Student, Faculty, and Alumni Accomplishments
NOTE: This page has been archived as of September 2011. Posts pertaining to recent accomplishments have been posted as separate entries, and all future accomplishments will appear on the main page.
Over the summer of 2010, two College of Arts and Letters students, one current and one former, spent three months in Goshen, Ind. expanding their artistic experiences by building a new wood kiln alongside well-known studio ceramic artist and cofounder of the Union Project, Justin Rothshank.
Craig Hartenberger, junior BFA in ceramics, and Zach Tate, 2008 BFA graduate in ceramics and current MFA candidate at Texas Tech University, traveled to Goshen to broaden their minds as artists.
Hartenberger explained that as a visual artist, he does artistic research every day. He gains inspiration from things he sees and by living in a different part of the country, that was part of his research.
“Deciding to build the kiln was a no-brainer,” Hartenberger said. “It is a great thing for a resume, a great experience to have, it teaches you a lot and it’s just fun.”
Although the process of building a kiln is fairly simple, Hartenberger has learned that the most tedious part of the process is leveling the foundation and installing the floor but beyond that, it is just simple masonry work.
“You have to consider how fire behaves throughout the building process,” Hartenberger explained. “You want to design the interior of the kiln in a way that allows you to have control over the fire that will eventually be inside.”
In addition to building the kiln, Hartenberger lived with a local farming family who traded a couple days of work on their farm and in exchange they gave him a place to stay while he was in Goshen.
“The most memorable part was a culmination of the little experiences that formed a bigger picture,” Hartenberger said. “It gave me a clarity of what I want to do with my career and also seeing the way that people (who) live on the farm (that I stayed at) have respect for everything and everyone.”
The success of the kiln building project was dependent on the donations of supplies and time by people in the Goshen area.
“The cool thing to see was the sense of community that this project created,” Hartenberger said. “People in the area donated bricks and time and it gave the project a sense of collaboration because you get to talk to people who understand what you do.”
Hartenberger and Tate are featured in the most recent issue of Studio Potter in an article highlighting their experiences in Goshen.
Studio Potter is a biannual journal published by the non-profit organization of the same name that promotes discussion of technology, criticism, aesthetics and history within the ceramics community.
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Melissa Fagan, senior BFA acting major, was one of six Missouri State students to receive the Citizen Scholar Award from the Board of Governors.
Initiated in 2007, the Citizen Scholar Award recognizes six outstanding citizen scholars each year at Missouri State. The six winners are selected by the Board of Governors based on their outstanding accomplishments, strength of character and their ability to put the public affairs mission into action. The award is given to students who have contributed to the university through their extra-curricular accomplishments and other service activities in the community.
Recipients of the Citizen Scholar Award received a crystal globe for their accomplishment and their names will be added to the Citizen Scholar wall in the Plaster Student Union.
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Daniel Zender, May 2010 graduate, received the 2010 Special Recognition for Excellence in Handcrafted Posters for his SATO48 48 Hour Film Challenge poster at the Second Chicago International Poster Biennial.
Zender’s poster has also been selected as a finalist for the Golden Bee 9 at the Moscow International Biennial of Graphic Design 2010 as well as at the International Poster Biennial in Mexico. Those exhibitions are prestigious, professional juried exhibitions.
Another poster of Zender’s creation also received international recognition for his design based on the Death Is Not Justice theme. His poster is among the top 100 designs as selected by the international jury and will be exhibited in 100 locations world-wide. The top 100 designs will also be published in a book that will be distributed internationally.
At the Sixth Annual Design Competition and Exhibition in Kansas City, Zender won two awards for his Haiti poster as well as for his fruit smoothie logo and packaging.
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Compositions by Music Professor Michael F. Murray have recently been accepted for publication by Ars Nova Press. The two compositions accepted for publication are “Five Blake Songs” for soprano and clarinet and “After the Fall” for choir. They are set for publication later this year or early next year.
“Five Blake Songs” for soprano and clarinet was written in the spring of 2001 for the Missouri Chamber Players, a group of faculty from themusic department. The song cycle has been performed many times in places ranging from Oklahoma to Helsinki to Stockholm. The songs are musical settings of poems by the English poet William Blake. Three of the poems used for the song cycle are from the collection “Songs of Experience,” published as a companion to the “Songs of Innocence” in 1794. “Songs of Experience” tells of a mature person’s realization of pain and terror in the universe.
“After the Fall” for choir was written to commemorate the first anniversary of Sept. 11. The premiere performance took place during the University’s Service of Remembrance held on Sept. 11, 2002. The piece was performed by the Concert Chorale conducted by Dr. Guy Webb. Lyrics were written by former faculty member Jodi Kanter from the department of theatre and dance.
The publication company is one that Murray is proud to be associated because of its mission to promote quality music literature, regardless of publication history, and because of Ars Nova’s dedication to quality rather than commercial considerations. Its website describe the company as “dedicated to music as an art.”
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Erica Pegues, 2006 graduate in Education for Theatre and Speech, was selected as the Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri’s Outstanding New Teacher for 2010. Pegues is in her third year of teaching at McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo. near St. Louis. STAM’s Outstanding New Teacher honor is awarded to teachers with three or less years of teaching experience. The award was first handed out in 2006.
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Karen Bliss and Lauren Healey, print journalism majors, have been selected to attend the Collegiate Business Journalism Conference on Oct. 21-22 at the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Graduate School of Journalism in midtown Manhattan.
The Collegiate Business Journalism Conference is an opportunity for undergraduate and masters students to learn more about business journalism and to meet business journalists currently in the field. Some activities at the conference include:
- tours of the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron’s and MarketWatch newsrooms;
- keynote sessions with Fortune‘s senior editor-at-large Allan Sloan and former Forbes managing editor Carl Lavin;
- several breakout sessions; and
- 15-minute interviews with recruiters from Reuters, Bloomberg, AP, Dow Jones and American City Business Journals, among other business news organizations.
Bliss and Healey were selected to fill two of the approximately 50 available spots at the conference. The accepted students come from campuses across the country, including Boston University, Columbia University, CUNY, the University of Baltimore, the University of Pennsylvania, Ohio University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, Marquette University, the University of Missouri, Missouri State University, the University of Nebraska and Humboldt State University.
The conference, which is organized by UNC-Chapel Hill, is also sponsored by CUNY, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Bloomberg News and Progress Energy.
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Maggie Marlin, associate professor of theatre performance, has been nominated for two awards at the Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Awards: Best Actress for her supporting role in “Boy’s Life” and for Best Choreography for the musical “Rent.”
This is the third year that the Richmond Theatre Critics have hosted the awards. The Richmond, Virginia area is rich in professional theatre arts and the critics created the awards to celebrate the arts community there.
Marlin will travel to the awards ceremony in Richmond on Oct. 17 when the winners will be announced in these and other categories.
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Theresa Lochhaas and Eric Zackrison, both communication department masters students, have been selected to present their theses research at the Organizational Communication Mini-Conference sponsored by Rutgers University. The conference, scheduled for October 8-10, competitively selects student research focusing on organizational communication where students get the opportunity to present research and network with leaders in the field of organizational communication. Traditionally, the conference focuses on research conducted by doctoral students, rarely accepting Masters students’ research.
Lochhaas’ project “The C-Street Conflict: Identifying Conflict Perceptions in Multi-Party, Long-Term Community Conflict” focuses on conflict resolution and social justice issues associated with Springfield’s Commercial Street revitalization conflict. Her thesis advisor is Dr. Charlene Berquist.
Zackrison’s project “Dialectics in Intergroup and Inter-Organizational Communication: An Examination of Boundary Spanning Organizations” examines the communication tensions that arise when individuals negotiate organizational roles in multiple organizations. His thesis is advised by Dr. Gloria Galanes.
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Catherine Jolivette, associate professor of art and design, presented at the New Aspects of British Art conference at the Courtauld Institute of Art last June and will be published in the 2012 edition of the journal Art History.
Jolivette’s paper, “Science, Art and Landscape in the Nuclear Age,” is a subsidiary of her broader project, “Art and the Atom: British Art in the Nuclear Age,” which secured a Missouri State Faculty Research grant in 2008-9 and is currently supported by funding from the Paul Mellon Centre for British Art in London (Yale affiliate). Jolivette’s conference paper will appear in expanded form and the journal volume will be revised into book form for subsequent publication.
Art History is a publication of the Association of Art Historians which is similar to the North American Art Bulletin.
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Mikaela Buck, advertising designer for The Standard, is one of six finalists in the display advertisement design category in the annual contest conducted by Associated Collegiate Press. The honored ad was designed for Whistler’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, a downtown Springfield restaurant.
The winners in this category will be announced at the National College Media Convention in Louisville, Ky., in October.
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JT Kendall, 2010 Anthropology BA and Art History minor, will give a professional public presentation of his research on “Ukiyo-e and Fin-de-Siecle Paris: the Influence of Edo Period Japanese Printmaking on Printed and Painted Arts of Late 19th-century Europe” at the Park Central Branch Library on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. The presentation will expand on the talk he gave at the 2010 annual intercollegiate Art History Symposium.
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Mark Tempelton, Managing Director of Missouri State University Theatre, has been elected Chairman of the Springfield Theatre Alliance. The Springfield Theatre Alliance exists to support, enhance and develop the Springfield Theatre Community through sharing, collaboration, discussion, mutual respect, support and creativity.
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Cedomir Kestovic, an Art and Design professor, recently recieved the Golden Apple award at the sixth annual National Student Show. The National Student show is an annual showcase of design work presented by the Society of Visual Communication (DSVC). Kostovic was nominated through an essay by Design student Daniel Zender, whose work in Kostovic’s design courses has been featured in Steven Heller and Lita Talarico’s Design School Confidential and CMYK Magazine. The DSVC awards the Golden Apple annually to an outstanding professor at a college, university, or art school after evaluating student essays in recognition of nominees and their contribution to the student’s Design career path.
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Whitney Taylor Shaw, an English major with a minor in Nutrition, has published her first book, A Taste for Belize: a Tropical Travelogue. The book details a one-week visit to the central American country of Belize. While there, Shaw realizes that she has taken certain luxuries for granted and the epiphany sets off a journey of self-discovery. As Shaw describes it, she “slowly learns some of life’s greatest lessons, including that less is truly more.”
A Taste For Belize: A Tropical Travelogue is published by Tate Publishing and is available in the Plaster Student Union Bookstore, where Shaw held a book signing on April 6. It can also be ordered online.
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Frank Chimero, illustrator, designer and University alum, was featured in the April 2010 issue of Print magazine, a popular design magazine. The issue, titled “The New Visual Artists Issue,” profiles top designers from around the world. Work from Chimero was featured along with a short biography. Chimero lives in Portland, Oregon.
Print Magazine’s profile on Frank Chimero is available online at http://www.printmag.com/Article/Frank-Chimero.
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Nathan Fuller, a 2005 graduate in Electronic Arts and Animation, worked on the animated feature-length film The Magistical, which received a “BIFFY” award for Best Animation at the 2010 Beloit International Film Festival in Beloit, Wisconsin in February 2010. Fuller works for Out of Our Minds Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which produced the independent film.
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Three students of the Media, Journalism and Film Department finished in the top three of the 2010 Broadcast Educators Association (NBEA) Festival of Media Arts for their scriptwriting categories. Stephen Welby took second in the Script for Short Film category for his science fiction script, “Pod #72.” In addition, the Television Spec category featured a tie for second place among two Department students. Curtis McConnell’s script “Yellow” for the show “Mad Men” tied with Jesse Jamison’s script “Family Films” for the show “Eureka.”
James Rutherford’s animation piece, “The Greasy Wrench”, won first place in the
Animation/Mixed/Experimental category. The animation, which also featured audio from students
Anthony Ciston, Geoff Green, and Ryan Walther, was part of Rutherford’s senior exhibition in
2008. Rutherford graduated in 2008 with his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation.
The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an international refereed exhibition of faculty creative
activities and a national showcase for student work. 146 student submissions were accepted
into the Festival out of 690 submitted. The 2010 Festival of Media Arts will be held in Las
Vegas in April and will feature winning student works.
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Nathan Borror, a 2003 graduate in Electronic Arts, will be attending the University of Kansas
as an MA candidate in Interaction Design starting in January. Borror is currently teaching a
special topics course on interface design for undergraduates, and has served as the
Interactive Art Director of the Lawrence Journal-World since 2006. Prior to this position, he
did design work for various advertising agencies.
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Ashley Hoyer, a senior from Monett who is majoring in English literature, has been appointed by Governor Jay Nixon as the student member of the Board of Governors. Hoyer replaces former student member Ryan Childress, who stepped down due to graduation. Hoyer will finish out Childress’s term, which expires in January 2010, and will serve until Governor Nixon appoints a new student member to a two-year term. In addition to her English studies, Hoyer has also been involved in the Student Government Association for several years.
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Five Art and Design students had photography work accepted into the 2009 World Biennial of Student Photography, organized by the University of Novi Sad and the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia. Karissa Axmark, Connie Dodson, Angie Keller, Matt Kile, and Megan Timmermeier were all represented in the Biennial, and Keller, who is also an instructor in the Modern and Classical Languages Department, received third place. The accepted prints are drawn from various photography classes, including ART 359 and ART 355, taught by Jimmie Allen; ART 356 and ART 354, taught by Andrea Land; and ART 455, taught by Gwen Walstrand.
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Dr. Stephanie Norander in the Communication department has received the prestigious Kramarae Outstanding Dissertation award for her dissertation, “Peaceful Alternatives: Womens’ transnational organizing in post-conflict areas.” The award is given out by the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender (OSCLG) and Dr. Norander was selected from what OSCLG’s President stated was a record number of nominations.
Congratulations to Dr. Norander for receiving this award!
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Troy Metcalf, a Missouri State graduate with a BFA in Acting, has appeared in several television roles in 2009. In April 2009, he appeared on an episode of CBS’s “The Unit”, and also appeared on an episode of NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” in 2009. Previous television roles for Metcalf includes appearances on “Journeyman”, “Dexter”, and a recurring role on the show “Strangers with Candy”, on which he appeared in seven episodes. Metcalf’s film roles include “Happy’s Last Wish” and “For Love of the Film”, a Star Wars fan film.
More information about Troy Metcalf’s accomplishments can be found on his profile at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1146786/.
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Dr. Edwin Carawan, professor of Classics in the Modern and Classical Languages Department, has received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship for 2010-2011 for his project “The Athenian Amnesty and the Reconstruction of the Ancient Democracy.” Dr. Carawan’s project examines the Athenian civil war’s aftermath, including the reconciliation process in 403 BC, and offers a new perspective on how Athenian democracy was reformed after these events based on principles of the reconciliation agreement.
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Robert Little, associate professor of Scenic Design in the Theatre and Dance Department, is involved with set design for “Disney On Ice”, an ice skating program featuring popular Disney characters which recently debuted on the east coast. “Disney On Ice” was performed at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, from November 18-22, 2009 and at the Izod Center in East Rutherford from November 24-29.
Little, who is a native of New Jersey, received his MFA in Scene Design from Brandeis, where he studied under Tony Award-winning set designer Howard Bay. He has worked with Feld Entertainment for the last eight years, which gave him the opportunity to design the set for “Disney on Ice” in addition to many other projects.
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In the latest book of Steven Heller and Lita Talarico, Design School Confidential: Extraordinary Class Projects From the International Design Schools, Colleges, and Institutes, which features 53 design schools from all over the world, Missouri State’s Design program is represented with the works of 12 students: Sherri Brown, Jared Tomlinson, Annie DeGraff, Sarah Jemes, Daniel Zender, Candis Spraul, Abigail Reilly, Jessica Schmidt, Richards Scott, Dustin Jacobs, Miriam Bloom, and Kelsey Steffes. These students’ projects are designed in Professor Cedomir Kostovic Image Design (DES 332) class.
Reference: http://www.amazon.com/Design-School-Confidential-Extraordinary-International/dp/1592535488
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Two alumni of the College of Arts and Letters were featured in GO Magazine’s 2009 20 Under 30
list, which highlights twenty of Springfield’s most successful community members under the age of 30. Phil Reynolds, a 1999 graduate in Electronic Arts, and Crystal Brigman, a graduate in socio-political communication, were featured in the article. Congratulations to Phil and Crystal!
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Two Art and Design students were featured in the 44th issue of CMYK Magazine, a premier design magazine. Michael Ragdsale‘s Merzbow CD Cover
which was created under instructor Eric Pervuhkin, was featured in the Illustration section, and Daniel Zender‘s “American short stories series” a work created under instructor Cedomir Kostovic, was featured under Graphic Design. CMYK is a quarterly magazine that displays work of the best emerging creative talent in art, graphic design, illustration, and many other categories.
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Nine Missouri State Art and Design students — Loren Griggs, Daniel Zender, Ashley Kelsey, Mackenzie Moore, Jesse Nickles, Rachel Oglesby, Alex Sanders, Kelsey Steffes, Laura Schmaltz — have been selected as finalists in the 2nd International Poster Competition, Skopje, Macedonia. The theme of the competition is “Power vs. Poverty.” Student Rachel Oglesby won Honorable Mention. All posters were designed as assigned in Professor Cedomir Kostovic’s DES430 Advanced Graphic Design class.
Reference: http://www.skopjeposter.com
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Dr. Kristene Sutliff, professor of English, has received a $15,000 grant from the National
Endowment for the Arts to digitize a collection of Ozarks music and folklife material that
belonged to Springfield native and Missouri State alum Gordon McCann. McCann collected over
2,800 cassette tapes of traditional Ozarks fiddle music and 200 notebooks over a 40-year span,
and donated these materials to Meyer Library in September 2007. The Gordon McCann Collection
Digitization Project will digitize these materials and make them available to the public for
free. The grant money has also been matched at a more than 2-to-1 ratio by the Provost, Meyer
Library, the College of Arts and Letters, and the College of Humanities and Public Affairs.
“The collection will be of interest to anyone studying the Ozarks or traditional folk music,
and it will be a gold mine for scholars,” Dr. Sutliff says.
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Dr. Billie Follensbee, associate professor of Art History in the Art + Design Department, presented her paper, “Why It’s Essential Not to Essentialize: Analyzing the Varied Roles of Female Figures in Olmec and Olmec-Related Sculpture,” at the symposium “Iconography of the Gulf Coast” at the 53rd Annual International Congress of Americanists (ICA), which was held in Mexico City from July 19-24. Dr. Follensbee’s paper is based on her research on women’s roles and status in Mesoamerican societies.
The International Congress of Americanists was first held in Nancy, France in 1875, and subsequent Congresses have been held every three years since that date in a major international city. 1895 marked the first ICA held in Mexico.
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Photographs taken by Bruce West, Art + Design Professor, have been published in the Spring 2009 issue of Southern Cultures, a prestigious scholarly journal from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill that examines the history and culture of the South. Seventeen of Professor West’s photos are featured in the photo essay “Time to Appreciate,” and “Sonnyboy’s Grave, MS,” pictured at left, is the cover photo for the issue.
West’s work has also been featured recently in the book “For, From, About James. T Whitehead,” published by the University of Arkansas press and distributed for the Moon City Press. Two of West’s color photographs grace the front and back covers of the book, and 12 black-and-white landscapes are included in the text.
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Dr. Alicia Alexander, communication alum and assistant professor of speech communication at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, was awarded an SIUE 2009 Teaching Distinction Award.
SIUE News reports:
“Alexander also has a passion for teaching that is made evident through plentiful interaction with and dedication to her students, according to the committee. ‘Her style of communication is clear, yet easygoing,’ the committee wrote in its recommendation. ‘She exhibits a modern teaching style that allows students to connect and actively engage in the lectures. Dr. Alexander utilizes short but effective interactive learning activities that stimulate interest. Her dossier reflects her commitment to life-long learning by fostering self-development and providing a nurturing environment.'”
Nice job and congratulations, Dr. Alexander!
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Students of the Missouri State University Media, Journalism and Film Department competed for Missouri Broadcast Educators Association awards in student media, bringing home several first- and second-place finishes.The “MoSt News” program, submitted by students in MED 383: Television Production (Renee Goodwin, Jason Braiser, Mark Danderand, Charlie Keegan, Ashley Ethridge, Ryan Farmer, Nathan McVay) won first place in the News category, Video division.
John Leach, Matt Morris, and Drew Douglas took second place in the Interview category, Video division, for “Victory Mission Trade School Interview.”
MED 583: Directing and Producing students (Lindsey Davis, Tyler Wasman, Kailey Hoffman, Chase Crawford, Phil Hertley, Alex Smith, Ashley Leyh, Ann Sturm, Dan Walters) took first and second places in the Episodic TV category for two episodes of their “Studio 150” show.
Students of the MJF Department were also well-represented in the Short Film Over 7 Minutes category, taking first and second for “Apollo” (Bryan Manning, Blaine Morehead, Jeffrey Brown) and “The Death of Alfred Bailey” (Jonathan Stratman, Arica Westadt) respectively. Bryan Manning also received first place honors in the Dramatic Script category for his script for “Apollo,” as well as second place in the Web site category for a web site for the film.
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Jami Crist Masters, a 1978 graduate, celebrated the twentieth anniversary of her school, Jami Masters’ School of Dance, Ltd. in 2009. Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jami Masters’ School of Dance employs fifteen dance professionals and has an enrollment of over one thousand students across various dance areas, such as ballet, modern, and tap.
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Adam Long, a graduate of the Music Department who now works as a sound engineer, was involved in two projects that received nominations in the 51st Grammy Awards, which were held in February 2009. Long recorded, mixed, and mastered “Gypsy: The Original Broadway Cast Recording”, and the album “Our World Redeemed” by St. Louis gospel hip-hop artist Flame.
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Felicia Hall, a senior in the Theatre and Dance Department with an emphasis in Design, Technology and Management, has been hired by the Florida Studio Theatre company to be the lighting designer for the theatre’s 2009 production of Laughing Matters in the Goldstein Cabaret Theatre. The company, a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), is running the popular musical satire show from March 24 to June 6.
“This is a great testament to Felicia’s skill, and to the great training that all of our students are receiving,” says Mark Biggs, acting Theatre and Dance Department Head. “It’s wonderful to see them succeeding professionally all around the country, even before they leave our programs.”
The Florida Studio Theatre has operated in Sarasota, Florida, since 1973 and focuses on contemporary writers and the development of new plays. The company operates three theaters, including the 109-seat Goldstein Cabaret Theatre. Laughing Matters has been described as “a musical Saturday Night Live for Sarasota” and is one of the Goldstein Cabaret’s most popular shows.
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The Beartones, an a cappella group from Missouri State University, will compete in the Varsity Vocals International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) on Saturday, April 18 at the Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. The group earned a spot in the championship field of seven teams by placing first at the Midwest region’s semifinal at Northwestern University on March 14. They will compete against collegiate teams from four other U.S. regions as well as one team each from the United Kingdom and South Africa.
“This is a fantastic accomplishment!” says Dr. Dianne Strickland, Music Department Head. “Kudos to the Beartones.”
The Beartones are a not-for-profit musical group whose mission is to provide local entertainment by performing at local venues and in a cappella competitions. They maintain a web site on Myspace (www.myspace.com/beartones) that features member bios and samples of their music. Varsity Vocals is an umbrella organization dedicated to encouraging student a cappella at both the high school and collegiate levels. This is the 13th season of the International Championship.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWUZy4dJG1A
Recent Electronic Arts graduate, Sid McGregor, directed the short (35 minute) documentary, One + One: A Human Network, which looks at micro-financing in Africa as a new model for sustainable humanitarian aid. This film screened at The Moxie and has been getting some buzz as it’s shown around the country.
Check out the referenced PDF link below for an interview between McGregor and Gregory Fish of Christian Video® Magazine issued January, 2009.
** UPDATE ** One+One: A Human Network wins 1st Place for Long Form Documentary at the 2009 Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts.
One + One: A Human Network — directed by Sid McGregor, produced by Gloria Cohen, cinematography by Alan Scherry, animation by Brian Mehrens, Amanda Hunsucker videography, Kalinka Georgieva multimedia/web developer.
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Two students from the Art & Design Department, Jane Colvin and Ashford Stamper, recently won the most prestigious competition in their field — The Society of Illustrators Scholarship Competition. Of the 5,600 entries submitted this year, only 146 were accepted for the 2009 Student Scholarship Exhibition. A brief excerpt from the award letter follows:
It is our pleasure to notify you of the selection of your students work for the 2009 Student Scholarship Exhibition. The enclosed title(s) will be a part of the Exhibit and Catalog.
Artist: Ashford Stamper
Title: Kharms CapuchinArtist: Jane Colvin
Title: Wild CircusWe look forward to the presentation of your students work at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators. The Exhibition dates and Awards Ceremony are listed below.
Award Ceremony and Opening Reception
Friday, May 8, 2009Exhibition Dates
May 6- June 6, 2009Congratulations!
Tara Jacoby
Exhibition Coordinator
New York, NYSociety of Illustrators
Founded 1901On February 1, 1901, a group of nine artists and one advising businessman founded the Society with this credo: “The object of the Society shall be to promote generally the art of illustration and to hold exhibitions from time to time.” The first monthly dinners were attended by such prominent illustrators as Howard Pyle, Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth, Charles Dana Gibson, Frederic Remington, James Montgomery Flagg, Howard Chandler Christy and special guests like Mark Twain and Gloria Swanson.
The mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history and evolving nature, and to encourage high ideals through exhibitions, lectures, education, and by fostering a sense of community and open discussion.
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JJ Sturgeon, (BFA in Art, Animation emphasis, 2008), is currently working for Slappy Studios in Los Angeles where he has just finished work on visual effects for two soon-to-be-released films: Chicago Pulaski Jones, directed by and starring Cedric the Entertainer; and Dark Country, directed by Thomas Jane and starring Ron Perlman.
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Doran Schmidt, a senior Musical Theatre major (scheduled to graduate this May), has been cast as Wendy in the Branson production of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby. We also have two recent graduates, Megan Marra-Ellis and Jessica Kohut (both graduated last spring) who have been cast as members of the Lost Boys. Megan Marra-Ellis is also serving as understudy to Ms. Rigby in the role of Tinkerbell.
The musical, which is a nation-wide tour of this classic children’s tale, will be performed this summer and through the holiday season at the Mansion Entertainment and Media Center, 189 Expressway Lane (highway 248 & Gretna) in Branson.
The show’s publicity reads as follows:
In her farewell performance as “Peter Pan”, Tony Award nominee Cathy Rigby takes flight in the 100th Anniversary of the immortal James M. Barrie tale – “PETER PAN.” This timeless musical masterpiece complete with evil Captain Hook, a crafty crocodile and the enchantment of Neverland will touch, inspire, dazzle and charm every generation. Take off with the ever youthful Cathy Rigby and revel in the magic and whimsy of this beloved classic.
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The Standard Online, the web site of Missouri State University’s student newspaper, was recently honored in the national Best of Collegiate Design contest.
The Standard won fifth place for best main-page presentation for online newspapers in the national contest, which was conducted by College Media Advisers Inc. The awards were announced in The Best of Collegiate Design 16, a publication distributed in late 2008.
The home page was designed by Jess Rollins, a senior journalism major, and has been maintained by junior journalism major Geoff Pickle.
The contest was open to all publications advised by CMA members. Publications from 65 colleges and universities entered the competition.
Art History students Elizabeth Atchley, Heather Nelson, and Marie Swan joined Dr. Billie Follensbee in authoring OzarksWatch article “Exotica in the Ozarks: Collections of Native Art and Artifacts from Africa, Oceana, and the Americas” with additional contributions by Lynley Farris, Adam Hails, Alison Lovelace, and Robin Wagner.
Amelia (Ellison) Barker (1998) started a non-profit organization called “Amelia’s Wings,” inspired by her use of frequent-flier miles and hotel points to help her aunt receive specialized medical care not available in Springfield.
Adam Bowling, BFA animation student and member of the Missouri State University Advertising Team who recently won first place in national ad competition for its “Go Green. Go Public.” public ad campaign presented in Washington, D.C. to the American Public Transportation Association. Ads will broadcast throughout the U.S. in a $15 million national public service campaign.
English graduate student Justin Kingery has been selected by the Graduate Scholarship Committee of the Graduate Council to receive one of the two Basil and JoAnn Boritzki Endowment awards for this academic year. This scholarship award is valued at approximately $2,500.
Trent Koland (2003) accepted a copy editor/graphic designer/illustrator position for the Chicago Tribune’s popular daily tabloid RedEye. Check it out online at redeye.chicagotribune.com.
Blaine Morehead served as the digital effects artist on Electronic Arts student production, Apollo, which was featured for its special effects in the very prestigious, very competitive animation exhibition program at SIGGRAPH, an international conference for computer graphics.
Greg Schrick (1997) won a Mid-America Emmy Award for his animation work for the FOX station in St. Louis.
Nathan Shelton (2000-07) named one of twelve finalists in the London Independent Film Festival screenplay competition for his original screenplay Unspeakable. Follow Shelton’s film success on The Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com/name/nm2933163/.
Katie Striley (2008) has been selected as the winner of the Missouri State University Distinguished Thesis Award. The title of Striley’s thesis is, “Don’t Be A Nerd in Front of a Gangsta: Exploring Social Coping Strategies, Identity Management, and Marginalization in Gifted Adolescents.” Dr. Char Berquist served as Striley’s thesis director. As the winner of the Distinguished Thesis Award, Striley will be representing Missouri State University in the competition for the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award. Striley completed her MA Communication degree in May 2008. She currently is teaching at Eastern Illinois University.
Raymond Yee has won the Graduate Piano Division at the 2008 Missouri Music Teachers Association (MMTA) State Honors Auditions, held at Washington University in St. Louis. The MMTA state auditions feature many of the finest music students from across the state of Missouri. A student of Dr. Wei-Han Su, Yee is currently pursuing the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance.
The Standard student staff members Jess Rollins and Jeremy Wisecup of The Standard, Missouri State University’s campus newspaper, are finalists in the Associated Collegiate Press’s annual national newspaper competition. Rollins, a senior journalism major, is one of five finalists for best editorial or opinion piece. Wisecup, a junior design major, is one of five finalists for best in-house promotional advertisement. Visit www.thestandard.org for details.
UPDATE:
The Standard, Missouri State University’s student-produced newspaper, won fourth place in the Best of Show competition at the National College Media Convention in Kansas City on Nov. 2. Two Standard staff members also won individual national awards. The Best of Show contest, conducted by Associated Collegiate Press, was open to all schools attending the five-day conference. The Standard placed fourth in the division for once- and twice-weekly broadsheet papers at four-year schools. Jess Rollins, a senior journalism major from Fair Grove, Mo., won honorable mention for editorial/opinion writing in ACP’s individual awards contest, which was open to all ACP members regardless of whether they attended the conference. Jeremy Wisecup, a junior design major from Lake Ozark, Mo., won honorable mention for in-house ad design. In the Best of Show competition, The Standard was honored alongside papers from the University of Nevada-Reno, first place; Truman State University, second; Missouri Southern State University, third; and Baker University, fifth.
Nathan Tysen, a 1999 graduate with a BFA in Musical Theatre, and his writing partner Chris Miller received a Nomination for Outstanding Musical Revue in the 53th Annual Drama Desk awards for their musical revue, Fugitive Songs
. The Drama Desk awards highlight the best of all aspects of drama in New York City. Fugitive Songs
played off-Broadway in March 2008.
Media, Journalism and Film students Brianna McDonald and Amanda Hunsucker are semi-finalists in the International Scriptapalooza TV competition. McDonald’s script for Grey’s Anatomy, “40 Leagues Under Exhaustion” and Hunsucker’s script for Law and Order-SVU, “Lies and Stuff ” competed against several thousand entries. Winning scripts are chosen by established production companies.
Tina Biava — Professor, English
Awarded Fulbright Scholar grant to teach applied linguistics and language teacher training courses in the Department of Letters and Languages at National Pedagogical University, Tegucigalpa, Honduras This is Biava’s second Fulbright grant. In 1999, she taught as a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary. Her research has explored several Italian- American writers and the Mimetic Theory of René Girard, particularly how it explicates various issues in linguistics.
“Fulbright is a great program to work for. It is prestigious as well as well-run,” Biava says. “I’m quite interested in the culture and language situations of Central America. I wanted to use my expertise in linguistics and language teacher training to help students in a developing situation, especially in the Western Hemisphere, and then return with that experience to share with my students at Missouri State.”
Sara Brummel — Associate Professor, Theatre & Dance
Performed in a site specific dance at the Cancer Memorial Sculpture Garden in Towson, Maryland.
Ed Carawan — Professor, Modern & Classical Languages
Published three articles — “Pericles the Younger and the Citizenship Law” in Classical Journal, “What the Mnemones Know” in Orality and Literacy, vol. 7, and “The Trial of the Arginusai Generals and the Dawn of ‘Judicial Review'” (on the origins of court control over legislation) in Dike
Jeremy Chesman — Assistant Professor, Music
Earned Choirmaster certificate from the American Guild of Organists and the Choirmaster Prize for highest score in the nation; Performed by invitation at the International Congress of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America at the University of California-Berkley; Taught at the Pipe Organ Encounter, a national program sponsored by the American Guild of Organists that exposes young people to organ performance, literature, and organ building
Andrew Cline — Assistant Professor, Media, Journalism & Film
Published periodical articles “Bias” in 21st Century Communications, “Ethics and Ethos: Writing an Effective Newspaper Ombudsman Position” in Journal of Mass Media Ethics, and “Tell a Different Story: How the Press Ought to Cover the Pre-Primary Presidential Campaign” in Media Ethics
Mara Cohen-Ioannides — Instructor, English
Awarded a Kawaler travel grant from Southern Jewish Historical Society to continue the joint study of Ozark Jewish communities with Professor Rachel Gholson
Billie Follensbee — Associate Professor, Art & Design
Presented paper “Why It’s Essential Not to Essentialze: Analyzing the Varied Roles of Female figures in Olmec and Olmec-Related Sculpture,” at the 53rd International Congress of the Americanists in Mexico City; Published paper “Fiber Technology and Weaving in Formative-Period Gulf Coast Cultures” published in Ancient Mesoamerica, published by the Cambridge University Press; Received the Missouri State University Foundation Award in Teaching
CORRECTION: Dr. Follensbee’s University Foundation Award in Teaching was mistakenly listed under Dr. Catherine Jolivette’s accomplishments in the print version of the newsletter. Our apologies for the error.
Rachel Gholson — Associate Professor, English
Awarded a Kawaler travel grant from Southern Jewish Historical Society to continue the joint study of Ozark Jewish communities with Instructor Mara Cohen-Ioannides
David Hays — Associate Professor, Music
Performed by invitation at the International Clarinetfest in Kansas City with colleagues Allison Storochuk and Hye-Jung Hong; Published article “Bulgarian Pieces for the Studio” in journal American String Teacher
Daniel Hellman — Assistant Professor, Music
Published paper “Do Music Education Majors Intend to Teach Music? An Exploratory Survey” in Update: Applications of Research in Music Education
Catherine Jolivette — Assistant Professor, Art & Design
Published book Landscape, Art, and Identity in 1950’s Britain; Presented paper “The Enlargement of Vision: The Influence of Science on the New Landscapes,” at the 34th Association of Art Historians Conference at the Tate Gallery in London
Cedomir Kostovic — Professor, Art & Design
Awarded for poster entry in the Moscow International Graphic Design Biennial GOLDEN BEE 8
Etta Madden — Professor, English
Awarded Fulbright Scholar grant to serve as a senior lecturer in American literature in the Department of Modern Philology, Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Catania in Italy Madden recently served for two years as interim director of Missouri State’s School of Social Work. In the fall of 2004, she served as faculty and academic director of the Missouri London Program. Her research interests include American literature and cultural studies.
“It’s been explained to me that Fulbright Scholars are ambassadors, and it’s exciting to see that as my role,” Madden says. “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to live in Italy for a significant period of time and to teach Italian students who are studying American literature.”
Pauline Nugent — Professor, Modern & Classical Languages
Received the Missouri State University Foundation Award in Teaching
Mary Jane Pardue — Associate Professor, Media, Journalism and Film
Publishing book Who Owns the Press? Investigating Public vs. Private Ownership of America’s Newspapers
James Parsons — Professor, Music
Directed meeting of the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) music history doctoral seminar on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; Presented paper “Schiller’s ‘An die Freude’ Before Beethoven: When Lyric Innovation and Compositional Convention Collide” at the Midwest American Society for Eighteenth- Century Studies conference
Alessandra Pires — Assistant Professor, Modern & Classical Languages
Received travel award to Québec City to participate in seminar on the Québécois phenomena and its role in international globalization; Presented paper “Quelques aspects du réel psychanalytique dans le film Un 32 août sur terre par Denis Villeneuve” at the American Council of Québec Studies in Québec City; Published “The Voice of the Learner” in the book Portuguese for Spanish Speakers: Teaching and Acquisition and the article “Three or Four Ways of Dying in Portuguese Filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira” in the Annals of the National Library in Lisbon, as a result of a Fellowship awarded by the Luso-American Foundation and the National Library of Portugal
John Prescott — Professor, Music
Published article “The Traditional Music of China” in the International Journal of Music Education
Allison Storochuk — Associate Professor, Music
Performed by invitation at the International Society for Music Education World Conference in Bologna as part of a tour of Italy and France with The New Edmonton Wind Sinfonia
Steve Willis — Associate Professor, Art & Design
Led presentations at the 2008 International Research Conference on Service Learning and Community Engagement in New Orleans with program entitled “Perceptual Changes Found in Engaged Service Learning.”