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(04/27/06 4:43am)
Robert Samels liked to put himself in his music. His opera "PILATVS," which he wrote about the life of Pontius Pilate, was described as "witty," "genius" and "enjoyable" -- all traits his friends attribute to him.\nEven in his notes in the margin, friends noticed how he poured himself into his work.\n"I was looking through the score," said senior Nicole Beemsterboer, a close friend of his, "and towards the end he had underlined the lyrics, stolen from Walt Whitman: 'Waste your days inventing ways to be remembered before you rot in the ground.' \n"I thought, 'What a fitting tribute.'"\nHundreds of friends gathered Wednesday night at the Buskirk Chumley Theater to provide another "fitting tribute" to Samels, a graduate student in the Jacobs School of Music who was killed in a plane crash May 20.\nMusic graduate students Zachary Novak, Garth Eppley, Georgina Joshi and Chris Carducci were also killed in the crash just south of the Monroe County Airport. \nThe ceremony featured poetry, songs and recollected stories from friends. Samels' creativity was also showcased with a performance of his original piece "Pie Jesu" by the Jacobs School of Music Singers and IU soprano Ann Corrigan.\nMost of the crowd dressed in black, with sniffles and laughter echoing about. The majority in attendance knew Samels, but those who didn't were quickly filled in on how amazing he was. Samels, a bass-baritone, had lead roles in many IU music productions including "Our Town," "A View from the Bridge" and "Don Pasquale." Friends remembered Samels as a composer, WFIU public radio host, racquetball player, music school AI and "über-multitasker."\nIntertwined with poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson, guest speakers told their memories of Samels. Reverend Mary Ann Macklin said they couldn't talk about him without also having music and poetry because Samels always had to have a lot going on at once.\nJan Harrington, chair of the choral conducting department, recalled Samels' audition for the school. The first things he noticed were his height, his long, crazy hair and, of course, his vocal talents.\n"We knew that Robert Samels would be remembered long after any haircut," he said.\nHarrington read letters from students in Samels' music theory class. Students said they only attended the 8 a.m. course to hear his "gorgeous, deep voice." Others enjoyed his sense of humor. Once he ended a lecture on sonority, a type of musical resonance, with a PowerPoint slide with a cartoon lumberjack and the words: "Sonority Log-man says, 'Have a good weekend.'"\nOne student said: "Most of my friends hardly knew him, but we'd talk about him all the time."\nCary Boyce spent time with Samels at WFIU radio and as a part of the Aguavá New Music Studio, in which Samels was a musical superstar.\n"He made us look and sound a lot better than we are," he said.\nJohn Glann, who played Jesus in the September 2005 production of Samels' opera, told the crowd about Samels' love of music such as Cake and Fiona Apple, and cartoons such as Space Ghost and SpongeBob. \n"Robert showed us that dorky was cool," he said.\nHe laughed about how Samels pasted all 200 of his students' pictures on note cards and tried to commit them to memory. He joked to his students: "If you see me in the hallway, say hello. I'm lonely."\nGlann also mentioned how Samels put himself in his music. In "PILATVS," Pontius Pilate was so focused on his career and nothing else, because he had to be, Glann read to the crowd.\n"In a really weird way, I made an opera about myself," Samels told Glann.\nSamels told Glann he didn't realize he did it until his mom pointed it out at Tutto Bene after the show. And then Samels started to cry.\nSince it was a crowd full of music majors, each time the crowd sang along for hymns, the Buskirk Chumley sounded larger than life. Senior Andrew Henry, a viola major who was in operas with Samels, said he was moved by the ceremony.\n"It was very appropriate," he said at the reception afterward. "Just hearing his requiem, he was such a person of talent. I don't think we know yet how much we'll miss him."\nWith all of the stories and laughter, Rev. Macklin reminded the crowd that it wasn't a time to be sad, but a time to rejoice in the full life Samels lived.\n"Remember that in telling stories about Robert, you renew his life every time"
(04/17/06 12:21pm)
IU officials plan on looking into potential trademark infringement as nine female IU students posed nude next to IU logos in Playboy's "Girls of the Top Ten Party Schools" -- the magazine's most recent issue. Four of the girls were photographed at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, according to several ATO members.\nDean of Students Dick McKaig said he has not seen the issue and had not heard of any IU logos in photos, but would be contacting University Counsel and Jenny McDaniel, vice president of licensing and trademarks with the IU Research and Technology Corp.\nIU students have appeared in Playboy numerous times, including 2002 and 2005 issues, but McKaig said he has never witnessed any copyright infringement in the past. Both the IU seal and the IU trademarked "pitchfork" are visible in photos.\nTheresa Hennessey, Midwest publicity representative for Playboy, said the magazine is careful about any copyright infringement because Playboy is so protective of its logo. Elsewhere in the spread, several logos for No. 1-ranked Wisconsin appear in a full-page photo, including the flag of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.\nThere is also the potential for controversy with ATO. Sophomore Brad Blinn, president of ATO, said he would not confirm or deny whether the photographs were taken in the house.\n"I was not president at the time and we're not going to support it," he said.\nThe photo appears to depict the trophy room in the ATO house with four nude female students and two male onlookers around a poker table with cards scattered about. No fraternity letters are visible, but trophies that appear to be for cycling are noticeable in the background.\nBlinn said a member of the house -- who refused comment -- is a publicity rep for Playboy and that might be why students think ATO is involved. Blinn also floated the theory that a room might have been set up to look like ATO, but did not elaborate how that could be done. Blinn never denied ATO's involvement.\nMcKaig said he had not heard about ATO's involvement but said that most likely there would not be any action taken by IU against the fraternity since the house is on "private property."\nOfficials at the national chapter of ATO said they were unaware of the issue and did not return subsequent phone calls. Members of the Interfraternity Council also did not return multiple phone calls.\nIn Madison, Wis., the photos taken at the Delta Upsilon house have caused a stir. University officials said they plan to review the photos, which feature 23 fraternity members and 19 nude or scantily clad students, to decide whether to take action.\nChris Hoffman, president of the chapter, told the Associated Press he didn't think it was a big deal.\n"I think it's a funny picture," said Hoffman, who appears next to two naked women in the photo. "If anybody else had an opportunity to do it, they would have done it. This was too good to pass up."\nA similar issue arose in 2002 when Baylor University took action against Sigma Phi Epsilon for photos in the "Girls of the Big 12" issue. The fraternity chapter was suspended from campus and students in the photo received additional sanctions.\nMcKaig said complaints about Playboy coming to campus have been common in past years, but that he hasn't received any this year.\n"Usually, I just tell parents that if they're of legal age and it wasn't on campus, there isn't anything we can do," he said.\nThis year, IU students who appeared nude in the magazine autographed copies at The Den, something students had not done in recent years.\nIU was ranked fourth in the nation in the May 2006 issue, behind No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 University of California-Santa Barbara and No. 3 Arizona State.\nPlayboy cited the Kinsey Institute and IU's academic reputation among the reasons for its ranking. Playboy decided its rankings after interviewing more than 250 students and professors across the country.\n"We feel that the students at each of the universities on our 'Top Ten Party Schools' list have the opportunity to receive an excellent education while enjoying an active social life," said Playboy Editorial Director Christopher Napolitano in a statement.\nThe last time Playboy released such rankings was in 2002, when Arizona State topped the list.
(03/06/06 6:30am)
Members of IU's Black Student Union assembled Friday to let IU administrators know they're concerned about a lack of diversity in University leadership.\nWith both IU President Adam Herbert and men's basketball coach Mike Davis announcing their imminent departures, members of the group took last week's board of trustees meeting as an opportunity to have their voices heard. About six to eight students stood with signs, such as "More Dollars for Minority Scholars," outside the Frangipani Room of the Indiana Memorial Union, before the board's academic affairs meeting at 8 a.m. and the business meeting at 2:30 p.m.\nCourtney Williams, president of the Black Student Union, said the demonstration was sparked by IU losing its first black president and first black head coach of any sport. \nHerbert announced he would not stay beyond the end of his contract in July 2008. Davis announced he is stepping down this season and reached a buyout for his contract with the University.\nStill, Williams said the issues go far deeper than just Adam Herbert or Mike Davis.\n"Diversity is not a new issue," she said. "IU has had a problem with diversity for quite some time."\nWilliams said members of the BSU are concerned that black employees make up only 3.8 percent of IU's faculty, staff and administration -- the same percentage of black students enrolled at IU, according to the Office of Academic Support and Diversity. Only 9.2 percent of the student body and 12.27 percent of the faculty are minorities.\nSophomore Sara Alghani, historian for the BSU, said having more black faculty and administrators at IU would have a positive impact on students.\n"Having these positive role models on a predominately white campus can make a big difference for students," Alghani said.\nTwo agenda items at the academic affairs meeting dealt directly with increasing diversity at IU. The trustees discussed changes in search committees and admissions standards.\nCharlie Nelms, vice president for institutional development and student affairs, said he thinks that changes need to be made to IU's search and screening process to attract more minority candidates for positions at IU. He said one of his main suggestions is to have more diversity on the search committees.\n"It's not enough to have an affirmative action policy," he said. "We need to make diversity in searches a University priority."\nIU already has several measures in place to ensure diversity in hiring. Still, trustees Sue Talbot and Steve Ferguson said the policy is hard to enforce.\n"We have language that says we need a diverse pool of candidates and we promote it every time, but it's tough to enforce," she said. "It really comes down to who is conducting the searches."\nThe trustees discussed changes to the makeup of searches and whether some positions could simply be appointed without searches. Herbert has said that bypassing searches would affect diversity.\nThe Bloomington Faculty Council also had a first reading at the meeting of the new admissions policy, which could make IU more elite. Some say the policy will have a negative impact on diversity enrollment.\nThe policy proposes that students need to take additional math and language courses and that preference will be given to students with a B-average or better and Indiana students who rank in the top 40 percent of their class or the top 30 percent of their class if from out of state.\nThe policy could be approved by as early as the next meeting and would go into effect in 2011.\nAlvin Chambliss, visiting professor in education and African-American studies and famous civil rights attorney, said he thought the new policy would still hurt IU's diversity. He said it's unreasonable to give preference to those with higher test scores and not expect diversity to be negatively affected.\nNelms said he was thrilled with the students' involvement.\n"I've been here for more than eight years, and I don't ever remember a group of black students coming to a trustees meeting," he said.
(03/01/06 6:00am)
Two Grammy-nominated musical acts -- Wilco and DMX -- will be performing at IU during the week of Little 500.\nUnion Board announced Tuesday that alternative rock band Wilco will perform April 17 at the IU Auditorium. Def Jam rapper DMX will perform April 20 at Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. \nWilco tickets will be priced at $27 and $35 for students and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday. DMX ticket prices are yet to be determined, but will probably cost around $30, ATO social director Jonathan Potts said. Times for both events are undetermined.\nUnion Board President Brad Allen said he wanted to bring a "big name" for Little 500 and Concerts Director Katie Ly said Wilco is a perfect fit.\n"Wilco is a great name and will be successful for Little 500 week," she said. "Wilco is a band that students constantly ask Union Board to bring."\nWilco is not the official Little 500 concert yet because the IU Student Foundation still needs to approve use of Little 500 for the promotion, Allen said. Ly said the show will be "a Little 500 kick-off concert."\nSince Wilco will perform the Monday of Little 500 week, Allen said there still is the possibility of having another act perform at the IU Auditorium, but emphasized that Wilco should attract a solid crowd.\nThere were concerns about competition with other concerts during the week, Allen said, but Ly said she thinks Wilco is different enough to "stand out."\n"I think that Wilco brings a unique sound that will stand out from other shows," she said. "It will give this campus, which has diverse tastes in music, the opportunity to see a band that complements the Bloomington music scene."\nATO will bring DMX as a part of its Second Annual Hip-Hop-a-Palooza. The event will take place across three yards facing the fraternity house.\nPotts said this event will be even more exciting than last year's Young Buck concert.\n"We've learned a lot from our mistakes last year," he said.\nThis year, ATO plans to put up tarps and have two big screen TVs which will prevent people from trying to watch the event without paying for entrance, Potts said. There also will be stamps to allow for re-entrance, which was a problem last year, Potts said.\nPotts said Hip-Hop-a-Palooza will feature more than just DMX's performance. Last year, Young Buck didn't perform until 9 p.m., so this year ATO plans on having a freestyle battle competition before the show to keep the audience entertained. There will also be food, beverages and possibly booths from sponsors mtvU and Red Bull. There will be group rates available for ticket sales.\nThe event will cost around $45,000 to put on, but since ATO used a promoter to help bring the show to IU, it will see little risk. All of ATO's proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington.\nPotts said he expects ATO to attract bigger and better hip-hop artists for the event each year.\n"He really is a better performer (than Young Buck)," he said. "He hasn't had a CD in a while, but he's back on the scene, he's coming out with a new CD and I think students will enjoy it"
(03/01/06 5:12am)
Conservative author Ann Coulter spoke at the IU Auditorium on Thursday, but students on campus are still talking about her controversial speech.\nE-mails, Facebook groups and even a student-led petition have questioned Union Board for bringing such a "divisive" speaker -- and at such a high cost.\nAlthough final figures are still to be determined, Union Board President Brad Allen said Coulter's speech cost around $24,000. Concerns were raised -- both in the petition and in student e-mails -- about the cost.\n"There are tons of accomplished and intelligent right-wing speakers that IU could have funded," sophomore Jaclyn Rheins said. "If this is where my money is going -- to support racism and homophobia -- then I want a refund."\nNo formal protests are planned, but concerns about funding have been raised by such groups as the Black Student Union, Muslim \nStudent Union, Women's Student Association, African Students Association and Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services.\n"For the University to pay such an individual to (attack students) in the name of 'diversity' is an insult," GLBTSSS Director Doug Bauder said.\nBut Allen said the money spent isn't nearly as much as people think. Union Board only contributed $5,000 for the event, while several co-sponsors, such as the Office of the Chancellor, School of Journalism, College Republicans and School of Public and Environmental Sciences, paid the remainder.\nAllen said the event was much less expensive than speeches from former Democratic presidential candidates Al Sharpton and Wesley Clark. He also said that if students wanted a refund, it would only amount to about $2 each for the more than 2,500 in attendance. In reality, all IU students paid for the event through student fees, which would amount to less than 20 cents per student.\nStudent fees the Committee for Fee Review allocates fund Union Board. \nAllen said he feels the money was well spent.\n"Union Board never wants anyone to be offended," he said. "Our mission to provide a diverse group of speakers with diverse ideas. It's natural for students to have differing opinions on Ann Coulter."\nDiversity Educator Eric Love said Coulter's speech didn't embrace diversity at all.\n"Ann Coulter's presentation is the type of inflammatory nonsense that has created polarization in our government and throughout the country," Love said. "The idea behind having diverse speakers is to learn various perspectives and challenge our ideas, but this can't be done when the presenter is rude, abrasive and accusatory."\nOne of the main reasons Coulter's appearance has drawn such controversy is because of her comments to the audience. When a student asked if Coulter supported a dictatorship, she responded with a jab at the way he talked, calling him "gay boy."\n"There is a line between good-humored banter and vicious behavior and Ann Coulter crossed that line during her visit," junior Alexander Murphy-Nakhnikian said. \nThree Facebook groups were recently created in response to Coulter's speech Thursday. The groups are "And Ann Coulter Thinks Liberals Are Ugly...," "Ann Coulter Speach (sic) Was the Worst Comedy Show That I Have Ever Seen," and "I Was Thrown Out of Ann Coulter's Speech."\nStill, many students support Coulter's visit to campus.\n"To make an argument that student funds shouldn't have been used because a percentage of the student population doesn't support her views would be ridiculous," sophomore Pat McGhee said. "If students had complete control over what IU spent their tuition fees on, the school would not progress as an institution."\nMcGhee said he defends Coulter's "gay boy" comment, but not her comment in which she called the citizens of Iraq our "brown brothers."\n"He was blatantly talking with a stigmatically gay and condescending manner to a person that everyone and their mother knows has strong opinions on the issue," he said. "It is unfortunate that this aspect of her speech is what most people will remember about that evening."\nMcGhee said that if anyone were to be refunded, it should be the students who wanted to hear Coulter speak but couldn't because of noisy protesters.\nOther students who do not necessarily support Coulter still support Union Board for bringing her to IU, either because it will "inspire activism" against homophobia or because it was entertaining.\n"As for the event, I found it more exciting than any of the last IU basketball games," said junior Jordan Laesch. "Having all the angry 'Daily Show'-addicted academia ultra-liberals versus the Fox News-addicted ultra-conservatives, the stage was set for a total car wreck of a presentation.\n"I am not mad that IU paid that amount of money to get her to speak, because the thing was more live entertainment that I have seen in awhile."\nAllen said he agrees that you didn't have to be conservative to enjoy the event and he heard many self-professed Democrats say they really enjoyed the speech.\nSome students might have strengthened their political beliefs after the show, but for Laesch, it only made him more apathetic.\n"By the end, I couldn't see the difference between Ann Coulter and her protesters," he said. "All I knew was my political apathy had never reached a higher point and I didn't want to be a conservative or a liberal, but at least I had gotten some free entertainment for an hour"
(02/28/06 6:16am)
Little 500 has had a rich tradition for not just amateur athletics, but also for music.\nSince 1960, five years after the first race, a big-name concert for students has been part of the tradition of the "World's Greatest College Weekend." But for many seniors, last year's Little 500 concert featuring hip-hop band The Roots was the first since their freshman year.\nUnion Board is working hard to bring a "big-name event" to IU this April, but some of the same problems that caused the two-year drought are still plaguing the search committee.\nUnion Board President Brad Allen would not give away any names of artists or bands that are potential headliners but said he is hoping for someone everybody would know, like a Snoop Dogg or a John Mayer.\n"Our goal is to bring in a big show," Allen said. "It's been a while since they have brought in a big show. There is a lot involved in bringing in a big-name concert for Little 500."
(02/24/06 4:24pm)
Conservative author Ann Coulter drew a large crowd to the IU Auditorium Thursday night. More than 2,500 of the auditorium's 3,200 seats were full, but that number dwindled throughout her speech as many students were ejected for disruptions and others simply walked out after certain comments.\nCoulter, author of such books as "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" and "Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right," gave a speech titled "Liberals Are Wrong About Everything."\nThe speech drew many dissenters and it didn't take long for public outbursts to occur. Within the first two minutes of her speech, one student yelled out to Coulter, "Go back to Germany," to which another student responded with obscenities. The two got involved in a heated altercation and four officers had to remove the students from the event.\nBut the police response to this initial incident didn't mean the rest of the speech would go uninterrupted. More than 10 times, Coulter stopped speaking -- sometimes for more than a few minutes -- to wait for protesters to be removed. She often commented that the ushers weren't doing their jobs properly and that the event was poorly organized.\n"You are paying me to give a speech," she said. "I mean, if you don't want me to keep talking, that's fine, but I think I'll just do the speech. Hopefully, the idiot liberals will be out of here by the second half of the speech.\n"You guys are doing a great job." she said sarcastically later to auditorium ushers. "I guess they did hire Democrats as ushers."\nWhen her speech could actually be heard over both cheers and boos, Coulter touched on a string of topics about her views of liberal inadequacies. She claimed liberals "hate God and hate America," and that there is no hope for the Democratic Party, citing a 25-year reign of Republican dominance.\n"It's time for someone (in the Democratic Party) to say, let's start over," she said.\nShe took shots at several notable liberals, including former presidential candidates Howard Dean and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and filmmaker Michael Moore. She said that Democrats often try to appear moderate, but she thinks they fail in that regard.\n"If the Democrats want to stay in the middle of the road, why do they keep sticking with Teddy Kennedy?" she said. "Didn't he have some trouble staying in the middle of the road?"\nShe attacked the "liberal media," saying she thought CBS anchor Dan Rather's resignation was "one down, 16 to go." She did, however, say there was a need for stations such as "Air America," which she claims has only 200 listeners.\n"We need these liberal talk radio shows to keep the tinfoil-hat types busy while we run the country, democratize the Middle East and secure our borders," she said.\nCoulter raised some controversy in her speech when she said that Democrats don't want democracy to succeed in Iraq. She said, "They don't think the little brown boys could handle democracy," to which students responded, "We don't tolerate racism here. Go back to Germany."\nCoulter even made comments about the physical appearances of those who were removed.\n"Another attractive Democrat," she said as junior Sean Hall, a man wearing a blonde wig, white sheet and a sign that said "Coultergeist" was removed.\n"I think we should have saved the ushers some time and just removed all the ugly \npeople," she said.\nDuring her question-and-answer session, Coulter responded to both fans and protesters. One comment that drew strong audience reactions came from a young man who asked her if she didn't like Democrats, wouldn't it just be better to have a dictatorship? Coulter responded with a jab at the way the student talked.\n"You don't want the Republicans in power, does that mean you want a dictatorship, gay boy?" she said.\nIU College Republicans President Shane Kennedy defended Coulter's comments by stressing that the speech was for entertainment and attendees should have expected Coulter to say controversial comments.\n"I think the guy could have been more respectful to her," he said. "I mean, we already know that she was going to be controversial and she was just saying what people were thinking. If you are going to talk like you are gay, then Ann Coulter is going to call you gay. Of course, she said it in a spiteful tone, but it was expected."\nUnion Board, which brought Coulter for the event, wished not to comment on any of the content of her speech.\nAnother student asked Coulter what she was doing better than extremist Democrats, to which she responded, "selling more books."\nCoulter made a few comments about both IU and Indiana. She said students at Harvard listen to her comments and ask questions later. One student yelled out, "We're not Harvard," to which she responded, "Yeah, you can't come up with questions."\nCoulter also praised Republican Indiana Congressman Mike Pence and said she would support him for president. She also said she doesn't hate Democratic Indiana Senator Evan Bayh as much as other Democrats.\n"Evan Bayh isn't as insane as other Democrats," she said. "But he certainly isn't as good as the worst Republican."\nEven though many students were removed from the event and Coulter questioned the security, Union Board President Brad Allen said he was impressed with how everything went.\n"I think she had a different idea of how the security was going to be," he said. "I think the security did a great job and we kept things under control."\nStudents were split on the crowd reactions. Kennedy said he thought that the event was moderate. Others complained throughout the speech about interruptions and students yelling profanities.\n"I thought it was very immature," freshman Andrea Knapp said. "They should have let her talk. It was embarrassing."\nOthers found Coulter's speech to be offensive.\n"She was just rude," sophomore Elana Kanter said. "From the 'brown boy' comment to calling that guy 'gay boy,' she was really rude. It was uncalled for"
(02/24/06 5:24am)
A look at some of the notes reporter Adam Aasen made while covering Ann Coulter's speech at the IU Auditorium Thursday. Some made the final story, while others didn't.
(02/14/06 6:25am)
"Women need not apply."\nIt was those four words that convinced former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh to change America. \nThey say behind every powerful man is a great woman and Bayh, an IU School of Law alumnus and Indiana native, knows this to be true. His wife, Marvella, had been like his campaign manager. Marvella, the daughter of a wheat farmer, already had a list of achievements when she met Birch in December of 1951. In Oklahoma, she was a straight "A" student, the first female president of her student body, governor of Oklahoma Girls' State, president of Girls' Nation and had met President Truman.\n"It was love at first sight," said Bayh, now 78.\nMarvella thought she could do it all. That is, until she was confronted with four words -- "Women need not apply."\nEven with all of her accomplishments, she had been rejected by the Virginia School of Law, a school her son, Evan, would later attend.\nIt was at that moment that Birch Bayh understood the inequalities of the world for women.\n"As we went through life together, it increased my awareness of the way men say and do things that aren't consistent with everyone being treated equal," he said.\nDecades later in 1972, as a U.S. senator, Birch Bayh seized his opportunity to make a difference by submitting the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act -- a law that would change the face of collegiate athletics by prohibiting gender discrimination.\nFemale participation in intercollegiate athletics has increased from fewer than 30,000 athletes in 1972 to more than 150,000 female athletes in 2002, according to a study by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education. Athletic budgets have increased for women's sports from 2 percent to 43 percent, according to the study. And people such as Cheryl Miller, Mia Hamm, Jackie Joyner-Kersey and Sheryl Swoopes are all household names -- something that might not have happened if it weren't for Title IX.\nThe effects of the law are still felt today. Last year with 880 wins, University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt surpassed North Carolina coaching great Dean Smith as the all-time winningest NCAA basketball coach.\nStill, none of this might have been possible had government not opened up its eyes.
(02/09/06 7:25am)
When Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels was mentioned at a recent IU College Republicans meeting, one girl in the room buried her head in her arms as her face turned bright red. The governor's daughter, Maggie Daniels, a sophomore at IU, was noticeably embarrassed.\n"I'm just a face in 40,000 people," Maggie said. "I don't have 'governor's daughter' stamped on my forehead, so people don't really notice. I'm just a sophomore in college."\nMaggie Daniels has many facets. She's very proud of her father's achievements as governor, but doesn't like people to know she's the governor's daughter. She tries to keep a low profile, yet she is very active on campus and even campaigned for her dad.\nMaggie simply wants to prove herself without her dad's reputation.\n"I know it'd be easy to just coast in life, but I don't want to do that," she said. "I want to do it on my own."\nAnd she is certainly on that path. She is very involved at IU as a vice chair for the IU College Republicans, member of Union Board, sister in Zeta Tau Alpha and a business student working on I-CORE.\n"I'm a doer with a 'go get 'em' kind of attitude," she said. "I believe that it takes hard work and diligence to get things accomplished. I'm rarely satisfied."\nThe life of the governor's daughter isn't any more or less exciting than anyone else, Maggie said. Although there are some perks, such as spending a vacation at Camp David and meeting the Bush family, she said her life is mostly like everyone else's.\nMaggie said her father's identity doesn't affect her at school often. Professors don't treat her any differently. She's never been in any classes where a professor criticized him in a lecture. The only real time it has come up in class was as a question on an economics test.\n"It threw me off so much," she said. "I thought it was real funny that my dad was on a test, so it was almost hard to concentrate."\nAlthough most of the time her dad's job isn't an issue, the gubernatorial election did provide some extra stress on Maggie. Some people criticized him to her face. One student even asked her if it was true that her mother wasn't going to vote for her father.\n"There were rough days," she said. "Whether it's something in the news or something someone said, it's always tough to hear people say bad things about someone you love."\nAs a result, Maggie doesn't even read stories in the newspaper about her father because it can be too upsetting.\n"It's hard to have it stare you in the face," she said.\nShe said she understands politics are dirty, but she doesn't like it when it gets personal.\n"I don't like people judging his character," she said. "Criticize his policies all you want, but you don't know him. He's the nicest guy. He's always been there for me. I'm more proud of my dad than anyone else in the world."\nMaggie doesn't tell everybody who her father is. It isn't a conversation starter for her or even anything she brags about. In fact, one of her best friends, sophomore Jessie Jones, said she didn't even know her dad was the governor for quite some time.\n"She doesn't even like people to know she's the governor's daughter," Jones said. "She doesn't want people to judge her."\nMaggie said it can be frustrating when people stereotype her as a rich, spoiled politician's daughter, but said it doesn't happen that often. When it does happen, it bothers her because she works so hard on her own, she said. She said she understands the pressures of having a famous dad. \nOne thing she said she is aware of is how her behavior reflects on her dad and that her name in the police blotter would mean a story affecting her father.\n"There are things I really can't do," she said. "But those are things I probably shouldn't be doing anyway. It holds me to a better standard."\nMaggie shares her dad's political beliefs, but she said it's entirely her own decision. She believes in small government and privatization, but she said she didn't form her opinions because her father fed ideas to her. She said her dad doesn't even talk about politics at home -- he would rather just watch a ball game.\nAlthough she has campaigned for her dad and works for IU's College Republicans, Maggie said politics aren't big in her life. Most of her friends are liberal and she said she judges people on their character, not on how they vote.\n"If I was liberal, I still would have voted for my dad as governor because I think he's doing a really good job," she said. "Just look at how much he has already done in just a year."\nMaggie has a lot of goals she wants to accomplish and she is working her way to get there. She wants to study abroad. She wants to do well on I-CORE (she was pleased by an 'A' on her starter quiz). She wants to become a pharmaceutical representative. Still, she wants to do it on her own and she doesn't think being the governor's daughter has any effect on her dreams.\n"They just see me as the governor's daughter, not as Maggie Daniels," she said. "I'm not him. I support him and I love him, but I'm my own person. I'm not him. I'm Maggie"
(02/07/06 6:32am)
In January, the IU board of trustees passed sweeping reforms to the University's structure, including the creation of a provost position and an increased presence of the IU president in Bloomington. Still, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis faculty members have asked "what about us?"\nIn an emergency meeting Monday, Jan. 30, IUPUI faculty members passed resolutions urging IU President Adam Herbert not to forget about IUPUI in his plan to restructure IU.\nThe resolution raises concerns about Herbert serving as "CEO of Bloomington," which it says could inhibit his ability to serve other campuses. The resolution also says there are concerns about additional responsibilities given to IUPUI Chancellor Charles Bantz to care for other IU campuses. It claims it will dilute his ability to serve IUPUI.\nIUPUI faculty also expressed their concerns at the University Faculty Council meeting Feb. 1. The faculty submitted in writing eight questions for Herbert to answer, including "With the IUPUI chancellor given a lot of grunt work, who is going to lead the IUPUI campus?" and "What is going to happen to research administration -- again centralized (in) Bloomington under the provost? If so, the reorganization is beginning to sound a lot like 'All Bloomington, all the time.'"\nHerbert told the trustees during the business meeting Friday he plans to answer all the questions in a written statement and an online "fireside chat" later. He said he has no timeline for his responses.
(02/07/06 6:32am)
After an unsuccessful search for an IU-Bloomington chancellor, the IU board of trustees discussed possible changes to IU's search and screening process.\nInterim Provost Michael McRobbie presented his suggested priorities to the trustees' External Relations Committee meeting Friday. He said IU needs to consider the size of committees, quality of the members, University involvement and use of search firms.\nIU officials are currently searching or will be searching for several positions including IUB provost, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis executive vice chancellor and six deans on the Bloomington campus, including dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.\nMcRobbie said he is generally in favor of smaller search committees, which mean greater efficiency and consensus. The trade-off, McRobbie said, is that smaller committees mean less representation from faculty and students. IU student trustee Casey Cox said he would like to see student representation continue in all searches.\nTed Miller, president of the Bloomington Faculty Council, suggested that problem could be remedied by making the final four or five candidates open to the public. McRobbie confirmed that committees will most likely be more open. Miller said by unveiling the finalists, the entire University can be involved in the process.\nPositions such as IU president or provost -- both of which IU will search for in the upcoming years -- will be up to the trustees if they are to announce finalists, McRobbie said.\nAnother important aspect of searches, McRobbie said, is the qualifications of members. With smaller searches, it's even more important to find people who have the right background to select the best candidates, he said.\n"It really depends on what kind of search you are doing," McRobbie said. "If you are searching for a law school dean, a committee full of philosophers wouldn't be a good idea."\nMcRobbie said it's also important to have the University leaders involved with the members of the search committee. For example, McRobbie said he is in constant communication with the members of the COAS dean search committee because whoever it chooses will report directly to him.\nMcRobbie said he is also skeptical when it comes to the use of search firms. He said search firms can be great because they ensure a diverse pool of candidates, but the University gives up some control. Also, McRobbie said search firms might not be as welcoming as search committees. IUPUI Chancellor Charles Bantz agreed, emphasizing how important it is to treat every candidate well because "you never know if you'll run into them again."\n"We need to treat every candidate like they are the most important person to step on campus," Bantz said.\nBantz elaborated on McRobbie's comments and said some of the things he looks for in searches are efficiency and diversity. He said one "absolutely essential" aspect of any search is a timeline with clearly stated goals and expectations.\nBantz said he has noticed IU is very male-dominated and search committees should also consider diversity when selecting candidates.\n"If they show up with people that look just like me, they better have a good story," Bantz said.\nTrustee Thomas Reilly Jr. mentioned in the meeting the possibility of limiting the number of searches IU conducts.\n"Do we have to have searches for all of these positions?" Reilly said. "It's puts a lot of cost and effort on the University."\nHe said IU has several interim deans, one at the School of Informatics who has been an interim for four years.\nHe advocated that in certain positions IU leaders should just appoint someone instead of conducting a lengthy search.\nMcRobbie agreed with Reilly.\n"There are some occurrences where you have someone acting and it's clear that person is great and should stay in the job," McRobbie said.\nReilly went even further by suggesting some positions which are truly administrative could also be filled. He pointed out the Indiana Memorial Union is looking for a new director and asked, "Isn't that just a hotel manager position?"\n"Well, there are also diversity issues," IU President Adam Herbert said, interrupting Reilly. Several trustees informed Reilly there are legal and diversity-related ramifications by not having searches. Some said without a search process, minority candidates would not receive a shot at many jobs.\nIU legal counsel Dorothy Frapwell explained to the board that there is no law that says there has to be searches, but said it could leave IU open to discrimination lawsuits by affirmative action groups. She said the real question is how you define a search because essentially when a job is available, all employers do some sort of search even if there isn't an appointed committee involved.\n"Still, if you never do open searches, you put yourself in a legal problem," Frapwell said.
(02/06/06 5:35am)
The IU board of trustees wants the Bloomington campus to become more elite, but many members disagree on how to get there.\nDuring the Academic Affairs Committee meeting, trustees, along with IU faculty members and administrators, debated how high IU should raise its admission standards and what methods should be used for admissions. The debate on admissions standards stems from the trustees' goal to make IU more competitive with elite institutions such as University of Michigan and University of Illinois.\n"The perception is that -- and I know many of us have heard this anecdotally -- many third and fourth generations of IU families are opting not to go to here because they perceive the quality of IU is going down," trustee Tom Reilly, Jr. said.\nUniversity Chancellor Ken Gros Louis and Interim Provost Michael McRobbie led the discussion about the pros and cons of several criteria for raising admissions, including class rank, SAT scores and overall grade point average.\nThe biggest debate was about the use of SAT scores and class ranks, which officials said measure different things. Don Hossler, education professor and former vice chancellor for enrollment services, said focusing on one or another will have a different outcome for IUB.\nSome say relying on class rank can help students from economically disadvantaged high schools who might not test as well on the SAT because of costs associated with preparing for the test. On the other hand, others argue students from more prestigious high schools might have lower class rankings, but can still perform well on the SAT.\nCurrently, IUB does not have minimums in place for either criterion. There is no formula used in IUB's office of admissions, but the office does require a high school degree, certain course credit requirements and either the SAT or ACT. Generally, the office recommends in-state students to be in the top half of their class and out-of-state students to be in the top third, but that is all considered alongside grades and SAT scores as well, according to its Web site.\nAdministrators are currently looking at establishing minimum requirements for class rank, SAT scores or both. The trustees discussed establishing a minimum SAT score of between 1020 and 1060. IU would start at a lower minimum and increase its standards -- possibly by 12 points a year -- to reach its target. The debate occurs about which criteria to emphasize more.\nReilly said he is wary of emphasizing class rank because students in the bottom of their classes at private high schools generally do better at IU than students in the top half at rural schools.\nReilly also said that raising SAT scores is the best way to attract smarter students. He said that when he was on the board of trustees at Butler University, it raised SAT scores by 15 points a year to reach an increase of 170 points. He said it had a positive impact and the faculty members were inspired by the students.\n"The faculty were energized. They can tell the difference in 15 points," Reilly said. "It's one of the four or five things you need to do to become an elite university."\nGros Louis said he wanted to express the dangers of putting so much emphasis on SAT scores because he doesn't believe they are a true indicator of a student's potential for success.\nCharlie Nelms, vice president for institutional development and student affairs, said the SAT needs to be used only in conjunction with other criteria and that College Board, the company which designs the test, agrees with that statement.\nTrustee Cora Breckenridge said she worries that wealthier students do better on the SAT since they can afford more preparation courses and retaking the test. She said that IU can become more elite, but it shouldn't be at the cost of diversity in student population.\n"If Trustee Reilly had his way, we'd be Stanford," she said. "I think we need to be Indiana University and to help students in Indiana succeed. And as long as I'm a trustee on this board, I will make sure that Indiana University remains accessible.\n"Tom Reilly thinks the students inspire the faculty, but what about the faculty inspiring the students?" \nHossler said the Bloomington campus might see a 42 percent drop in minority enrollment if IU acts too quickly in adopting higher admissions standards.\nBreckenridge said that statistic worries her because she feels that students from poorer, urban areas should be given a chance to succeed. She emphasized SAT scores cannot be the determining factor for admissions. She said that attributes such as maturity are better measured through GPA, class rank and extracurricular activities than by test scores.\nIU law professor Kevin Brown said SAT scores "shouldn't be the 'be all, end all.'" He noted the success of students in the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program, a program that offers merit-based scholarships and individual mentoring for mostly underrepresented minority students. According to statistics, HHSP graduates students with SAT scores at least 100 points below IUB's 1120 median score at a rate higher than the graduation rate for IUB as a whole.\nBreckenridge said IU needs to work with K-12 education in Indiana if admission standards are to be raised. She said she suggested that the board meet with Dr. James Comer, a professor of child psychiatry at Yale University, who has focused on promoting child development as a way to improve education in schools.\nBart Ng, president of the University Faculty Council, said that raising standards is the best way to help K-12 education. He said that if students want to go to IU, then they'll work harder to reach the minimum requirements.\nThose in attendance also discussed other ways IU can change its student population through admissions standards.\nIU President Adam Herbert said he wants to better shape the student population.\n"I don't think as a major research institution that we have enough graduate students," Herbert said. "We may need to shrink the freshman class to do this. That's something I'd be willing to do to get more graduate students."\nOthers think IU might be striving for an unachievable goal by comparing itself to the Big Ten's elite. \n"We will never be a Michigan or an Illinois in my opinion," Hossler said.\nHossler said because resources are split between two main campuses, IUB has a hard time competing with more centralized Big Ten schools. He said because of such differences, such as a lack of school of medicine, IUB can only raise perceptions and rankings so much through increased admissions standards.
(02/06/06 5:35am)
Top University officials unveiled IU's $1.3 billion strategic plan to build its future around life sciences at the IU board of trustees' meeting Friday. Not only will the plan create hundreds of jobs, but it will also attempt to solidify IU as one of the top research universities for life sciences.\nIU leaders presented a 60-page report, which outlines IU's 15 strategic goals and its 10-year outlook, at Friday's Long Range Planning Committee meeting.\nInterim Provost Michael McRobbie, along with Vice President for Life Sciences Craig Brater and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Kumble Subbaswamy, spoke about how IU can make itself more competitive for research grants and increase its reputation in life sciences.\nThe report notes six areas of life sciences in which to become national leaders: analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, cancer biology, the neurosciences, diabetes and metabolic disorders, and model systems in biological research.\nIn order to achieve its goals, the report states IU needs to work on greater cooperation between the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. \nLaboratories in Bloomington, which contain some of the most sophisticated devices in the world, must collaborate with the medical school in Indianapolis, the report said.\nMcRobbie said the project relies on the cooperation between the two campuses, and while distance can be a hindrance, he believes the projects will be worth the drive.\nOne problem that IU faces, presenters said, is a lack of researchers and research space. Brater said IU's researchers come up with just as many breakthroughs as the top medical schools, but IU simply does not have enough faculty members.\nSubbaswamy said that lack of research spaces limits how many faculty IU can hire.\n"Space is the biggest problem we face," Subbaswamy said. "If you gave us $10 million and told us to go hire more faculty, we would have no place to put them."\nThough six new research centers will be built on both campuses -- including Simon Hall and Multidisciplinary Science Building Phase II in Bloomington -- most of that space is already reserved. The plan calls for adding 1.5 million square feet of research space in Bloomington, a feat that McRobbie said IU architects told him is possible "even without becoming packed like Tokyo."\nThe problem is that building research centers is a lengthy process. Trustee William Cast, a founding member of Dupont Hospital in Fort Wayne, asked if IU could build its research space quicker without sacrificing the beauty of the campus. He said he didn't want ugly buildings, but questioned if every building needed to be made of limestone, which takes time to build.\nBrater agreed that researchers won't care how beautiful a building is if they have space for research.\n"(When I was a researcher) I didn't care so much about what the façade was, I just wanted to know how much space I got," Brater said.\nMcRobbie said expediting construction is something to look at, but IU always values "building for the ages" instead of a quick six-month construction that a company such as Eli Lilly could build.\nMcRobbie also said that graduate students and faculty won't be the only ones that will benefit from the life sciences plan. He said he was impressed with several life sciences majors he met when he ate lunch at Wright Quad Friday.\n"I've been very impressed with the student research projects in Bloomington," McRobbie said. "As provost, I want to encourage more undergraduate research."\nIU is trying to fund its plan by increasing research grants and the report touting its success so far. It noted $155 million in grants for genomics, $53 million for the Indiana METACyt Intiative and $10 million for neurosciences.\n"It's just such an exciting proposal that I think the money will find you," Trustee Tom Reilly told the presenters.\nIU President Adam Herbert announced in December that "life sciences is now our highest University priority." As a result, IU has been focusing its funding on life sciences. Charles Bantz, IUPUI chancellor and executive vice president, said he has significantly shifted discretionary funds at IUPUI to life sciences. He said that with priorities come sacrifices, as other schools might have wanted the funds. He said he doesn't have a choice because IU has to keep up in life sciences research.\n"We're on this path and we have to do it," he said.
(02/03/06 4:14pm)
Whether you think she's a bright, conservative speaker or a misinformed, narrow-minded shock artist, Union Board expects a packed crowd for author Ann Coulter, who is coming to speak at the IU Auditorium Feb. 23.\nCoulter, author of "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" will give a speech titled "Liberals Are Wrong About Everything." The speech, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m., but doors will open at 6 p.m., and seating will be available at 6:30 p.m.\nCoulter has drawn quite a bit of controversy while touring the country speaking at colleges and universities. At the University of Arizona, a heckler threw a pie at her while she spoke. At the University of Connecticut, she was showered with chants of "You suck."\nUnion Board President Brad Allen said he realizes Coulter is a controversial figure who can be viewed as extreme, but said he is excited to have such a "big name" come and spark debate.\n"Our goal is to inform and entertain and -- no matter what you think about her -- Ann Coulter does both," he said.\nReaction among students was mixed regarding Coulter's visit.\nGroups like the IU College Republicans and the IU Republican Women, both co-sponsors of the event, showed excitement at her visit. \nSome conservatives hail Coulter for statements about Democrats, such as, "It's as if all the brain-damaged people in America got together and formed a voting bloc."\n"I absolutely love the woman for her sharp humor and ability to fight back at liberals who have no real basis for despising her," senior Nick McCormick said.\nOthers have attacked her not just for her conservatism but for what they consider outlandish statements she makes.\nJeffrey Isaac, chair of the political science department, said he has a serious problem with the way Coulter frames her arguments.\n"My impression, based on what I have seen on TV, is that Ann Coulter is a bright woman," he said. "She is also a vicious polemicist who chooses to place her cleverness in the service of rabid and unfair denunciations, mischaracterizations and smears of liberalism, which for her seems hardly different than Satanism."\nIsaac said he has no problem with Coulter coming to campus but said he hopes students won't expect an intelligent debate to occur.\n"Union Board does many interesting things, and invites all kinds of 'acts' to the campus for the viewing pleasure of the campus," he said. "I just wish this event weren't billed as a serious political discussion, for that it is not."\nCoulter has made many controversial statements on TV and in print. In a syndicated article published one day after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, she said about Arab nations: "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." She also told the New York Observer "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to The New York Times building."\nMany conservatives say she is a satirist in the same light as liberal author Al Franken and that her arguments might be harsh, but they aren't always so extreme.\n"She isn't afraid to confront the liberal ideology head-on and say what a lot of conservatives are thinking but are too afraid to proclaim in order to maintain a sense of political correctness," junior Jeremy Gard said.\nSecurity will be tightened for the event to prevent incidents similar to those that have occurred across the nation. To prevent a barrage of pies, bags and purses of certain sizes will not be allowed in the auditorium and will be held at the coat check. Signs will also not be allowed. Protesters will be allowed at Showalter Fountain outside the event, but not in the auditorium. Union Board and Dean of Students Dick McKaig will finalize the security policy closer to the date of event. It was rumored students might have to sign contracts, but Allen denied that was ever discussed.\nLast year, Allen said Union Board was disappointed at student reaction to David Horowitz, a famous author who was heckled during his speech. Allen said while Union Board supports dissent, speakers should be allowed to have their views heard.\n"They have a constitutionally protected right to protest as long as it's civil, as well the right to be wrong, in my opinion," Gard said. "However, Ann Coulter also has the right to be heard."\nIsaac said the personal attacks Coulter makes, such as when, according to The Associated Press, she told an audience last week at Philander Smith College that she hopes someone puts rat poisoning in Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens crème brulee, don't help shield her from aggressive protests.\n"I believe in free speech in the society at large, and I believe that universities are a place for serious debate," he said. "Unfortunately, I am not sure that Coulter's books and speeches are much different than verbal pie throwing."\nMany students said they plan to go and protest or heckle, and others said they don't agree with Union Board's decision to bring Coulter to campus.\nFreshman Danielle Weissberg, creator of an anti-Coulter Facebook group, said she is extremely disappointed with Union Board's decision. She said it is disrespectful to the women of the campus to bring such a well-known anti-feminist, referring to Coulter's claims that women are "not as bright" as men and that "it would be a much better country if women did not vote."\nAs a result, Weissberg said she plans to take part in protests not only against Coulter, but against Union Board for bringing her here as well.\n"I think that protesters are doing what they feel is right and that is making sure their voice is heard to ensure that another incident like this doesn't happen again," Weissberg said. "I also think that Union Board should have expected a reaction slightly like this to such a controversial person being asked to come in and speak.\n"I hope that other students will join me in sending a message that speakers who preach such morally reprehensible things should not be invited to speak to students, and if they are, it's not a decision the student body will support."\nSome students have applauded the Union Board for bringing Coulter, because they say it supports a diversity of ideas.\n"To engage in self-censorship in order to avoid controversy only serves to deprive the student body," sophomore Reid Simon said.\nAllen said that Union Board does not take stances and the group's "greatest fear is to be thought of as a political group."\nMany students who claim to dislike Coulter's views said they feel the best thing to do is just to ignore her.\n"Don't give the beast any food, and she'll eventually starve to death," sophomore Chris Chrzan said.
(02/02/06 6:07am)
It's on billboards, T-shirts, Assembly Hall's scoreboard and now even on Dasani water bottles. \nIU is Red Hot. \nThis summer, Newsweek named IU the "hottest big state school." As a result, IU leapt right onto this honor to create its recent "IU is Red Hot" marketing campaign and experts say the swiftness paid off.\n"The 'IU is Red Hot' label is a simple, distinctive message that is easy to communicate and conveys a positive image," said IU marketing professor Ray Burke. "It's a great platform for a marketing campaign."\nIU has spent more than $200,000 since the beginning of the school year to promote its new slogan. There are nine billboards across the state touting the honor and T-shirts coining the slogan have circulated campus.\nLisa Townsend, executive director of the Office of \nCommunication and Marketing, said the campaign has been extremely successful and cost efficient. She said that IU has received a lot of free press about its slogan as it has been incorporated into themes for the IU Alumni Association and other groups. She compared the effort to Ball State's recent campaign "Cutting Edge Cool," which plays off the IU slogan. She said IU has spent far less than Ball State, which bought more than 150 billboards, and IU has received greater results from its campaign.\nTownsend said she got the idea for putting stickers on water bottles when IU President Adam Herbert was handing out water on move-in day.\n"I like the idea of cooling off with a 'Red Hot' sticker there," she said.\nPart of the reason why the campaign has been successful is that IU moved quickly while the honor was still new, knowing such accolades only happen year to year.\n"We wanted to strike while the iron is hot," \nTownsend said.\nAt the same time, University Chancellor Ken Gros Louis said he believes IU had to move quickly because the University might go down in the rankings. Gros Louis said he is always skeptical of rankings because he realizes they can be skewed and said for that reason, he thinks flash in the pan rankings aren't something to gloat about.\n"I would be very cautious about our excitement with such rankings because they might not be that way next year," Gros Louis said. "U.S. News and World Report, for example, changes it's ranking every year because if they were the same they wouldn't sell the magazine. We very well might not receive the same honor from Newsweek next year."\nGros Louis said the accomplishments that IU should promote are the schools such as the Kelley School of Business, which consistently ranks in the top 10 or 15 in the nation.\nThe problem, Townsend explains, is that "top 10 or 15 in the nation" doesn't work as a slogan. She said marketing campaigns should be about the whole University and not just a school or a department.\nIU Student Association President Alex Shortle echoed Gros Louis' comments.\n"Advertising of the Newsweek rankings was useful for a time, but from this point forward I don't believe the promotion to be justified," he said. "They need to promote why we are 'Red Hot,' not simply that we are."\nTownsend said that she couldn't say if IU would continue the campaign next year. Factors such as whether IU drops in rankings and project funding would play into that decision.\nAssistant professor of marketing Adam Duhachek said he thinks because of the time span of the award, it can only last for a year.\n"Next year's awareness campaign will likely have to emphasize different strengths," he said. "These popular press awards come and go, and the media are fickle."\nLaura Buchholz, marketing lecturer, said that even if IU were to receive the honor again, a new campaign \nmight be needed.\n"You may need to change the campaign even if we do earn that ranking again," she said. "Marketing is fluid. It must be timely. When it becomes stagnant, it becomes boring. Humans crave variety.\n"After a year or so, though, even 'Red Hot' can become lukewarm. All campaigns have a shelf life," she said.\nMarketing professor Jonlee Andrews disagrees, saying that the campaign can be tweaked to suit new honors.\n"While the campaign focuses on a specific award, it could also be considered a clever tag line that will stick in the minds of those who are exposed to it," she said. "It actually provides a nice platform for future campaigns around anything great that is happening at the University."\nMarketing professor Ann Bastianelli agrees, saying that it is immaterial if we receive the ranking again. \nShe said it's timing.\nTownsend said she hopes the campaign will translate into increased awareness of IU's accomplishments, which could mean greater support in the legislature, more students applying to IU and maybe even more alumni donations. Duhachek said it's important that IU continues to market aggressively because "any positive point of differentiation can help steer bright 17 and 18 year olds to campus."\nTownsend said IU has received great benefits out of only a small amount of advertising, but noted that she thinks IU rarely over-promotes its achievements.\n"I don't know if you ever can really do too much," she said. "But at the same time, we are higher education and not McDonald's."\nIt's unknown if IU will keep the campaign around next year, but Buchholz has a suggestion if they do keep it.\n"If we're rated at the top again next year I might follow up this campaign with a 'White Hot' theme," she said. "What's hotter than 'Red Hot?' It's 'White Hot.' IU is both"
(01/23/06 5:28am)
Dr. Craig Brater doesn't know if there are any other vice presidents of life sciences around the country. He hasn't even ironed out all the responsibilities of the job. But one thing he does know is that IU's Department of Life Sciences is already strong. He is just looking to making it even stronger.\nOn Dec. 9, 2005, IU President Adam Herbert announced he was creating a new position at IU, vice president of life sciences, in order to strengthen and develop the "highest University priority." He asked Brater, who will continue in his role as dean of the IU School of Medicine, to fill that post.\nBrater will coordinate IU's life sciences strategic plan and will serve as a spokesman to represent IU's interests within the Indiana Statehouse, in Washington, D.C., and the private sector.\n"These are all things I've already been doing in some role, but it just signifies how seriously IU takes the life sciences," Brater said. "I see myself as the designated worrier for the University."\nIn his new role, Brater said there isn't a need to focus IU's life sciences development into one specialized area. He said IU has been great at life sciences for years, so it's just a matter of taking everything a step further.\n"The biggest question is how do you capitalize on the strengths you already have?" he said.\nBrater listed neuroscience, genetics and cancer research as some of IU's many strengths.\nOne area where IU hopes to capitalize is with research in the medical school. Brater said it is his goal "to make IU one of top medical research centers in the nation." \nHe said one obstacle standing in the way is money needed to attract more faculty members.\n"It's ultimately going to get down to how much money we have," he said. "We need to recruit a lot of additional faculty.\n"Look at it this way: If you compare the top 10 or top 15 schools of medicine in the country, places like (University of California, San Francisco) and UC, San Diego -- these real hot beds of life sciences, then you'll find that we have a lot in common," he said. "Our faculty bring in just as many research dollars, but the big difference is that they have twice as many faculty as us."\nBrater said the IU School of Medicine has had a business model for increasing its faculty for years, but plans to wed it to a comprehensive plan which would include IU-Bloomington.\nAnother priority for Brater as a leader of life sciences will be to lobby members of the Indiana General Assembly. He said he is confident of the strides IU has made but wants to market the life sciences more so everyone can be aware of IU's achievements.\nHe said he sees IU's life sciences development plan -- especially when combined with efforts at Purdue -- having a positive impact on both the universities and the state. He noted that Indianapolis is in perfect position to become a leader in life sciences because of support from Eli Lilly and Company, Guidant, Cook Group and others.\n"A lot of cities are trying to develop their life sciences industry, but you'll find that they don't have the type of organizations and infrastructure that we have. It's not even close," he said.\nThis all plays into IU's plan to receive more money from the Indiana General Assembly. Several IU officials, including J. Thomas Forbes, IU's executive director for state relations, said life sciences is a key part of IU's lobbying strategy.\n"Life sciences is important because if we are going to get money from the state, that is where it's going to come from," said IU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis.\nThe strategy attempts to set IU apart from other universities in Indiana, as IU has the only school of medicine in the state, which is also the second largest medical school in the nation. It also helps bring jobs to counteract "brain drain," or the effect of in-state graduates leaving Indiana for other jobs.\n"It's a realization that IU has the only school of medicine in the state, and we are well-positioned to bring teaching, research and jobs to the state," said IU Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Judith Palmer.\nBrater agrees. \n"We are like sort of a triple threat in that respect," he said.\nOverall, IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said IU is developing its life sciences not only as a way to build its reputation and earn more state funding, but as a part of its responsibility to the state.\n"Since the Daniels administration has arrived, there has been an expectation to expand life sciences and research," he said. "That's the expectation, and we are trying to do what the state expects of us"
(01/23/06 5:27am)
IU President Adam Herbert recently told the board of trustees that "the life sciences is now our highest University priority."\nSo where does that leave the liberal arts at IU? University experts say right where it was -- at the heart of the mission of the campus.\nAlthough they don't receive as much press as IU's life sciences initiatives, the ever-growing School of Informatics or the consistently prestigious Kelley School of Business, educators say the arts still play a vital role in IU's elite reputation.\n"A substantial reason why IU does so well in peer rankings is its performance in liberal arts," said IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre.\nIU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis said he has noticed a significant increase in the number of students choosing majors in liberal arts.\nGros Louis said he has also noticed considerable interest in IU's plan for liberal arts.\n"A while ago, the University Club asked me to give a speech on the future of liberal arts at IU. I haven't written the speech yet, so I can't tell you what I'm going to say, but obviously, I think it is something that people are thinking about," he said.\nGros Louis said he thinks students used to be pressured to major in disciplines such as business because they are more applicable.\nJ. Thomas Forbes, IU's executive director for state relations, agreed with Gros Louis and added that IU could head back into a period of decreased attention on liberal arts.\n"I think it goes in cycles," Forbes said. "I remember a few years ago, everyone wanted to get an MBA and be Alex P. Keaton. Now, people are worried about being well-rounded."\nGros Louis said the fact that enrollment has decreased at the business school while the College of Arts and Sciences has seen record enrollment in many departments shows that liberal arts is still very much alive.\nGros Louis said he agrees with Forbes' assessment that students want to be more well-rounded to prepare themselves for the workplace.\n"I think we have gone away from the materialism of the 1980s and the 'me too' society, so you'll see a lot more double majors in, say, religious studies," he said.\nThe myth that art majors end up homeless is one that will die, Gros Louis said.\n"My daughter graduated with an Italian and art history major," he said. "She thought nobody would want to hire her, but she had plenty of offers."\nMark Kaplan, chair of the philosophy department, said a liberal arts degree can prepare students for almost any job. He said the skills learned, such as how to study, write well and work with others, are all desirable in the workplace.\nKaplan said most students understand the applications that their liberal arts degree will have for them. In his department, which has experienced a record number of majors, many students use their experiences in philosophy to help them in law school.\n"If you are going into law, that's what you do," he said. "You are paid to use logic. Not so much to find the truth all the time, but to help your client. I don't think any training is as good as philosophy for law school."\nGros Louis said many students and employers prefer IU's Liberal Arts and Management Program, run by history professor James Madison, to the traditional business degree. He said its growing popularity is a sign of the value of well-roundedness in the workplace.\nAnother way for students to find uses for their major is through specialized courses, Gros Louis said. Many departments, such as history, offer classes on what students can do with their major, he said.\nStill, despite the value of a liberal arts education, it doesn't change the bottom line that life sciences is a hot commodity for lobbying the Statehouse for funding.\nMacIntyre said IU maintains a strong commitment to liberal arts but did admit, "We are changing our direction to serve some of what the state wants."\nGros Louis said life sciences is the best way to get money from the Indiana Legislature, but said it doesn't mean liberal arts will suffer.\n"Life sciences is a greater lobbying strategy, but if the state gives us more money for life sciences, then we also have more money for the arts," he said.\nForbes echoed those sentiments. He said IU is responsive to the needs of the state, but the University doesn't build its strategy strictly around funding.\n"We cannot judge our priorities just by how much we get from the state," he said. "I think the biggest thing that shows that is the record ($40.6 million) gift we received for the music school (last semester)"
(01/20/06 5:46am)
Little 500 teams, students and administrators have accused the IU Student Foundation of banning former Team Major Taylor director Courtney Bishop without due process.\nBishop was notified by letter Dec. 22, 2005, that he received a lifetime ban from all Little 500-related activities for allegedly offering scholarships to students in exchange for participation in the race. Bishop was never interviewed by IUSF officials or notified of any process prior to the decision and receiving the letter. IUSF director Rob Rhamy said the foundation will not allow Bishop to appeal the decision since he is an alumnus and not a student, and therefore not protected by IUSF regulations.\nBishop said he is angered by the lack of due process.\n"It's very disturbing, not only to me, but to anybody," he said. "There was absolutely no due process and I think that is very, very disconcerting.\n"I mean, this time it's me, but next time, it could be you."\nIUSF took no action against members of the team.\nDante Pryor and Julio German, TMT riders in 2002, told University officials they were offered full scholarships to cover tuition and room and board to ride in Little 500, but Bishop never completely fulfilled his promise.\nOffering scholarships for riding in the race is a violation of IUSF rules, Rhamy said.\nWhen Pryor and German contacted Dean of Students Richard McKaig about feeling "taken advantage of," it prompted a University investigation at the request of IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis and Vice President for Institutional Development and Student Affairs Charlie Nelms.\nMcKaig, along with IU Vice Chancellor Edwardo Rhodes, conducted interviews in late December 2004 to find out exactly what happened. They talked with several riders and Bishop and their final report was filed May 16, 2005.\nMcKaig said the report, which he couldn't provide a copy of, simply clarified the details surrounding the case, but made no verdict on guilt. The report, he said, found that IUSF would be more qualified to determine guilt and decide upon any punishment.\nRhamy said that he and race coordinator Lucas Calhoun made the decision after interviewing a few riders, but mostly the decision was based off of IU's report.\nBishop has not said if he plans to appeal the decision, but Rhamy said the student arbitration process, which all Little 500 riders can call upon if they disagree with a decision, does not apply to Bishop as an alumnus. Rhamy said the University investigation was more than enough of a fair hearing for Bishop.\n"He had gone well above breaking the rules," Rhamy said. \nHe said it is to the benefit of TMT that Bishop is banned because he had a negative effect on many riders, including forcing some students to drop out because scholarship promises weren't fulfilled.\nBishop said that, judging from the University investigation, he cannot understand how he was banned from the race.\n"I think the University found zero fault with anything in the report," he said. "I think that issuing a lifetime ban is very extreme when they found zero fault."\nMcKaig said there was little communication between the authors of the report and IUSF and that he was only notified by the decision through the same letter sent to Bishop and the rest of the TMT riders. Rhamy said he looked at the report, but never worked with McKaig or Rhodes to make a decision.\nNelms, who asked for the investigation, expressed disappointment about the lack of due process.\n"I have spent my entire life fighting to ensure equal treatment for all people and I certainly believe that Courtney deserves a fair hearing," he said.\nOther Little 500 riders and teams, including representatives of Team Marshall, an all-black women's team, expressed frustration with the decision-making process. Other teams weren't as upset because they said they felt TMT was unfairly breaking the race rules.\nBishop said he doesn't know if TMT still plans on competing in the race. The deadline for registration is the week of Feb. 6, but Rhamy said IUSF is flexible with late registration.\nRhamy said that he sincerely hopes TMT decides to ride, emphasizing what he sees as a strong commitment to diversity in the race.\n"Team Major Taylor's participation is a very high priority to us," he said. "What the riders have done for the race has been great."\nBishop said he will abide by IUSF's decision and stay away from his former teammates, even though they are close friends of his whom he said he really cares for. Despite the punishment, Bishop said he will continue to work with diversity at IU.\n"I've been involved in diversity initiatives since 1986," he said. "Even by the admission of the IU Student Foundation, I've done a great job. I will continue along that path, doing what I call human services, even if I can't be a part of Little 500"
(01/20/06 5:46am)
Since the days of Reconstruction, IU and Purdue University have been fierce rivals.\nEven before organized sports, since Purdue's inception in 1869, the two schools have been at each other's throats.\nIn 1865, the Indiana General Assembly approved the Morrill Act, which said that the federal government would give land to states that they could sell to fund colleges teaching agriculture and mechanics. Leaders of IU at the time were vying for more land and were willing to become an agricultural school to receive the expansion. But, then came along John Purdue, who bought more than $150,000 worth of land. Out of his charity, a university was founded in West Lafayette and the rest is history.\nThe rivalry has changed throughout the years, with its focus shifting mostly to athletics. IU and Purdue have been collaborative friends in recent years, working together with IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis and with many projects in life sciences, to name a few partnerships.\nBut with the AT&T Crimson & Gold Cup potentially on the line, the time for cooperation is over. This weekend features the annual men's basketball game, as well as match-ups against the Boilermakers in wrestling, men's and women's track and field and women's swimming. \nFor a few hours this weekend, IU will forget about its research partnership and will focus on one thing: victory.\n"Indiana is fortunate to have two outstanding research institutions in our state," said IU trustee Sue Talbot. "We are cooperative with Purdue in many areas. However, three days out of each year we meet on the field or court. One week before each of those days, the verbal mantra is: Beat Purdue, beat Purdue, beat Purdue. \n"The older I get the more strongly I repeat it."