UIndy News

A group of students at the University of Indianapolis is focused on increasing voter registration for students and neighbors in the next two weeks through the political science class “Campaigns and Elections.” The voter registration campaign and service-learning project “UIndy Votes!” was created, organized and implemented by the students with a grant from Indiana Campus Compact.

About 20 students are visiting nearly 500 homes in the University Heights neighborhood, according to Assistant Professor of History & Political Science Laura Albright. The juniors and seniors want to reach out to college students and community members and help them register to vote, confirm their voter registration and provide information about the voting process. The students will also analyze the effectiveness of the voter registration campaign to inform future registration strategies.

“Political participation, like democracy, is a group effort,” says Albright, “and these projects connect the students to the community and both benefit as a result.”

The campaign makes it easier for students and others to register to vote through a strategy spanning multiple days at varying hours in popular places near the University campus. The voter registration drive will also incorporate a door-to-door canvassing effort in the extended campus community of University Heights from September 26 through October 7.

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The first University Series event this semester will feature former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders as part of UIndy’s 2016 Katherine Ratliff Symposium.

“Dr. Joycelyn Elders: Healthcare Issues in the Minority Community” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, September 29, in Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center’s Ruth Lilly Performance Hall. This free event is open to the public and L/P credit is available to UIndy students. Online registration is requested. Symposium Workshops will take place on Friday, September 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Panelists from multiple disciplines will discuss current health care disparities and what can be done to address these issues. Visit this page to register for the Friday workshop. For questions about the symposium, please contact Heini Seo at seohh@uindy.edu.

Dr. Elders was the first African American woman to hold the position of U.S. Surgeon General. She was known for her outspoken views and she served only 15 months before being forced to resign in 1994 as a result of her controversial remark about sex education. She is currently a professor emerita of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The Katherine Ratliff Memorial Conference on Ethics, Values and Human Responsibility was established in memory of Dr. Katharine G. “Kate” Ratliff. Dr. Ratliff was a University of Indianapolis faculty member from 1985 through 1990. She was a licensed clinical psychologist and taught psychology courses in the Department of Behavioral Sciences.  She was a tireless advocate for her students and clients and embodied a commitment to social justice and social responsibility.

The three candidates for governor of Indiana—Democrat John Gregg, Republican Eric Holcomb and Libertarian Rex Bell—will participate in a gubernatorial debate planned by the Indiana Debate Commission at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 3 in Ransburg Auditorium of Esch Hall at the University of Indianapolis. The debate, moderated by John Ketzenberger, president of the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, will include questions from members of the public who submitted questions in advance.

The debate, which will focus on issues involving jobs and the economy, will be broadcast live across the state (check local listings). Members of the public can submit questions on any topic for the debate through the Debate Commission’s website at http://indianadebatecommission.com. Tickets are required for the event and may be reserved in advance at uindy.edu/debate2016.

For more information about the debate, contact Keith Robinson at the Indiana Debate Commission at 317-752-8424. For information about the University, please contact Brittany Gray at 317-791-2551 or at graybm@uindy.edu.

UIndy expects to host more events related to city government and public policy in the future, as it develops the Institute for Civic Leadership & Mayoral Archives.

View UIndy’s online campus map for visitor parking.

De Pue

The University of Indianapolis will kick off its annual Faculty Artist Concert Series presented by Katz, Sapper & Miller on Sept. 19 with a gala opening night featuring Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate Raymond Leppard and ISO Concertmaster Zach De Pue.

The 2016-2017 series includes 18 classical and jazz concerts from September through April featuring UIndy music faculty and distinguished guest artists. All events begin at 7:30 p.m. Mondays in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall of UIndy’s Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center. Admission is free.

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In the wake of a bomb threat received today at the University of Indianapolis, the following statement was issued by Jeanette DeDiemar, vice president for communications and marketing:

The University of Indianapolis campus was evacuated this afternoon in response to an anonymous bomb threat.

Police conducted a complete search and found no evidence of a bomb or suspicious materials around campus. An all-clear message was issued within an hour, and students, faculty and staff were permitted to re-enter buildings. All evening classes remain canceled.

Campus police received the threat at approximately 4 p.m., and university leadership determined the concern was credible enough to merit ordering a complete evacuation. The safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors is the university’s top priority. The evacuation was executed quickly and smoothly.

Student Leadership Academy wins major support from Lilly Endowment

A $580,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to the University of Indianapolis will enable the major expansion of a partnership with the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church to help high school students explore potential careers and volunteer opportunities in church ministry and other faith-based settings.

The grant is part of the Endowment’s High School Youth Theology Institutes initiative, which encourages young people to explore theological traditions, ask questions about the moral dimensions of contemporary issues and examine how their faith calls them to lives of service.

Gibbs

“This is an opportunity to increase our investment in the youth and help them from an early age to consider ministry and service as a calling in their lives,” said the Rev. Jeremiah Gibbs, chaplain and assistant professor at UIndy and director of its Lantz Center for Christian Vocations. “We show them how their skills and interests can be applied to the real issues people face in the world.”

The Lantz Center’s Student Leadership Academy offers two programs that will benefit from the new funding:

• An annual fall retreat for United Methodist youth, now in its sixth year, will grow from 90 to 250 students and add second- and third-year programming for returning participants, including certification as lay servants in the church. Participants are nominated by UMC pastors throughout the state for an intensive weekend of discussion on theology, vocation and leadership.
• A new two-week summer institute, to be launched in 2017, is open to all Christian denominations and aimed at students specifically considering full-time careers as ordained clergy, lay ministers, lay professional staff or missionaries. Approximately 40 participants will be selected through a competitive application process for an experience that includes lectures, discussions, practical applications and service opportunities.

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After a day of moving in and attending orientation sessions, the new class of Greyhounds enjoy mixer activities Wednesday night at the Athletics & Recreation Center. See more photos on the UIndy Facebook page.

Freshmen and transfer students are taking part in a full schedule of Welcome Week activities as they get acquainted with each other and the UIndy campus and staff following Wednesday’s Move-In Day. The full schedule of events is at this link.

On Wednesday, the Indianapolis Star caught some nice photos of students moving in and bidding farewell to their families. An online gallery is viewable here.

TV coverage of Move-In Day included reports from WRTV, WTHR and WXIN.

The renovated space in Schwitzer Student Center will double as an informal lounge area as well as a site for students to access career counseling and other services.

Along with several other new and improved facilities on campus — most notably Greyhound Village apartments and the substantial interior renovations of Martin and Lilly halls — UIndy students returning for the fall semester will find a new space with a specific purpose in Schwitzer Student Center.

Informally dubbed the “engagement center” for now, the revamped section of the Schwitzer Atrium is designed to help students connect — with each other, with Professional Edge Center and Student Affairs staff and services, and with the world, through wall-mounted digital monitors fed by a system of wired and wireless connections.

The Professional Edge Center — which helps students identify career pathways, interact with business professionals and develop professional and interpersonal skills — moved this summer from Stierwalt Alumni House, south of Hanna Avenue, to the second floor of Schwitzer, the key social and services hub on campus. Corey Wilson, associate vice president for Professional Edge, said the new first-floor space outside the dining hall gives his staff an even better opportunity to “engage students where they live.” Read more »

Continuing a hallowed UIndy tradition, Movin’ Crew student volunteers lend some elbow grease to help new students get settled on Move-In Day 2015.

Martin Hall overhauled to house new Engineering programs

New programs and renovated facilities will greet the largest and most diverse incoming class in UIndy history when it arrives Wednesday.

This year’s freshmen could be the first to number 1,000 or more, contributing to a projected all-time high of more than 3,400 full-time undergraduate students. They hail from 28 states and 20 nations, with 25 percent multicultural representation.

Move-In Day for new students is Wednesday, with hundreds of faculty, staff, student and alumni volunteers on duty to assist incoming families from 8 to 11 a.m. The Movin’ Crew will direct the incoming vehicles, unload and catalog the new students’ personal and household items, then deposit the goods in the designated residence hall rooms. The day kicks off a series of Welcome Week events designed to help the newcomers make friends and get comfortable on campus. Read more »

Click above to watch UIndy football’s 2016 preview video.

Sept. 10 “Monumental Matchup” against Marian to feature special guests

The 2016 season is shaping up to be another great one for UIndy football, with the NCAA Division II Greyhounds picked unanimously in the preseason coaches poll — for the fifth-straight year — to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference title.

The Hounds, who finished last year at 10-2 overall and 8-0 in the GLVC, have 18 starters returning, along with reigning GLVC Coach of Year Bob Bartolomeo. They are 30-1 in conference play and the only conference team to make the D-II preseason rankings, coming in at No. 16.

After the Sept. 3 season opener at Michigan’s Hillsdale College, the first home game at Key Stadium is the Sept. 10 return of the “Monumental Matchup,” a grudge match against crosstown foes Marian University of the NAIA. Tailgating begins at 4 p.m.; the national anthem will be sung by UIndy alum Megan Meadors, former Miss Indiana and Indianapolis Colts cheerleader; former Colt Gary Brackett will handle the coin toss; and kickoff is at 6:05.

Rumor has it that halftime entertainment will be provided by the acclaimed winner of a nationally televised singing competition (click here for big hint). We’ll have more details on that later.

Follow all the Greyhound football news this season at the UIndy Athletics site.