Vol. 13, No. 24 - March 17, 2009

The final presentation of the 2008-2009 Lyceum series will be the Duke Ellington Orchestra, which is set to perform at 7:30 p.m. March 17 in the Baldwin Hall Auditorium.

The music of jazz legend Duke Ellington lives on, thanks to the efforts of his grandson. Paul Mercer Ellington, conductor and musical director of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, is carrying on the musical traditions started by his grandfather almost 90 years ago.

Duke Ellington composed more than 2,000 pieces of music, including jazz classics “Take the ‘A’ Train,” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got that Swing).”

Throughout his extensive career, Ellington’s bands led the forefront of music, often performing with greats such as Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett.

In his lifetime, Ellington led various bands, from his first, assembled just after World War I, until his death in 1974. At that time, his son, Mercer Ellington, who had been serving as the group’s business manager and trumpet player, took over his father’s role. Mercer Ellington encouraged his son, Paul Mercer Ellington, to eventually take over the band, which he did in the late 1990s. A talented piano player in his own right, Paul Mercer Ellington currently serves as the band’s conductor and musical director.

The Duke Ellington Orchestra has performed throughout the world, including New York, Cairo, New Delhi, London, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Lyceum tickets are free for all Truman students, faculty and staff. Due to the midterm break holiday,  students may pick up their tickets from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Student Activities Board Office in the Student Union Building, starting March 3. Faculty and staff may pick up their tickets from 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday at the information desk in the Student Union Building. General admission tickets will be on sale at Edna Campbell’s and the Truman Business Office, McClain Hall 105, starting March 10 for the costs of $7 for adults and $4 for those 18 and under.

For more information go online to http://lyceum.truman.edu.

A special presentation of “Hamlet,” performed by actors from the American Shakespeare Center (ASC), will take place at 7:30 p.m. March 18. Due to scheduling issues, this Truman-sponsored event will take place at the Baptist Student Union located at 110 W. Normal Street. Admission is free and open to the public.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet remains, after 400 years, one of the English language’s liveliest, saddest, quirkiest, dreamiest and most thoughtful of characters. A troupe of a dozen professional actors from the ASC will perform the bard’s greatest play.

Since September 2008, the troupe has been on tour bringing “Hamlet” and two other plays to venues all over the country. Their hallmarks are zest, speed and talent for depth and innovation. Like Shakespeare’s original troupe, the ASC insists on including the audience in their performances and recognizes the play as a living organism.

When they return to their home base in Staunton, Va., the troupe will alternately present “Hamlet,” “Rosencrantz” and “Guildenstern Are Dead.” Their playhouse is the world’s only full re-creation of the indoor theater that Shakespeare regularly used in London.     

Between 1996 and 2001 the company performed annually at Truman. With the support of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Provost’s Office, the New Students Office, the English Department and with special thanks to Arnie and Alanna Preussner, the ASC returns.

In an effort to provide special assistance during this recession, the Career Center is offering “Job Searching in a Recession,” a full day of workshops and seminars, April 5.

Employment prospects for upcoming college graduates can be discouraging. The program is geared especially for the class of 2009, but all students are welcome to attend.   

The day will begin with a “Resume and Cover Letter Workshop for Beginners” at 10 a.m. in Violette Hall 1432. The workshop is for students who have not started the resume writing process. Participants will leave with a rough draft of a resume and an outline for a cover letter. Later in the day, at 2:45 p.m. in Violette Hall 1432, students who already have a rough draft of a resume and cover letter can attend the “Interactive Resume and Cover Letter Intensive Workshop.” Participants should bring drafts in electronic form.

“Ace the Interview” will be at 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. in Violette Hall 1424. Students will learn what to say and what not to say in an interview and practice responding to typical interview questions.

“Finding a Job in a Tight Market” will be at 11:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. in Violette Hall 1420. Presenters will explore strategies and resources to locate employment opportunities and how students should alter the approach of job searching in a recession.

“The Importance of Networking in a Recession” will take place at 1:30 p.m. in Violette Hall 1424. This will be an interactive seminar that will take the mystery out of networking.

“Alternatives to the Job Market, including Grad School and Volunteering” will be at 1:30 p.m. in Violette Hall 1428. This seminar will cover the good and bad reasons for avoiding the job market at this time.

In addition to scheduled events, Career Center staff will be available for drop-in advising and resume critiquing from 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. at the entrance to the 1400 rooms in Violette Hall. Students can register for events on the Professional Development Institute website at http://pdi.truman.edu/register/classlist.asp.

The Kirksville Arts Association will host the Smithsonian exhibition “New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music,” March 21-May 2.

Kirksville will be the first stop in Missouri for the traveling exhibition in an ongoing partnership between state humanities councils and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. The partnership, known as Museum on Main Street, focuses on bringing cultural events to rural communities.

“I’m excited that we were selected as one of the six cities out of 30” said Judy Neuweg, director of the Kirksville Arts Association. “We’re the premier city for New Harmonies.”

The main theme of the exhibition is the on-going cultural process that has made America the birthplace of more music than any place on earth. The exhibition provides fascinating, inspiring and toe-tapping insights to the American story of multi-cultural exchange. The story is full of surprises about familiar songs, histories of instruments, the roles of religion and technology, and the continuity of musical roots from “Yankee Doodle Dandy” to the latest hip hop CD.

“Roots music” is described as sacred and secular, rural and urban, acoustic and electric, simple and complex, old and new. The term first appeared in print and conversation in the early 1980s. Originally it meant “roots of popular music or rock ‘n’ roll,” but today the term has come to mean all music that has grown out of older folk traditions.

Through a selection of photographs, recordings, instruments, lyrics and artist profiles, New Harmonies explores the distinct cultural identities of gospel, country, blues and other forms of roots music as they record the history of the American people and set the foundation for many musical genres appreciated world wide today.

Supporting exhibits that are more localized to the area will be also on display. New Harmonies and supporting exhibits are free to all and will be open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Fridays; and 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays at the Kirksville Arts Association, located at 117 S. Franklin. Tour guides will be available to answer questions, but the exhibits are set up for people to walk around and enjoy on their own.   
In addition to the exhibits, 14 live music acts will give free performances March 20-May 3. The performance schedule will begin at 5 p.m. March 20 with the opening reception at the Kirksville Arts Association. A representative from the Smithsonian will be in attendance. Times, dates and locations for performances vary, for a complete schedule of events visit http://newharmonies.missourihumanities.org/Kirksville+Arts+Association.

New Harmonies Lunch and Learn sessions will also be sponsored at noon April 1,8,15,22 and 29. These sessions will be catered by Il Spazio and require tickets for the costs of $10 each or 5 for $45. Tickets will be on sale at the Kirksville Arts Association and Edna Campbell’s.

For more information about the New Harmonies exhibit, live performances and Lunch and Learn sessions, or to make reservations for large groups, call 660.665.0500 or e-mail kvarts@sbcglobal.net.

Phi Epsilon Kappa’s Relay for Life Team will host “Glow Stick it to Cancer” at 9 p.m. April 7 at Stokes Stadium Gardner Track.

“Glow Stick it to Cancer” is a two-mile run or walk at night. All proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society.
Highlights of the night will include glow sticks for all participants, attendance prizes and refreshments will be provided.

“Glow Stick it to Cancer” is sponsored by Northeast Regional Medical Center, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, RoadID, CustomInk.com and Phi Epsilon Kappa exercise science fraternity.

Entry fees for a glow stick only are $5 for pre-registered participants and $7 for participants registering on the day of the event. Costs for a glow stick and a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt are $15 for pre-registered participants and $20 for participants registering the day of the event, while supplies last.

Registration forms are available on the “Glow Stick it to Cancer” website at http://www2.truman.edu/~kan4887 and are due by March 20 to the Health and Exercise Science Division Office in Pershing Building 334. For more information contact Krystalynn McClinton at kam557@truman.edu.

Amnesty International will host a screening of “Crossing,” a movie based on true stories of the daily struggles of the North Korean people, at 6:30 p.m. March 29 in the Student Union Building Georgian Rooms B and C.
 
The story centers on Young-soo, a North Korean man who attempts to illegally cross the border into China to get medicine for his sick wife, leaving behind their son, Joon. When Youn-soo is caught in China and not permitted to return to his family, Joon must learn how to survive on his own.

Representatives from Liberty in North Korea, the organization that produced the movie, will be in attendance and available to speak about the issues addressed in the film and to answer questions.

All are welcome to attend this free event. Pizza will be provided.

Applications are available in the Financial Aid Office for the J. R. Popalisky Scholarship Fund of the Missouri Section of the American Water Works Association. This $1,000 scholarship opportunity is available to civil or environmental engineering or environmental science students who have an emphasis in career fields associated with water supply. Deadline for submission of this application is March 23.

The Missouri Insurance Education Foundation will award scholarships to deserving students attending Missouri colleges or universities in a program that could lead to positions in the insurance industry in Missouri. The C. Lawrence Leggett Scholarship in the amount of  $2,500 will be awarded to a junior or senior Missouri resident majoring in insurance or a related area of study in a Missouri college or university. In addition to the Leggett Scholarship, the foundation has made an additional scholarship available in the amount of $2,000. Application forms are available on their website at http://www.mief.org/. Applications are due by March 31.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) scholarship is now available.  Scholarship assistance is available to those pursuing careers in the specialty equipment industry. Career path opportunities include accounting, administration, advertising/PR, design/graphics, engineering, information technology, manufacturing, photo/journalism, race car driver/crew, sales/marketing, technicians and transportation. For further information visit the SEMA website at http://www.sema.org. Deadline for application is April 1.

The Zonta Club of St. Louis is now accepting applications for the Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship. Women pursuing undergraduate business degrees who demonstrate outstanding potential in the field are eligible to apply. The woman must be entering the third or fourth year of an undergraduate degree program. Application forms are available on the Zonta website at http://www.zonta.org. Select international programs and click on education, leadership, and youth development. Applications are due by April 3.

Alpha Delta Kappa, Sigma Chapter of Burlington, Iowa is offering one $1,000 scholarship to Des Moines County undergraduates who will be majoring in education. Further eligibility requirements include qualities of leadership, success in academics and involvement in extra curricular and/or community activities. While financial need will be considered, it will not necessarily be the primary qualification. For further information, stop by the Truman State University Financial Aid Office. Applications are due by April 3.

The Jack J. Isgur Foundation is accepting applications from students enrolled in the field of education in the humanities, such as literature, fine arts, music, art, poetry and dance.  The Foundation awards scholarships to students studying at colleges and universities who indicate an interest in teaching courses in the above-described areas in school districts located in the State of Missouri, preferably rural school districts. The scholarship is available to students at the junior and senior levels, as well as graduate students. For further information or an application, stop by the Truman Financial Aid Office in McClain Hall 103.  Deadline for submission is April 15.

Abbott & Fenner Business Consultants will be awarding up to $1,000 each year to the winner of this scholarship. To apply students will submit an essay on one of the two topics that appear on the scholarship page of their website at http://www.abbottandfenner.com/scholarships.htm. Application deadline is June 20.  

The BigSun Organization is offering a $500 scholarship to a deserving student athlete, regardless of their respective sport. Please visit http://www.bigsunathletics.com to learn how to apply. Deadline for submission is June 27.

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis is a non-profit organization that provides access to higher education to St. Louis area students through interest free loans. The program assists students with financial need. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average, demonstrate good character, and must be a permanent resident of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles or Warren, or the Illinois counties of Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe or St. Clair for at least two years prior to application. Applications are due April 15, 2009. For more information call 314.725.7990, e-mail info@sfstl.org or can pick up an application packet in the Financial Aid Office.

The Career Center is hiring a communication intern and a website intern for the 2009-2010 academic year. The communication intern will help plan and promote Career Center events, including the Career Expo, the Haunted House and Lend a Hand for a Living. The website intern will help update and reorganize the Career Center’s website as well as create new web pages.
The Career Center is also hiring many scholarship and work-study positions for the following teams: in-center, public relations and design. In-center workers interact directly with the Career Center patrons to direct them to career resources. Design workers create posters, flyers and newspaper ads. Public relations workers implement advertisements and promotions under the communications intern. Interested candidates  for any Career Center positions should attend one of the following required preview sessions: 5:30-6:30 p.m. March 19; 5-6 p.m. March 23; 6-7 p.m. March 24; or 5:30-6:30 p.m. March 25.

The Center for Student Involvement is currently taking applications for work-study and scholarship student employees for the 2009-2010 school year. Students interested in working for the CSI can apply online at http://csi.truman.edu/apply/application.asp or pick up a hardcopy in the CSI. Applications are due by 4 p.m. March 20.

The SERVE CENTER is offering scholarship and work-study positions. The SERVE Center acts as a liaison between the campus and the community by matching volunteer interests with appropriate agencies in the community. Applications are available online at http://serve.truman.edu, http://csi.truman.edu and via hard copy in the SERVE Center and the Center for Student Involvement Office. Completed applications are due to the CSI in the lower level of the Student Union Building at 5 p.m. March 23. Include class schedule for the Fall 2009 semester with application. Selected candidate interviews will be the week of April 6.

The Writing Center is hiring consultants for the 2009-2010 academic year. Writing consultants work with Truman writers of any ability to make them better. Applications will be accepted through March 23. Students that ‘get’ writing in English—especially academic and creative writing—and have good interpersonal communication skills, are encouraged to apply for this intense, rewarding experience. Application details are available at http://writingcenter.truman.edu/apply.

The recital of world-renowned tenor Stanford Olsen, scheduled for Thursday evening, has been cancelled.

Due to illness, Olsen will be unable to perform. Currently there is no makeup date scheduled. The University will attempt to host Olsen in the future at his earliest convenience.

Baldwin Hall Auditorium will be the site for a staged reading of “Spring Awakening,” starting at 2 p.m. March 22.

First performed under heavy censorship in Germany in 1906, Frank Wedekind’s play “Spring Awakening,” closed after one night in New York in 1917 amid public outrage and charges of obscenity.

The play’s content was radical indeed, touching on teenage sex, suicide, abortion, masturbation and sadomasochism, but even more radical was the unsentimental and brutally authentic comedy with which Wedekind treated it.

The story traces the dawning sexual awareness of four teenagers, Melchior, Moritz, Wendla and Hansy, who, in their painfully funny contradictions (they are at once too innocent and not remotely innocent at all), remain fresh and unsettling, even in our own sex-saturated culture.

Staged Reading is a new course created under the theatre department’s Advanced Studies and Projects. It is intended to improve student’s work in a performance style that is being used more frequently. For more information, contact Smith or College of Arts and Sciences Secretary Diane Moore at 785.4417.

Visual Communications students Megan Dowdy and Victoria Weaver will be included in the May 2009 issue of Creative Quarterly magazine. Dowdy, a senior art major from Wildwood, Mo., won the Gold award, which is the highest standard. She is the only student in this issue to receive the award in the field of graphic design. Weaver, a native of Eureka, Mo., who graduated with degrees in art and English in December 2008, received a Merit award for her work in the field of illustration. Dowdy and Weaver also had work accepted to the Fifth Annual National Student Show and Conference in Dallas, Texas. Last year there were more than 2,000 submissions from across the country and only 100 works were accepted.

Matthew Tornatore, professor of foreign languages and linguistics, has had his piece “On Faith,” dealing with St. Augustine’s Enchiridion, published in “Arba Sicula,” Vol. XXVIII. The text is in Sicilian.

The Residence Hall Association will sponsor Flag Project, a sexual assault prevention and awareness program, with special guest speaker Joe Hamilton from University Counseling Services, at 7 p.m.  March 16 in Magruder Hall 1000. This event is free and open to the public.

The Career Center will sponsor PDI: Leadership Development at 5 p.m. March 17 in the Career Center for students looking to improve leadership skills for college activities and beyond. Sign up on the PDI website at http://pdi.truman.edu/register/classlist.asp.

Classics Club will present a lecture by Yasuko Taoka, assistant professor of classics at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale at 7 p.m. March 17 in Baldwin Hall Room 251.

The Physics Colloquium continues at 4:30 p.m. March 18. Truman alumnus Jarrett Johnson will discuss “Star Formation in the Early Universe.” He will review the emerging theoretical picture of how the first generations of stars form and how they, in turn, impact the formation of the earliest galaxies. An important task for the coming years is to connect this picture with the observational data that are becoming available. Johnson will discuss ways that scientists may test the theoretical view of star formation in the early universe using these observations. Snacks are provided ten minutes before the talk. For more information, go to http://physics.truman.edu/colloquia/mainstage.asp.

The Global Issues Colloquium will resume with “The Immigration Debate Reconsidered: A Global Perspective” at 7 p.m. March 19 in Magruder Hall Room 2001. Historian Jason McDonald will take a historical and global approach to immigration in the United States and other major receiving regions of the world, identifying similarities and differences in broad trends, thereby setting the United States experience in a global context.  

Residence Life will sponsor Ritmo: Latin Dance at 8 p.m. March 19 in the Student Union Building Georgian Room C. Students interested will learn some salsa, cumbia and merengue dance styles.

The College of Arts and Sciences will sponsor "The Proper Pursuit of Happiness," with guest lecturer Danial Haybron, associate professor of philosophy at St. Louis University and author of “The Pursuit of Unhappiness: The Elusive Psychology of Well-Being,” at 4:30 p.m. March 20 in Violette Hall Room 1010.

The International Club will present International Idol at 7 p.m. March 20 in Baldwin Hall Auditorium. The event will showcase the talents of International students in the Truman and Kirksville community. Admission is free.

The University will host the March Showcase, a daylong event for prospective students, beginning at 8:30 a.m. March 21.

The Student Union Building will offer two technology workshops for the new equipment within the SUB. The first workshop cover how to operate the latest SUB technology. The second will show how to use the advanced light and sound equipment in the Down Under. This workshop is required for anyone wishing to use the sound and light board in the Down Under. Each workshop will be offered three times beginning March 23. Register for a seat by visiting: http://sub.truman.edu/register/.

The Truman State Pre-Law Club is hosting its annual Law School Expo from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. March 23 in the Student Union Building Georgian Rooms A-B. This event is free and open to the public. Representatives from the following law schools and law school admission firms will be attending: University of Missouri-Columbia, Drake, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Kansas, University of Missouri-Kansas City, as well as Kaplan. Admission materials and viewbooks will be available from the law schools at UCLA, University of Illinois, Loyola-Chicago, Marquette, Creighton, and Southern Illinois University. Plus, Kaplan will be giving away a LSAT-prep course tuition waiver-valued at more than $1,000-to a Law School Expo 2009 participant.


Deskercise, a presentation by health students targeted toward Truman faculty and staff, will take place at 11:30 a.m. March 23 in Pickler Memorial Library 103. This 45-minute presentation will demonstrate quick and easy exercises that can be done at a desk to reduce muscle tension and stress.

The Career Center will host a U.S. Navy information session at 5 p.m. March 23 in the Student Union Building Room 3204. Students will learn more about Navy programs, tuition reimbursement opportunities and have the chance to schedule interviews with the Navy recruiter.

The Women and Gender Studies (WGST) Committee and the English department will sponsor the WGST Conference: On Men from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. March 26 in Violette Hall 1000.

Leadership Forum will sponsor speaker Angela “Bay” Buchanan at 8 p.m. March 26 in Violette Hall 1000. Buchanan, who will discuss illegal immigration, is the sister of Pat Buchanan and a CNN contributor.

Truman in Africa and Students for Social Change will host an event for TOMS Shoes at 7 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. March 31 in the Student Union Building Georgian Room C. For every pair of shoes sold, the company will donate a pair to children in a developing country. The event will show the documentary “Style your Soles” and TOMS Shoes decorating will be available. To purchase TOMS Shoes visit http://www.tomshoes.com (with discount code CAMPUSTRU) or for more information contact Tamara Arredondo at t.l.arrendondo@gmail.com.

The Career Center will host the third annual Lend a Hand for a Living nonprofit poster display and mini conference April 1 in the Student Union Building. The poster display will be from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. in the Activities Room. The mini conference will be from 6-9 p.m. in the Alumni Room. Students must pre-register by March 31 at http://pdi.truman.edu/register.