WIMBA MAINTENANCE AND DOWNTIME SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 4
Wimba will be undergoing maintenance 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, March 4.
During the maintenance period, Wimba (and all archived classrooms) will be unavailable for approximately two or three hours. Check your K-State online organizer on Friday for the approximate start and end times of Wimba's unavailability.
IT recommends that you don’t schedule any Wimba sessions during the maintenance period. We apologize for any inconvenience or rescheduling this may cause you.
This maintenance will increase the stability and responsiveness of Wimba. Additionally, this maintenance includes a fix for a reported bug that caused some users to become temporarily locked out of Wimba when trying to re-enter a classroom.
FACULTY SENATE FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS
The highlights from the Feb. 15 Faculty Senate meeting are listed below. Meeting minutes will be available on the website as they are approved by the Faculty Senate. Minutes for the Dec. 14, 2010, meeting have been posted at http://www.k-state.edu/facsen/facsenate/2011/minutes.htm.
* Brian Arthaud-Day, Vicki Clegg, Susan Cooper, Neil Erdwein and Aaron Stroot visited Faculty Senate to give a presentation on the progress of implementing K-State 8 in the fall 2011 semester. Training has been and will be available to advisers who wish to take it.
* Standing committee reports:
* Academic Affairs: Various course and curriculum changes were approved, including a new minor in nuclear engineering. This is the first minor that will be available to non-K-State graduates. Also, changes to the core curriculum and for the College of Business Administration were approved.
* Faculty Affairs: Revisions to Appendix G in the University Handbook have been completed and are awaiting administrative review. The university policy flowchart work was completed, and it was determined the current process will be used. The committee is also working on language to address bullying, language and definitions regarding clinical faculty, and a possible promotional path for nontenure track faculty. Several other items are being addressed by the committee as well.
* FSCOT: Jeffery Morris was present at their January meeting and presented the new Kansas State University website design template and main webpage. The new webpage is a continuing process, and people can provide feedback. The state of Kansas mandates that all employees receive annual electronic security training. Also, four policies will be reviewed at their future meetings: 1) student financial information, 2) eID Policy, 3) password requirements and 4) credit card information.
* FSCOUP: K-State 2025 theme committees have been created and members have been selected. Kelli Cox will visit the next meeting to give an update on the campus master plan.
* Student Senate: The enhanced classroom experience committee is meeting; Rec Center expansion work is continuing; Cats in the Capital will be on Feb. 16; Kent Kerby is their Faculty Senate rep to Student Senate; and they are gearing up for student elections.
* Announcements:
* Cats in the Capital will be taking place on Wednesday, February 16.
* Spring open forums with President Schulz were completed, and many good questions were asked of President Schulz. You may view an archived recording of this on the president’s speeches website.
* Faculty Senate elections are beginning.
* For the good of the university:
* Senator Gould announced that the Teaching, Learning and Technology Showcase would be held on March 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the K-State Student Ballroom. There are really great door prizes! The first 200 attendees with receive a gift card from Varney's.
* Senator Hedrick read a statement in response to the budget cuts that public education and the arts are possibly taking at the legislative level: "Just as we acknowledge the direct negative impact on K-State’s public mission and long-earned worldwide reputation by the current reduction of state support, so must we register the direct and indirect damage of cuts outside the university to public education, public arts, and social services. The success of our mission is interdependent with them and is compromised when student preparation for college is weakened, the cultural climate is diluted, and our preparation of all students for citizenship, and many for continued professional commitment to public service, is thus challenged."
NEW PRESIDENT'S AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR UNCLASSIFIED PROFESSIONALS
A new award program for unclassified professionals, which has been approved by President Schulz, has been announced. The purpose of these awards is to foster excellence in the workplace by rewarding and recognizing unclassified professional staff who achieve excellence and/or make exemplary contributions to the mission and values of K-State through service as a team player, exceptional productivity, creativity or innovation, distinguished accomplishment, and/or leadership.
All unclassified professional staff members with a minimum of three years of continuous service, who are employed at a five-tenths or greater regular (non-term) appointment, are eligible for the $1,000 award that will be given to up to three individuals. For specific guidelines for the award program see: http://www.k-state.edu/hr/unclassified-award-excellence.html
Nominations for this new program will be accepted through March 18, via the nomination form at https://surveys.ksu.edu/TS?offeringid=164646. Current faculty, staff, administrators and/or students at K-State may nominate individuals to be considered for this award. No self-nominations will be accepted. Nominations will be reviewed and awarded by the new President's Award of Excellence for Unclassified Professionals Selection Committee. Each nomination will require the name, e-mail address and phone number for two references who will then be contacted by the selection committee.
For additional information about this new award program, contact the Division of Human Resources at 785-532-6277 or HROffice@ksu.edu.
NOTED WRITER, CRITIC TERRY CASTLE TO GIVE INSIDE LOOK ON OUTSIDER ART
Art produced by individuals not considered part of the mainstream world is the focus of this year's Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program Lecture by noted writer and critic Terry Castle.
Castle will present "'Outsider Art' and the Problem of Aesthetic Value" at 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, in the Little Theater at the K-State Student Union. The lecture is free and open to the public.
In her lecture Castle will address the global phenomenon of outsider art and the challenge it poses to traditional aesthetics. Outsider art is usually defined as artwork produced by individuals in some way exiled from the so-called normal or mainstream world.
Castle has been hailed by author Susan Sontag as "the most expressive, most enlightening literary critic at large today." She has taught at Stanford University since 1983, where she serves as director of undergraduate studies in English, and she was named the Walter A. Haas professor of humanities in 1997. Her scholarly interests include 18th-century British fiction, the gothic novel, Jane Austen, World War I, English art and culture of the 1920s and 1930s, modernism, autobiography and biography, and gay and lesbian writing.
She is the author of eight books and a widely celebrated collection of autobiographical essays. Several of her essays have won prizes, including the William Riley Parker Prize of the Modern Language Association of American for her essay "The Carnivalization of 18th-Century English Narrative." In 1995 her book "The Female Thermometer"was a runner-up for the PEN/Spielvogel-Diamonstein Award for the Art of the Essay. She was elected to the PEN American Center in 2009.
Castle has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Pew Foundation, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library and Harvard Society of Fellows. She writes regularly for the London Review of Books, the Atlantic, Slate, the New Republic and many other publications and blogs. She also is a visual artist and has done cover art for several publishers. She has an art blog called Fevered Brain Productions and a personal website devoted to both her writing and her visual work.
K-State's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa invited Castle as part of a national Visiting Scholar Program sponsored by the honorary's Washington, D.C., office. Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest, most selective and most prestigious honorary academic society in America. Lecture sponsors also include the university honors program, the department of English and the women's studies program.
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA: 'GIANNI SCHICCHI' AND 'TROUBLE IN TAHITI' COMING TO MCCAIN MARCH 10-12
Family woes are the focus of two one-act operas being presented by Kansas State University's Opera Theater. "Gianni Schicchi" and "Trouble in Tahiti" will be staged at 7:30 p.m. March 10-12 in McCain Auditorium.
Written by Giacomo Puccini, chaos ensues in "Gianni Schicchi" after the relatives of a wealthy man search to collect their earnings from his will. The family members then call upon the less-than-scrupulous Schicchi to secure their inheritance. Puccini composed some of the most frequently performed operas in the world, including the masterpieces "La Boheme" and "Madama Butterfly."
"Trouble in Tahiti," written by Leonard Bernstein, looks at marriage in 1950s American suburbia. Bernstein, the famed American conductor, composer and pianist, wrote the music and score for the successful Broadway hit and film "West Side Story."
The K-State productions of "Gianni Schicchi" and "Trouble in Tahiti" are directed by Reginald Pittman, director of the K-State opera program and associate professor of music. Music is directed by Amanda Arrington, staff accompanist; costume design is by Dana Pinkston, associate professor of theater; scenic design is by Kathy Voecks, assistant professor and resident scenic designer; lighting design is by Darren Levin, assistant technical director of McCain Auditorium; and sound design is by Kyle McGuffin, technical director of McCain Auditorium.
Tickets are $16 for the general public, $14 for seniors and military, and $11 for students. They can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays or by calling 785-532-6428 during box office hours. Tickets also may be purchased at the Little Theater box office in the K-State Student Union from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Groups of 10 or more may receive a discount rate. For more information or assistance in planning a theater party, contact Marci Maullar at 785-532-6878.
MUSICAL MARCH: K-STATE MUSIC DEPARTMENT PUTS MONTH IN TUNE
March comes in with an organ recital and out with a guest pianist. In between expect a lot of singing, a tubaphonium festival, an afternoon with bassoons and more as K-State's department of music offers a month full of music.
All performances are free and open to the public. They include:
* The Pen Trio, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, All Faiths Chapel. The performance includes 20th-century French music for woodwind trio in works by Milhaud, Canteloube, Poulenc and Auric. The group includes K-State's Nora Lewis, assistant professor of music, oboe; guest artist Phillip O. Paglialonga, clarinet; and guest artist Eric Varner, bassoon. Paglialonga is assistant professor of music at Bethune-Cookman University. Varner is principal bassoon in the Windsor Symphony Orchestra in Ontario and is on the faculty of Heidelberg College.
* Solo performance by K-State's Jacqueline Fassler-Kerstetter, associate professor of French horn, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 3, All Faiths Chapel. The recital features music written mainly by American composers. Two of the works to be performed, "Calls for Two Horns" and "Sonata Concertare" for piano and horn, were written by Kansas-born composer Verne Reynolds. Other works include jazz-influenced "Sonata No. 3" by Alec Wilder; "Aesop's Fables" for horn, narrator and piano by Anthony Plog; and "Bagatelle" by Hermann Neuling. Fassler-Kerstetter will be assisted on piano by K-State's Amanda Arrington, staff accompanist; Paul Hunt, professor of music, as the narrator; and by John Allred, senior in applied music, on horn.
* Tubaphonium Festival and Bassoon Afternoon, Saturday, March 5, McCain Auditorium. The daylong festival is for tuba, euphonium and bassoon students in grades 7-12 who are looking to hone their skills, make music and have fun. It features master classes, recitals and performances by the K-State Tuba Euphonium Ensemble and Bassoon Ensemble. A mass ensemble at the end of the festival features participants and K-State students performing together. The festival is organized by K-State's Steve Maxwell, assistant professor of music, and Susan Maxwell, instructor of music.
* K-State's Steven Maxwell's Tuba and Euphonium Studio, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, All Faiths Chapel. The Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble will perform a program of music written or arranged by K-State students.
* Guest artist Yuka Morishita presents "Organ Music for a Wednesday Morning" at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 9, in All Faiths Chapel. Morishita, who received a bachelor's in music at Nihon University, has studied piano with Takako Naito and Ryuzo Akazawa. She also studied harpsichord with Hisako Shintani and Mitsugu Yamada. She currently teaches piano at the Yamaha Music School in Tokyo and piano and harpsichord at the Music Academy of Tokyo. Morishita will be playing works by J.S. Bach, Daniel Gawthrop, Felix Mendelssohn, Johann Pachelbel and Louis Vierne. The program acquaints students and the general public with the organ and its repertoire.
* Recital by Duo Montagnard, 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, All Faiths Chapel. Duo Montagnard consists of Joseph Murphy on saxophone and Matthew Slotkin on guitar. The group was formed in 2002 and has performed more than 140 concerts in 30 states, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Slovenia, Greece and the United Kingdom. Programs include compositions by Robert Beaser, Chick Corea, David Kechley, Astor Piazzolla, Maurice Ravel, Roberto Sierra, Toru Takemitsu, Heitor Villa-Lobos and more. Recent commissions include pieces by John Anthony Lennon, James Crowley, George Daravelis and Charles Stolte.
* K-State Wind Ensemble and Concert Band, 3 p.m. Sunday, March 13, McCain Auditorium. The Wind Ensemble will perform various selections, including works by Gordon Jacob, Rob Smith, Ira Hearshen and Michael Daugherty. K-State's Teresa Purcell, master's student in music, and Lyle Sobba, master's student in music, will conduct the group's performance. The ensemble is directed by K-State's Frank Tracz, director of bands and professor of music. The Concert Band will perform works by Vincent Persichetti, David Maslanka, Eric Whitacre, Norman Dello Joio and Boris Kozhevnikov. The Concert Band is conducted by Donald Linn, instructor of music at K-State, with guest graduate conductor Sarah Bernard-Stevens, master's student in music.
* K-State Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 13, McCain Auditorium. Conducted by K-State's David Littrell, university distinguished professor of music, the chamber orchestra is selected from the 80-piece K-State Orchestra. It is formed specifically for performing overseas. This year the group will perform in Ireland March 19-29. Littrell will be soloist in the Boccherini "Cello Concerto," and Melissa Woodworth, senior in music education, will conduct the piece. Blair Williams, master's student in music, will lead the orchestra in two Duke Ellington pieces that were arranged by Steve Easterday, orchestra director at Manhattan High School. Littrell will conduct the other all-American pieces in the program, which will include works by Leroy Anderson, George Chadwick, Laurel Littrell and Easterday.
* Cello recital by Adriana LaRosa Ransom, 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 14, All Faiths Chapel. Winner of numerous competition awards, Ransom has performed with several orchestras and chamber ensembles. Her recital features works by Francoeur, Faure, Messiaen and Poulenc.
* K-State Jazz Bands, 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 14, Forum Hall. The Concert Jazz Ensemble and Lab A Jazz Band will perform in collaboration with guest artist Graham Breedlove, trumpet soloist, and the Army Blues jazz ensemble, part of the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" in Washington, D.C.
* K-State University Band and Choir joint concert, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, McCain Auditorium. The University Band is an instrumental performing group open to all students at K-State. The group also serves as a practical training ground for senior music education students who will be teaching in the public schools next year. This concert features works from contemporary school band literature, as well as works for chamber winds. The University Choir is a vocal ensemble open to all students at K-State. The choir's portion of the concert will feature standard literature conducted by graduate choral conducting majors. K-State's Frank Tracz directs the University Band. The University Choir is directed by Joshua Oppenheim and Julie Yu-Oppenheim, both assistant professors of music.
* Jazz Combos concert, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, in Union Station. The group is directed by K-State's Wayne Goins, professor of music.
* Flute performance by K-State's Mary Lee Cochran, associate professor of music, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, All Faiths Chapel. Cochran's performance will include works by Maurice Baron, Newel Kay Brown, Madeleine Dring, Claude Debussy and Robert Muczynski. She will be assisted on piano by K-State's Amanda Arrington, staff accompanist; Alfred Cochran, professor of music, on saxophone; Nora Lewis, assistant professor of music, on oboe; and Patricia Thompson, assistant professor of music, mezzo soprano.
* Guest artist Peter Boonshaft, March 16-17. A noted music education advocate and expert, Boonshaft will be presenting lectures to music education classes and working with K-State performing ensembles during his visit. He is the best-selling author of the books "Teaching Music with Passion," "Teaching Music with Purpose" and "Teaching Music with Promise." Boonshaft is active as a guest conductor and clinician. He is also a regular speaker for conferences, festivals, concerts and workshops both nationally and internationally. Boonshaft's visit is sponsored by K-State Bands and the K-State chapters of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.
* Army Jazz Ambassadors workshop and performance, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 17, 201 McCain. Hosted by K-State Jazz, the ambassadors will give four instrumental workshops to jazz students. The group will also perform a concert at 11:30 a.m.
* General Student Recital, 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 17, All Faiths Chapel. The one-hour recital features students from the wind, percussion, keyboard, vocal and string programs.
* Guest ensemble performance, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 204 McCain. The performance features the Central College Flying Pans Steel Band. The ensemble is from Pella, Iowa, and is directed by Stan Dahl.
* Guest pianist Joanna Trzeciak, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17, All Faiths Chapel. Trzeciak was born in Krakow, Poland, and studied at the Warsaw Academy of Music, where she obtained her diploma in 1976. A scholarship from the ministry of culture allowed her to continue her studies at the Moscow Conservatory. She has given recitals and concerts with symphony orchestras throughout Poland, as well as in Belgium, Italy, the Soviet Union, Holland, England, Switzerland, Germany and Yugoslavia. She has recorded for Polish Radio and Television, for BRT in Brussels and for Yugoslavian television. Her K-State program includes works by Beethoven, Chopin, Szymanowski and Hummel.
* Joint performance featuring the K-State Concert Choir and Liberty Christian High School Concert Choir from Denton, Texas, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, All Faiths Chapel. K-State's Joshua Oppenheim and Julie Yu-Oppenheim are the conductors.
* Performances by K-State Tuba and Euphonium Ensemble and Clarinet Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, All Faiths Chapel. Conductors for the performance are K-State's Steven Maxwell and Tod Kerstetter, associate professor of music.
* Guest pianist performance by Neal Larrabee, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, All Faiths Chapel. Larrabee has performed extensively in the United States and Europe. Larrabee has toured Germany, Russia, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia. He has become a well-known favorite of the concert-going public in Poland, where his highly regarded interpretations of Chopin have led to recordings, national broadcasts on television and radio and engagements in virtually every major concert hall. Awarded a Fulbright grant for study at the Moscow Conservatory under Stanislav Neuhaus, Larrabee became the first American pianist to study in the former Soviet Union under official government sponsorship. He also studied with Eugene List at the Eastman School of Music and with Rosina Lhevinne at the Juilliard School, where he was awarded the Josef Lhevinne Scholarship. Larrabee has won honors in the Fifth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and the Ninth International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, and he was the first pianist to have been awarded the Artur Rubenstein Medal as winner of the Young Musician's Foundation Competition in Los Angeles.
HARRY POTTER AND LITERACY ROCK AT FOURTH ANNUAL HALLOWS AND HORCRUXES BALL
Wizards, muggles and those who enjoy music and reading can make an evening of it at the Hallows and Horcruxes Ball 4: A Wizard Rock Concert for Literacy at Kansas State University.
Inspired by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, the wizard-themed ball is from 7-11:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, in the K-State Alumni Center. Doors will open at 6 p.m.
This year's performers include The Remus Lupins, Ministry of Magic, The Moaning Myrtles, Draco and the Malfoys, Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills, The Whomping Willows, and Gred and Forge.
"Wizard rock celebrates reading, but it also celebrates the themes of Rowling's series, which include the importance of community, literacy and social justice," said Karin Westman, head of the K-State department of English.
The concert benefits FirstBook, a nonprofit organization that provides disadvantaged children with books, with funds this year specifically targeting the local FirstBook advisory board of Geary County. Westman said last year's event raised $1,300 for the cause.
"The English department is happy to support a fourth benefit concert so Harry Potter fans can enjoy an evening of music and raise money for the advocacy efforts of FirstBook in Geary County," she said.
Tickets to the Hallows and Horcruxes Ball are free to K-State students with a valid ID and $12 for the general public. Tickets are available at the Union Program Council office on the third floor of the K-State Student Union, by calling 785-532-6571 or by ordering online at http://www.k-state.edu/chalc/HHBall.html.
Event sponsors include K-State's Children's and Adolescent Literature Community, the K-State Harry Potter Alliance, the department of English, the Student Governing Association, the Union Program Council, the Dow Chemical Multicultural Resource Center at Hale Library and the Manhattan Music Coalition.
GAELIC STORM BLOWS INTO MCCAIN AUDITORIUM MARCH 14
Just in time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the Celtic band Gaelic Storm will perform at K-State as part of the McCain Performance Series.
The show will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 14, in McCain Auditorium.
Known as the steerage band in the film "Titanic," Gaelic Storm's stage show features upbeat vocals, dance tunes, Celtic ballads and madcap humor. The band's music contains aspects of the traditional Irish sound with influences of American rock, pop and music styles from around the world.
Consisting of five members, the group has made several television and radio appearances, created its own recording label and released seven albums.
K-State's Todd Holmberg, director of McCain Auditorium, said he's anticipating a great performance as Gaelic Storm performed to a near sold-out show in the 2008-2009 performance series.
"In addition to being a Manhattan, Kan., favorite, this band really has a following," Holmberg said. "They're on the road at least 200 days out of the year, and their recent album release, 'Cabbage,' debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard World Chart. I expect we'll have folks driving in from several hours away to see this band. They always make sure their audiences have a fun time."
Tickets are on sale now, with prices starting at $11 for K-State students and $22 for the general public. Discounts for K-State faculty and staff, military, and children are also available. They can be purchased at the McCain Auditorium box office from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays, or by calling 785-532-6428. More information is available online at http://www.k-state.edu/mccain.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: FIVE HOMES CHOSEN FOR DEC. 3 TOUR TO BENEFIT MCCAIN PERFORMANCE SERIES
The holiday decorations may have just been put away, but it's not too soon for several Manhattan homeowners to be thinking about tinsel and tree trimmings again.
The Friends of McCain Auditorium selected five area homes to be part of the McCain Holiday Home Tour on Dec. 3. The event is a biannual fundraiser for McCain Auditorium and will feature homes decorated for the holiday season. Money raised from the tour will support the McCain Performance Series and its education and outreach activities.
Todd Holmberg, McCain Auditorium executive director, said a common misconception is that the McCain Performance Series is funded by the state of Kansas or entirely by ticket sales.
"The McCain Performance Series and its outreach and education programs -- such as free children's performances -- are largely supported by corporate sponsorships, individual giving, grants and fundraising events like the Holiday Home Tour," Holmberg said. "The tour makes it possible to present world-class events at McCain Auditorium on a yearly basis. The community also enjoys touring the homes and seeing a snapshot of the homeowners' holiday family traditions."
The tour will feature:
* 100 Wilson Court, the K-State president's residence and home of Kirk and Noel Schulz.
* 1484 Wildcat Creek Road, Prairiewood Retreat and Reserve and home of Kail and Rebecca Katzenmeier
• 120 S. Wreath Ave., home of Dave and Kristen Dreiling.
• 1116 Wyndham Heights Drive, home of Bill Meredith.
• 1700 Wildcat Creek Road, home of Mike and Karen Sheffield.
Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door, and will be available at several area business outlets in the fall.