Dan Siedell, curator of the Sheldon Art Gallery and Sculpture Gardens, leads a group of docent volunteers through training on Feb. 10. The Sheldon will reopen to the public Feb. 15 with a day full of events after being closed for nearly a year. A new heating and cooling system and vapor barrier have been installed to create a better climate for the gallery's art.
	Jan Driesbach, director of the Sheldon, prepares art on Feb. 10 for the gallery's Feb. 15 grand reopening. Photos by Richard Wright.

Sheldon set to reopen

By Jessica Kennedy, Sheldon gallery

After being closed nearly a year for renovations, the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery reopens to the public on Feb. 15.

Visitors will be greeted by an improved indoor climate because of the new heating and cooling system and vapor barrier and new gallery doors designed to control temperature and humidity. A refurbished auditorium, new security desk, new gallery walls and new welcome desk are also additions to the Sheldon gallery.

The public is welcome to attend a grand reopening from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 15, which will feature a day full of Sheldon-related programming. Two exhibitions will be on view for the museum's reopening: the new permanent collection installation and "Wild By Design: 200 Years of Innovation and Artistry in American Quilts," from UNL's International Quilt Study Center.

"It is truly exciting to be able to invite students, faculty and staff and the community back into the Sheldon," said Jan Driesbach, director of the Sheldon. "With our building repaired, galleries are refurbished and will provide handsome settings for both our magnificent American art collection and for an array of special exhibitions, such as 'Wild by Design.' We now have the ability to bring in important loans ranging from individual artworks to major exhibitions, and thus to more fully serve our audience."

The larger of the two renovation projects involved installing a vapor barrier and replacing the building's antiquated heating and cooling system. Included in the project were new air-handling equipment, ductwork and piping, and computerized environmental monitoring equipment. The second project was replacement of the massive arched east and west window walls. Thicker glass, required by code, necessitated installation of an additional bronze mullion to divide the larger upper glass areas into two panes.

"Wild By Design," at the Sheldon through March 30, is guest-curated by art historian Janet Berlo in collaboration with Patricia Crews, director, and Carolyn Ducey, curator, of the quilt center. It presents American quilts that are innovative in color, abstraction, figuration and other modes of expression. This group of quilts ranges in date from the early 1800s to the present.

Six newly reinstalled permanent collection galleries feature both longtime favorite works and new acquisitions. Their themes are "Foundations of American Art;" "Portraiture;" "Color and Gesture;" "Line and Form;" "American Impressionism;" and "New Trends in Contemporary Art." The theme offer differing philosophies on curating.

"Foundations of American Art" and "American Impressionism," curated by Driesbach, address important historical periods in American art. Although visual considerations were foremost in the installations, the paintings are presented in an approximate chronological order. For example, in "Foundations of American Art," areas address the development of still life painting from its introduction into this country to late 19th-century compositions by Martin Johnson Heade and Emil Carlsen. Similarly, the American artists who traveled to France and spent time in Giverny are first encountered in the "American Impressionism" display, with later efforts by artists such as Childe Hassam and Lilian Westcott Hale presented later in the gallery.

Sheldon's Curator Dan Siedell developed the other four galleries. He chose to address themes in American art and avoided the chronological approach in favor of eliciting formal similarities in paintings and sculptures from different periods. In the portrait installation, he contrasts the self-confident self-portrait by Charlie Friedman with the reflective qualities of Daniel Chester French's Lincoln statue. In "Line and Form," he allowed the viewer to discover the similarities in the formal structure of Edward Hopper's "Room in New York," one of the Sheldon's most familiar paintings, with Henry Fitch Taylor's adjacent cubist-inspired composition.

The "Foundations of American Art" gallery begins with one of the oldest paintings in the Sheldon's collection, "The Golden Age," by Benjamin West from the late 18th century. Landscapes such as Albert Bierstadt's "River Landscape" and portraits such as John Singer Sargent's depiction of Jean Joseph Marie Carries are included in the installation.

The permanent collection also includes 20th-century artists who focus on the use of color and line to express their emotions and their responses to the world. The works of Henri Matisse, Andre Derain and others show how they used intense colors and expressive line for this purpose.

The contemporary gallery features work that reflects the diversity of current art practices, including recent acquisitions such as Enrique Chagoya's "Modernist Cannibals," Enrique Martinez Celaya's "Thing and Deception," and photographs by Shimon Attie and Vik Muniz.

Sponsors of the Grand Reopening include UNL, the Nebraska Art Association, Lincoln Journal Star, Clark Enersen Partners, Piedmont Construction Co., KFOR Radio and Swanson Russell Associates. Additional support is provided by the Downtown Lincoln Association/Updowntowners, Archrival, Lincoln/Lancaster Convention and Visitors Bureau, Davis Design, Coffee House and Dick Blick.

Schedule The schedule of events for the Sheldon's grand reopening: The schedule of special events during the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery's grand reopening on Feb. 15. Events are at the museum: 10:30 a.m. - "Sheldon History: A slide show" by Karen Janovy, Sheldon curator of education. 11:30 a.m. - "Sheldon Docent Program," a talk by Janovy and docent program co-founder Martha Greer. 12:30 a.m. - "How good is it?" A talk about Sheldon's collection of American art by Curator Dan Siedell. 1:30 p.m. - "What did we do?" Learn about the Sheldon building and the renovation project from Piedmont Construction's Maury Halstead. 2:30 p.m. - "How did we get here?" Norman Geske, Sheldon director emeritus, will speak about how the Sheldon came to be. 3:30 p.m. - "Laying of the marble." Three generations of the Cook family have been involved with the Sheldon. Walk through the museum with Jim Cook Jr. and learn the history of the marble inside and on the Sheldon.

"I really hope that we end up with a clearer sense of the role graduate education plays in society. I will be pleased if we can contribute to that," Jim Lewis, chair, Department of Mathematics and Statistics (shown at left). Photo by Richard Wright.

Math to join doctoral reform project

By Kim Hachiya, University Communications

The UNL Department of Mathematics and Statistics is one of eight math departments from 20 leading research universities selected to participate in a national project to review and overhaul doctoral education.

The department learned earlier this year of its inclusion in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate.

The Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate is a multi-year research and action project aimed at improving doctoral education at American universities. The project is funded by the Carnegie Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies. The initiative connects 32 partner departments from four disciplines: chemistry, education, English and mathematics. The goal, as stated by the Carnegie Foundation, is to make doctoral education more purposeful and adapted to the demands and needs of the 21st century.

As a partner department, UNL's math and statistics department will analyze all aspects of its doctoral program and link specific activities to desired outcomes. The first step is to clarify departmental goals and then begin to create "design experiments" in doctoral education to better meet identified goals. The project lasts five years.

Jim Lewis, department chair, and Roger Wiegand, the department's graduate chair, will co-direct UNL's efforts.

Lewis said the department applied to participate because members were interested in improving an already-strong graduate program, in boosting national visibility of the graduate program and in participating in a national project with some of the nation's most outstanding mathematics departments. Partners in the math project are math departments at Duke University, Ohio State University, State University of New York at Stony Brook, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Southern California and UNL. In addition, Howard University, Kent State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Utah will participate as allied departments.

According to Carnegie Senior Scholar Chris Golde, the departments chosen to participate were identified as those "who have a critical eye toward the future and who are willing to move the discipline forward."

Prem Paul, UNL vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies, said UNL's selection for the initiative is evidence of the math department's excellence and reputation.

"We have much to offer the initiative in terms of critical thinking and analysis," Paul said. "The department has undergone two recent self-assessments and is poised to take the results of those assessments to the next level of visioning and planning for the future. To be able to apply the results of reflective self-study to wider philosophical issues within the discipline allows the department to be fully engaged in impacting doctoral education in mathematics at a national level."

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching believes that doctoral education is a linchpin in continued improvement at all levels of American education because doctoral education prepares the next generation of college teachers. The foundation's focus is on "stewards of the discipline," Ph.D.s who are capable of generating new knowledge, conserving important ideas within disciplines and creating new ways to teach, understand and apply those ideas. Those involved in the initiative are expected to develop new models for doctoral education, analyze their success and develop recommendations for adoption nationally.

Harvey Perlman, UNL's chancellor, agreed, saying, "Our inclusion in this important initiative reaffirms UNL's three-part mission priorities of teaching, research and service."

Lewis said he believes UNL was chosen because of its past successes in attracting women to its graduate programs. In 1998, the department became the first and only math department to receive a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in recognition of its success with women students. The department also has a high-quality program whose graduates have earned prestigious post-doctoral fellowships.

Lewis said there are several philosophical questions that mathematics doctoral programs ought to be considering. He noted about 1,200 individuals earn math Ph.D.s each year, yet there are only about 50 professorial openings at the so-called "elite" institutions. Should graduates be prepared solely to compete for these positions, or are there other "real world" opportunities, such as industrial positions or professorial positions at less elite schools that should be considered, he said.

"Our department, for example, tries to prepare people for jobs where teaching is a significant part of the mission, as opposed to research being the sole priority," he said.

A fundamental question to ask, he said, is whether a department's only focus should be to advance knowledge in the discipline, or whether its mission should also be to advance society through the discipline. The former is self-serving, Lewis believes; the latter would suggest a responsibility to promote and encourage actions beneficial to society. Examples would be the encouragement of more women and people of color to pursue mathematics.

"I truly believe that disciplines as central to education as math and English have a sense as to how their disciplines make society better," he said. Lewis noted that 20 years ago, very few women were pursuing Ph.D.s in math in his department. A concerted effort has boosted those numbers to where now about 47 percent of its doctoral students are women. And the number of men who are pursuing the degree has also increased.

"By doing the right thing, we made the department as whole better," he said.

Among the issues upon which the department will focus during its self-study are

• how to position the Ph.D. program;
• whether the curriculum should be broad based or more narrowly specialized;
• what curricular revisions might be needed;
• how to best prepare Ph.D.s for realistic jobs;
• how to prepare Ph.D.s for future academic challenges;
• how to increase the number of Ph.D.s winning tenure-track placements in research and doctoral departments;
• how to prepare Ph.D.s to be leaders in the profession; and
• how to increase recruitment and retention of under-represented minorities.

Lewis said his hoped-for outcomes are a stronger, more focused department with a clear vision of what it wishes to accomplish and a strategy for doing so. In better budget times, he said, that might include the chance to make strategic hires to bolster areas of strength.

"I really hope that we end up with a clearer sense of the role graduate education plays in society," he said. "I will be pleased if we can contribute to that."

Inclusion in the initiative does not bring significant money to the university. The Carnegie Foundation staff will help coordinate work between institutions and facilitate information exchange. The foundation will fund some travel expenses, convene annual meetings among participants and also invite scholars and others to visit universities during the process.

NU is 5th in survey of postdoctoral fellows

By Kelly Bartling, University Communications

The results are in from a magazine survey, and the University of Nebraska is now known as a good place for postdoctoral fellows.

The Scientist's Feb. 10 edition featured results from its recently conducted on-line survey, and the university ranked fifth as its "Best Places for Postdocs." According to the magazine's website, the top 10 placings in the survey, in order, are: Rutgers University; University of Miami; Princeton University; Dalhousie University; University of Nebraska; Medical College of Wisconsin; National Cancer Institute; University of California, Davis; University of Iowa; and University of Kentucky.

"Postdoctoral fellows crave collaboration: They thrive on one-on-one relationships with principal investigators, and they learn much from their peers," according to an accompanying story in the magazine. "The top institutions ranked by postdoc participants in The Scientist's "Best Places for Postdocs" survey share a culture of collaboration and a commitment to teaching."

The Scientist readers were asked to assess their postdoc experience by indicating their level of agreement with 34 positive statements about various factors including social opportunities, compensation, family issues, networking, mentoring and funding opportunities, communication, and the quality of the individual labs, department and institution. Nebraska scored highest on laboratories and mentoring, with its lowest rankings on funding.

Prem Paul, UNL vice chancellor for research and dean of graduate studies, said the administration is obviously pleased at the survey results and the positive recommendation of NU postdocs, as well as The Scientist.

"The opinions of postdoctoral fellows mean a lot to us, and it is gratifying to know that our efforts to provide valuable opportunities to researchers are seen positively by the scientific community," Paul said. "Opinions like these are important in recruiting and retaining top scientists and in continuing to build our top-notch research capabilities."

Keys to the survey's results, according to The Scientist, are collaborative opportunities.

"The top institutions in The Scientist survey have taken extra steps to boost collaboration not only among postdocs, but also among their postdocs and graduate students, as well as among postdocs and scientists from around the world," it said. Paul noted in the magazine article that "We have people come to our faculty to give seminars. We have eight external advisory board members, and five are in the National Academy of Sciences," he told The Scientist.

According to The Scientist, "not only did institutions that emphasize collaboration receive high marks from postdoctoral survey participants, but postdocs' colleagues also received positive ratings for providing training and counseling. Of 2,800 participants in the survey, 76.4 percent indicated they could talk to their peers about personal and professional problems; 65.3 percent credited their colleagues with teaching lab skills; and 60.8 percent reported that lab members help each other balance work and family responsibilities."

The overall rankings were based on the average score per institution from all respondents on all factors. More results and complete survey methodology are available on The Scientist website at <www.the-scientist.com/>.