All are welcome to join the Newman Club for Dinner and Discussion at 5:00 p.m. today. Come for fellowship, a delicious home-cooked meal, and a discussion on "The Catholic Mass Explained" led by Matt Miller. You can find us at the house with the purple banner on Lincoln Avenue. For more information, please contact Olivia Voegerl at ov4@evansville.edu.

Tonight's I-House presentation will be about Palestine. Fahad and Faisal Alsaid will be presenting. They are both biochemistry majors. Fahad likes to listen to music and play badminton. Faisal likes photography. He also enjoys playing video games and ping pong. They both like the faculty here on campus. They also have a special treat for you all: Palestinian traditional cookies! So make sure to stop by tonight at 7:00 p.m., upstairs in Ridgway University Center, to learn all about Palestine!

The UE Bookstore is offering 25 percent OFF of all Under Armour purchases until February 3 on the remaining stock of inventory. This includes all shorts, polos, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. Hurry while supplies last.

Tonight, the Student Activities Board will be showing Dr. Strange in Eykamp Hall, Room 251, Ridgway University Center, at 7:00 p.m. As usual, free popcorn will be provided. We will also be giving away a Dr. Strange movie poster. Hope to see you there!

Join the Office of Education Abroad for a study abroad fair!

Next month the Office of Education Abroad will be hosting a number of visitors who will talk about opportunities for students to go abroad! There will be several study abroad program providers in attendance, and this would be the perfect opportunity to ask them any study abroad questions you might have. There will also be information about scholarships and opportunities to intern and volunteer abroad. Come grab some free food and see if study abroad will work for you.

The fair will be held on Thursday, February 9, from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Room 251, Ridgway University Center. For any questions, please e-mail Greta Becker at gb91@evansville.edu.

Students who have received federal direct loans (subsidized/unsubsidized) and plan to graduate in the spring or summer (or transfer after the spring semester) are required to attend a loan repayment counseling session.

The Office of Financial Aid will hold the first session of the semester on Wednesday, February 22, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 126, Hyde Hall. Sessions will also be held on April 26 at 2:00 p.m. and May 5 at 11:30 a.m.

Submitted by Amy Sowders as560@evansville.edu

Are you interested in teaching at Harlaxton? Please join Gerald Seaman, principal of Harlaxton, for a discussion on teaching at Harlaxton on February 16 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. in Room 120 in Hyde Hall. Jerry will cover the topics of applications, selection of faculty and courses, and pre-departure preparations. He will also reflect on what it is like to teach at Harlaxton, working with the Harlaxton team to include field excursions into your classes, as well as living in the manor. Please come and join us if you are interested in knowing more about teaching at Harlaxton or are planning to apply in the next several years.

Submitted by Greta Becker gb91@evansville.edu

The University of Evansville will host the fifth annual Hesburgh Lecture in collaboration with the Notre Dame Club of the Tri-State, on Friday, February 24. The lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m. in Room 170 (Smythe Lecture Hall) of UE's Schroeder School of Business Building.

This year’s guest speaker will be Brad D. Gregory, director of Notre Dame's Institute for Advanced Study. His topic will be "The Reformation Era and the Makings of Modernity."  Gregory will discuss ways in which conflicts of the Reformation era prompted unintended historical developments that created the modern Western world, and without which we cannot understand contemporary problems such as the presumed conflict between science and religion, unending moral disagreements, global climate change, and the secularization of knowledge.

Gregory is a professor of history and holds the Dorothy G. Griffin Chair in the Department of History at Notre Dame. Together with Randall Zachman, he serves as the North American editor of the Archive for Reformation History. Gregory earned his PhD in history from Princeton University and his MA in history from the University of Arizona. He received his licentiate degrees in philosophy from the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He earned his BA degree in history from the Catholic University of Leuven, and his BS in history from Utah State University. He has been awarded the Hiett Prize in the Humanities from the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, and the Kaneb Teaching Award from the College of Arts and Letters, Notre Dame.

Gregory’s research centers on Christianity in the Reformation era, including magisterial Protestantism, radical Protestantism, and Roman Catholicism approached comparatively and cross-confessionally. He is also interested in the long-term ideological influences and institutional consequences of the Reformation era on the making of the modern Western world. Another of his areas of research and interest is methodology and theory in the understanding of religion and history

Named for Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, the Hesburgh Lecture Series is a major community outreach program of Notre Dame alumni clubs around the nation. The series features Notre Dame faculty members discussing topics ranging from art and architecture to economics to social concerns.

Below is an overview of media coverage from last night’s Interfaith Rally of Support. Some version of the TV stories ran during every newscast last night and this morning. 

• Courier & Press
• 14 News
• Eyewitness News
• 44 News

The last day for students to charge textbooks and supplies to their student accounts in the UE Bookstore will be Friday, February 10. If you still need a book and want to use this option please come to the bookstore before this date. Keep in mind that these charges will need to be paid on your account in the student accounts office. If you have questions please contact the UE Bookstore.

Students who rented books for the spring term in the UE Bookstore and wish to purchase them can do so in the bookstore by February 28. The amount of your rental fee will be applied to the amount you will owe to purchase the book outright. Please keep in mind the deadline if you want to pursue this option. Bring your original receipt as well. Contact the UE Bookstore with any questions.

The Global Scholars Program is designed to offer support for faculty engaged in scholarship or curriculum development that helps prepare our students and community (public, private, and civic sector partners) for global leadership, citizenry, and success. It is expected that the Global Scholars’ activities will have a positive impact on the global mindset of some of our constituencies, including students, faculty, and the greater Evansville community.

The Global Scholars program is supported and administered by the Institute for Global Enterprise and is made possible in part by the John H. Schroeder Global Scholar Endowed Fund.

Current funding will support 3-5 awards per year. Awards include a stipend of $1,000 and up to $3,000 for travel, research materials, conference fees, and other related expenses.

The deadline for full consideration is February 28.

More information can be found on the Institute for Global Enterprise’s web page.

UE admission ambassador applications are now available. Please go to this link to fill out the application. Once you fill out the application, you will need to send the recommendation form to the UE faculty or staff member serving as your reference. Hard copies will be available in the admissions office located on the first floor of Olmsted Administration Hall. The deadline for applications is midnight on February 12. If you have any questions, please e-mail Sarah Harness at sh287@evansville.edu.

Continuing students should file the 2017-18 FAFSA (free application for federal student aid) to apply for federal, state, and university need-based financial aid, including all federal student loans. UE's FAFSA code is 001795.

Submitting by March 10 is essential for Indiana residents, and highly recommended for all.

Questions regarding the FAFSA should be directed to the Office of Financial Aid (Olmsted Administration Hall, Room 116) at 812-488-2364, 800-424-8634, or financialaid@evansville.edu.

IRS data retrieval tool
The IRS data retrieval tool transfers parent and/or student IRS tax information into the FAFSA. The 2017-18 FAFSA uses 2015 federal tax data just as the 2016-17 FAFSA did, so there is no reason to wait to submit.

Richard Maass, assistant professor of political science, was interviewed by both 14News and Eyewitness News on the subject of President Trump's recent executive order. The order suspends the refugee program for 120 days, bans entry for 90 days for citizens of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and bans entry indefinitely of Syrians seeking refugee status.

Maass emphasized that terrorist groups claim to fight on behalf of much broader populations that actually reject their violence, and that the most effective counterterrorism policies discriminate between the terrorists and those broader populations. In contrast, policies that discriminate against those broader populations end up helping the terrorists recruit.

Portions of Maass's interviews have been turned into features on the subject, which can be viewed on the 14News and Eyewitness News websites.

Maass also wrote an article on the subject in the aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks. It was later named Best Post of the Year by the International Studies Association's Online Media Caucus.

Central High School teacher Sasha Huff Hudson, a 2009 graduate of UE’s School of Education, was recently named the teacher of the week in the Evansville Courier and Press. Hudson, who teaches both English and Spanish at Central High School, says her favorite part of teaching is helping students learn new information.

In an interview with the Courier and Press, Hudson said, “In Spanish, I love teaching a student something for the first time. It's a great feeling to know that I can take a student who, at the beginning of the year, knows almost no Spanish and by the end of the year, he or she can have a conversation, write paragraphs, and read pages.”

This honor exemplifies the collaborative work among the English, creative writing, foreign language, and education departments at the University of Evansville. Working in partnership, faculty members cultivate students’ passions and build upon their knowledge to prepare them for successful classroom teaching.

Amber Pouliot, British Studies professor at Harlaxton, and Kristina Hochwender, associate professor of English at UE, recently co-authored an essay. The essay was about Hochwender’s use of a digital humanities project developed from a conference co-organized by Pouliot in 2015, called Placing the Author. In addition to the conference, Pouliot and her co-organizers curated the Postcard Project, which invited literary tourists to post digital postcards of sites associated with nineteenth-century authors. During the spring 2016 term at Harlaxton, Hochwender asked her students to take part in the Postcard Project and to produce their own digital postcards as a reflective learning exercise. The essay has just been posted to the Journal of Victorian Culture Online.

For the first time since Arch Madness last season, the University of Evansville Men’s Basketball team faces Indiana State as the squads match up this evening for a 7:00 p.m. ET game at the Hulman Center.

On Sunday, the Aces fell behind by a 20-6 margin in the opening minutes, but rallied to take a second-half lead before falling to Illinois State by a final of 69-59. Jaylon Brown finished the game with 17 points while David Howard matched his career-high with 16 points. UE played the conference leaders very well, finishing with a 36-26 edge in points in the paint but the Redbirds shot 48.9%, accounting for the difference.

Senior David Howard had a great week for the Purple Aces, averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game against UNI and Illinois State. After recording 11 points and 8 boards at UNI, Howard came back home against the Redbirds, finishing with 16 points, which tied his career high. For the week, he hit 11 out of 14 attempts.

Despite going 10-of-28 from the field, Jaylon Brown still managed to average 15 points per game over the last week and remains atop the league with 20.4 points per game. He continued to get to the free throw line, hitting seven out of nine from the line. He also averaged five assists and five rebounds in the two games.

Over the last week, Evansville showed great fight despite trailing by 18 points and UNI and 14 points in the first half against Illinois State. In Cedar Falls, UE trailed by 18 early but was able to get within four in the second half. Sunday against the Redbirds, the Aces overcame the early ISU lead to take a lead of their own early in the second half.

Indiana State comes into tonight’s game with a 7-15 overall mark and a 1-9 record in league play. Brenton Scott is the lone Sycamore averaging double figures; he checks in with 16.7 points per game and is tied for the team lead with 5.5 rebounds per contest. Everett Clemons is averaging 9.5 points and is tied with Scott as the top rebounder with 5.5/game. The Sycamores excelled in non-conference play, defeating Butler by a 72-71 final on December 7. That win came just four days after a hard-fought 62-61 triumph at Utah State in the MVC/Mountain West Challenge.

The Sycamores hold an 89-78 lead in the overall series against the Purple Aces and are 58-23 in home contests played in Terre Haute. UE has dropped its last five games at the Hulman Center. Last season, Evansville won two out of three games against the Sycamores, including a 68-42 win in St. Louis.