Institute Management Team Meeting
Monday, January 30, 2012
Attending: Brian Anderson, Mike Demissie, Tom Emerson, Libby Johnston, Manohar Kulkarni, Sally McConkey, Bill Shilts, Angie Wisehart
Guest: Professor Eric Neuman, Business Administration, College of Business
1. Research Teams Studies
Bill asked Professor Neuman to attend the meeting today as a result of a meeting that they had last week. Professor Neuman and Professor Ariel Avgar (School of Labor Employment and Relations) have received funding from the Campus Research Board to study work teams and work groups. They are interested in finding out why some teams are more successful than others. They want to know how people get along, how do the teams form and how do they shape performance. They also look at how different teams are structured and how they communicate. They have studied 8 smaller teams, but feel the Institute would be a great fit for a study due to the multi-disciplinary work that is done, involving complex problems. Bill and the Management Team agreed that “teams” can have many different meanings, particularly across the Surveys, but also agree that if the right type of study was done the results could be very useful. Professor Neuman indicated that the study could be conducted in several different ways. Professor Neuman will meet individually with each of the Directors to determine how to conduct a study that will be most effective for their particular Survey.
2. Activity Reporting Involving Minors
Gary reported that he received an email from Campus requiring every department to report on activities that staff are involved in that also include minors. Gary is looking at the current Campus policy and it doesn’t seem to address all issues, and is not geared towards the events that the Institute hosts, such as the Expo. Bill asked Gary to touch base with Beckman, Engineering, and ACES to find out what they’re reporting on. Gary added that each department should have an Intake Specialist. Gary believes it should probably be Sue Key, but he will look into that more.
3. 2012 Prairie Lightning Symposia
Gary reported that the Planning Committee has met and is off to a good start. Subcommittees have been created to work on specific areas of the events. Some thought needs to be given as to how to run the ½ day event at the Illini Union. This event is to raise the profile of the Institute with faculty and students on campus. There will be a limited number of talks, so thought will need to be given as to who will give talks and present posters. The committee also thought it would be a good idea for each Survey to have a display. How many talks is also something that needs to be given consideration. Bill indicated that he thought 10 talks would be given. Tom asked if the talks could be recorded for staff that are off campus. Gary indicated that this is something that the committee will work on.
4. Institute Annual Report
Libby reported that good progress was made on the Annual Report last week. Sara Olson (ISWS) is working on the layout. The stories submitted by the Directors have been shortened quite a bit, so when Libby returns drafts to them she will give them several days to review and provide feedback. She will also send them back drafts of their messages. Bill added that he needs to review his cover letter.
Bill added that he has made the decision to produce the Annual Report every other year. It takes a lot of work to produce the report, and the same information continues to show up. He would like to produce something much less elaborate every year that highlights new and current research and issues in a simple, brief format. Tom asked if the Institute brochure is still an option. Libby indicated that is still on the list of things to do.
5. ISTC Update
Manohar reported that there is going to be a documentary on WILL about plastics. Bill added that the latest edition of Earth has an article about the distribution of plastics in the ocean.
Manohar reported that he will be traveling to University of Illinois, Chicago to re-present the Governor’s Sustainability Award to UIC’s Chancellor, Paula Allen-Meares.
Manohar reported that he attended a workshop hosted by the Society of American Engineers. It was at the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Lab (CERL) with a presentation on low energy communities. Manohar also volunteered to work for an Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE) event, “MathCounts” on Saturday, February 11th.
Manohar reported that ISTC submitted a proposal to HUD on weatherization techniques.
Manohar reported that the interviews for the Associate/Assistant Director of the Emerging Technologies and Assistance Program have concluded. The search is going to remain open until February 8.
6. Natural History Survey Update
Brian reported that the article on digitizing biological collections has been picked up by the Associated Press (AP) and is showing up in several places.
Brian reported that he received the Wildlife Professional of the Year award from Pheasants Forever.
Brian reported that he and Deanna Glosser (co-authors) won the 2011 IAPD Writing Award for Best Environmental Article through the Illinois Association of Park Districts.
Brian reported that he had a meeting with University Press that went very well. They have changed their business model and have come up with a really good distribution system. They’re going to start producing eBooks for Nook and Kindle. Brian believes publishing back materials could be very profitable. This is something he’s going to explore for INHS.
7. Archaeological Survey Update
Tom reported that crews are still out in the field since the ground is not frozen.
Tom reported that he will be signing a lease to rent 6,000 sq. ft. of space on Kilarney Avenue for curation. Brian added that he attended a meeting with Lewis & Burke and it was mentioned that museum and library science grants can be used for storage and facilities. This is something that might be worth exploring.
Tom reported that an ISAS staff member will be interviewed in St. Louis for NPR.
8. Institute Collections Facility
Bill asked Gary where things stand with the planning for a collections facility. Gary indicated that the planning has not moved forward because there is no obvious source of money at the moment for the Master Planning Study.