Front Page News at Indiana University

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Indiana jazz leader Brent Wallarab appointed to IU Jacobs School of Music faculty
Violinist Kevork Mardirossian appointed to IU Jacobs School of Music faculty
IU scientist named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people
Bantz Announces Selection for Director of Equal Opportunity
IU professor Dawn Johnsen testifies at 'secret law' hearing
IU Alumni Association elects new officers
IU's Bradford Woods receives National Award for Excellence
STAR TRAK: Mercury makes its best evening appearance in May
IU Bloomington Scoreboard

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Indiana jazz leader Brent Wallarab appointed to IU Jacobs School of Music faculty -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced May 1 that Brent Wallarab -- a jazz performer, teacher, researcher, Jacobs School alumnus and artistic director of the Buselli Wallarab Jazz Orchestra -- has been appointed to the jazz faculty. Following a number of years as visiting lecturer in the Jacobs School, Wallarab will take up his full-time appointment in the fall of 2008. Read the complete story.

Violinist Kevork Mardirossian appointed to IU Jacobs School of Music faculty -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced May 1 that violin virtuoso and world-renowned teacher of the instrument Kevork Mardirossian will join the faculty this fall. Read the complete story.

IU scientist named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people -- Indiana University neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, a tireless advocate for the value of creativity and balance -- and brain donations for purposes of research -- was selected as one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Celebrity Dick Clark, a stroke survivor like Taylor, writes in Time Magazine about how Taylor combines her scientific training with her experiences recovering from a stroke to reveal the workings of the brain to people with and without disabilities. Read the complete story.

Bantz Announces Selection for Director of Equal Opportunity -- IUPUI Chancellor Charles R. Bantz today announced the selection of Kim D. Kirkland as the campus's Director of Equal Opportunity. Kirkland is currently the Affirmative Action Officer and Senior Investigator responsible for monitoring compliance with federal and state equal opportunity and nondiscrimination laws and regulations at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio. Read the complete story.

IU professor Dawn Johnsen testifies at 'secret law' hearing -- The Bush Administration's excessive reliance on "secret law" threatens the effective functioning of American democracy, Indiana University Law Professor Dawn E. Johnsen said this week in testimony to a Senate subcommittee. Johnsen said the withholding from Congress and the public of legal interpretations by the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) upsets the system of checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches of government. Read the complete story.

IU Alumni Association elects new officers -- Stephen C. Moberly of Bloomington, Ind., will take office as chairman of the Indiana University Alumni Association on July 1. Joining Moberly as the 2008-09 officers of the IUAA are chairwoman-elect Donna Berry Spears of Richmond, Ind.; vice chairman Michael Barlow of Chicago; secretary Brian P. Williams of Evansville, Ind.; and treasurer Frank D. Otte of Indianapolis. The slate of officers was elected in April. Read the complete story.

IU's Bradford Woods receives National Award for Excellence -- The new wastewater treatment plant at Bradford Woods, an outdoor educational, recreational and professional development center for Indiana University Bloomington's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, is one of 16 projects to receive the National Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). Read the complete story.

STAR TRAK: Mercury makes its best evening appearance in May -- If you've never seen the smallest planet, May will offer an especially good opportunity as Mercury makes its best evening appearance of the year. During the second and third weeks of the month, find a location with a clear view to the west-northwest about an hour after sunset and pick out the brightest "star" near the horizon. The pinpoint of white light will be easier to see as the sky darkens. To its left (west) will be the bright orange star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Mercury will fade rapidly after midmonth, becoming too faint to observe during the final week. Read the complete story.

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Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard

Schedule for Friday, May 2:
Men's and Women's Track: Jesse Owens Track Clasic, 7:30 p.m., Columbus, Ohio

Schedule for Saturday, May 3:
Men's and Women's Track: Jesse Owens Track Clasic, all day, Columbus, Ohio
Baseball: Purdue, 1 p.m., Bloomington, Ind.
Softball: Purdue, 1 p.m., Bloomington, Ind.
Women's Rowing: Big Ten Championships, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Schedule for Sunday, May 4:
Baseball: Purdue, 1 and 4 p.m., Bloomington, Ind.
Softball: Purdue, 1 p.m., West Lafayette, Ind.

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IU in the news

Latest data say we're not in a recession
The Star Press, May 1 -- With figures released Wednesday indicating the nation's Gross Domestic Product had grown slightly in the first three months of the year, economists wondered if the technical definition of a recession -- two quarters of GDP decline -- had any meaning. Dagney Faulk, a professor at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, said people paid less attention to economic definitions than to their everyday expenses. "Gas prices, food prices, overall inflation," Faulk said. "So even though the GDP might be growing, albeit slowly, other indicators are that the quality of life is not improving." Full story.

Scientist who survived stroke named to Time's Top 100; Time magazine names Bloomington scientist who survived stroke 1 of most influential people in world
Indianapolis Star, May 1 -- The morning of Dec. 10, 1996, started normally enough for Jill Bolte Taylor: a chill in the air outside, news and traffic on the radio, and steam rising from a warm shower in the bathroom. Then something happened. Taylor, a brain scientist at a Boston psychiatric hospital at the time, suffered a stroke, something until that moment she had only studied about. Full story.

Frustration Turns to Finger-Pointing on Gas Prices
CQ Politics, May 1 -- Most energy experts, and even lawmakers themselves, agree that there is not a lot Congress can do about the high cost of gasoline. That has not stopped the two parties from blaming each other for it. With prices already topping $4 a gallon in certain parts of the country, political leaders in both parties are inventing slogans, pointing fingers and even printing up bumper stickers to position themselves for advantage in the war of words over gas prices. Andy Downs, a political analyst at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said both parties will feel voters' anger over gas prices in November. "I think whoever the incumbent is will get the blame. It won't fall on party lines," he said. "Democrats and Republicans have offered solutions but there have been no solutions." Full story.

Prosecutor proposes changes to state's murder law
Associated Press, April 30 -- Henry Karlson, a professor of criminal law at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, said lawmakers should change the state's feticide law, not its murder statute. Karlson has suggested making feticide, currently a Class C felony, a Class A felony. Under his proposed changes, feticide convictions would carry sentences of between 20 and 50 years. That time would be served separately from other convictions related to a crime. Full story.

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