March 13, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Jennifer Egan, whose A Visit From the Goon Squad was announced as the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction Thursday. will visit DePauw University on April 27.  Her reading, sponsored by the James and Marilou Kelly Writers Series, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Meharry Hall of historic East College and is free and open to the public. (photo: Vistalux)

Calling it "an inventive book," the Wall Street Journal noted, "Set in the music industry, Goon Squad follows a middle-aged record executive named Bennie Salazar, his kleptomaniac assistant, Sasha, and a dozen or more overlapping characters whose lives are altered by the forces of time and technology. One chapter is written as a celebrity profile; another is rendered as a Powerpoint presentation. The narrative, skipping forward and back, weaving a loose-link chain from strands of backstory, has been likened to the experience of surfing the Web," wrote Steven Kurutz.

The Los Angeles Times' Carolyn Kellogg calls Egan's award-winning book "an innovatively structured work ... (whose) title is taken from an Elvis Costello song that is also about time and how decisions echo across generations. It is the first significant critical prize for Egan, who has published three other novels and a collection of stories."

Egan also authored Look at Me, a finalist for the National Book Award in fiction in 2001, as well as   The Keep, Emerald City and Other Stories, and The Invisible Circus, which was made into a feature film with Cameron Diaz. Her short stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Harpers, McSweeney’s and other magazines and her non-fiction articles appear frequently in the New York Times Magazine. She is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, and a Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library. 

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 13, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Instead of changing the definition of renewable energy, the legislature should promote true renewable sources and energy efficiency measures in the hope of providing a more sustainable energy future for Indiana," writes Samuel Leist,  DePauw University freshman and member of the DePauw Environmental Policy Project, in the Indianapolis Star. Leist offers a response to a recent column by Indiana state Senators Beverly Gard, Jim Merritt and Brandt Hershman, defending Senate Bill 251, "which would radically alter the definition of renewable energy to include energies that are neither clean nor renewable, such as nuclear power and clean coal." Leist argues, "This bill exemplifies a trend in the 2011 legislature to get away from traditional renewable energy in order to support more harmful energy sources."

The first-year student adds, "This bill exemplifies a trend in the 2011 legislature to get away from traditional renewable energy in order to support more harmful energy sources. In fact, three other bills have passed the House or Senate that also tamper with the definition of renewable energy by including the burning of coal-bed and landfill methane and the oxygen-starved gasification of municipal solid waste. The problem? These energy sources are not renewable, they are not environmentally safe, they pose a serious threat to human health, and they distract from true renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal energy."

Access his letter to the editor at IndyStar.com.

Last October, Sam Leist received  a Bell Award for Youth Service for his volunteer efforts.

Learn more about the DePauw Environmental Policy Project (DEPP) in this recent story.

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

March 14, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Tomorrow night's Ubben Lecture by Lee Hamilton, the former congressman who co-chaired the 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group, can be heard live via DePauw University's student radio station WGRE.  Hamilton will discuss "The U.S. Role in the World After Afghanistan and Iraq" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.  For those unable to attend the free program in Meharry Hall of historic East College, the speech can be heard locally on 91.5 FM or anywhere in the world via this link.

Hamilton, a 1952 graduate of DePauw, served for 34 years in Congress representing Indiana's ninth district, from January 1965 before retiring in January 1999.  He became president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., a post he held until late last year, and continues as director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University.

Learn more about Tuesday's program in this article.

Established in 1986 through the generous support of 1958 DePauw graduates Timothy H. and Sharon Williams Ubben, the Ubben Lecture Series was designed to "bring the world to Greencastle." To view a complete roster of Ubben Lecturers -- which includes links to video clips and news stories -- click here.

The nation's first 10 watt, non-commercial, educational radio station, WGRE signed on the air on April 28, 1949. Originally based in Harrison Hall, the station's studios were in the Memorial Student Union Building for many years. Since 1991, WGRE has been located in the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media. The station, managed and run by approximately 200 DePauw students, currently operates 24 hours a day at 800 watts.

March 14, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. —An article in the latest Public Broadcasting Report examines last week's controversy over comments NPR Foundation President Ron Schiller, who resigned after it was learned that he said that NPR "would be better off in the long run without federal funding."  The controversy also led to the resignation of the public radio network's CEO, Vivian Schiller.

The story notes, "Ron Schiller's statement about federal funding 'could flip senators who might otherwise support public media,' said Kevin Howley, associate professor of communication at DePauw University. 'When the budget ax is falling, this is just the sort of comment that could provide politicians with all the cover they need to defund public broadcasting.'"

Published by Warren Communications News, Public Broadcasting Report is available by subscription.

Kevin Howley is the editor of the textbook, Understanding Community Media and authored Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies. In a recent column, he offered five reasons why public broadcasting should receive federal support. Read more here.

Pre-Order Your 2011 Commencement DVD

March 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — For a tenth consecutive year, DePauw University will produce a limited edition DVD of its commencement ceremonies, providing a permanent keepsake of the special day for members of the Class of 2011 and their families. Orders are now being accepted at $19.95 for the first disc; additional discs sent to the same address will be $8 each (7% sales tax will be added to Indiana orders). An online order form is available here (a limited number of copies of the 2002-10 commencements are also available). 

In addition to the multi-camera production of the commencement ceremony (and video of each individual graduate crossing the stage to receive their diploma), the disc will include an array of special features.  They will include: campus highlights of the past four years (from the class' arrival on campus in August 2007 to clips from key events, including the appointment of President Brian Casey, and Ubben Lecturers such as Tony Blair and the Howard Dean-Karl Rove debate; "Monon Memories" of the last four football battles with Wabash College for the prized Monon Bell; a photo gallery of commencement day activitie; and a recently restored 1941 admission film from the DePauw Archives. (at right: front cover of the 2010 commencement DVD)

The 172nd commencement ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 22, at 1 p.m. (EDT) in Holton Memorial Quadrangle. Theodore M. "Tim" Solso, chairman and chief executive officer of Cummins Inc. and 1969 graduate of DePauw, will deliver the principal address to graduates.  The disc, which is professionally replicated, typically ships by mid-June.

As in past years, the DVD's menu will allow you to quickly access the spot in the program you want to see. If you're looking for a graduate whose last name is Charles, for instance, you click on the letter 'C' in the menu, you're immediately taken to the first person whose last name begins with the letter 'C' receiving his or her diploma. Users can also jump to specific speeches, or watch the program from beginning to end.

This will mark the twenty-sixth DVD that DePauw has produced -- including the last 11 Monon Bell Classics, some of which remain available here (supplies are very limited of the 2002, 2007 and 2008 DVDs).

"In 2002, when DePauw first produced a commencement DVD, it was among the first colleges in the nation to do so," says Ken Owen '82, executive director of media relations and supervisor of the project. "The disc has become something that many graduates and their parents look forward to receiving and revisiting as time goes by.  I've overheard older alums say, 'I wish they had these when I graduated.'  It's truly something that is designed to be enjoyed for years to come."

For more information on DePauw's 172nd annual commencement, click here.

Also: Wikipedia Founder & Author of The Shallows to Debate What Technology is Doing to Our Lives

March 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Campus life at DePauw University in Greencastle might be noisier than usual March 30 when students are encouraged to spend the day without the Internet, mobile phones and other means of nondirect communication," reports today's Indianapolis Star.  "It'll be interesting to see how much students tune into the idea of tuning out," Ken Owen, executive director of media relations for DePauw, tells the newspaper, which provides a look ahead to the March 30 technology debate between Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.

Cathy Kightlinger's column adds, "Seniors Christine Walker, the student body president, and David Dietz, executive vice president of student government, came up with the idea" for the device-free day. The Ubben Lecture that caps the day "will be the first of its kind, as Wales and Carr have never appeared together, said Owen, who organized the gathering," Kightlinger writes. "The March 30 event will mark the second Ubben Debate. The first, in September 2009, brought Howard Dean and Karl Rove to campus."

"The beneficial aspect of the debate and the event is basically for all of us to step back from our lives and use these devices better, so they are not balls and chains," states Owen, a 1982 graduate of DePauw.

Access the full text at IndyStar.com.

Learn more about the Nicholas Carr-Jimmy Wales event in this previous story.

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Meharry Hall of historic East College, the Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture Series will present Lee Hamilton.  The veteran statesman and 1952 DePauw graduate -- who served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and co-chaired the 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group -- will discuss "The U.S. Role in the World After Afghanistan and Iraq."  The program is presented free of admission charge.  For further details, click here.

March 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — A group of ten DePauw University students captured the third place divisional sweepstakes award at the Novice Nationals debate tournament, hosted by the University of Indianapolis this past weekend.  Jent Botterman, Stewart Burns, Mckenzie Curran, Berkley Frost, Sarah Harbison, Currin McCarty, Haruaki Smith, Elisa Sunshine, Tyler Vieke, and Joe Wojda debated teams from across the nation.  All are students in the Public Communication and Controversy class taught by Geoffrey D. Klinger '88, associate professor of communication and director of forensics at DePauw.

"The opportunity for these outstanding students to apply skills they are learning in class to actual out-of-class debates against other schools is one of the many benefits that DePauw offers its students," says Dr. Klinger.

The duo of Stewart Burns and Ronnie Kennedy, who are both on DePauw's debate team, finished as DePauw's top entry in the tournament. Burns further distinguished himself by capturing the tenth place speaker award.

The previous weekend, the DePauw debate team took third place at the "Any Last Words" tournament, co-hosted by Indiana University and Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). At that event, the team of Burns and Jimmy Kirkpatrick advanced to the semi-finals. Kirkpatrick was named top speaker of the tournament, while Burns took the third place award.

The debaters will conclude their season by competing at the USUBP Championships, hosted by the University of Vermont, the first weekend in April. The tournament has more than 200 teams competing from countries all over the world.

March 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "I was in the teacher's office chatting with another teacher about her plans for the weekend when we felt the shaking start," 2008 DePauw University graduate Madison Murphy tells Plano, Texas' Frisco Enterprise.  Murphy lives in Erimo, Japan, where she teaches English as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. Of Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake, she says, "This was unlike any of the previous earthquakes we have experienced because the shaking was so prolonged. There was never any confusion. People knew what was happening, they knew how to react and they stayed calm."

A tsunami warning followed, and Murphy says everyone was alerted to move to higher ground.  "The tsunami caused more damage to my town than the earthquake," she tells the newspaper. "The earthquake caused the road to buckle in a few areas, but the building regulations here are very strict so things here are built to withstand powerful earthquakes. However, nothing is built to withstand a tsunami. The tsunami ruined a few buildings close to the water and also ruined a few roads. One of our roads has cracked, spread and dissolved in areas. Everybody in my town is safe and physically unharmed and the process of rebuilding has already begun. Some of the buildings that were ruined have been dismantled and are now being rebuilt."

A communication major at DePauw, Murphy adds, "People are saying it will take time to rebuild the country both physically and emotionally. People are sad, but they are patient and grateful for all the help pouring in across the world. The scope of the damage is constantly growing wider, and the news channels are continually updating and reporting the status of search and rescue efforts. The news is becoming unbearable to watch. For every rescue story there are hundreds of deaths reported."

You'll find the complete story at the Enterprise's website.

Also: Photo Gallery

March 15, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Looking toward the future, veteran statesman and foreign policy expert Lee Hamilton says,  [Download Video: "Land Wars" - 749kb] "I believe the chances are slim that the United States will fight more wars on land, like Iraq and Afghanistan, to bring about a change in government."  The 1952 DePauw University graduate mapped out the realities and challenges facing the nation in a Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture at his alma mater tonight, discussing "The U.S. Role in the World After Afghanistan and Iraq." 

Hamilton, a Democrat, served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. He noted, "Secretary [of Defense Robert] Gates said the other day that sending a big American land army into the Middle East, or Asia, or Africa doesn't make any sense. I agree with him."

Nuclear proliferation tops the list of challenges facing America, Hamilton told a crowd in Meharry Hall inside historic East College, but an increasingly global economy, energy, environmental issues, U.S.-China relations and cybersecurity threats are also issues that will shape the nation -- and world's -- agenda in coming years.  

[Download Video: "Strengthening Partnerships" - 472kb] "We are the world's preeminent power, but we cannot impose our will on the world," Hamilton declared. "So we have to strengthen our partnerships, we have to find commonality of interests and build trust" with other nations.  

Seeing relationships with foreign governments -- especially those which are thorny -- change for the better will not be an overnight process, Hamilton asserted.  [Download Audio: "Patience" - 529kb] "I want you to recall -- those of you who are older, at least -- that we in the United States decided not to vanquish the Soviet Union, but to wait and to be patient.  I can remember the speeches about 'rolling back' the Soviet Union.  I can remember what that entailed.  But at the end we had the confidence in ourselves, confidence in our judgment about the weakness of the communist system, and the Cold War ended without a catastrophe.  So part of our arsenal of tools has to be patience."

A key, ongoing challenge for the nation is to recognize "the limitations of American power," Hamilton says. When it comes to sending troops or other forms of assistance to other countries, "sometimes we're going to have to say 'no'." He added, [Download Video: "Drawing the Line" - 1722kb] "From my view, our goal is not to combat evil or to remake the world ... or end tyranny in the world. It is not to bear any burden, or to pay any price.  All of these things are desirable, for sure, but far, far beyond our capabilities to achieve.  And so we have to rigorously define the core interests. We cannot right every wrong, we cannot reverse every adversity, we do not have a solution to every problem in the world.  And we've gotta get a lot better than we are at deciding what we can and cannot change and what we must protect."

The complex questions surrounding U.S. intervention have been front and center in recent weeks with the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and the current unrest in Libya.  [Download Video: "Pragmatism" - 1001kb] "We do not really know tonight whether we are seeing genuine democratic revolutions in the Middle East or whether the protests are going to fizzle out, become chaotic, repressive, or end in a full democracy -- we simply don't know.  Now, we know what we hope.  But we don't know."  Hamilton says the U.S. "should call for significant political reform and we should pragmatically help opposition movements." 

He added that, while Libya's Moammar Gaddafi is no friend of the United States, it's still not clear who the rebel forces in that country are and what they stand for.

"There are many things we might like to do, many governments we might like to change, many conditions we'd want to correct, but the real question is, what is the overriding American national interest in a given problem and what kind of resources are we prepared to make to achieve those goals?," Hamilton asked. "We can lead the world, but we cannot control it." He added, "If the United States does not lead, more often than not, the problem is not addressed.   People around the globe may complain about a world with too much American power; I think they'd complain a lot more and enjoy it a lot less if there was too little American power." (above: Lee and Nancy (Nelson) Hamilton '52 with their grandson, Louie Souza, a current DePauw freshman)

The United Nations and International Monetary Fund are "not very robust institutions and they are declining in their effectiveness," Hamilton says.  The international organizations once played a more vital role in global affairs but don't reflect "the realities of the 21st century," in Hamilton's view, and are in need of reform.

Hamilton has been busy since leaving Congress, serving as vice chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission) and co-chairing both the Iraq Study Group and the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future, among other panels.  He's currently co-chair of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.  The man called "Mr. Integrity" by Newsweek was president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., until late last year, and continues as director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University.

The former congressman's day at his alma mater began with a forum with political science students, which took place at The Inn at DePauw.  It was followed by a meeting with DePauw student journalists and then dinner at The Elms, the home of DePauw President Brian W. Casey. 

Hamilton has been a frequent visitor to DePauw over the years, having delivered commencement addresses in 1971 and 1998 and.  He also was among the presenters at DePauw Discourse in 2006 and 2008.  Hamilton joins Ferid Murad '58 and Jim Alling '83 as alumni who have presented Ubben Lectures at DePauw.

The man who majored in history and starred on the Tiger basketball team (and is a member of both the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the DePauw Athletic Hall of Fame) said tonight that he is troubled by the nation's debt, and the financial weakness must be addressed or it will weaken America's standing in the world.  He added, [Download Video: "Nation-Building" - 314kb] "I think the American people today are more interested in nation-building at home than they are in Iraq and Afghanistan." 

The longtime congressman believes the nation needs to invest more assets, and faith, in diplomacy to address the problems of the future. [Download Video: "$$" - 1033kb] "The present civilian/military imbalance in our budget is just staggering ... The country has fewer than 7,000 diplomats.  We have more members in the military bands than we have in diplomacy."

Hamilton, recipient of the Churchill Award for Statesmanship, the Eisenhower Medal for exceptional leadership, and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Freedom From Fear Award, among many other honors, continued, [Download Video: "The Need to Talk" - 1014kb] "I'm not starry eyed about what diplomacy can achieve. It is not a panacea.  Presto, it does not make problems in the world go away.  It has its limits.  But I think not talking is a near guarantee that problems will fester and that opportunities for progress will be missed."

In closing, Hamilton told the students, faculty, staff and alumni seated in the venue, [Download Video: "The Question" - 1819kb] "I am often asked the question whether I think America will succeed or fail; whether it will continue as #1 or decline.  My answer, somewhat facetiously I'm afraid, is what difference does it make what I think about that, or for that matter, what you think about it.  Whether you or I are optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the country doesn't really matter. None of us really knows.  What is more important than what we think about the nation's future is what we do -- that each of us do our part to make the country better and stronger."

As he looked out over the hall in which he spent many hours as a DePauw student some 60 years ago, Hamilton added, [Download Video: "In Conclusion" - 2925kb] "My guess and my hope is that Americans will accept the economic, personal and political costs of being our world's leader.  We love this country, every one of us ... Good outcomes in the world are possible, but they are not inevitable.  The future could bring order, it could bring chaos, it could bring a mixture ... but whatever the challenges we face, American leadership will count."

Established in 1986 through the generous support of 1958 DePauw graduates Timothy H. and Sharon Williams Ubben, the Ubben Lecture Series was designed to "bring the world to Greencastle." Earlier in this academic year, the Ubben Series welcomed Oscar Arias, former president of Costa Rica and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, on December 8, 2010. Rebecca Skloot, author of the bestseller The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, was on campus September 9, 2010, as an Ubben Lecturer. On March 30, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales will debate the impact of technology in and on our lives with Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.

Other previous Ubben Lecturers have included Benazir Bhutto, Elie Wiesel, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, Tony Blair, Mike Krzyzewski, General Colin Powell, F.W. de Klerk, Robert M. Gates, Howard Dean and Karl Rove, Shimon Peres, Willy Brandt, Spike Lee, E.O. Wilson, Jason Reitman, Naomi Wolf, Jesse Jackson, Ken Burns, Eric Schlosser, Paul Rusesabagina, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, Greg Mortenson, Barbara Bush, Ross Perot, General Wesley Clark, Andrew Young, Bob Woodward, Brian Mulroney, David Plouffe, George Will, Jane Pauley, Paul Volcker, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ralph Nader, Harry Belafonte, John Major, Julian Bond, Gloria Borger, Steven D. Levitt, Sam Donaldson, David McCullough, Bill Bradley,  David Gergen, Sister Helen Prejean, Todd Rundgren, Gwen Ifill, Jim Lovell, Alan Simpson, Liz Murray, Charles Fishman, Frank Warren, William Bennett and Mary Frances Berry, among others.   (above: Peyton Manning with Tim and Sharon Ubben; October 26, 2004)

To view a complete roster of Ubben Lecturers -- which includes links to video clips and news stories -- click here.

March 16, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — A Chronicle of Higher Education story examining issues some college educators are encountering with iPads notes, "Michael Vasey, sales manager at DyKnow, says it is tracking new tablets but is hesitant to start adapting its Windows-based program to the newer formats."  Vasey, a 2003 graduate of DePauw University, says, "We're waiting for that killer device to come out. If there was a clear leader that was doing this, it would make it more compelling."

Ben Wieder writes, "Despite the iPad's popularity--Apple has sold nearly 15 million of them and just came out with the iPad2; and there are dozens of competitors, like the Samsung Galaxy -- early studies indicate that these finger-based tablets are passive devices that have limited use in higher education. They are great for viewing media and allow students to share readings. But professors cannot use them to mark up material on the fly and show changes to students in response to their questions, a type of interactivity that has been a major thrust in pedagogy."

The text adds, "DyKnow, an educational-software company, makes a program that is often paired with tablet PC's. Functioning as a virtual, interactive whiteboard, it allows professors to mark up lecture material, share it with students, and accept and display in-class work from them, the company says.

Read more at the Chronicle's website.

Work at DePauw by Dave Berque, professor of computer science, led to the development of DyKnow's pen-based technology. Dr. Berque received the 2007 Mira Techpoint Award for "Education Contribution in Technology - Individual"  for his efforts to create the software. Learn more about the professor in this article.

March 16, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "AJ Feeney-Ruiz, who was communications director for then-Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, has returned to that office as deputy chief of staff and acting communications director," reports the Indianapolis Star. Feeney-Ruiz is a 2004 graduate of DePauw University.

"AJ is an accurate, respected communications veteran and a longstanding supporter of the office of the secretary of state," Jerry Bonnet, deputy secretary of state, tells the newspaper. "He can easily transition into his new role with us without the steep learning curve others may have encountered. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to a team of division directors that is mostly unchanged from the time he left after his first tenure."

The text adds, "Feeney-Ruiz has been running his Indianapolis-based consulting company while completing his M.B.A. at Indiana University."

Access the article at IndyStar.com or another report at the website of Indianapolis CBS affiliate WISH-TV.

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

March 17, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Mike Posner, a pop and hip-hop singer/songwriter, who performed at Bonnaroo and the 2010 Warped Tour, will come to DePauw University for a concert on Saturday, April 2.  Presented by Union Board, the concert will begin at 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, Green Center for the Performing Arts (doors will open at 6:30 and close at 7:30). 

Tickets are $10 for DePauw students and $20 for all others will be available beginning today in the Union Building (for times and locations, click here).  They will also be sold at the door from 6 p.m. until 7:30 the evening of the show. For information, call (765) 658-4270.

A native of Detroit, Posner is known for his two Top 100 Billboard singles, "Cooler Than Me" and "Please Don't Go." His latest release, "Bow Chicka Wow Wow ," features Lil Wayne. Posner's music career was launched when, while a student a Duke University, he self-released two mix-tapes which led to a record deal with J Records. He returned to school to finish his degree before launching his debut album 31 Minutes to Takeoff in August of 2010.

Posner has also collaborated with Bruno Mars, Wale, Big Sean, Bun B, We The Kings, Saigon, One Be Lo, Eric Holljes, and 3OH!3. He's appeared on TV's Tonight Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, Live with Regis and Kelly and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

DePauw has a history of hosting concerts by influential popular musicians. Recent visitors have included Third Eye Blind, Jack's Mannequin, the Black Eyed Peas, Lupe Fiasco, Ben Folds, The Roots, Howie Day, Ben Kweller and Rufus Wainwright. Past guests such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Dave Matthews, Harry Chapin, the Isley Brothers (with Jimi Hendrix), Pure Prairie League, Billy Joel (pictured at right performing on the Kresge Auditorium stage), The Byrds, America, the Carpenters, Maynard Ferguson and the Temptations have also performed on campus. Additionally, singer/songwriter/producer Todd Rundgren presented an Ubben Lecture at DePauw in April 2009.

March 17, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — A story on the Washington Post's decision to suspend a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for plagiarism includes a comment from Bob Steele, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism Ethics at DePauw University. The reporter, Sari Horwitz, has apologized for using information on the January shootings in Arizona from a report in the Arizona Republic, without attributing it to the newspaper. The Post has suspended Horwitz for 90 days.

Of plagiarism, Dr. Steele tells the Post, "For a long time, it was viewed as an excommunication sin, beyond mortal sin. But nowadays, editors try to look at the full context of what happened and why it happened." Paul Farhi writes that Dr. Steele "added that digital technology and increased competition via the Internet make such errors of judgment more likely."

Access the story by clicking here.

A 1969 graduate of DePauw, Robert M. Steele is also Phyllis W. Nicholas Director of the University's Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics. He chaired a task force that reviewed the ethics policy of NPR, as noted in this recent article.

March 17, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "My career at DePauw so far has been great," says junior basketball standout Sean Haseley, who is featured in his hometown newspaper, Indiana's Zionsville Times Sentinel.  "In addition to leading the Tigers, scoring at 14 points per game, the communications major won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Character and Community Male Student-Athlete-of-the-Week award for the week ending Feb. 27," writes Travis Miller. "He is also a candidate for the Capital One Academic All-America award."

The article notes, "Off the court, Haseley has been very involved in community service. Over spring break last year, he took a service trip to the Gulf Coast as part of Keep America Beautiful. He also was a member of DePauw's Relay For Life efforts, a member of the student-athlete Advisory Council and served as the university's tailgating student last fall."

"The desire to help people out and serve the community really stemmed from my mom," Haseley tells the newspaper. "Growing up she would take my sisters and I to do things like serve lunch at a shelter or deliver food or presents to people around Christmas time, and she was always giving her time to things like the Zionsville Education Foundation and booster club, and I’ve just tried to follow her lead."

As Miller reports, "Haseley has also had great success in the classroom. He has been on the SCAC academic honor roll during his first two seasons and he has met the requirements to be a candidate for the Capital One Academic All-America award."

You'll find the complete article -- "Zionsville grad excels at DePauw" -- at the Times Sentinel's website.

For comprehensive coverage of the men's basketball team, click here.

March 18, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Charles W. McConnell, a 1961 graduate of DePauw University, has joined the Greenwich-Old Greenwich offices of William Raveis Real Estate. "Formerly with Sotheby's International Realty in Old Greenwich and active in Greenwich and Stamford real estate for a decade, he previously won the Bronze Award for production," reports the News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut.

It adds, "The 33-year Greenwich resident holds a master of business administration degree from Northwestern University and a bachelor of arts degree from DePauw University and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. Active in the Greenwich community, McConnell is a member of First Congregational Church, Innis Arden Golf Club, the Greenwich Choral Society and the Con Brio Choral Group."

Access the item at the newspaper's website.

March 18, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Hermes Grullon, a DePauw University sophomore, has been selected as a 2011 Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) Fellow. A Bonner Scholar and political science major, Grullon was accepted to the program because of his "commitment to international affairs" and "capacity for progressive professional achievement," according to IIPP director Nicholas Bassey. "Further, your acceptance as an IIPP Fellow reflects your impressive accomplishments and your potential for intellectual growth," writes Bassey.

The fellowship program includes participation in summer institutes, a study abroad program, an internship, language study and graduate school, and must be completed within six years. Grullon's fellowship will begin in mid-June with the Sophomore Summer Policy Institute (SSPI), a seven-week program at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

The IIPP Fellowship program, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the UNCF Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP), seeks to enhance U.S. national security and global competitiveness by promoting excellence, international service, and awareness among a representative cross-section of the American citizenry. The IIPP also seeks to broaden access to international education and training opportunities for underrepresented minority college students. The program provides students from underrepresented minority groups with education and training experiences critical to entry and advancement in international affairs careers.

Learn more by clicking here.

March 19, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Jonathan Nichols-Pethick, associate professor of communication and theatre at DePauw and coordinator of the University's film studies program, will be among the participants at "Law & Order: Changing Television".  Presented by the Carsey-Wolf Center at the University of California- Santa Barbara, the April 15 program "will feature an eclectic mix of actors, executives, journalists, and academics who can speak to Law & Order's 21-year influence on television as a business, its impact on society’s views of the police and justice systems, and its resonance internationally as it has expanded beyond the U.S.," according to an announcement.

Dr. Nichols-Pethick will join in a panel which will include Law & Order actor Alfred Molina, among others.  Another of the show's stars, Benjamin Bratt, and its creator/producer, Dick Wolf, will take part in other sessions.

Learn more by clicking here.

You'll find a previous story on Professor Nichols-Pethick here.

March 20, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it's plain to see just how anemic and irrelevant much of what passes for 'news' is these days," declares Kevin Howley. In a Bloomington Alternative op-ed, the associate professor of communication at DePauw University writes, "In times of crisis, the public needs a robust, independent press willing and able to 'speak truth to power.' Problem is, the art and craft of journalism is in crisis."

Dr. Howley offers "five unmistakable signs of shoddy journalism" in his column.  They include his observation that "Comedians like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and (for the NPR set) Harry Shearer -- not working journalists -- are trusted sources for news, information and analysis," and, "Two words: Charlie Sheen."

Read the complete essay by clicking here.

Howley recently talked with the Public Broadcasting Report about controversial comments made by NPR Foundation President Ron Schiller.  The professor authored Community Media: People, Places, and Communication Technologies.

March 20, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — "Want to know if your marriage will last?" asks today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "A clue may lie in the way you smile in your grade school photo. In 2009, researchers at DePauw University in Indiana conducted two studies that showed the intensity of one's smile could forecast whether or not they got divorced."

The research project -- which was led by Matt Hertenstein, associate professor of psychology at DePauw and received worldwide attention two years ago -- is cited in a story examining "unusual predictors."

"The degree to which people smile in photographs predicts whether or not they'll stay married," Dr. Hertenstein tells the newspaper.

William Loeffler writes, "One study examined photos of children whose average age was 10. Another looked at photos in a college yearbooks. In both cases, the people with the brighter, more intense smiles were more likely to stay together. The bottom 10 percent of the 'smilers' in the college sample, or those with the least intense smiles, were five times more likely to obtain a divorce, compared to those who smiled the most, Hertenstein says. One theory is that a big smile indicates a healthy emotional disposition, one of the essentials to staying married, he says. Another is that people who smile are sociable and tend to attract others like them."

According the professor, "A person's smile in a photograph is not their marital destiny ... (One) must always keep in mind that we're talking about averages and groups of people and general trends that the data tells us. I'm confident in the fact that smiles correlate with life outcomes, one of which is divorce."

You'll find the complete article, "Freaky forecasts: You might be surprised by indicators used in predictions," at the Tribune-Review's website.

The study by Dr. Hertenstein and DePauw students study was first published in the journal Motivation and Emotion. Coverage began in British media outlets, and spread to United Press International, Yahoo! and a piece which aired April 16, 2009 on NBC's Today. The research was included in the New York Times Magazine's "Ninth Annual Year in Ideas" and was cited by the India Times, New Scientist and British Columbia's Province.

The professor's research on communicating through touch led to a September 20, 2010 NPR piece and an interview by ABC's Diane Sawyer, as well as a piece in the New York Times.

Visit Hertenstein's Emotion Lab online by clicking here.

March 21, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Kyle Smitley, a 2007 graduate of DePauw University, "created a business that is capturing national attention from publications such as the Huffington Post, Inc. magazine and Fortune, and garnering environmental nods from organizations like the National Green Pages," reports the Crescent-News of Defiance, Ohio. "Barley & Birch, named for the barley fields near DePauw University and birch trees remembered from her childhood, is a rapidly growing, environmentally responsible children's clothing company. The company goal is to provide the safest clothing and to be as carbon neutral as possible in its production. However, the business of creating cute, environmentally neutral kids' duds aside, the main goal was to garner funding for improving the global community," writes Georgia Kohart. (photo courtesy Defiance Crescent-News)

An experience as a DePauw student planted a seed which led Smitley to create her company. "I went on a work trip to El Salvador with my university,"  she tells the newspaper. "We lived in homes with people there and it was not at all like living with a family here. A concrete house with a dirt floor, smaller than a two-car garage, was home to at least six. They live on rice, beans, and tortillas and sleep in hammocks. The people there are out of work, there is no longer any agriculture, which is what they know. They want to come to the U.S. simply because they want a chance to support their families. The father in the house I stayed struggled every day, worrying about having enough to feed his family. He is afraid they will starve."

Smitley adds, "I couldn't go back to my ignorant, blissful life. I really felt strongly about not doing anything about it. I needed to figure out a way to make it a little better. I want everyone to have the same shot at life."

Smitley founded her company in 2009. "By the end of the first year in business, without shelling out a penny for advertising, the company's kids' clothing was being carried in over 30 stores here and overseas, with proceeds from those sales helping fund schools and clinics globally. The word about Barley & Birch was largely due to parents who blogged about the products and the Barley & Birch mission. The work continues by using donating funds for educating rural farmers on sustainable agriculture to providing shelter to victims of abuse."

"Money doesn't motivate me," Smitley declares. "Money only makes me excited if I can give it away. The business is only a tool. It is the car and philanthropy is the engine."

Access the complete article by clicking here (a subscription may be required).

On February 11, 2011, Kyle Smitley was the Huffington Post's "Greatest Person of the Day".  Details can be found in this previous story.