Some of you may be aware of Jeff Kelly Lowenstein's investigative work on global lotteries. If you'd like to learn more, you can visit his the Gaming the Lottery site or read one of Jeff's recently published news stories:

• http://www.pennlive.com/watchdog/2017/09/defying_the_odds_part_1.html
  
• http://www.pennlive.com/watchdog/2017/09/defying_the_odds_methodology.html
• https://www.cjr.org/watchdog/lottery-winners-foia-reporting.php

Len O'Kelly has accepted a nomination to serve as the Chair of the College Media Association Broadcast Committee. He writes:

The Broadcast Committee specifically works to reach out to member schools with broadcasting programs. It also designs workshops and presentations for the national college media conferences the Association hosts.  (The Fall conference is in Dallas and the Spring conference is in New York City.) Our main purpose is to help advisors to help students make their transitions from college careers to professional media careers.
 
College Media Association info is here: cma.cloverpad.org
 
In a nutshell: the Association was formed in 1954 and brings together advisers of student media operations at public and private 2- and 4-year institutions across the United States. There are currently over 600 members in the organization.

The Padnos International Center is looking for faculty to apply for their Partnership Delegation to Australia over spring break. It sounds like an amazing opportunity, and they are particularly interested in applications from the School of Communications. Rebecca Hambleton writes, "Our two partners in Australia have some really interesting communications opportunities that our students could benefit from. They may also have some interesting research taking place that might be of interest to faculty. It would be great to see a faculty application from your department this year."

For more information, visit the Partnership Delegation web page. Don't delay, since applications are due October 1.

The Character and the Presidency event sponsored by the Hauenstein Center will now be livestreamed in the Multipurpose Room in the library. Here's a description of the event:

The Hauenstein Center is proud to announce our second biennial Character and the Presidency event, in partnership with The Peter F. Secchia Family, the Meijer Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum.

The event will feature David Brooks, distinguished political commentator and New York Times columnist, alongside bestselling presidential historian Ronald C. White, for a conversation about the past, present, and future of the American presidency. No subject could be more timely and important for the promotion of ethical, effective leadership in the twenty-first century. Ambassador Peter Secchia will address why he felt the need to initiate a hard-hitting series on character in the presidency.

Zulema Moret from Modern Languages and Literatures passes along this information about the Red Shoes Project against Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking:

This will be a month-long celebration to introduce students, faculty, and staff to one of the most painful and serious issues that communities are facing in the modern world. A variety of events are planned that will allow people to discuss and debate the violence exerted on women and girls and the international problem of human trafficking. This series of events will take place from October 25th through November 5th and will include the following:

• Films
• Panel discussions (one in Spanish and a second in English)
• Community shoe collection and painting event (students, faculty, and staff)
• An art installation in a public space (i.e. Red Shoes Project) 
• A visit by and installation of the Red Shoes Project by Mexican artist and creator Elina Chauvet
• Participation by the artist in panel discussions and other events

These diverse events will take place in the months of October and November, and we will be sending a detailed program and flyer with the corresponding sites and days. We plan to present the program to the Grand Rapids community, networking with diverse institutions, including: Hispanic Center of West Michigan, Dominican Center at Marywood, Diocese of Grand Rapids (i.e. Catholic Information Center), as well as other agencies and community services.
 
If you would like to have a more detailed description of the Red Shoes Project, please visit the following links: http://www.elinachauvet.com and http://www.artillerymag.com/elina-chauvet/ .

There will be a showing of the film Shakespeare Behind Bars on October 4, at 7 p.m., in the Louis Armstrong Theatre. A 90-minute discussion with Director Curt Tofteland will follow. The event is pending approval for LIB 100, so please feel free to invite any interested students. For more information, contact Jim Bell.

Our colleague Melba Vélez Ortiz (with Chad, of course!) was the keynote speaker at the Laker Familia Orientation, where she helped welcome the largest class of Latina/o freshmen in GVSU history. Links and pictures are included below.

• https://www.facebook.com/gvsulakerfamilia/posts/649906125207229
  
• https://www.facebook.com/GVSUPeaceCorps/posts/596493727407071