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SHSU Update For Week Of Nov. 6
- Biology Lecture To Examine Texas Climate Change
- Lecture To Focus On ‘Leading,’ ‘Following’ In Life
- Exhibit To Take Art Into Community
- Food Drive To Fill Local Pantries For Holidays
- 3G Exhibit To Examine ‘Existence, Passage, Release’
- Dance Concert To Showcase Colorful Performances
- School To Get ‘Winded’ With Two Concerts
- Faculty, Staff Picnic Scheduled For Nov. 11
- Association Chartering Bus For Texas State Game
- Business Professor Named Association ‘Fellow’
- Vietnamese Colonels Get American Justice Lessons
- Submit Update Items Here
Biology Lecture To Examine Texas Climate Change
University of Texas geological sciences professor Jay Banner will explore Texas’s climate changes on Thursday (Nov. 10), during the weekly Biological Science Department Seminar Series presentation.
"Climate and Paleoclimate Change, Water Change, and Policy in Texas" will begin at 4 p.m. in Lee Drain Building Room 214.
“Geologic records indicate that Texas experienced large climate changes on millennial time scales in the past, and over the last thousand years, tree-ring records indicate that there were multi-decadal periods of drought in Texas,” Banner said.
“This seminar will examine how these records of the past are constructed, projections for future climate change in the region, and proposed policy to address the challenges that will come with these changes.”
Banner, who is also the director for UT’s Environmental Science Institute, has been teaching at the university since 1990.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He also was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology and Louisiana State University.
Banner’s field research sites include Texas, Guam, Western Australia, the midcontinent and Great Basin USA, Barbados, and the Bahamas.
His research investigates the impacts of urbanization on aquifers and streams, and the reconstruction of past climate change, soil erosion and ocean chemistry.
Banner co-developed and teaches UT’s first signature course, “Sustaining a Planet,” and helped develop the university’s newest interdisciplinary degree, a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science.
Among the recent honors he has received are the Friar’s Centennial Teaching Fellowship Award in 2011, induction into UT’s “Academy of Distinguished Teachers” in 2011, and the Jackson School of Geosciences’ “Outstanding Educator Award” in 2010.
His presentation is open to the public.
For more information, contact Madhu Choudhary, assistant professor of biological sciences, at 936.294.4850.
Lecture To Focus On ‘Leading,’ ‘Following’ In Life
SHSU dance professor Cindy Gratz will discuss how “John Michael Montgomery Was Right: Life’s a Dance You Learn as You Go…Sometimes You Lead and Sometimes You Follow” on Monday (Nov. 7).
The Honors 3332 Journeys Seminar presentation will begin at 4 p.m. in Smith-Hutson Building Room 186.
Gratz, who has been dancing since the age of 2 when she began hula training with her mother (who is also a dance professor), said her lecture will focus on the inclusiveness of dance.
“I am certain that everyone has a dance inside, and I love to bring that out,” she said. “My dance company, ‘The Prime Time Dancers,’ consists of men and women from 55 to 95 years old.
"We go to area nursing homes twice a year to get everyone tapping, clapping, and laughing if we can,” she said.
Gratz earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her doctorate from New York University.
Her “journey” to SHSU has included riding elephants with Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus and touring the country as a solo concert modern dance artist.
In addition to founding The Primetime Dancers, she has established two other dance companies: the multi-cultural dance The Polynesian Dance Review of Huntsville, Texas, and socially relevant concert modern dance The Gratz Dance Ensemble.
In 2010, Gratz was selected by Dance Teacher Magazine to receive the “Dance Teacher of the Year in Higher Education” award.
Her lecture, sponsored by the Elliott T. Bowers Honors College, is part of a new class designed to show students what characteristics lead to success.
It lecture is open to the public.
For more information, contact instructor Patrick Lewis at 936.294.3397.
Exhibit To Take Art Into Community
Students in SHSU’s art department will take over several storefronts in the Huntsville downtown square area next week to present their contemporary art as part of the first Student Art Walk Sunday through Saturday (Nov. 6-12).
The independent exhibit will feature works by Daniel Bertalot, Summer Brewster, Nic Cambell, Catherine Cartwright, Meredith Cawley, Jay Cronin, Beth Hargrove, Katy Kana, Stephen Lee, Virginia Purswell, Julia Six, Jared Taylor and Josh Yates.
Paintings, ceramics and a performance art piece, curated by Cartwright, will all be a part of the exhibit, which will run along four or five storefronts on Sam Houston Avenue near the Avenue L Coffee Shop.
“Daniel and two other guys—Jay Cronin and Stephen Lee— and I are painting a mural. There will also be an exhibit inside the (Avenue L) coffee shop,” said Cambell, who is a senior studio art major. “It’s open all week for the public to just wander around and check out our art.”
Bertalot, also a senior studio art major, said Yates’s performance art piece will utilize a “minimalist” approach.
“Josh Yates is basically going to live in one of those window fronts all week, so that will be interesting,” Cambell said. “From what I heard, he will leave for class and then come back.”
“He won’t have a cell phone; he won’t have any means of communication with the outside world,” Bertalot added.
The goal of the Art Walk is to increase community awareness of the students in the art department and boast the art department itself, according to Cambell.
“(We are) Reaching out to the community through culture and art; pretty much showing what we can do,” Bertalot said.
“Everyone (in the community) has been very supportive and happy to do it,” Cambell said. “Home Depot helped us out, donating items, and other local businesses have really been supporting us, so the community has been pretty on top of it.”
A come-and-go reception will be held on Friday (Nov. 11), at 7 p.m. at the Avenue L Coffee Shop, during which time people can visit with the artists that were involved and talk about the work itself.
“It’s something that everyone wants to continue happening,” Cambell said. “The artists that are involved were hand-selected (by curator Cartwright) for a reason, so it should be pretty good.”
For more information, contact art department secretary Christine Wieghat at cxw006@shsu.edu or 936.294.4311.
Food Drive To Fill Local Pantries For Holidays
Students in Charles Heath’s History 3391, “History of Colonial Latin America,” class are reaching out to the SHSU and Huntsville communities to help local families in need through their Second Annual Encuentro Despensa Basica food drive.
The Active Civil Engagement project, which includes other campus participants, will provide “traditional” pantry items that one might find in the home of a “typical” Hispanic family, Heath said.
Students visited Gibbs Pre-K Wednesday to learn “something about the needs of families with students enrolled there and throughout” the Huntsville school district and from that, a list of 36 items was compiled.
These include food items such as sugar, cooking oil, salt, vinegar, flour, rice, beans, lentils, garbanzo beans, lima beans, spaghetti, cereal, canned tuna, mayonnaise, Knorrs chicken consommé, jelly, instant coffee, saltines, baking soda, powdered hot chocolate, and powdered milk.
They also include non-food items such as shampoo and conditioner, laundry detergent, dish soap, floor cleanser, sanitary napkins, toilet paper, bath soap, diapers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, Band-Aids, Tylenol, and body cream (or lotion).
“Our goal is to provide as many families as possible with a despensa basica (basic pantry) for the holidays,” Heath said. “Last year we supplied about 25-30 families, this year we hope to exceed that amount. But even helping one family makes the effort worthwhile.”
Those who would like to participate can donate “complete pantries” (all 36 items on the list) or as many as they would like to donate.
“To make a small contribution makes a big difference,” Heath said. “The cost is not high as these are basic generic staples and it is quite easy to complete a list in one visit to H-E-B or other grocery stores. The cost of the pantry is around $40 to $50. The time involved is a matter of minutes.
“The help, the difference it makes, however, lasts for many meals, and fills many stomachs,” he said.
Goods may be dropped off at Heath’s office or at the history department, both in Academic Building IV, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., or individuals may contact Heath for pickup arrangements, through Dec. 9. The items will be delivered Dec. 10.
Fore more information, contact Heath at cvh003@shsu.edu.
3G Exhibit To Examine ‘Existence, Passage, Release’
“Existence, Passage, Release,” an art exhibit featuring the works of Jelena Berenc, Tomiko Jones and Monika Meler, will be on display in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery beginning Monday (Nov. 7) through Dec. 1.
Berenc’s endurance drawings are based on durational, repetitional, and excessive acts of drawing, according to Debbie Harper, art department audio visual librarian.
“The compulsive obsessive nature of drawing large quantities of lines or gestures becomes a document of time and the physical act of creation, becoming a document of experience itself,” Harper said. “Bernec states that the act of drawing allows her to re-experience existence, but in a slower and fully conscious way, so that her perceptions become her apperceptions.”
Jones’s photographic installation “Passage” looks at how, through migration across continents and seas, things are lost along the way. Her photographs span over two decades of taking pictures at her grandmother’s home in Kohala, on the island of Hawaii.
“It considers how we interpret the history we come from, despite lack of cultural knowledge, language and frame of mind,” Harper said. “Place is something very important throughout all of her work, something that is openly apparent here. Taxonomies are loosely created based on her relationship to objects, rooms, evidence of time passed, the living and the dead, ritual food, and ultimately, correspondence across generations.”
Meler’s series of multi-layered relief prints examine memory as it relates to space and place.
“Her works are printed on both sides of thin Japanese paper. Several prints will be installed in the middle of the gallery so that both sides are visible,” Harper said. “This act of viewing the prints from both sides of the paper references duality, which is an important idea in her work.”
Jones will give a lecture about her work on Thursday (Nov. 10), and Meler will discuss her work on Nov. 17. Both presentations will begin at 4 p.m. in the Art Auditorium, located in Art Building E, Room 108.
A public reception for the exhibit also will be held on Nov. 10, from 5-7 p.m. in the gallery.
The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located in the SHSU Art Complex’s Art Building F, Room 101. It is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m.
For more information, contact Harper at 936.294.1317 or gggallery@shsu.edu.
Dance Concert To Showcase Colorful Performances
SHSU Master of Fine Arts degree candidates will present a spectrum of vibrant student-choreographed performances during the Graduate Student Concert Thursday and Friday (Nov. 10-11).
Performances will begin at 8 p.m. each evening in the Performing Arts Center Dance Theater.
ROYGBIV “will be a diverse showing of works choreographed by eight second and third year graduate students,” according to Amy Wright, dance graduate teaching assistant.
“The concert's title, meant to be a tongue-in-cheek play off of the faculty choreography concert ‘Spectrum,’ should give the audience some indication of what to expect,” she said. “The dances presented will be vibrant and bold, sometimes clever, thought-provoking, and always beautiful, and will range from modern to Latin jazz to tap, from solos to duets to groups.”
Among the pieces that will be presented are “Climbing Scenes,” choreographed by Brittany Thetford and David Deveau, in which “five dancers create various tableaux using ordinary ladders and wit;” “Push, Shove, Negotiate,” a duet choreographed by Crystal Lewis “that is as physically imposing as it is visually compelling;” and Wright's “Move Over,” a “fast-paced rhythm tap meant to celebrate the empowerment of strong women” and set to the music of Janis Joplin, according to Wright.
In addition, a new work by dance lecturer Erin Reck in which “the graduate choreographers themselves take the stage in an exploration of loss and the way we live with it” will be performed, Wright said.
Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for senior citizens and SHSU students. They can be purchased through the PAC Box Office at 936.294.2339.
For more information, call the dance program at 936.294.1875.
School To Get ‘Winded’ With Two Concerts
The SHSU School of Music will blow audiences away with two woodwind concerts beginning on Tuesday (Nov. 8).
The chamber music recital will serve as the SHSU debut of new adjunct oboe faculty member Megan Heuer, who will join flutist Kathy Daniel and clarinetist Patricia Card on that day. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
The recital will include works by American, Argentine and German composers, including Malcolm Arnold, Alfred Loeffler and Franz Joseph Haydn for flute.
“There is also a piece for flute and oboe by Alberto Ginastera and a work for flute and clarinet entitled ‘Two Cats’ by Daniel Dorff,” Card said.
On Sunday (Nov. 13), the school will welcome Scirocco Winds, “performing three wonderful works for woodwind quintet,” to the PAC Recital Hall at 2 p.m., according to Card.
The Houston-based woodwind quintet is comprised of Kimberly Clark, flute; Season Summers, oboe; Danny Granados, clarinet; Tianna Bonser, horn; and Gina Stevens, bassoon.
The recital includes Malcolm Arnold’s “Three Shanties,” “one of the most popular and standard works for quintet;” a work by The Woodlands resident William Brusick; and an “exciting conclusion” piece by Irving Fine, Card said.
Both performances are free and open to the public.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Faculty, Staff Picnic Scheduled For Nov. 11
SHSU employees can have a free lunch courtesy of the President’s Office on Friday (Nov. 11) during the annual faculty and staff picnic.
Hamburgers will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Old Main Pit.
Employees are encouraged to wear orange to the picnic as part of Bearkat Spirit Friday.
In the event of rain, the picnic will be moved to the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.
For more information, call the President’s Office at 936.294.3415.
Association Chartering Bus For Texas State Game
The Sam Houston State University Alumni Association will go on the road with the Bearkat football team to see their final meeting between rivals Texas State University—San Marcos on Nov. 19.
The association is sponsoring a charter bus to San Marcos, which will depart from the Chemistry and Forensic Science Building parking lot at 10 a.m. and return immediately after the game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The cost to travel on the bus is $40 per person, which does not include a game ticket. Tickets can be purchased online at www.gobearkats.com.
Seating is limited, and reservations are requested by Nov. 17.
For more information, or to reserve a seat, call the Office of Alumni Relations at 936.294.1841 or visit http://alumni.shsu.edu.
Business Professor Named Association ‘Fellow’
Geraldine Hynes, professor in the general business and finance department, was recently named a “Fellow” of the Association for Business Communication, an international organization committed to fostering excellence in business communication scholarship, research, education, and practice.
The designation was formally bestowed upon Hynes during the association’s 76th Annual International Convention in Montreal, Canada, on Oct. 21.
“I am honored and humbled (to receive this designation),” Hynes said. “I consider this to be the most valuable recognition of my career because it was given by respected colleagues in my discipline.
“The award recognizes extraordinary excellence in the discipline and its related areas of study,” she said. “It is the most respected honor the association can award.”
Hynes was nominated as a “Fellow” by a committee. The nomination is then approved by the ABC board of directors.
Nominees are evaluated based on teaching, pedagogy and methodology; research; publications; association leadership; and professionalism. Hynes is the 2011 president of ABC, which has almost 750 members worldwide.
ABC sponsors two publications: “Journal of Business Communication” and “Business Communication Quarterly.”
Vietnamese Colonels Get American Justice Lessons
The Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas hosted its first professional development program for high-ranking police officials from the Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam.
Twenty Colonels, representing regional commanders in Vietnam, attended the “Leadership and Management Skills Inventory” during a 13-day visit Oct. 2-3.
The program was designed to provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of organizational leaders through interactive seminars and site visits to criminal justice agencies in Texas.
“This is the first of several professional development courses for Vietnam and hopefully the start of an enduring relationship,” said David Webb, LEMIT assistant director.
During their stay, the delegation visited several law enforcement and corrections agencies in Texas, including the Fort Bend Independent School District Police, the Huntsville Police Department, The Woodlands-area patrols, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. They also toured specialized facilities, including the Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility, the Sam Houston State University Regional Crime Lab and the Office of Emergency Management for the City of Houston.
Webb said the Vietnamese officials were impressed with school-based policing and hope to bring the concept back to their country.
“They certainly enjoyed the field trips because it gave them the opportunity to compare how things operate in Vietnam compared to working in an individualized society instead of a socialist society,” Webb said.
The delegation learned about the American criminal justice system, including police, courts, probation and prison as well as the policing options at the local, state and federal levels. They also explored the dynamics of leadership in the American system, with a focus on community policing, as well as the different components of the penal system, including prison, probation and parole.
The program is part of the International Police Program at LEMIT, which provides opportunities for Texas law enforcement officers to interact professionally with their counterparts from other countries. A series of professional visits and officer exchanges have occurred with China, Korea, Thailand, Italy, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Submit Update Items Here
In order to assist members of the Sam Houston State University community in publicizing events, the SHSU Communications Office (Today@Sam) is now requesting that students, faculty and staff submit information about events, accomplishments or ideas for feature stories online.
Submission criteria and guidelines, including deadlines, have now been placed online, at /guidelines.html. This information is also accessible through the “Submissions” link in the right-hand navigation on Today@Sam.
From there, those submitting ideas can access forms that will allow them to provide detailed information about their idea, as well as attach event calendars, vitas/resumes or photos, depending on the type of submission.
Ideas submitted to the SHSU Communications Office are directly utilized in several ways: as news stories, “slider” or SHSU home page stories, hometown releases, and on the Today@Sam calendar.
If your submission qualifies for distribution, we will either contact you for more detailed information, or we will edit the information using SHSU/journalistic style and forward the final release to the appropriate media.
All information is verified before release, so please provide complete, accurate and timely information. Please type all responses in appropriate upper and lower cases.
For more information, contact the Communications Office at 936.294.1836 or today@sam.edu.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
Nov. 4, 2011
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
This page maintained by SHSU's Communications Office
Director: TBD
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.
