Ole Miss considers ‘Star Wars’ rebel for mascot

By Dave Larsen | Monday, March 15, 2010, 10:46 AM

Admiral Akbar

University of Mississippi students are turning to a galaxy far, far away for their new on-field mascot.

The Ole Miss Rebels’ former mascot, Colonel Reb, was abandoned in 2003 because some people saw the antebellum figure as a caricature of a plantation owner.

Students are now campaigning to make Admiral Ackbar, the alien commander of the rebel alliance in “Star Wars,” the school’s new mascot, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The push for Ackbar “kind of started as a joke,” said Matthew Henry, one of the students who came up with the idea, to the Chronicle. “We’re not fully expecting Admiral Ackbar to be our on-field mascot.”

Ackbar fever has gripped the campus, according to the Chronicle. Henry and his friends created a popular Facebook page and Twitter account for the squid-like character, along with the Web site notatrap.org. The site name is a reference to Akbar’s most famous line in “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi:” “It’s a trap!” The site features a photo of Ackbar wearing Ole Miss colors and a logo for the “Ole Miss Rebel Alliance.”

The school’s student body voted in February to develop a new mascot, and this month a student committee is to be named to propose one. Henry said he talked to one student who plans to gather signatures in support of Admiral Ackbar, the Chronicle reported.

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UD professor featured in rock documentary

By Dave Larsen | Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 03:34 PM

A forthcoming book by University of Dayton history professor Larry Schweikart inspired a documentary film about rock ‘n’ roll’s part in ending the Cold War and bringing about the dissolution of the former Soviet Union.

The upcoming film, “Rockin’ the Wall,” is based on a chapter in Schweikart’s book, “7 Events that Made America America: And Proved that the Founding Fathers Were Right All Along.”

“The communists kept out television and literature, but as Mikhail Gorbachev said, ‘We couldn’t keep out rock and roll,’ ” Schweikart said.

The movie is described as a documentary told from the perspective of rockers who played at the time on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and from survivors of communist regimes who recalled the lifeline that rock music provided.

A film crew in late February shot footage of Schweikart teaching a class in Sears Recital Hall on the UD campus.The crew also interviewed former Soviet Union refugees on campus and filmed at St. Paul’s Orthodox Church in Dayton and the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

To date, the crew also has interviewed musicians Robbie Krieger of the Doors, David Paich of Toto, and Leslie Mandoki, a European star who escaped communism, among others.

Schweikart’s previous book, “A Patriot’s History of the United States,” which he co-authored with University of Washington Tacoma history professor Michael Allen, reached No. 13 on the New York Times Bestseller List (paperback nonfiction) on March 7. It debuted at No. 18 on Feb. 28.

Schweikart has appeared on the Fox News Channel’s “Glenn Beck” show.

“Rockin’ the Wall” is planned for a summer release, according to UD officials. “7 Events that Made America America” is scheduled for release in July.

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Urbana University receives grant for community read

By Kelly Mori | Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 09:44 PM

Champaign County residents will be invited to read the book “trouble don’t last” by Shelley Pearsall this fall as part of a community read funded through a grant from the State Library of Ohio Board.

Urbana University, on March 2, was awarded the $10,000 grant through the State Library’s Choose to Read Ohio program - a statewide initiative to encourage the reading of Ohio literature together across Ohio communities.

The university’s education majors will prepare lesson plans that will be shared with area teachers who participate in the project, said Ann Corfman, associate professor of education and CTRO grant co-director.

“We hope fifth and sixth graders throughout Champaign County will be introduced to the book next fall and will want to share what they have learned about the Underground Railroad with their parents and families,” Corfman said in the university release.

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Miami makes Top 50 for best video game design program

By Dave Larsen | Monday, March 1, 2010, 03:40 PM

Miami University “pwn’d” other colleges in a national ranking of video game design programs.

Miami’s digital games studies program was named Monday, March 1, as one of the “Top 50 Undergraduate Game Design Programs” in the nation by the Princeton Review and GamePro magazine.

The Princeton Review surveyed 500 schools in the U.S. and Canada this academic year for the quality of the curriculum, faculty, facilities and infrastructure, as well as data on scholarships, financial aid and career opportunities.

“The game industry is a force to be reckoned with, larger than Hollywood and the music industry,” said Glenn Platt, co-director of Miami’s Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies. Gaming also has applications beyond entertainment, such as in the government, military and medical fields, Platt said.

Miami’s program focuses on two tracks: game design and game development, or how to make games understandable, motivational and fun. The digital game studies program is a collaboration among various departments, including interactive media studies, art, English, computer studies, education and the University Libraries

The ranking “speaks to the importance and effectiveness of a multi-disciplinary curriculum,” Platt said.

In gamer slang, “pwn” means to conquer to gain ownership.

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UD, Wright State on president’s honor roll for service

By Dave Larsen | Friday, February 26, 2010, 04:27 PM

The University of Dayton and Wright State University are among the regional schools receiving recognition Friday, Feb. 26, for their community service.

UD, Wright State, Miami University and Xavier University have been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

The honor roll was announced Friday by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Both UD and Wright State earned the designation of “distinction.”

Honorees are chosen based on such factors as scope and innovation of service projects; percentage of student participation; and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

More than 70 percent of UD students engaged in community service in the 2008-09 academic year, with nearly 20 percent of students contributing at least 20 hours of service per semester.

Approximately 4,883 Wright State students were involved in academic service-learning courses or other forms of community service during the 2008-09 school year, resulting in 226,469 service hours.

“I’m so very proud of our students, faculty and staff who are making a difference in our communities,” said David R. Hopkins, Wright State president. “Our students are passionate about helping others and our faculty are committed to providing innovative learning opportunities that students will carry with them long after they leave Wright State.”

UD President Daniel J. Curran said the recognition belongs not just to the university, but to the thousands of students, alumni, faculty and staff who embody the university’s mission of “Learn, Lead, Serve.”

“When people ask what it means to be a Catholic, Marianist university, this is it,” Curran said. “It’s a powerful belief in community and servant leadership. This passion to serve others and live life together is present in the university’s institutions, classroom, student clubs and in the day-to-day lives of our students.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service oversees the honor roll in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education.

For more information or to download the honor roll, click here.

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U.S. Sen. Brown opens nominations for service academies

By Dave Larsen | Thursday, February 25, 2010, 11:08 AM

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown wants you.

Brown (D-Ohio) on Thursday, Feb. 25, encouraged Ohio students interested in applying to U.S. Military service academies for 2011 admission to seek nomination from the office.

“I am honored to nominate young Ohioans for admission to our nation’s service academies,” Brown said in a media release. “These academies develop the next generation of leaders who will serve our country as military officers.”

Brown nominates up to 10 students annually for each service academy: Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, the Military Academy at West Point and the Merchant Marine Academy.

Student applicants are reviewed by a committee of active and retired military and community leaders appointed by Brown. Selected students are provided with the required congressional recommendation upon applying for admission.

Interested students who meet the eligibility requirements should send their completed application to Brown’s Cleveland office no later than October 1, 2010. The application process is time-intensive, so applicants should plan well in advance.

For more information or to request an application through Brown’s Web site, click here.

Inquiries can also be directed to Brown’s academy coordinator at his Cleveland office (888) 896-6446.

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UD’s Lekan named director at Wright State

By Dave Larsen | Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 02:22 PM

Regis Lekan

Regis J. Lekan, a former University of Dayton director of development, has been named as director of planned giving at Wright State University.

Wright State announced Lekan’s appointment Tuesday, Feb. 23. In his new role, Lekan will visit alumni and friends of Wright State to discuss deferred giving programs.

Lekan’s position is newly created at Wright State, said Richard Doty, a university spokesman.

At UD, Lekan served as the director of development for gift planning, academic affairs and chapel renovation. He retired this month, according to Cilla Shindell, a UD spokeswoman.

“We are looking forward to welcoming Regis to our organization,” said Bryan Rowland, Wright State’s vice president for advancement. “He brings with him a great depth of knowledge and relationships. We will be fortunate to be the beneficiary of his vast experience in planned giving.”

Lekan, a Centerville resident, earned his bachelor’s degree from UD and a master’s in education from Cleveland State University.

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Filmmaker to share Haiti video, stories at UD

By Dave Larsen | Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 09:14 AM

Independent filmmaker Gerry Straub will share images of Haiti before and after last month’s devastating earthquake on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the University of Dayton.

Straub, president and chief executive of the San Damiano Foundation, creates videos to shed light on the impact of poverty and to raise money for Christian charities that aid the world’s poor.

In December, he spent a week in Haiti filming at Cite Soleil (City of the Sun), an impoverished village. Straub spent much of his time there with the Rev. Tom Hagan, a former chaplain at Princeton University, who has served the people of Haiti for nearly 20 years.

Straub had planned to return in February to continue filming, but then disaster struck on Jan. 12. One week after the 7.0-magnitude earthquake, Straub returned to Haiti with a group of pediatric surgeons to film the aftermath and recovery efforts.

Straub will share his videos and the stories of what he experienced in a presentation called “Putting the Power of Film at the Service of the Poor,” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Kennedy Union Boll Theatre on the UD campus. The event is free and open to the public.

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Canton university president resigns amid plagiarism allegations

By Dave Larsen | Monday, February 22, 2010, 04:25 PM

Malone University President Gary W. Streit announced his resignation Monday, Feb. 22, in response to concerns about the use of unattributed materials in some of his speeches, according to a university media release.

Streit is retiring immediately from Malone, a Christian liberal arts university in Canton, Ohio. Streit took office as president in July 2007.

Wilbert J. Friesen, the university’s provost, has been appointed as interim acting president, according to the release.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Monday that concerns about plagiarism became public after students noticed similarities between a Jan. 13 address given by Streit and online work written by others.

Streit reportedly began the speech with a description of the Roman figure Janus: “In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates, of doors, of beginnings and of endings. His most prominent remnant in modern culture is his namesake, the month of January, which begins each new year. He is most often depicted as having two faces or heads, facing in opposite directions.”

The Chronicle noted that the Wikipedia entry for Janus reads: “In Roman mythology, Janus (or Ianus; “archway”) was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings. His most prominent remnant in modern culture is his namesake, the month of January, which begins the new year. He is most often depicted as having two faces or heads, facing in opposite directions.”

Streit also used material that was nearly identical to portions of two Associated Press articles and a mythology-influenced Web site called Penumbra, according to the Chronicle.

A university spokeswoman told the Chronicle there would “really be no point” to an investigation of the plagiarism accusations because Streit had retired.

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Lutheran assembly picks first Wittenberg delegate

By Kelly Mori | Monday, February 22, 2010, 09:18 AM

Mae Helen Jackson

Wittenberg University student Mae Helen Jackson is one of three youth delegates selected to represent the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the Lutheran World Federation Assembly in Stuttgart, Germany.

Jackson, class of 2012, is the first Wittenberg University student to be selected as an assembly delegate.

She will join representatives from across the globe at the assembly, which takes place every six years.

It is the Lutheran World Federation’s highest decision-making body.

Jackson’s mother is employed by the ELCA and works at the organization’s Chicago headquarters where the entire family regularly volunteers at soup kitchens and outreach activities, she said.

After graduation, she hopes to participate in a Youth Adult Global Mission trip, which will give her the opportunity to do mission work in such places as England, Africa, Mexico or Argentina.

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