(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) National Geographic photographer and writer Sam Abell, who has extensively studied the Lewis and Clark Expedition for the magazine and for books about the expedition, comes to the Arts & Issues stage March 16 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for its ongoing celebration of the saga’s 200th anniversary.
Each year, Arts & Issues brings some of the best and brightest performers and speakers from around the world to Southwestern Illinois audiences for entertaining and thought-provoking presentations on the SIUE campus. The veteran photographer will share his photographic research about the expedition at 7:30 p.m. in Meridian Ballroom, on the first floor of SIUE’s Morris University Center.
Among his numerous accomplishments, Abell contributed photographs to the late Steven Ambrose’s book: Lewis and Clark: Voyage of Discovery (National Geographic Books, 1998, 2002). Ambrose himself called the expedition “the greatest camping trip in history.” Abell captured that journey with spectacular style in his photos for the book.
“Sam Abell comes to our stage during the university’s bicentennial celebration of Lewis and Clark’s historic trek that began not too far from SIUE,” said John Peecher, coordinator of the Arts & Issues series. “We are happy to take part in the university’s celebration and we look forward to Mr. Abell’s exciting journey to provide a pictorial tribute to these great explorers,” Peecher said. Affiliated with National Geographic since 1970—first as a free-lance photographer and then as a member of the prestigious magazine’s staff—Abell has been contributing photographer-in-residence at the magazine since 1993. His work has been celebrated for its artistic, even poetic, quality.
During his tenure with National Geographic, Abell has covered topics as varied as Leo Tolstoy, Lewis Carroll, the Mississippi River, the Civil War, and Japan’s Imperial Palace. He also has written several books and exhibited his photography internationally at numerous galleries and museums. In the competitive arena of public speaking, Abell is valued highly for his ability to move and inspire through his words and his photographs.
After his presentation, Abell will be signing copies of Lewis and Clark: Voyage of Discovery, as well as three volumes of photography he authored, all of which will be available for purchase.
Information about the March 16 appearance of Sam Abell and how to order tickets may be found on the Arts & Issues Web site: artsandissues.com and in a printed brochure available through John Peecher, (618) 650-2626, or, by e-mail: jpeeche@siue.edu. Tickets for the March 16 event are $9; students, $4.50. Tickets also are available at the Morris Center Information Desk, (618) 650-5555.
The remaining Arts & Issues season includes: the explosive and creative movement of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (April 2), and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Norman Mailer (April 20).
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is offering free tickets to SIUE students for the March 16 Arts & Issues appearance of noted National Geographic photographer Sam Abell. The tickets will be ready for pick-up at the Morris Center Information Desk on March 9.
The ticket giveaway program is part of an ongoing service provided to SIUE students by the Office for Student Affairs. Abell will share his photographic essay about the Lewis and Clark Expedition at 7:30 p.m. in Meridian Ballroom, on the first floor of the Morris University Center. Abell’s appearance is part of the university’s year-long celebration of the expedition’s bicentiennial.
“The university believes that the offerings of Arts & Issues events are an integral part of a liberal arts education,” said Vice Chancellor Narbeth Emmanuel. “My office is pleased to be working with the series to provide students an opportunity to see these events at no cost.”
Free tickets for the March 16 event will be available March 9 on a first-come, first-served basis—one ticket per student; SIUE students must present a valid university ID to receive tickets. “This is an exciting opportunity for students to have greater access to what Arts & Issues has to offer,” said John Peecher, coordinator of the series.
“Each year Arts & Issues brings some of the best and brightest performers and speakers from around the world to Southwestern Illinois audiences for entertaining and thought-provoking presentations on the SIUE campus.”
The remaining Arts & Issues dates and the dates to pick up tickets are: the explosive and creative movement of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (April 2/March 26) and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Norman Mailer (April 20/April 13).
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Music Professor Brett Stamps—a jazz trombonist, conductor, composer, arranger and noted jazz educator—will present a concert of his big band jazz arrangements at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11, at Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, as part of the Sheldon’s Notes From Home Concert Series.
The evening of music will feature the SIUE Concert Jazz Band, as well as SIUE Music Professor Rick Haydon (guitar) and SIUE adjunct faculty members Tom Kennedy, Andy Tichenor, Jason Swagler, Jim Martin, Miles Vandiver, and Karen Baldus, all with the SIUE Jazz Studies Program.
Stamps, who is head of the SIUE jazz program, will conduct his arrangements of jazz standards such as Skylark, Tea for Two, I Remember You, Joy Spring, and Tell Me a Bedtime Story, as well as Stamps’ original compositions, All We’ve Got To Give, Flo Jo Express, Blues For J & K, You Heard That Right, and Stuff Like This.
Admission is $5. For more information, call the SIUE Department of Music, (618) 650-3900.
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Educators from four countries will visit Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during International Business Week, March 1-6, to discuss issues of trade and global business practices.
The SIUE School of Business and the SIUE International Trade Center are co-sponsoring events during the week to provide opportunities for students and for the general public to experience global business practices from the international educators as well as regional business leaders from the community. Events are sponsored, in part, by a grant from the SIUE Excellence in Undergraduate Education fund.
The four visiting faculty members are Albrecht Sonntag, on the faculty at the École Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d'Angers, who specializes in the political economy of the European Union; Hans Gühlert, on the faculty of Fachhochschule Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Germany, who specializes in marketing and marketing research; Sara Isabel García, on the faculty of the Instituto Tecnológico Y De Estudios Superiores De Monterrey in Mexico, who has expertise in marketing, with specialties in advertising, sales promotion, marketing planning, and business ethics; and Chen Yan, associate professor in the International Trade Department at Xiamen University in China.
They will be joined in a March 1 panel discussion by Rick Dreyer, vice president of international sales at T.J. Gundlach Machine Company in Belleville, and Stewart Dahlberg, manager of export sales at J.D. Streett & Company Inc. in St. Louis. The panel discussion is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Maple-Dogwood Room, on the second floor of SIUE's in the Morris University Center. Topics will include international trade and the state of international business.
Admission is free to the general public, but reservations are requested. Please contact Vivien Shao by e-mail: yshao@siue.edu or by telephone, (618) 650- 2452, to register and reserve seating.
The international faculty members also will speak to faculty, staff, and students from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Room 2401 of Alumni Hall on Tuesday, March 2. This session, part of the School of Business' weekly "Business Hour," will provide students with a greater knowledge of and appreciation for the global business environment and how social, legal, political, cultural, and economic forces shape business practices in various countries.
The SIUE School of Business is an active participant in international exchange programs and sends SIUE faculty and students to study overseas each year.
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Thanks to a $9,000 grant from the Ford Foundation through the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will be assessing the region's needs for two new professional master's degrees in the Social Sciences and Humanities, according to Stephen Hansen, dean of Graduate Studies and Research at SIUE.
The two new graduate programs are Professional and Technical Writing and Criminal Justice Studies. "SIUE is one of only 38 institutions to receive funding for a planning grant from the Ford Foundation," Hansen said.
"These degrees are designed to meet the changing needs of the area's workforce. In order to ensure that the new programs will be meeting area workforce needs, each program will create a Business Advisory Board, modeled after other such boards for other SIUE programs," Hansen said. "The Graduate School, through its Institute for Urban Research, will be working with these Business Advisory Boards to survey workforce needs in the area."
Hansen said SIUE graduate programs are developed with the region's needs in mind, making the university a good match for funding from the Ford Foundation.
"For the past two years, the CGS has supported the development of professional master's programs in science and mathematics fields," Hansen said. "SIUE received funding for the new Biotechnology Management and Environmental Science Management programs from CGS and the Sloan Foundation."
With support from the Ford Foundation, CGS recently conducted a survey of master's education in the social sciences that generated interest among social science and humanities disciplinary societies for a collaborative research and demonstration project that assesses the need for and promising models of professional master's programs.
Professional master's degrees are interdisciplinary in design and typically combine study in various disciplines. The SIUE Professional and Technical Writing program would be housed in the Department of English Language and Literature, with students taking courses in such other disciplines as business. The Criminal Justice Studies program would be located within the SIUE Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice Studies, with students taking courses is such other disciplines as biology, psychology, and anthropology.
"Funding from the Ford Foundation and the Council of Graduate Schools is important national recognition of the quality of graduate education at SIUE," Hansen said. Noting that graduate programs at SIUE are designed to be responsive to the needs of Southwestern Illinois, he added that "we are excited that this grant will allow us to expand our program inventory by supporting the development of two new graduate programs that serve the region."
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is in its second year of offering the Adventure of the American Mind (AAM), a project funded through the Library of Congress to prepare teachers to use the Library's American Memory Web site (memory.loc.gov).
In fact, the program has received $600,000 in additional federal funding to continue the program another two years, with the help of U.S. Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), who also helped initiate the program in the state of Illinois.
Through the AAM program, teachers can find not only interesting historical information on the Web site, but also may download historic images to help make learning more vivid for their students. The Library of Congress Web site provides 7.5 million historical items presented in more than 100 thematic collections, including photographs and rare documents, maps, films, and audio recordings.
AAM Program Manager Amy Wilkinson, of the SIUE School of Education, said the program helps teachers analyze and interpret original primary sources of information from the Web site. "Within the AAM program, teachers will learn how to download photographs taken during the civil rights era or letters written by Thomas Jefferson or George Washington, or even motion picture films from Edison Co. showing us life on the streets of New York in the early 1900s," Wilkinson said.
She explained the program is for in-service and pre-service classroom teachers, as well as for university teacher education faculty, to access and produce curriculum using the Web site's resources. "This program offers training on integrating technology, using digitized primary sources, resources, and technical support," Wilkinson said, "and provides resources such as laptops, LCD projectors, scanners, and digital cameras. We also have a technical specialist who offers a wide range of technical assistance."
Wilkinson said the AAM program involves a commitment to attend courses during one academic year, which includes three components-training (graduate course), enrichment (workshops), and mentoring. "Through the AAM program," she said, "teachers develop skills in using these primary sources to increase student's critical thinking skills and to enhance student learning.
"As technology continues to evolve, there is a need for educators to increase their technology skills to access rich educational information on the internet."
School of Education Dean Elliott Lessen said SIUE became involved in AAM because of the "unique opportunities" that were available. "The program is unique because it relies on primary source materials that have been digitized rather than pre-digested materials, such as textbooks," Lessen pointed out.
"Thus, teachers' creativity is allowed to flourish as they use primary source materials in a variety of ways. For example, one source could be used differently for math or science, or history or English.
"Through the AAM program, we are able to teach a course for graduate students and also infuse the unique features of AAM into our undergraduate teacher education programs," Lessen said.
For more information about the AAM program at SIUE, call the School of Education, (618) 650-3350.
(EDWARDSVILLE) The SIUE School of Engineering will hold its 4th Annual Open House on Saturday, Feb. 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year's focus is on the future of engineering.
Visitors will observe the teaching and research laboratories throughout the School and meet with faculty and students to learn about the fields of engineering, computer science and construction.
The following are some of the activities scheduled during the day:
• A panel of representatives from leading metro area firms will describe engineering projects in their companies and discuss future trends and career opportunities for new engineers in the greater St. Louis area.
• Computer Science faculty will explain how engineers create the special effects in current movies like The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
• Take a turn operating one of the school's two roaming robots, Taz and Marvin.
• Watch what happens when an earthquake shakes a structure, and witness other tests in the Structures Laboratory.
• See objects buffeted by winds equal to tornado speeds in the school's wind tunnel.
• Learn how virtual reality technology will revolutionize engineering practice in the future.
• Learn how computer engineers design and fabricate large-scale 100,000 transistors integrated chips.
• Try your hand at packaging by entering the Egg Drop Contest conducted by the Society of Women Engineers.
• Watch computers run robots and assembly lines as used in modern manufacturing facilities.
Prospective students who visit all the exhibits will have an opportunity to win a $500 scholarship to any SIUE School of Engineering Program. Everyone interested in learning how engineering will shape our future is invited to come early Saturday morning to enjoy all the events throughout the Engineering Building. For more information contact Kay Bares, 618-650-2541.
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Although it was a fixture at the Mississippi River Festival during the 1970s, the world renowned Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra has only returned to the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville twice since the summer festival's heyday.
The acclaimed ensemble's presence on the SIUE campus has been as rare as, well, Leap Day, so, what better day to enjoy this magnificent organization on campus again than Feb. 29 at 2 p.m. in Meridian Ballroom, on the first floor of SIUE's Morris University Center.
"Don't hesitate to 'leap' at the chance to hear again—or for the first time—one of the world's most applauded symphonic orchestras," says John Peecher, assistant development director for SIUE's College of Arts and Sciences and coordinator of the Arts & Issues series. "All joking aside, this orchestra is world class and is a wonderfully musical way to spend a winter's afternoon.
"Arts & Issues is proud to bring the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra to SIUE in a return engagement on our stage."
A familiar presence for many years in the recording industry, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra has met with critical acclaim and has garnered nearly 60 Grammy nominations, winning six of the prestigious music awards. The orchestra has expanded its audience through frequent tours of the United States, including both coasts, as well as tours to Europe and to the Far East. In addition, the orchestra has played at Carnegie Hall in New York City and has been featured regularly on National Public Radio, both locally and nationally.
Information about the Feb. 29 appearance of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and how to order tickets may be found on the Arts & Issues Web site: artsandissues.com and in a printed brochure available through John Peecher, (618) 650-2626, or, by e-mail: jpeeche@siue.edu. Tickets for the event are $18; students, $9. Tickets also are available at the Morris Center Information Desk, (618) 650-5555.
The remaining Arts & Issues season includes: National Geographic photographer Sam Abell, who will speak about the Lewis and Clark Expedition (March 16); the explosive and creative movement of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (April 2); and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Norman Mailer (April 20).
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) If you're looking for a play with a linear plot line that tells a coherent story, bobrauschenbergamerica might not be for you. However, if you love theater and would like to experience its magic in a whole new way, you might give “bob” a try.
bobrauschenbergamerica plays at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, through Saturday, Feb. 28, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29, all at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Katherine Dunham Hall theater.
Director Charles Harper, assistant professor of Theater and Dance, recommends audience members allow the play to "wash" over them. “Playwright Charles Mee has a style that incorporates what might be called collages, using ‘found’ ideas,’ ”Harper explained. “And, the artist Robert Rauschenberg created his works from ‘found’ objects. So, the play is like Rauschenberg’s art on stage. Some say Rauschenberg is the greatest living American artist.”
Rauschenberg came out of the ’50s and ’60s creating work in answer to the Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning who were part of that postwar American painting movement through which the U.S. first became the center of the avant-garde. For example, much of Pollack’s work consisted of pouring, splashing, or splattering paint on canvas.
By the end of 1953, Rauschenberg had begun his Red Painting series on canvases that incorporated newspapers, fabric, and found objects, and evolved in 1954 into the Combines, a term he coined for his well-known works that integrated aspects of painting and sculpture and would often include such objects as a stuffed eagle or goat, street signs, or a quilt and pillow.
“Rauschenberg was protesting against the Abstract Expressionists and Mee is working in the same mode, using a collage of pop culture images as a collection of scenes in the play,” Harper said. “There is a vague story line in this play, but the images are the important thing.”
Harper, who came to the department two years ago from Seattle, has been involved with other plays by Mee. “This play will definitely broaden the horizons of playgoers who haven't seen this sort of style before,” Harper said. “I’m not about shocking the audience, so I’m preparing them through articles in the printed program.
“If they know there is no real storyline, it will help them with the experience,” he said. “The overall experience will satisfy them; it’s very entertaining. Someone swimming in a giant martini glass might be weirdly funny to the audience,” Harper said with a laugh.
“This stage experience will be like looking at an abstract painting. The viewer always finds beauty in some aspect of the artwork. This play is a reflection of the playwright’s views of 1950s America,” Harper said. “But, it’s through Bob Rauschenberg’s eyes.”
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Robert Vincent Remini, a history professor emeritus at the University of Illinois-Chicago and official historian for that campus, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s May 8 commencement, according to action taken today by the SIU Board of Trustees at its regular monthly meeting conducted this month at SIUE.
Honorary degrees have been awarded for more than 40 years at SIUE commencement exercises to those who have made significant contributions to cultural, educational, scientific, economic, social, or humanitarian fields, or other worthy fields of endeavor.
Remini is regarded as America’s premier historian of the Jacksonian political era and Andrew Jackson himself. In addition to his definitive works on Jackson, Remini, an award-winning author, has written biographies of John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Mormon leader Joseph Smith, Martin Van Buren, and Daniel Webster. In 2002, Remini was honored by the Library of Congress with an appointment to write a narrative history of the U.S. House of Representatives.
A member of the faculty at the U of I Chicago since its inception in 1965, Remini earned a bachelor’s at Fordham University and went on to receive a master’s and a doctorate from Columbia University. He taught at Fordham for 18 years before joining the U of I history faculty at the Chicago campus, where he served as a teacher and administrator.
In other business today, the SIU Board approved a new fee for all predoctoral students at the SIU School of Dental Medicine to cover maintenance and updating of clinical training facilities, associated dental and sterilization equipment, and classroom and laboratory equipment. The new fee—$1,600 each for fall and spring semesters and a pro-rated $711 fee for summer clinic sessions preceding years three and four of the curriculum—will go into effect in fall 2004.
(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Students who live in the Visual Arts Focused Interested Community (FIC) will play host to their first annual Art Show on Monday, Feb. 16, in the Multifunction Room of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Bluff Hall.
Gallery hours are from 2– 9 p.m., with an artists’ reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m., and an awards presentation at 5:15 p.m. The show will consist of two-dimensional and three-dimensional pieces created by SIUE residential students.. Members of the SIUE Art and Design faculty and staff will serve as judges.
The Visual Arts FIC is one of 12 communities in which students, who share the same academic major or interests, live together in the same wing of a residence hall. Residents are able to meet faculty and staff in their area of interest, and they have opportunities to participate in specialized programs and study groups.
“FICs are a great way for students to meet faculty and other students who share their interests and career goals,” said Kara Shustrin, assistant director of Academic Programs and Assessment for SIUE’s Office of University Housing. “The FICs Living and learning programs promote more of a connection between what students are learning inside the classroom and what they are doing outside the classroom," she said.
“The art show is just one example of this connection; students are putting the show together themselves and collaborating with faculty to make it a successful event.”
Residents interested in submitting pieces to the show may pick up an entry form at any residence hall front desk or in the Cougar Village Commons Building. Entry forms and artwork are due to the Bluff Hall office by Feb. 13. Those with questions about the First Annual Bluff Hall Art Show may contact Maria Mullane: (618) 650-1796 or Kara Shustrin: (618) 650-0546.
(EDWARDSVILLE) Children and parents will soon be able to enjoy the benefits of a renovated facility at the Family Resource Center, part of University Housing on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. A grand re-opening of the facility is set for 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, in Building 420, Cougar Village Apartments.
The renovated facility includes new lighting, flooring, kitchen, restroom, and office areas, among several other improvements. “The renovated FRC has been designed to meet the needs of our families for years to come,” said Michael Schultz, director of SIUE’s Office of Housing. The center serves approximately 120 familiesand provides services such as an After-School Program, with tutoring and arts and crafts, a Kid’s and Teen Night Out, and an exercise program for working women. In addition, Family Housing staff provides activities for families throughout the week and programs about issues such as financial planning, diversity, and marriage and family seminar.
Questions regarding the grand re-opening may be directed to Beth Lawless, Residence director for families: edougla@siue.edu or (618) 650-5367.
