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SHSU Update For Week Of Sept. 27

Employee Vaccinations Available Oct. 8-9
Luttrell To Give President’s Lecture Tuesday
Center To Give Investing, Entrepreneurship Advice
Ecology Prof To Address Community Cannibalism
ADAI To Show ‘Deceiving’ Side Of Alcohol
Exhibit To Bring Back Times Of ‘Vaquero’
Artist To Showcase ‘Cosmic Theater’
Museum Lines Up Four October Movie Night Showings
Education Methods Registration Begins Thursday
English Department Acknowledges Scholarship Recipients
Debate Team Continues Winning Streak In New Year
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Employee Vaccinations Available Oct. 8-9

The SHSU Student Health Center will administer the influenza vaccine at no charge to faculty and staff on Thursday (Oct. 8) and Friday (Oct. 9). Further details will follow.

In order to receive a flu shot, employees must present their Bearkat OneCard prior to receiving the vaccine. The vaccine is not available for employees who are pregnant or nursing.

Supplies are limited and will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis.

“In the past, the department has accommodated everyone that requested the vaccine,” said SHC director Keith Lott. “However, we anticipate an increased level of interest in the vaccine this year especially amongst employees.

“Consequently, employees are advised to obtain the vaccine through other means if they have the opportunity,” he said.

The availability of the H1N1 vaccine is unknown at this time, but the Health Center will inform the university community should it become available, according to Lott.

For more information about the influenza vaccine or the administration process, visit www.shsu.edu/healthcenter or call 936.294.1805.

Luttrell To Give President’s Lecture Tuesday

U.S. Navy veteran and SHSU alumnus Marcus Luttrell will discuss his experiences in Afghanistan which were chronicled in his 2007 No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Lone Survivor, on Tuesday (Sept. 29).

The President's Speaker Series lecture will be held at 11 a.m. in the Criminal Justice Center's Killinger Auditorium.

A Willis native, Luttrell joined the U.S. Navy in March 1999 and became a combat-trained SEAL in January 2002.

He deployed in the spring of 2005 to Afghanistan, where he and three other SEALs participated in Operation Redwing, during which a Taliban force ambushed Luttrell and his three teammates.

Three of the men were killed, and a rescue helicopter carrying 16 special operation forces was shot down, also killing all on board and becoming the single largest loss of life in a day in SEAL history.

During his lecture, Luttrell also will discuss the rigors of SEAL training and what it takes to join the America's elite fighting force, the battle on the mountain, his family's experience and his own story of survival.

Following the discussion, Luttrell will sign copies of his book.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information, call the President's Office at 936.294.1013.

Center To Give Investing, Entrepreneurship Advice

The Student Money Management Center will help students look toward their financial future with workshops on investing and starting a business beginning Monday (Sept. 28).

Peggy Winklemann, an investment manager and owner of Winklemann Asset Management, will introduce some “Investing Basics” from 2-3 p.m. in Lowman Student Center Room 320.

The discussion will cover just that, the basics of investing: what investing means, what it can do for you and types of investments that are available, as well as the stock market, types of bonds, mutual funds and 401ks.

“It is important for students to understand what investing means both for now and in their future,” said Jacki Brossman-Ashorn, assistant director for Bearkat OneCard Services and the money management center.

“The SMMC wants to educate students not only for their time at SHSU, both also for their future beyond SHSU,” she said. “Students will need to know what investing is, as it is an excellent tool used to assist individuals in their quest for financial independence.”

On Wednesday (Sept. 30), Small Business Development Center director Bob Barragan and the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity will present various aspects of being a business owner and where to begin with “How to Start a Business,” from 6-8 p.m. in the LSC Theater.

“Small business is the backbone of our society, and we want to encourage those entrepreneurial minded individuals on our campus to be potential business owners and business leaders,” Brossman said. “Many of the great business leaders in the United States started their businesses while in college. An excellent example is Bill Gates, who began his Microsoft empire while a student at Harvard.”

For more information on either event, contact the Student Money Management Center at 936.294.2600 or smmc@shsu.edu.

Ecology Prof To Address Community Cannibalism

Volker Rudolf, assistant professor in Rice University’s ecology and evolutionary biology department, will discuss the processes that influence the numbers and types of species living together in an ecosystem on Thursday (Oct. 1).

"The Influence of Cannibalism and Size Structure on the Dynamics of Communities," the Biological Sciences Department Seminar Series lecture, will be held from 4-5 p.m. in Lee Drain Building Room 214.

Rudolf’s research indicates that cannibalism—members of the same species eating each other—“can have very strong effects on the number of individuals of a species living in an ecosystem,” according to Chad Hargrave, assistant professor of biological sciences,
“He also has demonstrated that these cannibalistic interactions often depend on age of an individual,” Hargrave said. “Older, and thus larger, individuals are likely to eat younger more vulnerable individuals.

“Therefore, the size structure of a population can influence the number of cannibalistic interactions, influencing the species comprising the community,” he said.

Held each Thursday, the seminar series is open to the public and addresses current research being conducted by a guest professor in a way that the general public can understand.

For more information, contact Hargrave at 936.294.1543.

ADAI To Show ‘Deceiving’ Side Of Alcohol

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Initiative will show how “looks can be deceiving” with your body and your health on Friday (Oct. 2).

Claudia Sealy-Potts, an assistant professor in the family and consumer sciences department, as well as the dietetic graduate interns, will lead a discussion on the hidden calories, nutrients, and fat grams in popular alcoholic beverages, from 9-10 a.m. in the Lowman Student Center Room 304.

“Participants will learn about the metabolic process of alcohol and how it develops into the ‘alcohol pop’ effect on midriffs through the development of visceral fat,” said Rosanne Keathley, ADAI coordinator. “The concept of ‘drinking your diet,’ as well as the ‘six pack’ verses the ‘keg’ effect, will be discussed in the presentation.”

Sealy is a registered dietitian who serves as coordinator for the undergraduate food science and nutrition program and the graduate dietetic internship program, both of which are accredited by the American Dietetic Association.

“Your Body, Your Health—Looks Can Be Deceiving" is part of the Six Weeks of Alcohol Awareness Training program. Through SWAAT, students earn prizes by attending events, which accumulate as students attend more programs.

For more information, contact Keathley at 936.294.1171 or hpe_rsk@shsu.edu.

Exhibit To Bring Back Times Of ‘Vaquero’

The Sam Houston Memorial Museum will be the first to present “Vaquero: Genesis of the Texas Cowboy,” an exhibition created by the Wittliff Collections at the Alkek Library at Texas State University-San Marcos, Friday (Oct. 2) through Nov. 6 in the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr., Education Center Exhibit Gallery.

The exhibit details the photography of Bill Wittliff, who, in the early 1970s, visited a ranch in northern Mexico where the vaqueros still worked cattle in traditional ways.

“Wittliff photographed the vaqueros as they went about daily chores that had changed little since the first Mexican cowherders learned to work cattle from a horse's back,” said Casey Roon, museum curator of exhibits. “Wittliff captured a way of life that now exists only in memory and in the photographs included in this exhibition.”

The exhibit features 62 digital carbon prints with bilingual narrative text that “reveal the muscle, sweat and drama that went into roping a calf in thick brush or breaking a wild horse in the saddle,” Roon said.

The exhibit is presented in partnership with Humanities Texas, the state affiliate for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is made possible in part by a “We the People” grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Sam Houston Memorial Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, call the museum at 936.294.1832 or visit http://www.samhouston.memorial.museum.

Artist To Showcase ‘Cosmic Theater’

The oil paintings of guest artist Michico Itatani will be on exhibit in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery beginning Thursday (Oct. 1).

"‘Cosmic Theater,’ HyperBaroque and Moon Light / Mooring” will be held through Oct. 29.

Born in Japan, Itantani describes her work as “inquiry into historical, cultural, sociopolitical and psychological human conditions, I am trying to come to terms with the complex reality of the 21st Century.”

A professor at the Art Institute of Chicago, she has exhibited across the U.S. and in Korea, Japan and Canada.

Itantani will present an artist talk on Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. in the Art Buiding E Auditorium (Room 108), followed by a reception beginning at 5 p.m. in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, located in Art Building F, Room 101.

For more information, contact Debbie Davenport Harper, art department audio visual librarian, at 936.294.1317.

Museum Lines Up Four October Movie Night Showings

The Sam Houston Memorial Museum will continue to showcase Texas and famous Texans with its Thursday Movie Nights with four showings in October.

“North Dallas Forty,” a 1979 comedy/ drama starring Nick Nolte that is loosely based upon the Dallas Cowboys team of the early 1970s will be held Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. in the Walker Education Center Auditorium.

On Oct. 8, the museum will show the 1996 murder-mystery “Lone Star,” about a Rio County, Texas sheriff whose investigation into a 40-year-old skeleton found in the desert uncovers the town’s dark secrets.

Five-time Academy Award winner “Terms of Endearment” will be presented on Oct. 22.

Based on the novel by Wichita Falls native Larry McMurtry, the 1983 stars Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels and John Lithgow.

Finally, the museum will end the month with a Halloween showing of the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” on Oct. 29.

All Texas Thursday Movie Night showings have some tie to the state, either made in Texas, have a plotline centered around the state or a native as the director or a main actor, according to Megan Buro, museum marketing coordinator.

All movies are free and will begin at 7 p.m. in the Walker Education Center Auditorium. Seating is limited in the Education Center Auditorium to 150.

For more information, contact Buro at 936.294.3839.

Education Methods Registration Begins Thursday

Methods registration for academic studies and secondary education students will be open beginning Thursday (Oct. 1) through Nov. 1.

During this time, students can go to Sam Web, log in, then go to student records and click on “methods application” for the spring ’09 semester.

“Once they do this, they will put all their information on the screen, and after they hit ‘submit’ they will get a confirmation that their application was sent,” said curriculum and instruction department secretary Susan Hayes.

After submitting an application, the department will check for placement eligibility.

Applicants do not have to meet all the requirements for the educator preparation program in order to apply for methods, and those who intend to take methods in the spring must apply during the month time frame, Hayes said.

For more information, call Hayes at 936.294.3896.

English Department Acknowledges Scholarship Recipients

The English department recognized its 16 scholarship recipients on Sept. 17 during a scholarship reception in Austin Hall. During the reception, students had the opportunity to meet scholarship donor Genevieve Sandhop, who was also recognized for her generosity, and hear addresses by alumna Paula Lenz, the Executive Director at North Houston Association, as well as several faculty members. With some of the recipients are Douglas Krienke, associate English department chair, Sandhop and Lenz.

Debate Team Continues Winning Streak In New Year

The SHSU Speech and Debate Team began the 2009-2010 academic year with a victory during the first International Public Debate Association tournament of the fall.

Clayton Goss, who tied for a 3rd place national rank last year, defeated more than 50 competitors from 10 different universities to become the tournament champion. Jeremy Coffman advanced to the semifinals round, taking 3rd place in the tournament.

The Henderson State Warm-up, held Sept. 19-20 on the Henderson State campus in Arkadelphia, Ark., also included competitors from Stephen F. Austin, Louisiana State University—Shreveport, University of Central Arkansas, East Texas Baptist and Union University.

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.

All information for news stories should be sent to the office at least a week in advance to give the staff ample time to make necessary contacts and write the story.

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
Sept. 25, 2009
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."