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State’s Medicaid goal: better, cheaper care: FSSA says new approach will boost efficiency

Better care through better management. That’s the mantra behind the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s push to limit Medicaid’s cost growth to 5 percent annually. The state entity announced this month that it awarded $4.4 billion in contracts to three managed care organizations to provide coverage for pregnant women and children under its Hoosier Healthwise program. Next, Indiana wants to hire care managers to monitor the well-being of every Medicaid recipient in its aged, blind and disabled category. That…

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Professor reinvents classroom: Improving interaction reason behind DyKnow

Dave Berque knew his first college teaching assignment couldn’t get any worse when a fire in the overhead lights barely got a reaction from his students. “I was in a room with more than 100 people and only seven noticed it,” said the chairman of DePauw University’s Computer Science Department. “They were spending all of their energy copying notes and couldn’t think about what was going on.” The experience as a graduate student in the mid-1980s at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: The heat will hurt more next winter

Geopolitical instability and increasing worldwide demand for fossil fuels have caused high energy prices. Indiana tax policies in support of the creation of ethanol and biodiesel production facilities are part of an effort to help wean our transportation infrastructure from fossil fuels. While ethanol may be a poor alternative to fossil fuels, Hoosier entrepreneurs’ and policymakers’ efforts in this area reflect a broad awareness that we need a sensible, comprehensive energy policy. A corollary to $3-per-gallon gas is increasing home-heating…

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NOTIONS: Preventing the pain that triggers bombs and bullets

A few weeks ago, my 18-year-old son, Austin, said he was in the mood for a movie. His friend, Jon, had been to see “Miami Vice.” Jon said it was “cool.” I said that the old TV version-which began airing before Austin was born-had been “cool,” too. So based on that trans-generational cool factor, we grabbed dinner at Chili’s and went to see America’s most celebrated vice cops, Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, do their undercover thing. On the big…

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IU to seek $80M from state for massive life sciences push

Indiana University leaders believe their researchers can spawn 100 new companies, pump $2.4 billion into the state's economy, help create 14,000 jobs, and generate a $2.25 return for every dollar spends if the General Assembly will invest in their bold life sciences strategy.

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EYE ON THE PIE: Novel ideas from Pat and Beurt

Pat Bauer is a longterm member of the Indiana House of Representatives from South Bend. A Democratic majority in the lower house will make him again the speaker of the House, one of the few powerful voices in the state’s governing structure. Some do not view Bauer as the progressive sort of leader the state needs today. Yet his ideas are based on an experienced and solid reading of public sentiment. Beurt SerVaas is retired from a productive career in…

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Butler juniors to stay on campus next year: University wants to boost campus, fill apartments

Butler University underclassmen got what some saw as very bad news last week: Starting in the fall of 2007, juniors-like freshmen and sophomores-will be required to live on campus. The university claims the new rule will make for a stronger on-campus community, but the change coincides with Butler’s struggle to fill a new 500-bed apartment facility, where rents are higher than offcampus rental houses. Butler President Bobby Fong said a change has been underway for years to try to align…

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School races past capital campaign goal: University of Indianapolis raised $76 million in first-ever comprehensive funding drive

When Michael Ferin took over the University of Indianapolis’ fundraising operations in 1997, he inherited a limp effort ill-equipped to support exponential enrollment growth “The institution did not have a very strong record of reaching out to the community or keeping in touch with their alumni,” Ferin said. “This place was behind by a number of years.” No one could say that now. The private college affiliated with the United Methodist Church has just wrapped up a six-year capital campaign…

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NOTIONS: A suburban pay-me-now-or-pay-me-later story

Longer ago than I’d like to admit, my parents were expecting their first child (me). And they wanted their little guy to grow up in a nice, safe neighborhood. Mom and Dad weren’t earning much. But they borrowed a down payment from Grandpa, took out a whopping $80-per-month mortgage, and purchased a tiny, newly constructed house on the outskirts of Lafayette. My parents had grown up in the established parts of Lafayette. They knew well the old homes, old streets…

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IUPUI’s tourism department luring hundreds of students: City’s convention industry, program’s focus on meeting planning make department fastest growing on campus

After Kelly Sernau earned an associate in arts degree in hospitality at Michigan State University, she began researching schools that offered a bachelor’s degree in the field. She considered staying in her home state, then researched schools in Chicago and other places. Ultimately, she opted to transfer to IUPUI’s Department of Tourism, Conventions and Event Management within the School of Physical Education and Tourism Management. “I wanted to focus on meeting planning, [but] most programs focus on the hotel aspect…

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Moving lessons from classrooms to boardrooms: MBA students get firsthand experience with startups

No matter how many bold and italicized words scholars cram into textbooks, nothing compares to students rolling up their sleeves and testing a theory themselves. For years, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business has offered its Bloomington MBA candidates real-world experience through so-called “academies” focused on specific industries. Now Kelley Indianapolis’ evening MBA program is set to launch a scaled-back version for its students. This fall, it will offer three such “enterprise” programs, including one with an entrepreneurial emphasis. The…

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VIEWPOINT: Indiana ripe for new breed of auto industry

Landing the Honda plant is a great coup for Indiana. Gov. Mitch Daniels deserves congratulations. Not only will Honda employ an estimated 2,000 Hoosiers, it appears the governor secured the facility at a bargain price for Indiana’s taxpayers. While the plant brings much-needed employment, future wealth created from Honda’s production accrues to its primarily Japanese shareholders. This is only fair, as Japanese automakers have innovated, invested and expanded over the past 30 years. They have earned their success and deserve…

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TAWN PARENT Commentary: In defense of daydreaming

In addition to standbys like Little League and Girl Scouts, our children have the opportunity to learn sailing at Geist Reservoir, strut their stuff at the Jewish Community Center’s Broadway camp, or try medieval fantasy drawing at the Indianapolis Art Center. With such an appetizing array of choices, it’s hard to resist serving our kids a heaping plateful. Most of us want to give our children advantages we were not afforded, and “Mixed Media for Preschoolers” certainly qualifies. Besides, who…

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Indiana encourages agri-tourism efforts:

For Cliff Carley, Sept. 11, 2001, is a date of great personal significance unrelated to tragic events. That’s the day the construction company owner bought a pair of Rocky Mountain elk and began raising the large deer on his northern Hamilton County property near Atlanta. Nearly five years later, Carley Elk Farm hosts Saturday tours for which visitors pay $5 to roam the rural acreage and help feed a herd that numbers about 50. On the way home, they can…

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State awarenesss initiative targeting investment fraud: Program touts knowledge to prevent financial scams

Conservative estimates put the amount of money Hoosiers are bilked by investment fraud scammers at $100 million a year. The high-end estimate for victims of pyramid scams, bogus gas and oil ventures and unscrupulous mortgage practices is closer to $800 million. Those involved in catching and prosecuting the scammers say proactively educating people about investments in general and scams in particular would go a long way toward helping the problem. “Our financial illiteracy is high,” said Mark Maddox, managing partner…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Education does matter in today’s labor market

Here’s an update from the American labor market: Paying attention in school really does matter. Getting good grades and going to college is a big deal. What you study and what you learn will affect the rest of your life. Parents have been telling their kids that for a long time, and some of us even listened. But the message above isn’t from a speech or a lecture. It comes from evidence provided by the U.S. economy, in particular the…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Consumers rarely raise banks above commodity status

Toothpaste. Laundry bleach. Cat food. Banking services. Despite the hopes of many bank executives, vast numbers of consumers rarely elevate their banks beyond everyday commodity status. Through traditional advertising and marketing, many banks attempt to differenti ate themselves as the bank of choice or the bank that makes a difference. Repeat the tag line often enough and hopefully potential customers will start to believe it. One fact underscores this unfortunate commodity service status: According to recent market research, the No….

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Hispanic radio stations are singing new song: New general manager making major changes

Russ Dodge is used to scaling cultural barriers. For 17 years, Dodge, who is white, was a sales manager at WTLC, one of Indianapolis’ top radio stations targeting blacks. Dodge was central in numerous community outreach efforts at WTLC. As the new general manager of two Indianapolis Hispanic radio stations, Dodge is attempting to hurdle not only another cultural divide, but a language barrier to boot. Dodge, 54, took the helm of WEDJFM 107.1 and WSYW-AM 810 in April, and…

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New fiscal year, no cuts for IU School of Medicine: But concern remains about funds for future growth

No layoffs. No seven-figure budget cut to sweat through. IU School of Medicine Dean Dr. Craig Brater had many reasons to raise a toast this month, when a new fiscal year began and the school left behind an old one marked by the worst budget cuts in decades. Indeed, Brater said he is breathing a little easier as the school starts fiscal 2006-2007 with a budget of more than $815 million. An increase in clinical revenue and grant money helped…

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