Some of instutions attending include University of Evansville, Ivy Tech and the IU School of Medicine.

Press Releases

February 23, 2009

Several students from the University of Evansville will get firsthand experience with the Indiana legislature this week, as they travel to Indianapolis to lobby on behalf of private higher education.

A total of 15 UE students will be among 250 students from private colleges and universities across the state visiting the legislature on Tuesday. All of the students will be on hand to show legislators how they are being affected by the weak economy – and to stress the need for continued support of funding from the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana.

The students will leave for Indianapolis in the morning, and will meet with their legislators at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

They are available for interviews about their trip today.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to meet face-to-face with the people who make decisions about education and scholarship funding in our state,” said UE Junior Peter Hanscom, who is among those going on the trip. “Obviously, the issue of student financial aid is important to us, and to universities like UE, so we think it’s critical that our legislators understand its importance, as well.

“We hope that, by putting a face – or, more accurately, 250 faces – on this issue, it helps convey to our state government how important this issue is.”

This gathering of students from the independent campuses is being coordinated by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI), where UE President Stephen Jennings serves as chair of the board of directors.

The students’ day will begin at the Indiana History Center at 450 W. Ohio Street beginning at 11:00 a.m., where the students will be briefed by ICI President Hans Giesecke and Vice President Anthony Maidenberg on current legislative issues involving state-funded need-based student aid.

In the Indiana History Center’s auditorium, several legislators are expected to address the entire group before students go to the State House to meet with their hometown legislators on an individual basis.

“We’re so pleased that the students are going to have the opportunity for face-to-face interaction with their hometown legislators at the State House “says Giesecke. “Our students are going to experience the thrill of serving as advocates for their student financial aid. We are excited for the opportunity to introduce these students to how the legislative process works, how it affects their lives and futures, and how they can play a role in shaping its direction.”

Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) is a nonprofit corporation that represents the state’s 31 nonprofit, accredited, undergraduate degree-granting institutions of higher education. ICI member institutions enroll more than 83,000 students (approximately 23 percent of all students statewide) and annually produce 34 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in Indiana. Information about ICI is available at www.icindiana.org.

Source: University of Evansville

###

WHO: Indiana University School of Medicine students and faculty

WHAT: Help state legislators understand the medical needs of the state and how the school plans to expand its programs

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24

WHERE: Indiana Statehouse north atrium

Regional campus directors and students bring message to Statehouse

The IU School of medicine will be well-represented at the Indiana Statehouse Tuesday when regional campus directors, faculty and medical students from across the state gather to bring the school’s message of “more doctors for Indiana” to members of the Indiana General Assembly.

Legislators have been invited to learn more about the school’s plans to expand the medical student body by 30 percent, to hear how the regional campuses are providing more local doctors while researching local health issues and to get some hands-on practice at several virtual teaching kiosks that will be set up at the Statehouse.

The IU School of Medicine, the second largest medical school in the United States with more than 1,200 students, has nine medical education centers throughout the state. IU medical education campuses are located in Bloomington (IU campus), Evansville (University of Southern Indiana), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University campus), Gary (IU-Northwest), Muncie (Ball Memorial Hospital), South Bend (University of Notre Dame), Terre Haute (Indiana State University), West Lafayette (Purdue University), and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

For additional information, contact Mary Hardin, IUSM Public and Media Relations, at 317-274-7722, or during the event at 317-695-4090.

Source: IU School of Medicine

###

February 23, 2009

WHAT: Ivy Tech Community College Day at the Legislature.

WHO: More than 450 Ivy Tech Community College students from each of Ivy Tech’s 23 campuses will convene at the Indiana Statehouse to participate in the Ivy Tech Day at the Legislature and to share their thoughts, opinions and concerns with Indiana legislators.

WHERE: Indiana Statehouse Rotunda, 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 24, 11:30 a.m.

ABOUT IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Ivy Tech Community College is the state’s largest public post-secondary institution and the nation’s largest singly-accredited statewide community college system with more than 120,000 students enrolled annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.

###

Originally posted on Februray 18, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS, The economy is hitting college students hard, too---financial aid programs under increased and intense demand, part-time jobs harder to come by, and family financial contributions drained by unemployment and dwindling value of assets such as homes. That’s why some 250 students from 20 of Indiana’s independent colleges and universities will go to the State House on Tuesday, February 24, at 12:30 p.m., to make personal calls on their hometown legislators.

The students have three messages that they want to deliver:

Sincere thanks for the legislators’ ongoing commitment to SSACI funding (need-based aid from the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana); the urgent need for their continued support of this program; and the critical importance of increasing the number of Hoosiers with bachelor’s degrees to Indiana’s economic recovery. The students will be wearing bright blue scarves
bearing the message “Fund Students First,” as well as nametags identifying themselves, their hometowns, and their
campuses.

This gathering of students from the independent campuses is being coordinated by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and will begin at the Indiana History Center at 450 W. Ohio Street beginning at 11:00 a.m. Before walking to the State House at noon, the students will be briefed by ICI President Hans Giesecke and Vice President Anthony Maidenberg on current legislative issues involving state-funded need-based student aid.

In the Indiana History Center’s auditorium, several legislators are expected to address the entire group before students go to the State House to meet with their hometown legislators on an individual basis. “We’re so pleased that the students are going to have the opportunity for face-to-face interaction with their hometown legislators at the State House “says Giesecke. “Our students are going to experience the thrill of serving as advocates for their student financial aid.”

“By having members of each of Indiana’s two major political parties address the students,” adds Maidenberg, himself a former state senator, “it demonstrates to the students that higher education funding is truly a nonpartisan issue and that politics can be set aside when it comes to meeting the needs of Hoosier students.”
“Our goal is not only to raise awareness to the legislature of the importance of state financial aid---to put students’ names and faces on the state funds they appropriate---but also to introduce our students to how the legislative process works, how it affects their lives and futures, and how they can play a role in shaping its direction,” concludes Giesecke.

Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) is a nonprofit corporation that represents the state’s 31 nonprofit, accredited, undergraduate degree-granting institutions of higher education. ICI member institutions enroll more than 83,000 students (approximately 23 percent of all students statewide) and annually produce 34 percent of all bachelor’s degrees in Indiana. Information about ICI is available at www.icindiana.org.

Source: Independent Colleges of Indiana