Bloomington Herald-Times articles
Nov. 17, 2006
Scholarship endowment drive tops $100 million mark; Thousands of students will benefit, officials say
by Steve Hinnefeld
November 17, 2006
Indiana University has passed the $100 million mark for gifts and pledges to endow scholarships on the Bloomington campus, officials said Thursday.
The milestone was reached earlier this month. It includes support from more than 100 individuals and organizations since September 2004.
Roger Thompson, the Bloomington vice provost for enrollment management, said the funding could help keep IU affordable for thousands of undergraduates.
"It is one more step in identifying resources that can be used for students to help fund their college education," he said.
Officials said the funds will generate at least $3.8 million for financial aid in 2007-08. Once all the pledges are in, endowment interest and matching funds from IU's Commitment to Excellence program will produce $10.1 million a year.
The gifts range from $50,000 to $46.9 million -- IU Bloomington's two-thirds share of an anonymous $70 million pledge to the university that was announced last December.
Some are designated for students who work, athletes, honor students and business, music and informatics majors. Others are unrestricted gifts.
"Those funds that are unrestricted, we'll think about how we can align those with our enrollment goals and our institutional goals," Thompson said.
Previously announced gifts that are part of the total include $15 million from South Carolina developer William Godfrey for business scholarships, $10 million from the Glaubinger Foundation for athletic scholarships and $10 million from Barbara Jacobs of Cleveland for music scholarships.
"The alumni and friends of Indiana University are ready to step up to the plate to help young people achieve their goals," Thompson said. "When alumni are willing to donate their time, money and resources to their institution, it's a measure of how good their experience was when they were here."
The gifts are likely to count toward an anticipated $1 billion goal for an IU Bloomington fundraising campaign that has not yet been officially launched. Undergraduate scholarships and graduate student fellowships are expected to be priorities.
The campus matches income from scholarship gifts with Commitment to Excellence money, funded by a $1,000 increase in undergraduate tuition that took effect in 2003.
The $46.9 million anonymous gift will fund a new full-ride program for undergraduate research scholars who work in labs with faculty. IU announced the program two weeks ago.
It also announced a full-tuition IU Excellence Award for in-state students, funded by reallocating money from nonresident grants; and supplemental grants for 21st Century Scholars and Hudson-Holland Scholars, both funded as part of normal operating expenses.
Those programs are expected to benefit up to 1,000 first-year students starting next fall. About 28,000 undergraduates are enrolled at IU Bloomington.
Pilot's mother, air controllers say cutbacks an accident factor; April plane crash that killed five IU music school students might not have occurred if Terre Haute tower had been handling flight, they say
By James Boyd
November 17, 2006
The mother of an Indiana University graduate student killed in an April plane crash and the air traffic controllers union share the belief that a shortage of controllers contributed to that fatal accident.
"We feel this is the beginning of an explanation," Louise Addicott said Thursday afternoon. Her daughter, Georgina Joshi, 24, was the pilot of a Cessna 206 airplane that crashed in fog near the Monroe County Airport in April.
Joshi and her four passengers were killed in the accident.
A second fatal accident that would have been handled by the Terre Haute Airport occurred last month near Evansville.
The air traffic controllers union said a shortage of employees has shifted the monitoring of flights up to a control center in Indianapolis.
Inbound or outbound flights from the Monroe County airport had previously been guided by Terre Haute air controllers after 10 p.m., but last February, the Federal Aviation Administration shifted those responsibilities to controllers in Indianapolis.
"The cuts the FAA is making have definitely jeopardized the safety of air travel," Addicott said. "There's no doubt in my mind about that."
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association's Indianapolis representative, Dave O'Malley, said the cuts are having effects all over the area.
Had approach controllers been stationed at the Terre Haute Airport after 10 p.m., Joshi may have had a better sense of weather conditions in Bloomington the night of the April 20 crash, O'Malley said. Instead, she was being guided by an approach controller out of Indianapolis.
The crash occurred about 11:45 p.m.
"In the two events that took place, there was a lot of weather, a lot of changing conditions," O'Malley said. "Eight or nine times out of 10, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But when it's (really bad) conditions, that's what terminal approach controllers are set up for."
An FAA spokesman said it wasn't staff reduction that shifted Terre Haute's control up to Indianapolis, but rather a lack of air traffic.
Tony Molinaro, spokesman for the FAA's Great Lakes Region in Des Plaines, Ill., said controllers in Indianapolis took over the Terre Haute center's overnight functions in February not because of insufficient staffing, but because Terre Haute handled, on average, just two aircraft per night.
Terre Haute's union representative, Laurie Krumwiede, said it was staffing issues that caused the switch.
"Because staffing deteriorated so much at the Terre Haute airport, FAA management decided to give away our airspace at night," she said.
Controllers in Indianapolis "are among the best and most dedicated in the world," O'Malley said. But according to Krumwiede, the Indianapolis controllers aren't as familiar with the unique requirements of landing or taking off from southern Indiana airports as those from Terre Haute were.
"There are some nuances to (Bloomington's) approach that experienced approach controllers have to look for," Krumwiede said.
A Terre Haute approach controller would've been handling Joshi's flight the night of the accident, but instead it was an Indianapolis controller guiding the flight in.
"I have no doubt that the center controller did everything they were required and trained to do for that aircraft," Krumwiede said. "It's just tragic either way."
Addicott said it's "unprecedented" for the controllers union to come out and say staffing issues have contributed to a decline in public safety.
"I do feel it's a terrible thing that five absolutely incredible young people are no longer here because of someone's decision to cut budgets and spend money elsewhere."
The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to issue a final report on the cause of the Bloomington crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Horn virtuoso Jeff Nelsen added to IU faculty
Herald-Times Report
November 17, 2006
International virtuoso horn musician, teacher and musical commentator Jeff Nelsen has been appointed an associate professor of music at the IU Jacobs School of Music, it was announced Thursday.
Nelsen is best known as a member of the Canadian Brass from 2000 to 2004, during which time he performed hundreds of quintet recitals and was featured with symphony orchestras including those of Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Houston, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis and Rotterdam.
He has held positions in the Montreal, Vancouver and Winnipeg symphony orchestras, and most recently performed in the horn sections of the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and National Symphony.
"Jeff is an exciting choice for us," Gwyn Richards, dean of the IU Jacobs School of Music, said in a press release. "The depth of his experience and the energy and passion he brings to his teaching, coupled with his blossoming performing career, will help our students prepare for their varied and demanding professional lives."
Brass department chairman M. Dee Stewart, professor of trombones and euphonium, also said in the release that Nelsen brings experience in areas of small ensemble and solo playing that are very important to the students' growth.
"In the current marketplace, the training he provides will be a great asset to IU brass students," Stewart said.
Nelsen has performed on Broadway and toured with popular entertainers, including Michael Bolton, Donny Osmond and Barry Manilow.
He recently returned from October appearances in England as the featured artist at the British Horn Society's Symposium.
Bowl hopes by the bucketful; If underdog Hoosiers beat Purdue Saturday, IU could have first bowl date since 1993
by James Boyd
November 17, 2006
If you believe the odds makers in Vegas, there's really no point in reading the rest of this story.
But if you're a believer, a true believer, follow on.
Those who set the betting lines say Indiana University has little chance of beating Purdue on Saturday.
The Hoosiers are 10.5-point underdogs against the Boilermakers, but should they win, IU will become bowl eligible for the first time since 1993.
IU football spokesman Jeff Keag said three bowls are interested in possibly booking the Hoosiers for a bowl date: the Insight Bowl (Tempe, Ariz.), the Motor City Bowl (Detroit), and the Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando).
"They're all in play," Keag said Thursday. "We've had representatives from Champs here a couple of times, (reps) from Insight two of the last three weeks, and from Motor City."
Representatives from the Insight Bowl and the Motor City Bowl did not return calls seeking comment.
Greg Creese, communications director for Florida Citrus Sports - which the Champs Sports Bowl falls under - said IU remains a viable candidate if it can pull out a win over Purdue.
"IU is obviously not an option for the Capital One Bowl, but they could be a possibility for Champs Sports," Creese said.
Representatives have seen IU play, but that's only a portion of what reps look for in a potential bowl team.
"Our scouts will go and talk to people in pregame tailgates, find out what their feelings are about Orlando," Creese said. "They'll take a look at attendance, and see if people would travel to see our bowl game."
If the Hoosiers win, they would most likely find out their bowl destination by Dec. 3, giving potential travelers plenty of time to make arrangements.
"You want people to come and support the game and their team," Creese said. "Our selection is the third pick after the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) for the Big Ten. If IU is in the mix as one of those teams, or one of the most attractive teams left, then they'd be a consideration."
Keag said at this point in time, it doesn't matter where IU might end up.
"Any bowl is a good bowl," he said. "We're ready to go."
Planning on heading to West Lafayette for the game on Saturday afternoon?
Partly cloudy skies and high temperatures in the low 50s are expected for the noon kickoff.
Bowl possibilities
If IU beats Purdue on Saturday, it would most likely be considered for one of three bowl games.
• Champs Sports Bowl. Dec. 29 in Orlando, Fla., at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. Capacity: 65,438.
• Insight Bowl. Dec. 29 in Tempe, Ariz. at Sun Devil Stadium. Capacity: 73,000.
• Motor City Bowl. Dec. 26 in Detroit, Mich., at Ford Field. Capacity: 65,000.
Source: Big Ten Conference
