4/11/02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maureen Collins-Williams, director, UNI Regional Business Center, (319) 236-8123
James O'Connor, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
UNI Regional Business Center to aid rural businesses
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa's Regional Business Center (RBC) will launch a Rural Business Accelerator program in northeast Iowa this fall.
According to Maureen Collins-Williams, RBC director, the new program will use high-tech teaching and mentoring methods to provide customized training for entrepreneurs in Allamakee, Butler, Buchanan and Fayette counties.
"The goal is to increase the number and quality of entrepreneurs in rural Iowa, including women and minorities who are underrepresented in Iowa business," said Collins-Williams.
The rural accelerator will be a prototype for technology-based distance learning projects serving rural communities. It will launch in fall 2002 in West Union and Independence, and during spring 2003 in Postville and Parkersburg. Collins-Williams plans to serve 66 companies during the next 18 months, creating as many as 231 new jobs.
The program has three components: 1) an on-site, county-based, customized training program to launch new ventures or grow existing business in rural communities; 2) an Internet-based virtual accelerator program that will pair certified business consultants with rural entrepreneurs; and 3) an Internet-driven learning network connecting rural entrepreneurs throughout the state.
The program is funded by an approximately $200,000 grant to the Iowa Northland Region Council of Governments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Enterprise Grant program.
Located in downtown Waterloo, the UNI RBC has an on-site business accelerator that serves the greater Waterloo-Cedar Falls area. The Waterloo accelerator is full but has a waiting list for businesses interested in the program. For more information, contact Collins-Williams at (319) 236-8123 or toll-free at (888) 237-8124, or visit www.unirbc.org.
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4/11/02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jessica Murphy, public relations assistant/house manager, Interpreters Theatre, (319) 266-1844
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
UNI show explores rape on college campuses
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa Interpreters Theatre will end its season with, "Extra-Curricular: A Novel of Rape on Campus," Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20 in Lang Hall, Room 40. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m.
Intended for mature audiences, the show is based on a book by Anne Hasselbrock and is being produced in conjunction with Take Back The Night activities at UNI. Take Back the Night is an annual international observance encouraging an end to violence against women. The play examines the way rape affects lives and society.
Karen Mitchell, associate professor of communication studies, is the show's director. She is assisted by Jana Gymer, a graduate student at the university.
The performances are free and open to the public, but seating is limited.
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4/11/02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maria Basom, associate professor and head of modern languages, (319) 273-2749
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
Russian actor lectures on 'The Master and Margarita at the Taganka Theatre in Moscow'
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Russian actor Veniamin Smekhov will discuss the theater production, "The Master and Margarita at the Tanganka Theatre in Moscow," at 7 p.m., Monday, April 15 in the Seerley Hall Great Reading Room. It is free and open to the public.
Smekhov, who has played the lead role in the production, is a well-known Russian actor.
"The Master and Margarita at the Tanganka Theatre in Moscow" was written as a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov in 1929, and later rewritten for stage.
The lecture is sponsored by UNI's Office of International Programs, Department of Modern Languages, and Russian and Eastern European Studies.
For more information, contact Maria Basom, head of the Department of Modern Languages, (319) 273-2749.
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4/11/02
Following are story leads and photo opportunities and the University of Northern Iowa sources who can best address these issues. Feel free to contact the sources directly.
Camp Adventure hosts dessertfest to introduce new staff
The Camp Adventure program, headquartered at UNI, will host a dessertfest for its summer staff comprised of students from UNI, University of Iowa, Iowa State University and nearby colleges. More than 800 students, parents and staff are expected to attend the Saturday, April 14 event.
Festivities begin at 6 p.m. in the West Gym. Keynote speaker, Diane Claiborne-Carr, chief of Child and Youth Services at the U.S. Army's Ft. Meyer in Virginia, will address the group at 7:30 p.m.
Camp Adventure trains college students to provide recreation programs to the children of U.S. military personnel around the world.
Contacts:
Amber Lippincott, program assistant, Camp Adventure, (319) 273-5948
Gwenne Culpepper, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761
CANCELLATION: UNI Men's Soccer Club Indoor Tournament Sunday, April 14
This tournament, originally scheduled from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, April 14, in UNI's Wellness & Recreation Center, has been cancelled.
Contacts:
Chris Schulte, club co-president, 222-5198 or lilcri3@hotmail.com
Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, (319) 273-2761