SamWeb
My Sam
E-mail
SHSU Update For Week Of Nov. 2
- Professionals To Share Stories Of Success For Panel Series
- Former Warden To Detail ‘Walls Unit’ History
- Brass Quintet Concert To Showcase Cross-Section Of Music
- Faculty Concert To Highlight Saxophone
- Professor Collaboration To ‘Speak Musically’
- Concert To Explore ‘Discrimi-NATION’ In Society
- Greek Philanthropy Event To Run For ‘Freedom’
- King Featured In NIJ Seminar On Firearms Evidence
- Submit Update Items Here
Professionals To Share Stories Of Success For Panel Series
Career Services will offer students the opportunity to listen and engage in a conversation with professionals from different career paths during a series of targeted presentations on Wednesday and Thursday (Nov. 5-6).
The third annual “What’s your story?” panel sessions will allow students to hear from ordinary people with extraordinary stories about how they found the profession they love and the lessons they learned along the way, according to Cenaiyda Carranza, Career Services assistant director.
The series will kick off at 2 p.m. on Wednesday with a panel on business and community relations in Lowman Student Center Room 315. They include Ashlyn Voigt, corporate recruiter with Reynolds & Reynolds; Lorri Lehman, vice president of mortgage lending at First National Bank of Huntsville; Hayden Wilson, title analyst with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; and Dan Price, creative marketing consultant with Hound Comics.
At 3 p.m., those interested in public and governmental services can hear from professionals in those fields in the Criminal Justice Center’s Hazel B. Kerper Courtroom, in Room A260. Panelists include Texas Department of Public Safety agent James E. Thomas, Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Daniel Fuentes, and Sherri Williamson, CASA advocate for Walker, San Jacinto and Trinity counties.
Thursday’s panels will kick off with speakers from the education and social services fields, at 11 a.m. in Garrett Teacher Education Center Room 279, featuring Teresa Oglesbee, licensed professional counselor supervisor with Brazos County Juvenile Services; Sandi Belcher, administrator with College of the Mainland; Kimber Brown, special education teacher at Conroe ISD; and Evelyn Fitzgerald, SHSU professor and registered play therapist.
Finally, the STEM and health sciences panel, at 2 p.m. in LSC Room 315, will include Rohini Chandrashekar, St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital physical therapist and program coordinator; Catherine Ballard, spaceflight microbiologist with NASA/Johnson Space Center; and Beth Collier, environmental engineer with Shell Oil.
The “What’s your story?” series is being held in recognition of National Career Development month in November.
“‘What’s Your Story?’ is designed to help students make confident decisions about their major and learn more about different careers in the workforce of today,” Carranza said.
For more information, contact Career Services at 936.294.1713 or email Carranza at ccarranza@shsu.edu.
Former Warden To Detail ‘Walls Unit’ History
 |
| The Huntsville Unit —Photo from asergeev.com |
The Huntsville Unit, known as the “Walls Unit” to many in the area, is Texas’s oldest state prison and houses the most active execution chamber in the country.
Since its establishment in 1849, the “Walls Unit” has been home to hundreds of thousands of inmates, including—originally—women, and has served as a manufacturing site for textiles, garments and mechanics.
On Wednesday (Nov. 5), former Huntsville Unit warden Jim Willett, who is currently director of the Prison Museum, will discuss some of the unit’s history during an event with the Newton Gresham Library’s Special Collections department.
“History of the Walls Unit” will begin at 3 p.m. in the Thomason Room, located on the fourth floor of the NGL.
The presentation will coincide with a special exhibit on display in the Thomason Room that highlights the state’s criminal justice history.
“The exhibit will contain featured items from the Criminal Justice Special Collections, an internationally renowned collection of rare criminal justice books and manuscript collections housed in the Thomason Room,” said Felicia Williamson, head of the SHSU Special Collections.
“We’ll be featuring our most important manuscript collections, including those of Sanford Bates and James V. Bennett, the first two directors of the Federal Bureau of Prisons,” she said. “We’ll also highlight special items from other interesting manuscript collections relating to criminal justice, including, but not limited to, the Austin H. MacCormick collection (an early prison reformer), the Charles Spear collection (an 18th-century death penalty reformer) and many unique books from our criminal justice rare book collection.”
The presentation is open to the public, but space is limited and those interested in attending are requested to make reservations at speccoll@shsu.edu or call 936.294.1619.
For more information, contact Williamson at fxt004@shsu.edu.
Brass Quintet Concert To Showcase Cross-Section Of Music
Music faculty in SHSU’s School of Music will present a series of 20th-century and Romantic-inspired works in a brass quintet concert on Monday (Nov. 3).
The “pre-dinner concert” will include works for the trumpet, horn, trombone and tuba by American, Italian and German composers, beginning at 5 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
 |
Faculty Brass Quintet |
The program will include American-composed “Frost Fire,” by Eric Ewazen, a three-movement piece utilizing many different muting colors, rhythmic gestures and sonorous chords; Trio in F major, Op. 8, by Einar Hansen, a neo-Romantic work; “West Side Story Suite,” by Leonard Bernstein, which was arranged for brass quintet by Jack Gale.
Other pieces include Antonio Vivaldi’s Fugue from Concerto Grosso in d minor Op. 3, No. 11, a work not originally composed for brass; and Johannes Brahms’s Intermezzo, Op. 118, No. 2, a piano piece arranged brass quintet by Michael Buckley.
Members of the faculty brass quintet include Randy Adams and Steve Warkentin, playing trumpets; Peggy DeMers, playing horn; Ben Osborne, playing trombone; and Robert Daniel, playing tuba.
Admission is free.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Faculty Concert To Highlight Saxophone
Two saxophone professors will kick off a “mini-Texas tour” with a concert of works written or arranged solely for an alto saxophone duet on Thursday (Nov. 6), at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
 |
Naomi Sullivan and Masahito Sugihara |
Masahito Sugihara will be joined by Birmingham (United Kingdom) Conservatoire professor Naomi Sullivan in performing modern works that were largely either written by SHSU faculty or arranged by Sugihara.
“This program is very interesting because all the works are for just two alto saxophones,” Sugihara said. “I received a faculty research grant last year to commission new works for this instrumentation by my SHSU colleagues Brian Herrington and Kyle Kindred.
“I also used the part of the grant to tour Europe with my friend and colleague Naomi Sullivan, to promote these new compositions as well as my own arrangements,” he said.
Among the pieces that will be performed include Herrington’s “Gethsemani Verses,” by Herrington and “Bag of Caterpillars,” by Kindred, as well as Sugihara’s arrangements of Jacques Ibert’s “Concertino da Camera,” Thomas Morley’s “Two-Part Canzonettas,” and Paul Creston’s Sonata, Op. 19.
Following her New York Marathon run, Sullivan will travel around Central and North Texas on a “mini-Texas tour” with Sugihara, with stops at Blinn College, the University of Texas at Austin and UT Dallas.
Sullivan studied at Chetham’s School of Music, Royal College of Music and Northwestern University in Chicago.
During her time as an undergraduate, she performed for the Park Lane Young Artists Series and won awards as a soloist and chamber musician in the U.K. and abroad.
Following her graduation in 2005, she performed across the U.K. and recorded three albums with the Paragon Saxophone Quartet—“Tuning In,” “Byrdland” and “Les Quatuors.”
In 2007, Sullivan joined the Birmingham Conservatoire and has been head of saxophone since 2008. She has given master classes in the U.K., Brussels and Norway.
Sugihara, an assistant professor of saxophone at SHSU, earned the Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees from Northwestern University. He also studied at Temple University.
Sugihara has appeared as recitalist and clinician in Brazil, France, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, Japan, Scotland, U.K., and the United States.
Admission is free.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Professor Collaboration To ‘Speak Musically’
A “trio” of SHSU faculty will collaborate to celebrate the connections between music and the spoken word on Sunday (Nov. 9).
“Tafelmusik: Music and Poetry” will include performances by the faculty duo Lungta and guest poet Nick Lantz, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
"‘Tafelmusik’ is a term used since the 16th century that refers to music played at feasts or banquets,” said John Lane, associate professor of percussion and half of Lungta. “The program features two new collaborative works by Lungta and Nick Lantz that combine music and poetry.”
The hour of music will include a “genre-bending and interdisciplinary” program that represent “an intersection of poetry and music,” Lane said.
"Table Piece," the centerpiece of the program, explores the subject of food, particularly the way in which its use has come to embody human extremity, and the program will also include trio-created responses to Mark Applebaum's "Metaphysics of Notation," a “sprawling and imaginative visual art work that is interpreted live with music and poetry,” according to Lane.
Other works include "Seven Haiku," by John Lane, which explores the haiku form in music; solo works by composers Stanley Friedman and Graeme Leak; and Lantz will read several selected poems during the performance.
Lungta was formed in 2012 and is “composed” of Lane, playing percussion, and adjunct trumpet instructor Amanda Pepping.
The duo is dedicated to creating original works and a personal repertoire based largely on collaborations with composers and artists of various disciplines.
"Lungta" is a Tibetan word meaning "wind-horse" and is associated with positive energy or life force.
Lane, an artist whose creative work and collaborations extend through percussion to poetry/spoken word and theater, has appeared on stages throughout the Americas, Australia and Japan.
Pepping enjoys a multi-faceted career as a performer, educator and scholar who has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.
Lantz, an assistant professor of creative writing at SHSU, is the author of two recent and award-winning collections of poetry. His third book, “How to Dance as the Roof Caves In” (Graywolf Press 2014), was featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” His work has appeared in journals across the country and has been featured on the nationally syndicated radio program “The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor.”
Admission is free.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
Concert To Explore ‘Discrimi-NATION’ In Society
Graduate student Takiesha Scimio will present her perception of discrimination through the medium of dance with a concert on Thursday and Friday (Nov. 7-8) in the James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center Dance Theater.
“Discrimi-NATION,” choreographed in partial fulfillment of the SHSU Department of Dance Master of Fine Arts degree, will begin at 8 p.m. each day.
Scimio’s work explores subject matter that has informed and impacted her personal life through an examination of perception and discrimination in society and how the two are relative to how we perceive others.
Her choreography also investigates how categorizing impacts daily living and influences behavior. It includes jazz, modern, Lindy Hop, and hip-hop elements that promise to be a night full of variety and diversity, Scimio said.
“Through a sociological lens, I hope to uncover various ills in our society and display the importance of equality on stage,” she said. “The evening will consist of various works that are evoking, enlightening, and entertaining.”
In keeping with the production’s title, “Discrimi-NATION” will be performed by a multi-cultural cast of 15 dance majors.
Admission is free.
For more information, call GPAC Box Office at 936.294.2339 or the department of dance at 936.294.1875.
Greek Philanthropy Event To Run For ‘Freedom’
The Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and Alpha Omicron Pi sorority will join in supporting troops overseas by hosting an activity that will raise money for the United Service Organization and the heart rates of those who participate.
The inaugural Freedom Run is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the corner of Bobby K. Marks Drive and the University Hotel.
The event will include a 5k run and a 3K dog walk around campus.
Those interested in participating can sign up through Friday (Nov. 7) in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area, where the groups will have a table set up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.
The cost to participate is $20, or $10 with the donation of five new and unopened toiletry items. All proceeds benefit the USO.
“USO is our fraternity's national philanthropy,” said Serj Kaftajian, Phi Gamma Delta director of philanthropy. “The goal of this event is to raise awareness and donations to those stationed overseas.”
The USO is dedicated to lifting the spirits of America’s troops and their families through millions of outreach activities at hundreds of locations around the world.
For more information, contact Kaftajian at sxk031@shsu.edu.
King Featured In NIJ Seminar On Firearms Evidence
William King, associate dean of research and program development in the College of Criminal Justice, currently is featured on a National Institute of Justice online seminar on how law enforcement agencies can better use the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network in criminal investigations involving firearms.
The seminar, part of NIJ’s “Research for the Real World,” is based on King’s study, “Opening the Black Box of NIBIN,” which discusses how NIBIN has been used by law enforcement agencies, the challenges faced by law enforcement in using the technology, and how NIBIN can be more valuable as an investigation tool. The seminar also features ATF Special Agent John Risenhoover.
Examining tool marks left on firearm cartridge cases can help identify when the same firearm was used in other crimes.
NIBIN allows police departments and laboratories to add high-quality images of tool marks to a central database in order to help create links between firearms and crimes and provide more information to ongoing investigations.
Hits in NIBIN help identify when the same gun was used in other crimes, a process that may offer possible leads, including crimes involving gang ‘community’ guns.
To view the seminar, visit tinyurl.com/kingnijseminar.
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 shsu.edu/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.
- END -
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.
