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Media Relations

Daily IU News Round-up

November 6, 2009

New IU Data Center dedicated
The Bloomington Herald-Times, Nov. 6 -- The new Indiana University Data Center is a low-slung, bunker-like building, bristling with security cameras and braced against flooding, F5 tornadoes and more. It is a veritable $32.7 million fortress on East 10th Street. What it protects -- the computing present and digital future of IU campuses across the state -- is critical, university officials said. What it replaces -- "some flimsy, old school buildings" -- was simply inadequate, said IU President Michael McRobbie. "This is an enormously complex and vitally important project," McRobbie said at the center's unveiling Thursday. Hundreds of people attended the event. "It will carry us one step closer to the digital future." Full story.

Indiana University taking swine flu vaccine reservations
Chicago Tribune, The Indianapolis Star, Indiana Daily Student, Journal Gazette, Nov. 6 -- IU is taking reservations online and will give the H1N1 vaccine to students and employees in high risk categories. Those eligible can reserve a 10-minute time slot between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Once the vaccine arrives, people with reservations will get an e-mail telling them the calendar date for their vaccination. Full story. Full story 2. Full story 3. Full story 4.

The dangers of distracted walkers
Wthitv.com, Nov. 5 -- While crossing the street seems simple enough to you, too many distractions could lead you down a dangerous road. You deal with distractions every day, especially on college campuses like Indiana University. Students on this campus have only 10 seconds to cross the street before the light turns red, but these students do more than just walk, they read texts, talk on the phone, and listen to music. Full story.

Witte blasts agenda of 'Comrade Kruzan'
Mayor recently resigned from local chamber of commerce over differing stances
The Bloomington Herald-Times, Nov. 6 -- A dour economic forecast luncheon took an explosive turn Thursday when an economist told hundreds of Bloomington businessmen about the new nickname he's given the city's mayor. Bill Witte, a national economic expert and IU professor emeritus, said he and his family once knew Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan as "Mayor Mark." Now Witte calls him "Comrade Kruzan." Sometimes he goes with "Commissar Kruzan," he told members of three Bloomington Rotary Clubs Thursday. Audience members roared their approval. Full story.

Students to get hint of what it means to go hungry
Fwdailynews.com, Nov. 6 -- How would you feel if you were invited to a banquet and then weren't allowed to have anything to eat? That's what some of the 200 students who will take part in the annual Hunger Banquet at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) will learn Monday, Nov. 16. Full story.

Resisting the urge to gossip
Huffingtonpost.com, Nov. 5 -- It's easy to get caught up in gossip. A friend or colleague starts talking about someone you both know. She lays out some juicy information you haven't heard before, almost baiting you to chime in. Whether it's true or not, you reflexively up the ante by spilling a rumor you recently heard about that person, too. Later, you wonder why you responded that way or even regret that you got sucked into the conversation. A study by sociologists Tim Hallett, Donna Eder, and Brent Harger of Indiana University, published in the October issue of the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, hints at some ways to redirect negative gossip. Full story.

Music with no strings attached
The Indianapolis Star, Nov. 6 -- Joshua Bell has played with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra more than a dozen times since he helped write the first chapter in its "Symphony on the Prairie" history as a 12-year-old in 1982. When he lifts his 1713 Stradivarius to his chin to regale ISO patrons next week with Ravel's "Tzigane," Bruch's "Scottish Fantasy" and Massenet's "Meditation from 'Thais,' " he will be among his original fans: Hoosiers. Full story.

Time for a change
To the editor:
The Bloomington Herald-Times, Nov. 6 -- This letter writer expresses his concern for the IU football program. Letter.

Letter: An idea for football
To the editor:
The Bloomington Herald-Times, Nov. 6 -- This letter writer suggests that all IU football games are played on the road. Letter.

IU voices in the news

After Setbacks, Small Successes for Gene Therapy
The New York Times, Nov. 5 -- Dr. Kenneth Cornetta, a gene therapy researcher at Indiana University is quoted in this article. Full story.

A growing health-care crisis is the loss of antibiotic effectiveness
The Indianapolis Star, Nov. 1 -- Antibiotic-resistant bacteria cost the health-care system -- and taxpayers -- an estimated $26 billion annually. Infections from these bacteria kill about 90,000 people a year in the United States. Stephen J. Jay of the Indiana University School of Medicine says we need this comprehensive response to antibiotic resistance. Full story.

New gene therapy halts 2 boys' rare brain disease
The Gouverneur Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 6 -- Dr. Kenneth Cornetta, president of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy is quoted in these articles. Full story. Full story 2.

Trends

Jobless rate tops 10 pct. for first time since '83
The Indianapolis Star, Nov. 6 -- The unemployment rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983 -- and is likely to go higher. Nearly 16 million people can't find jobs even though the worst recession since the Great Depression has apparently ended. The Labor Department said Friday that the economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September. August job losses were also revised lower, to 154,000 from 201,000. Full story.

From the Chronicle

Understanding the 'Public' in Public Relations
When we put together our annual marketing plans, one key constituency often gets short shrift. Typically, it is only after we list current students, prospective students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff members, reporters, and policy makers that we begin to think about the people who live closest to the campus. But that group can play a key role in fostering good will toward a college. Ignored or underappreciated, a college's neighbors can create needless headaches for the institution and its public-relations officer. Full story.

College Leaders Offer Blunt Advice for Campuses Hit by Hard Times
"Dumb public policies," like mandatory-sentencing laws that drive up states' costs for prisons and leave less for education, may be part of the reason colleges are in such financial straits, the leader of the California State University system said at a forum here on Thursday, but that's just a piece of the problem. The bigger issue is that most colleges are too concerned with trying to compete for prestige rather than serve their students and their communities, said Cal State's chancellor, Charles B. Reed. Full story.

A Growing Roman Catholic College Puts Its Faith in a Broadened Mission
Sacred Heart University has an unmistakably Roman Catholic name. But Erin M. Schnepp, a longtime student tour guide here, has still heard the same question over and over from high-school students and their parents: Just how "Catholic" is the university? It used to be difficult to answer. Now, Ms. Schnepp can point to the new Chapel of the Holy Spirit in the center of campus. The university dedicated the chapel in late September, replacing an empty green space with an inviting place for students to pray, worship, and reflect. University leaders hope it will demonstrate to prospective students that Sacred Heart is a place where they can grow in their faith. Full story.

Daily IU News Round-up is distributed to faculty and staff at IU, and it contains a short review of media coverage relating to IU administrative and student news, federal and state legislative policy, and trends and issues in higher education. Prepared by the IU Office of University Communications, the Daily IU News Round-up is not an all-inclusive gathering of news featuring IU faculty and staff. To subscribe to the Daily IU News Round-up list or to have your name removed, please contact Susan Williams, Office of University Communications, sulwilli@indiana.edu.

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