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The IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs is launching a Master of Public Affairs degree through SPEA Connect, an online initiative between IU Bloomington and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The beginning and the end of an era were marked in early May. Acacia was founded on May 12, 1904, at the University of Michigan with the principles of virtue, wisdom and truth foremost on the founders’ minds.Sixteen years later, the fraternity was expanded to IU. The organization received its charter May 22, 1920, and members became brothers. Brothers became Acacians.But this spring marked a turn in the fraternity’s development.IU and Acacia International have announced that Indiana Acacia fraternity’s charter has be revoked. The possibility of issuing another IU charter will be reconsidered after two years, and only after current brothers have time to graduate.Reasons for removing the charter, which is a document issued by the international fraternity that validates the local organization, included allegations of hazing and drug dealing. But IU Assistant Dean of Students Stevan Veldkamp said the main reason Acacia, as well as other fraternities and sororities, are often kicked off campus is that their actions do not align with the values the group was based on.“Fraternities and sororities are values-based organizations that are expected to uphold their espoused values as well as those of the University,” Veldkamp said in an email. “When an organization does not act in accordance with those values and the environment does not foster a culture of care, then it should no longer be allowed the privilege of serving as a Greek organization on campus.”The mission of Acacia’s fraternity is long: Brothers are expected to pursue community service, character development, achieve academically and lead and attract prospective members.The fraternity slogan promises, “Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders Since 1904.”But President of the Fraternity Building Corporation Matt Cairns said it was recent members who compromised these original values.“A lot of it boils down to how a chapter is organized, and it became evident that there was not a lot of accountability within the chapter,” Cairns said.Internal organization of Indiana Acacia was governed mainly by a House Council, or a group of five elected members within the house.Traditionally, these members oversaw house operations, organized brotherhood events and headed pledge education.Cairns iterated that, although not every member was responsible for hazing, drug dealing or drug use, it was clear there was oversight regarding the individual members’ actions.“I’m sure they were having a lot of fun,” he said. “But in terms of leadership, safe living and creating a learning environment, those are the things they should have been focused on.”Problems were described as serious and systematic on the Acacia alumni website.In spring 2012, the University put Acacia on social probation. Suspicious activities had been continually reported. Acacia was not allowed to pair with Delta Delta Delta for Little 500 and was barred from participation in all greek-sponsored events. A fine of up to $500 was issued to the house.“Despite our best efforts, and despite being given ample opportunity, the chapter showed no signs of being willing to change their ways and right the sinking ship,” Cairns explained to Acacia alumni in an email.The fraternity’s charter was pulled. Now, about 150 Acacians are being screened for their role in these events. Individuals will either be asked to resume alumni status or will be de-activated from the fraternity.The white, columned house on the corner of Third Street and Fess Avenue will be leased to another organization on campus.“And Phi (Kappa) Psi shall be joining the 3rd Street Elite while they remodel on nojo #RIPAcacia,”read a June 19 tweet from Greek Gossip, an Indiana Twitter account with more than 950 followers.Assistant Executive Director of Acacia International Keith Bushey said the Indiana charter will be renewed in two years, perhaps in May.“Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” Bushey said. “These are college kids who need to learn that they are not invincible.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hutton Family Study Abroad Scholarship received a $500,000 gift from the Edward L. Hutton Foundation in early June, the largest gift to date that will benefit from a matching program at IU.Edward Hutton’s children, Tom, Jennie and Ted, made the gift to honor and extend the legacy of their late father, a large benefactor to IU and the Honors College.“(The scholarship) extends the power and reach of current international experiences program,” said Matt Auer, dean of the Honors College. “They are continuing his legacy of philanthropy and of promoting study abroad programs at IU.”The endowment will be managed by the IU Foundation. The $500,000 will be invested in a variety of stocks, bonds and alternative investments to create a return used for scholarship opportunities.“We’re always most interested in the 10-year balance,” said Barbara Coffman, IU Foundation executive director for strategic planning and communications. “This endowment is going to be here as long as there is an Indiana University.”In fiscal 2011, the return rate of University endowments, $1.5 billion, was 24.1 percent.IU was ranked sixth among public, American universities for the market return rate of its endowments, according to a report issued by the National Association of College and Business Officer-Commonfund Study of Endowments in January.The goal of the scholarship is to increase student access to overseas opportunities.“Travels are getting more expensive. This will give students the opportunity to actually study abroad,” Coffman said. “International experience of all kinds is one of the University’s big priorities, and the more students that have that global perspective, the more global Indiana University becomes.”The scholarship is part of a larger “Principles of Excellence” program proposed by President McRobbie, which articulates a provision to match each study abroad endowment return.The match will double scholarship support available.“We realize study abroad costs are going up, and so part of that money is going to be used to bulk up the awards,” J.R. Nolasco, Edward L. Hutton InternationalExperiences Program manager said.In academic 2011, the Honors College helped sponsor 548 students to travel overseas. Next year, the Honors College hopes to reach 600 students.“We prefer students who go off the beaten track, like non-traditional countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Oceania and South America,” Nolasco said. “The majority of students historically go to Western Europe. We want to get people interested in other areas of the world.”Nolasco is on the faculty selection committee that will review award applications. He said family heritage and academic or professional interest all constitute a strong applicant.All full-time IU students, admitted to the Honors College or not, can apply for this award.Last year, the Honors College had an 85-percent acceptance rate for awards given. Scholarship amounts generally range from $500 to $2,500.Since its 2003 inception, the Hutton International Experiences Program has sponsored 4,000 students.“Just to go abroad and have that experience, I think it’ll change people for the better,” Nolasco said.
Alum from the class of 1962 watches a slideshow of moments from his graduating class Saturday in the Tudor Room at a dinner commemorating their class's 50th reunion.
An alumna from the class of 1962 poses with Herman B Well statue Saturday by the Indiana Memorial Union.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Times were in flux.The year of 1962 marked the construction of the Berlin Wall and the haze of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Alumni took the time to reflect on that era and celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation from IU at “Cream and Crimson Alumni Weekend” this Saturday and Sunday. Many remember a time of a strict women’s curfew, Acacia winning Little 500 or IU’s 11th president Herman B Wells, but all said they remember the social and political atmosphere at that time. Bob Loss, now a resident of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., was in a fraternity at IU. In 1960, he was the youngest brother.“We were between wars, and the campus was full of veterans,” Loss said.He said he remembers American students as being older and coming straight from Seoul, South Korea, to study.But mostly, Loss said, he remembers the pressure of the draft.“When you were in college here, and you were male, you were going to the service,” Loss said. “Draft was part of our life. You just accepted it.”Loss studied accounting at IU, and after graduation he enlisted in a reserve unit.He realized he would be drafted and dropped out of graduate school to serve.On Oct. 10, 1960, his reserve unit was activated. Loss walked through Chicago’s Midway Airport, a small rifle in hand, and waved goodbye to his parents. His dad stood at the terminal with tears in his eyes.Loss said he had no idea where he would be stationed. He ended up flying to Germany and staying for a year to defend what he calls “Western Democracy.”Loss worked at an evacuation hospital. He swept floors and assisted patients. Had he gone to an extreme conflict zone, Loss said he would have been three miles from the front line.“They activated everybody because the Russians put the wall up,” he said.A year later, Loss returned to Chicago.He was told not to unpack his gear, gun or anything belonging to his person.It was October 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis had begun. Tension polarized between the former Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States.Loss described it as an era of fear. “We thought we were going to have World War III,” Loss said. “Those were tough times in America because, in many ways, we thought we could implode as a democracy.”The conflict lasted 13 days, and Loss spent that time in the U.S.He said he was proud to serve our country. He believes it taught him self-discipline. This weekend reminded him of his time in the service and his time as a student.Loss met his wife at IU.She was two years younger than him and graduated in 1962. The couple drove from Sturgeon Bay to Bloomington to honor her graduation on June 4. The drive is more than 477 miles. The couple arrived in a Ford Escape with a Wisconsin license plate that read, “IU 62.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This Tuesday commemorates Juneteenth, June 19, 1856, a day that celebrates the final chapter of slavery in the United States.In 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. But word had yet to reach Texas, and slaves still worked plantations. On Juneteenth, two years later, slaves were finally freed from their posts. “Independence Day for America, on July 4, doesn’t really apply,” said Melody Barham, graduate assistant at the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center. “For me, as an African American, it’s my effective Independence Day.”Referred to as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day or, most commonly, Juneteenth, the holiday celebrates black heritage and culture.Every year the Neal Marshall Center sponsors an honorary event. Though past years have included parades and crowds, a simple dinner and about 40 guests Friday honored freedom for all. The theme “Carrying the Lessons of the Past into the Future: What Does it Mean to be Free?” was recognized with a slideshow, lecture and reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.“Throughout the years there’s been a lot of talk about it being a post-racial society, but I think that’s impossible. I think race plays a role in every facet of society,” graduate student Cameron Harris said. “So, to be better equipped to handle the U.S. and the world, we have to better understand the experiences of those who came before us.”Bloomington resident Al Manns said he’d been attending the event since its inception 14 years ago for that exact reason. “Now, we can go through life in American society and have equal opportunity for all,” he said. “We finally learned the meanings of the words ‘equality’ and ‘free.’”Bloomington resident Sachiko Kante started the event to celebrate not just Juneteenth, but also black heritage. She attended the event with her two grandchildren, Rey and Jrue Kante.The kids took turns sitting on her lap and eating hot dogs from the buffet.Much of the dinner — the red punch and the rice — was symbolic.“The meal is really important because it represents some of the foods the slaves traditionally ate,” said Dr. Stephanie Powell-Carter, director of Neal Marshall. “We do this, all of this, in commemoration of the slaves being free.”Folded Emancipation Proclamations and people dressed in traditional African garb attended the dinner.Manns’ pastor, and two generations of family, sat with him.Manns said he’s made his family attend every year because “if you don’t know where you’ve been, you don’t know where you’re going.”He already has plans to attend in 2013.
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Alum from the class of 1962 watches a slideshow of moments from his graduating class Saturday in the Tudor Room at a dinner commemorating their class's 50th reunion.
Alumni from the Cream & Crimson celebration Saturday of the class of 1962's 50th reunion pose in front of the Indiana Memorial Union.
An alumna from the class of 1962 poses with Herman B. Well statue Saturday by the Indiana Memorial Union.
President McRobbie and first lady Laurie Burns pose with the donations check from the class of 1962 Saturday at the Bryant House for the Cream & Crimson Alumni Weekend celebration for the class's 50th reunion. Support will go to individual, personally selected sectors of the University.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Call her Lin.Elinor “Lin” Ostrom, 2009 Nobel Prize recipient and distinguished professor of political science, died Tuesday at IU Health Bloomington Hospital. Ostrom, 78, will be remembered for her professional work, her commitment to students and her 47 years at the University. But the impact of her legacy can perhaps be summed wholly in her nickname: she will be remembered as Lin.“The thing you have to understand is everyone knew her as Lin,” Ostrom’s colleague Burnell Fischer said. “She was such an approachable, simple person, you could go and just sit in her office for hours.”Fischer was a friend of Ostrom’s who researched urban forestry with her.The two worked at the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop for Political Theory and Policy Analysis together for nine years, but Ostrom’s time at the University spans further.After earning a Ph.D. in political science from University of California-Los Angeles, Ostrom came to Bloomington in 1965.Vincent Ostrom, her husband of 49 years, was then hired to work as a political science professor at IU. The couple moved from Los Angeles to Bloomington for the position.Then, the University added Ostrom to the faculty directory. She was hired as an assistant professor because the department needed someone to teach Intro to American Government at 7:30 a.m.She took the job and in 1973 founded the workshop with Vincent.Ostrom once described the workshop as a space to unite people of many disciplines.IU graduate student Gwen Arnolds took a class with Ostrom in 2006 and has remained a workshop member since.She said Ostrom supported anyone with a good idea. “As a teacher Lin was always incredibly engaged,” Arnolds said. “It didn’t matter if you were a first-year graduate student or established professor. She would pay attention to what you were saying.”Graduate students, undergraduates and field experts work at the workshop to solve current social and political problems and research issues, primarily in the field of sustainability, from a variety of angles.Ostrom’s role in this discussion was simple: she was the facilitator.Michael McGinnis, current director of the workshop, said he’d never met someone who had such a knack for bringing people together.“Her enthusiasm was infectious,” McGinnis said. “She found a way to get people to work very hard with her.”Her expertise lay in political science and economics. Ostrom researched ways to distribute resources to the masses beyond simple state- and market- driven practices.Her 1990 book, “Governing the Commons: the Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action,” examines effective governance systems for common-pool resources, such as water treatment and forest preservation. “She had an extraordinary gift of scholarship,” Dean of Students Harold “Pete” Goldsmith said.In October 2009, she became the first woman to ever receive the Nobel Prize in Economic Science. She won the award for her research in how people overcome selfish interests to successfully manage natural resources. In April she was also included in Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people of 2012.In May the IU Board of Trustees renamed the workshop to honor Vincent and Elinor.She is the recipient of numerous other international awards and degrees, but despite her celebrity, McGinnis said she always treated everyone as an equal. “She just had a basic human kindness toward just about everyone,” McGinnis said. “She set a wonderful example.”In late 2011, Ostrom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her life expectancy was then estimated at about three months. Ostrom quietly began chemotherapy treatments in November.“Some days she didn’t look as perky as other days, but other than that, she was still productive at the workshop,” Fischer said.She still found time to travel. Ostrom visited India in March and lectured in Mexico in June. She still worked with colleagues on grant applications and continued to foster discussion at the workshop.At the end, more than six months after her initial diagnosis, she was surrounded by family and friends. Vincent, now 93, was brought to her bedside to say goodbye. She died at 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, and McGinnis said her passing, and life, were peaceful.But Ostrom’s legacy — at IU, at the workshop, in the world — will live on.“She’s the most famous faculty member at IU, it’s incredible,” Fischer said. “But more than that, her legacy is of somebody who collaborated and interacted with people of a variety of disciplines and interests. There’s no simple way to think about Lin. She’s a complex person.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In 2002, Matt Cairns was president of Acacia at IU.He said Acacia taught him to be a leader and that going greek was the best experience of his college career.Ten years later, he still volunteers at Acacia International.He serves as president of the fraternity’s building corporation, but he said sometimes he feels like he’s wasting his time. “I’ve spent a lot of time over the last several years making sure our chapter is running as it should be, and it basically didn’t amount to much,” Cairns said. “It’s a tough feeling.”In early May, IU and Acacia International announced the Indiana Acacia’s charter would be revoked. It was a mutual decision between IU and the international fraternal organization.“Over the course of the last school year, the chapter has demonstrated behavior that was not consistent with the values of the fraternity,” Cairns said. “I’m not going to comment on specific behavior, but some of the tenets of the fraternity are human service, leadership and scholarship, and the stuff that was going on was not consistent.”In a report issued by the University, Acacians were accused of drug dealing, repeated drug use and hazing.Problems were described as both serious and systematic on the Acacia alumni blog.“We’ll let the guys who are on campus sort of graduate,” Cairns said. “Once we feel like things have settled down we’ll start anew.”Assistant Executive Director of Acacia International Keith Bushey said the charter will be renewed in two years.“Sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until its gone,” Bushey said. “These are college kids who need to learn that they are not invincible.”About 150 Indiana Acacians are being screened for their role in suspicious activities.Members will be placed on alumni status or asked to resign from the fraternity.Further action will be taken at the University’s discretion.“It’s unfortunate that a few of those individuals have tarnished the experience for everyone involved,” Bushey said. “The loss of a chapter of this magnitude is going to affect us.”Tax forms filed in 2011 listed the total revenue of the fraternity as equal to more than $640,000. The house, at the corner of Fess Avenue and Third Street, was listed at about $1.7 million.Bushey said the residence will be rented to another organization while Acacia’s charter is not active.In 1987 Bushey served as house manager for the Indiana branch. He said he hopes the fraternity will return to campus stronger than before.“It’s a part of my life that is on hiatus right now,” Bushey said. “But I know I haven’t lost my brotherhood.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The City of Bloomington recently issued the Local Government Operations Energy Use and Emissions Inventory, which catalogued energy use between individual city departments.The report was issued to create a baseline for understanding energy consumption within the city and learn where sustainability efforts would be most effective.Data from 2010 was used, as those figures were the most recent.“We have to start thinking very long-term about a lot of different issues if we’re going to have a healthy economy and livable environment,” said Jacqui Bauer, sustainability coordinator and author of the report. “The report helps us prioritize what needs attention and focus on where needs the greatest impact.”The report catalogued energy expenditures in electricity, vehicle fuel and natural gas. In 2010, Bloomington spent more than $4.8 million on total energy use.Electricity consumption accounted for the largest source of energy use in city operations. Water supply and Bloomington wastewater treatment facilities were the largest consumers within this sector.The plants accounted for 73 percent of total electric consumption, and more than $3 million was spent on resources for these facilities.Bauer said electric use was the area with the greatest potential to improve.“There’s just a huge opportunity for efficiency,” Bauer said. “That means using less, reducing how much we lose and then starting, like, solar or bio-fuels or other alternatives that might come up in this area.”Diesel and gasoline fuel were ranked second in terms of energy consumption. The two fuels accounted for 30 percent of total energy use in Bloomington and $1.4 million in expenditures.Outside the Bloomington Transit sector, the Police Department consumed the largest amount of gasoline. Each vehicle reportedly burns more than 1,200 gallons of fuel each year.The report listed the police fleet as an area that might offer opportunity for improvement.City Hall, Frank Southern Ice Arena, Twin Lakes Recreation Center, Bloomington Animal Shelter and Utilities Service Center were also noted as departments that could reduce their environmental footprint.Bauer said that because Utilities was the largest energy consumer in the city sector, it would take priority.Next year, the department will hire a resource efficiency coordinator.“If we spend all our time reducing street lighting then we’re focusing in kind of the wrong area,” Bauer said. “We’ve got to prioritize and make the biggest bang for our buck.”The updated report helped the city discover, and raise awareness about, areas where energy use most needs to be managed.Bauer said the city hopes to issue these reports once every five years.The end goal is to reduce the city’s environmental footprint.“Bloomington has spent a lot of time paying attention to how to reduce,” Bauer said. “I know we’re going to see that pay off.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior Scott Gruman entered IU as a human biology major and plans to leave with a degree in exercise science. His end goal has always been the same: become a certified physical therapist. The path just changed.Luckily, Gruman’s parents supported him in this decision. “They were pretty understanding,” Gruman said. “I explained to them why I wanted to switch, and I think they were just relieved I wasn’t changing my major five or six times. I still had the same long-term goal, and they were just happy to see that I had a determined path.”Gruman has a determined path, and a new study from Western Kentucky University confirms that most college students do. Only 25 percent of students ever change their major, and just 5 percent of these students switch programs more than once, according to the study. Timing and the number of times the individual changes his or her major are variables that influence students’ graduation rate. “Students are saying, ‘Oh, it’s causing delays,’ parents are saying, ‘Oh, it’s causing delays,’” said Matthew Foraker, research coordinator at WKU. “There is also a negative connotation that it is a mistake at some time, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Students who entered the university without a major but declared one before the end of sophomore year had the highest graduation rate at 83.4 percent.Individuals who entered with a major and never switched had a graduation rate of 72.8 percent, and those who switched majors once graduated at a rate of 71.7 percent. Students with the worst outcomes, graduating at a rate of 62.6 percent, were those who waited until at least their junior year of school to select a major.“The theory behind this is students who say they’re undeclared up front show initiative, effort, perhaps above somebody going down a track that could have been picked by their parents,” Foraker said. “If nothing else, what one key takeaway is that there should be no stigma whatsoever with coming in undeclared.”However, major changing after sophomore year was correlated with modestly lower grades and longer times to graduate.“Suprise, surpise, there is a price to pay to changing your major late, and it does result in some lower success statistics,” Foraker said. Associate Vice Provost of the Registrar Mark McConahay said he thinks the most common reason students change their major is because they are not accepted into the school they applied to.“I have a feeling people switch from business to education or from physics to whatever is, the primary reason, that those folks didn’t get accepted to the school they wanted to attend,” McConahay said. “It’s a built-in reason why people would change their major.” McConahay then said IU was designed for students to enter undecided. The first year of study is to learn the cultural value of the University, and then students are meant to study professionally. Gruman followed this path and changed his major during his freshman year at IU. But he also said he could understand why some parents could be concerned. “Parents could be upset because they don’t want their child to be lost, or reflect poorly on them,” Gruman said. “They don’t want to think that they could have done something else to lead them into the right direction.”Luckily, according to Foraker’s research, most students do decide on a degree following their freshman year. “Have an open mind and don’t stick with what you’ve got if you’re really starting to have a bad premonition it’s not the right major for you,” Foraker said. “Just know it’s better to change now than later.”
The Indiana University Maurer School of Law has approved a new program that will allow law students to earn a minor in education policy studies.
A ceremony was conducted Friday at the Simone G. Hillel Center in remembrance of Lauren Spierer’s disappearance one year ago.
Indiana Geological Survey employees drove a truck outfitted with an earthquake simulator, nicknamed the “Quake Cottage,” on Thursday to the Indiana Memorial Union to help raise awareness about the dangers of earthquakes.
