Are you afraid of your shadow?  Do you have some extra weight that you need to lose?  Join ActionHealth dietitians for this 8-week weight loss class that will cover various topics related to weight loss.  The classes will run Wednesday, July 29 - Sept. 16, 12:15-1:00, in the Women's Health Center of Excellence Conference Room at Piedmont Plaza 2, 1^st Floor.  The cost is $20 for HIP and $40 for non-HIP members.  For more information, please review the flier.

The American Council on Education has released a paper that addresses issues related to the handling of faculty downsizing. Titled, "Faculty in Times of Distress: Examining Governance, Exigency, Layoffs, and Alternatives," the paper is intended mainly for campus administrators and institutional managers. It was written by Ann H. Franke, Esq. 
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Legal_Issues_and_Policy_Briefs2&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=32703

Four Congressional Leaders Ask National Academies to Assess Condition of Research Universities: U.S. Senators & Representatives, have written the National Academies and "asked that the Academies' panel answer the following question: "What are the top ten actions that Congress, state governments, research universities, and others could take to assure the ability of the American research university to maintain the excellence in research and doctoral education needed to help the United States compete, prosper, and achieve national goals for health, energy, the environment, and security in the global community of the 21st century?" http://mikulski.senate.gov/Newsroom/PressReleases/record.cfm?id=314864

Med School 'Senioritis': A new report calls for a discussion on making the last year of medical school more meaningful -- and asks the question: Why four years?  
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/06/25/fourthyear

Call for Abstracts and Applications: The AAMC Mid Career Women Faculty Professional Development Seminar is now accepting applications for the 2009 program, which is scheduled for December 5-8, 2009, at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Designed for women associate or full professors with clear potential for departmental and institutional leadership, the seminar's objectives are to:

• Visualize potential paths to leadership and develop career plans to advance towards that vision;
• Improve knowledge of institutional finance and departmental budgeting processes;
• Strengthen selected skills such as negotiation, communication, conflict, personnel and time management; and
• Expand networks of mentors and colleagues in academic medicine.
Applicants are asked to submit a current curriculum vitae with their online application.  The full program and application materials are available at: http://www.aamc.org/meetings/wim/midwim/2009/start.htm.  This program is often oversubscribed, so we encourage you to apply early!
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Jennifer Leadley at jleadley@aamc.org.  For questions about logistics, please contact Meghann Shinners at mshinners@aamc.org.

Position Announcements from ELAM

Director, International Accreditation, Accreditation Council for Graduate Education (ACGME). 
Director, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. 
Chair, Department of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine. 
Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.
Associate Dean for Professional Instruction and Development, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.