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For more than 25 years, the chancellor of IUPUI has mailed a newsletter to now more than 3,500 business, education, and community leaders in the Indianapolis region. It describes IUPUI events and activities of interest to people outside the university. The first chancellor's newsletter was mailed in December 1976 during the administration of IUPUI Chancellor Glenn W. Irwin, Jr. It has appeared regularly ever since, generally on a monthly basis with brief reports on IUPUI's programs, potential, and progress.

Faculty and staff at IUPUI now have the option to receive my community newsletter by e-mail beginning with this January 2005 edition.

An online archive of the letter dating back to October 1996 is available on my web site. Back issues of the printed newsletter are available at the IUPUI University Library, Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives.

Chancellor Charles R. Bantz
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Greetings from IUPUI

January 2005

Did you know . . . the IUPUI campus ranks among the top fifteen in the country in the number of first professional degrees it confers and among the top seven in the number of health-related degrees?

IUPUI alumni account for 85 percent of Indiana's dentists, half of the physicians, nearly half of the state's lawyers, more than a third of the nurses, and a large percentage of the health and rehabilitation sciences and social work professionals.

In this issue:

  Life Sciences Week Launches Web Site on IU Research
  Symposium Features Crime Lab Directors President
  Conference on Music Education for Young Children

Life Sciences Week Launches Web Site on IU Research

Indiana University researchers have long been on the front lines of the “genetics revolution,” such as the Huntington’s Disease research mentioned in my letter last month. Life Sciences Week, January 22-29, celebrates IU’s exciting discoveries in the life sciences and highlights the many ways IU prepares tomorrow's professionals for careers in health care, biomedical engineering, bioinformatics, and other life sciences.

To kick off the event, IU will launch a new web site, featuring stories about life sciences research and how it affects all of us. A comprehensive list of events on campuses across Indiana is at www.lifesciences.iu.edu.

One of the most visible ways IU will convey its message to Hoosiers is through an interactive exhibit it designed for the Indiana State Museum. “Genes and Your Health” opened in late December and will be on display there through May. After that it will be displayed at science museums throughout the state.

A particular focus of the exhibit is the Indiana Alcohol Research Center, which was created in 1987. Funded continuously by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a unit of the National Institutes of Health, the center has produced significant research on the causes and effects of alcohol use. Ting-Kai Li, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Medicine Emeritus and former director of the Indiana Alcohol Research Center, currently heads the NIAAA.

Other activities include a forensic foray, which will give participants an upfront look at how crime scene investigators probe homicides. John Pless, M.D., professor emeritus of pathology and laboratory medicine and former director of the IU Division of Forensic Pathology, was a major collaborator on the project.

Symposium Features Crime Lab Directors President

Forensic science is more than a hot new topic on TV. It is a growth industry that supports police investigations and litigation while offering business opportunities for a wide range of companies. Indiana’s Institute for Forensic Imaging was founded at IUPUI and is now a not-for-profit corporation with a national profile that trains forensic investigators, consults with investigators and their organizations, provides expert testimony on imaging technology, and conducts applied research. IUPUI received approval last year to offer Indiana’s first bachelor’s degree in forensic and investigative sciences.

The Forensic Science Symposium being held on campus at the University Place Conference Center, January 24, will showcase Indiana’s strengths and opportunities in this area. The morning keynote speaker is David Petersen, president of the American Society of Crime Lab Directors. John Morgan, science advisor to the Attorney General and assistant director, Office of Science and Technology, National Institute of Justice, will address an afternoon session.

Registration for the symposium, which is sponsored by Indiana Forensic Science Initiative, is available on site and open to all with an interest. Law enforcement personnel and lawyers can earn continuing education credit. Visit www.theregistrationsystem.com/app/forensicsymposium/ for more information.

Conference on Music Education for Young Children

Also on campus this month is an IUPUI conference to emphasize music education for young children. Research shows that making music with young children—whether singing, clapping to a beat, playing an instrument, or whistling a tune —is one of the most important things that parents, educators, and caregivers can do.

The IU School of Music at IUPUI is sponsoring a conference for Hoosier educators, education majors, parents, and others entitled “Start the Music.” The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 29, at the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex, 535 W. Michigan St.

Music professionals from across the U.S. will offer information on how music benefits young children and suggest creative ways to incorporate music into daily activities. Attendees may also take home free samples of instruments, music, and books. To register for the conference, call Michele Thompson at 317-274-4000.

Charles R. Bantz
Chancellor