Front Page News at Indiana University

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IU and Clarian Health will offer free health screenings at the Indiana State Fair
Special issue of Indiana Magazine of History reconsiders Thomas Hart Benton and his Indiana Murals
Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference heads to the 'Orthopedics Capital of the World'
STAR TRAK for August
New IUPUI Web site to improve services for veterans
Charitable giving climate continues to decline, nonprofits say
IU Bloomington Scoreboard

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IU and Clarian Health will offer free health screenings at the Indiana State Fair -- Indiana University's presence at the 2009 Indiana State Fair is focused on Hoosier health. IU has partnered with Clarian Health to offer free health screenings every day of the fair, which runs Aug. 7-23, in the Clarian Healthy Lifestyles Pavilion, located next to Expo Hall. This is IU's fourth consecutive year at the Indiana State Fair. Several IU schools are assisting with free health screenings throughout the 2009 Indiana State Fair, including the IU School of Medicine; IU School of Nursing; School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation; and the IUPUI School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, which are all working with Clarian Health to assist with a wide variety of free health screenings. Each day, IU faculty, along with staff from Clarian Health, will be in the Clarian Healthy Lifestyles Pavilion conducting free blood pressure checks, cholesterol and HDL fingersticks screenings, functional movement screenings and obstructive sleep apnea screenings, and more. Read the complete story.

Special issue of Indiana Magazine of History reconsiders Thomas Hart Benton and his Indiana Murals -- In 1933, artist Thomas Hart Benton created a controversial series of murals for the Indiana Hall as part of the Chicago Century of Progress International Exposition. Packed away at the Indiana State Fairgrounds after the Expo closed, the murals were eventually saved from obscurity by Indiana University President Herman B Wells and, divided up into 22 panels, installed in three buildings on the IU Bloomington campus in the early 1940s. Seventy-five years after the creation of the murals, a group of scholars held a public symposium at IU to reconsider their history and significance. Several of the papers from the conference have now been published in the June 2009 special issue of the Indiana Magazine of History, guest edited by Kathryn Lofton and Matthew Pratt Guterl. Read the complete story.

Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference heads to the 'Orthopedics Capital of the World' -- The successful Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series will go on the road to Warsaw, Ind. -- the "Orthopedics Capital of the World" -- for the first of its 2009-10 seminars on Friday, Sept. 11. Several key executives from medical device makers Biomet Orthopedics, Inc., DePuy Orthopaedics, Micropulse Inc., OrthoPediatrics, Paragon Medical, Inc., PearlDiver Technologies Inc., Symmetry Medical, Inc., and Zimmer will share insights about building a successful life sciences cluster and its role for future economic success in Indiana. They will be joined by David Johnson, president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads -- who will present a new report analyzing the industry and its prospects for future growth -- and advisors at Baker & Daniels LLP and its B&D Consulting division. Read the complete story.

STAR TRAK for August -- Summer's silent fireworks will light up the sky when the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks before dawn on Aug. 12 and 13. This year, the Perseids will compete with the third-quarter moon, but there will still be many bright streaks in the sky. This shower is one of the most popular every year because it happens on warm summer nights, when gazing at the starry sky seems like a natural thing to do. If moonlight does not interfere, you can expect to see 60 to 90 bright meteors per hour, some with smoke trails that last several seconds after the meteor has vanished. Read the complete story.

New IUPUI Web site to improve services for veterans -- IUPUI's Office for Veterans and Military Personnel (OVMP) will use a $15,000 grant to develop a robust website that will enable students who are in the military or are veterans to access critical information anytime from anywhere. The veterans' website will make it clear to the student what steps are necessary for application to IUPUI, transfer of military credits, and application for federal and state educational benefits, said Susan Richards, manager of OVMP. "Through this website, we can quickly address some of the needs and concerns veterans identified to the campus regarding our current services and support for this group," Richards said. IUPUI, with at least 1,300 students who are veterans, has the largest number of enrolled veterans and military personnel of any campus in Indiana. The campus ranks 43rd nationally in the total number of veterans, guard, and reservists students enrolled at brick-and-mortar institutions. Read the complete story.

Charitable giving climate continues to decline, nonprofits say -- The fundraising climate for U.S. charities continued to decline in the first half of 2009, according to the latest Philanthropic Giving Index (PGI) released today by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The PGI, similar to a Consumer Confidence Index for charitable giving, includes three indexes on a scale from 0 to 100, based on a semiannual national survey of nonprofit fundraising professionals. Higher scores indicate more positive or optimistic attitudes about the climate for fundraising. The fundraisers' assessment of the current giving environment fell to its lowest level since the center began the study in 1998. In the latest survey, the Present Situation Index (PSI) is at 58.0, an 8.7 percent decrease from six months ago and a 28.9 percent decrease from one year ago. The PSI has averaged 82.1 over the history of the study. Read the complete story.

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Indiana University Bloomington Scoreboard

Sports schedules and scores will resume in mid-August.

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

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IU in the news

Super-computers becoming the new crystal ball
The Vancouver Sun, Aug. 3 -- Researchers are tracking the spread of the H1N1 flu using technologies such as cellphone satellites, GPS mobile devices and flight patterns to see where the disease came from, where it's going, and what governments and health organizations can expect so they can be ready to fight it. Alessandro Vespignani, from Indiana University, has developed computer models that predict that the worldwide peak for H1N1 will be in October or early November -- much earlier than the typical flu peak around December or January. His conclusions, which are being watched by governments and the World Health Organization, will affect policy, as health officials work around the clock to prepare an H1N1 vaccine in time. Vespignani's model has three layers: census data (demographic information about people, such as age and location), mobility (how people travel, both locally and internationally each day), and the nature of the disease itself (how it spreads between people, including the length of the incubation period). Full story.

Indiana Has Lost "A Good Friend"
Inside INdiana Business, Aug. 3 -- Business and community leaders throughout Indiana are mourning the passing of entrepreneur and philanthropist Richard "Dick" Johnson of Columbus. Johnson passed away last week at the age of 76 after battling cancer. In 1957, he started what would become one of the largest independent petroleum distributors in the nation and later founded the Big Foot convenience store chain. His generosity is evident in places like the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Full story.

Nominee seen as unlikely to shift balance of court; Area professors say Sotomayor will vote along line of justice she replaced.
Post-Tribune, Aug. 3 -- Critics of Judge Sonia Sotomayor shouldn't be worried about her tipping the scales of the U.S. Supreme Court to the liberal side if she gets confirmed to replace Justice David Souter, according to local experts. The Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved Sotomayor's bid to join the Supreme Court, including Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.). The full Senate is expected to vote this week. Raoul Contreras, an Indiana University Northwest minority studies professor who teaches a class in Latino studies, says he expects Sotomayor to be seated, but also to vote differently than what most believe. "If you base it on her actual history, she's a pretty mainstream person who is not going to rock the boat," Contreras said. "If you ask me, we need somebody who will rock the boat, and I don't think she's that person. Full story.

Exercise games catching on
The Baltimore Sun, Aug. 3 -- Spurred by the success of Nintendo's " Wii Fit," video games are suddenly more and more about fitness. The "Wii Fit," a video game that acts as a virtual exercise coach, guides players through yoga moves, basic strength training and aerobics. Since it was released in the U.S. about a year ago, "Wii Fit" has sold more than 6 million copies. Nintendo's success has attracted the attention of not only its competitors (a slew of next-generation fitness-themed games such as "EA Sports Active" are on store shelves or will be by Christmas), but also health professionals. Institutions like the University of Mississippi and Indiana University have started looking into whether interactive video games are viable tools to promote better health and combat obesity or just the latest fitness fad. Full story.

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