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VIEWPOINT: Business needs a different mind-set

Daniel H. Pink, in his intriguing new book, “A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age,” said, “The new era we are entering will be characterized by ‘right brain’ processes as opposed to the ‘left brain’ functioning of the more technical information age we’re exiting. These days, left-brain functioning is being done more efficiently and effectively by computers.” “Right-directed thinking,” as Pink calls it, is uniquely human and is about design and interpersonal relationship. My…

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A&E: Chinese art from within and without

This week, China art at the Indianapolis Art Center. And a famous scroll finds itself in remarkable company at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Anyone who has set foot into the Indianapolis Art Center has bumped into the name Fehsenfeld. It is, after all, half the moniker of the center’s Churchman-Fehsenfeld Gallery. And so I think some skepticism was to be expected when I heard that one of the two artistic worlds showcased in the Indianapolis Art Center’s “Two Worlds,…

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Candidates surface for IU’s athletic director job

Well-known names are bubbling to the top as speculation heats up about who will replace embattled Indiana University Athletic
Director Rick Greenspan and how much money the job will command. Greenspan announced June 26 that he’ll step down at the end
of the year. The decision came after the NCAA added to the list of charges facing IU’s men’s basketball program over rules
violations under former Coach Kelvin Sampson.

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RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Go ahead, let your employees work and play online

On June 18, CNN (www.cnn.com) had a story about a study in CyberPsychology and Behavior Journal (www.liebertpub.com) that examined how people use the Internet for personal use at work. It was supposed to be eye-opening, but it wasn’t to me. The study showed that managers who fret and make rules about Internet use by employees are probably using it themselves for the same purposes. Of course, no manager would ever let himself be seduced into wasting company time, would he?…

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Simic leaving big shoes to fill at IU: Foundation leader will serve as president emeritus and stay involved with school

Curt Simic has spent 31 years as a student and in various positions at Indiana University. That’s nearly half his life devoted to the Bloomington campus. So it’s no surprise that Simic, 66, views his retirement as president of the IU Foundation-his most recent post and one he’s held the past 20 years-with mixed emotions. While he’s looking forward to having time to go bike riding-as a student in the early 1960s, Simic competed in the school’s Little 500 Bicycle…

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EYE ON THE PIE: It’s not just the economy, stupid

No doubt, the Daniels administration will trumpet the fact that Indiana was the ninth-fastestgrowing state in the first quarter of this year. That’s right; personal income in the Hoosier state grew at an annual rate of 5.1 percent, while the nation advanced 4.6 percent. But, as noted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, which generates these data, Indiana was among the fastergrowing states because of dramatic increases in the prices of corn and soybeans. North Dakota came in first,…

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Networks help practices extend their reach:

Outside of Indiana, the local law firm of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP has a nominal presence in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, N.C. Yet, the midsize practice with roughly 130 lawyers in Indianapolis is handling an immigration issue for a fellow firm in India and is encouraged about prospects in Argentina, Colombia and Puerto Rico. Global gigs typically are reserved for larger rivals with an international scope. But scores of firms that want to expand their reach, without the risk…

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United Way tries to make the grade with literacy program: Education initiatives showing early success

Last summer, the United Way of Central Indiana decided it needed to go to school. The not-for-profit concluded that to achieve its goal of building stronger communities, it needed to supplement its human-service initiatives with a comprehensive focus on early childhood development and elementary education. “Our board decided we needed to elevate what we’re doing with schools and focus on root causes of why students don’t succeed,” said Ellen Annala, CEO of United Way. “If we don’t invest now when…

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Commentary: It’s all about managing diversity

“Diversity” is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days. The pair of words “diversity management” might be more to the point. Diversity really is a fact of life. In terms of humankind, the world is made up of different kinds of people. And those differences go way beyond race, gender and ethnicity. People come from different backgrounds, believe in different religions, and have different sexual preferences, for example. Some are physically handicapped or mentally impaired. Our differences…

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Big NCAA swim event might land in city

The NCAA is considering bringing its men’s and women’s Division I, II and III championships together for one big festival
of swimming, and the IUPUI Natatorium is a leading candidate to be the permanent site of the annual event.

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The daily lunch special? Life sciences information: Law firm, Indiana Health Industry Forum bringing industry players together for monthly presentations

The phrase “Let’s do lunch” has taken on a new meaning over the past five years in the Indiana life sciences community. Since 2003, a who’s who of the biotechnology, medical device, pharmaceutical and other fields have gathered at the downtown law offices of Barnes & Thornburg LLP to meet and eat at the Life Sciences Lunch Series. A collaborative effort of the law firm and the Indiana Health Industry Forum, the monthly event provides a networking and education platform…

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Butler’s pharmacy addition just what the doctor ordered: New $14M building will help college meet increasing demand for graduates

Mary Andritz, dean of Butler University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, bursts into laughter when asked how long her department’s been short on space. “I’ve only been here for two years, but I think it’s been for some considerable amount of time,” she guessed. “Probably for 10 years.” Lilly Endowment Inc., however, is filling the prescription in the form of a grant to fund a 40,000-square-foot addition under construction and scheduled to open by the fall 2009 semester. The…

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Ivy Tech ex-president repays $20,000 following audit of expenses

Retired Ivy Tech Community College President Gerald Lamkin has repaid nearly $20,000 after a review of the college foundation’s
expense-reimbursement policy uncovered bills that had been paid for him without proper documentation. College and foundation
officials call the accounting lapse and Lamkin’s inability to produce receipts for all the submitted expenses an “innocent
oversight” and have implemented a revised policy with tighter controls.

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Flagship rises over post-GM town: Incubator has helped preserve automotive talent base, foster diverse businesses

ANDERSON – Along Interstate 69, in a new industrial building with side-windows covered in paper to foil prying eyes, Altair Nanotechnologies is perfecting a ceramic oxide battery with three times the power of a conventional lithium battery. Up the road, Comfort Motion Technologies has written software to make a car’s power seat jiggle ever so subtly, to keep one’s back, butt and thighs comfortable on long drives. And everybody is keeping an eye on Pete Bitar, whose green laser device…

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Commentary: Smart policies can lengthen lives

Over the last 20 years, life expectancy for residents of the United States as a whole has increased steadily. However, recent studies by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have shown that not all Americans are enjoying longer, healthier lives. The implications of these studies are particularly ominous for Hoosiers. The disparities in life expectancy are most pronounced between richer and poorer Americans, reflecting the pronounced growth of income inequality the last two decades. In 1980, the most…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Home cooking not always good for us

The conversation between my neighbors, Paula and Paul Plain, interrupts the enjoyment I get from sitting on the deck in the dark of the night. They generally agree on whatever subject they discuss, but their voices nonetheless displace nature’s quiet. Thus, I find myself an unwilling participant in their nocturnal conversations. Last week, they were discussing the idea that young adult Hoosiers should be encouraged to remain in Indiana. “I’m so glad,” Paula crooned, “that 80 percent of central Indiana’s…

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Officials turn up call for 2-year degrees: State putting emphasis on higher education options

State and local leaders are turning up the amp on the importance of higher education, but they’re also trying to tune students into the message that being college-educated doesn’t have to mean spending four years at a university. In recent weeks, both Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels have loudly proclaimed the state’s need for more workers with twoyear degrees. While government officials have long said the state needs a more educated work force to attract business,…

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IPIC’s BioWorksU virtual effort wins acclaim:

A new Web site developed locally and designed to attract youngsters to careers in the life sciences sector now shares something in common with the wildly popular Club Penguin site. The Indianapolis Private Industry Council, with assistance from locally based Creative Street Media Group, created BioWorksU.com. And while more educational and likely more appealing to a larger age group than Club Penguin, the two were among recent Webby Awards finalists. Called the “Oscars of the Internet” by The New York…

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NOTIONS: This Father’s Day, leave some advice in writing

Father’s Day is Sunday. It also will be my dad’s 75th birthday. I’ve not decided what to give him. I do know what gift he’s giving us. Last year, my dad bought a laptop computer. One day, he sat down and began writing to his grandkids. “This is a long letter to you about one life, lived so far from 1933 to 2008, to acquaint you with what that life was like for the person who lived it,” he began….

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Interns line up for Children’s Museum spots: Popular program doesn’t pay, but students get fun, valuable experience

Since arriving at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Tiffany Wedekind has rubbed shoulders with comic book characters, connected schoolteachers to learning activities, and made plans to travel abroad to help gather ancient Egyptian artifacts. She is not a seasoned veteran of the museum field, but a 22-year-old intern who will graduate from Marian College in December. What’s more, Wedekind is not alone. She is among at least 22 college students who will share similar experiences there this summer. Exposing interns…

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