President Herbert honored by USC\nIU President Adam Herbert accepted the Outstanding Alumnus Award Saturday from the University of Southern California's Black Alumni Association.\nThe award is the highest honor given by the Black Alumni Association and was presented to Herbert during the 27th annual Scholarship Benefit Gala at USC. There were 600 people in attendance when Herbert received his award.\nHerbert has a bachelor of arts degree and a master of public administration degree. However, Herbert traveled almost across the country to get his doctorate in urban affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.\nThe award was given to Herbert in recognition of his long career of public service and leadership in higher education. Before Herbert was inaugurated as IU's 17th president, he was Regents Professor and founding executive director of The Florida Center for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of North Florida. Herbert was also the president of that university for almost 10 years and was chancellor of the State University System of Florida, which is the second-largest university system in America.
IU a cappella group to compete for prize\nOn April 30, the men's a cappella group Straight No Chaser will sing in an international competition. The International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella will happen in Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.\nStraight No Chaser is an all-male group composed of IU students and sponsored by the IU Alumni Association.\nSNC has been at the top of its game going into this competition, placing first at the divisional competition at Penn State University Feb. 5 and the Midwest Regional finals at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Feb. 19.\nThere will be five other groups competing for the title. SNC earned second place last year at this competition. \nThe group of IU men will have 12 minutes to perform a set of as many songs as they like in any kind of musical style.\nSNC has chosen to sing a choreographed medley reflecting "The Life and Times of Straight No Chaser," which will consist of songs from the many years SNC has been a group. The work has been done in-house, with the SNC's 11-member group arranging and developing the set.\nThe group has released five CDs since its foundation in 1996. It has performed on the IU-Bloomington campus but also has made many other stops throughout the country. \n"We are proud to have been the sponsor organization of this outstanding group since shortly after its founding," said Ken Beckley, president and CEO of the IU Alumni Association in a statement. "So much attention is given to athletics at a university, and rightfully so, but Straight No Chaser is an outstanding example of student achievements in other areas of talent and skill." \nThe other competitors at the ICCA international finals are the Achordants from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the Dear Abbeys from Boston University, Divisi from the University of Oregon, The Duke's Men of Yale from Yale University and the Midnight Ramblers from the University of Rochester. \nFor more information about Straight No Chaser, visit www.sncproductions.com.
