Purdue News Roundup

July 24, 1998 825 Students eligible for degrees at Aug. 9 ceremony NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Journalists who want to cover commencement Sunday, Aug. 9, at the West Lafayette campus will need tickets for the event and should reserve space for camera equipment. Arrangements can be made by calling Roy A. Johnson, associate registrar, at (765) 494-6163. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Approximately 825 Purdue University students will be eligible to receive degrees during commencement ceremonies at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, at Elliott Hall of Music. About 415 students will be eligible for undergraduate degrees, said Roy A. Johnson, associate registrar. About 240 other students will qualify for master's or educational specialist degrees, and an estimated 170 doctoral degrees will be conferred. Purdue President Steven C. Beering will be the commencement speaker. Purdue Alumni Association President Dr. Charles E. Boonstra, St. Joseph, Mich., also will address the new graduates during the ceremonies. Gretchen D. Blankman, West Lafayette, will give the student response. She will earn a bachelor's degree from the School of Management. Music for the ceremony will be presented by the Purdue Summer Commencement Band and Choir. This will be the 175th commencement ceremony at Purdue. The university has been recognizing summer graduates at the West Lafayette campus every year since 1984. CONTACT: Johnson, (765) 494-6163; e-mail, rajohn@delta.reg.purdue.edu Education issues to headline institute WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The fourth annual National Issues Forums Public Policy Institute at Purdue University will focus on the nation's children and public education issues. Co-sponsored by the Kettering Foundation and Purdue's Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision, the institute will bring community leaders, Purdue faculty and a trained moderator together Aug. 6-7 for nonpartisan discussion and deliberation. The format is modeled after the traditional town meetings of early America. The 1998 institute topics are "Our Nation's Kids: Is Something Wrong?" and "The Education Crisis: How Do We Get What We Pay for?" Participants also will receive training so that they may return to their communities to lead similar deliberative discussions. Registration is $100, and includes four meals, on-campus parking, research materials and refreshments. For registration information, contact John Wellman, (800) 359-2968, ext. 92W; fax, (765) 494-0567; e-mail, jmw@purdue.edu. For program information, contact Rodney Vandeveer, assistant professor of organizational leadership and supervision, (765) 494-6804; e-mail, rcvendeveer@tech.purdue.edu. Purdue Notebook Campus activities: -- Purdue's Continuing Education Administration will offer a three-credit-hour evening course this fall for older students interested in starting or returning to college. GS290X, College Study Skills, is a hands-on course where students learn about improving their note-taking, reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. The course begins Aug. 25 and runs for 16 weeks. More information about the course and how to enroll is available from Sara Jane Coffman, course instructor, (765) 494-5110. * * * * * Faculty and staff honors: -- Glenn G. Sparks, professor of communication, was recognized for prolific research in the January 1998 issue of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration. In an article called "An Analysis of Research Article Productivity by Telecommunication Scholars Over the Past Decade," Sparks ranked 13th in terms of authorship frequency and tied for that spot with seven other scholars. The article examined publications in 16 different journals that spanned an 11-year period. Sparks focuses on the cognitive and emotional effects of mass media. His research has concentrated on the impact of frightening films on emotional reactions and, more recently, upon the impact of paranormal depictions upon beliefs in the paranormal. 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 To the Purdue News and Photos Page