Thursday, October 7, 2010

First Women of Saint Mary’s Event to be held this weekend

The Alumni Office will host a First Women of Saint Mary's Event today through Oct. 10 on the Winona campus. The event — which will include a variety of weekend events — will bring together women from the decade of the '70s. Faculty and staff are invited to attend the events, specifically the Friday night reception. To review a complete schedule of events and to see who is planning to attend, go to www.smumn.edu/firstwomen. If you would like to register for any of the events, contact the alumni office at Ext. 1499 or alumni@smumn.edu.

Theatre students to perform in London, Ireland

Saint Mary’s theatre majors will stage the highly theatrical disturbing docu-drama “God’s Country” from Oct. 19-23 at TARA Studio in London and Nov. 29-30 at Smock Alley Studio Theatre in Ireland.

Written by Steven Dietz, the emotionally gripping plot takes a close look at the shocking history of the white supremacist movement in the USA. “God’s Country” revolves around various right-wing organizations that, collectively, comprise the so-called “Identity Movement.” The play covers all bases of the right-wing lunatic fringe, but essentially it focuses on three narrative spines: the trial in Seattle of a paramilitary group which calls itself “The Order”; the career and murder of Denver talk-radio personality Alan Berg (outspoken, controversial and Jewish) “assassinated” by The Order; and, finally, the hate-filled career and death of The Order’s founder, Robert Matthews. These narratives are not presented in a linear fashion, but are interwoven, sometimes non-chronologically, amongst a barrage of statistics and facts into a kaleidoscopic and highly theatrical vision. It’s presentation couldn’t be more timely — and, sad to say, timeless.

Qualified theatre majors at Saint Mary's are studying theatre in London, England, this semester through the Stefannié Valéncia Kierlin Theatre in London Program. Under the guidance of Saint Mary’s faculty, the program will include a variety of classes in theatre, as well as courses focusing on broader enrichment. Students will have the unique opportunity to attend numerous performances at London’s West End, Off-West End, and Fringe theatres.

Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc., “God’s Country” is directed by Dr. Gary Diomandes. Also participating are: Michael Dold, stage manager; Josh Lentner, lighting designer; Greg Freeman, sound designer; and performers Darrell Fair, Maggie Allexsaht, Annie Ivansek, Regina Harris, Joanna Mills, Jarod Boltjes, Tom Conry, Rick Baustian, Jacob Rivet, David Dean, Matthew Gorgone, Laurence Alliston-Greiner and Shane Nippard.

Alum, SMU volunteer to receive Women in Business awards

Katie Johnson ’10 and Gail Bradbury will be honored by Women in Business at a luncheon Thursday, Oct. 21, when they are each presented with one of the organization’s Outstanding Women Awards.

Johnson, who will receive the Outstanding Young Woman award, works as a paralegal at Engel Law Office and is in the process of applying to law school with the ambition of becoming an attorney. Johnson held a 3.9 GPA and was named to the Dean’s list for all eight semesters while acquiring her bachelor of science degree from Saint Mary’s.

Gail Bradbury, a long-time volunteer with the Page Theatre and the Beethoven Festival, will be honored with the Outstanding Woman of the Arts and Humanities award. Bradbury has used her educational expertise to volunteer as treasurer, financial adviser and bookkeeper for many local community organizations, and has mentored others in helping them understand the need for sound personal finance skills.

The awards will be given out at a luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Signature’s Visions Event Center. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from any Women in Business board member, or at the following locations: Merchants Bank, Winona National Bank, Winona Daily News, Sport & Spine and LaBoutique.

Women in Business works to inspire women of diverse occupations and to provide opportunities for personal and professional growth through leadership, education and networking.

Halloween Fun Night is Oct. 25

Elementary and preschool children are invited to attend the 10th annual Saint Mary’s Halloween Fun Night from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25.

Participants should stop at the guard booth at the main entrance of campus for directions on where to park.

Young trick-or-treaters should start out the evening at the Hall of Fame Room, located in the Toner Student Center, where tattoos and stickers, a coloring station, and other fun games will be offered. The Cardinal mascot will greet pint-sized ghosts and goblins.

From there, SMU students will lead groups of trick-or-treaters through the residence halls of the university, where they can go door to door for candy.

Last year more than 700 youth participated in this free, safe and fun event, sponsored by the Office of Residence Life .

Get set to scream at annual Walk of Horror

This year’s Walk of Horror is again guaranteed to give you goosebumps. New scares are planned around every corner.
The 14th annual hair-raising fundraiser for the SMU fastpitch softball team will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 22-23 and 29-31 in the bluffs. Walkers are asked to meet on the lighted path between the baseball and softball fields, where the haunted walk will begin.

Groups are then escorted through the dark bluffs surrounding campus for approximately 20 minutes.

The cost is $5 for adults, $4 for students with ID, and $4 for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the gate.

Head fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller said the event is fun for all ages. The scare level is toned down for younger children and turned up for groups bold enough to face their fears.

Last year more than 1,100 brave souls took the Walk of Horror.

Proceeds from this event will be used for the softball team’s travel expenses. For more information, contact Miller at Ext. 6923.

International Lasallian Scholar to visit Saint Mary’s today

Brother Gerard Rummery, FSC, an internationally known and respected scholar in Lasallian spirituality from Australia, will share his passion for and insight into our Lasallian heritage today, Friday, Oct. 8, on the Winona campus. Brother Gerard’s presentation will begin at noon in the Common Room. For more information, contact Sister Judith Schaefer, University Dean, at jschaefe@smumn.edu.

Brother Gerard also gave a short presentation on the Twin Cities campus on Wednesday, Oct. 6, and to the Board of Trustees on Thursday, Oct. 7.

Jazz Ensemble releases first CD ‘Staycation’


The Saint Mary’s Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. John Paulson, has released its first CD, “Staycation.”

The project has been a joint effort by SMU students and faculty. Participants included members of the SMU Jazz Ensemble and students majoring in music technology, under the supervision of Dr. Paulson and adjunct music faculty member and Grammy-winning engineer Brett Huus.

The CD is available at the bookstore. A YouTube segment, which can be found at www.smumn.edu/staycationvid, captures a portion of the recording session. For more information, go to www.smumn.edu/staycation or contact Dr. Paulson at Ext. 1596 or jpaulson@smumn.edu.

Israeli clarinetist, saxophonist kicks off Page Series

Israeli-born jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen will kick off the Page Series today, Friday, Oct. 8. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Page Theatre.

“One of the brightest, most original young instrumentalists in jazz” (according to The Washington Post), Cohen will present a rousing tribute to Benny Goodman, “the King of Swing,” as well as selections from her four highly praised CDs.

The winner of four consecutive Jazz Journalists Association “Clarinet Player of the Year” awards and multiple “Rising Star Clarinet” DownBeat critic’s polls, Cohen and her quartet are performing around the world, reestablishing the clarinet to its rightful role at the forefront of jazz.

Cohen will lead a masterclass on jazz improvisation with area jazz students from 4 to 5 p.m. Oct. 8. She will then offer a free pre-show conversation at 6:30 p.m. Both events will be in Figliulo Recital Hall.

Tickets for the performance are $25 for adults or $20 for seniors and students and are available at the box office, Ext. 1715, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Page Series presents Native Dance Ensemble



The Page Series will present the Kevin Locke Native Dance Ensemble with “The Drum is the Thunder, The Flute is the Wind,” Tuesday, Oct. 12. The performance will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Page Theatre, located in the SMU Performance Center.

Representing the Plains nations of Lakota, Anishinabe, Comanche, the Southeastern tribe Choctaw, and the Woodlands Nations of Ojibwe and Oneida, this one-of-a-kind ensemble of American Indian champions and award-winning dancers offers a rich variety of American Indian traditions and aesthetics in dance, instrumentals, song, storytelling, sign language and audience interaction.

The ensemble is led by Kevin Locke, who is known throughout the world as a visionary hoop dancer; the preeminent player of the indigenous Northern Plains flute; a traditional storyteller; cultural ambassador; recording artist; and educator.

In 1990, Locke was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which recognized him as a “Master Traditional Artist who has contributed to the shaping of our artistic traditions and to preserving the cultural diversity of the United States.”

At this time, there are no tickets available for this performance. However, a limited number may be available at the SMU Box Office one hour prior to the performance. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students and seniors.

A school matinee performance of “The Drum is the Thunder, the Flute is the Wind” is supported in part by the Winona Foundation and Arts Midwest and by the Elizabeth Callender King Foundation.

Saint Mary’s University is a fiscal year 2010 recipient of an Institutional Presenter Support grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4, 2008.

Free presentation at the library

Additionally, Park Ranger Ed Lagace of the Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge will present “Gathering at the Waters,” at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Winona Public Library, where he will speak about how early Native American settlers used the natural world. Refreshments and ticket give-away opportunities will be offered. The event — free and open to the public — is supported by a SELCO’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Grant.

Next exhibit to feature pottery, drawings

Two Midwestern artists will display work at Saint Mary’s through Nov. 14.

Pottery by Schwarz features work by Dean Schwarz, a ceramic artist, painter, writer and teacher who co-founded South Bear School, an innovative summer arts school in Highlandville, Iowa. Schwarz was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The son of a welder, his initial interests were in athletics, but as an undergraduate student, he developed an interest in ceramics, painting and other visual arts, and abruptly changed his major. While serving in the U.S. Navy in the early 1960s, he used his shore leaves to visit the studios of world famous potters, notably Shoji Hamada in Japan, and Bauhaus-trained Master Potter Marguerite Wildenhain at Pond Farm near Guerneville, Calif. His work is represented in numerous private collections and in the holdings of museums and universities throughout the world.

Drawings by Whelan features work by John Whelan, an adjunct instructor in the Department of Art and Design, who currently lives in La Crosse, Wis. Whelan was born and raised in the Old West End of Toledo, Ohio, less than a mile from the Toledo Museum of Art, which he visited often during his youth. He has taught studio art and art history throughout the Midwest, including 23 years at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. In 1998, he took a leave from teaching to attend the University of Iowa College of Medicine and was awarded the M.D. in 2002. Whelan’s exhibit centers around studies of flowers and the human figure.

The show, free and open to the public, is on display at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call Ext. 1652.

New items for sale at Cardinal Corner

The Cardinal Corner, a totally student-run, not-for-profit store that teaches students how to open and run a small business, has the following new items for sale:

• Dark Roast Fair Trade Coffee Beans, $10
• Medium Roast Fair Trade Coffee Beans, $10
Profits from theses items will be donated to CTIE.

• Fall Frolic T-Shirts in two colors, $5
• Vintage SMU basketball and baseball uniforms, $10
• Vintage SMU white hockey uniforms, $20
• Vintage SMU black, white and red striped polos, $10
• Cardinal Pride wrist bands, $1
• Taylor Richmond 10th anniversary T-shirts, $10
• Red Cards, $5
• New SMU white water bottles, $3 (Thanks for the donation, Student Life.)
Profits from theses items will be donated to the Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance.

• Pumpkins, $2.
Profits from this item will be donated to the SMU Biology Club

• Leather portfolios, $15
• SMU camp chairs, $25
Profits from these items will benefit the Athletic Department.

• SMU paintball KIDZ T-shirts, $5
Profits from this item will be donated to the SMU Kidz Paintball Club.

Coming soon:
• Vuvuzelas, $8
• Red SMU Hockey jerseys, $20
• SMU Rugby shirts and other accessories, prices vary
• Cardinal Pride T-shirt, $10

The Cardinal Corner is looking for fun, funky items to sell to all members of the SMU community. This store is totally not-for-profit. Consider selling through the store; your club, organization, team, class, or department will receive 100 percent of the money from the items sold.

Located in the basement of Toner Student Center, the store is open during the following days and times: Monday through Thursday from 12:15-3:30 p.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Fridays 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Cardinal Corner accepts cash and checks. Orders are accepted via e-mail to cardinalcorner@smumn.edu, via campus mail at Box 61, or by phone during business hours at Ext. 6000.

For more information, contact Jana Craft at Ext. 1491 or jcraft@smumn.edu.

Lasallian Week of Peace nears completion

The Farmer's Market

Events today (Friday, Oct. 8) for Lasallian Week of Peace include Fair Trade Friday from 8 to 11 a.m. in Saint Mary’s Hall and a Shack-a-thon event to raise awareness for the homeless from 8 p.m. Friday to 11 a.m. Saturday in the Plaza.

The Lasallian Week of Peace originated in 2006 during a meeting of Young Lasallians in Rome to encourage Lasallian schools to participate in one of the social justice initiatives of the church as well as to pray for world peace.

Campus Ministry and other groups sponsored events all week. The overall theme of the week has been “Blessed Are the Peacemakers.”

Family Weekend a success

Posing with Big Red

The start of the Fall Frolic


Family Weekend, Oct. 1-3, included a full slate of activities for families of students and the SMU community. In previous years, as many as 1,000 visitors have come onto campus for Family Weekend music and theatre events, sporting events, the Fall Frolic, and other games and activities. Pictures can be found at www.smumn.edu/photos.

Auditions being held for Blue Angel

The annual Saint Mary’s music variety show, Blue Angel, is planned for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-6.

Auditions for the show will be held the weekend of Oct. 22-24 and are open to students, faculty and staff. A sign-up sheet will be available beginning Oct. 10 on the door of the Phi Mu Alpha room in the basement of the Toner Center.

For more information, contact Matt Polum at mtpolu08@smumn.edu or Rich Mazzetti at rlmazz08@smumn.edu.

IT Department to host online Educause conference

The Information Technology Department has registered for the annual Educause conference “online edition.” The online conference will be held from 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, in Saint Mary’s Hall, Room 8 (training lab). Stop in to view the conference at any point.

The conference agenda is located at www.educause.edu/E2010/Program/Online?tz_select=America%2FChicago

For more information, or if any particular sessions catch your interest, contact Sarah Bearbower at Ext. 457-1635 or sbearbow@smumn.edu.

October ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ to include costume contest

The M.Ed. and G.P.D.E Departments are joining the Volunteer Committee in hosting the first “Let’s Do Lunch,” a Halloween party on Friday, Oct. 29. Proceeds will benefit Christ the Teacher Institute for Education on our Nairobi campus. Wear your best costumes and compete for the coveted traveling trophy.

DVD, video game sale cancelled

The Volunteer Committee has not received enough donations to hold a DVD and video game sale. A few games are available for sale at the Business Office windows. Look for different fundraising ideas in the future.

Next ‘Chat, Chow & Web 2.0’ event announced

Nancy Sims, copyright program librarian at the U of M, will discuss copyright issues relevant to higher education, including using teaching materials in class and online for the October Chat & Chow event. Sims will present from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Meet in the main lounge of the McEnery Center. The event is sponsored by the Fitzgerald Library, IT and Instructional Technology. Lunch will be provided; an RSVP is appreciated, but not necessary, and everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Jason Spartz, jspartz@smumn.edu.

CMENC clinic co-sponsored by SMU, WSU

The CMENC PLUS Fall Clinic is a annual conference for music education majors and early career music teachers. This year’s event is co-sponsored by the music education students at both SMU and WSU. Highlighting this year’s event is a performance by Native American singer and teacher, Lyz Jaakola (www.lyzjaakola.com) and her troupe.

Today’s Friday, Oct. 8, performance will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the main stage of the Performing Arts Center at WSU and is open to the general public.

For additional information contact Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, CMENC chapter advisor.

Students exhibit art in ‘Watershed’ exhibit

Several students from SMU were chosen to exhibit in “Watershed,” a juried exhibition at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, 800 Riverview Drive. The exhibition features work from SMU and Winona State University students who were asked to create work that was inspired by water. Three winners and 12 runners-up were chosen out of 45 entries. The exhibition, being held in conjunction with “Between the Shining Seas,” will be on display through Saturday, Nov. 13.

Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for students, $20 for immediate families, or free to children younger than 4.

McCullough, Klinkner to lead ‘Harvesting of Poems’ Oct. 13

The Winona Arts Center invites the public to attend “The Harvesting of Poems” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13.

Led by Poet Laureate Ken McCullough and Marilyn Klinkner, the evening will offer readings of McCullough and Klinkner’s work, as well as selections of their favorite poetry.

The audience is invited to join in or listen. Assorted books of poetry will be available as resources, or participants may bring original work, songs, books or copies of poetry. A good-will donation will be accepted. For more information, go www.winonaarts.org/events.

Jazz notes

Swing Inc.’s Jerry Paulson and Eric Heukeshoven will play from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Salem Glen Winery in Rochester, Minn.

Lallaman to lead next biology seminar

Josh Lallaman, the newest addition to the Biology Department, will be giving a presentation titled “Factors Affecting Paddlefish Reproduction in the Lower Osage River, Mo.” at next week’s Biology Seminar. The seminar will begin at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, in Room 112 of Hoffman Hall.

Sympathy to Beerman family

Father Andrew Beerman’s father, Raymond, died Wednesday, Oct. 6. Father Beerman is the Rector for Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary. The visitation will be today, Friday, Oct. 8, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., with a rosary at 5 p.m. at Strum Funeral Home in St. James, Minn. A prayer service will held at 7:30 p.m.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church in St. James. Condolence cards can be sent to Campus Box 43.

The Saint Mary’s community extends its sympathy to the Beerman family.