Students in the Honors and Active Minds Clubs are collecting items for the YWCA and SOS/Family Justice Center during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Wish-list items include toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, brushes, combs, diapers, sanitary napkins, wipes, hand sanitizer, face masks, and more. Please drop off all items for donation in the Honors Lounge (Room 160 in the Administration Building). You may also email Honors Club President Emma Kasarda (ekasarda@iu.edu) to arrange for a pickup.

Questions? Email Honors Club President Emma Kasarda at ekasarda@iu.edu.

Do you want to take action to increase biodiversity locally?  Honors has the perfect service project for you!

Join your honors friends and South Bend Venues Parks & Arts in Veterans Memorial Park, next door to campus, for one of four days of fun in October and November as we tackle invasive species while also social distancing.

To register for this event, visit https://iu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4UCVR5BdJNjfJbL. Please be sure to pick which boxed lunch option you would prefer.  Also, the first 20 students to register will receive a crimson Titans baseball hat on the day they come to the park.

If you own loppers, shovels, or pitchforks, please bring them with you. If you don’t have tools, don’t worry! South Bend Venues Parks & Arts will provide tools to everyone who needs them.

Please note that face masks and social distancing will be required at all times during the event. Staggered start and stop times will help keep everyone safe as we practice social distancing outdoors while removing invasive species from Veterans Memorial Park.

In America, 2.5 million plastic bottles are used each hour. That is 2.5 million plastic caps used and thrown out by the hour.

Take your Tops Off and keep an eye out around campus for Tops Off buckets to put them in. Right now there are 3 buckets in Wiekamp and 1 in Northside.

Some of the lids we accept are pop bottle lids, water bottle lids, prescription lids, sports drink lids, flip caps, hair spray and paint caps, toothpaste caps, and cottage cheese container lids.

Tag us in your social media Tops Off posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter using #topsoffiusb and #sustainiusb

Thank you for helping keep plastic out of our landfills and environment, as well as making our campus a cleaner and greener place. The lids collected will be donated to the Elkhart County 4H Fairs Make a Bench Program.

For more information, contact Holly Shaffer at hlshaffe@iu.edu.

Ratio Christi is a club devoted to discussing big questions:

Is there objective right and wrong?
Does God exist?
Why is there so much evil in the world?

…and many others just like them. Join us on Zoom Thursdays at 5:30 P.M.. For more info, please email us at iusb@ratiochristi.org.

We are excited to announce four candidates have been identified as finalists for the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs position.  The candidates will be participating in virtual campus visits over the next two weeks.  All members of the IU South Bend community are invited to meet the candidates during virtual public presentations.  Information on the candidates, links to the public presentations, and surveys to provide feedback on the candidates, are shared on the EVCAA Search Webpage.  The dates and times of the remaining public presentations are as follows:

• Friday, October 23 from 1:00pm to 2:00pm
• Tuesday, October 27 from 1:00pm to 2:00pm
• Thursday, October 29 from 11:00am to 12:00pm

We hope you will join us in welcoming the candidates to campus and provide your input on the candidates for this important position.

Our COVID Superstar this week is Jason Sykes. Jason works for UITS as a Senior Manager of Classroom Technology. From the numerous nominations received for Jason we learned that he and his team of part time student employees were instrumental in installing Zoom technology, cameras and microphones in every teaching space – every classroom, lab and studio on campus. Additionally, he and his team trained faculty to use the new technology, conducting workshops for UCET including the New Faculty Orientation. Since a large number of courses are taught online, this herculean effort benefits everyone, especially our students. Please be sure to thank Jason the next time you see him!

To nominate a COVID Superstar go to https://administration.iusb.edu/human-resources/index.html. (Firefox browser is recommended for this MACH form).

You are invited to give input on the search for Indiana University’s next president through a town hall Thursday, Nov. 5. The IU Board of Trustees’ presidential search advisory committee is gathering feedback on three key questions:

• What major challenges and opportunities will the next president inherit?
• What type of person will be best prepared to address the challenges and explore opportunities in terms of leadership style, experience, financial acumen, views, etc.?
• What highlights can the search committee and advisory committee share with candidates unfamiliar with IU and Indiana.

IU faculty, staff and students and members of the public can share their feedback during this town hall session. Participants are requested to register to attend the session:

• IU South Bend: 3:30 to 5p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5

Comments may also be sent to the search advisory committee at info@rwilliamfunk.com  by Nov. 6.

The advisory committee will present its report to the search committee by Nov. 13. The Board of Trustees’ intent is to have a new leader in place when President Michael A. McRobbie retires in June 2021. Updates about the search will be posted on the presidential search page on the Board of Trustees website.