1. Founder of Teach For America to speak at Commencement

Wendy Kopp, founder and chief executive of Teach For America, will be the speaker for the spring 2010 Commencement ceremony, 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 23, at the Bradley Center.

Kopp proposed the creation of Teach For America in her undergraduate senior thesis at Princeton University in 1989 and has spent the last 20 years working to sustain and grow the organization. Today, 7,300 corps members are teaching in 35 urban and rural regions across the country while 17,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity.

Teach For America expanded to Milwaukee this year, with a cohort of 38 teachers. Marquette is one of two local universities providing coursework for the corps members that will enable them to earn a master’s degree in education and complete Wisconsin’s teacher licensure requirements in two years.

“The selection of Wendy Kopp as our 2010 commencement speaker draws attention to our yearlong Celebration of the Centennial of Women at Marquette, marking the historic decision to admit women to the university, and to our ongoing mission to provide access to education for the underserved,” said Marquette President Robert A. Wild, S.J. “We share her commitment to address injustice and to improve the lives of young people by providing qualified, committed teachers.”

As part of the commencement ceremony, Kopp will receive an honorary degree from Marquette, along with:

Joan Biskupic, Jour '78, author and Supreme Court correspondent for USA Today

Anne M. Burke, Illinois Supreme Court Justice and founder of the Chicago Special Olympics

Janice McLaughlin, M.M., Arts '69, author and president of the Maryknoll Sisters

2. Dr. David Baker named one of Business Journal’s "Forty Under 40"

Six of the 40 individuals selected by The Business Journal’s 2010 “Forty Under 40,” which recognizes young leaders in the Milwaukee area, have Marquette connections.

Dr. David Baker, associate professor of biomedical sciences, was selected along with five alumni. In nominating Baker for the award, Marquette President Robert A. Wild, S.J., said “It is not often that a teacher-scholar receives millions of dollars in grants from such prestigious entities as the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse and establishes a business to develop and commercialize discoveries made in his laboratory — let alone to do so before the age of 40.” Baker and his colleague, Dr. John Mantsch, founded Promentis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a start-up company that aims to develop and commercialize chemical compounds that have shown promise as a novel treatment for schizophrenia and other central nervous system conditions.

The five alumni in The Business Journal’s 2010 “Forty Under 40” group are:

• Michael Delzer, Law '96, Delzer Lithograph Co.
• Maureen Kennedy-Harlan, Grad '04, Joy Global
• Christina Kutsch, Arts '92, Harley-Davidson Museum
• Joe Rock, Bus Ad '92, KPMG LLP
• Kelly Twigger, Law '97, ESI Attorneys LLC

The winners will be honored in a special section in the April 9 issue of The Business Journal and at a April 12 awards event.

3. Bills sent by mail to be discontinued

Beginning with their March bill for tuition, housing and fees, students will only receive an e-mail notice of their balance due; they will no longer receive a printed bill at their permanent mailing address. Students with a balance due have been receiving a bill via both e-mail and postal service since September.

Students receive notice of e-bill availability via their eMarq e-mail account. The e-mail links to CheckMarq, where students can view their billing statement online at any time. Students will still have the option of paying their bill online, in person at Marquette Central or through the postal service. Students and parents who call Marquette Central with questions must provide the student’s Marquette Central Access Number and MUID number to verify their right to access the student’s information.

Students can also create guest accounts on CheckMarq to provide access for parents, guardians and others to view their grades, bursar account and financial aid information. Students may share the login information for their guest account with anyone they choose. Students control the access and the password and can change them at any time. Log in to CheckMarq to set up guest access.

Only students with an outstanding balance receive an e-mail bill notice.

4. Artist to discuss paradox of jungle terrain

Clara Andrea Rojas Mocetón will present “Freedom Without Borders” today, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. at the Haggerty Museum of Art. A reception will precede the lecture, at 6:15 p.m.

Mocetón chooses the tropical jungle terrain as the subject of many of her paintings in the exhibit Freedom Without Borders because for her it holds a paradoxical presence of life and death, hope and despair and abundance and misery. Rojas explores the answers of how destruction and fear can be transformed into healing and life. Her work is on display at the Latino Arts Gallery.

The program is held in conjunction with the Department of Foreign Languages, the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and the Centennial Celebration of Women.

5. Texas law professor to discuss justice for battered women defendants

Sarah Buel will present “Achieving Justice for Battered Women Defendants" for the 2010 McGee Lecture tomorrow, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m. in the Raynor Library Beaumier Suites. Buel, clinical professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin, has worked with battered women and abused children as an advocate and a prosecutor for 32 years. She also founded and directed several legal and advocacy agencies for supporting battered women. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences.

Buel narrated the 1992 Academy Award winning documentary Defending Our Lives and in 1996 was profiled by NBC as one of the five most inspiring women in America.

6. Ulice Payne to speak at program tomorrow

The National Society of Black Engineers and the Multicultural Business Organization are hosting "African-Americans at Marquette: Past, present, future," tomorrow, Feb. 26, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Weasler Auditorium. The event will feature keynote speaker Ulice Payne, Bus Ad '78 and Law '82, Marquette trustee and president of Addison-Clifton.

A panel of Marquette community members will also discuss the Marquette experience from the perspective of African-Americans, including:

• Latrice Harris-Collins, admissions counselor
• Alex Peete, associate director of the Educational Opportunity Program
• Dr. Phoebe Williams, associate professor of law

7. Chorus, orchestra giving free performances this weekend

The Marquette University Chorus will present a showcase of popular musical selections including numbers from RENT, My Fair Lady, Avenue Q, South Pacific and West Side Story, Saturday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. in the Weasler Auditorium.

The Marquette University Symphony Orchestra will perform a concert featuring works by Beethoven, Dvoràk and Mozart on Sunday, Feb. 28, at 2 p.m. in the Varsity Theater

8. Economic Leadership Forum to focus on financial regulations

The College of Business Administration will present the second annual Economic Leadership Forum Monday, March 1, at 7:15 a.m. in the AMU ballrooms. The event, which includes a continental breakfast, is free for students. Cost is $5 the general public. Register online.

Moderated by Dr. Linda Salchenberger, Keyes Dean of Business Administration, a four-person panel will discuss the challenges and changes that financial institutions, corporations and consumers will face in the year ahead. The panelists are:

Dr. Abdur Chowdhury, professor of economics

Philip Flynn, president and CEO, Associated Banc-Corp

Dr. David Krause, director of the Applied Investment Management program

Colin Lancaster, principal, president and COO, Stark Investments

9. Hip-hop culture to be explored at panel discussion

The Department of Social and Cultural Sciences will host a panel discussion about the hip-hop generation Wednesday, March 3, at 5 p.m. in Emory Clark Hall 111.

Four panel members from three different academic institutions will discuss race, class, capitalism, globalization, the rise in the rate of incarceration of African-American men over the last 20 years and how these issues are affecting race relations in Milwaukee and around the country.

Panelists are:
• Dr. Jerry Gafio Watts — professor of English and sociology at the City University of New York Graduate Center
• Dr. Jooyoung Lee — a Robert Wood Johnson health and society scholar at the University of Pennsylvania
• Hank Williams — a doctoral candidate in English and Africana Studies at the City University of New York Graduate Center
• Dr. Erin Winkler — assistant professor of Africology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The discussion is being facilitated by Robert Turner, 2009-10 Arnold L. Mitchem Dissertation Fellow, a doctoral candidate completing his dissertation on the lives of NFL players.

10. Applications for McNair Scholars Program due March 1

The McNair Scholars Program is accepting applications from eligible undergraduate students interested in pursuing graduate study. Students accepted to the program will participate in an eight-week summer research experience and receive a $2,800 stipend. The program also offers GRE preparation, visits to area graduate schools and participation in national and regional research conferences.

To qualify, students must have a GPA of at least 2.5 and have completed 60 credits by the end of the spring 2010 semester.

Applications are due Monday, March 1. For more information, contact the McNair Program Office at 8-1771.

11. Business students win state competition

Five students from the Graduate School of Management defeated teams from the University of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to win the second Wisconsin Association for Corporate Growth Cup. The ACG Cup is a case study competition where MBA students analyze and present on a hypothetical investment acquisition.

The Marquette team, which won the $5,000 top prize, comprises Ben Adams, Scott Ginal, Michael Sanfilppo, Jason Woldt and Andrew Zimmerman. The team first competed internally against six other teams at Marquette to advance to the state competition.

12. Culture of alcohol to be discussed at summit

Brian Anderson, coordinator for alcohol programs, and Helen Stubbs, director of partner education from Outside the Classroom, will host a discussion of campus culture of alcohol Monday, March 1, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in AMU 227. The Alcohol Summit 2010 presentation will focus on how student culture involving alcohol affects classroom performance, student retention and overall student satisfaction at Marquette.

For more information contact Anderson at 8-1412.

13. Tickets for Girl Talk go on sale Monday

MUSG will bring Girl Talk, an electronic mash-up artist, to Marquette on Tuesday, April 20, at 7 p.m. in the AMU ballrooms. Tickets will be available beginning Monday, March 1, in AMU Brooks Lounge. Tickets cost $15 and are available to students with a MUID.

Gregg Gillis, better known by his stage name Girl Talk, is an electronic mash-up artist who takes different samples of multiple songs to create his own remixes. His most recent album, Feed the Animals, was No. 4 on Time magazine’s top 10 albums of 2008.

14. Marquette vs. Louisville game to benefit Children’s Medical Research Foundation

The Marquette Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will hold its annual “Cure for Kirby” fundraiser at the men’s basketball game Tuesday, March 2, at 8:30 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Children’s Medical Research Foundation, an organization trying to find a cure for Sanfilippo B syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder that stops normal development and typically causes death before adulthood.

15. Math, engineering, physics and neuroscience colloquiums scheduled

The Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science will hold a colloquium tomorrow, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m. in Cudahy 401. Dr. Yuehua Cui, assistant professor of statistics at Michigan State University, will present “Gene-based genome-wide association studies with entropy."

William Espey of Espey Consultants will present “Lessons learned from Katrina,” Tuesday, March 2, at noon in Haggerty Engineering 494. Espey will discuss the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Evaluation Task Force to review the performance of the New Orleans Hurricane Protection System. The program is sponsored by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Dr. Lynette Daws, associate professor of physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, will present a seminar for the Integrative Neuroscience Center on Tuesday, March 2, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Schroeder Complex 256. Daws will present “Organic Cation Transporters in Depression and Alcoholism.”

Dr. E. Dan Dahlberg, professor of physics at the University of Minnesota and Institute of Technology distinguished professor, will present a colloquium for the Department of Physics on Wednesday, March 3, at 3:30 p.m. in William Wehr Physics 141. Dahlberg will present “Magnetism at the nanoscale.”

16. Workshop to address publicizing campus events

The Office of Student Development is hosting “Effective Publicity On Campus” Wednesday, March 3, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. in Johnston 122. Staff from the Office of Student Development will address effective methods of publicizing events on campus, and participants will create their own posters. Snacks will be provided. RSVP online.

The session is part of “Forward! A Leadership Workshop Series” to help student organization members develop leadership skills and learn effective approaches when managing and working with others.

17. Free fitness classes offered tomorrow

The Department of Recreational Sports will offer free fitness classes tomorrow, Feb. 26. Classes are free to all students and members on a first-come, first-served basis:

• kickboxing at 3 p.m. in the Rec Plex small gym
• Zumba at 1 p.m. in Rec Center aerobics room
• spinning at 4 p.m. in the Rec Center lower level spin room
• dance aerobics at 4 p.m. in the Rec Center aerobics room

Recreational Sports’ Groups Fitness program will also begin sales of punch cards for their session B group fitness classes beginning Monday, March 1. Session B classes will begin Monday, March 22. Punch cards will be available for $15 and entitle the cardholder to attend 15 classes of their choice, at either facility, on a first-come, first-served basis. Punch cards will expire at the end of the semester and do not apply to yoga, pilates and boot camp classes.

18. Eastern Orthodox Vespers service held by Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry will hold an Eastern Orthodox Vespers service Monday, March 1, at 6 p.m. in the Saint Joan of Arc Chapel. Vespers is an evening prayer service that is spiritually beautiful and peaceful, filled with God’s love in Christ through the Holy Spirit, according to Campus Ministry.

For more information, contact Rev. John Jones, professor of philosophy, at 8-5928.

19. Award nominations accepted for faculty involved with housing programs

The St. Joan of Arc Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary is now accepting nominations for their 2009-2010 Faculty Excellence Awards. Students can nominate professors and teaching assistants who were involved with university housing programs or made an impact on the lives of students living in Marquette residence halls or university apartments.

Nominations are due at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 23.