Southeastern dance and music concerts, art exhibits highlight Fanfare's third week
A dance presentation, lectures, a musical concert and an art exhibit opening, are
just some of the events on tap for the third week of Southeastern’s Fanfare, a month-long
celebration of the arts, humanities and social sciences. The Then and Now Lecture Series continues with “The Problem with Learning” by
Jeffrey Bell. Scheduled Oct. 14 at 1 p.m., the free lecture will be held in Pottle
Auditorium. A Southeastern philosophy professor internationally known for his scholarship
on the philosopher Gilles Deleuze, Bell will draw from the latter’s work to argue
that the assumption that learning is simply the process of acquiring knowledge is
mistaken and that learning instead is actually an independent process that is irreducible
to – and not subordinate to – the knowledge it makes possible. Understanding learning
in this way will allow us to rethink the nature of philosophy and teaching, among
many other things, Bell says. Southeastern Dance will present “10: The Katrina Project” Oct. 15 and 16 at 7:30
p.m. in Vonnie Borden Theatre. “’10: The Katrina Project’ is a huge undertaking, as we have worked with artists
from music, visual arts and theatre for this concert,” said Instructor and Artistic
Director Keith “Skip” Costa. “All of the music has been created especially for the
project, as well as images and the set environment for the production. The choreography
has been designed by me and three student choreographers.” General admission tickets to the 45-minute concert are $5 and will be available
one hour prior to the performance. For more information, contact Costa at Keith.Costa@southeastern.edu. Three education outreach matinees are also scheduled for this concert. The performances
are scheduled on Oct. 15 at 9:30 a.m. and on Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. For
more information about the education outreach performances, contact Costa. On Oct. 15, Southeastern’s Contemporary Art Gallery will open the national exhibit
“Fresh: New Master Artists Part I.” Curated by Professor Dale Newkirk, the exhibition
will feature the artwork of 11 artists from across the country who recently completed
their Master of Fine Arts degrees form some of the top graduate programs in visual
arts. The exhibition will present cutting-edge contemporary artwork in a variety of
media, such as sculpture, video, photography, installation art, and painting. The
exhibit will remain open through Nov. 13. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday from 8
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and an opening reception is scheduled in the gallery from 5 to
7 p.m. Fanfare’s third week also includes: ▪ Let’s Talk Art, a free art lecture, “Robert Rauschenberg: It All Begins on
the Street,” by Irene Narro, scheduled Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. at the Hammond Regional Arts
Center. ▪ The Southeastern Wind Symphony will perform on Oct. 14 at Columbia Theatre
at 7:30 p.m. Reserved tickets are $14 for adults; $7 for faculty/staff/seniors; and
free for all students. Tickets are available at the Columbia/Fanfare box office, 220
E. Thomas Street, 985-543-4371. The box office is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.
- 4 p.m. and one hour prior to the performance. ▪ Author Rick Bragg will give an invited lecture on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. at Amite
High School Theatre, located at 403 S. Laurel St. in Amite. Admission is free. ▪ Fanfare keynote speaker Mark Robert Waldman will present “Mindfullness: Peace
and Purpose” on Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Columbia Theatre. General Admission tickets
are $15; $12 for faculty/staff/seniors and free for students. Tickets are available
at the Columbia/Fanfare box office, 220 E. Thomas Street, 985-543-4371. Fanfare tickets are on sale at the Columbia/Fanfare box office, 220 E. Thomas
Street, 543-4371. The box office is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. and
one hour prior to Columbia performances. For a complete schedule, contact the Columbia/Fanfare
office at 543-4366 or visit columbiatheatre.org.
 DISCUSSING EDUCATION– Southeastern History and Political Science Professor Jeffrey Bell will present the
Then and Now Lecture “The Problem with Learning” on Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. in Pottle Auditorium.
The free lecture is part of Fanfare, Southeastern’s annual fall festival of the arts,
humanities and social sciences.
|
Entergy grant to support Southeastern's after-school program for area children A $22,500 grant from the Entergy Charitable Foundation will help support a Hammond
after-school educational program sponsored by Southeastern’s Department of Teaching
and Learning and several other sponsors. The funds will be used with Project Lion (Learning in our Neighborhoods), a community
partnership now in its second year that provides affordable after-school academic
and enrichment activities for students in grades 4 through 8, explained Southeastern
Assistant Professor of Teaching and Learning Gerlinde Beckers. Beckers, who serves as project coordinator, said programming for the students
will focus on academic performance, school engagement, personal and social skills. The grant from Entergy will help provide fee waivers to allow a broad participation
among low income students with low educational attainment levels. “Entergy is proud to play a role in supporting educational assistance for this
program,” said Entergy Louisiana President Philip May at the check presentation. “It’s
important that educational attainment continue to show improvements, and programs
like this can make that a reality. We hope to continue to grow this program and others
with our educational partners.” “The activities also provide a real-world learning experience for our student
teacher candidates, who will be working with the young students,” Beckers added. “The
experience will help them become more effective and better prepared to address issues
they may encounter as certified teachers working in their community schools. It fits
perfectly with Southeastern’s Real-World Ready initiative designed to boost hands-on
experiences to help students better prepare for the workforce.” Project Lion is expected to serve approximately 180 middle school students. The
initial location is at the Hammond Community Center on Coleman Street. Beckers said
additional locations will be announced at a later date. Southeastern is partnering
with other organizations on the project, including the Hammond Youth Education Alliance,
the City of Hammond and the Tangipahoa Parish School System. “Research has demonstrated that the most successful students tend to be those
whose after-school time is occupied with extracurricular enrichment activities that
reinforce and extend what is learned in the classroom,” Beckers explained. “Children
with unoccupied time are more at risk for engaging in unhealthy or delinquent behaviors.” The fee waivers are important, she said, because for families living in poverty,
the cost of extracurricular enrichment activities is often prohibitive. “As a result, children from these families tend to fall behind their middle-class
counterparts, both academically and socially,” Beckers said. Academic areas addressed through the project include English and language arts,
math, music, dance, and science. For more information on Project Lion, contact Beckers
at 549-3030.
 ENTERGY LENDS SUPPORT TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM -- Entergy Louisiana is helping to support Southeastern’s after-school literacy program
Project Lion (Learning in our Neighborhoods) through a $22,500 grant. Now in its second
year, the partnership provides affordable academic and enrichment activities for students
in grades 4 through 8. Pictured, from left, are Entergy representatives Eunice Harris,
Tangipahoa customer service representative; Regional Manager of Customer Service Dane
Smith; Entergy Louisiana President Phillip R. May; Southeastern President John L.
Crain; Gerlinde Beckers, assistant professor of education and project advisor; Shirley
Jacobs, dean of the College of Education; and Southeastern Director of Individual,
Corporate and Foundation Relations Lynn Horgan.
|
Dance Performance Project to present two concerts Southeastern’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts’ dance company, Dance Performance
Project, will present two concerts in October. Both are directed by Instructor and
Artistic Director Keith “Skip” Costa. General admission tickets to both 45-minute concerts are $5 and will be available
one hour prior to the performance. For more information, contact Costa at Keith.Costa@southeastern.edu. Scheduled at 7:30 p.m., “Thinking for a Change,” an improvisation concert, will take
place in Vonnie Borden Theatre. Costa said Southeastern’s resident improvisation dance company “Dance Performance
Project 2” will again perform in an exclusive mainstage concert performed to the art
of improvisation and performance. “The 10 dances will reflect individual ways that ‘thought; can effectively inspire
people and humanity to make a difference in this world - to make changes for the better,”
he said. The second dance concert is “10: The Katrina Project” and is scheduled Oct. 15
and 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Vonnie Borden Theatre as part of Fanfare, the university’s
annual fall festival of the arts, humanities and social sciences. Three education outreach matinees are also scheduled for this concert. The performances
are scheduled on Oct. 15 at 9:30 a.m. and on Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. For
more information about the education outreach performances, contact Costa. “’10: The Katrina Project’ is a huge undertaking, as we have worked with artists
from music, visual arts and theatre for this concert,” Costa said. “All of the music
has been created especially for the project, as well as images and the set environment
for the production. The choreography has been designed by me and three student choreographers.” Choreographers include Lindsy Brown of El Paso, Tex., Joseph Matherne of Luling,
and Christa Clement-Sevein of Chalmette. Composers/musicians for the concert are Matthew Hawkins of Gonzales, Blayke Weatherford
for Denham Springs and Chance Phillips of Mandeville. Dancers performing in the concert include Connie Adams of Houma, Forrest Duplantier
of Covington, Hayley Jordan of Baton Rouge, Lily Marcus of Tallahassee, Fla., Alexis
May of Denham Springs, and Grace Taffaro of Chalmette. Visual artists and/or poets contributing to the project include John Valentino,
Jeff Mickey, John Atkins and Lauren Larson.
|
College of Business news Three Southeastern freshmen each won a $500 scholarship at the College of Business
Freshman Success Day held August 18. All received the scholarship out of the Junghans
Estate Endowment. Scholarship recipients are Alex Reliford and Courtney Guidry of Gonzalez and
Kase Savoy of St. Amant.
 |
 |
 |
Alex Reliford |
Courtney Guidry |
Kase Savoy |
|
Southeastern students complete ‘Collection Week’ Students at Southeastern hosted food drives, a clothing collection and other activities
last week as part of the University of Louisiana System’s week of service. Southeastern’s Student Government Association joined the SGAs at the other eight
regional universities of the UL System to sponsor events intended to help non-profit
organizations in their communities. The UL System’s Council of Student Body Presidents
sponsors an annual week of community service awareness with this year’s focus on a
Collection Week. Alexis Quackenbush, Southeastern SGA president, said the university conducted
a four-day food drive that ended Sept. 24. The food collected will be donated to the
on-campus food pantry for use by students. Quackenbush said the SGA also sponsored a voter registration drive and a “Cool
Collection,” in which blankets, jackets and other cool-weather clothing were collected
for distribution to the needy. “Southeastern instills in its students a sense of community service and the necessity
of giving back to others,” Quackenbush said. “This Collection Week has helped raise
awareness among our student body of the need for food and other items in our own community.”
|
Southeastern to present renowned brain researcher as Fanfare keynote speaker
One of the world’s leading brain researchers on consciousness, communication and spirituality
will serve as the Southeastern keynote speaker for Fanfare, the university’s fall
festival for the arts, social sciences and humanities. Mark R. Waldman, author of 14 books on mindfulness and brain function, will speak
at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond.
Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for faculty, staff and seniors and free
to Southeastern students with student ID. Ticket information can be obtained from
the Columbia Theatre’s box office at 985-543-4371. The lecture is sponsored by Paris Parker Salons and Southeastern’s Center for Faculty
Excellence, Student Government Association, the College of Nursing and health Sciences,
the Employee Wellness Committee, the Office of University Advancement and the university's
Peace and Purpose Initiative. Waldman serves on the faulty of Loyola Marymount University’s College of Business
and the Holmes Institute School of Consciousness Studies based in Golden, Colo. His
works on the brain include “Born to Believe: God, Science and the Origin of Ordinary
and Extraordinary Beliefs” and the national bestseller “How God Changes Your Brain.” Over the last 10 years, Waldman has documented numerous simple strategies to help
people maintain peak performance in the brain, including reducing procrastination
and pessimism, learning how to listen deeply and speak more effectively, and eliminating
conflicts. His presentation will guide the audience through several experiential exercises
designed to instantly change brain function. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Speaker Award presented by the Mind Science
Foundation and is a leading developer of Neuro-Coaching, a brain-based counseling
strategy.
|
|
U.S. Army physician and scientist named 2015 Alumnus of the Year, others to be honored Col. Stanley John Whidden of Fairfax, Va., who has completed a 38-year career
as an enlisted soldier and officer and who served in a variety of senior staff and
command positions, is a double graduate of Southeastern, earning a bachelor’s degree
in physiology in 1970 and master’s in chemistry in 1973 at Southeastern. He later
earned a doctorate in Physiology at Auburn University and his doctor of medicine degree
from the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. He will be formally recognized
on Friday (Oct. 16) at the association’s Alumni Awards Evening to be held in the Student
Union Grand Ballroom. Alumni Association Director Kathy Pittman said the award recognizes graduates
with unique accomplishments on a national or international level who continue to utilize
their degree from Southeastern to the fullest. A limited number of tickets for the
7 p.m. event are available by calling the Alumni Association at 1-800-SLU-ALUM. Whidden has served in a variety of civil affairs and military operations positions
in the Middle-East, in Operation Just Cause in the invasion of Panama, In Operation
Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia, and in Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait, where he helped
manage the country’s reconstruction and recovery. He has also served with U.S. Forces
and the United Nations Somalia Logistics Command in Somalia. Read more
|

Southeastern Wind Symphony to feature renowned trombonist Joseph Alessi Southeastern’s Wind Symphony will present its fall Fanfare concert on Wednesday, Oct.
14, featuring Joseph Alessi, world-renowned principal trombonist with the New York
Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert, titled “Bach to the Future” and conducted by Director of Bands Glen
J. Hemberger, will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing
Arts, 220 East Thomas Street. in downtown Hammond. General admission tickets can be
purchased at the door and are $14 for adults and $7 for faculty and seniors; students
with school ID are free. For additional information on tickets, call the Columbia
Box Office at 985-543-4371. The concert is a featured part of Southeastern’s Fanfare, a fall festival of the
arts, humanities and social sciences. The Wind Symphony is a large, select music ensemble
comprised of the finest woodwind, brass and percussion musicians at the university. Alessi, who has been with the New York Philharmonic since 1985, will join the
Southeastern Wind Symphony in performing Johan de Meij’s “T-Bone Concerto.” “This is a magnificent, three-movement concerto that challenges both the soloist
and the ensemble,” explained Hemberger. “The T-Bone Concerto allows the soloist to
explore the full range of the trombone in both range and difficulty.” Alessi is currently on the faculty of The Julliard School, and his students now
occupy posts with major symphony orchestras worldwide. Alessi will also present a free master class on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. in
the Pottle Music Building auditorium on the Southeastern campus. The master class
is open to the public and will feature Alessi lecturing and demonstrating various
aspects of musical performance. Also on the program will be John Mackey’s award-winning composition “Aurora Awakes”
and “Illuminations: Reflection of Earth.” The music was originally composed to accompany
the nightly firework and laser light show at Epcot Center in Florida. Graduate student Rebecca Harris will conduct “Trittico” by famed composer Vaclav
Nelhybel; Master of Music student Matthew Soukup will conduct the historic “Wachet,
Auf!” by Johnann Sebastian Bach.
RENOWNED ARTIST TO PERFORM WITH WIND SYMPHONY – Joseph Alessi, principal trombonist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, will
be a featured performer with the Southeastern Louisiana University Wind Symphony at
its annual Fanfare performance scheduled at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the
Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Hammond.
|

Alumni lecture by Maudie Cusimano scheduled at Contemporary Art Gallery on Thursday A lecture exploring the contemporary museum world and how to get pre-graduate program
experience will be presented on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 12 p.m. at Southeastern’s Contemporary
Art Gallery. The lecture by Southeastern alumna Maudie Cusimano is part of the university’s
Homecoming week festivities. Cusimano’s lecture is titled “How I met Alex Katz: Adventures
in Museum Work.” Katz is a famed New York artist specializing in portraiture and landscapes.
According to Art Gallery Director Dale Newkirk, “This will be an exploration
into the navigation of the contemporary museum world and how to get pre-graduate program
experience,” said Art Gallery Director Dale Newkirk. The program is free and open
to the public. Cusimano, a native of Slidell, graduated from Southeastern with a degree in art
history and anthropology in 2014. Since completing her degree, she has interned at
some of the most premier museums in the Southeast including the High Museum of Art
in Atlanta and the New Orleans Museum of Art. For more information, contact the gallery at 549-5080.
|
Southeastern hosts 2015 Business Perspectives Week Over 40 business leaders will share their experiences and professional advice with
students during Southeastern Louisiana University’s College of Business annual Business
Perspectives Week, held concurrently with Homecoming Week, Oct. 12-15. Sponsored by First Guaranty Bank, the event features presentations that will
introduce students to first-hand information about careers and occupations related
to their business experience. All presentations will be in Garrett Hall and are open to faculty, staff, students
and the public on a space available basis. Featured speakers this year include Danny Monistere, senior vice president for
client services for the consumer survey company Nielsen, and Jose Barrios Ng, former
deputy CEO for the Panama Canal Authority and currently president and CEO of ABCO
Global and Capital Finance. Also on the schedule is a presentation by Robert Watkins, managing partner of
Wegmann Dazet & Company, a leading New Orleans accounting firm. Watkins is this year’s
Distinguished Alumnus of the Year for the College of Business. A full schedule is available at southeastern.edu/businessweek or by calling 549-2258.
|

Rating services names instructor No. 2 in nation David Faucheux, an instructor in Southeastern’s College of Business, was ranked No.
2 in the nation by the website RateMyProfessors.com in its annual Top 25 list of professors for 2014-15. The website is the largest online destination for college and university students
to rate their instructors on categories such as helpfulness, clarity of instruction
and overall quality. More than 16 million ratings of 1.4 million instructors from
colleges and universities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom
are included in the rating service’s listings. “Mr. Faucheux has a knack for connecting with students,” said Interim Dean for
the College of Business Antoinette Phillips. “He truly cares about their successes
and takes great effort to help guide them.” Faucheax received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and MBA from
Southeastern in 1982 and 1984 respectively. He enjoyed a successful 25-year career
in advertising and marketing. In his last nine years with AT&T advertising, he was
responsible for recovering and producing $42 million in revenue. Originally from Gramercy and now a resident of Hammond, Faucheux retired in 2012
from AT&T and joined the Southeastern faculty, where he currently teaches six classes
and nearly 300 students per semester. “I decided to give up my career so that I could follow my heart, pursue one of
my true passions, and cross off another item from my bucket list, which is to teach
and make a difference for Southeastern students,” he said. “I believe if students are motivated to be in your class, they are also motivated
to learn. People are driven by a purpose. When they see a clear vision and trust a
defined purpose, they will invest emotionally,” he said. “One of the guarantees that
I make to all of my students in the first class of the semester is that, ‘The person
you see in the mirror today will not be the person you see in the mirror at the end
of the semester. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, whatever you want
to be, it’s there waiting for you.’”
|
Become a HopeLine In support of October- National Domestic Violence Month, get involved by donating
your old cell phone. Cell Phone collection begins on Oct.1 and ends on Oct. 31. Donations
may be dropped-off in the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability, Student Union
1305. HopeLine provides ways for individuals to take action against domestic violence
by donating no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories in any condition from any
service provider. Verizon turns these resources into support for domestic violence
organizations and programs nationwide. The donation process is very straightforward, here’s what you need to know: • Erase any personal data on your phones and ensure service is turned off. • Prior to donating your phone, back up all of your personal information. • Erase your address book, call logs, messages, stored photos, videos and other
media. More information on how to erase personal data is also available on your phone
manufacturer’s website or user guide. HopeLine puts donated phones through an extensive refurbishing process and does
a complete scrub to ensure that all customer personal data is removed before distributing
the phones for re-use by domestic violence victims and survivors. For more information on how to donate, go to Student Conduct- HopeLine at http://j.mp/1NXqkEi.
|
Students earn speech-language-hearing awards
 |
 |
Caprice Lee |
Megan McMillin |
Two graduate students in Southeastern’s communication sciences and disorders program
have earned awards based on their achievements. Caprice Lee of Monroe was selected to be a participant in the American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association’s Minority Student Leadership Program (MSLP), while Megan McMillin of
Shorewood, Ill., received a $1,500 graduate scholarship from SPALS, the Speech Pathologists
and Audiologists in Louisiana Schools. Both are graduates of Southeastern’s bachelor’s
program in communication sciences and disorders. Lee is one of only 40 students nationwide to be selected to participate in leadership
training at the 2015 Convention in Denver in November. As an MSLP participant, she
will take part in leadership-focused educational programs and activities at the convention
designed to help build and enhance leadership skills and gain an understanding of
how the association works. To be named to the program, Lee had to submit a letter of recommendation and
prepare an essay describing the qualities of an individual who demonstrates leadership,
the skills she wanted to develop, and how participation in the program would enhance
leadership skills. McMillin is a former player for the Southeastern Lions volleyball team, who was
named a winner of the President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of
Nursing and Health Sciences when she graduated last year. She also was named to the
Southland Conference’s All-Academic Team and received the conference’s F.L. McDonald
Postgraduate Scholarship. She intends to work in a school setting after she earns
her master’s degree.
|
Thesis/Dissertation sessions to be held at library Thesis/Dissertation Format Review Orientation Sessions will be held in Sims Library
room 474 on Monday, Oct. 12, 5 – 6 p.m., in Sims Library room 474 and on Tuesday,
Oct. 13, 12 – 1 p.m. Graduate students are invited to attend either of these sessions and need not
be in the thesis or dissertation phase of their graduate work in order to participate.
Students who cannot attend one of these sessions may use the following online
form to make an appointment with a librarian: http://www.southeastern.edu/library/about/forms/rcs.html.
Graduate students might also want to explore the helpful resources listed on this
online guide: http://selu.libguides.com/dissthesis.
|
|