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Current News |
- Debate-A-Palooza on the Quad
- Nino dominates the airwaves
- Graham & Dowhie: 2008 Artist and Arts Educator of the Year
- Chief Justice Shepard presents Constitution Day lecture
- Student media to collaborate on campus news coverage
- Long-time staff honored
- Michael Dixon is Cooper Award winner
- Carter Graduate Studies Scholarship recipients announced
- Art students display “Senior Series” work
Debate-A-Palooza on the Quad
On September 26, 2008, approximately 550-600 students, faculty, and community members gathered at the USI Quad for Debate-A-Palooza, a nonpartisan voter education program that brought citizens together to watch a televised debate and talk about what they learned.
Debate-A-Palooza was part of a national DebateWatch program sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. In 2004, nearly 30,000 citizens gathered at 400 locations across the U.S. to watch the debates; USI is the only Indiana school to participate in 2008.
“Debate-A-Palooza taps into the University’s mission to create better-informed citizens who live wisely and are responsive to community needs. Debate-A-Palooza serves to assemble people as a community for public conversations, and to help us think of ourselves as united in voice rather than alienated and disenchanted," says Leigh Anne Howard, associate professor of communication studies and faculty sponsor of the event.
Held at the new amphitheatre, the event kicked off at 6 pm with live music by local band, deafmegan. Students could register to vote or request an absentee ballot at a station staffed by The Shield and the Society of Professional Journalists.
The debate was shown on two jumbo screens. When the debate ended at 9.30 p.m., students in CMST 430, Seminar in Political Communication, led a brief discussion about the debate and the festival format of the event.
“Some of us are fairly passive when it comes to the responsibilities of citizenships. We are spectators or consumers rather than citizens active in public life. Debate-A-Palooza is a program designed to get people—regardless of who they are or what they believe—involved in the political process, and to provide a forum for understanding diverse perspectives on central issues facing the American public,” said Howard.
This event was sponsored by the Communication Studies Program, Communication Club, APB, RISC Grant Program, University Core Curriculum, the Office of Academic Affairs, SGA, and the University Bookstore.
Nino dominates the airwaves
By Lana Kunz, Student life editor
The Shield, September 24, 2008
Kellie “Nino” Orsby, the program director for WSWI 820 AM, has explored almost every aspect of the music industry.
He started during high school when he joined the rap group, Growing Up Violent (GUV).
Since Orsby grew up on the south side of Chicago, GUV was an ideal creative outlet to express the frustrations of being a teenager.
“We didn't rap about bling and getting girls. We were similar to the old school hip hop that was about story telling and emotional content.” says Orsby.
His music experience has even opened up his current co-worker's perspective of rap. “I've learned to respect rap more from Kellie, as well as a lot about the record industry,” says Ben Weber, production director of WSWI.
Eventually Growing Up Violent ran its course after eight years; however Orsby's nickname from the group stuck.
“Nino”, which he still uses as an on air name, is from the Wesley Snipe's movie, “New Jack City”.
Orsby received his first degree from Chicago State in computer science and had a desk job when he decided to take another chance on the music industry.
In 2001, a friend of Orsby's decided to start a record label in Evansville and invited Orsby to be the vice president.
Orsby moved down to Evansville and even though the record company did not pan out, he stayed in Evansville.
“The area wasn't right for a rap and hip hop label, even KISS (WKDS FM) changed from hip hop music to adult alternative”, says Orsby.
Seeing it as another opportunity instead of a set back, Orsby decided to pursue the management aspect of music and enrolled in Ivy Tech Community College for business management.
He transferred to USI and saw WSWI's advertisement for a weekend disc jockey.
He decided to give it a try and worked up by taking any available shifts to his current position.
John Morris, the general manager of WSWI and media advisor, says, “Kellie is a great addition to the staff (at WSWI). He showed his dedication when he was a weekend DJ. Since he is older, he has more years of wisdom and knowledge to pull from. But he still is able to interact effectively with the younger staff.”
Orsby is currently on the radio every day of the week; he co-hosts the Way Too Early In The Morning show with Bolin on WSWI from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. throughout the week.
On the weekend he hosts from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday on the local radio station WKDS KISS FM (106.1).
Although he is married with four sons, Orsby also finds time to be the on field announcer for the Evansville Otters during the baseball season.
As soon as the masters program is available for his field in 2010, Orsby may continue his education.
In the mean time he plans to graduate in May of 2009.
“I love music and I'm just grateful to have a job dealing with it.” says Orsby.
Graham & Dowhie: 2008 Artist and Arts Educator of the Year
 Dowhie and Graham |
The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana acknowledged the accomplishments of two outstanding College of Liberal Arts faculty.
Matthew Graham, professor of English, was named the 2008 Artist of the Year, and Lenny Dowhie, professor of art, was awarded Arts Educator of the Year at a reception in September 2008.
Presenting Graham with the Artist of the Year award, Mary Jane Schenk, executive director of the Arts Council, said, “Matthew Graham is an exemplary poet who shares his own poetry, his knowledge of other poets’ work, and his expertise in writing and publishing with his students, his colleagues, and the public.”
Graham is the author of three books of poetry, A World Without End (2007), 1946 (1991), and New World Architecture (1985). He is USI’s director of Creative Writing, co-directs the RopeWalk Writers Retreat, and serves as poetry editor for the University’s literary magazine, Southern Indiana Review.
His poems have been published in many anthologies and in Harvard Magazine, Poetry Review, The Antioch Review, and The Missouri Review, among others. His poem “Delicate” was read by Garrison Keillor on National Public Radio’s “Writer’s Almanac” and another, “Greta’s Song” was read on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Graham is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Award, a Pushcart Prize, a Maryland State Arts Council First Book Award, two literary fellowships from the Indiana Arts Commission, and a fellowship from the Vermont Arts Studio.
He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Iowa Writers Workshop residency program at the University of Iowa, a Master of Arts degree from John Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Graham joined the University in 1984.
Presenting Dowhie with the Arts Educator of the Year Award, Schenk said, “Through Lenny’s encouragement, his students participate in numerous local and regional art shows and competitions. He encourages and assists many in pursuing acceptance into graduate school programs. Lenny is a fantastic teacher and an accomplished artist, whose work is constantly undergoing change.”
She continued, “Known for his extraordinary mustache, Lenny shows he is not intimidated by change, and he doesn’t mind making a statement but rather thrives on meeting the next challenge.”
Dowhie’s ceramics and drawings are represented in numerous national and international collections, including the Shigaraki Ceramics Cultural Park, Australian National University, American General Finance, and the Smithsonian Institute of American Art, Renwick Gallery.
Dowhie is a partner in Expressions of Culture, Inc., producers of International Exposition of Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) Chicago, Illinois; SOFA New York, New York; and SOFA Palm Beach, Florida.
He has served as a visiting artist in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, China, and Russia. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards. Since 1978, he has been a member of the National Council on Education of the Ceramic Arts, serving as president and now as advisor to their board.
He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Indiana State University and a Bachelor of Art Education degree from Arizona State University. Dowhie joined USI in1978, after teaching at Nichols State University, Indiana University, and Kirkland College.
Dr. David Glassman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said, “The College of Liberal Arts is extremely proud of the accomplishments of Matthew and Lenny. They are master artists in their respective avenues of creative expression. It’s wonderful that the Southwestern Indiana Arts Council chose to celebrate their work, an honor I believe well deserved.”
Wendy Knipe Bredhold
News and Information Services
Chief Justice Shepard presents Constitution Day lecture
Randall T. Shepard, an Evansville native and Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, on September 17 presented the annual Constitution Day Lecture, sponsored by the University Core Curriculum.
Shepard was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court by Governor Robert D. Orr in 1985 at the age of 38. He became Chief Justice of Indiana in March 1987.
A seventh generation Hoosier, he graduated from Princeton University cum laude and from the Yale Law School. He earned a Master of Laws degree in the judicial process from the University of Virginia.
Shepard was judge of the Vanderburgh Superior Court from 1980 until his appointment. He earlier served as executive assistant to Mayor Russell Lloyd of Evansville and as special assistant to the Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
He also was trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He served as chair of the ABA Appellate Judges Conference and of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. From 2005-06, Shepard served as president of the National Conference of Chief Justices. Chief Justice John Roberts recently appointed him to the U.S. Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules.
Shepard teaches periodically at the law schools of NYU and Yale.
USI’s McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries opens September 7
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The University of Southern Indiana’s Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center/Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Galleries was dedicated September 7, 2008. It provides the space and accommodations for the Student Art Exhibition, student and faculty exhibitions, visiting artist exhibitions, traveling exhibitions, and Senior Art Seminars.
Dr. David Glassman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said, “Our Department of Art is arguably the best in the state of Indiana in undergraduate excellence and in the professional prestige of its faculty. And now it will have a first-class gallery for exhibition space, a learning environment for our students in curatorial and gallery management studies, and a new outreach connection of cultural impact to Evansville and its surrounding communities."
In addition to its educational mission, the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries will assist the University in carrying out one aspect of its mission: contributing to the cultural awareness of southwestern Indiana.
The construction of the McCutchan Art Center is due in large part to a generous gift from Kenneth P. McCutchan, who died in 2002. One of the area’s leading historians, he wrote more than a half-dozen local history books. He painted for pleasure and collected the works of Indiana artists. His collection was one of the largest private collections of Hoosier art in Southern Indiana. During his lifetime he gave a large portion of his collection to USI for display and for use as a teaching collection.
Stephen S. Pace was a prominent member of the New York Abstract Expressionists. His work has been exhibited in the nation’s most important galleries and museums. The recipient of many honors and recognitions, Pace was awarded an honorary degree from USI in 2002. Pace and his wife Palmina retired to Indiana from homes in New York and Maine. A portion of their $1.5 million gift is establishing the Pace Galleries.
The McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries was designed by Sarah A. Schuler of VPS Architecture. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Student media to collaborate on campus news coverage
This semester, the University of Southern Indiana’s three student media outlets – The Shield student newspaper, 820 The Edge WSWI radio station, and Access USI, the student-produced television news program – plan to share content and converge talents and resources on new radio and television programs, as well as on the Web.
The convergence program addresses the multitude of skills today’s communications professionals need. “Our students will need to know about print, audio, and video, and this will give them that opportunity,” said John Morris, instructor of radio/TV and WSWI general manager.
Erin Gibson, instructor of journalism and faculty advisor for The Shield, said, “We can’t equip every student with every skill, but we can teach them the flexibility they will need. Print reporters are now armed with video and still cameras. They have to tell stories in a different way. One of the most exciting aspects of the convergence of student media is that the students are going to learn from each other.”
The first program is Issues on the Edge, a radio show that fulfills WSWI’s public affairs mission as stated by the FCC. The first episode, a 30-minute interview with USI President H. Ray Hoops, will air at 8 a.m. Sunday, September 7, on WSWI. Hoops, USI’s second president, will retire in June 2009 after a 40-year career in higher education.
“It’s an honor to have Dr. Hoops as our first guest,” Morris said. “He truly understands the area of higher education and specifically where USI has come from and where the University is going as it continues to meet the higher education needs of the Tri-state.”
Issues on the Edge will air at 8 a.m. on the first Sunday of each month. Each media outlet will post video or audio of the show on its Web site, and The Shield staff will report on the interviews.
Impact USI is a new television program devoted to subjects of interest to students in which a roundtable of student media will interview a USI newsmaker or discuss a campus issue. Designed to increase student involvement, the program will air in lieu of Access USI twice a semester. Access USI is broadcast live at 9 p.m. Thursdays on Cable Channel 12.
“USI has strong opportunities in mass media for students and we are becoming stronger with these efforts,” said David Black, assistant professor of broadcasting and faculty advisor for Access USI. “This is just the start of what should be a permanent working relationship between our student campus media.”
The Dean's Golden Apple Award of Excellence 2008 Recipients
 The Dean's Golden Apple Award of Excellence recipients from left are Wes Durham, Ronda Priest, Nicholas Barron, and Guillermo Latorre. |
In the spirit of celebrating faculty accomplishment, Dean David Glassman began the tradition of annually honoring three full-time faculty at the Fall College meeting with a Dean’s Golden Apple Award of Excellence.
The 2008
recipients for the three areas are, for excellence in teaching, Guillermo Latorre, Ph.D., professor of Spanish; for excellence in
scholarship, Wes Durham, Ph.D., assistant professor of Communication Studies;
and for excellence in service, Ronda Priest, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice Studies, associate professor of sociology.
An additional fourth Golden Apple Award is presented to a part-time faculty
member for excellence in teaching. The recipient this year is Nicholas Barron,
instructor of philosophy.
Eligibility for recognition is not limited by rank, years of service, or type of
appointment. The award signifies outstanding accomplishment in one of the three
areas of academia and also acknowledges the unselfishness, positive attitude,
and inspiration of the recipient to their work and our academic community. The
award is commemorated by a golden apple and a stipend toward professional travel
for that academic year.
Long-time staff honored
Support staff with long years of service to the University were honored at the annual Employee Recognition Luncheon on August 12, 2008.
Cheril Griswold was honored for 25 years of service to the University. Griswold is administrative assistant for the departments of History and Psychology. Dr. David Glassman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said, “Cheril’s experience with USI over the years has given her the ability to readily adapt to our changing environment. The only thing Cheril has not changed is her willingness to help faculty and students.”
David Huebner, art workshop supervisor, was honored for fifteen years of service.
Michael Dixon is Cooper Award winner
Enthusiastically endorsed by colleagues and students, Dr. Michael Dixon, associate professor of history, is the 2008-2009 H. Lee Cooper Core Curriculum Teaching Award winner. Focusing exclusively on teaching, the Cooper award honors a USI faculty member whose work in University Core courses has been especially creative and successful in furthering UCC goals.
Carter Graduate Studies Scholarship recipients announced
USI has announced the recipients of the Carter Graduate Studies Scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year. One of the recipients is Timothy Hart, Boonville, Indiana, Master of Public Administration, who will receive a $1,000 scholarship because of the generosity of the late Jennings D. and Josephine K. Carter. These scholarships, funded by the USI Foundation, are the first graduate scholarships awarded by Graduate Studies.
Art students display “Senior Series” work
Artwork by five USI seniors is currently on display in the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana’s Bower-Suhrheinrich Foundation Gallery located at Innovation Pointe at 318 Main Street in downtown Evansville.
The “Senior Series” display includes a wide variety of mediums including photography, jewelry, functional ceramics, and paintings. Artists from USI include Clinton Bosler, Joshua Dodd, Brock Flamion, Nick Mason, and Amy Moore.
A public reception will be held on Thursday, July 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit will run through Friday, August 15.
Artwork from four University of Evansville students will also be on display.
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