Investigative Reporter Jerry Mitchell to Lecture @ Butler University on March 6th @ 7:30pm

 Investigative Reporter Jerry Mitchell to Lecture at Butler University
        
INDIANAPOLIS – Investigative reporter and MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” recipient Jerry Mitchell will deliver the Butler University College of Communication’s annual Howard L. Schrott Lecture at 7:30 p.m. March 6 in the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall.

Admission is free and open to the public without tickets. For more information, call (317) 940-5974.
Mitchell is an investigative reporter with the Jackson, Miss., Clarion-Ledger whose courageous efforts have ensured that unpunished murders from the Civil Rights era are finally prosecuted.

In 1989, Mitchell began his immersion in decades-old stories of thwarted justice and undertook a meticulous review of the 1963 assassination of NAACP leader Medgar Evers. Ku Klux Klan member Byron de la Beckwith had been tried twice for this crime in 1964, and each trial ended in hung juries. By analyzing hundreds of documents and interviewing scores of witnesses, Mitchell laid the groundwork for a new trial. The case was reopened and culminated in the conviction and life sentence of Beckwith in 1994.

Mitchell has since uncovered largely unknown details about many other long-dormant murder cases. His reporting has played a key role in the convictions of Klan Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers for ordering the fatal firebombing of NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer in 1966, of Bobby Cherry for the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham church that killed four girls, and of Edgar Ray Killen for helping to orchestrate the 1964 deaths of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Miss.

His investment of time and painstakingly detailed research has also produced a broad range of reports on such subjects as racial reconciliation in the South and judicial bribes and chicanery in Mississippi, as well as a series on his own family’s battle against a rare genetic ailment. In an era when long-term investigative reporting is more the exception than the rule, Mitchell’s life and work serve as an example of how a journalist willing to take risks and unsettle waters can make a difference in the pursuit of justice.

Jerry Mitchell received a B.A. (1982) from Harding University and an M.A. (1997) from Ohio State University. He joined the Clarion-Ledger in 1986 as a bureau reporter before turning to investigative reporting in 1989.

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Butler University Bulldog Jog (March 24, 2012)

 Butler University’s Bulldog Jog to Be Held March 24
      
INDIANAPOLIS – Butler University hosts the 20th annual Bulldog Jog 5K run/walk and, for the first time, a 1-mile dog walk beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 24.

Registration is $20 for the general public and $15 for Butler students until March 12. Late registration (March 13 and thereafter) is $25. Details and registration forms are available at http://www.butler.edu/bulldog-jog/. More information is available by calling (317) 940-4472.

Registration is open to the community. Proceeds from the event benefit the Butler University Health and Recreation Complex Student Scholarship Fund. The course for the run/walk begins on Lake Road and proceeds through the Butler University campus and canal path. Runners begin at 9 a.m., walkers at 9:05 a.m. Late registration will be held in the lobby of the Health & Recreation Complex, immediately west of Hinkle Fieldhouse, from 8-8:45 a.m.  The 5k race will begin at 9 a.m. for runners and 9:05 a.m. for walkers. Participants in the dog walk will get started at 9:15 a.m. Official Butler University mascot Butler Blue II will serve as grand marshal for the inaugural Bulldog Jog Dog Walk. Participants are encouraged to bring items and supplies for Indiana Bulldog Rescue and Humane Society of Indianapolis to assist in the care of dogs much less fortunate.

This year’s Bulldog Jog is sponsored by Butler University, the Butler University Student Foundation, Holistic Select, Fresh Market, Courtyard by Marriott Indianapolis-Carmel, City Dogs Grocery, WellPet, Aramark, Athletic Annex, Brinkman Press and the Health and Recreation Complex.

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Army and University Band Concerts @ Clowes (Feb. 29-Mar.3)

Butler Hosts Army Field Band, Bands from Purdue, Indiana, Ball State, Michigan   
        
INDIANAPOLIS – Free concerts by the United States Army Field Band and bands from Butler, Purdue, Indiana, Ball State and Michigan State universities will be held in Clowes Memorial Hall Feb. 29 through March 3 when Butler University hosts the American Bandmasters Conference.

The schedule of concerts will be:

8 p.m. Feb. 29: The Purdue University Wind Ensemble and the Ball State University Wind Ensemble.
8 p.m. March 1: Indiana University Wind Ensemble and Michigan State University Wind Symphony.
8 p.m. March 2: The United States Army Field Band, Washington, D.C.
2 p.m. March 3: Butler University Wind Ensemble.

The concerts are free and open to the public, but tickets are required for the Army Field Band performance. The tickets are available at the Clowes Memorial Hall box office and through Ticketmaster (some fees apply). For more information, call (317) 940-6444.

The American Bandmasters Association, founded in 1929 with John Philip Sousa as honorary life president, is the most prestigious organization in the world for band directors. The current membership (invitational) comprises approximately 300 band conductors and composers in the United States and Canada, and 70 associate members (music businesses and corporations that provide significant services to bands and to the publication of band music). Its convention rotates locations throughout the United States. This is the first time it’s being held in Indianapolis since 1982.

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Indy Reads Book Drive — Butler Collection on 2/24

Help “Indy Reads Books” Stock the Shelves

Donations of used books and media for our new retail outlet will support Indy Reads adult literacy programs! Start boxing up your gently used books, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks and video games, and help others learn to read.
 
Indy Reads, central Indiana’s only accredited adult literacy organization, is preparing to open a community bookstore. The store, to be called Indy Reads Books, will be located in downtown Indianapolis along The Cultural Trail. It will be the only bookstore in downtown Indianapolis and is scheduled for completion later this spring. Indy Reads Books will sell donated used books with proceeds benefitting Indy Reads’ literacy tutoring programs.

All types of books and media items, except for textbooks and magazines, are welcome at this time. Some items may be sold through a third-party service prior to the store opening. Book and media collection boxes are located at the following locations.

  • Indy Reads Office – 2450 N. Meridian St. (12 to 5 p.m. weekdays)
  • WFYI – 1630 N. Meridian St. (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays)
  • The Best Chocolate in Town – 880 Mass. Ave. (11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday)
  • Global Gifts – 446 Mass. Ave. (10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday)
  • The Athenaeum – YMCA – 401 E. Michigan St. (5 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 5. p.m. weekends)- this box will be available by 2/7/12

Book-drives will also take place on the Butler Campus (Feb. 24) and IUPUI (March 1). The local organization Giving Sum will also be conducting book-drives. Contributions are tax-deductible as provided by state and federal law. Indy Reads can not give receipts for books donated through the collection boxes. If donors wish to claim a deduction they will need to keep a record of the number of books and type (hardcover or paperback) donated at this time. Receipts will be available at the store after it opens.

Indy Reads Books will further support the mission of Indy Reads by providing private space for tutors and students to meet, training opportunities, and more. Initial funding for Indy Reads Books has been secured through generous grants from Margot Lacy Eccles, the Efroymson Fund, the Glick Fund, and Giving Sum.

Additional collection locations will be announced soon. For more information, or to inquire about maintaining a collection box at a business or other organization, please contact Travis DiNicola, Executive Director of Indy Reads, at 317-275-4035 or .

Indy Reads is unwavering in our mission to improve the literacy skills of adults in central Indiana who read or write at or below the sixth grade level. Our goal is to make Indianapolis 100 percent literate. First established more than 30 years ago, Indy Reads is the only organization in Indianapolis, accredited by ProLiteracy Worldwide, which uses volunteers to provide free, basic literacy tutoring to illiterate and semi-literate adults. Indy Reads programming includes one-on-one tutoring, small group sessions, English as a Second Language instruction, and “Literacy Labs” at neighborhood centers. Learn more at www.IndyReads.org.

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Why Indianapolis will be a great Super Bowl host…

Check out this article by Forbes on why Indy is an ideal Super Bowl host! Butler Tarkington even receives a shout out.

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Vehicle Break-ins on Butler Campus

TIMELY WARNING: Vehicle Break-ins
 
This Timely Warning is being issued by Benjamin Hunter, Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police.
 
The Butler University Department of Public Safety has received nine (9) reports of car break-ins since Nov. 7, 2011. In each case the vehicle was parked on campus property and valuables were taken.  Items targeted were GPS devices, electronics, computers and book bags.   In one case, suspects were videotaped making purchases at a Meijer and Wal-Mart store in Avon, Ind. using a stolen credit card.  A picture of the suspects is included in the attached PDF.

Crime Watch Bulletin 11-9-2011
 
If anyone has any information concerning the car break-ins, please contact Detective Bruce Allee at (317) 940-9396. In the interest of campus safety, University Police would like to remind everyone of the importance of protecting your personal valuables:
 
· Don’t leave valuables in your car even for a short time.
· Park in well lighted areas when possible.
· Don’t leave GPS holders, IPOD chords or other electronic chords visible in your vehicle as the perpetrator may break into the car to look for the electronic devices.
· Record and keep record of serial numbers and make and model of all electronic devices to assist in recovery if stolen.
· Report any suspicious activity to the university police immediately by calling 940-9999 from your cell phone or 9999 from a campus phone.
 
Timely Warnings are intended to make the campus community aware of a specific incident or information reported to have occurred to the University Police. Timely Warnings may be sent by various methods, including email, web postings, or text messages only when an incident does not constitute use of the Emergency Notification System (DawgAlert).

As a reminder, you can sign-up and update your contact information in DawgAlert by visiting this link
http://www.butler.edu/public-safety/dawg-alert/ <https://bumail.butler.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=9b4b6640722d491abbb77ec6cbf5a1b9&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.butler.edu%2fpublic-safety%2fdawg-alert%2f>
 
This timely warning is meant to fulfill the requirement of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. The Clery Act is a federal law that requires universities to disclose certain information about campus crime and security policies.
 
If you have questions, concerns or would like additional Crime Watch tips, please contact University Police at 317-940-9396.

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