SHSU
Update For Week Of Feb. 3
Conference To Diversify
Campus, State
The SHSU community and universities from across the state
will take a two-day “Recess” Feb. 22-23 to discuss
race, ethnicity, cultural education, sexual and social issues.
The 4th Annual Diversity Leadership Conference at SHSU will
include “America’s Hottest Speaker on Diversity”
Stan Pearson II, performer Michael Fosberg, singer/songwriter
Diedre McCalla and keynote speaker and chief executive officer
of A. Success Training Andres Lara.
“The purpose of the Diversity Leadership Conference
is to promote diversity dialogue among and between college
campuses in Texas and beyond,” said Ashley McDonough,
program coordinator for the Office of Multicultural and International
Student Services, which sponsors the event.
“The conference gives voice to many issues arising
on college campuses today in regards to multiculturalism and
diversity education.
“This topic is especially important on a campus such
as Sam Houston State University, where 25 percent of the student
population is considered minority status,” she said.
Registration forms are available online, at http://www.shsu.edu/~miss_sa/v2/dlc.html,
and should be returned to the Office of MISS, located in the
Department of Student Activities in Lowman Student Center
Suite 328.
There is no cost for SHSU students, faculty and staff through
Feb. 8; however, the cost for late registration, which ends
on Feb. 22, is $20, which includes meals during the conference,
McDonough said.
For more information, call the Office
of MISS at 936.294.3588.
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Film To Address ‘Burning
Issues’ Of Alzheimer’s
The American Democracy Project will explore the issues associated
with Alzheimer's disease and the methods and costs associated
with caring for America’s aging population during its
first "Burning Issues" film of the spring semester,
"Away From Her," on Saturday (Feb. 9).
The Academy Award-nominated movie will be shown at 7 p.m.
at the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr., Education Center.
“Away From Her” tells the story of a man, coping
with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's
disease, who faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections
to another man.
“With the American population aging, this is a disease
that is growing in prominence in the U.S.,” said John
Newbold, ADP film series coordinator. “Alzheimer's centers
are being established everywhere there is a concentration
of senior citizens.
“As the film very poignantly depicts, it is a difficult
disease to cope with, with mental facilities failing before
most physical abilities...loved ones find themselves saying
‘goodbye’ before the afflicted actually die,”
he said.
"Away From Her" will also be shown at 3:30 p.m.
on Feb. 12-13 in the Lowman Student Center Theater.
All three "Burning Issues" showings are free and
open to both the SHSU and Huntsville communities.
Each showing will be followed by a brief reception with punch
and cookies, and a discussion, which will vary depending upon
the subject matter of the film and the guest discussants.
"The purpose of the 'ADP Burning Issues Film series'
is to contribute to the academic and cultural life here at
SHSU by bringing in films that address or relate to critical
issues facing the world today," Newbold said.
Directed by Sarah Polley, “Away From Her” stars
Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie and Michael Murphy.
Christie recently won the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Award for
“Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading
Role” and has been nominated for an Academy Award in
the same category. The film itself has been also nominated
for an Oscar in the “Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)”
category.
For more information, contact Newbold
at 936.294.1274.
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Education Conference
To Feature Autistic Speaker
Internationally-renowned speaker and Colorado State University
associate professor Temple Grandin will serve as the keynote
speaker during the Sam Houston Council for Exceptional Children’s
Fifth Annual Special Education Conference on Feb. 29.
The event will feature two separate breakout sessions with
more than 12 speakers and covering topics ranging from applied
behavior analysis to social skills training.
Several sessions will be geared towards undergraduate and
graduate students, as well as parents and diagnosticians in
the presentation of research-based special education practice,
said SCEC president James E. Williams Jr.
Grandin, “inarguably the most accomplished and well-known
adult with autism in the world,” has been featured on
major television programs such as ABC's “Primetime Live,"
the "Today Show," "Larry King Live," "48
Hours" and "20/20," Williams said.
She has also appeared in stories in such national publications
as Time magazine, People magazine, Forbes, U.S. News and World
Report and New York Times.
In addition, the cable network Bravo did a half-hour show
on her life, and she was one of the "challenged"
people featured in the best-selling book “Anthropologist
from Mars.”
The registration deadline is Feb. 15, and there will be no
on-site registration.
The cost to register is $35 for undergraduate students, $55
for graduate students, and $75 for regular registration or
anyone else interested in participating, which includes breakfast
and a customized cloth conference bag and program.
The Special Education Conference is held in collaboration
with the Region VI Education Service Center in Huntsville.
For more information, or to register, contact Williams at
832.452.3155 or at jew001@shsu.edu.
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Economics Speaker
To Discuss International Purchasing
Ming Chien Lo, associate professor of economics at St. Cloud
State University, will discuss “Nonlinear PPP Deviations:
A Monte Carlo Investigation of Their Unconditional Half-Life”
on Thursday (Feb. 7).
The lecture, part of the Economics Spring 2008 Seminar Series,
will be held from 3:30-5 p.m. in Smith-Hutson Building Room
139.
“His paper will discuss some new findings on the purchasing
power parity (PPP) hypothesis which essentially says that,
adjusted for exchange rates, prices of commodities should
not be different across countries in the long run,”
said Hiranya Nath, associate professor in SHSU’s economics
and international business department.
Lo, a Hong Kong native, has taught at St. Cloud State since
2002. He previously served as a visiting scholar for the Federal
Reserve Bank of St. Louis and a visiting assistant professor
at the University of Virginia.
His research interests include international macroeconomics
and finance and nonlinear time series econometrics, according
to his Web site.
Lo received his bachelor’s degree from the University
of Hong Kong, his master’s degree from the London School
of Economics and his doctorate from the University of Washington.
For more information, contact Nath
or the economics
and international business department at 936.294.1265.
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TABC To Explain ‘Faking
It’ Consequences
The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Initiative will warn students
of the consequences of “faking it” during a program
on Wednesday (Feb. 6).
During "Don't Fake It," from 11 a.m. to noon in
Lowman Student Center Room 302, Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission
agent Scott Zella will explain the applicable laws and consequences
of misrepresenting your age, according to Lisa Joyner, ADAI
assistant.
“He will show them what they look for when they are
busting individuals for fake IDs, and he will also give them
some life situations in which he has busted someone,”
Joyner said.
“Students are now making fake IDs through the computer
with scanners, or they are taking a friend’s ID who
looks similar to them, and they are even going as far as taking
a friend’s old ID and putting their picture in it,”
she said.
The event is part of the Six Weeks of Alcohol Awareness Training
program, an educational series aiming to increase awareness
of alcohol abuse issues among the Bearkat community.
Through SWAAT, students earn prizes by attending events, which
accumulate as students attend more programs.
For more information, or a complete schedule of events for
the semester, visit the ADAI Web site at www.shsu.edu/adai
or contact Rosanne
Keathley, ADAI coordinator, at 936.294.1171.
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Professor, Students Give Expertise
In CSI Exhibit
Assistant professor of criminal justice Joan Bytheway and
several students in the forensic science program recently
lent their expertise to the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences
for its crime scene investigation exhibits.
The group, accompanied by forensic science program coordinator
Sarah Kerrigan, toured the exhibits on Wednesday (Jan. 30),
before they opened, “to see how well done they are,”
Bytheway said.
In addition, the HMNS asked Bytheway to serve as the “forensic
expert for the media that would be writing up articles”
on the exhibit, she said.
She was interviewed by the Rumbo magazine in an article that
appeared on Jan. 25, and the group was interviewed by the
Houston Chronicle on Jan. 30.
The “CSI: The Experience” exhibit, which allows
visitors to discover hands-on science in a multi-media environment
to show them what it is like to solve a crime, is on display
in the HMNS through April 30.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for children ages three to
11, seniors citizens and college students with a valid ID;
$9 museum members; $5 school groups; and $11 for groups of
20 or more.
For tickets, or more information, visit http://www.hmns.org
or call 713.639.4629.
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Foreign Languages Offers
Free Spanish Tutoring
SHSU students, faculty and staff who would like to brush
up on their Spanish, or even their English, will have the
opportunity to do so during the foreign language department’s
new “Charla/Chat.”
The “peer-driven experience,” which began Jan.
29, will allow participants to either learn the language or
be tutored during a 30-minute session once a week, according
to Debra Andrist, foreign languages department chair.
Spanish-dominant speakers can meet on Tuesdays from noon to
12:30 p.m. in Evans Building Room 317 or from 8-8:30 p.m.
on the landing of the third floor of the Evans Building.
“We are doing options 1 and 2 (listed above) as service
learning to assist Spanish-dominant, especially staff, to
learn English and all the options to give our students informal
opportunities to speak/practice Spanish,” Andrist said.
A third session will be held on Tuesdays from 12:30-1 p.m.,
also on the landing of the Evans Building’s third floor,
for those who are studying Spanish and would like assistance.
Each session will also have designated “themes”
and a schedule will be available for participants, Andrist
said.
The “charlas” are free for SHSU faculty, staff
and students, and participants are encouraged to bring a lunch
as applicable.
For more information, contact Debra Andrist,
foreign languages department chair, at andrist@shsu.edu
or 936.294.1414.
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Dance To Present Lewis-Themed
Concert, Lecture
SHSU graduate student Cheryl Callon will present her interpretation
of the C.S. Lewis novel “Till We Have Faces" on
Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 7-9).
“Bareface,” featuring students from the theatre
and dance department, will be performed at 8 p.m. on Thursday
and Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Academic Building
III Dance Theatre.
The “narrative work of dance theatre” is Callon’s
graduate thesis concert, which is choreographed and produced
by her.
On Friday afternoon, Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy
at Boston College and C.S. Lewis scholar, will discuss the
book at 2 p.m. in the Smith-Hutson Building’s Mafrige
Auditorium.
The free lecture, open to the public, is being held in conjunction
with the colleges of Arts and Sciences and Humanities and
Social Sciences.
All performances are free, and reservations are encouraged.
To reserve tickets, call the
dance program box office at 936.294.3988, and
for more information on the lecture, call 936.294.3342.
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Career Services To Teach
Résumé, Job Fair Techniques
Career Services will prepare students for several upcoming
job fairs with a number of workshops that will help them perfect
their résumés and “work” the job
fair.
On Tuesday (Feb. 5), the "Effective Résumé
Writing Workshop" will be held from noon to 1 p.m.
Students can learn the benefits of attending job fairs, general
professional etiquette, how to best prepare for the event,
and what to do after it's over on Wednesday (Feb. 6) during
the "How To 'Work' The Career Expo" workshop, which
will be held from 3-4 p.m.
Repeats of the "Effective Résumé Writing
Workshop" will be held on Thursday (Feb. 7) from 3:30-4:30
p.m. and Feb. 14 from noon to 1 p.m., while a repeat of the
"How To 'Work' The Career Expo" workshop will be
held from 3-4 p.m. on Feb. 11.
While there is no need to register beforehand for any of the
workshops, which will all be held in the Career Services Library,
space is limited to less than 50 people.
The Summer Camp and Job Fair, for summer employment opportunities,
will be held on Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom, and the Business Career
Fair, for students seeking full-time jobs or internships,
will be held on Feb. 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the LSC
Ballroom.
For more information on any of the workshops, call Career
Services at 936.294.1713.
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Exhibits To Visit Underground
Railroad, Folk Festival
The Program Council and the Office of Multicultural and
International Student Services will kick off Black History
Month by remembering many heroes of the Civil Rights Movement
beginning Monday (Feb. 4).
The "Underground Railroad Journey" exhibit will
be on display in the Lowman Student Center Art Gallery through
Feb. 15.
"It is important to physically show how black people
in America have made their journey and changed along the way,"
said Ashley Poyer, PC multicultural committee chair.
"The exhibit features various types of artwork,"
she said, "The pieces range from Malcolm X to Martin
Luther King."
A reception for the exhibit will be held on Feb. 4, at 7 p.m.
in the gallery.
The LSC Art Gallery is located in the lobby of the Lowman
Student Center and is open during lobby hours.
On Tuesday (Feb. 5), the Sam Houston Memorial Museum will
look back at past General Sam Houston Folk Festivals with
an exhibit of "Folk Festival Snapshots" in the Katy
and E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center.
The exhibit will run through March 31, while the 21st annual
folk festival will be held May 2-4 on the museum grounds.
For more information, call the PC
office at 936.294.1763, the Office
of MISS at 936.294.3588 or the Sam Houston Memorial
Museum at 936.294.1832.
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Center To Give Grad School Advice
Students considering graduate school after receiving their
bachelor’s degree will have to look no further than
the Student Advising and Mentoring Center, which will help
students prepare for post-graduate programs during a session
on Thursday (Feb. 7).
The Graduate School Information Meeting will focus on financial
aid, organizing the application and the grad school timeline
beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the SAM Center, located in Academic
Building IV Room 210.
Space is limited, and students are encouraged to call or stop
by the SAM Center to sign up.
For more information, call 936.294.4444 or e-mail samcenter@shsu.edu.
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Spanish Profs Get Textbook
Published
A recent publication of a Spanish textbook bears a familiar
name for students taking the “Introduction to the Literature
of Spanish America” class.
“Introducción a la literatura hispanoamericana:
Una selección de Voces de Hispanoamérica,”
written by Spanish associate professor Kay Raymond and assistant
professor Alejandro Latínez, has been published by
Thomson-Heinle and is now being used in the professors’
Spanish 374 classes.
“We made the compilation and wrote the introduction
based on a college text ‘Voces de Hispanoamerica’
by Chang-Rodriguez and Filer,” Latínez said.
“Part of our motivation was to enable students to buy
a less expensive text.”
The textbook is available for $46.10 for a used copy or $61.45
for a new copy at the SHSU Barnes and Noble University Bookstore.
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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
Feb. 1, 2008
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
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