KUED was recognized with several 2007 UBEE awards from the Utah Broadcaster’s Association. In the Documentary category, KUED swept all awards, including Gold for Aftermath of Meth, Silver for Maynard Dixon, and Silver for Utah World War Two Stories/Pacific. Utah NOW: Education Vouchers and Reform received a Gold Award for Public Affairs Program, and Utah NOW: Viewing “The Mormons” received a Silver Award in Public Affairs.

KUER’s news reporters were also honored by the Utah Broadcasters Association with several 2007 UBEE awards. Jenny Brundin won Gold for Best Feature Story or Program (“From Fries to Fuel”) and Silver in four other categories. Tasha Cook won Gold for Best News Reporting in a Series (“2007 Sundance Sound Series”) and Silver in two other categories. Dan Bammes won Gold for Best Single Event News Coverage (“Nuclear Fuel Processing”) as well as two Silvers, one shared with Doug Fabrizio BA’88 and Elaine Clark MA’98 for Best Feature Story or Program (“Convicting Polygamy”).

University of Utah professors Hank Liese and Paisley Rekdal are among the 19 artists awarded 2007 individual artist grants from the Utah Arts Council and whose work will be featured in the 2007 Individual Artist Showcase, an exhibition at the Rio Gallery at the Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City. Liese is an associate professor and director of doctoral studies in the College of Social Work. Rekdal is an assistant professor in the Department of English. The Showcase at Rio Gallery, 300 S Rio Grande Street, opens Friday, December 7, with a special public reception featuring performances by grant awardees from 6 to 9 p.m. The exhibition will be open to the public for free until January 5, 2008.

Erica Richardson, a 25-year-old University of Utah theater student, has won Kurt Bestor’s statewide “Best Singer Search” and will join the composer-performer on stage during his annual Christmas concerts the first week of December in Salt Lake City. Richardson beat out more than 550 other hopefuls who sang for Bestor at a series of auditions around Utah during November. She will sing a Bestor-arranged holiday tune at his Abravanel Hall concerts Dec. 5-8 and later travel to Los Angeles to meet with recording-industry executives. Richardson sang a gospel song, "Again,” during her Nov. 14 audition at The Gateway in Salt Lake City. She has been taking voice lessons for the past five years.

Susan J. Roberts has been named the University of Utah Hospital’s new chaplain. Roberts, who previously was chaplain at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, Calif., wants to develop a volunteer chaplaincy corps, expand monthly interfaith lunches with clergy who minister in the hospital, and more actively support and help hospital staff, who often work in stressful and emotional situations with patients and families. Roberts holds a master’s in divinity from California State University as well as a bachelor’s in infant/toddler development and child life

Brenda Case Scheer, dean at the University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning, received a 2007 Pathfinder Award at the 31st Annual Women & Business Conference and Athena Award Luncheon in November. Presented by the Salt Lake Chamber, the Pathfinder Awards are given to community leaders who demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in business, and who champion women in leadership roles and in the community. Scheer is a nationally recognized authority on urban design and the development of cities. She won the prestigious Chicago Institute of Architecture and Urbanism Prize for her writing, and she was a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In addition to her role at the U of U, she is partner in Scheer & Scheer, Inc., which specializes in designing urban and mixed-use projects. Scheer was a key participant and designer for the Salt Lake Chamber’s Downtown Rising project.

Four of the 10 projects designed by students in the Spring 2007 Sustainability Practicum class at the U were selected for use in the campus’s new Sutton Building, under construction near the Physics Building on 100 South, which will house the geology and geophysics programs: a stormwater capture system, a xeriscaped rooftop and perimeter, tubular skylights, and a real-time energy and water monitoring system. Students in the course work with architects, construction managers, campus staff and faculty members to analyze and design possible enhancements to make campus buildings more environmentally friendly. A $100,000 donation financed the start-up of implementing the four proposals chosen from Spring 2007, and an additional $50,000 is being raised to complete them. This coming spring, 30 new students will develop plans for remodeling the Turpin Building and constructing a steam-powered co-generator on campus. The program is open to all undergraduate and graduate students. Craig Forster, interim director of the U’s Office of Sustainability, says the program gives students "a fantastic opportunity for real-world experience in creating sustainable design.”

The March of Dimes has chosen University Hospital to implement a national program for parents whose babies are born critically ill and must stay in the newborn intensive care unit. Starting Jan. 1, the hospital will implement the March of Dimes Family Support program, which will augment services already offered to parents and emphasize helping Spanish-speaking parents. All parents of NICU babies—the University Hospital treats about 600 a year—will receive a special baby book, a booklet on parenting, and a guide to understanding NICU equipment and lingo. A paid employee will be on staff to help parents navigate the often-scary circumstances surrounding their children. March of Dimes aims to include Family Support in at least one hospital in every state.

Three University of Utah faculty members are among 471 researchers who have been elevated to the rank of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the nation’s largest general science society. The U faculty members are: Barbara J. Graves, professor of oncological sciences at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, for distinguished contributions to our understanding of what are known as DNA-binding transcription factors; John Mauger, professor and dean of the College of Pharmacy, for leadership in academic pharmacy and in world-wide health care via his contributions to drug standards for medicines used to treat neglected diseases; and Dennis H. O’Rourke, professor of anthropology, for distinguished contributions to physical anthropology, particularly for the development of methodology for ancient DNA analyses and its application to the peopling of the Americas.