1. $1.5 million HRSA grant awarded to Marquette Neighborhood Health Center

The Marquette Neighborhood Health Center has been awarded a five-year, $1,477,828 grant to implement a nurse-midwife practice and develop a breast-feeding support program for underserved, urban, largely at-risk African American women. The MNHC is a nurse-managed community health center run by the College of Nursing that provides primary care to the Marquette community and vulnerable populations of mostly Medicare and Medicaid patients, and serves as a clinical education site for nursing students.

The project, “Marquette University – ‘Improving Maternal and Infant Outcomes’” was funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing. Martty Berner serves as project director.

To provide underserved, pregnant women with access to prenatal care, the MNHC will hire two certified full-time midwives by early January and a third midwife in the third year of the grant. According to 2008 data from the Wisconsin Public Health and Policy Institute, the infant mortality rate for women who have no prenatal care is approximately seven times higher than for women who have adequate prenatal care. The infant mortality rate for black infants in Milwaukee is equal to or worse than that of many developing countries, such as Botswana, Jamaica, Jordan and Bahrain, according to researchers.

The second component of the grant is to develop a breast-feeding support program to increase breast-feeding initiation and continuation rates among African American pregnant women. Since research has shown that breast-feeding is nutritionally, immunologically, psychologically, socially and economically beneficial, the expectant mothers will receive breast-feeding support and education from peer breast-feeding counselors.

“This grant will help reduce health disparities for minority women in Milwaukee and enable more women to give birth to healthy babies,” said Dr. Margaret Faut Callahan, dean of nursing. “In addition to expanding prenatal and OB/GYN services at the Marquette Neighborhood Health Center, we estimate that the midwifery practice will provide more than 100 clinical rotations for student nurse midwives over five years.”

2. $1 million grant awarded to Marquette and four other universities

Marquette University is one of the five regional universities — Marquette, Milwaukee School of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater — to form the Southeastern Wisconsin Center for Economic Development, which was recently awarded a $1 million grant for water technology and entrepreneurship. This new center will play a key role in building a regional economic ecosystem, primarily focusing on supporting commercialization efforts within the southeastern Wisconsin region.

Marquette offers several capabilities and assets to support and advance technology commercialization. Of particular interest to SWCED are:

• Kohler Center of Entrepreneurship
• Golden Angels Network
• The Water Quality Center
• The Marquette University Law School

The Kohler Center provides educational support and development programs for entrepreneurs and an active network of mentors to support and develop entrepreneurs' capacity for success. They have been engaged in this work for 10 years.

The Golden Angels Network, 65 members in all, is very interested in providing expertise and funding for startups in renewable energy. It has a track record of successful investment in renewable energy/clean tech companies and has considerable expertise. Active involvement is anticipated in matching entrepreneurs with experienced mentors who are entrepreneurs themselves and who have a track record of success as a way to aid in the development of the people who would use this program.

The Water Quality Center brings together researchers, government, private foundations, industry and others to solve problems related to lake, river and groundwater quality. These problems often involve municipal wastewater, industrial wastewater, stormwater runoff and drinking water. Research is often multidisciplinary and is performed by experts from engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, statistics and computer science and other disciplines. The center maintains a 3,700-square-foot laboratory facility that includes instrumentation (gas chromatographs, high-pressure liquid chromatographs, ICP-MS, total organic carbon analyzers, etc.) and space for testing and research.

The Marquette University Law School has several distinctive programs. Of particular interest to SWCED is the Intellectual Property and Technology Program, which is overseen by three full-time faculty, all of whom are engaged in scholarship and real-world practical experience in intellectual property and technology law, and is supported by adjunct faculty members consisting of attorneys who are experts in their field.

3. Les Aspin Center to honor Durbin and Kaberia

The Marquette University Les Aspin Center for Government will present the center’s Democracy Award to U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., the assistant majority leader in the U.S. Senate, and the center’s Founder’s Award to Kirimi P. Kaberia, Kenyan ambassador to Brazil. They will be honored at a luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Oct. 6.

“Sen. Durbin has a long record of distinguished public service, both in the State of Illinois and nationally,” said Rev. Tim O’Brien, director of the Les Aspin Center. “He has demonstrated a particular interest in access to higher education, through his ongoing support of the Pell Grant program and his sponsorship of the Dream Act.” O’Brien also cited Durbin’s commitment to the Les Aspin Center, including providing internships in his office for students studying at the center.

Durbin sits on the Senate Judiciary, Appropriations, Foreign Relations and Rules Committees. He is chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights and the Appropriations Committee's Financial Services and General Government subcommittee. He is serving his third term as U.S. senator, having been first elected in 1996.

Kaberia spent his early career as the assistant director for international programming at the center and O’Brien said he was instrumental in the founding of a training program for East and West African leaders. The program, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, has educated more than 400 government officials and nongovernmental organization executives from Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Mali and Nigeria since 1995.

4. Anonymous hotline expanded for reporting misconduct

Marquette University values its obligation to students, faculty, staff and the public to maintain the highest ethical standards. To help maintain those standards, the university has expanded the scope of EthicsPoint, the anonymous hotline for reporting activities that may constitute misconduct.

Originally established in 2006 as a resource for reporting financial misconduct, EthicsPoint can now also receive reports of misconduct about a variety of subjects, including academic integrity and ethics, athletics, human resource and personnel issues, information technology and medical, risk and safety matters, along with financial areas. The scope was expanded to implement an industry best practice that provides the university a way in which to be better informed about possible misconduct and compliance issues.

Marquette contracts with EthicsPoint to provide a secure server and toll-free hotline that are not operated by Marquette. This resource may be especially important for members of our community who feel uncomfortable discussing suspected misconduct with their colleagues or supervisors.

Individuals can report activities online or by calling 1-800-445-7068.

5. Student elected chair of March of Dimes National Youth Council

Taylor Trovillion, a senior in the Diederich College of Communication, has been named chair of the March of Dimes National Youth Council, a select group of 19 college students across the country who devote a significant amount of time to the March of Dimes on a regional and national level. Trovillion has been involved with the March of Dimes in a leadership capacity for the past six years, this being her fourth year serving on the National Youth Council.

Locally, Trovillion volunteers with the Milwaukee chapter of the March of Dimes, serves as a member on the Wisconsin board for the March of Dimes and sits on the March of Dimes Wisconsin Chapter’s Public Affairs Committee. She spends about 15 hours a week doing March of Dimes-related work.

The March of Dimes is a leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health; its purpose is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

6. 2011 directory of foundations available from libraries

Raynor Memorial Libraries have released the 2011 edition of Foundations in Wisconsin, now in its 30th year. The annual print directory and its companion subscription database assist grant-seekers in locating private, corporate and community foundations registered in Wisconsin.

The new edition includes a record-high 1,324 foundations, including 67 new foundations, with more than $6.2 billion in assets and combined annual grants of $458 million. Both formats are available for purchase, but current members of the Marquette community have free access to the online directory.

The Libraries’ Funding Information Center serves the research needs of Marquette, Milwaukee and Wisconsin grant-seekers. Orientations to the collections and to the grants process are held regularly. For more information, contact Mary Frenn, funding information librarian, at 8-1995.

7. Faculty and local artists to hold panel discussion

In conjunction with the Current Tendencies II exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art, a panel will be held to discuss connections with philosophy, theology, political science and communications Thursday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. at the Haggerty. The event is free and open to the public.

Each artist in the exhibition was paired with a Marquette faculty member who wrote a reflection of the artist’s work based on the professor’s area of expertise, creating dialogue between artist and scholar. Panelists include:

• Dr. Bonnie Brennen, Nieman professor of journalism at Marquette

• Jessica Meuninck-Ganger, artist and print and narrative forms area head in the Department of Art and Design at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

• Will Pergl, artist and associate professor of fine arts at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

• Dr. Melissa Shew, visiting associate professor of philosophy at Marquette

• Dr. Nathaniel Stern, artist and assistant professor of art and design at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

8. Cultures of China and the West to be explored at conference

The Department of Philosophy will host a conference, “Unsettled Boundaries: Philosophy, Art, and Ethics East/West: A Meeting of Chinese and Western Scholars” Oct. 12-14. The conference will explore common ground between the cultures of China and the West with a focus on their respective philosophies and arts, including traditional and contemporary views. The conference is free and open to the public.

For more information contact Dr. Curtis Carter, professor of philosophy, at 8-6962. Advanced registration is requested by email.

9. Sorby to discuss "Louisa May Alcott Wrote That?"

Raynor Memorial Libraries’ will present “Louisa May Alcott Wrote That? Alcott and the Civil War,” by Dr. Angela Sorby, associate professor of English, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Raynor Library Beaumier Suites.

The program is the second event in this fall’s Alcott series and will address Alcott’s role as a Civil War nurse, two Alcott texts with readings and music from the era, and how the war challenged Alcott’s (and the nation’s) most deeply held convictions and assumptions. The grant-funded series focuses on the woman behind Little Women.

10. PostSecret creator to speak

Marquette University Student Government will host Frank Warren, creator of PostSecret, at the Varsity Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. PostSecret is an ongoing project allowing people to anonymously send in homemade postcards describing or illustrating a secret they have never revealed before.

The postcards address a wide variety of topics, including hopes, regrets, eating disorders, drug addictions, sexual assaults, embarrassing memories and love affairs. More than 500,000 PostSecret cards have been received and read. Warren tours the country sharing these stories to create awareness about the issues addressed in the postcards and helping others realize they are not in situations alone.

Free tickets are available in the AMU Brooks Lounge, limit one per person.

11. Cortes-Velez to hold book signing and presentation

Dr. Dinorah Cortes-Velez, assistant professor of Spanish, will hold a book presentation and signing for her new novel, El arca de la memoria, Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Raynor Library Beaumier Suite A. Cortes-Velez will read from her novel and Dr. Armando Gónzalez Pérez, professor of Spanish, will provide commentary.

12. Jesuit Volunteer Corps holding information session

The Jesuit Volunteer Corps will hold an information session in conjunction with JVC Northwest on Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Lalumiere 262. Snacks will be provided.

The Jesuit Volunteer Corps is a one- to two-year commitment for men and women to work for social justice and peace, both in the United States and in developing countries. Jesuit volunteers are called to the mission of serving the poor directly, working for structural change in the United States, and accompanying people in developing countries.

The session will also provide information regarding post-graduate opportunities with JCV and JCV Northwest. Contact Alyssa Gerber, JCV recruiter, at 443-610-5042 for more information.

13. Tickets to see Craig Robinson of The Office still available

Tickets for "MUSG presents: Craig Robinson Live at the Varsity" are on sale in the AMU Brooks Lounge. Craig Robinson is best known for his roles as Darryl on The Office, Nick in Hot Tub Time Machine and Matheson in Pineapple Express. He will perform a stand-up and musical comedy show Tuesday, Oct. 4, in the Varsity Theatre. Doors open at 8 p.m. for the 9 p.m. show.

Tickets cost $10 with an MUID, with a limit of four tickets per person. Tickets are on sale to the general public for $15, with a limit of four tickets per person. Seating is limited.

14. Speaker to discuss principles of community organizing

Midnight Run is hosting Kathleen Scott, community organizer from Southeast Wisconsin Common Ground, who will talk about community organizing. Scott will share the basic principles of community organizing and provide updates about Common Ground campaigns Monday, Oct. 3, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in AMU 252.

15. Free group fitness classes offered tomorrow

The Department of Recreational Sports is offering free group fitness classes tomorrow, Sept. 30.

The classes are free to members:
• Spin at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the Rec Center
• Total body blast at 1 p.m. at the Rec Center
• Zumba at 3 p.m. at the Rec Plex
• Ab blast at 4 p.m. at the Rec Center
• Dance fitness at 4 p.m. at the Rec Plex

For more information call the group fitness office at 8-6979 or contact Shannon Bustillos, assistant director of recreational sports, at 8-7778.

16. Photo exhibit promotes nonviolence in India

A photo exhibit, Ahimsa India: Nonviolence Today, featuring the work of Leah Todd, a senior in the Diederich College of Communication, is on display in the AMU first floor lobby through tomorrow, Sept. 30, at 5 p.m. "Ahimsa" is a Hindi word meaning nonviolence; the exhibit depicts inter-religious unity and peacemaking. The exhibit is co-sponsored by the Center for Peacemaking and the Indian Student Association.