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T h u r s d ay, A u g u s t 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 | U s i S h i e l d . c o m | V o l . 4 8 I s s u e 1
President announces retirement BY RILEY GUERZINI news@usishield.com @rguerzini
University President Linda Bennett announced her retirement at Tuesday’s fall faculty and administration meeting. Holding back tears from the podium, Bennett thanked s t u Bennett dents,
faculty, administration and support staff for making the university a community that she is “very proud to be a member of.” “Its really that time in my life,” she said. “You reach some of the milestone birthdays and you decide maybe it’s time for a change. We are looking strong and the combination of it’s a great time for the university makes it a great time for me.” Bennett said she wanted to make the announcement when all the faculty were back on campus because she
wanted them to hear it from her first. A Cincinnati, Ohio native, she received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree from the University of Cincinnati. With over 25 years of teaching experience, Bennett has taught, chaired departments or been a dean at Wittenberg University, Northern Kentucky University and Appalachian State University. Bennett started at the university in 2003, serving as vice president of academic
affairs before being selected as provost. She became president in July of 2009. She said one of her primary goals when she became president was to make sure the quality of the academics were better known. “I think that’s one of the things I’m most proud of is the reputation of the university is better known than when I first arrived here many years ago,” she said “The quality has always been there, we just have been a bit too modest and we need to shout it out
more. We need to let folks know the academic quality of USI.” Bennett’s run as the third president at USI will come to an end June 30, 2018. The university Board of Trustees will announce plans in the fall to begin a national search for her successor. “Remember our history,” Bennett said as advice for USI’s next president. “We were created to provide opportunity access to higher education and we were created to be a driver of economic development in this
region for the state.” Faculty Senate chair Peter Whiting said he was saddened to hear Bennett’s announcement. “I remember when she came to interview for the provost, I thought she was the perfect candidate,” he said. Whiting said the announcement also came as a shock to him. “She has had a lot of impact on campus and has really transformed the campus and she has been a good president for USI,” he said.
President, PAGE 3
Eclipse excites, engages
Illustration by Abigail Stanley
by Sarah Rogers features@usishield.com @suruhgrace
On the first day of classes, the sun will disappear behind the moon, turning daylight into twilight. This phenomenon is known as a total solar eclipse. While total solar eclipses happen every year or every other year, the total phase of the eclipse can only be viewed within the path of totality. This path generally falls within the endless miles of the Sahara Desert
or somewhere along the ocean, according to NASA. This year, the university has the opportunity to view a partial eclipse on the August 21. The Geology and Physics Department will host a public viewing of the eclipse from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. August 21 on the University Quad. Sophomore mathematics major Emma Wargel said she is “so excited for the eclipse it’s ridiculous.” “I’m constantly fascinated by anything that pertains to space or the moon and stars,” Wargel said. “I
think it’s awesome that in the middle of the day, it’s basically going to be night time for four minutes with a full sky of stars and everything.” Wargel said the seminar instructor of physics Matthew Merlo gave last year on the solar eclipse helped her to understand why the eclipse is so special. “(Merlo) explained how the sizes of the sun and the moon, the sun being much larger, and the distances of both from earth, the moon being much closer, make the projection of them on
the sky almost exactly the same” Wargel said. “When they intersect, the moon is able to cross over the sun almost perfectly.” A total solar eclipse will not be visible in Evansville until April of 2024, Merlo said. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible in the United States was in 1910. “A total solar eclipse is pretty rare for certain geographical regions, such as the United States, particularly Evansville,” Merlo said. “The shadow the moon casts is much smaller than that created by the sun in a
Eclipse, PAGE 4
Tuition on the rise by riley Guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
The university Board of Trustees moved to increase tuition to $7,460 for the 2017-18 school year and $7,829 in 2018-19. Tuition for 2016-17 sits at $7,105. The increase also includes a $2.50 hike per credit hour per semester in the technology fee. University President Linda Bennett said the increased tuition and fees money will be used to meet on-going operational expenses along with enhancing technological security and meeting the technological needs of students.
lunar eclipse, explaining the particular selection of people able to view it.” Solar-filtered telescopes and eclipse-viewing glasses will be provided on a firstcome, first-serve basis. The eclipse-viewing glasses are necessary for viewers to wear when the sun is uneclipsed or partially eclipsed, according to NASA. It is only safe to view the eclipse within the very short window of totality when the moon entirely blocks the sun’s face, which will not be the case for viewers on campus.
“While we are not trying to minimize the fact that it is an increase, it is an increase that will allow us to hire more faculty and provide even a minimal level of compensation increase to the employees who work here,” she said. “We’ve got to make sure that we hold on to the high quality that we have and to continue working ahead to support them, because they make the education quality possible at USI.” The move to increase tuition followed a public forum held to discuss any concerns with the rise in tuition. There was no discussion from the public at the forum.
Under Indiana law, public universities are required to hold a public forum to discuss any increases they plan to make to tuition or fees. Those universities must set those rates within 60 days of the state budget bill being enacted into law. The state budget was enacted into law April 27. The state budget, House Bill 1001, is a biennial budget, which means all state finances are budgeted two years in advance. The state appropriations for USI only grant about $420,000 in new money. Bennett said a 2% increase in salaries would be around $1.4 million, so the increased state funding
would not be enough for what they want to do. Funding for state universities is determined by performance funding formulas, which calculates metrics like degree completion and student persistence. Any new funding is reallocated into a higher education pool. Universities must then earn that money back by performing well under the funding formulas. “It is the reallocation components of this that I have the strongest objections to that I think make it very difficult for a campus like USI to be able to increase the support we need,” she said.
Tuition, PAGE 3
Fall Commencement now ticketed by riley Guerzini news@usishield.com @rguerzini
The fall commencement ceremony will now require tickets to attend due to safety concerns with overcrowding. “We start to evaluate and predict what the number of people attending will look like early in the process, and its better for us to plan on using the tickets,” Director of University and Community Relations Sally Gries said. Despite no issues with
overflow since the tickets were introduced to the spring commencement, graduates participating in the fall ceremony will be able to acquire up to seven tickets for family and friends. Tickets will be available to reserve beginning Sept. 1. Ticketing for graduation ceremonies began in 2012, when commencement was moved from Roberts Stadium to the university campus. Last spring was the first time all five ceremonies were ticketed.
Tickets, PAGE 3