This and that on a Wednesday
A few notes, including one of the highest national scientific honors goes to Purdue’s Gebisa Ejeta at the White House Tuesday
Thanks today for sponsorship from Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, presenting a free showing of “The Price of Progress: The Indiana Avenue Story” on Nov. 14 at Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. The two-act play highlights the heritage of a downtown Indianapolis community called “The Harlem of the Midwest” for its thriving culture of Black-owned businesses, performing arts, educational influences and a jazz legacy — from bebop to hip-hop — that attracted the most renowned musicians of the 20th century. Get more details and free tickets here.
Thanks, also, to Purdue Musical Organizations and the Purdue Christmas Show. This December, gather the whole family and celebrate 90 years of the Purdue Christmas Show. For nearly a century, this beloved holiday tradition has captivated audiences with its dazzling performances and heartwarming messages of love, hope and unity. Watch the stage come alive in the historic Elliott Hall of Music as PMO’s incredible student talent perform beautiful secular and sacred music alongside a live orchestra. December 1-3. BUY TICKETS HERE.
Some notes for a Wednesday …
PURDUE WORLD FOOD PRIZE WINNER GETS NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE AT WHITE HOUSE
Gebisa Ejeta, world-renowned plant geneticist at Purdue, was among nine people who received the National Medal of Science from President Joe Biden during a Tuesday presentation at the White House. The medal is considered the nation’s highest scientific honor.
This was the latest honor for Ejeta, who received the World Food Prize – said to be the Nobel Prize-level honor in food and agriculture research – in 2009 for his work on sorghum hybrids designed to withstand drought and destructive weeds in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the White House, Ejeta’s advocacy for science, policy and institutions as key to economic development "has lifted the fortunes of farmers and strengthens the souls of nations."
Ejeta has been on Purdue’s College of Agriculture faculty since 1984. He is executive director of the Purdue Center for Global Food Security and Purdue University Presidential Fellow for Food Security and Sustainable Global Development.
Purdue President Mung Chiang, who was at Tuesday’s ceremony, said the award put Ejeta among 19 Purdue faculty and alumni who have received National Medals of Science, Technology and Innovation or Humanities, or the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
"Gebisa Ejeta is one of the most impactful geneticists in the world, a remarkable leader at Purdue in food security research, and a role model of perseverance for all Boilermakers,” Chiang said. “Our university celebrates another prestigious and richly deserved honor, bestowed by the president of the United States, to Gebisa, and I am delighted to join him on behalf of our university at the White House ceremony today.”
FROM THOSE WHO BROUGHT YOU LEAP
Who knew we’d all be watching the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s every move, right? But here we are. Indianapolis Business Journal reporter Peter Blanchard had a look at the quasi-public entity’s new branding campaign, boosting its job recruiting and job creation moves – including at the LEAP District in Boone County – as “Indiana: For the Bold.” (On the outs: The state’s past slogan of “A State that Works.”) As everyone around here stews on IEDC plans to tap-and-take water from the Wabash River aquifer and pipe it to the 10,000-acre-plus LEAP District two counties away, here’s Blanchard’s story: “IEDC launches new branding effort: ‘For the Bold.’”
Speaking of Bold statements, this tagline on the LEAP District project was getting its 15 minutes of fame in Tippecanoe County: "America's Newest Sustainable Community." (As one post on a burgeoning “Stop the LEAP Pipeline” site read: “You have to be kidding me.”)
For more, this is from last week after the most recent community meeting about the IEDC’s water drilling/pipeline plans: “Tippecanoe lawmakers look to slow state’s plan to tap-and-take from Wabash aquifer.”
(Photos: Dave Bangert)
WELCOME TO THE NFL … AND THE WORLD
Just your average homecoming for David Bell, former Purdue star now playing wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, during Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, right? A Browns win, hundreds of friends and family in the Lucas Oil Stadium and his cousin has a baby … right before the game.
First up, via Kelly Hallinan at WLFI, from Sunday pregame.
Next: Indianapolis Star reporter Dana Hunsinger Benbow had this from the paramedic on hand to help deliver the baby: "But you don't walk into work and think, 'I'm going to go deliver a baby today,' unless you work in labor and delivery," Ashley Vlaskamp, an advanced EMT with Indiana University Health, told IndyStar, "especially not at a football stadium." That story: “Meet the EMT who helped deliver baby girl at Lucas Oil Stadium: 'Wow. That just happened'”
And then: WTHR reporter Anna Chalker had this conversation with Tylan Jones, Bell’s cousin, about the delivery of baby Kimmarie: "I'll just tell her she's a Lucas Oil baby," Jones said.
YOUR SCHOOLS’ GRADES
Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Casey Smith had a look at the state’s new school grading system: “New performance report cards go live on each Indiana school’s website, replacing A-F grades. State officials said the new reports aim to increase the public’s ability to see how individual schools are doing.”
Thanks, again, to sponsorship help from Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, presenting a free showing of “The Price of Progress: The Indiana Avenue Story” on Nov. 14 at Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. Get more details and free tickets here.
And thanks to Purdue Musical Organizations, celebrating 90 years of the Purdue Christmas Show, Dec. 1-3 in Elliott Hall of Music. Get tickets for one of the four performances here.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING BASED IN LAFAYETTE, AN INDEPENDENT, LOCAL REPORTING PROJECT. FREE AND FULL-RIDE SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS ARE READY FOR YOU HERE.
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Tap and take-1
For the bold-0
LEAP: Leave Environment Alone Please LEAP: Leave Everyone Alone Please LEAP: Lettuce Endive Arugula Parsley (word salad!)