Front Page News at Indiana University

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Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awards funding of prestigious Sawyer Seminars to IU faculty
New videos and podcasts from 'A Moment Of Science'
IU Art Museum opens doors to conservation of famed Thomas Benton murals
After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller
Virtual learning viewed as increasingly viable option for Indiana students, survey finds
IU Bloomington Scoreboard

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Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awards funding of prestigious Sawyer Seminars to IU faculty -- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded more than $140,000 through the prestigious Sawyer Seminars to Indiana University faculty members. The award supports a year-long seminar series titled "Rupture and Flow: The Circulation of Technoscientific Facts and Objects." Invited experts from around the world, as well as local specialists will speak. The seminar will be divided into four eight-week sessions corresponding to four themes addressing how and why cultural, social and material forces interrupt the circulation of technoscientific objects, and with what consequences for what kinds of communities. Read the complete story.

New videos and podcasts from 'A Moment Of Science' -- A Moment of Science, the syndicated radio program heard on more than 80 public and community radio stations in Indiana and around the globe, now offers an expanded selection of video and audio podcasts on its Web site, https://amomentofscience.org. A Moment of Science is produced in WFIU studios on the Indiana University Bloomington campus, and it receives support from the IU Bloomington Office of the Provost. IU scientists, medical researchers and staff regularly serve as advisors to the program's staff, scrutinizing scripts for scientific accuracy. Read the complete story.

IU Art Museum opens doors to conservation of famed Thomas Benton murals -- The Indiana University Art Museum is offering a glimpse into the intricate world of painting conservation. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from now through the end of August, the public is invited to observe the ongoing conservation of two panels from Thomas Hart Benton's famous Indiana murals at the IU Art Museum's painting conservation laboratory. The murals were originally created for the Indiana Hall at the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago in 22 panels that stretched 250 feet, encircling the exposition. When the Century of Progress Exposition closed, Benton's panels were stored in a horse barn at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Herman B Wells, early in his tenure as IU president, arranged for the state to give the murals to IU in 1940. Read the complete story.

After dinosaurs, mammals rise but their genomes get smaller -- Evidence buried in the chromosomes of animals and plants strongly suggests only one group -- mammals -- have seen their genomes shrink after the dinosaurs' extinction. What's more, that trend continues today, say Indiana University Bloomington scientists in the first issue of a new journal, Genome Biology and Evolution. The scientists' finding might seem counter-intuitive, given that the last 65 million years have seen mammals expand in diversity and number, not to mention dominance in a wide variety of ecological roles. But it is precisely their success in numbers that could have led to the contraction of their genomes. Read the complete story.

Virtual learning viewed as increasingly viable option for Indiana students, survey finds -- A new survey of Indiana superintendents, principals and school counselors finds that a majority see virtual learning as a way to enhance academic offerings in public education. Sixty percent of respondents to the "2009 Survey of Virtual Learning in Indiana," conducted by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) at the Indiana University School of Education, said they are offering or may offer online courses in six different areas, including alternative education, gifted and talented education, and instruction for homebound students. But just half of the respondents indicated their school would pay for virtual instruction and cited instructional cost as a barrier to offering more online courses. Read the complete story.

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Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard

Sports schedules and scores will resume in August.

For more information on IU Athletics visit https://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/.

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IU in the news

IU welcomes Best Buddies
Indiana Daily Student, July 26 -- The annual Best Buddies national leadership conference began Friday at IU and wrapped up Sunday with final speeches by several participants with intellectual disabilities. Best Buddies is a nonprofit organization that matches volunteers with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and, since its founding in 1989, has expanded internationally. The conference, which has taken place at IU for the past seven years, included university chapter board members from across the country as well as about 50 participants with disabilities. The volunteers attended seminars about how to improve their local chapters. Full story.

The New Generation of Philanthropists
U.S. News & World Report, July 27 -- For a new generation of philanthropists, giving to charity isn't just about writing checks. Instead, the focus is on volunteering, socializing, and networking -- while also contributing to good causes. "Many Generation X-ers are more interested in social advocacy and engagement philanthropy," says Dwight Burlingame, associate executive director at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. That means they are more likely to want to work directly with organizations instead of just donating money, he explains. The center has found that giving rates tend to go up with education levels: 90 percent of those with graduate degrees contributed to charity, compared to 58 percent of those with high school educations or less. For a college graduate, the average annual gift is $2,633. Full story.

Nonprofits continue boom in face of new pressures
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 27 -- An executive and regular donor was planning a charity golf tournament. An active church had plans for a new project in north St. Louis. Both needed an official vehicle for their plans, an organization to carry the banner. But rather than look to existing groups, they all founded nonprofit organizations. And in taking matters into their own hands, they joined a gathering legion who have incorporated nonprofits to match their passions and ideas. "They're simply moral or social entrepreneurs that are concerned about the issues," said Kirsten Grønbjerg, a professor at Indiana University and a chair at the Center on Philanthropy. "I get a request at least once a month from someone else who says, 'I'm starting a new nonprofit. Tell me what to do.'" Nationally the trend looks much the same; for decades, entrepreneurs have taken their resolve to the not-for-profit sector each year in greater numbers. Full story.

New nursing program coming in fall to IUPUC
The Republic, July 23 -- A new bachelor degree in nursing program will begin in fall 2010 at IUPUC. The program, from Indiana University School of Nursing, will be the first standalone Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree offered in Indiana Workforce Development Region 9. Deb Harmon, head of the Division of Nursing, said the degree is "something the community has wanted and needed for a long time. "To say that I am excited is an understatement, I am elated," she said. Full story.

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