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SHSU Update For Week Of April 21
- Coffey Symposium To Feature Civil Rights Historian
- Speaker To Share First-Hand Account Of Life With AIDS
- Fair To Highlight Importance Of Healthy Lifestyle
- Student Artists To Auction Works For Association
- Faculty Musicians To Present ‘Lost’ Bolivian Works
- Music ‘Brothers’ To Pay Homage To America
- Symphony Orchestra To Showcase ‘Masters’ On Friday
- Graphic Design To Exhibit Classwork
- LSC, SOFA Exhibits To Showcase Senior Artworks
- SMMC To ‘Connect’ Money, Leasing
- Today@Sam Seeks Summer Calendar Info
- Submit Update Items Here
Coffey Symposium To Feature Civil Rights Historian
David Chappell, the Rothbaum Professor of Modern American History at the University of Oklahoma and expert on the African American Civil Rights movement, will discuss the National Black Political Convention of 1972 on Thursday (April 25), as part of the ninth annual Joan Coffey Symposium.
The presentation, hosted by the SHSU history department, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Academic Building IV Olson Auditorium.
Chappell, an expert on the African American Civil Rights movement, will draw from his forthcoming book, Waking from the Dream: The Battle over Martin Luther King’s Legacy, which will be released by Random House in August 2013.
The National Black Political Convention, which met in Gary, Ind., in 1972, has been called "perhaps the most important political, cultural, and intellectual gathering of the Black Power era, chiefly because of its scope and the diversity of its attendees," according to Jeff Littlejohn, associate professor of history, who worked with Chappell on his dissertation as a doctoral student.
“The motto of the convention, ‘Unity Without Uniformity,’ brought together a variety of forces, including labor and anti-poverty activists, student demonstrators, established Civil Rights workers, and elected officials,” Littlejohn said. “Thomas Fortune, an assemblyman from Brooklyn, N.Y., pronounced the meeting a success, declaring at the end of the session, ‘We Met—Therefore We Won!’
Chappell has published two major works on the subject: Inside Agitators: White Southerners in the Civil Rights Movement, which won the Gustavus Myers Award for “Outstanding Book on Human Rights in North America,” and A Stone of Hope: Prophetic Religion and the Death of Jim Crow, which was described by Atlantic Monthly as “one of the three or four most important books on civil rights."
He received his doctorate from the University of Rochester.
“We invited Dr. Chappell to serve as this year's Joan Coffey speaker because several faculty members in the history department are using his books in their courses,” Littlejohn said. “His visit will offer our students a great opportunity to meet a leading civil rights scholar and discuss his work with him in person. In addition, many of us are eager to hear about his forthcoming book.”
The Joan Coffey Symposium was established in honor of a longtime faculty member of the history department who passed away in 2003 after a long battle with cancer.
For more information, contact Littlejohn at 936.294.4438 or littlejohn@shsu.edu.
Speaker To Share First-Hand Account Of Life With AIDS
In 1989 Elaine Pasqua’s mother and stepfather were diagnosed with the AIDS virus.
Witnessing the ravages of the disease as she cared for them, she vowed to speak out to prevent others from experiencing the same pain and loss that twice touched her family.
Pasqua will bring that message to Sam Houston State University on Wednesday (April 24) for a special presentation sponsored by the Student Health Center. “Living and Loving in a World with AIDS” will be from 1-2 p.m. in Lowman Student Center Room 320.
Since 1995 Pasqua has spoken to thousands of students and professionals across the country about the prevention and the psychosocial dynamics of HIV/AIDS as she strives to break down the stereotypes of this disease.
This is especially important for SHSU students to understand, as most new HIV cases each year occur in individuals ages 18-25, according to SHC programming coordinator Lisa Clarkson.
In addition, Texas ranked fourth in the nation in cumulative reported AIDS cases, according to a 2010 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pasqua is a past faculty member of the New Jersey AIDS Education and Training Center and served as a member of the Pennsylvania HIV Prevention Community Planning Committee. She is the president of Project Prevent, a non-profit organization that provides AIDS education to younger students.
For the past four years Pasqua has been nominated as “Best Speaker of the Year” for the Campus Activities Readers Choice Awards and has been featured in USA Today, Time Warner Cable TV and NY1 News. She has been a keynote speaker for the NCAA and provided training for the New York Giants, Jets, the NFL and NBA.
“Elaine has enabled thousands of college students to reduce their risk of contracting HIV by motivating them to assume responsibility for their behavior choices,” Clarkson said. “This program is guaranteed to open your eyes and challenge you to look at the choices you make in your life.”
Students interested in attending should bring their Bearkat OneCard, as they will be required to sign in outside of LSC Room 320.
For more information, contact Clarkson at ldc010@shsu.edu or 936.294.4347.
Fair To Highlight Importance Of Healthy Lifestyle
The Student Health Center will promote a healthy, active lifestyle on Wednesday (April 24) with a Student Health Fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area and Bearkat Plaza.
The event will include 25 booths that students can visit to participate in interactive activities such as jump roping or Zumba class demonstrations and learn about heart disease with the American Heart Association or skin protection and tumors with the American Cancer Society, according to Lisa Clarkson, SHC programming coordinator.
“Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of Americans and AHA will teach students how to keep their hearts healthy,” Clarkson said. “ACS will remind students how to protect their skin from skin cancer and offer ways to prevent other types of cancer. Students also will be able to feel what a breast or testicular tumor feels like.”
To participate in the event, students will check in at the SHC tent and will be given a “passport” with all of the booths listed on it. Students who visit at least 12 vendors will qualify for one of the many prizes the SHC will offer.
“Students can learn how to stay healthy, not only while they are students, but for a lifetime,” Clarkson said. “I am a big believer in prevention. I want students to be empowered with information so that they can make healthy decisions for themselves.”
In order to participate in the Student Health Fair students must bring their Bearkat OneCard or know their student ID number.
For more information, contact Clarkson at ldc010@shsu.edu or 936.294.4347.
Student Artists To Auction Works For Association
The Sam Houston State University Student Art Association will showcase works for an art auction that will benefit the student group’s professional and artistic development activities on Saturday (April 27).
The auction will begin with a preview and silent auction from 2-6 p.m. in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, followed by entertainment and the live auction beginning at 7 p.m.
“The exhibition will be featuring work by Sam Houston students and alumni, demonstrating their skills in various media,” said Wendy Franklin, a senior studio art major. “This is an opportunity for our members to showcase and sell their work, as well as bridge the gap between the students of Sam Houston and the community of Huntsville.”
Auction proceeds support the Student Art Association events and endeavors, such as the 2013 Art Walk, juried exhibition and scholarships for the most active member and executive board member at the end of the semester.
“Last year we raised over $2,000 that went to programs that aid in the artistic and professional development of our members,” Franklin said.
The SHSU Student Art Association is a non-profit, student-governed organization that is dedicated to the artistic and professional development of its members.
The group operates the Students of Fine Arts Gallery and creates opportunities for scholarships, exhibits, and the public sale of member’s artwork.
The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located at 1028 21st St., in Art Building F.
For more information, contact Franklin at SAA.SHSU@yahoo.com.
Faculty Musicians To Present ‘Lost’ Bolivian Works
Sam Houston State University’s Kolonneh Chamber Players will introduce the works of Bolivian composer Gustavo Navarre during an “exciting and innovative” program on Monday (April 22).
The faculty ensemble will present “The Navarre Project” works beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
“The Navarre Project” is a comprehensive program designed to rescue Navarre’s last surviving works and expose his music through a professional recording and performances, according to Javier Pinell, associate professor of violin and member of the Kolonneh Chamber Players.
Navarre was a major, classically trained Bolivian composer and a pioneer among the musicians of his generation, whose compositional style has been described as neo-Romantic with Bolivian elements and nationalism.
Nearly all of Navarre’s oeuvre was lost in a fire, and until recently, when a few of his compositions surfaced, it was only through his colleagues, fellow musicians, family and friends that his prolific output was known, according to Pinnel.
“The project will have an impact upon scholars, musicians, students, audiences, and the musical heritage of a country,” Pinell said. “In addition, the works on the program will be taken on a tour of Bolivia by the Kolonneh Chamber Players this summer. Navarre’s ‘Symphony’ will also be professionally recorded by the SHSU Symphony Orchestra in May 2014.”
The works the Kolonneh Chamber Players will perform are part of a project winner of a 2013-2014 faculty research grant awarded to Pinell and faculty pianist Sergio Ruiz.
Other group members of the group include Naomi Gjevre, violin; Rene Salazar, viola; and Daniel Saenz, cello.
Admission is free.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Music ‘Brothers’ To Pay Homage To America
SHSU’s Zeta Mu chapter of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the world’s oldest and largest national fraternal society in music, will present “An American Musicale” on Tuesday (April 23), beginning at 6 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.
The concert will highlight American composers, and one German composer, in a two-part concert: one half will be composed of instrumentals, with students playing instruments, and the other half will include singing by the entire chapter, including two original works by brothers.
The program will include Senior music major Daniel Vallery’s “VII. Regret, from ‘Eight Preludes’” and “The Lesson;” former music faculty member Trent Hanna’s “pieces of August; Ralph Mueller’s “Brothers in Fraternity;” “and Harry Wilson’s “Songs are Best at Candlelight,” among many others.
“We are passionate about what we do,” said Randy Laran, music director for the Zeta Mu Chapter and director of the SHSU Brass Choir. “We perform for the people out in the audience because we want to bring joy and happiness into their lives. We hope that through our passion and love for music, students who attend can rekindle that flame of passion they have in their hearts.”
The Zeta Mu Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia comprises male students who have a passion for music, including music majors and non-music related majors.
Admission is free.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Symphony Orchestra To Showcase ‘Masters’ On Friday
The SHSU Symphony Orchestra will present their final concert of the year, “Music of the Masters,” with an interdisciplinary concert on Friday (April 26).
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the GPAC Concert Hall.
Those “masters” will include Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 1,” often referred to as the “swan song” of the 18th century, and Sibelius’s “Symphony No. 2 Finale,” composed in 1902 by the great Finnish composer while on an extended stay in Italy and “achieved immediate popularity across Europe during the first decade of the 20th century,” according to visiting professor and orchestra conductor Zachary Carrettin.
“Like a great Werner Herzog film such as ‘Fittzaraldo’ or ‘Aguirre: the Wrath of God,’ the Sibelius piece explores the hero archetype,” Carrettin said. “At the surface the hero is bold, stoic and yet passionate, with a strong sense of purpose.
“This material of the piece is balanced by the darker sections which also allude to nature, perhaps the rumblings beneath the surface of Earth and the primordial ooze which is not unlike the burning questions within ourselves,” he said.
Their presentation of Ravel’s "Pavane for a Dead Princess," which was orchestrated in 1910, will feature creative lighting design by the PAC's Carolyn Barton and choreography/dance by the SHSU dance department’s graduate teaching assistant Amy Wright.
“Ravel, in his ‘Pavane,’ is referring to a type of renaissance Spanish dance,” Carrettin said. “While looking backward he explores early jazz harmonies and the interplay of five centuries of harmonic practices.
“It is interesting to note he gave his only U.S. lecture in Houston in 1928,” he said.
The symphony orchestra is an ensemble comprised of 75 instrumentalists, each of whom auditions to be a member and nearly all of whom are music majors.
“Hearing the great orchestral works performed in one of the world's great concert halls is an experience completely distinct from listening to digital sound,” Carrettin said. “The SHSU students perform these works with unabashed commitment and intensity.
“It is a unique opportunity we all share, a privilege to play in and hear concerts at the Gaertner Center, a spectacular instrument for acoustic music,” he said.
Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for senior citizens, and $5 for SHSU students.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Graphic Design To Exhibit Classwork
Thirteen art students in associate professor of art Chuck Drumm’s senior studio will show off the culmination of a semester’s work beginning Tuesday (April 23) in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery.
The Senior Graphic Design Exhibit will unveil work by Deborah Clanton, Sabrina Coronado, Andrew Gehrke, Marvin Guzman, Kevin Harris, Stephanie Herrera, Diana Mendoza, Meagan Mitchell, Amanda Montgomery, Christopher Moore, Kenneth Smith, McKenzie Smith and Katelyn Talbot.
The exhibit will be on display until Thursday (April 25), when there will be a closing reception from 6-8 p.m. in the gallery.
The show will include a range of graphic design work including posters, package design, corporate identity, logo and web design, illustration, and more, according to Drumm.
“As part of the ‘Senior Studio in Graphic Design’ class, students develop a body of work suitable for a designer's portfolio. This process includes the creation of new work as well as the refinement of existing work,” Drumm said. “This is a great opportunity to see what SHSU graphic design students are doing and to see the kind of work that doesn't often find itself displayed in an art gallery.”
Both the exhibit and the reception are open to the public.
The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located in Art Building F Room 101. It is open from noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, contact Drumm at 936.294.1319 or chuckdrumm@shsu.edu.
LSC, SOFA Exhibits To Showcase Senior Artworks
Senior art students will share works created as part of their “Business of Art” class in two exhibits in the Lowman Student Center and the Students of Fine Arts galleries beginning Monday (April 22).
Studio art majors Misty-Dawn Haney and Zack Kenna will present their “The Idiosyncratic Transmogrification” in the LSC Gallery through Friday (April 26).
Their mixed-media sculptures and ceramics incorporate various materials to translate their ideas their ideas on relationships, control and perception, revealing a place “where the feral meets the trapped, where the eerie meets the innocent, and where objects are juxtaposed and altered to shed new light on habits of perception,” according to Haney.
“The theme of ‘The Idiosyncratic Transmogrification’ shifts objects in such a way that the objects take on new meaning, speak to new forms of thought and hopefully facilitate personal examination through finding beauty in the grotesque and horror in delight,” Haney said.
‘Idiosyncratic’ is peculiar or individual, and ‘transmogrification’ is to transform in a surprising or magical manner.”
A reception for their exhibit will be on Wednesday (April 24), from 5-6 p.m. in the LSC Gallery.
Photography major Devan Hatfield and studio art major Ryan McNeely will display their photographs and mixed-media collages that “set out to invoke further inquiry into current sociopolitical and moral issues” for their “To Be Determined,” in the SOFA Gallery.
In their non-collaborative effort, the artists’ works present the viewers with moral and social observations of the modern culture, according to Hatfield.
Hatfield’s photographs center on current issues that slowly plague America partly due to a complacent population, while McNeely’s mixed media works explore what it means to search for moral value through the different media of our society, the artists said.
A reception for “To Be Determined” will be on Monday (April 22), beginning at 7 p.m.
The SOFA Gallery is located in Art Building A. It is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m.
SMMC To ‘Connect’ Money, Leasing
The Student Money Management Center will collaborate with SHSU’s Project Connect to help students “make the connection between saving money and signing a lease” on Tuesday (April 23).
The “Money and Leases” seminar will be from 3:30-4:20 p.m. in Lowman Student Center Room 315.
“Moving off campus can be a fun and exciting step in the college experience; however, there are several things students should be aware of before signing the dotted line of a rental agreement,” said Andrea Rabon, SMMC program coordinator.
The workshop will discuss leasing stipulations including pet deposits, co-signers, renter’s insurance, and how to get out of a lease.
Snacks and drinks will be provided.
For more information, call the SMMC at 936.294.2600 or visit www.shsu.edu/~smmc.
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.
To see a full list of the Today@Sam submission guidelines, or to access submission forms for news or feature stories, calendar submissions, or hometown releases, visit /guidelines.html.
For more information, call 936.294.1836.
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
April 19, 2013
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
This page maintained by SHSU's Communications Office
Associate Director: Julia May
Manager: 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.
