October 2000
A THING of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet
breathing . . .
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon . . .
John Keats (1795––1821), “Endymion”
With help from several community partners and funding from Eli Lilly
and Company, IUPUI's Center for Earth and Environmental Science will build a
floodplain forest along 16 acres of the White River in downtown Indianapolis,
beginning this month and continuing into next spring.
As part of the Lilly ARBOR Project – Answers for Restoring the Bank of the River – some 2,000 trees will be planted along the urban riverfront to provide a field experiment for science-based environmental stewardship of a restored floodplain ecosystem. Faculty from at least four IUPUI schools (the Purdue School of Science and the IU Schools of Public and Environmental Affairs, Liberal Arts, and Education) will use the site for teaching and research.
Professors and students will monitor not only the trees but also
weather, ground water, other flora, and fauna.
The site along the east bank of the White River from 10th Street south
to New York Street will be restored and maintained by IUPUI students, middle
school and high school students, and volunteers.
Surveys from the 1820s identified 12 tree species including hawthorns,
honey locusts, red maples, silver maples, and sycamores that once lined natural riverbanks in Indiana. The long-term evaluation of procedures to
restore such trees to the White River floodplain should yield valuable insight
into best practices in riverfront restoration for other urban areas.
Among the local, state, and federal agencies involved are Indy Parks,
Indy Greenways, the Indiana Departments of Environmental Management and Natural
Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Two IU Herron School of Art students at IUPUI will create another
“thing of beauty,” an “aerosol art” mural, for hundreds of youth who visit The
Caring Place at 22nd and College, an outreach program run by Calvary Temple to
steer young people away from drugs, gangs, and violence. Ben Long and Dan
Thompson were formerly members of an underground group of graffiti artists who
illegally painted on bridges and overpasses.
Just as those who hope The Caring Place will turn negatives into
positives for the youth they serve, Ben and Dan have given up graffiti in favor
of aerosol art that they are commissioned to do by homeowners, businesses, and
community centers. Their 4,500-square-foot
mural for The Caring Place includes images suggested by program participants
themselves: scenes of violence offset with messages of hope.
Over the past 50 years, physicians have made remarkable progress in
restoring damaged and dysfunctional tissues through prostheses and organ
transplants. Yet, many basic research
challenges remain to
be addressed before nerve and tissue regeneration becomes a reality as a means
to restore quality of life to persons disabled by spinal cord injury or
degenerative disease.
A team of seven biologists, including four IUPUI faculty members, has
been awarded an
$879,338 grant to
establish a research center for the study of ways to regenerate human tissues
and organs. The two-year grant from the 21st Century Research and Technology
Fund of Indiana will found the Indiana University Center for Excellence in Regenerative
Biology and Medicine at IUPUI. Team
members began their research in 1999 with a two-year grant from Eli Lilly and
Company. The new grant was awarded from
a $50 million fund the state of Indiana established in 1999 to finance research
and technology that will stimulate state economic growth.
Research team members are Ellen Chernoff, IUPUI biology professor and
director of the center; Michael King of the Terre Haute Center for Medical
Education of the Indiana University School of Medicine; Anthony Mescher and
Anton Neff of the Medical Sciences Program, IU Bloomington; Simon Rhodes,
biology professor at IUPUI; Rosamund Smith, Eli Lilly research scientist and
adjunct biology professor at IUPUI; and principal investigator David L. Stocum,
biology professor and Dean of the Purdue School of Science at IUPUI.
Because of the number of cases of fetal
alcohol syndrome seen at Riley Hospital for Children, David D. Weaver, M.D.,
and other faculty in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at the IU
School of Medicine have established the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Center of
Indiana. Its purpose is to diagnose
children early and provide referrals to resources such as pediatric
psychiatrists, developmental pediatricians, speech therapists, and physical
therapists, who are key to helping children with alcohol-related
neurodevelopmental disorders.
Fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading cause of mental retardation, and
one of the most preventable forms of birth defect, yet one of every 750
children born in the United States suffers from it. The March of Dimes estimates that another 35,000 to 50,000 babies
are born each year in the U.S. with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental
disorders. They may have a lifelong
struggle with problems such as attention deficit and poor judgment, memory, and
impulse control. Fewer than 10 percent
are able to successfully live or work independently.
Even with all the information available on the risks of drinking while
pregnant, nearly 20 percent of woman continue to drink. Most at risk are women
who smoke, are single, are in college or have a degree, and live in households
with incomes greater than $50,000.
When some 25,000 visitors from other
countries converged on Indianapolis for the U.S. Grand Prix, they experienced Hoosier hospitality flavored with
international savvy, thanks to the Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication, part of the IU School
of Liberal Arts at IUPUI.
The ICIC helped train 1,500 volunteers and
employees of hotels, restaurants, and banks as part of the Indianapolis
Convention and Visitors Association's preparations for the city's first Formula
One race. The tailor-made program included a simulation game in which
participants role-played situations involving residents giving directions to
tourists.
This past summer the ICIC sponsored Indiana’s
first English for Specific Purposes Institute.
The institute focused on strategies to help employees and supervisors
overcome communication barriers and improve job performance in increasingly
multi-ethnic workplaces.
ICIC’s founding director is Professor of
English Ulla M. Connor, originally of Finland and a member of our faculty since
1984.
Under the direction of Karen Masbaum Yoder,
Ph.D., a part-time IU faculty member and well-known dental public health
consultant in the state, a new Division of Community Dentistry at the IU School
of Dentistry (IUSD) at IUPUI will both advance oral health at the community
level and offer students experience in providing dental care in diverse community
settings.
The dental school has a long history of community service, but the new Division of Community Dentistry hopes to both broaden the scope of its outreach. It will develop long-term relationships with various community agencies and equip graduates with skills that will allow them to better interact with a variety of patients. The agencies will partner with the school in its planning process and the evaluation and development of students, and the school will in turn offer the services of students and faculty. Services may include dental screenings, educational programs, and simple procedures such as dental sealants that help reduce decay in children's teeth.
Congratulations
Are in Order . . .
For this year’s Indiana
Health Industry Forum’s World of Difference Award Winners:
Steven C. Beering, retired president of Purdue University,
whose contributions included working with the IU School of Medicine on our
biomedical engineering program and establishing the Indiana Statewide Medical
Education System. Incidentally, Steve
has joined the Steering Committee for our Campaign for IUPUI as well as the
committee for the Campaign for Medicine.
Donald F. Kuratko, founder of the Ball State University
Entrepreneurship Program and executive director of the Midwest Entrepreneurial
Education Center, which has helped graduates start successful health-related
businesses in Indiana.
And our own:
Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, which aids Indiana's health care industry by
offering world-class state-of-the art treatment and research on diseases and
conditions affecting children.
George K. Stookey, Distinguished Professor of Dentistry and
three-time IU alumnus, who revolutionized preventive dentistry worldwide as
director of the "Crest stannous fluoride" project.
Sincerely,
Gerald L. Bepko
Chancellor