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SHSU Update For Week Of Nov. 9

PC To Offer Free AIDS Testing On Tuesday
Renewable Energy Group Manager To Give Colloquium
Ballerina To Field Questions For Grassroots Lecture
Office To Prepare Students For ‘Destination Graduation’
German Program To Take An Hour for ‘Kaffee’
Tour To Showcase Fall Constellations
Music To Present Nights Of Woodwind, Percussion, Jazz
ROTC Shares Football Game With High School

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PC To Offer Free AIDS Testing On Tuesday

This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that almost one million Americans living in the United States and Washington, D.C., were living with the AIDS virus in 2006, the most recent year data were available.

Of these, approximately 56,300 were newly infected.

In recognition of AIDS Awareness Week, the Program Council will offer students the opportunity to “be smart” and “know your status” through a free AIDS testing day on Tuesday (Nov. 11).

Conducted by the Brazos Valley Community Action Agency, Inc., students will be anonymously tested from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.

“Each day in the United States, every 13 minutes, someone contracts HIV,” said Chuck Collins, PC coordinator. “Of those new infections, over half of them occur in people who are under the age of 25. Basically, as our motto of HIV/AIDS awareness, be smart, get tested, know your status.”

To ensure privacy and confidentiality, participants will be assigned a number that will be used in the place of names on the paperwork, which will also include a questionnaire about the student’s personal life.

Counselors will then administer the rapid test, which will give students the result in about 30 minutes, Collins said.

While being tested for AIDS may be embarrassing, Collins said it’s important to be “sexually responsible” if you choose to be sexually active.

“It’s important for educators to help remove the common, negative stigma associated with someone being responsible and having themselves regularly tested for STIs,” he said. “Especially in cases of multiple partners or unsafe sex, the individual needs to know their status. If we simply must place blame, the negative connotation should be placed upon NOT being tested for HIV and other STIs.

While testing is scheduled to end at 1 p.m., Collins said the agency will continue to test until 3:30 p.m., should there be a great demand.

For more information, call the Program Council at 936.294.1763.

Renewable Energy Group Manager To Give Colloquium

Dan Bullock, program manager for research operations with the Houston Advanced Research Center, will discuss the “HARC’s Technology Transfer Model for Commercializing Environmentally Promising Technologies” on Tuesday (Nov. 11).

The physics colloquium lecture will be held from 3-4 p.m. in Farrington Building Room 209.

Bullock joined HARC in July 2002 and is responsible for directing the new U.S. Department of Energy-funded Gulf Coast Combined Heat and Power Regional Application Center. He is also program manager for the Center for Fuel Cell Research and Applications.

Bullock has more than 15 years experience in research, engineering, operations, and sales through experience with the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM East Fishkill facility, Advanced Micro Devices and a number of technology start-up companies in the energy, display, and microelectronics industries.

He also is founder and president of Austin Microsystems, a developer of micro fuel cells based in Austin.

His most recent work is focused on development and commercialization of fuel cells and other advanced clean energy technologies.

Bullock is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and holds advanced degrees from the University of Texas at Austin in both engineering and public administration.

HARC, a not-for-profit organization based in The Woodlands, is dedicated to improving human and ecosystem wellbeing through the application of sustainability science and principles of sustainable development.

For more information on the physics colloquium, call 936.294.1601.

Ballerina To Field Questions For Grassroots Lecture

Sandra Organ Solis, founder and artistic director of the Sandra Organ Dance Company, will share her roots as the Houston Ballet’s first African American female ballerina on Wednesday (Nov. 12).

The Grassroots speaker series lecture will be held at 5 p.m. in Academic Building IV's Olson Auditorium.

Solis ended her 15-year career with the Houston Ballet in 1997 to form her dance company, whose mission is to promote contemporary dance, educate the public and attract a diverse audience.

Since then, the SODC has drawn on more than 80 professional dancers and 10 choreographers to create over 80 new ballets that explore themes such as the complexity of race relations in American history, the tragedy and redemption of organ donation, the contributions of African Americans, and the lives of historical figures, according to her Web site.

The company has also presented more than 110 dance concerts to more than 35,000 people, including approximately 7,500 children from ages 10 to 19.

In addition to her work with the SODC, Solis is on the faculty of Houston Ballet Academy, Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and the St. John’s School.

Following the discussion, a meet-and-greet with refreshments will be held in the Student Advising and Mentoring Center, located in ABIV Room 210.

“Grassroots: A Series of Conversations on Leadership in a Diverse Community” is sponsored by the academic support programs of the Student Advising and Mentoring Center; the Elliott T. Bowers Honors Program; the International Hispanic Association; Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.; the NAACP; the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program; Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc.; and Women United.

For more information, contact Bernice Strauss, director of academic support programs for the SAM Center, at 936.294.4455.

Office To Prepare Students For ‘Destination Graduation’

The Registrar's Office will give upcoming graduates a one-stop 'destination' where all their questions can be answered on Wednesday (Nov. 12).

"Destination Graduation" will be held from 1-3 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.

Departments from across campus will be on hand to answer such questions as "Where do I go for the ceremony," "Is there anything else I need to do," or "What do I do after graduating?"

"We just want to offer students a way to find out what is going on so that there are no surprises at the end of graduation," said Maria Busby, assistant registrar.

The event is open to all students who have applied for December 2008 graduation, including all bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs.

Degree candidates for December 2008 who visit the final Registrar table at the event and find that they do not have any lacking requirements left to complete will receive a special item from the Registrar’s Office, according to Busby.

“This would mean that degree candidates need to pursue any substitutions or changes to the degree plans from their departments and have that to the Registrar no later than Nov. 11 in order to have an updated status at Destination Graduation,” she said.

For more information, contact the Registrar’s Office at ask.regstaff@shsu.edu.

German Program To Take An Hour for ‘Kaffee’

The foreign languages department will offer the SHSU community the opportunity to practice German with other speakers or learn about its program on Wednesday (Nov. 12).

Kaffeestunde, or coffee hour, will be held from 11 a.m. to noon in Evans Building Room 317.

Coffee, soda and German pastries will be served.

SHSU offers German as a minor, for students seeking certification in secondary education or for those simply interested in the language.

Classes being offered in the spring semester include elementary German, German reading and composition and multi-cultures of Amer-German.

For more information, contact James Frankki, assistant professor of German, at jlf017@shsu.edu or 936.294.1446.

Tour To Showcase Fall Constellations

The physics department will continue its public a tour of “what’s currently up in the autumn night sky” with its planetarium series program on Friday (Nov. 14).

The “Autumn Sky” and “Astronomyths,” which show attendees which constellations, stars and planets they can expect to see in the upcoming weeks, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Planetarium, located in Farrington Building Room F102.

“Astronomyths, takes the visitor on a journey with a grandfather and his grandson on a camping trip under the stars where they let their imaginations soar into the heavens with the heroic tales, such as Perseus and his rescue of Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus, with a bit of science mixed in,” said Michael Prokosch, staff laboratory assistant for the physics department.

The show will last approximately one hour, and admission is free.

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, according to Prokosch.

The final fall showings will be held on Dec. 12 and Dec. 19, both at 7 p.m.

For more information on current show times for the Planetarium or the Observatory, call 936.294.3664 or e-mail Prokosch at mwp007@shsu.edu.

Music To Present Nights Of Woodwind, Percussion, Jazz

The School of Music will show off some of its faculty’s “favorite things” and give audiences a “night of percussion” with two concerts beginning Monday (Nov. 10).

Music faculty members Kathy Daniel, Spring Hill, Patricia Card, Scott Phillips and Scott Plugge, will perform works by “well-established” and contemporary composers at 8 p.m. that day in the Recital Hall.

“Favorite Things,” a faculty woodwind recital, will feature Richard Rodney Bennett’s “Travel Notes 2,” Charles Koechlin’s “Trio,” Nicola Resanovic’s “Thing-a-ma Jig” and David Gillingham’s “American Counterpoint.”

“All four works will present a wide variety of styles and sounds for woodwind trios and quartets,” said Card, associate professor of clarinet.
The recital is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday (Nov. 12), the SHSU Percussion Ensemble and Steel Band will present "A Night of Percussion" at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.

The ensemble, under the direction of John Lane, will present music from Guatemala, Panama and West Africa, as well as works by Henry Cowell, John Luther Adams and Bob Becker, Lane said.

The evening will conclude with a performance by the SHSU Steel Band with special guest, Aric Schneller, on trombone. Schneller is the School of Music’s director of jazz studies.

Finally, on Thursday (Nov. 13), the three student groups will jazz up the Kat Klub from 6-8 p.m. with a variety of tunes from the genre.

The Kat Klub debut of “A Night of Jazz,” featuring the Jazz Lab Band, Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo, will include the performances of such songs as “Kansas City Shout” and “A Time For Love.”

The performance is free and open to the public

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The Kat Klub is located on the first floor of the Lowman Student Center.

For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.

ROTC Shares Football Game With High School

Eighteen juniors and seniors from the Sam Rayburn High School junior ROTC battalion visited the SHSU campus on Nov. 1 to watch the Bearkat football team play Stephen F. Austin.

Hosted by the SHSU ROTC, the JROTC attended the tailgate party before watching the 83rd Battle of the Piney Woods and “were treated to all the food they could eat and SHSU souvenirs they could carry,” according to retired Lt. Col. Alan Mooneyham, SRHS senior Army instructor and former Bearkat Battalion commander.

“They also had an opportunity to visit many of the school’s organizational booths, view the various displays and even clown around with Sammy,” he said. “This was a chance for some Texans to experience a fun aspect of college life and perhaps spark their interest and confidence to attend college after high school.”

The SRHS Texans got to see an exciting game, with the Bearkats defeating the Lumberjacks in double-overtime by a score of 34-31.

Send Update Items Here

Information for the SHSU Update can be sent to the Office of Communications 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.

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For electronic access to SHSU news see the Communications Web page Today@Sam.

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SHSU Media Contacts: Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
Nov. 7, 2008
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu

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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."