Classes cancelled in honor of Brother William’s inauguration

All classes are cancelled on Sept. 26, so that faculty, staff and students are able to attend inauguration festivities. Mass will begin at 10 a.m. in the chapel.

Lunch will be served in the Toner Student Center, starting at 11:45 a.m.; faculty and staff will be dining upstairs. Robing begins at 1 p.m. The convocation begins at 2 p.m. in the gym, and will be followed by a reception in the fieldhouse.

Call Deb Nahrgang, Ext. 6966 or dnahrgan@smumn.edu, with questions.

Reel Big Fish to headline Oct. 9 concert at Saint Mary’s

Reel Big Fish, a horn-driven ska punk band from California, will headline a Thursday, Oct. 9, concert at Saint Mary’s.

Doors to the gym will open at 6 p.m.; an opening band (Danger is My Middle Name) will perform at 7 p.m., and Reel Big Fish will take the stage at 8 p.m.

Reel Big Fish is best known for the 1997 hit “Sell Out.” The band gained mainstream recognition during the 1990s. In 1998, the band appeared in the movie BASEketball, performing in the stands to pump up the crowd. Their performance at SMU connects their tours in Canada and Brazil.

Tickets are $15 for the general public. Saint Mary’s students will be admitted for free and have the option of purchasing a $10 additional ticket. SMU faculty and staff also pay $10. Tickets are available via the SMU Box Office, Ext.1715 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.smumn.edu/concert. The event is hosted by SMU’s Student Activities Committee.

Page Series opens Oct. 8 with Compañia Flamenco

Saint Mary’s Page Series will come alive with music, fiery footwork and brilliant costumes when Compañia Flamenco José Porcel takes the stage Wednesday, Oct. 8.

Known for their superb flamenco performances, José Porcel and his company of talented dancers will bring an explosion of rhythms, colors and emotions of the Spanish people to Page Theatre, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

A flamenco performance gives spectators an overwhelming sensation of happiness, a joyful and sensual mood. The October program features eight dances, ranging from electrifying solos by Porcel to larger pieces for the company of eight men and women. In addition, the audience will be treated to live performances by a musical ensemble and traditional flamenco singers.

Tickets for the performance are $22, $18 for seniors, $18 for students, and are available by calling the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Ernesto Calvo, Compañia Flamenco Jose Porcel’s road manager, will present a free pre-show presentation, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Figuilo Recital Hall, located adjacent to Page Theatre. Calvo will introduce flamenco, its history and place in Iberian culture. He will also provide insights into the evening’s performance, including styles, forms, and historical aspects of the dance and music.

New this year will be “student rush tickets.” Any student can purchase a “rush” ticket 20 minutes before the beginning of an event for $10. Students provide a valid picture ID; there’s a limit of one ticket per student and no reserved seats.

Saint Mary’s to host disc golf open Oct. 18

Saint Mary’s University and Innova Disc Golf will co-sponsor a 36-hole disc golf tournament Saturday, Oct. 18.

The tournament — open to the public — will be held on The Woods disc golf course. Beginners are encouraged to participate. Check-in starts at 9 a.m. in the Toner Student Center. The tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 10 a.m., and the second round will begin at 1:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third places.

Pre-register for the event at www.smumn.edu/thewoods. The cost for two rounds of 18 holes is $15 for students and $25 for the general public. Proceeds will go to maintaining the disc golf course and the Outdoor Leadership Program. Each participant will receive a commemorative Innova Fairway Driver Disc. On holes 1 and 18 there will be a $3 “Ace Pot” buy-in for confident players.

For more information, go to www.smumn.edu/thewoods or e-mail Davey Warner at outdoorleadership@smumn.edu

SMU family weekend events set for Sept. 26 - 28

The 21st Fall Frolic 5K fun run/walk will be held during Saint Mary’s University’s Family Weekend on Saturday, Sept. 27. The event, held annually, is free to SMU students, faculty and staff, but is open to the community as well. Typically close to 500 people participate; competitors of all levels (including walkers) are welcome.

Registration will run from 8 to 9:30 a.m. in SMU’s Toner Student Center. The race begins at 10 a.m. The $8 cost includes a T-shirt.

Participants will enjoy the beautiful bluff trails of SMU’s Winona campus. Registration forms — as well as a complete weekend schedule — are available online at www.smumn.edu/familyweekend.

Family Weekend, which runs Sept. 26-28, includes 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.

Kaplan-commissioned piece to highlight SMU Concert Band, choirs concert Sept. 27

Marc Bernstein

The SMU Concert Band and three SMU choral ensembles will combine talents for a Family Weekend performance at 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, in Page Theater.

The concert will mark the world premiere performance of “Ashkenazi Fathers,” composed for the SMU Concert Band by internationally recognized jazz saxophonist Marc Bernstein through the support of the Sam and Helen Kaplan Foundation. “Ashkenazi Fathers” is a celebration of the Jewish faith, especially the role fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers play in the lives of their children.

This performance marks the fifth in a series of commissions by the SMU Concert Band through the Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation, which supports performances and activities led by Jewish artists and scholars that are designed to increase cultural and religious understanding at Saint Mary’s.

Bernstein will present a special composer’s conversation, just prior to the performance, at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Page Theatre. During this conversation, the composer will discuss the cultural inspiration for his piece and the evolution of his work.

The audience is also invited to join the performers for a reception honoring Bernstein after the concert.

Bernstein will travel from his home in Denmark to Saint Mary’s the week prior to the performance to serve in residency. He will rehearse with the band and work with SMU students in a variety of classes and rehearsals.
For more information about Bernstein, go to www.marcmusic.info.

The Concert Band, under the direction of Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, will open with Steven Reineke’s “Celebration Fanfare,” an exciting new work published just last year. Next the ensemble will play the hauntingly beautiful “As Summer was Just Beginning” — subtitled “Song for James Dean” — written by Larry Daehn in memory of actor James Byron Dean, who was tragically killed in a car accident at age 24 after a brief film career. “Ashkenazi Fathers” will conclude the first half of the Concert Band performance. A Saint Mary’s jazz combo will join the concert band for the premiere piece, and Bernstein will serve as the featured soprano saxophone soloist.

The second half of the concert features the SMU Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea, joined the Women’s Choir, directed by Lindsy O’Shea. Choral selections will include works by Schumann, Morley, Hassler, Nystedt, Mulholland, and choral arrangements by Philip Lawson and Bob Chilcott of the King’s Singers.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students or seniors and are available at the Performance Center Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

SMU alum to enlighten students Sept. 25

As part of the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, Todd VonBastiaans, a 1994 Saint Mary’s alum, will speak about how he has used his theatre set and lighting background to create a successful entrepreneurial venture on Thursday, Sept. 25. As the owner of Alios, VonBastiaans oversees many of the lights around Las Vegas. He also owns the Atomic Todd gallery in the prominant arts district of Las Vegas.

VonBastiaans will make a presentation, beginning at 4 p.m. in Salvi Hall, on how possible it is to chase your dream and shine. Admission is free and open to all students, faculty and staff. Refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact Dominic Lawrence at Ext. 1486 or dlawrenc@smumn.edu.

Saint Mary’s to stage comedy ‘Bus Stop’ Sept. 25-28

Despite being trapped in a howling snowstorm, weary bus travelers find love and romance in a cheerful roadside diner during the Saint Mary’s Department of Theatre Arts production of “Bus Stop” Sept. 25-28, coinciding with SMU’s Family Weekend.

In this playful romantic comedy, written by William Inge and directed by Judy Myers, Cherie, a young and pretty nightclub singer has been kidnapped by a lovesick 21-year-old cowboy with a ranch of his own (and the romantic methods of an unusually headstrong bull). Romances blossom as audiences are introduced to a roomful of colorful characters including an inebriated English professor, a virtuous bus driver and many more.

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25, 26 and 27. A matinee performance is planned for 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28.

Tickets for the performance — to be held in the Page Theatre — are $10, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the Performance Center Box office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

2008 study shows positive results for Tegrity students

A new study by Saint Mary’s concluded that students who used Tegrity tended to have a higher cumulative GPA than those who didn't.

Tegrity Campus 2.0 is a Web service that captures classroom lectures and digital materials for playback. Saint Mary’s initially deployed Tegrity in a proof of concept study with a small number of faculty teaching undergraduate courses. Within five semesters, more than half the faculty had adopted Tegrity's class capture service across several departments and more than 100 course sections. During 2007, Saint Mary's faculty created 5,023 recordings.

In spring 2008, faculty and administration conducted a survey of students to determine the impact of Tegrity on student learning. Of the 862 student respondents, which included both users and non-users, 65 percent reported that Tegrity increased their focus on the most important learning objectives for the course. Six out of 10 respondents reported that Tegrity increased their preparation for exams, overall performance on tests, and increased satisfaction with courses and course material.

Cumulative grade point average (GPA) was proven to be significantly higher for Tegrity users than for non-users.

Saint Mary’s students to present jazz concert Sept. 26

Two Saint Mary’s University jazz groups, under the direction of Dr. John Paulson, will kick off the year with a concert 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, in Figliulo Recital Hall — in conjunction with SMU’s Family Weekend.

Internationally recognized jazz saxophonist Marc Bernstein — at SMU through the Helen and Sam Kaplan Foundation — will join students onstage.

The 18-piece Jazz Ensemble and six-piece Jazz Combo I will perform from 6 to 7 p.m.

Jazz Combo I will play popular selections from the swing era and contemporary jazz. Student soloists in the combo include alto saxophonist Vanessa Grams of Little Falls, guitarist Sam Courtier of Red Wing, and Tom Briese on trombone from Rochester. The big band will play favorites from big band classics as well as new selections from today’s greatest arrangers. Student soloists in the big band include Peter Waldorf of Bloomington, Ill., on trumpet along with Courtier and Briese.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students or seniors and are available at the Performance Center Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Free tickets available for faculty, staff

Faculty and staff are able to obtain two free tickets to any SMU-produced event (excluding the Page Series and “The Nutcracker”) — including Family Weekend performances by the jazz ensembles, Concert Band and choir ensembles, and theatre department presentation of “Bus Stop.”

Faculty and staff must come to the box office with your ID to claim your tickets

Biology student, alum to discuss Mayo Scholars, insulin

Bethany Kaufmann (a current SMU student), will discuss “The Mayo Scholars Program” Thursday, Sept. 25.

Nora Sadek ‘08 will present “Insulin stimulants, lung fluid clearance and alveolar cell sodium pump” Thursday, Oct. 2. Sadek spent this past summer at LSSURP on the University of Minnesota campus.

Both events will be held at 4 p.m. in Hoffman Hall, Room 112.

Gaut speaks about Winona’s preservation history

Dr. Greg Gaut, Department of History, made a presentation on Winona’s history of conflicts over preservation titled “The Elusive Big Picture: Preservation in Winona” at the 28th annual Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. The conference was held at Carleton College in Northfield on Sept. 19-20.

He was one of three members of the Winona Heritage Preservation Commission representing the city at the event.

Maryknoll annouces new book

Maryknoll Instute of African Studies has added to its list of publications the book “African Cultural Domains: Life Cycle of an Individual.” This follows on its earlier publication on African cultural themes. As the previous book, this book is a product of the responses of students from the institute coming from different parts of the world.

This book, the first in a series of four, focuses on the activities, events, attitudes and rituals of an individual from birth to death and beyond. The link with the “African Cultural Knowledge” book is that the cultural knowledge (themes) gives meaning to the activities, events, attitudes and rituals that unfold in a person’s life as presented in this book.

Copies of the book can be obtained for $10 at www.africancultures.org.

SMU announces changes to staff

New employees:
Thom Peart, Sept. 8, Athletics — Asst. Hockey Coach.

Leaving employees:
Minhaz Zafar, Sept. 30, TC — iT Support Technician

Pauslon Quartet to perform in La Crosse Oct. 4

The John Pauslon Quartet will be performing at the Starlite Lounge in La Crosse, Wis., from 8 to midnight on Oct. 4.

Next gallery show to feature computer illustration series

California artist Tom Lundquist will display images from his “Poissons de Chant” series — including #29 “Pursued by sheep, Joey Poisson adopts a desperate strategy” — Sept. 26 through Oct. 31 at Saint Mary’s University.

Tom Lundquist, a Minneapolis native and faculty member at Santa Monica College, Calif., will display images from his “Poissons de Chant” series Sept. 26 through Oct. 31 at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.

Lundquist’s digital image series illustrates the adventures of a mythical troupe of singing fish from Montreal. Most of the characters are production assistants, agents, accountants, or animal performers that work for the fish. The elaborate narrative suggested in the prints doesn’t really exist. Though a number of people have suggested that Lundquist write a story to go with the illustrations, he says the only thing he really enjoys doing is making pictures. Lundquist has created an intricate fantasy world that will test your imagination. To learn more about Lundquist’s work, go to http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tomlundquist.

Admission is free and open to the public, and gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call Ext. 1652.

Speakers to address homelessness Sept. 30

Mikkel Beckmen (executive director of St. Stephens Human Services in Minneapolis) and Charlie Parr (Duluth-based blues musician) will dialogue about the problem of homelessness at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the Damian Common Room at Watters Hall.

The pair are being hosted by the Lasallian Honors Program with the aim of fostering a dialogue, not only with honors students who are doing immersion experiences in Minneapolis through St. Stephens, but also with anyone interested in service-learning in general or in homelessness in particular.

The event will consist of a performance of four songs by Parr and a brief 5- to 10- minute lecture by Beckmen on homelessness and the work of St. Stephens. Additionally, students in LH 405 who have completed “A Day in the Life” will give short statements or testimonies.