Groundbreaking for new residence hall is today

This is a reminder that the SMU community is invited to a groundbreaking ceremony for our new residence hall from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7.

The groundbreaking will occur at the building site, located between the SMU ropes course and Residencia Santiago Miller (formerly the New Village).

Representatives of the SMU community and the Winona civic community will turn the first shovels of dirt to begin construction on the new hall.

As the university nears its centennial in 2012, this groundbreaking will be an important moment that will help propel the university into its second century.

Family Weekend, Frolic draw many visitors to Saint Mary’s

Saint Mary’s Family Weekend, held Sept. 29 through Oct. 2, included a full slate of activities for families of students and the SMU community. Hundreds of visitors came onto campus for Family Weekend music events, sporting events, the Fall Frolic, and other games and activities. To view photos from the event, go to www.smumn.edu/photos.

Page Series hosts Luna Negra Dance Theatre Oct. 22

Saint Mary’s will come alive with colorful costumes and spirited dance as the Luna Negra Dance Theatre takes the stage Saturday, Oct. 22.

A representative from the Latin dance company will present a free pre-show at 6:30 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall, just prior to the 7:30 p.m. performance in Page Theatre.

Founded in 1999 by Cuban-born dancer and choreographer Eduardo Vilaro, Luna Negra Dance Theater makes its home in Chicago.

Dedicated to the creation of bold works by Latino contemporary choreographers, Luna Negra serves as a springboard for Latino artists to give expression to their stories and bring new, spirited life to the cultures of their communities.

Luna Negra offers its audiences effervescent, energetic and passionate contemporary Latino dance that blends the discipline of ballet with the fiery energy of Latin and Afro-Caribbean forms and rhythms.

Tickets for this Page Series performance are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students.

To order, go online to www.pagetheatre.org or call the box office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This visit is supported, in part, by Arts Midwest.

Saint Mary’s is a fiscal year 2011 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.

Get set to scream at annual Saint Mary's Walk of Horror

This year’s Walk of Horror is again guaranteed to give you goosebumps. New scares are planned around every corner.

The 15th annual hair-raising fundraiser for the SMU Cardinal fastpitch softball team will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 21-22 and 29-31 in the SMU bluffs. Walkers meet on the lighted path between the SMU baseball and softball fields, where the haunted walk will begin.

Groups are then escorted through the dark bluffs surrounding the SMU 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.

SMU 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 SMU’s Walk of Horror.
Proceeds from this event will be used for the softball team’s travel expenses.

For more information, contact Miller at Ext. 457-6923.

Saint Mary's to stage ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ Oct. 7-9

Patrick Sutton directs a rehearsal of "The Playboy of the Western World."

SMU students Katie Sapper, Alex Bush and Joanna Mills rehearse a scene from "The Playboy of the Western World."

John Millington Synge’s classic Irish comedy/tragedy, “The Playboy of the Western World” — to be staged Oct. 7-9 — 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. tonight and Saturday, Oct. 7-8, 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.

SMU, WSU jazz groups join forces to help families in need

The Saint Mary's University Jazz Combo I

The WSU Jazz Ensemble

Jazz students from Saint Mary’s and Winona State are combining talents to help Winona-area families in need through “Jazz For Winona — Live United.”

The benefit concert — which will involve both SMU and WSU big bands and combos under the direction of Drs. John Paulson and Rich MacDonald — is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at Signatures Event Center, 22852 County Road 17.

Two WSU combos will kick off the evening followed, by the Winona State University Jazz Ensemble. Their set will include: “Soon” by George Gershwin, arranged by Don Schamber; “La Fiesta” by Chick Corea, arranged by Michael Philip Mossman; “Dizzying” by Ryan Kisor, arranged by Bob Washut; “Yesterdays” by Jerome Kern, arranged by Mark Taylor; “That’s a Good Question,” composed and arranged by Dan Kallman and commissioned for the WSU Jazz Ensemble in spring 2011; and “Hey, That’s My Bike,” composed and arranged by Brad Turner. Featured student soloists include: Ross Nixon on sax; Kelly Mason on trumpet; Jase Ginkel on trombone; and Kelly Blau on guitar.

Saint Mary’s Jazz Combo I will perform jazz classics like Horace Silver’s “The Preacher,” “I'll Take Romance” and the cool bossa “Speak Low” by Kurt Weil. Alto saxophonist Markiese Russell and tenor saxophonist Ben Scott are featured soloists in the combo. The 18-piece Jazz Ensemble follows with some great selections and soloists 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.”

A cash bar will be available, and a freewill offering will be taken at the door. All of the funds raised from this benefit will go to the Winona chapter of The United Way and its “Live United” campaign, dedicated to helping individuals and families in need in the Winona area.

Saint Mary’s galleries display show, ‘These Things Happen’

Unique paintings by Michigan artist Andrew Rieder depict human struggles in the upcoming art show “These Things Happen” on display Oct. 13 through Nov. 13 at Saint Mary’s.

An opening reception is scheduled for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.

Rieder, a stencil artist, describes his work as visual metaphors for ongoing human struggles.

“My initial goal is to produce a pictorial space that contains a somewhat whimsical narrative, but is reflective of a current social condition,” he said. “Issues surrounding the socio-economic systems of contemporary society inspire me. This stems from my personal work history and a familial heritage of industrial and manual labor.”

Rieder was born and grew up in Raleigh, N.C., where he also attended and graduated from North Carolina State University’s College of Design. In 2004, he relocated to the Midwest to receive his B.F.A. in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and M.F.A. in Painting from Michigan State University. He currently is an art instructor at Delta College in Michigan’s Saginaw Bay Region.

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

Area students invited to Chemistry Nights

Many area high school juniors and seniors will perform hands-on chemistry projects during upcoming Chemistry Nights at Saint Mary’s, which will run 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.

Chemistry Night, sponsored by the SMU Department of Chemistry and the La Crosse-Winona local section of the American Chemical Society, is an annual event designed to help students explore the discipline of chemistry and appreciate the positive role that chemistry plays in our everyday world.

Each year students solve a challenging but fun chemical problem, based on the National Chemistry Week (Oct. 16-22) theme; this year’s theme is “Chemistry — Our Health, Our Future” — exploring the positive impacts of chemistry as it relates to nutrition, hygiene, and medicine.

Students will work in small teams, using wet chemistry and working with chemical instrumentation in the SMU Department of Chemistry, under the guidance of SMU chemistry majors.

Prizes will be awarded to the teams that have the greatest success in solving the chemical problems. Prizes will include SMU scholarships of $2,000 and $1,000.

For more information, contact Dr. Brett Bodsgard at Ext. 6972.

Saint Mary’s theatre students to perform in London

Saint Mary’s theatre majors will stage the comedic satire “Greater Tuna” Oct. 18-22 at TARA Studio in London.

In this hilarious satire of small-town American morals, audiences will meet the upstanding citizens of rural Tuna, Texas (the state’s third smallest town). The long-running Off Broadway hit features eight actors creating the entire population of Tuna — men, women, children and animals — in a tour de farce of quick-change artistry, changing costumes and characterizations.

It’s eight actors, 20 characters and a barrel of laughs, y’all.

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., “Greater Tuna” is directed by Dr. Gary Diomandes. Also participating are: Christian Garcia, stage manager; Rachel Kwiecinski, set design; Kit Mayer, lighting design; Kalinn Bangasser, sound design; Rachel Kwiecinski, props; and performers Sarah Anderson, Mary Doctor, Samantha Gibson, Tina Gonzalez, Aaron Pepple, Andrew Russell, Philip Soulides and Clarissa Thompson-Matthews.

Blue Angel 2011 — Time to get your act together

The SMU annual music variety show Blue Angel is planned for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5. Auditions for the show will be held Oct. 21-23 and are open to the entire SMU community (students, faculty and staff). Look for a signup sheet on the Phi Mu Alpha room door in the basement of the Toner Student Center. The signup sheet will go up on Oct. 13. For more information, contact Tyler Ringeisen at tjring08@smumn.edu or Andy Bauer at atbaue08@smumn.edu.

SMU going Google

The SMU iT Department is continuing the process of the university “Going Google.” All employees and students have Google accounts created, and several employee areas of the university have been migrated to using GoogleApps exclusively for e-mail and other features of GoogleApps.

Undergraduate students will begin having new e-mails delivered to their SMU GoogleApps account based on the following schedule:

Oct. 18 — credited seniors and “super” seniors
Nov. 1 — credited juniors
Nov. 8 — credited sophomores
Nov. 15 — all other undergraduate students

SGPP student schedule has yet to be officially determined.
Once e-mail delivery is switched over to Google you can move your e-mails from Office-Logic (WebMail) to your GoogleApps account.

For instructions, go to http://techfaq.smumn.edu/index.php?action=artikel&cat=6&id=249&artlang=en.

Be on the lookout for further notices during the next few weeks.

The current WebMail system, Office Logic Interchange, currently does not have an end- of-life date set. E-mails, for students, will still be available on the Office Logic system unless moved to Google by the student him/herself. The Office Logic system will still be syncing passwords for all users when Changing SMU Passwords in WebTools.

HelpDesk and iT staff appreciate everyone’s patience during the changeover to GoogleApps.

Blake to offer special effects makeup workshops

Just in time for Halloween, Kirstin “Fluffy” Blake (Performance Center production manager) and her husband Justin Vann are offering special tuition-free workshops for middle and high school students titled, “Wicked Halloween Special Effects Make-Up Workshops” at the Winona Arts Center. Participants can learn and practice techniques to turn themselves and their friends into disgusting zombies, awesome animals, terrifying monsters or anything else!

On Oct. 8 and 15, middle school students are welcome at 10 a.m. and high school students at 2 p.m. Only 20 spots are available for each workshop session. All materials will be provided, all you need to bring is a clean face and an old shirt to wear; things could get messy!

To register, go to http://winonaarts.org/workshops/register_Make-up.html.

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.

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.

Alum to give two-part biology seminar

Brendon Panke ’05, associate research specialist in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present a two-part seminar: “On the Conundrums of Citizen Science,” a lecture/dialogue session, at 2:55 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10 at Hoffman Hall, Room 112; and “On Japanese Knotweed,” a field exercise, at 2:55 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24, at Gilmore Creek. Meet at Hoffman Hall.

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.

Publication highlights Chemistry Nights

This month, three area high school students appear on the cover of the October issue of the Journal of Chemical Education. They are highlighted in an article by SMU professors titled, “Organizing a High School Chemistry Outreach Event: Celebrating National Chemistry Week and the International Year of Chemistry” by Brett R. Bodsgard, Trisha A. Johnson, Roger W. Kugel, Nathan R. Lien, Jaime A. Mueller, and Debra J. Martin. The article describes how Saint Mary’s teachers and chemistry majors organize a yearly outreach event for regional high school students to celebrate National Chemistry Week. The article and the event are examples of how the university strives to prepare students for life and service in local and national communities.