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IU-Bloomington, IUPUI ditch private-sector lenders: Student loan turmoil spurs schools to tap federal funds

With turmoil in student lending markets escalating, some universities are making major changes to ensure students have access to loans for the upcoming academic year. The answer for the Bloomington campus of Indiana University and for IUPUI is to return to getting loans straight from the federal government under the Direct Loan Program. The change will go into effect at the start of the next academic year. The two universities here are following other schools across the country making the…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: There is no better time to think about going global

A weak dollar. Lost jobs. Liquidity challenges. These and other perceived barriers tend to unfortunately mute short-term considerations for Indiana businesses thinking about international expansion. The reality? Globalization of U.S. businesses is alive and well, and proceeding at a breakneck pace. In fact, America and the world remain embroiled in likely the greatest commercial transformation since the Industrial Revolution with the full integration of U.S. markets in an open era of innovation and productivity. How does this play out in…

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International students flock to Purdue, IU: State schools are national leaders in attracting foreign-born scholars

Purdue and Indiana universities have become magnets for international students. Purdue is third in foreign student enrollment among all U.S. private and public colleges and universities. Indiana is No. 15. Another Big Ten school-the University of Illinois-is No. 2. The University of Southern California is the leader, with 7,000 foreign students. Purdue currently has 4,994 foreign students enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs, while IU has 4,027. This year, overall, there are about 39,102 students enrolled at Purdue’s main campus…

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VIEWPOINT: Lest we forget, ‘solid and stable’ is good

“I moved to Indiana on purpose,” I’ve been telling people since the move from Florida last August. The Indianapolis area attracted me and my business for a number of reasons-reasons which, I’m more convinced each day, Hoosiers take for granted. Someone might want to consider the good that’s right in front of our collective noses: Unlike Florida, whence I emigrated, people here know who can get things done, where businesses are, and whose reputation is good. A state full of…

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Making Hoosiers more educated is a tricky task ECONOMIC ANALYSIS:

One thing that virtually every bit of serious research on education has revealed is that parents play the biggest role in educational outcomes. My own work in this area found that more than 90 percent of the differences in regional educational attainment can be attributed solely to the educational history of parents. Families play a far bigger role in educational success than any differences that occur across schools. So, what then does this mean for public policy? In my last…

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A life of hard work, from the farm to the House: Thompson, who has three business degrees, wants to give boost to economically disadvantaged counties

Nearly 30 years ago, former State Sen. Katie Wolf appeared at a “women in politics” conference in Gary. Afterward, Jill Long Thompson, then 25, marched up and asked for advice. Thompson had her sights set on joining the Valparaiso City Council. Wolf offered her phone number. She soon found Thompson waiting on her doorstep, bursting with questions about how a female Democrat should campaign in a conservative, rural area. “What struck me was her determination to win,” Wolf remembered. “After…

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IU leader’s goal: global integration: CIBER director wants center’s work to influence all areas of business education

Barbara Flynn, a veteran of academia who arrived at Indiana University in 2006, is director of the IU Center for International Business Education and Research. CIBER, founded in 1981, creates business research and study opportunities for IU faculty and students, with the ultimate goal of preparing graduates to compete in today’s global economy. The center mostly is funded federally and operates on a $500,000 annual budget. The 55-year-old Flynn has a degree in psychology from Ripon College in Wisconsin and…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: How kids do in high school matters to economy

Far too often, our worry about the shortterm state of the economy prevents us from focusing on the long term. That’s too bad because it is the long term, not the short run, that we have the most ability to influence. The most important issue looming for Indiana and the nation is education. Here is the fate of a representative group of 10 18-year-olds. Four years ago, our 10 Hoosier students entered high school. One could not read. As of…

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EYE ON THE PIE: Why is home ownership a big deal?

Housing remains one of our most domestic industries. The labor used to build the houses themselves is still local. Products we put into our homes (furnaces, plumbing, appliances, etc.) are still primarily made in the United States from domestic parts. All that is changing. More and more work is being done off-site and more of the components installed have foreign origins. Now, without our thinking about it, the financing of our homes has become an article of international trade. Once…

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Charter schools face long wait for county funding: State, local money based on outdated mechanism

The property tax reform plan recently signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to provide relief-eventually-for most homeowners. Unfortunately, the tax crisis wasn’t fixed fast enough for charter schools. Because property taxes haven’t been calculated yet this year, schools didn’t get funding advances from Marion County, something 15 of the county’s 21 charter schools needed last year. At least one school-Irvington Community Academy-has received help from the Greater Educational Opportunities Foundation in getting an emergency bridge loan of…

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Commentary: Israel through the eyes of a visitor

My wife, Janie, and I made some new friends on our recent trip to Israel, including Moira Carlstedt, president of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. I happily cede my space this week for her observations of the trip. It is like any hospital room in Indianapolis-except you can see the Lebanese border from the window, and you stand amid damage from a Hezbollah rocket that tore through that window. And then you understand the need for the underground hospital that…

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Zoo counting on koala appeal: Visit by cuddly creatures expected to draw big crowd

Stock up on the eucalyptus leaves. Cute, cuddly koalas will soon be coming to the Indianapolis Zoo. The temporary exhibit will run from Memorial Day weekend through Sept. 1 and feature two of the slow-moving marsupials on loan from the San Diego Zoo. Not since 1994 have koalas been in Indianapolis. The lengthy time lapse, coupled with the zoo’s objective to introduce a new major exhibit every year-whether temporary or permanent-made the native Australian animals a logical choice. “We’re using…

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EYE ON THE PIE: It’s the money, not the jobs, stupid

“It’s jobs, jobs, jobs,” presidential and gubernatorial candidates shouted last week in Indiana. And the crowds responded in the affirmative, urging the candidates to promise more jobs for more Hoosiers. OK; jobs are good, but well-paying jobs are better. Since the 1980s, the state has claimed it is interested only in jobs that pay above the average for the area in which they are located. When challenged by the fact that the jobs being acclaimed do not always meet that…

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VIEWPOINT: ‘Buy local’ should be rallying cry

In recent months, our governor and mayors across the state proudly have announced business developments and out-of-state companies’ plans to expand or relocate in Indiana. They’ve worked overtime to earn these economic boosts, and they’re to be congrat ulated for helping bolster the state and local economy. But we’re ignoring a simple strategy that could yield many more high-paying jobs: Buy local. Here’s the irony: Pursuing this strategy doesn’t have to cost a dime. No recruiting trips to China, no…

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A&E: Local duo creates sticker shock

Anyone with young kids knows the value of a sticker. Whether a reward for a hissy-fit-free afternoon or a gift from a friendly grocery bagger, a sticker is a deceptively simple object that brings a surprising amount of pleasure. I’ll admit, I didn’t give stickers a whole lot of thought until I wandered into Alias, the unique Fountain Square gallery created by Dave and Holly Combs. The couple has been obsessed with stickers since spotting-and pondering the implications of-an “Andre…

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Free-lancing turns into big-time marketing: Mom-and-pop ExaroMed now growing fat with large drug and device clients from across the country

Most free-lance writers eke out a living. The most fortunate live comfortable lives. But Mindy Mascaro turned her freelance writing business into a thriving company. Carmel-based ExaroMed LLC is now producing sales and marketing content for the like of Roche Diagnostics, Eli Lilly and Co. and Amgen Inc. It has also served smaller life sciences companies such as Indigo BioSciences Inc. and Cheetah Medical Inc. The company has zoomed from six employees to 20 in the last year. It’s already…

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Real-world experience-for real: IUPUI’s Global Design Studio lets students tackle projects around the planet

New Orleans and Indonesia are worlds apart, yet linked by devastation from catastrophic floodwaters and by the outpouring of empathy that has ensued. An effort launched four years ago on the campus of IUPUI to involve design students in actual construction projects is responsible for a portion of the good will. The Global Design Studio is helping to rebuild areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and, to a lesser extent, the tsunami. Its projects also include renovating a boarding house in…

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Credit-market turmoil casts uncertainty over ITT Educational Services

ITT Educational Services Inc. and other for-profit schools are facing a maelstrom of financial threats that analysts say could
hurt student recruiting and profit margins–and already has driven stock prices down sharply. ITT shares are off 61 percent
since hitting an all-time high of $131.82 in November.

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Foreclosures keep ’em busy: Bankruptcy attorneys, credit counselors seeing surge in clients

Many consumer bankruptcies typically can be traced to a divorce, job loss or medical issue. Now another perpetrator-subprime mortgages-is entering the fray. The fallout from the housing crisis, coupled with a weakening economy, is contributing to a rise in bankruptcy filings nationwide. They spiked more than 30 percent in January compared with the same time last year, according to the Virginia-based American Bankruptcy Institute. With more than 1 million subprime mortgages due to reset this year, ABI Executive Director Samuel…

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