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SHSU Update For Week Of May 2
- Bearkats To Read ‘China’s Son’ For 2010-11 Program
- Equine Program To Host Horse Demonstration, Sale
- Graduate Fiction Students To Share Works
- Planetarium To Explore ‘Edge Of Solar System’
- Exhibit To Feature Graduating Senior Works
- SHSU Wins Three Awards At CASE
- SHSU Prepares For Summer As Spring Comes To Close
- Today@Sam Seeks Summer Calendar Info
- Send Update Items Here
Bearkats To Read ‘China’s Son’ For 2010-11 Program
Incoming freshmen will have the opportunity to learn about the Chinese Cultural Revolution through the fall Bearkats Read to Succeed program selection, Da Chen’s China’s Son.
Through the common reader program, students are given a copy of a book to read over the summer, which will be integrated into some of the classes they take through lectures, film series, participation in discussion groups and course assignments, according to Kay Angrove, director of the First-Year Experience.
The program is designed to serve as the first academic experience for incoming freshmen because it allows students to "gain a greater understanding of academic expectations of college," to utilize their critical thinking skills, and to have a common academic experience that provides a sense of community among them, Angrove said.
Adapted for young adults from Chen's memoir, Colors of the Mountain, China’s Son traces the author’s boyhood as he works to overcome “monumental hurdles” in Maoist China.
“Mao Tse-tung's Cultural Revolution was in full swing (in the 1960s), and the descendents of landlords, who were despised, were routinely stripped of their wealth, beaten, humiliated, and sent off to labor camps,” according to an Amazon.com review. “Chen, the grandson of a landlord, lives several parallel lives: he excels in school but then gives up studying in the face of unbearable pressure and harassment from teachers, students, and administrators. He is a self-taught musician but also a member of a gang of toughs.
“His siblings, banned from school, work from before sunrise to sunset in the muddy, backbreaking rice fields. But eventually all the dichotomies in Da's life come together, and he makes a break for a new life, with higher education as his foundation for future success.”
Sophomores, juniors and seniors who want to participate in the program may purchase copies of the book from the Barnes and Noble University Bookstore.
Faculty members who want to adopt the book for their classes, or those who would like more information, should contact Angrove at 936.294.3422 or kxa014@shsu.edu.
Equine Program To Host Horse Demonstration, Sale
Sam Houston State University’s equine program is presenting a demonstration and hosting a sale of two-year-old quarter horses on Thursday (May 6) at 2 p.m. at the SHSU Indoor Arena.
The horses are provided by Dick Wallrath of Champion Ranch in Centerville and trained by SHSU students in the equine program.
The demonstration is the final exam for AGR 491 Equine Behavior and Training. The class is offered through the agricultural and industrial sciences department and taught by Matt McMillan, assistant professor and equine program director.
“Last semester the students worked with the horses and trained them on ground manners, which included lunging, saddling, driving, round penning, showmanship, and obstacle negotiations,” McMillan said.
“This semester the students have been required to train the horses under saddle. Results of the training will allow the horses to be shown in a stock horse pleasure class as well as a stock horse trail class,” he said.
One at a time, the students and horses will demonstrate various elements such as walking over a bridge, walking through a gate, trotting and loping over logs, backing through an “L,” side passing, roping a calf dummy, and dragging a log with a lariat rope.
For more information, e-mail McMillan at mlm018@shsu.edu or Jarod Kilcrease, at Champion Ranch, at jarodkilcrease@yahoo.com.
Graduate Fiction Students To Share Works
The Sam Houston State University English department, in conjunction with the Wynne Home Arts Center, will host two evenings of readings by students in the graduate creative writing program on May 11-12.
Students in assistant professor Scott Kaukonen’s graduate fiction workshop will share excerpts from their work at 6 p.m. each night in the Wynne Home, at 1428 11th St. The event is free and open to the public.
“We generally think of writing and reading as solitary activities,” Kaukonen said. “Writing is something an author does in private, conceptualizing and drafting, writing and revising, laboring for months, even years, before the work is ready to be shared with an audience. And reading is something we most often do in private, whether it’s at home or on the bus or in the backyard. But this is an opportunity for those two aspects to come together in a public forum.”
Each Tuesday night this semester, the students in the class have gathered around the long dining room table in the Wynne Home to critique each others’ work and to discuss the art and craft of literary fiction.
Students who will be participating include Abby Hillhouse, Dave Lewis, Lauren McAuliffe, Christopher McCracken, James Ridgway, Shana Templeton, William Tunningley, Robert Uren and Claude Wooley.
This is the second time Kaukonen’s graduate workshop has met at the Wynne Home; the class and subsequent readings also were held there in the spring 2008.
“We continue to work, as a department and as a program, to nurture a lively creative writing community on campus and in Huntsville,” Kaukonen said. “This is just one small part of that larger endeavor.”
For more information, contact Kaukonen at 936.294.1404 or kaukonen@shsu.edu.
Planetarium To Explore ‘Edge Of Solar System’
The SHSU physics department will “search for the edge of the solar system” with its final planetarium presentations of the semester on Friday (May 7) and May 14.
“IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System” will be held from 7-8:15 p.m. on both nights in the Farrington Building Room 102.
The program joins scientists who are investigating the boundary between our solar system and the rest of our galaxy, according to Michael Prokosch, physics department staff laboratory assistant.
“Designed for visitors with an appreciation for the challenges of space science and a desire to learn more about science research, ‘IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System’ follows the creation of NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX),” he said. “Audiences will get an in-depth look at the mission and how IBEX is collecting high-speed atoms to create a map of our Solar System's boundary.”
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.
For more information on current show times for the planetarium or the observatory, call 936.294.3664, e-mail Prokosch at mwp007@shsu.edu or visit the Planetarium WikiPage at http://shsu-planetarium.wikispaces.com/.
Exhibit To Feature Graduating Senior Works
Senior artists who will graduate during the spring commencement exercises will present the culmination of their works at Sam Houston State University during the Graduating Senior Exhibition May 10-14 in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery.
The exhibit will include works by 38 students graduating with the Bachelor of Fine Art degrees in studio art, photography, graphic design and computer animation.
The students will be showing sculptures, paintings, drawings, photographs, designs and animations from their final year of study, according to Michael Henderson, associate professor of art.
The students will be receiving the BFA degree at commencement on May 14 at 6 p.m. A reception for the art students and their exhibition will be held in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery immediately following the graduation ceremony.
Both the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.
The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m.
For more information contact Debbie Harper, art department audio/visual librarian, at 936.294.1317.
SHSU Wins Three Awards At CASE
Sam Houston State University’s team from the University Advancement division won three awards at the 2010 CASE District IV Conference, held March 28-30 in Austin.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is an international association of professionals who advance educational institutions. CASE District IV includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Mexico.
Three different areas of the University Advancement division were recognized with Achievement Awards.
The Office of Alumni Relations received the award in the “Best Low Cost Program” category for the 2009 Bob Bullock Museum event celebrating Gen. Sam Houston’s birthday. Charlie Vienne, Alumni Relations director, submitted the entry.
The University Advancement office received the award in the “Development Special Events” category for the 2009 “Celebrating 100 Years of Ag Education” agriculture centennial celebration. Jacel Angel, development coordinator, and Maggie Collum, director of university events, submitted the entry.
The Office of Communications received the award in the “General News Writing” category for the article entitled “Center Gives Grads Debt Advice.” Jennifer Gauntt, communications writer, submitted the entry.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London and Singapore, CASE is a professional organization for advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas.
The organization has 22,500 members from more than 3,400 colleges, universities, independent elementary and secondary schools, and educational associates in 61 countries. CASE is one of the largest nonprofit education associations in terms of institutional membership, serving more than 60,000 advancement professionals on the staffs of its member institutions.
SHSU Prepares For Summer As Spring Comes To Close
SHSU students, faculty and staff members are preparing for the end of the semester as the last day of class approaches on Thursday (May 6).
Students will get an extra day of studying on Friday before final examinations May 10-13. Residence halls will close at noon on May 14.
Executive commissioner of the Texas Youth Commission Cherie Townsend will speak to the Colleges of Criminal Justice and Arts and Sciences during the Friday night commencement ceremony on May 14, at 6 p.m.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott will address graduates of the Colleges of Business Administration and Humanities and Social Sciences on May 15 at 10 a.m. and the College of Education and the second half of the College of Business Administration at 2 p.m.
SHSU will be closed for Memorial Day on May 31.
Residence halls will reopen for summer occupancy at 11 a.m. on June 7, and first summer session classes will begin on June 8. Classes for the second summer session begin July 9.
Today@Sam Seeks Summer Calendar Info
The University Communications Office is now collecting information on campus events for its summer and fall calendar pages.
Departmental calendars or events can be sent to today@sam.edu or jenniferg@shsu.edu or faxed to 294.1834. Please include the date, location and time of the event, as well as a brief description and a contact person.
Information collected for the Today@Sam calendar pages, at /calendars/, is used by various media outlets, as well as the Communications Office for news stories and releases.
All information, including story ideas and update items for Today@Sam, should be sent a minimum of a week in advance of the event in order to make necessary contacts and write a story.
For more information, call 936.294.1836.
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
April 29, 2010
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.
