Rutgers News Center

Libraries assist faculty recipients of NIH grants

The Rutgers University Libraries are offering assistance to National Institutes of Health (NIH) grantees at Rutgers who must meet new public access requirements for published peer-reviewed articles.

Starting April 7, 2008, NIH requires all investigators to deposit an electronic version of peer-reviewed articles stemming from NIH funding in PubMed Central (PMC), a free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature that is managed by the National Library of Medicine. Authors are required to allow open access to the full text of the article in the PubMed system within a year of publication.

Journals may often have complicated or restrictive policies on authors' rights. That’s where the new service comes in. "Faculty members can simply send their article files to the Rutgers University Libraries,” said Rhonda Marker, the repository collection manager at the Rutgers University Libraries. “We will investigate all the open questions, and then submit the articles for them to NIH."

According to Marker, the Rutgers University Libraries NIH Submission Service will:

• Place articles in both PubMed Central and RUcore (the Rutgers Community Repository).
• Research each journal publisher's policy to determine if they require an additional agreement to deposit the articles in PubMed Central. If they do, the Libraries will provide an appropriate Publisher Agreement Addendum.
• Provide download statistics
• List articles by author or by principal investigator.
• Provide a customized search box that will search or browse all the author's articles in RUcore. Faculty members can place the search box on their personal web page or their department web page.
• Address other granting agencies' requirements for mandatory deposits (if applicable).

RUcore (Rutgers University Community Repository) provides access and archival services for all Rutgers faculty and has been enhanced to specifically address the NIH publishing requirements.

For more information about the NIH Public Access Policy or the RUcore services, please contact either Rhonda Marker at rmarker@rci.rutgers.edu or by phone at: 732-932-8573 ext 195 or your academic department's library liaison.

– Harry Glazer

Two Rutgers students named Goldwater Scholars

Robert Comito, a chemistry major, and Jennifer van Saders, an astrophysics major, have been named Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, an award that recognizes outstanding academic achievement in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

The scholarship, which honors the late U.S. Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, has been awarded to about 300 undergraduates annually since 1986 to support and encourage students to pursue careers in these fields. Recipients receive up to $7,500 annually for the remainder of their undergraduate careers to cover tuition and other student expenses.

Comito and van Saders, both juniors, are among 321 undergraduate sophomores and juniors nationwide awarded scholarships this year and among 11 from New Jersey to be honored.

Comito plans to pursue a doctorate in synthetic organic chemistry or methods-based organic chemistry after earning his bachelor’s degree. He would like to teach and do research on the college level. Comito credits Chemistry Professor Spencer A. Knapp for encouraging his interest in chemistry and for helping him secure summer internships at Sanofi Aventis and Merck.

As a female astrophysics major, van Saders began her undergraduate research through the Aresty Research Center and is doing an honors research project with Charles Keeton, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy, looking at how the shape of galaxies affect the properties of images seen in gravitational lensing. Her research interests already have taken her to New Mexico, where she worked at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. She also traveled to Hawaii to see the optical telescopes atop Mauna Kea.

 – Sandra Lanman

Larry Katz named new director of Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension

Larry Katz, chair of the Department of Animal Sciences, has been named the new director of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Cooperative Extension and associate director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, effective July 1. Katz will succeed Karyn Malinowski, who has served in this leadership role for the past six years.

Katz received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cornell, and his doctorate from the University of California–Davis. He joined Rutgers in 1989 and has chaired the Department of Animal Sciences since 2001, during a period of significant enrollment growth in the major and in the number of graduates who go on to veterinary school.  Katz’s expertise is in behavioral endocrinology, reproductive biology, and the behavior of domestic animals. He has served on committees at the university, state, and national level regarding agricultural animal care and wildlife damage control.

Katz has received numerous awards for his teaching, including being named Outstanding Teacher seven times by the Cook College Leadership Committee on Teaching and Advising Excellence.

                                                                                         – Michele Hujber

Human Dignity Award recipients recognized April 10

The Rutgers University Human Dignity Awards recognized four individuals and the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team for their commitment to promoting the value of diversity at Rutgers and in society. Winners received a citation at the April 10 ceremony held at Winants Hall, a $1,000 honorarium, and a $500 honorarium for program enhancements at the organization, college, or academic administrative unit of the recipient’s choice. The awards are funded by the Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes.

The recipients were:

Mariam Merced: Mariam Merced has for 20 years tackled issues of preventive healthcare among the most marginalized, needy, and medically underserved communities in New Brunswick. She works closely with local arts organizations, including the Rutgers Center for Latino Arts and Culture, and community artists to develop programs to disseminate health information among diverse communities.

The Rutgers Women's Basketball Team and Coach C. Vivian Stringer:  Under the leadership of Coach C. Vivian Stringer, in the spring of 2007, the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team provided a stirring portrait of grace, accomplishment, and dignity both on and off the court. While soaring to new heights in the final contest of the NCAA women's basketball tournament, team members were the subject of unconscionable personal attacks from a prominent member of the national news media.  The team rallied around their indomitable coach and responded to these attacks with restrain, candor, and emotional maturity beyond their years.

Avi Smolen and Emily Kaufman: Both Avi Smolen and Emily Kaufman are passionate and determined to create communities that promote understanding and collaboration between all cultures. Through their organization of "Days Without Hate" in the fall of 2007, they labored to create such a community on our campus with a weeklong series of events that promoted tolerance and diminished hate.  Days Without Hate is a community service project under the auspices of Rutgers Hillel that began in 1997 in response to the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister, Yizhak Rabin

Junius Williams: Founding director of the Abbott Leadership Institute at Rutgers–Newark and among the university's most highly respected veterans of New Jersey's modern civil rights movement, Junius Williams has remained active as a social justice advocate and an activist lawyer. His street-level activism dates back to the 1960's. He was prominently involved in the rise of civic awareness that surrounded Newark's 1967 summer of discontent. Through the Abbott Institute, he has cultivated parents and other concerned citizens in New Jersey's Abbott school districts to be conversant with issues in public education and the mandate of the New Jersey Supreme Court's Abbott decision.

– Office of Social Justice Education

Prudential makes $5M contribution to Rutgers Business School

Prudential Chair Arthur F. Ryan announced that Prudential has made a $5 million contribution to help establish a new home for Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick, including an endowed chair and a center dedicated to business ethics and leadership in the business, nonprofit and philanthropic arenas.

“In supporting our new business school campaign, Prudential has made a powerful statement about the importance of Rutgers Business School to the future economy of Newark and New Jersey.” said Rutgers–Newark Provost Steven J. Diner.

A chair at Rutgers Business School will be endowed by $3 million of Prudential’s contribution. The remainder will go towards creating a center concerned with business ethics and business and philanthropic leadership.

“We are especially honored to have Prudential – a company which exemplifies a long history of successful global business – stand up as our partner in building a new and important presence for Rutgers, as a premier business school,” said Michael R. Cooper, dean of Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick.

Ryan recently retired as Prudential’s CEO and plans to retire as chair next month. “We are honored to take a leadership role in the creation of what will be a distinctive business center,” he said.

– Bridget Daley