UIndy students Lyndsay McBride and Lydia Fischer founded Inches International to support education in war-torn West Africa (Photo by Sharon Dunten).

A project organized by two University of Indianapolis students has collected nearly 900 boxes - about 20 tons - of textbooks for use by impoverished students in West Africa.

The book drive is the latest venture by senior Lydia Fischer and junior Lyndsay McBride, whose interest in African education began with a 2007 UIndy service trip to build a schoolhouse in rural Liberia.

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The application deadline is Dec. 15 for the first round of Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellowships, the pilot for a national program designed to steer people with math and science talents into careers as schoolteachers.

Announced in December and recently heralded by Gov. Mitch Daniels as an innovative approach to school improvement, the fellowships offer recipients a $30,000 stipend to complete a year-long master’s program at one of four Indiana universities: the University of Indianapolis, IUPUI, Ball State or Purdue. In return, the program fellows commit to teaching math and science in high-need Indiana schools for at least three years.
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By Douglas Woodwell, Ph.D.

When he assumes office in January, President Obama will enjoy a large reservoir of goodwill around the world among publics and policymakers hungry for a new face of American foreign policy and leadership. That goodwill will give U.S. diplomats new leverage when negotiating with foreign leaders who have been keeping the Bush administration at arm’s length to placate domestic audiences.

Goodwill cannot achieve everything, however, and an Obama administration will be judged on how well it preserves and advances U.S. security goals without squandering the international respect that he will be accorded at the onset of his tenure. While beginning the process of withdrawal from Iraq will represent a start in the right direction, four situations will require the Obama administration’s immediate attention.

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Educators and community leaders from throughout the state will gather next week in Indianapolis to discuss successes and challenges in transforming the way high schools prepare students for the future, as well as education’s role in economic development.

A capacity crowd of 500 attendees and 90 presenters is expected for Responding to Tomorrow’s World — Breaking the Mold of Today’s High Schools, a conference hosted by the University of Indianapolis’ Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning. The event takes place Monday and Tuesday at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.

Key topics will include the innovative New Technology and Early College high school models that are catching on in urban and rural school systems around the state. CELL supports those efforts, in part by leading statewide networks that coordinate school site visits, professional development, school coaching and technical assistance for network members.

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Dr. Milind Thakar

The election of Barack Obama is historic not just for the United States, but for the developed world in general, a University of Indianapolis expert says.

Electing a non-white person as chief executive – one who serves both as symbolic head of state and functioning head of government – sets the United States apart from the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and even highly liberal Sweden and Norway, says Milind Thakar, associate professor of international relations at UIndy.

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Sex, power and the possibility of a four-sided love triangle are key elements in the University of Indianapolis’ upcoming theatre production, Spike Heels.

A comedy of manners that puts a contemporary twist on the Pygmalion concept, Spike Heels tackles changing expectations about gender roles through three days in the lives of a volatile working-class woman (Chelsey Wood) and three upscale Boston types: a writer (LaMont Hendrix), a lawyer (Alex Oberheide) and a fiancée in sensible shoes (Chelsea Anderson).

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Nov. 21-23 and Dec. 4-6 in UIndy’s Studio Theatre, located in the lower level of Esch Hall at 1400 E. Hanna Ave. Admission is $10 general, $8 for students, seniors and groups of eight or more. For more information, call the box office at (317) 788-3251 or visit http://arts.uindy.edu.

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Sure, you want to buy that flashy, trendy, high-tech toy for the child on your holiday list. But an expert at the University of Indianapolis says simpler is better when it comes to choosing gifts that are age-appropriate and developmentally helpful to young kids.

Especially for preschoolers, the best toys are familiar and inexpensive options such as building blocks and modeling clay, which stimulate creativity and cultivate fine motor skills, says Jennifer Fogo, who holds a doctorate in child development and teaches in UIndy’s School of Occupational Therapy.

RECOMMENDED
Books
Building blocks, shape sorters
Push toys
Non-toxic modeling clay

NOT RECOMMENDED
Videos
Electronic games
Motorized toys
Stationary play saucers

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UIndy President Beverley Pitts has been selected by the Indianapolis Business Journal for its annual list of the Indianapolis area’s “Influential Women.”

Dr. Pitts is among an impressive group of business, political and community leaders that also includes university trustee Yvonne Shaheen. IBJ selected just 19 honorees this year from more than 100 nominations.

The “Influential Women” list is published in a special section of this week’s IBJ and also may be viewed online here:
http://www.ibj.com/html/supplements.html

Students at IPS’ Otis E. Brown Elementary School will have fun learning about healthy food and exercise choices today, thanks to a program organized by nursing students from the University of Indianapolis.

Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Kathy Hetzler, eight UIndy students taking the Promoting Healthy Communities course have set up a health fair at the school on East Pleasant Run Parkway.

Proceeding through a series of interactive stations, the younger students will participate in physical activities, learn about nutrition, prepare healthy snacks and win prizes contributed by community organizations, including jump ropes from the Indianapolis Colts and T-shirts and water bottles from the Indiana Pacers. The children will attend by grade level throughout the school day, and the event also is open to parents and the surrounding community.

Dr. Kevin Whiteacre, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology and Director of the Community Research Center, was interviewed by WRTV last week. He and his students are assisting Indianapolis Metro Police Department by collecting and analyzing data on the increasing incidence of metal theft around Marion County.
The story can be read and viewed here:
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17861344/detail.html

A Sept. 25 piano concert by visiting professor Weng Yi of Shanghai Normal University, presented by our Office of Asian Programs, earned a four-star review in last week’s Nuvo Newsweekly:
http://www.nuvo.net/articles/understanding_chinese_culture_through_music__weng_yi%2C_piano/

The discovery of a 10,400-year-old bone tool by Dr. Christopher Schmidt and his students continues to make news, now with an Associated Press story that is making the rounds. The artifact is the oldest ever carbon-dated in Indiana.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27506631/from/ET/