STAR RESEARCHERS: The UW Business School is a research titan, according to the first ever ranking of cross-disciplinary business research productivity. The study, to be published in the December 2000 Academy of Management Journal, ranks the UW Business School 11th in the nation, based on quantity of research published in top-tier academic journals between 1986 and 1998. Pacing the School during that span was the UW accounting department, which ranks fifth nationally in its category. The UW departments of management (ranked 15th), finance (16th), information systems (16th) and management science (22nd) also figured strongly in the Business School’s lofty overall rating. For more on this research ranking, visit http://www.kelley.indiana.edu/ardennis/rankings.

GARDEN GLORY: A few University employees are enjoying the sight of a garden they helped create on the cover of a magazine. Marjorie Brewster, a fiscal specialist supervisor for University Relations, collaborated with her sister, garden designer Pam Richards, to create a garden called “Second Hand Rose Arbor” that was selected to be part of the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. Brewster has her own business, called Faded Glories, and supplied the architectural pieces, such as old molding from a house, for the garden. When she and her sister needed volunteers to help set up and staff the exhibit, Brewster turned to her UW colleagues, many of whom came forward. They included Roy Agloinga, Rosa Ramon, Leigh Ruben, Jennie Smith, Gail Gautestad and Julie Olsen. Now “their” garden is on the cover of Pacific Coast Nurseryman and Garden Supply Dealer, an industry magazine. The garden also won first prize at the show for best use of color.

CELL PHONE FAME: Bioengineering professor Henry Lai, who has made international headlines in recent months with research showing that radiation similar to that emitted by cell phones causes long-term memory loss in rats, testified before a California State Senate committee recently on the potential effects of cell phone use. California legislators are considering a bill that would require the California Department of Health Services to conduct a review of existing research on the health effects of cell phones and make a finding on the safety of the devices. The department would also be tasked with formulating a way to get information to consumers so they can decide whether to use cell phones.

KUDOS: Paul Hill, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education has a new book, It Takes a City: Getting Serious About Urban School Reform. ¶