Campus News in Brief

Australia campus hosts lecture

The United States’ ambassador to Australia, Robert D. McCallum Jr., visited the Carnegie Mellon campus in Adelaide, Australia to discuss the potential impact of the upcoming presidential primary elections in the United States upon policies both in Australia and internationally.

McCallum spoke at the Heinz School in Adelaide on March 27 and welcomed questions from students about United States policies. The ambassador ended his visit by complimenting the students on their interests in both local and global issues of importance.

According to a university press release, McCallum demonstrated interest in the Adelaide campus, applauding the students’ and administrators’ dedication to their own history and university traditions.

McCallum has been the U.S. ambassador to Australia since 2006. Prior to his appointment, he was the associate attorney general, which is the third highest-ranking official in the Justice Department.

Carnegie Mellon’s Adelaide campus in Australia is home to branches of the Heinz School and the Entertainment Technology Center. The campus offers master’s degrees in public policy and management, information technology, and entertainment technology.

Campus Superstar is crowned

Last night, Campus Superstar held its second annual finals competition in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Music Hall for local collegiate singers, awarding a $5000 scholarship to the first prize winner, Khrista Jana White, a student at Point Park University.

The competition, hosted by the Edward and Rose Berman Hillel Jewish University Center, is modeled on the popular television show American Idol. Out of over 130 students that auditioned in the fall, only 11 made it to the finals round, seven of whom were Carnegie Mellon students. Local celebrities, including music and television news personalities, judged the competition.

Jared L. Cohon, Carnegie Mellon’s president, and Mark Nordenberg, chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, served as honorary co-chairs of the event.This year’s competition honored Barbara S. Burstin, a history professor at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, for her contributions to Pittsburgh and the Jewish community.

Last year’s winner was Carnegie Mellon’s Nick Cosgrove, currently a sophomore in musical theater, who performed at Sunday night’s finals. This year’s Carnegie Mellon finalists included: drama sophomore Lora Lee Gayer, drama junior Zak Resnick, music sophomore Ryan Townsend, music senior Jennifer Cherest, music and history senior Nisha Asnani, music sophomore Tim Ruff, and drama junior Kyle Beltran.