Driver

As his acting career expands from stage to TV to film, former UIndy student Adam Driver is the subject of a profile in Newsweek.

As the story points out, Driver has become something of a heartthrob for his “romantic antihero” role as Adam Sackler in the popular HBO series Girls. He co-stars in the acclaimed new indie film Frances Ha and has several other projects opening or in the works, including the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and This Is Where I Leave You, an ensemble comedy-drama with Tina Fey, Jane Fonda and Jason Bateman.

Driver grew up in Mishawaka and attended UIndy in the mid-2000s, after a stint in the Marines. As a student in the Department of Theatre, he appeared in Pippin, Endgame and other productions before leaving to attend Juilliard.

Read the Newsweek piece here.

Student firm director Christi Larimer and team leader Katy Watson of Top Dog Communication celebrate after Wednesday’s Pinnacle Awards.

UIndy’s student-run public relations agency, Top Dog Communication, claimed the two top student honors Wednesday at the annual Pinnacle Awards, presented by the Hoosier Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

In the programs category, which covers all the strategy and elements of an entire PR campaign, the honors went to a team led by senior Hannah Klare. The students developed a campaign to promote volunteer opportunities available through their client, Girl Scouts of Central Indiana.

The projects award, for a particular element of a campaign, went to a team led by recent graduate Katy Watson for its website work on a national campaign for Samaritan’s Feet, which provides shoes to the needy around the world.

Top Dog gives students hands-on experience in public relations while providing a service to local nonprofit organizations. The agency’s faculty adviser is Dr. Rebecca Deemer, Distinguished Professor of Service Learning and director of the public relations program in UIndy’s Department of Communication.

Willey

The award recognizes the institution with the year’s best all-around performance in the GLVC’s 18 sponsored sports.  Points are allocated based on overall finish in the league standings and in each sport’s conference tournament.

“I’m incredibly proud of our student-athletes and coaches for their success over the past two seasons and excited that the GLVC All-Sports Trophy will remain in our trophy case for another year,” Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Sue Willey said. “Our success on the field and in the classroom is no accident because of the dedication our student-athletes have to embrace and excel in the complete NCAA Division II experience.”

Greyhound successes this year included conference championships in football, men’s indoor track and field, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, with strong finishes in several other sports.

Read more at the Athletics Website.

The Indianapolis Star has a story about the UIndy softball team, still ranked No. 1 nationally as it prepares to host NCAA Division II Midwest Regional action this weekend at Baumgartner Field.

Senior Jennifer DeMotte (UIndy Athletics photo)

Writer Mark Ambrogi talks to senior pitcher Jennifer DeMotte, sophomore outfielder Casey Williamson (Conference Player of the Year) and head coach Melissa Frost-Fisher, who says her team has its sights set high.

“Our goal is to win a national championship,” she says. Read the story here.

In the first round of the regional, the top-seeded Greyhounds (50-6) will face No. 8-seed Wayne State at 2:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets for the games, which continue through Sunday, are $10 per day for adults and $5 per day for senior citizens and children 12 and younger. They’re available online here.