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Special Events Are Revamped We have reconfigured our annual special events to make them more manageable for the department and more convenient for those who will attend. Our major spring banquet, formerly called Communications Career Day, is now called Communications Awards Banquet and includes only a noon luncheon with an awards ceremony to follow. Previously Career Day also included a career fair and a meeting of the Communications Industry Advisory Board. This year's Awards Banquet was held Wednesday, April 8 .
The career fair and advisory board pieces of the former event have now been moved to a separate date, Thursday, April 16 . The Advisory Board will meet at 11:00, and the Career Fair will be held from 1:30-3:00. The Advisory Board has also been reconfigured with members to serve on a rotating basis. Invitation letters to new board members have gone out, and we are excited about re-energizing that board. All media pros are invited to the afternoon Career Fair. For more information about any of these special events, please contact the department chairman, Dr. Robert Nanney, at 731-881-7556 or email him at RNanney@utm.edu .
Richard Robinson Completes Doctorate Richard Robinson, who teaches in the broadcasting and public relations sequences, successfully defended his dissertation for a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale , Ill. , on Wednesday, Feb. 11. He will be hooded as the degree is conferred on Thursday, May 7. We are very proud of Richard. He is completing his eighth year with us. Four other faculty are working on their doctorates, and three of them are expected to complete theirs this year.
Students Present Campaign to State Chiefs of Police Students in Tracy Rutledge's Advertising Principles class recently were invited to share their ad campaigns to the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police in Nashville . Two area police chiefs approached Tracy last fall, asking the class to prepare campaigns to improve the image of law enforcement in the eyes of the public and potential recruits. Representatives from the association were so impressed with the class presentations that they invited the students to present them to the state association.
The students presented to two different groups. Their first presentation was to the 10 executive board members of the TACP. The second presentation was to approximately 60 law enforcement and state safety officials. David Mitchell, the state's Commissioner of Safety, and Kendall Poole, the Governor's Highway Safety Officer, were very complimentary of their work. Kendall Poole told the students that he had worked with several advertising and public relations agencies on public safety campaigns, and their ideas were as good as any he had seen from the agencies. The association definitely wants to take the students' campaigns and use them.
We are proud of Tracy and the students for providing an excellent example of service learning.
We Are On Facebook The Department of Communications launched a Facebook group site last fall as a way to extend our outreach to students and alumni who are embracing this new social medium. The response has been amazing, and we urge all students, alumni and friends of the department to join our site so that we can stay in touch. To join the group, just search for “The UT Martin Department of Communications” in the group search, and click on the “join” link. We look forward to visiting with you there.
Student Media Are Honored at SEJC Our campus radio station, WUTM, and our student newspaper, The Pacer, continued their award-winning ways on Feb. 13 and 14 during the annual Southeastern Journalism Conference in Nashville . We are especially excited that WUTM was named second best radio station in the South, losing only to Florida State . WUTM was named Best in the South last year and has been in the top three for three of the last four years. Also, The Pacer was named in the Top 10 (Honorable Mention), receiving that honor for four of the past five years, including Best in the South. We congratulate the staffs from both our student media, along with their faculty advisers, Richard Robinson, for WUTM and Tomi Parrish for The Pacer. We are also excited that our students are winning awards in our other two sequence areas, multimedia (Visual Comm.) and PR.
Here are the list of SEJC winners: “Best of the South” competition: WUTM, second place, Best College Radio Station The Pacer, Top 10, Honorable Mention, Best College Newspaper Casey Curlin, First Place , Best Feature Writer Benita Evans, Second Place , Best Radio Journalist Jennifer DeYeso, Second Place , Best Graphic Artist Jay Baker, Honorable Mention, Best News Reporter
SEJC 2009 Onsite Competition : The Pacer, tied for fourth place in Onsite Championship Team Matt Cook and Jennifer DeYeso, second place, Multimedia Package Regina Emery, second place, Press Photography Jay Baker and Josh Weiss, second place, Public Relations Josh Lemons, third place, Sports Writing
This is the first time a Pacer staff member has placed first in feature writing and the first time a staff member has placed in the onsite competition in sports writing. It is also of note that we have placed in the onsite PR category since its inception.
Writing Awards On March 2 we held our annual banquet and honored this year's English Department Writing Award winners. Approximately 75 people celebrated this year's work and listened to excerpts from the winning works.
John E. McClusky Award in the Scholarly Essay Winner: Tim Allen “An Unnecessary Stain on Silence: The Advent of Post-modernity Through the Absurdity of Language” Honorable Mention: Christian Ashlar “The Hero and the Stone”
Award in the Short Story Winner: Sam Stephens “It's all in the technique”
Margrethe Ahlschwede Award in the Personal Essay Winner: Rachel Alvarez “Breathing Room”
Robert G. Cowser Award in Poetry Winner: Misty Dunlap
Join Us on Facebook The English department is now on Facebook! To join the group, just search for “The UT Martin Department of English” in the group search, and click on the “join” link. We look forward to hearing from you.
Maymester The English department will offer three courses over Maymester: Lynn Alexander will guide students through “Austen in Literature and Film,” Jenna Wright will help students parse their way through “Advanced Grammar,” and Charles Bradshaw will lead students in their study of “The Short Story: Artistry and Form.”
The Department of History and Philosophy welcomes new faculty member Dr. Ricky Garlitz, who teaches world history and bring a new Middle East emphasis to the program. Although his doctoral work dealt heavily with US diplomatic history, he developed strong interest in Turkey and Iran . Among the courses he'll be teaching for us are The Modern Middle East, Mongols and Turks, and The United States and the Third World . Ricky Completed his doctoral work at Ohio University in 2008. We are doubly fortunate to have Ricky because his wife Renee LaFleur is finishing her Ph.D. at Ohio , and as already taught a course in US history for the department.
Travel Study Travel study remains a major focus of the History faculty. Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls is offering a Holocaust-themed trip to Washington DC over Spring break, while Professor Stan Sieber is traveling to London and Paris with a group of students. Dr. Nathan Howard is organizing a much anticipated trip to Greece in May. Contact the department for more details.
Phi Kappa Phi Lecture Dr. David Barber presented this year's Muriel Tomlinson Lecture sponsored by the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. His provocative presentations “Poverty, Plenty, and the World Economic Crisis” examined the historical pattern of wealth distribution and its impact on the underdeveloped world today.
Civil Rights Conference The Department of History and Philosophy is please to present the Ninth Annual Civil Rights Conference, February 21-27, 2009. The only annual university conference dedicated to Civil Rights, this year's program examines Civil Rights and segregation in Tennessee . The Keynote Address will be delivered by Rev. James Lawson, on Thursday, February 26, at 7:00. Contact conference coordinator David Barber for more details.
Maymester Finally, the department will be offering two special topics courses during the new Maymester mini-term (May 11-29). Dr. Donna Cooper Graves will teach a film based course on Southern Culture, while Dr. Garlitz will examine modern Iran , Iraq , and Afghanistan . Contact the department for more details.
High School Day This semester the Department of Modern Foreign Languages will be hosting its annual High School Foreign Language Day on Thursday, April 23, 2009, from 7:30 to 2:00 in the Boling University Center . Students from approximately ten area high schools will converge on the UT-Martin campus to participate in Spanish and French Quiz Bowls, two cooking contests (French and Hispanic food), a poster contest, and video skit contests (French and Spanish). Interested students may also attend presentations about France , Spain , Mexico , Brazil , Japan , and Germany and the study abroad opportunities available to them when they become university students.
Publications Dr. Daniel Nappo, Associate Professor of Spanish, recently served as a reviewer for the forthcoming edition of the popular Spanish textbook Dos mundos (7 th edition). In February he will participate in a methodology workshop in San Francisco hosted by the publisher of Dos mundos , McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Spanish Ambassadors Program The Spanish Ambassadors Program, coordinated by the Department of Modern Foreign Languages' Spanish faculty members and the Spanish Embassy, has scheduled a Spanish guitar concert for Thursday, March 19, at 8 pm in Captain's Café located in the Paul Meek library. UT-Martin's Student Ambassador, Ms. Meera Yogesh, conceived of the idea and has helped in the coordination.
Maymester MFL will also offer three Maymester courses: SPAN 250 – Latin America Today: The Peoples and Cultures of Latin America, FREN 250 – France Today: The French People and Their Culture, and JAPN 111 – Elementary Japanese.
Department Events During marching season the UTM Marching Band under the direction of Dr. Nola Jones , Director of Bands held a Band Blast with 200 high school students attending and performing with the band. The Skyhawk Marching Invitational in the fall had a record high of 29 bands participating.
In January the department hosted the UTM Honor Band and UTM Honor Choir with 500 students from 96 schools participating. The Percussion Studio under the leadership of Dr. Julie Hill hosted a Roots of Rhythm event for schools as part of Black History Month, and the annual Piano Competition for pre-college students will take place in March.
The New Pacer Singers under the direction of Dr. Mark Simmons, Director of Choral Activities, had a successful tour of East Tennessee in January performing in Knoxville , Sevierville, Chattanooga , and Jefferson City .
On President's Day the Music Department held its first Junior/Senior Day, a very successful event. High school juniors and seniors interested in music were invited to spend the day as a music major, visiting classes, taking a mini-lesson with a faculty member, sitting in on rehearsals, and meeting current students. Seniors were invited to audition for scholarships.
This spring the Music Department is having its first concerto competition. Thirteen music majors have entered with the instrumental winner performing with the wind ensemble and the vocalist performing on the choir concert.
Performances Among the numerous music program scheduled for the spring semester are senior recitals by Sarah Jenkins, Karen Langdon, Jeremy Rhoads, and Erin Horton, and junior recitals by Jacob Abbott, Jeff Moore, Cory Bozard, and Daniel Vargason, Events on the concert series include a percussion recital by guest Davy Anderson, a low brass program by guest J. D. Salas, a noon performance by the Ohio University Faculty Brass Quintet, and a concert by the David Johnson Chorus. Faculty presentations include a solo voice recital by Dr. Roberto Mancusi, a concert by the University Trio (flute Dr. Elaine Harriss , clarinet Dr. Amy Simmons , and piano Delana Easley), a joint voice recital by Dr. Amy Yeung and Dr. Roberto Mancusi, a duo percussion recital by Dr. Julie Hill with guest Josh Smith, and a chamber program by Dr. Kurt Gorman (trumpet), Dr. Amy Simmons (clarinet), Dr. Tama Kott (bassoon), and Delana Easley (piano). In April, Lyric Opera Theater will present Mozart's The Magic Flute.
The Music Department in conjunction with the Honors Program brought the Memphis Symphony to UTM for a concert and a lecture by Maestro David Loebel. Both events were to a full house. Various workshops and clinics will be given by percussionists Brad Meyer, Dan Moore, Brian Nozny and members of the Ohio University Faculty Brass Quintet. Visit the department website for dates and times.
Staying in Touch The UT Martin Department of Visual and Theatre Arts/Vanguard Theatre listserv is now up and running. All alumni and participants who contributed over the years, shedding their blood, toil, tears, and most definitely sweat, as brothers and sisters in arms (see I told you there was sweat) dug in deep, fighting the good fight from the aesthetic trenches of the arts programs at UT Martin, are now unavoidably linked in a Mafioso-like bond that creates a semi-open environment for the dissemination of information and the “profusion of commusion” among old friends.
There are so many of us (UTM art, dance, and theatre alums) out there these days we have had to develop a listserv arrangement to contact everyone. There are over 400 names on the list currently and more to come. Even though I still have several names to hunt down that must be on this list, it's time to unleash the dogs of war because of some very important upcoming events.
Dance Ensemble The UTM Dance Ensemble will perform its major spring concert this school year on Sunday, March 29 at 3:00 pm in the Harriet Fulton Theatre. Look for something special because new Lecturer of Dance, Sarah McCormick, is on board and ready to make some waves with a host of very talented young and energetic performers.
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