Catalog 2008-2009

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL CAMPUS PROGRAMS

Southwestern University sponsors a number of cultural activities and special programs to enhance the quality of life on campus, provide access by students and other members of the campus community to persons and issues which will stimulate their own reflection, and support and contribute to the academic environment of the institution. These various activities are designed to interrelate academic activity and the social and everyday life on the campus and reflect the institution’s commitment to the education and development of the whole person.

THE ARTIST SERIES

Each year, a series of outstanding musicians, actors, dancers and other artists are brought to campus through the sponsorship of the Artist Series. In recent years, such well known performers as the Manhattan String Quartet, Victoria de los Angeles, Eugene Fodor, Jose Greco, P.D.Q. Bach, and the Juilliard String Quartet have performed on the stage of Alma Thomas Theater.

In addition, a full range of artistic and cultural activities is carried out on campus through the sponsorship of The Sarofim School of Fine Arts. Art exhibits are brought to the gallery of the Alma Thomas Fine Arts Center at regular intervals during the year. Various University groups, such as the Mask and Wig players, the Southwestern University Chorale, the Southwestern University Wind Ensemble and the Southwestern University Chamber Orchestra, present plays and concerts on a regular basis.

LECTURESHIPS AND SYMPOSIA

In an effort to provide students at Southwestern University access to major issues of life and culture, the University presents a series of lectures and other academic occasions during the year.

Brown Symposium Series

Through the generosity of The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston, the Brown Symposium Series has been established to bring to campus persons of national and international repute in areas represented by the holders of endowed Brown professorships. Distinct from the traditional lecture series, these symposia are integrated into the regular curricular design of the University, and the members of the symposia participate in a total education experience. Symposia have been on such topics as “Cosmology: the Changing Philosophies of Science,” “Benjamin Britten and the Ceremony of Innocence,” “Pandora’s Box: Computers in Everyday Life,” “Africa and Afro-America,” “Punctuated Evolution: The Slender Thread of Life,” “Discoveries of America,” “Macrohistory: New Visions of the World,” “Global Climates: Past, Present & Future,” “Communities,” “Drawing and Crossing Boundaries: The Roots of Texas Music,” “The Human Genome Project: Advances, Repercussions, and Challenges,” “España y América: Cultural Encounter—Enduring Legacy,” “Shakespeares!!,” “Globalization: Win-Win or Win-Lose?,” “Spiritualities of Resistance,” “Arctic Journey: Discoveries of Inter-relationships in the Circumpolar North,” “FOR LOVE AND JUSTICE: Breaking the Cycles of Intimate Violence,” “GNP or Gross National Well-Being?”, “Who Do We Think We Are?!” and “Umwelt: Exploring the Self-Worlds of Human and Non-Human Animals”.


The Roy & Margaret Shilling Lecture Series

Established in 1999 by The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston to honor the 13th president and first lady of Southwestern, the Roy & Margaret Shilling Lecture Series presents internationally prominent speakers on topics relating to ethics, public service and public policy. Speakers have included The Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Bill Moyers, Karen Hughes, Marian Wright Edelman, John McGuire, William Sloane Coffi n, Benazir Bhutto, Thomas H. Kean and Bill Bradley.

The Writer’s Voice

A project of the A. Frank Smith, Jr. Library Center, the Writer’s Voice brings authors of national or international prominence to the Southwestern University campus. Recent speakers have included Michael Chabon, Margaret Atwood, Tony Kushner, Carlos Fuentes, Robert Pinsky and Amy Tan.

The A. Frank Smith, Jr. Distinguished Lecture Program

In 1988, the law firm of Vinson & Elkins honored its former managing partner and longtime Southwestern University trustee, A. Frank Smith, Jr., through an endowment which established this lecture program. These lectures bring to campus distinguished guest speakers in the fields of law, history, government, political science and public service.

The Jessie Daniel Ames Lecture Series

The Jessie Daniel Ames Lecture Series focuses on the professional and civic achievements of women. Established in 1985, the lecture series is named for Jessie Daniel Ames, a 1902 alumna of Southwestern University who championed the causes of voting rights for women, prison reform and anti-lynching legislation. A business person and leader in the national suffragist movement, she was a founder and the first president of the Texas League of Women Voters and was one of the first women delegates to the state and national Democratic conventions.

The Lurlyn and Durwood Fleming Scholar-in-Residence in Religion Program

Through an endowment established by St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Houston, in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Durwood Fleming, the Scholar-in-Residence Program exists to bring distinguished visitors to campus to enrich the University’s academic program. This program is designed to emphasize close and significant interaction between students and distinguished scholars in the field of religion.

The Willson Lectureships

The late J.M. Willson and Mrs. Willson of Floydada, Texas, alumni of Southwestern University, established an annual lectureship to be known as the Willson Lectureship in 1948. The lectures are directed at the student body and seek significantly to relate religious questions to social life and experience.

Global Citizens Program

In 1979, Everett and Margueritte DuPuy established the “Global Citizens Fund” at Southwestern to promote the responsibility that global citizenship brings. The focus of the fund has been to enhance world peace and international cooperation by supporting both on-campus and off-campus activities which lead to international understanding.

The Slover-Southwestern Lectureships

This lectureship series represents the joining of an endowment given by the German Mission Conference to Southwestern University and an endowment left by the late Reverend George S. Slover, DD. Each of these endowments was given originally to establish annual lectureships. Since 1978, they have been combined to provide one lectureship a year in the area of values and social questions.