University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special University Letter Archive Collections 8-20-2004 Volume 41, Number 44: August 20, 2004 University of North Dakota Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/u-letter Recommended Citation University of North Dakota, "Volume 41, Number 44: August 20, 2004" (2004). University Letter Archive. 322. https://commons.und.edu/u-letter/322 This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in University Letter Archive by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. University Letter - August 20, 2004 Home Submit Article Search Subscribe Unsubscribe ISSUE: Volume 41, Number 44: August 20, 2004 TOP STORIES • Grant will expand recruiting of American Indian nursing students • Please return harassment training form • Physician assistant program receives grant to recruit American Indians • Web standards approved EVENTS TO NOTE • Choral auditions set for Aug. 22-26 • Women’s Center hosts open house • Comedian Martin Short will kick off Betty Engelstad Sioux Center grand opening events • Engelstad Arena lists events • Involvement Expo set for Aug. 25 • Apartment center hosts picnic and resource fair • Dean's hour lecture focuses on Medicare • Water tour will explore progress in Grand Forks • Air Force ROTC will hold open house • North Dakota-made movie premieres Aug. 27 • Bush Artist Fellows program sets informational meetings • Space studies will host star parties • Business office will move to Hyslop for fee payment • Lecture will discuss Sitting Bull photos • Symphony holds auditions • U2 workshops listed for Sept. 7-17 • Ticket prices announced for Engelstad Open • Participation sought in Arts and Humanities Summit • Museum will host Lewis & Clark exhibition ANNOUNCEMENTS • State Board discusses campus collaboration • New anti-discrimination posters available • Death noted of student Michael Gabrielson • Memorial Union lists operating hours • Departments should destroy credit card offers • Web server has been upgraded • Free anti-virus software available • Campus ministry worship schedules listed • 35mm cameras sought • Campus walking trail maps available • Denim Day is last Wednesday of month TOP STORIES https://apps.und.edu/uletterarchive/uletterOld/08202004.html[7/26/2019 4:02:42 PM] University Letter - August 20, 2004 Grant will expand recruiting of American Indian nursing students The University has received a three-year, $566,736 grant to bolster efforts to recruit American Indian students into nursing, funded through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Bureau of Health Professionals Nursing Workforce Diversity program. “This new grant builds on and extends the reach of our already successful Recruitment and Retention of American Indians into Nursing program,” said UND President Charles Kupchella. “Through our RAIN program, we have trained more than 100 American Indian nurses, the vast majority of whom have gone back to the reservations.” But there is more work to be done, said Kupchella. “Nationally, we face a nursing shortage, and the outlook is even bleaker on the reservations. This new grant will help us recruit and better prepare more American Indian nursing students at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels.” Helen Melland, interim dean of nursing, said North Dakota has about 8,500 licensed registered nurses, of which fewer than 120 or 1.4 percent are American Indian, although about 5 percent of the state’s population is American Indian. “This population faces significant health challenges,” said Melland. “For example, approximately 43 percent have diabetes, and about 40 percent of pregnant American Indian women smoke during pregnancy. The American Indian population has an infant mortality rate that is substantially higher than that of the majority of the white population with 15.4 deaths per 1,000 live births compared to 8.3 per 1,000. The UND College of Nursing is committed to doing what it can to help change these trends, and that is why the RAIN program and this new grant are so important.” Operated through the RAIN program, the new grant funds some of UND’s time-honored recruiting and retention activities, such as travel to reservations to conduct recruiting, providing intensive academic and financial aid advising opportunities, and providing a “family” environment that helps put students at ease. The grant funds new aspects as well, according to Deb Wilson, who directs UND’s RAIN program. They are: a week-long pre-semester orientation; hiring a part-time science mentor; providing travel funds for students; a greater focus on recruiting master’s and doctoral (particularly new, since UND has a new doctoral program in nursing) students, as well as undergraduate students. Wilson said UND expects about 40 American Indian students to be admitted to the program over the three-year period. Of those, 30 will be undergraduate students, six will be master’s students, and three will enter the doctoral program. “In my opinion, the awarding of this grant once again indicates the trust and faith federal agencies have in UND administering programs designed to assist American Indian tribes,” said Leigh Jeanotte, director of American Indian Student Services. “UND currently administers 26 American Indian programs and enrolls 450 American Indian students from throughout the United States. UND is fast becoming recognized as a leader nationally in promoting quality educational opportunities for Indian people.” Please return harassment training form This is a reminder to those part-time UND employees who received in March 2004 a set of training documents covering issues of harassment. Along with these documents was a harassment training acknowledgment statement. The acknowledgement was to be signed and returned to the Affirmative Action Office by April 15. If you have not already returned it, please do so immediately. Thank you. – Charles Kupchella, President. Physician assistant program receives grant to recruit American Indians The physician assistant (PA) program at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences has been awarded a grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to recruit American Indian students to their program and to provide culturally-sensitive training to better care for American Indians. https://apps.und.edu/uletterarchive/uletterOld/08202004.html[7/26/2019 4:02:42 PM] University Letter - August 20, 2004 HRSA, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded the PA program $400,000 over the next three years to help better serve rural and underserved communities. One objective of the grant is to increase the number of American Indian students entering the PA program. Initially this will focus on recruiting in the four-state region, but will move to a national recruiting campaign by the third year. “Our aim is to train PAs for rural and underserved areas,” said Mary Ann Laxen, director of the PA program. The School of Medicine and Health Sciences has a long history of training Native Americans to bring health care back to their people and this program will add to that.” The second objective of the grant is to prepare all PA students to be more culturally sensitive. The program will develop a geriatric clerkship in clinics that serve American Indians in North Dakota. This will include training elders to be “teaching patients” for the students. Dr. Monica Mayer at the Trinity Community Clinic in New Town, and a clinical instructor of family medicine at the UND medical school, has agreed to help train PA students. “Geriatric care is growing in the U.S. as the baby-boom generation ages, and that includes Native Americans,” said Laxen. “It is important that PAs, and all health care personnel, know how to properly interview and provide medical care for them.” Once the UND program establishes a training system for students, they hope to share it with other PA programs and with the faculty of other training programs at UND. — School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Web standards approved As part of a continuing effort to establish a consistent identity for the University and increase access for people with disabilities, web standards have been approved. Point your browser to www.und.edu/template to view the requirements, which will ensure that UND web sites promote a sense of University identity and reflect the quality of UND. They also require compliance with federal and state laws regarding accessibility for people with disabilities. The Internet has become a primary source of information. In fact, it’s now the second-most important determinant of whether a student will choose an institution (first remains a campus visit). We know, too, that it is an important source of information for those who are seeking information about UND for a variety of reasons. Accreditation teams, prospective employees, state and federal officials, prospective donors, external granting agencies, and the national news media are but a few examples. The UND home page alone receives around 600,000 “hits” each month, while the entire UND site receives more than 28.5 million. This means that people are finding UND sites through search engines and external links. Web standards will ensure that users know they’re on a UND site and allow consistent navigation. The standards, developed after many months of consultation with various individuals and entities, including the University Technology Council and the Council of Deans, were approved by the President’s Cabinet on May 10. It is understood that full implementation may take some time, so we’ve set a deadline of July 1, 2005, for the sites specified in the policy statement to come into compliance. However, I encourage you to give this matter your earliest attention. Jan Orvik of the Office of University Relations has been appointed the University’s Web Standards compliance officer.