A workshop, "Creating a Culture of Empathy," is set for Wednesday, April 10, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Stone Family Center for Health Sciences, Downtown Evansville

Empathy is the ability to understand and communicate the feelings of another. On a daily basis we have interactions with colleagues, clients, patients, employees, cashiers, friends, and family, but do we truly have an understanding of their feelings? Understanding and modeling empathy is vital to making us better leaders and human beings. This workshop introduces the theory through interactive design activities that will enhance the empathy in adults.

To register, please visit www.evansville.edu/centerforlearning/professional-development.cfm.

Submitted by Lindsay Roberts lr155@evansville.edu

The University of Evansville’s 10th annual William R. Connolly Ethics Lecture is planned for Monday, March 25. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7:00 p.m. in Room 170 in the Schroeder School of Business Building. Rikki Parker, south coast project manager and legal analyst for the Coastal Conservation League, is the speaker. Her topic will be “Boots on the Ground: Ethics, Environmental Advocacy and Community Organizing.”

During her lecture, Parker will tell the story of her road to environmental advocacy, making stops in the worlds of toxic tort litigation and political campaigns (and yoga). She will highlight two campaigns that she led, first describing her ongoing work with the Gullah community on Hilton Head Island to push back against a highway-widening project. This community is concerned that roadway expansion will displace them from their generational homes and businesses. Hilton Head Island’s history is one of rampant development and explosive growth in the tourism industry at the expense of Gullah families and the natural environment. This pattern can only change through citizen engagement, political bravery and creative policy solutions. Parker will close by sharing how a citizen-driven campaign to reduce plastic pollution culminated in implementation of South Carolina’s first ban on single use plastic bags. 

Parker earned her BS in cognitive science from the University of Evansville. She earned her JD from Louisiana State University, where she served as president of the Trial Advocacy Board. After graduation, Parker practiced in the areas of employment discrimination and environmental law. In 2015, she served as policy director to Scott Angelle’s campaign for Governor of Louisiana. In 2016, Parker joined the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, an environmental advocacy nonprofit where she works to protect local farms, prevent pollution from reaching South Carolina’s pristine waterways, and ensure all citizen have a say in how their communities look and feel.

Astronauts aren't born - they go to school and learn about science just like everyone else! Dr. Mae Jemison's curiosity and energy led her to learn about many things. She went to the library and dancing school. She even acted in school plays and was elected to her school government. And even though astronauts are brave, Jemison had to conquer her own feelings of fear growing up, too, as all children do.

It was the first day of school, 1961. Five-year-old Mae Carol Jemison was a confident kindergartner who could already read. When her teacher asked her, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Jemison replied: "A scientist." Her teacher looked surprised: Not many women became scientists then, and certainly few black women. But that was Jemison's first and only choice.

Jemison's love for science took her to the library. She read books about the universe. She also enjoyed science fiction books. In sixth grade she read Madeline L'Engle's books A Wrinkle in Time and The Arm of the Starfish.

"Those books stand out because they had women scientists and girl heroines," Jemison remembers.

Books weren't the only way Jemison learned. She was active in student government, acted in plays, and studied dance.

"In dance class, I grew stronger and gained an appreciation for hard work, physical strength, and grace," she says.

When Jemison was 12, there were civil rights demonstrations near her neighborhood in Chicago. To prevent protests before an important political meeting, the mayor of Chicago called in the National Guard, which marched through her mostly African-American neighborhood with rifles. Jemison watched, scared, confused, and angry. She promised herself she would never feel that frightened again.

"I reminded myself that I was as much a part of this United States as the Guardsmen," Jemison remembers.

In college, Jemison studied the physical and social sciences, and learned to speak Russian and the African language Swahili. She earned a degree in chemical engineering and African studies. After college, she studied medicine for four years, and became a medical doctor.

In 1987, Jemison was accepted into NASA's astronaut program. She trained in Texas, learning about space exploration. She worked for NASA, and waited for a shuttle assignment.

When the space shuttle Endeavour launched into orbit in 1992, Jemison became the first African-American woman to orbit the earth. She looked down from the shuttle and saw Chicago. Jemison remembered visiting the library, making science fair projects, and dancing.

"I felt like I belonged right there in space," Jemison remembers. "I realized I would feel comfortable anywhere in the universe — because I belonged to and was a part of it, as much as any star, planet, asteroid, comet, or nebula."

Submitted by Darrion Culler dc199@evansville.edu

The Student Health Clinic will be closed for Spring Break on March 11-15. The Student Health Center will reopen Monday, March 18 at 8:00 am. In case of emergency, call UE Security at 812-488-6911 or dial 911. 

Submitted by Tara Ulrich tu19@evansville.edu

In January, we announced the consolidation of the Offices of Financial Aid and Student Accounts into the new Student Financial Services division. You’ll notice some rearranging of office space on the first floor of Olmsted this week during Spring Break in order to provide a one-stop shop for student needs and give this new division access and functionality as a team.

The Office of the Registrar will move into the space previously occupied by the Office of Financial Aid at the west end of the first floor of Olmsted. Those in the new Student Financial Services division will now be housed together in the space at the east end to improve cross training and customer service to our students. 

Payal Patel-Dovlatabadi, associate professor and director of public health, appeared on Eyewitness News In-Depth with Brad Byrd to discuss the measles and flu. Watch the segment here on the Eyewitness News website.

Free copies of Evansville Living's 2019 City View magazine are available in the University Relations office in Sampson Hall. There is a limited supply. First come, first served!

Want to make a difference in your community - or even the world? Start now by proposing your own ChangeLab project. Class credit and financial support is available, and your idea can help nonprofits, for-profit businesses, or civic projects.

Submit your idea for the Spring 2020 semester here by noon on Monday, April 1: 

Faculty 

Students 

Spots are limited, apply early!

For more info on ChangeLab, visit www.evansville.edu/changelab.

Submitted by Cindy Kelley ck116@evansville.edu

The members of AT Club are collecting T-shirts, shorts, and sweatpants from April 2-4 from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. in Ridgway University Center. The T-shirts, shorts, and sweatpants will be donated to Uncharted International and YWCA. Each person who donates gets to guess the amount of clothes donated and whoever guesses the closest number will receive a gift card of their choice. Please donate your clothes to help out the clothing drive!

Submitted by Carli Leavitt cl175@evansville.edu

The UE Bookstore hours of operation during Spring Break (March 9-17) are:

• Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
• Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• The UE Bookstore will be closed on the Saturdays of March 9 and 16.

Have a restful Spring Break.

Submitted by Doug Gustwiller dg57@evansville.edu

The Fitness Center Spring Break hours are:

• Friday, March 8: 6:30 a.m. -7:00 p.m.
• Saturday and Sunday, March 9 and 10: Closed
• Monday through Friday, March 11-15: 8:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
• Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17: Closed

Submitted by Lori Adams la87@evansville.edu

The Office of Diversity Initiatives would like to invite all student and staff to celebrate Women’s History Month with a new initiative at the Diversity Resource Center. We invite you to bring bios or profiles of events that highlight accomplishments of women to be displayed on the walls in the Diversity House.

Women have made countless contributions to history and we would like everyone to have an opportunity to share their favorite moments.

This project will begin March 4 and posting will be available for display until March 27. The display will stay up until April 1. The Diversity Resource Centers hours are from 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on Fridays. A volunteer will be there to assist you in your posting. Feel free to come to the house and view any time during business hours.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Darrion Culler, assistant director of diversity initiatives.

Submitted by Darrion Culler dc199@evansville.edu 

The Eykamp Prize was established by Richard and Rita Eykamp in 2015 to honor faculty achievement at the University of Evansville. Recipients of the prize will receive a one-time award of $10,000 in recognition of extraordinary contributions to the University of Evansville as University Citizens. Examples of such contributions include deep and successful involvement in recruiting students; expanding the number, scope, and competitiveness of grant funding for their department; bringing positive public awareness to the University through scholarship, knowledge, and understanding of their discipline. Up to two prizes a year may be awarded.

Nominations for the Eykamp Award may come from any member of the University of Evansville Community. Nominees should be tenured or tenure-track faculty members at the University of Evansville who have not received the award in the previous five years. Nominations can be submitted in writing or via e-mail to Michael Austin, executive vice president for academic affairs/provost, by March 15, 2019. Nominations should include the name of the faculty member and a brief statement of the reasons that he or she is being nominated.

Recipients of the Eykamp Award will be selected by an Awards Committee, appointed by the EVPAA/provost that includes members of the faculty and staff, academic administrators, and at least one member of the Board of Trustees. Awards will be announced and presented at the May Commencement Ceremony.

Previous Recipients: 2016 – Dr. Mark Valenzuela; 2017 – Dr. Lora Becker; 2018 – Dr. David Dwyer.

Family, friends and loved ones of the late Dr. Marvin E. Hartig are pleased to announce the application process for the Dr. Marvin E. Hartig Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship is dedicated to the loving memory of Dr. Hartig, Dean of Evansville College’s Evening College in 1967, and administrator for the Center for Advanced Study, director of the Evansville chapter of the American Institute of Banking (AIB), and the international student advisor. In 1974, Dr. Hartig was appointed Dean of Academic Services. He retired in 1984 after serving his alma mater for thirty-five years and passed away in 2007.

This scholarship will be awarded annually to a deserving sophomore student. Preference will be given to a student working while being enrolled as a full-time student. International students are encouraged to apply.

The application can be found here.

Deadline: Please return all materials to the Office of Student Financial Services by April 26.

The decision will be announced by July 1.

Questions: Trisha Hawkes, administrative assistant to the Office of Student Financial Services, at th187@evansville.edu or 812-488-2364

Submitted by Trisha Hawkes th187@evansville.edu

Sign up today for the Spring Healthy Behavior Challenge! Earn additional HRA's credits by successfully completing the challenge. Participants will be tracking exercise and fruits/vegetables consumed. To sign-up, email ac375@evansville.edu directly or visit the Employee Health Clinic AceLink page. The challenge is March 18-May19. 

This is an 8-week competition to support a healthy lifestyle.

HRA credits will be issued upon successful fulfillment of some basic healthy behaviors. Employees and insured spouses enrolled in the HRA health insurance program will earn $150 credit. If a credit was earned previously (Summer 2018, or Fall 2018), no additional credit will be issued. Anyone who finishes in the top 4 will receive a $50 gift card regardless of previous gift-card winning status. The challenge begins March 18 and ends May 19. You must submit 8 weeks of data. You can pick up additional pocket-sized logs from the UE Health and Wellness Center. 

Rules:
1. Eat a combination of 5 fruits and vegetables at least 4 days a week and exercise an average of 120 minutes weekly (your log needs at least 160 fruit/veggie boxes checked and 64 exercise boxes checked).  
2. Check off boxes daily to avoid “guesstimation” later.
3. Additional logs can be picked up from the UE Health and Wellness Center or on AceLink.
4. Return logs to the collection box at the UE Health and Wellness Clinic or email to ac375@evansville.edu by May 19.
5. HRA credit will be submitted to Meritain by May 19. 

Submitted by Ashley Chipps ac375@evansville.edu

Nicholas Harmon, assistant professor of physics, authored a talk "Theory of Hyperfine Interactions and Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance (EDMR) for Phosphorus-Doped Silicon" at the annual American Physical Society meeting in Boston on March 5. The research involved theoretical calculations of a magnetic resonance technique that may be used to identify defects or impurities in materials. Harmon coauthored two other presentations during the week entitled "Probing Coherent Spin Dynamics of Isolated Exchange Coupled Defects in III-V Semiconductors" and "Electrical and magnetic characterization of doped conjugated polymers with pendent stable radicals" which were projects conducted in collaboration with the University of Iowa and Cornell University.

William Baer, University of Evansville creative writing professor emeritus, has published a new collection, Formal Salutations: New & Selected Poems. The book has been published by Measure Press and is available on Amazon.

Formal Salutations is Baer’s twenty-fifth book, and includes work praised by Richard Wilbur, Anthony Hecht, Maxine Kumin, X.J. Kennedy, and others.

Thanks to last week's heavy rains, the University of Evansville baseball head coach Wes Carroll has announced the cancelation of Tuesday's annual "Battle at the Braun" against crosstown rival Southern Indiana. No make-up date has been scheduled as of now.

The Aces will be back in action Friday, when they begin a three-game weekend series with Creighton. First pitch is slated for 6:00 pm at Braun Stadium.

After getting blasted by Iowa in the series opener, the University of Evansville baseball team bounced back in a big way, earning a doubleheader sweep of the Hawkeyes Sunday afternoon at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois.

"Huge bounce back day for our program and our guys", said University of Evansville head coach Wes Carroll. "Last night was rough. It was one of those unlucky type of days. The wind was howling. Every single thing they put in play seemed to find an open spot. So for us to come out and have the performance that we did in every aspect of the game and I couldn't be more proud of our guys."

In game one of the twin bill, the Aces sent left-hander Nathan Croner (3-1) to the hill, and delivered a clutch performance, going seven shutout innings, striking out seven, while scattering two hits.

The offense backed the junior southpaw, beginning in the fourth frame when freshman designated hitter A.J. Fritz sent a single to center, tallying senior right fielder Matthew Jones for the icebreaker. Later in the inning, senior third baseman Sam Troyer laid down a bunt single, bringing in senior center fielder Nate Reeder, making it 2-0 Evansville.

In the fifth inning, the Aces put two aboard, then Tanner Craig stroked a ground rule double down the right field line, tallying both junior catcher Ben Komonosky and junior right fielder Troy Beilsmith, doubling the Evansville lead to 4-0.

In the seventh frame, Nate Reeder kept the UE offense rolling with a double down the right field line, bringing in Troy Beilsmith. Sophomore first baseman Tanner Craig would later score on a wild pitch, giving Evansville a six run pad.

Senior right hander Austin Allinger would take over for Croner in the eighth and take it the rest of the way, holding the Hawkeyes to a single hit, while striking out three across a pair of shutout frames.

In game two of the doubleheader, the Aces would get on the board first in the opening frame, as Nate Reeder's lead-off double led to the opening tally of the game.

Meanwhile, senior left-hander Alex Weigand got the start, and navigated the rugged Hawkeyes' batting order, giving up just one run on five hits, while striking out a pair across 3 2/3 innings. He would give way to freshman right-hander Shane Gray (1-0), and the newcomer delivered getting in and out of bases loaded jams without giving up a run across 4 1/3 innings of shutout work.

The Aces offense would tack on another run on an RBI double off the bat of freshman second baseman Danny Borgstrom in the fourth inning, and another in the fifth as Sam Troyer raced home on a wild pitch, pushing the UE lead to 3-1.

Junior right-hander Jake McMahill would come into finish off the game in the ninth, and got out of a jam with runners on the corners to end the game, earning his second save of the season.

The doubleheader sweep moves Evansville above the .500 mark for the first time this season, while Iowa drops to 7-6.

Jaime Nurrenbern and Izzy Vetter gave up one run in game two to lead the University of Evansville softball team to a 2-1 victory over East Tennessee State on Sunday afternoon. The Purple Aces dropped the opening game by a final of 5-1 against the Buccaneers.

“We really battled in both games today,” Aces head coach Mat Mundell said. “This team is so close to putting it all together. We are excited to go out tomorrow with a chance to win the series.”

Game two saw the Buccaneers grab the early lead with a run in the second, but Lindsay Renneisen got UE on the board with a solo home run in the top of the fourth. Another homer gave the Aces the lead in the fifth. With two outs, Katie McLean hit a long shot down the left field line to put the Aces in front. 

From there, the pitching staff and defense held strong, finishing with the 2-1 win. Jaime Nurrenbern made the start, going three innings and allowing an unearned run on two hits. Izzy Vetter threw four innings of relief and earned her fourth win of the season.  She gave up one hit and struck out four batters. UE notched four hits on the day with Mackenzie McFeron, Toni Galas, McLean and Renneisen recording one apiece.

A 5-run fourth inning helped East Tennessee State take game one by a 5-1 final. The Aces struck first with a run in the top of the first. Mackenzie McFeron reached on a fielder’s choice with one out before stealing second. With two outs, Bailee Bostic singled up the middle to bring McFeron home for the first run of the game. 

Unfortunately for UE, Bostic’s hit was the only one of the game for the squad as ETSU pitcher Taylor Boling threw a complete game 1-hitter. The Buccaneers struck with five runs in the bottom of the fourth on their way to the 4-1 win. Emily Lockhart made the start for the Aces, throwing all six innings. 

Another schedule change is up for UE heading into the week. UE will play its originally-scheduled game against ETSU today at noon ET. Evansville will now face Tennessee Tech in a Tuesday doubleheader in Cookeville, Tenn. Game times are set for 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. CT.