Story Ideas

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Orphan Stories! Who Wants ’Em?

Here are ideas for stories that are worth doing (maybe). Please adopt these orphans. If there is time pressure, that is noted by a RED *.

USU
* • Profile: Shane Graham, ENG associate prof, launches Radio Cosmopolis on Utah Public Radio. Professor as DJ. (Google Cosmopolis, or find FB page.) Features wide range of musical styles: afrobeat, gypsy punk, reggae, bhangra, Senegalese rap, Thai funk, Cuban jazz, Celtic electronica, tango, Bollywood, dubstep, trance.... What IS that stuff, and how does he hold it together?
• Sean Michael, department head in Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning (LAEP), on where LAEP will find its new home with the breakup of HASS.
• Student Evaluations: Are they worth anything? Teaching expert Peter Seldin told department heads Friday that student evaluations are weighted at most 10% in many university promotion/tenure decisions for professors, but USU seems to have little else for faculty evaluation.
* • USU Research On The Hill: USU students showcase their research for Utah legislators at the Utah Capitol in SLC on Jan. 28. Contact: Professor Joyce Kinkead.
* • Utah Public Radio—national correspondents coming: Mandalit del Barco & ??? I forget
• Cadaver Lab (BNR 320) & USU student club Medical Unity (medicalunity@gmail.com) • Ryan Barry, club president.
• Other interesting USU clubs?
• USTAR Space Weather Center (TP has press release)
• Utah Climate Center—Professor Robert Gillies
• USU Center for Integrated BioSystems (CIB) becomes part of U.S. Department of Energy Genome project. Profs Jacob Parnell & Giovanni Rompato (TP has press release)
• MARCH is Women's History Month. Women & Gender Studies Program plans a pageant for students/faculty/staff/community to dress as favorite woman in history or pop culture. American Idol-type judging. See Brenda Cooper (or Pease)
• Profile interesting faculty? Who?
--Cathy Ives, general managr of Utah Public Radio
--Chris Cokinos, ENG, writer on climate/environment and editor of a writing journal (I forget which).
--Christie Fox, director of the Honors Program
--Penny Byrne retires in May after 26 (?) years teaching broadcast @ USU. Talk to her former students, on-the-air TV news people....
• American Historical Assn. (AHA) focuses on USU History Department w/ video presentations. See department head Norm Jones and Professor David Lewis.
• LEAP (Learning Excellence & American Promise) is a program of the American Assn. of Colleges & Universities for excellence in liberal education. USU is one of a dozen national models. See Norm Jones, History Dept.
• Extra-Curricular Education: Internships. For many students, the high point of their university experience comes when they get off campus and apply what they’ve learned in the real world: Internship stories. Talk to students, faculty internship advisers, and employers.

Community
* • The Haiti Connection—Local angle(s) on the Haiti tragedy? Students, locals with family, friends, other connections w/ haiti? Check Internation Student Assn., Internation Students/Scholars Office (TSC), faculty. Nick Morrison (Music) once worked in Haiti.
• Winter sports: See Tom Wharton spread inSLTrib on snowmobiling at Beaver Mtn. (1/17/10); Related: Students who don’t go to classes much during ski season?
• Recycling (April?)
• Comedy Night (Feb. 23?) (Lottie?)
• Air Quality (Cassi)
• Harlem Night (?)

Other
*• Reed Cowan, JCOM 1997 grad and Miami TV news anchor, director of “8: The Mormon Proposition,” premiering at Sundance today (1/24). Hottest documentary @ the festival. (see separate post)