1. Mission Week features Nobel Prize winner

Free tickets for the Mission Week keynote address by Dr. Shirin Ebadi are available in Brooks Lounge, AMU. Ebadi, the first Muslim woman and first Iranian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, will present “Human Rights and the Consequences of Faith,” Thursday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m. There is a limit of two tickets per Marquette ID for Ebadi’s address. Beginning Jan. 27, remaining tickets will be made available to the general public.

The schedule for this year’s Mission Week, Feb. 1-8, “iAct: Consequences of Faith,” is available online.

In addition to Ebadi’s keynote address, other highlights will include:
• All-University Mass, Sunday, Feb. 1, 4 p.m., Gesu Church — Rev. Douglas Leonhardt, S.J., associate director of the Office of Mission and Identity, will serve as the presider and homilist.

• William R. Burleigh Media Ethics Lecture, Feb. 4, 4 p.m., Monaghan Ballroom, AMU — “‘Media Ethics’ Is Not A Contradiction,” with Clarence Page, a Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist from the Chicago Tribune.

• WiiAct: Leading with Purpose: The Academic Leadership Summit, Feb. 8, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., AMU — students explore their individual gifts and talents and how they can use their strengths to address critical needs in the community. Register online.

2. Open forum with arts and sciences dean candidate cancelled

The open forum with Dr. Marietta Morrissey, professor of sociology at the University of Toledo, that had been scheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 21, has been cancelled. Morrissey has withdrawn her candidacy for the A&S deanship.

Dr. Tim Machan, professor of English at Marquette, follows Dr. Brian Blake, associate professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science and director of graduate studies at Georgetown University, as the next dean finalist candidate to interview. The open forum for Machan will be held Jan. 28 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in AMU ballroom B. The forum with Blake was held Jan. 14. The audio from his forums is available online.

More biographical information about the candidates is available at https://www.marquette.edu/klinglerdean/candidates.shtml.

3. 2009-10 tuition announced

Marquette University has announced its lowest undergraduate tuition increase, on average, in 30 years. Annual undergraduate tuition for 2009-10, as announced in letters sent to students and families this week, will increase less than $1,000 — to $28,680.

The letter from Marquette President Robert A. Wild, S.J., provides background about the university’s financial status. Specifically it states:
• Marquette is financially stable with adequate cash reserves, conservative budgeting and investment policies, and contingency plans in place.

• We have done and will continue to do everything possible to minimize tuition increases by containing costs and identifying opportunities for greater efficiency.

• We are committed to working with our students and their families facing financial difficulties on solutions that make their continued enrollment possible.

In the letter, Father Wild notes that the university is allocating an additional $4 million in its fiscal year 2010 budget for student financial aid. More than 85 percent of Marquette students receive financial aid.

The new 2009-10 rate guide in posted on the bursar’s Web site.

4. Marquette-based company advances research on schizophrenia

Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Research Foundation have announced the completion of a license agreement with Promentis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Milwaukee-based company started by two Marquette faculty members. Promentis’ aim is to develop and commercialize chemical compounds that have shown promise as a novel treatment for schizophrenia and other central nervous system conditions.

Dr. David Baker, assistant professor of biomedical sciences, and Dr. John Mantsch, associate professor of biomedical sciences, are the founders of Promentis and serve on the company’s board of directors. Both will serve as consultants to Promentis, along with Dr. James Cook, a UWM chemist, and Dr. Douglas Lobner, associate professor of biomedical sciences at Marquette. Promentis, a start-up pharmaceutical company, is led by former executives of Schwarz Pharma, Inc., a pharmaceutical company with its U.S. headquarters in Mequon that was sold to Belgian-based UCB in 2006.

The licensing agreement will enable the principal investigators to continue their research into new potential treatments for schizophrenia and other central nervous system conditions. Specifically, the research team in Marquette's College of Health Sciences led by Baker is focused on a mechanism related to the neurotransmitter glutamate released in the brain. Cook’s team will continue to design and synthesize chemical compounds suited to this mechanism for further testing. The testing in Baker’s lab at Marquette will include physiological and cognitive effects.

Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling disease of the brain. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that approximately 1 percent of the population over the age of 18 has schizophrenia — approximately 51 million people worldwide.

Dr. William Weiner, vice provost for research and dean of Marquette’s Graduate School, said the licensing agreement was the third example of technology commercialization applications as a result of Marquette faculty research. GasDay™ in the university’s College of Engineering is a set of advanced software tools and expert analytical services used by utility companies nationwide to predict approximately 20 percent of the country’s natural gas demand. The university last year licensed an imaging probe developed by Dr. Daniel Sem, assistant professor of chemistry, to an unnamed licensee.

5. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performing on campus

The Diederich College of Communication, the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and Gesu Church will present a free concert by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lucas Richman on Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Gesu Church. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The Marquette University Chorus will perform around 7 p.m.

6. Campus Ministry hosting retreat for first-year students

All first-year students are invited to Campus Ministry’s First Year Experience Retreat Feb. 6-7. The retreat offers students the opportunity to meet other students seeking to make faith a priority in their lives.

The retreat cost is $30. Register online. The registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 30. Space is limited.

For more information, contact Craig Zimmer, assistant director of Campus Ministry, at 8-0522.

7. Tickets now available for Brew City Stomp Down

Tickets for the Brew City Stomp Down step show competition are now available in Brooks Lounge, AMU. The step show, an annual event of rhythmic stepping and movements hosted by Marquette’s National Pan-Hellenic Council, will take place Saturday, Feb. 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Varsity Theatre. A party will follow the event in Marquette Place, AMU.

Step show and party combination tickets are $15, and show tickets are $12. Contact Danielle Hunter or Dasmond McMillan for more information.

8. Events to celebrate Islam awareness celebration

The Muslim Student Association and the Office of Student Development Intercultural Programs are hosting a series of Islam Awareness Celebration events through the end of January.

Events include:

• Jan. 20, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. — “Panel Discussion: Islam and Culture,” Raynor Beaumier Suites B and C.

• Jan. 22, noon to 1 p.m. — “Real People, Real Stories: Experiences of a Muslim Convert,” AMU 163.

• Jan. 23, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. — “Muslims Can Be Funny, Too! Standup Performance by Comedian Aman Ali,” Weasler Auditorium.

• Jan. 25, 4 p.m. — visit to Islamic Society of Milwaukee, RSVP by calling 8-7205.

• Jan. 28, noon — “Hijab Wrapping Workshop,” Office of International Education, AMU 407.

• Jan. 31 — Community Service Day. E-mail for more information.

9. Letter-writing event for Darfur is Wednesday

The Darfur Action Coalition invites students to Lalumiere 380 on Wednesday, Jan. 21, to write letters to the White House reminding the new administration of the situation in Darfur. The letter-writing campaign begins at 5:15 p.m.