Character Psychology and Character Education,co-edited by F. Clark Power, professor in the Program of Liberal 91ÊÓƵ and concurrent professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, was recently published by Notre Dame Press.

This is an important new collection of essays about character and character education by some of the top scholars in the fields of ethical theory, moral development research, and education,said Don Collins Reed ofWittenbergUniversity.

The book is comprised of a collection of essays that bring moral philosophers, who embrace anaturalizedethics, into dialogue with academic psychologists, who favor apsychologizedmorality.

The volume explores such topics as constructs of moral selfhood, personality, and identity, as well as defensible models of character education.One of the volumes primary arguments is that problems of character education cannot be addressed until an adequate model of character psychology is developed.

In addition to theoretical essays, the book includes applied chapters that consider the challenge of character education in the context of schools, families, and organized sports.

Powers co-editor is Daniel K. Lapsley, professor and chair of the Department of Educational Psychology atBallStateUniversity.

* Contact: * _F. Clark Power, 574-631-7343 ** or F.C.Power.1@nd.edu _

TopicID: 12545

The Black Alumni of Notre Dame (BA of ND) has selected four University of Notre Dame juniors as its 2005-06 Frazier Thompson Scholarship winners.Selected for excellence in academics and service to the African-American and Notre Dame communities, each student will receive a $2,500 scholarship toward senior year expenses.

The Frazier Scholars have participated in a wide variety of activities including academic clubs, campus employment, cultural and ethnic clubs, dance, residence hall leadership, community service, faith-based organizations, musical groups, university committees, and varsity football.

The scholarship recipients are:

• Rhea Boyd, a self-designed Africana 91ÊÓƵ and Health major fromAkron,Ohio, who aspires to become a pediatrician

• Anne Marie Desir, a political science and French major fromMiami, who plans to attend graduate school in preparation for child advocacy work

• Prince Lowe, a mathematics and secondary education major fromDolton,Ill., who also is pursuing a bachelor degree in business administration and intends to earn a doctorate in mathematics and pursue a career in education

• Matt Mitchell, a political science and Spanish major fromMemphis, is a cornerback on the football team and plans to pursue immigration or human rights law after graduation.

The BA of ND established the fund in 1997 in honor of the late Frazier Thompson, a pre-professional major, track athlete and the Universitys first African-American alumnus who was graduated in 1947.Since 1998, the BA of ND has provided $47,500 of financial relief to 19 students.The endowment is now more than $900,000.

TopicID: 10942

You can never be too young to make a difference in your community.

That was the message sent by more than 800 young people representing a variety of schools, community agencies and faith groups who participated in National Youth Service Day (NYSD) 2005 inSouth Bendfrom April 15 to 17thanks to the mobilization efforts of Lead-ND, a student initiative at the University of Notre Dame.

The largest service event in the world, NYSD began in 1988 and is supported by Youth Service America (YSA), a national nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to strengthening the youth service movement.

Lead-ND, a fledgling organization founded by Notre Dame sophomore Steve Cartwright in March 2004, is devoted to providing equitable after-school opportunities for all ofSouth Bends youth population.The organization is in partnership with the Notre Dame Institute for Educational Initiatives and collaborates with the Center for Social Concerns and the Student Activities office.

Lead-ND consists of a 13-member Coordinating Committee that designs and implements the Youth Action Project.Ten Notre Dame students who comprise the Youth Action Project Volunteer Corps prepare lesson plans, facilitate discussions, supervise field trips and interact with 35 seventh- and eighth-grade students involved in the inaugural leadership development and service learning program at theJeffersonIntermediateCenter.

TheJeffersonstudents who participate in the program were chosen by school administrators for theirinformal leadership potential,said Meg Towle, a Notre Dame sophomore and Lead-NDs director of community outreach and partnerships and NYSD coordinator.

[The students selected] arent usually offered any opportunities to be a leader, whether thats the captain of the sports team or the best person in the class,said Sarah Miller, Notre Dame sophomore and a member of the Coordinating Committee.Theyre not those people.Theyre the people who in interpersonal relationships can be outgoing, extroverted and have an influence over their classmates.

The 10-week program consists of meeting with students one day a week for two hours to address nontraditional topics likeremixing leadership,street smarts,hip-hop activism,and utilizing media resources.

The idea is to appeal to the kids, appeal to what their gifts and their skills are already and what their experiences have taught them alreadybut to also take that and develop it in a somewhat academic but really fun way,Miller said.You are empowering them to be their own kind of leader rather than teaching them to be your kind of leader.

The results of the program thus far have been promising.The administration ofJeffersonIntermediateCenterrecently notified the Lead-ND Coordinating Committee that there has been an overall improvement in the third-quarter grades of students in the program.

This years Youth Action Project culminated with the implementation of student-designed community service projects during NYSD.

In addition to working with Jefferson students, Lead-ND took on the informal role of alead agencyto mobilize and organize the first NYSD activities for theSouth Bendcommunity.Lead-NDs responsibilities included promoting awareness for the event by contacting various schools and the media, registering group service projects through YSA, and hosting a rally the morning of April 16 for youths to celebrate their service with other young people in the area.

The rally featured music from DJ Branson Saks of 99.1 WSMK Radio, an appearance by South Bend Mayor Stephen Luecke, and performances by student steppers, singers and dancers.

To see Mayor Luecke there, to have someone in an authority position appreciate what theyre doing really validates their pursuit.It was an important element,Miller said.

Following the rally, the Jefferson students and members of the Lead-ND Volunteer Corps implemented service projects designed by their three different Research in Action Planning groups, each including three Notre Dame student leaders and approximately 10Jeffersonstudents.

The group Happy 2 Help worked on park beautification at Kelley andCoquillardParksby planting a tree, planting flower beds, cleaning glass and raking the grounds.Another group, Protected and Loved, helped theCASIECenter, an advocacy center for abused and neglected children, by shopping for toys, Spanish childrens books, alarm clocks and other supplies.They also reorganized and cleaned the center.The third group, Leaders 4 Life, conducted a meal campaign for the Center for the Homeless by shopping for materials, then making and delivering 120 lunches.

The diverse range of projects speaks not only to the needs of theSouth Bendcommunity but also to the insights of theJeffersonstudents, Miller said.It speaks volumes to what these kids know, which I think is testament to the validity of such a project,she said.

After the success of this years NYSD, Lead-NDs Coordinating Committee has already begun looking ahead to next year.Participants hope to expand the Youth Action Project to include not only Jefferson, but Edison andNavarreIntermediateCentersas well.They will begin planning for next years NYSD in the early fall.

We definitely plan on doing this again next year and taking it a bit further,Towle said.

TopicID: 10902

Ken Milani, professor of accountancy at the University of Notre Dame, was honored this week by the Internal Revenue Service with a special service award for his work as program coordinator of the Universitys Vivian Harrington Gray Tax Assistance Program (TAP)

TAP began in 1972 to provide free income tax preparation service to low-income individuals on a regularly scheduled basis at convenient locations.The program has since evolved to include both domestic and international tax assistance programs to serve the federal andIndianaincome tax return preparation needs of its clients.

The domestic program attends to the needs of many people in the off-campus Michiana community, and the international program provides services to Notre Dames foreign faculty, visiting scholars, researchers and international students.

One of many service-learning opportunities offered at Notre Dame and Saint Marys College, TAP is an important part of the educational preparation of students entering public accounting and tax practice.Certified public accountants from national, regional, and local firms also volunteer their time, along with faculty from Notre Dame and Saint Marys.

TAP received funding from the Vivian Harrington Gray endowment in 1999 to recognize Grays support of her childrens education in accountancy and her example as a volunteer to low-income individuals in the preparation of their taxes.

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1972, Milani earned bachelors and masters degrees fromBradleyUniversityand a doctoral degree from theUniversityofIowa.

TopicID: 10738

Rhona Free, a University of Notre Dame alumna and 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year, will deliver a lecture titledTsunamis, Cincotti, and Silk Sarongs:Bringing Life to the Classroom and the Classroom to Lifeat 3:30 p.m. April 27 (Wednesday) in the auditorium of Notre Dames Hesburgh Center for International 91ÊÓƵ.

Sponsored by theKanebCenterfor Teaching and Learning, the lecture will address how teaching style can be altered to improve student learning.A reception will immediately follow in the center atrium.

Free will discuss a teaching approach in accordance with the belief that students learn most when they have intrinsic motivation and can relate course content to personal interests.

A professor of economics atEasternConnecticutUniversity, Free was named one of four national winners of the 2004U.S.Professors of the Year Award, presented annually by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.She won in the Masters Universities and Colleges category, which includes more than 600 colleges and universities nationwide.

Free, a 1978 graduate ofSarahLawrenceCollege, earned her masters and doctoral degrees in economics from Notre Dame in 1980 and 1983.

TopicID: 10623

Author and scholar Adela Cortina will speak on the ethics of development and recognize the career achievements of University of Notre Dame economist Denis Goulet at 5 p.m. April 14 (Thursday) in the auditorium of the UniversitysHesburghCenterfor International 91ÊÓƵ.

Cortina will put forward a model of development ethics in a talk titledDevelopment Ethics:A Roadto Peace.

A professor in the Department of Ethics and Political Philosophy atUniversityofValenciainSpain, Cortina is known for her scholarship in the areas of discourse ethics, applied ethics, theory of democracy, theories of citizenship, business ethics, and human rights.Her recent books includePor Una Etica del Consumo (For an Ethics of Consumption),Razon Publica y Eticas Aplicadas (Public Reason and Applied Ethics),andConstruir Confianza (Building Confidence).

Goulet, the ONeill Professor Emeritus in Education for Justice in the Department of Economics, is a pioneer in the interdisciplinary study of development ethics.He is the author of more than 165 articles and monographs and 11 books, includingDevelopment Ethics:A Guide to Theory and Practice,The Cruel Choice,andA New Moral Order.

Goulet is a faculty fellow in both the Kellogg Institute for International 91ÊÓƵ and the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91ÊÓƵ at Notre Dame.The institutes announced their co-sponsorship of the lecture in Goulets honor when he retired last year.

TopicID: 10483

Members of Notre Dames Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) class of 2004 proved they could do more than crunch numbers.Just ask the students and staff ofSt. JohnVianneyPrimary 91ÊÓƵinBelize City,Belize, which just last month received a big check, thanks to the studentsheartfelt efforts.

Last February, the 93 members of the class held a Valentines Day flower sale that raised $2,300 in profits and an additional $700 in donations for a Catholic primary school located in the Port Loyola community, one of the citys two poorest and most crime-stricken neighborhoods.

Linda Espahbodi, director of the program, attributes the success of the fundraising effort to the collaboration between the programs staff and students.Steve Matzke and Vicki Holaway served as the principal staff organizers, and student organizers included Elizabeth Kuck, Toby Biebl, Brian McKinnon, Kristopher Allen and Grayson Allen.

In a situation that is very different from the classroom setting, you see different strengths come out from different people,Espahbodi said.[The flower sale] was so different for them.Its not accounting; its doing something thats extremely different.And I think part of the whole learning process is getting people out of their comfort zones and letting them grow.

The flowers for the sale were supplied by Miguel Saavedra of Flowerfarmstogo.com.The money will benefit the Charles T. Hunter Commission for Social Outreach atSt. JohnsCollegeinBelize Cityfor initiatives to assistSt. JohnVianneyPrimary 91ÊÓƵ.

According to Dianne Lindo, director of the Hunter Commission and former teacher at St. John Vianney, the majority of the primary schools almost 750 students come from needy and impoverished families; many live in dysfunctional homes.The schools facilities are very basic and often inadequately accommodate both the number of students and their learning needs, Lindo said.

The donation from the MSA class will go toward a number of improvements for the school, including the purchase of sturdy picnic tables with roofs for outdoor lessons away from poorly-ventilated and overcrowded classrooms, gift certificates to each classroom teacher for much-needed school supplies, and funding for field trips to afford students a nature experience right in their own country.

The contribution marks the first time Notre Dame MSA students have collaborated to raise money for a charitable cause.Espahbodi traced the roots of the idea for the students to get involved in community service to the words of John Affleck-Graves, now the Universitys executive vice president, to the Notre Dame Accountancy Advisory Board in April 2003.In his talk,Gravesdiscussed the three missions of the University:teaching, research, and community service.

When I looked at it… here in the business school, we have the teaching, we have the research, but there are opportunities for community service,Espahbodi said.And I thought to myself, someday well have that opportunity come up.So that was the seed that was planted in my brain a couple years ago, and I always thought, ‘How can we bring this part into our program as well?That was really the initiator.

The opportunity arrived in February 2004 when Espahbodi became aware of the needs ofSt. JohnVianneyPrimary 91ÊÓƵthrough contact with Lindo, a friend and high school classmate from St. Catherines Academy inBelize City, where Espahbodi grew up.When Lindo met with the students at Notre Dame and told them of her work inBelize, the students asked how they could assist her efforts.

Espahbodi expressed hope that this type of community service could continue for future MSA classes.

It takes a lot of effort from staff, and in some cases faculty as well, to kind of push the initiative forward,she said.So we need some consensus building to continue in this direction.It all depends on when the class comes in, what it is they would like to doÂ… to leave as their legacy.

TopicID: 10464

The competition was part of the IHA International Home and Housewares Show, the worlds largest home goods and house wares marketplace showcasing thousands of new products and designs.

Selim Nurudeen fromFriendswood,Texas, took second place and received a $1,600 cash prize for his product designClean Sweep,an innovative broom that deals with the inefficiencies of using a dust pan by integrating a vacuum function into the body of a broom.

Michael Elwell fromAmherst,Ohio, finished in third place and won $1,000 for his product designMagnificare,a device that helps people with arthritic hands open push-and-turn prescription bottles and also includes a magnifying glass to help read labels.

Elwell also was recently selected as an Industrial Designers Society of America merit award winner and will compete against students from nine other schools in the Midwest district conference April 7 to 9 at the Champaign-Urbana campus of theUniversityofIllinois.

The studentsdesigns were among the top six designs awarded at the IHA Student Design Competition, chosen from more than 200 product concepts from college students nationwide.Their designs were developed during the fall 2004 semester in a course titledProduct Design Researchtaught by Paul Down, associate professor of industrial design at Notre Dame.

The fact that were both from the same school and placed in such a tough competition, that says that its definitely quality over quantity here,Nurudeen said.

Nurudeen and Elwell benefited from the insight and advice of fellow senior Bradley Jolitz, who won the IHA competition in 2004.

Down has seen a number of Notre Dame students place in the IHA competition since they first began participating in 1997.

We engage in this process because its a great portfolio builder,Down said.Down was pleased with the results of this years competition and attributed Nurudeen and Elwells success to hard work andtenacity.

Those two students have made remarkable gains in their proficiencies,Down said.Students like them are the reason Im teaching.

TopicID: 10424

Amy Domini, founder and chief executive officer of Domini Social Investments, will receive the Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Ethics in Business on Tuesday (April 5) from the University of Notre Dames Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business and Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide.

Named in honor of Notre Dames president emeritus, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., the award will be presented at5 p.m.in the Jordan Auditorium of the Mendoza College of Business.The ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will include talks by Domini and Robert Audi, David E. Gallo Professor of Business Ethics at Notre Dame, as part of the colleges Frank Cahill Lecture Series.

Domini, named one of the top 100 innovators in money and finance by Time Magazine, has worked for more than 20 years as an investment professional.With two partners, she made ethical investing a mass-market option by setting up the Domini 400 Social Index, a benchmark for responsible social investment portfolios.She is a founder of KLD Research&Analytics Inc., specialists in corporate accountability research, and has served as a private trustee with the fiduciary services company Loring, Wolcott&Coolidge Office since 1987.

Domini Social Investments is an investment firm specializing exclusively in socially responsible investing that manages more than $1.8 billion in assets for individual and institutional investors who wish to integrate social and environmental criteria into their investment decisions.

Domini earned her bachelors degree in international and comparative studies fromBostonUniversity.She is the author ofSocially Responsible Investing:Making a Difference and Making MoneyandThe Challenges of Wealthand a co-author of

Investing for Good,The Social Investment Almanac,andEthical Investing.She is a frequent guest commentator on CNBCsTalking Stocksand various other radio and television shows.

Audi is a professor in both the management and philosophy departments and is internationally known for his contributions to ethics, epistemology and philosophy of mind and action.His lecture is titledEthical Leadership and Leadership in Ethics.

The Cahill Lecture Series at Notre Dame was established by the family of 1959 University alumnus and benefactor Frank Cahill to honor his memory and commitment to ethical behavior and integrity.

TopicID: 10365

Jorge Chapa, professor and founding director of the Latino 91ÊÓƵ Program at Indiana University at Bloomington, will deliver a lecture based on his bookApple Pie and Enchiladas:Latino Newcomers to the Rural Midwestat 5 p.m. April 6 (Wednesday) in the Hesburgh Center auditorium at the University of Notre Dame.

A reception at 4:30 p.m. will precede the lecture, which is the final talk in the Labor, Education, and Immigration Public Policy lecture series sponsored by Notre Dames Institute for Latino 91ÊÓƵ and Kellogg Institute for International 91ÊÓƵ.

The lecture will summarize the findings of Chapas co-authored book, which examines immigration policies and politics in theMidwest.

Much of Chapas recent research has focused on methods of increasing the successful participation of Latinos in higher education.As a faculty member of the LBJ 91ÊÓƵ of Public Affairs at theUniversityofTexasfrom 1988 to 1999, Chapa worked with other faculty members and legislators to formulate the Top Ten Percent Plan, which guaranteed seniors who graduated in the top percentile of their class admission to a public university of their choice.

Chapa is currently a member of a National Research Council Panel reviewing Census procedures.His education includes a bachelors degree from theUniversityofChicagoand graduate degrees in sociology and demography from theUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.

TopicID: 10322

Returning University of Notre Dame graduates will showcase their work at the 7 ^th annual Alumni Design Conference on Friday (April 1) in 200 Riley Hall.The talks are free and open to the public.

The schedule is as follows:

• 9 a.m.- Opening remarks, Robert Sedlack, Department of Art, Art History and Design

• 9:15 a.m.- Christina Kruse, a 1995 alumna, brand planner, Kaiser Permanente,Los Angeles

• 10 a.m. – John Kim95, graduate student, 91ÊÓƵ for American Crafts, RochesterInstituteofTechnology,Rochester,N.Y.

• 11 a.m. – Danyell M. Wright95, graphics supervisor, United Advertising Media,Cincinnati

• 11:45 a.m.- KT Meaney94, designer, Terms and Conditions,Chicago

TopicID: 10302

Two first-year students at the University of Notre Dame have received Thurgood Marshall Scholarships from Notre Dames Black Cultural Arts Council.

The award recipients are Nakya Reeves fromMableton,Ga., and Tristan Van Voorhis fromGeorgetown,N.Y.The students were honored in February during the Black Cultural Arts Councils Black Koffeehouse, a cultural event featuring the talents of students ranging from poetry to musical performances.

Established in 1993 to honor the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the scholarships provide financial assistance to students who are African-American and active in the Notre Dame community.Two scholarships are awarded each year to one man and one woman.

The Black Cultural Arts Council has awarded $10,000 since the creation of the scholarship.

TopicID: 10083

Lee Hamilton, vice chair of the 9-11 commission, will lay out a blueprint for effective counter-terrorism strategy and U.S. foreign policy in lectures March 22 and 23 (Tuesday and Wednesday) at the University of Notre Dame.

The March 22 lecture,Fighting Terrorism,will begin at 4:15 p.m. in the Decio Mainstage Theatre of theDeBartoloCenterfor the Performing Arts.The second lecture,How to Use American Power,will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the auditorium of theHesburghCenterfor International 91ÊÓƵ.

Sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91ÊÓƵ, the talks comprise the 11 ^th annual Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Lectures in Ethics and Public Policy and are free and open to the public.The lectures will be Webcast live at mms://streaming.nd.edu/hamilton .

Hamiltonwas vice chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon theUnited States, which issued the influential and best-selling9-11 Reporton the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Since 1999,Hamiltonhas been president and director of theWoodrowWilsonInternationalCenterfor Scholars.Previously, he representedIndianas 9 ^th District in the U.S. Congress for 34 years.Hamiltonserved as chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.He also chaired the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions withIran.

TopicID: 10063

Jennifer Bailey, a masters of business administration student, and Cameron McHale and Shannon Rainer, both in the masters of science in accountancy program, were honored for their case,Starbucks Corporation:Can Customers Breastfeed in a Coffee Shop?The students will share a $1,500 prize, to be awarded at the Page Societys annual Spring Seminar April 7-8 (Thursday-Friday) at theSt.RegisHotelinNew York City.

The grand prize was awarded to a student and faculty advisor from theTuck91ÊÓƵatDartmouthCollege.A student and faculty advisor from theDarden91ÊÓƵat theUniversityofVirginiaplaced first, and a student and faculty advisor from the Hankamer 91ÊÓƵ of Business atBaylorUniversityplaced third.

Prize winners were selected from among 42 entries, 22 from business schools and 20 from communication/journalism schools.The record number of submissions included entries fromAustralia,Canada,Singapore,Turkeyand theUnited States.

The sponsoring organizations for this years competition were the Arthur W. Page Society, a select membership organization for senior public relations and corporate communications executives, and the Institute for Public Relations, an independent foundation dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations.

TopicID: 9862

Nancy Folbre, professor of economics at theUniversityofMassachusettsatAmherst, will deliver the Provosts Distinguished Womens Lecture at 7 p.m. March 14 (Monday) in 126 DeBartolo Hall at the University of Notre Dame.

TitledThe Great Imaginary Strike of Parents and Other Care Workers:An Economic Scenario,the lecture is free and open to the public.

An internationally recognized scholar in the area of feminist economics and the economics of caring labor, Folbre is president of the International Association for Feminist Economics.She is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, a grant from the National Science Foundation, and a post-doctoral fellowship fromYaleUniversity.She has been a consultant to the International Labor Office, the World Bank, the Population Council, and theRoyalSwedishAcademyof Science.

Folbre is the author of several books, includingThe Invisible Heart:Economics and Family ValuesandWho Pays for the Kids?Gender and the Structures of Constraint.She has published widely in many leading journals, including the American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Feminist Economics, Journal of Economic History, and History of Political Economy.

TopicID: 9842

Thomas J. Harvey has been appointed director of the Master of Science in Administration (MSA) Program in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.

Harveymost recently served as senior vice-president of the member service division at theAlliancefor Children and Families inMilwaukee.He also taught in a certificate program on nonprofit management for theUniversityofWisconsinatGreen Bay.

Toms experience, network, energy, and vision will be a tremendous asset for the MSA Program and for efforts of theCollegeofBusinessand Notre Dame to serve the needs of the nonprofit sector,said Carolyn Y. Woo, Martin J. Gillen Dean of the College.

Established in 1954, the MSA program is designed to hone the administrative leadership skills of people working in social service organizations. The program was restructured in 2001 to include a core curriculum of courses on grant writing, development, financial management, marketing, accounting, human resource management, communications, and ethics, all tailored for the not-for-profit sector.

Harvey, who has held a variety of professional and social service positions for 35 years, served as president of Catholic Charities USA from 1982 to 1992.In 2003, the Council on Social Work Education namedHarveyone of the 51 leaders in the field of social work during the past 50 years.

Harveyearned his bachelors degree in philosophy fromSt. CharlesBorromeoCollegeinPhiladelphia, masters degrees in sacred theology from theGregorianUniversityinRomeand in social planning and community organization fromColumbiaUniversity, and a certificate in nonprofit management from theWharton91ÊÓƵat theUniversityofPennsylvania. **

TopicID: 9823

Shelece Easterday, a 2004 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, has been named theMidwestwinner of a graduate student essay contest, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic 91ÊÓƵ (AAASS).

AAASS is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge aboutRussia,Central Eurasia, and Eastern Central Europe.There are four AAASS graduate student essay competitions annually, covering theNew England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, and Rocky Mountain/Western regions.

Each regional competition selects one winner for an outstanding essay by a graduate student in Slavic studies.The contest is open to essays that focus on languages, linguistics, history, politics, culture, or literature.

Easterdays essay,Murdering the Muse:The Romantic Poets Rebellion against the Source of His Inspiration,examines subliminal violence in the male poets relationship to his female muse in works by John Keats and several Russian Romantic poets.Although the contests winning essays most often are chapters of dissertations in progress or recently completed by graduate-level students, Easterday composed her essay for an undergraduate course,Russian Romanticism,in the fall semester of 2003.

The other three winners of the 2004 regional competitions were students ofBostonCollegeand Brandeis andColumbiaUniversities.

TopicID: 9782

Digger Phelps, former mens basketball coach at the University of Notre Dame, andChicagoactress Susan Hart will co-star inLove Letters,a play by A.R. Gurney, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 24) at Notre Dames Washington Hall.

The performance will raise funds forSouth BendsLoganCenter, which provides resources and opportunities for people with disabilities.

Phelps has been involved with events and fund raising forLogansince his first year at Notre Dame in 1971.He currently works as an analyst for ESPN but has continued his involvement withLogan.

Hart has appeared in the past two Summer Shakespeare productions at Washington Hall.

Love Letters,which debuted on Broadway in 1989, traces the friendship of two people over the course of 50 years and focuses entirely on the two actors reading their correspondence aloud.

Tickets for the play are $10 for students and $20 for adults and are available through Notre DamesLaFortuneStudentCenterbox office or by calling 574-631-8128.

More information on theLoganCenteris available at .

TopicID: 9715

David R. Prentkowski, director of food services at the University of Notre Dame, has been awarded the prestigious International Foodservice Manufacturers Associations (IFMA) Silver Plate Award in the college and university division.He will be honored at the IFMAs 51 ^st annual Gold and Silver Plate Celebration on May 23 (Monday) at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers inChicago.

The Silver and Gold Plate Awards are considered the highest honors in the food service industry.An independent jury selects Silver Plate winners who are outstanding operators in nine categories based upon nominations from colleagues, supplier-partners, and employees.The jury will announce one Silver Plate honoree as the Gold Plate winner at the award celebration.

The criteria for the awards are:strong leadership in food quality and menu, creation of successful employee training programs and providing superior career development opportunities, utilization of strong financial and operational management techniques, promotion of the food service industry, and community service.

People in the industry often say that Dave is a progressive thinker who has created numerous benchmarks for excellence,said one nominator about Prentkowski.

A native ofSouth Bend, Prentkowski was appointed Notre Dames director of food services in 1990 after previously directing food service operations for theUniversityofUtahand theUniversityofMichigans housing division.He holds bachelors and masters degrees in restaurant, hotel, and institutional management fromPurdueUniversity.

TopicID: 9563

Jason DeParle, a senior writer at The New York Times, will discuss his book,American Dream:Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nations Drive to End Welfare,at the University of Notre Dame at 3 p.m. Feb. 24 (Thursday) in 102 DeBartolo Hall.

Sponsored by Notre Dames Department of Economics and Policy 91ÊÓƵ and the Robinson Community Learning Center, DeParles talk is titledWelfare to Work:A Closer Look at a Diverse Population in Transition. **

Published by Viking Books in 2004,American Dreamfollows the lives of threeMilwaukeewomen in one extended family as legislative changes are pushed through Congress andWisconsinin the wake of a 1996 law removing 9 million women and children from welfare rolls.Drawing on more than a decade of reporting, DeParle traces the familys story back six generations to a common ancestor, aMississippislave, to exploreAmericas struggle with poverty and dependency.

According to Nathan Glazer, professor of sociology atHarvardUniversity, DeParles bookwill become a classic account of the lives of the American poor.

The author ofDead Man Walking,Sister Helen Prejean, praisedAmerican Dreamsasthe Les Miserables of our day.Ken Auletta of The New Yorker said,In this book, Jason DeParle demonstrates why he is the foremost poverty reporter inAmerica.

A graduate ofDukeUniversity, DeParle won a George Polk Award in 1999 for his reporting on the welfare system and was a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.A frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine, his articles includeWelfare to Work:A Sequel,What Welfare to Work Really Means,andRaising Kevion.

TopicID: 9543