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(10/04/09 9:47pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This year is Pete Goldsmith’s first as IU’s Dean of Students. The alumnus tells us about his own days as a Hoosier, how he copes with student deaths, and why he wants to dine with the Queen of England. On what exactly “Hoosier” means to him:Goldsmith: Well, the story I’ve heard most often is that back in pioneer days, folks would yell out of the wagon when they heard voices, “Who’s here?” It got mashed into “Hoosier.” But I’m open to other interpretations. On dealing with student deaths:It’s always an extremely sad thing. I don’t ever claim to be able to know particularly how parents feel, but as long as I’ve done this, I just can’t imagine. You just try to provide as much support as you can.On the biggest challenges he faced as a student at IU:I think for me it was the fear of failure. My family was living in Maryland, so I came out here knowing nobody. It was kind of figuring out how to navigate in this place and manage in this place, and really just not wanting to fail. I had been a relatively good high school student, not a 4.0 student by any stretch, but trying to think about how I could be successful here.On what it was like being in ROTC as a student:In the late ’60s, it was very interesting. For me, it was particularly challenging because I was also a government major interested in developing countries. In my classes, I was reading lots of things that were highly critical of the Vietnam War and of foreign policy and kind of our ways of thinking of the world. In ROTC, I was hearing about the dangers of communism and the dangers of the so-called “domino theory” that if Vietnam fell, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall. So it was really quite a contrast, and I was trying to resolve all of that in my head.On his hobbies:My grandson and I love model trains. He and I love to do that when we have a chance. Then I have this car, a VW thing that I like to tinker with and drive around. It was orange, but now it’s Indiana red. When I was here interviewing, I was asked how I would be known quickly on the campus, and my answer was the car.On what three people he would like to have dinner with:I would like to have dinner with Barack Obama because I think he’s really amazing in terms of his energy and vision and calmness. I mean, think about what he’s done in the last few weeks with health care, and yet he seems really focused and not overly exercised. I think also Nelson Mandela. He has this vision for what a better South Africa could be and what a better world could be. And I would love to have dinner with the Queen of England. My wife and I both enjoy British history and culture, and I think it would be fascinating to see the world through her eyes.THE DEAN’S LISTClick here to get an inside look at your new dean.
(09/30/09 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A new certificate program through the College of Arts and Sciences will provide students with an opportunity to practice hands-on learning about democratic citizenship.The Political and Civic Engagement program, called PACE, combines classroom academics with experiential education, PACE assistant director Joelene Bergonzi said.“It’s meant to compliment and add on to other majors,” Bergonzi said. “It will help if a student is interested in being involved in civic leadership, or just a more involved member of the community.”PACE director Michael Grossberg said students were interested in a program with a larger scope than Leaderships, Ethics and Social Action, a minor program through the College of Arts and Sciences that will merge with PACE.Edward Hutton, an IU alumnus whom the Hutton Honors College is named after, bequeathed the money to fund the program. The money, Bergonzi said, will go toward helping students achieve the political and civil leadership Hutton was never able to accomplish in his own lifetime.While the program will include core classes and electives, it is also the only program in the College of Arts and Sciences to require an internship.“Mandatory internships will make sure everyone has an experience in political or civic life,” Grossberg said.Another experiential component is the issues forum, a one-day retreat where students will role-play civic leaders – such as legislators or community members – to try to discuss a controversial issue.Grossberg said guest speakers would be another crucial element of the program. Students will have direct access to local and national leaders, including lunch with Lee Hamilton, former U.S. Representative and director of the Center on Congress at IU on Oct. 8.Sophomore Caroline Shurig said she found out about PACE at the College of Arts and Sciences department fair. She said the program lined up well with her interests in law and humanitarian work.“To be able to do those kinds of things you have to be aware of the civic realm and politics,” she said. “It trains you not only to be a leader, but to be connected to the community.”Since the program is not fully underway, Shurig is taking the required courses to meet admission requirements. Students applying for the program must take two PACE courses or electives prior to or at the time of application.As part of the PACE student advisory board, Shurig is excited to help shape the direction of the program.“Meeting with leaders will be the biggest thing for us,” she said. “In our world, you need connections. But the internships will also have a kind of domino effect. The internships will be based on what we hear from the leaders we meet.”
(09/28/09 4:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation Dean Bob Goodman is in the mood for redemption. It’s an hour before Friday’s 9th Annual Cardboard Boat Regatta, and the dean is trotting down the hall to his office. This year, he says, he’s not going to sink.“I’m going to come out as Super HPER Dean,” he jokes, disappearing behind a door.He emerges five minutes later in a red ensemble. Instead of olive-colored pants, he’s wearing red sports shorts. A sweatshirt that reads “Bob. The man, the myth, the legend” has replaced his white button-up and tie. A pair of sunglasses, which he puts on in his office, rounds out the look.HPER Assistant Dean David Skirvin meets Goodman in the office. “I might be the dean in two hours,” Skirvin jokes. “He might not be alive.”“Are you going to be bobbing this year?” another colleague asks Goodman.His reply – and race philosophy – is simple. “Better than sinking.”***Last year, Goodman’s race didn’t go well.It was the first year for the “Dean’s Challenge” part of the regatta, and Goodman was up against former Dean of Students Dick McKaig and Stephen Watt, associate dean for strategic planning in the College of Arts and Sciences.“I had a boat with no sides,” Goodman said. Technically it was more of a raft made out of cardboard and duct tape. Immediately after getting into the boat from the dock, Goodman sank. Watt won.That’s not going to happen this time – at least Goodman hopes not. With a white towel wrapped around his neck, he gets into his car and begins the drive to the IU Outdoor Pool.“The Dean of Hutton is going to be tough competition,” he says, pointing out the Hutton Honors College through the driver’s side window.It’s all about the boat builders, he says. A raft just won’t cut it. A boat needs sides and reinforcement. But the deans will never know who is responsible for building their winning – or losing – vessel.“I wanted some guys from Purdue to engineer mine,” Goodman says in the car, “but they didn’t go for that.”A sheet of mist hangs in the air and specks of rain are sticking to the windshield as Goodman heads up Fee Lane. He’s not worried about the weather. “What’s a few raindrops when you’re drowning in water?” he asks.***Goodman is the first dean to show up to the pool. The regatta’s organizers, members of the Council for Advancing Student Leadership, are milling around the pool, and Sigma Chi pledges are putting the finishing touches on a boat.As community and student competitors arrive with their boats, he sits in a plastic chair near the vending machines. A high-heeled shoe boat goes by, as does a giant cardboard toilet.Two young girls arrive with a perfectly crafted Yellow Submarine - complete with cardboard propellers and telescope. Kids from the Councilman Center Indiana Swim Team wearing beaver tails add a mast shaped like a tree to their boat. Through the green tape, a memo taped to the cardboard is still legible. "Dentist Appt 4:00" The Dean has already seen his boat. It’s constructed out of 13 rolls of duct tape and some cardboard. At least it has sides this year. But he’s still not sure. “I don’t know whether it’s a coffin or a boat,” he jokes. “Tell everyone I’m incommunicative, I’m just so focused. And if they want to know what I’m listening to,” he said, pointing to non-existent headphones, “it’s Radiohead.”Goodman jokes a lot as he waits. After all, it’s supposed to be fun. But his humor can’t mask the fact that this year he wants to win. This is his redemption ride.***The race is running late. The representative from the Office for Women’s Affairs has not shown up, and all of the Deans are milling around their boats. Hutton Honors College Dean Matthew Auer is standing by with his two kids. Associate Athletic Director for Academic and Student Development Services Grace Calhoun inspects her boat while returning champion Watt greets his competitors.Goodman’s boat is called the “HMS HPER.” As he waits with colleagues near the starting point, everyone discusses the worst-case scenarios.“HMS, it stands for ‘He Might Sink,’” someone points out.“Who’s your beneficiary?” someone else asks.“We need the theme from ‘Rocky,’” another chimes in.Goodman pulls his towel up over his head and jogs in place. “I’m out for blood this year,” he says.It’s a little after 4:30 p.m., and the Deans are putting on their life vests. Auer zips Goodman into his vest, and the competitors head to edge of the pool. Two Sigma Chi pledges designated to help Goodman walk over.“You have to take very good care of him,” says Deb Getz, director of the Center for Student Leadership Development. “You will be responsible if he dies.” The pledges laugh.“What year are you guys?” Goodman asks.“Freshmen,” they respond.“Do you want to make it to be sophomores?” Goodman jokes. It’s race time.***Goodman bobs in his boat as his Sigma Chi assistants attempt to steady the flimsy vessel. The snap of a starting signal sounds, and Goodman thrusts his paddle into the water and makes a stride across the pool.He’s already farther than he was last year.Not even a minute into the race, the other three competitors are floundering. They’re capsizing and teetering. The back half of their boats are sinking in a Titanic-like display.Goodman is breaking away. He makes it to the center of the pool, stopping to wave at the cheering spectators. “Keep going Bob, don’t wave,” a colleague screams.Three Sigma Chi pledges are helping Auer back into his waterlogged boat. They’re pushing him and his sinking blob of cardboard across the pool. But it’s too late.Goodman makes it to the finish line, paddle raised above his head, and beaming.“I owe it all to my boat builders,” Goodman said after the race. “Victory is sweet.”
(09/10/09 4:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After two years of buying books at the campus bookstore, junior Ben Greenberg was irritated. Although he could handle the costs of the books, several of his friends were struggling to keep up.“Textbooks cost so much money,” Greenberg said. “I found I was spending hundreds of dollars even when I bought used books.”That’s when Greenberg, a psychology major, tried to fix the book-buying system. Along with his friend Rui Xia, a junior business student he created TextYard.com. The Web site allows IU students to buy and sell books to each other while also listing the lowest price on Amazon.com.But Greenberg’s Web site is just one of several cost-saving tools available to students. Electronic books and rentals are also becoming commonplace, providing students with a variety of options to suit their needs and budgets.Jade Roth, vice president of books for Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, said a variety of purchasing options is the key to saving students money.“The changes that I have noticed in buying patterns have stemmed for the last couple of years,” Roth said. “Students are looking for anything that will lower the cost of their books so we try to provide as many choices and options as possible.”Roth said the single best way to cut costs is to buy used books, one of the choices available at the Barnes & Noble campus bookstores. The savings, she said, are often as much as 25 percent.Freshman Tyler Frankel said she bought her books through the campus bookstore online.“I ended up buying my books kind of late, and I just needed to get them,” Frankel said. “Cost, of course, is a big factor but on the Web site you could request used books and I did.”While Frankel was able to get some of her books used, she said next year she would look into Half.com and Amazon.com before deciding to send her order to the bookstore.Another freshman, Bailey Fleetwood, said she was able to cut the cost of books in half by buying from independent sellers online. Fleetwood’s mother, who works at IU, suggested checking the classifieds and eBay for used books. By the time all of her books arrived, Fleetwood had lowered her costs from $750 down to $300.While purchasing books from independent sellers, such as Greenberg’s Web site facilitates, can be cost effective, Roth said campus bookstores cater directly to the University.“We offer every book for every class,” Roth said. “If you’re using an arcane book or a high level book it can be hard to find. We’re committed to having every book for every student along with in-store and online solutions.”Roth said another cost-saving tool is electronic textbooks. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers has been selling digital books for a number of years, but the technology doesn’t extend to every text.This lack of availability is a big obstacle for “E-textbook” companies like CourseSmart. While digital books are eco-friendly and cost saving – often 50 percent cheaper than a new book – they are only slowly making their way onto the textbook scene.CourseSmart brand ambassador and IU senior Grant Gernhardt said he was only able to get one of his textbooks in a digital version. However, he believes students will gravitate towards the technology as more titles are added.“Most students don’t read everything that’s assigned to them,” Gernhardt said. “With an E-textbook, I can search for specific topics the teacher has assigned or look for key words. It makes studying much more efficient.”A third option for students is rentals. Companies like Chegg.com allow students to rent books of “like new” quality, mailing them back at the end of the year.Roth said Barnes & Noble has had a full-scale rental program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for more than a decade.The bookseller is piloting more limited programs on other campuses. Students on these campuses could have four potential options for buying books: new, used, digital and rental.Both Fleetwood and Frankel said they would consider renting textbooks in the future. In fact, Fleetwood said several of her friends rented successfully from Chegg.com this semester.Right now Roth can’t say whether a limited rental program is on its way to IU. Barnes & Noble will evaluate the pilots and considering expansion based on the type of school and materials used. However, Roth said, in the highly competitive book market companies like Barnes & Noble, they are doing their best to give students what they want.“We have done a lot of listening over the last few years,” Roth said. “We’re identifying what students were actually looking for. We have to respond to what faculty want and what students want, and sometimes those aren’t always the same.”
(09/10/09 3:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tami Goodrich met her first colony of bees on a Saturday. In her borrowed truck she drove more than an hour down country roads to Hunter’s Honey Farm in Martinsville, Ind. It was pickup day. One of the first sounds she heard as she got out of the car was buzzing. Not an occasional zip from a bee passing by, but the din of thousands of bees humming in unison. She picked up a wooden crate of bees, not sure whether it was her nerves or the energy of the hundreds of flying insects caged in her hands that sent the vibrations pulsing through her fingers. The box was going to pick up and fly away, she just knew it. Excited and nervous, she drove the truck out to her new hive and then went to suit up. Her vision blurred as adrenaline pumped through her veins. She was a Kelley School of Business professor, not a professional beekeeper.“Well,” she thought as she rallied herself one last time, “no one else can do it, no one else knows how.” She pried open the box and turned it upside down, letting a stream of honey bees flow into the hive as fluid as a stream of water. As the bees pooled on top of the hive, Goodrich hyperventilated. They were home.***It’s a familiar feeling for many Bloomington beekeepers—the amateur nervously picking up her first “nuc” (short for nucleus) of bees. Despite the increasing disappearance of honeybees—a result of a mysterious and deadly disease called Colony Collapse Disorder—beekeeping remains a popular hobby. Some don the helmet and veil to produce their own honey, others use the bees for pollinating gardens, and some just enjoy watching the tiny creatures at work. Approximately 160 million pounds of honey were produced in the United States in 2008. Most of the roughly 125,000 beekeepers across the country are located in rural areas and small towns like Bloomington. It’s a hobby that cuts across profession, gender and age. Beekeepers are parents and neighbors. They are elementary school teachers, authors, journalists and lawyers. They are even university professors, like Goodrich. Nothing about Goodrich screams beekeeper. Sitting in her cramped office in the IU Kelley School of Business where she teaches a course in business and technology, she leans over her computer. Her fingers fly over the keyboard as she wraps up the last e-mails of the day. A few family photos and a plastic stone fountain are all that give the office a hint of personality. But when she talks, she exudes vivacity and earthiness. Goodrich’s path to beekeeping, like most of her activities, was a practical one. She grew up in a poor family; her parents’ knack for gardening helped sustain the family and this skill was passed on to Goodrich and her sister Jami. After years of fighting allergies and working in gardens, Goodrich decided to attend a two-day beekeeping workshop in the dead of winter. Honeybees, she knew, would not only increase pollination in the garden by 500 percent, but would help with her allergies. (Pollen collected locally acts as an immune booster). Four months later she owned her first hive.*** In the kitchen, Goodrich laces up chunky brown hiking boots, stuffing the cuffs of khaki pants into thick green socks. Every part of her body is covered. A bright blue turtleneck shields her neck and arms, a white hat and veil cloak her face and hair. The final touch is a white, full-body suit reminiscent of a painter’s uniform or a straight jacket. For weeks she’s been waiting for a sunny day to open her two hives for the first time of the season. Beekeeping isn’t a time-consuming hobby – Goodrich only spends approximately 15 minutes a week with the bees after her initial inspection – but good weather is crucial. Weeks of rain and clouds have prevented her from checking the hives for signs of disease. Finally it’s perfect: sunny and a high of 60 degrees. Since her first experience with bees four years ago, she’s moved to the south side of Bloomington and dotted her one-acre property with gardens. She planted a robust orchard full of apple, pear, apricot, persimmon and crab apple trees in addition to spring and summer gardens. She even married and had a daughter. Two-year-old Morgan wanders into the kitchen, baby doll in hand. She drifts over to a pink, doll-sized stroller and tucks in the baby. “We’re going to go out to the beehive okay?” Goodrich tells Morgan, shoving strips of burlap into her pockets. “Can you stay inside for a little bit?” Morgan just looks up at her adoringly. Goodrich pops in a movie and grabs the smoker, a metal watering can stuffed with burning burlap. Then she walks out her creaky backdoor down the sloping lawn where her beehives wait undisturbed.*** Bees are scaling and descending, entering and exiting the older of Goodrich’s two hives as she begins to scrape away burr comb, a waxy substance. The hives are nothing fancy, just wooden crates that look more like desk drawers than bee condominiums. Each hive is made up of two boxes—called honey supers—with a half dozen frames inserted inside to collect honey. Smoke from burning burlap showers the hive to distract the inhabitants. For now the bees are docile; they’re used to company. “I’m building up my confidence,” she says laughing. “They’re being pretty good right now.” She moves around the hive, lifting out a frame, inspecting it, placing it on the ground. A couple more puffs of smoke. Every couple of minutes she’ll step back, not far, but enough to give the bees some space. It’s the novice beekeepers dance. Two steps in, pause, rotate a little, three steps back. Repeat. In the yard Milo, the family’s sandy-colored cat, skulks near the hives. He is impervious to the flying, stinging insects circling his head. He starts to dance, too. Move in closer, bound back when a bee zings off his fur, re-approach. The bees still give Goodrich the creeps. She’s only been stung four times, but there’s still something about them that causes a surge of adrenaline each time she unglues the sticky hive and lifts out the bee-coated frames. Sometimes she’ll talk to them or ask them how they’re doing. “Watch out,” she coos to a bee in the way of her scraper. “You better move.” Morgan appears, her tiny body framed against the bright green door. “Morgan, honey, stay inside. You can stay up there with Milo.” But the toddler is fixated.*** Goodrich knew there was an elusive Bloomington bee club out there. If you look close enough, Brown County is full of bee-culture.Take Susan Brackney, a local author and prominent journalist. She’s been keeping bees in her backyard since 2003. She even wrote a book called “Plan Bee” and has a bee Webcam. The WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology features a working hive, tended by volunteer beekeepers, for kids to learn about honeybees. At least two Indiana vendors sell honeybee products at the Bloomington Farmers Market, and future keepers can learn from pros at area “Bee School.” And then there’s the 10 O’clock Bee Line Beekeepers Club. They don’t try to be secretive, but most Bloomington natives have never heard of them. Founders Tony Gaudin and Mark Partridge, both Brown County residents, started the club—based out of a Yahoo! Groups—about a year ago. They meet once a month at in Nashville, Ind., but their online message board buzzes with bee news. They talk about everything from the triumphs and perils of their own hives to bees in the news and the Obamas’ White House beehive. Maybe one day Goodrich will join them.*** As birds chirp overhead, Goodrich moves over to her second and newest hive. She doesn’t know what to expect. These bees are strangers to her, the next-door neighbors she’s meeting for the first time. A gift from Goodrich’s sister Jami, they moved here from the WonderLab about a year ago. She accidentally knocks the hive, causing it to teeter on the cinderblocks elevating it off the ground. “That’s earthquake!” she says, joking with the bees. She lifts off the lid of the honey super, begins to inspect, and pauses. “This hive’s dead.” She sighs, her countenance changes. This has never happened before. “This is really sad, this is terrible.” The remaining bees are frozen in place. They look like they could fly away at any second. Some are stuck in the honeycomb, little yellow and black bodies wedged into crevasses with only their butts peaking out. “These, these are babies,” she says solemnly. “They couldn’t get fed. They didn’t get fed.” It’s not uncommon for beekeepers to lose a hive. With Colony Collapse Disorder sweeping the country and wiping out colonies of bees, death is an all too common occurrence. But it doesn’t make the reality any easier to grasp. She never got to know them. Goodrich doesn’t know what caused the death of her hive, but she doesn’t think its Colony Collapse. There was no sign of mites, another common problem for beekeepers. Her only possible culprit is a wasp that had been haunting—and possibility stinging—the bees. “Sometimes you just have to say, that’s what it is,” she said a week later. “There was nothing I could point to.”*** Morgan climbs through the back of a wooden kitchen chair. Her blond hair glows from the sunlight filtering in through the kitchen window. Goodrich is standing in the kitchen pulling spoons out of her forest green cabinets. She brings over a tray of honeycomb straight from the hive and sets it in the middle of the round kitchen table. She scrapes off the caps of the honey, revealing a dark amber liquid. She scoops a little with a tiny spoon and hands it to Morgan. The 2-year-old thrusts it into her mouth, sucking on the spoon like a lollipop. Morgan goes back in for more, digging out honey and sucking off every last drop. She almost scoops up a honeybee stuck to the comb. “She learned how to say ‘honey’” really fast,” Goodrich said. It’s early afternoon—lunchtime in the Goodrich house—but all Morgan can focus on is the honey. “You want some rice?” Goodrich asks plaintively. Morgan only points to the pot of honey sitting on the bright yellow countertop. Two spoons clenched in her right hand, she looks more like a tiny dictator than a toddler.For Goodrich, honey is only a perk to the health and pollination benefits of owning bees. In fact last year she bottled and sold her honey to raise money for a non-profit. Goodrich rushes around the house, gathering up library books to return later that afternoon. When it comes to the bees, all she can do is wait. Soon she will borrow another truck and drive the hour and a half to Hunter’s Honey Farm. She’ll feel the vibrations of millions of beating wings rush over her hands as she watches a new stream of bees glide into the hive. She’ll welcome the new queen to her kingdom. And, she’ll wait, hoping that her new neighbors will learn to call her hive their home.
(09/10/09 3:26am)
Kelley School of Business professor Tami Goodrich sets up beekeeping equipment in her backyard. A smoker filled with burning burlap will distract the bees when she open the hive.
(09/08/09 1:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After only a week of classes, the first “Themester” focusing on “Evolution, Diversity and Change” is well underway.Launched by the College of Arts and Sciences, the program aims to get students thinking across disciplines using classes and extracurricular activities.Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Jean Robinson said she started researching themed semester programs last year after the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Bennett Bertenthal, brought a program at the University of Michigan to her attention.“Several smaller liberal arts colleges have themed years of semesters,” Robinson said.“But it’s hard to imagine how you would go about doing it at a big university. The College of Arts and Sciences has 44 different departments with another 25 or 30 programs.”After deciding on a one-semester program, Robinson asked different department chairs to submit theme ideas. Within 36 hours she had dozens of suggestions flooding her inbox.“We had to get imaginative putting together a couple of themes into one,” Robinson said. “So no matter if you’re in English or religious studies or business or in SPEA, you can find some doorway to get into it.”This year’s theme, “Evolution, Diversity and Change,” highlights the anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the publication of “On the Origin of Species.”But there aren’t just the average biology and anthropology classes. Robinson said Themester makes the theme concepts accessible to all disciplines. There are 45 classes – both old and new – incorporating elements of evolution, diversity or change.“I wanted this to be an opportunity for faculty to think about new classes they can offer,” Robinson said. “The idea is that every year will be the mechanism to create some new courses that will be continued to be offered beyond the semester.”History and Philosophy of Science professor Colin Allen pioneered a new class for the fall program. In his course “Science of Animal Minds: Smart Animals, Dumb Humans?” students look at the science of animal minds from a historical and philosophical perspective.“When I heard about the theme, I decided to do something special,” Allen said. “This is a great opportunity to present some interesting information to a captivated group of students.”Allen said that with the help of another colleague and some special Themester funding, he is bringing in two well-known speakers to lecture about Darwin, evolution and creationism.In addition to classes, Robinson said there are events taking place across campus throughout the semester, almost all of which are free for students to attend. Lectures, musical events, student discussion panels and theatrical productions are some of the activities associated with the program. “Inherit the Wind,” a play about the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial,” is already running at the John Waldron Arts Center.Union Board Performance and Comedy director Julie Singer said the board is working with the College of Arts and Sciences to promote Themester events, including a lecture by controversial author and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.“I think it’s a really great idea to marry academics with social and cultural auxiliary programming,” Singer said. “It’s great to create dialogue about some important issues.”
(08/27/09 3:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Making the transition to college classes can be daunting, but there is never a shortage of help around campus. From one-on-one tutoring to group help sessions, there’s always someone who has mastered microeconomics or finite and can lend a hand. While most departments have a list of private tutors for hire, individualized help can be a costly investment. Many academic support resources around campus have a variety of hours and formats. And, best of all, they’re free. 1. Academic Support CentersWHERE Briscoe Quad, Forest Quad and Teter QuadWHEN 7 to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. Evening assistance starts Sept. 6 with same-day sign-ups at 6 p.m. WHAT Located throughout campus, Academic Support Centers offer students a convenient way to get help with a variety of subjects. Math, writing, study skills and subject-specific tutoring, such as business and African languages, are all available at the centers. But don’t expect to show up and get the answers.MORE INFO Student Academic Center Outreach and Service Coordinator Sharon Chertkoff said academic help in a university setting is broader than what incoming freshman may have experienced before.“We’re focusing on students becoming an independent learner and independent problem solver,” she said. “Many students feel frustrated. They’re looking for someone to write their paper or do a math problem. This type of support is different.”Several academic support programs work out of the Academic Support Centers so the classrooms can get busy. It’s best to sign up for a session, especially around midterms and finals.2. Academic WorkshopsWHERE Depending on which workshop, in an Academic Support Center or in Ballantine Hall 109WHEN 7 to 8 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and WednesdaysWHAT These free workshops are open to all students – no reservation required. They provide tips and tricks for dealing with academic issues students face throughout college. MORE INFO “The workshops cover a wide variety of topics from goals to working in a group to stress management,” Chertkoff said. Check sac.indiana.edu for a detailed list of workshops.3. Writing Tutorial Services (WTS)WHERE The main location is in Ballantine Hall 206. Tutors are also standing by in the Herman B Wells Library on the third floor of the west tower, Academic Support Centers, Kelley School of Business Room 372 and School of Education Room 2206.WHEN 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. FridayWHAT The Writing Tutorial Services staff provides free 50-minute tutorials on all stages of the writing process. Beware, however, that the tutors won’t edit or proofread papers. While you don’t have to make an appointment, it’s best to call ahead (812-855-6738) or stop by WTS to schedule a time several days in advance.4. Math Learning CenterWHERE Swain East 340WHEN The hours are still tentative but will most likely be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through FridayWHAT Stop by the Math Learning Center for help with algebra and pre-calculus. Graduate math tutors work the center and answer many of your questions. Math Learning Center Director Chris Parks said students shouldn’t expect one-on-one help at the center. MORE INFO “Students work together by course,” he said. If students work well in small groups, the Math Learning Center will be good for them, Parks said. The center’s busiest hours are between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.5. Supplemental InstructionWHERE Math help outside the Academic Support CentersWHEN 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday through ThursdayWHAT Work in small groups led by an undergraduate who has successfully completed the course. Work through homework problems, but don’t expect the instruction leader to hand out answers, Chertkoff said. MORE INFO If free help isn’t enough of an incentive, go to SI sessions an hour early (from 6 to 7 p.m.) for a problem-solving session and earn extra credit in M025 and M027. See sac.indiana.edu/supplementalInstruction for more information.
(06/16/09 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Marie Howison knows you don’t have to leave behind the activities you loved when coming to a large university. She transferred her high school student government invovlement to her experience at IU. MAJOR: Marketing with Spanish and apparel merchandising minorsHOMETOWN: PittsburghDORM: BriscoeQ: Was it hard adjusting from high school to college?A: Adjusting from high school to college took some time for me. One of the hardest things was being away from home. I was homesick for a while, but after about a month or so when I had made some good friends everything was fine. The other hard thing was studying in advance. In high school I rarely started studying for a test more than a day before, but in college it is really important to study a couple days in advance. It makes you less stressed and your grades better. I don’t feel like I did much to prepare because I really did not know what to expect.Q: How did you get involved on campus? Did you already have some activities in mind, or did you just see what IU had to offer and then pick something?A: I actually became involved in two activities this year. I served as my floor governor for Briscoe Student Government and also joined Women in Business. I did not have any specific activities in mind, but I knew I wanted to be involved, so I looked out for things that interested me. I went to the Women in Business call-out meeting and really liked what I heard. My RA said something about needing floor governors at the beginning of the year, and I had been involved in class council in high school, so I decided to run. I think the best thing to do to get involved is pay attention to the millions of flyers and sidewalk chalk messages you see at the beginning of the year and attend a couple call-out meetings to see what interests you.Q: What tips do you have for incoming freshmen?A: The best thing I can say is to get involved, get to know kids in your classes, so if you miss class you can get notes, or you can study together, go to sporting events, and just have fun. IU offers so many things to students, so take advantage of them while you are here.
(06/16/09 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Salima Lalani came to campus with 50 of her high school classmates, and while being with friends was nice, she knew needed to meet new people.MAJOR: International business and financeHOMETOWN: Buffalo Grove, Ill.DORM: AshtonQ: How did you decide what to get involved in?A: I wanted to take it easy my first year to get used to the school. I know it’s really competitive here, and I didn’t want to sacrifice my grades. But, I was in an accounting class and one of the girls came in and made an announcement about Women In Business, and it was something that interested me and was in line with what I wanted to do. They have business fraternities as well, but this was more unique.Q: When you first came here was it hard to adjust?A: I came here with 50 fellow graduating seniors, but my goal was to make new friends and branch out, I didn’t want this to be high school all over again. It wasn’t hard adjusting. I came in with a couple of friends, but just living in Ashton and being a part of Welcome Week really helped. Being in the business school, I take classes with a lot of the same people, so I saw some familiar faces.Q: Do you have any advice for freshmen about surviving their first year?A: Get involved and explore, see what you like. With the business school there are a lot of extracurriculars, but if you don’t know what you want to do just join some clubs. That’s how you make friends and what makes the transitions easier. Just get out there and be yourself. Don’t be afraid to show people who you really are.Q: What was the most frustrating part about freshman year?A: I came here with a lot of goals and expectations for myself, and there were some hurdles I was hoping to surmount this year. I’ve gotten rejected for many things through the B-School ... I’m learning to cope with reality, coming from high school and having everything handed to me and accomplishing all these goals. That rejection is kind of hard to deal with, but don’t give up. I just re-evaluate myself every couple of weeks and just try harder.
(06/16/09 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Lauren Mudd trained hard to participate in IU’s biggest tradition, the Little 500 bicycle race. She rode for her sorority Alpha Omicron Pi, which she joined this year.MAJOR: NursingHOMETOWN: Evansville, Ind.DORM: BriscoeQ: How did you decide what activities to get involved in?A: I came to IU and I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I wanted to be involved in greek life. My mom was an AOPi (Alpha Omicron Pi) and my dad was a SigEp (Sigma Phi Epsilon.) I had always heard about Little 500 and my dad raced in college, so I thought, maybe I can give that a try. Q: What was it like being involved in the biggest tradition on IU’s campus?A: It is such a huge event, but working on a team made it smaller. It was lots of fun and hard work. We even went to Florida for training. Q: What tips would you give freshman just starting at IU?A: I would recommend giving the greek system a try. Meeting people from my house I would never expect them to be in certain clubs, so it just made me more interested.Q: Do you have any roommate tips?A: My biggest tip is just to listen to what she has to say. If you can tell that she’s frustrated, ask her what’s wrong and if there’s anything you can do. Ask her, let her get it all out and then talk and tell her how you’re feeling. Then you can discuss how to deal with it.
(02/17/09 4:00pm)
Whether you’re penning the next great American novel or just another research paper, here are a handful of tips to get those creative juices flowing.
(02/17/09 4:00pm)
Getting ready to pack your life into boxes ... again? Moving is never easy on your back, but there is a way to make it easier on the environment. Here’s how to go green and save some.
(02/17/09 4:00pm)
Find inspiration.
(11/13/08 4:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Charlie Beeker knows shipwrecks. In fact, they’re his job.For almost a year, Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science and Educational Resources in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, has been exploring the waters off the coast of the Dominican Republic with the hope of verifying a pirate shipwreck.On Tuesday, National Geographic will feature Beeker’s historic discovery.While IU has been working in the Dominican Republic for almost 15 years, Beeker said the IU team did not investigate the shipwreck until the local government asked them to look at an interesting underwater site.“There were cannons, and someone wanted to recover them,” Beeker said. “We put it off for a while, but then later we just kind of stumbled onto it. The key was we knew what we might have, and we worked hard to prove it.”Beeker’s inclination was that the IU team discovered the wreckage of the Quedagh Merchant, a ship abandoned by 17th century pirate Capt. Kidd. An IU team of graduate and undergraduate students along with faculty members traveled to the Dominican Republic last summer to work on the excavations. The excavations combined students and faculty from several disciplines.Fritz Hanselmann, research coordinator at the Office of Underwater Science and Educational Research, worked with Beeker to initially assess, survey and map the shipwreck.“This has been a phenomenal experience in so much as being able to take part in such a diverse project that couples archaeology, history, biology, a wide variety of fields,” Hanselmann said. “It uses a shipwreck not just as a piece of history and an archaeological record, but also as a means to test the biological resources and further economic development in the local region.”While Beeker directed the overall project, Hanselmann directed the archaeological aspects.The team unearthed one of 26 cannons as well as several cannonballs. They also found wood in the hull and keel of the ship.“What was significant was the scientific analysis of the wood,” Beeker said. “That’s what proved to us that the site was the pirate ship vessel the Quedagh Merchant.”Scientific analysis of the timber proved the ship was made of teak wood. While teak wood is shipped all over the world today, in the 17th century, teak only grew naturally in west India, the place where Capt. Kidd testified the ship was built.Initially, IU had to deal with treasure hunters who could have potentially damaged the site, but Beeker said IU is now in control and will preserve the area. The U.S. Agency on International Development awarded IU $200,000 to turn the Capt. Kidd site into an underwater park.Beeker added that the Quedagh Merchant is the only pirate ship that has been found in the Caribbean.“You’ve heard of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’” Beeker said. “Well, IU has it.”IU’s historic find has not gone unnoticed. Beeker said last December several television networks approached the team about producing potential feature stories on the discovery. Ultimately, Beeker said, they decided on National Geographic. As a result, the Caribbean discovery will be featured at 9 p.m. Tuesday as part of the channel’s “Expedition Week.”“It’s going to get a lot more academic scrutiny than other channels might,” he said. “They’re very good at making sure you have your facts correct, which we appreciate, being an academic institution.”Beeker, along with project archaeologist Geoffrey Conrad, will also give a presentation on Monday at the Mathers Museum. The two members of the expedition will show clips from the National Geographic special, discuss the science behind the discovery and display replicas of artifacts from other wrecks in the Dominican Republic.Though the verification is complete, Beeker said the work isn’t. The team will continue to make trips to the Dominican Republic and work on preserving the wreck for future generations.After that, it’s on to the next site. The next shipwrecks on Beeker’s mind: Christopher Columbus’ six sunken ships from 1495.
(10/22/08 4:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Five years ago Jo Burgess, director of the Wylie House Museum, made a trip to Arlington, Mass., to visit a little-known relative of the Wylie family, Morton Bradley Jr.While this was Burgess’ first trip to see Bradley, staff of the IU Art Museum and IU Foundation had visited him many times. At one point during most visits, Bradley would make a point to trudge up to the attic of his estate, returning with a small gift for the museum cradled in his hands.In the course of her visit, Bradley never invited Burgess up into the attic treasure-trove containing possessions of IU’s original first family.But soon she wouldn’t need an invitation. When Bradley died in 2004, he bequeathed his entire estate to IU, giving Burgess her first glimpse of the Wylie family relics hidden away for years.The Wylie House Museum, located on the corner of Second and Lincoln streets, was built by Andrew Wylie, the first president of IU, in 1835. He lived in the house with his wife and 10 of their 12 children before his half-cousin Theophilus Wylie moved in. Today the house is used as a museum displaying a collection of early to mid-19th century American furnishings, including many Wylie family artifacts.While the Wylie House Museum has been staged to appear like the inside of Andrew Wylie’s house, Burgess said a lot of the recreation was guesswork. It wasn’t until she stepped into Bradley’s attic that she truly got to know the Wylie family.That’s when she found the letters.“There were seven crates of letters,” Burgess said. “They were big, wood crates stuffed full of letters all packaged and tied up in white strings.”She almost immediately started reading the correspondence and was shocked by what she discovered.“It was every historian’s dream,” she said. “They wrote about everything and it was so rich and deep. The whole Wylie family kept letters, so you got both sides of the correspondence, and that’s so rare.” Most of the letters described day-to-day life. Burgess said she was amazed by how much detail the Wylie family put in the letters. They wrote about what they were eating, how they cooked and preserved food, what they bought and how they raised their kids. “I think what amazes me the most is just how despite what is going on in the world today, human relations haven’t changed that much,” Burgess said. “People deal with the same things, raising kids, aging parents, managing money, looking for work, family squabbles. It’s people and that’s interesting.”It wasn’t long after Burgess started reading and transcribing the letters to a more legible format that she quickly realized the job required more time than she could allocate.“I realized it was going to take longer than I have left in my career to finish reading them at that rate,” she said.The solution was to go on sabbatical. Burgess recently returned from a two-week break devoted entirely to the letters. So far she has transcribed almost 2,800 pages. And she has only transcribed 48 of the 80 years of correspondence.While Burgess is the only Wylie House Museum staff member reading the original letters, interns from the IU School of Library and Information Science assist in logging the entries for future retrieval.School of Library and Information Science intern Erin Dobias spends about 12 hours a week working on the letters. She said each intern is assigned a year to read – Dobias has the year 1883 – and enter into a database. After reading each transcribed piece of correspondence, Dobias enters basic information, a summary and keywords for future referencing.Dobias and Burgess said reading the correspondence is like watching a soap opera. The letters are full of gossipy family drama and financial woes.“Reading about the health-related stuff is interesting to me,” Dobias said. “They think the weather, or going somewhere with better weather, will cure everything.”After dedicating so much time to reading the letters, Burgess said the Wylie’s have almost come to life.“They’re like my family now,” she said.
(09/10/08 4:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The year 1990 ushered in the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century. It was the year that brought us Polly Pocket, Vanilla Ice and “The Simpsons.” And, it was also the year many students in the class of 2012 were born. While the names and faces are different, some parts of college never change. Like current IU students, the class of 1990 held candlelight vigils, not for 9/11, but for the students killed in Tiananmen Square in 1989. They dressed up for IU Sing, obsessed about basketball and Bobby Knight, learned to share a residence hall bathroom with 25 other people and partied during the “greatest college weekend,” Little 500. But just remember, in the words of one of 1990’s most popular artists, “nothing compares 2 U.”--- IU-Bloomington Total enrollment Then: 34,863 Now: 38,990In-state tuition Then: $67/credit hour Now: $3,684.15Out of state tuition Then: $202.85/credit hour Now: $11,952.95GovernmentPresident Then: George H. W. Bush Now: George W. BushCost of gas Then: $1.16/gallon Now: about $4/gallon Minimum wage Then: $3.80 Now: $6.55Popular TVComedyThen: “Seinfeld” Now: “The Office” DramaThen: “Beverly Hills, 90210” Now: “Grey’s Anatomy”ActorThen: David Hasselhoff in "Baywatch" Now: David Hasselhoff in "Knight Rider"Billboard Hot 100 No. 1Then: “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips Now: “Whatever You Like” by T.I.No. 2Then: “It Must Have Been Love” by RoxetteNow: “Disturbia” by RihannaNo. 3Then: “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’ConnorNow: "So What" by PinkNo. 4Then: "Poison" by Bell Biv Devoe Now: “Forever” by Chris BrownNo. 5Then: "Vogue" by MadonnaNow: "Paper Planes" by M.I.A.Academy Awards presented (for pictures released the year before)Best Motion Picture of the YearThen: “Dances with Wolves” Now: “No Country For Old Men”Best Actor in a Leading RoleThen: Jeremy Irons Now: Daniel Day-LewisBest Actress in a Leading RoleThen: Kathy Bates Now: Marion CotillardOther popular movies: Then: “Pretty Woman," "Home Alone" and "Edward ScissorhandsNow: "The Dark Knight," "Sex and the City" and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
(05/08/08 1:54pm)
A “Last of the Mohicans” poster is propped up near Pam Cook’s desk in the East Tower of the Herman B Wells Library. Her current project, a seven-DVD set on belly dancing called “Tribal Basics,” sits nearby.\nCook, an IU alumna with a degree in English literature, works as an audio-video cataloger at the library. She and Vaughn Nuest, head of Auxiliary Library Facilities Management Services, are only two examples of library workers with atypical jobs.\nManaging the surplus\nWalking into the book safe inside the Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library is like walking into a cave.\nThe dimly lit, cavernous room is a balmy 50 degrees with 30 percent humidity, which is the ideal climate for book preservation, Nuest said. Metal shelving 30-feet high runs through the room and books sit nestled on shelves in special acid-free and lignin-free trays. The entire library environment is designed to provide the best life possible for its literary inhabitants.\nNuest oversees the 1.7 million items housed in the building. He has worked as a librarian at IU for 27 years, including several as a student. \nHe said he understands the importance of a high-density shelving facility like the Auxillary Library Facility – he worked as an assistant building manager at the Wells Library before the ALF was built. Part of his job was to help facilitate the off-campus storage of extra books. The Wells Library was built with a capacity to accept books for the next 20 years, Nuest said. However, after 20 years, annual acquisition rates averaging roughly 100,000 volumes per year continued to flood the campus libraries until they were 2 million to 3 million volumes more than capacity. Today, he said, the IUB Libraries are digging their way out of the book surplus by using the storage capabilities of the ALF.\n“Our goal is to get all of the libraries to 80 percent capacity,” Nuest said. “But that is still 10 to 15 years worth of moving.”\nLiving in the “deluxe environment” of the ALF can add an extra 400 years to the lifespan of a book, Nuest said. The ALF staff tries to send every book back in better condition that it arrived in. This includes vacuuming books, freezing items that may have insects or mold in them and even recreating books in the preservation room.\nUnlike the Wells Library, books are sorted and stored by size to maximize space in the collections vault. Only five people have on-demand access to the vault in order to maximize security. So far, Nuest said, the system has had a 100 percent retrieval success rate. Any item requested before noon is delivered the same day, Monday through Sunday.\nWhile plans for an expansion that would increase collection storage by 150 percent are underway, Nuest said the ALF is one of the models other universities use when designing shelving facilities for library materials.\n“They spared no expense to make this the best environment possible for the books to live in,” he said.\nKnowing a little about a lot\nCook said she initially intended to have her job as cataloger with the Wells Library for six months. Over time, six months turned into 30 years.\n“Around 1979 we had some video cassettes, the old half-inch ones, and my boss wanted someone to bring them into the catalog,” Cook said. “No one wanted to do it and I volunteered.”\nCook now catalogs nonprint materials. These can range from DVDs, the bulk of her work, to posters, games and maps. However, not all items that come across Cook’s desk are commonplace.\n“One day I came back from lunch and I found a box labeled ‘human body parts,’” Cook said. “It was a box of model body parts. We also get things like cross-sections of the human brain, and one colleague had to catalog owl pellets once.”\nCook’s job normally entails enhancing previous catalog entries or creating entirely new ones. She writes a physical description of the item, compiles a summary and assigns a call number.\nAfter cataloging a variety of things, Cook said she knows a little about a lot of things.\n“I always tell people, if you see a librarian on ‘Jeopardy!’ bet on that one to win,” she said.
(04/28/08 4:14am)
Nine months ago, more than 7,000 freshmen from across the country flooded the campus during Welcome Week. Representing 45 states and 45 different nations, they found a home at IU. As the year comes to a close, freshmen Luke Fisher and Jessica Lehfeldt look back on their first year at IU.
(04/22/08 1:25pm)
More than 50 years ago, Frank and Daisy Beck returned to IU, their alma mater, with the goal of fulfilling one of the campus’ greatest needs: a small chapel.\nThe Indiana University Chapel, Frank Beck’s initial name for the building, would sit nestled between the family burial ground of George Dunn and the Jordan River because, as he wrote in a chapel newsletter, no man can love IU without loving the Jordan River.\nHis plans outlined a building with an exterior of Indiana flagstone or shell stone from nearby hills, much of it from the farm of Col. John Ketcham, one of IU’s first trustees,. The roof would be of slate, the spire of copper and wood from native strands of timber.\nAnd on a January evening in 1941 during a large dinner in Alumni Hall, the Becks presented the University with the initial funding for a small campus chapel. \nSince its dedication, the chapel has been a popular location for weddings and memorial services. About 90 to 100 couples are married at the chapel each year and usually an additional 25 miscellaneous ceremonies, such as christenings and memorials, are held there each year, said Sarah Cady, sales and events coordinator for the Indiana Memorial Union.\nThe chapel, like the people who have passed through its doors for 50 years, is a reflection of a wide cross-section of the community. Groups such as the IU “I” Men’s Club donated the spire as a memorial to the men who lost their lives in World Wars I and II. The bronze doors were a gift from the wife of the chapel architect, while other individuals donated the stained-glass windows and lychgate.\nBy the time the chapel was dedicated in June 1957, Frank Beck’s vision of a small and intimate chapel for generations of Hoosiers had come full circle. \nAn intimate wedding\nMore than half of a century after the chapel opened its doors to the public, patrons can still feel the same qualities Frank Beck hoped to instill in the building.\nRebecca Eberle, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, said the sense of timelessness and spiritual intimacy at Beck Chapel is what drew her and her husband to have their wedding ceremony there.\n“I feel that every time I walk past it, even during chaotic passing times of a typical college campus day,” she said.\nThe Eberles, both IU alumni, were married in Beck Chapel on April 30, 1983. The were good friends from Bloomington High School South, but they did not start dating until college.\n“(In high school) we were both runners, cross country runners, and we met through that sport,” Eberle said. “We were just good friends. He dated another woman and I had a boyfriend and we were just friends. We did a lot together. We were just compatible, which is why I think we are still married now.”\nThey decided to get married during Eberle’s graduate school program, and they looked to non-denominational Beck Chapel.\n“All of the weddings in the family ... had been large Catholic weddings,” Eberle said. “We felt like we wanted something smaller and more intimate – not that what had been done before wasn’t good – to meet our own personal needs. We wanted something less structured and opportunities to individualize the ceremony more.”\nBeck Chapel was an ideal location for a Catholic, yet original, ceremony. A Catholic priest from St. Charles Catholic Church in Bloomington officiated the ceremony and the couple incorporated personalized vows and poetry.\nCady said weddings of all faiths take place in the chapel, exactly the way Frank Beck imagined. During the dedication, Catholic, Jewish and Protestant leaders planted three trees outside of the chapel to solidify this idea. And today, the building still contains copies of the Bible, Koran and Torah for visitors \nto observe. \nEnduring values\nThe day of the chapel’s dedication, former IU President Herman B Wells shared his thoughts on Frank Beck’s gift.\n“We have begun something today which in a way we shall not be able to complete as long as memory knows gratitude and there are those who long the things for which the chapel stands,” Wells wrote. \nHalf a century after his remarks, people are still using the chapel as a place for quiet and meditation, longing for the values Frank Beck instilled in the building. \nThe night of her wedding, Eberle walked down the aisle in a long-sleeved, white dress. The couple’s 75 guests filled the pews and the room was bathed in candlelight.\n“My husband and I spent a lot of time on campus as college students,” Eberle said. “It felt like a place that felt like our place.”\nThe couple’s 25th anniversary is at the end of April. While they initially wanted to take a tropical vacation, Eberle said their plans will probably be similar to their anniversaries in the past.\nIf the weather is nice, they’ll take a walk through campus. And that almost always means a trip under the lychgate to Beck Chapel.
