News of the University
More Preservatives
The Marriott Library’s Preservation Department gets an extreme makeover of its own.
by Randy Harward
Libraries collect and preserve everything from fresh pressings of new
books to rare first-editions and ancient tomes—sometimes even historical
artifacts. These treasures require the precise and loving touch of a
crack preservation department, armed with the space and tools to do
the job right. And at last, the highly skilled staff of the University
of Utah’s Marriott Library Preservation Department are delighted to
see the department itself receive a sorely needed update.
Still located on the 5th floor, in the southwest corner of the building, the Preservation Department is now expanded and augmented. Associate Librarian Randy Silverman notes that seven floor-to-ceiling panels of glass (installed as part of the library’s massive rehabilitation project, scheduled for completion next year) now ensure proper lighting for more exacting tasks like fine mending and color matching. “I’s hard to do that with artificial light,” says Silverman, noting that the panel setup allows natural sunlight into most of the workspace. In addition, each workstation features new custom work benches for the department’s full-time and hourly employees.
The shop is “basically divided” according to the department’s three main functions: preparation for library binding (sorting theses and journals for outsourced binding), repair of the general collection, and conservation of the special collection, which includes paper and book conservation. Many of the improvements are welcomed because they not only make a job easier, but also safer. The paper conservation side has a new custom sink and a fume hood that’s actually vented to the outside, explains Silverman, adding, “We now have a dirty room, which is an opportunity to confine projects that create a lot of dust or that have mold.”
Silverman hopes to unveil the new department in a year, hopefully coinciding
with the return of two of the University’s great relics: the Malby Globes,
two large hand-watercolored orbs (one mapping the stars, the other the
Earth)-the largest produced in England during the 19th century-which
were donated to the University of Deseret (the original name of the
U of U) in 1852. Currently, the globes sit crated and ready to ship
to Massachusetts for further restoration. “We hope to get them back
in time for the opening of the new building,” says Silverman. “The idea
is that they’ll flank a doorway that deals with international studies,
or something like that.” For more on the Preservation Department, see
“Caring for the Collections,” Continuum, Summer 2004, at www.alumni.utah.edu/continuum/summer04/preservations.htm.
—by Randy Harward
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Campus Notebook
Brady Allred, center, with the Gardners.
$1.25 Million Gift Creates Chair in Choral Studies
The School of Music has a newly endowed chair in choral studies, thanks to a generous gift from Kem BA’67 JD’70 and Carolyn BS’69 Gardner. Brady Allred, director of choral studies, is the first holder of the new chair, named the Ellen Neilson Barnes Presidential Endowed Chair for Choral Studies. The Gardners’ gift recognizes the excellence of the choral studies program in the School of Music, which has gained international recognition under Allred’s direction.
New Hope for Those with Multiple Myeloma
A new program at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah may offer patients with multiple myeloma, an often deadly bone marrow cancer, a chance to live 10 or more years following diagnosis of the disease. Patients with multiple myeloma rarely live more than three years after diagnosis if treated with conventional chemotherapy or even some of the newer drug therapies. The new Utah Blood and Marrow Transplant and Myeloma Program, headed by Guido Tricot, calls for more aggressive, repeated treatments. For more information, go to the Myeloma Program’s Web site: http://www.fightmyeloma.org.
Rosenblatt Prize Celebrates 25 Years
Every year, the University honors a faculty member with the U’s most prestigious award—the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence. The $40,000 gift is presented to a faculty member who displays excellence in teaching, research, and administrative efforts. The Rosenblatt endowment, from which the prize money is drawn, was established in 1983 by the Joseph JD’26 and Evelyn Ed’29 Rosenblatt family to honor the civic leadership and generosity of Joseph’s parents, Nathan and Tillie Rosenblatt, who immigrated from Russia to Utah in the late 19th century. On April 25, the 2008 award will be presented at a 25th anniversary celebration honoring the Rosenblatt family and past recipients of the award. Nobel Laureate Mario Capecchi, who received the Rosenblatt Prize in 1998, will be the evening’s special guest.
Jack Brittain (far right), dean of the business school, with Robert and Katharine Garff.
Garff Family Donates $3 Million to David Eccles School of Business
The David Eccles School of Business recently received a $3 million gift from the Ken Garff Automotive Group. The gift will provide funds to remodel the Kendall D. Garff Building in the David Eccles School building complex. Built in 1964, the building currently houses faculty offices and department suites. The remodeling project includes updating existing office space to incorporate a state-of-the-art learning environment and technology improvements, and renaming the facility the Ken Garff Building to represent the family’s successful enterprise. The Garff family has supported the School for over four decades, starting with the first donation from Kendall Garff BA’32 to establish a faculty chair.
Law Faculty to Train Afghan Prosecutors About 20 faculty members from the U’s S.J. Quinney College of Law will participate in a program to train Afghan prosecutors, helping the Afghan people develop fair, equitable, and effective legal institutions and processes. The hands-on technical and practical training program—named the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan—is a collaboration between the Afghan Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Department of State, and the Global Justice Project at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. The long-term objective of the program is to provide instructional methods that will help to reach some 2,000 prosecutors in professional training programs throughout Afghanistan.
Interim VP for Research Appointed
Thomas N. Parks has been appointed interim vice president for research at the University. Parks is currently chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, and executive director of The Brain Institute at the University of Utah. He will continue to direct The Brain Institute; Monica Vetter, a professor of neurobiology and anatomy, will serve as interim chair of that department. Parks has been on the faculty in the University’s School of Medicine since 1978. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of California, Irvine, and holds a doctorate from Yale University.
New International MIAGE Degree
The University of Utah’s College of Social and Behavioral Science
has created a new master’s of science in international affairs
and global enterprise (MIAGE) degree designed to foster an understanding
of international issues. For more information, visit www.miage.utah.edu.
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In Memoriam
Andree Barnett MA’48 PhD’56, 90, former U of U professor and associate dean of the College of Humanities
Wallace Sands Brooke, 93, former chairman of the University of Utah Health Sciences Council who helped establish a four-year medical school
at the U
E. Keith Eddington BA’47 MFA’50, 84, former U of U instructor of illustration, graphic design, figure drawing, and painting
Lorna Higgs Matheson ex’56, 73;
see page 38 for a tribute
Gordon B. Hinckley BA’32 (along with a 1992 honorary doctorate), 97, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for whose contributions to education the U of U established a namesake endowment in British Studies (a longer tribute is planned for the Summer 2008 issue)
Gordon J. Miller BA’37, 96, former U of U controller and professor of accounting
Thomas D. Potter, 78, a research professor emeritus with the U of U Department of Meteorology
Merle A. Sande, 68, former chair
of the U’s Department of Medicine
and noted AIDS researcher; for
more on Sande’s research, see the Winter 2004-05 issue of Continuum
at www.continuum.utah.edu
James LeVoy Sorenson ex’48, 86, inventor, philanthropist, and founding donor of the University Venture Fund
Sidney Velick, 94, former U of U Biochemistry Department chair who helped create a Utah-based mental-health advocacy group
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For the third year in a row, the Financial Times has ranked the David Eccles School of Business Executive MBA program among the top programs in the world. According to the report, the U’s Executive MBA program was ranked #35 in the United States and #74 in the world. Faculty research output at DESB was ranked #24 in the U.S. 
