Wireless - Scheele, Lankenau, Alumni, and Brandt Residence Halls now have wireless capability! In addition, students are now able to access their files from any remote location via NetStorage and an Internet connection. NetStorage provides a simple, graphical interface allowing secure uploading and downloading of files to the student's network space. The ability to access network storage drives from the internet opens up a whole new world of flexibility for Valpo students. Planning or assignments can be done anywhere, from Starbucks and Panera to their room at home or hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
Chorale in Germany - The Valparaiso University Chorale, one of the nation's leading Lutheran collegiate choirs, will return to Germany this March three years after a tour that included a performance at the home of the country's president. During this year's tour, March 5 to 19, the Chorale will return to perform at Wittenberg's Castle Church - where Martin Luther posted his 95 theses - as well as historic churches in Dresden and Muelhausen. The Chorale also will perform concerts in Halle and Eisleben, the birthplace of Martin Luther, before performing during weekend services at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach worked and composed many of his most famous works.
Doppler Radar - The tower is up and the "big white disk" as many call it was hoisted on top of the framework this week! Software and the equipment building are ready to go. I hope to have more to share with you in next month's newsletter, as we are getting very close to enabling our students to learn on this unique equipment!
Union Update - Be sure to occasionally check out the webcam at http://www.valpo.edu/construction/ union/webcam.php to see at what stage our new Union is. Today the hole is dug and they are preparing the footings and basement walls. The mud and fences around the site make it a challenge for students to get to their classes some days, but we're all learning to deal with it - remembering that the finished product is badly needed and wanted by the VU community!
Soccer Programs Honored - Valparaiso University was one of just 11 schools in all of NCAA Division I to be the recipient of the Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The award, given annually to schools with a composite grade point average of 3.00 for the academic year, included both fall and spring semesters of a given year. Thus the award this year is for the 2005-2006 academic year. This marks the fourth straight year the Crusaders have earned the honor in both men's and women's soccer.
Basketball Fans Honored - ESPN.com writer Kyle Whelliston named Valparaiso as one of his five best college basketball game atmospheres as part of ESPN's Student Spirit Week. In conjunction with Student Spirit Week, ESPN.com had seven experts select five schools apiece based on the best game atmospheres. Valpo was one of 22 schools named by the writers, with other selections including Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Indiana, among others. Whelliston had the following to say about Valpo: "Whether the team is an overachieving giant-killer or a plain old underdog, Valpo students and locals jam into the tightly packed 5,000-seat ARC to sit shoulder-to-shoulder and cheer on their beloved Crusaders. The crowd can be so intense it can be both a sixth and a seventh man (as in a heroic near-miss versus ranked Marquette in November). And after the final buzzer, hundreds of folks stick around to congregate on the hardcourt, discuss the game or just catch up." Valparaiso also ranks 10th in a poll asking the fans to rank the 22 schools selected by the experts. Valpo is the highest mid-major in the poll, with schools such as Florida, Syracuse, Gonzaga and longtime rival Butler ranked below the Crusaders.
VAN Assistant Wins Award - VAN Program Assistant, Elizabeth Racop, and two other engineering students took first place in an ethics competition. It was held as part of a regional Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers leadership conference, recently held on VU's campus. All three students are VU seniors - Elizabeth from Flat Rock, Ill., Paul Siebert from Fishers, Ind., and Mike Steffen from Springfield, Ill. VU's team responded to a real-life scenario in which a professional engineer's ethics might be tested. The regional competition included engineering schools from 10 states.
VU Wins National Award - Valpo's commitment to serving the community was recognized by its inclusion on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, USA Freedom Corps, and President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. Institutions where students are making significant contributions to the community are recognized. VU students performed 48,018 hours of service and raised $107,502 last year.