Inside UIndy summer 2012 Swimming to London—A UIndy swimmer is training to compete in the Paralympics in September. Also inside: A Hoosier student and an Irish student trade countries for a year. An unpaid chemistry internship last summer pays off this summer. And more. Plus: meet our new president! Seeing green Students, faculty, and staff at the University want to lessen UIndy’s impact on the environment. Some, like Savannah Webb, an Exercise Science major, spend some of their free time working to promote environmental awareness. This year the Green Team created signs above light switches to promote energy sav- ings and launched a new initiative to compost food scraps from the campus dining hall. Using pens made from recycled materials, students can send each other notes on compostable postcards that sprout wildflowers (well, you do have to plant them first). Students are also working to recycle more in the dorms and throughout campus and striving to reduce the number of printed pages in computer labs. And the campus is getting greener, too: more than 300 trees were planted on campus this year. (com-)post card 2 Inside UIndy 4 16 10 Campus news Eye on the ball Greyhound highlights UIndy has a new president—only the It’s impossible to cover all the events Jacob Slusher has a dream: going ninth president in its 110-year history. that make up life on a college campus, to med school. He’s focused on that The campus sculpture walk has a especially at UIndy. And it seems as new addition to check out when you goal, but first he has to lay the foun- though every academic year is filled visit campus. The speech team brings dation by pursuing his undergraduate with more high points than the last. home some serious hardware. And degree. When it came to financing Here are a few (very few) of the more! Go to news.uindy.edu for the his pre-med education at UIndy, help events that made 2011–12 great. most up-to-date info. came from an unexpected source. table of contents 18 6 12 Destination: Trading places Analyze this We love helping our students travel Downtown Mary Surma spent last summer When you choose a university, internationally. But we also love to doing research in a county health you’re also choosing the town it’s bring international students to UIndy, lab—for no pay. If that seems like in. It’s your home away from home and hundreds come each year to earn bad judgment to you, you may be for the next few years. It’s where a degree. Catherine Potter of interested to see how she’s spend- you’ll look for internships, make Northern Ireland, though, came as ing this summer. And how well- career connections, and just go part of a special program for a year prepared she is for her future career. to unwind. You can’t go wrong of business study at UIndy. Mean- with Indiana’s capital city—there’s while, Hoosier Hailey Shaffer a reason we’ve been getting so spent that time studying in Belfast. much national attention recently! 14 8 A career for kids Most college students are idealists 22 who hope to make a difference in Making a splash the world, both before and after they Now what? Members of UIndy’s Greyhound graduate. Curtis Ward discovered Page 22 has all the information you swim team endure a demanding a way to do that as early as his first need: how to apply to UIndy, how to schedule to prepare for rigorous semester at the University, and he’s arrange a campus visit, how to find NCAA II competition. Then there’s found a way to turn it into a career. out about scholarships and grants, Dalton Herendeen, who isn’t how to contact us by email or snail content with those challenges. mail, and more. We look forward to He’s preparing to make a splash in hearing from you! London in this summer’s Paralympics. 3 campus news inside.uindy.edu stainless steel poles, varying visually news.uindy.edu as light conditions shift. And it’s right at the intersection of Hanna and www.facebook.com/uindy Otterbein, on Good Hall’s wide lawn. www.youtube.com/uindytv The new sculpture, “Source,” created www.uindy.edu/athletics by a pair of Wisconsin artists, is the new addition to UIndy’s Fifth Third Bank Campus Sculpture Walk, which includes more than 20 pieces. Hail to the chief Service starts early Dr. Robert Manuel won’t take the In true Campus Camp-In tradition, helm until July. But UIndy’s athletics admitted students visiting UIndy mascot already has captured the this spring got a taste of what the imaginations of his three young University’s “Education for Service” daughters. “My children are enam- motto is all about: they built, painted, ored with the possibility of getting a and sold three wooden playhouses greyhound as a pet,” he quipped to to raise money for southern Indiana the students, faculty, and staff when tornado relief. Each playhouse sold he was formally introduced as the for $250, with proceeds donated to University’s ninth president. His the American Red Cross. remarks also had a serious side. “The most exciting part of this position is that I think UIndy is poised to lead Novices no more the conversation about relevance” in UIndy’s novice speech team took the higher eduation field, said Manuel, first place in its division at the Novice 44, “and I think we can do so on the National Individual Events tourna- national stage.” He is currently a dean ment in Pennsylvania. The squad and associate provost at Georgetown of Cameron Sabotin, Olivia University in Washington, D.C. Bohnhoff, and Ashley Stanford brought home 13 awards all together. The tournament attracted more than 150 students from 25 institutions. Philosophizing on the Hunger Games The Hunger Games’ popularity has meant a lot of phone calls for George Dunn of the Philosophy & Religion Department. He’s done both local and national interviews on the trilogy’s weighty themes. Dunn, who teaches on the home campus See ‘the Source’ as well as at UIndy’s partnership site It’s tall and shiny. It moves with the at Ningbo Institute of Technology in wind. Its wavy aluminum blades evoke China, is co-editor of the book The flowing water and twirl atop three Hunger Games and Philosophy. 4 Inside UIndy A Q & A with: Graduating senior Mengjie Du Hometown: Shangyu, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China Campus job? “I have worked in the admissions office for two years. UIndy provides a lot of opportunities to work on campus.” Fun fact: “During my time at UIndy, I used holiday time to travel a lot to places like New York, L.A., San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Miami, Key West, and Mexico. I really appreciate getting to study abroad and travel.” Far from home, but in a comfort zone Q: Why did you choose UIndy? Hall. They were so nice and helped “I always thought professors were “I’d wanted to study in the U.S. since me adapt to life in the U.S. They only serious and boring, but now I was a child, because the education taught me how to bake cookies and I know that professors can also be in this country is comprehensive and shared their favorite songs with me. funny and awesome.” well-respected. One of my friends Making friends was really easy when who studied in the U.S. recom- I came to UIndy.” Q: Favorite place to hang out? mended that I attend college in the “I love UIndy’s free gym. I go running Midwest because big cities like New Q: What’s life on campus like? and swimming when I need a break York and Los Angeles have so many “As a Chinese student, living on from studying. The gym is always Chinese people, meaning English campus with American girls was clean and it’s not crowded.” might not be necessary in daily definitely an exciting, fresh experi- life. My college in China (Ningbo ence; it was so interesting living in Q: How do you like Indianapolis? Institute of Technology) has a study- a different culture. My American “Indianapolis is not as famous as abroad option at UIndy, so I’m earn- roommates were very nice and have New York City, but what I like here ing credit for both my UIndy degree always been happy to teach me new is that it has a quiet and friendly and my Chinese degree.” things. It’s not only a good memory environment. I feel it is a very nice of friendship but it was also very city to live and study, and it’s quite helpful for improving my English.” Q: Are you involved on campus? safe compared with other cities.” “I am an International Ambassador in the Admissions Office. I commu- What is your favorite thing Q: Q: What’s one thing that sets nicate with prospective students about your professors? UIndy apart from other schools? from China and provide them “American professors are very “UIndy has many students from all with information, write a Chinese- different from Chinese professors! over the world and they take care language blog about campus, and During my first class at UIndy, I was of the international students very maintain a Weibo (Chinese Twitter) surprised to see my professor take well. UIndy has an International account for UIndy.” off one of his shoes and continue Relations office and a special inter- teaching because he felt his left foot national orientation, which are very was too warm.