November 5, 2009
Official Notices
Board of Regents
The Board of Regents will hold a regular meeting Thursday, Nov. 19, at 3 p.m. at UW Tower.
English language Courses
The UW International & English Language Programs (UW IELP) offers quarterly online and on-site courses designed primarily for non-native speakers of English.
Convenient online courses are available for UW employees who want to improve their sentence-level grammar and vocabulary in academic, business or technical writing. All of the courses have online interactive exercises and short assignments to be completed each week. Instructors respond to assignments within two business days, giving detailed one-on-one feedback.
Evening on-site courses focus on improving conversational skills and preparation for the iBT TOEFL. There are also daytime courses in reading, writing, grammar, speaking, listening, and vocabulary and idioms.
UW IELP customizes courses in English for the Workplace. Depending on the needs of your group, courses can be designed for such areas as pronunciation and fluency, assisting clients by telephone, presentation skills and the language of meetings, e-mail communication, and job-specific vocabulary and idioms.
For more information, call 206-543-6242 or e-mail uwelp@u.washington.edu.
Study volunteers Needed
WHAT: Are you stressed? Do you have a family history of breast cancer?
Health SMART is a study is being conducted by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to see how stress-reduction workshops can help women with a family history of breast cancer manage their everyday stresses and cancer-risk concerns. The goal of the study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, is to see whether various stress-management and coping techniques reduce stress and improve immune function.
Specifically, the study will teach women scientifically proven stress-management techniques (such as mindfulness meditation and guided imagery) and coping strategies (such as anger management and assertiveness training) and will provide information on health behaviors. All workshops are conducted in a supportive group setting with other women who have a family history of breast cancer. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires, give blood and saliva samples, and receive two hepatitis-A vaccinations. Some risks involved in participating in the study include the possibility of discomfort and a bruise at the blood draw site, the possibility of distress from discussing one’s breast cancer risk in a group setting, brief pain at the hepatitis-A vaccination injection site and, in rare cases, an allergic reaction to the vaccine. There is no charge to participate.
All participants will receive a set of CDs with relaxation exercises, a tote bag and a workbook filled with stress-management techniques taught in the classes.
WHO: The study aims to recruit 96 Seattle-area women, age 18 to 60, who are willing to participate in 10 two-hour workshops.
WHERE: All study activities will take place on the Hutchinson Center campus in the Prevention Center, which is located in the Robert M. Arnold Building, 1212 Aloha St., Seattle.
CONTACT: For more information about the Health SMART Study, please visit http://www.fhcrc.org/science/phs/health_smart/, call the study information line at 206-667-2448 or e-mail healthsmart@fhcrc.org.
Research funding available
The Institute for Ethnic Studies in the United States (IESUS) invites applications from University of Washington faculty members who are engaged in or are beginning projects on ethnic issues in the United States. The deadline for applications is November 16. For more information on application guidelines, please see the IESUS Web site or direct questions to Kelly Koo at 206-616-6610 or via e-mail at iesus@u.washington.edu.
Exchange scholars with University of Ljubljana sought
The University of Washington-University of Ljubljana Exchange Program invites applications from faculty and senior graduate students to be an academic visitor to the University of Ljubljana, in Slovenia, during the 2010 calendar year.
Visitors will give some lectures and will interact with Slovene faculty and students in their field of study. The visit must be completed by the end of 2010. The program has funds to support travel to Slovenia, and the host institution will pay living expenses while there. Two visitors, each staying for a two-week period, can be supported.
Applicants should submit their CV and a letter explaining the purpose and academic value of the proposed visit. Students should also provide appropriate letters of support from their departments. In addition, if the applicant has established any contacts with academics at the University of Ljubljana, the application should mention this.
Applicants from previous years who were not selected need only indicate their continued interest in applying this year in a brief e-mail to Professor Aurel Bulgac. Deadline for applications is Friday, Nov. 20. Applications, and all questions concerning the program, should be addressed to: Professor Aurel Bulgac, Department of Physics, P.O. Box 351560; bulgac@u.washington.edu.
Exchange Program to Bergen, Norway: Call for Applications
The University of Washington-University of Bergen Exchange Program now in its 30th year announces its annual competition for visiting professor appointments at the University of Bergen, Norway, for a minimum term of one quarter. Appointments can also be arranged at the University of Trondheim (NTNU).
Visiting professors and advanced graduate students receive travel expenses and access to subsidized housing. Those selected continue to receive their UW salary while in residence in Bergen.
Applications from all academic fields are encouraged, and can be accessed via the Dept of Scandinavian Studies Web site. Deadline: Dec. 15. For more information contact Christine Ingebritsen, Chair, UW-UBergen Exchange Program, ingie@uw.edu or 206-543-0675.
