The University of Evansville’s program for accounting and finance has been named the number one degree program in the nation on the 30 Great Small Colleges for an Accounting and Finance Degree list by Master of Finance Degrees.

“The University of Evansville may be small, but they take care of the students,” notes the Master of Finance Degrees website in its description of the university.  “Accounting program graduates have a job placement rate of 100% and are often hired by major national and regional firms. Students electing to pursue a graduate degree are regularly placed at the top accounting schools in the country including the top two for graduate accounting programs: the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.”

Dr. Greg Rawski, dean of the Schroeder School of Business at UE, is thrilled to receive the national recognition. “Our faculty and staff work hard to ensure the success of our students, seeing to it that they receive an exceptional education and achieve strong career placement – both indicators of a smart collegiate investment,” he says.

Rawski also notes that graduates are regularly placed in the “big four” accounting firms, which include Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young, and KPMG.

Dr. Tom Kazee, president of the University of Evansville, credits graduate success to the hard work of UE faculty members, which includes a well-rounded educational experience.

“Our students leave with a strong liberal arts foundation that makes them desirable to employers around the world,” he says. “Accounting and finance majors have the opportunity to collaborate on a number of highly experiential programs throughout their time as UE students. They enter the job market with a level of experience highly unusual for undergraduate business majors.

One such example is the University’s Institute for Banking and Finance that offers abundant hands-on learning opportunities to accounting and finance students. The IBF has five experiential programs where UE students interface directly with clients on projects such as microloans for new minority and women owned business, financial literacy education for new parents, a farm lending fellowship program, investments, financial research, and risk management.

The Schroeder School of business is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). UE accounting students scored in the 99th percentile on the accounting portion of the 2014 major field test and Schroeder School of Business students are at the 96th percentile for the exam overall. Additionally, 98 percent of Schroeder School of Business graduates from May 2014, and 100 percent of the accounting graduates, were employed in their chosen profession within six months of graduation.

Master of Finance Degrees used criteria including accreditation, national ranking, and unique program features to assemble its list of 30 Great Small Colleges for an Accounting and Finance Degree. All data used in the analysis of UE’s Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration’s major in finance came from College Navigator, a tool from the National Center for Education Statistics.

LaNeeca Williams, diversity and equity officer, took a group of UE students along with several community members to the 50th Anniversary of Selma this past weekend. A half century ago on March 7, approximately 600 protesters attempted a march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest a rigged system that hindered the right to vote for African-Americans, More than 40,000 attended this weekend's anniversary event.

An Evansville Courier & Press article about the event quotes UE students. To read the article, click here:

http://www.courierpress.com/news/local-news/selma-obama-inspire-evansville-group_99971515

Fitness Center Spring Break hours are:

Monday-Friday  (March 9-March 13) 8 am -6 pm
Saturday (March 14) Closed
Sunday (March 15) Closed
Resume normal hours on March 16

The UE Bookstore will be closed on Saturdays, March 7 and14 during Spring Break. During Spring Break (March 9-13) the store will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will resume regular store hours on March 16.

Libraries will observe the following schedule of hours during the Spring Recess. Contact Library at 488.2462 with questions.

March 6  (F):      7:30 a.m.  -  5:00 p.m.
March 7  (S):     CLOSED
March 8  (S):     CLOSED
March 9  (M):     8:00 a.m.  -  5:00 p.m.
March 10  (T):    8:00 a.m.  -  5:00 p.m.
March 11  (W):   8:00 a.m.  -  5:00 p.m.
March 12  (T):    8:00 a.m.  -  5:00 p.m.
March 13  (F):    8:00 a.m.  -  5:00 p.m.
March 14  (S):    CLOSED
March 15  (S):    3:00 p.m.  -  Midnight
March 16  (M):    Resume Regular Hours

UE student Tyler Plogher and UE alum Evan McCracken presented research at the professional conference for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Feb 25 - Feb 28 in Long Beach, California. They presented the results of their UE grant-funded research co-authored with Dr. Margaret Stevenson, entitled "Date Rape: How Victim Depression Status Affects Perceptions of Rape Avoidability."

Ivan "Ike" Ward, University of Evansville professor emeritus, passed away Thursday, February 26, at Deaconess Gateway Hospital in Newburgh, Indiana. He was 88.

Ward retired from UE in 1992, where he was a professor of education. He had worked at the University since 1975. He was a member of University of Evansville Emeriti, Indiana Association of Teacher Educators and Phi Delta Kappa. He worked at the University of South Dakota in Springfield, and as superintendent of schools in Nebraska and Iowa. Ward earned his bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Nebraska. He served in the U.S. Navy and was a veteran of World War II. He was a member and Elder in the Newburgh Presbyterian Church.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Leslie Renee Ward.

Ward is survived by his wife of 67 years, Elizabeth (Quante) Ward; sons, Eric Ward (Debbie Kay), Gregory Ward and Scott Ward; granddaughter, Mikayla Spore; great-grandchildren, Nikolas and Nathaniel Spore; sister, Norma Latzel; nieces and nephews.

Memorial Services were Sunday, March 8, at Newburgh Presbyterian Church. Burial will be at a later date in Lafayette Cemetery in Brock, Nebraska.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Ivan and Elizabeth Ward Scholarship Fund at the University of Evansville or Newburgh Presbyterian Church.

Condolences may be made online at www.AlexanderNewburghChapel.com.

See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/courierpress/obituary.aspx?n=ivan-ward&pid=174286930&fhid=10663#sthash.AFOf1O7E.dpuf

Due to unplayable field conditions, the University of Evansville (6-5) baseball home game against the Belmont Bruins on Wednesday, March 11 has been relocated to Nashville, Tenn. The game will be held at Rose Park and first pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.

The Purple Aces most recently split a four-game, two-day series against Western Illinois this past weekend in Emerson, Ga.

UE will also play a three-game series at Ohio State beginning on Friday, March 13.

The next scheduled home game for the Aces is Wednesday, March 18 against Murray State. First pitch at Braun Stadium will be 6:00 p.m.
 

After weather forced the Purple Aces to cancel their trip to the first tournament of the season in February, the University of Evansville golf teams will make their spring debuts beginning tomorrow at the Don Benbow Intercollegiate at Jacksonville Beach Golf Club in Jacksonville, Fla.

The tournament is set for Monday and Tuesday. Butler University is the host of the event and results will be available for both teams each night.

Wil Pahud was the top performer for the men in the fall. He shot a team-low 73.83 in his first semester with the Aces while recording two top five finishes in five tournaments. His top finish was a tie for third at the Weibring Intercollegiate. His best round was a 69, which came in the second round of the Butler Fall Invitational.

Next up for UE was true freshman Tyler Gray. He posted an average of 75 strokes per round to finish second for UE. He recorded a tie for 7th place in the Butler Fall Invitational. His low round of 69 came at the Cleveland State Invitational. Alex Turner was third in the fall, posting a 75.42 average. Ten of his 12 rounds finished 79 or lower.

At the Butler event in October, the guys had their best finish of the season, coming in second place.

Reigning Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year Kayla Katterhenry picked up right where she left off after her inaugural campaign at UE. She was the low scorer for UE, averaging 76.9 strokes. Katterhenry finished in the top 17 in all five events with her best effort being a tie for fifth at the Saluki Shootout.

Senior Cathy Doyle was next on the team with an 80.1 average. She was very consistent as all ten of her rounds were 87 or lower. She tied for 13th at the Dayton Fall Invitational. Third for the Aces was sophomore Maggie Camp. She showed solid improvement over her first year while checking in with an 87 or lower in all ten rounds.

Purple Aces starting pitcher Amanda Blankenship threw a complete game, giving up just two runs on four hits to lead the University of Evansville softball team to a 5-2 win over the University of Connecticut on Sunday morning in the final game of the Mizuno Classic.

Blankenship won her fifth game of the season as her complete game effort featured four strikeouts over the course of the game.

Leading the way for the UE (6-17) offense was Mickaela Fleming. She was 1-2 for the day with a 3-run home run in the third inning. Also hitting a home run was Danielle Freeman. Batting cleanup, Freeman was 1-for-4 with a solo shot.

Lexi Gifford paced the Husky (6-9) offense. She had two of their four hits. She was 2-3 off of Blankenship.

After a pair of scoreless innings, the Aces struck first in the top of the third as Fleming hit her third home run of the year. Michal Luckett opened up the frame with a single before a 1-out Freeman single pushed Luckett to second. That brought Fleming to the plate where she hit her third knock of the year to give the Aces the lead.

Blankenship was rolling at that point. She did not give up a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning when Lexi Gifford singles with two outs. The next inning, the Huskies offense came through with their first run on a Taylor Townsend homer to get within two at 3-1.

In the top of the seventh, the Aces added some insurance as a Freeman home run before Ashlee Kawall scored on an error. UConn scored once in the bottom of the seventh, but it was not enough to defeat the Aces, who took the 5-2 win.

Next weekend, the Aces are set to open up their home and Missouri Valley Conference schedule against Loyola. The weekend starts off with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday before a noon game on Sunday.
 

After four days of hard work and competition, the University of Evansville men’s swimming team comes back to campus with its best conference finish in 13 years, earning a 6th place team finish at the Mid-American Conference Championships.

“I am very happy with way this team came together and was willing to put themselves aside for the betterment of the team,” head coach Rickey Perkins said. “There is not a man on this team that did not agree to suffer for the good of the team, academically and athletically. It was a remarkable season. We broke 5 school records and we finished in 6th place, our best finish in 13 years.”

The milestone run by the Purple Aces was capped off by another stellar day in the pool on Saturday. The top performance by the squad came in the 200 backstroke as Ethan O’Rourke and Daniel O’Brien advanced to the consolation finals with each coming home in the top 15. O’Rourke registered a 14th place finish with O’Brien just a spot behind. O’Rourke swam a 1:51.66 in his preliminary race and improved by over a second in the consolation finals, checking in at 1:50.59. O’Brien’s finished the finals in 1:53.66.

Reid Mobley was also within shouting distance of qualifying for the finals in the event. His 1:59.53 was just 0.29 short of qualifying.

In the 200 breaststroke, Troy Burger continued his successful run in Geneva. He took 11th in the prelims (2:01.80) to advance to the consolation finals. In the finals, he swam even better, posting a 2:00.97 to come home in 12th spot. Also swimming well in the prelims were Will Glasscock and Conor Sprick. Glasscock came in 19th with a 2:05.97 while Sprick took 21st, finishing in 2:07.28.

Andrew Cotton has been UE’s top long distance swimmer throughout the duration of the championships and continued that success with his best run of the event. In the 1650 free race, Cotton came home 15th in the finals with a 16:13.36. He was just over a second behind 14th.

Ashton Bishop was strong in the 100 free. He swam a 47.31 in the seed round before improving to 46.62 in the prelims. His efforts were good for 20th place.

As a team, the Purple Aces accomplished a great feat in coming home sixth. Their score of 146 was enough to edge out Ball State’s 127. Top honors in the championships went to Eastern Michigan. The Eagles posted 777.5 points to edge out Missouri State’s 757.5. Buffalo took third while Southern Illinois and Miami Ohio rounded out the top five.
 

– The University of Evansville women's basketball team (11-18, 6-12) tied a season-high with four players scoring double figures in an 86-71 loss to Missouri State Lady Bears on Saturday afternoon. Guard Sara Dickey led all UE scorers with 20 points, her 24th career game of 20+ points. Forward Mallory Ladd added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Purple Aces. Forward Peyton Langston set a new career-high with 12 points and guard Khristian Hart also chipped in with 11.

The Evansville women’s basketball program began the day by honoring seniors Khristian Hart, Mallory Ladd and Kat Taylor. Prior to the regular season finale, the Aces presented each senior with a picture collage and a jersey presentation for their contributions to the program.

UE trailed Missouri State 6-0 early but rallied back to tie the game at 13. Dickey scored the first eight points for the Aces as Langston tallied the last five to even up the score. The Lady Bears then inched back ahead by scoring the next five points for an 18-13 lead with 11:08 to play in the opening half. Evansville had another response by going on a 17-4 run to take their largest lead of the game, 30-22. Guard Laura Friday hit back to back threes to begin the stretch that featured six Aces tallying points in the timeframe. Trailing by eight with 5:25 to go in the first half, Missouri State kept chipping away at the deficit and lowered the difference to three at the break. UE led 38-35 at halftime thanks to 16 points from Dickey and 10 by Langston, whose previous career-high was eight points at #7 Louisville on December 29, 2014. The Aces were 8-for-14 on three-pointers in the first half, a 57.1% success rate.

Down by three, the Lady Bears began the second half on a 10-3 run to regain the lead. UE stormed back within two, 48-46, on a Mallory Ladd three pointer with 15:09 to play. In the see-saw game, Missouri State then tallied the next seven points to extend the advantage back to nine with 12:01 left. Once again, UE lowered the deficit to four, 55-51, on a Ladd trey and Langston layup at the 10:31 mark of the second half. The Lady Bears then rattled off seven of the next nine points to increase the lead to 62-53. The Aces swung the difference back down to four again, 62-58, with 7:05 still on the clock but Missouri State pulled away late on their way to the 86-71 regular season ending victory.

The Aces made 11 three-pointers in the game, setting a new season high (10 - at Drake on Feb. 20, vs. Troy on Dec. 18, 2014). UE also committed a season-high 25 personal fouls in the contest. Taylor was one of three players to foul out in the game, scoring four points in 15 minutes played. Dickey’s 20 point performance gives her 558 this year, second to only Shyla Puelston (574 in 1998-’99) for most in single season program history.

With the defeat, the Purple Aces have lost five straight contests and 11 of their last 12 games. UE enters the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the #7 seed and will play the #10 Illinois State Redbirds (2-27, 2-16) in opening round set for Thursday, March 12. Tip is set for 7 p.m at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
 

UT Martin began the day by earning the doubles point and never looked back, defeating the University of Evansville women’s tennis team by a final of 5-2 on Saturday. Due to the weather, the match was played at the Governor Indoor Tennis Center on the campus of Austin Peay.

Earning the wins for the Purple Aces (6-3) were Kennedy Craig and Andjela Brguljan. Craig picked up a decisive win at #4 singles. She defeated Jessica Silva, 6-1, 6-2. Brguljan earned the nod in flight six singles. She topped Tamara Klimek, 6-2, 4-3, (def).

Craig teamed up with Marina Moreno in third flight doubles. The duo topped Klimek and Elina Geut, 8-4, to finish off the perfect day for Craig.

The Skyhawks (3-4) picked up the win in first and second flight doubles. Hitomi Naito and Burcu Tari picked up an 8-6 win in the top flight over Natasha James and Marketa Trousilova. At #2 doubles, Sarah Candeloro and Jessica Silva defeated Gaby Fifer and Mina Milovic, 8-7.

Flights one through three on the singles side went the way of UT Martin. No. 1 singles saw Naito defeat Trousilova, 6-3, 6-4. Candeloro picked up the win in the second flight. She defeated James in three sets, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.

Moreno fell to Tari in the third flight, 6-3, 6-3 while Geut earned the win over Milovic at flight five singles, 7-5, 3-0, (def).

Evansville will be in Florida for three matches this week. On Tuesday, UE takes on Bucknell before facing Quinnipiac on Wednesday and James Madison on Friday. All three games will take place in Orlando.

A pair of school records fell by the wayside on Friday as the University of Evansville men’s swimming team competed in the third day of the Mid-American Conference Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

Troy Burger had a stellar day that saw him break his own school record in the 100 breaststroke. In the preliminary round, he posted a 56.10 to set the new mark. It was also good for 14th place in that round. In the B Finals, Burger took 15th with a 56.50.

Also setting a new UE record was the group of Burger, Ethan O’Rourke, Daniel O’Brien and Ashton Bishop. The quartet swam a time of 3:21.43 in the 400 medley relay to break a mark that was set 15 years ago.

“We had three guys (Daniel O'Brien - 100 fly, Troy Burger - 100 breast, and Ethan O'Rourke - 100 back) make it back for B finals and we also broke 2 school records today,” Aces head coach Rickey Perkins said. “Troy Burger in the 100 breaststroke broke his school record in the prelims. The 400 medley relay team of O’Rourke, Burger, O’Brien and Ashton Bishop broke a 15 year old record. I am very proud of our team and how we have competed so far. Tomorrow is a big day and we will try to continue our momentum.”

O’Brien had a stellar outing in the 100 fly. In the prelims, he fell just .05 seconds off of advancing to the A Finals, coming in 9th with his time of 49.38. Logan Burton of Eastern Michigan took the final A spot with a 49.33. In the B Finals, O’Brien took 11th with a 49.27.

In the 100 backstroke, O’Rourke also made it to the B Finals. He took 16th place in the prelims, recording a 50.91. He did even better in the consolation finals, finishing in 50.54 to take 15th.

Will Glasscock had a nice effort in the 100 breaststroke. He took 18th in the prelims, registering a time of 58.03.

Also posting a pair of top 20 preliminary finishes was Andrew Cotton. He took 18th in the 500 free, finishing in 4:44.84 before coming home in 20th in the 400 IM. His time in that event was a 4:11.97.

On Saturday, the Purple Aces finish up the championships. For full information and live coverage, visit the MAC Championship Central page linked at the top.

The University of Evansville baseball team (6-5) split a doubleheader with the Western Illinois Leathernecks (2-8) on Saturday afternoon. Freshman lefthander Brodie Harkness (2-0) threw 6.0 innings of one hit, eight strikeout baseball in game one as the Aces offense ignited for a 10-0 win. Western Illinois was able to rebound in the second game, winning that contest 3-0 and securing a four game split of the series.

“In game one, Harkness pitched outstanding,” said Evansville head coach Wes Carroll. “He commanded all three pitches and kept them off balance. The hitters exploded and gave him a good cushion in that first game.”

In the opener, the UE offense batted around in the first to score six runs. Outfielder Jarod Perry led off with a double and scored on an RBI single from infielder Boomer Synek. The Aces then added a run on a fielding error, another on a passed ball, and an additional run on a fielding error for the 5-0 advantage. Infielder Stuart Nelson capped the first inning scoring with an RBI double creating a 6-0 Aces lead. In the next inning, outfielder Josh Jyawook reached on an error to begin the frame and scored when designated hitter Max Foley followed in the next at-bat with a two-run home run. Foley’s first home run of the season pushed UE in front 8-0. The lead was more than enough for Harkness who struck out four batters over the first two innings on his way to a career-high eight punchouts. Harkness retired the final 14 hitters he faced in 6.0 innings of work. Jyawook, Perry and Synek each had two runs scored in the opener.

In game two, Western Illinois left-hander Preston Church threw 8.0 scoreless innings on the way to a 3-0 Leathernecks win. Church held UE to just five hits and two walks as he struck out eight batters on the afternoon.

“Church kept us off balance the entire day,” added Carroll. “To shut out our offensive lineup tells you that credit needs to go to the other pitcher. He did an outstanding job.”

Sophomore right-hander Patrick Schnieders (1-1) made his first career start for the Aces in the final game of the doubleheader. The teams remained scoreless until the fourth when Western Illinois produced RBI doubles from Chris Tschida and Jake Moore for a 2-0 lead. Schnieders fell one out shy of a quality start, yielding two runs in 5.2 innings in the loss. Western Illinois tacked on a run in the seventh for the three run cushion. UE brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the inning, but a fielder’s choice from Stuart Nelson left runners at first and second. The Aces stranded seven men on base in the contest. Catcher Billy Lipari was 2-for-3 in the last game, the only Ace to have multiple hits in game two.

Synek reached base safely in both contests, pushing his consecutive on-base streak to 32 games dating back to last season.

Evansville will return home on Saturday and will host Belmont on Wednesday, March 11. The game will be held at Braun Stadium with a 3:00 p.m. first pitch.
 

Fourth-seeded Illinois State overcame a 6-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 5 University of Evansville by a 71-67 final in Friday’s opener for the Purple Aces at Arch Madness at Scottrade Center.

Evansville (19-12, 9-9 MVC) led by as many as nine points in the first half before a 13-2 run in the second half keyed the comeback for the Redbirds (20-11, 11-7 MVC).

D.J. Balentine led the Aces with 17 points on a 6-of-17 shooting day from the field. He drained all four free throw attempts while dishing out four assists. Mislav Brzoja tied Balentine’s mark with four helpers while scoring 11 points. He knocked down three 3-pointers. Egidijus Mockevicius totaled 14 points for the Aces to go along with seven rebounds, which was tied for the game high.

Threes were the story early on for the Purple Aces as Blake Simmons led a streak of back-to-back-to-back triples. Evansville hit six of its first seven shots overall. Simmons hit the first triple to put the Aces up 7-4.

Every time the UE hit a three, the Redbirds had an answer with an and-one and two treys of their own. The back-to-back action led to a 15-15 score nearing the midway point of the first period.

A 9-0 run saw the Purple Aces take their largest lead of the game to that point at 24-15 with just over 8 minutes left. Egidijs Mockevicius had a pair of dunks in the run, including an alley-oop on a great feed from Mislav Brzoja.

Illinois State showed some fight, getting back within four at 24-20 before the Aces slowly pushed their lead back up to six at 37-31 at the half. Brzoja leads UE with 8 points in the opening half along with three assists. UE shot 59.1% in the first half, hitting 13 out of 22 shots.

Coming out of the half, the Redbirds started to take control. After the Aces made their first shot, they would miss their next five as the Redbirds went on a 13-2 run in the opening minutes. Brzoja ended the stretch with 14 minutes left as he nailed his third triple of the game to make it a 44-42 game in favor of ISU.

Despite the shot, the Redbirds continued to play well and took their largest edge to that point at 50-44 midway through the latter frame. That lead reached eight at 52-44 before the Aces started to make their run. Six D.J. Balentine tallies saw the Aces get within just one points with 6:40 left at 54-53. Just was fast as the Aces got back into it, the Redbirds notched consecutive field goals to hold a 58-53 lead with just over five minutes remaining.

The push for Evansville continued despite the quick spurt by the Redbirds. Duane Gibson hit a pair of free throws to get UE back within three before Mockevicius hit two more from the charity stripe to knot it up at 59-59 with four minutes remaining.

Seconds later, Mockevicius connected on an and-one to put UE on top 62-61. The lead escaped UE as the Redbirds posted the next five including a triple by Deontae Hawkins to go up 66-62. Mockevicius ended the run with a pair of free throws at the 2-minute mark. After his free throws cut it to two, Hawkins struck once again. An old-fashioned 3-point play was the dagger with 1:30 remaining as ISU went up 69-64. At that point, ISU hit 5 out of 7 field goals.

Just when it looked bad for the Aces, some improbable circumstances got UE right back in it. Following an offensive shot clock violation, the Aces forced a turnover by the Redbirds on the inbound. With the clock running down, Jaylon Brown slammed it home to make it a 69-66 game.

With 30 seconds left, the Purple Aces defense forced a travel on a strong trap to get the ball back. Brown grabbed an offensive board and was fouled where he hit 1 of his 2 attempts. On the ensuing possession, Illinois State hit both free throws to take a 71-67 lead with 12 ticks left on the clock and that would be the final score.

Hawkins led ISU with 17 points while DeVaughn Purcell had 13 and Daishon Knight had 12.

Keep track of GoPurpleAces.com for any potential postseason information for the Purple Aces.