Get the BEST training around
The human resources department at the IU School of Medicine is offering a training series called Basic Essentials of Supervision Training, or B.E.S.T., for all IUPUI faculty and staff beginning April 3. This series is designed to provide supervisors with information and resources to get accustomed to the IU culture of supervising employees.
Aspiring, new and seasoned supervisors will be provided the opportunity to learn from HR experts within the IU School of Medicine and the IU School of Dentistry. The training sessions offer experiential learning through case studies, focus groups and networking with colleagues on campus.
This training is offered free of charge and runs through July 17. Registered participants have access to webinars associated with each session, so hurry and register now!
Geese on campus require caution
Tread with care around campus, because geese have discovered numerous areas where they like to build nests. When the geese have eggs or goslings, they become extremely protective of the area around the nests. When humans get too close to the nest, they are often attacked, which can lead to injuries.
The Campus Facility Services Grounds Department personnel are trying to keep geese from building nests around buildings, and they need your help. Some people want to feed the geese, but this is a bad practice for many reasons. DO NOT FEED THE GEESE. If you see others feeding them, please inform them that they should not feed them. It is IUPUI’s practice to not feed any wild birds or animals on campus.
The department may be using other forms of geese deterrents, such as orange plastic snow fence, in known nesting areas to discourage nesting. Please do not disturb these deterrents. The CFS Grounds Department has a federal permit to remove the eggs and nests. If you encounter problems with geese, contact the CFS Trouble Line at 317-278-1900.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources provides this advice:
“The Canada goose’s natural diet includes seeds, plants and insects, and human food is not a healthy substitute. Hand feeding encourages the geese to stay in one place, and it also causes them to grow accustomed to human interaction. Not only is this dangerous to the geese, but it could result in more aggressive and harmful behavior by the geese toward humans.”
New security measures at Riley Hospital for Children
New safety and security measures at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health have begun and may affect how faculty, students and visitors enter and exit the hospital. Effective March 12, Riley began using manned metal detectors with video monitoring in lobbies at the Simon Family Tower and Riley Outpatient Center. On March 19, the hospital restricted access by locking the Atrium Lobby entrance and requiring a badge to enter. Safety enhancements also include adding more police staffing throughout the hospital. New badge readers at certain locations will be added throughout the year to provide secure access for authorized staff.
In an email distributed to hospital leadership, Riley at IU Health leaders stated: “One of our top priorities at Riley is the safety and security of our patients, families, visitors and team members. While we strive to provide the safest possible environment for all who walk through Riley’s doors, there is always room for improvement.”
The Divine Nine
The IUPUI Office of Community Engagement, Multicultural Center, and Campus Center and Student Experiences are bringing the two-act play “The Divine Nine” to the Campus Center Theater this weekend. The show centers around the nine historically black Greek-letter organizations that comprise the National Pan-Hellenic Council. In this production, students are confronted with a dilemma: The university is offering only seven fraternity/sorority houses to the Divine Nine, and the organizations have to compete to see who wins and who loses.
“The Divine Nine” premiered in October 2016 at the IU Neal-Marshall Alumni Club in Bloomington. Khalilah Shabazz, director of the Multicultural Center at IUPUI, saw the production and felt the show had a strong message that needed to be heard in Indianapolis.
“As IUPUI NPHC organizations continue to grow at IUPUI, I saw the play as an incredible testament to the power of working together for a unified purpose. These organizations can play a vital role in the retention and support of underrepresented students on campus and help to build community,” Shabazz said. “I felt that through the play, IUPUI students could envision their future as NPHC organizations and be inspired by the possibilities.”
The play will be presented in two free performances Friday, March 23, and Monday, March 26, at 6 p.m. each night.
Grand Challenge workshop deadline extended
Last month, IU released the Request for Phase 2 Proposals for “Responding to the Addictions Crisis,” IU’s third Grand Challenge initiative. To encourage the development of innovative, cross-disciplinary, collaborative Phase 2 projects, IU’s Office of the Vice President for Research has hired KnowInnovation to lead an Ideas Lab, an intensive, three-day residential workshop in which faculty from diverse disciplines will work with one another and with community partners to find new solutions to the addictions crisis.
The Ideas Lab will take place May 14-16 in New Harmony, Indiana, with accommodations and meals provided for participants. IU faculty members and researchers from all campuses are eligible to apply. The deadline to apply has been extended to March 26. Participation is limited to 35 to 40.
While most Phase 2 proposals will be developed through more-traditional processes, the Ideas Lab format is intended to spark novel and interdisciplinary projects that would be difficult to imagine outside of such an intensive and focused setting. During the Ideas Lab, participants will scope the problem and its component parts in new ways and begin to build unique teams that will develop strategies that can only come from the interplay of ideas that begins at the Ideas Lab. Multiple project proposals may come out of the Ideas Lab process; those that are not selected for Phase 2 funding through the IU Grand Challenges program will be well-positioned to secure external funding from federal agency, philanthropic or corporate funders.
