Marketing and Communications
Press Releases: December 2008
SOU College of Arts and Sciences Announces Free Friday Seminars Schedule for Winter Term (12/23/08)
From Charles Darwin to Billy Holiday, from an Irish national park to exploring peculiar galaxies. This is the scope of fascinating topics to be covered in the next Friday Seminar series offered by the Southern Oregon University (SOU) College of Arts and Sciences.
The seminars are held from 3 to 4 pm in the Science Lecture Hall, Room 118, Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard, Ashland. The only exceptions are the January 30 and the March 13 seminars, which will be held in the Meese Auditorium of the Art Building.
The sessions are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Claire Cross at cross@sou.edu, 541-552-6334.
January 16
The Unique Natural Farm of Masanobu Fukuoka
Larry Korn
Masanobu Fukuoka is a farmer/philosopher who has lived and farmed for more than 70 years on the southwestern Japanese island of Shikoku. His farming technique requires no machines, no chemicals and very little weeding, yet the condition of the soil in his orchard and grain fields improves each year. We will see slides of Mr. Fukuoka’s farm and of his travels to the U.S. with time for discussion at the end.
January 23
New Magnets for Your Future
Dr. Joel Miller
Although magnets are typically metals or their oxides, we have discovered organic-based magnets using organic chemistry. This talk will review the history and importance of magnetic materials to our society, discuss current problems and limitations, and present examples of organic-based magnets that might find a technological niche in the future.
January 30
Arp’s Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies
Jeff Kanipe and Dennis Webb
Our speakers are coauthors of The Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, A Chronicle and Observer’s Guide, Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, VA, 2006. Their book is the inspiration for the winter exhibit in SOU’s Schneider Museum of Art. They will examine Arp’s life work, his relationship to Edwin Hubble, the discovery of quasars, the discordant redshift controversy and more.
February 6
Chemistry and Winemaking—A Comprehensive Sabbatical Experience
Dr. Steven Petrovic
While on sabbatical leave, Dr. Steven Petrovic combined a local winery apprenticeship with basic research at Oregon State University. This combination provided insight into the practical and fundamental aspects of winemaking and wine quality. Dr. Petrovic will present the winemaking and research highlights of his sabbatical.
February 13
Philosophy After Darwin: Examining a 'Dangerous Idea'
Prakash Chenjeri
The publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 was a landmark. Chenjeri will examine the metaphysical presuppositions of evolutionary theory; explore the relationship between naturalism and Darwinism; and consider and evaluate some of the social, moral and religious consequences of the theory.
February 20
An American Ecologist in Ireland: Reflections on Nature and Culture in the Burren National Park, County Clare
Dr. Daniel Sarr
Over the last two decades, the Republic of Ireland has been transformed from one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the wealthiest and most literate in the world. These changes have radically changed its culture and environmental ethic. Dr. Daniel Sarr will discuss the controversies surrounding the establishment of Burren National Park in County Clare.
February 27
A Tribute to Lady Day
Dr. Vicki Purslow
Join us for a glimpse into the life of jazz legend Billie Holiday. This multimedia presentation will include a performance of a piece written for alto saxophone and recording. The recording includes "samples" of Billie's voice taken from interviews during her lifetime.
March 6
Waging War, Making Peace, Repairing Community: Studies in Central America
Dr. James Phillips
This presentation offers reflection on 20 years of ethnographic study and analysis in several Central American countries covering a period of repressive dictatorships, social revolution, civil wars, external interventions and globalization, with a focus on Nicaragua and Honduras.
March 13
400 Years of the Telescope: A Journey of Science, Technology and Thought
Kris Koenig
Galileo Galilei, an Italian mathematician, philosopher and astronomer from Florence, Italy, made the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope in 1609. No other scientific instrument has had such a profound impact on our view of the universe and our place in it. This seminar is a screening of the public television documentary program about the telescope.
Southern Oregon University Faculty Member Receives Award (12/10/08)
Southern Oregon University (SOU) instructor Kirby Shaw has received the 2008–2009 ASCAPLUS Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
This is the tenth year in a row Shaw has received this award and makes him one of two SOU professors to be presented the award. He is being honored for his creative and prolific output of work over the years. SOU has been fortunate to have Shaw direct the Jefferson State Choral Coalition for the last six years. During his career, Shaw has been active in academia, sharing his musical experience in more than 45 states and multiple countries. In addition to his work at SOU, he recently wrote a musical titled Scroogical with his wife Markita based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
The ASCAPLUS is an awards program designed to recognize those writers whose work has prestige value but is not widely seen due to the venues in which they are performed. The award is determined on a yearly basis by distinguished music experts and is based on a panel review of work that a writer has completed in the last year.
Throughout Shaw’s career, he has composed and arranged more than 2,500 choral arrangements and compositions. He has overseen the creation of hundreds of educational recordings, as well as five college-university albums and two solo albums. His music has sold nearly 20 million copies around the world. Currently, Shaw is a member of Just 4 Kicks, a four man a cappella ensemble specializing in jazz.
SOU MBA students place in global business competition (12/10/08)
Southern Oregon University’s (SOU) MBA program recently entered twelve teams of three students to participate in the Business Strategy Game (BSG), an ongoing competition designed to simulate company management. Four of the teams earned top-100 rankings for their strong performance.
Performance within the competition is rated across four categories. Out of 3,094 teams from 213 colleges worldwide, four SOU teams made the top rankings for return on average equity, including one team ranking in the top ten. Two teams also placed in the best stock price category, as well as a team in the earning-per-share category. Final presentations of the completed work will be held December 13 from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm at the RCC-SOU Higher Education Center in Medford (HEC 226).
The simulation gives students the task of running an athletic footwear company. All aspects of the competition are designed to parallel the functions of the real world athletic footwear market and require students to make a wide range of realistic business decisions.
A congratulatory email to School of Business Chair and Professor of Business René Ordonez from the hosts of the competition stated that SOU had "a performance that reflects quite well on you and the caliber of instruction that students are receiving in your course."
SOU Receives $25,000 grant to help support minority and low-income students (12/10/08)
Southern Oregon University (SOU) has been named one of nine college campuses in the nation to participate in a new project initiated by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). The Give Students a Compass: College Learning, General Education and Student Success project is designed to infuse general education curricula with high impact instructional practices and create evidence-driven strategies to track and monitor underserved students’ success in general education curricula.
The Compass Project is funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, State Farm Insurance and the Lumina Foundation. The grant provides $10,000 a year for the first two years and $5,000 for the third year of the project at SOU.
"This grant will help us better assist students who are the first generation in their family to attend college," says SOU Provost Jim Klein. "Through information collected from this grant, we will be able to develop mentoring strategies to more effectively promote progress toward degrees for these students."
The grant will allow SOU to measure student skill development in writing and critical thinking, develop faculty study groups to improve student achievement and create a process to analyze the academic progress of underserved segments of the student population.
Two other Oregon campuses, Portland State and Eastern Oregon University, were also chosen as pilot sites. The Compass Project is part of AAC&U’s nationwide Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) campaign to improve student learning, curricula and the measurement of learning outcomes.
Southern Oregon University Faculty Member Receives Award (12/5/08)
Southern Oregon University (SOU) Director of Composition Studies Todd Barton has received the 2008–2009 ASCAPLUS Award in the Concert Music Division from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
This is the tenth year in a row Barton has received the award. He is being recognized for the work he has written for SOU and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Barton has been teaching on and off for more than 30 years and has held the position of Director of Composition Studies at SOU since 1999. In addition to his work with SOU, he has also been the Resident Composer for the OSF since 1969. Barton is also a member of the multimedia performance art ensemble, sonoluminescence, performing in Ashland December 5.
The ASCAPLUS is an awards program designed to recognize those writers whose work has prestige value but is not widely seen due to the venues in which they are performed. The award is determined on a yearly basis by distinguished music experts and is based on a panel review of work that a writer has completed in the last year.
In addition to Barton’s work with OSF, he has also created scores for many other theatres around the country. He has recorded several albums from multiple genres of music and lectured on a wide range of topics from the symbolism of musical notation of the Middle Ages to music and the human genome.
Major Scholarship for Women in Science Announced by SOU (12/1/08)
Ashland resident Philip Curtis has given the Southern Oregon University Foundation $180,000 to establish the Norma S. and Ethel M. Curtis Memorial Scholarship Fund, named in honor of his late wife and mother. The scholarship provides all tuition, fees and a $1,000 book allowance for women graduate students with a demonstrated interest in the sciences at Southern Oregon University (SOU). At least one scholarship will be awarded annually beginning next year. Mr. Curtis has indicated additional gifts may be made in the future.
"This scholarship will make an incredible difference,” says SOU President Mary Cullinan. “Our students so often have tremendous talent and energy, but they lack the resources needed to attain a university degree. This gift has the power to transform lives."
Mr. Curtis says he and his late wife Norma discussed helping women students before she passed away last May at age 81. “Norma felt women should have more options than traditional female professions like teaching,” says Mr. Curtis. “Norma had a tough time pursuing her graduate degree while raising two children.” She eventually received her master’s from the University of Southern California, taught elementary school and became a reading specialist.
"To honor his wife, Mr. Curtis has made a significant impact on the lives of many students with this scholarship and we're truly grateful,” says Sylvia Kelley, VP for Development and Executive Director of the SOU Foundation. “There's a tremendous need in this region to support students at SOU who may not otherwise be able to obtain a college education."
After they moved to Ashland in 1984, Mrs. Curtis became active in the local chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). She helped establish a local mentoring program for women who were returning to college after an absence or a divorce or were challenged by having to work or raise young children while pursuing a degree. Mrs. Curtis also funded a scholarship through AAUW.
“She was very interested in women’s rights issues,” says Mr. Curtis. “When teachers first began to organize unions in southern California, Norma carried placards and walked picket lines.”
Her other strong interests were nature, traveling, collecting and the home she and Mr. Curtis built just outside Ashland. Mrs. Curtis also volunteered at the Tudor Guild gift shop at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
The Curtis scholarship is available to women born in Oregon who are full-time graduate students at SOU, majoring in mathematics or science. Applications are currently being accepted for the academic year 2009–2010 through the SOU Financial Aid Office.
