1. New minors approved for College of Communication

Provost John Pauly has given final approval to new minors in dance and fine arts in the J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication. The University Academic Senate was informed on these minors earlier this week.

The minor in fine arts is a collaboration with the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Students will be able to choose from among four sequences: motion narrative, graphic design, photography and studio art. The 18-credit minor will have two required courses — Visual Dynamics 1: Concept, Process & Composition and Animation. The college’s minors in studio arts and art history will be discontinued.

The 21-credit dance minor in the Department of Performing Arts will introduce students to four styles of dance — ballet, modern, tap and African. Other required courses will include Dance History and Composition and Choreography.

The Academic Senate also recommended approval of a proposed graduate program in clinical and translational rehabilitation health sciences that will include a Ph.D. and an accelerated master’s program with both thesis and non-thesis options. The proposal is expected to go to the Board of Trustees in December for final approval. The Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Sciences projects that the new program will add nine doctoral students and 16 master’s students. The proposed Ph.D. program was an important element in the successful $20 million grant received by the Milwaukee-area Clinical and Translational Science Institute, of which Marquette is a partner.

In other business, Provost Pauly also gave final approval to the termination of the major in electrical and computer engineering, which is now part of the newly modified major in electric and electronic engineering; students currently enrolled will be able to complete the terminated major. Senators also were informed of the elimination of four concentrations in the leadership program of the College of Professional Studies. The termination of the concentrations in Liberal Studies Perspectives, Professional Communication, Information Systems and Commerce will allow the college to “focus on leadership and community outreach further supporting the college’s values of ethical leadership, civic engagement and social responsibility,” according to the senate documents.

2. Business Plan Competition entries received by Dec. 6 are free

The Center for Entrepreneurship is accepting submissions for its 2011 Business Plan Competition. The application, which requires completing an entry form and answering three questions, is due Monday, Jan. 10, 2011. Applications received by Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, are free. Cost for those applying after Dec. 6 is $50. At least one member of a team must be a Marquette student, faculty or staff member or an alumnus/a.

Participants can expect individual feedback throughout the competition from experienced entrepreneurs and investors. They will also hear from previous participants and be able to share information with each other through networking workshops on business model development, plan refinement and presentation skills, which will be held periodically throughout the competition.

The fully-developed plans will be reviewed by a panel of judges who will select semi-finalists to participate in oral presentations. The winners, who will be announced at the Marquette Business Plan Competition Banquet April 13, 2011, will receive services, such as legal, accounting and public relations assistance. Winners also will be invited to participate in the Governor’s Business Plan Competition.

3. Jazz Band performing tonight; Symphonic Band on Sunday

The Marquette Jazz Band will perform a free, public concert tonight, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Varsity Theatre. The performance will include a variety of jazz styles including swing, bebop, cool jazz, fusion and funk by composers such as Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente and Count Basie.

The Symphonic Band will perform a free, public concert Sunday, Nov. 21, at 2 p.m. in the Varsity Theatre. The concert will feature wind band classics from the United States and a mini-musical tour of Europe.

4. Applications for Dorothy Day Social Justice Community available

Applications for the Office of Residence Life’s Dorothy Day Social Justice Community are now available. The program provides an opportunity for 44 sophomore students to live together in Straz Tower and participate in a yearlong social justice-focused living/learning experience.

Students will enroll in discrete sections of Philosophy of Human Nature in the fall semester and Christian Discipleship in the spring semester. Each course meets the university’s core requirement and each will incorporate a shared service-learning component. The curricular and service components are enhanced by out-of-classroom experiences that bring students together for reflection on classroom concepts and their service and other experiences that help shed light on the meaning of justice in their lives.

Applications are due Feb. 25, 2011.

5. Singers, dancers and drummers needed for Mission Week performance

The Office of Mission and Ministry is looking for Marquette community members to participate in the opening of the keynote speaker event during Mission Week. Ethnic dancers, drummers and singers are needed for a culturally enriched performance at 4 p.m. Feb. 10, 2011, and for rehearsals.

For more information, contact Brigid Alba, administrative assistant in the Office of Mission and Ministry, at 8-1794.

6. Shuttle available to train and bus station for Thanksgiving break

Public Safety will provide shuttles to the Amtrak and Greyhound/Megabus stations for Thanksgiving break. Shuttles will run every hour, on the hour, Tuesday, Nov. 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., leaving from the DPS office in Parking Structure 1 on 16th Street. Starting at 5 p.m., students can request a ride to the Amtrak or bus terminal using the LIMO service, which runs until 3 a.m. LIMO service will also be available Sunday, Nov. 28, from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., to get students from the train and bus stations back to campus. LIMO requests are made by calling DPS at 8-6363. No reservation or notice is needed for the hourly shuttle on Tuesday. Whether using the shuttle or LIMO service, students should plan ahead since departure and pick-up times cannot be guaranteed.

7. Vacant House Watch available over Thanksgiving break

Students living off-campus can register their properties with the Department of Public Safety for Vacant House Watch while they are away from campus during the Thanksgiving and winter breaks. DPS officers will discreetly monitor the property periodically during their routine patrols of the neighborhood.

Students must fill out the Vacant House Watch form and return it to the DPS office in Parking Structure 1, on 16th Street. Students are also encouraged to discontinue mail and newspaper service over extended absences and to activate alarm systems if they are available.

8. Study participants receive $25 for walking

Volunteers are needed for a research study, "Foot and Ankle Motion Analysis Using Dynamic Radiographic Imaging," to estimate the forces on the ankle joint during normal walking.

Participants, who will be asked to walk normally while their motion is captured on radiographic imaging, must:
• Be male.
• Be age 18-30.
• Have no orthopaedic or neuromuscular impairment that may affect lower extremity muscles.
• Participate in a five-minute screening at Marquette, involving normal walking and foot measurement.
• Attend a single, one-hour visit at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Weeknight and weekend appointments are available.

Participants receive $25.

For more information, contact the College of Engineering’s Motion Analysis Lab at 805-7456, or Ben McHenry, biomedical engineering doctoral student.

The study is being conducted by Dr. Gerald Harris, professor of biomedical engineering, and Dr. Jason Long, assistant professor of orthopaedics at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

The study has been approved by Marquette’s Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects. For more information about research participant rights, contact the Office of Research Compliance at 8-7570.

9. Only one issue of News Briefs next week

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, News Briefs will not be issued Thursday, Nov. 25. There will be a News Briefs newsletter on Monday, Nov. 22. The submission deadline for Monday is noon tomorrow, Nov. 19.

10. Free Marquette shirts available at T-shirt exchange

Students can exchange a T-shirt from a different college or university for a brand new Marquette T-Shirt in the AMU second floor lobby tomorrow, Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students wearing their new shirt to the women's basketball game at 7 p.m. that day at the Al McGuire Center will be entered into a $50 prize drawing.

All shirts collected will be donated to the Salvation Army. The shirt exchange is hosted by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

11. Suicide Awareness Walk will take place tomorrow

Active Minds will host the second annual Suicide Awareness Walk tomorrow, Nov. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. at Lalumiere Hall. Participants can make luminaries and light them in remembrance of those who have died. The walk around campus and a brief ceremony will follow.

12. Varsity Theatre showing Step Up 3

Marquette University Student Government will show the movie Step Up 3 at the Varsity Theatre tomorrow, Nov. 19, at 9 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Luke and Natalie, two street dancers in New York City, partner with a New York University freshman to compete against the best hip-hop dancers in the world. Tickets are $2 with an MUID and $3 without.

13. Egg rolls for sale tomorrow at Lalumiere Hall

The Hmong Student Organization will host an egg roll sale tomorrow, Nov. 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lalumiere lobby. Chicken and vegan egg rolls will be available for $1.25 each and two egg rolls for $2. Proceeds benefit the HSO.

14. Free T-shirts to be given away at Annex viewing party

The Annex will host a viewing party for the men’s basketball game against Duke on Monday, Nov. 22, with free T-shirts, fan giveaways, half-time prizes and food specials. Doors will open at 4 p.m. for the 6:30 p.m. tip-off. The first 80 attendees will be given a ticket that can be redeemed at 6:15 p.m. for the shirt.

The Annex will also host game-watching Tuesday, Nov. 23, for the men’s game against Kansas State or Gonzaga.

15. Giving Tree gifts due Nov. 29 or Dec. 3

Most gifts for the Holiday Giving Tree are due Friday, Dec. 3, but the purple tags that say “blue bags” are due to the AMU information desk at noon Monday, Nov. 29.

Contact Kathleen Hawkins, social and cultural sciences administrative assistant, at 8-5500 for more information. The tree is sponsored by Marquette Volunteers.

16. Marquette in the News delivers university media coverage to your inbox

The Office of Marketing and Communication monitors local, state and national media coverage involving Marquette University. OMC distributes via e-mail a collection of the top news stories about Marquette and members of the university community every Thursday afternoon. Marquette community members who would like to be added to the distribution list should e-mail Marquette in the News.

To stay informed of all Marquette mentions in the news, or to track a specific facet of the university, sign up for news alerts through a search engine like Google or Yahoo. These services provide news alerts based on customized keyword searches. Go to https://www.google.com/alerts and enter “Marquette University” or whichever university unit you would like to track.

17. 11th Street on-ramp closure rescheduled

The schedule for the closure of the 11th Street on-ramp to I-94 east/I-43 south has changed. The closure will now take place at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Nov. 19, with the permanent opening scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 24.