UPCOMING 
Important dates
Feb. 20: Indianapolis
Young alumni & friends event:
Join us at 8 p.m.at The Rathskeller, 401 East Michigan St. RSVPs appreciated, but not required. The young at heart are also welcome! RSVP at alumnews@mail.millikin.edu

March 18: St. Louis
Come to the Hill at 5200 Shaw Avenue to meet Millikin President Douglas E. Zemke '66 at a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. This Millikin Club of St. Louis event is hosted by JUMP Co., whose managing partner is Jon Tiede '92 and art director Mike Thomas '99. JUMP recently designed a new logo for NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series that will be used in promotional materials nationwide.  

July 10: St. Louis
Order your tickets now for Millikin Day at Busch Stadium as the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Chicago Cubs. Tickets for this annual event go fast, so call soon. Call toll-free to 1-877-JMU-ALUM (locally, dial 424-6383).  

Aug. 4-8: Track reunion on campus
Mark your calendar. Plans are being made to hold a reunion of track & field alumni at the USATF Masters men's and women's outdoor track & field championships, to be held on campus Aug. 4-8. Watch here for details as they develop.

Oct. 8- 10: 
Homecoming on campus
Homecoming events will fill the Millikin campus. All are welcome, and special reunions will be held for all classes whose years end in 4 or 9.  To learn how to nominate an alum for one of several awards to be given out at Homecoming, click here.

MORE on alumni events

Hot links
Remember Collage?
The staff of Collage, the university's student-published literary magazine, invite alumni to send in submissions. MORE

Go Big Blue! 
Keep up with the latest MU sports news by clicking here. 

Refer a friend. 
Know a high school student who recently began a college search? Introduce them to Millikin through Refer a Friend. MORE

Need Millikin stuff? 
Shop online for music from First Step Records, MU's student-run recording label. To order CDs in the First Step catalog, including the Vespers 2003 performance CD, click here.

Shop online through the Millikin bookstore to get MU gear, gifts and more.  

Got a gig? 
All alumni actors, artists, singers, dancers and musicians: Send us the dates and details of upcoming engagements for  the Millikin website. Drop a line to alumnews@mail.millikin.edu, or fax your performance schedule to 217-424-3755. Click here to see what's posted.

Happy Valentine's Day!

FOUR DECATURITES 
NAMED TO MILLIKIN BOARD 
Recent appointments to the Millikin board of trustees include Kevin Breheny, Dr. Joseph Schrodt, Julie Kraft Schwalbe and Virginia Shafter. MORE

MU says to students:
"HOW MAY WE HELP YOU?"
In March, Millikin plans to open a new Customer Service Center (CSC) in Shilling Hall, combining the cashiers office and the office of financial aid to "provide 'one-stop shopping' for students and parents as they handle their financial relationship with the University" says Ron Reck, vice president of finance and business affairs. The plan is to simplify things for students so that they will eventually be able to  come to the CSC for everything from getting help with student loans and payment plans to paying for parking permits.

HOP ON BOARD THIS TRAIN AT mu.
Train, a popular alternative rock group performs at Kirkland Fine Arts Center March 16. Tickets for Millikin alumni, students and employees go on sale Feb. 23, two weeks before they are offered to the general public.  MORE 

WE'RE LIGHTING UP GRISWOLD.
More than 200 luminaria will light up Griswold Center this Saturday, Feb. 14, during the Millikin men’s basketball game. The ceremony honors those who have survived cancer and those who have lost their battle with the disease. MORE  In January, 35 teams of alumni and community members raised more than $18,000 for the American Cancer Society in a January Coaches vs. Cancer basketball shootout at Griswold. The program helps raise funds for educational programs, advocacy and cancer prevention in Central Illinois.

GET JAZZED THIS FEBRUARY.
Five top college jazz bands will perform at the Fourth Annual Illinois Collegiate Jazz Festival in Kirkland Fine Arts Center on Feb. 22. MORE
Millikin also hosts 24 of the top high school vocal jazz groups from around the Midwest during the 15th Annual Millikin University Vocal Jazz Festival on Saturday, Feb. 21. MORE

concert to present 
haydn's masterpiece.
The Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra and Union of Choirs will perform Haydn's "The Creation" at their March 6 concert. MORE

campus holds a READ-IN.
Millikin students and staff were among the more than one million people nationwide who have or will participate in the National African American Read-In Chain, a program established to promote literacy in the African American community. MIllikin's event was held on campus Feb. 2, and readers read continuously from African American poetry, fiction and essays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event also included live performances and displays of artwork.

WHAT CAN COMPANIES DO TO CUT COSTS WITHOUT DOWNSIZING?
A new book by a Millikin professor (who is also a 1972 alum) covers a timely topic in light of today's economy. MORE

DOGGONE IT, THIS IS TOO TEMPTING.
Sure, we could make a pun about "going to the dogs," but that would be just too darn easy. Lester Mapes, a 1960 Millikin graduate, has the distinction of being perhaps the first-ever Millikin graduate to judge the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. On Feb. 10, television viewers could watch Mapes judge the herding dog category, which immediately preceded the closing best of show announcement. Learn more about Mapes' experiences as a long-time judge in the spring issue of Millikin Quarterly magazine, in mailboxes in early April. 

"more" makes us "happy." 
"More," a single off the new CD "Happy" by Matt West '99 was recently named No. 2 on the Christian music charts. West, a singer-songwriter, lives in Nashville, and will perform in Decatur on April 1. Get his tour schedule here.

HOW ARE THOSE 
RESOLUTIONS GOING? 
It's been about six weeks; have you kept your New Year's resolutions? Most people don't, so give yourself a pat on the back if you have made even  small changes toward your goals. Based on the online survey we offered in last month's issue, it appears that many of you made more than one resolution. Tops on the list: exercise more (about 70%), spend more time with family (50%), lose weight, save money (both 40%), quit a bad habit (30%). And thanks to the 10 percent of you who vowed to make it a personal goal to let the world know there are no e's in Millikin! Good luck!

LIFE IS AN adventure.
Tell us about yours. Share your true-life adventures for an upcoming feature in Millikin Quarterly magazine. MORE

SHORT-TERM HEALTH 
INSURANCE: A GOOD IDEA? 
The alumni office is exploring the idea of working with an outside vendor to offer short-term health insurance at a discount to recent graduates. The insurance would cover the time period after graduation (when parental health insurance usually drops dependents) up to the time when the graduate is employed. If this is or would have been of interest to you, let the alumni office know. Send an email to alumnews@mail.millikin.edu and write YES INS or NO INS in the subject line. 

TRIVIA CAN HELP YOU LIVE LONGER.
No fooling. Studies have shown that people who keep their brains active with mental puzzles stay more mentally alert and live longer than those who don't. So add some minutes to your life and try this month's Millikin trivia question.

Last month's winners correctly answered $181.02 as the cost of Millikin's coal bill in January 1907. They are: Paula Weiss Stickles '94, Natalie Sykes '03, Jon Clarke '01, Celia Johnston '01 and Jennifer Friday '77.

Ready to play?

Who was president of Millikin University on Valentine's Day, 1993?

A. Curtis McCray
B. John Miltner
C. Roger Miller 
D. Robert Shimp

Send your answer to alumnews@mail.millikin.edu; be sure to include your name and address. The first five correct responders win a !