The University of Evansville has announced the appointment of Dr. Jill Griffin as the Executive Director of the Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana.  Dr. Griffin is currently Director of the GAP Program and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Evansville.

“Dr. Griffin brings a unique combination of academic, professional, and international experience to this position,” noted UE President Tom Kazee.  “Her work with our very successful GAP program – which brings students together into cross-disciplinary teams to provide value for regional and global enterprises – has demonstrated her multiple strengths as a teacher, program developer, and leader.  We’re particularly excited about this opportunity to make the GAP Program a vibrant contributor to the learning experience for students across the University.”

“I am truly excited about the opportunity to further enhance the global capabilities of our region and to prepare our students for leadership in a globally interconnected world,” Griffin said. “The cornerstone of our initiative, the GAP Program, draws upon the strengths of the university and our partners in the community. Our liberal arts foundation, strong professional programs, and intensive faculty-student interaction allow us to collaborate in unique ways to address complex issues facing enterprises today. This enables UE to attract highly capable students and to enhance the intellectual capital of the region. It is this winning combination that energizes me the most about this opportunity.” 

Prior to completing her Ph.D. in Marketing at the University of Texas, Dr. Griffin worked for Dell Computer Corporation as a Brand Manager and as a Business Development Manager responsible for Dell’s strategic relationships with various consulting partners.  Dr. Griffin also served as Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, working primarily in supply chain operations systems. She brings additional experience in high tech from her work at Intel Corporation and Motorola, Inc.

In addition to her Ph.D., Dr. Griffin’s broad academic background includes an MBA and MSE in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan, an MA in Economics from Indiana University, and a BA in Mathematics and Russian Language from Trinity University.

Dr. Griffin has spent more than seven years living, working, and studying in countries including Russia, Bulgaria, Austria, and Germany. She teaches marketing courses regularly at the University of Konstanz in Germany and conducts research with colleagues in Germany, Switzerland, and Azerbaijan. Her published research focuses on behavioral decision-making and consumer behavior, and has appeared in top professional journals, including the Journal of Consumer Psychology and the Journal of Marketing Research.

The Institute for Global Enterprise in Indiana is dedicated to preparing UE students and Indiana enterprises for global leadership, citizenry, and success.  The Institute is funded by the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc. 
 

UE Libraries will observe the following schedule of hours during the Winter Session. Contact William Louden, University Librarian, with questions.

Winter Intersession Hours

* January 5-9: 7:30 am - 5:00 pm
* January 10-11: CLOSED

The Koch Center parking lot will be closed beginning late Wednesday evening, December 17, and lasting until noon on Wednesday, December 24. This closure is necessary to prepare the site for construction of the McCarthy Greenhouse. During this time, fencing and barricades will be erected to define the construction area and ingress egress lanes for equipment. The parking lot will be open for the beginning of the Spring semester, with limited capacity. Please call the Facilities office at 2775 if you have any questions or concerns. 

Holiday hours for the UE Medical Clinic:

Wednesday November 26 - CLOSED
Thursday November 27 Thanksgiving- CLOSED
Tuesday, December 23 - OPEN
Wednesday December 24, Christmas Eve - CLOSED
Thursday December 25, Christmas Day - CLOSED
Tuesday, December 30 - OPEN
Wednesday December 31, New Year’s Eve - CLOSED
Thursday January 1, New Year’s Day – CLOSED

Evansville student athletes visited local elementary school students last week to spread Christmas cheer.

The Aces traveled to Holy Spirit, St. Benedict’s and Vogel Elementary Schools reading Christmas stories and passing out candy canes.

Student athletes from baseball, men’s swimming, softball, volleyball, women’s basketball, women’s golf, women’s swimming all took time out of their Reading/Study Day to participate in the holiday hospitality.

“Giving back to the community is something that is so important as student athletes,” said women’s soccer player Allie Arguello. “We rely on the support of the community when we are competing, so whenever we are able to donate our time to better the community, it really feels good. Whether we are able to help at a non-profit organization or make an impact on children's lives, volunteering is a great way to express our appreciation for the community support we receive.”

The student athletes were dressed in santa hats as well as elf and gingerbread costumes. Purple Santa and Ace Purple were also both on hand to make the children smile.

The student athletes also participated in Toys for Tots last week. They shopped at Walmart and dropped off toys at Old National Bank on Lincoln Avenue.
 

Set for his first season at the helm of the University of Evansville softball program, head coach Mat Mundell has announced the schedule for the 2015 campaign.

“We are excited to announce the 2015 schedule. The schedule will challenge our team early with some nationally ranked opponents,” Mundell said. “This tough start to the season will prepare our team for the always competitive Missouri Valley Conference.”

Five tournaments mark the beginning of the season as the Purple Aces make three trips to the state of Alabama. The season starts a week earlier than usual with a trip to the Plainsman Invite hosted by Auburn University. The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and host an event that also features George Washington, Chattanooga, UAB and Appalachian State. UAB has been to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last five seasons.

A trip to the Mardi Gras Invitational will take place over Valentine’s Day weekend. South Alabama will host the tournament as the Aces will also take on Butler, Lipscomb and Oklahoma State. The swing through Alabama continues from Feb. 20-22 as UE heads to Troy, Ala. For the Firehouse Invite. Northern Illinois, the University of Connecticut and Troy will be the opponents.

Next up is a trek to Macon, Ga. for the Black & Orange Challenge at Mercer University. Aside from Mercer, the Aces will take on Buffalo, Kennesaw State and two opponents that will be determined. Tournament play wraps up the next week (March 6-8) at the Mizuno Classic in Stillwater, Okla. Oklahoma State is the host as UE will take on the Cowgirls, UMKC, Connecticut and two more opponents.

The home opener is set for March 14 in the first Missouri Valley Conference outing of the season against Loyola. It is a doubleheader with the final game set for the 15th. Other home conference weekends include 3/28-29 against Illinois State, April 14 vs. Southern Illinois and 4/18-19 against UNI. Defending MVC champion Bradley completes the home slate on May 2-3 for three games at Cooper Stadium.

Also in the mix is a midweek home doubleheader versus Murray State set for 3 p.m. on April 21.

Road league series begin on March 21 as the Aces travel to Des Moines to face Drake. The squad opens the month of April with a trip to Missouri State on the 3rd and 4th and is back on the road the next weekend to face Indiana State.

April 22 will see UE head to Carbondale for a single game at SIU before completing the road schedule on the 25th and 26th of the month at Wichita State. 

The University of Evansville women’s basketball team (5-4) shot a program record 62.5% from the floor, scored a season-high in points and posted five double digit scoring efforts in a 94-85 victory over the Troy Trojans on Thursday night.

Making her season debut, senior guard Kat Taylor returned from a ruptured Achilles to score 10 points and dish a career-high 8 assists on her 22nd birthday. Evansville also received a game-high 22 points from sophomore guard Sara Dickey, her 15th career game of 20 or more points. Senior forward Mallory Ladd posted her 19th career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

After both teams swapped baskets to begin the game, UE started to pull away. Leading 7-6, Evansville went on a 13-0 run to build a double digit advantage. Five different Aces scored during that stretch as Evansville led 20-9 with 12:00 to go in the first half. Moments later, Troy lowered the deficit to eight only to see UE rebuilt the lead to 18 points by halftime. Taylor hit back to back threes during the late run and distributed four assists in the first half.

Evansville led 53-35 before the second half even started. The 53 points were a UE season-high for any half this year. The Aces had 15 first half assists on 21 made field goals. Dickey netted 13 points in the opening stanza. Ladd and senior guard Khristian Hart each had nine points. Robinson also added eight for Evansville.

Down by 18, the Trojans scored the first six points of the second half to move within a 12 point margin. The Aces then rallied back with an 18-5 run to build a game-high 26 point lead. Freshman guard Kenyia Johnson scored four of her career-high 14 points during the rally as UE went ahead 75-49 with 10:23 remaining in regulation.

Troy clamored back during the final minutes but UE would hold on to the advantage for the 12 point victory.

Evansville is now a perfect 4-0 at home, their best start since winning the first four home games of the 2007-08 season. Sophomore guard Sasha Robinson ended the night with 11 points and 9 rebounds, just one rebound shy of her third double-double of the year. Ladd also tied a career-high with four steals. With two blocks, Ladd passed Heidi Seltzer for 8th most blocks in program history (51). This is the first time since the 1990-91 season that the Aces have shot over 60% on field goals in a game. UE also ended the night with a season-high 25 assists. UE made a season-high 10 threes and shot a season-best 55.6% from beyond the arc.

Evansville will try for their fifth consecutive win on Sunday, December 21 when they visit IUPUI at 1 p.m. UE’s next home game will be on January 8, 2015 with a 7:00 p.m. tip against Loyola of the Missouri Valley Conference. Tickets can be purchased over the phone at 812-488-ACES (2237), in person at either the Carson Center or Ford Center ticket office, or online via Ticketmaster.com.
 

Led by D.J. Balentine's 23 points, four Purple Aces found double figures in the scorebook as the University of Evansville basketball team earned an 81-69 win over Ohio University on Thursday evening at the Ford Center.

Evansville (8-2) trailed the Bobcats (3-4) by two at the half, but utilized an 11-0 run in the second half to lead by as many as six points with five minutes left. Ohio U. fought back to send the game to overtime where the UE defense held strong. The Aces shut out the Bobcats by a 12-0 score in the extra session, forcing them to miss all nine shots.

With a 12-0 shutout in overtime, the Aces became the first Missouri Valley Conference team to shut out a non-conference opponent in overtime in the last 20 years. It was the second overall shutout in the extra session as Drake outscored Bradley by a 5-0 tally in OT on Jan. 28, 2004. The Bulldogs earned a 62-57 win over the Braves in that contest.

Balentine was 8-19 from the field while setting his career mark with eight rebounds. Egidijus Mockevicius posted his second double-double in a row and sixth of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Simmons had his top game of the season with 14 points while Adam Wing checked in with 11 points and six rebounds.

"We did not play with a lot of emotion for the first 35 minutes, but picked up our intensity in the last five minutes and that carried over into overtime," Evansville head coach Marty Simmons said.

Wing echoed those sentiments.

"As the game went on, I felt like our intensity skyrocketed and the crowd was a huge help for us," Wing explained. "It was big for us to bounce back. Give us a lot of credit - our backs were against the wall. We needed this win."

Blake Simmons got the Aces on the board and scored a game-high of ten points in the first 20 minutes, including two triples. The Bobcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead with their opening two shots falling before Simmons hit UE's first bucket of the night. Just over three minutes in, D.J. Balentine got on the board with a jumper to tie it up for the first time at 7-7.

Ohio U. got called for two technical fouls in the first nine minutes. The first sent Balentine to the line as he gave UE its first advantage at 8-7. Behind back-to-back triples, the Bobcats took their largest lead at 15-10. They connected on five of their ten triples in the period.

Down 18-17, Evansville took its largest advantage with 8:44 left as Jaylon Brown hit a long jumper. That followed an Adam Wing trey, which saw UE go up 22-18.

Ten lead changes took place in the first 20 minutes. Over the final 7 minutes, neither team would lead by more than a possession. In the final seconds, Stevie Taylor hit a layup to give the Bobcats a 38-36 lead at the half. The Bobcats did their work in the paint, outscoring UE by an 18-8 tally through 20 minutes. Maurice Ndour had 7 points and 5 boards to pace OU.

Two minutes into the second half, Javarez Willis hit a basket to give the Bobcats a 4-point lead and that edge would go up to six with 15:45 remaining. Ohio University continued to lead as their advantage stood at 57-52 before the Aces made their rally. Evansville scored 11 points in a row over the span of 3:36 to take a 57-63 edge with 5:11 remaining. Wing notched four over that span.

Evansville continued to hold the lead, which stood at six with four minutes left. That is when the Bobcats rallied back. They got back within a possession with a triple at the 3:57 mark before Ndour hit a layup to get within one with 82 ticks left. Willis capped off the comeback as his second triple tied it up at 69-69 inside of the 1-minute mark. The Aces were unable to convert on two opportunities and the game went to overtime.

In the extra period, it was all Aces. They shut out the Bobcats by a 12-0 mark to earn the 81-69 win. OU missed all nine of its attempts in the extra stanza while the Aces were 3-5 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the line.

Four Bobcats hit double figures, led by Ndour. He tallied 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Willis notched 12 while Antonio Campbell and Stevie Taylor had 10 apiece.

Evansville finished the night shooting 50% while OU checked in at 41.4%. The Aces finished the night with a 38-33 rebounding edge and were credited with 21 assists in 27 makes.

On Sunday, the Aces wrap up their pre-Christmas slate against Alabama State at 1:05 p.m. For tickets, call 812-488-ACES.