The University of Evansville has announced the appointment of Dr. Jill Griffin as the Executive Director of the Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana.  Dr. Griffin is currently Director of the GAP Program and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Evansville.

“Dr. Griffin brings a unique combination of academic, professional, and international experience to this position,” noted UE President Tom Kazee.  “Her work with our very successful GAP program – which brings students together into cross-disciplinary teams to provide value for regional and global enterprises – has demonstrated her multiple strengths as a teacher, program developer, and leader.  We’re particularly excited about this opportunity to make the GAP Program a vibrant contributor to the learning experience for students across the University.”

“I am truly excited about the opportunity to further enhance the global capabilities of our region and to prepare our students for leadership in a globally interconnected world,” Griffin said. “The cornerstone of our initiative, the GAP Program, draws upon the strengths of the university and our partners in the community. Our liberal arts foundation, strong professional programs, and intensive faculty-student interaction allow us to collaborate in unique ways to address complex issues facing enterprises today. This enables UE to attract highly capable students and to enhance the intellectual capital of the region. It is this winning combination that energizes me the most about this opportunity.” 

Prior to completing her Ph.D. in Marketing at the University of Texas, Dr. Griffin worked for Dell Computer Corporation as a Brand Manager and as a Business Development Manager responsible for Dell’s strategic relationships with various consulting partners.  Dr. Griffin also served as Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, working primarily in supply chain operations systems. She brings additional experience in high tech from her work at Intel Corporation and Motorola, Inc.

In addition to her Ph.D., Dr. Griffin’s broad academic background includes an MBA and MSE in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan, an MA in Economics from Indiana University, and a BA in Mathematics and Russian Language from Trinity University.

Dr. Griffin has spent more than seven years living, working, and studying in countries including Russia, Bulgaria, Austria, and Germany. She teaches marketing courses regularly at the University of Konstanz in Germany and conducts research with colleagues in Germany, Switzerland, and Azerbaijan. Her published research focuses on behavioral decision-making and consumer behavior, and has appeared in top professional journals, including the Journal of Consumer Psychology and the Journal of Marketing Research.

The Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana is dedicated to preparing UE students and Indiana enterprises for global leadership, citizenry, and success.  The Institute is funded by the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc. 
 

As a reminder, the University will be open on December 22, and January 2. Employees may take vacation days for those two days. The Campus will be closed for the Christmas and New Years' Holiday from December 23, through January 1.

After over a decade of dedicated service to the University of Evansville and specifically Harlaxton College, Earl Kirk, Director of Study Abroad, is retiring. Please join us to honor Earl and thank him for his leadership at a reception TODAY - Thursday, December 18 - from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Dunigan Lounge in the McCurdy Wing of the Schroeder School of Business Building. Hope to see you there!

UE Libraries will observe the following schedule of hours during the Winter Session. Contact William Louden, University Librarian, with questions.

Winter Intersession Hours

* January 5-9: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
* January 10-11: CLOSED

The Koch Center parking lot will be closed beginning late Wednesday evening, December 17, and lasting until noon on Wednesday, December 24. This closure is necessary to prepare the site for construction of the McCarthy Greenhouse. During this time, fencing and barricades will be erected to define the construction area and ingress egress lanes for equipment. The parking lot will be open for the beginning of the Spring semester, with limited capacity. Please call the Facilities office at 2775 if you have any questions or concerns. 

UE faculty and staff can now pick up tickets for the men's basketball games on December 18, December 21, December 28 and January 1. A ticket to this Thursday, December 18, men's game will also get you into the women's game beforehand. The Carson Center Ticket Office will be open normal business hours this week, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., and will also be open Monday, December 22 during normal business hours. The Ticket Office will be closed from December 23-25 and will reopen at 1 p.m. on December 26.

Recent UE chemistry student Dalton Snyder and current Environmental Science/Chemistry student Christina Schilling published an article entitled “Profiling phenolic glycosides in Populus deltoides and Populus grandidentata by leaf spray ionization tandem mass spectrometry,” with two UE faculty - Dr. Arlen Kaufman and Dr. Cris Hochwender. This D1 research will appear in Analytical Methods, a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. This cutting-edge research used leaf spray as an ambient ionization source, along with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to qualitatively determine the presence or absence of a variety of Phenolic glycosides (PGs) in Populus deltoides (eastern cottonwood) and Populus grandidentata (bigtooth aspen). Functioning as defense chemicals, PGs play an important role in the interactions between plants and herbivores. Given that PGs are among the most intensively studied defensive chemicals in the plant kingdom, this publication is anticipated to impact research methods greatly in the coming years.

This publication is the third published manuscript in a continuing collaboration between Dr. Arlen Kaufman and Dr. Cris Hochwender. Previous publications include “Do exotic generalist predators alter host plant preference of a native willow beetle?,” published in Agricultural and Forest Entomology and “Protein storage and root:shoot reallocation strategies provide tolerance to damage in a hybrid willow system,” published in Oecologia. While this record of publication success is encouraging for the faculty associated with the Environmental Studies program, the faculty in the ES program are more encouraged that so many undergraduate students have been able to participate in research projects that have led to publication; across these three papers, 6 UE students have published research. Moreover, 15 UE students have published with these two faculty members in the last decade! 

Figure 1. Representation of the analytical technique used to quantify PGs.

Coming off of a season-high 31 points against Murray State, D.J. Balentine and the University of Evansville men’s basketball team are back home on Thursday for a matchup against Ohio University beginning at 8:05 p.m.

Prior to the men’s game, the Purple Aces women take on Troy at 5:30. Tickets are available by calling 812-488-ACES and may also be purchased at the door.

A last-second shot gave Murray State an 81-79 win over the Purple Aces on Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center. D.J. Balentine set his season mark with 31 points, including 19 in the second half; he hit 13 out of 15 free throw attempts. Egidijus Mockevicius finished with a season-high 14 rebounds while scoring 12 points for his 12th double-double in 19 games; he also blocked six shots. Evansville trailed by as many as seven points in the second half before rallying to tie the game in the final seconds.

Having perhaps his best game of the year against Murray State was center Egidijus Mockevicius. The junior from Vilnius, Lithuania finished with a season-high 14 rebounds, 12 points and six blocked shots. Over the last 60 minutes of action, Mockevicius has been on the floor for 53 of those. His efficiency on offense has continued; by making 4 of his 6 attempts against the Racers, he improved his season mark to 72.1%, tied for 6th in the nation.

Over the last five games, D.J. Balentine has put up an average of 25.8 points per game while leading the Aces to wins that included San Francisco, Wright State and Belmont. Helping that pace has been his ability to take good shots. In the 5-game run, Balentine has shot 52.2% (43/84). In the three games prior to his latest stretch, Balentine was 15-of-47 from the field while averaging 14.67 points. Aided by a 13-of-15 effort from the free throw line, Balentine scored a season-high 31 points against the Racers and moved to the top of the MVC at 21.7 PPG.

Blake Simmons has gone a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe this season. It is a solid improvement over last season where he connected on 67 out of 91 attempts (73.6%). For the season, he is shooting 53.2% and has registered double figures in three games thus far.

Ohio University comes to the Ford Center with a 3-3 record after defeating Alcorn State by a 66-55 final last time out. This marks just the second contest away from Athens this season for the Bobcats, who also played at Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 19.

Four Bobcats average double figures, led by Javarez Wills, who has averaged 15.8 points per game; he also leads OU with 15 assists. Maurice Ndour averages nearly a double-double for the Bobcats; his scoring checks in at 15.7 while he leads the way with 8.8 rebounds per contest; he is ranked fourth in the Mid-American Conference in both scoring and rebounding.

Over the course of five games played in the series, Evansville trails the Bobcats by a 3-2 margin. The home team has been victorious in every game; last season, the Bobcats took an 81-59 win in Athens. Feb. 27, 1989 was the last meeting in #Evansville as the #Aces took a 95-69 win.
The homestand for the Aces continues on Sunday afternoon as they take on Alabama State in a 1:05 p.m. tilt.

The University of Evansville women’s basketball team (4-4) looks for their fourth straight win when they host the Troy Trojans on Thursday, December 18. The game is set for 5:30 p.m. at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. and will start a doubleheader as the UE men’s team plays Ohio University at 8:05 p.m.

UE has won three consecutive games including an 81-40 victory in their last game at home vs. Oakland City on December 9. Sophomore guard Sara Dickey scored a game-high 22 points with a season-high of seven rebounds and a team-best five assists. Sophomore forward Sasha Robinson posted a double-double with 14 points and a career-high 18 rebounds (11 offensive). Senior forward Mallory Ladd also notched a double-double with 18 points and a season-high tying 14 rebounds.

On the stat sheet, Evansville has two players scoring double-figures with Dickey (19.6 points per game) and Ladd (17.4). Dickey and Ladd are both tied for the team-lead with 3.6 assists per game. Ladd and Robinson each have grabbed a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Taloni Reese is creating 1.9 steals per game. UE is averaging 67.4 points and 35.4 rebounds per game. The Aces are making 39.8% of their field goals, 31.9% of threes, and 71.3% at the free throw line.

Troy (4-3) has won back to back games after a 70-50 victory over Alabama State on December 13. Ashley Beverly-Kelley (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Ronita Garrett (16 pts, 13 rebs) both achieved double-doubles in the win.

Statistically, Garett has a team-high 14.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Beverly-Kelley is also scoring double figures with 13.7 points per game. Kristen Emerson has pulled in 9.0 rebounds per game. Beverly-Kelley also has a team-high 23 assists and 17 steals this season. The Trojans are scoring 71.1 points and grabbing 43.7 rebounds per game. Troy is shooting 38.0% from the floor, 23.5% from beyond the arc and 69.0% at the charity stripe.

Evansville is projected to finish fourth in the MVC preseason poll, their highest projection since 2008-2009. Dickey was also named to the preseason All-Conference team. The Aces are led by fourth year head coach Oties Epps, who is coaching the Aces in his 100th game on Thursday. Troy is projected to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll. Beverly-Kelley was named to the preseason conference team. The Trojans are led by second year head coach Chanda Rigby.

UE is 1-1 all-time against the Troy Trojans. The two teams met last year when Troy won 94-86 in Alabama. Dickey scored a team-high 28 points for the Aces as Kat Taylor also netted 21 points. Epps earned his first career win vs. Troy back in 2011.

General admission tickets for the Troy and Evansville game are $5 each. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at 812-488-ACES (2237), in person at either the Carson Center or Ford Center ticket office, or online via Ticketmaster.com.