March 2008

John Contreni

Spring forward with a new look

As we look forward to the coming month, I am pleased to announce that we will be rolling out a new look for the College, which will be incorporated in all of our internal and external communications. The College's new verbal logo - "Distinguish yourself" - is a result of surveys and focus groups with students, alumni, and faculty who emphasized that one of the salient attributes of a liberal arts education is that it encourages them to distinguish themselves as artists, humanists, behavioral scientists and social scientists and as contributors to society.

You can see examples of how we will incorporate our new tagline, "Distinguish Yourself," into our Web sites, stationery, business cards, brochures and other materials that help explain who we are.

Last week, the College hosted a forum on troubled students that was well attended, despite the miserable late winter, early spring weather. Dr. Susan Prieto-Welch, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS); Capt. John Cox, Purdue Police Department; Betsy Smithka, Associate Dean of Students; and Steve Akers, Executive Associate Dean of Students discussed classroom behavior and offered tips on how to respond to problems. The audience contributed as well by sharing experiences and raising "what ifs." The take home message was that University resources and expertise are available through the Office of the Dean of Students, CAPS, and the Purdue Police Department to assist faculty, graduate students, and staff with troubled students.

I want to take this occasion to thank our colleagues in Political Science, especially Professor Lou Beres, for mounting a very successful public Sears Lecture Series. The focus of this year's lectures was "U.S. Security in an Insecure World," certainly a timely topic. The packed audiences in Loeb and Fowler heard from a former government official, a journalist, and two academic scholars whose varying perspectives and involvement in current policy discussions enriched the series.

During the first week in April the College will participate in two major conferences celebrating Native American history and culture. "Prophetstown Revisited: An Early Native American Studies Summit" will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the creation of the local Native American site at Prophetstown. At the same time, the American Indian Studies Consortium Conference, known as CIC-AIS, will also take place.

We need also to remember that April 4 marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. For some of us the memory of that tragic event remains fresh. For all of us, Friday should be a time of reflection and commitment to the ideals of Dr. King.

Sincerely,

John J. Contreni
Justin S. Morrill Dean

NEWS AND RESEARCH

Sounds good: Purdue audiology, speech programs top nation

Two programs in Purdue's Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences are ranked among the top 10 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

SLHS Research

"The Speech-Language and Audiology programs at Purdue continue to excel because of the programs' first-class faculty and students, as well as the interdisciplinary research taking place," said John Contreni, Justin S. Morrill Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. "Both programs' research, learning, and engagement affect the entire life course, from infant language development to how the brain processes language to utilizing hearing devices in older adults."

In the survey released Friday (March 28), the accredited master's degree program in Speech-Language Pathology tied for second nationally, up from third in 2004. The accredited doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree program is tied for ninth.

"Purdue's Speech-Language Pathology program has a rich history, and it continues to excel in learning, discovery and engagement in the 21st century, " said Robert Novak, professor and head of the Department of Speech, Languages and Hearing Sciences, which is part of the College of Liberal Arts. "The Audiology program remains in the top 10, because of the successes of our growing cadre of outstanding faculty and our students, and the fact that it is offered jointly with the IU School of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in Indianapolis."

"We are very proud of these rankings, which can only improve with the availability of such new facilities as the Purdue InnerVision West MRI Center." More

Let your voice be heard: Candidates model how to care for your voice

Teachers, actors, and others who speak frequently can follow the lead of political candidates on the campaign trail to take care of their voices, says a Purdue voice expert.

Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

"Some lessons can be learned from just watching the candidates, who will always have water next to them so they can take frequent sips," says Mahalakshmi Sivasankar, an assistant professor of Speech Sciences who studies how speakers can talk for long periods without damaging their voices.

"Hydrating the vocal folds indirectly by drinking lots of water and directly by increasing room humidity is critical, as is pausing to give your voice a break. When we speak, we tend to breathe through the mouth, and that may dehydrate the vocal folds. This can be especially problematic for people who struggle with vocal fatigue." More

Dragon boat racing motivates cancer survivors to battle upstream

A Purdue sport and exercise psychology professor will follow about 50 breast cancer survivors on Indianapolis' newly formed dragon boat racing team to better understand how such camaraderie affects quality of life issues.

Dragon boat

"These breast cancer survivors are literally all in the same boat together," says Meghan McDonough, an assistant professor of Health and Kinesiology who studies the role relationships play in physical activity. "This is a wonderful opportunity to work with a team as it forms and to really understand how these women's involvement and relationships affect their lives."

Dragon boat racing began more than 2,000 years ago in China. In 1996, a sports medicine physician at the University of British Columbia encouraged a team of breast cancer survivors to begin competing. Since then, hundreds of breast cancer survivors have formed dragon boat racing teams. The Indianapolis team is believed to be the 50th breast cancer team in the United States. More

Play ball: Professor pitches science of baseball to students

The science of baseball can throw fans a curveball, says a Purdue expert.

"What we think we see when watching baseball is not always what is really happening," says Howard N. Zelaznik, professor of Health and Kinesiology who is teaching "The Science of Baseball" this spring. "For example, it's pretty clear that batters don't see the ball hit the bat. Players are told to watch the ball hit the bat because it helps keep their head down and they maintain proper body mechanics."

"If they didn't try to keep their 'eye on the ball,' then most likely they would turn their head too soon. But, watching a fastball is just like watching a car at the Indy 500. When the car is right next to you, your eyes can't track it."

Zelaznik, an expert in human motor control, is teaching 39 Movement and Sport Science majors the science of hitting and ball flight, even the illusion that the fastball rises. The class also focuses on understanding the mind of the hitter based on cognitive and sports psychology. More

Prophetstown Revisited: A Native American conference

The 200th anniversary of the creation of Prophetstown will be commemorated April 3-5 at Purdue, and will include a talk with Native American film director Chris Eyre.

"Prophetstown Revisited: An Early Native American Studies Summit" marks the anniversary of this Native American woodland village, which was founded by Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa, who is called The Prophet. The village, which was meant to be a meeting place for Native American tribes who wanted to resist European settlement, was destroyed in 1811. The site is located near the Wabash River in Historic Prophetstown at the Prophetstown State Park.

"An Evening with Chris Eyre" is 8-9:30 p.m. on April 4 at the Lafayette Theater, 600 Main St., Lafayette, and will include a screening of his 2005 film A Thousand Roads. Scenes from his We Shall Remain: Tecumseh documentary, which is scheduled to air on PBS in 2009, also will be shown. Tickets are $5 and will be available at the door at 7:30 p.m. The ticket price includes concessions. Eyre, who is of Cheyenne-Arapaho descent, is best known for his 1998 debut film, Smoke Signals, which won the Sundance Film Festival Filmmakers Trophy and the Audience Award. More

Voice study looking for subjects

A Purdue researcher is looking for asthma patients who use inhalers daily to participate in a voice study at the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.

The study, led by Professor Mahalakshmi Sivasankar, is evaluating how asthma medications affect people's voices. Participants, who can earn $55 in the study, need to be between ages 18-55, have general good health and have no hearing problems.

Testing is composed of three sessions. The first session is 30 minutes and the other two will each take 2 hours and 30 minutes. During the sessions, participants' voice production will be measured. More

EVENTS

Purdue Galleries exhibits Spider Bots, interactive installations

Purdue Galleries' recent exhibitions present a distinctive blend of advanced technology and interaction with the natural world.

"Augmented Fish Reality"

Artist Ken Rinaldo, an associate professor of Art and Technology at Ohio State University, has achieved international acclaim for his interactive robotic sculptures and installations. He will present exhibitions in both the Stewart Center Gallery and the Robert L. Ringel Gallery in the Purdue Memorial Union through April 20.

"Autotelematic Spider Bots" is presented in the Stewart Center Gallery. In the Robert L. Ringel Gallery, "Machinic Drift," a grouping of various interactive works and imagery, is installed. More

Purdue Theatre to present Marat/Sade through April 6

Purdue's Division of Theatre will present Marat/Sade through April 6 in the Carole and Gordon Mallett Theatre in Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts.

The play, which was written by German playwright Peter Weiss in 1964, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 4, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. April 5 and at 3 p.m. April 6.

Marat/Sade is a play within a play that is set in the Charenton Asylum in 1808 after the French Revolution, said associate professor of Theatre Gordon McCall. More

Scientist to talk about how the mind hears music

A neuroscientist will speak April 2 during Purdue's Steer Lecture Series about how the brain processes music.

Aniruddh D. Patel, the Esther J. Burnham Fellow at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, will present "Music and the Brain: 3 Links to Language" at 3:30 p.m. in Stewart Center, Room 206. A reception precedes the talk at 3 p.m.

"Interest in music and the mind dates back as least as far as Plato, but research on the cognitive neuroscience of music has recently been at the center of debate concerning the contributions musical abilities may have made to the eventual evolution of the human brain and the fundamental capacity of language," says Ronnie Wilbur, a Purdue professor of Linguistics. "Purdue is fortunate to have Aniruddh Patel here as his new book, Music, Language and the Brain, has just been published." More

Wonder Boys author to speak at Literary Awards

Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon is the featured speaker for the 77th annual Literary Awards on April 15 in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse.

Michael Chabon

The 8 p.m. event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Department of English, Purdue Libraries and the College of Liberal Arts.

Prior to Chabon's reading, Literary Awards recipients will be honored at a banquet at 5:30 p.m. in Purdue Memorial Union's North Ballroom. Chabon also will speak at the banquet about the writing process. Tickets for the banquet are $15 for students and $25 for non-students, and they can be purchased in Heavilon Hall, Room 324, or by calling the English department at (765) 494-3740. April 9 is the last day to buy tickets. The ticket price includes a predinner reception, banquet dinner, the awards ceremony, and Chabon's talk on the creative process.

Chabon also will sign books after the reading in Loeb Playhouse. Books can be purchased on site from Von's books. Cash or check payment will be accepted.

Chabon's work includes The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which won the Pulitzer Prize, and is in production for a 2009 film. The Academy Award-winning Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, are working on a film adaptation of Chabon's recent novel, The Yiddish Policemen's Union. Two of Chabon's other books, Wonder Boys and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, have been made into films. Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire starred in Wonder Boys. Chabon also received credit on the movie Spider-Man 2. More

College of Liberal Arts Faculty Development Center Fellows Presentations

April 3 at 3:30 p.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union, Room 230 (Lafayette Room).