From the Desk of the Chancellor

Flu season. It's here. Already. But it's different this year.

The H1N1 strain ("swine flu") is a largely unknown quantity. From our experience over the last five months, we know that it's not as deadly as we might have feared. That's the good news.

However, public health experts tell us it may be more easily spread than the regular seasonal flu. That's the bad news.

You will see recommendations posted around campus on how to protect yourself against the flu and where to get flu shots. But I also urge you to think of your fellow students and your colleagues. If you think you have the flu, stay home until you are no longer contagious. For guidance on symptoms and how long to stay away from contact with others, see IUPUI's Emergency Preparedness page on Human Influenza A (H1N1).

I ask that faculty encourage students to follow these precautions and that they be reasonable about class absences. Let your students know how you expect to be informed of absences due to flu contagion and suggest how students might keep up with their classes or make up missed work. Students may also need to miss class if other members of their households are sent home from school or work. Because public health officials have advised that people who are not seriously ill avoid going to their physicians, students may not be able to provide a doctor's excuse. I urge that faculty be understanding about these issues and be prepared to address them in their classes.

I also ask that supervisors and department heads be prepared to fill vacancies when faculty and staff are absent. Human Resources has excellent information for staff on its flu preparedness web site, including policies on use of sick time, telecommuting, absence when a child is sick, and other frequently asked questions.

Deans and department heads have been asked to develop contingency plans for substitute teachers should faculty become ill with H1N1 and not be able to conduct class. Faculty are encouraged to explore alternative course delivery methods, such as OnCourse, in the event they become ill and must stay home. The University of Michigan has a resource page on Recommendations for Teaching During a Flu Outbreak with useful options.

Finally, I remind you that all faculty, staff, and students should make sure their emergency contact information is correct and up-to-date. The link to the IU-Notify information can be found on the OneStart page under the "Notifications" tab. This alert system is useful not only for pandemic flu notifications but also for adverse weather conditions.

Please do your part to help IUPUI "Be Prepared."

IUPUI Attracts Record Number of Students: 30,383

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) set an enrollment record this fall, enrolling 30,383 students. Also, the number of credit hours in which IUPUI students are enrolled set a new record at 340,153.5, up 2.7 percent from last year, according to official fall 2009 census figures.

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OCM Launches Third Phase in IUPUI Impact Campaign

The Office of Communications and Marketing at IUPUI recently launched a new phase of the IUPUI Impact marketing campaign with the airing of the first of 10 new television ads featuring Chancellor Charles R. Bantz.

This current campaign thrust, which also will include radio, print and billboard ads, targets business leaders, legislators, counselors and parents. It is designed to re-introduce these groups to the IUPUI campus, according to Troy Brown, executive director of the Office of Communications and Marketing at IUPUI.

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Four Dozen Teams Sign Up for Inaugural Regatta

About four dozen teams have signed up to race their canoes on the downtown Indianapolis canal during the inaugural IUPUI Regatta set for Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009.

Noon is push-off time for the first heat of the "IUPUI Regatta: A Canoe Race on the Downtown Canal."

The half-mile relay event is open to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) faculty, students, staff and alumni.

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Partnership: Africa

International Scholars to Hold Africana Studies Conference on Globalization and Entrepreneurship, Keynote Speakers include Nigerian King

Scholars from around the world, including a Nigerian king and entrepreneur, will gather at IUPUI next month to address globalization and economic development in Indiana, the United States and other countries.

The first Public Scholars in Africana Studies International Conference will take place Oct. 29-31, 2009, at the University Place Conference Center and Hotel, 850 W. Michigan St., located on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. The theme is "Rethinking Economic Development in the Context of Globalization: Entrepreneurship, the Knowledge Economy, and Sustainable Development."

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From Ethiopia to IUPUI to Learn More about the Art of Teaching Social Work

When Abebaw Minaye Gezie of Ethiopia was in the third grade, something clicked and the young student understood the importance of school.

Ever since then he has excelled as he pursued a career in academics. So it's hardly a surprise that Gezie has left his homeland for a period of months and traveld to Indiana University School of Social Work on a mission involving education.

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IUPUI Fall Career Week Kicks Off Oct. 5; Offers Students Chance to Explore What Jobs are Really Like

A weeklong IUPUI Fall Career Week, featuring nearly 40 sessions that will help students explore careers, learn about internships, practice job interviews, select a major and even master the proper etiquette required at a four-course business meal, kicks off Oct. 5, 2009.

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Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society to Hold Annual Election Meeting

Blogs and Business is Topic for Main Street Institute Workshop

Free Film Screening on Sept. 17

IUPUI Food Service Upgrades Web Site

Sports Personalities to Talk Diversity in Newsrooms, Coverage

The IUPUI Campus and Community Present Tour of the Times, Celebrating Forty

United Way Campus Campaign off to a Great Start

OCM Launches Web Site for People on the Go

The IUPUI Office of Communications and Marketing has created a better Web site for those who surf the World Wide Web via their mobile phones.

The site, m.iupui.edu, went live this week and is designed to work well with iPhone, BlackBerry, and even low-tech phones. It fills a needed niche in that it provides information people would access while on the go and it is formatted for easier viewing on mobile phones.

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Author of Best Seller "Eat, Pray, Love" to Speak at IUPUI September 28

Elizabeth Gilbert

Bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert - most famous for her book "Eat, Pray, Love" - will present her views on "Traveling the Road of Life" on September 28, 2009 at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

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Hunter to Serve as Keynote Speaker for Annual Softball Alumni Dinner

Head Basketball Coach Ron Hunter will serve as this year's keynote speaker at the IUPUI softball program's third annual Alumni Dinner. The dinner will take place on Friday, September 25 at the Milano Inn (231 S. College Ave.) at 6:00 p.m.. The Alumni Game will then take place on Saturday, September 26 at 2:00 p.m. at the IUPUI Softball Complex.

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IUPUI Student Race Team to Compete at SCCA National Championship Runoffs

A group of IUPUI students will soon travel to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the 46th Annual Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Championship Runoffs at Road America.

This year's event begins with three days of qualifying, Sept. 22-24, and concludes with three days of racing, Sept. 25-27. For the first time IUPUI’s motorsports program will have two representatives racing in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs.

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Students from Mali Prepare for Graduate School at IUPUI Language Training Center

Four agricultural scientists from Mali knew just a little English when they arrived in Indianapolis in June to prepare for graduate studies. But thanks to help from the Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication (ICIC), a language, cultural research and training center in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, they hope to learn enough English to study agriculture at U.S. graduate schools, including Purdue University, next spring.

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IUPUI Athletics Renews Agreement with Indianapolis-Based Webstream Productions

The IUPUI Athletics Department recently renewed an agreement with locally operated WebStream Productions (WSP) for the 2009-10 season. WSP will be producing over 40 live events, allowing Jaguars' fans the ability to watch all home basketball and volleyball games and selected soccer matches and swimming events via the internet.

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Joseph Maley Scholarship created to support IUPUI Media Arts and Science Program

The IU School of Informatics has announced the creation of a scholarship honoring the late Joseph Maley. The annual scholarship will be given to a deserving student in the Media Arts and Science Program at IUPUI, based on the student's merit and academic achievement. The first award will be given in spring 2010 and will continue until 2012.

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