SHSU Homepage

SHSU Update For Week Of July 27

Summer Classes End This Week
Theatre, Dance To Host Second Scholarship Tourney
Workshop To Identify Students’ ‘Types’
Sororities To Recruit For Fall Semester
‘Strange’ Exhibit Features Art Prof’s Work
Organization Names Nelson President-Elect
Calendar info sought for Today@Sam
Physics Gives Four Final Glimpses Of Summer ‘Colors’
Send Update Items Here

Summer Classes End This Week

Thousands of SHSU students are expected return to Huntsville within the next few weeks for the fall semester, which will begin on Aug. 25.

Final exams for the second summer session will be held Aug. 7, and the semester will officially end on Aug. 11. Residence halls will close at noon on Aug. 7.

Approximately 897 degrees are expected to be conferred during the summer commencement ceremonies on Aug. 9, at 10 a.m. for the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Criminal Justice and Humanities and Social Sciences and at 2 p.m. for the colleges of Business Administration and Education, in the Johnson Coliseum.

The guest speaker for the ceremonies will be former Texas Secretary of State and former Atlanta Brave Roger Williams.

Residence halls will open for occupancy for the fall at 11 a.m. on Aug. 21.

Theatre, Dance To Host Second Scholarship Tourney

The Sam Houston State University Department of Theatre and Dance will “golf for green” on Sept. 6 during its second annual scholarship “fun/fundraiser” at the Elkins Lake Golf Course.

The tournament schedule includes registration at 8 a.m. and a shotgun scramble start at 9 a.m. Lunch, prizes and awards are scheduled for 1 p.m.

Pat Camfield, general manager of Wiesner of Huntsville, is offering "Hole in One Prizes" for four par-3 holes, including a seven-day cruise, bag of golf clubs, a $500 pro-shop credit and a grand prize car.

The entry fee of $450 per four-person team, or $125 for individual players, includes all fees and a number of extras. Team sponsorships of $450 will also be accepted to allow theatre and dance students to play in the event.

Hole sponsorships are $100, which provides a hole sponsor sign at the tee box of each hole.

Team and hole sponsors will be recognized at all of the fall 2008 and spring 2009 University Theatre Center programs.

The second annual Golfin’ for Green Scholarship Fun/Fundraiser will replace the fall gala, held annually at the University Theatre Center.

For more information, call Kim Childress at 936.294.1329 or Poncho Roberts at 936.291.0057.

Workshop To Identify Students’ ‘Types’

SHSU psychology graduate students will teach students how to communicate based on 16 different personality types on Wednesday (July 30).

"What's Your Personality Type?" will be held from 4-5 p.m. in the Career Services Library.

During the interactive workshop, participants will take a test to determine their personality type to get a better understanding of issues associated with their “type,” according to Megan Moorman, Career Services graduate assistant and one of the presenters.

“It is a benefit for students to know how they communicate based on their personality type so they are better prepared for the workplace,” Moorman said. “Knowing this information can help in many aspects of communicating, such as conflict resolution and fair fighting.”

For more information, call Career Services at 936.294.1713.

Sororities To Recruit For Fall Semester

Sigma Sigma SIgma, Alpha Chi Omega, Zeta Tau Alpha and Alpha Delta Pi, SHSU's Panhellenic Association sororities, will recruit women on Aug. 15-17.

SHSU’s Panhellenic Association is seeking incoming freshmen, upperclassmen and transfer students who would like to be a part of the university's Greek life during its annual recruitment Aug. 15-17.

"Becoming a part of a sorority is a rewarding experience that alters your life in so many positive ways, from making friends for life to gaining knowledgeable leadership skills to having the opportunity to better your community," said Brandon Cooper, Student Activities manager who serves as an adviser to the council.

Sororities within the Panhellenic Association include Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Chi Omega, Sigma Sigma Sigma, and Zeta Tau Alpha.

"These groups have members that are involved in various groups including student government, program council, the honors program, cheerleader and dance teams, Orange Keys and the SHSU theater and dance programs, just to name a few," Cooper said.

The registration fee is $100 until Aug. 1 and $110 after that date. The registration fee includes hotel accommodations for three days and three nights, transportation to and from recruitment parties, group events and recruitment operation costs. The registration deadline is Aug. 12.

For more information, or to register, visit http://www.shsu.edu/~org_npc/recruitment.html, e-mail shsu_recruitment@yahoo.com or call the Student Activities Department at 936.294.3861.

‘Strange’ Exhibit Features Art Prof’s Work

The “Perfectly Strange” works of an SHSU art professor are now on display in an exhibit in Corpus Christi.

The show, featuring the art of SHSU assistant professor Matthew Guest and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi graduate Curtis Miller, will be on display through Aug. 30 at the K Space Contemporary gallery, where Guest also serves as director.

While the works in the exhibit “create visual narratives that include conjured characters and events that reveal personal questions and reflections,” the overall themes of these works are in direct contrast, according to Elizabeth Reese, an art and museum consultant who detailed the exhibit in a Corpus Christi Caller-Times article.

Guest says he has an attraction to gore which appear to be congested and violent “at first glance,” Reese said.

“These particular paintings can be difficult to view and interpret,” she said. “Upon closer examination and reflection they serve to remind us that much of what occurs at any given moment on any day of the week in our world can be challenging—if not disturbing and shocking—to view, experience and absorb.”

Conversely, Miller’s silkscreen monotypes “are sublime and meditative,” while “elements that make up Miller's multimedia works” are “charged with a quiet mystery.”

“Similar to how we can view our own daily challenges and decisions we must make without anticipation, Miller considers the end result a gift,” Reese said.

Located at 415 D Starr St. in Corpus Christi, K Space Contemporary is an artist operated, non-profit organization dedicated to presenting and promoting contemporary art to South Texas.

The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and admission is free for all exhibits, according to its Web site.

For more information, contact K Space Contemporary at 316.887.6834 or info@kspacecontemporary.org.

Organization Names Nelson President-Elect

Judy Nelson, assistant professor in SHSU’s educational leadership and counseling department, was recently chosen as president-elect of the Texas Counseling Association.

Her term of office as president-elect began on July 1, and she will serve as president from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010.

The TCA is a chapter of the American Counseling Association and is respected as one of the leading chapters in that organization, according to Nelson.

In preparation for next year's leadership role, Nelson said she will attend all of TCA's board and senate meetings and lobby days, as well as the ACA Legislative Institute and the ACA Annual Conference.

With approximately 32 local chapters and 13 divisions or special interest groups, TCA has a membership base of 6,000 and is growing.

This year's TCA Annual Professional Growth Conference will be held in the Houston Westin Galleria Hotel from Nov. 5-8.

Calendar Info Sought For Today@Sam

The Public Relations Office is currently accepting information to be used in its calendar pages for the fall semester.

Departmental or organization calendars or events may be sent to today@sam.edu or jenniferg@shsu.edu.

Please include the date, location and time of the event, as well as a brief description and a contact person.

These calendars, located at /calendars/, are continuously updated throughout the year and are used by various media outlets, as well as PR itself, for news stories and releases.

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. Items sent with less than a week’s notice may not be used.

For more information, call 936.294.1836.

Physics Gives Four Final Glimpses Of Summer ‘Colors’

The physics department will continue to bring some “color” into its planetarium series program with “The Colors of Summer” and feature presentation “The Cowboy Astronomer” on Tuesday (July 29).

The program, which shows attendees which constellations, stars and planets they can expect to see in the upcoming weeks, will be held at 2 p.m. in the planetarium, located in Farrington Building Room 102.

The tour will point out and discuss the colors of the stars in such constellations as Cygnus, Lyra, Scorpio and Sagittarius, according to Michael Prokosch, staff aide for the physics department.

In addition, cowboy humorist and poet Baxter Black will give colorful commentary on the Big Dipper, Orion and Pegasus, helping “the viewer explore the stars from a cowboy's point of view,” as the narrator for “The Cowboy Astronomer” presentation, Prokosch said.

The planetarium seats up to 29 visitors and includes a dome that is approximately 18 feet in diameter and more than 20 feet high in the center.

“Essentially a time machine, the planetarium's projector can show how the night sky appears to an observer at any point in time from any place on the earth, from 100,000 years in the past, to 100,000 years into the future,” he said.

The entire program will last approximately an hour and fifteen minutes.

Admission is free, and a visitor's parking pass can be obtained at the Visitor and Alumni Center for the parking lot near the Farrington Building.

The final summer series showings will be presented Aug. 8, Aug. 15 and Aug. 29.

All Tuesday programs will be held at 2 p.m., and Friday programs will be held at 7 p.m. An additional 2 p.m. showing will also be held on Aug. 15.

For more information on current show times for the planetarium or the observatory, call 936.294.3664 or e-mail Prokosch at vis_mwp@shsu.edu.

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.

- END -

SHSU Media Contacts: Frank Krystyniak, Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
July 25, 2008
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu

This page maintained by SHSU's Communications Office
Director: Bruce Erickson
Assistant Director: Julia May
Writer: Jennifer Gauntt
Located in the 115 Administration Building
Telephone: 936.294.1836; Fax: 936.294.1834

Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.

SHSU 'In the News'

Brian Domitrovic, assistant professor of history, appeared on Book TV (C-SPAN) May 1-2, speaking about his recent book "Econoclasts: The Rebels Sparked the Supply Side Revolution and Restored American Prosperity" (www.econoclasts.net).

Houston Chronicle education writer Jeannie Kever recently turned to Regents Professor of English Paul Ruffin for his views on university presses moving toward "digital books" as opposed to traditional ink-on-paper."We're fulfilling the ancient role of the university press, and that is to produce books," said Paul Ruffin, the Texas poet laureate for 2009 and director of the Texas Review Press at Sam Houston State University. "I don't want to give up the book because it is an art."