Like many of you, I have had the pleasure of knowing and serving with all three for many years. The candidates will speak at open forums next week. They will present their vision for the College, but most of the time they will be devoted to answering your questions.

Your participation will be a meaningful contribution to this process as we learn more about each candidate's plans for the College. There will also be feedback forms for attendees to complete that will be reviewed by the search committee as it makes its final recommendation to the Provost, who expects to name a new Dean to assume responsibilities on July 1.

The times for the open forums are:

As my time as your dean comes to a close, I want to thank you all not only for another successful semester, but for all the help you have given me this past year. The College of Liberal Arts continues to impress me. I will be happy to represent you and congratulate our graduates who will walk across the stage in Elliott Hall of Music the morning of May 14. Thank you again for allowing me to be a part of your work.

Cordially,

Tom Adler

NEWS AND RESEARCH

Organ donation myths challenged at the workplace

The television and motion picture industries are scaring people away from donating organs, says a Purdue health communication expert.

Susan Morgan

"Fictitious story lines that focus on a black market for organs or doctors who murder patients for their organs are taking their toll," says Susan Morgan, an associate professor of Communication who is tracking how organ donation is portrayed on television.

To combat such myths, Morgan is taking a more personal approach to informing people about organ donation through the New Jersey Workplace Partnership for Life, which provides tailored health campaigns in workplace settings.

Morgan is working with 45 New Jersey organizations, including Johnson & Johnson, Fuji Film, L'Oreal Paris, Ethicon, Pathmark, Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, and the New Jersey Department of Labor to encourage more people to sign up as potential organ donors. The project is supported by a $1.67 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Transplantation. More

Political science students survey Mexican expatriates

Three months before Mexico votes for its new president, a Political Science professor and his students are learning how interested Mexican expatriates are in the July 2 election.

"For the first time, Mexican expatriates are allowed to vote via absentee ballot for Mexico's next president, and very few people have applied for the ballots," says James McCann, an associate professor of Political Science who studies political behavior in the United States and Mexico. "The voting behaviors and civic dispositions of Mexicans in the Midwest are particularly very understudied, and this is the region that is seeing an incredible growth in Mexican residents.

"My class is taking a look at what matters politically to U.S. residents who were born in Mexico. It also provides the students a way to improve their fluency in Spanish and gain experience in field work outside of the classroom."

In the class "Mexican Expatriates in the Crossroads of America: Political Research on Bi-national Citizenship," eight of the 10 students are non-native Spanish speakers. Their areas of study include Political Science, Psychology, History, Engineering, and Aviation Technology.

The students are surveying people at laundry facilities in communities with large Mexican populations, such as Frankfort, Ind. The students, who are expected to question a total of 100 expatriates by the end of the semester, also will target three other Indiana cities – Delphi, Lafayette, and Crawfordsville. More

Sociologist asks what it means to be American

How would you define an American?

According to a new Purdue study, more than 94 percent would say that having United States citizenship makes someone "truly American."

Jeremy Straughn

"Most other qualities considered typically American tend to be about behavior, things you can change," says Jeremy Straughn, the assistant Sociology professor who designed the study.

Besides citizenship, more than 90 percent reported that speaking and writing English well and a willingness to pledge allegiance to the flag are important in defining someone as truly American. Nearly 80 percent thought that serving in the military is important, and 76 percent said that having an education and training also matters. More

Playing with numbers is baseball's No. 1 problem

While Barry Bonds pursues baseball's home run record, a cloud of steroid accusations has settled over the national pastime, says a Purdue sports history expert.

"There is no game that is more obsessed with numbers, and in baseball there is no number bigger than the count for home runs," says Randy Roberts, professor of History. "The sport will never change from wood bats to hitter-friendly aluminum bats because a switch would probably dramatically inflate batters' number of hits and home runs.

"Steroids also undermine numbers, and doing so undermines the game." More

Global Partners program to take CLA faculty to China

A new program, described as study abroad for faculty and staff, is being launched by Purdue's Office of International Programs with the hopes that it will subsequently increase the number of Purdue students studying abroad.

Nine faculty and staff from a variety of disciplines will travel to China for two weeks in late May through the Global Partners program. The Liberal Arts faculty are:

While there, they will spend their time learning about the culture, meeting students and faculty at universities, and formulating ideas for study abroad programs they can begin or enhance at Purdue. More

EVENTS

Rueff Galleries close spring with photography show

The Patti and Rusty Rueff Galleries will conclude the spring semester with a student photography exhibit.

The Photography and Related Media Senior Show, which runs through May 14, consists of unmanipulated photography, manipulated photography, digital photography, and video installation done by seniors majoring in photography and related media. A reception will take place from 3-5 p.m. on May 14.

Rueff Galleries, located in the Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts, 552 W. Wood St., are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Gallery exhibits are free and open to the public. More

FACULTY & CLA HONORS

Purdue trustees approve CLA faculty promotions

TO PROFESSOR

TO ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

– Bill Murphy, clinical professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, has been selected as a 2006 Hoosier Hero in Science & Technology for his work with high school students who stutter. Murphy will have the opportunity to designate $2,000 to an Indiana high school scholarship to be given in his honor this spring. The award is given by Dollars for Scholars, a program of Scholarship America, which is a national network of more than 1,200 community-based, volunteer-driven scholarship foundations throughout the United States.

HONORS CONVOCATION

– Rosalee A. Clawson, associate professor of Political Science, received the Excellence in Education Award.

– Mary Godwin, graduate assistant in English, Theory and Cultural Studies, received the Class of 1922 Helping Students Learn Award. The award includes a $4,000 cash prize and a $2,000 academic expense account to the department.

– Kagiso A. Paynter, a sophomore majoring in Political Science and Theatre from Oswego, Ill., received the $1,000 Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity Arts Scholarship.

– Amber L. Groth was chosen as a recipient of the $1,000 Amelia Earhart Scholarship, which is given to students who demonstrate a desire to succeed in their fields. Groth is a junior majoring in Psychology, and Child Development and Family Studies from Lebanon, Ind.

– Katherine K. Hanley of Northville, Mich., received one of the Charles O. McGaughey Leadership Awards, which were established by McGaughey, a 1939 Purdue graduate, to honor students with leadership potential. The honorees, all seniors, each received $3,050 and a crystal paperweight commemorating the award.

OTHER STUDENT NEWS

Communication student selected for Orr Fellowship

Emily Hambidge of Newburgh, Ind., was one of four Purdue seniors selected to participate in the Gov. Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship, which places college graduates with Indiana companies for two years.

She is a senior in the Department of Communication, and has accepted a position with Theron Inc. More

Political Science student elected PSG vice president

Mary Koehn, a junior from Hinsdale, Ill., who is majoring in Political Science, will serve as Purdue Student Government vice president for the 2006-07 school year. More

Communication student named Golden Girl

Meghan Lamontagne, an incoming freshman from Pelham, N.H., bested nine competitors from five states to become Purdue's 25th Golden Girl.

Lamontagne, who's been a twirler since the age of 3, plans to major in Communication with an emphasis on broadcast journalism. She is a seven-time World Open Twirling Champion and among her other accomplishments are performances before Boston Celtics' crowds in 2003 and performances at the AXA Liberty Bowl in 2003 and the Nokia Sugar Bowl in 2004. More

EXPERTS IN THE NEWS

The Christian Science Monitor –
Common ground on who's American
(Jeremy Straughn, Department of Sociology and Anthropology)

Reuters –
Film, television scares off potential organ donors
(Susan Morgan, Department of Communication)

Journal and Courier –
Class trains for marathon miles
(Michael Flynn, Department of Health and Kinesiology)

Associated Press –
The next best thing to Baghdad
(Stacy Holden, Department of History)

Utah Daily Chronicle –
Performing arts company creates collaborative, telematic performance art on campus
(Division of Dance, Patti and Rusty Rueff Department of Visual and Performing Arts)

Journal and Courier –
Immigration reform debate hitting close to home
(James McCann, Department of Political Science)

Journal and Courier –
Threat of suit wafts over WL smoking ban
(William McLauchlan, Department of Political Science)

Rocky Mountain News, (Denver) –
Calls for boycott test immigration unity
(Rachel Einwohner, Department of Sociology and Anthropology)

Boston Globe –
Taking the pulse of gym class: Schools turn to personal fitness
(Susan Flynn, Department of Health and Kinesiology)

Journal and Courier –
Do you believe in miracles? When science stops, faith has a chance to take hold
(Michael Bergmann, Department of Philosophy)

Thousand Oaks Acorn, California –
New DVD can help kids who stutter
(Bill Murphy, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences)

Bedford Times-Mail, Indiana –
Cleaning up after the entertainment industry
(Susan Morgan, Department of Communication)

Additional Stories:

Pamela Whitten, professor of Communication, talked about Indiana Medicaid telemedicine reimbursements on Inside Indiana Business.

Bert Rockman, professor and head of Political Science, was quoted in a National Journal story, "Bush Living Dangerously."

Laurel S. Weldon, associate professor of Political Science, was featured on WLFI-TV 18 in Lafayette about women's global social movements.

Charles Ingrao, professor of History, talked about the Balkans during a Voice of America interview and was quoted in a story by the Agency of Information in Macedonia.

A complete list of Liberal Arts experts in the news.

This edition of Liberal Arts eNews is available online.

Previous editions of this newsletter can be found on the Liberal Arts eNews home page.

Any story ideas or news tips can be sent to Amy Patterson Neubert at the Purdue News Service, 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu