In the News, 2004
On this page...
- 'Play therapy' facilities get an upgrade from MBA students
- Installation of Beta Alpha Psi Chapter
- Congratulations to USI Accounting Team--#1
- Princeton Review lists USI among best business schools
- Endowments to provide business scholarships
'Play therapy' facilities get an upgrade from MBA students
By ELLA JOHNSON Courier & Press staff writer 464-7420
or ejohnson@evansville.net
December 2, 2004
It is often hard for small children who suffer from a mental illness or who have been abused to talk about their emotions with an adult.
It's much easier for them to act out their feelings using dolls or playing dress-up.
But the play therapy room at the Evansville Psychiatric Children's Center was becoming worn with age until students from the University of Southern Indiana got involved and raised nearly $6,000 to upgrade it.
On Wednesday, the center held an open house to thank the students and donors and to show them how the money was spent.
Superintendent Tom Rich presented a plaque to the students in USI's masters of business administration program who helped make the project possible.
Tamara Klausmeier, community service director for the Children's Center, said the USI students were looking for a service project.
They found out about the need to update the play room from a therapist at the center, whose husband is involved in the MBA program.
The students solicited donations last spring from local businesses and individuals. The money was used to buy materials, and the work was done this fall by the psychiatric center's staff.
"They totally redid it. They created a reading and relaxation area and we built a new puppet theater and dress-up area," Klausmeier said. The therapy room includes a home area with a kitchen and dolls.
"The home area gives them a chance to act out what goes on in their family," Klausmeier said.
"The 'play therapy' idea is the children can let you know through their play what they've experienced, what their feelings are, what concerns and problems they may have."
The center treats children from ages 5 through 13.
Many of the children come from homes where they have been exposed to illegal drugs and alcohol and some have been sexually or physically abused.
"I think it shows the commitment this community has to the EPCC and the children - wherever these children are from," Rich said. "In the season of giving, it's a very nice gift and one that we will be able to have for quite a while."
Installation of
Beta Alpha Psi Chapter
On October 29, 2004, we received notification that our petition to install a Beta Alpha Psi Chapter at the University of Southern Indiana was approved and accepted. Please join us in congratulating the USI students that have worked to get us through the petitioning process! They are Tonya Scherle, President; Donovan Sexton, Vice-President; Kim Dosher, Treasurer; April Williams, VP of Activities; Jeff Straub; Skii Robling; Ryan Greenwood; and Brad Hotz. For more information, check out our website...
Congratulations to USI Accounting Team--#1
Congratulations to the USI Accounting Team which came in first in the Indiana CPA Society's 2004 Case Study Competition. This is the third time the USI team has reached the finals in the last four years. The team members are Donovan Sexton, Jamie Willis, Scott Dennis, and Brad Hotz. The team is sponsored by Ms. Jeanette Maier-Lytle.
On October 15, 2004, the team competed against some of the top schools in Indiana: IU-Bloomington, University of Notre Dame, IUPUI Kelley School of Business, Butler University, and Manchester. The judges were astounded by the team's ability to cite information and numbers without their notes. Membership in the Toastmasters Club and presentations in various classes contributed to the students' excellent speaking abilities.
IUPUI-Kelley School of Business placed second and Manchester placed third.
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Princeton Review lists USI among best business schools
The MBA program in the College of Business at the University of Southern Indiana has been rated among the top in the nation, according to The Princeton Review. USI’s graduate program in business administration is featured in the student opinion-driven guidebook “Best 143 Business Schools,” published September 21, 2004.
Dr. Mohammed Khayum, associate dean of the USI School of Business and director of the MBA program, said, “To be included in the book is a tremendous accomplishment for an MBA program that has been in existence for just over a decade.”
The Princeton Review surveyed approximately 11,000 MBA students at campuses across the country and collected institutional data to compile the book.
A two-page descriptive profile in “Best 143 Business Schools” covers each school’s academics, admission, student life and campus environment, and career and recruiting. Each profile includes student comments about their experiences. USI MBA students said that they receive “good academic ‘bang for the buck’” and that “you can definitely take pride in this school.”
According to the survey, MBA students at USI said they get solid preparation in teamwork and communication/interpersonal skills.
USI is one of 405 institutions worldwide to have both its graduate and undergraduate programs in business accredited by AACSB International — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The USI programs were awarded accreditation in 1997.
Endowments to provide business scholarships
By CAROL WERSICH Courier & Press staff writer 464-7452
or cwersich@evansville.net
October 6, 2004
For years, civic leader and horticulture pro Susie Gumberts watched the University of Southern Indiana grow. Soon, she was engulfed in the school, she once said.
When it came time to plan her will, she was under some pressure from her son, Alan, to contribute to the University of Michigan, where his father and a sister earned degrees and where one of Susie Gumberts' grandchildren was a student at the time.
"But this is my life ... and USI is part of it," Susie Gumberts explained.
So, in 1996 she disclosed that she had bequeathed $1 million and her relatively new North Side house to the USI College of Business, pending her death.
Ethel Louise "Susie" Gumberts, 88, died Aug. 31, and now her gifts to the university are expected to help fund students' education there indefinitely.
"Her gifts are just fabulous. The scholarships will go on perpetually and make a huge impact on the College of Business," said Suzanne Nicholson, president of the USI Foundation.
Nicholson said it's anticipated Gumberts' $1 million bequest could - in the beginning - annually provide for up to 45 scholarships, each valued at $1,000. Or the money could fund fewer scholarships each, with a greater value, depending on how the money is used.
As the endowment income grows, so will the number of scholarships or value of each, she said.
According to Nicholson, the scholarship presentations aren't expected to begin until 2006 or 2007. This is because the bequest first must be invested for a year to allow for income to build, she said.
Gumberts requested that the scholarships awarded from the endowment become known as the Susie and Richard A. Gumberts Scholarships (in memory of her and her late husband) and the Anna B. and Eugene J. Wells Scholarships (in memory of her late parents).
For years, Richard Gumberts ran R&G Furniture Co. in Downtown Evansville. The Wells' had Wells Department Store, also on Main Street Downtown.
