2/22/01
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Katie Boston, Northern Iowa Student Government election commissioner, (319) 273-2494
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa, the first Regent institution in Iowa to hold student government elections online, will again conduct its Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) spring general elections online. Voting will run for 36 hours, from 6 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28.
"We are hoping this election brings in the highest voter turn-out in the school's history, and I think having 36 hours of available voting time is a great start," said Katie Boston of Waukee, NISG election commissioner. "This process makes it easier for students to have a voice in who's running student government."
She said student voters will be able to vote via a hotlink from all computers in UNI's labs, as well as linking from the UNI home page on their home computers. The system also allows students away from campus for cooperative education, student teaching, study abroad or other academic pursuits to cast their ballots and avoid being disenfranchised.
Boston said she has worked closely with Julie Heiple, data access administrator with UNI's ITS-Information Services, to ensure the system will work as intended. Test runs are now being conducted to verify that the system will function properly. At the close of the voting period Wednesday, the election committee will meet to verify the votes and announce the results at some point during the evening in the Union Coffee House.
"Last year, was our first year of electronic voting. The polls were only open for eight hours and we set a record with 3,111 students voting, or 24 percent of the student body," said NISG President Dan Sterenchuk of Cedar Rapids. "This compared to only 15 percent of the students voting in the spring of 1999, when the electors had to go to specific polling places during the same eight-hour period -- and that was the previous record for voter participation. We are hoping for a significant increase in voter turnout this year with the expanded hours."
Boston said she hopes all voting students will take time to look over the candidate's application forms that are on display in Maucker Union, and know for whom they are voting. She said information on the four teams running for president and vice president is posted in the display cases on the Union's upper level, while senatorial applications can be viewed on the NISG windows on the lower level.
The president/vice president running mates are: Ben Hurst, a liberal studies major, and Christian Walk, an electronic media major, both juniors from Spencer; sophomores Jesse Sheedy of Eldridge, a philosophy major, and Dustin Daugherty of Adel, a psychology major; history major Jason Kurth of West Des Moines, and leisure services major Brian Pauly of Ankeny, both juniors; and Adam Briddell, political science major from West Des Moines, and Kellie Greiner, business management major from Johnston, both juniors.
For more information regarding the spring general election contact Katie Boston at (319) 273-2494.
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Following is a list of story leads and the University of Northern Iowa sources who can best address them. Feel free to contact the source directly.
As the Legislature toys with the idea of making English the state's official language, Mark Grey, a UNI professor and author of a new book on immigrant s in Iowa, says it's unnecessary. "From an immigrant's standpoint, it's obvious that you'll have to learn the language in order to be successful. But the reality is that if you publish government and other documents solely in English, how will immigrants have access to them until that time when they can read and speak English?"
Mark Grey, associate professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, (319) 273-6496
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
The Iowa Communications Network is in trouble, now needing millions of dollars in repairs. A UNI dean believes the ICN has played a crucial role in the university's outreach efforts. Jim Bodensteiner, interim dean of UNI's Continuing Education and Special Programs, says the university has used the ICN to help many Iowans pursue degrees. During the 1999-2000 school year alone, UNI had 1,268 enrollments via the ICN. "Last year, we were offering at least one credit course in each of 75 different counties," said Bodenstiner, who pointed out UNI is the fourth largest user of the ICN.
James Bodensteiner, interim dean, Continuing Education and Special Programs, (319) 273-2121
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
UNI ROTC and the Iowa Army National Guard will enlist/induct seven members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (Sae) fraternity, Thurs., March 1, during a 6:30 p.m. ceremony at the SAE house, 1113 W. 23rd St. Once inducted, the students will attend basic training and advanced individual training this summer, then contract as cadets when they return in August. "Fraternity members joining up en-masse rarely happens," explained Lt. Col. Michael DePuglio, professor of military science at UNI. "It is reminiscent of the WWII days when communities and local organizations answered 'the call' as a group." DePuglio said SAE has a long history of military service.
Michael DePuglio, professor, Military Science, (319) 273-6220
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Although ice climbing typically takes place in the more mountainous regions of the country, a UNI instructor has made the sport possible in Iowa. Don Briggs, an instructor in the School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services, covered four silos at a Northeast Iowa farm with ice and now allows UNI's more advanced rock climbers to try their skills there. Briggs and UNI students spent four days spraying the first silo with a garden hose, to achieve a coating of about 12 inches of ice. "Because it's straight vertical ice, it's very difficult to climb" said Briggs, who got into ice climbing three years ago. The tallest silo stands at 70 feet, while the shortest is 50 feet tall.
Don Briggs, instructor, School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services, (319) 273-7352
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Darryl Taylor, assistant professor of music, (319) 273-5879
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Phyllis Baskerville, an accomplished singer who has performed in leading opera houses throughout North America and Europe, will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, on the stage of the University of Northern Iowa's Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center (GBPAC). Her performance is part of the UNI School of Music's Black History Month celebration.
Baskerville will be accompanied by Jamaican-born pianist Maria Thompson Corley, for the concert on the stage of the GBPAC's Great Hall. The program will include pieces by Mozart, Strauss, Schumann, Verdi and Duke Ellington, with one intermission. It is free and open to the public.
Baskerville has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, where she performed the title roles in "Aida" and "Porgy and Bess," and Musetta in "La BohĖme." She also has appeared in numerous Verdi operas, including "Il Trovatore," "La Forza del Destino," "Don Carlo" and "Un Ballo in Maschera."
She has sung with major symphony orchestras, including the Philadelphia, Hollywood Bowl, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, North Carolina and Tulsa Symphonies. In addition, she has performed with the Orchestre de Nice in France, Carnegie Hall's Harlem Renaissance Orchestra and the Skitch Henderson Orchestra, among others.
Baskerville also has lent her voice to film, and can be seen singing "Creole Love Call" in the Francis Ford Coppola film, "The Cotton Club." She also can be heard on the original cast recordings of Broadway's "Sophisticated Ladies," Anthony Davis' "The Life and Times of Malcom X" and "The Cotton Club."
Corley has appeared on radio, television and concert stages in Canada, the United States, Central America, Bermuda and Europe, including performances in Budapest at the Franz Liszt Music Academy; and in the Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Aaron Davis Hall and Alice Tully Hall, all in New York City. Her performance of Gershwin's “Concerto in F” with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra Darryl Taylor, assistant professor of music was ranked one of the best by the symphony's conductor Gunther Schuller, according to Darryl Taylor, UNI assistant professor of vocal performance, who arranged for the concert.
Corley graduated from the University of Alberta in Edmonton and has earned both her master's and doctorate degrees in piano performance from the Juilliard School, where she was a pupil of renowned Hungarian pianist Gyrgy Sandor. Corley currently teaches piano and serves as staff accompanist at Millersville University of Pennsylvania.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Guy Sims, assistant director, Student Activities, (319) 273-2683
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Ohio poet b.f.maiz will present, "Langston, Liberty & Love," at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 26, in Club '91 of UNI's Maucker Union. Maiz, who has published five books of poetry, has served as special consultant to the vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Texas, and was campus lay minister for Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
In 1994, he was given the prestigious Wesleyan Peace and Justice Award by the Wesleyan Peace Committee.
The event is free and open to the public.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ripley Marston, School of Health. Physical Education, and Leisure Services, (319) 273-6882
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Note to editors/news directors: A 300 dpi JPEG image of David Gallahue is available on the Web:
http://www.uni.edu/pubrel/newsroom/photos/gallahue.jpeg
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – "Motor Development in Older Populations" is one of two public lectures to be presented at the University of Northern Iowa Friday, March 2, by a nationally-recognized authority on the subject.
David Gallahue, professor of kinesiology and associate dean for academic affairs and research in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University in Bloomington, will address the topic, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., in Room 252 of the Wellness and Recreation Center. He also will speak from 2:45 to 4:15 p.m. on "International Endeavors of Faculty and Students," and conduct an informal presentation and meeting with area educators, from 4:30-6:20 p.m., in the same location. The presentations are free and open to the public.
Gallahue also will visit with faculty and students from the UNI School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services during scheduled classes Friday morning, and with personnel from the National Program for Playground Safety housed at UNI.
Ripley Marston, UNI associate professor of physical education, said when he learned that Gallahue would be in Cedar Falls as keynote speaker for the "See How They Grow" conference Saturday, March 3 (see related story), he worked with that committee and Gallahue to bring him in for the additional day.
"Dr. Gallahue is one of the best known authorities on children and motor development today," said Marston.
Gallahue has written two textbooks, "Understanding Motor Development" and "Developmental Physical Education for Today's Children," that Marston said have been translated into seven languages.
Gallahue is actively involved with research projects focusing on cross-cultural considerations in children's physical fitness and motor performance; youth sport delivery systems; obesity intervention in young children and children's hero choices as a function of their activity involvement. He has been recognized nationally with the Healthy American Fitness Leaders Award, the NASPE and COPEC Distinguished Service Awards and the Temple University Alumni Fellow Award.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Curtiss Hanson, associate professor, Department of Chemistry, (319) 273-2435
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Curt Hanson, an associate professor in the University of Northern Iowa Department of Chemistry, was recognized at the first annual Iowa da Vinci Conference and Celebration, which honors Iowa's brightest scientists, engineers and technology professionals. The conference took place in Des Moines, and was hosted by the Iowa Department of Economic Development.
Hanson was awarded two patents in the last year, and a third is in the works. He also was chosen for the Prem Sahai Distinguished professorship at UNI, in recognition of being published 15 times in research publications, writing two book chapters, and involving undergraduate students in research.
His research has focused on development of new technology, including time-of-flight mass spectrometry, which can be used in drug analysis. "Research is an extension of the education process. It's the ultimate classroom for students," said Hanson, who believes fervently that professors should be involved in research. "There is a notion that research is conducted at the expense of teaching. But the concept of a university is not just to disseminate information, but to create and develop new ideas. The function of research is fundamental to the function and purpose of education. The two shouldn't be separated."
Hanson's research has been funded by the UNI Recycling and Reuse Technology Transfer Center, the Graduate College, applied technology grants from the College of Natural Science, and the Department of Chemistry.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ripley Marston, School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services, (319) 273-6882
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing and Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- An internationally recognized leader in the area of children's motor development will be the keynote speaker for the 'See How They Grow' conference taking place Saturday, March 3, on the UNI campus. David Gallahue is professor of kinesiology and associate dean for academic affairs and research at Indiana University. He is involved in a wide range of writing and research activities focusing on children's physical fitness and motor performances, youth sport delivery systems, and obesity intervention in young children.
'See How They Grow' is designed for anyone who works with young children. Conference session topics will include promoting literacy development, teaching children the fundamental phonemic principles, using rap music to help children engage in literacy experiences, and developing early language. The conference runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at UNI's Schindler Education Center.
Registration is $30 for members of Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children, and $40 for all others. Continuing Education Credits are available through Hawkeye Community College. For more information or to register for the conference, call (319) 273-6988, or 800-782-9519 toll free.
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