Indiana University

Skip to:

  1. Search
  2. Breadcrumb Navigation
  3. Content
  4. Browse by Topic
  5. Services & Resources
  6. Additional Resources
  7. Multimedia News

Front Page News at Indiana University

February 16, 2007

Front Page News at IU delivers top headlines of the day from the campuses of Indiana University. It comes to you courtesy of IU University Communications in the Office of University Relations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simplifying the "Complexity Index" of Indiana school funding formula
Sound Medicine: HIV and malaria epidemics intertwine in Africa, tobacco, pediatric diabetes, and AIDS in Kenya
A composer's dream: IU music student's MLK-inspired work to be performed in Atlanta by Grammy-winner Sylvia McNair
Informatics new media professor draws high praise from Society of Illustrators
"Time to grow up": An interview with 'Twelfth Night' guest director Henry Woronicz

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simplifying the "Complexity Index" of Indiana school funding formula -- Indiana's school funding formula is keeping money away from the highest-need school corporations, say researchers at Indiana University. A new study finds the "Complexity Index," or CI, isn't doing what lawmakers envisioned, partly because index factors are not considered properly and other state provisions designed to prevent dramatic changes in individual school budgets are hindering the effort. The CI is the portion of Indiana's school funding formula that weights per-pupil funding based on five socioeconomic categories within school corporations. It is supposed to send more money to schools with traditionally disadvantaged student populations. "State policy makers have been concerned that they haven't seen a whole lot of gains in student performance," said Robert Toutkoushian, co-author of What is the Complexity Index?, the latest Education Policy Brief from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP). "That's especially true for at-risk students, despite having this formula that gives more money to school districts that have more at-risk students." Read the complete story.

'Sound Medicine': HIV and malaria epidemics intertwine in Africa, tobacco, pediatric diabetes, and AIDS in Kenya -- Sound Medicine is produced by the Indiana University School of and WFYI Public Radio. Host Barbara Lewis interviews medical experts on a wide range of current issues in medicine, from Alzheimer research to the West Nile virus. The program educates and encourages listeners to make sound health decisions. It's also a forum for health issues affecting local communities. Read the entire story, find a radio schedule or get podcasts.

A composer's dream: IU music student's MLK-inspired work to be performed in Atlanta by Grammy-winner Sylvia McNair -- "I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream." Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream speech........How do you improve upon something that's already so perfect? That was the challenge Arri Simon confronted when, during his freshman year at the IU Jacobs School of Music, his music composition master class was assigned to set a segment of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legendary "I Have a Dream" speech to music. Simon wasn't about to change anything about King's "immortal and beautiful" words. But after reading the text a few times, he thought they might make for an interesting musical theatre piece...Simon, now a junior Wells Scholar at IU, is enrolled in an undergraduate opera workshop this semester that is being taught by two-time Grammy Award-winning soprano Sylvia McNair...When Simon told McNair about the piece he wrote as a freshman, she asked if he would sing it at the end of the audition class. Simon "went for it," he says, and McNair loved it so much that she asked if she could sing it in an upcoming concert in Atlanta. Read the entire story.

Informatics new media professor draws high praise from Society of Illustrators -- Durwin S. Talon has blended his expertise in art and technology and has gained some new admirers at the Society of Illustrators. His creation of sequential artwork, Bonds: Adagio, has been selected for inclusion in the society's 49th annual exhibition. "I just feel honored knowing that my work will be hanging on the same walls where the works of Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish and Montgomery Flagg are also displayed," said Talon, associate professor of new media at the Indiana University School of Informatics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. "I got into illustration because of these giants, so this is all rather overwhelming." Read the complete story.

"Time to grow up": An interview with 'Twelfth Night' guest director Henry Woronicz -- For its upcoming production of Shakespeare's most successful comedy, Twelfth Night, the Indiana University Department of Theatre and Drama enlisted the support of acclaimed director Henry Woronicz. Woronicz brings a wealth of nationally recognized Shakespearean experience to the production, which opens at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre on Feb. 23. Last week, Ph.D. student Tom Robson sat down with Woronicz to discuss the IU production and the remarkable endurance of Twelfth Night. Read an excerpt of their discussion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard

Results for Thursday, February 15:

Men's basketball -- Indiana lost to Purdue, 81-68, in Mackey Arena. This was the second meeting of the season for the two. The Hoosiers defeated the Boilermakers, 85-58, in Assembly Hall in January. Read the entire story.

Men's tennis -- The Indiana men's tennis team returned from a 14 day layoff from competition to sweep DePauw and Eastern Kentucky, both 7-0, in Bloomington.

Schedule for Friday-Sunday, February 16-18:

Men's basketball -- The Hoosiers travel to Ann Arbor to play Michigan in Crisler Arena at 4 p.m. The game will be telecast on ESPN Television. Read game notes.

Women's basketball -- Indiana's women will host Illinois in Assembly Hall on Sunday at 2:05 p.m. IU Athletics also will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day before the game. Read the full story.

Softball -- The Hoosiers kick off their 2007 season at the Crowne Plaza Classic in Houston. The Hoosiers will face Centenary and Southern Illinois on Feb. 16, No. 5/8 LSU and Houston on Feb. 17 and Missouri State on Feb. 18. Read the entire story.

Men's and women's track and field -- Indiana returns home to Gladstein Fieldhouse at 3 p.m. on Friday to host the Hoosier Hills, a non-scoring meet. Read men's meet notes. Read women's meet notes.

Wrestling -- Indiana wrestling finishes its regular season with a pair of road dual meets, at Michigan State on Friday, Feb. 16, and at Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 18. Read meet notes.

Men's swimming and diving -- The Hoosier compete in the Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships today through Sunday at Ohio State in McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion. The championship meet was pushed back one day to allow teams whose flights had been canceled due to weather to reach Columbus. Read championship notes.

Women's swimming and diving -- Indiana's Last Chance Invitational, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17, has been cancelled and will not be made up. Instead, a small Hoosier contingent will travel to Purdue's Boiler-Make-It in West Lafayette, Ind., on Feb. 17-18. For more information.

Women's tennis -- The meet scheduled for Friday in Bloomington against No. 20 Wake Forest has been canceled and has not been rescheduled. IU will play No. 21 Kentucky as scheduled on Sunday at the IU Tennis Pavilion at 10 a.m. Read match notes..

Water polo -- The Indiana women's water polo team will head east for the Terrapin Invitational, held in the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium on Feb. 17-18. The Hoosiers will open the tournament by taking on host Maryland at 10:30 a.m. EST on Saturday and then facing George Washington at 2 p.m. On the final day of the tournament, IU will take on Hartwick at 9:15 a.m. and then wrap up play against Princeton at 11:45 a.m. Read invitational notes.

Other IU athletic news:

Celebrating Black History Month : Denise Jackson -- Every day during February, the Big Ten Conference is profiling African-Americans from its member schools in celebration of Black History Month. The profile for Feb. 15 is of former Indiana women's basketball star Denise Jackson, entitled "Committed to Challenges On and Off the Court." Read the entire story at the Big Ten Web site.

Hometown Hoosiers: Evansville, Ind. -- As part of an ongoing series, IUHOOSIERS.com will take a look at the hometowns of Hoosier student-athletes throughout the year. The eighth in the series is Evansville, Ind. Read the complete story.

Soccer Hoosiers sign seven for fall campaign -- The Indiana University men's soccer team has announced the signing of seven student-athletes for the fall 2007 season. The group consists of four National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Americans and two state players of the year. Five players have led their teams to high school state championships. Read the full story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IU in the News

IU start-up develops device for early detection of blood infection
Inside Indiana Business, February 13 -- A new hand-held device developed by start-up company, SpheroSense Technologies, Inc. in Bloomington, will monitor post-operative and trauma patients for early warning signs of the blood infection, sepsis. The company says currently the first warning signs a patient has the infection is when their blood pressure collapses and congestive heart failure begins. SpheroSense Technologies was formed last year in the Biocomplexity Institute at Indiana University. Read the full story.

Hackers exploit router defaults
Financial Post (Canada), February 16 -- Never bothered to change the default password that came with the router that controls your home computer network? You're not alone. A study by Indiana University shows about 50 per cent of computer users just don't bother or don't know how. Read the entire story.

Depression may promote blood vessel plaques
Scientific American.com, February 15 -- Depression appears to increase the development of blood vessel plaques, known as atherosclerosis, a condition that can lead to heart attack, stroke, and a host of other cardiovascular problems, according to a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Patients' psychological status influence quality of life, and may also have a "significant impact" on their physical status, including cardiovascular health, Dr. Jesse C. Stewart, from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, told Reuters Health. Read the complete story.

Lifelong selenium intake may slow age-related cognitive decline
NutraIngredients.com, February 13 -- Low levels of selenium throughout life have been linked to lower cognitive function, says an epidemiological study based in China. The epidemiological study, published in the current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology, could help further increase public awareness of a mineral already associated with reducing the risk of prostate and lung cancer, as well as boosting the immune system. Cognitive performance declines naturally with age, but the results of the longitudinal study suggest that this increased long-term selenium intake may slow this decline. "Selenium exposure, unlike other factors studied for Alzheimers disease, is a factor that is easily modifiable by changing dietary habits or through supplements," lead author Sujuan Gao from Indiana University told NutraIngredients.com. Read the entire story.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Traveling to Bloomington? Check the weather in the vicinity by calling Weatherline at 812-334-1515. Or, go to the Bloomington Herald-Times' weather page at: https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/weather/.

For more information on Bloomington, Indiana, where to stay, where to eat and what to do, go to: https://www.visitbloomington.com/.

For more information on Indiana University, to arrange a tour or get a map, go to: https://www.indiana.edu/~iuvis/.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get more news from IU at the following frequently-visited university Web sites:

-- For all news releases from University Communications, go to: https://newsinfo.iu.edu/.

-- Find the Indiana University Gateway page with links to all IU campuses at: https://www.indiana.edu/.

-- To subscribe or unsubscribe to e-newsletters from IU, go to: https://newsinfo.iu.edu/~iuinfo/pme.php.

-- To subscribe to University Communications RSS news feeds, go to: https://newsinfo.iu.edu/web/page/normal/2106.html.

-- For IU Bloomington athletics news, go to: https://iuhoosiers.collegesports.com/.

-- For IUPUI athletics news, go to: https://www.iupuijags.com/.

-- For audio and video clips of IU events, go to: https://broadcast.iu.edu/.

-- For an IU Calendar of Events, go to: https://events.iu.edu/.

-- For faculty and staff news at IU, go to: https://www.homepages.indiana.edu.

-- Find people and e-mail addresses at any IU campus at: https://www.iub.edu/people/address.shtml.