University of Indianapolis Director of Athletics Sue Willey was honored recently as a distinguished alumna of her other alma mater, Indiana University.

Willey received IU’s W.W. Patty Distinguished Alumni Award, which is presented annually to graduates of its School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation who have demonstrated outstanding personal and professional achievement. She holds master’s and doctorate degrees from IU.

Now in her sixth year leading UIndy athletics, Willey has served on many NCAA committees and governing bodies and was named Division II Administrator of the Year in 2005 by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators. She coached for 23 years at UIndy, leading 43 different teams in five sports, and also has taught in the Department of Kinesiology for more than 26 years, with a special teaching interest in sports ethics.

As an undergraduate student-athlete at UIndy, Willey earned 19 letters and 11 MVP awards, being named Female Athlete of the Year from 1972 through 1975. She was inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

University of Indianapolis student newspaper The Reflector claimed its first national Newspaper Pacemaker award at the recent National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas.

The Reflector also won Best of Show in the four-year college nonweekly category. The Associated Collegiate Press competition requires the submission of five issues of the newspaper published during specified periods throughout the academic year.

The UIndy paper’s web counterpart, The Reflector Online, placed fourth in the online Best of Show category. Contest entries are judged by the Florida-based Poynter Institute for journalism.

The Reflector staff is currently headed by editor-in-chief Adrian Kendrick, managing editor Samantha Cotten and news editor Kim Puckett. The faculty adviser is Jeanne Criswell, associate professor of communication.

An event Saturday night will mark a half-century of nursing education at the University of Indianapolis.

The School of Nursing 50th Anniversary Gala in Schwitzer Student Center’s UIndy Hall will include dinner, music, tours of the school and its simulated nursing laboratory, and reflections on the past 50 years. The event begins at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m., and is open to alumni, family and friends, as well as current faculty and students.

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Ariana Kim, assistant professor of music, is the cover story of the Indianapolis Star’s Sunday arts section this week, previewing tonight’s “Ariana and Friends” Faculty Artist Series concert at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center.

In the full-page Q&A with arts critic Jay Harvey, the Juilliard-schooled violinist – who still has ongoing engagements in New York City, Minneapolis and elsewhere – explains why she was attracted to the University of Indianapolis:

“The thing that drew me most to it is that it was a school that effectively combined the feeling of a university setting with a small arts-and-sciences school,” she said. “The department can function independently; students are known by name and can be individually supported, and the music faculty functions as a unit. It felt like the right fit.”

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Trick-or-treating in the residence halls and other Halloween traditions at the University of Indianapolis are featured in an Indianapolis Star photo gallery.

Photographer Charlie Nye captured several staffers, faculty, students and kids as they enjoyed the Oct. 29 festivities, organized by the Residence Hall Association, Circle K, Sigma Zeta, the CaLUB, the library staff and Experiential Studies.

To see captions for the photos below, just position your cursor over the image.

The UIndy Department of Theatre is dedicating its 2009-2010 season to the late Richard Williams (pictured), who chaired the department from 1967 to 1994 and directed more than 120 productions, often drawing critical praise.

Dr. Williams died Oct 27 after an illness. He is survived by his wife, Muriel Williams; daughter, Kathryn Ransburg; and sons Richard Williams and Douglas Williams.

At the University of Indianapolis, still known as Indiana Central when he arrived, Williams initiated the annual dinner theatre production, still a reliable sellout, and led performance tours to both coasts and the United Kingdom. Under his leadership, the department presented the world premieres of You Can’t Go Home Again, Airwaves and One Voice; the Indianapolis premiere of The Grapes of Wrath; and the city’s first non-professional productions of 1776 and Children of a Lesser God.

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A top White House adviser on faith issues will speak Nov. 11 at the University of Indianapolis.
 
Interfaith activist Eboo Patel, recently named among “America’s Best Leaders 2009” by U.S. News & World Report, will deliver a 4:30 p.m. lecture and lead a 6 p.m. dinner discussion as part of the University Series and the Indianapolis Spirit & Place Festival.
 
Patel is founder and executive director of Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization that promotes interfaith understanding by engaging youth of various religious traditions in community service. The group’s work with college students is based on the concept that religious pluralism is the best antidote to the violent extremism that fuels many of the world’s conflicts.
 
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WRTV news carried a story Tuesday about the ongoing research into metal theft conducted by UIndy’s Community Research Center, part of the Department of Social Sciences.

Metal theft is a crime in which the damage to victims’ buildings and vehicles typically far outweighs the value when thieves sell the material to scrap metal recyclers. The latest finding by Assistant Professor Kevin Whiteacre (pictured) and his students is that the incidence of metal theft increases with the number of scrap yards in a given community.

Results of the national study will be presented at the American Society of Criminology’s annual conference Nov. 5 in Philadelphia.

Read or watch the report

Homecoming festivities Oct. 24 included the awarding of prizes in UIndy’s first annual Dog Bowl Video Challenge, in which students were invited to create brief videos explaining why they love the University of Indianapolis.

Winners were selected by popular vote on UIndy’s Facebook page, where the entries are posted for viewing. Elementary education major Ben Bertoli played it for laughs and took home the top prize, a 32-inch high-definition LCD TV. His fast-paced 90-second entry, “UIndy: Best School Ever,” featured fake mustaches, a stirring soundtrack, simulated archival footage and a simulated Miss America.

Bertoli’s victory will be memorialized with the engraving of his name on the official Dog Bowl trophy, created by noted ceramicist and art department chairman Dee Schaad for permanent display in Schwitzer Student Center.

Claiming second prize, a Flip Video camcorder, was freshman Zac Sowinski, a communication major from Merrillville. Third prize, an iPod shuffle, went to freshman Devon Sease, a psychology major from Camby.

Watch other winning videos

In conjunction with a month-long exhibition of pieces from its permanent art collection – like this T.C. Steele landscape at right – the University of Indianapolis Department of Art & Design will show off its newly renovated classroom and studio spaces.

An open house and exhibition reception is scheduled 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in conjunction with the city’s First Fridays events. Labs and studios will be open for tours, and faculty and students will be on hand to answer questions. Admission is free to the event, aimed at alumni, prospective students and the general public.
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