined basis for six months, beginning in October. For details, see www.che.umn.edu/alumni/ programs/mentor.html
• Join the U’s Legislative Network. Visit www.votefortheU.umn.edu to pledge your support for the University and to help choose supportive leaders.
• Host workplace tours and one-time community service activities for students, or just share career information. Visit www.che.umn.edu/alumni/programs/careertours.html to learn more.

Symposium on dress

Plans are in the works for an September 15–16, 2005, symposium, “The Senses and Sentiments of Dress,” to recognize the career of Regents Professor Joanne B. Eicher, who is retiring in May 2005. A celebration dinner honoring Eicher will take place September 16, 2005. For more information, contact Catherine Daly at mcdaly@che.umn.edu.

COMING SOON! St. Paul Campus Career Center

The north end of McNeal Hall (room 198) will soon be home to the St. Paul Campus Career Center. This new center will serve undergraduate and graduate students and alumni from the College of Human Ecology as well as from the College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences and the College of Natural Resources.

Homecoming Kickoff: Fall Fest

Explore hidden treasures on the St. Paul campus. Visit an open house at the Raptor Center, Family Day at the Gym, or the 50-cent Harvest Bowl Brunch at the St. Paul Student Center. Tour campus hot spots for an up-close look at the amazing resources of the University—and learn more about how the U’s work improves everyday life. It’s all possible October 17 during Fall Fest, a day of discovery, learning and fun for the whole family that’s sponsored, free of charge, by colleges on the St. Paul campus to kick off this year’s  homecoming week.

Be sure to check out CHE’s special Fall Fest Programs on timely issues, including:

SEE HOW THEY RUN: WHEN DID FAMILY LIFE BECOME A RAT RACE? Family social science professor Bill Doherty, 12:30 p.m., 10 McNeal Hall.
Family time has been losing out to ballooning work schedules for adults and intense activity schedules for children. It’s time to blow the whistle on a national epidemic of time famine and talk about ways to put family life first.

THE SCIENCE OF FOOD: FROM MANUFACTURING TO DIGESTION. Food science and nutrition faculty Dan Gallaher and Lloyd Metzger. 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Andrew Boss Meat Science Laboratory.
Tour the Pilot Plant, home to food science research and development, and learn how work in this facility benefits consumers, the food industry, and Minnesota’s economy. Check out cheese-making devices, extruders, and other high-tech research equipment, and see what’s under one researcher’s microscope.

COLOR ACROSS THE COLLECTIONS, 1:30–4:30 p.m. Goldstein Gallery.
Explore the formal, cultural, and historic properties of color through the Goldstein’s permanent collections of costume, decorative arts, textiles, and graphic design.

For more information about Fall Fest programs, visit www.che.umn.edu/alumni/programs/fallfest.html