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WEEK OF 11.29.04

KNAPP CENTER BENEFACTOR TO SPEAK AT IPRO DAY FRIDAY
Judges needed for Dec. 3 exhibits

Chicago entrepreneur and Board of Trustees member Jules F. Knapp, who recently donated $1 million to IIT to found the Jules F. Knapp Entrepreneurship Center, will deliver a Thought Leaders seminar as part of IPRO Day Friday, Dec. 3.

His talk, “The Uncommon Sense of Entrepreneurship” will begin at 3:15 p.m. in the HUB Auditorium. It will be followed by a speech by Microsoft Director of Development for the Central Region Todd Kimble. Kimble will discuss “Integrated Innovation: The Long Range Weather Forecast” before the awards are announced.

Each semester hundreds of students work across disciplines on interprofessional projects, and this semester’s presentation day is Friday. The Interprofessional Projects Program is still accepting judges for the presentations and exhibits from 35 teams covering a wide range of topics.

Judges review either a presentation or exhibit – presentation judges judge one track and exhibit judges judge two tracks. Visit http://www.iit.edu/~ipro for schedule and topic information.

To sign up to judge, contact Koren Aragaki at 312.567.6465 or iprooffice@iit.edu. When replying, please indicate preference of judging presentations or exhibits and in what tracks.

MIES SOCIETY TO SCREEN NEW DOCUMENTARY TOMORROW

The Mies van der Rohe Society presents the Chicago premiere of a new film documenting the work of Mies van der Rohe from 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 30 at the Harold Washington Library, Lower Level Theater, 400 S. State St.

“Regular or Super – Views on Mies van der Rohe” is a 56-minute film by Joseph Hillel and Patrick Demers that begins with Mies’ 1967 Esso Service Station in Montreal and features several buildings Mies designed throughout his career, including IIT’s S.R. Crown Hall. The film features interviews with architecture experts, many with connections to the Mies Society and IIT, and includes an interview with Rem Koolhaas. The film was honored as the best Canadian film at the International Festival of Films About Art.

Following the screening, the Mies Society hosts a cocktail reception and panel discussion featuring:
• Gene Summers, a Mies colleague and former dean of the College of Architecture
• Architect Stanley Tigerman
• Chicago Reader film and art critic Fred Camper
• Edward Lifson, arts, architecture and culture editor for Chicago Public Radio

Tickets cost $40 and Mies Society members receive one free ticket with purchase. For more information, contact Heidi Hauschulz at 312.567.5042.

HUMANITIES STUDENTS, FACULTY GET LESSON IN BRIDGE MOVEMENT

Students in Chicago History 352 and Humanities faculty members were invited to a special “behind the scenes” field trip to see one of Chicago’s most famous bridges “in action” Nov. 13.

The Lake Street Bridge, completed in 1916, is an early example of a trunnion bascule bridge in which the leaves divide and rotate in a vertical plane around a trunnion pin, thus opening the riverway for tall-masted boats to pass by. This bridge type is now used to span the Chicago River downtown, but the Lake Street Bridge is complex because it includes both a roadway and elevated train tracks.

Project engineer John Yonan of the Chicago Department of Bridges and Transportation led the group inside the Lake Street bridgetender’s house, which is normally closed to the public, and underneath the bridge, where he showed the gearing mechanisms and described how they operate. The group also got to see and hear the bridge open and close right before their eyes as the last sailboats of the season made their way from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River boatyard for the winter.

HOLIDAY PARTY SET FOR DEC. 10
Worklife committee hosts toy and toiletry drive

Mark your calendar, it’s almost time for the annual IIT/IITRI Holiday Party. This year’s gala will take place Friday, Dec. 10 from 3-6:30 p.m. in the Hermann Union Building on Main Campus. The party is open to faculty and staff only and each guest will receive two free drink tickets. After that beer and wine will be $1. The party also features a festive buffet and a DJ will be spinning tunes in the ballroom. Please bring a new unwrapped toy or personal toiletry to benefit a local women's shelter.

Registration is required to be eligible for the raffle and song requests are also available on the registration form, which is located at http://www.iit.edu/events/holidayparty/2004/index.php.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Last week, just before we left campus for the holiday break, I asked several members of our university community to share what they enjoyed most about Thanksgiving. Here are some of their comments:

“The shopping frenzy on Michigan Avenue the day after Thanksgiving. It gets you in the holiday spirit!” —Doug Geiger

“The highlight for my wife will be shopping at 6 a.m. on Friday at the Annual Glen Arbor Pajama Sale in Empire, Mich. You don’t shop for pajamas—you wear them and shop for items that are much more expensive.” —John Collins

“The fact that I can place the international students with an American family. Since I’m not American, and was an international student myself, I know how it feels when the whole country is on holiday and you don’t have anyone to celebrate with. International students really enjoy experiencing this holiday with an American family and learning about their culture.” —Krisztina Radi

“The Thanksgiving holiday means forgetting the weight and joining and enjoying family, friends and food.” —Etta Carter

“Thanksgiving is a very important holiday for my family. This is the time of year that we give thanks for health and happiness.” —Tasha Kincade

“Going home to eastern Kentucky never ceases to reset my perspective. We have a lot for which to be thankful, more than any of us truly realize. Seeing the stark contrast of beautiful landscape with economic and social depression back home helps me give thanks that I’ve been so blessed to have been given such wonderful opportunities.” —Richard Duncan

“Our Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, so I’m not planning much other than catching up!” —Tom Irving

“I came from a large family—seven children—who each had four or five children, so now there are 23 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. So the best thing about the holidays is that we all get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Love to see them all, could talk for hours, but really love to go home to peace and quiet!” —Kay Callan

If there is a topic you would like to see addressed in this column, please e-mail contactlew@iit.edu or send your topic via campus mail to PH223, Attention: Lew Contact Column.

HACIA FOUNDATION AWARDS ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS

The Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) Scholarship Foundation awarded three scholarships to College of Architecture students at its 2004 Scholarship Awards luncheon at the Chicago Hilton & Towers Nov. 4.

HACIA awarded Heidi Cervantes and Cesar Perea each $2,500 scholarships. Sam Vazquez III was awarded a total of $3,000 because he also received a special award of $500 for the Joe Claussen Award for Community Service. Speakers at the event were Adam Chavarria of the U.S. Department of Education; Dr. R. Michael Tanner, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at University of Illinois-Chicago; and U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).

The HACIA Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide undergraduate students financial awards to assist them with the completion of their construction-related degrees, and to encourage high school seniors to enter into higher education with a monetary support. The Foundation strives to promote awareness of professional career opportunities and continues to raise the bar in its goal to promote the future leaders of the Construction Industry.

W-2 FORMS COMING BY END OF JANUARY

In accordance with IRS guidelines, the 2004 W-2 forms will be mailed to your home address on or before Jan. 31, 2005. The Payroll Services Office asks that you verify your name, address and social security number as it appears on Web for Employees or your paycheck stub.

Your name and social security number must appear on Web for Employees or your paycheck exactly as it appears on your Social Security card. If they do not, contact the Payroll Services Office at payroll@iit.edu or correct your address on Web for Employees. Address Change Forms are also available at the Payroll Web site under the Controller's Office. Forward the completed form to the Payroll Service Office.

Questions? Contact Sharon Muldrow-Thomas at 312.567.3424 or muldrowthomas@iit.edu.

CLACK, WASAN TO DELIVER COMMENCEMENT ADDRESSES

IIT will celebrate its 132nd Fall Commencement beginning at 11 a.m., Sunday, Dec. 19, 2004, in the HUB Auditorium.

The Undergraduate Ceremony will be held first and last approximately 90 minutes. Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Hereck Clack will deliver the keynote speech. Vice President of International Affairs Darsh Wasan will deliver the keynote address at the Graduate Ceremony for master’s and doctoral candidates, which begins at 2 p.m. and runs approximately two hours.

If you wish to participate in either ceremony, visit the Graduation Web site, http://www.graduation.iit.edu for details. If you would like to volunteer to work at the commencement, contact Timothy Carroll at 312.567.6742 or at carroll@iit.edu.

OTS HOSTS BLACKBOARD HANDS-ON TRAINING

The Office of Technology Services will host hands-on training sessions for faculty, staff and teaching assistants to become acquainted with basic and advanced features of IIT’s course management system, Blackboard6.

The sessions will be Dec. 1, 2 and 3 on Main, Rice and Downtown campuses, respectively.

Introductory BLACKBOARD Hands-On Training
• Dec. 1, 1-2:30 p.m., Room 112F, Stuart Building
• Dec. 2, 1-2:30 p.m., Rice Campus

Advanced BLACKBOARD Hands-On Training
• Dec. 1, 3-4:30 p.m., Room 112F, Stuart Building
• Dec. 2, 3-4:30 p.m., Rice Campus
• Dec. 3, 3-4:30 p.m., Downtown Campus

To reserve a seat and for more information, contact Blackboard administration at bb@iit.edu