680 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(02/17/13 9:30pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU administration has announced the opening of its first international gateway office, which will serve as a home base for activities in India running through IU. The office is located in Gurgaon, India, a suburb of New Delhi, according to a press release from last week.“The gateway will provide a place for alums to go,” said Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives Munirpallam Venkataramanan. “There are a lot of Indian students at IU, and a lot go back to their country to start businesses because of the economic boom there. It also allows us to guide studies there.”IU Gateway-India will occupy one floor of the American Institute of Indian Studies in Gurgaon, which is located in the industrial and financial center of the North Indian state of Haryana. The reason behind the new gateway is in part due to alums, but also because of the new programs that IU is opening in the country. “It’s being opened because of all the programs we’re opening in India,” said Venkataramanan. “We have students in India and we’re starting programs with Indian companies. We want to brand IU there. The third aspect is that we want to research. We go there to conduct research in the area, and the gateway will act as a hub.”The opening of the gateway hasn’t exactly been an easy process, though. In fact, the Chronicle of Higher Education just published an article about how hard it is to open universities in India. This may be why there is such a demand for education in the country at this time, according to the article. “India’s education needs are very high, so the opportunities are needed,” said Venkataramanan. “There is a big need for higher education.”Currently, IU is affiliated with nine other universities in India, creating institutional partnerships, particularly through the Kelley School of Business, The School of Public and Environmental Law, the Maurer School of Law and the School of Optometry, according to the press release. “IU will have a huge global footprint with this,” said Venkataramanan. The gateway will be run mainly by OVTIA, with help from the IU staff. “Most of the time they will be here [in Bloomington], but they will be on the ground in India as well, making sure things are going well,” said Venkataramanan.The opening reception of the gateway will take place in the American Institute of Indian Studies in Gurgaon on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
(02/13/13 5:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite the recent increase in student activism, it is unlikely tuition costs will decrease as a direct result of student protests.Student body president Kyle Straub said this is not because the student voice is not being heard, but because there are several factors that go into setting tuition.“It’s not at all the intent of administrators to raise costs and put pressure on students,” he said.He said tuition costs go to pay for infrastructure, technology and employee salaries and cutting tuition would mean fewer services and improvements for IU.In-state freshmen who enrolled at IU in fall 2012 pay $313 more per semester for 12 to 17 credit hours than in-state freshmen who enrolled in fall 2010, according to the student fees summary released by the Office of the Bursar this year. Out-of-state freshmen enrolled in fall 2012 pay $1,707 more than those who enrolled in fall 2010. However, Straub said the cost of tuition for IU is low in comparison to other Big Ten schools.He said although he does not think student protests will have a direct effect on decreasing tuition, protests have a certain value in spreading awareness of an issue.“I think, in general, it helps administrators quantify the need,” Straub said. “They’re constantly assessing cost versus benefits, and if they know that lots of students are really gripped with this unbearable cost, that’s going to likely encourage them to take more meaningful action.”Elizabeth Himeles, the campus organizer for INPIRG, said in an email that she feels student activism does make a difference.“When policies relating to the cost of higher education are proposed, we can tell our elected officials how we think they should vote, through petitions, media coverage, and lobbying,” Himeles said. “As their constituents, our opinion matters to them.”She cited INPIRG’s ongoing Affordable Higher Education campaign as one example. Last summer the campaign focused on preventing a bill that would double the student loans interest rate nationally.“There was a representative in Indiana who wasn’t sure how he would vote on the bill,” she said. “We collected petitions from IU students asking him to vote the right way, and it made a difference.”Straub said protesters are spreading awareness of the problems of high tuition, but protests may not have much value beyond that.“The sheer volume of voices provides value,” he said. “There’s a difference between promoting awareness and proposing solutions, and the solutions I’ve seen are insufficient. They’re unrealistic.”Straub said he also thinks state representatives are feeling the pressure to meet student concerns, but they have to balance those concerns with the concerns of other groups as well, such as the welfare community. “The real policy that’s going to affect a change in student tuition is at a state level,” Straub said.One proposed policy at the state level is the “tax-free textbooks” bill, HB 1435. According to the IU Student Association website, IU’s student government has partnered with Hoosier Youth Advocacy to lobby this initiative to the state government. If passed, this bill will allow students to file a grant claim with the Department of State Revenue and receive a refund for sales tax paid on textbooks.The text of the bill states the average full-time student pays about $76 in textbook sales tax, but this refund would be capped at $35 per student. The bill is currently in committee at the Indiana General Assembly.Himeles said INPIRG is also trying to lower the cost of textbooks this year as part of their Affordable Higher Education campaign.“Generations of students are graduating in deeper and deeper debt, and the cost of textbooks on top of tuition doesn’t help,” she said. “We want to build a faculty-student coalition to discuss the best possible cheaper textbook options — our favorite being Open Textbooks, although we are looking into IU’s eTexts program as well — and get 50 professors to sign on this semester to using cheaper textbooks. Eventually, we would like to see the whole campus dedicated to using cheaper textbooks.”Straub said the focus of IUSA and the IU administration is thinking of alternative ways to help students save money while paying for higher education.“I completely see both sides to this situation. As a student, it can be very frustrating to see the ever-increasing cost of tuition,” Straub said. “I think students forget that the University provides a specific function. It operates like a business.”Himeles said she has heard from both faculty and students who are frustrated with the situation.“Many people want change,” Himeles said. “It’s just a matter of developing a plan to move forward.”
(02/08/13 4:04am)
Some are worried Senate Bill 409 could result in new teachers not having to meet the same set of standards to get a license.
(01/23/13 4:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Due to a clerical error, the long awaited VOICE report will not be made public this week as originally planned.The VOICE report is a series of recommendations for administrative action based on the results of a campus-wide survey last March. The report would have been presented in front of the Dean of Students, provost and the IU president this Friday, roughly 10 months after the survey was taken.The survey was conducted by Campus Labs, an independent consulting firm.IU Student Association Chief of Staff Augustin Ruta and Senior Adviser to the President Jarad Winget were in charge of writing the report. Ruta said after putting the finishing touches on the report last week, they noticed a discrepancy in the demographic data Campus Labs sent them. Survey links had only been emailed to sophomores and juniors, Assistant Vice Provost Judith Iumet said in an email.This meant that the conclusions in the current report did not accurately reflect the opinions of the student body as a whole.“Seeing that 50 percent of our sample was not in our survey release, we felt we couldn’t release the results because they won’t be legitimate,” Winget said.Representatives of the company were unavailable for comment, but Ouimet was their primary contact on campus and was able to comment.“Campus Labs has acknowledged the error and is doing everything in its power to help IUSA obtain data from all students currently enrolled,” Ouimet said. “It is my understanding that Campus Labs is readministering the VOICE survey at no charge to rectify the situation.”IUSA funds were not used to hire Campus Labs, because the company was under contract with IU when the first survey was sent out by the Big Six administration in March 2012. The last administration spent $2700 on incentives, including an iPad, to encourage students to take the survey. Information on funding for incentives for the relaunched survey was not available at press time.IU students received an email with a link to the relaunched survey on Monday. Ruta said the survey will be open for two weeks.“Once that’s complete we’re going to go back in, polish the report, put new data in and see if any recommendations need to be changed,” he said.Winget said they do not plan to rewrite the entire report, but instead will compare the data in the report to the data collected from the new survey and make changes as needed.Ruta said it will take time to sift through the results of the updated survey, but the data will be more up-to-date than the results of the last survey.“It’s going to delay us about a month and a half, maybe two,” Ruta said. “But at the end of the day, we’ll going to have a better report from it.”There is no definite timeline for the report to be finished, but Ruta said that he and Winget will be working quickly to finish the report before the end of their administration.The publication of the report has been postponed until further notice. Ruta said they will present their findings to administration and then to IU students via email.
(01/22/13 5:17am)
Bloomington Faculty Council focuses on issues facing the campus community.
(01/15/13 5:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Deans handle budgets, bring in sponsors and make diplomatic trips for the different schools within IU. They lead large academic units with hundreds and even thousands of students and faculty.But when one dean leaves, a difficult and rigorous process goes into finding someone to take the spot, and during that time an interim dean has to be appointed. “An interim does all of the jobs of a dean,” said Mohammad Torabi, dean of the School of Public Health. “But I would argue that it’s a bit more difficult, because when you’re an interim, people you talk to question if they’ll still be working with you in a few months.”Torabi was named the permanent dean of the school Jan. 1 after serving almost two years as an interim dean and seeing the School of Public Health through its transition from being the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.At IU, there are 17 schools, three with interim deans. The University also currently has an interim vice president. Hannah Buxbaum, interim dean, Maurer School of LawBuxbaum became the interim dean of the law school in February 2012 when Lauren Robel, the previous dean, was appointed interim provost and executive vice president. Robel was approved as provost of the Bloomington campus in June 2012.Buxbaum has taught in the law school since 1997, after she practiced law with Davis Polk and Wardwell, and currently teaches various courses, according to the Maurer website. Currently, the search for the new permanent dean is underway.“I anticipate that a new dean will be found by the end of the semester,” Buxbaum said. “But I don’t know much about the search because the provost conducts it.”As for the duties as the interim dean, they don’t vary from that of the permanent dean. “I do as little different as possible as what the permanent dean would do,” Buxbaum said. “I wouldn’t launch an initiative though, because I wouldn’t want the hands of the permanent dean to be tied by committing to initiatives.”Idalene Kesner, interim dean, Kelley school of BusinessKesner was appointed as the dean of the Kelley school on Oct. 1, 2012, when Dan Smith left the position to become the president of the IU Foundation. Kesner came to IU in 1995, coming from a faculty position at the Kenan-Flager Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is also currently the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management and the associate dean of faculty and research at the Kelley school, according to the Kelley website. The search for a new dean is also underway at Kelley. “I would anticipate that the position will be filled by July 1, 2013,” Kesner said in an email. “But ultimately this is up to the Kelley School faculty, the IU Provost and the IU President and the Board of Trustees.”Michael Evans, interim dean, School of JournalismEvans became the interim dean of the journalism school on July 1, 2012. He filled the spot of Brad Hamm, who was named dean of the Medill School, Northwestern University’s school of journalism. “I’m supposed to be interim dean through the possible merger and move to Franklin Hall,” Evans said. “So that will be probably two or three years.”IU has employed Evans since fall 1993. He has taught media culture, ethnographic research, international journalism, ethnic journalism and qualitative studies, in addition to serving as associate dean and interim dean of the School of Journalism. Although Evans is a finalist for a deanship at University of Oregon, he plans to remain the interim through the potential merger of the School of Journalism and the departments of Communication and Culture and Telecommunications and the rest of the search for a new dean. “They haven’t started looking yet,” Evans said. “They’re trying to figure out the merger and the move first.”MaryFrances McCourt, interim University chief financial officer and vice presidentMcCourt became the CFO and interim vice president effective Jan. 1 after being the University treasurer. McCourt was appointed to the IU treasurer position in 2005, leaving her previous job from Cleveland-based Agilysis Inc., where she was assistant treasurer, according to a press release from early December. Her appointment follows the leaving of Neil Theobald, who is the president of Temple University. “As the interim VP and CFO I manage the budget,” McCourt said. “I’m the senior official of all of the finances.”As for a new vice president, the search is underway.“The president hopes to have the spot filled by the end of the semester,” she said. “There should be a small search.”
(01/09/13 5:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Student Association will lead the Association of Big Ten Schools conference, a gathering for the executives of student body governments from Big Ten universities. The conference will run Friday through Sunday.The ABTS conference occurs three times a year. Student delegates travel to different Big Ten universities for meetings in August and January. They meet a third time in the summer in Washington, D.C., for a conference called “Big Ten on the Hill.” IUSA president Kyle Straub said the conference is an opportunity for student leaders to network and share notes on projects they have launched.“A lot of ideas that we have adopted for our initiatives, including the SafeRide program, we got from past ABTS conferences, from speaking to other schools,” Straub said. Each active Big Ten school sends delegates from the senior staff of its student associations.“The networking is really helpful,” IUSA Chief of Staff Augustin Ruta said. “We have contacts, people that are sharing their knowledge of ways to get ideas passed and all their data, and that’s huge.”Ruta and Straub both said although different schools may have different problems, students on all these campuses generally have similar concerns.“Multiple Big Ten schools are working on governmental affairs, trying to get into the Statehouse and get their voice heard,” Ruta said.Ruta said the conference will include a guest lecture by J.T. Forbes, director of IU Alumni Association, and a leadership development workshop by R.J. Woodring, a former IUSA faculty adviser. Delegates will break into small groups twice on Saturday to talk about what Ruta calls “hot-button issues.” According to the agenda, they will be discussing campus safety and student advocacy.Straub said Dia Sharma, a member of IUSA senior staff, and Ruta were in charge of organizing the event. While Sharma said they did not have the exact amount of money IUSA was spending on the conference, the costs vary between schools.“IUSA did have some of the cost of ABTS included in our budget, but other schools also pay for each of their delegates to attend the conference,” she said. “Each student government’s contributions add up to cover the cost of the conference.”Ruta said this conference usually has a positive influence on Big Ten student governments. “We’re taking the knowledge that we have, and other schools are taking the knowledge that they have, and we’re all coming together to share and help each other,” Ruta said. Sharma said she is excited to take part in the conference this weekend.“It’s a great experience to meet fellow student government representatives and share your ideas with each other,” Sharma said. “We’re looking forward to collaborating and spending time with our fellow Big Ten student governments.”
(01/09/13 5:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU came in at No. 39, one spot higher than last year’s ratings, on a 2013 list of Best Public College Values recently released by Kiplinger.The new rankings also place IU fourth in value within Big Ten schools.Kiplinger, a personal finance adviser and business forecaster, publishes the yearly ranking of the best values for public colleges.According to Kiplinger.com, the top 100 schools are judged by many different criteria, including the number of students who return their sophomore years, the four-year graduation rate, financial aid and student debt. Each category measures a college’s ability to keep students engaged and on track for graduation. IU was also ranked 48th among the Best Value Colleges of 2012 by the Princeton Review, a test-preparation and admissions resources organization. The Princeton Review based its ranking on academic excellence, generous financial aid and cost of attendance. With tuition hikes becoming the norm at universities around the nation, there are many precautions being taken at IU to make sure prices don’t go up for students.“We do a whole lot of things,” Board of Trustees Treasurer MaryFrances McCourt said. “We look at the costs of running an institution, we benchmark administration offices, we offered an early retirement program last year that reduced the head count and we look at the health care costs. This brings the increase down and promotes healthy lifestyles.”Other steps that McCourt said IU is taking are a financial literacy initiative that educates students on debt and personal financial skills, especially budgeting, increasing financial aid and fundraising for scholarships, and offering awards to students who graduate in four years.All of these factors keep the tuition rates down, but there are actions students can take as well. “Graduating in four years is a big one,” McCourt said. “Really think about debt. There’s a lot over and above tuition costs. You need to watch the money you spend. But graduating in four years is huge.”One professor said he was not pleased with the ranking.“The ranking of IU is actually disappointing,” said political theory professor Aurelian Craiutu, who previously taught at Duke, Princeton and University of Northern Iowa. “The 39th place is not a good ranking, and we should not take any credit for it. For one thing, the acceptance rate is much higher at IU, which means that we admit too many students who should not be here.”Craiutu also said IU should observe how University of Northern Carolina at Chapel Hill manages themselves, as they were ranked first on the Kiplinger’s list of overall value.Despite this, several students agreed that IU is a value school.“I think you’ve got to pay somewhere,” freshman journalism and English major Devonn Garrison said. “For the degree that I want, I’m okay to pay this much to go here.”Sophomore tourism management major Nicholas Hunter-Shields said the money is worth it for the experience students get.“I don’t think necessarily for the education, but it’s for the experience,” Hunter-Shields said. “The University wants you to get experience in your field.”Junior biology major Jake Yager said he agreed with Kiplinger’s rating of IU as a value school.“For me, yes,” Yager said. “I don’t have to sacrifice financially. The University stepped up and allowed me to attend. So, yes, it’s a good value.”
(01/04/13 5:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU has joined the growing list of colleges committed to stopping the burning of coal on their respective campuses.In December the IU Board of Trustees approved the new energy master plan due to the combined effort of Coal Free IU and the Sierra Club’s Campuses Beyond Coal campaign. The plan has many different parts, according to a press release. Its conclusions and recommendations include energy-efficient improvements to facilities, reparations to campus utility systems (such as aging steam pipes), preparations to move from burning coal to natural gas, more fuel efficient buildings, campus and community engagement in energy conservation and progress tracking with an annual report on energy consumption. The plan benchmarks energy consumption by campus buildings and addresses the effectiveness of IU’s Central Heating Plant, Central Cooling Plant and utility distribution systems for electricity, chilled water and steam and condensate. These changes will come during the next few years, allowing time for coal boilers at the Central Heating Plant to expire, time for implementation of the efficiency upgrades and time to review clean energy options annually. “This plan would drastically reduce energy use and emissions,” Director of Sustainability Bill Brown said in a press release.These changes were driven by the voice of students on the IU campus. A call-in was scheduled in which students, faculty, alumni and community called administrators and voiced their feelings about having a coal free campus. “After four years of students demanding that IU stop burning coal and invest in a clean energy future, administrators finally listened,” Coal Free IU President Michael Caldie said in a press release in December. The Integrated Energy Master Plan would cost an estimated $82.6 million dollars, and would provide for a savings of $9.7 million per year, thereby paying for itself in less than 10 years. — Laura Schulte
(12/04/12 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Treasurer MaryFrances McCourt has been named interim vice president and chief financial officer by IU President Michael McRobbie. Her appointment will begin Jan. 1, 2013, when she will replace Neil Theobald who is leaving IU to become president of Temple University. “MaryFrances has proved to be an extremely capable financial manager and an effective leader, and I am confident she will be able to step into this important role as the University’s top fiscal officer and succeed,” McRobbie said in a press release. In her new role, McCourt will be the top fiscal officer of seven IU campuses. McCourt came to IU in 2005 as treasurer. “I truly appreciate the opportunity President McRobbie has presented to me, and I very much look forward to continuing to deliver leading-edge financial management in support of his strategic plan for the University,” McCourt said in a press release. — Sydney Murray
(11/08/12 4:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s current funding formula is not sustainable, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Neil Theobald said at Tuesday’s Bloomington Faculty Council meeting.“We cannot have a model that is dependent on that much student debt,” he said. “We’ve got to find another way.”Theobald delivered an update on IU-Bloomington’s budget following President Michael McRobbie’s warning that all revenue sources are under threat.For the first time in school history, tuition and fees produced the majority of revenue. Theobald reported that for the 2011-12 academic year, tuition and fees made up 51 percent of revenue, the State of Indiana contributed 16 percent, auxiliaries 14 percent, research 11 percent and gifts 8 percent.In the past, IU has countered reduced state funding by increasing out-of-state tuition — but Indiana now has the third highest non-resident tuition rate in the Big Ten.“My concern is that we’ve gone about as far as we can go for nonresident tuition,” Theobald said.Without tuition increases, however, Theobald said layoffs and spending cuts could begin. That is why the University is considering the privatization of parking.“I was originally asked to speak about (parking), but parking and revenue are basically the same topic,” he said.Theobald urged the BFC to follow the issue carefully and consider alternative sources of revenue. A Parking Steering Committee consisting of students, faculty and staff was formed Friday.Online classes and the restructuring of physical facilities in the summer were also mentioned as potential revenue-increasing initiatives.“Unless something changes with the state economy, we’re going to be looking at a lot of these things,” Theobald said.Fred Glass, vice president of intercollegiate athletics, delivered a report about the state of IU Athletics.Glass said future activities will focus on core priorities, including achieving academically, remaining compliant and performing well.“You’ll see that as we move forward, retaining, and in appropriate cases seeking out new outstanding coaches, will be on the top of our list,” he said.Glass assured the BFC that IU Athletics is making every effort to remain in compliance with recruiting, academic and Title IV regulations. Despite the recent news of a secondary NCAA violation involving freshmen basketball players Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin, he said the department is making progress with mandatory compliance meetings.The investments and efforts have paid off, Glass said, and it is evident in the teams’ performances. He named some of the most notable recent accomplishments, including eight conference champion team wins since Jan. 2009, many Big Ten players and coaches of the year named and medals awarded to Hoosiers during each Olympics since 2002.“And, of course, everyone knows about men’s basketball with the largest win turnaround in school history,” Glass said.He said the team’s success has helped the department push forward with the first price increase in Varsity Club donation levels in nine years.The IU Varsity Club is the fundraising organization for IU Athletics to benefit student athletes. There are many levels of donations, and members whose donations allow them to enjoy higher levels are entitled to better season tickets.“We authorized it in not-so-good of a time,” he said. “I was wondering, ‘Oh my God, should we really be doing this?’ But we really got lucky that things are going well.”Associate Vice President of Human Resources Dan Rives also addressed the BFC on a current health care concern. Premier Healthcare, a major provider in Bloomington, is no longer part of Anthem’s network after a deadlocked negotiation process.Rives encouraged Anthem subscribers to remain patient and hopeful that Premier will rejoin the network, but he said there are plenty of other good doctors in Bloomington still in the network.“Negotiations are at a very stressful point, and we don’t like it, but it goes on all around the United States and all over Indiana,” he said.
(11/02/12 3:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU President Michael McRobbie will travel to South America on Monday to meet with university leaders in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. “For more than 50 years, IU has engaged in global outreach to nearly every continent, and this has had immeasurable impact on our students and faculty,” McRobbie said in a press release. “Our activities in Latin America, which include two federally funded research centers, will be further enhanced by what we will accomplish on this trip.”McRobbie will implement new IU alumni chapters in São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile.“In addition to having one of the most vibrant cultures in the world, Brazil also is one of the fastest-growing emerging economies, and its impact on the rest of the world will be immense in the future,” McRobbie said. “Argentina and Chile also are home to several of the top educational institutions in the southern hemisphere and provide important partnership opportunities for our new School of Global and International Studies and other programs at IU.”— Sydney Murray
(11/01/12 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU has retained investment banking firm Goldman Sachs to assess potential financial gains as the Board of Trustees weighs the option of leasing University parking operations in exchange for an up-front, lump sum payment, according to a press release issued Wednesday.No decision has been made as to whether the University will adopt the leasing option, said Mark Land, University associate vice president for public affairs and government relations. Goldman Sachs’ analysis will allow the University to decide if potential gains justify the lease of parking operations.If the University decides to move forward with the privatization after the analysis, the firm will assist IU in soliciting and evaluating proposals from potential concessionaires, the outside companies who would bid to be the leaseholders of IU’s parking resources.The University is expected to work with Goldman Sachs on the matter for six to nine months. “IU is looking forward to working closely with the firm as the University determines the best course of action for the University, our employees and our students as it relates to parking on the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses,” IU Treasurer MaryFrances McCourt said in the press release. “The University has taken a comprehensive and judicious approach to this issue from the beginning, and this is the latest step to ensuring that all the facts are in hand so that the University can make an informed decision.”McCourt led the work to vet candidates for the financial advising, Land said.It is currently unknown how much the University will pay Goldman Sachs for its advising services, Land said, and the dollar amount will likely remain unknown until the conclusion of the project.Choosing a financial adviser for the project was a two-step, competitive process, Land said in an email.Requests for information were sent to “several leading financial firms with which we have worked, asking them to answer a series of detailed questions regarding their strategy, experience, et cetera, in this area,” Land said.Once the University received the firms’ responses, it was required to answer questions specific to the proposed project, he said.Land said Goldman Sachs was chosen partly because the firm has worked on other privatization projects and is familiar with the University.“After a thorough examination of firms, Goldman Sachs came out on top,” he said.— Kirsten Clark
(10/16/12 3:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU President Michael McRobbie announced last week a new award that will freeze tuition for students after their sophomore year if they are on track to graduate in four years.However, because the 2013-15 operations appropriation budget has not yet been approved and tuition for upcoming academic years has not been finalized, it is unclear how much the award will save students.Based on past tuition and mandatory fees, the award would have saved the classes of 2011, 2012 and 2013 an average of $1,343.44 for in-state students and an average of $4,954.84 for nonresidents.Regardless of the net value of the award, McRobbie said it will help students in two ways: by reducing the sticker price of attending IU and by providing additional incentive for students to graduate in four years.“This award makes two things clear,” he said while announcing the award during his State of the University address. “That we are serious about holding down the cost of an IU degree, and that we are equally serious about providing tools and incentives to help our students stay on course for on-time degree completion.”Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Neil Theobald reported that while operating revenue has increased by $400 million in just more than 6 years, all of the increase is from tuition. Revenue from the state and other sources has fallen by $20 million in the same time period.“Every one of our five major sources of IU’s revenue is under pressure or threat,” McRobbie said during his address.When McRobbie referred back to this statement at the Board of Trustees meeting, Trustee Pat Shoulders questioned him on the logic of freezing tuition when it is the only source of revenue for the university that is still increasing.Thoebald defended McRobbie’s completion award, reminding the trustees of the issue of student debt. Fewer credits during time will lead to more student debt, he said. “Student debt is the greatest financial issue facing IU,” Theobald said. “We need to find a way to have student debt levels flatten off and actually try to drive them down.”
(10/11/12 4:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Board of Trustees will convene at its regular meeting Thursday to hear reports about two contested initiatives: the merger of the School of Informatics and Computing with the School of Library and Information Science and the privatization of parking. SCHOOL MERGERProvost Lauren Robel, SoIC Dean Robert Schnabel and SLIS Dean Debra Shaw will present a proposal to merge the schools during Thursday’s Academic Affairs and University Policies Committee meeting.In Tuesday’s State of the University address, President Michael McRobbie said the merger has been “overwhelmingly supported by the faculty of these schools.”Some individuals have voiced concern about merging schools.Robert Jacobs, a Kelley School of Business professor, said he knows IU is not optimally organized, but there are issues with the proposed restructuring.“It’s so hard because there’s so much history and infrastructure,” he said at the Sept. 4 Bloomington Faculty Council meeting. “And we’re all so old, and we’re trying to protect our turf.”John Paolillo, professor of informatics, agreed. He said reorganization is often a tremendous loss of time and energy.McRobbie said he is confident the merger would be a big step forward.“The new school will create excellent opportunities for new initiatives that are being pursued immediately,” he said in Tuesday’s speech. “All of this brings with it the prospect of increased technology transfer and economic development in an area ripe with entrepreneurial opportunities.”The Board of Trustees will vote on the merger during Friday’s business meeting. Pending approval, McRobbie expects it to be effective by fall 2013.PARKING PRIVATIZATIONAt a February meeting, Trustee William Strong suggested the University look into leasing University assets, such as parking, to provide immediate cash.Since then, a committee has formed to create key contract terms to consider.The committee will report its findings to the Board of Trustees during Thursday’s Finance and Audit Committee meeting, after which the trustees will decide whether to move forward with the privatization of parking.However, many are concerned with privatization’s potential negative effects.“I know that there have been rumors of having potential increases in cost of parking passes, of parking tickets, just parking operations in general,” IU Student Association President Kyle Straub said.BFC President Carolyn Calloway-Thomas assured concerned parties they would have the opportunity to vet any documents after the trustees make a decision, but opposition has mounted against the top-down decision process.To voice this opposition, Edward Vasquez, president of Communication Workers of America Local 4730, crafted a petition which received nearly 700 signatures.“To reiterate, we maintain that IU should not privatize parking operations and should instead look for creative, in-house solutions to any parking revenue issues,” he said according to the petition text.
(09/17/12 3:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following reports of child sexual abuse at Penn State University, IU felt compelled to reevaluate its own policies regarding the protection of children.Director of Public Safety Jerry Minger said it was obvious IU needed a more consistent policy regarding reporting child abuse, but upon looking into existing programs involving children, he realized just how great the need for a comprehensive policy was.“Every day I am totally amazed with the number of children our staff, faculty and volunteers come into contact with,” he said. “I never fathomed there were literally thousands and thousands of children the University interacts with. If anything, the policy increases my comfort level. It’s much more solidified.”As a result, the University issued the Programs Involving Children policy April 30.The policy clarifies the laws on reporting child abuse both internally and to Child Protective Services. It requires background checks for all faculty, staff, students and volunteers working with children and requires all programs including children to maintain an up-to-date list of those programs as well as put an emergency plan in place.While no one has questioned the benefits of the policy, some faculty members said they are concerned their programs cannot coexist with the background check provision. Some are concerned by the company IU has contracted with to perform the checks, HireRight, Inc. The company’s senior vice president of worldwide sales is a Kelley School of Business graduate.A few have said the policy seems to be “missing the point.”Others cannot afford to conduct the checks, which cost approximately $30 apiece, for everyone working with children.Chief of Staff and Director of Policy Administration Jenny Kincaid said while the background checks are essential, it is the other provisions that will ultimately ensure the safety of children on campus.John Applegate, vice president for university regional affairs, planning and policy said the new policy addresses the issue of children on campus from an emergency management point of view.Prior to this, he said, the University had no way of knowing when and where children are on campus in the event of an emergency.“Children are less able to take care of themselves in an emergency like that,” Applegate said. “We would obviously want to make sure we have taken as many precautions as we could under the circumstances to ensure they stay out of harm’s way.”Kincaid said it is important to recognize the policy is only an interim. As the University gains experience with its operation, revisions will be issued. “Our goal is to be as flexible as possible and as helpful as possible to individual units as they develop their plans,” Applegate said.A revised policy with clarifications and additional information will be released within the next few weeks, Kincaid said, but the background check provision will remain unchanged.Elimination of programsJill Baker, director of admissions and recruitment for the Hutton Honors College, said the new policy caused the school to eliminate its overnight host program. The program, which generally served about 60 minors annually, matched potential students with honors students for an overnight college visit.“It’s really sad to have to let the program go,” Baker said. “It was a courtesy that we could extend to guests and could really influence a student’s decision to attend IU. But we hadn’t budgeted for the checks. We just found out at the end of summer.”While the policy was posted April 30, an email alert wasn’t sent until late August.The cost of performing background checks on 60 volunteers would be approximately $2,000, an amount Baker said the honors college could not handle without preparation.Minger said the cost factor was a concern while formulating the policy, and the University has made an object code for the background checks. The object code will help the University identify exactly how much of a financial burden the checks are, and it will allow individual departments to petition the costs.“But the funding in the University comes from the departments, anyway,” Applegate said. “That is, it’s not a top-down system. So if it were paid for centrally, it would be ultimately be coming from the departments in the end.”Missing the pointHad former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky submitted to a criminal background check prior to employment, no indicators of his later child abuse crimes would have appeared.This fact, revealed in a report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, is prompting some faculty and organization leaders on campus to raise complaints.“If that information had been out there, you would really hate to have not tried to find it,” Applegate said. “Is it possible that there are people who are sex offenders or child molesters who have never been caught or arrested? Sadly, yeah, there are and we know that, but if the person had been convicted of that crime, then we need to know it.”It was not just the cost that raised a flag for Baker. She said she also believes it slightly misses the point.“There could be an infinite number of students beyond our host that would interact with these minors,” she said. “A guest would go to a class with a student down the hall, a class they would prefer to see rather than the host’s class. It’s not just the host interacting with a guest. They’re exposed to several different people.”Baker said to make the policy effective, every student on the host’s floor would need to be checked.“We couldn’t begin to cover those costs,” she said.Additionally, she said the visitors were never at risk.“We’ve never had any incident involving safety,” Baker said. “We love all of our volunteers. A lot of times our volunteers would first come as guests, as prospective students. They would see how much they got out of visiting a student and would want to turn around and do the same for the next few years of visiting students.”Caty Pilachowski, Daniel Kirkwood chair in astronomy, regularly participates in the annual Physics and Astronomy Open House, an event that typically attracts hundreds of elementary, middle and high school students.She said the event is at risk for cancelation despite its safe setting.“I think children at this event have always been pretty safe,” she said. “They’re in a room with lots and lots of people, and it’s not a situation where any kind of inappropriate sexual activities may be taking place. I don’t think children are at risk in this setting, and if they were, I don’t think this policy would be keeping them safer.”While Baker hopes to reestablish the host program as a day visit and Pilachowski is hopeful the departments can coexist with the policy, both said the circumstances are upsetting.“It’s a shame that it has come to this,” she said. “But it’s a whole new world now in terms of protecting students and protecting the University’s interests, I guess.”Concerns with practicesAlthough the College of Arts and Sciences has agreed to pay all costs associated with the background checks for the Physics and Astronomy Open House, Pilachowski said the departments are having difficulty finding faculty willing to submit to the checks.While Pilachowski said she has heard of protests to the background checks in general, most faculty members are concerned with the choice of company.Faculty in the physics and astronomy departments were concerned about releasing personal information, specifically Social Security numbers, to HireRight upon learning it outsources activities to India, Estonia and Russia.Applegate said the concern is valid, as University Information Technology Services often stresses the importance of online privacy, but he is confident HireRight is a secure company.“There are very serious laws protecting Social Security numbers, and a company like HireRight and an enterprise like IU takes the protection of Social Security numbers very, very seriously,” he said. “I don’t think it’s relevant where this is done as long as its being done at a very high level of professionalism.”HireRight assures its customers all sensitive information is safe.“All server information stays in the U.S., and production of intellectual property and sensitive aspects of software is done in the U.S.,” read a report on outsourcing by HireRight.But Pilachowski said confidence in HireRight might not be enough to convince faculty to submit.“I know for a fact that it’s possible to do background checks without Social Security numbers, and I know if they were to choose that route, more people might be willing to participate,” she said.Pilachowski has searched for supervisors at department meetings, but no one has stepped forward to submit to the checks. Since the open house is scheduled for Oct. 27, the event can still happen if supervisors volunteer within the next few weeks.“Right now, we can’t fulfill our mission for public service,” she said. “It also affects our competitiveness for grants. In astronomy, at least, grants require we include some broader impact kind of activities. Often, we do outreach as part or our proposal. The policy is impacting our ability to be competitive.”While Applegate acknowledged the importance of community outreach, he said it is the choice of the faculty rather than the policy itself that is harmful.“There’s nothing in the policy, not one thing about it, that prevents any program from existing at this university that I’m aware of,” he said. “Not one. I don’t think it hurts the University because I don’t think it’s the University that’s stopping any programs.”Kincaid said the alternative to the policy is what’s harmful.“Consider the things that have happened at Penn State,” she said. “That is what hurts the University.”
(08/30/12 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Nutritional epidemiologist Ka He has been named the premier chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health.His job began Aug. 1 and he was previously employed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Students will have the opportunity to obtain a doctorate in epidemiology and a master of public health in epidemiology and biostatistics.“We aim to build a rigorous academic program to provide broad, multidisciplinary training in the design of studies, collection and statistical analysis of data, and interpretation and dissemination of results in public health research,” He said in a press release. “My colleagues in the department are fully committed to helping students develop careers in academia, industry and government .” — Sydney Murray
(08/30/12 3:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A committee has formed to begin the nationwide search for candidates for the position of dean of the IU Maurer School of Law.The position was vacated in February when former Dean Lauren Robel accepted the position of provost and executive vice president for the University. Hannah Buxbaum, the law school’s associate dean for academic affairs, is currently serving as the interim dean.The search committee will begin meeting this fall .They hope to select finalists by next spring. Robel will ultimately appoint the new dean, whose tenure is likely to begin with the 2013-14 academic year.The school is currently focused on building a curriculum that helps students develop a complete set of professional abilities. The search committee is seeking a dean who will value analytical skills, interpersonal abilities and cultural competencies in the curriculum — skills required of lawyers in today’s job market.Kelley School of Business professor of entrepreneurship Patricia McDougall-Covin will chair the committee.“I’m delighted that Professor McDougall-Covin has agreed to chair this search and that such an accomplished and committed group of faculty, staff, students and alumni have agreed to serve on the committee,” Robel said in a press release.Other members of the search committee are Amy Applegate, Kevin Brown, Linda Fariss, Joseph Hoffmann, Mark Janis, Jay Krishnan, Ajay Mehrotra, Christiana Ochoa, Jeffrey Stake, Deborah Widiss, Andrea Havill, Dean Regenovich, Kellie Rockel, Michael Flannery, Lisa McKinney and Judge John Tinder.The members bring together a wide range of expertise, from family mediation to global law and alumni relations. “I am confident that they will secure strong leadership to continue the Maurer School of Law’s rich history of excellence and incredible forward momentum,” Robel said.— Michelle Sokol
(08/19/12 8:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A national search will begin immediately for the first leader of the School of Global and International Studies after the Board of Trustees approved the push to bring new degrees to Bloomington’s campus at Friday’s meeting.“This is one of the most important developments in the nearly 200 years of IU’s history,” IU President Michael McRobbie said. “By bringing together into one school the core of IU’s extraordinary resources in global and international studies, the University stands poised to join the most outstanding programs in the world in these truly vital areas.”The new school, to be housed in a new building between Herman B Wells Library and the TV and Radio Building, will bring together more than 350 core and affiliated faculty members from the University. The new school will be based in the College of Arts and Sciences and associated with IU’s 11 federally funded Title VI area studies centers.“To accomplish the goal of increasing our students’ global competencies, the school will draw from a wealth of intellectual assets that include faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as in all of the professional schools on campus,” Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel said.While many departments at IU offer international areas of study, there is currently no graduate degree in the field. The school will develop new bachelor and master of science degrees in global studies and a new master’s degree in international studies. A new doctoral program in global studies is also being planned.Larry Singell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the new school will allow IU students to compete with the world.He cited a recent study published in the Chronicle of Higher Education that stated U.S. universities “must improve the global competencies of all American students and learn educational best practices from other countries, and be more active in educational diplomacy, such as the global exchange of students and sponsors.”Trustee Tom Reilly said he supported the school because, in addition to bringing global concerns to the forefront, it will add value to liberal arts degrees.“To be able to put together something that puts some professional relevance next to the liberal arts degree, it creates degrees which are needed in the world,” Reilly said. “It will increase the relevancy of our liberal arts program and strengthen the College.”The trustees and administration showed no doubt the new school would be a positive addition for IU.“The University, inheriting this longstanding international vision, has made investments over many decades in faculty talent,” McRobbie said. “These strategic investments will make IU a natural home for a world-class program that will bring the world to IU and IU to the world, as President Herman B Wells once envisioned.”
(08/14/12 8:58pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>No longer will students graduating from HPER need to explain what the name, pronounced “hyper,” stands for.On Sept. 28, the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation will officially be renamed the School of Public Health, although Interim Dean Mohammad Torabi said the transition is more than just a name change.“Now, we will have a broader mission,” Torabi said. “It will make a difference for the health and wellbeing of our fellow Hoosiers and nation.”It will mean a focus on rural health issues, general wellness and other areas that build on the existing missions of the school.Indiana ranks 46th for overall wellbeing, 49th for healthy behaviors, 39th for physical health, 42nd for life evaluation, 43rd for emotional health and 45th for life quality, according to a Gallup-Healthways survey.“Indiana traditionally ranks poorly regarding major public health benchmarks, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in a press release. “While there are no simple solutions for these societal challenges, I believe the existence of strong and engaged schools of public health in Indiana would be a major step in the right direction.”The Association of Schools of Public Health estimated 250,000 more public health workers will be needed by 2020. Torabi said IU’s School of Public Health will be a public service because it will contribute to the demand for workers and to risk prevention.“Some time ago, the leading cause of death was infectious disease, but that has changed to chronic disease, many of which are related to lifestyles,” Torabi said. “The population will be a winner as a result of the School of Public Health.”Torabi said prevention is just as important as medicine.“We’re not replacing the need for medical school,” he said. “We’re complementing it.”While a master of public health program already exists, the transition will mean developing the current departments to offer additional degrees for undergraduate and doctoral students. There will be five main areas of study: behavioral, social and community health, biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology and public health administration.In addition to the doctoral program in health behavior, degrees will be offered in epidemiology and environmental health.“I encourage incoming students to consider the School of Public Health in Bloomington,” Torabi said. “When you study public health, you need to address your own lifestyle first. Making a change in yourself and in the community comes with a great sense of accomplishment.”Although the Council on Education for Public Health has approved IU’s request to begin the accreditation process, it might take up to two or three years to complete.“The Council on Education for Public Health’s recent action represents a significant milestone in IU’s progress toward establishing an accredited school of public health and will allow IU to mobilize and leverage existing resources to address critical public health problems in the state,” said Edwin Marshall, chairman of the IU Public Health Coordinating Council.The process will include strategically bolstering faculty levels and specialties and enhancing degree and course offerings to meet accreditation standards.“It will be a long journey to reach,” Marshall said, explaining that the process, which started two years ago, includes self-studies and site visits. “But all the ingredients are here. Incoming students will graduate with a degree from the School of Public Health, as well as some current students.”