DePauw University Media Relations News

Fireworks at Town Hall Meetings Nothing New, Writes Lee Hamilton '52

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 21, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "Media coverage of stormy public gatherings may give the impression that we've entered an especially fraught time for public discourse, but I can tell you that anyone who's been in public life for a while has seen plenty of fierce town hall meetings," writes Lee Hamilton. In a newspaper op-ed, the veteran statesman and 1952 graduate of DePauw University states, "The challenge is not to avoid controversy; it's to make it productive." (at left: Hamilton with DePauw students in historic East College)

The Democrat who spent 34 years serving in the U.S. House of Representatives offers advice on improving congressional town meetings, which, he declares, "are crucial for members of Congress and other elected officials. They're where they can best gauge the intensity of public feeling, hear from ordinary citizens, and give people a chance to get to know firsthand their representative. Sometimes you must square your shoulders before you head into a room where you know tempers are going to flare, but this is democracy at the retail level, and it's vital."

Hamilton concludes, Over my years in Congress, I conducted hundreds, if not thousands, of town hall meetings. Almost every time I came away with the feeling that this was precisely what I was meant to be doing -- engaging with my constituents in a small part of the dialogue of democracy. Just as often, these meetings reinforced my confidence in the fairness, decency and judgment of the American people. So as we look ahead to the next congressional recess, and no doubt to the next round of heated town hall meetings, let's remember that they, too, help ensure that our representative democracy remains vibrant."

Access the complete column at the Web site of Kentucky's Richmond Register.

Lee Hamilton's new book, Strengthening Congress, "should be required reading for members of Congress and the people they serve," Matthew Tully recently wrote in the Indianapolis Star. "A decade after Hamilton's retirement, his book is yet another reminder that he was a gem of a congressman, diplomatic and serious, a smart politician but not mindlessly partisan. If there were more like him, Congress' approval rating likely would be much higher."

Lee H. Hamilton is president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Newsweek has called him "Mr. Integrity," while the New York Times' David Brooks opined of Hamilton, "The country is hungering for leaders like him: open-minded, unassuming centrists who are interested in government more than politics."

Peeler Pottery: A Retrospective Details Work of Former Professor & His Wife

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 20, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — The life work of the late Richard E. Peeler, a longtime professor of art at DePauw and 1949 graduate of the University, and his wife, Marj, is detailed in a new book, Peeler Pottery: A Retrospective. It has been published in published in both hardbound and softbound editions by the Putnam County Museum.

The Peelers moved to rural Reelsville, Indiana, when Richard returned to his alma mater in 1958 to teach ceramics, sculpture and photography. A prolific artistic duo, the Peelers welcomed many DePauw students and visitors to their home and studio for more than 40 years.

Richard Peeler retired from the DePauw faculty in 1972, and Richard and Marj became full-time potters, working out of the Peeler Pottery Studio -- located on their property -- until Richard’s death in 1998. Peeler pottery is now found in collections throughout the world.

Marj Peeler has taken the lead in producing the new 352-page book. Presented in an 11 x 8.5-inch format featuring approximately 600 photos that depict the Peelers’ lives, studio and artistic creations. It also includes Bits and Pieces From the Mosaic of Our Lives, an autobiography Marj Peeler wrote several years ago.

For more information, visit the Putnam County Museum online, call (765) 653-8419 or e-mail museum@co.putnam.in.us.

Dedicated in 2002, DePauw's Richard E. Peeler Art Center is dedicated to the former professor. Learn more in this previous story.

2009's New Real Estate Vocabulary Noted by Dave Morris '83

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 20, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "This week, the New Oxford American Dictionary named ‘unfriend’ the word of the year. For developers and commercial real estate brokers, a whole lot of other words come to mind to describe 2009," begins a St. Louis Business Journal column. Lisa R. Brown writes, "Dave Morris, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis|Gundaker Commercial, came up with a list of phrases to describe the current market. In a newsletter to clients, Morris, an English (composition) major from DePauw University in Indiana, said he’s never seen so many new phrases pop up so quickly in his 22-year career."

The article goes on to define such terms as "zombie building," "pretend-and-extend" and "flight to quality.

David Morris, CCIM, SIOR, is a 1983 graduate of DePauw.

Access the complete text -- "Morris' real estate vocab to live by" -- at the Journal's Web site.

Midwest Conference Honors Brian Jaworski '89 as Men's Soccer 'Coach of the Year'

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 19, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Brian Jaworski, head men's soccer coach at Grinnell College and 1989 graduate of DePauw University, has been named the 2009 Midwest Conference "coach of the year." Jaworski was honored "for leading his team to a runner-up finish in league standings, a MWC title, and his program's first-ever NCAA tournament berth ... Grinnell concluded the season with a 6-1-3 mark in the MWC and a 9-8-4 overall record."

The announcement can be found here.

Learn more about Brian Jaworski, formerly assistant men's soccer coach at DePauw, in this previous story.

Kay Pashos '81 Named VP at Alliant Energy Corporation

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 19, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Kay E. Pashos, a 1981 graduate of DePauw University, has been appointed vice president of regulatory affairs and deputy general counsel at Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE: LNT). The Wisconsin-based company's announcement notes, "Pashos brings with her more than 25 years of legal and 20 years of regulatory experience within the utility industry, as well as a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. She will assume responsibility for oversight of the company’s regulatory affairs functions, as well as its legal, insurance and risk areas."

Pashos practiced law with the firm of Baker & Daniels and previously served as vice president of regulatory strategy for Duke Energy's U.S. Franchised Electric and Gas organization.

Read more by clicking here, or access this previous story.

Eadie Fawcett Weaver '81 Profiled in Iowa Newspaper

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 19, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — In Eadie Fawcett Weaver's youth, "it was journalism that grabbed her interest. After high school, enrolled in college at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where she began helping a friend with a radio news program," notes the Iowa City Press-Citizen. A member of DePauw University's Class of 1981, Weaver recalls of her days on WGRE, "After getting over the giggles the first couple of times, I got hooked," Eadie said. "I thought it was really fun and exciting." (photo: Eadie Fawcett Weaver, third from left, with her family)

The newspaper offers a lengthy profile of Weaver, who went on to a career in television which included stints anchoring the news at KCRG-TV and KFXA-TV in Cedar Rapids. Today she is director of business development at the University of Iowa Community Credit Union and co-owns a business, Active Endeavors, with her husband, Mark.

Access the story at the Press-Citizen's Web site.

Chocolate Hippos are Junior's Holiday Fundraiser for Charities

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 18, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "David Spotts, a junior economics major at DePauw University in Indiana who raised money for the (Cleveland) Foodbank as a high school student, saw an instant philanthropic tie-in with a hefty animal not usually associated with the season's eight tiny reindeer," notes a story in today's Cleveland Plain Dealer. Spotts and his mother, Judy Zamlen-Spotts, are selling chocolate hippopotamuses as a holiday fundraiser and are the subjects of a feature article in the newspaper. (photo: Joshua Gunter/Plain Dealer)

David Spotts "designed a marketing plan. His mom called candy manufacturers," writes Sarah Crump. "No one was interested in a project until she reached Kathryn Galgoczy, owner of Baker Candies Inc., an 88-year-old family business in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood. Galgoczy worked with another company to fashion a mold of a comical three-dimensional hippo holding an accordion. Now Baker is turning out hundreds of handmade 7-ounce solid-chocolate hippos to be packaged in festive red or green boxes marked 'Season's Greetings.' Half the profits -- $2.50 from the sale of each $10 hippo -- will be split between the Foodbank and a DePauw student-run charity, Climb for a Cure, a mountain-climbing venture that benefits pediatric brain cancer and tumor research.

Read more at the Plain Dealer's Web site.

Climb for a Cure was featured in the Pilot News of Plymouth, Indiana last month. Access that article here.

2009 Monon Bell DVD is Being Replicated, Will Ship Soon

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Also: Order Your 2009 Monon Bell DVD

November 18, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — The limited edition DVD of the 2009 Monon Bell Classic has arrived at the factory and replication will begin soon. The discs -- which include the HDNet telecast of Saturday's game in anamorphic widescreen (enhanced for 16x9 televisions) and an array of bonus features-- are available online via this form. They are being replicated at Oasis Disc Manufacturing in New Jersey and should ship in approximately two-and-a-half weeks.

The DVDs are $15 each. A $3 shipping and handling charge will be added to each order, regardless of size, as well as 7% sales tax to orders shipped within Indiana.

Also available are the DVDs of the 2001-08 Monon Bell Classics (supplies of the 2001, 2002 and 2007 discs are extremely limited; the 2008 game is a two-disc set including all 115 "Monon Memories"). A disc of the first-ever telecast in the rivalry -- of the 1977 game -- was recently completed. Information on obtaining a copy can be received by sending an e-mail here. (at left: front cover art of 2009 Monon Bell DVD; below right: back cover)

The 2009 DVD contains almost 5 hours of material spread across a dual-layer disc. Besides the complete game itself, the platter includes two photo galleries (one for the 2009 battle for the Bell, the other containing images from the rivalry's storied past) totaling more than 800 shots. Selected highlights from the current season are also found on the disc, along with the features which aired during halftime, including a profile of DePauw senior Alex Fitch and an interview with Robby Long, interim head football coach of the Tigers.

Other bonus materials include the recently discovered original demo for The Ballad of the Monon Bell, recorded in 1985, as well as the popular music video for the final version of that song, recorded by Jimmy Ibbotson (DePauw '69), formerly of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. [Download Video: "Ballad of the Monon Bell - 2007 Version" - 10,419kb] [Download Audio: "Ballad of the Monon Bell - Stereo" - 2514kb] There are also eleven "Monon Memories" and game day features from 1981, 1990, 1994 and 2002, as well as a clip of DePauw's all-time winningest football coach, Nick Mourouzis, offering his reflections on the DePauw-Wabash rivalry.

The disc is again a collaboration between the two colleges. Ken Owen, executive director of media relations at DePauw and 1982 graduate of the University, assembled and created the components of the project and mastered the disc. Jim Amidon, director of public affairs and marketing at Wabash, created the artwork and design for the packaging and disc, as well as menus which allow users to navigate the DVD. Alex Turco, a DePauw senior, assembled the 2009 photo gallery, which includes many images he shot.

Learn more about the DVD project in this previous story.

For a recap of the 116th Monon Bell Classic, click here.

Access DePauw's Monon Bell Web page here.

The Tigers open play in the NCAA Division III playoffs Saturday versus Thomas More College in Kentucky. Details can be found in this article.

Prof. Jinyu Liu Authors Collegia Centonariorum: The Guilds of Textile Dealers in the Roman West

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 18, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Jinyu Liu, assistant professor of classical studies at DePauw University, is the author of Collegia Centonariorum: The Guilds of Textile Dealers in the Roman West. The new book has been released by Brill Publishing.

According to the publisher, "The collegia centonariorum were often seen as the municipal fire-brigades or status groups of sorts in the Roman cities. Through a close investigation of the chronological development and geographical distribution of the collegia centonariorum, their legal privileges, and the prosopographical data of members and patrons, this volume reveals a much more complex picture of their origins, characters and compositions in various regions from the first century B.C. to the fourth century A.D. Intricately connected with the textile economy, the collegia centonariorum illustrate how elements as diverse as material demand from the military and the city of Rome, legal infrastructure, urban development, and organizations of urban-based craftsmen and tradesmen may have interfaced with each other in the Roman world."

Order the book by clicking here.

Dr. Liu was awarded a 2006 David Stevenson Fellowship from the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC).

In April, Professor Liu was among the presenters at "Shifting Frontiers VIII: Shifting Cultural Frontiers in Late Antiquity," a conference at Indiana University - Bloomington. Details can be found in this previous article.

DePauw Among Nation's Best at Providing Student Experiences in "Our Interconnected World"

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

November 17, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — DePauw University is once again noted as one of the top colleges in the nation for the percentage of its students who study abroad. The 2009 Open Doors report, published by the Institute of International Education with funding from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, covers the 2007-08 academic year. The report lists DePauw among "23 institutions that reported sending more than 80% of their students abroad at some point during their undergraduate careers."

"While large institutions dominate in terms of absolute numbers of their students going abroad, many smaller institutions send a higher proportion of their students abroad," notes an announcement detailing the new report's findings.

"Today more than ever before, study abroad can help our students to understand our interconnected world and to participate productively in the global economy," says Judith A. McHale, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. "The State Department strongly supports study abroad through such programs as the Fulbright Program, which is sending its largest number ever of U.S. students abroad this year, and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program -- which in two years has doubled the number of U.S. undergraduates with financial need whom we support for study abroad. I congratulate all the U.S. students who are taking advantage of these and other opportunities to study abroad."

Overall, Open Doors 2009 reports the number of Americans studying abroad increased by 8.5% to 262,416 during the 2007-08 academic year. Four times as many U.S. students participated in study abroad in 2007-08 than in 1987-88.

The 2009 report finds that the number of students going to nearly all of the top twenty-five destinations increased, with particularly strong rises seen in students going to less traditional destinations for study abroad. Notable increases among leading destinations were in the numbers of students going to China, Ireland, Austria and India (up about 20%), as well as Costa Rica, Japan, Argentina and South Africa (up nearly15% each). (at left: Lauren A. Wendling '09, seen on a service project to Costa Rica. She is currently in South Korea as a result of receiving a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship)

While the four countries that are perennial leaders in hosting U.S. students -- United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and France -- are in Western Europe, Open Doors reports that fifteen of the top 25 destinations are outside of Western Europe and nineteen are countries where English is not the primary language. In 2007-08, students electing to study in Africa increased by 18%, those going to Asia increased by 17%, and those going to Latin America increased by 11%.

Learn more by clicking here.

For the fourth consecutive year, DePauw University is listed among the "Top Producers of Fulbright Awards for U.S. Students" in a chart published last month in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

An all-time record high 185 current DePauw students come from 41 countries outside the United States, representing 7.8% of the current student body.

The 2009 National Survey of Student Engagement, released November 9, finds that the student experience at DePauw University provides far more academic engagement -- both in and out of the classroom -- than what is provided to undergraduates at peer institutions and the national average at all colleges and universities.

DePauw is rated among the nation's top 50 liberal arts colleges "that combine outstanding economic value with exceptional education," according to the December 2009 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

Prospective students are invited to visit DePauw's Office of Admission online.