Black History Month events
February is Black History Month, and the IUPUI Multicultural Center has released a calendar of events honoring the occasion.
You can download the calendar of events online.
To strike out more on your own, download this Black History Month activity guide.
Additionally, the IUPUI Arts & Humanities Institute wanted to call attention to three upcoming events:
- On Feb. 10, Lasana Kazembe premieres “The Voodoo of Hell’s Half-Acre,” a multimedia blues opera that centers on the life of writer Richard Wright. It’s a live, multimedia theatrical presentation described as “a deepened inquiry and artistic conversation between cultural memory, social tensions and the unreconciled strivings within the souls of Black folk.” Registration is required.
- Throughout the month, OnyxFest is presenting six plays available for streaming: Aniqua Chatman’s “Bluesy Night,” J.R. Blatimore’s “Anniversary,” Rain Wilson’s “I Feed You Defiance,” Vernon A. Williams’ “Being Black,” Michael Florence’s “On the Corner” and Shandrea Funnye’s “Seven Days.”
- On Feb. 17, a conversation about race in America with an international perspective will be had with Isabel Wilkerson, acclaimed author of “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.” The conversation will explore racial discrimination in an international context and how such exploration can provide new insights into the struggle for racial justice. Registration for the event is required.
Stay informed about IU’s COVID-19 efforts
Dr. Aaron Carroll, one of the leaders of IU’s COVID-19 Medical Response Team, was asked during the Jan. 27 “Ask Aaron” webinar whether the vaccine will be available to faculty, staff and students, and if so, when?
The state determines who is eligible to receive the vaccine and when, and distributes it to groups that administer it, Carroll said, but he added that in the meantime, IU is busy with preparations to administer the vaccine.
“What IU is doing is ramping up infrastructure and getting massively prepared so that when the state says, ‘Go,’ we’re ready to give it,” he said.
You can learn additional details about IU’s COVID-19 efforts and the virus itself during upcoming “Ask Aaron” webinars, which are virtual Q&A sessions. The next webinars for all campuses are at noon Feb. 10, 17 and 24. If you are unable to watch them live, you can watch the recordings at broadcast.iu.edu.
For the latest COVID-19 updates, go to covid.iu.edu.
Protect yourself and IU: Get your flu vaccination
Don’t mess around with the flu this year. Getting a flu vaccine is not only easy, it’s a good defense for you and the entire IU community.
Visit IU’s COVID-19 website to learn how to get a free flu shot at IU, how to report you’ve already been vaccinated or how to request an exemption.
First-year faculty and students bring innovation to Jag Challenge
First-Year Experience faculty had the opportunity to have their classes participate in Jag Challenge, and 19 First-Year Experience sections ended up participating.
The First-Year Experience program gives freshmen the opportunity to define a problem space at IUPUI and to then propose a solution. This year’s problem spaces included finding the solution to reinventing the online learning culture, strengthening IUPUI’s relationship with Indianapolis, creating a safer space at IUPUI, and developing a more welcoming space at IUPUI.
Read about the experience on the Division of Undergraduate Education’s website.
13 cybersecurity tips for remote teaching and learning
Teaching and learning remotely means that faculty, staff and students are outside of many of the safeguards provided by the IU network. Therefore, assuming more responsibility for cybersecurity is important for keeping your system and data secure.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be a technical genius to be more secure. Consider these 13 tips from UITS.
If you need help, contact your IT Pro or campus UITS Support Center.
New technology seminar series from Indiana CTSI
The Indiana CTSI Access Technology Program is presenting a new technology-based seminar series that will begin this month. The purpose of the series is to inform investigators how existing or new technologies offered by the core facilities at Indiana University, IUPUI, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame could be useful in advancing their research.
The series will begin Feb. 12 and take place from noon to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Fridays of the month until May.
The first seminar, on Feb. 12, will be “Spatial Transcriptomics by 10X Genomics” and will be hosted by Yunlong Liu, director of the IU School of Medicine Center for Medical Genomics.
Registration for the Zoom event is required.
For questions or to be added to a mailing list for seminar announcements, contact Jill Reiter, director of the Indiana CTSI Access Technology Program, at jireiter@iu.edu.
IU Fort Wayne begins Phase 2 of mascot search
IU Fort Wayne is entering Phase 2 of its campus mascot search. In December, community members were asked to submit campus mascot ideas for consideration. The campus had over 250 submissions and has narrowed down the search to the most popular options: River Otters, Red Foxes, Summiteers and Saint Bernards.
And now, IU Fort Wayne is once again asking for the Greater Fort Wayne community’s help. By visiting iufw.edu/mascot, community members can vote on one of the four mascot options. Voting began Feb. 1 and closes Monday, Feb. 8.
“We are overwhelmed by the community’s interest in our campus and its dedication in helping us establish an identity for our staff and students,” said Jake Huffman, assistant director of student success, engagement and retention at IU Fort Wayne. “We hope to continue seeing everyone’s support as we get closer to selecting a mascot.”
Information on the mascot search will be updated regularly on IU Fort Wayne’s social media pages.
February photo caption contest
The IUPUI Photo Caption Contest for February features two beloved campus personalities. Post your captions to the photo, and you could win Special Collections and Archives’ Fabulous Prize! Check out more IUPUI photos in the IUPUI Image Collection.
Congratulations to Jim Oppold for his winning caption to January’s photo: “On the advice of counsel, the ‘Fun with Super Glue’ exhibit was shut down permanently.” He wins a Fabulous Prize!
