Five USI faculty and staff members traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to present findings of a national survey conducted for Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) Women Build during an International Women’s Day symposium in March.

Completed under the auspices of the USI Center for Applied Research (CAR), results from the survey reflect feedback from more than 320 Habitat homeowners – more than 85 percent of them women – from 44 U.S. cities. The responses indicate that the impact of homeownership significantly increases homeowners’ self-esteem, well-being, overall family health, and neighborhood pride.

Presenters included Elissa Bakke, assistant director of CAR; Dr. Katherine Draughon, executive director of the Office of Planning, Research, and Assessment (OPRA); Dr. Marie Opatrny, associate professor of social work; Dr. Iris Philips, associate professor of social work; and Dr. Ronda Priest, chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies.

Dr. Matt Hanka,assistant professor of political science and director of the Master of Public Administration Program, and Dr. Mohammed Khayum, dean of the College of Business, also contributed to the research, but were unable to attend the symposium.

“The HFHI survey was a unique opportunity for faculty and staff from a variety of departments on campus to work together and produce a product with significant impact,” said Draughon. “This project will help put USI on the national radar as a university known for quality community engagement.”

The presentation sparked positive audience feedback and raised questions that could potentially lead to future research opportunities. These opportunities can explore ways HFHI can continue to increase impact and create greater efficiency in the organization.

“Habitat will be able to use this new information to gain additional donors and funding, recruit more volunteers, and provide additional resources to our affiliates,” said Lisa Marie Nickerson,associate director of HFHI’s Women Build program.

After the presentation, the team had the opportunity to visit Americus, Georgia to see HFHI headquarters and the Global Village and Discovery Center, a six-acre village where guests can learn how HFHI works in partnership with families all over the world to eliminate poverty housing.

“Walking through the Global Village and Discovery Center helped me truly understand the struggles families have in many countries just to have adequate housing,” said Bakke. “To call these living conditions ‘housing’ is really an overstatement. I am so honored to have a small role in assisting Habitat in their mission to eradicate substandard housing and improve peoples’ lives. I look forward to continuing collaborations with the organization.”

Source: USI.edu

On Saturday, March 24, the University of Evansville’s International Club will host the annual International Banquet and Variety Show, which will begin at 5:00 p.m. in Eykamp Hall, Ridgway University Center.

Tickets are $15 per adult and $8 per student, and are only available at the door.

This annual event features entertainment, a fashion show, and homecooked international cuisine prepared by members of the International Club, who represent many of the 47 countries reflected in UE’s student body.

“The International Banquet and Variety Show is an evening of riveting performances, delicious homemade dishes from around the world, and a vibrant fashion show that showcases the unique traditional wear of some of the countries represented at UE,” said Ashley Whylly, president of the International Club, who hails from the Bahamas.

“This year, attendees can look forward to dances from Latin America and Africa, poems from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and dishes such as bulgogi from Korea and spanakopita from Greece — just to name a few.”

Source: Evansville.edu

The Wall Street Journal in an article today painted a very nasty picture of how things are going for Evansville based Springleaf Financial. For a number of factors including a large looming debt payment and their own difficulty with finding financing the following article was written.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577295840817806070.html

STATEHOUSE— Today, two key pieces of legislation supported by House Republicans was signed into law by the Governor. The first, House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1376 will provide additional funding to state fair stage collapse victims, increase funding for full day kindergarten, and improve the Automatic Taxpayer Refund.

“Last year a tragedy in our community occurred with the collapse of the stage at the State Fair. Our prayers and thoughts go out to those affected by this tragedy. No amount of money will make up for what occurred, but we felt that we could do better by the victims and their families,” said Speaker Bosma.

HEA 1376 will increase the amount of compensation available for victims of the state fair stage collapse from $5 million to $11 million.
The legislation would also double the per student grant for full day kindergarten by providing an additional $80-100 million in funding—an increase from $1,227 per student to $2,400 per student. HEA 1376 provides the most significant investment in full day kindergarten in state history.

“We must continue to invest in the future of Indiana.

“For the first time in Indiana’s history we have completed the funding of full-day kindergarten to better provide every child an education that will serve as a foundation,” said Speaker Bosma.

HEA 1376 enhances the Automatic Taxpayer Refund which was created last year. Current projections indicate that four million Hoosiers could receive a refund of at least $50 each when they file their 2012 tax returns next spring.

Another important piece of legislation signed into law today was the Inheritance Tax bill, Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 293. This legislation will allow small business owners, farmers and individuals who have acquired savings and assets to pass these to their children or others without tax.

Indiana is the only state that does not exempt direct descendants’ children and grandchildren from paying the inheritance tax. Indiana’s neighboring states, Michigan and Ohio, do not have inheritance taxes, and Kentucky does not tax on transfers to children.

Indiana’s inheritance tax rate can range from one percent to as high as 20 percent of a person’s inheritance; 20 percent is the highest possible inheritance tax rate of any state.

The bill would raise the exemption in year one and phase out the Indiana Inheritance Tax over the next nine years starting in 2013. It phases out inheritance tax replacement amounts payable to counties over 10 years. Every year, incremental reductions of approximately $14 million would be removed from the State’s inheritance tax revenue.

The bill, once fully phased in, is estimated to keep as much as $165 million in the pockets of taxpayers each year.

“I can confidently say that House Republicans have fulfilled their promises and enacted legislation that will significantly continue to strengthen Indiana,” said Speaker Bosma.

Source: House of Representatives Republican Caucus

EPD Activity Report March 21, 2012

About 18 students in University Division’s Student Support Services (SSS) program spent spring recess in Memphis, Tennessee, where they visited historic sites and performed service projects.

While in Memphis, the students toured the National Civil Rights Museum (formerly the Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated); Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum; and The BRIDGES Center, a community outreach center.

For their day of service, half of the USI students spent a day at St. Jude’s Hospital helping with children’s craft projects while the other half cleared brush at Shelby Farms Park, a nature preserve within the city limits.

Two of the students on the spring recess trip were Amanuel Medhane, a sophomore special education major from Indianapolis, and Ross Gentry, a junior elementary education major from Jasper, Indiana.

The Civil Rights Museum and Slave Haven made an impression on Medhane, who also runs track and cross country at USI. “The slaves had to wear bells around their necks, and they would fill the bells with mud so they wouldn’t make noise as they tried to escape,” he said. “Seeing things first-hand opened my eyes. Even though it was many years ago, more people need to know about these things. I’d love to go back and learn more.”

Gentry agreed. “It was an eye-opener,” he said. “You read about the Underground Railroad, but you don’t fully understand it, and when you see the house and where they stayed, it is a very tight space. It makes it more than text on a page.”

Gentry was impressed by the environmentally-conscious design of The BRIDGES Center, the first Green commercial building in Memphis. “They supply two-third of the energy themselves. They have solar panels and a solar water heater, a parking lot on the roof that is light-colored to reflect heat and light, a garden on the roof, and the architecture is designed to take the best advantage of sunlight. And the building itself is recyclable because it’s framed in steel instead of wood.”

SSS, one of eight grant-funded programs offered through the U.S. Department of Education, is helping motivate 140 eligible USI students to successfully complete their degrees. The program provides students free comprehensive services through classroom instruction, academic skill development, academic assistance and career development, personal and financial aid counseling, and experiences designed to enhance the collegiate experience.

Gentry serves as Medhane’s mentor through the program. “We are here to help mentees be more successful in college,” Gentry said. “We meet four hours a week and do different activities.”

Medhane said the mentor relationship with Gentry, as well as assistance from SSS staff Bradley Bates, academic counselor, and Amanda Duvall, supervisor of student mentoring and learning initiatives, are helping him in his studies. “It’s helping me be a better student. I was the type of guy who just got by in high school. Brad encouraged me to join the program, and I’m happy I did because my grades are getting better and I’m more involved in my classes.”

“They helped me, too,” Gentry said. “I was struggling before. My grades weren’t nearly as good, and I wasn’t involved. I ended up getting my best grades ever last semester – straight A’s. That never happens to me.”

Both students appreciated the fact that the trip gave them the opportunity to get to know other students in the SSS program. Personal relationships developed though the program strengthen the connection with USI, Gentry said. “I have two mentees, and we play basketball, rock climb, and play disc golf. The social relationships make you want to stay. I started college at another school. It was a great school, but I wasn’t as connected.”

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke will hold a news conference on Thursday, March 22, at 10 a.m. outside Brinker’s Jewelers, 111 S. Green River Road, to announce results from the first quarter of the Clean Evansville initiative and to launch the next phase of the effort targeting businesses. In the event of rain, the news conference will be held indoors at Café 111 located next to Brinker’s Jewelers.