Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who served as president of India from 2002 to 2007, will speak on “The Future of Energy: Energy Independence and the Importance of Alternative Energy” when he visits EKU on Tuesday, April 13.

Behind the effort of a 20-win season, the EKU men’s basketball team has earned a berth in the 2010 College Basketball Invitational. The Colonels will host College of Charleston at 7 p.m. on March 17.

Support from local groups and individuals in the community, including Eastern's Diversity Office, African/African American Studies Program, Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, Office of International Studies, College of Education, and Education Pays Center, allowed the annual Richmond Unity Breakfast, held Feb. 27 in the Perkins Building, to continue for the seventh year.

For the 13th consecutive year, the Empty Bowls Project is helping to put food on the table for hungry people in Madison County.

The popular community event, co-sponsored by EKU, will be held Friday, March 26, at First Baptist Church, 425 Eastern ByPass, Richmond. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. For a $12 donation, participants will receive a handmade pottery bowl, homemade soup, bread and drink. Both meals will also feature entertainment by local musical groups. At lunch, two small EKU ensembles, EKUpella and Treblemakers, will perform under the direction of Sue Ellen Ballard, and Merwyn Jackson and a group of dulcimer players will play at the dinner.

The Center for the Performing Arts, now under construction on EKU’s Richmond campus, will be the subject of a presentation at the fifth annual Best Practices in Building University/City Relations Conference, hosted by the International Town & Gown Association and Iowa State University.

Clients served by the Eastern Region Innovation and Commercialization Center, based at Eastern, are among those at the forefront of Kentucky’s efforts to become a national leader in energy technology and production.

The next lecture in the Chautauqua Lecture Series, “Creative Inquiries,” will feature EKU alumna Rushda Majeed, program director for the American Society for Muslim Advancement as well as a writer and filmmaker.

Majeed will present “Change from Within: Highlighting Young Muslim Leaders,” Thursday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m. in O’Donnell Hall, the Student Services Building auditorium.

Construction on the Noel Studio for Academic Creativity, located inside the historic Crabbe Library entrance, has come a long way since the groundbreaking on Sept. 19, 2009. The Noel Studio space, with an anticipated August 2010 completion date, is steadily coming together—walls have come down, beams have been placed, and three new skylights were recently installed, allowing sunlight to flood into the future Noel Studio space.

A panel of women in Kentucky politics will discuss their influence on policy during a presentation from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on March 16 in the Kennamer Room of the Powell Building.

By placing third in a regional tournament, Eastern’s Mock Trial Team is once again headed for the national championship event – a feat achieved by only about one in three teams across the U.S.

Just as one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as the saying goes, an Apparel Production class at Eastern Kentucky University has made the most of scrap material discarded after the previous semester.

The Eastern Progress fared well at the annual Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association college newspaper awards contest, hosted at Transylvania University.

The student chapter of the American Choral Directors Association will present “Eastern Stars, a Night on Broadway,” on March 23, at 8 p.m. in O’Donnell Hall, the Student Services Building auditorium.

Sixteen Eastern students enrolled in the University’s mental health and school counseling master’s degree programs in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology recently received National Counselor Certification, passing the National Board for Certified Counselors’ certification exam with scores exceeding the national average by approximately 75 points.

Every spring for the last 10 years, students of Dr. Ed Fenton’s corporate tax classes have volunteered to help international students prepare their income tax returns. According to Fenton, “It is a win-win situation. The international students get tax preparation assistance and the accounting students get the experience of working with international tax filers.” To prepare an accurate return, the accounting majors need to be aware of international tax laws and tax treaties the U.S. has with various countries around the world. Fenton reviews all of the returns before they are filed to ensure accuracy.

Approximately 30 international students visited “VITA Tax Help” sessions on March 1 and March 3 and received free tax preparation assistance. Students from around the globe participated in the program – including those from Botswana, Bulgaria, China, India, and Germany.

The nation’s second oldest music camp will celebrate its 75th season this summer at Eastern.

Founded in the midst of the Great Depression, the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camps – with numerous camp options throughout June for middle school and high school students – continue to draw young musicians from throughout the nation and even internationally.

The most recent class of graduates of Eastern’s online master’s degree program in Safety, Security and Emergency Management included 47 certificate holders.

A group of EKU graduate students recently visited the heart of state government as political action in the State Capitol was going into high gear. The students got a close-up glimpse of government at work while meeting with lawmakers, observing budget hearings, and learning about the ways citizen input shapes public policy, as part of a graduate-level Public Finance Administration class taught by EKU Assistant Professor Dr. LeAnn Beaty.

More than a thousand of the best and brightest K-12 students from throughout Kentucky, along with their teachers, coaches and parents, will converge on the EKU campus on Saturday, March 27 for the statewide Odyssey of the Mind competition.

For the Student Alumni Ambassadors, a recent district conference proved to be memorable, especially for two members.

At the District 3 Conference for the Council for Advancement and Support of Education Affiliated Student Advancement Programs (CASE ASAP) in Oxford, Miss., Nick Sexton of Lebanon, Ohio, was elected as the new ASAP Kentucky state representative for all CASE Kentucky schools, and Leah Barron, Cincinnati, received the 2009 Most Outstanding Leader Award.

EKU Catering, along with Conferencing and Events, will host the Bridal and Events Showcase on Sunday, March 21, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Keen Johnson Building.

After four successful years, Eastern’s “Try Teaching” program is again accepting applications from mid- and second-career professionals who are intrigued about their potential in front of a classroom.

QEP Stars, a regular feature in EKUpdate, will take a look at those faculty members who are incorporating critical/creative thinking and communication strategies with their students. The feature hopes to show how those strategies have impacted the classroom experience, both from a learning and teaching standpoint. This issue's "QEP Star" is Jan Colbert, accounting professor and director of EKU's MBA program.

Brett Morris, Associate Director for Veterans in the Student Outreach and Transition Office, is featured in this ongoing series designed to allow EKU leaders and others in prominent positions to discuss their roles as well as campus issues. Morris holds a master's degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, an associate degree from New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell and a bachelor's degree in advertising from Texas Tech.

David Brown, Biological Sciences, was awarded $1,528 from the Kentucky Academy of Science for student research on land snail community ecology across a gradient of disturbance in forests of Eastern Kentucky.

William Davis and Dennis Field, Technology, were awarded $1,226 from the Kentucky Department for Technical Education in Perkins carry-forward funds.

Carol Gabbard, College of Education, was awarded $150,000 from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to host a summer academy for GEAR UP targeted rising high school juniors that addresses academic planning, experimental and enrichment opportunities, study skills, personal development, and leadership skills.

Alice Jones, Environmental Research Institute, was awarded $959 from the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation as a “Young Investigator” travel award for the 2010 National EPSCoR Coalition Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Alice Jones, Environmental Research Institute, was awarded $24,000 from Wheeling Jesuit University to organize a regional scientific conference to bring together researchers with citizens to determine the state of Appalachian science, particularly in the realm of linking environmental science with community.

Stephen Richter, Biological Sciences, was awarded $1,200 from the Kentucky Academy of Science for student research to determine the effect of artificial ponds and pond age on amphibian community composition and to determine the effectiveness of constructed wetlands based on fitness correlates.

In the Feb. 8 issue of EKUpdate, a story about EKU contributions to local safety and health omitted the names of two faculty who contributed to the program. Dr. Michelle Gerken from the Department of Recreation and Park Administration and Dr. Preston Elrod from the College of Justice and Safety discussed a juvenile delinquency prevention program with the College of Justice & Safety in the Madison County School District.