June 9, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Similar to what they are doing with Illinois, Indiana Secretary of Commerce Mitch Roob said Indiana officials are approaching dissatisfied businesses in California," writes Gerry Dick in his "Inside Indiana Business" column. "Roob said many companies in California are not happy with the state's tax structure. He said Indiana is trying to capitalize on that opportunity."

Access the item at the website of the Times of Northwest Indiana. An audio clip is available here.

E. Mitchell Roob Jr., CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, is a 1983 graduate of DePauw University.  Last week he was quoted in an Associated Press article on a new economic development collaboration involving the cities of Kokomo and Marion.  Read more in this article.

June 9, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "As Indiana's Department of Education eyes 18 schools for a possible state takeover, a top teacher at a highly-touted Indianapolis charter school will spearhead those efforts," begins a story in the Evansville Courier & Press announcing that Jim Larson, a 2005 graduate of DePauw University, has been appointed the state's new director of school turnaround and improvement. "He takes the job as the state holds hearings to determine the best way to intervene in the 18 buildings that have been on 'academic probation,' the lowest of five possible categorizations of schools, for six consecutive years," writes Eric Bradner.

Larson comes to his new post from Indianapolis' Charles A. Tindley Accredited School, where he was a seventh grade humanities teacher. The newspaper notes, "Larson studied education at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and then received a master's in education from Harvard University.  Before he was hired by Tindley, he was conducting research into the effects of after-school programs in the Boston area for Harvard Medical School. By his second year at Tindley, Larson was leading a summer training program for teachers. His third year, he drove a group of teachers, at his own expense, to Louisiana for a training program, said Marcus Robinson, the school's principal."

Robinson, who is a 1994 DePauw graduate, says of Larson, "He's the kind of guy who's there after school coaching other teachers. I've had teachers who have said, 'I had to step up my game because I'm in the same hallway as Jim Larson.' " Noting that Larson was Tindley's "teacher of the year" in 2010, Robinson adds, "We had some kids on the last day of school who were in tears because Mr. Larson wasn't going to be their teacher next year. He really pored himself into his students." 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett, who appointed Larson, says, "He understands urban education. He understands the challenges that this department has faced. He has engaged himself as a strong student of policy, a strong advocate for accountability and mostly, a strong voice that all children regardless of their financial means or their race or any other external descriptor can learn if provided an environment with great educators and high expectations."

Larson, who has served as a member of the Indiana Department of Education’s Education Reform Cabinet, states, "I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve the Hoosier state and its children, our most important asset. I am committed to working with my new colleagues in the Department of Education and with the community of each turnaround school to ensure all children receive the high-quality education they need to be successful in college and the workforce."

Read more at the Courier & Press' website. Also available is a news release.

James Larson was one of the speakers at DePauw's Alumni Reunion Celebration in June 2010. Last September he participated in an NBC program, "Education Nation." Details can be found in this previous article.

June 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Oksana Polhuy, who will be a sophomore at DePauw University in the fall, contributes a column to the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper. Polhuy lives in Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine.

"With the price of Russian natural gas set to skyrocket from around $300 per 1,000 cubic meters to $400 or more by the end of this year, the need to explore Ukraine’s shale gas resources with the help of foreign companies is becoming more and more urgent," she writes. "Ukraine, according to different estimates, has two to 30 trillion cubic meters of shale gas -- a type of natural gas trapped in rocks beneath the earth’s surface. If Ukraine did have 30 trillion cubic meters of the shale gas, it would be enough to satisfy the demand for gas in Ukraine for 600 years. International oil and gas majors Chevron, Shell, Exxon Mobil and TNK-BP have shown interest in exploring shale gas in western Ukraine and coal bed methane in Donetsk Oblast using hydraulic fracturing -- or hydrofracking -- a controversial technology that has helped the U.S. become a world leader. However, the technology raises serious environmental concerns, including pollution of water sources, such as rivers and underground aquifers."

Polhuy states that it is imperative that Ukrainian officials learn "from the U.S. experience with hydrofracking and (pass) certain regulations to prevent environmental problems."

June 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Today's announcement is another sign that Cummins' strength around the world benefits our business and communities in Indiana," said chairman and chief executive officer Tim Solso as the company unveiled a plan to add 600 new jobs at its Columbus, Indiana, headquarters with an average salary of $80,000.  The employees, needed to support Cummins' rapid international growth, will work from a new, 130,000 square foot building, which will cost $18 million to construct.

"The building likely would be completed in the first half of 2013. Once it opens, Cummins would have nearly 3,000 professional employees in a two-block area of downtown Columbus, three times the number it had in 2008," reports the Indianapolis Star. "The maker of diesel engines and electric generators has experienced significant growth in China, India and Brazil in recent years."

Read more at IndyStar.com or at the website of the Columbus Republic.

A 1969 graduate of DePauw University, Solso was named last year as one of America's "30 Most Respected CEOs" by Barrons and was one of five finalists for MarketWatch's "CEO of the Decade." On May 22 he delivered the principal address to DePauw's Class of 2011 at the University's 172nd annual commencement. A summary of his address, "What Will Be My Contribution?," including links to video and audio clips, can be found here. The entire speech is available on YouTube.

June 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Junior swimmer Catie Baker of DePauw, a second team selection in 2010 ... earned a spot of the first team this year," notes Swimming World in a story detailing the 2011 Capital One Academic All-America® Women's At-Large Teams. Baker and the other honorees were selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

"A two-time All-American in the 100-breaststroke and the 200-breaststroke for the DePauw swimming and diving team, Baker is a computer science and mathematics major with a 3.98 GPA," notes the article. "Selected as the Most Outstanding Swimmer at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference meet, she led the Tigers to a second place finish ... A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Baker has been named as the SCAC Swimmer of the Year twice and holds two school records." Her All-American selection marks the 44th time a DePauw student-athlete has earned the distinction.

Read more at the magazine's website.

For more comprehensive information, visit the official online home of the women's swimming and diving team.

Catherine “Catie” M. Baker is a recipient of a 2011 scholarship from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program.  She also also recently received DePauw’s Wiley Condit Computer Science Award for an outstanding junior in the department. This spring she was nominated to Phi Beta Kappa and was accepted into Mortar Board, an honor society based on scholarship, leadership and service. You'll learn more in this recent feature article.

June 11, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Amanda (Haslan) Matusak, a 1996 graduate of DePauw University, has been promoted to vice president - brand strategy at Cincinnati-based Deskey Integrated Branding. With Deskey since 1999, Matusak has worked with brands and companies such as Crest, Pepto-Bismol, Prilosec, Luvs, Hasbro, Vicks, Kimberly-Clark, FifthThird Bank, Johnson&Johnson, Brawny, and TurboTax.

Previously, Matusak -- who was a sociology and anthropology major at DePauw -- worked for Kimberly-Clark.

Read more here.

Also: Photo Gallery 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

June 11, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "As our University begins its 175th year, it's message to the world relates to each of us gathered here today," Marletta Farrier Darnall told fellow members of DePauw University's Class of 1961, who are celebrating their 50th reunion this weekend.

"My college experience enriched the values I learned growing up, broadened my vision for the future, increased my desire to do well in all endeavors, and provided the framework for life-directing decisions,"added Darnall, a former junior high school teacher who currently serves a number of organizations, including as a member of the Guild of the Chicago Historical Society, a governing member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Brookfield Zoo, and DePauw's Board of Trustees.

She concluded, "At DePauw University, intellectual challenge and a vibrant social experience combine to produce lifelong success.  Here's to you, Class of 1961." [Download Audio: "Complete Speech by Marletta Darnall '61" - 10,512kb; Video on YouTube]

The golden anniversary class was greeted by boisterous applause as its members, carrying black and gold balloons, marched into Kresge Auditorium at this morning's Alumni Reunion Celebration. The traditional convocation is part of DePauw's 2011 Alumni Reunion Weekend, which began Wednesday and continues through tomorrow.

The Class of 1961 presented DePauw with a 50th reunion gift totaling more than $5.2 million, including $743,107 committed to the Annual Fund this year. [Download Video: "Class of 1961 Presents Gift" - 4733kb]

DePauw's Class of 1986, back for their 25th reunion, heard from Blake T. Myers, senior managing director for Amherst Securities Group, a fixed income trading firm.  On DePauw's campus of 2,400 students and in classes averaging 12 students each, "We were forced to come out of our shells and be a part of it," he recalled. "And what this ultimately led to was the forming of close relationships.  In fact, we developed an aptitude for close relationships that carries with us to this day."

Myers told his silver anniversary classmates, who proceeded into the auditorium to the strains of the 80's hit Walking On Sunshine, "It was the pursuit of education that brought us to DePauw 29 years ago.  It was the attainment of that education and the countless fortifying experiences we shared here that gave us the foundation to go out into the world and become the individuals we are today. It is this, combined with the strength of the relationships formed here, that sustains our bond to DePauw University, and it is the chance to be with each other again that brings us back today." [Download Audio: "Complete Address by Blake Myers '86" - 7841kb]

"It always is so nice to be back in this town, in this place, but it's really a lot better when I'm here with the people I spent four amazing years with," said Mike Stanek, an attorney with McDermott Will & Emery LLP in Washington, D.C., who spoke on behalf of his Class of 2006.

Stanek, who serves on DePauw's Alumni Board, spoke of "the intangibles -- the character, the community, and the warmth that come from this place and the people it has touched." [Download Audio: "Full Remarks by Mike Stanek '06" - 5204kb]

In welcoming alumni back to DePauw, President Brian Casey recalled the story of the University's first out-of-town student, Thomas Goodwin, who traveled four days by stagecoach, wagon and on horseback to reach Greencastle in 1837. "Dear alumni, you are Tommy Goodwin.  You are the realization of this University's hopes.  You are the 174-year history of this University. You are the echoes of this school."

Dr. Casey recalled, "Three years ago, when I was inaugurated to this wonderful position, I said that the world needs DePauw, and I believe that more firmly today than I did on that hopeful, early day.  There are few places that do what we do.  There are simply no colleges of our kind that produce, in the numbers that we do, the type of leaders that have long been the mark of our alumni ranks."

"I am a big believer in energy, and I think that the great colleges and universities have a sense of energy about them, a sense of urgency, and a sense of pride.  You are gathered here this morning on a campus on a particular moment in its history -- a moment when energy and pride has a chance to come together with the knowledge of what has always made this place great." 

The president promised, "Over the next few years you will see this University strengthen its curriculum, strengthen its faculty, improve its campus, create new ways to connect students to the world." Casey called DePauw's undergraduates "connecting, engaged students who go and change the world." [Download Audio: "President Casey's Complete Speech" - 11,110kb ; Video on YouTube]

Alumni Reunion Weekend 2011 continues through tomorrow, with Alumni College sessions and other events this afternoon and class dinners tonight. Available online is a complete schedule of events for the weekend.

June 12, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — The replacement of Katie Couric with Scott Pelley as anchor of the CBS Evening News is the subject of an Indianapolis Star column by Jeffrey M. McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University. "Pelley got this anchor job because of his reporting background, not because he is a personality," the 1976 DePauw graduate writes. "That was CBS' mistake when hiring Couric. The CBS suits thought a charismatic personality on the anchor desk could sufficiently carry a newscast. When viewers tune in for news, however, they want to see a reporter. Pelley is that. Nobody has described him as 'perky'."

McCall, author of the book Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences, calls the anchor switch "a sign that CBS is attempting to un-Katie its signature news broadcast," noting that Couric came to the news program from the more informal and chatty world of NBC's Today and "suffered from audience perceptions that she was politically biased ... Pelley’s résumé, meanwhile, consists entirely of journalism. He has never been an anchor or a gabber. He has never been seen on camera in a Halloween costume, unlike Couric," he points out.

According to Dr. McCall, "Pelley's new role as managing editor of the Evening News will be more critical than how well he does narrating lead-ins to other reporters' stories. More telling than how well he reads a teleprompter will be which stories he puts in the lineup and how those stories are approached. The audience will respond if serious news gets done with a proper sense of evenhandedness. The audience never sensed that quality from Couric."

The professor believes, "Changing the newscast's image will take time, so CBS should not expect an immediate ratings jump. Pelley is lucky to arrive with nowhere to go but up. He has several months to get the broadcast situated before the 2012 election cycle revs up."

The column concludes, "The Big Three network newscasts now get less than 25 million viewers a night, down 20 percent from 10 years ago. In 1980, 50 million people watched a network newscast each night. The network newscasts remain important, however, because they set the reporting agendas for many other venues online, in print and on local broadcasts. The nation needs these newscasts to have newsworthy stories covered sensibly."

Access the complete essay at College News.org.

Jeff McCall is frequently called upon by major media outlets to discuss media matters. He recently penned an op-ed column on Oprah Winfrey's impact and was quoted in a story in the UK's Guardian. He also discussed Jim Lehrer's decision to step away from PBS' NewsHour with the Christian Science Monitor.

June 12, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Republicans have five more races to fill, after Friday's announcement that AJ Feeney-Ruiz will challenge Democrat Vop Osili for an open seat in District 15," reports the Indianapolis Star. Chris Sikich reports, "Feeney-Ruiz is the deputy chief of staff and spokesman for Secretary of State Charlie White" and is a 2004 graduate of DePauw University.

"It’s time to provide a real voice for all voters new and old living downtown," says Feeney-Ruiz, who is completing work on an M.B.A. from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and a law degree from IU. "There are thousands of new residents that have made this district their home in the last few years, and thousands more who have lived without the representation they expect, deserve, can depend upon or can be proud of. I’m running to give all of us a real opportunity to be heard and counted."

According to an announcement, "Feeney-Ruiz’s top priorities in the council will be to cultivate public-private partnerships that build and strengthen neighborhoods outside of the immediate downtown area. He believes stronger neighborhoods are better equipped to fight crime, blight, and unite to advocate common sense reforms and improvements within the community."

"AJ represents both the past and future of downtown Indianapolis," Marion County Republican Chairman Kyle Walker states. "As an active member of the community dating back to his early youth, he is a visible and accessible face within the district. As a young professional and leader, he is well positioned to work with all residents in the heart of the city."

Access the full text at IndyStar.com.

Learn more about AJ Feeney-Ruiz in this previous story.

June 13, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Like The Duck and Marvin's, one of the unique DePauw landmarks near and dear to alumni hearts is the Columbian Boulder, located on the west side of historic East College in the middle of campus," notes the Banner-Graphic in a story marking the 119th anniversary of the arrival of the boulder on campus. "Brought to campus on June 8, 1892, the boulder was placed near the main entrance to East College. At the urging of former Prof. John Clark Ridpath, it was put on display originally to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage to the New World."

According to the newspaper, "Purchased by a few alumni, it was brought to Greencastle by the Monon Railroad and a 26-horse house-moving wagon, the book adds. Over the years, the Columbian Boulder became a favorite gathering place on campus for couples meeting for chapel dates and honorary societies holding initiation rituals, as well as the more nefarious Boulder Runs."

Read more here.

Also available is this summary marking the boulder's arrival.

June 13, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "The new homes we are building today deliver more than quality, beauty and functionality -- these homes can also help our homeowners save money on their utility bills while protecting the environment," says Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer of KB Home. The company the 1977 DePauw University leads received twelve 2011 Energy Star^® Leadership in Housing Awards for energy-efficient construction and environmental protection.

Mezger notes, "KB Home was the first national builder to commit to building all of our new home communities to Energy Star guidelines, and we have continued to lead the industry with innovative initiatives such as the KB Home Energy Performance Guide, which for the first time estimates the potential financial benefit of our energy-efficient homes versus a typical new or resale home."

According to Environmental Protection Agency estimates, the 6,600 Energy Star qualified homes KB Home built in 2010 could help those homeowners save nearly $3 million dollars on utility bills each year, while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from over 3,000 vehicles.

KB Home has built more than 62,000 Energy Star qualified homes since joining the program in 2000.

Read more at Business Wire.

Learn about KB and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's "net-zero energy" home in this previous story.

June 13, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Katya Kramer-Lapin, part-time assistant professor of music and staff accompanist at DePauw University, will perform with her husband, violinist Matvey Lapin, Wednesday as part of the 2011 Greencastle Summer Music Festival.  The couple, known as Duo Amabile, will appear at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.  The 7:30 p.m. program is presented free of charge.

"Since its 2003 debut, Duo Amabile has presented violin and piano recitals throughout the United States," notes Greencastle's Banner-Graphic. "Married since 2004, Matvey and Katya Lapin bring to their collaborations virtuosity, enthusiasm and striking passion. Their repertoire ranges from 18th- to 21st-century music, and includes works by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky and Bartok, among many others."

Professor Kramer-Lapin earned bachelor's degrees at Oberlin College Conservatory and Hochschule fur Musik in Cologne, Germany, and received her master's degree and performer's diploma at the Indiana University School of Music. 

Access the article at the newspaper's website.

Founded in 1884, the DePauw University School of Music is one of the nation's oldest private institutions for post-secondary music instruction and the longest-running in Indiana. Learn more here.

June 14, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — From June 19-25, the DePauw University School of Music will welcome 35 high school students to campus for the Vocal Arts at DePauw 2011 summer program.  The students, traveling from locations throughout the United States and Canada, will participate in a week-long intensive, studying voice, acting, dancing and a number of other activities related to performance.

"Vocal Arts is now in its twelfth year and has been a tremendous recruitment tool for DePauw," Caroline B. Smith, director of the program and voice area coordinator in the School of Music. "It is always a real treat to have such eager, talented vocalists on campus for the week, and see them discover and learn some of the many aspects that make DePauw so special.  They really improve during the week with the voice lessons, acting classes, improvisation sessions, staging, and dance, to name but a few of the many offerings they get. I am looking forward to another fantastic week."

In addition to the activities and classes designed for the high school students, Vocal Arts at DePauw also includes three public performances:  

• The first, on Sunday, June 19 at 7 p.m., will feature DePauw faculty and staff members who will teach during the program.  This program will feature both classical and musical theatre works presented by Caroline B. Smith, Pamela Coburn, Valentin Lanzrein, Jay White, Steven Linville, and Amanda Hopson. 

• On Tuesday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m., current DePauw voice majors and recent graduates will present a concert of works ranging from the music of George Frideric Handel to current musical theatre works from shows such as Lestat, The Last 5 Years, and Next to Normal. (at right: 2010 participants in the program)

• Vocal Arts at DePauw will conclude with a 10 a.m. concert on Saturday, June 25, featuring solos by all participants of the program, as well as two group numbers from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and The Phantom of the Opera.

All concerts will take place in Thompson Recital Hall of the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts and are open to the public, free of admission charge.

Founded in 1884, the DePauw School of Music is one of the oldest in the nation, and it has an established tradition of educating leaders in virtually every facet of music -- including performers, educators, composers and administrators. Learn more here.

June 14, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Tangled Webs is James B. Stewart’s engrossing re-examination of a quartet of celebrated federal investigations, all of which culminated in convictions for lying," begins a New York Times review of the latest book by Stewart, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author, who is a 1973 graduate of DePauw University. "Part of Mr. Stewart’s magic as a writer is that he is both exhaustive and engrossing," opines Scott Turow. "The onrush of facts somehow never overwhelms a steady narrative current."

Turow, the author of Presumed Innocent and the recent sequel, Innocent,  concludes that Stewart's latest offering "is distinguished by indefatigable reporting, consistent narrative drive and admirable balance. I loved it."

Read the complete review at the Times' website.

Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America -- From Bernie Madoff to Martha Stewart was released on April 19. The book was previously featured on NBC's Today Show and lauded by Business Week magazine and the Washington Post, among others.

A member of DePauw's Board of Trustees and former chair of the group, James B. Stewart received a Pulitzer Prize for Wall Street Journal articles on the 1987 stock market crash and the insider-trading scandal. Stewart's books include Blood Sport, DisneyWar: The Battle for the Magic Kingdom; as well as Den of Thieves; Blind Eye; and Follow the Story. He received the George Polk Award in 1987 and Gerald Loeb awards in 1987, 1988 and 2006. The San Francisco Examiner called Stewart, who served as editor of The DePauw while a student in Greencastle, "the journalist every journalist would like to be."

Jim Stewart was the recipient of DePauw's Young Alumni Award in 1988, an Alumni Citation in 1988, an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree in 1989, and the Old Gold Goblet in 2009. 

He recently joined the New York Times as a columnist.

The San Francisco Opera has commissioned Heart of a Soldier, a new opera based on Stewart's critically acclaimed nonfiction book of the same name, which will premiere in September.  Details can be found in this recent story.

June 14, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Amy Youngblood Schuermann combined skills in furniture sales and fine art to launch an interior design business in the midst of one of the worst housing markets in decades," begins a Cincinnati Enquirer article on the 1990 DePauw University graduate. "Two years later, she’s making a go of it -- tripling her business in the first few months of this year compared to all of 2010." (top photo by Amie Dworeck/courtesy: Cincinnati Enquirer)

"I have a degree in communications and I’ve worked in the business world, so I know how to communicate and develop good relationships with my clients, Schuermann tells the newspaper. "My background as an artist gives me the creativity to come up with great designs."

Val Prevish writes, "A lifelong lover of art, Schuermann first sold prints of horses and runners as a teenager in Michigan, then painted scenes from sporting events that got her more widely noticed. Eventually she was taking on commissions for icons such as Augusta National Golf Club and Great American Ball Park. Two of her paintings are on display at Augusta, and she has completed oil renderings of other famous courses across the country, including Merion Golf Club in Philadelphia and Exmoor Country Club in Chicago. She also has painted sports greats such as Barry Larkin, formerly with the Cincinnati Reds, and golfing pros Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. Schuermann, 43, opened her own art studio, ABS, at her home in Hyde Park in the late 1990s after earning a degree in interior design at the College of Mount St. Joseph."

Access the complete article -- which references DePauw, where Schuermann majored in communication -- at the Enquirer's website.

June 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "DePauw University junior Michael Rardon (Indianapolis/Park Tudor) was named recipient of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Arthur Ashe Jr. award for leadership and sportsmanship in NCAA Division III tennis," reports the Indianapolis Star.

The award, which was first presented in 1982, goes to NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and junior college men's and women's players who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. 

A team captain this past season, Rardon has posted a 15-17 record primarily at number one singles and 23-5 in doubles action also primarily at the number-one flight. He is the second DePauw men's tennis student-athlete to earn the honor as Marshall Kuresman did so in 2005.

Access the item at IndyStar.com.

June 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "The American Library Association's national convention will be in New Orleans on June 23-28 and many top authors will be in town," reports the Advertiser of Lafayette, Louisiana.  Among the visitors, according to the piece, will be Richard Peck, the award-winning writer of books for young people and 1956 graduate of DePauw University. Peck will sign copies of his book Three Quarters Dead from 1-2 p.m. on June 26 at the New Orleans Public Library. He'll also make several appearances at the convention.

Read more at the newspaper's website. Also available is online information on the ALA convention.

A former school teacher, Peck published his debut novel in 1972. He has been called "America's best living author for young adults" and was the first children's book author to receive a National Humanities Medal. Are You In The House Alone? won the 1978 Edgar Allan Poe Award. He received the Newbery Gold Medal in 2001 for A Year Down Yonder. A Long Way From Chicago was a National Book Award finalist as was his Civil War novel, The River Between Us. USA Today calls Three Quarters Dead, Peck's latest work, "provocative and entertaining."

All told, Peck -- who returned to campus last weekend for his 55th class reunion (and presented a lecture, seen in the photos accompanying this article) -- has authored 39 novels.

After winning the Newbery Medal, Peck told DePauw.edu that the University [Download Audio: "Peck on DePauw" 603KB] "made a writer out of me. It warned me never to show my rough draft to anybody. That helps. I write each of my books six times because I have to, and it's the sixth version my editor sees and nothing before that. I learned that from DePauw professors."

June 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "As far as concept albums are concerned, this new Raven recording defines the term," begins a Classical Music Sentinel review of Homage, a compact disc by Carla G. Edwards, professor of music at DePauw University. "Each and every piece on this CD was composed in homage to either a musical predecessor, or to a predecessor's style," writes Jean-Yves Duperron. "And as an album concept in itself, this one ties together very well from start to finish, and the choice of pieces for both similarities and variey, could not be improved on."

The reviewer concludes, "Highly recommended for organ music fans who like to sample different instruments from around the world, and also for its variety and perfect balance of old and new music, sorted on the disc in a perfectly logical sequence."

Read more here.

Learn more about Homage, which features Dr. Edwards performing on the 2002 Hellmuth Wolff organ at DePauw, in this previous story.

Edwards, Edwards, Cassel Grubb University Professor in the DePauw University School of Music and University organist, performed at the American Guild of Organists' regional convention this week in Kentucky.

June 16, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — International stage director and virtual theatre designer Joachim Schamberger will join the faculty of the DePauw University School of Music for the 2011-12 academic year. Schamberger has been appointed the Lee G. Hall Visiting Professor of Music, and will design and direct the 2012 DePauw Opera production of Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring.

Schamberger boasts a wide variety of repertoire in directing, performing, and design. His recent productions include Die Fledermaus, Idomeneo, Max und Moritz, and Las Horas Vacias, to name a few. This past season, he served as artist-in-residence with the Indianapolis Opera, directing performances of La Traviata (Verdi) and La Tragédie de Carmen (Bizet), as well as serving as the artistic director for Indianapolis Opera’s Young Artist Program.

“We are so thrilled to have Joachim as the Lee G. Hall Visiting Professor next year,” states Caroline B. Smith, Cassel Grubb University Professor and coordinator of voice in the School of Music. “This is a tremendous boon to the vocal area and such a fantastic opportunity for our voice students to work with someone of Joachim’s stature and talent. I am so very appreciative to the University for making this a reality. It should be an exciting year.”

Schamberger graduated from the Musikhochschule in Würzburg, Germany, and the Merola Opera Program of San Francisco Opera, and studied digital film production and 3-D animation at the New York Film Academy. He has worked with young artists around the world, including the Brooklyn College Conservatory, the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Italy, the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, the Juilliard School, and Indiana University.

“Joachim is so very impressive and his work first-rate,” states Caroline Jetton, dean of the School of Music. “I am confident that the students will have a tremendous and unique experience working with him and learning from him. Our students want to learn and realize their full potential; they will certainly be afforded this opportunity as they work with Mr. Schamberger on the production of Albert Herring.”

DePauw Opera will present Albert Herring on March 1-4, 2012, in Moore Theatre of the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts.

Founded in 1884, the DePauw School of Music is one of the oldest in the nation, and it has an established tradition of educating leaders in virtually every facet of music -- including performers, educators, composers and administrators. Learn more here.

June 16, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Patrick Petro, a 1997 graduate of DePauw University, has been promoted to communications director at Sycamore Land Trust. Based in Bloomington, Indiana, SLT's mission is to preserve the disappearing natural and agricultural landscape of southern Indiana. The non-profit organization works with landowners to protect the conservation values and productivity of their private property.

Petro joined SLT in December 2010 as office manager. His new, expanded duties include media relations, oversight of SLT's publications and website, and outreach activities across SLT's service area. Petro came to SLT after eight years as marketing coordinator for Worm's Way, a Bloomington-based business in the gardening industry.

Learn more about Sycamore Land Trust by clicking here.

Petro was named the 2009 Employee Owner of the Year by the ESOP Association. Details can be found in this previous story.