February 7, 2012

Freelance visual journalist to visit WKU for gallery opening, lecture Feb. 8

The WKU School of Journalism & Broadcasting will present a gallery opening and lecture by Amanda Lucidon, a Washington, D.C.-based freelance visual journalist, Wednesday (Feb. 8) at Mass Media and Technology Hall.

The Gallery, which will host an opening reception 7:15 p.m., features a juried show of photographs taken by women visual storytellers that reside in the Washington, D.C., area. The mission of the organization, known as WPOW (Women Photojournalists of Washington), is to educate the public about the work and accomplishments of women in the field of photojournalism and to instruct and train women within the Washington metropolitan area with the purpose of improving and developing their capabilities as photojournalists, photo editors and multimedia producers. WPOW strives to meet this goal with its educational and instructional activities, and by providing opportunities for women in the field to discuss the unique challenges they face.

Following the gallery opening, Lucidon will present lecture on Creating Your Own Opportunities: A Freelancer’s Perspective at 8 p.m. in Mass Media and Technology Hall, room 118.

After leaving a staff-photography position at the Press-Enterprise newspaper in 2008, Lucidon moved to Washington, D.C., to pursue freelance opportunities. In Creating Your Own Opportunities: A Freelancer’s Perspective, Lucidon will speak candidly about the challenges and successes of balancing the need to make a living with the desire to document important issues as a multimedia storyteller.

Lucidon’s photography and multimedia have been recognized by National Press Photographers Association Best of Photography, White House News Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year International, Associated Press, Press Photographers of the Greater Los Angeles Area and California Press Photographers Association.  Lucidon also teaches multimedia as an adjunct instructor at American University and Corcoran College of Art and Design.

Her photography, multimedia and lastest documentary project can be seen at:

  • Photography: http://www.lucidpix.net/
  • Multimedia: http://vimeo.com/lucidpix
  • The Legal Stranger Project: http://legalstranger.com

Contact: Tim Broekema, (270) 745-4144.

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February 7, 2012

WKU participating in earthquake drill at 10:15 a.m. today (Feb. 7)

WKU will be participating in the Great Central U.S. ShakeOut Earthquake Drill at 10:15 a.m. CST today (Feb. 7).

As part of the drill, WKU’s outdoor warning sirens will be activated and a text message will be sent to WKU students, faculty and staff who have signed up for WKU’s emergency text alert system. (To sign up or verify you are enrolled with the proper cell phone number, log into your WKU TopNet account.)

The outdoor warning sirens in Bowling Green/Warren County also will be activated during this morning’s drill.

February is Earthquake Awareness Month in Kentucky. Feb. 7 is the 200th anniversary of the last of the 1811‐12 earthquakes that destroyed the town of New Madrid, Mo., and created Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee.

More about the drill is available from the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management at http://migration.kentucky.gov/newsroom/dma_kyem/KYpreparesforgreatcentralusshakeout.ht

More: WKU Police Department’s emergency information page with link to emergency procedures handbook.

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February 6, 2012

Fall 2011 Graduates List

The WKU Fall 2011 Graduates List is available online.

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February 6, 2012

WKU Engineering’s 12th annual LEGO robotics competition Feb. 25

WKU Engineering faculty and staff, with support from the Tau Beta Pi student Engineering Honors Society, will conduct the 12th annual Kentucky Bluegrass LEGO Robotics Competition on Feb. 25 at Drakes Creek Middle School.

For the 2012 competition, elementary and middle school teams must build autonomous robots from LEGO Mindstorm kits to navigate a curving track modeled after the Beech Bend amusement park, and a straight drag race track as quickly and accurately as possible.

Teams will compete in either the “Engineer-in-Training” division for Elementary School teams, or the “Professional Engineers” division for Middle School and more experienced teams.

The competition will start at 9 a.m.; the public is welcome.

Contact: Kevin Schmaltz, kevin.schmaltz@wku.edu.

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February 6, 2012

$100 Solution program at WKU setting out to complete its 100th project

With less than three years on the campus of WKU, The $100 Solution™ program sets out to complete its 100th project involving the partnership of students with the local and international community.

The $100 Solution™ offers campus and community members an opportunity to use a small amount of money to make a lasting and sustainable difference.  Based on the idea that small changes have a big impact, The $100 Solution™ challenges students to ask the community to identify a problem, and then create a solution using no more than $100.

“We expect to have close to 50 $100 Solution projects this spring,” said Nadia DeLeon, Community Engagement Coordinator for the WKU ALIVE Center for Community Partnerships.

During the second week of the spring semester, DeLeon and her service-learning graduate assistants started attending classes in order to train students to develop and implement $100 Solution™ projects as a service-learning tool for courses.

The WKU ALIVE Center is planning a Steps to a $100 Solution workshop on Feb. 16 at the Downing University Center. Above: At a previous workshop, the ALIVE Center’s Brittany Ryan talked to Bowling Green community member Marissa Butler about resources.

$100 Solution™ projects will take place in 13 classes this spring ranging from cultural diversity and group communication to gender and women’s studies and health administration. “One of the things we learned was that helping other people does not cost a lot of money. It takes passion, motivation, and team work to affect our communities,” a WKU student said in a reflection piece. The $100 Solution™ is based on the five principles of reciprocity, partnership, capacity building, sustainability and reflection.

Students, faculty, staff and community members interested in creating a $100 Solution™ project do not have to attend one of the classes in order to participate. The WKU ALIVE Center is coordinating a Steps to a $100 Solution™ workshop on Feb. 16 that will guide individuals through the process. Anyone interested can come by the WKU Downing University Center between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. It takes at least 30 minutes to go through the eight stations that prepare participants for a project.

The $100 Solution is an international program created by Professor Bernie Strenecky in 2005. To learn more about The $100 Solution™ at WKU or to donate $100 to sponsor a project, contact the ALIVE Center at (270) 782-0082 or visit www.wku.edu/alive. 

Contact: Aurelia Spaulding, (270) 782-0082.

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February 6, 2012

‘Are You ALIVE?’ week Feb. 13-17

Alive. It is a simple word. It means to be full of energy or to be vibrant and full of life. Everyone has something different that makes them come alive. Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This quote is the spirit behind the new movement Are You ALIVE?, sponsored by the WKU ALIVE Center for Community Partnerships.

The ALIVE Center will be hosting an awareness week on Feb. 13-17 with a variety of activities to promote this new campaign. The Random Acts of Service project will engage students in a volunteer activity that will benefit community organization. Students will be asked to create videos to explain how they will become more alive. The ALIVE Center staff will work with students to identify their service interests that will help make students stay alive all year. The week will be packed full of information and activities that will get students’ minds pumping as to how they will make this year more meaningful than the year before.

“Volunteering is my opportunity to connect and give back to the community,” said Caroline Culbreth, a WKU student majoring in international affairs from Park Hills. Culbreth volunteers with Spanish speaking community members, specifically working with the youth in the ESL program.

The Center wants many students to have this same feeling. Every student has something different to offer and those talents should be used to help better the community.  Are you ALIVE? is a movement sparking interest in public service; it is a movement about becoming more aware of the needs in the community. It is about letting ourselves become more alive.

For a full listing of activities for Are You ALIVE? awareness week, visit www.wku.edu/alive or contact the Center at (270) 782-0082.

Contact: Leah Baird or Aurelia Spaulding, (270) 782-0082.

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February 6, 2012

Forensic team members qualify for national tournament

WKU forensic team members traveled to Murray to take part in two tournaments hosted by Murray State University the weekend of Feb. 4-5.

WKU team members gained six tournament championships over the weekend and received second place in overall team sweepstakes at the Alumni tournament. WKU also qualified a significant number of students for the national tournament in April. Other schools competing over the weekend included Bradley University, Illinois State University, Tennessee State University, North Central College and Belmont University.

Next weekend the team will split to compete in the following three locations: Norman, Okla.; Boston, Mass.; and Los Angeles, Calif. Continue reading →

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February 6, 2012

Grand opening Feb. 24 for Richardson Quilt Gallery at Kentucky Museum

The Kentucky Museum will celebrate the grand opening for the Richardson Quilt Gallery, WKU’s latest permanent exhibition, on Feb. 24.

The Richardson Quilt Gallery will open with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Kentucky Museum.

The gallery will include two dozen quilts and historic textile samples collected by Elizabeth Richardson and donated by her daughter June McGuyer. “The acquisition of the Richardson Collection enhances the stature of the Museum as a leading Kentucky institution for the study of quilts and quilt making,” said Sandy Staebell, Museum Collections Curator.

Assembled over two decades, the Elizabeth Richardson Collection is a case study of American quilt collecting from the late 1930s through the late 1950s. In addition to the Richardson Collection, the gallery will feature 16 Star pattern quilts that were selected from other donors of the Kentucky Museum Quilt Collection. Dedicated to Richardson’s memory, this permanent gallery will offer a rotating selection of quilts and historic textiles.

Vicki Fitch, Executive Director for the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, says there is a large following for the quilt industry. “Supporters will drive many miles to view a new collection of quilts. It’s their passion,” Fitch said. “We are very pleased that Bowling Green can now offer the Richardson Quilt Gallery as an attraction to the state.”

The grand opening will begin with a Chamber Ribbon Cutting at 2 p.m. Feb. 24. Anyone in the community is welcome to attend this event. For information about the quilt gallery, visit www.wku.edu/museum.

Contact: Jennifer Wilson, (270) 745-6977.

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February 3, 2012

WKU’s Confucius Institute to host Chinese Spring Gala on Feb. 22

The Confucius Institute at WKU will be hosting a Chinese Spring Gala at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 in the auditorium of Downing University Center located on the WKU campus.

Hubei University's Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe will perform Feb. 22 during the Chinese Spring Gala hosted by WKU's Confucius Institute. The event begins at 6 p.m. at Downing University Center Auditorium.

The year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon by the Chinese calendar, and in honor of that fact, Hubei University’s Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe will be performing traditional dances and skits to bring in the New Year.

Established in 1931, Hubei University is located in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei Province. Over the past eight decades, Hubei University has grown to be a key comprehensive university with a student enrollment of more than 20,000. Areas of study include the arts, history, philosophy, science, engineering, economics, law, management, education and medicine. Hubei offers 61 undergraduate programs, 149 postgraduate programs, 34 doctoral programs and three post-doctoral research programs.  They value links with international institutions and have academic exchange and cooperative programs with more than 70 universities across the U.S., UK, Australia, France and Japan. Hubei University has also taken an active role in promoting the Chinese culture and language through the co-establishment of two Confucius Institutes.

The WKU-CI and Hanban, China’s Ministry of Education, work to promote understanding of the Chinese language and culture through children’s programming, training courses, cultural workshops and community events. Together, these organizations have Introduced fully articulated K-16 instruction in Modern Standard Chinese into local school systems, serve as a regional center for Chinese teacher training and Chinese curriculum development, and build connections and partnerships between Kentucky and China.

For information about the WKU-CI, visit www.wku.edu/ci or call (270) 745-2836.

Contact: Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, (270) 745-2836.

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February 3, 2012

Ad+PR program launches Community Projects initiative to assist organizations

WKU’s Advertising and Public Relations (Ad+PR) program has announced a community outreach effort designed to provide students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in the field, while giving back to the local community in a truly significant way.

Ad+PR Community Projects will become a support center for non-profit organizations within the 10-county Barren River Area Development District that require assistance with their advertising and public relations needs.

Beginning this month, students from a senior-level advertising capstone class will be working with BRIMS, the Barren River Imaginative Museum of Science, to design, produce and distribute an advertising and public relations campaign to create community awareness for the program and drive their development efforts. BRIMS’ has a rich history of igniting the minds of children about the power and the potential of science in today’s world, but of late is suffering from a lack of community awareness and declining donations.

April McCauley, who joined BRIMS last December as director, is now leading the members of the organization through strategic planning sessions. The students will work with McCauley and the BRIMS Board to conduct research leading to a complete rebranding plan to help bring BRIMS back to life.

Professor Cliff Shaluta, program coordinator for Ad+PR Community Projects, sees this as “an amazing opportunity for advertising and public relations students” to gain experience by applying their ideas and talents to real-world community problems.

“The most exciting part of this opportunity is that students from other advanced classes in print and interactive design will also add their talents to the BRIMS project, making this the ultimate collaborative experience,” Shaluta said. “Working together, students will help the museum return to its roots and continue to share the excitement of science for future generations in our area.”

“During a tour of our current facility, professor Shaluta and his students were delighted  – and I think surprised – with the discovery of science,” McCauley said. “What we’d like them to do is help us share that feeling with everyone.”

More online: WKU Ad+PR program and the Community Projects Initiative.

Contact: Cliff Shaluta, (270) 745-5833.

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