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THE
reflector .uindy. edu
Reflector November 20, 2007
Vol . 86/ Issue 5
UIndy begins planning for KML renovation By Erik Kispert Staff Writer
Erik Kispert/The Reflector
The west entrance of Krannert Memorial Library is one part of the building that is being considered for renovation. UIndy IS held workships Nov. 5 and 6 to get ideas from faculty and students.
Nursing dept. offers first online degree program Officials hope to use program to help the nursing shortage in Indiana By Lindsey Newett Staff Writer The University of Indianapolis will offer an accelerated online nursing master’s program for the first time beginning in the summer of 2008. The online nursing program will be available to students nationwide who want to complete their degree while continuing to work and maintaining their lifestyles. The mission of this program is to provide quality, highly needed nurses to the state of Indiana and the country. The program also will accommodate people with non-nursing undergraduate degrees who wish to start a new career path in nursing. “If the health field was of interest to them [in the past], then nursing becomes very attractive to them,” said Mary Lynn McHugh, dean of nursing. The online program requires that nursing prerequisites must be met before beginning the master’s portion of the program. The new course is hoping for at least 12 students to enroll this summer. By taking core courses through Blackboard software, students will be able to complete a master’s degree in 27 months. This program could help fill the current shortage of nurses in Indiana and across the country, McHugh said. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Web site (www.aacn.nche.edu), the shortage of registered nurses in the United States will increase to 340,000 by the year 2020. Concerns of the program were voiced at the Oct. 23 Faculty Senate meeting. Worries included the constant need for staff members and the additional stress on existing faculty as the program begins to grow. The debate lasted for more than one hour. According to McHugh, the faculty are trying to tie this program to UIndy’s identity as a small school. The program will still maintain the one-on-one relationship with students through the Internet. “We have to have adequate technology in place to pull it off and keep the interactive part of the teaching process,” said Roger Sweets, faculty senate president. According to McHugh, pay levels for nursing faculty have begun to decrease over the years, and it’s getting harder to recruit people into the nursing field. “The nursing faculty shortage is beginning to reach a crisis point and be a very big barrier to educating the additional nurses this country needs,” McHugh said. “The average age of nursing faculty nationwide is 55-57. And within the next ten years, half or more will be retired.” The UIndy graduate nursing program was ranked in the top 75 nursing programs in the state, according to U.S. News and World Report. Sweets said that nurses who have graduated from UIndy have received very high remarks from health care personnel. “We want this to be a unique way to address the nursing shortage and needs of Hoosiers who need a second career,” Sweets said.
University of Indianapolis Information Systems held two workshops about the scheduled renovation of Krannert Memorial Library on Nov. 5 and 6 in Ober Dining Room. The sessions were held to gain insight about the use of the library from students, faculty and staff. Shirley Dugdale, director for learning environments at DEGW, and Chad Kainz, senior director of academic technologies at the University of Chicago, led the sessions. The Chicago-based DEGW strategic design consultancy has been involved with projects at several universities, including Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University and Georgia Tech University, according to the company’s Web site (www.degw. com). Dugdale said that UIndy is currently in the programming phase. “‘What should be in the building?’ is the question we are asking right now,” Dugdale said. Jeff Russell, chief information officer at UIndy, made connections with the DEGW firm at an annual information technology conference sponsored by a non-profit organization called Educause. According to Russell, the university decided to hire DEGW and Dugdale for this preliminary planning phase because they did not have any vested interests.
“Some architects will recommend a particular design because it benefits them through relationships they have with their contractors,” Russell said. DEGW is an independent consulting firm,and Russell said he believes they will find what is best for UIndy. Krannert Memorial Library has seen very few changes since its construction in 1977. According to Russell, the renovation is the only academic building project in the university’s master plan. “The project really kicked off last spring after we secured funding for it,” he said. The cost of the renovations is still unknown and will remain so until a more definitive concept is chosen, according to Russell. He estimated the university’s contributions to be at least “a few million dollars” but said that could change very quickly. “It depends on the design and the resources we decide we need,” Russell said. Dr. Philip Young, library director, said there is the possibility of a donor adding to the available funding that would be available for the renovation project. “That would open up possibilities for us, like renovating the west entrance, which really just looks like a back door,” he said. “We want it to look more inviting.” Young said that the main focus so far is to open up the first floor space, making it more conducive to group learning. “The various areas which have evolved out of need
See LIBRARY Page 3
ISA celebrates Festival of Lights By Nicki Crisci Opinion Editor Bright lime-green, blue, red and yellow garments illuminated the stage for Diwali Night, also known as the Festival of Lights, in the Schwitzer Student Center Atrium Nov. 7. Diwali Night, hosted by the Indian Student Association, was to commemorate the Hindu religious holiday of Diwali. Students of all religions were invited to celebrate at the event. A slide show during the performance presented the idea that different religions make up one identity. The theme of the presentation was “Secularism: Our Hallmark.” Such religions as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity were included on the slide, with a letter of each word highlighted to spell out Indian— showing the combination of religions for the Festival of Lights celebration. According to ISA member Himanshu Saini, Diwali is known as the festival of lights because it is on the day when the moon is not out (and the lunar cycle is at its darkest). “The lights illuminate the darkness. All of India is lit up during Diwali,” he said. The festival celebrates the return of the god Rama as he came back from his 14-year exile. People light lamps in their homes to show the triumph of good over bad forces. Also, according to Saini, they pray to the Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, by lighting candles in hopes of a prosperous year. Firecrackers usually are set off as an end to the day of prayer and the beginning of
Carolyn Harless/The Reflector
Reshma Sekhar dances as part of the welcoming ceremonies at the Festival of Lights on Nov. 7. the Diwali night celebrations. While firecrackers could not be lit inside Schwitzer, the celebration ended with such festivities as traditional singing, dancing and a fashion show. “I never thought it would be done. It took a month to get everything organized, but it turned out well,” said ISA president Zain Irfan.
Carolyn Harless/The Reflector
From left to right: Himanshu Saini, Anu Mathew, Shubhada Ramani and Manish Jain perform “The Calling Dance” at the Diwali celebration.
The fashion show included colorful, traditional garments worn by both men and women and ended with many different dances. According to Irfan, the dances were mainly traditional, but a few were western style dances taken from Bollywood, the Indian entertainment industry similar to Hollywood. At the official end of Diwali Night, students joined the dancers on stage. “Diwali is a festival of togetherness and friendship. It’s a time to get families together and celebrate,” Saini said. While the dancers were on stage and the music played, others in the audience went to the long table that held traditional Indian food. Irfan said the food was mainly vegetarian, like the food found in northern India. The food included Naan, a flatbread; a vegetarian rice mix; and non-vegetarian butter chicken. At another table at the event was a henna tattoo artist. Henna tattoos are made from the paste of a plant that dyes the skin a reddish tint. “Henna is a medicinal herb that releases heat in the body and is for decoration in most cases,” said ISA member Shubhada Ramani. “Typically, brides use it for more auspicious purposes before traditional Indian wedding ceremonies.”
See DIWALI Page 3