"The measure of a Life is its Service."
The Office of Multicultural and International Student Services will give students glimpses of different cultures with a number of events during UniDiversity Week April 6-9.
The week will kick off on Monday with “What is a minority?” in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area from noon to 2 p.m. This event will focus on educating students about UniDiversity Week. Give-a-ways and information about the week’s events will be handed out.
On Tuesday, the “MISSconceptions: Texas Culture” event will be held in the LSC Room 304 at 5 p.m.
During the event, history professor Caroline Crimm will present different stereotypes that are associated with Texas culture.
On Wednesday, students can learn about “Gender and Poverty” in the LSC Theater at 3 p.m.
Caron Cates, sociology pool faculty member who specializes in gender issues, will lead the discussion about students’ perceptions of gender and poverty during the event.
UniDiversity Week will end on Thursday with a “MISSconceptions: GLBT Presentation with Holly Miller” in the LSC Room 304 at 11 a.m.
Miller, a professor in the College of Criminal Justice, will be talking about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues and the stereotypes associated with the GLBT community.
“There are some really interesting discussions that take place during UniDiversity Week, and we encourage students to get engaged,” said Ashley McDonough, MISS program coordinator.
For more information about UniDiversity Week and the events, contact the Office of MISS at 936.294.3588.
Scott Cunningham, assistant professor of economics at Baylor University, will discuss "Parental Methamphetamine and Foster Care” on Wednesday (April 8).
The last spring Economics Seminar Series lecture for the semester will be held at 3:30 p.m. in Smith-Hutson Building Room 135.
Cunningham’s research looks at one factor to explain why America’s foster care caseloads have almost doubled over the past two decades—parental illicit drug use.
In the study, co-written by Greg Rafert, from The Analysis Group, the two posit with “robust evidence" that "methamphetamine use has led in part to the growth in foster care caseloads.
“Further, in identifying the precise mechanisms that translated growth in methamphetamine use to the observed increase in foster care caseloads, we find that parental incarceration and child neglect have played significant roles in bringing children into the U.S. foster care system,” the paper’s abstract said.
“These results suggest that child welfare policies should be designed specifically for the children of methamphetamine-using parents.”
Cunningham earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and his doctorate from the University of Georgia.
He has taught at Baylor since 2007.
For more information, contact Darren Grant, assistant professor of economics, at 936.294.4324 or dgrant@shsu.edu.
All bets are on as SHSU students, faculty and staff walk across campus and stop by department booths for the annual Poker Walk on Wednesday (April 8).
Hosted by the Department of Recreational Sports, the walk is designed to increase fitness awareness.
Participants will be ‘dealt’ in from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area.
After stops at participating departmental and organizational booths, players will return to the beginning, where their hands will be revealed.
Prizes will be awarded for the best hand; the “High Roller Challenge,” in which departments may win a $50 coffee and chocolates basket; and the “Maverick Award.” The player with the best hand will win a professional set of poker chips.
In addition, prizes such as T-shirts, poker necklaces and goody bags will be raffled off.
For more information, contact Tina De Ases, Rec Sports' senior assistant director for marketing, promotions and special events, at 936.294.1985.
Career Services' second annual Etiquette Dinner has been rescheduled for Wednesday (April 8), from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center.
The event was originally to take place on April 1 but was rescheduled due to the illness of the guest presenter.
For more information, call Career Services at 936.294.1713.
Students who anticipate attending graduate school in business can now take their Graduate Management Admission Test at SHSU’s Testing Center.
The center will offer the GMAT on the first and third Wednesday of each month. The first test was administered April 1.
“I felt it was very important to our students to be able to offer this opportunity here on campus without the prospective graduate students having to drive to Conroe or Houston in order to take this exam,” said Testing Center coordinator Terri Harvey.
“In the recent past, there was a commuter bus that would stop here on campus to administer the GMAT exams, but I wanted to offer the test here on campus on a more regular basis,” she said. “We provide administration for a variety of tests within our Testing Center and are always looking for ways to increase test offerings and opportunities to our students and to the outside community as well.”
The GMAT exam is a standardized assessment that helps business schools assess the qualifications of applicants for advanced study in business and management, according to the official GMAT Web site.
Students will still have to register and pay through the site, at www.mba.com.
The Testing Center is located in Academic Building IV Room 102.
For more information, contact the center at 936.294.1025 or test.ctr@shsu.edu.
The American Democracy Project will explore the legacies left by families in recognition of Holocaust Remembrance Day beginning Tuesday (April 7) with the “Burning Issues Film Series” showing of “Inheritance.”
The film will be presented at 3:30 p.m. that day in Academic Building IV Room 220.
“Inheritance,” a documentary, is the story of Monika Hertwig, the daughter of Nazi commander and mass murderer Amon Goeth, who spent her life in the shadow of her father’s sins, trying to come to terms with her “inheritance.”
Goeth was portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in the movie “Schindler’s List.”
She seeks out Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig, who was enslaved by Goeth and is one of the few living eyewitnesses to his unspeakable brutality.
“The women’s raw, emotional meeting unearths terrible truths and lingering questions about how the actions of our parents can continue to ripple through generations,” said Tracy Szymczak, SHSU VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) in charge of the series.
“This film is important because what happened should not be forgotten and it shows the journey of two women dealing with the same legacy and trying to come to terms with it,” she said.
Repeat viewings will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday (April 8) and at 6 p.m. on April 14, also in AB IV Room 220.
Admission is free and all showings are open to the public.
For more information, contact Szymczak at tms007@shsu.edu or 936.294.1156.
New School of Music faculty member Javier Pinell will perform both masterworks and newer compositions on Monday (April 6).
Pinell will perform with assistant professor of piano Ilonka Rus for the faculty violin recital at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
The program will include works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Cesar Franck, as well as newer compositions by French composer Lili Boulanger, Czech composer Ladislav Burlas, and Bolivian composer Gustavo Navarre.
Pinell, an assistant professor of violin and strings area coordinator, has been teaching at SHSU since the fall. He also serves on the violin faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.
As a performer, he has traveled extensively, appearing with orchestras in Bolivia, Venezuela, Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Peru and throughout the U.S.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University, his master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, and his doctorate from Florida State University.
Admission is free.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
The Student Advising and Mentoring Center will give students considering graduate school all of the information they need during an informational seminar on Tuesday (April 7).
The presentation, which will include a question-and-answer session, will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the SAM Center classroom, located in College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building Room 190.
Among the topics that will be discussed are financial aid, organizing applications and the grad school timeline.
Space is limited, and students should call or stop by the SAM Center to sign up.
For more information, or to register, contact Adrienne Langelier at anl002@shsu.edu or call 936.294.4444.
Criminal justice professor Randy Garner recently was installed as the elected chair of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences: Police Section, the academy’s largest section.
Garner, who became chair in March, will serve a two-year term in the position. He previously served as vice chair for two years and secretary for three.
As chair, Garner said he hopes to institute a number of changes for the academy, including developing a dedicated “police section” Web site, converting the current “police forum” to a more Web-friendly and readable format, increasing section membership, offering membership scholarships for newly-minted doctoral recipients who have published in the area of policing, and several other recommended changes.
In addition, Garner recently has made three presentations: one on legacy leadership, at the Texas Municipal League’s annual convention in San Antonio, which was recorded on DVD; one on legacy leadership in city management, at the Texas City Management Association in Salado, Texas, in February; and one on “In Defense of Cop Shop Pedagogy,” presented at the 2009 annual conference of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
His article on “Police Stress: Effects of Criticism Management Training on Health” was published in the Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice journal last year, and he also helped develop the curriculum for and participated in the instructional delivery for the first National Jail Leadership and Command Academy held in March 2009.
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For electronic access to SHSU news see the Communications Web page Today@Sam.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Bruce Erickson, Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
April 3, 2009
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Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.
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."
Monday, May 3
Tuesday, May 4
"The measure of a Life is its Service."