Fall 2008 The Magazine of the UIndyUniversity of Indianapolis Portico IN THIS ISSUE NINGBO CONNECTION A UIndy delegation visits a changing China just ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Page 6 PRETTY SHARP The new Miss Indiana will appear in a reality series and tout service while she finishes her studies. Page 8 SURPRISE HOOSIERS The Hoosiers, a hot new band in the U.K., have warm memories of UIndy student days. Page 32 ALUMNI.UINDY.EDU 1 UIndyPortico Table of Contents 4 8 12 16 President’s forum Not just a pretty face One-stop cultural Big Easy, School spirit is surging, The new Miss Indiana and district: 1400 East big challenges and Greyhound football a UIndy senior, Katie Stam Hanna Avenue Student Amera Schaefer has never been more fun. has a schedule that just got As always, the arts season at led the way in organizing And President Beverley really busy—and includes UIndy has so much to offer. an Honors College service- Pitts notes some special a reality TV show and the Choose from among jazz, learning trip to New Orleans announcements will be Miss America pageant. classical music, theatre, and to continue post-Katrina made at the games. art exhibitions. Better yet, cleanup efforts. 10 don’t choose—try them all! 5 WIBC news director 17 Nurturing the leads in a time of 14 Scholarly pursuits Ningbo connection industry change Dance Dance Faculty academic activities The University’s growing Radio is changing, and Evolution and highlights include Jen partnership with China’s that’s true at one of the Physical Therapy faculty and Drake’s new role as director Ningbo Institute of most storied stations in students researched effects of UIndy’s Woodrow Technology took UIndy Indianapolis and Central of the popular music video Wilson Indiana Teaching representatives to that Indiana. But Amber Stearns game as exercise and found Fellowship program. country on the eve of the is on the case. that there were indeed Olympics in Beijing. positive changes in health. On the Cover Hawkers at Beijing’s Donghuamen Night Market lure young tourists with snacks from the around the country. Page 5. 2 PORTICO FALL 2008 2008–2009 Alumni Association Board of Directors Amber Harrison Stearns ’95, President Brian Martin ’88, Immediate Past President Marvin Pavlov ’98. President-Elect Vicky Swank ’78 ’80 ’99, Secretary Stephen Arthur ’76 Ronald Bolyard ’70 Bobbie Brooker ’74 Cameron Causey ’02 Amy Johnson Burton ’94 Suzanne Davidson ’02 ’06 C. Randy Ellison ’77 ’80 ’99 Thomas Flanagan ’95 Gretchen Craft ’93 Mustafa Guven ’99 William Hartung ’81 Greg Hill ’74 David Howey ’94 R. Jeffrey Irvin ’65 Nick LaGuire ’04 Cindy Lewis ’99 ’05 Kelly Dunwell McWilliams ’91 Bruce Miller ’74 Juan Paz ’95 ’96 ’99 26 32 Portico Anita Samuel ’98 UIndy finishes 15th Band with UIndy The magazine of the Shane Steimel ’95 ’97 in Directors’ Cup history tops charts University of Indianapolis Joe Stafford ’98 Read these sports highlights, Two-thirds of the trio University Editor Sonja Freeman White ’06 then visit athletics.uindy. dubbed the Hoosiers, Irwin R. Peter Noot ’77 ’84 edu for the latest news and Sparkes and Alan Sharland, Art Director Nondiscriminatory the new blog, Greyhound are former Greyhounds. Jeannine Allen Policies Notebook. Also, learn how Now their album has hit Assistant Director to get text messages with number 1 in the U.K. The University of Indianapolis for Publications updates on the latest scores! does not discriminate on the basis Jennifer L. Huber ’07 34 of race, color, gender, age, religion, 28 Class notes Director of Alumni Relations creed, sexual orientation, marital Upcoming events: News of alumni, plus: Monica M. Woods status, or ethnic or national origin Lucas Oil Stadium tour Jim Vogelman took an Assistant Director in any of its program offerings and Homecoming ’08! unusual path to an unusual of Alumni Relations or employment practices. The Upcoming events include vocation (page 39), and PT Myla Edmond University is committed to the spirit some great trips and a grad Mark Schermerhorn Class Notes and letter of the Rehabilitation private tour of the new continues to aid athletes Nathan Rundquist ’10 Act of 1973 and the Americans home of the Colts. at major events around the Kelli Whitenack ’11 with Disabilities Act and strives to provide equal access to all phases of world (page 43). Contributing Writers Mary Atteberry ’07 University life and activity. Scott Hall Valerie Miller Wahlstrom ’08 Please address correspondence and address changes to the Office of Alumni Relations. ALUMNI.UINDY.EDU 3 President’s Forum Homecoming, fall, football Time for fun & games & news Picture this. A beautiful fall evening, a huge, roaring crowd of 4,000 decked out in UIndy crimson and grey, and a last-second Greyhound touchdown under the lights for a come-from- behind Homecoming victory. Fireworks erupt over the field as jubilant spectators celebrate and the scoreboard flashes H“ ounds Win!” Wouldn’t that be fun to see? That was the scene at last year’s Homecoming contest, and it’s one more reason for the strong surge in school spirit we’re enjoying at UIndy football games. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference often is called the toughest Division II conference in the nation, so the games are always exciting and competitive. Most of our home games are played on Saturday nights. I hope you will join us as often as you can for this quintessential college rite of fall. Also, at our first home football game on September 20, we’ll have some exciting news to share with you. Shortly thereafter, a week of festivities will culminate in our Homecoming game on October 4, when the Greyhounds take on Michigan’s Northwood University in Key Stadium. (See page 30 for a complete schedule.) We will be making a special announcement during the game that you won’t want to miss, honoring one of our own. I hope to see you there. Beverley Pitts, President 4 PORTICO FALL 2008 Nurturing the Ningbo connection China has long been a source of intrigue for Westerners, but the mystery is fading as the world’s most populous nation evolves into the economic superpower of the 21st century. When a group representing UIndy faculty, staff, and students visited China in May, they found a land of paradox: A country once defined by rural poverty, now noted for the wealth accumulating in its cities. A state that is officially communist and atheist, governing a population that practices many faiths and bursts at the seams with entre- preneurship and commerce. A people steeped in four millennia of tradition but delighted by American pop culture, arguing about their NBA heroes and waiting for the next bootleg episode of “Desperate Housewives” to appear online. The visitors’ destination was Ningbo Institute of Technology, a school of 12,000 students in a booming port city of six million. NIT is home to a groundbreaking partnership in which a limited number of eligible Chinese students who complete two years of UIndy coursework—in Ningbo or Indianapolis—can obtain valuable joint degrees from the two institutions. The journey came at an interesting time, when residents were abuzz about the approaching summer Olympic Games but still reeling from a devastating earthquake. Side visits to the historic capital city of Beijing and hip, futuristic Shanghai offered glimpses of both the past and the future. Left: Buddhist monks talk at a temple complex on Xuedou Mountain, near Ningbo. ALUMNI.UINDY.EDU 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 6 PORTICO FALL 2008 7 8 10 1 Shanghai’s Old Town is an odd mix of history and kitsch; shoppers are hounded by dubious promises of designer watches and rare antiques. 2 In the wake of the devastating May 12 earth- quake in southwestern China, NIT students sell snacks to raise money for disaster relief. 3 At a scenic area outside Ningbo, a rickshaw driver checks his mobile phone. 4 A Beijing commercial building sports a huge video screen as well as the Golden Arches. 5 The striking Jinmao Tower in Shanghai’s Pudong district stands in sharp contrast to the European-style buildings across the river. 6 TheB und, a business district on the western bank of the Huangpu River, is lined with neo- classical and art deco architecture from Shang- hai’s past as a hub for European commerce in the early 20th century. The waterside prom- 11 enade is lined with pulsating colored lights. 7 A billboard at NIT advertises an “American Idol”-like contest among the institution’s 12,000 students. 8 On Xuedou Mountain, the view from the top of Qiangzhangya waterfall looks like a scene from a traditional Chinese landscape painting. 9 Soldiers marching near Tiananmen Square pass a clock counting down the seconds until the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. 10 The Forbidden City, home to China’s royal fami- lies since 1406, is a maze of vast open plazas and intimate gardens and temples. Its 800 wooden structures, surrounded by walls and a moat, are prone to fire and have been repaired and reno- 12 vated almost continually through the centuries. 11 Shanghai’s downtown riverside district, known as the Bund, is a favorite spot for tourist snapshots. 12 Constructed as the main venue for the 2008 Olympics, the new National Stadium in Beijing is nicknamed the “Bird’s Nest” for its whimsical steel structure. 13 13 The Badaling section of the Great Wall, which guards a mountain pass outside Beijing, offers spectacular views for those who can make the steep climb. This segment dates to around 1400, though it has been renovated and repaired many times.