University Notes
University of Southern Indiana Wendy Bredhold, editor • 812/461-5259 • Brandi Schwartz, managing editor • 812/465-1192 January 26, 2007 Vol. 42, No. 4
Quadrangle project will be worth the wait
Work has begun on a major project that will create a new focal point for the USI campus – a quadrangle between the University Center, Rice Library, Technology Center, new College of Business and General Classroom Building, and Liberal Arts Center. Construction and landscaping of the project – the final piece of the library project - will continue through fall 2007, creating obstacles to foot-traffic flow. But the results will be breathtaking. “The work is fairly extensive. We’ll probably be working on it through mid- to late fall,” said Fred Kalvelage, USI staff architect and construction manager. “Because we’re pedestrian-based on this part of campus, there are many things to work around. As we close sidewalks and walkways off, we have to coordinate that with how we move students around.” Deig Brothers Construction, the contractor that worked on Rice Library, began erosion and settlement controls on the quadrangle last week. After those are in place, the sidewalks between the University Center and the Technology Center and the Liberal Arts Center and the Technology Center will be closed. A road will be constructed so work vehicles can construct a tunnel that will allow access to utilities for the new College of Business. “Even though that’s at least two years from being needed, it’d be a shame to tear up the quadrangle twice, so we’ve decided to put the tunnel in now,” Kalvelage said. During the first phase of construction, students, faculty, and staff will have to access the Technology Center via the Rice Library Terrace. A temporary cement walk will be constructed from the library to the Technology Center entrance. In May the second phase will commence and the sidewalk leading from the Liberal Arts Center to the University Center will be closed. “This will have to be done very carefully because of high traffic between the LA and the UC,” Kalvelage said. “That’s the second highest traffic area on campus. We’ll probably start mid-May as soon as school is out for the summer, and then we’ll only have summer classes to deal with.” When the work is complete, the center of campus will be transformed. The quadrangle will include many new areas of landscaping and seating, while leaving open a lawn area for games of Frisbee and lounging in the sun. “There will be many trees and extensive vegetation carefully calculated to be blooming at all times of year,” said Mark Rozewski, vice president for Business Affairs. “It’s an extensive, and very intentional, design with a deep knowledge of horticulture.” A fountain will replace the circular landscaped area between the University Center and Rice Library. An inverted natural amphitheatre will provide seating in front of Rice Library, with stairs leading up to the terrace. Trees planted on either side of the seating area will frame the entrance to the library.
A paved labyrinth modeled after New Harmony’s Cathedral Labyrinth will be constructed in front of the Liberal Arts Center. “The concept was that we wanted a living reference on campus to our relationship with New Harmony,” Rozewski said. The Cathedral Labyrinth is a replica of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, built in the 12th century near Paris, France. The consultant on the USI project, Labyrinth Enterprises of St. Louis, also worked on the Cathedral Labyrinth, described as “the most beautiful labyrinth in the United States.” The quadrangle design team included Campus Studio of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Hafer Associates of Evansville. Campus Studio created the current USI master plan. Rozewski said the quadrangle project is part of the University’s overall goal of building community. “We want to create a campus that is much more than a place you take a class, but a place you love to be, and this is another part of that effort.” In the meantime, students, faculty, and staff should be careful in these areas. “For their own safety, people need to cooperate with construction and not walk into an area that has been barricaded,” Kalvelage said.
Free tax help
Through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA), USI student volunteers will provide free tax assistance on Wednesdays, February 7-April 11, 2007. “This is a good opportunity for people who have reasonably simple income tax returns and want to avoid having to pay for professional tax preparation services,” said Brett Long, associate professor of accounting and business law. “It is also a great experience for our accounting students.” In VITA programs, the Internal Revenue Service partners with national and local organizations to provide tax services to individuals with low-to-moderate income at no cost to the taxpayer. Accounting students will interview and prepare the taxes of other students and relatively low-income taxpayers who make an appointment for this service. This site will not prepare Sch. C business forms or Sch. E rental forms. Your federal and state tax returns are prepared while you wait and all taxpayers must be available to sign their returns. Preparation of returns typically takes approximately one and a half to two hours to complete. The sessions will be held by appointment only in Room 2005 in the Orr Center on the following Wednesdays: February 7, 14, 21, 28; March 14, 21, 28; and April 4 and 11. Appointments will be available at 4:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Individuals will be required to bring tax information, photo identification cards, and Social Security cards for themselves and their dependents. The IRS encourages electronic filing, and returns will be filed electronically for those who are eligible. Please bring copies of your 2005 tax returns if they are available. In order to electronically file their 2006 returns, taxpayers must know their adjusted gross income (AGI) from 2005. Paper returns will be prepared for those taxpayers who do not know their prior year AGI number. For an appointment, call the College of Business at 812/464-1718.
Sex education in Indiana schools
Kathleen Baldwin MSW, vice president of education and training for Planned Parenthood of Indiana, will present “Get Real Indiana: A Snapshot of Sex Education in Indiana Schools,” at 7 p.m. Monday, February 5, in Carter Hall. Baldwin will explore the following questions: • What sex education does Indiana require in the public schools? • What kinds of teaching methods are most appropriate? • What challenges do teachers and parents face? • What does the research about sex education tell us? • What do our students need to know? What kinds of questions do they ask? Baldwin manages Planned Parenthood’s professional training and community education programs, which seek to increase understanding of sexuality as an integral aspect of human development. Important parts of community education efforts of Planned Parenthood of Indiana include peer education, community outreach, and a resource center. She is on the faculty of the Indiana University Graduate School of Social Work and the IU Physical Education department, where she teaches Human Sexuality. She is one of only six sexuality educators in Indiana certified by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). The program is sponsored by the USI Gender Studies, Health Services, and Nursing programs, the Social Work and Teacher Education departments, and Spectrum, an organization for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) USI students and friends. “Obviously sex education in our public schools is a hot topic,” said Dr. Maurice Hamington, assistant professor of philosophy. “The number of programs teaching abstinence only is on the rise, and all the statistics show that they simply don’t work. Our speaker is going to provide some data on the status of sex education in the state and the effectiveness of different kinds of programs. This is the right time for us to do this kind of thing.” The program is free and open to the public. Area high schools have been invited. For more information, contact Hamington at 812/4641722.
Saturday, the ears of the ISU alumni board get a chance to hear the song, but its first major debut will be Feb. 15 ISU’s Founders’ Day, the date the university launches its yearlong celebration. The entry won over 42 other entries. Deadline was September. On Friday, Korba talked about the songwriting experience and likened it to his efforts as a church music director to engage his congregation. If the range was too high or low, or too wide, it could be a problem for making an easy sing-a-long, he said. If the words got in the way of the music, or the music in the way of the words, it could trip it up and make people hesitate, he said. “Then it would become spectator sport,” said Korba. He wrote it hymn-style, he said, and wanted it to match the Bowers’ lyrics that brought a “victorious, prideful” feel to the song. “Pride of Illinois” needed to evoke the tradition and historic place ISU holds in the state, said Korba. The new song won’t replace ISU’s traditional university song “Alma Mater,” but rather will be added to the university repertoire for special events, said ISU spokesman Jay Groves. Carol Struck, lead organizer for ISU’s 150th anniversary events, said she envisions it could be used from everything from sports events to commencement. “But we know it will take some time for this to grow and build,” Struck said. Mary Bower said she learned of the song competition last February while browsing through the spring copy of Illinois State Alumni Magazine on a drive from Evansville to Bloomington. With time to kill, the couple thought they’d try their hand at songwriting. They were excited upon arriving at her parents’ Bloomington home a catchy chorus and two stanzas in hand. David Bower recalled telling his father-in-law “we’ve got to win.” When they returned to Evansville, the couple rang up their friend Korba to compose music for the song. Paul McNamee Sr. said he loved the song, but joked Friday “it’s not as good as the Notre Dame song,” a nod to his own alma mater. “Pride of Illinois'” Founders’ Day debut will be almost a year to the day since that car ride, said David Bower. “It was Feb. 17,” he said. Contest organizers sought entries with positive and upbeat lyrics that were easy to sing and appropriate for traditional ISU events. A 10-person committee, led by retired ISU professor Jim Roderick, selected the winning entry in November. Students, staff, faculty and alumni were on the committee. Mary Bower studied art history at ISU. For nearly three decades, she’s worked at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, where she is collections curator. David Bower is University of Southern Indiana development director and a graduate of St. Meinrad College and the University of Evansville. Korba, music director for St. Benedict Cathedral, in the Catholic Diocese of Evansville, also is a University of Evansville graduate. Editor’s note: This story ran in the Bloomington-Normal (Illinois) Pantagraph on January 19, 2007.
USI in the News: ISU grad wins contest for new school song
By Michele Steinbacher NORMAL - An Illinois State University graduate who grew up in Bloomington has found her “Pride of Illinois” in ISU’s new school song. Mary McNamee Bower of Evansville, Ind., a member of ISU’s Class of 1977 and a Bloomington High School graduate — along with her husband David Bower and family friend Jeremy Korda — won a $5,000 prize for their effort. “We’re thrilled. This has been a great experience,” she said Friday at the song’s first public performance. The win gives the trio a permanent place in the history of the state’s oldest public university, as the song competition ties in with ISU’s sesquicentennial celebration. Christopher Hollingsworth, an ISU music professor, sang "Pride of Illinois" Friday at the Center for Performing Arts concert hall with Korda accompanying him on piano. Video and audio recordings captured the historic moment, and the Bowers smiled as Hollingsworth reached the chorus of the hymn-like number: “Red our color. Rich our history. Friendships always true. Pride of Illinois forever. Hail to ISU.” On Friday, Mary’s brother and sister-in-law, also ISU grads, as well as her parents Suzanne and Paul McNamee Sr. of Bloomington, attended performance.
Documentary examines energy issues
The USI Philosophy Club will host a viewing of the documentary “Kilowatt Ours” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, January 31, in Rice Library Room 17 (in the lower level of the library). In “Kilowatt Ours,” producer/director Jeff Barrie travels from the coal mines of West Virginia to the solar panel fields of Florida. Along the way,
Barrie and his wife plan to eliminate their use of coal and nuclear power at home by employing energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy sources. Through their experience, viewers can learn how they too can save hundreds of dollars annually on energy bills, and use a portion of the savings to purchase renewable energy. While air quality issues are of universal concern, the documentary should be of particular interest to area residents. There are 17 coal-fired power plants within a 62-mile radius of Vanderburgh County. According to a press kit from the filmmaker, “The dangers of coalgenerated electricity, mountain top removal mining, air pollution, haze in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, mercury contamination of newborns, childhood asthma, and global warming all stem from dependence on coal-generated electricity. The solution begins at our light switches and power strips.” For more information, contact Dr. Mary Lyn Stoll, faculty advisor for the club, at 812/461-5244.
Family Information, to help identify what information is most helpful to prospective students and their families in deciding which university is the best educational fit. She will serve with administrators from University of Tennessee System, Fairmont State University, University of Maine-Fort Kent, Alabama A & M University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Minnesota, University of North Texas, Minnesota State University-Mankato; University of Wisconsin Extension, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and California State University-Sacramento. Other Indiana participants are Ruth Person, chancellor, Indiana University Kokomo, chair of the Task Force on System Design and Information and Gary Pike, executive director, Information Management and Institutional Improvement, Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis, a member of the Technical Work Group Student Growth Outcomes. A total of six task forces and technical work groups plus a presidential advisory committee make up the VSA Project. In 2006, NASULGC and AASCU consulted with various education officials, public policymakers, and academic leaders on ways that public higher education can become more accountable to the public on learning outcomes and campus engagement while also providing additional information to students and families to aid them in the selection process. The result is the Voluntary System of Accountability Project. The project is made possible by a $267,900 grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education. During 2007, the participants will work as task forces and technical work groups developing a system of accountability that could be adopted at any public college or university.
Spirit Day is February 2
Friday, February 2, is Spirit Day on campus and faculty and staff are encouraged to wear red, white, and blue to show support for the students and the basketball teams. The Loft is offering free beverages to patrons who wear red, white, and blue on Spirit Day. The Homecoming Tailgate Party will be an all-campus outdoor event from noon to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 3 in a tent in front of the Physical Activities Center. It is open to USI students and employees. Faculty and staff are welcome to bring family members. Chili, hot dogs, pulled pork, and more will be served and a variety of entertainment will be offered for all ages. The Hall of Fame inductees will be introduced, and fans can create spirit signs for use at the basketball games. Word on the street is that Archibald Eagle will challenge the miner (Missouri Rolla’s mascot) to a dance competition and a pie-eating contest. The women’s team will play Missouri Rolla at 1 p.m. and the men’s game against Missouri Rolla will be at 3:15 p.m. Half-time entertainment will be offered at each game. Floats decorated by USI student organizations will be featured in the wagon float parade to be held during half-time of the women’s game and the 2007 Homecoming royalty will be announced during half-time of the men’s game. The Alumni Association is sponsoring a party after the game for alumni, faculty and staff in PAC 200. Persons attending the party must be 21 years of age. A Web site at www.usi.edu/homecoming lists details of Homecoming Week, including information on the Homecoming court and the times and locations of events related to Homecoming. Judging for the Homecoming Office Decorating Contest will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 30. Judging will be based on the use of the Homecoming theme ("Cheers to the Red, White, and Blue"), USI’s colors of red and blue, and the University’s name and images. In order to participate, register by 4:30 p.m. Friday, January 26. The winner of the contest will receive a trophy that will travel among winning departments from year to year.
FYI
“Ecological Criticism and Latin American Literature”
The 2006-07 Community of Scholars Lecture, “Ecological Criticism and Latin American Literature,” will be presented by Dr. Jonathan Tittler, professor of Hispanic studies at the University of RutgersCamden. Tittler’s research interests include Afro-Hispanic literature, the theory and practice of literary translation, and ecological criticism in connection with Latin American fiction. He will present the lecture at 7 p.m. January 29, 2007, in Carter Hall in the University Center. Call the Foreign Language Department at 812/461-5203 for more information.
Photo contest entries due February 12
International Programs and Services is sponsoring its annual Around the World International Photo Contest with entries due February 12. First prize is $100, and $50 prizes will be awarded to the winners of three categories: People of the World, Global Landscapes, and Architecture. Submit photos to kemurray@usi.edu or to the International Programs and Services Office in University Center Room 17. Winners will be announced during International Week, February 19-23, 2007. Call International Programs and Services at 812/465-7183 for more information.
Homecoming Southern Hospitality Day
USI provost to serve on national project
Dr. Linda L. M. Bennett, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, is one of three Indiana higher education administrators, among 78 public college and university administrators across the country, to be selected to develop recommendations for a Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA). The project is a partnership between the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). She will serve as a member of the Task Force on Student and
USI invites prospective students and their families to visit campus on Southern Hospitality Days, with interest sessions about academic areas; tours of campus facilities including residence hall suites and apartments; financial aid information; and complimentary lunch. The first spring 2007 Southern Hospitality Day falls on Homecoming, Saturday, February 3. Others will be held on February 24, March 17, and April 14. For more information, call the Office of Admission at 812/464-1765 or 800/467-1965.