UofL President Dr. James Ramsey delivers the 2010 State of the University address.

Sometimes you have to look for inspiration to make it through tough times. That's what President James Ramsey told faculty, staff, students and guests Sept. 21 in his annual State of the University address. In it, he let the audience in on some of his fears and concerns about meeting the state's 1997 mandate to UofL to become a premier metropolitan research university. He noted that he sometimes wonders if "policymakers really expect us to meet a goal that was set in … a time when the economy was better and it was recognized, clearly understood, and articulated through the public policy of the commonwealth that this journey to 2020 was the way to improve the quality of life for the people in our state?" Read and hear more...

President James Ramsey at West Carter High

It's called "presidential outreach," but the University of Louisville's annual autumn trek into Kentucky to visit high schools might be called the "The Ramsey, Researchers and Recruiters Road Show." The 2010 version of UofL's outreach to Kentucky high school students began Sept. 22 with a reception for Governor's Scholars and other talented seniors at the Marion County home of UofL trustee Salem George Sr., M.D. The mission will end in November after President James Ramsey has visited at least 16 high schools and thousands of students across Kentucky. Read more...

UofL's CII Building

Researchers at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute have received a $2,027,059 grant from the National Institutes of Health to further develop an implantable pump that could dramatically improve the lives of patients with single ventricle heart disease. The disease is a congenital condition in which one chamber of the heart is either missing or underdeveloped, causing an overwhelming burden on the remaining chambers to pump blood effectively. UofL biomedical engineer Guruprasad Giridharan, PhD; Indiana University pediatric surgeon Mark Rodefeld, MD; and Purdue University mechanical engineer Steve Frankel, PhD, lead the project. Read more...

Jane Goodall

UofL will host the Blugrass Bioneers Conference Oct. 22-24. This conference seeks out "nature's operating instructions" to solve environmental and social problems. National presenters include Jane Goodall, John Francis (Planetwalker), James Hansen (NASA), and several other social and scientific innovators. Regional speakers include Tom Fitzgerald, Richard Olsen (Resilient Berea), Keith Mountain, Emily Goldstein, Jeff Biggers, and many more. There still is room if you or your organization would like to participate. For more information: www.bluegrassbioneers.org .

">

DRACULA at Actors Theatre, October 16.

Reserve your seats today for Louisville's original Halloween cult thriller! Experience the Louisville tradition that drips with suspense - and even more blood! This celebrated gothic screamfest is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Dramatized by Hamilton Dean and John L. Balderston from Bram Stoker's world famous novel as adapted & directed by William McNulty. The Fall season of special events begins October 16. For full details on all upcoming alumni events, visit the events calendar.

Midnight Mayhem winner UofL's No. 88

The University of Louisville's number 88 car outlasted the competition Sept. 25th in the third annual Midnight Mayhem mini-Baja endurance race. The car won by completing the most laps. The event is put on by the student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Teams competed from 8 p.m. to midnight on a lighted dirt track at Podium1 Motoplex, in Charlestown, Ind. Earlier in the week during some test hours preparing for the Mayhem race the Louisville SAE car's hydraulic brake systems failed, potentially putting the car out of the running for even making it into the race lineup. The UL-SAE teams (Formula and Baja) pulled together as a unit and worked throughout the week and that long day to finally pass their brake test and complete the safety inspection — with only about an hour to spare before the start of the race! Read more...

Per Svensson parks a bus at the World Equestrian Games.

UofL student Per Svensson won't get paid for his work at the Alltech World Equestrian Games. His job — keeping dozens of shuttle buses, cars and taxis on schedule as they enter and leave the Lexington-based, international event — isn't easy, but Svensson is enthusiastic nonetheless. "I believe it is an incredible opportunity to gain hands-on experience with a major international sporting event," he said. Svensson is one of 26 students who are working at the games Sept. 25th through Oct. 10th as part of a special class in UofL's Sport Administration program. The class gives students work experience — and college credit. Read more...

Solar panels on Justin Mog's house near Louisville's Highlands.

Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives, has put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. His house was one of seven houses featured Oct. 2 on an annual Louisville Solar Tour organized by the Kentucky Solar Energy Society. Everything except the gas stove and high-efficiency furnace is powered by solar energy gathered by the 18 solar panels he and his wife, Amanda Fuller, had installed at the end of July. "I try to live by example as much as possible, so going solar was just a way for me to 'get my own house in order'," Mog said. "I tell people that renewable energy is a very sensible investment to make in your own home but also in our collective destiny as a society. I wanted to put my money where my mouth is and to show others that, yes, it is possible to tackle the climate crisis in your own backyard." Louisville's Courier-Journal featured Mog's sustainability initiatives in recent articles. Read more...

Charlie Strong and Adam Froman (pictured) spoke with the media about the upcoming contest against Memphis.

Louisville football head coach Charlie Strong and senior quarterback Adam Froman met with reporters and previewed Saturday's homecoming game against Memphis. The Cardinals and Tigers are scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and the game will be shown live on ESPN3.com. Last time out, Louisville ended a 10-game road losing streak in impressive fashion by defeating Arkansas State, 34-24, in Jonesboro, Ark., on Saturday. It was the Cardinals' first win away from home since a 35-28 victory over Memphis in 2008. The Cardinals offense put on a fireworks show, scoring a season-high 34 points, gaining 575 yards of total offense, including 308 yards through the air. Louisville put up 31 points in the first half and 393 yards of total offense in building a 31-7 half-time lead. The Red Wolves cut the advantage to 31-24, but a career-long 46-yard field goal by Chris Philpott with 3:54 remaining iced the game. Read and hear more...

Red-White scrimmage will preview KFC Yum! Center.

The University of Louisville will provide a preseason look at the 2010-11 Cardinals in a Red-White intrasquad men's basketball scrimmage on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center. It will be the team's first public appearance in the new 22,000-seat facility. The tipoff time was initially set at 2 p.m., but the move was necessary because of street closures around the arena on Oct. 24 to accommodate patrons walking in the 2010 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event, which begins at 1 p.m. that day. The scrimmage will be the team's first public appearance in the new 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center. Nearly 10,000 tickets were sold on the first day of sales. Read more...

Karah Nall

No. 10 Louisville swept the BIG EAST weekly field hockey awards for the week ending Oct. 3 as Hayley Turner was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and Karah Nall was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week. This is the third offensive honor and first defensive honor for the Cardinals this season. Read more...