May 2011 - Indiana University South Bend

EVCAA
newsletter
Office of Academic Affairs"
Dear Colleagues,
Is it possible that an academic year has rolled by so quickly? Were the months between August
and May truncated? Or have I suddenly awakened from a Rip Van Winkle slumber? Welcome
Week is still a fresh memory of frenzied hustle and bustle on the mall as student leaders invited
green-behind–the-ears newcomers and gawkers alike to join their club. Suddenly the burgeoning
blossoms of spring evoke the grand graduation march of pomp and circumstance. This annual
ritual of joyful family gatherings celebrates academic achievements. Our academic lives are
marked by these beginnings and ends. Each new academic year, as if I too were a beginning
student, I am filled with hope and anticipation about college life. Each spring, as the graduates
cross the stage, I share their excitement, trusting that their education under our tutelage will allow
them to grow beyond the expectations they harbored on their first day on campus.
Such were the ruminations I proffered last week at the Nursing Pinning Ceremony, a favorite yearend
activity to which I eagerly await an invitation. To the nursing graduates, I expressed my
sincere wish that their education had been transformative; that now as graduates of IU South Bend
they would see the world differently than when they first stepped on campus; that in going forth
on their life’s journey, they would see the world expansively, embracing its quilted mosaic of
cultures, customs, and ethnicities. I trusted too that in their discovery of the world that they would
be open to new possibilities, understanding that their college diploma allows them to be and act
Indiana University South Bend
MAY
2011
EVCAA News (formerly VCAA News)
A newsletter from Alfred J. Guillaume, Jr.,
Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs,
Indiana University South Bend • Number 74 • past
newsletters at http://www.iusb.edu/~acadaff/
news.shtml
Topics:
Faculty Research Spotlight
Faculty Awards & Honors
Kudos & Congratulations
EVCAA News • May 2011 • Indiana University South Bend! page 1

differently in the world, perpetually learning and growing. I am hopeful that they, like all of our graduates of yesterday evening,
understand their obligations as world citizens by using their gifts and talents in service to the global community.
Many of these graduates will remain in Indiana contributing in small and large ways to the economic and social well-being of our
community. This is particularly critical as the state struggles with issues as wide-ranging as job creation, economic development,
educational access and attainment, and availability of social and health services; hence, the impassioned interest throughout the
state in increasing high school graduation rates and increasing the number of citizens with baccalaureate degrees. Nationally,
Indiana ranks 43rd in the percentage of residents twenty-five years and older with a baccalaureate degree (U.S. Census Bureau).
Statewide response has been to push colleges and universities to increase retention and graduation rates, and IU South Bend has
acted accordingly through strategic admissions, increased attention to advising and expanded student support services. Statewide
initiatives include early college, monetary incentives for accelerated high school graduation and dual high school/college credits.
While some of these tactics might benefit the gifted and highly motivated student, the wisdom of hurrying the high school diploma,
and shortchanging the systematic pace of cognitive and emotional maturation, is troubling. The baccalaureate degree is devalued
and marginalized, shifting from higher learning and advanced intellectual attainment to plebian credit accumulation.
In last month’s newsletter, I invited you to share your “worth living” list. Cathy Buckman, our director of admissions, responded
quickly. Her eclectic list includes Billie Holiday; a perfect day in the back bowls of Vail; sunset on Lake Michigan; dingying around
Chicago Harbor at night; Paris; a French baguette; grandkids; splitting a bottle of wine with your best friend; Shelley’s “Prometheus
Unbound;” W.B. Yeats; David Bowie; the Beatles; Borodin’s Nocturne; Christopher Fry’s “The Lady’s Not Burning;” Santana’s drum
solo (Michael Shrieve) at Woodstock; a woodland garden; the outlaw, Josie Wales; Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years
of Solitude; and the Na Pali Coast Kauai. And she retorts, “Like you, I could just keep on making lists.” Are there others willing to
share their “worth living” list?
And if you’re willing to share comments regarding your summer reading, as did Anne Brown last fall, I’d gladly include them in
future newsletters. I’m eagerly looking forward to a summer respite, ensconced with my stack of books, puttering in the garden and
traveling to both coasts. And whatever your summer pleasure, I wish as well happy reading and exciting travels to near and distant
places. The new school year is just around the corner. Thank you for your diligent work throughout this past year.
Sincerely,
Alfred J. Guillaume, Jr., Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
EVCAA News • May 2011 • Indiana University South Bend! page 2

Spotlight on Faculty Research
This month we highlight the co-recipients of the 2011 IU South Bend Distinguished Research Award. The award was announced at the April 29
Academic Senate meeting.
Monika Lynker and Rolf Schimmrigk
The research of Dr. Rolf Schimmrigk has centered mostly around
fundamental questions aimed at the unification of all interactions
and the problem of quantizing gravity. The research of Dr.
Monika Lynker has been centered on answering one of the basic
questions in physics: what are the fundamental building blocks
of matter and how do they interact? Collaboratively, Drs.
Schimmrigk and Lynker have worked on the study of string
theory ever since graduate school at the University of Texas at
Austin. One of the recent themes in Rolf and Monika’s
collaborative work has been the problem of phase transitions in
string theory, as well as non-perturbative dualities in string
theory and the nature of black holes in string theory.
They have collaboratively published a total of thirteen original
papers, three proceedings contributions, with one further
original paper in submission. The most prominent of their
collaborative publications is their co-discovery of “mirror
symmetry,” in part in collaboration with Philip Candelas.
Their collaborative work on mirror symmetry in string theory
has given rise to a large literature of thousands of papers in
both physics and mathematics. It has led to a new subfield in
mathematics, as reflected in new entries of the Mathematics
Subject Classification. This work has been cited in more than
250 refereed articles and is reviewed in dozens of books,
including Brian Greene’s best-selling book “The Elegant
Universe.” A Google search on “mirror symmetry and string
theory” yields about 59,400 results.
The research of Rolf Schimmrigk and Monika Lynker is
currently supported by a grant from the National Science
Foundation, including support for the summer research of four
undergraduate students.
Our thanks to Lee Streby for the text of the research profile
that appears here.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Associate Vice Chancellor John McIntosh. He was recognized by the Loving Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) Program of
the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Chicago with the 2011 Charles T. Rubey LOSS Award at its 20th annual Blossoms of Hope Brunch on April
10. The LOSS program provides support services for individuals and families who have lost a loved one to suicide. The award, named in honor of
Father Charles Rubey, the founder of LOSS, is given “to honor individuals who have made an extraordinary impact on the lives of survivors of
suicide. Through both public example and private energies, the honoree exemplifies the meaning of Loving Outreach." Information about LOSS
may be found at this [ link ]. Over 700 people attended the brunch event and award ceremony. McIntosh gave a short address about specific
needs in research, therapy and support for suicide survivors following the award presentation.
Grant Deadline Approaching
The internal deadline for the NEH Summer Stipend program is June 22, 2011. If you would like to apply to the internal
competition to be nominated to submit a full proposal contact Erika Zynda, as soon as possible.
URL for complete guidelines: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stipends.html
EVCAA News • May 2011 • Indiana University South Bend! page 3

Faculty Language Capabilities
Elizabeth Dunn, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, recently
conducted a survey of the languages spoken, written, or read by faculty in
CLAS and found a working list of 22 different languages reported. This list is
an impressive one of the living inventory of language capabilities among our
faculty. The languages include: Chinese, Spanish, French, Danish, Russian,
Malayalam, Catalan, Thai, Lao, Indonesian, Farsi, Classical Greek, German,
Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Dutch, Korean, Persian, Romanian, Hindi, Italian.
Elkhart Center recognized
The IU South Bend Elkhart Center was recently named a
“favorite place to get an education” in a poll by the Elkhart
Truth. Two banners promoting the recognition will be displayed
at the Elkhart Center.
Kudos
Congratulations to Michael Horvath, Dean of Education, who has
accepted the position of Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs at the University of West Georgia to begin July 1. Dean
Horvath has provided important and outstanding leadership to the
campus and School of Education. We wish him all the best in his new
role! A news report of the announcement may be found at this [ link ].
Karen Clark has agreed to serve as Interim Dean of the School of
Education for next academic year and Susan Cress has agreed to serve
as Interim Associate Dean.
IU South Bend Faculty Honors
Kudos
Congratulations to Hossein Hakimzadeh (Informatics) for
the use of IU-RETAIN on the University of California San
Marcos campus. IU-RETAIN is the early warning/retention
system developed and refined by Professor Hakimzadeh
and his students over the past several years. The software
is used quite successfully and with high faculty involvement
here at IU South Bend to identify students who may be
having academic problems early and to prompt
interventions and actions that might lead to student
success and retention.
Congratulations to Tim Willig (History) who received a
New Frontiers Exploration Traveling Fellowship Program
award recently to support his research efforts.
Congratulations to Elizabeth Bennion (Political Science)
who was accepted to attend the 2011 HERS (Higher
Education Resource Services) Denver Summer Institute.
The 2-week long institute is devoted to “Advancing
Women Leaders in Higher Education Administration.”
Similarly, Linda Chen (Assistant Vice Chancellor) has been
accepted to attend the ACE (American Council on
Education) National Leadership Forum for Women
Administrators held in Washington, DC in June. These are
exciting professional development opportunities for these
campus leaders.
IU South Bend faculty were recently recognized for their teaching excellence by their selection to receive a Trustees
Teaching Award for 2011. A total of 18 IU South Bend faculty received this recognition this year. Past recipients of
the TTAs may be found at this [ link ]. The 2011 IU South Bend faculty recognized are:
Raman Adaikkalavan, Computer & Information Sciences" Sue A. Anderson,Nursing
David Blouin, Sociology & Anthropology" " " Rebecca Brittenham, English
Yi Cheng, Mathematical Sciences" " " " John B. Davis, World Language Studies
Julio F. Hernando, World Language Studies" " " Lee Kahan, English
Barbara J. Keith, Nursing" " " " Gwendolyn Mettetal, Education & Psychology
Matthew E. Mooney, Education" " " " Yosuke Nirei, History
Kelcey Parker, English" " " " Theodore Randall, Sociology & Anthropology
Kathy L. Ritchie, Psychology" " " " James M. Smith, Political Science
James M. VanderVeen, Sociology & Anthropology" " Hong Zhuang, Business & Economics
All-IU Faculty Recognition
IU South Bend recipients of All-IU
Awards were recognized on April
8 at a dinner in Bloomington as
part of Founder’s Day events. The
honorees were: Gwendolyn
Metettal (second from right),
H e r m a n B a c h m a n L i e b e r
Memorial Award for teaching
excellence; Gail McGuire (not
pictured), Sylvia E. Bowman
Award for teaching excellence;
and April Lidinsky (far right), W.
G e o r g e P i n n e l l Awa r d f o r
Outstanding Service. Online
stories about the recipients may
be found at this [ link ]. Pictured
here are other members of the IU
South Bend family in attendance,
including the Chancellor and
EVCAA.
EVCAA News • May 2011 • Indiana University South Bend! page 4