Top News

EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZED FOR LONG-TIME SERVICE

Nearly 40 Southwestern employees will be recognized Jan. 8 for their long-time service to the university.

Bob Radford, coordinator of Telecommunications Services, will be recognized for 30 years of service.

Cadmus Brown, a locksmith/carpenter in Physical Plant, and Phil Collier, a supervisor of mechanical services in Physical Plant, will be recognized for 25 years of service. Mike Mitchell, assistant chief of police, will be recognized for 20 years of service.

Employees being recognized for 15 years of service are Stan Bessent, Christine Bowman, Deborah Brown, Bob Paver and Frank San Miguel.

Employees being recognized for 10 years of service are Kathi Arrington, Elma Benavides, Tom Boulmay, Anna Castillo, Josefina Chavez, Colleen Gibbs, Maria Kruger, Ben Nava, Tish Owen, Debbie Pauley, Panfilo Perez, Lacy Vain, Annette Witherspoon and Dominga Zarate.

Employees being recognized for five years of service are Jason Chapman, David Dellsperger, Justin Gould, Helen Gwaldo, Melanie Hoag, Barbara Jean, John Koen, Kathy Mendoza, Suzy Pukys, Joni Ragle, Larkin Tom, Irma Vasquez, Juan Vasquez and Jean Whewell.

Recent retirees Sharon Hehman and Sheran Johle also will be recognized. Hehman retired in December after 24 years at Southwestern and Johle retired in December after 17 years at Southwestern. 

TROMBONE PROFESSOR SPARKS STUDENT INTEREST IN LOW BRASS INSTRUMENTS

When Eileen Meyer Russell joined the Southwestern music faculty four years ago, the university had only one student interested in taking lessons on low brass instruments, which include the trombone, tuba and euphonium. Today, there are nine.

Much of this can be attributed to Russell’s infectious enthusiasm for the instruments – an enthusiasm she gained at an early age from her father. 

Read the rest of the story here. 

Events 

SOUTHWESTERN PROFESSOR TO SPEAK AT JAN. 13 SALON AT WILDFIRE 

Michael Saenger, associate professor of English, will be the featured speaker at the Jan. 13 Salon at Wildfire sponsored by the Williamson Museum. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the backroom of Wildfire Restaurant, 812 S. Austin Ave. in Georgetown. 

Saenger’s talk will be about all things Shakespeare. After initially coming into contact with Shakespeare as an actor and director, Saenger earned a doctorate in English literature and has taught at Southwestern for eight years. He has written a variety of scholarly articles and a book on how books were marketed in Shakespeare’s London.  

For more information, visit the Williamson Museum’s Web site at www.williamsonmuseum.org.

UT PROFESSOR TO SPEAK AT COMMUNITY DINNER CELEBRATING MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

Southwestern will host a community dinner to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m. in the McCombs Ballrooms.

Featured speaker for the dinner will be Richard Reddick, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Administration at UT-Austin. Reddick is also a faculty affiliate in the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies.

Reddick’s teaching and research focuses on diversity in higher education and qualitative research methods. He has co-authored and co-edited three books on the African-American family, historically Black colleges and universities, and the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling on diversity in American education.

A native of Austin, Reddick earned an undergraduate degree from UT and then went on to earn a master’s degree and Ed.D. from Harvard University. Prior to joining the UT faculty, he worked in student affairs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and Emory University. He also has taught at elementary and middle schools in inner-city Houston and has trained Teach for America members.

The dinner is free for Southwestern students, faculty and staff. Members of the community may attend for $8 ($4 for children under 12). For reservations, call 512-863-1342 or write burrowl@southwestern.edu.   

Media Coverage

The Williamson County Sun ran a story about the grant Economics Professor Dirk Early received to do a study for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Williamson County Sun ran a story about 2009 at Southwestern.

The Austin American-Statesman ran a story about the Etiquette Dinner sponsored by Career Services. Read the story here

Notables

Patrick Hajovsky, assistant professor of art history, had an article titled “Andre Thevet’s ‘true’ portrait of Moctezuma and its European legacy” published in the fall 2009 issue of the journal Word & Image. Hajovsky also contributed several entries for a catalog that was published in conjunction with an exhibit titled Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler, which is on display at the British Museum through Jan. 24. 

Sandi Kawecka Nenga, assistant professor of sociology, and 2009 graduate Tristine  Baccam had their article titled “Stealing Peanuts and Coercing Monsters: The Underground Economy of a Middle School Summer Camp,” accepted for publication in Qualitative Sociology Review.

Junior music major Andrea Plybon is one of 32 students selected to contribute blogs for IES Abroad this spring. Plybon will be blogging about her study abroad experience in Vienna, Austria. You can follow Plybon’s blog at http://blogs.iesabroad.org/andrea-plybon/suitcases-have-been-boughtnow-what/

Eileen Meyer Russell, associate professor of music, was a featured clinician at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Conference held in Chicago Dec. 14-19.  The Midwest Clinic has an annual attendance of 15,000 with all 50 states represented in attendance and representatives from more than 30 countries. Russell presented a clinic for ensemble directors titled “Advice for the Back Row: Good Ensemble Habits for the Trombone Section.”

Mary Visser, professor of art, had several of her works featured in a rapid prototyping sculpture and science symposium titled “From the Earth to the stars: The Darwinautes’ travels” that was held in Paris and Metz, France.