UIndy commencement features UN aid director, charity doctor

Charles J. Dietzen, M.D. (left), will speak during the graduate programs commencement at 7:30 p.m. Friday (4 May) at University of Indianapolis. Dietzen is founder and president of the Timmy Foundation, an Indianapolis-based charitable organization that supports health projects in developing countries.

James T. Morris (right), who just stepped down after five years as executive director of the Rome-based United Nations World Food Programme, will be the featured speaker for undergraduate commencement, which begins at 2 p.m. Saturday (5 May).

"England and its Gardens" tour offered by Purdue

A 13-day study and travel experience in England is open to people who want to learn more about ornamental horticulture, landscaping and garden design.

Offered by Purdue University, the non-credit course "England and its Gardens", will be conducted 13-25 May. It will be led by Purdue Extension specialists Michael Dana and B. Rosie Lerner of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.

Tour stops include the Stourhead Landscape Garden, Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Hidcote Manor Garden, the Royal Horticulture Society Gardens at Wisley and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Free time in London and Bath also are scheduled.

Master Gardener participants can earn credit for training and volunteer service.

Who knew Pernod Ricard had a factory in Indiana?

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, Pernod Ricard, the French owner of a 150-year-old distillery and bottling plant in the southeast Indiana city of Lawrenceburg, has notified the state that it will lay off 405 workers by 26 June.

SIPR connects Indiana and Japan

The Sagamore Institute for Policy Research reports that Senior Fellow Larry Ingraham led a business/academic delegation to the Tochigi Prefecture of Japan from 1-11 March, featuring Dr. Earl Brooks, president of Tri-State University in Angola, Indiana, and Mike Bock, vice president of Tri-State University.

The purpose of the trip was to sign an agreement with Hakuoh University for future student and faculty exchanges. The trio also met with government officials to market Tri-State.

Ingraham reports that Brooks has offered a $10,000 per year scholarship to all Tochigi residents who choose Tri-State.

In late March, Ingraham returned to Japan to shepherd a business/government delegation from Delaware County, which was led by Muncie Mayor Dan Canan. The purpose of the trip was to market the region to future Japanese investment.

Students go global for engineering experience

While many engineering students have opportunities to help design or test products for companies during their undergraduate education, three Valparaiso University students are adding another level of complexity by doing so while communicating in a foreign language, reports the Valparaiso University media center.

The engineering students are preparing to enter a workplace that is becoming more international each year by working for German companies through the Valparaiso International Engineering Program (VIEP-German). The students, all seniors, are the second group of Valparaiso engineering students to be placed with German companies for their co-operative learning experiences.

Peter Krenzke, a mechanical engineering and German major from Plainfield, Ind., has been working since January with a group at DLR, Germany’s national center for aeronautics and space research. Krenzke is studying the combustion of different fuels to better understand and model the chemical reactions that take place at a research center in Stuttgart.

“The end goal of the research is to find fuel compositions that lead to optimal efficiency and exhaust emission levels,” Krenzke said. “Toward that end, I am doing experiments with a shock tube to examine some of the characteristics of combustion.”

Students also are working this spring for the automobile company Rolls Royce and Hansgrohe, which designs and manufacturers showers, faucets and other bathroom accessories.

To prepare for their co-ops, students spent the fall at Valpo’s Reutlingen Study Center studying German language, industry and culture, and took an engineering course taught in German. Earlier in the VIEP-German program, students lived for two semesters in the Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center – a facility on Valpo’s campus where residents speak only in German.

Krenzke said speaking in German during his engineering co-op with DLR has strengthened his fluency, particularly in a technical setting.

“My language skills have developed much faster here due to the effects of immersion,” Krenzke said. “I also have gained a broader perspective that will allow me to better understand other cultures and better appreciate my own culture during my time in Gemany.”

Dr. Eric Johnson, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering who is serving as resident director of the Reutlingen Study Center, said Krenzke’s experience is what VIEP-German aims to accomplish.

“Many engineering companies both inside and outside the U.S. are looking for graduates who have demonstrated they understand and can thrive in a global environment,” Dr. Johnson said. “Engineering students with international work experiences are in high demand as more companies conduct business around the world and hire workers of various nationalities. Our students in Germany are able to gain experience communicating in another language, working with new engineering techniques and experiencing different business practices.”

Nate Leonard, a mechanical engineering and German major from Dexter, Mich., is involved in the design and testing new products in Hansgrohe’s spray research department. He said the VIEP-German program enabled him to join his desire to become an engineer with his enjoyment of German language and culture.

“The ability to make connections between people, firms and countries adds another dimension to what you can do with technology,” Leonard said.

Since traveling to Germany in the fall, Leonard has had the opportunity to travel throughout much of Europe and meet people from many countries

“It has been more than a German experience, it has been an international experience,” he said.

The five-year VIEP-German program allows Valparaiso students to earn both a major in engineering and a minor or major in German. The program is jointly coordinated by Valpo’s College of Engineering and Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy

The Hispanic Organization Promoting Excellence (H.O.P.E.) will host the "Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy" for northwestern Indiana this summer, according to Inside INdiana Business.

The academy will work to help students develop decision-making skills through studies in self-assessment and achievement. The academy is sponsored through a partnership with Valparaiso University and BP Whiting.

Global career trends discussed at Rose-Hulman

Topics ranging from global career trends to technology's impact on society will be discussed at a symposium TODAY in conjunction with the inauguration of Gerald Jakubowski as the thirteenth president of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute.

Jakubowski will be officially installed as the new Rose-Hulman
president Friday during a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. in the Sports and
Recreation Center.

The symposium in Hatfield Hall began at 9 a.m. and concludes at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Keynote speakers will be Steven Johnson (second from left), best-selling author and technologist, who is described by Newsweek as being one of the 50 people who matter most on the internet; and George Peterson (left), executive director of ABET, the accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology. ABET is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing these fields.

Johnson is the author of best-selling books that deal with the intersection of science, technology and personal experience. His books include Everything Bad is Good for You in which he argues that the increasing complexity of television, films and video games are teaching us to think in complex ways. Johnson is also the author of Mind Wide Open, Interface Culture, and The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic and How It Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World.

He is a columnist for Discover magazine and a contributing editor to Wired magazine. He is acclaimed for predicting and explaining the real-world impact of cutting-edge developments in science, technology and media. Johnson is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of FEED, the revolutionary web magazine that blends technology science and culture with an innovative interface.

His presentation at the symposium is also the title of one of his books, Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software. Johnson will be the symposium's closing speaker at 4:30 p.m. His appearance is being sponsored by the Rose-Hulman Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Elsie Pawley Fund.

Peterson is a noted engineering educator, who will discuss "Engineering and Diversity," as a keynote speaker to begin the symposium at 9 a.m. He has served as the program director at the National Science Foundation for undergraduate engineering, mathematics and science education, and section head/program director at the National Science Foundation for teacher and faculty development at the undergraduate level. He has also been chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the United States Naval Academy. Peterson was presented with an honorary doctorate degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He has been honored as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, ABET and the Institution of Engineers in Ireland.

Three, 50-minute panel discussions featuring Rose-Hulman alumni will fill the symposium schedule from 10:50 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. The first panel will discuss entrepreneurial skills and technical careers.

Panelists include: Damon Richards, president of Port-to-Port Consulting; Jeff Ready, co-founder of four companies and president of Ready Consulting; Marcie Morrison, co-founder and vice president of Streamline Designs; and Dustin Sapp, co-founder and president, Vontoo. All of the panelists' businesses are located in Indianapolis.

Careers in the global marketplace is the focus of the second panel discussion beginning at 1:35 p.m. Participants will be Tony New, director of DigitalWorks Operations, Sony DADC, Terre Haute, Ind.; Roseanne Forgione, project engineer, Federal Express, Indianapolis; and Greg Holler, operations account manager, NEC Electronics America.

The final panel will begin at 3:25 p.m. The panelists will provide their insight into the importance of engineers and scientists role in making contributions as volunteers for social service organizations locally, nationally and around the world. Panelists will be Bryce Clark, staff nurse, New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Kelly Kozdras, electrical engineer, Parsons Brinckerhoff; and Wesley Bolsen, vice president, Coskata Energy Co.

The symposium is free and open to the public.

Source: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

John Sloan to head Kiwanis International Foundation

John Sloan takes over as Executive Director of the Kiwanis International Foundation 1 May.

A Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), he has held leadership positions in development at Purdue University, Indiana University, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

For more, see the news release from Kiwanis International.

A Nobel Peace Prize Nomination!

According to the Indiana University School of Medicine, A humanitarian response to the African HIV/AIDS pandemic by Indiana University School of Medicine and its education partner in Kenya, Moi University School of Medicine, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The program, AMPATH (Academic Model for Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS) was only a concept 7 years ago. Through the efforts of its field director, Joseph Mamlin, M.D., and faculty involved in the IU-Kenya Partnership, AMPATH now treats 42,000 HIV-positive Kenyan patients at 19 clinical sites throughout western Kenya. It also provides food assistance to 20,000 people and job and agricultural training to thousands more.

More than 1.3 million Kenyan men, women and children are living with HIV/AIDS. AMPATH addresses the social stigma of the disease while providing medication and helping people become self-sufficient by providing food, jobs and agricultural assistance.

In the Nobel Peace Prize nomination, Scott Pegg, Ph.D., from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Butler University's David Mason, Ph.D., both professors of political science, noted that AMPATH has been recognized as one of the world’s most comprehensive and innovative AIDS control programs.

"This partnership is not only one of the largest and most comprehensive HIV/AIDS programs in the world, it is a model of U.S.-Africa institutional cooperation. This model can be replicated throughout the developing world, and thus put a halt to a pandemic that may soon pass the Black Death to become the most brutal killer in human history," Pegg and Mason said in the letter of nomination.

Pegg and Mason also cited Dr. Mamlin, professor emeritus of medicine at the IU School of Medicine, as a driving force behind the program.

Dr. Mamlin was a team leader of the collaborative medical education program at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, in the early 1990s. At that time, he witnessed 85 patient deaths over the course of a year. When he returned full-time to Kenya in 2000, he saw more than 1,000 patients die during a similar period. From that poignant loss, AMPATH was born.

"I find encouragement that thousands around the world are responding faithfully to some of the real pain suffered by so many," says Dr. Mamlin. "While much of this pain is physical, the real tragedy is the loss of hope in single individuals. When any of us find a moment in our lives when we can relieve pain and restore hope, we have already won the Nobel Peace Prize."

Robert Einterz, M.D. (pictured), IU professor of medicine and director and co-founder of the IU-Kenya Partnership, says, "The Hoosiers that are leading the global fight against HIV are the same Hoosiers that are teaching at the Indiana University School of Medicine and serving vulnerable populations in Indianapolis. Through this partnership, Indiana University demonstrates its commitment to health for all people."

AMPATH is one of 181 nominees for the 2007 Prize, whose winner will be announced in mid-October. In 2006, Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, which provides micro-credit for low-income entrepreneurs in the developing world, won the Peace Prize.

Hung-Sheng Lion Dance Theater to Perform

A spectacular presentation of Taiwanese Lion Dance, drums, acrobats and more begins at 2 p.m. Sunday (6 May) in the Shelton Auditorium of Christian Theological Seminary, 1000 West 42nd Street, Indianapolis.

Performers are part of the Hung-Sheng Lion Dance Theater.

The presentation, sponsored by the Taiwanese-American Association of Indianapolis, is in celebration of Taiwanese Heritage Week, and honors the Indiana-Taiwan Sister State and Indianapolis-Taipei Sister City relationships. Additional sponsorship from Telamon Corp., and the Culture Center of Taipei Economic and Culture office in Chicago.

The Taiwanese-American Association of Indianapolis is a member of the Nationalities Council of Indiana.

Managing An Hispanic Workforce

The Indiana Chamber of Commerce hosts a seminar, "Employing a Hispanic/Latino Workforce", from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday (26 April) at the Indiana Chamber Conference Center, 115 West Washington Street, Suite 850S, Indianapolis.

Presented by the law firm Ice Miller, this seminar covers topics surrounding the employment of Hispanic workers. Participants will receive information on discrimination avoidance, illegal immigration work site enforcement and Hispanic cultural issues. Cost for chamber members, $299; non-members, $324.

To register, go to the website (seminars & events section), call 317:264-6885 or 800:824-6885.

A coordinating publication is "Guide to Hiring and Managing Foreign Employees" (fourth edition), This 350-page guide is a manual of Indiana employers' legal rights and responsibilities regarding foreign employees. Included is a detailed discussion of the different visa options available to foreign employees and how to obtain each type.

"Guide to Hiring and Managing Foreign Employees", by Jay Ruby of the law firm Ogletree Deakins, also provides information on H-1B quotas, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act and more. Cost is $89. It will be available at the seminar or contact the Indiana Chamber.

Zhongshan lands Elkhart manufacturing operation

Elkhart-based CTS Corp. is preparing to begin manufacturing operations in Zhongshan, located in the Guangdong Province of the People's Republic of China, according to Inside INdiana Business.

The new facility replaces a smaller operation in nearby Dongguan. CTS will manufacture automotive products and electronic components and sensors.

Tri-National Agricultural Accord includes Indiana

Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Andy Miller will travel to Mexico this week to discuss trade with agricultural officials in Canada and Mexico. Miller is one of 16 state agriculture officials invited to the Tri-National Agricultural Accord.

Who knew? Marian has connections with Togo!

Dean Peterson, who spent 2-1/2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, is the coach of the Marian College bicycling team.

According to NUVO Newsweekly, his focus as a Peace Corps volunteer was to teach locals how to repair bicycles and implement programs that brought in bikes for the people of West Africa.

Of course, that was back in the 1980s, just after his graduation from Purdue University. Peterson also was a silver medalist at the Pan American Masters Cycling Championships in 1991 and is a VeloSport Vacations guide for bicycle tours during the Tour de France.

Cycling is, of course, a big deal at Marian -- located across Cold Springs Road from the Major Taylor Velodrome. Marian will open an indoor cycling training center on campus for its students and cycling team in the fall.

NUVO reports that Marian has won national track titles in NCAA Division I in 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006.

Zionsville Hosts Benefit for Save Darfur Coalition

According to a report in The Indianapolis Star, the "students and faculty at Zionsville Community High School joined together Saturday [14 April] to help victims of genocide in Africa."

The Star notes that the "nine musical acts performed during the school's benefit talent show for Darfur refugees raised more than $3,000. The money will be sent to the Save Darfur Coalition based in Chicago."

Tolerance and Diversity Make Dollars and Sense

Dunno how your editor missed the excellent column, "There Ought To Be A Law" by Ron Gifford, in last week's issue (9-15 April 2007)of The Indianapolis Business Journal.

Gifford notes that as a state, "We need talent to succeed; talent thrives where there's tolerance, because tolerance fosters diversity; and diversity fuels innovation, which attracts more talent."

The Nationalities Council of Indiana (host for this blog) couldn't agree more!

If you want to see the face of ethnic diversity in Indy, check out one of our meetings -- or, better yet -- add the International Festival to your calendar. This year's dates are 15-18 November. We've grown, so we're moving to the larger West Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.

Hurco grows by selling overseas

"Even with the U.S. auto industry under pressure and the North American manufacturing market experiencing relatively slow expansion, Indianapolis-based Hurco Cos. Inc. is on a tear," reports Anthony Schoettle in The Indianapolis Business Journal.

"The maker of metal- and machine-cutting tools and software has stayed ahead of the curve by growing aggressively overseas while keeping a lid on expansion costs...."

"Hurco—which was founded in 1969—made its first forays into the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy as far back as the 1980s. In the last decade, the company moved into parts of Asia. Slowly, the strategy began to pay dividends.

"In 2006, sales in Europe and Asia accounted for 66 percent of Hurco’s revenue, with a compounded annual growth rate there of 25 percent over the last three years. Hurco, industry experts said, has managed to outpace industry growth in every market it’s in."

Read the rest here.

Cyprus and Canada arrive at Portage, Indiana

The first two ships of the 2007 international shipping season have arrived at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor/Portage.

The Cyprus-flagged (flag, left) Isolda, captained by Z. Ksiezopolski, arrived overnight carrying 8,148 metric tons of steel coils from Ijmuiden, Holland. Built in 1999, the 653-foot vessel stopped in Cleveland before coming to the Port of Indiana and will next travel to Milwaukee to discharge its remaining cargo before going to load grain at Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Isolda made four trips to the port last year.

The steel coils were offloaded by port stevedore Federal Marine Terminals for general distribution in the region. About 40 local workers from the International Longshoremen's Association Local 1969 and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 will unload the ship today in about 10 to 12 hours depending on weather.

The Canadian-flagged (flag, right) Algo Marine arrived at 8 a.m. today bringing 27,000 tons of potash from Canada to Frick Services, a fertilizer and dry bulk distribution company located at the port. The self-unloading vessel will take about 14 hours to unload depending on the weather.

Every year, from the end of March through December, the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway - "the fourth coast of the United States" - opens its international waterway to ships calling on U.S. and Canadian ports throughout the Great Lakes.

The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor/Portage is a 600-acre port and maritime industrial park located on Lake Michigan just 20 miles from Chicago. The port has 12 ship berths and 25 tenant companies within its boundaries.

The Ports of Indiana operates three ports, including two on the Ohio River in Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon. Overall, Indiana's three-port system handled $1.89 billion of cargo in 2006, including $820 million in total shipments at the Lake Michigan port.

SOURCE: Ports of Indiana

Requiescit in pace

Kurt Vonnegut has died.

See AP report.


UPDATE:
And, for a fun five minutes, go here and click to give a listen as Vonnegut reads from Slaughterhouse-Five.


UPDATE 2:
Nice set of features in the New York Times.

Darn!

Kurt Vonnegut will NOT be coming to Indy this month after all.

According to a report on the website of The Indianapolis Star this afternoon:

"The Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library announced today that renowned author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. will not give the 2007 McFadden Memorial Lecture as scheduled. Vonnegut is recovering from a recent fall and is unable to travel.

"Instead, his son Mark will deliver his father's speech at the April 28 event at Clowes Hall. Additionally, there will be a recorded reading by Vonnegut of an excerpt from Slaughterhouse-Five, his classic work about the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, during World War II.

"The lecture is part of the community-wide celebration 'The Year of Vonnegut', honoring the life, literature and heritage of the city's [German-American] native son.

"The library's announcement of the lecture change came at the same time as an announcement by Mayor Bart Peterson that Slaughterhouse-Five has been selected as this year's 'One Book, One City' title."

British firm asks for tax breaks in Greenwood

According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, quoting The Daily Journal of Franklin, Keronite International Ltd., a British company with technology for putting hard surfaces on metals, has asked Greenwood for tax incentives to establish a plant with 29 jobs. The plant would be located at Interstate 65 and Rocklane Road.

German company files plan for Tipton plant

According to a report in the Kokomo Tribune:

A site plan for a 700,000-square-foot facility for a transmission manufacturing plant has been filed with the Tipton County Plan Commission at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28.

The site plan was filed by the Tipton County Economic Development Foundation and Getrag, a German manufacturing company that is expected to produce dual clutch transmissions for Daimler-Chrysler.

The submitted plan covers approximately 228 acres.

The site plan includes three buildings and two access roads off of Ind. 28. The production facility would be an estimated 490,000 square feet; and include a 33,750 square foot technology; and a 175,000 square foot building that could be used for shipping and receiving, Ken de la Bastide of the Kokomo Tribune reports.

Former corporate exec explores anti-Americanism in talk at Purdue

Former AT&T executive Dick Martin (left) will discuss anti-Americanism overseas and will challenge business leaders to accept their share of responsibility during a lecture on Thursday (12 April) at Purdue University in West Lafayette.

The lecture, sponsored by the Purdue Center for International Business and Research (CIBER), the Krannert School of Management and the Department of Communication, will be from 2:30-3:45 p.m. in Rawls Hall, Room 3082.

Martin will discuss his book Rebuilding Brand America: What We Must Do To Restore Our Reputation and Safeguard the Future of American Business Abroad, which explores anti-Americanism from its causes and earliest manifestations to current efforts at its mitigation.

MORE: here.

Guantanamo Bay: The Struggle for Human Rights

James Yee, Former US Army Muslim Chaplain, will speak on "Guantanamo Bay: The Struggle for Human Rights" at 5 p.m. Thursday (12 April) in Wynne Courtroom of the Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis, 530 West New York Street, Indianapolis.

Yee is a former US Army Chaplain and graduate of West Point who served as the Muslim Chaplain for the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After being officially recognized twice for outstanding performance, Captain Yee was arrested and imprisoned in a Naval brig for 76 days in September 2003 while being falsely accused of spying, espionage, and aiding the alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners.

Yee's gripping account of his Guantanamo experience and struggle for justice has been recently published and is entitled For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire.

For more information contact Tori Calvert, (317) 635-4059 ext. 233.

Yanomamo Warfare and the Struggle for Political Security

Anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon (left), known worldwide for his pioneering work in the Amazon rainforest, will speak Friday (13 April) at the University of Indianapolis.

Chagnon was one of the first outsiders ever to spend time with the isolated Yanomamo people of Venezuela and Brazil. His 1968 book Yanomamo: The Fierce People, detailing their hallucinogenic rituals and brutal ax fights, has been a staple of reading lists for generations of anthropology students.

The lecture, “Yanomamo Warfare and the Struggle for Political Security,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in UIndy’s Ransburg Auditorium, 1400 East Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis. Presented through the Blanche E. Penrod Anthropology Lecture Series, the event is free and open to the public.

In the four decades since their way of life was first revealed to the broader world, the Yanomamo increasingly have been threatened by commercial and political interests and the encroachment of modern culture. Chagnon, now retired as a professor emeritus of the University of California, Santa Barbara, is at work on a new book. Though his success has brought him both admirers and critics, he remains one of the most recognized names in his field.

For more information: Christopher Schmidt of the Department of Anthropology,317:788-2103.

IU conducts research in Japan

Human behavior can be observed and accurately analyzed by a complex sensor network, a system that could ultimately benefit public transportation, homeland security and crime prevention, reports a research team at the Indiana University School of Informatics and two universities in Japan.

The researchers evaluated a distributed sensor network they deployed in the JR Kyoto subway station in Japan as part of the Digital City Surveillance Project. Their study appears in the April-June issue of IEEE Multimedia.

They blanketed the station with a sensor network of 28 wide-view cameras, and developed a system that "learned" from a station operator to recognize what people were doing in the concourse. The system then audibly told operators about events like overcrowding so operators could respond promptly.

SOURCE: IU Media Relations

Indian street theater group comes to West Lafayette

The Indian street theater performance group Jana Natya Manch will present an interactive storytelling session, movie screening and several street plays on global politics today (7 April) and tomorrow (8 April) in West Lafayette.

The group's visit is sponsored by Purdue University's College of Liberal Arts and the Discovery Learning Center, which is housed in Discovery Park. All of the events are free and open to the public.

Jana Natya Manch, also known as the People's Theatre Group and Janam, is made up of self-trained actors and has participated in more than 7,500 performances of 100 street and proscenium plays in India. The performances and plays will be in Hindi and translated into English.

"Street theater has historically served as a performative space for raising critical political and sociocultural issues," said Mohan Jyoti Dutta, associate professor of communication and the event's organizer. "In its performance, Jana Natya Manch, one of the pioneering theater activist groups in India, raises questions of political relevance through art. Historically, street theater has played an important role in Indian politics in serving as a platform for those who have otherwise been silenced. As a genre, it demonstrates the ways in which art can be mobilized for social change."

The interactive storytelling session, "Whose Side Are You On?" will introduce the audience to the mechanics of street theater. The session begins at 1:30 p.m. today (7 April) in Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education, Room 2280, and will be followed by the workshop, "Street as Stage."

The street performance, "Yeh Dil Mange More Guruji," will take place on the Memorial Mall at 4:30 p.m. The first day's events will close with a film screening of "The Play Goes On" at 6:30 p.m. in Matthew Hall, Room 210. A question-and-answer session will follow.

Two more street plays - "Who Bol Uthi (And She Spoke Up)" and "Nahi Qabool (Unacceptable)" - will be performed beginning at 11 a.m. tomorrow (8 April) on Memorial Mall.

During the workshop, Moloyashree Hashmi and Sudhanva Deshpande, two of India's best-known street theater activists, will talk about street theater in India, its history and its role in cultural and political change.

Hashmi conducts the Theatre Practicum at Delhi University, and Deshpande is an actor, director, playwright and teacher who writes regularly on theater, cinema and politics. He has been published in a number of journals, including The Drama Review, XCP: Cross-Cultural Poetics, Seagull Theatre Quarterly, Theatre India and Economic and Political Weekly. He is a managing editor with LeftWord Books in New Delhi.

Information from Purdue News Service.

Roche expands

Roche Group has spent $600 million to buy full ownership of BioVeris Corp. of Gaithersburg, Md., gaining control of BioVeris' diagnostic technology, reports The Indianapolis Business Journal.

The Swiss company's U.S. subsidiary, Indianapolis-based Roche Diagnostics, had licensed the electrochemiluminescence technology in machines it sold to hospitals and commercial laboratories--but was limited to diagnosing human diseases.

The acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter, allows Roche Diagnostics to expand sales of the equipment for veterinary applications as well as to human drug discovery and clinical trials.

International Film Festival Lineup Announced

The lineup has been announced: 191 films representing 45 nations will screen at the 2007 Indianapolis International Film Festival.

See the list alphabetically.

See the list by nation of origin.

Workshop on Darfur at Marian College

Concerned about the crisis in Sundan? Consider attending a "Workshop on Darfur" from 6:30-9 p.m. Monday (16 April) in the Allison Mansion on the campus of Marian College, 3200 Cold Spring Road, Indianapolis.

It's sponsored by The Franciscan Center for Global Studies (FCGS) at Marian, and co-sponsored by Catholic Relief Services, American Jewish World Service, Citizens for Global Solutions, Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council, Archdiocese of Indianapolis, and Indiana Coalition to Save Darfur.

Designed as a forum for expert discussion that will emphasize audience participation, education, and—most important—taking action, this workshop is for anyone who is concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

Featured speakers:

Scott LeFevre (left), Catholic Relief Services, Darfur specialist; Joshua Bloom (second from left), American Jewish World Service, Darfur field organizer; Julia Fitzpatrick (third from left), Citizens for Global Solutions, Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow; Anita Sharma (right), ENOUGH, Executive Director."

Serbian Treats Headlined in "The Indianapolis Star"

Easter is in the offing, and The Indianapolis Star has a tasty feature with recipes for a Serbian-style holiday celebration online here, at least briefly.

More permanently, get a copy of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church's new cookbook, "Indy Serbs' 500 Favorite Recipes", for $10 at the church at 7855 Marsh Road, Indianapolis.

Barbara Flynn to head IU's CIBER

Indiana University Kelley School of Business Dean Daniel Smith has named Barbara Flynn (right), professor of operations management at Kelley's Indianapolis campus, as the new director of the IU Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).

CIBER creates business research and study opportunities for Indiana University faculty and students, allowing the university's graduates and partners to better compete in today's global economy. As faculty director, Flynn will provide strategic guidance to the center's research initiative, faculty development programs and grant development efforts.

Flynn is a recent addition to the Kelley Indianapolis faculty, coming to Kelley from Wake Forest University in 2006. At Wake Forest, she was the Sisel Fellow of Operations Management at the Babcock Graduate School of Management and also served as a past president of the Atlanta-based Decision Sciences Institute.

source: IU Media Relations

Darfur to Indiana

"As many as 300 people originally from Darfur are living in Fort Wayne, with others scattered across smaller Indiana cities like Elkhart, South Bend and Goshen. Together, they form one of the largest concentrations of Darfuri in the United States."

This is an excerpt from an exceptional article in Monday's New York Times about the ability of the Hoosier Heartland to welcome yet another set of scarred refugees. Here's another snippet:

"'Cities like New York are not attractive for our beginners, too busy,' said Nourain Basheir, 41, one of the first Darfuri to settle in Fort Wayne in 1996. 'This community welcomed us cheerfully and respectfully. They understand our people.'

"Despite Indiana’s reputation among Americans as a monolithic slice of the country, in parts of Africa it is known — mostly by word of mouth — as diverse, welcoming and affordable."

After Darfur, Starting Anew in the Midwest
By SUSAN SAULNY
The New York Times
Published: April 2, 2007
"In Indiana, people fleeing the violence of Darfur find an unlikely new home that is diverse and welcoming."

Read the rest here.


UPDATE:
Almost a month after The New York Times writes about all the people from Darfur living in Fort Wayne, The Indianapolis Star finally notices. See 29 April 2007 -- at least as long as the paper leaves the link active!

April's "Ethnic Hoosier" is Posted

The April edition of the Nationalities Council's monthly newsletter, "The Ethnic Hoosier", has been posted to the NCI website.

A Constitution for Iraq?

Feisal Istrabadi (right), Deputy Permanent Representative of the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations, will talk about "Crafting a Constitution for Iraq" from 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Monday (2 April) in Wynne Courtroom of Indiana University School of Law at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

For more information, contact Nandini Mascarenhas (International Law Society).

Feisal Istrabadi is Deputy Permanent Representative of the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations, which position he has held since 2004. In 2004 he was also appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Iraqi Ministry for Foreign Affairs. As a legal advisor to the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. al-Istrabadi negotiated U.N. Security Council Resolution 1546 (June 2004). He was also a principal legal drafter of the Law of Administration of the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period, i.e. the transitional constitution of the country (2003-2004) and author of the bill of Fundamental Rights. Before engaging in the reconstruction of Iraq, Mr. al-Istrabadi had been a practicing barrister in the United States for 15 years, with approximately 70 jury and bench civil trials in federal and State courts, and numerous administrative hearings. He is a Senior Fellow for Legal Reform and Development in the Arab World, the International Human Rights Law Institute, College of Law, DePaul University, Chicago. Ambassador Istrabadi holds a JD degree from Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington and a Master of Laws degree from Northwestern University. Sponsored by the International Law Society.

Tibetan Monks to Construct Sand Mandala of Compassion

The "Creation of Sand Mandala of Compassion" by a group of eight Tibetan monks from Gomang Monastery begins 19 April in Room 115 of University College at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

Thursday (19 April): 9 a.m. Opening Ceremony, 2-4:30 p.m., 7:30-9 p.m.
Friday (20 April): 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 1:30-3 p.m., 5-7 p.m.
Sunday (22 April): Noon-3 p.m.
Monday (23 April): 8 a.m.-11:30 a.m., 1-9 p.m.
Tuesday (24 April): 3-9 p.m.
Wednesday (25 April): 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Closing Ceremony at 3 p.m.

Sponsored by IUPUI: Campus & Community Life, Center on Philanthropy, Democracy Plaza, Department of Anthropology, Department of English, Department of Geography, Department of Philosophy, Department of Sociology, Department of World Languages & Cultures, General Studies Student Council, Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication, Institute for American Thought, International Studies Program, International Tibet Independence Movement, School of Education, SPEA Student Council, and Undergraduate Student Government.

At 7 p.m. Saturday (21 April), the eight monks will present a "Cultural Pageant of Tibet" in the Fellowship Hall of Saint Luke's United Methodist Church, 100 West 86th Street, Indianapolis, featuring Harmonic Overtone Chanting, Traditional Instruments, Richly Brocaded Costumes, Sacred Dances, Yak Dance, Monastic Debates, and Tibet Slide Show.

The suggested donation for this event: $10 Adults; $7 Students; $5 Children.

It's sponsored by Spiritual Life Center of Saint Luke's United Methodist Church and the International Tibet Independence Movement.
Information, Larry Gerstein, President, International Tibet Independence Movement.