SHSU
Update For Week Of Nov. 26
Ceremony To Light Mall Area
Faculty, staff and students will celebrate the spirit of
the holiday season during the 86th annual Tree of Light on
Thursday (Nov. 30).
The tree-lighting ceremony will be held from 6-7 p.m. in the
Academic Building I Mall Area.
University president James F. Gaertner will speak at the event,
the Orange Pride dance team and university choir will perform
and hot chocolate, hot wassail, gingerbread and cookies will
be served.
In addition, the Department of Student Activities will collect
canned goods at the event for a drive to benefit the Good
Shepherd Mission.
All students, organizations, faculty and staff are invited
to participate.
"The Tree of Light is the university's oldest and most
cherished tradition,” said Student Activities program
coordinator Angie Burns. “This tree-lighting ceremony
is also a time of giving and reminds students and the university
community what the holiday season is all about."
In addition, the office will encourage students and organizations
to bring one ornament to decorate the tree both before and
during the ceremony, Burns said.
This year, Student Activities will also be featuring an exhibit
in the LSC Art Gallery that highlights the history of the
Tree of Light ceremony. The gallery will be open for viewing
Monday (Nov. 27) through Friday (Dec. 1).
For more information, call Student
Activities at 936.294.3861.
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Theater, Dance
To Present ‘The Nutcracker’
The SHSU department of theatre and dance, with the help
of area youth, will present the classic holiday ballet “The
Nutcracker” Wednesday (Nov. 29) through Sunday (Dec.
3).
Show times are 7:30 p.m. each day, with a 2 p.m. matinee on
Saturday and Sunday, at the University Theater Center’s
Mainstage Theatre.
“The Nutcracker” tells the story of a young girl,
Marie; her God Papa Drosselmeier; and her adventures in the
Land of the Sweets with the Nutcracker Prince and the Sugar
Plum Fairy.
Choreography is by dance professor Dana E. Nicolay and designers
include theatre professor Kristina Hanssen, costumes; Jerry
Hooker and theatre assistant professor Gregg Buck, set; visiting
assistant professor Eric Marsh, lighting.
The cast includes nearly 80 SHSU students and youth ages
6-14 from the Huntsville and area communities.
Tickets are $12 general admission and $10 for senior citizens
and those with an SHSU ID.
Tickets go on sale Nov. 15 and can be reserved through the
University Theatre Centre Ticket Office at 936.294.1339.
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Western Michigan
Prof To Give Economics Seminar
C. James Hueng, associate professor of economics at Western
Michigan University, will present his paper "Why did
the sign of price-output correlation change? Evidence from
a structural VAR with GARCH errors" on Thursday (Nov.
30).
The lecture, part of the economics and international business
department’s Fall 2006 Seminar Series, will be held
at 2 p.m. in Smith-Hutson Building Room 139.
Hueng has been a faculty member at Western Michigan University
since 2003. He previously taught at the University of Alabama
from 1997 to 2003.
His areas of expertise include open economy money demand and
monetary policy; economic growth and the business cycle; asset
pricing and stock market fluctuations; and applied time series
econometrics.
Hueng received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree
from the National Taiwan University and his Master of Science
and doctorate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The event is open for all SHSU students, faculty and staff.
His paper can be downloaded at http://www.shsu.edu/~eco_www/resources/seminar_fall2006.htm.
For more information, call 936.294.1265 or e-mail Hiranya
Nath, assistant professor of economics, at eco_hkn@shsu.edu.
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Exhibit To Pay Homage
To Tree Ceremony
A photo exhibit detailing the 86-year history of the Tree
of Light ceremony will be on display in the Lowman Student
Center Art Gallery through Dec. 1.
The Tree of Light ceremony will be showcased through mounted
printable copies of pictures from old Acaldes, as well as
current pictures, to present a “Then and Now”
timeline of the event, according to Student Activities program
coordinator Angie Burns, who has been working with university
archivist Barbara Kievit-Mason on the project.
The main goal of the exhibit is to educate the community on
the evolution of the Tree of Light and show how it has changed
and progressed through the years,” Burns said.
Some of the pictures that will be included date back to 1921,
just a year after the first ceremony.
A cookie and punch reception will be held the day of this
year’s ceremony, on Nov. 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information, contact Gayle Bullard, LSC reservations
coordinator, at 936.294.1760 or bullard@shsu.edu
or Burns at angieb@shsu.edu.
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Physics To Give Final Glimpse
Of ‘Autumn Sky’
The physics department will give students, faculty and staff
a final opportunity to witness "The Autumn Sky"
on Friday (Dec. 1).
The final installation of the series, which shows attendees
the constellations, stars and planets they can see during
the season, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Planetarium, located
in Farrington Building Room F102.
The featured movie for the program will be “Orion."
The program, which was piloted this semester, aims at increasing
public awareness and interest in the field of astronomy, according
to Michael Prokosch, staff aid for the physics department
and SHSU alumnus who also teaches elementary school at Lansberry
Elementary in Trinity.
The show, which will last approximately one hour, will include
a tour of the night sky, including any unusual events in the
near future such as the Nov. 8 Mercury Transit, and one of
the department’s prearranged movies specifically formatted
for viewing on a dome-shaped screen.
The Planetarium, which seats up to 29 visitors, includes a
dome that is approximately 18 feet in diameter and more than
20 feet high in the center, Prokosch said.
“Essentially a time machine, the planetarium's projector
can show how the night sky appears to an observer at any point
in time from any place on the earth, from 100,000 years in
the past, to 100,000 years into the future,” he said.
Though the three presentations will essentially be the same,
the December show may include winter constellations, Prokosch
said.
Admission is free, and if seating is full, a secondary show
may be given if time permits.
For more information on current show times for the Planetarium
or the Observatory, call 936.294.3664.
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Huntsville’s Promise
Director To Speak At Meeting
Scott Atnip, the executive director of Huntsville's Promise,
will discuss what the organization has to offer to the families
residing in the Huntsville community, as well as volunteer
opportunities for the non-traditional students at SHSU, during
the Non-Traditional Student Organization meeting on Tuesday
(Dec. 5).
The meeting, which will include Atnip’s 45-minute PowerPoint
presentation, will held from 1:45-3 p.m. in Lowman Student
Center Room 319.
Atnip will also discuss what fun activities the Huntsville
community has to offer for families during the Holiday Season,
according to NTSO business manager Andrea Woodlief.
Huntsville's Promise was created to help strengthen the commitment
to the families and youth of the Huntsville community and
Walker County.
The organization was created as a result of a resolution passed
on Oct. 3 by the Huntsville City Council, which states that
“the City of Huntsville is a community of strong families
and will endeavor to strengthening the commitment to the family
and the youth in our community by identifying needs and priorities
of families and youth, promoting developmental assets within
our community, promoting effective collaboration between governmental
agencies, and assisting and supporting community organizations
dedicated to improving and advancing the needs of family and
youth.”
Anyone interested in joining the NTSO can do so by visiting
the group’s Web site at www.shsu.edu/~org_ntso.
For more information on Huntsville Promise, call Scott Atnip
at 936.291.5950 or visit http://www.huntsvillespromise.net/,
and for more information about the NTSO, contact Woodlief
at andreawoodlief@shsu.edu.
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Biology Students, Faculty
Stand Out At Meeting
Three SHSU biology students and a faculty member made a
“superb showing” during the 2006 Texas branch
meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, according
to biological science department chair Matthew Rowe.
Students Robert Faris, James Spurlin and Rachelle Alderson
were three of eight students awarded for their poster presentations
at the meeting.
“There were 46 poster presentations at the meeting,
most from post-docs or PhD students representing major research
universities in the state,” Rowe said.
Alderson was awarded as the best poster, the top prize, in
the undergraduate division, and Faris and Spurlin received
honorable mentions in the graduate and undergraduate divisions,
respectively.
Biological sciences professor Harold Foerster was also honored
with the "Distinguished Lifetime Service Award"
for “his significant contributions to microbiology”
during the conference, Rowe said.
In addition, several biology students made “lasting
impressions on several big guns in the field of microbio”
during the event and have been invited to join graduate programs
in Austin and Houston, including undergraduate Ryan Williamson,
who was invited to apply to apply to the University of Texas
at Austin's graduate program, and Alderson and Spurlin, who
were invited to apply to the University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston’s “prestigious program,”
according to Rowe.
Next year, for the first time ever, SHSU will serve as the
host for the 2007 annual meeting of the Texas branch of ASM.
“This means work for us, but it brings honor and prestige
to the department, to the college, and to the university,”
Rowe said.
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Lesesne Shares Book Smarts
As Speaker
Teri Lesesne, professor of library science, has taken her
expertise in the fields of young adult literature, adolescent
literacy and audio books across the country, recently discussing
those topics at two events.
Lesesne presented on a panel session on “ways to motivate
teachers and librarians to work together with kids,”
closing the achievement gap and the use of audio books in
the classroom, the latter of which is her newest research
interest, during the National Council of Teachers of English
annual conference, she said.
The annual meeting of English teachers, from the kindergarten
through university levels, was held Nov. 16-21 in Nashville,
Tenn.
Now celebrating its 100th anniversary, the conference was
anticipated to have over 5,000 teachers at the event.
“I’ve spoken at the event every year for the last
20 years, probably,” she said. “I’ve been
a (NCTE) member for about 25 years; I’ve served elected
office, I’m on committees, you name it, I do it.”
Lesesne also addressed adolescent literacy as a keynote speaker
for the annual Literary Extravaganza held at St. Thomas Aquinas
College in Rockland County, N.Y., in October.
“Instead of being as concerned about illiteracy among
kids especially, we’re not as concerned as we are about
the statistics that have to do with kids who know how to read
but choose not to participate,” she said. “Those
are the kids that I target, the reluctant learners, and so
I talk about how to engage them in books and reading.”
Lesesne also spoke at the first Literary Extravaganza, a conference
for area teachers, students and community leaders. The event
is now in its 10th year.
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Send Update Items Here
Please send information for the SHSU Update to the Office
of Public Relations at SHSU. For electronic access to SHSU
news see the public relations Web page Today@Sam.
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- END -
SHSU Media Contacts: Frank
Krystyniak, Julia May,
Jennifer Gauntt
Nov. 26, 2006
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
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