Calendar of Events

Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007
Chicago - NetBlue: a networking event for Chicago-area alumni from 6-8 p.m. on Dugan's on Halsted, 128 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL
312-421-7191. Join us for this opportunity to network with friends and fellow alums in the Chicago area. We will have a private room with a cash bar. E-mail your RSVP to Dan Stuby '07 in the alumni office by Monday, Nov. 12, call him toll free at 1-877-JMU-ALUM (568-2586) or send him a text at 217-620-5387.

Friday-Sunday, Nov. 16-18
Kirkland Fine Arts Center - "My Favoite Year," an old-fashioned musical comedy based on the popular movie. A theatre and dance department production with music by the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra. For ticket info, call Kirkland Box Office at 217-424-6318.

Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 1-2
Kirkland Fine Arts Center - Tickets are going fast for the annual Vespers holiday concert performances at Kirkland Fine Arts Center. This perennial favorite usually sells out. Call Kirkland Box Office at 217-424-6318 to reserve your tickets.

Tuesday, Dec. 4
on campus - Ewing lecture. See details at top right.

Saturday, Dec. 15
Kirkland Fine Arts Center - Two performances of the Nutcracker by the Moscow Ballet, with live music by the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, 3 & 7:30 p.m.
Kirkland Fine Arts Center
For ticket info, call Kirkland Box Office at 217-424-6318.

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008
Decatur - Join the MCIA for the popular taco bar at Lock, Stock and Barrel, 129 S. Oakland, from 5-7 p.m. as a warm up for the Big Blue men’s basketball game versus the Illinois Wesleyan Titans at 7:30 p.m. in Griswold Physical Education Center.

May 21-30, 2008
Argentina
Join alumni and friends for a trip to Buenos Aires! See more details at right.

July 24-30, 2008
Danube bike trip
Join alumni and friends for a seven-day, six-night bike trip from Passau, Germany, to Vienna, Austria, on a flat bike path along the Danube. The cost is approximately $1,414 per person and includes hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, six evening dinners with three-course meals (including a farewell dinner at a Vienna wine cellar), guide and all transfers, including daily luggage transfers between route stops. A $50 gift is made to the Millikin Fund for every trip booked. Airfare cost is still being finalized; be sure to look for updated details future issues of this newsletter. For info, contact Mandi Landacre Podeschi ’02 of the alumni and development office toll free at 1-877-568-2586 or send her an e-mail at apodeschi@millikin.edu.


Click here for the complete calendar of upcoming events.


Hot links
Online resources:
History of MU.
Milli-Link XP, online directory
Millikin Quarterly magazine
Wallpaper for your desktop
Listen live to WJMU-FM
Young alumni news/info

Support MU:
The Millikin Fund,
The Big Blue Club, Millikin's official athletic booster club.

Shop online: 
Blue Connection art gallery
First Step Records
Bronze Man Books
Millikin bookstore

Help a future student:
Big Blue VIP program.
Legacy scholarship.
Sibling scholarship
Click here for scholarship details.

Tell us about yourself:
Submit a class note
Update your info

Alumni performers, actors, artists and authors can post details of upcoming engagements or releases on the Millikin website:
Add your event/release
View the list

Submit wedding photos for the online Big Blue wedding album by e-mail, or call toll-free to 1-877-JMU-ALUM for details. 

Business owners: Is your company listed in Big Blue Biz, the online directory of  alumni-owned businesses?Add your info

HE SPECIALIZES IN NEW IDEAS;
MAYBE YOU'LL HAVE SOME
AFTER HEARING HIM SPEAK.
The 2007 Thomas W. Ewing Lectureship will feature Ted Halstead, founder and first president and CEO of the New America Foundation. The Foundation has been described by the Washington Post as “The Think Tank of Generation Next,” and by the Economist as housing “the brightest American thinkers under 40.” Halstead will speak on campus Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Albert Taylor Theatre. His talk is free and open to the public; no reservations required.

The Thomas W. Ewing Lectureship was created by Millikin University and Congressman Ewing’s colleagues in recognition of the many years of public service of Ewing, a 1957 graduate who retired in 2001 after serving nine years in the U.S. House of Representatives and 17 years in the Illinois House of Representatives. MORE

MU GETS HIGH MARKS
ON NATIONAL SURVEY.
Millikin scored well on the 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) report, an annual report that tracks how well students are learning and what they are receiving from their undergraduate experience. The report is co-sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and based on information gathered from 313,000 randomly selected first-year and senior students at 610 four-year colleges and universities.
MORE

PLAYERS TOSS PIZZAS INSTEAD OF FOOTBALLS.
A new program, "Beyond the Goal Posts" brings Millikin football players out into the community to work with more than 15 local community agencies to provide community service to those in need. At left, senior Sean Staffeldt and junior Tom Heuer use their culinary talents to whip up some pizzas to be served for lunch at Good Samaritan Inn, a Decatur soup kitchen. MORE

TWO RECENT GRADS RECOGNIZED.
Paul Yemm '06 and Amber Rock '07 each received the 2007 Lindsay Medallion during a ceremony held at a Big Blue football game this fall. MORE
At left are Bob Smith '62, Yemm and Rock, and Lucy Lindsay Smith '67. Mrs. Smith's parents, Mr. and Mrs. F. Merrill Lindsay, inspired the award and were its first recipients.

HAVE YOU VOTED YET?
Should the home of the Big Blue have an official sports mascot? So far, about 60 percent of alumni who have voted have said no. What do you think? Results will be shared with the Big Blue Spirit Crew, a new group of current Millikin students hoping to help the campus come to a permanent decision on the mascot issue. What do you think? Voice your opinion and view live results here.

DON'T CRY FOR ME, ARGENTINA.
Why not tango instead? The only reason to cry is if you miss out on this Millikin travel opportunity to the land of the tango, led by Dr. Eduardo Cabrera, associate professor of Spanish and a native of Buenos Aires, from May 21-30. The cost per person is still being finalized, but will be announced soon. Want to know more? E-mail the alumni office and ask to be put on the mailing list.

KEEP UP WITH BIG BLUE
BASKETBALL AS IT HAPPENS.
There are several ways to follow the play of the Millikin's men's and women's basketball teams this winter -- including listening to games over the Internet. MORE

By the way, women's b-ball has been shining in some recent pre-season polls. MORE

VETS TO BE SALUTED FRIDAY NIGHT.
Area veterans and their families are invited to attend Millikin's veterans recognition program at the season-opening game of the women’s basketball team this Friday, Nov. 16, at 6 p.m. in Griswold Physical Education Center, part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.
MORE

That night's game will also be the kick off for a student drive to collect donations for the military unit of a men's basketball player who is about to serve his third deployment overseas with the National Guard. MORE

EXPAND YOURSELF THIS JANUARY.
No, we're not talking about expanding your waistline from all those holiday goodies.

Expand your mind and learn something new without the stress of working for a grade. More than 30 immersion (accelerated format) courses will be offered by Millikin this January, and many of them are designated as adult enrichment courses designed to be of special interest to community adults. Community adults can enroll in these courses for the reduced fee of $167 per credit hour ($500 for a three-credit course). No credits or grades will be issued. MORE

CHICAGO-AREA ALUMS:
SEE YOU AT NETBLUE.
This Thursday, Nov. 15, is your chance to mix and network with other alumni at a Chicago hangout. See complete details at upper left under the calendar of events.

HE GIVES NEW MEANING TO PROLIFIC.
A Millikin professor just had a book published; it's his fourth book to be published in less than three years. MORE

YOUR CONFIRMATION IS NEEDED.
Due to a technical problem, online donations made to the university between Sept. 28 and Oct. 24 of this year, although completely secure as always, may not have been properly recorded by our system. If you made a credit card donation through the Millikin website during this period, please confirm your gift by calling the alumni and development office toll free at 1-877-568-2586 (locally, dial 424-6383) or click here to send an e-mail to Mandi Podeschi, associate director of the development. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience and thank you for your support of Millikin.

READY TO WEIGH IN ON SOME MU TRIVIA?
During Millikin's participation in the sixth annual Community Food Drive, several hundred pounds of non-perishable food items were donated by members of the Millikin community. How many pounds were collected?

A. An even ton
B. 1,812
C. 2,754
D. 3,419

Send your best guess to alumnews@millikin.edu, and be sure to include your name and address. Five winners will be selected in a random drawing of all who respond correctly and each will receive a Millikin prize.  

Last month's winners --

Louis Leone '94
Daryl Luster '05
Sharon Peters Bloch '85
Bridget Devlin '82
Mary Alice Adrian Nunlist '82

...each won a Millikin leather coaster for correctly guessing that the falcon was the top vote-getter in a 1960 mascot election.