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SHSU Update For Week Of May 15
- ROTC Commissions Eight As Second Lieutenants
- Alumni Golf Tournament Scheduled For May 21
- Alumni To Take Annual Trip To Astros Game
- Tax Practitioner Seminar Scheduled For May 26
- ‘Jeans’ Day To Recognize Genetic Disorder
- Spanish Honorary Society Inducts 13
- Journal Gives Professor’s Collection Glowing Review
- Today@Sam Seeks Summer Calendar Info
- Send Update Items Here
ROTC Commissions Eight As Second Lieutenants
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| Graduating seniors who were commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army on Friday morning include (front row, from left) Wayne Salazar, Joan Brothers, Eric Robbins, and Richard Nicholson, as well as (back row, from left), John Girton, Eric Armstrong, Clayton Ivy, and Andrew Falkenstine. |
Eight graduating seniors joined the ranks of the U.S. Army leadership on Friday morning during the Bearkat Battalion spring commissioning ceremony.
Earning the rank of second lieutenant were Eric Armstrong, Joan Kim Brothers, Andrew Falkenstine, John Girton, Clayton Ivey, Richard Nicholson, Eric Robbins and Wayne Salazar.
Armstrong, who graduates cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice and as a Distinguished Military Graduate, joined the ROTC program in 2009, serving as a Simultaneous Membership Program Cadet in the Texas Army National Guard’s 1/112th Cavalry Regiment in Bryan.
He came to SHSU after being on active duty for more than four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving duty stations in Okinawa, Japan; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and London, England.
He has been selected for active duty service as an infantry officer and will serve his first duty assignment in Hawaii.
Brothers, who graduates magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice and as a Distinguished Military Graduate, joined the ROTC program in 2008, serving as a simultaneous membership program cadet with the Texas Army National Guard’s 536th Brigade Support Battalion in Houston. She enlisted in the National Guard in 2006 while still in high school.
She is the recipient of the George C. Marshall Award in the spring of 2011 and has earned the distinction of being among the top 10 percent of all cadets nationwide.
Brothers received an active duty commission as a military intelligence officer and will serve her first duty assignment in South Korea.
Falkenstine, who graduates cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice and as a Distinguished Military Graduate, joined the ROTC in 2008.
He received an active duty commission as a signal corps officer and will serve his first duty assignment in Germany.
Girton, who graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice, joined the ROTC in 2007.
He received an active duty commission and will first attend Field Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, Okla., before reporting to his first duty assignment.
Ivey, who graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice, joined the ROTC in 2007.
He received an active duty commission and will serve as a field artillery officer. He will first attend Field Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill before reporting to his first duty assignment.
Nicholson, who graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and as a Distinguished Military Graduate, came to SHSU in 2009 after earning an associate’s degree from Lone Star College Kingwood, where he first joined the ROTC program. He served as an SMP cadet in the Texas Army National Guard’s 1/149th Attack Aviation Battalion in Houston.
He received an active duty commission as a medical service corps officer and will serve as cadre at the Leader’s Training Course at Fort Knox, Ky., upon graduation. He will serve his first duty assignment at Fort Rucker, Ala., where he will attend flight school to become a MEDEVAC pilot.
Robbins, who graduates with a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice, joined the ROTC program in 2007.
He received an active duty commission as a transportation corps officer and will serve his first duty assignment at Fort Riley, Kan.
Salazar, who graduates with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice and as a Distinguished Military Graduate, joined the ROTC 2007.
He received an active duty commission as an infantry officer and will serve his first duty assignment with the 101st Air Assault Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Alumni Golf Tournament Scheduled For May 21
The SHSU Alumni Association will tee off on May 21 for the fifth annual Alumni Golf Tournament, sponsored by H-E-B.
The four-person scramble will begin with registration at 11:30 a.m. at the High Meadow Ranch Golf Club near Magnolia, followed by lunch, range warm up and a shotgun start at 1 p.m.
A post-event dinner and awards ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. Following dinner, around 6 p.m., a helicopter ball drop raffle will be held. Two winners will be selected to receive a $1,000 shopping spree from H-E-B or a Henry Golden Boy .22 rifle.
Entry fees are $125 per player, with corporate sponsorships of $1,000 (bronze), $2,500 (silver) and $5,000 (gold). Hole sponsorships are $150.
Individual registration will be held on the day of the event, but participants are encouraged to sign-up before May 17. Team entries must be submitted 48 hours in advance, according to Charlie Vienne, director for Alumni Relations.
Individuals, teams and sponsors can register using credit cards on the Office of Alumni Relations website at http://alumni.shsu.edu or mail payment to: Office of Alumni Relations; Box 2022; Huntsville, Texas, 77341.
Helicopter raffle tickets are $10 each and can be purchased on the alumni website at or by contacting the alumni office. Winners do not have to be present to receive a prize.
The High Meadow Ranch Golf Club is located at 37300 Golf Club Trail in Magnolia.
For more information, or to register, call the Office of Alumni Relations at 936.294.1841 or 800.283.7478 or visit http://alumni.shsu.edu.
Alumni To Take Annual Trip To Astros Game
Sam Houston State University students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends can watch the Houston Astros take on the Texas Rangers during the SHSU Night at Minute Maid Park on June 28. The game will begin at 7:05 p.m.
Food and drinks will be served at a pre-game reception at Champions Pavilion inside the park. The reception will begin at 6 p.m.
“The event has grown over the years from its inception with approximately 65 attendees to more than 300 attendees last year,” said Alumni Relations director Charlie Vienne. “This year the SHSU ROTC Color Guard will present the colors for the National Anthem prior to the game.
“We anticipate an even larger gathering of alumni and friends this year,” he said.
The Alumni Association will provide chartered transportation to the game departing from Bowers Stadium at 4:30 p.m.
A total trip package including transportation, the reception and game ticket is $60. Packages with game tickets and the pre-game reception, or for game tickets and the reception, are also available through the association for $40 per person, or season ticket holders can attend just the reception for $20 each.
The reservation deadline for the charter bus and reception is June 22.
Individuals not choosing to purchase an alumni package can obtain game tickets online through the Houston Astros website at www.astros.com/. Various seating options are available.
For more information, or to make a reservation for the chartered bus or pre-game reception, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 936.294.1841 or 800.283.7478, or visit http://ww2.shsu.edu/alum02wp/.
Tax Practitioner Seminar Scheduled For May 26
The Internal Revenue Service will present a seminar that will update tax professionals on new rules for federal tax preparers on May 26.
The IRS Regional Practitioner Seminar will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Smith-Hutson Building’s Haney Auditorium.
Enrolled Agents will be entitled to eight Continuing Professional Education hours; other tax professionals may qualify depending on the requirements of their organizations.
“CPE hours are required for CPAs and Enrolled Agents and now required for tax professionals,” said Ce Cowart Schlicher, SHSU Small Business Development Center consultant.
Huntsville and Sam Houston State University have been chosen as one of seven cities to host the daylong seminar, according to Schlicher.
The seminar is hosted by SHSU Small Business Development Center, the SHSU College of Business Administration, the IRS, Texas chapter of the National Association of Tax Professionals, Texas Society of Enrolled Agents, and the Texas Society of CPAs.
The cost is $45, which includes lunch. Registration is available online through the SHSU SBDC website, at http://samhoustonstateuniversity.sbdcnetwork.net. The deadline for registration is 5 p.m. on May 23.
For more information, contact the SHSU SBDC office at 936.294.3737.
‘Jeans’ Day To Recognize Genetic Disorder
Approximately 250,000 people are annually diagnosed with Primary Immune Deficiency Diseases, an absence of T-cells, B-cells, NK cells, thymus, tonsils or lymph nodes, all of which are needed to combat viruses and bacteria infections.
SHSU’s College of Criminal Justice and the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas will raise money for the Primary Immune Deficiency Foundation through a “Blue Jeans for Healthy Genes Day” on Wednesday (May 18).
In recognition of the day, participants are asked to donate $10 to the foundation and wear blue jeans on that day. For their donation, participants also will receive a primary immune deficiency disease button pin and sticker, as well as a tax-deductible receipt.
To sign up for “Blue Jeans for Healthy Genes Day,” e-mail Yvette Shorten at wys001@shsu.edu or call 936.294.3851, or for more information on PIDD or the Primary Immune Deficiency Foundation, visit their website www.primaryimmune.org.
Spanish Honorary Society Inducts 13
Sigma Delta Pi, the national Spanish honorary society, recently initiated 13 new members into its Kappa Zeta chapter.
Those inducted on April 28 include Monica Aguilar, Ruth Bacerra, Amy Beers, Leslie Brooks, Ludwig Hernandez Ortiz, Areli Lopez, Ann Medina, Benjamin Andrew Montes, Adam Oxford, Yadira Rodriguez, Brenda Sanchez, Lindsay Smith and Janette Uribe.
Sigma Delta Pi members must have taken at least 18 hours of Spanish in college with a "B" average in Spanish and rank in the upper one-third of their graduating class.
The ceremony was conducted by current officers of the Kappa Zeta chapter at SHSU.
Journal Gives Professor’s Collection Glowing Review
A new poetry collection by Paul Ruffin—the 2009 Texas State Poet Laureate, Texas State University System Regents Professor and Distinguished Professor of English—“exhibits a wit reminiscent of Alexander Pope coupled with a humor that evokes the satirical efforts of Mark Twain,” critic Joseph Haske said in a recent review.
The review of Paul Ruffin: New and Selected Poems appears in the current issue of American Book Review, an internationally distributed literary journal that specializes in reviews of frequently neglected published works of fiction, poetry, and literary and cultural criticism from small, regional, university, ethnic, avant-garde, and women's presses.
The collection was published this month by the Texas Christian University Press as part of its Texas Poets Laureate Series.
“Ruffin’s poetry tends to build on the ordinary, presenting familiar, sometimes mundane, images and offering a twist that transports readers to the realm of the unfamiliar, surprising the reader along the way,” Haske said. “The simple imagery ventures into the profound as revelation emerges from unexpected sources.”
Ruffin’s publications include two novels, three collections of short stories, three books of essays, and over a half dozen collections of poetry, according to Haske.
“He is that rare poet, reminiscent of Robert Frost, who effectively merges a lyrical, stylistic tradition with cognitive and metaphysical innovation,” Haske said. “He translates his ability as a prose stylist into verse, creating profound narrative poetry that both tells a story and reveals some clever insight or knowledge, often through simple, unexpected figurative devices and imagery.”
The ABR also reviewed Richard Burgin’s Rivers Last Longer, which was published last September by SHSU’s Texas Review Press.
In addition, another TRP author, Dave Parsons, was featured in a review by Houston Chronicle writer Maggie Galehouse for the May 10 edition.
Parsons, of Conroe, is the 2011 Texas State Poet Laureate, and has been published by the TRP twice, with a third publication scheduled for the summer, according to Ruffin, who serves as the director for the Texas Review Press.
Paul Ruffin: New and Selected Poems is available for $15.95 through the TCU Press, at http://www.prs.tcu.edu, or on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.
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: Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
May 13, 2011
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
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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.
