Campus members are invited to nominate someone to receive the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mays Legacy Award on January 15, during the William and Dr. Rose May lectureship.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award recognizes and affirms those who have made significant and tangible contributions in the areas of race relations, justice, and human rights. The award is presented annually at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Lectureship to a UE alumni or campus member selected by the University of Evansville Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee. The purpose of the award is to recognize and affirm those who have made significant contributions in the areas of race relations, justice, and/or human rights.

Award Criteria:
1. The nominee has been personally or corporately involved in making tangible, visible, and meaningful contributions to the advancement of race relations, justice, and/or human rights causes.
2. The nominee must be an alumni, or current or past University of Evansville campus member, or a community member who has contributed to the University of Evansville and its mission for diversity and inclusion.

Selection Process:
1. The MLK Jr. Committee reviews all nominations and decides the winner for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mays Legacy Award. The MLK Jr. Committee shall notify the winner in January and invite the winner to attend the Lectureship and reception. The President of the University of Evansville and/or the Chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or other committee members will present the award at the Lectureship.

The deadline for submitting nominations is January 8. Nominations may be made by submitting the information to LaNeeca Williams at lw161@evansville.edu.

Submitted by LaNeeca Williams lw161@evansville.edu

The Fitness Center will be open January 2-5 from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; closed on January 6 and January 7; and open on January 8 from 6:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m. 

Submitted by Lori Adams la87@evansville.edu

The December Pcard cycle - which began on November 22 - will end at midnight on December 21. As of December 23, cardholders may schedule and run the December Cycle report. December transactions may be reconciled in SDG2 until December 28. On December 28, the general ledger Pcard file will be uploaded and cardholders will be locked out of (unable to make changes) posted transactions for the December cycle.

Submitted by Kim Winsett kw83@evansville.edu

Senior Blake Simmons has continued his banner season in his final year with the Purple Aces. In victories over Austin Peay and Midway, Simmons averaged 18 points per game while shooting 60% from the field (12-of-20). 

He started the week hitting six out of nine shots against the Governors, finishing with 18 points. The Newburgh, Indiana, native was on the floor for 42 minutes in the win. He followed that up with another 18-point effort on Sunday against the Eagles. For the week, he was 5-8 from long range. 

Simmons is a sport management major with a 3.83 GPA.

Facing one of the top frontcourts in the nation, University of Evansville junior Dainius Chatkevicius registered a career-high 12 points as the Purple Aces men’s basketball team fell to 4th-ranked Duke University by a final of 104-40 inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Chatkevicius hit six shots and lead the team with five rebounds. Next up for UE (10-3) was Noah Frederking, who finished with nine.

“They took us out of everything we wanted to do, we couldn’t do what we wanted tonight,” Aces head coach Marty Simmons said. “We will use this as a learning opportunity to teach our players how to be more committed. It is a quick turnaround to face Illinois State on Saturday and we need to be ready.”

Four Blue Devils (12-1, 0-1 ACC) finished in double figures, led by Wendell Carter Jr., who notched a game-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Marvin Bagley III had 18 points while Grayson Allen and Gary Trent Jr. had 16 and 13 points, respectively.

UE notched the opening bucket of the game and held a 4-3 lead on a basket by K.J. Riley. After Duke took a 5-4 lead, Blake Simmons put the Aces back in front with the squad’s first triple of the night making it a 7-5 game.

Duke took control from there, scoring 12 in a row to grab a 17-7 advantage. The lead for the Blue Devils hovered around 10 points until the midway point of the first half. Up 27-15 with just over 10 minutes on the clock, Duke wrapped up the half on a 31-3 run. They converted on an unbelievable 67.7% of their attempts (21/31) in the half while knocking down eight out of 11 free throws.

Chatkevicius led the team with eight tallies in the opening period while Wendell Carter Jr. had 17.

In the opening three minutes of the second half, the Blue Devils added to the lead by reeling off the first 11 points. Evan Kuhlman ended the UE drought with his first bucket of the night from outside. Duke continued to hit from all parts of the floor, going up by a 78-21 margin with 15:21 on the clock.

Evansville never packed it in, fighting hard until the end. Simmons and Marty Hill hit back-to-back triples to cut into the deficit, but the Blue Devils proved to be too much, taking the game by a final of 104-40.

For the game, Duke shot 61.9% while holding UE to 30%.

Missouri Valley Conference play begins for UE on Saturday as the Aces welcome Illinois State to the Ford Center for a 1:00 p.m. contest. It is the annual West Side Game with vouchers for $5 tickets available at several locations across the west side of Evansville.