Purdue News Roundup
Purdue News RoundupDecember 5, 1997
An interactive computer program developed by students and faculty at Purdue is taking the Black Cultural Center campaign, and the business of fund-raising, to a new level.
The "virtual visit" software brings the architectural model to life as prospective donors tour the new facility from a computer screen. "We wanted a unique way to tell people about the new center," said Renee Thomas, director of the Black Cultural Center. "We needed something portable so we could take our story on the road. The results have exceeded our expectations by giving those who view it a sense of excitement and ownership in the project. They also can tour the distinctive features of the new building, which include design elements of an African village."
The computer-generated tour travels with Thomas and other staff members on a laptop computer. It consists of a three-dimensional computer graphic model of the new center and video clips of students and BCC activities. The animation begins with an interactive "village portal" and proceeds into a sequence touring the first and second floors. The program offers viewers the option to tour the educational and cultural areas of each floor, including the library reading rooms, the gallery, lounge and exhibition hall, and the computer lab.
The idea for a virtual visit came from Charles B. Wise, vice president for development at Purdue.
"During an academic review in the School of Technology in 1996, I watched a demonstration, in the Department of Technical Graphics, of a modified research project rooted in virtual reality," Wise said. "I asked the department head, Gary Bertoline, if we could apply this technology to the marketing of fund-raising projects. His answer was yes. And that was the beginning of a new application of technology. Where better should this take place than at Purdue University?"
The project was spearheaded by William Ross, professor of technical graphics; James Mohler, assistant professor of technical graphics; John Strathman, producer/director in the Center for Instructional Services; and a team of technical graphics students.
"The project was a win-win situation for both the technical graphics program and the Black Cultural Center," Ross said. "Our students were able to use emerging software and tools not frequently used by students to create this virtual environment from scratch. And the Black Cultural Center now has a product that not only offers an architectural walk-through of the new center, but incorporates a presentation about the people and the focus of the BCC."
Ross said the BCC virtual tour project was a challenge because it required technical components not often or easily put together. The team worked for nearly three months to combine the three-dimensional architectural walk-through with video and audio, all in a seamless format and interface.
According to Thomas, the virtual tour eventually will be placed on the Black Cultural Center's World Wide Web site, so that anyone could have access.
The new facility, designed by Blackburn Architects of Indianapolis, will incorporate geometric patterns, textures and materials typically found in African villages.
Construction is slated to begin in the spring; completion is scheduled for fall of 1999.
The Black Cultural Center serves about 35,000 people each year through its four performing arts ensembles, speaker series, tours and other programs.
The university is providing the land and a $1 million challenge grant toward the $3 million in gifts needed to build the new center. Purdue also has provided an estimated $150,000 toward fund-raising expenses. The $1 million comes from unrestricted gift money, given by contributors for use by the president for the betterment of Purdue.
CONTACTS: Wise, (765) 494-8653; e-mail, cbwise@udo.purdue.edu
Thomas, (765) 494-3091; rathomas@smly-01.hfs.purdue.edu
Ross (765) 494-8069; e-mail, waross@tech.purdue.edu
Kwanzaa is the only nonheroic, nonreligious African-American holiday. It focuses on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce, and self-improvement.
The celebration at the BCC will consist of a Karamu (feast), acknowledgment of the Nguzo Saba (the seven principles of Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith) and the circle of Kuumba (creativity).
Kwanzaa is celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, one day for each of the seven guiding principles.
The Kwanzaa tradition began in 1966 when Maulana Ron Karenga, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, created the holiday based on the Kawaida theory that says social revolutionary change for Black America can be achieved by the act of revealing and disclosing individuals to their cultural heritage.
CONTACTS: Tiyi Morris, Women of Vision, (765) 497-7993, or Frank Walker, assistant director of the BCC, (765) 494-3092
The recipients were Kellie S. Cox, assistant dean of students; Tanya R. Foster, academic adviser, intercollegiate athletics; and D. Dorsey Moss, professor emeritus, School of Technology.
Cox was recognized for her work in administering the adjudication of the university's disciplinary system while serving as chief hearing officer. She is responsible for handling the majority of student conduct cases and interacts with students, victims, area law enforcement agencies, attorneys, family members, and faculty and staff.
Foster was recognized for her counseling skills with student-athletes. In addition to assisting athletes with their academic progress, she has been a participant in a number of Life Skills seminars offered to Purdue's student-athletes.
Moss, who officially retired from teaching in 1993, continues to counsel students, teach courses and develop new programs. In 1966, he founded the Department of Building Construction Management Technology, which is the largest such program in the nation.
The Purdue Alumni Association presents Special Boilermaker Awards to individuals or groups who have contributed in important ways to improving the quality of life for Purdue students. The recipients were chosen by a committee of students, staff and alumni. Their names will be engraved on a plaque in the Memorial Union.
CONTACT: Jack Karl, senior associate director, Purdue Alumni Association, (765) 494-5180
Public TV stations nationwide are broadcasting a one-hour highlights program produced last year; most Indiana PBS affiliates and other outlets will air a new production of the 1997 show. Additionally, dozens of radio stations, mostly in Indiana, will broadcast a special one-hour production of this year's show.
The new radio and TV productions will feature highlights recorded during the six live performances of the 64th annual Christmas Show to be staged Dec. 12-14 in Elliott Hall of Music on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. Thousands of people from throughout the Midwest annually trek to campus to enjoy the show, which plays to sellout audiences in the 6,027-seat hall.
A December tradition since the 1930s, the Christmas Show features a spectrum of holiday songs and scenery that celebrates both the popular and religious aspects of the Christmas season. Featured are the student members of the five PMO ensembles: the Varsity Glee Club, Purduettes, University Choir, PMO Express and Purdue Bell Choir.
A frequently updated World Wide Web page containing the most recent information about TV broadcast times is available at: http://newsgopher.uns.purdue.edu/pmolist.html
CONTACT: Greg Zawisza, Office of University Relations, (765) 494-2086; e-mail, greg_zawisza@purdue.edu
Leath Scholarships, valued at $1,000 each, are available to incoming Purdue students who plan to enroll as a full-time undergraduates and participate in an assigned Purdue bands ensemble. Auditions are required and will be held Feb. 14 and March 28 in Purdue's Elliott Hall of Music. Applications must be received by Jan. 20. They are available from Indiana high school music directors or the bands department at (765) 494-3952.
To be eligible, students also must be full-time Indiana residents and must complete an academic review based on grade point average, class rank and SAT score.
Audition material should include three, two-octave major scales and a prepared selection from the Indiana State School Music Association group I solo list. Jazz players should request audition materials be sent to them in place of the group I solo. Piano accompaniment is not allowed, and there is a six-minute time limit. Students also will be asked to sight-read three excerpts. Awards will be made by April 25.
The scholarship was established in 1988 through a trust fund left by Wilbur T. Leath. Leath said he believed that participation in musical organizations provides students with important cultural and educational experiences.
Although Purdue has no school of music, students can participate in a wide variety of instrumental musical activities, including five concert bands, four jazz bands, a full symphony orchestra, a vocal jazz group, the largest marching band in the country, individual instrumental study, and a multitude of solo and ensemble opportunities.
The department is in the midst of a $2 million fund-raising campaign that will run through Homecoming 1999 with a goal of $400,000 for band scholarships, $800,000 for new instruments, and $800,000 to support student travel opportunities.
CONTACT: Jennifer Tucker, public relations director, university bands, (765) 496-2697
The courses, which are available to the public, vary in length and cost and are presented in videotape format in Room 268 of the Potter Engineering Center at Purdue. For more program information and registration details contact Marsha Nance, Continuing Engineering Education, at (765) 494-7017.
The classes available are:
Power of Listening; High Involvement/High Commitment Teamwork; Design of Experiments; ADA Programming Language; Introduction to C & C++ Programming; Excel for Windows-Advanced; Composites I-The Basics; Hardware Description Language VHDL & Verilog; Better Business Letters; How to Achieve Manufacturing Control; Introduction to Java; Memory Zone; Composites II-Material Selection and Application; Principles of Software Engineering; The Challenge of Project Management; Corporate Policies & Strategies for Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace; Ten Commandments of Successful Presentations; Elements of Physical Metallurgy; Business of Managing Professionals; Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing; Flexible Reading; Visual Basic Programming Fundamentals; Structured Fortran '77; Positive Connections With Effective Communication; and Digital Signal Processing.
CONTACT: Marsha Nance, (765) 494-7017; e-mail, cee@ecn.purdue.edu; Web, http://cee.www.ecn.purdue.edu/cee/
-- Purdue's Visitor Information Center needs student volunteers to serve as tour guides. The tour guide callout meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Visitor Information Center, 504 Northwestern Ave.
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Faculty and Staff Honors:
-- Maribeth Schmitt, associate professor of literacy and language in the School of Education and director of the Indiana Reading Recovery program, has accepted an invitation to serve as editor of an international literacy journal. The scholarly journal, Literacy, Teaching and Learning: An International Journal of Early Literacy, provides an interdisciplinary forum on issues related to the acquisition of language, literacy development, instructional theory and practice. It is the official publication of the Reading Recovery Council for North America, for which Schmitt serves as an officer on the board of directors. The journal is published twice a year and has a circulation of 8,000 in North America, England, Australia and New Zealand.
-- The Tri-State Academy for Legal Studies in Business honored Rolland L. Strausbaugh, associate professor of management, with its Distinguished Service Award at its annual meeting in November. Strausbaugh, who has served as director and in various other offices of the academy, was honored for his dedication and service to the organization. The academy is an association of business professors from Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Strausbaugh teaches business law at Purdue's Krannert Graduate School of Management.
-- Leslie A. Geddes, the Showalter Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Bioengineering, has been elected a Founding Fellow of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering in recognition of his contributions to the field.
-- Michael Stohl, dean of international programs, attended the 50th anniversary Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE) Conference in Barcelona. He was re-elected to a three-year term on the CIEE Academic Consortium Board, a two-year term as chairman of the Academic Consortium Board, and to the CIEE Board of Directors. He also participated in a joint CIEE-European Association for International Education panel on New Directions in Transatlantic Cooperation with representatives of the European Community in Brussels, Belgium, the United States Information Service, the Institute of International Exchange and Denmark's International Study Program. CIEE was founded 1947 to assist the first Fulbright scholars traveling to their host institutions. It has grown to provide 40 study programs, work exchange programs, high school exchange and student travel services for more than 200,000 persons around the world annually.
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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