ByLion--December 7

IN THIS ISSUE ... 

Holiday Open House

H1N1 Vaccine update

Maura Donahue to address graduates

Traffic changes for commencement

CMS registration underway

Columbia Theatre presents The Nutcracker

Grant encourages student research

Maritime Museum lecture

This Week in Athletics

Professional Activities


Southeastern President's ResidenceHoliday Open House   
There will be a Holiday Open House for faculty and staff at the President’s Residence on Wednesday, December 9, from 3-4:30 p.m.


H1N1 Vaccines now available for all faculty, staff and students   
Southeastern is now providing the H1N1 vaccine to all its students, faculty and staff.
   The vaccine is available on a first come, first served basis at the University Health Center on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., said Vera Williams, director of the center. There is no charge for the vaccine; however, individuals must show a valid Southeastern identification card.
    “In order to facilitate the processing and administration of the vaccine, we are asking that people first read the CDC guidelines regarding the vaccine and review the vaccine consent form,” Williams said. Both documents are available on Southeastern’s Web site, www.selu.edu/influenza. Consent forms are to be completed at the health center.
   The university has been providing the vaccine to the targeted priority groups established by the Centers for Disease Control and the State of Louisiana Office of Public Health. These groups include pregnant women, those with household contacts with infants younger than six months, people between the ages of six months through 24 years, people 25 through 64 years of age who have medical conditions that predispose them to more severe diseases, and health care and emergency medical personnel.
   Approximately 560 vaccines were administered to individuals meeting these criteria over the last two weeks, Williams said. 
   The university has mounted an intensive educational campaign about the H1N1 virus and the common techniques of prevention, such as proper hand washing and shielding coughs and sneezes. Educational pamphlets, flyers and posters have been distributed throughout the campus, and several e-mail notifications have been sent.
   The University Health Center has seen approximately 70 cases of students with flu-like symptoms and only a handful of cases among students who reside on campus.
   “Our instructions to students have been consistent: stay home or self-isolate if they have flu or flu-like symptoms and stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer demonstrate a fever without having to take fever-reducing medication,” Williams said.
   Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to contact the University Health Center at extension 2241 if they have any questions.


Maura Donahue to address Southeastern CommencementMaura Donahue   
Maura W. Donahue, vice president of DonahueFavret Contractors, Inc., and former chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will address graduates at Southeastern’s fall commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 12.
   Approximately 1,330 bachelors and masters degrees will be conferred at the ceremony in the University Center. It is Southeastern’s largest graduation in university history.
   The first female to serve as chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – an organization that represents the interests of about 26 million small companies nationwide – she has been an active officer and member of the board of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, former chair of the Northshore Community Foundation, and the secretary-treasurer of Blueprint Louisiana, a nonprofit organization focused on issues and challenges of the state.
   Donahue joined DonahueFavret in 1981 as a project manager for the Mandeville-based construction company. The company handles a wide spectrum of building projects, including commercial, hospitality, health care, retail and educational. The firm has won nine awards for construction excellence from the National Association of Builders and Contractors.
   She serves as Safety Committee Chair for the Bayou Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, is a member of the board of the State of Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry and serves on the board of the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including being named Woman of the Year by New Orleans Publishing Group in 2000 and a New Orleans CityBusiness Woman of the Year in 2007. She was named to the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame in 2008 and received several awards from the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce, including the Tammany Award for community leadership.
   She and her husband state Sen. Jack Donahue have a blended family of six children and 17 grandchildren.


Traffic changes planned for commencement   
Motorists and visitors planning to attend Southeastern’s commencement ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 12 should anticipate heavy traffic and route changes affecting University Avenue (Hwy. 3234) between Interstate 55 and North Cherry Street. 
   Mike Prescott, director of University Police, said the section of University Avenue between West Tornado Drive and SGA Drive will be restricted from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that day.  Local traffic will be allowed to proceed on University Avenue for as long as possible, but will be diverted through the campus as congestion increases. 
   Prior to commencement, the University Center parking areas are expected to be filled very early, and all traffic on University Avenue will be diverted.  Eastbound commencement traffic will be diverted to West Tornado Drive for parking at the University Center and westbound commencement traffic will be diverted to the campus at SGA Drive.
   Three Southeastern Lion Traxx Shuttle Busses and several golf carts will be in operation before and after the ceremony to accommodate anyone parking in outlying areas or needing special transportation assistance. 
   Drivers not attending commencement are asked to use U.S. 190 (Thomas Street and Morris Street) or Natalbany Road (Hwy. 1064) to avoid University Avenue traffic.  Southeastern students wishing to return rental textbooks on Saturday, December 12 should wait until after 2 p.m. to do so.


CMS Registration underway for spring 2010   
Registration is underway for the spring session of Southeastern’s Community Music School (CMS), which begins Monday, Jan. 25.
   Students of all ages and backgrounds may participate in a wide variety of private lessons, classes and ensembles taught by Southeastern’s music department faculty and the undergraduate and graduate student body. Tuition includes music theory classes, ensembles, masterclass coaching sessions with Southeastern music professors and a variety of performance opportunities.
   CMS Director Kenneth Boulton said programs are also offered for dedicated and enthusiastic adult students, including several group keyboard classes, the Northlake Community Band and adult recital programs.
   Other ensembles include the CMS Select Choral Ensemble, CMS String Ensemble and the CMS Preparatory Choir. Students may also participate in music theory classes designed for specific grades and experience levels and have the opportunity to study with music professors in masterclass coaching sessions.
   “I am especially excited about two new programs we are adding this spring,” Boulton said.  “One is the opportunity for students to study private gospel piano with Jan Youngblood at our main campus. The other initiative is a group class for adults wishing to study beginning guitar. This class will be offered at our Livingston location and taught by Andy Squint.”
   CMS is again offering a variety of musical instruction at the St. Tammany Center in the parish governmental complex on Koop Drive north of Mandeville and at the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center in Walker.
   For more information about these programs and general registration, call (985) 549-5502, or visit the CMS website at www.selu.edu/cms.


Hammond Ballet Company's The NutcrackerThe Nutcracker Columbia Theatre will present Hammond Ballet Company’s The Nutcracker Dec. 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. Featured in lead roles in last year’s production are, from left, front, Ashli Tallo as Candy Cane, guest artist Megan Ross as Snow Queen, and Anna deTiege as the Arabian. Pictured, back row, from left, are Regen Lavergne as Marzipan, Heidi Wales as Dew Drop, guest artist Brooklyn Mack as the Nutcracker, Madison Ryan as Clara, guest artist Andrea Maciel de Faria as Sugar Plum, Margaret Walker as Spanish, and Devon Foster as Marzipan.

Columbia Theatre to present holiday classic ballet   
For the seventh consecutive year, Southeastern’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts will present Hammond Ballet Company’s “The Nutcracker.” Due to the show’s popularity, the downtown Hammond theatre is offering two performances on Dec. 11 and 12 at 7 p.m.
   “Watching this classic ballet come to life for new audiences each year is my favorite way to start the season,” said Columbia Theatre Director Donna Gay Anderson. “The music alone will take people through memories of Christmases past. Hammond Ballet, featuring professional dancers in the lead roles, does such an honorable job of bringing fresh energy to this holiday favorite. It will be a treat for all of us.”
   The role of Clara will be performed by 12-year-old Britley Wells of Ponchatoula. She is a student at Holy Ghost School and a dance student at A Touch of Class in Ponchatoula. Wells has danced a number of roles in the Nutcracker over the years, has a personal collection of nutcrackers started by her grandmother, and wants to continue the nutcracker tradition with her future children.
   Cast with mostly local children, the ballet will also feature two guest artists: Aubrey Morgan as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Sergey Kheylik as the Nutcracker.
   Originally from New Orleans, Morgan is a former dancer with the New York City Ballet. She was a principal dancer with both New Orleans Ballet Theatre and Los Angeles Ballet, and she was also featured as a guest performer on the hit show “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2008, where she performed “The Man I Love” pas de deux from Balanchine’s “Who Cares.” On Fox’s “House,” she danced as a corps de ballet dancer on episode 5023 entitled “Under My Skin.”
   Kheylik has danced with the Universal Ballet of Korea, Vienna State Opera, Carolina Ballet, Cirque Du Soleil, Los Angeles Ballet, Odyssey Dance Theatre, New Orleans Ballet Theatre, and South African Ballet Theatre. He was a gold medal recipient in the Varna International Ballet Competition in 2002 and also won gold at the Vienna International Ballet Competition in 2001. He was featured as a carousel dancer in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and as a ballet dancer in “Infiniti – Performance.”
   This year marks the 13th anniversary of Hammond Ballet Company’s Nutcracker. The company was founded in 1997 by Janet Wade Neyrey, who picked up the nutcracker production after the Hammond Cultural Foundation discontinued it. 
   Tickets for the Nutcracker, $22 Orchestra, $31 Loge, and $19 Balcony, are available at the Columbia Theatre box office, (985) 543-4371, or online at columbiatheatre.org. Box office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and one hour before performance times.


Grant awarded to Southeastern to encourage student research in Japan   
A three-year, $111,208 grant from the National Science Foundation has been awarded to Southeastern to facilitate student experimental research in physics in Tokyo, Japan.
   The grant will allow undergraduate and graduate students to spend seven weeks over the summer at Tokyo Denki University (TDU), where they will be involved in material science research projects, as well as meet with scientists at national laboratories and industries in Japan, said Sanichiro Yoshida, Southeastern Alumni Association endowed professor of physics and recipient of the grant.
   The students initially will be recruited from Southeastern with the possibility of expanding offers to students from other southern state institutions. 
   Yoshida said students will be selected based upon their motivation, a written application, letters of recommendation, grade point average, and an interview by a Southeastern search committee. Students selected for the program will receive a weeklong training at Southeastern before leaving for Japan, where they will conduct research on a campus of TDU, participate in tours of research and industrial centers, and participate in the country’s cultural activities. Upon their return to the United States, they will be expected to make a presentation on their research and prepare a written report.
(Read more)
Lake Ponchartrain Basin Maritime Museum lecture   
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, an educational partner of Southeastern, will present Latimore Smith of the Nature Conservancy in a special presentation entitled “Losing the Legendary Longleaf Pine Forests” at the museum in Madisonville at 7 p.m. on Dec. 10. 
This Week in Southeastern Athletics ­ December 7-13, 2009   
With final exams this week, only one game is scheduled in Southeastern Athletics.
   Following the week of final exams, the Southeastern women’s basketball team (3-5) will hit the road Saturday, completing a home-and-home series at Louisiana-Lafayette with a 5 p.m. contest at the Cajun Dome.
   Last Saturday, Southeastern rallied from six points down with less than a minute left to defeat the Ragin’ Cajuns, 62-58, in overtime. Saturday’s visit to Lafayette will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the Internet at www.LionSports.net.

Saturday, December 12
Women’s Basketball, at Louisiana-Lafayette, Lafayette, 5 p.m. (KSLU)


Professional Activities   
    Dr. Natasha Whitton (English) represented the Southeastern Louisiana Writing Project as Technical Liaison at the annual National Writing Project Conference in Phildelphia in November. She also presented a paper on course portfolios at the National Council of Teachers of English conference along with fellow faculty, Dr. George Dorrill, Dr. Eva Gold, Heather O’Connell, Amy Acosta, and Dr. Tom Fick. This presentation started as a Center for Faculty Excellence ITPE program.
     David Gurney (Mathematics) gave a talk “Using Matrices to Unravel the Mysteries of Statistics” at the Nov. 20-21 meeting of the Florida Chapter  of the Mathematical Association of America hosted by the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Fla.  
    Lucy Kabza (Mathematics) published an article titled “A-Goups and Centralizers” in November 2009 issue of Mathematica Pannonica.  
     Linhong Wang (Mathematics) gave a talk “Goldie rank of skew power series rings of automorphic type” at 2009 American Mathematics Society Western Section Fall Meeting on Nov. 7 in Riverside, Calif.
     Dr. Thomas A. DeVaney (Educational Leadership and Technology) had two articles accepted for publication. “Impact of video tutorials in an online educational statistics course” was accepted for publication in the Journal of Online Teaching and Learning and “Anxiety and attitude of graduate students in online vs. on-campus statistics courses” was accepted for publication in the Journal of Statistics Education.

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 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

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