March 5, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Jazz vocalist Jackie Allen. described by the Chicago Tribune as "“musically sophisticated and artistically daring," will join the DePauw Jazz Ensemble for a Thursday, March 10 concert.  The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in DePauw University's Kresge Auditorium, which is located in the Judson and Joyce Green Center of the Performing Arts. Admission is free.

After the concert, the music will continue with an open jam session at the Fluttering Duck, located within The Inn at DePauw. Audience members will have opportunities to meet Jackie Allen and enjoy performances by members of the DePauw jazz faculty and student jazz combos.

Jackie Allen has been singing jazz in Chicago since 1992 and has nine compact disc releases to her credit. Her self-produced debut album Never Let Me Go (1994) was on the national charts for 13 weeks. Her 2003 CD release of The Men in My Life was a tribute to the many male vocalists that have influenced her, including Frank Sinatra, Sting, and James Taylor. Her 2004 release, Love is Blue, reached number eight nationally in airplay and the top fifteen on the Billboard charts. In 2006, Jackie Allen was signed to Blue Note Records and released Tangled, and followed that with Starry Night, a live recording with an orchestra featuring star-themed songs arranged expressly by such gifted arrangers as John Clayton (Count Basie Orchestra and Diana Krall) and Bill Cunliffe (2010 Grammy winning arranger).

 V.R. Peterson of People magazine writes that Jackie Allen “possesses a voice that combines the expressiveness of Annie Lennox and the pitch of Rickie Lee Jones, while achieving it’s own bright, dramatic sound … sassy … tender.”


In her performance with the DePauw Jazz Ensemble, directed by part-time assistant professor of music Shawn Salmon, Allen will sing original compositions as well as arrangements of classic jazz standards. The Jazz Ensemble will also be performing arrangements of hits by the Beatles and the Yellowjackets.

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

March 6, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Dave Lawrence, president and CEO of the Arts Council of Indianapolis and 1990 graduate of DePauw University, is featured in the latest Indianapolis Business Journal among the "Who's Who in Hospitality."  The publication spotlights "some of the key players in the hospitality sector, which we’ve broadly defined to cover arts, entertainment, food service, lodging, recreation and tourism. The names come from our own news staff, peer recommendations and public nominations -- a long list, which was peer reviewed and culled to create the list that follows."

IBJ notes, "In his current position, Dave Lawrence serves as the chief arts advocate for the arts and cultural community of Indianapolis, leads the professional staff of the Arts Council, and represents the arts community in local, regional and national matters. His work includes the development of grants for arts and cultural organizations, as well as fellowship programs for professional artists, including the Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship program. Most recently, Lawrence created and opened the Arts Council’s Gallery 924, a fine arts gallery to support and exhibit the work of central Indiana artists."

The text cites Lawrence's DePauw degree and adds, "Before joining the Arts Council, Lawrence worked with a variety of organizations, including the Indianapolis Opera, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, Clowes Memorial Hall, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indiana University Auditorium and the INB Broadway series. He currently serves on the Host Committee for the 2012 Super Bowl, as a member of the Indy Hub Advisory Committee, the Indiana Nonprofit Sector Advisory Board for the Center for Philanthropy, and the steering committee for Music Crossroads. He is also on the boards of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, and the Indianapolis Cultural Commission."

Read more here.

Learn more about Dave Lawrence in this previous story.

Also: Photo Galleries 1, 2, 3

March 6, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Music of the 21st Century, an annual residency that brings eminent composers to DePauw University in Greencastle, will conclude today with a concert of ensemble works by Aaron Jay Kernis," writes Jay Harvey in the Indianapolis Star. "Kernis has been on campus since Thursday, meeting with students and faculty in preparing programs of his music. His honors include the Pulitzer Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA grant and the Grawemeyer Award."

The piece in the "Indy Arts Scene Notebook" column adds, "Today's program, at 3 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, features Kernis' choral music performed by the Chamber Singers and the Chorus ... The university's band and orchestra will also perform. Admission is free."

Read more at IndyStar.com.

Kernis' DePauw residency was also noted in the March 3 edition of the newspaper.

The original announcement may be accessed here.

March 7, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — At the 2011 edition of the Indianapolis Art & Antiques Show, "Author Duane Hampton, widow of Hoosier native and DePauw University graduate Mark Hampton, will offer a book signing at 9 a.m. Friday, followed by a lecture at 11 a.m.," reports the Indianapolis Star. T.J. Banes writes, "Mark Hampton built a career as a New York designer before his death in 1998. His work was featured on the covers of design magazines, and in 2010 Architectural Digest named him one of the '20 Greatest Designers of All Time.'"

Architectural Digest noted, "Good looking and articulate, Hampton was a rock star of the design world. His style spoke of taste, privilege and relaxed living."

Learn more about Friday's events, including ticket information, at IndyStar.com.

The New York Times called Mark Hampton, a 1962 graduate of DePauw, "an icon of American Style." He began his career working for some of the greatest interior designers of the age and worked for clients such as Brooke Astor,  Estée Lauder and Jacqueline Onassis, as well as the White House, Camp David, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the American Academy in Rome. He  passed away in 1998.

Duane Hampton's book, Mark Hampton: An American Decorator, was published in April 2010.

March 7, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "NPR should have its journalists phase out any long-term contracts for appearances on other media outlets, monitor those appearances more carefully and make clearer distinctions between reporting, analysis and commentary in its programming, the network’s ethics-policy task force advised Feb. 25 [2011]," notes the latest issue of Current. "Bob Steele, head of the task force, presented recommendations for revising the ethics code to the NPR Board last month. Steele, director of the Prindle Institute for Ethics and distinguished professor of journalism ethics at DePauw University and a journalism values scholar with the Poynter Institute, was retained by NPR President Vivian Schiller to head the task force."

Mike Janssen writes, "The 13-member task force included NPR employees, outside journalists and citizens at large. Schiller appointed the task force after the much-publicized dismissal of news analyst Juan Williams last October. The firing prompted scrutiny of Williams’ dual roles on NPR and on Fox News, his obligations to the two networks, and the hasty, muddled way the dismissal was handled."

According to the report, "The NPR review was among the more extensive projects that Steele, an ethics expert who has advised more than 100 news organizations, has undertaken, he said. But 'this was not a case in which we had to tear apart the code of ethics and start from scratch,' Steele told Current. Throughout his work, he said, he heard much praise for NPR’s journalism and decision-making."

Access the complete article at the website of Current, founded in 1980 by the National Association of Educational Broadcasters and now an editorially independent journalistic service of American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C.

A 1969 graduate of DePauw, Robert M. Steele is Phyllis W. Nicholas Director of the University's Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics andDePauw's Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism Ethics. Last month he was quoted in a New York Times article on deals between shoe companies and ESPN reporters.

March 7, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — A weekend Habitat for Humanity project, which involved the restoration of a home in Bainbridge, is the subject of a story in today's edition of Greencastle's Banner Graphic. "Some of the volunteers tearing up the drywall are members of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority," writes Josh Garvey. "Janie Langham said one of the benefits to volunteering with Habitat was the real time results. 'You can really see the results as you go,' she said. Ellen Clayton agreed. 'You can always raise money for a cause, but you don't always get to see where it's going,' she said. The two are part of the executive board for Habitat for Humanity at DePauw."(junior Emily Dye at work on Saturday; courtesy: Banner Graphic)

The text continues, "Emily Dye and Emily Boyle were also in the same room. All four acknowledged that Habitat was a way to give back to the community while still keeping a flexible schedule."

Access the full story at the newspaper's website.

You'll find another recent story about student volunteer efforts here.

March 7, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Joseph Shadday, a tenor and 2009 graduate of the DePauw University School of Music, placed third in the Grand Concours de Chant 2011. Shadday shares the $2,000 prize with baritone David Blalock.  Presented by the Franco-American Vocal Academy, the finals of the competition took place Sunday, February 27, in Austin, Texas.

See Shadday and Blalock's winning performance on YouTube.

A vocal performance major at DePauw, Joe Shadday studied with Cassel Grubb University Professor Caroline Smith. After graduation, Shadday matriculated to the University of Maryland's prestigious Opera Studio program where he will graduate this May.

Shadday will return to Santa Fe Summer Festival with mainstage opera roles this summer after having been a part of that highly selective apprentice program last summer. Currently, he is singing Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the University of Maryland.

While an undergraduate at DePauw, Shadday placed second in the Charles Lyman Vocal Competition, was a finalist in the National Opera Association's Young Artist Division Competition. He also sang leading tenor roles in Gianni Schicchi, The Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus and The Abduction of Figaro. The tenor also has performed leading roles in summer programs such as Seagle Music Colony, La Lirica Musica, and College Light Opera Company.

March 7, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray and DePauw University President Brian W. Casey received word this afternoon that Greencastle will be one of two pilot cities for Indiana's new Stellar Communities program. State agencies will invest an estimated $31 million in Greencastle and North Vernon over three years, with the two communities kicking in an additional $9 million in local and private funds.  

The Stellar Communities program is a multi-agency partnership aimed at launching multiple community development projects in Indiana’s smaller communities. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Indiana Department of Transportation, along with the State Revolving Fund, are participating in this innovative program.

A total of 42 Indiana communities submitted proposals to become a pilot community.  Mayor Murray (pictured at right) and President Casey worked in tandem for months, along with a team of local leaders, to author and promote Greencastle's winning proposal.

Lt. Governor Skillman will travel to Greencastle for a celebration ceremony on Thursday.

Greencastle's plan will -- among other things -- revitalize the downtown area; link the city more closely with DePauw; and improve the quality of life through new initiatives in health, the arts, and technology.

"Stellar Communities will allow us to improve our city in ways that wouldn't otherwise be possible," according to Mayor Murray. "With this help, we will create the next great college town in Indiana."

"I've said that DePauw is at its best when the City of Greencastle succeeds, and that is certainly the case today," says Dr. Casey.  "The Stellar Community program offers an incredible opportunity to further enhance the connection between our University and the town we call home.  This is the beginning of an incredible journey and we simply could not ask for better partners than Mayor Sue Murray and her team," adds DePauw's nineteenth president.

Main goals of Greencastle's proposal include: 

• Revitalizing the courthouse square and central business district;
• Improving streetscapes, parking options and facades, while preserving historical integrity of buildings;
• A wayfinding program to support community visitors;
• Enhancing housing options;
• Community health initiatives including new community health center and new trail linking community to recreational area;
• Creating a partnership with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra;
• Making the commercial district a technology hub with wireless Internet access.

Lt. Governor Skillman says, "It's important for governments to stretch every dollar as far as possible. Stellar Communities has taught us to be intentional and strategic in the way we deliver grant funding to local governments. It will help our agencies collaborate more, be more efficient, and make a bigger impact with the dollars we have."

Details of Thursday's celebration will be announced soon.

Read this afternoon's announcement by clicking here.

March 8, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. —Diana Joseph, 2010 winner of the Great Lakes Colleges Association's New Writers Award in Nonfiction, will visit the campus of DePauw University tomorrow, March 9.  Joseph will read from her book, I'm Sorry You Feel That Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother, and Friend to Man and Dog, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard E. Peeler Art Center.  Presented by the James and Marilou Kelly Writers Series, the event is free and open to the public.

"Despite the mouthful of a title, there isn't an excess word in this smart and tightly constructed debut," noted Library Journal in a starred review of Joseph's book. It added, "these impeccably detailed stories are as heartfelt as they are trenchantly funny."

The Los Angeles Times' Steve Almond opined, "Like the best storytellers -- fictional or otherwise -- Joseph treats her people with compassion. She manages to be very funny. But she refuses to reduce her family to a comedy routine. Her stories are often sad, but she never lionizes suffering. Instead, she sifts through the ruins of her romantic and emotional entanglements, with an eye on the absurdities we endure in the name of love. I'm Sorry You Feel That Way is sure to offend the faint of heart, but it's hard to recall another collection of essays, or a memoir, with more natural charm."

The James and Marilou Kelly Writers Series was established in 1998 with gifts from Marilou Morrell Kelly, a 1955 graduate of DePauw. Learn more about the Kelly Writers Series by clicking here.

March 8, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — The DePauw University Band performs its first concert of the spring term this Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m. in the Green Center for the Performing Arts, Kresge Auditorium.  The program, which is free and open to the public, will feature a rich selection of traditional and unique works for symphonic band and wind ensemble.

It is requested that, if possible, those attending the performance donate one non-perishable food item.  All items will be given to the Putnam County Emergency Food Pantry.  Needed items include canned vegetables and fruit, canned meats, individually boxed cereals,  powdered milk, spaghetti and spaghetti sauce.

Sunday's concert selections will include: the Overture from Russlan and Ludmilla, a Russian opera by Mikhail Glinka, Dance of the New World by Dana Wilson, and contemporary works such as Crossing Parallels by Kathryn Salfelder and Country Band March by Charles Ives. Always an audience favorite, John Philip Sousa’s Black Horse Troop will be performed, and the concert finale will Symphony in B-flat by Paul Hindemith, a thematic, precise, and beautiful prominent piece written for band.

“Hindemith’s Symphony in B-flat is considered to be one of the cornerstones in the wind band’s repertoire,” shares Craig Paré, professor of music and conductor of the University Band.  “It is well respected, highly-regarded, and revered; not only for its strengths as a musical composition, but also because it was one of the first pieces of music decidedly composed for Band in the twentieth century.  When a composer of Hindemith’s stature created a piece of this scale solely for band instruments, it signaled to composers around the world that new works needed to be written for this medium that had, for years, relied primarily on orchestral transcriptions for its repertoire.”

Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Curry, commander of the United States Army Band, commissioned this composition to be written by Hindemith in 1951. Its first performance was in Washington, D.C. the same year, and was conducted by the composer.

DePauw's student radio station, WGRE, will broadcast the concert on a tape-delayed basis at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.  Listen at 91.5 FM or via this link.

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

March 8, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — The campus and community are invited to join in a celebration of news that Greencastle has been named a "Stellar Community" at a 1 p.m. event this Thursday, March 10.  Indiana Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman (pictured) will join Greencastle Mayor Sue Murray and DePauw University President Brian W. Casey to discuss details of the award, which was announced yesterday.  The program will take place in the Great Hall of the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts, 605 South College Avenue.  Refreshments will be served.

The Stellar Communities program is a multi-agency partnership designed to fund comprehensive community development projects in Indiana's smaller communities.  Greencastle and North Vernon are the inaugural recipients of Stellar Communities grants and, as a result, will receive more than $30 million in state-administered grants over the next three years. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Indiana Department of Transportation, along with the State Revolving Fund, are participating in this innovative program which makes possible multiple community development projects to improve and revitalize cities.

Greencastle's plan will -- among other things -- revitalize the downtown area; link the city more closely with DePauw; and improve the quality of life through new initiatives in health, the arts, and technology.

Learn more in this previous article.

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

March 9, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — On Saturday, March 26, in Philadelphia, Lee Hamilton will take part in a "public discussion on the future of civility in our democracy, featuring public figures and former politicians from the areas of law and government."  Besides Hamilton, a veteran statesman and 1952 graduate of DePauw University, the panel will include former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell; David Eisner, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center; John G. Palfrey Jr., Henry N. Ess III, professor of law and vice dean at Harvard Law School; and political activist and blogger Keli A. Carender.

The panel will be preceded by welcoming remarks from Jim Leach, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Following the panel, Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, will deliver a keynote address on the importance of civility in public discourse. 

The session is part of a two-day program presented by the National Constitution Center, "Can We Talk? A Conversation about Civility and Democracy in America." Other participants include award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns.

The program "is an interactive, interdisciplinary forum that will bring together the best and brightest from such fields as history, government, communications, and political philosophy," according to an announcement. "This renowned group will guide public discussion of the role of dissent and protest throughout American history, and the degree to which dissent can and should be civil. At the close of the event, participants will present guidance on the tools, systems, and best practices that may contribute to productive social and political movements in the future of our nation."

"From the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement to present day debates, democratic dissent has been central to our nation's continuing quest to form a 'more perfect Union,'" says Eisner. "During this timely event, we will address ways in which people across the nation can come together to address difficult issues without impeding the vibrancy of our democracy."

Read more here.

Lee H. Hamilton is a Democrat who served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and co-chaired the 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group.  He is currently director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University.

Next Tuesday, 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.

On September 22, 2010, DePauw President Brian W. Casey joined NEH Chairman Leach in an Indianapolis program, "Civility in a Fractured Society."  Learn more in this previous story.

March 9, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Protests against an immigration reform bill already passed by state senators will reach La Porte on Thursday," begins a story published in today's Michigan City News Dispatch. The Indiana newspaper notes that "Margarita Villa, a 20-year-old DePauw University junior ... is helping organize three rallies across the state against SB 590."  The bill is is similar to legislation passed in Arizona, which empowers local police to enforce federal immigration law.  If officers have reasonable suspicion that a person is in the United States illegally, they woud be allowed to ask a person for proof of their immigration status.

"This bill advocates and possibly even mandates racial profiling," Villa states. "It's an insult to a lot of communities, undocumented or not."

Alicia Edbaugh writes, "The rally here, to be held from 4 to 7 p.m. outside the La Porte courthouse, has been organized by college students from DePauw, Indiana University and other schools, including local high schools, Villa said. These young adults feel that not only they, but also their families, could be targeted, she said."

You'll find the complete story at the News Dispatch's website.

March 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — J. David Eberle, a 1958 graduate of DePauw University, has been named the first chief executive officer of Dick's Wings and Grill, the Jacksonville, Florida-based casual dining restaurant chain. Eberle comes from Johnny Rockets Inc., where he was senior vice president of franchise sales and development. In his new role, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and support as well as growing the current franchise system, revenue and profitability.

"With its great menu and family friendly atmosphere, Dick's has the potential to grow from a local Jacksonville chain to a national one, much like our competitors have done in their early years," Dave Eberle says. "We are in a growth mode and I look forward to taking this emerging chain to new heights."

Prior to Johnny Rockets, Eberle was the director of franchise sales at Buffalo Wild Wings. He also held a number of executive positions, including director of franchise sales at Arby's, director of franchise sales at Dunkin Brands, Inc., and various leadership roles in other franchise systems.

"The addition of Dave Eberle is a huge win for us," said Mike Rosenberger, founder of Dick's Wings and Grill. "He is a proven franchise leader that brings a wealth of knowledge -- real estate and site selection, operations, training, marketing and advertising -- to our organization. It's great having him on the team."

An announcement notes that Eberle is a DePauw graduate and "a former naval aviator, serving 10 years in the U.S. Navy."

Read more at Marketwire.

Dave Eberle was quoted in a March 2009 Franchise Times article.

March 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — David Kimbell, a 1989 graduate of DePauw University, has been named vice president of marketing for Chicago-based wireless carrier U.S. Cellular. Kimbell is responsible for the development of strategic branding and communications initiatives that drive customer growth and loyalty. The company's marketing, customer strategy, brand and media relations teams report to him.

"Kimbell has 14 years of marketing experience and an extensive background in consumer insights, brand positioning and social media strategy," notes an announcement. "He most recently served as chief marketing officer and senior vice president at Seventh Generation, the nation's leading environmentally-friendly household products company. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at PepsiCo, including vice president of marketing for the Quaker Foods division, as well as key brand management positions at Procter & Gamble."

"Dave is a great addition to our leadership team. His experience of connecting consumer insights with superior customer service and strong leadership skills make him a perfect fit for our organization," says Alan D. Ferber, executive vice president of operations for U.S. Cellular. "I am excited to see how he will apply his expertise and creativity to further promote the benefits of being a U.S. Cellular customer."

An economics and management major at DePauw, Kimbell went on to earn an M.B.A. from Purdue University.

Read more at Yahoo! Finance.

Also: Photo Gallery

March 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — The Stellar Communities grant Greencastle is receiving from the State of Indiana promises to bring "some special magic" to the city, Mayor Sue Murray says.  Murray and DePauw University President Brian W. Casey -- along with a standing-room-only crowd of more than 300 people from the community and campus -- welcomed Indiana Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman today in a celebration of Greencastle's award, which was announced Monday.  The ceremony took place in the Great Hall of DePauw's Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts.

Forty-two Indiana communities applied for Stellar Community grants -- Greencastle and North Vernon emerged as the winners.  Since receiving the news three days ago, Murray -- who worked closely with President Casey to craft and promote the winning proposal -- says, [Download Video: "An Exciting Week" - 431kb] "We have been just absolutely ecstatic and proud and pleased and honored ever since, and we will be for the rest of our Greencastle days."

Lt. Governor Skillman told this afternoon's gathering, [Download Video: "Strong Partners" - 1108kb] "We are especially impressed by all of your strong partnerships, particularly between the City and DePauw University."  Her office says the State of Indiana expects to contribute at least $19 million to fund projects in Greencastle over the next three years. The community plans to:

• Revitalize the courthouse square and central business district with streetscape improvements, façade renovations, and signage;
• Relocate the DePauw University bookstore to the central business district;
• Add public parking solutions in the downtown area;
• Add new housing options including lofts in the commercial district and new construction in the South Court neighborhood;
• Construct a community health center and other wellness initiatives such as a walking and fitness trail;
• Partner with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra to provide concerts in Greencastle, a youth orchestra program, and master music classes;
• Create a technology hub and Wi-Fi bubble in the commercial district;
• Use these projects to leverage future private investment.

"This all adds up to a very comprehensive plan that will indeed make the City of Greencastle stellar.  That's what it's all about," Skillman stated.

President Casey noted, [Download Video: "A Great College Town" - 992kb] "In an era when we can work over the Internet and where we can telecommute, these livable, creative college towns are becoming the new communities of ideas and energy, music and art.  Lt. Governor, you have allowed us to imagine us to imagine the next great college town -- one for Indiana, one right here in Greencastle."

Mayor Murray called DePauw Greencastle's "longest-standing partner," an entity [Download Video: "DePauw & Greencastle" - 1632kb] "that's been consistent" and has "brought richness and breadth and a lot of opportunities to our community."  As the bridges between the campus and community are bolstered, she noted the [Download Video: "Opportunities" - 1507kb] "incredible amount of offerings and opportunity on the DePauw campus that our community needs to learn to take better advantage of." She and Dr. Casey both recalled having a meeting on July 1, 2008, the day Casey began serving as DePauw's nineteenth president. Murray told the crowd that with the Stellar Community proposal, "What we have worked on is opportunities" to break down barriers -- physical and imagined -- between the campus and community.

According to President Casey, [Download Video: "Bursting the Bubble" - 1533kb] "Colleges and universities, more often than not, turn their backs on their hometowns -- they become self-referential, they think of their own thoughts, they become ivory towers, they form bubbles."  He asserted, "Today, Lt. Governor, you have taken this University -- one on the eve of the 175th anniversary of its founding -- and you have challenged us out of our bubble.  So this University, DePauw University, vows to start our next 175 years as a dynamic partner with Greencastle and with the State of Indiana."

The Stellar Communities program is a multi-agency partnership aimed at launching multiple community development projects in Indiana’s smaller communities. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Indiana Department of Transportation, along with the State Revolving Fund, are participating in this innovative program.

Skillman says its her hope that the program will "move the state forward one community at a time."  In the past, agencies would use a "piecemeal" approach to funding communities, paying for a single project at a time.  Using Stellar Communities grants, Indiana can now assist rural cities and towns which have developed strategic plan involving a number of projects which can now be implemented as a whole.

Mayor Murray believes Murray the program "truly gives hope and optimism and an opportunity to small communities everywhere in this state."

In Lt. Governor Skillman's view, [Download Video: "Promoting Progress" - 870kb] "We know that Greencastle now will become an even greater economic engine for the entire region.  We cannot wait to see what Greencastle will do for Indiana."

March 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — At a Stanford University symposium last weekend, "Dr. Mona Bhan, an anthropologist from Srinagar, presented her latest research, which documents how the 'Save Dal Lake' campaign around her hometown has become a way to subjugate the local population," notes a summary, which points out that Bhan "teaches at DePauw University in Indiana ... Bhan argued that while Indian conservationists target lake dwellers around Dal, evidence suggests most of the pollution comes from the dozens of new hotels that dump their sewage into the lake."

"Besides tourism, environmentalism has become a counterinsurgency strategy in Kashmir," Bahn is quoted as saying. "In fact the U.S. is looking to India, because it has led the charge in counterinsurgency strategy for years.”

The professor was part of a two-day program, "Grounding Kashmir: Experience and Everyday Life on Both Sides of the Line of Control." Read more here or in this previous story.

March 10, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Aaron Jay Kernis is one of the youngest and most successful composers in recent history. His work has won him a Pulitzer Prize and the Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition, as well as praise from critics at the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today and others," begins a story in today's Banner Graphic.  The article details last week's visit to DePauw University by Kernis, who was on campus last week as part of the School of Music's annual "Music of the 21st Century" series. (photo: Kernis studies the score to his composition in Kresge Auditorium as the DePauw University Orchestra, conducted by Orcenith Smith, performs it; courtesy Banner Graphic)

"Kernis visited classrooms, lectures, rehearsals and more during his visit as composer-in-residence from March 2 to 6," writes Michael Logli. "Students who interacted with Kernis described him as a polite, soft-spoken man with a passion for music and composition."

"His music is both fantastic and incredibly difficult," Claire Jagla, a member of the University Chorus, tells the newspaper. "It's really great that DePauw can bring him," Jagla said.

The piece describes Kernis' interactions with the DePauw Symphony Orchestra as members rehearsed his composition, Newly Drawn Sky, under the baton of Professor Orcenith Smith.

Before leaving Greencastle for New York City, Kernis stated, "It's been my dream to be able to do what I love, and I see that in these performers."

Read the complete story -- "Master of melody" -- at the newspaper's website.

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

March 11, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Brad Brownell won nine Atlantic Coast Conference games this season, something no other first-year basketball coach at Clemson has done," begins a lengthy profile of the 1991 DePauw University graduate, which is published in several newspapers.  The article details the coach's "rocket-like career trajectory" as his team begins play in the ACC tournament today after a 20-10 regular season. 

Travis Sawchick writes, "Brownell was a point guard in high school. While not a great athlete, he was skilled enough to play small college basketball in DePauw for Royce Waltman. When Brownell later coached at Wright State and traveled to play conference foe Butler, his former DePauw coaches and teammates got together afterward in Indianapolis and reminisced about a 1-point loss in the 1990 Division III national title game. But it was a game earlier that year when Waltman saw Brownell's coaching potential. 'We won a triple-overtime game and the (opposing team) never got a shot off on their final two possessions,' Waltman said. 'He read the passer's eyes and stole the ball to end the overtimes. You would never accuse him of being fleet of foot, it was just from studying the other team and anticipation. Said Brownell: 'I could always see a play ahead.'"

The text adds, "Brownell became a graduate assistant under Waltman. He worked in a similar unpaid position for a year at Evansville, sleeping on a couch, and then at the University of Indianapolis for two years where Brownell split 'a dump of an apartment' with a fellow coach, paying $150 in rent."

Access the complete story at the website of South Carolina's Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

Learn more about Brad Brownell, who has also served as head men's basketball coach at the University of North Carolina - Wilmington, in this previous article.

March 12, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — President Barack Obama has appointed Tim Solso, chairman and CEO of Cummins Inc. and 1969 graduate of DePauw University, to serve as a member of the President's Management Advisory Board. The PMAB was established by Executive Order on April 19, 2010 to provide advice on how to implement best business practices on matters related to Federal Government management and operation, with a particular focus on productivity, the application of technology, and customer service.

The PMAB held its first meeting at the White House on Friday morning.  Solso is one of ten members appointed to the panel.

"I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country," President Obama stated.  "I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead to deliver a government that’s more affordable, effective and efficient."

Read more here.

A psychology major at DePauw, Tim Solso earned an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1971, the same year he joined Cummins Inc. He has served as the company's chairman and chief executive officer since January 2000. Prior to his current role, he was president and chief operating officer from 1995-2000 and served as vice president – engine business from 1988-1995.

He is the U.S. chairman of the U.S. – Brazil CEO Forum and serves on a number of boards. Solso was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2008, was honored in 2007 with the Anti-Defamation League's "Man of Achievement Award," as well as the 2007 International Executive of the Year award from the Academy of International Business (AIB), the 2007 Six Sigma CEO of the Year Award, and the American Business Award for "Best Chairman," and in early 2009 was awarded the William R. Laws Human Rights Award by the Human Rights Commission of Columbus, Indiana, where Cummins is headquartered.  In 2010 Barron's listed Solso as one of America's "30 Most Respected CEOs" and he was one of five finalists for MarketWatch's "CEO of the Decade."

Tim Solso will return to DePauw in May to deliver the primary address at his alma mater's 172nd annual commencement.  Details can be found in this recent article.