UofL President James Ramsey sports a Central High hat during his recent visit.

The most recent segment of University of Louisville's 2010 Presidential Outreach tour didn't stray far from home base. President James Ramsey stayed in Louisville, visiting students at Manual, Shawnee, and Central high schools and encouraging them to check out UofL as a college choice.

Ramsey showed the students a video titled "UofL Has Changed," which chronicles the startling progress and changes at UofL in the past 10 years, said university spokesman Mark Hebert, who accompanies Ramsey on the tour. He also assured students that a college education is within their reach and they don't need to leave their hometown to get a quality education.

Admissions Director Jenny Sawyer answered questions, while students Deep Aggarwal, Michael Branch and Osiah Graham told the high schoolers about their dynamic experiences at UofL, Hebert said. Aggarwal, Branch and Graham graduated from Manual, Shawnee and Central, respectively. Read more...

Monica Marks makes friends in Luxor, Egypt.

Monica Marks, the first University of Louisville alumna to be named a Rhodes Scholar, recently was in Kentucky between completing a Fulbright year studying in Turkey and starting her graduate career at Oxford University.

While she was in the States, she talked to school children and students at UofL, attended a football game and the State of the University address as the guest of President James Ramsey and caught up with friends and family. The whirlwind pace left her barely able to catch her breath. We caught up with her via e-mail in Oxford, England, to ask about her time at home and the next step in her journey. Read and hear more...

From left: Tim Cribbet, Greg Cribbet and Patrick John Hughes. Seated: Patrick Henry Hughes.

Two fathers recently were honored as University of Louisville Parents of the Year for helping their sons overcome adversity so they could attend and succeed in college. The award, now in its third year, is designed to let students recognize their parents for the help and support they've given throughout the students' lives. This year's recipients were Patrick John Hughes and Greg Cribbet. Each father received a plaque and a copy of his son's nomination letter at a ceremony Homecoming day at the Student Activities Center. This is the first time two awards have been given. Read more...

U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, Massachusetts

Scott Brown, a Massachusetts Republican elected to fill the U.S. Senate term vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy, will speak at the University of Louisville Nov. 8 as a guest of UofL's McConnell Center. His free talk will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Bigelow Hall, Miller Information Technology Center, Belknap Campus. "We welcome Senator Brown to the university to discuss his election, recent developments in Washington and the future of American politics after the 2010 midterm elections," said Gary Gregg, McConnell Center director. Sen. Brown, 51, is the first Massachusetts Republican to serve in U.S. Congress since 1997. He won a landslide victory in last year's GOP primary for Kennedy's Senate seat and defeated Massachusetts' attorney general in the general election. He has resisted political labels such as conservative, moderate and liberal Republican, instead describing himself as "social moderate and fiscally conservative." Read more...

Army Medical Corps team at UofL

Members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Medical Corps from Fort Knox have been gaining additional training at the University of Louisville before shipping out to Afghanistan in December. The team has been working in UofL's fresh tissue dissection laboratory and other facilities through the Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, and under the direction of Fred Roisen and Robert Acland. "This training is invaluable to our team," said Capt. Charles Asher. Read more.

A Christmas Story at Actors Theatre, November 27.

Reserve your seats today. Join your UofL Alumni Association for a hilarious performance at Actors Theatre of A Christmas Story, based on the motion picture from Turner Entertainment Co.

In this Christmas adventure like no other, a boy's ardent campaign for a Red Ryder BB gun against all odds (You'll shoot your eye out!) unfolds amid seasonal shenanigans involving a leg lamp, a bunny suit and a tongue stuck on a frozen flagpole. Relive a family tradition or start one anew by joining Ralphie and his family for this stage adaption of the beloved film inspired by Jean Shepherd's classic American story of Christmas and growing up in the Midwest. For full details on all upcoming alumni events, visit the events calendar.

Rex Minks, George Howe, Carolyn Ann Stevens, Andrew Williams and Lynne McKnight.

When George Howe, director of special programs for Student Affairs, started working at the University of Louisville, the Red Barn was on the edge of Belknap Campus. The year was 1970, and UofL was a small municipal school that had just entered the state system of higher education. In many ways, UofL then was a completely different university from what it is now. One of the most obvious of those differences was its physical appearance. Both Belknap Campus and the Health Sciences Center had completely different looks. Many of the buildings considered now to be campus anchors didn't even exist. Carolyn Ann Stevens, a unit business manager for Housing and Residence Life, said the physical environment is the change that stands out most to her in the time she has worked at UofL. Like Howe, she started working at the university in 1970.

Howe; Stevens; Jane Goldstein, assistant dean, College of Business; Jean McCabe, assistant dean for finance, College of Arts and Sciences; Lynne McKnight, administrative assistant, general surgery; and Andrew Williams, coordinator, Arts and Sciences Academic Advising Center, were honored for 40 years of distinguished service to UofL at the Oct. 8 staff recognition lunch. Rex Minks, electrician, Belknap Electrical Operations, was honored for 45 years of distinguished service. Read more...

"Summer Hours" is among the Festival offerings.

The second annual French Film Festival at the University of Louisville begins Nov. 4 at the Floyd Theater, Student Activities Center, Belknap Campus. The festival features five recently released films with English subtitles throughout November. Admission is free and open to the public. Here's the schedule:
Lorna's Silence
6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Nov. 4 and 3 p.m. Nov. 5
Summer Hours
6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Nov. 9 and 3 p.m. Nov. 10
The Beautiful Person
6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Nov. 11 and 3 p.m. Nov. 12
Seraphine
6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Nov. 16 and 3 p.m. Nov. 17
A Town Called Panic
6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Nov. 18 and 3 p.m. Nov. 19

Cinema has taken an increasingly important place in the curriculum of several departments at UofL, and the festival allows faculty to show students some of the best of recent French films, said Matthieu Dalle, an associate professor of French at UofL who applied for and received grants from The Tournees Festival to fund the UofL festival both years. Read more...

Part of the Ali Institute's SeeRedNow campaign.

About half of the events in this year's Peace & Justice Week are being put on by a campus organization other than the event sponsor, the Ali Institute for Peace and Justice. That's OK with Stacy Bailey-Ndiaye, the institute's director. Peace and Justice Week has been embraced campuswide, she said, and it is part of the fabric of the fall. "I'm really proud of that. What we're about is collaboration and working with others."

This year's Peace and Justice Week is designed to bring awareness to several issues: the environment, classism, and community activism to name just a few. "It's a little more hands on" than in past years, she noted, with much of the focus on workshops rather than talks. Next event is "The Civil Rights Movement and Students: Creating a Vital Transformative Change in the Struggle for American Freedom," by The Songtalker, Bernice Reagon, a longtime musical and cultural leader in the civil rights movement. Sponsored by the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research. Friday, Nov. 5, 6 p.m., Comstock Hall, School of Music. For other events, read more...

Louisville head coach Charlie Strong

Louisville football head coach Charlie Strong and senior tight end Cameron Graham met with reporters on Monday to preview Saturday's BIG EAST Conference road game at Syracuse. The Cardinals and Orange are scheduled to kick off at noon ET at the Carrier Dome and the game will be televised by the BIG EAST Network. WHAS-TV in Louisville will also televise the game locally.

In their last outing, the Cardinals dropped their 11th straight BIG EAST game on the road, falling to Pittsburgh 20-3 at Heinz Field last Saturday. Coming into the game averaging 442.3 yards of total offense, the Cardinals were held to a season-low 185 yards of total offense and just 82 yards through the air. Louisville rushed for 103 yards, which marked just the third time this year that Pittsburgh allowed a team to rush for more than 100 yards in a game, but the Cardinals were held without a touchdown for the first time since falling 17-9 to West Virginia in 2009. Read and hear more...

Head softball coach Sandy Pearsall

University of Louisville softball head coach Sandy Pearsall has announced the 2011 season schedule. The Cardinals will match up against four teams which finished last season ranked in the top 25 as well as nine 2010 NCAA tournament participants. Additionally, Ulmer Stadium will serve as the host site for the 2011 BIG EAST Conference Championship for the fourth straight year.

"This is a challenging schedule against some top-level teams," said Pearsall. "We have our work cut out for us, but I am confident in our returning players and look forward to the contribution of our newcomers." The 2011 schedule is highlighted by 9/8 Alabama, No. 10/11 Michigan, No. 18/19 Texas, No. 22/24 Ohio State as well as a challenging BIG EAST Conference schedule. Read more...

Former Cardinal Aaron Clapham

Former Cardinal soccer standout Aaron Clapham earned two caps with the New Zealand All Whites (national team) at the ASB International Series. Clapham earned his caps against Honduras and Paraguay. Clapham made his first appearance in the All Whites' 1-1 draw with Honduras at Auckland's North Harbour Stadium on Saturday night. He earned his second cap in the 2-0 loss to Paraguay. Read more...

UofL senior LaToya Johnson

Partnering with UofL Athletics, the UofL Alumni Association has arranged for UofL alumni to purchase discounted tickets to the Louisville vs. Tennessee Women's Basketball game on November 12th. This is a web only promotion.

GAME DETAILS: Louisville vs. Tennessee, Friday, November 12th, 7 p.m., KFC - Yum! Center, Louisville.

HOW TO GET TICKETS: Click this link to order your tickets: Women's Basketball Ticket Offer. Type "Cardinals" in the Password box.

If you have any questions, or need to get a group of 10 or more tickets, please contact Eric Clouse at (502) 852-7254.
Reserve tickets now...