UMNEWS
UM School of Communication announces dean finalists
Tom Fiedler, the Miami Herald’s executive editor, and Sam Grogg, dean of the American Film Institute Conservatory, are final candidates for the position of dean of the School of Communication.
Fiedler started at the Herald 32 years ago as a political reporter. Through the years he was an editorial pages editor until becoming executive editor in 2001. He received a master’s in journalism from Boston University and a fellowship in journalism from Duke University. Fiedler made national news in 1987 after breaking the Gary Hart-Donna Rice story, when Hart dropped out of the presidential race.
Grogg recieved a doctorate in pop culture and film from Bowling Green University. In 1972 he co-founded the Journal of Popular Film & Television. His film credits include heading the USA Film Festival in Dallas, executive producer of Above Suspicion and The Trip to Bountiful. Grogg has a motion picture company, FilmDallas, and is founding dean of the North Carolina School of the Arts’ School of Filmmaking.
Dean Edward Pfister plans to retire in May and will maintain a teaching position.
ELsewhere
Charges pending in guinea pig incident at Indiana U
(U-WIRE) BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A self-proclaimed “prank gone bad” might come back to haunt an Indiana University freshman who tossed his guinea pig out of an eighth-floor window.
An animal cruelty case is pending against freshman David E. Feldsott at the Monroe County Prosecutor’s office. If convicted for the felony charge, he could face fines and possible jail time.
Feldsott, 19, admitted to IU Police Department officers to using dental floss, masking tape and a garbage bag to parachute the animal out of Briscoe Shoemaker on Dec. 16.
Freshman Laura Robinson led IUPD officers and Briscoe employees to the animal after she spotted the guinea pig wedged between tree branches.
“I felt so bad for the poor animal,” she said. “From the ground, I could see the guinea pig shaking.”
Janitors used the contraption normally used to pick up trash to rescue the animal by latching on to the “parachute.”
After spotting a window with its screen off on the eighth floor, IUPD officers questioned Feldsott.
“He told us his intentions were to get the animal after it landed on the ground, but [he] couldn’t get to it,” IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said.
Minger said Feldsott told officers he accepts full responsibility for the incident and understands what he did was wrong.
The guinea pig, now nicknamed “Noel” for a triumphant survival story, was adopted by a local family through the Bloomington Animal Shelter.
ETC.
The Nu Kappa Tau chapter of Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society is now accepting nominations for new members. Nominees must currently be of junior standing and have a minimum GPA of 3.42. Nominations should be turned in to Mortar Board Nominations c/o The Smith-Tucker Involvement Center (STIC) UC 209, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 14, 2005.