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| John Dossey, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, played an integral role in the writing of a report published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assessing reading, mathematics, and science literacy in principal industrialized countries. The OECD's report—read by policy makers in high administrative positions, including the Secretary of Education and the President—is considered the definitive word on how well a country's educational system is preparing students to meet the challenges of the future. Dossey chaired the 2003 expert design group for The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Problem Solving project and wrote the major portion of the international problem solving report; he also served on the expert group for the mathematics portion of the study. The 2003 studies were recently published in a 2-volume report—Learning for Tomorrow's World. “Professor Dossey is internationally known and respected for his work in the area of assessment of mathematics education,” said Dean Olson. “Being asked to author such an important international report is testament to his reputation as an authority in the field.”
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Balloons sold to raise money
were launched on campus | Students in Jodi Hallsten’s Small Group Processes class are learning that working in small groups can make a huge difference beyond the classroom. As part of the course, students are required to organize and implement a fundraising project for organizations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and the United Way. The students’ projects will aid many important causes including tsunami relief. “While I’m very excited about all the creative fundraising events the studentsare currently planning, I’m most excited about the Feed The Children project,” said Hallsten. “Feed The Children officials said that if we were successful in our fundraising efforts they would send a semi-trailer truck filled with canned goods and basic necessities to our community to distribute to the food shelves in town. We would love to help families right here in the Bloomington/Normal area.” In fact, the students' campaign was a success and Feed The Children kept its promise by delivering a truck-load of goods on Saturday to the Salvation Army in Bloomington.
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| David "Fathead" Newman | In presenting its third annual GLT Jazz Masters Concert, public radio station WGLT (89.1/103.5) continued its mission of bringing to the community the finest jazz musicians working in the field today. The sold out house at the Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall enjoyed two top flight performers: the Janis Siegel Duo and David “Fathead” Newman. “All of us at GLT are so proud to be able to bring artists of this caliber to the community,” said Events & Promotions Director Linda Healy. “We have such a loyal audience for the station and they are always excited to get the chance to see live performances from the artists they hear on-air.”
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| Cast of The Vagina Monologues |
During Valentine’s Day weekend, members of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), a student organization in Women’s Studies that is affiliated with the national Feminist Majority Foundation, were busy putting the finishing touches on a most elaborate project: they were getting ready for V-day. V-Day’s mission is both simple and ambitious. It demands that the violence against women and girls must end. It proclaims Valentine’s Day as V-Day until the violence stops. As part of this mission, FMLA directed and produced Eve Ensler’s popular and controversial play The Vagina Monologues, which played to a full house in the Bone Center ballroom for three performances.
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Dean Olson addresses the
College's civil service staff | On March 1 and 3, the College hosted its second Civil Service and Instructional Faculty forums. The forums were created last semester to gain input and knowledge from the College’s civil service employees and instructional faculty in order to open the lines of communication and aid the College with efficiency and productivity. During the two forums, approximately 40 of the College’s employees gathered with Dean Olson to discuss issues concerning the College: renovations, summer school, budget cuts, strategic planning, updates to the English Language Institute (ELI) and CAS-IT. Civil Service employees told Olson they appreciate the recognition they have been receiving in the College, and Instructional Faculty discussed their new contract and retirement options.
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| Dr. Paul Garris | Paul Garris, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences with a joint position in Psychology, became interested in science in grade school. He remembers his science teachers encouraged his “rambunctious and inquisitive nature”—traits that would usually get a child into trouble. Instead of trouble, Garris got into neuroscience, and in the almost 10 years he has been at ISU, he has gained national recognition for both his lab and the university, putting ISU on the map as one of the places to study dopamine. Garris’s research on dopamine found that the brain chemical is not connected to pleasure, reversing decades of scientific theories on addiction and advancing research in Parkinson’s disease. These finding have received much attention from the scientific community and major funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
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