IUPUI ranked most sustainable university in Indiana
IUPUI earned recognition for its commitment to sustainability and was recently ranked No. 1 as the most sustainable university in Indiana from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System Report. The campus earned a gold rating and had a score of 70.57 in the full 2020 STARS report.
The report is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s STARS program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership.
Sharing words of gratitude and celebrating retirees
IUPUI is sharing its gratitude for the career dedication and efforts of the 92 faculty retirees from the past two academic years. The Office of Academic Affairs commonly hosts a faculty retiree luncheon but has not done so the past two years because of COVID-19.
Words of gratitude, including introductions from Chancellor Nasser H. Paydar and Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Kathy E. Johnson have been posted for the 2019-20 retirees and 2020-21 retirees.
We talked with Barry Katz, a 2020 retiree who was a faculty member at the IU School of Medicine for 36 years, about his time at IUPUI.
Question: When you look back, what will you remember most?
Answer: I worked on a countless number of projects with people in all of the health science schools, so it is hard to pick, but I think that the people will always be what I remember. Because of the fantastic colleagues that I had over the years, I was part of groundbreaking research in fields as diverse as sexually transmitted infections, rheumatology, dental caries, health services, sport-related concussion and radiation exposure research. This work led to my induction as a fellow of the American Statistical Association, the largest organization of statisticians in the world.
One unusual note that most people don’t know is that I developed the initial formula used to divide up the tobacco settlement money among the states.
Q: Is there anything you are especially proud of or someone you want to thank?
A: I had many mentors in the areas in which I worked when my career began and, as happens when one gets old, almost all are retired or have passed away. Rather than try to name them all, I want to recognize my primary mentor, Dr. Siu Hui, who brought me to IU in 1984 and started the biostatistics group.
I am most proud to have continued that legacy by bringing biostatistics from a division in the Department of Medicine to a department that resides in both the IU School of Medicine and the Fairbanks School of Public Health. As the founding chair, I am extremely proud of how we went from three faculty to 30 and now are the Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, and have been consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally for NIH funding.
Q: What are you looking forward to doing in retirement?
A: I have been retired for almost a year, and only now, due to the pandemic, am I looking forward to the leisure activities that I enjoy: movies at the theater, shows and concerts, eating in restaurants, and in-person sporting events. I am starting to plan a travel schedule that will hopefully take me to places I have always wanted to visit. It’s not easy to do this yet but hopefully soon.
Star of ‘Good Bones’ raising money for minority students
Karen Laine, star of HGTV’s hit show “Good Bones” and an IU McKinney School of Law graduate, is participating in a virtual interview hosted by the IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations.
“From Law School to Home Rehab: A Conversation with Karen Laine” will take place virtually from 3 to 4 p.m. June 17. Registration is required, and the $5 fee for attendees will be donated to the Neal-Marshall Alumni Club scholarship, which supports minority students attending any IU campus, including IUPUI.
University Library launches new website, eliminating fines
University Library personnel worked for the past 18 months on a revamped website that launched in early May. The user experience team worked with students, faculty and other stakeholders through focus groups and usability testing to make improvements that update and streamline the most important functions of the library website.
A key upgrade for the site is an updated search function. It is now easier for users to find specific journals, articles and databases. The new article search returns results from the catalog, databases and open-access repositories. If the article is not immediately accessible, the search will direct the user to interlibrary loan to request it.
Additionally, beginning on July 1, University Library is eliminating overdue fines on books from their collection and the Herron Art Library collection.
Winning playwrights announced for OnyxFest 2021
One of the few area production groups that produced effectively during the pandemic of 2020 is returning to the stage in October for the first and only theater festival in Indiana spotlighting the work of Black playwrights. The sponsoring African Repertory Theatre of IUPUI has announced the five plays selected for this year’s event:
- “1,200 Miles from Jerome” by Crystal Rhodes is about the World War II-era adventure of a mother, two daughters, a young school teacher and a Japanese American fugitive forced to leave their hometown of Jerome, Arkansas, and flee over 1,200 miles to New York City.
- “Fly Blackbird Fly: Voices We Can’t Unhear” by Latrice P. Young is a choreopoem portrayal of a young girl growing up too fast beyond the watch of her concerned mother, and her traumatic journey to find herself, purpose, love and healing.
- “In the End” by Sharai Bohannon is a story antithesis to the “Angel of Death,” a more compassionate cherub, which meets three people in different places in life as they confront one common denominator: their inevitable mortality as they reflect on their lives.
- “That Day in February” by Janice Morris Neal is about three siblings who try to reconcile thoughts and emotions as they face the prospect of their father being paroled after 16 years in prison for the death of their mother. They ponder what could be a life-changing decision.
- “This Bitter Cup” by Charla Booth is about a southern Black entrepreneurial family that wrestles with the challenge of sustaining their successful business, as the son is intent on going north to pursue other interests and the daughter weighs prejudices against women and Black people.
OnyxFest 2021 will take place Oct. 6 to 10 at both the District Theatre and IndyFringe. Performances continue Oct. 15 to 17 at the IUPUI Campus Center theater.
Those interested in acting or working on the production end of the five plays can visit onyxfest.com or call 317-274-8710.
Proposal deadline extended for 2021 IU Online Conference
Staff and faculty have until June 21 to submit their presentation proposals to the 2021 IU Online Conference.
IU faculty, administrators, advisors, success coaches and staff members are invited to submit proposals about their experience and lessons learned in online education. Presentations that fit this year’s theme, Transforming Student Access and Success with Online Education,” are especially welcome. Presenters will be notified in August.
The IU Online Conference takes place Oct. 27 to 29, entirely online. Registration for the IU Online Conference is free and will open soon.
Newest webinar from TRIP Center
Professor Philip Cochran is the featured speaker for this month’s Scholar of the Month Community Dialogue Speaker Series presented by the IUPUI TRIP Center. The webinar is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. June 25.
Cochran’s presentation is called “COVID-25: Preparing for the Next Black Swan.”
Registration is required for the event.
Faculty member wins NAGAP Visionary Award
Tabitha Hardy was recently selected as the 2021 Visionary Award winner by NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment. Hardy is interim assistant vice chancellor for graduate education and assistant dean for student development and academic affairs within the University Graduate School and IUPUI Graduate Office.
The award is presented to an organization or individual who champions the issues of access and equity in graduate education.
Center wins $18,000 as part of public safety challenge
The IUPUI Center for Visual Info Sensing and Computing recent won the Phase 2 Award of $6,000 and a CDVL Distribution Prize of $12,000 as winner of the NIST Enhancing Computer Vision for Public Safety Challenge.
The challenge centers on creating new lines of research in computer vision to develop life-saving tools for public safety.
June photo caption contest
Don your Groucho Marx glasses and post your silly captions to the new-look IUPUI Photo Caption Contest for June. This month we feature a 2003 photo of deans singing to retiring chancellor Gerald Bepko. What were they singing? You decide!
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 John Hayes for winning May’s contest with his caption: “This, ladies and gentlemen, is what a fully vaccinated, ready-to-return-to-in-person-learning, IUPUI Jaguar looks like!”
