SHSU Update for Week of Feb. 21, 1999

• SHSU Computing Students in Fast Company
• 'Millenarian Movements: Welcoming the End of History'
• Children's Literature Festival
• TASP Workshops
• International Writing Expert
• Art, Dance, Music
• Sammy Awards
  

SHSU Computing Students in Fast Company

Organizers of the contest have announced the colleges and universities from the United States and Canada advancing to the World Finals in Leindhoven, The Netherlands, April 8-11.

The Sam Houston team is composed of Bob Farmer, Samira Noman and Janel Barfield, and coached by computing science faculty members Johnny and Jan Carroll.

Texas will be well represented at the World Finals. In addition to Sam Houston State, other teams which earned the right to compete by finishing first or second in regional contests last fall were the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech.

Some of the other qualifying schools are California Polytechnic State University, Duke University, Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley.

Approximately 6,000 of the world's top computing science students from nearly 2,000 teams, representing universities on six continents, competed in the regional contests last fall, with 62 teams qualifying for the finals. This year's finals in the contest, which has been co-sponsored by IBM for five years, will be held outside the United States for the first time in the contest's 29-year existence.

The contest pits teams of three students against six to eight real-world computing problems, which must be solved in a set amount of time. Students rely on their programming savvy, creativity and teamwork as they race against the clock in a five-hour battle of logic, strategy and mental endurance.

The team that solves the most problems in the fewest attempts and the least amount of time takes home a trophy as the smartest computing science students in the world.

'Millenarian Movements: Welcoming the End of History'

The Texas Council for History Education and the Sam Houston State University Department of History are sponsoring the event to be held Friday and Saturday, March 5 and 6, in the E. Don Walker Education Center in the Sam Houston Memorial Museum Complex.

Speakers also include James Olson and Terry Bilhartz from SHSU; Joseph T. Roy Sr., director of the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center; Bill Hart, chair of the history department at Eisenhower High School; and Veronica Covington, head librarian at the Liberal Arts Academy in the Austin school district.

Contact Tracy Steele, conference coordinator, at 409-294-1475 for information and registration materials.

Children's Literature Festival

The event for librarians and educators is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 13.

Berry said that storytellers from across the United States, including Jay O'Callahan and Helen Ketteman, are on the program.

The festival's registration fee is $60. For more information contact Berry at the SHSU Department of Library Science, P. O. Box 2236, Huntsville, TX 77341-2236, by phone at 409-294-1150 or fax at 409-294-1153.

TASP Workshops

In preparation for the next tests, scheduled for March 6, the Academic Enrichment Center at Sam Houston State is offering a series of math workshops. The Center is located in room 115 of the Gresham Library.

Seven sessions will be offered beginning Monday (Feb. 22) through March 5. Computer programs to improve reading and writing skills are also available at the Center.

The deadline for "late" registration for the March 6 test, which will be given at SHSU and various other locations throughout the state, is Wednesday (Feb. 24). "Late" registration is $49. "Emergency" registration, from Feb. 25-March 3, is $59.

International Writing Expert to Speak

Kagan, author of the best-selling book "Cooperative Learning" and more than 80 scientific books, chapters, and journal articles, will present a day-long workshop entitled "Writing Across the Curriculum Through Cooperative Learning." Sessions run from 8 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.

Patricia Williams, director of SHSU's Across-the-University Writing Program, said that Kagan will "chart a new course which abandons complex cooperative learning lessons and avoids ineffective group work." His process is "based on proven strategies which often incorporate writing and is immediately effective, easy to implement and fun for students," she said.

Williams asks that faculty members who wish to participate contact her by Monday (Feb. 22).

Williams is also taking reservations for a program entitled "Students Speak Out: Writing Assignments That Work," from 1-2:30 p.m. March 24 in Academic Enrichment Center room 116 in the Gresham Library.

Art, Dance, Music

Already under way is the 3rd Annual Small Works National Juried Art Show in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery, which runs through March 5. The gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. weekdays.

The SHSU Dance Program will present works by graduate students Angie Jones and Keith Pinkston in concerts at 8 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 23) through Thursday (Feb. 25).

Jones will also present her choreography of a duet entitled "Greater Than I" at the American College Dance Festival in Oklahoma later this year.

Music student Stacey Helmbrecht will perform an oboe recital at 5 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 25) in the Recital Hall. Assisting will be Doris Longoria on violoncello and Jay Whatley on piano.

Helmbrecht will perform pieces by Georg Philipp Telemann, Benjamin Britten, and Howard Hanson, and Percy Aldridge Grainger's "Walking Tune," along with Barbara Crow (flute), Audrey Bowser (clarinet), Eloisa Guzman (horn) and Josafat Jaime (bassoon).

Clarinetist Jennifer Schuette, assisted by Adanna Dunson on piano and Alisha DiBennedetto on viola, will present a guest recital at 3 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 27) in the Recital Hall.

On the program are works by Louis Cahuzac, Miklos Rozsa, Max Bruch and Robert Muczynski.

Sammy Awards

The Fifth Annual Sammy Awards presentations will be held at the University Theatre Center on April 19. For more information, call the Student Activities office at 409-294-3861.

The Sammy Awards are given in recognition for service to Sam Houston State University by students and organizations.

- END -

Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
Feb. 21, 1999
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu