UD Grad Gets Elected Down Under

Typically, AICUO will feature and congratulate newly elected state and federal officials on here, but recently a UD graduate was elected as Premier of New South Wales, Australia's largest state. Premier Kristina Keneally was born in the United States to an Australian mother and an American father. She graduated from the University of Dayton in 1991 and again in 1995 with degrees in political science and religious studies respectively. Her progression to Premiership started when she was elected to Parliament in 2003 and Minister of Ageing and Minister of Disability in 2007.

AICUO would like to extend a global congratulations to our Aussie friend and wish her the best in her newest post.

To read more about Premier Keneally and New South Wales click here.


- Dustin A. Holfinger

Flyer Fund Flying High

Students at the University of Dayton's Davis Center for Portfolio Management have had a unique opportunity. They have been placed in charge of a nearly $11 million investment portfolio, a portion of the university's endowment fund. The Flyer Investments Team's track record for success caught the eye of CNBC in November and NBC Nightly News recently aired a story featuring the 15 undergrads. Click HERE to see the whole story.


- Dustin A. Holfinger

Mount Union Reaches NCAA Division III Football Championship Game — Again

Defending NCAA Division III national football champion Mount Union returns for the fifth straight year to the national championship game following its 24-7 victory over Wesley (Del.) in a semifinal game played Dec. 12.

The championship game, called the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday in Salem, Va.

Making their their 13th overall visit to the championship game, Mount Union will meet Wisconsin-Whitewater, its opponent each of the last four years. A victory would give the Raiders its 11th championship, its fourth in five years and its seventh since 2000.

While tickets for the game Saturday are on sale through Wednesday on the Mount Union campus in Alliance, you can stay home and watch the game on ESPN2 starting at 11 a.m.

NPR Sports Program Highlights Champion Kenyon Swimmers

The athletic programs at Ohio independent colleges succeed nationally in more than just football. This weekend, “Only a Game,” a Saturday morning sports program on National Public Radio hosted by Curry College Professor Bill Littlefield, featured the Kenyon College national swimming champions as they prepare for a new season.

--Bob Burke

Mount Union Earns NCAA Football Semifinal Berth; Wittenberg Ousted

The NCAA Division III football tournament continues this weekend with just one AICUO member still participating.

After a 400-plus mile road trip to Whitewater, Wis., Wittenberg fell to its host, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, by a 31-13 score. The Tigers trailed by a single point at halftime, but lost its starting quarterback to injury near the intermission. Wittenberg ends its season with a 12-1 record.

In Alliance, Mount Union, the defending national champion, hammered visiting Albright (Pa.), 55-3, to continue to the national semifinals.

In this Saturday's semifinal the unbeaten Purple Raiders host Wesley (Del.) at noon.

The winner continues to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va., on December 19, to play the winner of the Wisconsin-Whitewater v. Linfield (Ore.) semifinal. Three of the four semifinalists are independent colleges.

—Bob Burke

AICUO at the Statehouse

For those visiting Columbus, I highly recommend a visit to the new Statehouse museum. The museum has been open for several months, and even though I spend a great deal of time in the Statehouse, yesterday was the first opportunity I have had to spend a few minutes to view the exhibits.

There are solid displays about the nature of our state government, how the legislative process works, and other things you would expect to see in a good state capital museum. For a political junkie like myself, I certainly enjoyed seeing the charmingly dated television commercials (Gov. Celeste on the stump), the straw hats, and other goodies from the campaign trail.

As AICUO president, however, the biggest surprise was just as I left. The museum itself is in an awkward space in the Statehouse basement. The designers used the unusual curved, overhead walls to display oversized images of campaign buttons. I hadn't noticed this until I started to walk out of the exhibits. It was then that I saw a little bit of AICUO preserved for the future.

Above is the picture of State Representative Larry Christman's campaign button. For those that don't know, Larry was a four-term state representative and former chairman of the higher education finance subcommittee. He then later served 22 years as the president of AICUO. For those who know Larry, and those who want to learn more about state government, a few minutes at the Statehouse Museum is a pleasant diversion.

—C. Todd Jones

NCAA Football Playoffs: Mount Union, Wittenberg Advance to Quarterfinals

Results from Saturday's NCAA Division III football championship second round involving AICUO members:

Mount Union 61, Montclair State (N.J.) 14
Wittenberg 34, Trine (Ind.) 17

This Saturday's games, both in the quarterfinal round (all times EST):

Albright (Pa.) at Mount Union, 12 noon
Wittenberg at Wisconsin-Whitewater, 1 p.m.