SHSU
Update For Week Of April 13
Writing Center Readings
To 'Let Them Be Heard'
The Sam Houston Writing Center will give student, faculty
and community writers a forum for their words to be heard
during a new series of informal, after-hours readings.
“Designed to be an encouraging forum for those who want
to share their creative works with others,” the first
“Writing @ the Center” reading will be held on
Sunday (April 20), at 8 p.m. at the Writing Center, according
Dana Allen, Writing Center consultant and English graduate
assistant.
“We chose the theme, ‘Your Words. Let Them Be
Heard,’ because we want to give all types of writers
the chance to speak out and share their writing with others
who appreciate language and how it is used creatively to communicate
our thoughts, feelings, and experiences,” Allen said.
“These readings will allow writers to have a place to
share works that are complete or in progress,” Allen
said. “We welcome poetry, prose, plays, memoirs, and
any other type of creative writing that people are interested
in sharing.”
The event is open to anyone who is interested in reading or
supporting the writing efforts of others.
The next “Writing @ the Center” will be held on
May 4.
Door prizes will be given, and coffee and refreshments will
be served.
The Writing Center is located in Farrington Building Room
111.
For more information, call the Sam
Houston Writing Center at 936.294.3680 or e-mail
wctr@shsu.edu.
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‘Outstanding’
To Be Honored At Wednesday’s Sammys
SHSU and the Student Activities department will recognize
more than 21 organizations and students for their contributions
to the community and for their leadership abilities during
the 14th Annual Sammy Awards on Wednesday (April 16).
The ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. in the Lowman Student
Center Ballroom.
Emceed by sophomore Daniel Pawlowski and Multicultural and
International Student Services program coordinator Ashley
McDonough, the event will include performances by SHSU’s
theatre and dance department, the SHSU Opera Workshop, and
"Artistry in Rhythm," a student jazz vocal group.
Among the awards that will be presented are outstanding first-year,
sophomore and junior student leaders, the McDermett Memorial
Award for a female senior, the Creager Memorial Award for
a male senior, the Outstanding Non-Traditional Student Leader
award and the Sammy Award, as well as outstanding organization
awards and excellence in service awards from each of the five
colleges, which will be presented by the deans, according
to Brandon Cooper, Student Activities program coordinator.
SHSU will also bestow an honorary Sammy Award, its first,
to State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst.
“It was decided by the Sammys Committee that because
of her continued support of the university, especially with
the name change, that she was more than deserving of the award,”
Cooper said.
The Sammy Awards is the official ceremony that recognizes
SHSU’s outstanding student leaders and organizations.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for all to recognize
the amazing students that SHSU has to offer,” Cooper
said.
The event is free for anyone who wants to attend.
For more information, visit the 14th Annual Sammy Awards Web
site at http://www.shsu.edu/~slo_sad/sammys/
or call 936.294.3861.
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Mathematicians Divide
Day For Mini-Conference
Six professors from across the country will discuss various
mathematical-related topics, including logic and computer
science, during an "Algebra Mini-Conference" on
Friday (April 18).
Texas A&M University’s Zoran Sunik is scheduled
to begin the one-hour, “higher-level scientific”
lectures at 9 a.m., according to associate professor of mathematics
John Snow.
Other lectures will include University of Dallas’ Jeremy
Alm at 10 a.m., New Mexico State University’s Elbert
Walker at 11 a.m., Rice’s Moshe Vardi at 2 p.m., Cal
Tech’s Jonathan Farley at 3:30 p.m. and Vanderbilt’s
Ralph McKenzie at 4:30 p.m.
While the majority of the talks “will be more advanced
and directed toward a graduate student and faculty level,”
the 2 p.m. discussion, "And logic begat computer science"
is “designed specifically for an undergraduate audience,”
Snow said.
All are open to the public and will be held in Lee Drain Building
Room 402.
For more information, contact Snow at jsnow@shsu.edu
or call the mathematics
department at 936.294.1564.
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Exhibit Reflects ‘Past,
Present, Future’
 |
| This photo of Old Main is one of the
pictures from Huntsville's past that will be on display
in the "University Corridor" exhibit through
April 25 in the Lowman Student Center Gallery. |
The Political Science Junior Fellows and Huntsville Main
Street are showing the “past, present and future”
of the city with an art exhibit in the Lowman Student Center
Gallery.
“University Corridor: Past, Present and Future”
features more than 100 historic photographs, dozens of contemporary
photographs specially commissioned for this project and several
renderings of future possibilities for the area between downtown
Huntsville and SHSU, according to junior fellows adviser and
political science visiting professor Mike Yawn.
The “corridor” is an ideal focal point because
it “is Huntsville’s street,” said Huntsville
Main Street director Harold Hutcheson.
“It was originally called ‘Main Street,’
and for 160 years, it has been a vibrant part of the city,”
he said. “We hope to celebrate its rich history.”
The exhibit’s photos date back to 1863 and include such
landmarks as the Walker County Courthouse; the district attorney’s
office; Rather Park; Old Main; and the Rogers-Baird home,
the oldest extant dwelling in Huntsville; the Wynne Home;
Gibbs-Powell Home; Sam Houston Memorial Museum; and City Hall.
Local photographers Melody Gathright and Dena Shipley contributed
to the exhibit by donating “their time and talents and
were wonderful assets to the project,” Yawn said.
Another part of the city’s “past, present and
future,” Huntsville’s nine living mayors, will
be in attendance at the exhibit’s reception on Monday
(April 14), from 5:30-7 p.m. in the gallery.
The exhibit will run through April 25.
For more information, contact Yawn
at 936.294.1456.
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Contemporary
Festival Dominates Week’s Music Events
More than 70 composers throughout the country will be represented
and on campus this week for the School of Music’s 46th
annual Contemporary Music Festival.
Kicking off Wednesday (April 16), the four-day festival will
include David Dzubay as the featured guest composer and SHSU’s
Percussion Ensemble as the featured performing group.
The festival will also feature a number of guest lecturers,
and SHSU ensembles and professors will perform “both
new and commissioned works,” including those by both
SHSU faculty members and students, throughout the day on all
four days, according to festival co-coordinator Trent Hanna.
“All the music for this event has been composed by living
American composers who will be in attendance at the Contemporary
Music Festival,” said Randy Adams, assistant professor
of trumpet, whose Faculty Brass Quintet will perform on Wednesday
at 2:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
Other CMF performances include an Organ Recital by Jay Whatley,
Sax Quartet, Wind Ensemble, the Concert Choir, Women's Chorus
and Flute Choir, as well as student groups Raven Brass and
Intersection, among others.
A complete schedule of events can be found online at http://www.shsu.edu/~music/events/contemporary.php.
In addition to the CMF, SHSU’s Symphonic Band will perform
a number of works for a band on Tuesday (April 15).
The concert, at 7:30 p.m. in the Killinger Auditorium, will
feature such works at Sam Hazo’s “Diamond Fanfare,”
Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Pas Redouble”
and Robert Jager’s “Variations on a Theme of Robert
Schumann,” among others, according to Alfredo Vélez,
assistant professor of music and symphonic band director.
Other non-CMF-affiliated concerts for the week include a violin
and viola studio recital on Tuesday (April 15) at 7:30 p.m.
in the Recital Hall.
For more information, call the School
of Music at 936.294.1360.
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New Professor Gets Article
‘Props’
Four articles co-authored by educational leadership and
counseling professor Tony Onwuegbuzie have been receiving
lots of “hits.”
Sage Publications’ annual report of the American Educational
Research Association’s six flagship journals has found
that two of Onwuegbuzie’s articles have been the “most
accessed (downloaded) articles.”
These findings were announced during AERA’s meeting
in New York at the end of March.
“Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time
has come,” a 2004 article co-authored by Burke Johnson
and published in the “Educational Researcher”
journal, was found to be the most downloaded article from
December 2006 to December 2007.
“Students’ perceptions of characteristics of effective
college teachers: A validity study of a teaching evaluation
form using a mixed methods analysis,” a 2007 article
published in the “American Educational Research Journal”
was the most downloaded article from April 2007 to January
2008.
In addition, two of Onwuegbuzie’s other research articles
were found to be the top downloaded articles for the journals
in which they were published.
His 2005 “Taking the “Q” out of research:
Teaching research methodology courses without the divide between
quantitative and qualitative paradigms” was the most
downloaded article of all articles published in “Quality
& Quantity: International Journal of Methodology,”
and his 2005 “On becoming a pragmatist researcher: The
importance of combining quantitative and qualitative research
methodologies” was the second most downloaded article
in the “International Journal of Social Research Methodology:
Theory and Practice.”
“The exciting aspect of this is that it shows that mixed
research has become popularized,” he said.
Onwuegbuzie came to SHSU in August 2007 from Florida International
University.
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Workshops To Cover Negotiations,
Etiquette
Career Services will give students all the job-related basics
with three workshops beginning on Tuesday (April 15).
The Job Offer Evaluation and Salary Negotiation workshop will
be held from noon to 1 p.m.
“The workshop will teach students the seven factors
to consider when evaluating a job offer, three ways to respond
to a job offer, and strategies on how to navigate salary negotiations,”
said Rachel Phelps, Career Services counselor.
On Wednesday (April 16), Career Services will cover “the
critical first year experience as a new employee” with
the “From Student To Professional Workshop,” from
3:30-4:30 p.m.
“We will define what it means to be a professional,
identify the key skills that employers look for, and discuss
specific steps to attain first year success on the job,”
Phelps said.
Finally, the department will continue to cover the definition
of “professionalism,” while also showing students
and alumni “how to best handle common, but difficult,
workplace issues,” on Thursday (April 17).
The “Business Etiquette” workshop will be held
from noon to 1 p.m.
All workshops will be held in the Career Services Library,
and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches for
both noon events.
For more information, contact Career
Services at 936.294.1713.
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Send Update Items Here
Information for the SHSU Update can be sent to the Office
of Public Relations electronically at Today@Sam.edu
or to any of the media contacts listed below.
Please include the date, location and time of the event,
as well as a brief description and a contact person.
All information for news stories should be sent to the office
at least a week in advance to give the PR staff ample time
to make necessary contacts and write the story.
For electronic access to SHSU news see the Public Relations
Web page Today@Sam.
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- END -
SHSU Media Contacts: Frank
Krystyniak, Julia May,
Jennifer Gauntt
April 11, 2008
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
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