The Office of Accounting/Payroll will be issuing W-2’s for 2014 no later than January 31, 2015. We are pleased to announce that you can choose one of two options to receive your W-2:

• Electronic W-2 – If you provide your consent, you will receive an e-mail notification via AceNotes Extra that your W-2 is ready to view/print on WebAdvisor.

• Paper W-2 – If you prefer, you can continue to receive a paper W-2 in the mail, as you have in the past.

Among the advantages of electronic W-2’s: (1) you will have access to your W-2 a couple days earlier than a paper copy that is mailed to your home (2) you can print as many copies of the W-2 as you need. The electronic W-2 is IRS compliant and can be submitted with your tax return.

To take advantage of the electronic W-2 option, you must log onto WebAdvisor and select the option “W-2 Electronic Consent”. Click the first radio button to give your consent. You will not receive paper W-2 in the mail if you select the electronic W-2 option.

If you choose to withhold your consent to view/print your online W-2, a paper copy will be prepared and mailed to you at your home address.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Gloria Spencer at ext. 2159. 

One of our favorite celebrants, Fr. Alex Zenthoefer, will be with us tonight at 9:30 p.m. for Mass in Neu Chapel! His message always makes it worth our time! Why not add just 30 minutes on Wednesday nights to your life of prayer this new year? Join us tonight! Can't make it, but have a special prayer request or intention? Text  812-760-8610 or email kr53 and we will remember you in our prayers! 

I-House is back again! This week's presentation is about the United States of America. The presenter is Jalen Lee! His major is Health Services Administration. His hobbies include being involved, eating new foods, talking about Emma Watson, and pretending to be a country boy. He also enjoys reading and cooking dinner for friends. His favorite part of UE is that everyone is family. So come watch him present this Wednesday at 7 pm upstairs in Ridgway University Center in the Class of 59' Gallery and Lounge! 

In order to better understand the religious needs of the UE community, the Offices of Diversity and Equity, Religious Life, and International Programs have scheduled a series of Religious Diversity Dialogues in January and February. All members of the campus community are invited to attend a one-hour informational discussion by selecting the session that best identifies his/her religious affiliation. For example, if your religious affiliation is Jewish, you would attend the January 29 session; if you consider yourself spiritual, but not religious, you would attend the February 19 session, and so on. Your input is important and will help us understand how best to serve the religious community at UE.

Please plan to attend the session that best identifies your own religious affiliation.

All sessions meet at 7:00 p.m. in Room 170 (Smythe Lecture Hall), Schroeder School of Business Building

Thursday, January 22:   Eastern Religions (Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Tao, Shinto, Jain, Bahá’í, etc.)
Thursday, January 29:   Judaism
Thursday, February 5:    Christianity
Thursday, February 12:  Islam
Thursday, February 19:  Spiritual, but not Religious

For more information, please email: lw161@evansville.edu, tg85@evansville.edu, or wm23@evansville.edu. 

There will be an informational meeting for students interested in joining either WUEV (UE's campus radio station) or AcesTV (UE's student-run video group) TODAY -  January 15 - at 5 pm. The meeting will take place outside of the WUEV/AcesTV Studios on the second floor of the Ridgway Center.

On-air radio positions are available this semester in WUEV's various music genres (top 40, hip-hop, alternative rock, jazz, blues, world music, Christian rock) and sports. Positions with AcesTV are also readily available. No experience is necessary and all majors are welcome.
 

The Office of Religious Life would like to let the UE community know about a charity project benefiting a refugee camp in Syria. The Winter Project is sponsored by United Charity and the Syrian American Foundation. The goal is to raise funds to purchase 100 tents, 100 heaters, 1000 blankets and 1000 winter coats and donate these items to the refugees. Many of the refugees left their homes with only the clothes they were wearing and don’t have sufficient clothing or shelter to survive the snow and cold, winter weather.

Those who wish to find out more about this project or need more information on how to make a donation should call Yasser Alhenawi, assistant professor of finance, at 812-488-2863 or email ya22@evansville.edu
 

Priority deadline for Harlaxton Summer 2015 applications is January 23. Forms and course listings available http://www.harlaxton.ac.uk/academics/summer.cfm or in Office of Study Abroad, Room 261, Schroeder School of Business Building. 

Applications for Harlaxton College Fall 2015 continue to be accepted and reviewed on a space-available basis. Contact studyabroad@evansville.edu or pick up application in Office of Study Abroad, SB 261. 

Interested in sacred spaces and how they reflect and shape religious beliefs and practice? Want insight into global religious traditions in a global setting? Looking for a unique interfaith experience with fieldwork at mosques, cathedrals, and temples? Sign up today for summer at Harlaxton course, REL 212 "Living World Religions: A Global Interfaith Pilgrimage." Includes travel scholarship for all students who enroll. Satisfies Enduring Foundations Outcome 4 and Overly A. If you've already taken REL 212, you may take this course as REL 380, "Sacred Spaces and Their Liturgies." The two courses will meet together, with assignments shaped differently for the two courses. For more information contact Tammy Gieselman, tg85@evansville.edu or Dianne Oliver, do9@evansville.edu. 

The Office of Diversity Initiatives will give away 4 seats (2 for students/2 for faculty and staff members) for an upcoming Montgomery to Selma Tour sponsored by the Evansville African American Museum on March 6-8. The trip includes bus transportation, museum admissions, 2 meals, and hotel stay. The trip will visit the Rosa Parks Museum, the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and other historical churches and landmarks. Entries can be filled out in Olmsted Hall, Room 241, from Tuesday through Friday at 5:00 pm. Winners will be announced the evening of the William G. and Rose M. Mays Lectureship in Eykamp 251, Ridgway University Center, on Monday, January 19 as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on campus.

Winners must be present to claim the prize.

For more information please contact LaNeeca Williams at lw161 or ext. 2413.
 

Looking for a terrific way to be involved this semester?

The Office of Diversity Initiatives is looking for volunteers to be a part of the Rosa Parks Reenactment Tours planned on Monday, January 19 from 2-5 pm for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebrations. The six tours will need actors to fill seats and have limited to no speaking parts as we reenact the historical day when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in 1955. Each tour will run about 20 minutes total with a different tour every 1/2 hour.

If you can help on any of the tour times please contact our office. All volunteers and their time are appreciated.

Practice will be held on Wednesday and Thursday of this week from 6:30 -8:00 pm. in Room 203 (J Henry Schroeder Boardroom) in the Library. Please email LaNeeca Williams at lw161 if interested, if you have questions and for the location of practice.
 

Students are able to adjust their meal plans for the spring semester until Friday, January 16 at 5:00 p.m. Adjustments can be made by going to the Dining section of the Residence Life website. http://www.evansville.edu/residencelife/mealplans.cfm

Are you are interested in making a real IMPACT in the lives of your fellow students while learning about yourself and developing your skills? Consider applying to be a Resident Assistant for the 2015-16 year.

Information sessions will be January 14, 15, and 20 at 9:00 pm in Schroeder School of Business, room 71. Stop by to learn more about the position and pick up an application. Or contact any member of the Residence Life staff.

Applications and reference materials are available in editable formats and are conveniently located on our Website at: http://www.evansville.edu/residencelife/raProgram.cfm .
 

The application deadline for the upcoming Project Impact: Guatemala short-term program abroad is Friday, January 16, 2015. Late applications will not be accepted.

This program consists of a semester-long course with travel to Guatemala during Spring Break 2015. Participating students will receive 3 credits and can choose from four different semester courses: BUS 350, ID 380, NURS 395, or PH 340.

For more information about dates and costs, or to apply online, please visit: http://www.evansville.edu/studyabroad/shortTerm.cfm.

Please contact Marissa Mitchell, coordinator of short-term programs abroad, at mm353 if you have any questions.
 

UE professor of history and local cartoonist James MacLeod, joined other cartoonists around the globe to create a drawing in response to the attacks on the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris last week. The message struck a chord with media from around the globe as his cartoon went viral, appearing on the website homepages of such notable outlets as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Huffington Post, BBC, Washington Post, CBS Face the Nation and more.

He even appeared in live interviews on the subject, including one with MSNBC where he says his drawing illustrates that “ideas and creativity is a more powerful force than violence”.

Click here to view the full interview from MSNBC.

MacLeod did interviews with several other print, web, television and radio outlets including Voice of America, Salon.com, WRTV, WFYI, WIBC, Indianapolis Monthly, and 14news, Eyewitness News and the Courier and Press locally.

Click here for a full list of all the places Dr. Macleod’s cartoon was featured as well as links to the many interviews he did on the subject.

Senior religion major Tyler Best preached at the National Festival of Young Preachers, January 2-5 in Dallas, Texas. It was the largest Festival since the inaugural Festival in Louisville, KY in 2011. More than 130 Young Preachers from across the nation participated in the historic event at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University and the Highland Park United Methodist Church.

University Chaplain Tamara Gieselman is a member of the Board of Advisors to the Academy of Preachers. Gieselman has been involved with the Academy and the National Festival since 2010 and attended the National Festival in January, serving as a sermon evaluator and preaching mentor/coach.

The National Festival of Young Preachers sponsored by the Academy of Preachers is the most ecumenical preaching event in the country. A broad range of denominations are represented including, but not limited to, Ethiopian Orthodox, United Methodist, Assembly of God, Disciples of Christ, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, and United Church of Christ. The Festival is designed specifically for young preachers between the ages of 16 and 28 who aspire to be preachers of the gospel.

The Academy of Preachers is an ecumenical initiative launched in 2009 through a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment and energized by the conviction that preaching is a vocation of public and social significance, a calling worthy of our very best and brightest young people. The Academy of Preachers is a trans-denominational organization whose mission is to identify, network, inspire and support young people who sense God’s leading into a vocation of gospel preaching. For more information go to: www.academyofpreachers.com
 

Assistant Professor of Philosophy Derek Jones' article "Agency through Autonomy: Self-Producing Systems and the Prospect of Bio-Compatibilism" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Cognition and Neuroethics. 

Robert Baines, assistant professor in the department of English, has been awarded a fellowship by the Moore Institute. The Moore Institute is an interdisciplinary Irish Studies center at the National University of Ireland - Galway. The fellowship will take place in June and will involve research and lecturing. 

Lisa Kretz, assistant professor of philosophy,  has been invited by the Macmillan Reference USA project editor to write a book chapter titled "How Technology Has Changed What and How We Eat" for the Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks in Philosophy series. Tony Beavers, professor of philosophy, is editor in chief of the philosophy of technology volume, which this chapter will appear in.

A paper by Yasser Alhenawi, assistant professor of finance, and co-authored by Sudha Krishnaswami, professor of finance at the University of New Orleans, will appear in the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance. The paper is titled “The Impact of Synergies on Mergers Value.” The authors investigate whether and to what extent synergies affect value in Mergers and Acquisitions Transactions. Controlling for self-selection and endogeneity biases, the evidence indicates that merger synergies materialize over time, but differently in unrelated and related mergers. Market power, economies of scale and scope, and internal capital market activity contribute to enhancement in value only in unrelated mergers. In contrast, related mergers are motivated by a need for facilitating technology and innovation transfers.

Richard W. Maass, assistant professor of political science, has published an article appearing in the January issue of Diplomatic History, the top journal of that field. Titled "'Difficult to Relinquish Territory Which Had Been Conquered': Expansionism and the War of 1812," Maass' article aims to finally put to rest the myth that the United States launched the War of 1812 to annex Canada. It is available online here: http://dh.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/01/06/dh.dht132.abstract 

Dale Edwards and Cris Hochwender, professors of biology, will be teaching courses for the Indiana Master Naturalist program. Their topics will include the ecological framework for the program, tree identification training, and the negative impacts of human activity on natural resources. The Indiana Master Naturalist program brings together natural resource specialists with adult learners to foster an understanding of Indiana's plants, waters, soils and wildlife and to promote volunteer service in local communities. People with a passion for the natural world can take this opportunity to build their knowledge and skills. For more information contact Gena Garrett at
ggarrett@wesselmannaturesociety.org.

A free shuttle will be provided for students for the men's basketball game this Saturday against #13 Wichita State. The shuttle will pick up in front of the Carson Center at 12:30 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. The game tips at 1 p.m. and the shuttle will bring students back after the game. 

The University of Evansville basketball team looks to improve to 4-1 on the road this season as the team travels to Springfield, Mo. to take on Missouri State on Wednesday evening at 7:05 p.m.

Despite foul trouble and facing a lineup that Bradley had not seen together all season, the Purple Aces held on for a 66-56 road win over the Braves on Saturday. Three of UE’s five starters had four personal fouls in the second half, but some clutch shooting saw the Aces take their largest lead in the final minutes.

D.J. Balentine was the leading scorer once again, posting 22 points while Egidijus Mockevicius had 14 points and 14 rebounds, notching his 12th double-double of the season. Evansville won for just the fourth time in 22 trips to Carver Arena. With the 12-4 start, head coach Marty Simmons now has his top start as the head coach of the Aces and is tied for fourth in victories for the program with Dick Walters, each currently have 114.

Mockevicius is on pace to do something not seen in the NCAA since the 2006-07 season. He is averaging 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 80% from the free throw line. The last time that was done came in the 2006-07 season when Kevin Durant of the Texas Longhorns (and currently the Oklahoma City Thunder) finished with 11.1 rebounds and hit 81.6% of his free throws. Nick Fazekas of Nevada also did so that season, his total rebounds came in just shy of Durant’s final, but he averaged 11.1 boards and was 84.8% from the line.

Through four true road games this season, the Aces have gone 3-1 with the lone loss coming in overtime at Indiana State. This marks just the third 3-1 road start since 1982 and the fifth overall since the 29-0 National Championship Team in 1964-65. The best road start for UE in the Division I era came in 1998-99 when the Aces were 7-1 in the first eight away from Roberts Stadium.

Missouri State enters Wednesday’s game with an even mark of 8-8 and 2-2 in league play. Marcus Marshall paces the Bears with an average of 19.5 points per game; he is second in the MVC in scoring behind Balentine. Austin Ruder is the #2 scorer for MSU, he averages 8.8 points per game. Forward Camyn Boone leads the Bears with 5.8 rebounds per game and is the most accurate shooter on their squad at 57.3%. The Bears are the top free throw shooting team in the Valley, entering the game at 76.6%.

Following a trip to Missouri State on Wednesday, the Aces return home next Saturday to face Wichita State at 1 p.m. at the Ford Center. Tickets are available by calling 812-488-ACES or by visiting the ticket offices at the Carson Center on the UE campus or Ford Center. Fans can take advantage of a special 4 for $44 ticket deal where you receive a ticket to the game against the Shockers as well as the contests versus Southern Illinois and Indiana State. The final game of the 4-pack is your choice of any of the February home games (Illinois State, Missouri State, Bradley and Drake).

Tickets for Saturday's men's basketball game against #16 Wichita State are now available. Please be advised that all faculty/staff will be required to sign off when picking up their 2 complimentary tickets. This will be the policy moving forward for the remainder of the season. Go Aces!