IU News Round-up
June 21, 2010
Bill Cook discusses how health care was an opportunity for him -- and could be one for the nation
The Bloomington Herald-Times, June 21 -- Before Bill took the stage, he and Gayle accepted honors from Mayor Mark Kruzan -- Sunday, which was Father's Day, was officially declared Bill and Gayle Cook Day -- and from Indiana University President Michael McRobbie, who awarded the Cooks the Presidential Medal for Excellence, the school's highest honor. Full story.
Musicians superbly open IU Summer Music Festival
The Bloomington Herald-Times, June 21 -- A "Pressler and Friends" program, performed and repeated, opened the 2010 IU Summer Music Festival this past weekend in glorious fashion with music for two by Mozart, for three by Brahms, and for four by Schumann. The spotlight, in terms of content, fell on the music for four, Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major, Opus 47, because the reading of it marked the beginning of a festival feature: the performance of all Schumann chamber music, this in honor of the composer's birth 200 years ago earlier this month. The reading was gorgeous, radiant, warming. Full story.
Project tells story of Indiana stone through photos
The Bloomington Herald-Times, June 21 -- The legacy of local limestone workers is featured permanently in the History Center's Cook Gallery, while the center is also currently featuring a special exhibit titled "The Original Cutters," managing director Diane Ballard said. "These wonderful photographs and documents bring alive the people, tools, quarries and mills of Monroe County's limestone history," Indiana University history professor James Madison said in a prepared statement. "The images and words pull us into a fascinating part of Southern Indiana history." Full story.
There is no substitute for robust congressional oversight
By Lee Hamilton Center on Congress at Indiana University
The Bloomington Herald-Times, June 20 -- In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, it seems like every day brings new word of some calamitous failing at the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency charged with regulating offshore oil drilling. There's an inspector-general's report citing multiple violations of federal regulations and ethics rules at the agency's Louisiana office. There are manifold stories about the cozy relationship between agency "regulators" and the companies they were supposedly watching. Full story.
Shift eastward as demand rises once again
Financial Times, June 21 -- As the aftershocks of the financial crisis continue to ripple through world economies, and uncertainties in the euro zone prompt fears of a double-dip recession, one sector is experiencing resurgent demand -- financial training. Driven by financial market revival, renewed hiring, increasing globalization and growth in emerging markets, banks and other financial services companies are increasing their training budgets. As a result, financial training companies and business schools are fielding a wave of applications for their courses. Demand for online courses is also rising. By May, the number of applications for the 2010 MS Finance program at Indiana University's Kelley Direct -- the Kelley School of Business's online MBA division -- was greater than for the whole of 2008, the previous record year. Full story.
No. 68 Best Place to Work in IT: Indiana University
Computerworld.com, June 21 -- IU employees enjoy more than broad educational opportunities; the university also has a relaxed dress code and allows staffers to telecommute. Such flexibility became crucial two years ago in the wake of Hurricane Ike, when the area was hit with severe flooding and power outages closed several buildings on campus. "The staff discovered they were capable of working remotely, and we quickly set up a central location and got tools together to help people continue to work," says Debby Allmayer, human resources officer. "It came out quite well -- but it's not something we want to repeat ever again!" Full story.
Educators explore history firsthand at Lilly Library
The Bloomington Herald-Times, June 21 -- Lynne Boyle-Baise, a professor of curriculum and instruction at the IU School of Education who played a major role writing and procuring the grant, said Thursday she relishes the community coalition that led to it and said "we all benefit" from it. IU history professor James Madison, who along with Boyle-Baise and Bloomington High School North history department chairwoman Pat Wilson is co-directing the project, agreed. "To me, this is a core part of IU's mission - It's all about teaching and research," he said. "It's not the cherry on top; it's the ice cream. Full story.
IU grads carve Greek-based niche in news
Indianapolis Business Journal, June 19 -- What started with a casual meeting between two Indiana University students in a business class in the fall of 2008 has grown into a for-profit operation with projected revenue of $2 million this year. Interestingly, the Indianapolis-based business is centered on an industry many think is dying. Despite long odds and little startup capital, Evan Burns and Adrian France launched a weekly print newspaper at IU last September. The newspaper -- which is aimed at college fraternity and sorority members -- has been profitable since its first issue, said Burns, who, along with France, graduated in May. Despite the success of the fledgling paper, Brad Hamm, dean of IU's School of Journalism, doesn't think it will have a major impact on the campus paper, the Indiana Daily Student, which has a stable circulation of about 16,000. "All media in all forms compete for ad dollars," Hamm said. "But I think there's room for a broad, general-interest publication with specialty publications in the same market. Full story. (Subscription)
Both Sides: Obama makes sure BP will pay for its mistakes
By Rafael Reuveny
Postbulletin.com, June 21 -- Rafael Reuveny is a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Full story.
IU voices in the news
City takes risk with debt-laden IT-overhaul pick
Indianapolis Business Journal, June 19 -- To spearhead a once-in-a-generation overhaul of local government's antiquated back-office computer system, Mayor Greg Ballard has chosen an unprofitable software firm that as recently as March 31 warned investors that debt-refinancing issues could force it out of business. PeopleSoft is a mature software package widely used by governments across the country. What's tricky is installing it with any necessary custom adjustments, converting decades of legacy agency data, and training entrenched bureaucrats to use the new system. "They're not going to do their jobs anywhere near like they did them before," said Anthony Gerth, an associate professor at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. Before IU hired Gerth, he spent 20 years leading planning software projects for Deloitte and Infosys. Full story. (Subscription)
Hallucinations in Hospital Pose Risk to the Elderly
The New York Times, June 20 -- "It's terrible, more dangerous than a fall," said Dr. Malaz A. Boustani, a professor at the Indiana University Center for Aging Research, who found that elderly patients experiencing delirium were hospitalized six days longer, and placed in nursing homes 75 percent of the time, five times as often as those without delirium. Nearly one-tenth died within a month. Experts say delirium can contribute to death by weakening patients or leading to complications like pneumonia or blood clots. Full story.
Judge favored by BP has financial ties to oil industry
CNN.com, June 17 -- A legal expert on ethics, Indiana University professor Charles Geyh, told CNN that judges with financial ties to the oil industry should make their connections crystal clear. "When you take it together, is there a concern that a reasonable person might say, 'Look-it, he's not a judge that happens to be dabbling -- he's in effect a participant in the industry he's trying to judge,' " Geyh said. Full story.
Daniels works to give Ind. GOP a boost in November
Chicagotribune.com, June 20 -- Republicans say party polls show Daniels with a 61 percent approval rating. Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, said an endorsement by the governor "does actually mean quite a bit." "This is the governor of the state of Indiana who currently is not only very popular here but receiving national attention for the job he's doing," Downs said. Democrats acknowledge that Daniels brings clout to GOP races. Full story.
Indy job recovery still underway
Indianapolis Business Journal, June 18 -- On the surface, it appears that the economic recovery took a small step backward in the Indianapolis metro area in May. Dig deeper, an Indiana University researcher says, and the infantile recovery still seems to be cooking. Matt Kinghorn of the Indiana Business Research Center in the Kelley School of Business allows that the region had 4,600 fewer jobs in May than a year earlier, when the economy was still in decline. Full story.
Changing Face of College Sports
Inside Indiana Business TV program, June 18 -- Galen Clavio, IU assistant professor of sport management, appeared on Inside Indiana Business to discuss the ramifications of the changes in major college football, including the addition to Nebraska to the Big Ten. Video.
News Round-up is distributed to faculty and staff at IU, and it contains a short review of media coverage relating to IU administrative and student news, federal and state legislative policy, and trends and issues in higher education. Prepared by the IU Office of University Communications, the Daily IU News Round-up is not an all-inclusive gathering of news featuring IU faculty and staff. To subscribe to the Daily IU News Round-up list or to have your name removed, please contact Susan Williams, Office of University Communications, sulwilli@indiana.edu.
