ByLion -- June 22
|
Summer enrollment up, projections strong for fall semester Summer enrollment is up 3.7 percent over last year, and university officials say enrollment projections for the fall semester are looking strong as well. According to official records as of the seventh class day on Monday (June 15), 5,555 students are enrolled in summer classes, which got underway June 3. Compared to last summer's enrollment, the number of graduate students is up 7.4 percent, while undergraduate enrollment increased by 2.8 percent. The largest increases there are in freshman and sophomore classifications - up 8.9 percent and 9.9 percent respectively. Meanwhile, compared to figures at this time last year, total applications for the fall semester are up more than 4.5 percent, with freshman applications up slightly more than 4 percent. Significantly, the number of new freshmen who have already completed the application process and have been formally accepted to the university is up 6.3 percent over the number at the same time last year. "We are very excited about the fall numbers and are proud that so many students are expressing confidence in our academic programs - despite proposed reductions in state funding for Southeastern and other Louisiana colleges and universities," said President John L. Crain. "We remain committed to our core mission of academic success." Crain said he was especially pleased to see that the number of entering freshmen with an ACT score of 24 or higher - those considered highly qualified - continues to increase. To date, the number of freshmen formally admitted for fall with a 24 or higher ACT score is up more than 13 percent compared to the same point last year. "High school students are getting the message that in order to succeed at a university, they need to be well prepared academically," Crain said. "We've seen our freshman ACT scores increase steadily in recent years and another unprecedented increase is expect this year. This is an important factor that impacts the success and eventual graduation of college students." Stephen Soutullo, assistant vice president for enrollment management, said fall applications for Southeastern's 20 graduate degree programs are also up by more than 13 percent, while graduate matriculations - students who have applied and registered - are up by more than 83 percent compared to this time last year. "Our continuing undergraduate students are also registering for fall at a higher rate than at this time last year, especially during the last couple of weeks," Soutullo said. "We began an open registration period for the first time last year that enables continuing students to register for their fall classes anytime between April and the start of the fall semester in August. So far, more than 76 percent of students eligible to return for the fall semester have already registered for fall classes. He said fall projections also indicate the number of students returning for a second undergraduate degree is up 36 percent. Table of Content
Peter Pan fun for all ages Peter Pan may be a story about the magic of childhood and the inevitability of aging, but, ironically, the musical itself never grows old. It has been enchanting audiences since Mary Martin first swooped across the Broadway stage in 1954, making young and old believe that fairy dust and "lovely thoughts" can whisk you away to Never Land, the magical world of Peter and the Lost Boys, temperamental Tinker Bell, dastardly Captain Hook, and that ominously ticking crocodile. The Tony Award-wining musical, based on J.M. Barrie's beloved turn of the century characters, has been successfully revived on Broadway by actress Sandy Duncan and gymnast Cathy Rigby and is a perennially popular production choice for school and theater troupes across the country - including Southeastern's Opera/Music Theatre Workshop, which has selected Peter Pan as its 2009 summer musical. The Opera/Music Theatre Workshop will stage Peter Pan June 26 at 7:30 p.m., and June 27 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., at Southeastern's Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond. To direct the show, workshop director Charles Effler has invited back Brandt Blocker, now artistic director of the Atlanta Lyric Theatre. A much-honored veteran of the New Orleans music theater scene, Blocker directed Southeastern's spring 2007 production of the comic opera "Too Many Sopranos," a huge hit with audiences and critics alike. "I loved my experience here last time," said Blocker. "The show was so well received, and I made such a great connection with the kids. I was so proud of the program and to just be a small part of it." Read more … Table of Content  Students
'Zoom' into movie making in St. Tammany, LivingstonFifteen area high school students got some hard-working, hands-on experience last week at "Zoom into Movie Making," the first of a series of new high school career workshops being sponsored by the Division of Extended Studies. "Zoom into Movie Making" was part of Extended Studies' new "Zoom into Careers" summer workshop series and was co-sponsored by the Northshore School of the Arts, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and the Southeastern Channel. At the St. Tammany Center, where they worked under the direction of Sharon Sharpe, 10 students created an approximately 3-minute promotional piece that will be used to market the St. Tammany Trace's annual "Jammin' on the Trace" band competition. The video will also be shown on the St. Tammany Parish's government access channel. The five students based at the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center filmed a 7-minute piece that captures a slice of life at Denham Spring's popular Whistle Stop Cafe. Denham Springs Mayor Jimmy Durbin, who participated in the taping along with some city council members, expressed interest in using the students' video footage for various city projects. In addition to videoing and editing, the students heard from special guest Loren Legendre, film commission coordinator for the St. Tammany Parish Tourist Commission, who visited the St. Tammany Center and addressed both groups via compressed video. All of the students, as well as their parents, came together on Southeastern's main campus on Friday, where they toured the Southeastern Channel and Department of Visual Arts new media labs. Joan Gunter, assistant vice president for extended studies, hopes the success of the Zoom into Moving Making workshop will lead more Zoom into Careers workshops next summer. She encourages faculty who have ideas for future workshops to contact her at joan.gunter@selu.edu. The students' videos and other examples of their work has been posted on YouTube.   Top
left: Sharon Sharp, Zoom into Movie Making instructor at the St. Tammany
Center, gives some direction to Erin Newman, Kohen Verrette, John McNabb,
and Joseph Naquin, as NSA Director Charlotte Collins looks on. Right: On
the St. Tammany Trace, Gabby Riviere and Lorraine Bett prepare to video
"extra" Larry Lagarde, a Mandeville bicycle shop owner who generously
provided bikes for the students' video. Far right: Riviere lines up a shot.
Table of Content Retirement reception for Donnie Booth The College of Nursing and Health Sciences would like to invite you to a retirement reception for Dean Donnie Booth. The reception will be held at the Alumni Center on Wednesday, June 24, from 3:30-5 p.m. All faculty and staff are invited to wish her well on her retirement. Table of Content  Thanks,
Hammond RotaryLynn Harris Horgan, director of development for the Southeastern Development Foundation, accepts a scholarship check from Hammond Rotary Club President Ed Burns. The Hammond Rotary Club has funded a Southeastern scholarship for an incoming freshman since 1982. For more information on the scholarship, contact the Southeastern Scholarship Services office on North Campus, room 120, Financial Aid, 985-549-5116. Table of Content New summer hours for Starbucks Effective Monday, June 22, Starbucks will be open from 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Thursday. Starbucks is located in the War Memorial Student Union. For additional information, please contact Campus Dining at (985) 549-2286. Table of Content  Jamie
Wax returning to Columbia in AugustAfter extended runs in both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Jamie Wax will return to the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts to present his spectacular hit Goin' to Jackson Saturday, August 22, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, August 29, at 2 p.m. Wax, who has 22 years of experience as a stand-up comedian, stage and film actor and a playwright with seven plays and two PBS specials under his belt, has played these wacky characters to sold-out audiences in Louisiana and across the country for more than 16 years. The one-man comedy play Goin' to Jackson details the lives of five patients at East Louisiana State Mental Hospital in Jackson who are competing to be the Louisiana State Mental Health poster model and spokesperson. A constantly evolving show, this "Star Search for Sickos" will have you laughing and crying as never before. For tickets, visit columbiatheatre.org or call the Columbia box office, 985-543-4371. Box office hours are noon-4 p.m., M-F. Table of Content Outside employment for FY10 Outside employment for FY10 will be reported using Blackboard. Emails will be sent to all full-time employees with instructions for completing outside employment forms. HR staff members will be available at various computer labs in July to assist those who are not familiar with Blackboard. Dates and times of those sessions will be announced in early July. For information, contact Rissie Cook, 985-549-2347, or Jan Ortego, 985-549-5771. Table of Content  Service-learning
at Tangi Food Pantry Students in Southeastern faculty member Minh Huynh's Management 490 class, an upper level class focusing on information systems, recently volunteered at the Tangi Food Pantry. The group, along with sponsor and management faculty member Barbara Schuldt helped the pantry with data entry to improve the organization's records system. With the click of a mouse, client records can now be accessed and updated in a more efficient manner. Participants included from left, front, Kelli James, Mt. Hermon; Carl Holmes, Denham Springs; David Johnson, Slidell; Paul Harrell, Pearl River; Kintrell Smith, Waggaman; Michael Willem, Mandeville; and Schuldt. Donations are accepted at the Tangi Food Pantry Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. For more information contact the pantry at 985-429-8551. Table of Content  Artwork
by Southeastern student Joe Cheng is among the works by Southeastern students
featured in an exhibit at the Old Towne Art Center in Slidell.
Old Towne Arts Center exhibit features Southeastern students Independence and Freedom, curated by Southeastern student Paul DeSilvey, will be on exhibit from June 26-July 16 at the Olde Towne Arts Center, 300 Robert St. in Slidell. The exhibition of art "of the students, by the students, and for the students" will open with a reception on June 26, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The exhibit is a joint effort between DeSilvey and the Olde Towne Arts Center to present the selected work of regional students in a juried exhibition on the theme, said Charlotte Collins, director of OTAC and Southeastern's Northshore School of the Arts (NSA). The opening will highlight the presentation of winners selected by the jurors, Southeastern visual arts faculty Jeff Mickey and Jean Flint. It will also include a performance by "The Citing Method," a Christian "indy" band of five students from NSA and the St. Tammany Public Schools Talented Music program. Artists in the exhibition include Southeastern students De Silvey, Joe Cheng, Douglas Francis, Callen Guidry, Holly Howard, and Mary Marshall. For more information, visit www.otacenter.com. Table of Content Professional activities Kathleen J. Abendroth (Communication Sciences and Disorders) presented a poster entitled, "Interpreting finger-flapping during reading: Qualitative analysis of a child with Asperger's syndrome" at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Speech, Language, and Hearing Association in Lafayette on June 5. A book review by Dr. Joan Faust (English) is featured in the current Discoveries, a biannual newsletter published by the South-Central Renaissance Conference. Faust reviews a collection of essays on Andrew Marvell, New Perspectives on Andrew Marvell, published by the University of Reims. On May 30, Dr. Barbara Forrest (History and Political Science) presented a paper at Michigan State University for a conference entitled "Science & Liberal Education: C.P. Snow and the Two Cultures @ 50." On May 31, she gave a presentation entitled "The Religious Essence of Intelligent Design" at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's 74th Symposium, "Evolution - The Molecular Landscape." The video of her talk, which was part of a panel entitled "Evolution And the Public," is available at http://leadingstrand.cshl.edu/FAM/Public/SympIntDes09/Index2.htm. On June 5, she received the American Humanist Association's Humanist Pioneer Award at the AHA's annual meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. The Pioneer Award is given for work that serves as the foundation for accomplishments by other people in other endeavors. Dr. Forrest received the award in recognition of the role that her scholarship and expert witness testimony played in Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District (2005), which was the first legal case involving intelligent design creationism. Table of Content ByLion is published weekly online (bi-weekly during the summer session) for the faculty and staff of Southeastern Louisiana University. Send submissions to publicinfo@selu.edu, SLU 10880, fax 985-549-2061, or bring to Public Information Office in East Stadium. Submission deadline is noon on Friday. Contact: Christina Chapple, chapple@selu.edu, 985-549-2341/2421. Return to By-Lion directory |
Far
left, Peter Pan (Bridget Lyons), second from right, and her "Lost
Boys" (Connor Scott, Lizzie Duhon, Parker Ramirez, Blake Alexis Tabor),
find a stricken Wendy (Alyssa Carranza) in a scene from the Opera/Music
Theatre Workshop's June 26-27 production of Peter Pan. Left, Captain
Hook (Colby McCurdy), left, and his pirate sidekick Smee (Scott McDonough)
plot some mischief.