Associate Provost for Internationalization

The University of Notre Dame has named J. Nicholas Entrikin to the newly established position of vice president and associate provost for internationalization, reports Inside INdiana Business. He will lead the institution's effort to broaden its international reputation through research, collaborative projects and strategic relationships. Entriken has been serving as vice provost of international studies at the University of California in Los Angeles.

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Muncie Gets New Sister City

The formal signing of a memorandum between Muncie and Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China to become Sister Cities took place 22 April.

Zhejiang Province is Indiana's sister-state in China.

Zhuji City is located some 53 miles south of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, and some 118 miles southwest of Shanghai. The population of Zhuji City is 1.1 million people.

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IU professor receives NSF grant

Joseph Chen (pictured), associate professor in Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, will take his tourism marketing expertise to the Arctic with a $275,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the social impact of tourism in Norway, reports the IU News Bureau.

The study will focus on Alta, Kirkenes, Karasjok, North Cape, Hammerfest, Honningsvag, and Båtsfjord. North Cape is considered the most visited Arctic destination in the European continent as well as one of the most popular and established arctic destinations in the world.

Chen is associate professor in the School of HPER's Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies.

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South Central Officials Return From Japan Trade Mission

Representatives of the South Central Indiana Economic Development Group (SCIEDG) believe a recent trade mission to Japan has helped plant seeds for further growth and reinvestment, reports Inside INdiana Business. The delegation met with more than 10 Japanese executives whose companies have facilities in Indiana. Madison Mayor Tim Armstrong along with economic development officials from a handful of counties made the trip.

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Ballard Jets Off to India

Mayor Greg Ballard says the Indianapolis is "perfectly positioned" to be an economic development partner with India, according to Inside INdiana Business. He is leading a trade mission to the country starting tomorrow (23 April), which will include trips to the cities of Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Ballard says sister city agreement will be signed with officials from Hyderabad, which he says is considered the IT capital of India.

Hyderabad, with a metro area population of 6.3 million, is the financial, economic and political capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh.

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Columbus Opens Office in Shanghai

The Columbus Economic Development Board has announced the opening of a Trade Office in China. According to Inside INdiana Business, the board voted unanimously to enter into a contract for a representative trade office in Shanghai. Columbus is the first Hoosier community of its size to establish a trade office in China.

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Chinese Representatives Due to Visit Marion

A recent trade mission to China by Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold could lead to more investment in the Grant County community, reports Inside INdiana Business. A group of Chinese officials from at least seven companies is expected to visit the city in May. The representatives are coming to Indiana as officials work to close a deal to bring a furniture manufacturer to Marion.

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Purdue Part of International Solar Home Competition

Purdue University is one of 20 teams chosen to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011, reports the Purdue News Bureau.

The teams, from 16 U.S. and four foreign universities, will compete to design, build and operate the most affordable, attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The houses will be set up and judged on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in fall 2011.

This is Purdue's first time in the Solar Decathlon. DOE held the first competition in 2002 and has held it biennially since 2005.

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El Día de los Niños

There's free admission to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 North Meridian Street, Indianapolis, next Sunday (25 April). The day will celebrate Hispanic and Latino culture with live musical performances, hands-on art activities and storytelling during El Día de los Niños.

On the schedule:
* Join in bilingual story time with special guest storyteller Marianne Tobias.
* Make a maraca or create your own work of art using tissue paper.
* Dance along with the roaming Marachi band, Zalaya.
* Make your own Guatemalan Worry Doll and tell it your troubles and fears.
* Learn how to create a self-portrait like Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
* Get your picture taken with Maya and Miguel, characters from PBS Kids Go!
* Make Glow-in-the-Dark art with local artist Orlando Pelaez.
* Help advocate literacy among children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

There's free admission to the museum from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., but the activities take place just from 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

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Returning to Tuscany

"Returning to Tuscany" is the title of an exhibition at CCA Gallery, 47 South Main Street, Zionsville. It features the oil paintings of Karen Seltzer, who has been traveling to Italy since the early 1980s. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. This exhibition closes 28 April.

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State to Lead Trade Mission to Europe

Numerous economic development organizations from throughout the state are preparing for an upcoming trade mission to Europe, reports Inside INdiana Business. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indy Partnership, and Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership are among the groups sending representatives on the trip, which includes stops in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The trade mission begins tomorrow (18 April) and ends 1 May.

Members of the delegation are:
Chad Pittman, Indiana Economic Development Corporation
S. Michael Hudson, Rolls-Royce North America (retired)
Bill Petranoff, Duke Energy
Scott Miller, Indianapolis Economic Development, Inc.
Courtney Poulos, Indianapolis Economic Development, Inc.
Kristie McKillip, Indy Partnership
Dale Buuck, Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
Corey Carr, Columbus Indiana Economic Development Board
Erin Newell, Indiana Economic Development Corporation

UPDATE: Due to the current air travel restrictions in Europe, this trip has been postponed.

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Lt. Gov. Skillman Heads to China

Lt. Governor Becky Skillman will lead an agriculture economic development trade mission to China in June, according to Inside INdiana Business.

Joining her on the trip 1-10 June will be 20 agriculture leaders throughout the state. Lt. Governor Skillman, who serves as Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture, will be in Zhejiang, Indiana’s sister province, from 3-5 June. She will then travel to Beijing for the remainder of the trip.

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The Myth of the Moderate Taliban

Vikash Yadav, assistant professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York and 1991 graduate of DePauw University, will return to his alma mater on Wednesday (14 April) to deliver the Walker Horizon Lecture in Political Science.

Dr. Yadav will discuss "The Myth of the Moderate Taliban" at 4:15 p.m. in the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media's Watson Forum on the Greencastle campus. The presentation is free and open to all, reports the DePauw news bureau.

Professor Yadav published the book Risk in International Finance in 2008. He has also written articles on India's relations with the International Monetary Fund and on ways to make international financial organizations more democratic and representative of the voices of the poorest countries.

His current research project examines India's grand strategy in Afghanistan as well as shifting conceptions of sovereignty, security, and identity in the greater South Asia region.

A history major at DePauw, where he graduated cum laude, Yadav went on to earn his Master of Arts degree at the University of Chicago in 1993 and his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. He was also the Queen Elizabeth Visiting Scholar at St. Antony's College at Oxford University.

Prior to joining the Hobart and William Smith faculty, Dr. Yadav taught at Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke and the American University in Cairo.

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Asian-American Identity

Asian-American identity in the Midwest, at college campuses and in the media are some of the topics that will be discussed at a symposium tomorrow (13 April) at Purdue University, West Lafayette, reports the Purdue news bureau.

"New Communities: A Symposium on Exploring, Challenging and Negotiating Contemporary Asian-American Identity" will be held from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 118 of the Purdue Memorial Union. The event, which is free and open to the public, is to celebrate the upcoming Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, will speak from 9:15-9:50 a.m. on "Becoming Asian Pacific American...in the Midwest?!!! Identities, Cultures and Communities." Wang writes the syndicated column "Adventures in Multicultural Living" available at AnnArbor.com and is the outreach coordinator of the Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan.

Times, topics and panelists for the other sessions are available online

Panelists include Asian-American activists "Angry Asian Man" blogger Phil Yu, Blacklava founder Ryan Suda, songwriter Dawen and spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai. Professors from Northwestern University, Purdue University, the University of Illinois Chicago, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Indiana University also are participating.

The New Communities Symposium is the result of a Bisland Strategic Initiatives Fellowship awarded to student Kate Agathon by the Purdue Graduate School. Agathon, who is from Lafayette, is working on her doctorate degree in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Other symposium sponsors are American Studies, Asian Studies, Committee on Institutional Cooperation Asian American Studies, College of Education Office of Diversity Initiatives, Council on Asian American Studies, Department of English, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Diversity Resource Office and DiversiKey, Purdue Graduate Student Government, Student English Association and the Vietnamese Student Association.

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British Ambassador to Speak at IU Bloomington

Sir Nigel Sheinwald, the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States, will visit Indiana University Bloomington Thursday (15 April) to give a lecture and meet with students, faculty members and university officials, reports the I.U. News Bureau.

Sheinwald, the British ambassador to the U.S. since October 2007, will speak on "The 21st Century World: Europe's Role" at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Tudor Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Indiana University has numerous connections with institutions in the United Kingdom, especially Oxford and Cambridge universities, including programs in information technology, life sciences, philosophy, optometry, anthropology and library and information sciences. The U.K. has been the No. 2 destination for Indiana University students in study-abroad programs.
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Fishers Teacher to Study in Germany

Nichole Mathews, the German and Japanese teacher at Fishers and Hamilton South East high schools, was chosen to attend a two-week German seminar in Berlin, Germany, 27 June through 10 July. Entitled “New views, new voices, intercultural lives and effects,” sessions are designed to develop the knowledge and skills needed to create course materials that address the cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the German population.

She plans to use Flip cameras purchased with a Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation grant to do interviews and build classroom materials for her German I-IV classes dealing with cultural diversity in Germany.

Through activities, ranging from experiencing first-hand Berlin’s international cuisine to conversations with political and social activists, participants will gather new materials and gain new insights into what it means to live in a society that is becoming more and more diverse. Participants will meet with representatives from governmental and non-governmental agencies and organizations that represent the interests of many in Berlin’s diverse population. Attendees also will focus on creating new classroom goals and strategies, and on developing new classroom units and teaching models that integrate perspectives gained during the seminar.

This two-week seminar, conducted in German, seeks to further an understanding and appreciation of the breadth of diversity found in the German population. It is supported by the German government’s Transatlantic Program, through funds from the European Recovery Plan (ERP) program of the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie.

There's more here.

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Indy Students Help Prevent Malaria in Uganda

According to a report in today's Indianapolis Star, high school students in Indianapolis are hosting a fund-raiser to purchase mosquito nets for families in Uganda. It's from 6-9:30 p.m. tomorrow (9 April).

Three student groups are putting on "Net Night" at North Central High School, Metropolitan School District of Washington Township in Indianapolis: the North Central chapter of Ambassadors for Children, the Key Club and students participating in Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). The event includes a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and a carnival.

"During the basketball portion, teams of three to four people will play in competitive and recreational brackets. Butler [University] seniors Willie Veasley and Avery Jukes, fresh off their appearance in Monday's NCAA Championship game against Duke, will referee along with members of the state champion North Central boys team and the North Central girls team. Jukes is the founder of the Jukes Foundation for Kids, which also strives to improve the lives of children in the United States and Uganda," The Star reports.

There's more information online.

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IU to Establish Offices in China

Indiana University says it will use a recently awarded $250,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to establish a permanent presence in Beijing, China, reports Inside INdiana Business. Fifteen academic and research centers at IU are also providing nearly $450,000 to help the Research Center for Chinese Politics and Business (RCCPB) open offices in the Chinese capital later this year. The RCCPB will be one of the first American university-based research centers operating in China.

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I.U. Law Students Head to India

Six students at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law at IU Bloomington have been selected for summer internships in India as Milton Stewart Fellows in the law school's Center on the Global Legal Profession. This program offers students experiences in a variety of settings, including law firms; rights-based, non-governmental organizations, and the Indian Solicitor General's Office, reports the IU News Bureau.

All of the Stewart Fellows (pictured, left) will be second-year students at the Maurer School of Law in the fall of 2010. Following an intensive acculturation session in May during which they will be introduced to India's legal system, they will spend a good portion of the summer working in New Delhi.

The 2010 Stewart Fellows are:
* Nicholas Dau-Schmidt, who will serve as an intern at the law firm of J. Sagar Associates
* Zachary Holladay, who will intern at Jagori, an NGO focused on empowering the rights of women in India
* Erin Mihalik, who will spend her internship at the Self Employed Women's Association-Bharat, an NGO focused on empowering the rights of women in India
* Erica Oppenheimer, who will work for Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Suroff & Company, India's largest law firm, followed by an internship at the Indian Solicitor General's Office
* Jillian Rountree, who will be employed by the Clarus Law Firm
* Renee Turner, who will serve as an intern at The Dalit Foundation, an NGO focused on empowering the rights of the lowest castes in India, followed by an internship at the law firm of Lalit Bhasin & Company.

The NGO internships have been made possible through a partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Holdeen India Program; the NGO interns will also be designated as Holdeen Scholars.

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'The Failure of Global Capitalism'

Terry Gibbs and Garry Leech, authors of The Failure of Global Capitalism: From Cape Breton to Colombia and Beyond, will speak at 7:30 p.m. 12 April in Room 141 of Jordan Hall on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, as part of the Drew Brahos Lecture Series.

In their lecture, to be delivered jointly, Gibbs and Leech will explain what they see as the untenable dynamics of the status quo and explore alternatives that might lead towards a sustainable global future.

Leech is an independent journalist and author of numerous books, including Beyond Bogotá: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Colombia (Beacon Press, 2009) and Crude Interventions: The United States, Oil and the New World Disorder (Zed Books, 2006). He teaches international politics at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Gibbs is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and director of the Centre for International Studies at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia, Canada. She was formerly director of the North American Congress on Latin America.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call 317:940-9872. Copies of the authors’ books will be available for purchase and signing after the lecture.

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Indiana Humanities Council Grants

Among the recently announced grants from the Indiana Humanities Council is one to Purdue University in West Lafayette for "Communication Across the Language Barrier: The Basics of Community Translation and Interpreting".

Cecilia Tenorio, a Purdue faculty member in Spanish and director of the Community Assistance Program, will present a workshop in June for non-professionals on translation and interpreting with her grant.

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Indiana's Russian Ballet Academy Folds.

According to The Indianapolis Business Journal, the Indiana Ballet Company and its affiliated Russian Ballet Academy of Indiana informed its supporters and students in a letter dated 31 March that the combined organization would fold immediately.

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Two Fishers Teachers Return from Asia

Two Fishers High School social studies teachers received grants from the Freedman Foundation to travel and study.

Jenna Bergren traveled to South Korea for ten days through the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. Her trip will include tours of the major cities as well as travel in some small villages.

Bob Hoffman attended a summer institute for secondary teachers sponsored by the Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA.) The week-long seminar explored a variety of topics related to the growing economic and political influence of China worldwide. The teachers will meet with specialists who will share diverse perspectives on a “Chinese Century.”

Participants will be conducting in-service sessions for fellow educators in their district and communities. Hoffman, for example, intends to work with the Fishers Sister Cities Organization to make new connections with its sister city of Binjang, China.

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Fishers Students Off to Mecklenburg in June

A group of Fishers High School students will be the first participants in the newly-established German American Partnership Program (GAPP) between Fishers High School and the German Gymnasium am Sonnenkamp (academic high school) in the German state of Mecklenburg, according to a news release.

Fishers students will be in Germany from 1-18 June; German students will visit Fishers in mid-April 2011. The program will become an active part of Fishers H.S., with Fishers students visiting the German partner school in even years and German students visiting Fishers in odd years.

During the exchange, the students will tour the university town of Heidelberg for two days before traveling to Mecklenburg for the home stay portion of the exchange. After the home stay, the American students will visit Dresden and Munich before returning back to Fishers.

For more information, contact Robin Geisinger, (German teacher at Fishers H. S.) 317:915-4290.

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Colts to Play Buffalo in Canada

On 19 August (four days after their opening game at home), the Indianapolis Colts will travel to Toronto, Ontario, for the first time in franchise history. Their opponent is the Buffalo Bills.

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