February 18, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Barbara Kingsolver, the critically acclaimed best-selling author and 1977 graduate of DePauw University, will be the 2011 recipient of the LEAF Award for Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts. Kingsolver will receive the honor from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment April 9.

"The award was established in 2009 to honor artists whose works have lifted the human spirit by conveying our profound spiritual and material connection to the Earth, thereby inspiring others to help forge a more sustainable life for all," notes an announcement. "Actor Robert Redford received the inaugural award." Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne was the 2010 honoree.

Kingsolver's seven works of fiction include The Poisonwood Bible; The Bean Trees;  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life; and The Lacuna, which received the UK's Orange Prize and the Library of Virginia's 13th Annual Library of Virginia Literary Award for fiction.

"Barbara Kingsolver's work occupies a unique and important place in the world of literature," says Nicholas School Dean William L. Chameides. "Her ability to interweave themes of human struggle and the search for meaning with the larger, timeless drama of life and death in the natural world, remind us that we are but one facet of a complex, and extraordinary planetary system, a system whose trajectory will ultimately determine our own fate and thus one which we must value and steward."

The environmental themes present in Kingsolver's work, and her long support and advocacy of environmental programs, led to her selection for the award, says Chameides.

"Barbara Kingsolver grew up in rural Kentucky. She earned degrees in biology from DePauw University and the University of Arizona, and has worked as a freelance writer and author since 1985," Duke notes. "Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages, and have been adopted into the core literature curriculum in high schools and colleges throughout the nation.  In 1998 she established the Bellwether Prize for fiction.  She was awarded the National Humanities Medal, our country’s highest honor for service through the arts, in 2000. Kingsolver was named one the most important writers of the 20th Century by Writers Digest. Critical acclaim for her books includes multiple awards from the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association, among many others."

Read more here.

Kingsolver delivered the 1994 commencement address at DePauw, and was also awarded an honorary degree during the ceremony. A summary of her speech can be found in this previous story or listen to an MP3 of the complete address: [Download Audio: "Barbara Kingsolver's 1994 Commencement Speech" - 10,044kb].

February 18, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Dick Tomey unretired from coaching Thursday to help out his home team," reports the Arizona Daily Star. "The 72-year-old coach was named the University of Hawaii's special teams coach, bringing 40 years of experience to coach Greg McMackin's staff." A 1960 graduate of DePauw University, "Tomey served as Hawaii's head coach from 1977 to 1986 before being hired by Arizona, where he stayed until 2000," writes Ryan Finley. Tomey finished his career his career leading San Diego State's football program.

Saying he's "thrilled" by the opportunity, Tomey adds, "I've admired the players and the coaches and what they accomplished last year. I'm excited to get the chance to help this team, but with that said, I have a lot to learn. I know a lot of the coaches and players, but you need to have conversations with the guys to get to know them better. I have a lot of players' names to learn, what they do and how they do it. But I'm excited and I can't wait."

Tomey's brief  retirement  began at the end of the 2009 season.

Access the item at the newspaper's website.

Besides his three college head coaching jobs, Tomey was an assistant coach at Texas (2004), UCLA (1971-76), Kansas (1967-1970), Davidson (1965-66) and Northern Illinois (1964). He began his coaching career in 1962 as a graduate assistant at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Tomey also worked as a National Football League assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2003. In 1994, Tomey was inducted into the DePauw University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Learn more about the coach in this previous story.

February 19, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "It was a major bummer to discover that the man behind Jack & Diane does not do phone interviews in advance of shows," begins a story in the News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware. "But it was a nice consolation prize to discover the man who came up with the tune's unforgettable guitar hook, Mike Wanchic, was willing to serve as John Mellencamp's mouthpiece. As Mellencamp's bandleader for more than 34 years, Wanchic (who came up with the little guitar part that comes before the handclaps) has become a master at handling Mellencamp's dirty work, which often requires checking his ego at the door of the studio or the foot of the stage."

The piece previews Monday's Mellencamp concert in Philadelphia.  Wanchic, who serves as Mellencamp's musical director as well as guitarist, is a member of DePauw University's Class of 1974.

"John's a songwriter," Wanchic tells the newspaper. "He has incredibly good instincts. My job is to lay stuff on him. I'm a melody writer. I think democracy is a bad thing in rock and roll. I think you have to have creative vision, and someone has to see that thing all the way through."

Wanchic has been playing with Mellencamp for more than 30 years, co-produced a number of his albums, and appeared in clips that were staples in the glory days of music videos. (photo, l-r: Mellencamp and Wanchic on stage in Indianapolis; November 2010)

"I guess I don't think about it a great deal," Wanchic says. "Nobody thinks a thing of it. It's just part of the fabric of my daily life. We were there at the very beginnings of MTV, and I think it provided people with a lot of exposure to an audience. It just doesn't exist anymore, in the same way that physical product doesn't exist anymore."

Access Peter Bothum's full story at the News Journal's website.

Michael Wanchic has also produced a variety of other musicians, including Cowboy Mouth, Blessid Union of Souls, and James McMurtry. In a December 2006 interview, he called DePauw, where he played football, "a great experience."

February 19, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction, co-edited by two DePauw University professors -- Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr., University Professor and professor of English, and Arthur B. Evans, Laurel H. Turk Professor of Modern Languages (French) -- is "more than just an ideal survey of the genre, reaching from the 19th century (Hawthorne, Verne, Wells) through the pulps, new wave, cyberpunk and the too-soon-to-classify morsels of the decade that just ended," opines Ed Park in the Los Angeles Times. "This big book is both a thrilling entertainment and a convincing argument for the way SF can refresh the mind, play boldly with form and reflect its era creatively -- in other words, what all good literature should do."

Park, author of the novel Personal Days, continues, "Put together by the editors of the academic journal Science Fiction Studies [which is published at DePauw], the Wesleyan anthology has a hand-holding function, beckoning those who might still sniff at the genre to take a closer look. (Hey, E.M. Forster's in here — nothing to be afraid of!) Individual introductions give useful biographical information and connect each story to what's called the 'sf megatext,' a 'fictive universe that includes all the sf stories that have ever been told … a place of shared images, situations, plots, characters, settings, and themes generated across a multiplicity of media.'"

Access the complete review at the Times' website.

Art Evans has been called America's "Most Prominent Jules Verne Scholar" by Forbes magazine. He has edited acclaimed translations of Jules Verne's The Kip Brothers, The Mysterious Island, The Begum's Millions, Invasion of the Sea and The Mighty Orinoco. Learn more in this previous article.

Rain Taxi  has referred to Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr., who authored the book The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction, as "one of the most thoughtful and subtle academic critics of science fiction." The professor also co-edited Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science Fiction from Origins to Anime and serves as managing editor of Humanimalia, a refereed and selective online journal.

February 20, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — According to Kevin Howley, associate professor of communication at DePauw University, "our media landscape would be greatly diminished without NPR and PBS." Dr. Howley uses his Bloomington Alternative column to make a case for why the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which oversees the two networks) should not have its federal funding ended, as some lawmakers are proposing.

The professor notes, "This column frequently critiques the practice and performance of U.S. public broadcasting. And with good reason. Neither NPR nor PBS comes close to realizing its potential to broadcast in the public interest. All too often, U.S. public media act as 'stenographers to power' rather than adhere to the principles of good journalism: independence, inquiry and verification ... Furthermore, both NPR and PBS are guilty of uncritically repeating the pronouncements of investment bankers and politicians who are eager to shift the blame for the economic meltdown from the corporate fat cats and complicit federal regulators onto hardworking public sector employees. For millions of Americans who are unemployed, who cannot afford decent health care or whose homes have been foreclosed, second-rate reporting like this only adds insult to injury. In short, U.S. public broadcasting’s adherence to Washington-Wall Street consensus can be maddening."

Howley goes on to offer five reasons why public broadcasting deserves federal support.  For starters, "With the exception of CBS' long-running 60 Minutes, these days corporate media’s idea of investigative journalism begins and ends with sting operations like Dateline: To Catch a Predator. Cheap to produce and well-suited for endless cross-promotions, these 'investigative reports' may be good for the bottom line, but they sure don't serve the public interest. Despite PBS' reluctance to find suitable replacements for Now and Bill Moyers Journal, public television still has some 'street cred' when it comes to public affairs and investigative journalism."

Read the complete column by clicking here.

Kevin Howley is the editor of the textbook, Understanding Community Media and authored Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies.

February 20, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Arthur E. "Bud" Klauser, a member of DePauw's Class of 1945 and longtime member of the University's Board of Trustees, died February 14 in Charleston, South Carolina, following a short illness.  A benefactor of the DePauw art collection and an international businessman with expert knowledge of Japan, Klauser was a Life Trustee of his alma mater at the time of his passing. He was 87 years old.

Arthur Ebbert Klauser was a native Midwesterner, born in Toledo, Ohio, on April 26, 1923. He moved with his family to Evanston, Illinois, where he attended grade and high school. He enrolled at DePauw in 1941 but entered the U.S. Army in May 1943 after his sophomore year and the Army sent him to the University of Chicago and then to the University of Michigan for Japanese language training. Following the U.S. occupation of Japan in 1945, Klauser was assigned as an interpreter at the war crimes trials.

After completing his Army tour, Klauser earned an A.B. and M.A. from the University of Michigan and did further graduate work specializing in Japanese and Chinese history. In 1949, Klauser returned to Japan, this time for the Central Intelligence Agency.  He returned to the U.S. in 1955 to attend law school at Yale, where he received a J.D. in 1958.

With law degree in hand and extensive foreign experience already in his resume, Klauser then progressed to employment with a series of companies in posts around the world.  Klauser retired in 1992 from Mitsui Co. and in 1993 as director emeritus, Mitsui USA Foundation.

Klauser was an expert collector of Japanese art and artifacts, many of which he subsequently donated to DePauw University's art collection as the Arthur E. Klauser Asian and World Community Art Collection. Though he had not graduated from DePauw University because his service during World War II, he was a loyal son of DePauw throughout his life, serving on the University's Board of Visitors from 1980 to 1983, and the Board of Trustees from 1983 until his death.

A memorial service for Bud Klauser will take place Friday, March 4, at 2 p.m. at the chapel at the Bishop Gadsden retirement community in Charleston, with a reception to follow.

An obituary is published in the Charleston Post  & Courier.

February 21, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Michael P. "Mac" Mackenzie, associate professor of art at DePauw and coordinator of the University's European Studies program, has been awarded a grant from ASIANetwork's Faculty Enhancement Program to attend a workshop in India this summer.  The program "India: Religion, Globalization, and the Environment in the 21st century," is part of a seminar series, "Deepening Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts", which is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Professor Mackenzie and the seven other grant recipients will be traveling to Delhi, Agra, Amritsar, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Lucknow, Varanasi and Bodh Gaya for three weeks (June 14 through July 5) in order to further their understanding of the connections between art, architecture and religion in India.

According to ASIANetwork, participants "will visit North Indian religious and historical sites connected with contemporary Indian religious communities -- Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Buddhists ... Traveling to eight sites in north India, (they) will meet faculty at Indian universities, visit religious sites and observe the religious life there, and speak with people who work in social service organizations and lobby for environmental protections. The study tour will encourage participants from all academic disciplines to follow their own research interests and to investigate areas relating to their teaching specializations."

"Mac's grant will bear curricular fruit for his students," says Hiroko M. Chiba, Marguerite Andrade Professor of Modern Languages, associate professor of modern languages (Japanese) and director of DePauw's Asian Studies program. "His participation in these sessions in India will yield more in-depth coverage of socio-religious themes in Professor Mackenzie's Indian art survey course as well as the development of a new upper-level Indian art seminar dealing with the modern period from the Mughals to the present day. It will help to strengthen DePauw's Asian Studies program through the expansion of his expertise and the development of new courses related to South Asia."

Learn more by clicking here.

February 21, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Much was made early in the Obama administration when it 'reset' relations with Russia," writes Jeff McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University, in an Indianapolis Star column. "Now the White House seems to be pushing the 'reset' button for another nemesis: Fox News Channel."

The White House was a regular critic of the cable outlet during the first two years of the Obama administration, writes Dr. McCall, with senior adviser David Axelrod stating that Fox was "not a news organization." The professor notes, "Even Obama once said Fox's approach to news was 'ultimately destructive' for the country. He further complained, 'I've got one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration,' leaving little doubt about which channel he meant."

In McCall's view, "The White House approach has clearly changed ... The extended, live pre-Super Bowl interview of the president with Bill O'Reilly is an indicator. The president also recorded a segment that was played on O'Reilly's Monday show, giving 'The Factor' a ratings boost. High-profile administration figures are showing up all over Fox lately. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton granted a prime-time interview to Greta Van Susteren during the Egyptian crisis. A week earlier, Clinton spoke with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, a program the White House largely boycotted for months. Wallace once remarked that the Obama administration was a 'bunch of crybabies' in reference to his inability to book White House interviews."

McCall notes other recent appearances by administration officials on the cable network, and asserts, "This White House reset with Fox is good for the administration and for the national dialogue. Pragmatically, it gives the White House the opportunity to speak directly to cable news' largest audience. If the administration doesn't speak for itself, somebody else will. Obama campaign strategists no doubt now see the need to get their message to the many independents and even Democrats who watch Fox. The November elections perhaps demonstrated that you can't win enough voters by just talking to media friends. Beyond the practical reasons, however, the administration reset broadens the national discussion and shows a grudging acknowledgment that a free press will certainly challenge the government. The president's comment to O'Reilly was on target when he said that point-of-view journalism is 'part of our democracy' and 'There is nothing wrong with that.' Obama also acknowledged that the Fox 'news guys . . . try to do a good job.'"

The essay concludes, "In his second inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson, who helped craft the constitutional free press guarantees, spoke of the 'artillery of the press' that had attacked his administration. He said, however, that his public duties deserved his attention, and the press problems should be left to judgment by the public. Richard Nixon, however, kept a running battle with the media throughout his presidency, even putting journalists on his 'enemies list.' Jefferson's legacy on press freedom has served him well. Nixon's has not. Obama's remains to be seen."

You'll find the complete text at IndyStar.com.

Jeffrey M. McCall is a 1976 graduate of DePauw and author of Viewer Discretion Advised: Taking Control of Mass Media Influences. Frequently called upon by major media outlets to discuss media matters, McCall has been cited in articles published by more than 100 newspapers. Last week he discussed Hillary Clinton's speech on "Internet rights and wrongs" with the Christian Science Monitor.

February 21, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Pharez Whitted not only mentors Chicago Public School kids through Ravinia Festival's 'Reach-Teach-Play' programs, the jazz trumpeter’s Transient Journey album has been nominated for best jazz album at the upcoming 10th annual Independent Music Awards," writes Bill Zwecker in the Chicago Sun-Times. Winners will be determined by a panel of 62 influential artist and industry judges and will be announced in mid-March. Whitted is a 1982 graduate of DePauw University.

Access the item at the newspaper's website.

Released last summer by Owl Studios, Whitted's Transient Journey "represents a major event in his artistic life," writes the Chicago Tribune's Howard Reich. "It's also a significant development for anyone who values the most serious forms of jazz improvisation and composition."

Jay Harvey of the Indianapolis Star declared, “I've admired Pharez Whitted's sure handed trumpet playing -- its fire, its agility, its thoughtfulness -- since shortly after I moved to Indianapolis in the late '80s and heard him spark the fusion group Decoy."

Whitted is a performer, composer, producer, and educator. He has performed with such notables as Nancy Wilson, Freddie Hubbard, Slide Hampton, Joe Lovano, Elvin Jones, Ahmad Jamal, Clark Terry, Branford Marsalis, Johnny Griffin, David “Fathead" Newman, Phil Woods, Monty Alexander, the Count Basie Orchestra, Jon Faddis and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, George Duke, John Mellencamp, Patti Austin, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Kirk Whalum, Ari Brown and Ramsey Lewis.

As a solo artist, he previously released two compact discs on the Motown/Mojazz record label. 

After graduating from the DePauw University School of Music, Whitted earned a master's degree from Indiana University. He will perform as part of the the Tri-C JazzFest in Cleveland, as noted in this recent article.

February 21, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "When you begin writing your cover letter, you probably want to beg for the job," notes a Career Builder article which appears in several newspapers. "That's not the best way to get a hiring manager's attention. Neither is a generic cover letter of clichés and empty phrases, says Steve Langerud, director of professional opportunities at DePauw University."

Most hiring managers spend less than a minute perusing the average job application, reports Anthony Balderram. "According to Langerud, you have three objectives to consider. Two of these are easy to address: why you're writing and thanking them for considering you. You can cover both objectives with a few sentences, but Langerud explains that the real obstacle is explaining what you can do for the company."

"It is obvious that the job will be good for you. Money, title, prestige … they don't care. What will you do for them?" Langerud asks. "Be prepared to be in the head of your prospective employer. What problem do they have that you can solve? What skill do you bring that adds value to their team? What experience do you bring to the table that will set them apart from their competitors? Answer this in your cover letter and the job will follow."

Access the story -- "Use cover letter to set yourself apart" -- at the website of New York's Poughkeepsie Journal.

Steve Langerud has helped more than 15,000 people with workplace issues and is regularly quoted in articles on the job market and career development. Last week he shared resume advice with the Chicago Tribune and also offered thoughts on when to consider changing jobs in a story posted at CNN.com.

Langerud is available to help current students and DePauw alumni plot their career paths. Visit DePauw's Office of Civic, Global and Professional Opportunities here.

February 22, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Alice Ripley, the star of Next to Normal and a Broadway actress with something of a cult following, will make her Chicago concert debut at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave., on May 2," notes the Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones. "It's a one-night event," he writes. "Ripley's Chicago show, entitled 'Daily Practice: The Acoustic Sessions,' will feature acoustic songs from both the rock and Broadway catalogs."

Access the item at the newspaper's website.

Daily Practice, Volume 1 is the name of a new compact disc of cover songs, which was released on February 15.

Ripley, a member of DePauw University's Class of 1985, is currently on tour with the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Next to Normal, for which she received a Tony Award in June 2009. California's Gilroy Dispatch wrote this month that, with her performance, Ripley "proves she is in a master class."

A feature story on Alice Ripley in the June 7, 2009 New York Times noted her "nakedly anguished performance" in that show.

February 23, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — David R. Sturges, a retired attorney and 1963 graduate of DePauw University, is unopposed in his bid to remain an at-large member of the Glenwood Springs, Colorado City Council. He tells the Glenwood Springs Post Independent, "I wanted to use my experience as a City Council member, along with my longtime public service experience in our community, to help position the city to take advantage of our opportunities to grow our economy while preserving our small town character."

The piece notes that Sturges received a bachelor's degree from DePauw, where he majored in political science, and went on to earn a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

"Every effort and opportunity to stimulate the downtown's vitality should be examined and promoted where appropriate for public investment and support," he states.

Learn more about Dave Sturges at the newspaper's website.

February 23, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. —  "One question that should never come as a surprise in a job interview is, 'Where do you see yourself in five years?,'" begins an article that quotes DePauw University's "career coach."  Dawn Klingensmith writes, "Most interviewers realize they cannot expect you know all the specifics, yet the temptation is to provide them with the job title you expect to hold and the exact career trajectory you intend to take. Offering that sort of answer misses the point of the question and may even suggest you're rigid and unrealistic, says Steve Langerud, director of professional opportunities at DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind."

"Instead, be insightful about yourself and the industry you seek to enter; provide a strategic plan for your future instead of a list of steps; and, finally, keep the focus on how you will help your employers be successful because of what you bring to the table professionally," Langerud offers.

The text adds, "Although you need to finesse and tailor your response, a good way to frame it is to state which skills you plan to be using, which challenges you'll apply them to, which type of colleagues you'll be working with and the type of work environment you see this all taking place in, Langerud says. 'The description should be aspirational, take less than 10 seconds to state, and be behavioral enough so that the interviewer can see you doing it in their environment,' he says."

You'll find the complete article at the website of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Regularly quoted in stories by national publications examining workplace issues, Steve Langerud was cited earlier this week in a story which offered tips on crafting cover letters. Last week he shared resume advice with the Chicago Tribune and also offered thoughts on when to consider changing jobs in a story posted at CNN.com.

Langerud has helped more than 15,000 people with workplace issues and is regularly quoted in articles on the job market and career development. He is available to help current students and DePauw alumni plot their career paths. Visit DePauw's Office of Civic, Global and Professional Opportunities here.

February 23, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — DePauw University is ranked #5 in the first regular season Division III poll by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The Tigers begin their 2011 season on March 5.  Linfield is the top-ranked team in the poll.

Access the rankings here.

Learn more at the softball team's online page.

February 24, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — The DePauw University School of Music will welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Aaron Jay Kernis, who will begin a residency under the auspices of the "Music of the 21st Century" series on Wednesday, March 2. The visit by one of America's most honored composers will culminate with a final concert on Sunday, March 6, at 3 p.m. in the Green Center for the Performing Arts, Kresge Auditorium. That concert, and two others during the week, are open to the public and free of admission charge.

Winner of the coveted 2002 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and one of the youngest composers ever to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Kernis is among the most esteemed musical figures of his generation. The New York Times cited his "fearless originality [and] powerful voice." Each new Kernis work is eagerly awaited by audiences and musicians alike, and he is one of today's most frequently performed composers. His music, full of variety and dynamic energy, is rich in lyric beauty, poetic imagery, and brilliant instrumental color.

Music of the 21st Century, an annual event at DePauw, brings to campus some of the world's most outstanding and recognized composers to work side-by-side with the students at the School of Music. Previous visitors have included Joan Tower, Samuel Adler, Chen-Yi, Jake Heggie, George Crumb, Augusta Read Thomas, Tania León, Frederic Rzewski and Martin Bresnick.

In preparation for Kernis' visit as composer-in-residence, students have been studying and practicing many of his works that will be performed in a series of concerts throughout the week. Kernis will participate in classes, sit in on rehearsals, and spend time in studio sessions as part of the residency. Kernis will attend classes from many disciplines including senior seminar, conducting, symphonic literature, and 20th Century Music, among others. Friday, March 4, he will be available to meet with students, faculty, staff, and others at an informal "brown bag" conversation over lunch in the Green Center's Great Hall.  The session will begin at 11:40 a.m.

Performances featuring the award-winning work of Aaron Jay Kernis will be presented Thursday and Friday (March 3 & 4) evenings at 7:30 p.m. in Thompson Recital Hall. DePauw School of Music students will present Thursday night's concert, "Chamber Music with Aaron Jay Kernis," performing a variety of solo and small ensemble pieces such as: Meditation (in memory of John Lennon), Stein Times Seven; Brilliant Sky, Infinite Sky; Songs of Innocents Book 2; and Valentines. Friday's concert will be performed by DePauw faculty members, and will feature Kernis' Superstar Etude No. 3, Ballad for 'cello and piano, Song of Innocents, and Air.

The final concert at 3 p.m. Sunday will include the four major ensembles of DePauw University: the University Orchestra, under the direction of Orcenith Smith; the Chamber Singers and University Chorus, conducted by Jan Harrington; and the University Band, directed by Craig Paré.

Kernis has taught composition at the Yale School of Music since 2003. His music figures prominently on orchestral, chamber, and recital programs worldwide and he has been commissioned by many of America‘s foremost performing artists, including soprano Renee Fleming, violinists Joshua Bell and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and guitarist Sharon Isbin, and by institutions including the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Birmingham Bach Choir, Minnesota Orchestra, and Los Angeles and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestras, the Walt Disney Company, James Conlon's first season at the Ravinia Festival, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Rose Center for Earth and Space at the Museum of Natural History in New York, among many others. His music is available on Nonesuch, Phoenix, New Albion and Argo and CRI.

Kernis received the Grawemeyer Award for the cello concerto Colored Field and the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for his String Quartet No. 2 ("musica instrumentalis"). He has also been awarded the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rome Prize, and received Grammy nominations for Air and the Second Symphony.

He has served as composer-in-residence for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Public Radio, and the American Composers Forum, and, since 1998, as new music adviser to the Minnesota Orchestra. Kernis is also chairman and co-director of the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute, a program that gives young composers the opportunity to hear their works played by one of the world's great orchestras.

Music of the 21st Century is generously underwritten by Robert A. and Margaret A. Schmidt, both 1969 graduates of DePauw University.

For more information, click here.

February 24, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Brian L. Harmon, who received a master's degree from DePauw University in 1987, has been named superintendent of Indiana's North Gibson School Corporation.  Harmon currently serves as superintendent of Barr-Reeve Community Schools. His appointment is effective July 1. (photo: Princeton Daily Clarion)

"North Gibson School Board President Mark Iunghuhn said Harmon brings solid credentials in both academics and school finance, 'the perfect combination of what we need,'" reports the Evansville Courier & Press. "Iunghuhn said the school board feels fortunate to have landed Harmon. The district is constructing a new high school in Princeton, and 'superintendents are difficult to attract, especially if you're in the middle of a building project.'"

Read more at the newspaper's website. Other articles are available in today's Washington Times-Herald and Princeton Daily Clarion.

Also: Lee Hamilton '52 Returns to Alma Mater March 15 as Ubben Lecturer

February 25, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "A few weeks ago, the U.S. Senate voted down a Republican attempt to repeal last year’s health-care reform law," writes Lee Hamilton in a newspaper op-ed. "And the repeal measure came to a vote because the Democratic majority agreed that it could," adds the former congressman and 1952 graduate of DePauw University. "There’s a lesson here, and it’s a simple one. Basic fairness in legislative procedure is essential to the smooth running of Congress and to the achievement of consensus."
 
According to Hamilton, a Democrat who served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, "Ideally, when a bill comes forward, both sides should offer amendments that require members of Congress to vote on the major policy issues it presents. This does not mean you have to allow every amendment every legislator wants to present — that would produce a chaotic overload. Instead, it’s the committees' job to pare away the minor amendments, as well as ones drawn up simply to score political points, and to present to the full House or Senate for a vote the major policy issues the pending bill raises. Then the bill would go to the floor, the issues it raises would be debated, and senators and congressmen would go on record with how they stand. This is not how either the Senate or the House has operated for a long time."
 
In recent years, fights, filibusters and the like have "become wearingly familiar to Americans" and led to "the alarming deterioration of Congress' standing as a democratic institution," Hamilton observes. "All of this has happened because the majority has chosen not just to overrule the minority, but to keep things easier by preventing it from bringing up its concerns for debate."
 
The veteran statesman declares, "What has been missing in all this is basic fairness -- and the realization that it is a fundamental part of what Congress should be about. If you give each party a fair and ample hearing, allow it to bring forward key amendments that are important to its members, and actually permit Congress to consider the issues of the day, the  proceedings don't just benefit the legislative process, they also allow the American people to learn from the policy debate." (at left: Hamilton speaks with students in the hallway of DePauw's East College)

The column concludes, "So the Senate is to be commended for taking a break from the partisan wars. Let’s hope it lasts, and that the House follows its example. We now have an entire generation of politicians on Capitol Hill who’ve known little besides the frustration and anger of 'let's ram it through' politics, and they need a chance to learn what fair process looks like -- and how much they might be able to get done if they allow it to flourish."

Access the full text by clicking here.

Lee Hamilton is director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. On March 15, he'll return to DePauw to address "The U.S. Role in the World After Afghanistan and Iraq" in a Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture.  Details of the event, which takes place in Meharry Hall of historic East College and is free and open to the public, can be found in this article.

February 26, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "'Queen of the Net' Mary Meeker, now an analyst at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, issued a report that argues that the United States should invest in technology, research and development on its path to economic recovery," reports the Washington Post's Hayley Tsukayama. "The report, 'U.S.A. Inc.,' is a comprehensive look at the federal government's finances, and Meeker applies her business sense to suggest the best turnaround plan for the country. One of Meeker's main focuses is on U.S. investment in technology, infrastructure and education. Technology, Meeker says, improves communication and lowers the costs of providing goods and services. It also drives wealth and job growth, the report says."

The text adds, "According to Meeker, the government has been cutting back its investment in technology research and development for decades, and private companies have picked up the difference."

The article, which includes a link to Meeker's report, cites the 1981 DePauw University graduate's "reputation as a keen predictor of Internet trends."

Access it at the Post's website.

A psychology major at DePauw, Mary G. Meeker was a technology analyst and managing director at Morgan Stanley before joining Kleiner Perkins in November 2010.

Meeker spoke at the Symposium for DePauw Entrepreneurs on October 6, 2001. A story which includes video and audio clips from that presentation can be accessed here.

February 26, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "DePauw's Ryan Sever made two free throws with 29 seconds left, and Luke Caldarera's shot to tie it was off-target," giving DePauw University's men's basketball team a 58-56 victory over Trinity tonight in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.  With the triumph, the Tigers advance to the SCAC championship game -- set for tomorrow -- for the second straight year.

A brief summary is provided by the San Antonio Express-News.

DePauw's women's team is also moving on to the SCAC final game after defeating Trinity in the semifinals this afternoon 73-53.  Ranked #10 in NCAA Division III, the Tigers advance to their eighth SCAC title game in the nine-year history of the event.

Get the latest at the official online home of DePauw athletics.

The women tip off at 1 p.m. Sunday (Greencastle time) with the men starting two-and-a-half hours later.  Both games, which are being played in Jackson, Mississippi, can be heard via student radio station WGRE (91.5 FM or via this link).

February 27, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "In the March issue of Esquire, Liam Neeson opens up to writer Tom Chiarella about his life since losing wife Natasha Richardson two years ago in a tragic skiing accident," writes Liz Kelly in the Washington Post. "The man is, understandably, sad and still somewhat lost. Despite his return to work immediately after her death, he says the loss still hits him when he least expects it."

Of the piece authored by Chiarella, visiting professor of creative writing at DePauw University and fiction editor for the magazine, Kelly adds, "The entire heartbreaking article is worth a read."

Access the item at the Post's website.

Chiarella's profile of Neeson is also noted in Entertainment Weekly.

The article itself -- "The Hard Luck and Beautiful Life of Liam Neeson" -- can be found at Esquire.com.

Chiarella was part of a team that earned a 2009 national award from The American Society of Magazine Editors. He is the author of three books -- Foley's Luck, Writing Dialogue and Thursday's Game: Notes from a Golfer with Far to Go -- and his work was included in The Best American Magazine Writing 2009.

The professor wrote the cover story for the August 2010 issue of Esquire, featuring the efforts of former President Bill Clinton to help Haiti rebuild from the January 12 earthquake.  Learn more in this previous story.