ROCK ISLAND, IL (05/19/2010)(readMedia)-- Thirty-three Augustana students will spend 11 days this summer in Rome, Italy, studying and visiting a variety of sites including St. Peter's Basilica, the Pantheon and Jewish Quarter. The group will also visit The Vatican and attend an audience or formal meeting with Pope Benedict XVI. The trip to Rome is the final requirement for a class called Faiths in Dialogue, which focuses on both historical and ethical issues within Christianity.

The program started in 2006 as an opportunity for students to participate in an international experience outside of their normal coursework schedule and is open to students of all majors. Every two years, students can sign up for the upper-level religion course during the spring term and then culminate their class work with a trip to Rome.

Students participating from your area include :

• Owen Engstrom from Sherrard, IL. Engstrom is a sophomore majoring in political science.
• Edwin Fonseca from Moline, IL. Fonseca is a junior majoring in business administration management and accounting.
• Josephine Swanson from Rock Island, IL. Swanson is a sophomore majoring in biology.

"I hope that as a result of the experience, students will have a deeper understanding of various religious traditions-their own as well as those of others-and will think seriously about a wide variety of issues," said Dr. Lee, professor and chair of the Department of Religion. This will be the third summer that Dr. Lee has taken Augustana students on the Rome program.

Lee enjoys many of the historical and cultural aspects to the trip, but says his favorite part is the students. "I enjoy spending time in conversation with students in the wonderful rooftop garden atop the very traditional family-owned hotel where the group stays," said Lee. "It's an incredible privilege to spend time in Rome with Augustana students."

Melissa Shore, a junior communications studies major, is excited about returning to Rome to study. "This trip offers the opportunity to experience Italian culture, Roman Catholic traditions and get a glimpse into the ancient Roman world," said Shore. "I jumped at the chance to return to Rome because I will have a greater understanding of the sites that we visit because of the readings we have done in class."

Over the past ten weeks, students have been examining the diversity within Christian ethical thought and addressing challenges raised by cultural, philosophical and religious pluralism through writing and discussion. They have also been studying ancient Roman emperors, many of the previous Popes, and reading a variety of documents published by the Roman Catholic Church. The coursework is designed to provide students with a firm foundation of knowledge about Rome before leaving so they will have a richer experience while studying abroad.

The students leave May 25th and return to the United States on June 4.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls nearly 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

Is there educational value in your Saturday night trip to the cinema?  Though some may hesitate to admit it, films are a significant influence on today's students and compete with books as the primary mode of storytelling.  In today's society, how often does anyone sit still and focus on one thing for two full hours?  That's part of the magic of film! Film can be a powerful educational tool - bringing to life characters, settings, and events that can seem very foreign and remote from a student's world.   Films tell stories in images, color, movement, sound, and light - going immediately to the senses.  For this reason, it can be argued that students register a stronger emotional intensity from film than from text.  The same skills a reader can be taught to bring to a written text are those that a viewer can be taught to bring to a visual text - exploring details of character, theme, plot, mood, conflict, and symbolism.

Local students at Rivermont Collegiate in Bettendorf will be "locked-in" overnight and immersed in the educational value of film on Saturday, May 22nd.  Students in grades 9-12 will gather in the auditorium on the Rivermont campus to view Academy Award winners and nominees including Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Sherlock Holmes, Crazy Heart, and Young Victoria.  To enhance the educational value of the evening and avoid distractions - all cell phones and electronic devices will be confiscated!  Though the value of books and the written text cannot be denied, these students plan to absorb the lessons offered by the best in directing, editing, visual effects, writing, and costume design - and have a little fun, of course!

For additional information on Rivermont Collegiate, contact Cindy Murray at(563) 359-1366 ext. 302 or murray@rvmt.org.

Rivermont Collegiate is the Quad Cities' only private, independent, non-sectarian PS-12th grade college preparatory school.  Visit us online at www.rvmt.org!

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Illinois Institute of Technology Receives Federal, State Awards

CHICAGO - May 12, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today announced that the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) will receive a total of more than $5 million to train and develop workers in smart grid technologies.

It is expected that over 49,000 power industry employees, union workers, teachers and students will be trained in the first three years of the program. The funding is made possible through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and Illinois Jobs Now! program, the job and capital construction plan signed into law by Governor Quinn last year.

"Illinois' economic recovery must include the development of a more robust green sector that supports job creation and sustainable economic growth," said Governor Quinn. "With the help of this funding, Illinois will have a pipeline of workers who are trained in 21^st century green careers and smart grid technology, further addressing our energy independence goals."

IIT will receive nearly $5 million in funding to develop a World-Class Smart Grid Education and Workforce Training Center, including a $2.5 million funding commitment by the state through the Illinois Jobs Now!.

The Center will use IIT's strong Smart Grid and power engineering infrastructure to engage utilities, corporations, labor, veterans, K-12 educators and community colleges in a collaborative, statewide initiative to train the strongest workforce in the world to meet the global challenges in Smart Grid, energy independence, clean tech and sustainable energy.

Illinois Jobs Now! is a $31 billon program which will revive the state's ailing economy by creating and retaining over 439,000 jobs over the next six years. For more information go to jobsnow.illinois.gov.

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Fifth and sixth graders at Earl Hanson School are participating in the "National Lab Day" celebration this week by learning about water treatment programs. Area scientists and professors are going to spend part of the day educating 100 students about clean water, water conservation, third world water problems, etc.

The connection among the school and scientists was made by teacher, Kate Lievens, who signed up online through a relatively new nationwide program called "National Lab Day" (www.NationalLabDay.org). At this site teachers sign up for projects they would like to see in their classrooms and are matched up with scientists who want to help educate area school children.

The media is invited to see National Lab Day in action Wednesday, May 12th beginning at 11:00 at Earl Hanson School (4000 9th Street). Available for interviews are Lievens, Dr. Kevin Geedey (Professor of Biology at Augustana College), Sandy O'Neill with the Rock Island Water Treatment Plant, Bob Bohannon a Moline Water lab Chemist and Greg Swanson, Moline's Utilities General Manager.

The National Lab Day site is one element in a White House initiative to encourage public-private partnerships in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. Lievens is one of the first teachers to participate in the program and has been featured in a national science magazine.

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