Purdue News Roundup

Black Cultural Center announces fall cultural arts series

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Black-and-white photos of most of the artists are available from Frank Walker, Black Cultural Center, (765) 494-3095.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Twelve events are planned for the Black Cultural Center's fall Cultural Arts Series at Purdue University.

• A BCC open house from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, kicks off the series with a display of black-and-white photos and text from the Million Man March. The display was created by Frank X. Walker, BCC assistant director and multidisciplinary artist. It focuses on the men, women and families who participated in the march. The BCC is at 315 University St.

• Anthony T. Browder, an internationally recognized artist, author, publisher, cultural historian lecturer and educational consultant, will present a free lecture, "Survival Strategies for Africans in America," at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, in the Drawing Room, Purdue Memorial Union.

• Surfing the Internet is the topic for four free workshops on Thursday, Oct. 2. "Researching the Black Experience in Cyberspace" is scheduled with BCC librarian Dorothy Washington in the BCC library for 9-10 a.m., noon-1 p.m., 2:30-3:30 p.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. Participants will learn about searching on the World Wide Web. Registration is required for all four workshops.

• On Saturday, Oct. 4, the BCC teams up with the Greater Lafayette Museum of Art to present "Recalling the Middle Passage," 1-3:30 p.m., at the Greater Lafayette Museum of Art, 101 S. Ninth St. This free event is an artist workshop and slide presentation with illustrator and author Tom Feelings, who wrote "The Middle Passage." Teachers Encouraging Love for Literature (TELL) is co-sponsoring the presentation.

• Actress h.t. McNair will be featured in "Hiding Out" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16. The drama production is subtitled "What You Do in the Dark Is Going to Come to Light." It focuses on searching for love, security, purpose, acceptance and approval, all in the wrong places. This free show will be staged in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center.

• The BCC Coffee House Series will open Friday, Oct. 24, with an evening of theater and dance featuring the New Directional Players and the Jahari Dance Troupe, two of the BCC's performing arts ensembles. The free performance will be at 8 p.m. in Room 210, Matthews Hall.

• Author and lecturer Earl Hutchinson takes part in the Cultural Arts Series with his presentation, "The Assassination of the Black Male Image." The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in Room 206, Stewart Center. Some of Hutchinson's work is available in the BCC library.

• Float like a butterfly to Fowler Hall, Stewart Center, on Friday, Oct. 31, for "When We Were Kings -- The Untold Story of 'Rumble in the Jungle.'" This 1997 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature Writer features the 1974 heavyweight championship boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. It begins at 8 p.m. Admission is $2. The film is co-sponsored by the Purdue Student Union Board.

• The Black Voices of Inspiration, the BCC's vocal performing arts ensemble, will present a free campus concert at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6. in the Purdue Memorial Union Ballroom.

• A program in connection with the historically black institution visitation program is scheduled for 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center. The program is yet to be announced.

• "Black Is ... Black Ain't," a film weaving together the testimony of those whose complexion, class, gender, speech or sexuality has made them feel "too black" or "not black enough," will be featured at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, in the BCC Multipurpose Room. This free film features scholars, artists and ordinary African-Americans who recall their own struggles to discover a more inclusive definition of "blackness." A panel of Purdue students will review and discuss the film.

• The 23rd Cultural Arts Festival rounds out the semester Friday, Dec. 5. The cultural extravaganza features the Black Cultural Center's four student performing arts ensembles: the Black Voices of Inspiration, the Haraka Writers, the Jahari Dance Troupe and the New Directional Players. The performance begins at 8 p.m. in Loeb Playhouse, Stewart Center. Admission is $5 for the public and $3 for Purdue students with a valid ID.

CONTACT: Frank X. Walker, BCC assistant director, (765) 494-3095; e-mail, fxwalker@hfs.purdue.edu

Purdue sponsors Women in Computer Science Career Day

The daylong event, sponsored by Purdue's Department of Computer Science, will include two hands-on workshops and a luncheon. The day is free for students. The registration deadline is Sept. 15. Parents and guidance counselors are welcome at the conference luncheon for $10.

The workshops will focus on the basics of an input/output system of computer programming and on building World Wide Web home pages. Participants are encouraged to bring along pictures that could be included on a Web page.

Registration forms are available from high school counselors, on the World Wide Web at http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/jackson/wics/index.html or from Jean Jackson, Department of Computer Sciences, (765) 494-6180 or (800) 320-6132; e-mail, jackson@cs.purdue.edu

Purdue was the first university in the country to offer a complete undergraduate curriculum in computer science as well as a doctoral program, and the school is an internationally recognized leader in the field.

Last year, 150 companies came to Purdue's West Lafayette campus in search of qualified applicants with computer-related degrees, and the Department of Computer Sciences had just 50 signed up for interviews through the university's placement center.

Nationally, average starting salaries range from the low 30s to the low 40s depending on the industry and the location, but Purdue Computer Science Department graduates generally average about $10,000 more than that.

The ABC's of child care on tap for Boiler Mixer in Indy

The event will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at the USA Group Child Care Center, 11100 USA Parkway in Fishers, Ind.

USA Group has been among the top 100 companies recognized by Working Mother and Business Week Magazine as family friendly to employees. Debbie Highsmith, director of USA Group Kids, will present information on USA Group's center and how it works. She also will take participants on tours of the facility.

In addition, Shelley MacDermid, associate professor in child development and family studies and director of Purdue's Center for Families, will provide an update on the center's activities and talk about its involvement with USA Group and other corporations that are trying to make work more family friendly.

The "Boiler Mixer" also will include a box supper during the program.

The cost is $15 per person. Reservations should be made by calling (800) 535-7303 or (765) 494-7890. In Indianapolis, reservations can be made with "Boiler Mixers" chairwoman Deanna Greve at (317) 630-9250.

The Indianapolis committee members for this event are Linda Brothers, Jane Gwinn, Karen Kirby, Barbara Vawter and Kathy Willing.

CONTACT: Cheryl Altinkemer, director of development and alumni relations, School of Consumer and Family Sciences, (765) 494-7890.

Purdue Notebook

-- Lt. Col. Michael D. Berendt has accepted an appointment as head of the Department of Military Science and adjunct professor. Berendt, a native of Daytona Beach, Fla., has served 19 years in the Army Corps of Engineers. He has served in combat engineer units in the Army's 1st Armored Division and the 101st Airborne Division. He spent the last six years in Germany, initially recommending overseas installations for closure and then as a strategic planner for the U.S. European Command. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and earned a master's degree in operations research from Georgia Tech.

-- Andrew Robison will be Purdue's new assistant dean of students starting Sept. 15. Robison will work closely with social fraternities and sororities and with the leadership development program at the university. He has been associate program director for the Georgia Tech Student Center since October 1995. Before that he was a Greek adviser and special events coordinator at the University of New Hampshire and was a leadership and education consultant for the international office of Theta Chi fraternity.

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Faculty and Staff Honors:

-- Joseph A. Fletcher, a recently retired research engineer from the Highway Extension and Research Project for Indiana Counties and Cities in the School of Civil Engineering, was named Sagamore of the Wabash by Gov. Frank O'Bannon. The award, which was presented by State Rep. Sheila Klinker, is the highest honor the governor bestows on Indiana citizens. Fletcher was recognized for presenting many safety training courses and workshops to utility companies and street and highway department personnel in all 92 Indiana counties, covering topics such as railroad crossing safety, work zone traffic safety and roadside safety.

Compiled by J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu

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