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Around IU Bloomington

Nov 5, 2019

IU Bloomington ranked among ‘Best for Vets’ by Military Times

An American flag and the Indiana state flag flies over the Student Building
IU Bloomington was recognized as “Best for Vets” by Military Times. Photo by Eric Rudd, Indiana University

IU Bloomington was selected as one of the 135 four-year schools recognized as “Best for Vets” by Military Times.

Selection criteria include a review of policies, practices, support resources and retention/graduation rates. IU Bloomington has the 13th highest military graduation rate of those that reported their rate.

This is the first year that IU Bloomington has made the rankings. Director of IU Center for Veteran and Military Students John Summerlot said he believes two changes played major roles in IU making the rankings: creation of the Center for Veteran and Military Students in 2018, and development of Operation Hoosier Promise, IU Bloomington’s three-year commitment to improving support for military-connected students.

Visiting speaker to lecture on race, religion

Visiting speaker Schirin Amir-Moazami will speak at 4 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Global and International Studies Building, where she’ll explore how a set of complex dynamics influence the formation of race and religion as scientific categories of modern knowledge production.

Her lecture asks how current politics of knowledge production on Muslims and Islam in Europe are predicated on historically constituted epistemologies of governing populations and how the politics of measuring are related to the formation of race and religion as scientific categories of modern knowledge production.

Amir-Moazami is assistant professor at the Department of Islamic Studies at Free University Berlin and a principal investigator at the Berlin Graduate School for Muslim Cultures and Societies.

Bat boxes on campus provide habitat for misunderstood but beneficial creatures

A bat box in Dunn's Woods on the IU Bloomington campus.
A bat box in Dunn’s Woods on the IU Bloomington campus. Photo by Eric Rudd, Indiana University

Dunn’s Woods in the heart of the IU Bloomington campus is home to three bat boxes. Experts say there are many benefits to having bats on campus: They pollinate flowers and disperse seeds, as well as eat bugs and protect biodiversity, among others.

The Caving Club at IU donated three bat boxes in 2016 to the Bloomington Urban Woodlands Project, a local organization that restores and researches local woodlands, and connects them with the community. The goal was to promote ecosystem services and protect biodiversity. The project was funded by the club and aided by local businesses.

Apply for a 2020 Sustainability Innovation Fund grant

The Innovation Fund is a $50,000 grant opportunity to support sustainability initiatives on campus. Applications for the 2019-20 award are open now, and a brief letter of interest is due at 5 p.m. Nov. 18.

Additional information is included in the request for proposals.

Learn more about last year’s winners: Mike Girvin with IU Landscape Services teamed up with Jon Eldon, a professor at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs; Shawn Naylor from Indiana Geological and Water Survey; and students Tristan Voge and Nestor Ruizvelasco to develop a proposal for a new campus composting facility that will create a “closed-loop” system. Rather than disposing of all of the Bloomington campus’s landscaping waste each year, Girvin’s team will turn the waste into compost that can be reused as fertilizer across the grounds and on the Campus Farm.

Annual Potpourri of the Arts event to feature special host

A performance at the annual Potpourri of the Arts event
The annual Potpourri of the Arts show is 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at IU Auditorium. Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University

The IU African American Arts Institute presents the annual Potpourri of the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at IU Auditorium. The show will feature performances by the African American Dance Company, African American Choral Ensemble and IU Soul Revue.

Funk pioneer, legendary bassist and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Bootsy Collins will emcee the annual celebration of African American performance.

The African American Dance Company will share a broad range of movement and dance traditions from America and the African diaspora, including African, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz and other cultural forms directed by Stafford C. Berry Jr. Then, hear the best of African American spirituals, gospel and formally composed works with the African American Choral Ensemble directed by Raymond Wise. To complete the line-up, IU Soul Revue will perform dynamic black popular music, including R&B, soul, funk and contemporary music styles, directed by James Strong.

Then, all three ensembles will join together in a collaborative finale piece.

Read a Q&A with two performers in the show.

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