DePauw University Media Relations News

Tigers Earn First NCAA Football Playoff Berth with 34-23 Triumph

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Also: Pre-Order Your 2009 Monon Bell DVD

November 7, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — DePauw University held off a hard charging option attack by the Austin College offense and emerged with a 34-23 victory at Blackstock Stadium in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference football action this afternoon. The triumph, which brings DePauw to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the SCAC, clinches at least a share of the conference title for the Tigers. Austin falls to 4-4 and 2-3 in conference play.

The Tigers finished in a tie with Millsaps in the SCAC standings, but earned the conference’s automatic qualification into the Division III Championship by virtue of their win over Millsaps October 4. The appearance will be the Tigers' first in the football playoffs.

The Tigers collected 397 yards of total offense on the afternoon. Senior quarterback Spud Dick completed 31-of-40 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns. It marked his 14th game passing for 300+ yards, a school record he already holds, and his seventh this season, which set a new Tiger mark.

Two other DePauw school records were broken today. Bryan Mulligan caught 8 passes for 75 yards an a touchdown. His 202 career receptions now eclipse the previous all-time record of 195 by Jay True '81.

Alex Koors snatched 12 receptions for 111 yards and a TD, giving him 1,046 receiving yards on the season. The previous record of 991 yards was held by John Stephens from the 2001 season.

Jon Ellis led the running attack, gaining 56 yards on 17 carries, two for scores. Derrick Karaszia picked up 44 yards on 16 carries with a TD.

For a more comprehensive look at today's contest, visit the football team's Web page.

Next up for the black and gold is the 116th Monon Bell Classic, one of college football's greatest rivalries, which will be played at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Blackstock Stadium. DePauw's allotment of tickets for the annual rivalry game with Wabash College are sold out, but the game can be seen nationally on HDNet and heard on DePauw's student radio station, WGRE (91.5 FM or via this link). [Download Video: "Ballad of the Monon Bell - 2007 Version" - 10,419kb] [Download Audio: "Ballad of the Monon Bell - Stereo" - 2514kb]

A pre-order discount is available until Friday for the limited edition DVD of the 2009 battle for the Monon Bell. Discs of the 2001-08 games remain available in limited quantities. Details and an online order form can be found here.

Rapper Fabolous to Perform on Eve of Monon Bell Classic

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 7, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Grammy Award-nominated rapper Fabolous will come to the campus of DePauw University to perform a concert on Friday, November 13, on the eve of the 116th Monon Bell Classic. The show will begin at 9 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium of the Performing Arts Center (doors open at 8). Asher Roth will also perform.

Tickets are available in the Multicultural and Community Life Office (Union Building, room 100). The cost is $10 for DePauw students (who are limited to one ticket each) and $15 for additional tickets. They will also be sold during lunch (11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) in the Hub. The program is presented by Union Board.

Fabolous was among the first East Coast rappers influenced by Southern hip hop sounds. According to All Music, "He was among the first of a new breed of New York City rappers, later and most notably to include 50 Cent, who were able to cross over well among multiple markets without losing street credential."

His releases include five albums, which have collectively sold over three million copies in the United States. Two of the records went platinum (2001's Ghetto Fabolous and 2003's Street Dreams), while one went gold (2004's Real Talk). His most recent album, Loso's Way, was released in July,

Fabolous was honored last year with an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award for "Top Rap Song" for "Make Me Better." His many nominations include one for a Grammy Award for "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" for "Dip It Low" in 2005.

Fellow rapper Asher Roth (pictured at left) exploded onto the music scene this spring with his hit song "I Love College" from the album Asleep in the Bread Aisle. He received a "Best New Artist" nomination at this year's MTV Video Music Awards.

Located in the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts, Kresge Auditorium has hosted thousands of events since its dedication in 1976, including countless concerts by visiting artists such as the Black Eyed Peas, Third Eye Blind, Ben Folds, Harry Chapin, Rufus Wainwright, America, Dave Matthews and Billy Joel, who performed the night before the 1977 Monon Bell game.

Tigers Battle for Conference Title and Possible Playoff Bid Tomorrow vs. Austin

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Also: Pre-Order Your 2009 Monon Bell DVD

November 6, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "It's been a year of firsts for the DePauw University football team," begins a story in today's Banner Graphic. "It defeated Trinity for the first time in school history two weeks ago. It defeated Millsaps for the first time in several years and on Saturday, with a little luck, it will earn its first playoff bid in the Division III tournament in program history. If the Tigers defeat Austin and Trinity wins(over visiting Centre), DPU will get a piece of the SCAC championship and the conference bid," writes Dan Shelton.

"To date, Austin might be one of the toughest opponents we have seen all year," interim head football coach Robby Long tells the Greencastle newspaper. "They run a non-conventional offense in the wishbone wing-T."

The article notes that the Tigers enter tomorrow's key Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup "on the back of a five-game winning streak, thanks to an offense that has been putting up some huge numbers. The Tigers have been averaging 439.9 yards of offense this season with Spud Dick leading the way averaging 296.8 yards passing. Alex Koors is Dick's No.1 one man on the receiving end. Koors has been averaging 133.6 yards receiving per contest this season. Dick and Koors aren't the only weapons that the Tigers have. They also have a solid running game. On the ground, DPU has been averaging 125.4 yards rushing with Derrick Karazsia leading the team with a 65.3 game average."

Read the full story at the Banner Graphic's Web site.

Tomorrow's game kicks off at 1 p.m. at Blackstock Stadium. The contest will be carried live on DePauw's student radio station, WGRE (91.5 FM or via this link).

For comprehensive coverage of the Tiger football program, click here.

Pre-orders are being accepted for the limited edition DVD of the 116th Monon Bell Classic, which will be played in Greencastle November 14. Details and an online order form can be found here. DePauw's allotment of tickets for the annual rivalry game with Wabash College are sold out.

DePauw Theatre Presents Eurydice, November 19-21

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 6, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — The pilgrimage and demise of Orpheus remains one of the most tragic, yet familiar tales in Greek mythology. But little is known of the journey of Eurydice, the beautiful wife for whom he pines. DePauw Theatre brings her unique perspective to light in a play of the same name. Penned by the celebrated playwright Sarah Ruhl, Eurydice revises the classic tale with a modern yet surreal setting, a quirky cast of characters and an insightful, inventive script. (at left: David Kunkel and Mackenzie Travers as Eurydice and Orpheus)

The second production of the 2009-10 season opens Thursday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Moore Theatre of the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts. Performances will continue through Friday and Saturday, November 20 and 21, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 22 at 2:30 p.m. (poster at right created by Andrea Hutchinson '11)

On the night of her marriage to the famed musician Orpheus, a tragic misstep sends Eurydice plummeting to the depths of the Underworld, where memories are washed away in the river of forgetfulness. There she reunites with her long-dead father and gradually awakens to a love she missed in life. Armed with his music, Orpheus bravely journeys to the gates of the underworld for his wife forcing Eurydice to choose between remaining with her father and living again with her husband.

Ruhl crafts a beautiful and harrowing commentary on love and loss in Eurydice. In a masterful balance of humor and tragedy, Ruhl's work probes important questions that are relatable to a contemporary audience: what does one say if allowed after-death conversations with a loved one? Which love trumps the other: romantic or paternal? What part does memory play in happiness?

Eurydice is also as aesthetically rich as it is heartbreaking. Eccentric, experimental visual elements -- including a raining elevator, a room of string and a toddler Hades riding a tricycle -- create an arena for theatric, imaginative discourse, one that asks the audience to suspend their sense of believability and completely invest themselves in the play's poignant message. (at left: Nikaury Roman, Trisha Himmelein and Jackie Keyes)

"There is an intimacy or truth inside Orpheus' grander epic narrative, the one that we're accustomed to. I wanted to find a way into that sense of epic that was more ordinary, more personal," Ruhl has said of her work. "Rarely does anyone look at Eurydice's experience. I always found that troubling -- she's the

one who dies and takes a journey before Orpheus."

Director Gigi Jennewein Fenlon chose to produce Eurydice for several reasons. "I wanted to expose our community to the work of Sarah Ruhl, a young, emerging playwright whose work is garnering much attention, including Pulitzer Prize consideration. Her style of writing is absolutely beautiful -- so poetic and so full of imaginative opportunities for young actors. And the story speaks directly to the college-aged as it places Eurydice at that stage where the love for a partner is becoming as significant as the love for a parent." (right: Andrew Richardson and Mackenzie Travers as Eurydice and her father)

Tickets for Eurydice are $3 for students and $6 for adults and are available for purchase at the DePauw University Green Center for the Performing Arts box office, which is open Monday through Friday 12:30 to 4 p.m. and one hour prior to show time. Information and reservations are available by calling (765) 658-4827 or emailing greencenter@depauw.edu.

Also available for purchase are DePauw Theatre patron passes. Purchasers are entitled to five tickets for the price of four. The passes are available at both student and adult price levels. To purchase or obtain additional information, contact the Green Center box office at the contacts listed above.

Barbara Kingsolver '77 Visits NPR's Diane Rehm Show

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 5, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Bestselling author and 1977 DePauw University graduate Barbara Kingsolver discussed her new novel, The Lacuna, on National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show today. Released this week, the book is Kingsolver's first novel in nine years.

Access audio of the program at the NPR program's Web page.

In The Lacuna, Kingsolver "explores the social and historical context of America's reactionary fear of those who presume to question our system of government," opines McClatchy Newspaper Group's Jeffrey Ann Goudie. "The author stirs the real with the imagined to produce a breathtakingly ambitious book, bold and rich. If her dramatized history lesson feels at times forced, it also feels important." The review adds, "Kingsolver's seventh work of fiction is hopeful, political and artistic."

Read it at the Web site of the Baltimore Sun.

Barbara Kingsolver's twelve books of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction include The Bean Trees and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, which was listed among the ten best nonfiction books of 2007 by TIME magazine. Translated into nineteen languages, Kingsolver's work has won a devoted worldwide readership and many awards, including the National Humanities Medal. Learn more about her and her new book in this recent article.

In her commencement address to DePauw's Class of 1994, Kingsolver said, "The best thing about DePauw is that it required me to take courses in poetry and mathematics and biology and history," Kingsolver told the audience. "I was not allowed to be narrow in my interests, and I was rewarded for trying really hard to see the fibers of logic and consequence that connect poetry and biology and history. I believe that's the most precious and useful kind of education that a person can ever have."

New DePauw Digital Library Featured in Newspaper

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 5, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "Wonder what a gym top circa 1927 looked like? Want to see a photo of the DePauw University 1914 freshman class? Now, it can happen with the click of a mouse," reports today's edition of the Banner Graphic. The Greencastle newspaper notes, "DePauw University's library has launched a digital library, which currently contains more than 30,000 photographs, publications and other artifacts spanning the history of the University, Putnam County and Indiana United Methodism." (at left: photo of the old Double Decker on Locust Street)

"We want people to discover our resource," says Wesley Wilson, coordinator of archives and special collections at DePauw. "Explore it. Spend time searching it."

Shannen Hayes writes. "The searchable database, which took two years to build, includes all issues of The DePauw dating back to 1932 and photographs from DePauw's archives and the late Greencastle photographer Ralph Taylor ... The site, which was built by the Digital Library Planning Group, will continually be updated. It is considered a supplement to the libraries and archives."

"It is another way for people to learn about DePauw's history, traditions and art collections," adds Rick Provine, director of libraries.

Read more at the newspaper's Web site, and visit the digital collection by clicking here.

Further details can be found in this recent article.

ESPN.com Profiles Butler Coach Brad Stevens '99

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 5, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "Brad Stevens, a Hoosier born and bred, turned out to be the perfect man to be handed the torch of the prestigious Butler basketball program on April 4, 2007, when Todd Lickliter left to take the Iowa job," begins an ESPN profile issued today. "Never mind that Stevens could be mistaken for the team manager. He picked up his 50th victory last winter in only his 56th game as a head coach. Only two coaches in major college basketball reached 50 wins faster than Stevens -- Doc Meanwell at Wisconsin in 1915 and Bill Carmody at Princeton in 1998."

It continues, "Stevens was a high-scoring guard at Zionsville High School, then graduated from DePauw in 1999. He got a job as a marketing associate at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, but left it after a year for a volunteer position in Butler's basketball office in 2000."

The piece notes that the 33-year-old coach has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament in each of his two seasons at the helm. After last season, "Stevens was chosen Horizon League Coach of the Year and given a contract extension through 2016. Only Bill Guthridge of North Carolina, a decade ago, won more games (58) in his first two seasons than Stevens' 56."

ESPN concludes, "Butler is easily the team to beat in the Horizon League again and should sustain its stature as one of -- if not the -- top mid-major program in the nation."

Volunteer Ruth Rusie '40 to be Featured in United Way's 2010 Advertising

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 5, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Ruth (Ritz) Rusie, a retired teacher, volunteer and 1940 graduate of DePauw University, will be featured in United Way's national brand advertising in 2010 as a result of collecting the most votes in a national contest. The "Live United" story search sought "authentic moving stories of how people are living united," notes the agency. "With votes coming in fast and furious to the very end, Ruth, the now 91-year old former teacher who shares her love of reading with parents and their young children, captured the most votes with her story '90 Years and Still Teaching.'" (photo: Ellen Annala, president and CEO of United Way of Central Indiana, celebrates with Ruth Rusie)

"This would not have happened without everyone's help," says Kevin Lollar, board president of the United Way of Morgan County. Lollar says that as the national voting drew to a close and he noticed that the tally was very close, "I called Randall Wayne (of WCBK Radio) during the post game show after the Martinsville High School football game and gave him an update. They stopped the show and made a plea to the audience to get home and vote. Wow, where else but in small-town America can that happen?"

Rusie's volunteer activities include helping local residents with literacy skills. As co-chair of the annual campaign for the United Way of Indiana's Morgan County, she encourages families with small children to sign up for United Way's Early Readers Club.

Access a video feature on Rusie by clicking here and looking for "90 Years and Still Teaching" in the right hand column.

In 2008, Ruth Rusie was named grand marshal of the Fall Foliage Festival in Morgan County. Details can be found in this previous story.

Rock Historian Glenn Gass to Examine Dylan & The Beatles Monday Night

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 5, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Glenn Gass, a noted rock and roll historian and music professor at Indiana University returns to the DePauw University campus on Monday, November 9, to discuss "Bob Dylan and The Beatles in the 1960s." The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in Watson Forum of the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media and is free and open to all.

Professor Gass is the author of the first for-credit course at any music school or conservatory on the history of rock and roll. His courses at IU include one on Music of the Beatles, which is described as an "in-depth, song-by-song look at the music, lives and times of this extraordinary group and songwriting partnership." Offered since 1982, the course "is aimed at heightening student listening skills as well as fostering a deeper appreciation for the Beatles' remarkable recordings." Gass also takes a group of students "on site" to London for another course on the Beatles.

Glenn Gass is also a classical composer whose work has been performed internationally. He is the recipient of grants in composition from the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, and the Indiana Arts Commission. Gass is also a member of the education advisory board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.

The professor authored the textbook, History of Rock Music: The Rock & Roll Era, and is the recipient of a number of honors, including: the Herman B. Wells Lifetime Achievement Award, the Indiana University Sylvia Bowman Distinguished Teaching Award, the IU Student Alumni Association Student Choice Award, and the Society of Professional Journalists Brown Derby Award. He was inducted into the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching.

Gass attended DePauw (he's the son of Clinton Gass, professor emeritus of mathematics) and earned a B.M. from the New England Conservatory of Music, and both and M.M. and D.Mus. in composition from Indiana.