Public invited to Fall Frolic Oct. 1

The public is invited to participate in the 24th Fall Frolic 5K fun run/walk at Saint Mary’s Saturday, Oct. 1.

Registration will run from 8 to 9:30 a.m. in the Toner Student Center with the race beginning at 10 a.m. The $8 cost includes a T-shirt.

The annual event 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 forms — as well as a complete weekend schedule — are available online at www.smumn.edu/familyweekend.

Family Weekend runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 and includes a full slate of activities. In previous years, as many as 1,000 visitors have come onto campus for Family Weekend arts events, sporting events, the Fall Frolic, and other games and activities.

SMU offers full weekend of student performances

Two public student performances — a jazz concert and a choir and band performance — will highlight Family Weekend.

• Jazz groups will kick off their year with a fall blast at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, in Figliulo Recital Hall. Jazz Combo I (a new and hot jazz nontet) will fire off the show with jazz classics like Horace Silver’s “The Preacher,” “I'll Take Romance” and the cool bossa “Speak Low” by Kurt Weil. Alto saxophonist Markeise Russell and tenor saxophonist Ben Scott are two of the student soloists featured in the combo. The 18-piece Jazz Ensemble follows with selections including “My Romance” with Tyler Ringeisen on flugelhorn, “My Foolish Heart” featuring Katy Kosiek on alto sax, and several other recognizable standards like “It Had To Be You,” arranged by Frank Mantooth. Closing the Jazz Ensemble set will be Gordon Goodwin’s rocker “Hit The Bricks.” Both groups are directed by Dr. John Paulson. Two jazz workshop combos, directed by Dr. Paulson and Eric Heukeshoven, will play for a reception following the concert in the Toner Student Center Lounge.


Flute player Emily Fasen, of Monticello, Minn., rehearses for the upcoming Family Weekend performance.

• The Concert Band and Choirs will combine talents for a 2 p.m. concert Saturday, Oct. 1, at Page Theatre. The Concert Band, under the direction of Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, will start the concert with “Bayou Breakdown” by Brant Karrick, followed by the “First Suite in Eb” by Gustav Holst, and finishing with an arrangement by John Wassen of music from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The Chamber Singers will perform a set of Swedish folksongs arranged by Hugo Alfvén, and the Concert Choir will present selections by Fauré, and Gilbert and Sullivan. Both choirs are directed by Dr. Patrick O’Shea. The Women’s Choir, directed by Lindsy O’Shea, will also perform. A reception will follow in the Toner Student Center Lounge.

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

Lasallian Week of Peace schedule announced

Lasallian Week of Peace will be observed Oct. 2-7. This year’s theme is, “Living the Dignity of the Person.


Events include:

Sunday, Oct. 2 — Mass “Reflection on the Dignity of the Person — 10:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., Saint Thomas More Chapel.

Monday, Oct. 3 — “Inter-Religious Dialogue” — 7:30 p.m., Figliulo Recital Hall.

Tuesday, Oct. 4 — Movie, “Freedom from Famine: The Norman Borloug Story” — noon, Salvi Lecture Hall. Borloug is a 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the Green Revolution.

Wednesday, Oct. 5 — Jerome Mayne presenting “Professional Ethics” — 7:30 p.m., Salvi Lecture Hall.

Thursday, Oct. 6 — “Who are we as an SMU Community?” — 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6 — SMU students, faculty and staff are invited to discuss and review the results of the “Dignity in Diversity” survey taken this week. Examine the diversity of who we are as a community and ask, “How welcoming and inclusive are we?”

Friday, Oct. 7 — Action Step of Advocacy and Service for All Students — led by the Peace & Justice Club. Check your SMU e-mail to find out how to participate.

Panel to conduct ‘Inter-Religious Dialogue’

The public is invited to an “Inter-Religious Dialogue” Monday, Oct. 3, as part of Lasallian Week of Peace.

Three guest speakers will discuss how Christianity, Islam and Judaism relate the dignity of the person to the intersection of faith, work and vocation.

Michael Naughton is the holder of the Alan W. Moss Endowed Chair in Catholic Social Thought at the University of Saint Thomas. He is also the director of the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought, at the Center for Catholic Studies, which examines Catholic social thought in relationship to business theory and practice.

Brian Shapiro, associate professor in the Accounting Department of Saint Thomas, co-teaches with Naughton on the senior capstone theology course on the intersection of faith and management. He is an active member of Bet Shalom, a Reform Jewish Congregation in Minnetonka.

Tamim Saidi, born in Afghanistan, was forced to escape Pakistan as a teenager and came to the U.S. in 1990. He is vice president of the Islamic Resource Group and a vice president and founding member of the Northwest Islamic Community Center. He also participates in a writers group for EngageMN.com, a local group with a mission to improve the understanding of Minnesotans about their Muslim neighbors and Islam.

The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall.

Co-sponsors include the Offices of Campus Ministry and Academic Affairs, the Office for Mission, the Theology Department and Student Activities.

For more information, contact Dennis Gallagher at Ext. 6936.

Speaker to address business ethics, story of incarceration

Jerome Mayne, a former mortgage-banking executive and white-collar criminal, and renowned motivational speaker, will present “Professional Ethics” Wednesday, Oct. 5, as part of Lasallian Week of Peace.

The event — free and open to the public — is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Salvi Lecture Hall.

Using humor, Mayne will share his personal experience in the finance world and of his incarceration for white-collar crime. Mayne hopes his story inspires students and business professionals to use their own morality to make the right decisions — even when the right decisions aren’t easy.

Mayne’s presentation is co-sponsored by SMU’s offices of Campus Ministry, Student Life and Student Activities, the Business Department and the Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

For more information, contact Dennis Gallagher at Ext. 6936 or dgallagh@smumn.edu.

Saint Mary's to stage ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ Oct. 6-9

John Millington Synge’s classic Irish comedy/tragedy, “The Playboy of the Western World” — to be staged Oct. 6-9 — is sure to touch the hearts of lads and lasses alike.

For this production, students from the Department of Theatre and Dance are under the guest direction of Patrick Sutton, who has served as director of The Gaiety School of Acting-the National Theatre School of Ireland in Dublin for the past 18 years.

The Gaiety School of Acting boasts such well-known graduates as Olivia Wilde, Colin Farrell and Stuart Townsend.

Sutton, a renowned acting coach, director and writer, has also been garnering international attention for spearheading the renovation of the historic Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin’s first theatre (1662). He is also the director of COMMUNICATE, a communications company working in politics, industry and the arts. As such, for 11 years, Sutton worked on speeches for Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.

“The Playboy of the Western World” was first performed in Dublin on Jan. 26, 1907. It begins with a young Christy Mahon who has just quarreled with his father and leaves him for dead. Mahon finds his way to the village pub where he is lauded as a hero for his deed. In a classic Irish twist, his father is not dead and comes looking for his cowardly son. The quarrel continues with extremely tragic — yet sometimes humorous — results.

“There’s something we can all identify with in this play: truth, lies, bravery and valor,” Sutton said before explaining how this play can be both tragic, yet comedic. “It’s a folk play that ends in misery but there’s also dancing, slapstick and Irish comedy along the way ... . We don’t play it for laughs, but we have great fun telling the tale.”

The show runs 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 6-8, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9.

Tickets for all shows are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and can be purchased at www.pagetheatre.org or at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Winona community invited to submit ‘to-do’ lists for ‘Make a Difference Day’

In recognition of national “Make a Difference Day,” the Volunteer Mentors are inviting Winona residents and nonprofit agencies to submit requests for service.

The university hopes to get as many students as possible out into the community between 9 a.m. and noon on Saturday, Oct. 22. Students are willing to help individuals and organizations with anything from painting to yard work.

“Make a Difference Day” is the most encompassing national day of helping others, a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Created by USA WEEKEND magazine, this annual event takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. For the fourth year, SMU is proud to join the millions of people throughout the nation who are participating.

To register your request, call Chris McClead at Ext. 7268 or e-mail cmcclead@smumn.edu by Monday, Oct. 10. Include details about what you need done, how many students are needed for the job and where you are located.

‘Inspired by Japan’ now on display

“Kamakura Omikuji” by Preston Lawing of Saint Mary’s University is one of the pieces in “Inspired by Japan,” now on display at Saint Mary’s Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries. When visiting a Shinto temple, you may receive a fortune (Omikuji). If it is bad (Kamakura), you can tie it on a rope outside the temple, and the priests will burn them at the end of the day, sending the smoke “back to heaven.” The written words are “earthquake” and “tsunami.” This print is saying, “We do not accept this disaster as our fate, and we continue to be strong.”

After the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March of this year, artists and printmakers from around the world gathered to produce a suite of prints titled “Inspired by Japan” to raise money for relief efforts. Their work — including a print by Preston Lawing, chair of the Department of Art and Design — is now on display at SMU’s Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.

This exhibition — which will run through Sunday, Oct. 2 — brings together 60 printmakers in a show that will run concurrent with several other venues including South Africa, Japan, Poland, Michigan and Oregon.

For several centuries, Japan has been famous for the Ukiyo-e style of woodcut printmaking. These 60 artists, who work in the relief form of printing (carving away parts of the woodblock, and printing the raised portion), produced limited-edition prints to be donated and sold to raise funds for disaster relief in Japan.

The Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries are open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

News from Nairobi

A report from Edith K. Chamwama, editor, Maryknoll Institute of African Studies

The Ethnic and Academic Diversity of MIASMU Students

The Maryknoll Institute of African Studies (MIASMU) reflects a most diverse and dynamic student body. This semester there are 10 Kenyans, two Ugandans, and one each from South Sudan, Poland, Korea, India, Eritrea, the U.S., Philippines and Tanzania. This variety of students enriches the learning environment as classes become a cultural melting pot.

Academically, a few students have doctoral degrees in various fields, many more have master and bachelor degrees, all from reputable institutes of higher learning. All graduate students and faculty of Saint Mary’s are qualified to participate in the institute’s programs.

The five courses of the fall semester

The semester has begun with 28 students. The courses on offer are:

“The Contemporary Political and Economic Realities in Kenya,” which examines political and economic foundations, past and present, of African society. It focuses on the conflicts and crises which are disrupting effective government and economic development.

“African Culture: An Overview,” which is a required course for all students enrolling for a master degree or a diploma. The course is a systematic presentation of african cultural heritage including social groupings, supernatural beliefs and religious systems.

“African Marriage and Family: Challenge and Change” covers various aspects of African marriage and family focusing both on the traditional as well as modern forms. Cross-cultural studies are emphasized, which illustrate the similarities and diversities in values, attitudes and practices within Africa.

“Sage Philosophy” addresses the general nature of sage philosophy and its connection with philosophy and religion in Africa. It answers questions of sages and their views on God, culture, customs, life and death, man and animals.

“Moral Teachings and Practices of African Religion” introduces morality and ethics from the perspective of African religion. It investigates several current moral themes namely, sexuality, death and dying, inter-tribal/ethnic relations. All are considered in the context of sin and salvation from an African viewpoint, and discuss how this understanding of morality continues to influence (ethically) peoples’ lives in contemporary Africa.

New CTIE newsletter now online

For a colorful, picture-filled and informative brochure detailing events happening at Christ the Teacher Institute for Education in Nairobi, go to www.smumn.edu/institutes and click on “CTIE" to see the latest newsletter. The latest edition includes a profile of Joshua Itumo.

NHL player to speak Oct. 11 about giving back

Shjon Podein, NHL player, Stanley Cup champion and King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner, will speak at Saint Mary’s Tuesday, Oct. 11, about “Hard Work, Perseverance and Giving Back.” The SMU community is invited to have dinner with Podein at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. His presentation will begin at 7 p.m. in the Common Room.

The event is sponsored by Student Life. For more information, call Nikki Richmond, at Ext. 1643.

Stark to present next biology seminar

Kevin Stark of GeoSpatial Services will present “Using GIS to Characterize Urban Tree Canopy Values, Change, and Ownership: A Case Study in the City of Winona” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in Room 112 of Hoffman Hall.

Alum to present on ozone and greenhouse gasses Sept. 27

Dr John Barnes ’75, director of the NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory, will give a presentation on “Ozone and Greenhouse Gases: An Update on Two Environmental Issues” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in Hoffman Hall, Room 217.

His talk will begin by noting that in 1958, the longest-running, continuous measurement of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was started at Mauna Loa Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii. In just a few years, Charles David Keeling of Scripps Oceanographic Institute was able to see two things: that there was a yearly cycle, and that the average level was increasing. This was the first realization that humankind’s activities were affecting the entire planet’s atmosphere.

Some years later, it was hypothesized that some widely used chemicals, CFCs and others, might reach the stratosphere where they could destroy ozone in the naturally occurring ozone layer. This was graphically proved to be true with discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole. The status of these two issues and their possible environmental consequences will be described, along with a global network of measurements that track the changes.

Dr. John E. Barnes has worked as a scientist at the NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory since 1993, and has been director since 1998. His main research concentrates on measuring particulates (aerosols) and their properties in the air. He attended graduate school at Colorado State University (M.S. Physics, 1980) and received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1988 where he worked on ozone properties and became interested in atmospheric physics. He spent five years working at the University of Michigan and has also worked in the aerospace industry on electric propulsion and the space shuttle.

The talk is sponsored by the Physics and Astronomy Club, the physics honor society Sigma Pi Sigma, and the Department of Physics.

Cancer benefit for Jim Klinger is Oct. 22

A cancer benefit will be held for Jim Klinger, (Maintenance Department) at 4 p.m. Saturday Oct. 22, at the Witoka Ballroom. Klinger was diagnosed with primary liver cancer in March. The event will include a live and silent auction, bake sale and chicken dinner. If you would like a ticket for the dinner, call Sandy at Ext. 1436. Tickets are selling quickly.

If you would like to help with the benefit by volunteering that day, baking for the bake sale or by donating items, contact Nikki Richmond Ext. 1643 or Sandy Moger at Ext. 1436.

Flu shots available Oct. 10

Flu shots are available for all employees and dependents between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, in the faculty/staff lounge in Saint Mary’s Hall. The fee is $15 for those not covered by Saint Mary’s BlueLink.

Congratulations to Gossen family

Ashley and Tim Gossen, dean of students, had a baby girl, Clara Leona, on Monday, Sept. 19. She is 7 pounds 13 ounces and is 20 1/2 inches long. The Saint Mary’s community congratulates the Gossen family.