Summer at DPU initiative shines on new programs

College campuses can get quiet during the summer months. With more than 3,000 participants expected to take part in new and improved programs, Summer at DePauw is expected to be anything but.

Launching this year, the Summer at DePauw initiative adds several new programs to the summer calendar while bringing existing offerings in line with the DePauw experience campus visitors enjoy during the academic year.

Among the exciting new additions is the DePauw Academy (June 14-21), which gives rising high school seniors a weeklong glimpse of what it means to be a DePauw student -- from taking courses on topics such as marketing, computer science and robotics, masculinity, Japanese history and culture, and digital photography, to rooming in the same residence halls occupied during the rest of the year by undergrads.

Outside of class, students will participate in cocurriculars that will help prepare them for future careers and enhance their college application process through trainings with admission counselors and drafting admission essays with faculty and staff members.

"We are excited to be offering a great set of classes and cocurricular experiences as part of the DePauw Academy," Professor of Computer Science Dave Berque, one of six faculty members participating in the program, said. "All of the faculty instructors are looking forward to working with a talented set of rising high school seniors this summer."

Existing programs, such as athletic camps, will also be enhanced with improved support staffing and access to the similar college and career prep cocurriculars offered during DePauw Academy.

By bolstering the university's summer efforts and bringing them all under the same organizational umbrella, Vice President for Finance and Administration Brad Kelsheimer says DePauw is taking advantage of the resources available to a prestigious liberal arts college.

"DePauw has assembled a unique collection of talents and physical assets that support an outstanding undergraduate experience for 40 weeks of a given year," Kelsheimer says. "We have an opportunity -- and a responsibility -- to use these talents to serve more broadly during the periods when undergraduate students are not on our campus."

"The launch of this initiative signals a move toward enhanced support for those activities that have been reaching nontraditional undergraduate populations on our campus for many years, and also provides the framework and organizational structure for exciting new summer opportunities at DePauw."

Current students will see benefits of the initiative beginning in May Term 2015 with an expanded list of offerings as compared to previous years. In addition to the new May Term courses, Vice President for Academic Affairs Larry Stimpert announced two new credit-bearing study abroad programs in Italy this summer. One of them, offered by Classical studies professors Pedar W. Foss and Rebecca K. Schindler in cooperation with the Umbra Institute, will give students the opportunity to study at the Trasimeno Archaeology Field School in central Italy.

The second course, offered by Associate Professor of Modern Languages Francesca Seaman, will provide students with half-, one- and two-credit opportunities to study Italian language and culture in the coastal town of Grado, a popular destination for Italian vacationers.

As part of the Summer at DePauw initiative, DePauw has also formed new partnerships to bring outside organizations to Greencastle during the summer months. Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Global Musician Workshop will be offered as a summer program (June 8-12) open to students, teachers and performers who are 18 and above. In addition to Yo-Yo Ma's participation in select activities, the artist-faculty will teach styles of music from across the world.

"DePauw could not be more proud that Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble have selected our campus as the site of its first Global Musician Workshop," says Mark McCoy, dean of the School of Music. "It's testament to the efforts our faculty and students have made to innovate the way music is taught and shared. These world-renowned musicians choosing Greencastle as the place to teach others will enrich our campus and underscores DePauw's visible role in reshaping modern music education."

Additional new partners include the Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana (July 15), which will hosts its annual development workshop for high school students at DePauw, and Kappa Alpha Theta, the first Greek fraternity for women, which will hold its Emerging Leaders Institute (June 11-14 and June 25-28) on the same campus where Theta was founded in 1870.

"I'm excited about the rich variety of programs that we are now offering during the summer months," Dean of Campus Life Dorian R. Shager said. "I think this exemplifies the breadth of liberal arts learning that we value at DePauw. For the guests of all ages that will be joining us this summer, I'm looking forward to our campus being part of your summer home. DePauw truly is a place where we live with and learn from one another."

Summer at DePauw 2015 Schedule:

May 25-Aug. 3 -- Summer Research.

May 29-July 11 -- The Umbra Institute Trasimeno Archaeology Field School.

June 1-July 24 --Italian Language Courses in Italy.

June 3-7 -- Alumni Reunion Weekend.

June 8-12 -- Silkroad's Global Musician Workshop.

June 8-11 -- DePauw Tennis.

June 9-11 -- Bishop Dullaghan Football Skills (with Coach Bill Lynch.

June 12-14 -- Bishop Dullaghan Football Down and Dirty (with Coach Bill Lynch).

June 14-20 -- The DePauw Academy.

June 14-20 -- DePauw Vocal Arts.

June 15-24 -- Bishop Dullaghan Football Team Camps (with Coach Bill Lynch).

June 15 - July 30 -- Midwest Youth Team Tennis (with Coach Scott Riggle).

June 20-29 -- Alumni Trip to Italy.

June 25-27 -- Kappa Alpha Theta Emerging Leaders.

June 25-27 -- Bishop Dullaghan Football Skills (with Coach Bill Lynch).

June 27-Aug. 4 -- Servicio in Las Americas.

June 28 - July 3 -- Soccer Plus.

June 28 - July 28 -- Lessac Institute.

July 5-12 -- DePauw Soccer.

July 6-8 -- DePauw Volleyball Team Camp.

July 9-10 -- DePauw Volleyball Day Camp.

July 9-12 -- Bill Pilat's Goalie School (with Lacrosse Coach Carl Haas).

July 12-17 -- Edgewood High School Band.

July 13-15 -- Lowell High School Mentor.

July 13-16 -- Bishop Dullaghan Middle School Football.

July 15 -- Youth Philanthropy Initiative of Indiana.

July 19-21 -- DePauw Sprint and Endurance.

July 20-23 -- Bishop Dullaghan Middle School Football.

July 20-25 -- United Methodist Women of Indiana.

July 22-31 -- Knowing in Religion and Morality Writers Workshop.

July 25-Aug. 2 -- Alumni Trip to Pacific Northwest.

Aug. 3-16 -- English Immersion Institute.

Aug. 13-21 -- Alumni Trip to Baltic.