Hutton Honors College: Alumni E-Newsletter

Upcoming alumni events

HHC Dedication Ceremony & Reception
When: Wednesday, April 8, 1 p.m.
Where: Indiana Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium
Reception following the ceremony at the Hutton Honors College.
Please join us for the official dedication and celebration of the new Hutton Honors College. A ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Whittenberger Auditorium. Join us immediately following for a reception and tours at the Hutton Honors College. We hope to celebrate with each of you.

Alumni Reception & Musical Performance
When: Saturday, April 18, 3 p.m.
Join us for an alumni reception and tours of the new building. Jacobs School of Music Bassist Jeremy Allen will present "Saying Something: A Jazz Musician’s Conversation with the Past, Present, and Future." Enjoy food, beverages, and the company of fellow alumni. Tickets cost $10, payable at the door.
R.S.V.P.: Reply to Lisa by Monday, April 13, at lbluder@indiana.edu or (812) 855-7685.

HHC, IU mourn friend and benefactor Edward L. Hutton (1919-2009)

Indiana University officials noted the passing of Cincinnati-area business leader and philanthropist Edward L. Hutton with expressions of condolences and appreciation for his longstanding support of IU and passion for helping students. Hutton, who died Tuesday, March 3, at the age of 89, was a longtime benefactor of Indiana University and the Hutton Honors College.

Matthew Auer, dean of the Hutton Honors College, called Hutton’s generosity "bottomless."

"Mr. Hutton understood that one’s college years are transformative, particularly when the right kinds of opportunities are made available," said Auer. "His International Experiences Program sends more than 600 IU students abroad each year. I can testify that Mr. Hutton’s student grantees are forever changed, and always for the better, by their overseas experiences."

"Ed knew that his IU education and the international perspective it helped give him had enabled him to achieve many successes in his life, and he wanted to extend similar opportunities for success to as many IU students as possible," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie,"… I knew him well personally, and he genuinely exemplified the best of Hoosier values—modest and unassuming, but hard-working and possessed of a penetrating intelligence, with a broad and tolerant understanding of the world. He was one of IU’s greatest internationalists."

In 2003, Hutton gave the university $9 million to establish the International Experiences Program, and IU subsequently named the Honors College for him. The university is matching the interest income from his gift. He also funded the new, $3.5 million Hutton Honors College Building at 811 E. Seventh St. that opened for classes in January.

The beneficiary of an IU scholarship and mentoring from caring faculty members, Hutton was also generous in funding other student scholarships and endowed faculty professorships at IU through the IU Foundation. He chaired the IU Foundation’s volunteer fund-raising committee that raised $23 million for the Herman B Wells Scholars Program in the 1980s. Hutton received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from IU in 1992 and the IU Foundation’s Herman B Wells Visionary award in 2002. Most recently, Hutton supported the university to create a Political and Civic Engagement Program (still in the exploratory phases but likely to launch next fall) to support students with an interest in running for public office.

Hutton grew up near Bloomington in the town of Bedford, Ind., during the Great Depression. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from IU, he served in the U.S. Army in Germany. After the war, he worked in Berlin in the occupational government’s Export/Import Division, negotiating trade agreements with several countries to help rebuild the German economy. In addition to his generosity to IU, Hutton supported many organizations in his hometown of Bedford, including the Lawrence County Museum of History and the Edward L. Hutton Research Library. He also provided $800,000 in scholarships for Bedford North Lawrence High School students over the years.

"Mr. Hutton’s wonderful gifts to IU, including endowed professorships, the International Experiences Program, and the gorgeous new home for the Hutton Honors College in the heart of campus, will be key enablers of scholarship, academic excellence, and student development at IU for many generations," said Auer.

"Ed Hutton had an incredible can-do approach to life and learning. If we can channel just a fraction of his energy, wisdom, and commitment to academic excellence and public service in the lessons we teach at the Hutton Honors College, we will be successful."

More online:

• View a video about Edward L. Hutton from fall 2004:
  http://www.indiana.edu/~iubhonor/hutton/video.php


• Students remember Edward L. Hutton:
  http://www.indiana.edu/~iubhonor/hutton/students.php


• Read student essays from the International Experiences Program:
  http://www.indiana.edu/~iubhonor/hds/recipients/iep_essays.php


• See the Indiana Daily Student article:
  http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=66701&comview=1

Weather and Your Environment Program (WAYE) Helps Us Go Green One Day at a Time

"Going green" has become a popular movement, but sometimes being environmentally conscious seems difficult, with all this talk of solar panels and expensive new cars. A substantial amount of reliable research really does exist, providing simple ways to save energy and money.

Using this data, SPEA graduate and HHC alumna Sarah Bielski, BS’08, compiled a list of easy, weather-specific tips for saving energy and resources. TV meteorologists at 85 TV stations in 24 states are now using her Weather and Your Environment Program.

The program’s more than 500 tips are divided by types of weather — sunny, dry, hot, cold — and other environmental conditions — air pollution, water pollution — so that meteorologists can use it as a quick reference tool as they prepare their broadcasts. Since they only have about 15-20 seconds to offer this extra information, many stations post the tip on screen and have the meteorologist explain it briefly.

Bielski has been interested in environmental issues since high school. "It got to the point in high school where I was kind of crazy," she says. "I would go around at lunch and ask people to give me their plastic containers so I could recycle them, and my mom called me the garbage lady because I would have so many recyclables in my trunk." This interest in environmental concerns, combined with help from her father, a meteorologist in Louisville, Ky., sparked the awareness of the need for a resource like WAYE.

Bielski started looking for her weather-related tips almost a year and a half ago while she was still pursuing her undergraduate degree at IU. "A lot of [my research] was looking at books, looking at EPA-related Web sites, at verifiable sources," she says. "A lot of it was asking utility companies, because they can actually do research that’s backed up instead of just going on the Internet and looking on a random site." Bielski also interned at the EPA and used her connections there to find out about current research in various areas like air pollution.

In order to be able to finish her research and complete the program, she applied for (and received) a grant from the HHC.

"I probably wouldn’t have finished it without the grant," she says. "[Having the grant] really made me work to do something good." She completed the program in fall 2008, and her father helped garner interest from television stations across the country, including networks like The Weather Channel and CNN.

"[Some people] hear about my program and ask me why I did this," Sarah says. "But if you can relate protecting the environment with saving money and then relate that to the forecast too, [being environmentally conscious is] real easy." — story by Callie Taylor

Yu earns prestigious British scholarship

A 19-year-old HHC student and Wells Scholar who will soon graduate Phi Beta Kappa with majors in chemistry, mathematics, and Germanic studies has been named a 2009 Marshall Scholar by the British government.

The scholarship — one of 40 awarded this year to students in the U.S. — will allow Yun William Yu to travel to Britain and earn master’s degrees over the next two years in computational biology at the University of Cambridge and biomedical physical chemistry at Imperial College London.

Described by his professors as "the best IU has to offer" and as "a modern Renaissance Man in development," Yu will be the first undergraduate at Indiana University to write an honors thesis in mathematics. Both a Herman B Wells and a Barry M. Goldwater scholar, Yu entered IU at age 15 after graduating from Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Ind.

The distinction of being a Marshall Scholar is an important credential in the winners’ subsequent academic and professional careers. Prominent past Marshall Scholars include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Duke University President Nan Keohane, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Tom Friedman of The New York Times and Dan Yergin, and noted inventor Ray Dolby.

"William’s precise understanding of his abilities and assured command of the disciplines he is studying outweigh many graduate students and young faculty members," said Indiana University President Michael McRobbie in a letter nominating Yu for the honor.

Following his overseas studies, Yu hopes to return to the U.S. and embark upon an MD/PhD program. He eventually wants a career in interdisciplinary research that would one day help achieve significant breakthroughs in the treatment of chronic pain.

"One of my career ambitions involves integrating several disparate disciplines into something novel," he said. "The Marshall Scholarship will provide me the opportunity to study under the leading experts in those fields, making the connections with potential collaborators I later will need in order to pursue interdisciplinary research."

In addition to his academic credentials and volunteerism, Yu has been a performer with the IU Swing Dance club, a singer with Collins Living-Learning Center’s a cappella group The Sexy Flatts, and served as coordinator on the Labyrinth literary magazine. He serves on the Board of Aeons, the student research and advisory board to the IU Office of the President.

"I have no memory of any student in my 19 years at Indiana University as fully talented as William when measured by the totality of their virtues," said Kent Orr, a professor in the IU Department of Mathematics.

Yu credits his parents with instilling a foundation of curiosity and love of learning, and he recognized two IU professors for their mentoring, the late professor J. Michael Walker of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Orr.

Yu is expected to begin his studies abroad in the fall of 2009. Valued at over $60,000, the scholarship pays fees, living expenses, fares to and from the U.S., and supplies grants for books, research, daily travel and for a thesis. He becomes IU’s 17th Marshall Scholar winner since the award's inception in 1954 and the second in as many years.

Alumnus propelled by IEP grant

Bloomington native Patrick Spencer, BA’02, was among the first recipients of an HHC International Experiences Program grant. He spent the 2000–01 school year in China.

Following graduation Spencer spent a few years working in China, primarily in Beijing, initially with an information technology trade organization, later with a California-based software company. He then returned to the U.S. to study law. A recent graduate of Stanford Law School, Spencer is now an associate with Davis Polk & Wardwell in Menlo Park, Calif., and lives in San Francisco. He talks here about how the IEP grant helped foster his career:

"Learning a foreign language, which the IEP helped to make possible, was one of the most rewarding pursuits of my academic career.

My language skills have not only given me a window into the culture and people of one of the most populous and historically rich, not to mention economically significant, countries in the world, but they have opened numerous opportunities in my academic and professional career. I landed my first two jobs out of IU largely on the basis of my Chinese skills. Both of these jobs required language proficiency, but also entailed much more. In that regard, Chinese has been a springboard to developmental opportunities that would have most assuredly gone to other more qualified individuals, but for my Chinese-language skills.

My language skills and professional experience abroad, furthermore, have helped to distinguish my resume in an increasing academically and professionally competitive world. Language skills are both an interesting talking point, and more importantly, a valuable skill that is complementary to just about any kind of skill set.

As a law student, my Chinese skills in combination with my legal training enabled me to do research on cutting-edge China-related legal issues of sizeable import and to work on cross-border transactions as a legal intern abroad in Hong Kong. Now as an attorney, I have no doubt that my language skills will continue to enhance my career.

Since Spencer helped initiate the Edward L. Hutton International Experiences Program, almost 3,000 other students have received IEP awards.

HHC Extracurricular Events

When the Hutton Honors College made its new home in December, it took along the Brown County Room sign and 20 years’ worth of memories of extracurricular programs in the converted two-car garage at the old 324 N. Jordan location. Exceptional people — including Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur "genius" grant recipients, ambassadors, writers, scientists, scholars, composers, performers, political leaders, faculty, staff, and great students — gathered there, often over pizza, for penetrating and engaging discussions, as well as light-hearted conversations, games, and other events.

With the new semester, however, new memories are being made at a rapid pace at the new Hutton Honors College. On the first day of classes an informal open house for Honors students and faculty provided a chance to explore all the spaces. The Great Room — with its wood floor and paneling, fireplace, high ceiling, and high tech — provided a perfect setting for students, faculty, and staff to gather on Inauguration Day, a very cold January 20, to watch history unfold in Washington, D.C.

ABE at IU, a new student organization dedicated to addressing political, social, and economic issues, collaborated with the HHC and other units to host major Lincoln Bicentennial events, including a panel discussion of the "Expansion of Presidential Power from Lincoln to Obama" that included Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie Savage and IU historian Michael Grossberg.

The impact of Charles Darwin was an important part of the conversation at many of the panels, workshops, suppers, and other events held throughout a 10-day February residency of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. Known internationally, the dance company engaged students, faculty, and the community in a discussion of science, ethics, the consequences of advancing biotechnology through performance. The HHC hosted a full day’s worth of events, including an interdisciplinary panel discussion on "Perfection and Imperfection in the Age of the Genome," with Liz Lerman, Provost and former HHC Dean Karen Hanson, and faculty from across the campus.

Students also joined Lerman and members of the IU and Bloomington communities for a discussion of a proposed Arts Corps and, later, a dinner with Lerman and members of her company about their innovative use of dance to tackle topics big and small. The students who participated in these events are studying in fields as diverse as business and jazz, anthropology and physics; but all learned something about how dance can help us understand the world differently and perhaps more deeply.

In keeping with the late Edward L. Hutton’s strong commitment to international experience, HHC programming throughout the year has engaged students with visitors from around the world. During the Lotus World Music Festival, HHC students had lunch with members of the West African blues band Etran Finatawa. With French as the language most had in common, HHC students served as interpreters, ensuring a warm and welcoming exchange. In the spring semester students will meet with international security experts from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and South America and a post-performance talk with the three-time Grammy award-winning vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

HHC students have represented the university throughout the year with poise and depth. They have talked about "Schelling points" with Nobel economist Thomas Schelling; about The Diary of Anne Frank with Broadway playwright Wendy Kesselman; about La Traviata with opera star Carol Vaness; about how hard it is to play an instrument, while simultaneously acting and dancing, with members of the national touring company of Sweeney Todd; about the relationships between torture and democracy with Iranian-born scholar Darius Rejali; about what it is like to be a juror in a death penalty case with a death penalty attorney; about U.S. defense policy with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Mary Beth Long; and about the factors that influence our choices of mates with IU cognitive scientist Peter Todd. The calendar for later this year includes events with Nobel laureate in physics John Mather, Grammy-winning soprano Sylvia McNair, and biomedical ethicist Margaret Mohrmann, among others.

For additional information on HHC programming, check out http://www.indiana.edu/~iubhonor/hdextra/ec.php. We are always looking for new ideas, so please know we would love to hear yours!

Home Sweet Home: HHC opens new building

In 2005, the Honors College was named for the late alumnus and philanthropist Edward L. Hutton, who founded and funded the International Experiences Program for the college. More recently, Hutton provided funds for a new building, at the intersection of Seventh Street and Woodlawn Avenue. The facility was completed in December and is now occupied. Spring 2009 classes are enjoying the new space.

The IU Trustees approved construction of the new building in May 2006. The building provides 15,000 square feet on two floors. Its amenities include administrative offices, classrooms, collaborative work/study lounges, a library, and adviser offices. The new building also includes a "great room" with areas for receptions and special events.

The building’s Collegiate Gothic exterior is a combination of smooth, carved, ornamental, and rubble limestone, said Robert Meadows, assistant vice president and university architect. Fieldstone walls enclose a covered entry porch and an English garden with brick walks. A gray Vermont slate roof matches the roof of the adjacent Indiana Memorial Union. The new building and grounds embrace the tasteful architecture and landscaping of the historic campus.

"This beautiful building is a wonderful addition to this part of the campus and it will enhance all the functions of the Hutton Honors College — teaching, advising, service, extracurricular activities, student and faculty collaborations," said Karen Hanson, IU Bloomington executive vice president and provost and former dean of the Hutton Honors College. "Both programmatically and aesthetically, the building is a gem. We are very grateful for Mr. Hutton’s generosity and vision. … Our marvelous students, along with the campus and the larger community, will benefit enormously, and we are all grateful."

The building’s architect was WDI Architecture Inc., in association with BSA Lifestructures — both based in Indianapolis.

Lasting legacies transform student experience

Most of us, if given the chance, would like to leave some kind of lasting legacy to show that our lives have made a difference in society for generations to come. Alumni Aubrey Feiwell and Hank Fahl leave a legacy that improves the honors student experience through their support of the HHC’s International Experiences Program, each through a bequest. We thank them for their foresight and share the stories that bind them to the Hutton Honors College’s International Experience Program.

Connecting humanity: Aubrey Feiwell, BS’50, is an advocate for international scholarship, friendship, and ties. He has traveled extensively during his career, forging many bonds between Indiana University and the international community. His bequest to the International Experiences Program will one day provide IU students with the kind of knowledge and understanding only gained through immersion in a culture different from our own — a deeper understanding of the world and a more mature, informed perspective — crucial for any career path.

"The things you learn when you travel … it’s important to have those experiences — to see the world as it is — it’s so important," Feiwell said. "The most important thing in the world is another human being. We’re all similar, but unique; there’s only one of each of us. We cannot be replaced, so it’s important to understand each other. To do that, you have to know other cultures. The world has to come together in this way: human beings. That’s why I’m interested in this program."

Honoring a mentor’s work: Hank Fahl, MBA’59, will honor IU Professor Emeritus of Transportation Les Waters and his wife, Mary Lou, through his gift to the Les and Mary Lou Waters International Experiences Program Scholarship.

During his time at IU, Fahl looked to Professor Waters as a mentor, and the mentoring grew into a lifelong friendship. The Waters have traveled the world sharing Les’s expertise and acting as ambassadors for the university. "I couldn’t think of a better place to put this gift to work than in honor of what Les and Mary Lou have done for so many years," Fahl said. "Les was always involved in foreign experiences — traveling, speaking, and teaching in Europe and all over the world. I knew this was something Mary Lou and he were very interested in — that part of their life that led to the Waters IEP Scholarship."

Fahl grew up in Chicago and attended Wabash College on a football and basketball scholarship. After graduation he worked in Indianapolis, finding a niche in traffic, transportation, and shipping.

He came to IU in 1956 for an advanced degree in transportation after hearing Waters speak in Indianapolis. After finishing his program at IU, Fahl — with help from Waters — secured a position with Cummins Inc. as traffic supervisor. His three years at Cummins were followed by a 40-year career in various aspects of the traffic and transportation industry. Since his retirement to Brunswick, Ga., in 1992, Fahl has volunteered with a local division of Therapy Dogs International.

Read a complete version of this story in the print edition, also available to view online at: http://alumni.indiana.edu/docs/hutton3670.pdf