Accents06-16-05

Langston Hughes celebration tonight in Webster

The Fifteenth Annual Langston Hughes Celebration will take place at 7 p.m., tonight, Friday, Feb. 16 in Webster Hall Auditorium.

Hughes, born in Joplin in 1902, was a prolific writer and key figure in the "Harlem Renaissance" movement of the 1920s - 30s. He died in New York City in 1967. The featured speaker for the event will be writer and past Langston Hughes Prize recipient Dr. R. Baxter Miller. He will speak on "`I Heard Ma Rainey': Inspiration in Langston Hughes."

Dr. Miller was honored as one of only nine Senior Lilly Teaching Fellows at the University of Georgia in 1994-95. He has been a United Negro College Fund Distinguished Scholar at Xavier University in New Orleans and Mellon Visiting Professor at the University of San Francisco. Executive editor of The Langston Hughes Review, he is a past president of the Langston Hughes Society and founder of the Division of Black American Literature and Culture in the Modern Language Association.

Doris Walters, English, says the MSSU Jazz Quintet will play. A drawing for teachers and prospective teachers will be held for an activity book called Langston's Legacy: 101 Ways to Celebrate the Life and Work of Langston Hughes. Ten copies of the book will be given away, along with handouts about a Hughes-related program called the Dream Flag Project.

The event, co-sponsored by the Joplin NAACP, is free and open to the public.

Children’s play Jolly Roger February 24-25

Southern Theatre will present the play Jolly Roger at 2:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Feb, 24-25, in Taylor Performing Arts Center.

Pam Claussen directs this ocean bound tale for children by Wayne and Shane Mitchell and Erin Dagon.
For years, our cowardly hero, Captain Cleverly, has evaded capture by the dreaded pirate Jolly Roger by sailing directly behind him.

Now, Jolly Roger, King of the Pirates and Scourge of the Seven Seas, has found Cleverly and is coming aboard his ship, The Albatross. With mistaken identities, sword fights, and a surprise ending, these pirates will shiver your timbers.

Ticket costs for the play are $1 for adults and .50 cents for children age 12 and under. No free passes can be accepted. For reservations call (417) 625-3190. For theatre production information call (417) 625-9393.

For a cast list, see www.mssu.edu/news/jollyroger07.htm.

Today's Brown Bag

Betsy Griffin, Academic Affairs, reminds faculty/staff about the Brown Bag lunch for today, Friday, Jan. 26. Beverly Block, Business, will speak on "Engaging Your Students."

The Brown Bag will be held from 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. in the Keystone Room on the 3rd floor of the BSC. Pick up your free lunch at the mini-buffet outside the room. Lunch is provided courtesy of Academic Affairs and Sodexho.

All faculty/staff are welcome to attend.

Free Russian class begins February 22

The International Language Resource Center will sponsor a free class in the Russian language from 4 - 5 p.m. every Thursday from Feb. 22 to April 26.

Those taking the class must be at least 15 years old. The class is open to the community. Sessions will be held in Room 319 of Webster Hall on the Missouri Southern campus.

Space is limited. No pre-registration is required. To reserve a seat, call the International Language Resource Center at (417) 625-3140.

For more information about the contact Tatiana Karmanova, Foreign Languages, at (417) 625-3140.

Contemporary Film Series continues

The Contemporary Film Series will continue this semester as a Friday night continuing education class. To enroll, simply come to the next film and pay the tuition of $10 per person.

The film for Friday, Feb. 23 is Water (India, 2005; 117 min.) This film, the third (and final?)installment in director Deepa Mehta’s “elemental” series that began with Fire and Earth, both of which were shown in our series. A sensitive, disturbing and extremely controversial film, Water tells the story of Chuyla, an Indian girl married and widowed at age eight, who is sent to live in a home where other Indian widows live in penitence, set against the background of Gandhi’s growing influence as India approaches independence.

The films are presented on DVD format at Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall.

Your tuition payment will go toward purchase of videos for our film series and will entitle you to attend seven acclaimed foreign films, none of which have yet had public screenings in Joplin.

Come walk the red carpet at Spiva Library

Join us for the 79th Annual Academy Awards Sunday, Feb. 25.

The Road to the Oscars 2007 begins at 7p.m. with the Awards Ceremony starting at 7:30 p.m.

Watch the Oscars In the Coffee Shop Area of the library on the BIG screen. Enjoy refreshments, cast your own ballots and win prizes. There is no cost to attend.

If you would like to reserve an entire table please RSVP to Amber Carr, Library, at carr-a@mssu.edu or call 625-9335.

Get silly at the 10th Biennial Madrigal

Huzzah and What Ho! It is time, once again, to let thy hair down and get silly at the Madrigal Dinner Feast presented by the Music Department.

Bud Clark, (alias King Budward), of the MSSU Music Department, has proclaimed once again that all peasants are welcome to dine in the Royal Banquet Hall of Clarkshire Castle, (Bud Walton Theater) at 7 p.m., March 7-10.

King Budward’s Royal Chef has prepared a four -course menu that includes such jolly delights as turkey legs, beef ribs, and all the trimmings that the King has requested. Participants are invited--but not required--to wear Renaissance-period clothing.

“It is a wonderful night of singing, dancing and jousting with great fun and food and, of course, a chance to see your King,” says King Budward. The cost is $20 per person, payable by check, Mastercard or Visa. All proceeds go toward scholarships for music students.

The highlight of the evening is the Royal Chamber Choir singing delightful madrigals and ballads of the Renaissance period. The King says that there are always those that come to the feast to be loud and obnoxious and verbally abusive to the King, but of course, those are the ones that make the evening fun.

“They are greatly encouraged to bring their obnoxious friends, “ says King Budward, “for I delight in putting them in stocks and having their tongues removed. Many spouses have thanked me for that.”

To join in the merriment, call the MSSU ticket office at (417) 625-9366, no later than March 6 to reserve your seat in the Banquet Hall. There is seating for as many as 12 at a table, so bring the whole family and plan on an evening of good food and fun, and “joust” about everything else!

Ceramics by Pishkur featured in exhibition

A Vase by Frank Pishkur

A solo exhibition by Frank A. Pishkur, Art was showcased at the River Oaks Square Art Center in Alexandria, La. About 50 ceramic vessels were included.

On Jan. 18, Frank gave a visual presentation to the ceramic students at Louisiana College in nearby Pineville, La., about his experiences as a Visiting Professor in South Korea along with the finished ceramic work done by the graduating Korean students at Kyung Hee University. A well attended opening artist's reception was held for the public the next day at the River Oaks Square Art Center.

The majority of the artwork in the exhibition (entitled "Recent Work") featured stoneware clay vessels predominately colored with celadon green glazes. The dark clay was covered with a white slip (liquid clay) and then carved through the slip revealing the darker clay underneath, creating variations in the coloring of the glazes. These variations in the carved textures created patterns on the ceramic forms.

Frank says: " In essence I am trying to reduce my work to fairly simple levels and deliberately limit my color palate to try to fully understand the limits and advantages of the celadon glaze."

He says celadon glazes have a long, venerable history in Asia. All work in the exhibition was created in Joplin, utilizing the same materials and process available to MSSU students.

Pishkur's award-winning artwork has been featured in over 50 shows throughout the United States, including eleven solo exhibitions. In 2004, he had a solo exhibition in Seoul, South Korea.

Reading group selection to appeal to history buffs

Eric Foner

The Story of American Freedom written by noted historian, author and lecturer Eric Foner, will be the next book discussed by the Literary Lions Book Club. The moderator will be Virginia Laas, History.

The group will meet at 6:30 p.m. on March 1, 8 and 22 downstairs in the Spiva Library coffee shop.

Foner will be on campus on March 29 as Jeans Lecturer. That event will take place at 7 p.m. in Webster Auditorium.

Foner recently was awarded the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching from Columbia University where he is the Dewitt Clinton Professor of History. He specializes in nineteenth century American history, the American Civil War, slavery and the Reconstruction. He concentrates on the interconnections of intellectual, political and social history. He also has taught at Cambridge University as Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions, Oxford University as Harmsworth Professor of American History and Moscow State University as Fulbright Professor.

He serves on the editorial boards of Past and Present and The Nation, and has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, London Review of Books, and many other publications, and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows, including Charlie Rose, Book Notes, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and All Things Considered and in historical documentaries on PBS and the History Channel.

The cost per person for participation is $25 ($15 for Friends of the Spiva Library) and includes a copy of the book which must be donated back to the Spiva Library. If you would like to join the group, contact the alumni office at (417) 625-9355 or by e-mail pound-le@mssu.edu by Feb 15. This opportunity is limited to the first 15 persons who respond.

Hungarian drama featured Tuesday night

The 45th Annual International Film Festival will continue Tuesday night with the showing of an award-winning Hungarian drama.

The 1971 film Love (Szerelem) will be shown at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 20 in Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall at MSSU.

Filmmaker Karoly Makk created this skillful blend of politics and drama. The film tells the story of a political prisoner’s sick mother, played by the famed Lili Darvis, and his wife, played by Mari Torocsik, both of whom await his return from jail. Both actresses were runners-up for the 1973 Best Actress award from the National Society of Film Critics. Love won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes and was among the best films listed by both Time Magazine and The New York Times.

J. S. Duggal, Industrial Engineering Technology, presented a case study entitled "LaBarge Inc." at the International Conference of Management Cases 2006 at the Institute of Management Technology (IMT) in India in December 2006. The case study was conducted at LaBarge, Inc in Joplin by Duggal and his students. Recommendations made have assisted LaBarge in laying out their newer facilities.

Duggal is currently directing an independent study at LaBarge with the three of his students. The collaborative problem based studies provide MSSU students and local companies the needed information exchange and relevance of college work to real world establishments.

He also chaired a session at the conference entitled HR and OD interventions. He was later invited to address MBA students at the IMT. He also addressed MBA students at Birla Institute of Management Technology. His presentations provided insight into problem based learning Duggal uses in his classes at MSSU. His presentations were attended in large numbers in auditoriums and were very well received. He also established contacts for possible collaboration between these schools and MSSU.

Legacies of alumni will receive the opportunity to find out what Missouri Southern State University is all about at this year’s annual "Legacy Day."

A legacy is a kid lucky enough to have one or even two relatives that attended or graduated from MSSU. On Saturday, Feb. 24, these legacies will have the opportunity to chill with some of Missouri Southern’s fellow Lions and have a little fun at the same time.

Registration will begin at 2:30 p.m., and a collection of interactive classes will follow from 3-5 p.m. These classes will be taught by Missouri Southern’s teacher education majors in the Taylor Education Building. The classes will allow each legacy to bring home a little piece of MSSU.

The legacies are invited to help cheer on the Lions at the double-header basketball game against the Missouri Western Griffons. The women will tip off at 5:30 p.m. and the men will tip off at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, please contact Elisa Bryant, Alumni Association, at (417) 625-3068.

Education Digest, a show hosted by Jerry Williams, Lifelong Learning, focuses on topics that are of great interest to our community. During the second segment, "Between the Covers", a faculty member of MSSU will discuss a recent book they have enjoyed reading.

This week's program discusses Fire Safety with James Abner of the Webb City Fire Dept. Then Jeff Martinek, English & Philosophy/Honors, discusses “The Future Does Not Compute”.

If you are interested in participating as a guest on this show please e-mail Robin Douglas, Lifelong Learning, at douglas-r@mssu.edu.

Education Digest will run at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 17 and at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 18 on Southern Instructional Television (SITV) which is seen in Monett, Lamar, Neosho, Carthage and other locations.

KGCS will air Education Digest at at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 18 and at 9 p.m., Monday, Feb. 19. This is seen in Joplin, Webb City and Carterville on Cable One, (channel 7) and on Mediacom outlets in surrounding areas.

Michele Norris, host of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, hosts and narrates a five-part series for Black History Month entitled “EVERY VOICE AND SING!” The series features the choral music legacy of the historic black colleges and universities.

The five-part series will air weeknights from 5-6 p.m. beginning Wednesday, Feb. 21, with a repeat of the first show a week later, Feb. 28, on 88.7KXMS/Fine Arts Radio International®, a cultural resource of Missouri Southern State University. For more information, visit the KXMS web site at www.mssu.edu/kxms/kxmshome.htm.

The Missouri Southern Speech and Debate Squad recently competed in the Annual Air Force Academy Classic Feb. 8-11 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

A total of 59 tournament Lincoln-Douglas (LD) debaters from 21 colleges and universities representing 10 states took part.

At the tournament, MSSU sophomore Cody Snyder of Neosho qualified for the octo-final elimination round. Snyder dropped a close decision from a debater from Drury University. Snyder also won an individual speaker award in LD debate placing third.

Kelly Larson, Forensics, says next week the team will travel to the campus of William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., to compete in the Missouri Area Forensics Association state championships.

The Missouri Southern Symphony Orchestra will perform a concert of “Music in Love … with Poetry” at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 27, at Taylor Performing Arts Center on MSSU campus.

The program will present a variety of love-based themes: the love between lovers, love between mother and child, and love between a person and his country. The orchestra will perform a Chinese work, “Theme from Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto”, arranged for orchestra by Southern Symphony Orchestra’s director Kexi Liu.

Other works on the program include music of Berlioz, Dvorak, Elgar, Kreisler, Sibelius, and J. Strauss. Joy Dworkin, English and Philosophy, will read selected poems to be read in the concert. Proceeding each piece, a selected poem will read.

Admission is free. A reception will follow the concert. . For further information, please contact the orchestra director, Kexi Liu, at (417) 625-9681 or e-mail liu-k@mssu.edu.

National Eating Disorders Week (Feb. 25-March 2) is fast approaching. The Counselors at the Student Support Center are promoting THE GREAT JEAN GIVEAWAY. Bring your old jeans (those that you keep telling yourself you are going to get thin enough to wear again) to the Student Support Center throughout the week or Billingsly on Monday, February 25th.

"Get comfortable with your genes," says Mary Parker, Student Support Center. "Eat healthy, stay healthy. One way to stay healthy is to up your fluid intake. Water needs are your body weight x .67; for a person weighing 150 lbs that would be about 100 ounces per day. Follow the food pyramid for healthy eating."

Willie Edwards, Teacher Education, will be returning to Pakistan March 3 -17. The travel is funded through an
88.5 million dollar USAID grant. Willie is traveling in the capacity of visiting professor with the International Division of the International Reading Association (IRA). The project involves continued facilitation with faculty from
the Government Teacher Education Colleges located in the heavily populated provinces of Sindh and Balochistan
in the south of Pakistsan. A Brown Bag presentation "Images of Pakistan" is scheduled for March 30.

William Huffman, Accounting, and Michael Kennedy, Biology/Environmental Health, president and president-elect of the Faculty Senate, attended the Missouri Association of Faculty Senates (MAFS) meeting in Jefferson City Feb. 5 - 6. While there they had meetings with several of our local senators and representatives regarding current legislation affecting higher education and MSSU.

Rusty Raymond, Music, was the guest conductor and clinician for the Spring River Conference Band held Jan. 31 in Purdy, Mo.

Art Saltzman, English & Philosophy, has had an essay, "Picture Window," accepted for publication in Saint Ann's Review.

Joe Sutcliffe Sanders, English-Philosophy, has just successfully mentored one of his advanced Children's Literature students, Dawn Talbott, Senior Elementary Education--Social Studies major from Webb City, through the application process to become a reviewer for Voice of Youth Advocates, one of the leading library review journals in the country. Ms. Talbott will now see her reviews of new young adult literature published in this nationally-distributed journal several times per year.

For Sale: 1998 Nissan Fontier truck, long wide bed, 4 cyl., 5 speedd, PS, AC, chrome wheels 25 MPG, drives great
price, $3750. Call Jan at ext. 9558.