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(06/11/07 12:34am)
As the global AIDS epidemic becomes an increasingly prominent international issue, the IU Center for AIDS Research has named Dr. Johnny J. He its new director. Under this new leadership, the institution plans to step up its fight against the disease. \n“I am very excited about the opportunity, but I know it’s a challenge,” He said. \nA professor of microbiology and immunology at IUPUI, He focuses his research on the HIV vaccine and HIV’s effect on the brain. He completed his undergraduate and graduate work in China, received his master’s and doctoral degrees from New York University and completed his postdoctoral studies at Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center at Rockefeller University and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School, according to www.cancer.iu.edu. \n“The AIDS epidemic is a big crisis,” He said. “At the time of my studies, we didn’t have the therapy like we have now. Really, it’s a challenge from the basic research point of view, but you also have to think about the benefits you can bring to the population. We are talking about almost 40 million people who are affected now. It’s a very exciting and fulfilling thing to do. As a basic scientist, if you can find something that contributes to the treatment of the disease, that makes you feel very good.” \nThe IU Center for AIDS Research conducts basic clinical, epidemiological, behavioral and translational research for the prevention, detection and treatment of HIV and AIDS, according to www.research.indiana.edu. The center focuses on the neurological effects of HIV, such as dementia and the loss of motor skills and memory.\nHe explained that the IU Center for AIDS Research will initially seek financial support and infrastructure for the center’s research. Obtaining funding, however, will be no easy task. In fact, He said that this daunting task made it very difficult to fill the position he now holds.\nHe was a member of the committee working to fill the position of director for more than two years and finally applied for the position himself. Due to the fact that the center lacks funding, he said it was hard to find someone because applicants either asked for too great a salary, or because they did not meet the criteria needed to be the director. \nHe also explained that although the research center has a strong communication program and a strong outreach effort fighting AIDS in Kenya, its basic research program is very weak. Within the next few years, He said he plans to recruit four to six new scientists in order to strengthen the basic research program, but that it will be difficult due to the center’s current lack of funding.\n“We have to work hard to make this happen. I don’t think we can pull this off with the very limited resources here. I have been trying to talk to the University and the School of Medicine to explain that we need more resources to make this happen,” He said. “It will take time, but I think we are going to make it.”\nHe hopes to expand the program to increase the overall amount of research the center does.\n“My goal is to bring new blood to the campus and to the state of Indiana,” He said. “The goal here is to bring new money, and the extra money will of course bring new jobs to the state.”
(05/24/07 12:01am)
While most college students are spending summer days lounging around in pajamas for hours, 30 IU students are starting their days at 6 a.m. with push-ups, sit-ups and miles of running.\nAfter almost a year of training, participants of the IU Police Department’s Cadet Program have begun their final 14 weeks of training with the IUPD Police Academy, which started May 7 and will last until August 11.\nThe program allows full-time IU students to obtain accreditation as certified law enforcement officers along with experience in the law-enforcement field. \n“The cadet program is for full-time students,” Lt. Greg Butler said. “There’s not another one like it in any other part of the country or at any other university. The purpose of the program is to benefit the students. It also benefits the IUPD because we only have about 43 full-time officers; without our cadets we would not be able to service the community as well as we do.”\nCadets are recruited each September; students who will be IU sophomores or juniors the following year apply and are taken into consideration by the IUPD to be admitted into the program.\n“We look for someone who has average or high ethical standards,” IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said. “They’re chosen from a variety of academic disciplines. To have a more diverse staff, it’s better not to have any specific disciplines.” \nTwo weeks prior to their first year as a cadets, participants go through a training period where they gain access to working in the dispatch center, handle 911 calls, become certified in CPR and Automated External Defibrillator use and learn the basics of the job in order to work security for the following year. Cadets are then expected to work one year as security officers at various athletic events as well as at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation or the Student Recreational Sports Center. \n“(During our first year) we were thrown out into the public right away, so we were approached with questions we couldn’t answer,” said cadet Derek Baker, a senior who wants to work for a local law-enforcement organization. “It was a dramatic learning curve for us. I learned to be more (conscientious) with the public while in that uniform.”\nFollowing their first year as cadets, participants are entered into the 14-week Police Academy. \nAt the academy, each day starts at 6 a.m. with physical training. Students complete training in areas such as criminal law, traffic law, alcohol abuse, crisis intervention and crash investigation.\n“It’s overwhelming, but exciting at the same time,” said cadet Sofia Halvacs, a junior who hopes to start working at a local law-enforcement organization and work her way up to a federal organization. “You’re learning so much about what you are going to be doing in a few months.”\nThe IUPD’s Cadet Program offers participants certain advantages that other training programs do not, allowing them a leg up on competition when it comes time to search for a job.\n“A lot of people like the product we’ve produced, the individual that goes out to get the job,” Butler said. “We have a lot of departments coming to us wanting to recruit people from the academy to their department.”\nButler went on to explain that many well-known organizations are aware of the program, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service.\n“It’s a very collaborative situation,” Minger said. “It’s a very good thing for students to go through. When they leave here, they will become very marketable. They will be looked at as better candidates for employment. Not only are they trained, but they have on-the-job training and a college degree to go with that.”\nThough the academy just started, most of the cadets are pleased with how the program is structured and with their decisions to join.\n“I have a military background, and I am pretty impressed with the program,” Baker said. “It’s been a while since I have been in the structured environment. The demands and expectations are set high, and the last time I had that experience was when I was in the Marines.”
(04/27/07 4:00am)
As much of America rushes to help the Virginia Tech community in any way possible through the aftermath of the April 16 shootings, a local Bloomington grocery store has made their plans to help.\nThe Sahara Mart, 106 E. Second St., is planning to host their biannual wine and beer tasting event on Saturday. But this time they are adding a twist.\nThey began hosting the event in September 2005 and while it started as a completely free event, this year organizers are planning on asking for donations from those who attend, Tracey Walker, Sahara Mart wine and beer manager, said.\n“It is still a free event. We are asking people who attend to make a small donation,” Walker said. “We believe that we will be able to make a nice deposit to the Hokie Fund.”\nThe Sahara Mart, said Walker, is planning to donate 100 percent of all money collected during their event to the Virginia Tech Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, which was set up in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy. It offers money to assist victims and their families, provide grief counseling and cover expenses of memorials, communication and comfort.\n“It’s not going to be a somber event; it’s not a memorial or vigil,” Walker said. “It will be fun, but we want to use the people that attend to help this fund.”\nThroughout the event, the Sahara Mart will be asking for a $1 or more donation and will be selling $1 bratwursts and hamburgers, which have been donated by Fisher Family Farms, according to a press release. The Sahara Mart will still continue to collect donations throughout the following week for anyone who is unable to attend Saturday’s event.\nWalker said that Owner Javad Noorihoseini, of the Sahara Mart, knew he would want to help when he heard about the tragedy at Virginia Tech.\n“He was so moved by what happened in Virginia, thinking how it could have easily happened here,” Walker said. “He came to me and asked how we could help. We thought this was a great way for a university town like Bloomington to reach out and help.”\nAfter deciding he had to do something for those affected by the shooting, Walker talked to Frank Walsh, a friend and wine salesman to the Sahara Mart. Walsh has a sister that works as the Director of Development at Virginia Tech. Walsh informed Walker of the fund and the two started working together on making the biannual event a fundraiser.\nSeveral Indiana suppliers, wine and beer producers will be making corporate donations as well, including Upland Brewery, Monarch Beverages and Graybull Organic Wines.\n“It’s fabulous. We really support what they’re trying to do,” Penn Janson, Upland Brewery vice president of marketing, said. \n“The fact of the matter is it could have been any university.”\nWalker said the Sahara Mart is expecting a wide cross-section of people to attend the event, which will last from 1 to 5 p.m. The attendees will range between student, faculty and Bloomington-natives, he said.\n“There’s not a whole lot of people who don’t enjoy beer and wine,” said Walker.
(04/20/07 4:00am)
Seven Indiana public school teachers are beaming with pride after being awarded the IU School of Education’s Martha Lea and Bill Armstrong Teacher Educator Award for the 2007-08 academic year.\nThe award, which has been around since 1997, is given to outstanding educators who are chosen based on their teaching and leadership skills and ability to work as a mentor and role model to IU students studying to become teachers.\n“Winners are selected by a panel that consists of some former winners and faculty members in the School of Education. They are nominated by superintendents or principals and then submit an application, and from there they are chosen,” said Diana Lambdin, Armstrong Chairwoman for Teacher Education.\nThis year’s recipients are Pam Fischer, an English teacher at Lawrence Central High School; Sue Keene, a teacher at Decatur Township; Angela Kelich, an elementary teacher in Anderson Community Schools; Greg Lineweaver, a ninth-grade English and humanities teacher at Herron High School; Susan Mattocks, a teacher at Tri-County Middle Senior High School; Lori Sampson, a teacher at Avon Community School Corporation; and Stephen Wilson, a Spanish teacher at Kokomo’s Northwestern High School.\n“I was extremely excited and quite humbled by the honor. I know a couple of previous winners, and when I read the biography of the other winners, I was very humbled again,” Fischer said. “I was blown away by their expertise and almost didn’t feel like I matched up with their talent.”\nEach year, winners work with IU students, lending their expertise and experience. Along with helping future students to better understand the world of education, Armstrong winners have the opportunity to work on projects that further their fields of interest. Michael Fassold, a seventh-grade social-studies teacher and 2004-05 Armstrong Educator, worked with students going into social studies who had not yet experienced student teaching. Even after his year was up, he continued to mentor students and even helped several get hired into his school district.\n“I kind of felt like I was earning my dinner,” he said. “I like that I was giving something back.”\nAlong with interacting with IU faculty and students throughout the year, award-winners attend several events during their time as an Armstrong Educator. They include the April Celebration of Teaching in Bloomington and an initial summer retreat where they become familiarized with the IUB Teacher Education Program by meeting alumni and hearing of their experiences. Finally, after their year as educators is up, winners will be expected to return to the summer retreat to make a presentation on their experiences in the program to alumni and new inductees.\n“(The retreat) was a lot of fun,” Fassold said. “They feed you, you get to attend workshops, talk to colleagues and build relationships with people. I most enjoyed the fellowship with other teachers that were not necessarily in my discipline. I enjoyed being with science teachers, language teachers and art teachers from all different grades.”\nAs for now, the 2006-07 Armstrong Educators are finishing their year as mentors, while each of the 2007-08 award-winners are eagerly awaiting their time to further influence the world of teaching.\n“I am very much looking forward to this summer. I am looking forward to meeting my peers (and) the other people awarded and to see what type of students are at IU,” Fischer said. “I am hoping to do a lot with the overseas program, but I am totally open to whatever opportunities come up. I am game for anything.”
(04/20/07 4:00am)
The historic Bloomington restaurant where tables and chairs once sat quickly became a blank canvas for nine Master of Fine Arts printmaking students.\nNoel W. Anderson, Paul Bohensky III, Joshua Brennan, Lee Busick, Julian Hensarling, Nate Herman Kuznia, Young Suk Lee, Dora Lisa Rosenbaum and Jeremy Sweet embarked on their journeys with little more than tools, paint and open minds when they started work on their exhibit, “Pre-Demolition Installation Exhibition,” just a few weeks ago.\n“It’s a show with the graduate printmaking department in conjunction with our graduate seminar class, based around installation and printmaking,” Hensarling said.\nTheir exhibition is set to open Friday at Ladyman’s Cafe, 122 E. Kirkwood Ave. The cafe is a historic restaurant that was closed last December after more than 50 years of business and will soon be torn down.\n“We are having the freedom of a space that is going to be destroyed to do whatever we want, which is kind of a unique opportunity in the art world,” Sweet said. “Most galleries don’t want you cutting into their walls and painting directly all over their floor.” \nThe artists are completing the exhibition as a requirement for their seminar course. Their professor, Althea Murphy-Prize, organized the event. Although this is the first year anything like this has been done, Murphy-Prize said she hopes it will become a trend that will continue for years.\n“I think it is an exciting opportunity. Any opportunity to have a space not only to make an installation piece, but to react to the space and allow your work to interact with and react to the space is always exciting,” Murphy-Prize said. “What I’ve enjoyed that they’ve done is a lot of them have thought about the history of the space and tried to incorporate that into their own conceptual ideas.”\nThe graduate students found out they would be working with the former cafe just three weeks ago and have been there only two. About a week and a half was spent cleaning, clearing out the space, repainting walls and tearing up carpet to create a clean area the artists could work with.\n“We came in here with a pretty blank slate. We had a couple general ideas of things we would have been interested in trying, but for the most part the majority of the work in here started the moment we walked in the door,” Hensarling said.\nBefore they could begin, permission to use the space had to be granted. Murphy-Prize contacted Heartland Group owner Travis Vencel, who Murphy-Prize said has an appreciation for the arts and was excited to see the space put to use.\nEach of the artists have individual pieces at the cafe. One titled “Pie in the Sky” features various figures drawn by Bohensky alongside a hanging piece of pie that when viewed from the outside of the window can be seen within the figures. Busick contributed a piece focusing on the former cook of the cafe and the struggles he had when it closed. \nBrennan’s piece focuses on the perspective of what the actual cafe looked like and how different people interpret it. Kuznia used the idea of Ladyman’s famous pie to create a piece portraying 290 pieces of feces symbolizing the death of the cafe, along with the death of food in general. \n“I hope to create a unique visual experience that people don’t traditionally get to see, based on scale and technique and taking it out of the context of the newspaper and making it larger than life,” Sweet said about his piece, a blown-up comic strip drawn directly on the wall, inspired by the large number of people that would sit in Ladyman’s and read the paper.\nThe artists are eagerly anticipating the opening and reception, taking place from 8 to 11 p.m. tomorrow evening.\n“We are on the strip where everyone is going to be hanging out for Little 5. Stop by,” Anderson said. “We are the best artists in town. I guarantee it.”
(03/28/07 4:00am)
While most students enjoy a restful and relaxed summer vacation at home, come June a different kind of student will come to IU to experience what Bloomington and the creative education of the 36th annual Mini University have to offer.\nThe program, which is scheduled to take place from June 17-22, offers more than 100 course selections to the hundreds of adults who attend each year. Each participant has the opportunity to attend up to 15 noncredit classes, including such courses as “FDR’s Private Spies and the Intelligence Failure of Pearl Harbor” and “Live Your Best Oprah: Studying an American Icon.” The lectures are generally an hour and 15 minutes and are meant to stimulate discussion.\n“It’s really a wonderful week,” said David Baer, who has attended three or four times with his wife, Terry Baer. “There’s such a wide diversity of courses and nearly all of them are relative, and nearly all of them I enjoy the subject matter.” \nEach year, professors are chosen based on their skills as teachers and then agree to teach as volunteers. This year, there will be 102 professors.\n“They are chosen on the basis of recommendations from chairs of their department or other faculty for being outstanding teachers – those that can relate well to adults and can teach well,” said Jeanne Madison of IU Bloomington Continuing Studies. “If you are asked to do the ‘Mini,’ it means you are an excellent teacher.”\nMadison explained that, while they are asked to teach within a variety of topics, professors have a great deal of freedom in deciding what their lecture will be about. This is something that teachers appreciate, along with the eagerness to learn from participants.\n“It is an audience that is picking their own courses, so they are enthusiastic about learning, and it is also an opportunity for me to explore whatever topic I am interested in to teach,” said Carolyn Wiethoff, a professor at the Kelley School of Business who has been teaching at the Mini U for four years. “There’s more of a focus on learning and less of a focus on getting a grade, which I appreciate a lot.”\nIn recent years, the Mini U has received national recognition and praise. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education awarded the institution a gold medal for Best Collaborative Program and a bronze medal for Best Practices in Alumni Relations. In addition, Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine named the Mini U one of the best learning vacations in the United States.\n“The big thing (about Mini U) is the continuing education program. Most universities have tried to have something similar to the Mini U, but we have had a great record, with this being our 36th year,” said Nicki Bland of the IU Alumni Association.\nLast year there was record-high attendance, with 468 participants, and this year organizers are seeing even more of an increase in registration.\n“It is always a fun and very rewarding week for everyone,” Madison said. “It is a program that Bloomington should be very proud of.”