Southeastern earns national rankings with U.S. News and World Report Southeastern was named one of the top national performers for the social mobility
of its students and among the top 125 regional universities in the South by U.S. News
and World Report. “These accolades are yet another testament to the tremendous support Southeastern
students receive from our faculty and staff,” said Southeastern President John L.
Crain. “We care about each and every student.” Every year, U.S. News and World Report publishes what many regard as the gold
standard for college rankings in the United States. This year, 1,400 colleges and
universities were reviewed, focusing on academic quality and measures, such as graduation
rates, retention rates and social mobility. Graduation rates for first-generation college students were factored into the
ranking’s overall methodology for the first time this year, and the new ranking “Top
Performers on Social Mobility” was added. The new ranking “evaluates which schools best serve underrepresented students”
and analyzes enrollment and graduation rates of low-income students with Pell Grants. “Economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college,
even when controlling for other characteristics,” U.S. News said. “But some colleges
are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating
large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The vast majority
of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes
are under $50,000.” Southeastern was ranked 108th nationally in social mobility and in the top 125
regional universities in the South. The full rankings can be accessed at https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-south/social-mobility and https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-south.
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Art lecture features Kim Howes Zabbia
The first lecture in the series “Let’s Talk Art,” sponsored jointly by Southeastern’s
Department of Visual Art + Design and the Friends of Sims Library, will be held on
Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 5 p.m. at the Contemporary Art Gallery on Southeastern’s campus.
Professional artist, author, and teacher Kim Howes Zabbia will present “Artists
and Viewers: A Complex Marriage.” The lecture is free and open to the public. With a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Southeastern and a master’s
degree in studio art from LSU, Zabbia has been teaching art for over 40 years, the
last 12 as owner of the Art Station, a center for collaboration of the arts in downtown
Ponchatoula. Zabbia has had 24 solo exhibitions since 1990. Currently represented by Ariodante
Gallery and the New Orleans Art Center, Zabbia had her work spotlighted in 2014 with
a retrospective exhibit at the Pensacola Museum of Art. She is the author of the new book “Just Paint It Ain’t: Demystifying the Complex
Marriage of Artists and Their Viewers.” For more information, contact Sims Library Director Eric Johnson at 549-3962.
(Photo credit: Robby Klein)
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24 hour walk/run for POW/MIA military awareness scheduled Southeastern’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs is hosting a 24-hour walk/run
to honor military prisoners of war and those missing in action. Scheduled on the indoor
track at Southeastern’s Pennington Student Activity Center, the POW/MIA Walk/Run begins
at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, and concludes Saturday, Sept. 21, at 1 p.m. Southeastern’s LaVetCorps Navigator Erick R. Cambrelen-Morales said participants
can volunteer 30 minutes of their time to walk or run the track, while other volunteers
are “sounding off” the names of military heroes. Volunteers of all ages are welcome,
he said. “The purpose of this event is to raise awareness and honor the POW/MIAs who never
came home,” Cambrelen-Morales explained. “They were someone’s child, parent, or sibling, so we must honor
their bravery. It is important we never forget the hardships these brave men and women
endured to secure our freedom.” Volunteers can register to participate on line at www.signupgenius.com/go/8050844a9aa23a0f58-powmia. For more information, contact Cambrelen-Morales at Erick Cambrelen.Morales@la.gov.
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Veteran nursing students at Southeastern to get $1.2 million VIP treatment Southeastern has been awarded a Veteran Nurses in Primary Care Health Resources and
Services Administration grant. The three-year, $1.2 million grant was awarded for
the College of Nursing and Health Sciences project titled “Louisiana Increasing Opportunities
for Nurse Veterans in Primary Care – LION VIP CARE.” Southeastern is partnering with Federally Qualified Health Centers and State
Public Health Units in the Florida Parishes region to provide primary care clinical
experiences for undergraduate veteran and active military nursing students. “LION VIP CARE will provide opportunities for veteran/military undergraduate
nursing students to develop primary care competencies and complete community-based
clinical training experiences in FQHCs and PHUs located in rural and medically underserved
communities,” said School of Nursing Department Head Ken Tillman. “This will be achieved
through recruitment, retention, and support of veteran/military undergraduate nursing
students and by providing curriculum enhancements and academic clinical partnerships
in community-based primary care.” Tillman said the project will provide ongoing support to veteran/ military undergraduate
nursing students by incorporating a student success coach and dedicated nursing academic
advisor. A stipend will be provided to student participants while enrolled in nursing
courses. “The LION VIP CARE project will provide a professional development training workshop
for nurses on primary care nursing competencies, roles and scope of practice, and
offer an interdisciplinary professional training workshop on the health needs of veterans,
including chronic disease prevention and control, mental health and substance use
disorders, as well as military cultural competence,” he explained. An additional goal of the project, Tillman said, is to increase employment of
veteran/military undergraduate nursing students in community-based primary care settings
in rural and medically underserved areas following graduation. Read more
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Solid Gold Saturday / Hall of Fame Game scheduled Sept. 21 Wear all gold everything for the annual Solid Gold Saturday in Strawberry Stadium
Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. as the Lions take on Lamar. Stay in your seats for halftime
as we honor those being inducted into the Southeastern Hall of Fame. McDonald’s is the proud sponsor of Solid Gold Saturday - the first 600 fans in
the gates will receive a free gold shirt courtesy of McDonald’s and Southeastern Athletics. The annual Family Day promotion in conjunction with The Office of Student Engagement
will happen before the game with exclusive perks. Call the Southeastern Ticket Office to purchase tickets in advance at 549-5466
or online at Lionsports.net.
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SGA to co-host Conversation with the Candidates
The Southeastern Student Government Association will co-host with the Greater Hammond
Chamber of Commerce a political forum titled "Conversation with the Candidates" on
Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 5:30 p.m. in the TEC Lecture Hall, room 1022. Sponsored by SGA, the Greater Hammond Chamber, and Northshore Media Group, the
forum will cover different local and statewide candidates to allow voters to get a
better idea of the candidates’ platforms. Students, business leaders and the community
are encouraged to attend. The event will include three different races: State Senator 12th District, 21st
District Judge, and Associate Justice Supreme Court, 1st District. The forum will
be moderated by Tangi 96.5’s Johnny Chauvin and former State Representative Chris
Broadwater, and is free and open to the public.
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Southeastern students, alumni invited to Career Fair Sept. 19
Southeastern students and alumni are invited to participate in Career Fair 2019, the
annual university‑wide event hosted by the Office of Career Services. Held as a benefit exclusively for Southeastern students and alumni, Career Fair
2019 will include over 160 organizational participants and will be held Thursday,
Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Pennington Student Activity Center on the
corner of University Avenue and General Pershing. Representatives from various companies and associations, government agencies,
business, engineering, finance and banking industries will be on site to answer questions
and take resumes during the free event. “Career Fair provides Southeastern students and graduates the opportunity to
obtain that much needed face time with recruiters to set themselves apart from the
rest of the pack and all of those faceless resumes that come their way,” said Ken
Ridgedell, director of Career Services. “There is no other venue that allows direct
interaction with recruiters and managers from over 160 employers and leaves a lasting,
positive impression. In fact, it would take months to speak with as many recruiters
as you can in one day at Southeastern’s Career Fair 2019.” To get the most out of the fair, Ridgedell said students and alumni should bring
copies of their resumes; be prepared to briefly discuss career interests, goals, knowledge
and skills; and collect brochures and business cards. For additional information on Career Fair 2019, contact Career Services at 549-2121,
careerservices@southeastern.edu, or visit www.southeastern.edu/careerfairinfo.
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Southeastern helps celebrate Tangipahoa's 150th anniversary Southeastern Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies, Tangipahoa Parish Government,
and the Tangipahoa Convention and Visitors Bureau are sponsoring a weekend of activities
to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Tangipahoa Parish. “For folks interested in an immersion into the history and culture of Tangipahoa
Parish, you do not want to miss the celebration that will be occurring across the
parish Sept. 19-21,” said Professor of History and Director of the Center for Southeast
Louisiana Studies Samuel C. Hyde, Jr. “Founded amid the turmoil of Reconstruction
in 1869, Tangipahoa is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year with a Broadway
caliber play, parades, marker dedications, and a power packed day full of fun and
education.” The excitement begins, Hyde said, with a hilarious new play by Southeastern Theater
Professor Jim Winter titled “Strawberries, Guns, and Milk” that spoofs the history
of Tangipahoa Parish. The premiere of the play is Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in Vonnie Borden
Theater on Southeastern’s campus. Additional run dates are Sept. 20 and 21 and Sept.
24 and 25. Tickets are $20 general admission, with Southeastern students admitted
free with university I.D. “Strawberries, Guns and Milk celebrates the wild and wonderful first 150 years
of Tangipahoa Parish,” Winter said. “The play centers around a traveling theatre troupe
passing through this area just as it is becoming its own parish. Challenged by the
rowdy and lawless locals, the troupe does what has never been done before: they show
their audience the future that awaits them. What ensues is a comedic romp showcasing
the sensational, bizarre and triumphant rise of this unique and amazing place.” On Saturday, Sept. 21, activities will begin in Amite with a marker and time
capsule dedication at the parish government building at 8:30 a.m. A parade through
the center of Amite will follow at 10 a.m. The celebration will then move to the Florida
Parishes Arena in Amite beginning at noon. “The arena will come alive with booths, photographic exhibits, and historical
presentations on the history of the parish and its people,” Hyde said. “Family fun
and children’s activities will include train rides, truck pulls, dunking booth, K-9
demonstrations, and numerous games for the kids.” Historical tours of Amite are scheduled to depart from the arena throughout the
afternoon, and multiple bands and DJs will perform on the entertainment stage through
the course of the event as well. Hyde will kick off a series of historical presentations
from 1 to 3 p.m., that also includes Eddie Ponds, Redell Hearn, and Robin Abrams.
At 3 p.m. a new documentary film on Tangipahoa, produced by Paul Catalanotto will
premiere. All events are free and open to the public, including food and soft drinks, courtesy
of the Tangipahoa Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tangipahoa Parish Government,
and the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office. For more information about the celebration, contact the Tangipahoa Convention
and Visitors Bureau at 542-7520 or the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies at 549-2151,
or visit www.tangitourism.com.
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Cast chosen for Southeastern Opera Workshop’s Cabaret Southeastern’s Opera/Music Theatre Workshop will present the Broadway musical Cabaret Sept. 26 and 27, at 7:30 p.m., at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in
downtown Hammond. The story of Cabaret has a long history, said Charles Effler, director of the Opera/Music Theatre Workshop. “In the early 1930s, English author Christopher Isherwood moved to Berlin and
met a number of people who became fictional characters in his books ‘Mr. Norris Changes
Trains’ and ‘Goodbye to Berlin,’ often published together as ‘The Berlin Stories.’
One of the characters was Sally Bowles, an English cabaret performer in a disreputable
Berlin nightclub,” he said. In the 1950s, the story about Bowles was made into a play and film titled “I
Am a Camera,” and in 1966, the musical Cabaret opened on Broadway, based on the play and the original story, Effler explained. “The show was an immediate success; it was nominated for 11 Tony awards, receiving
eight, and ran for almost three years – a remarkable feat for the late 1960s,” he
said. Set in 1931 Berlin as the Nazis were rising to power, Cabaret focuses on the nightlife at the Kit Kat Klub and revolves around a newly arrived
American writer, Cliff Bradshaw, and his relationship with an English cabaret performer,
Bowles. “A sub-plot involves the doomed romance between the owner of a German boarding
house, where Cliff and Sally live, Fräulein Schneider, and her elderly suitor Herr
Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor,” Effler said. “Overseeing the action is the master
of ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub. The club and the emcee serve as a metaphor for
the ominous political developments in late Weimar Germany.” The enormous reception of the 1966 original Broadway production inspired numerous
subsequent productions in London, a 1972 film starring Liza Minelli, Joel Grey and
Michael York, and three Broadway revivals in 1987, 1998 and 2014. “Since Cabaret is set in and around a seedy Berlin nightclub during Hitler’s rise to power, some
violence and sexual innuendo are included in the production, so it may not be suitable
for children,” Effler said. Opera Workshop welcomes back guest stage director Alton Geno for this production.
In addition to a long career as a performer, choreographer, and director in New Orleans
and around the country, Geno has directed Opera Workshop’s productions of Into the Woods, A Night on Broadway, and Sweeney Todd, as well as productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific, The Wizard of Oz and The Music Man. Read more
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