The Yellow Sheet for Feb. 26, 2004February 26, 2004 | Volume 36, Number 19

News & Announcements

Mark Braun Serving as Acting Dean... Mark Braun is currently serving as Acting Dean of the Faculty while Dean John Mosbo takes a brief leave of absence for personal reasons. David Fienen will also work out of the dean of faculty's office, having served in that position in 2000-01. Inquiries on academic and faculty issues should be directed to Jean Heidcamp (heidcamp@gustavus.edu or x7541). She will either work with you directly or refer the issue to the appropriate person.

Health Plan Advisory Committee... Gustavus has formed an advisory committee to review the health plans offered by the college. Members will consider possible changes to preserve benefits while controlling cost increases and make recommendations to the campus finance committee. Members of the advisory committee are faculty members Chuck Niederriter (physics) and Glenn Barnette (economics and management); support staff members Brad Johnson (printing services), Tracy Glass (physical plant), and Linda Riebesell (dean of students office); and administrators Janet DeMars (Swanson Tennis Center) and Kirk Beyer (human resources). Several presentations by Beyer and other members of the committee are scheduled in the near future. Contact human resources (x7304) for more information about possible presentations, or committee members with concerns over health plan offerings.

Alumni Awards Announced... The Alumni Board of Directors met Feb. 21 and announced the following 2004 awards:

• Greater Gustavus Awards
  • Richard Hillstrom '38, Edina, recognized for his life-long support of the Christ Chapel Endowment, Lund Arena, Folke Bernadotte Library, and the Hillstrom Museum of Art
  • Steve Wilkinson, St. Peter, recognized for his development and success of the men's tennis program and bringing human and financial resources to the college to enhance its student body and physical plant
• Distinguished Alumni Citations
  • Kenneth Dragseth '67, Edina, superintendent of Edina schools, Minnesota and 2003 National Superintendent of the Year
  • Linda Gulder Huett '66, Melville, N.Y., president and CEO, Weight Watchers International, Inc.
  • Peter Krause '87, Los Angeles, actor, HBO's "Six Feet Under"
  • Donald Swanson '55, Robbinsdale, former teacher/coach, director of sports medicine, NovaCare
• First Decade Awards
  • Nathan Funk '94, Bethesda, Md., assistant professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, Department of Political Science, George Washington University
  • Susan Haddox '94, Decatur, Ga., editorial assistant, Journal of Biblical Literature; doctoral candidate in philosophy, Emory University, Atlanta

The Greater Gustavus Awards and Distinguished Alumni Citations will be presented at the Alumni Banquet on May 29 and the First Decade Awards will be presented at the Homecoming/Family Weekend Banquet Oct. 2.

Consider Signing... Signatures are being collected at the Book Mark and the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library requesting Congress to amend Section 215 of the Patriot Act to restore the privacy of our bookstore and library records. Questions may be directed to staff of the bookstore or the library.

PRESIDENT'S CORNER:

This edition’s column is actually a postcard from the road. I’m in Florida today – where I’m told it IS a bit warmer than in Minnesota. Next month I’ll be off to visit our Gustavus friends in Arizona.

Like most college presidents, I travel quite a bit, in this case to visit Gusties, other friends, and donors to the college. We’re letting people know about all the good things our students are doing back at Gustavus and making sure they hear how important their continued involvement is to the college.

It should come as no surprise that revenue growth is one of the current top priorities for Gustavus. Of course, I am personally committed to investing time and energy to help Gustavus continue moving forward with this. That’s an important part of my job, but I am not alone in this endeavor – nor would I want to be. We can all get involved in various ways. Creating new revenue – raising more investment and operating capital – is necessary for us to continue to make Gustavus an even better place. And, I believe there will ALWAYS be areas in which we can improve. Certainly we will have more discussions about how more people can become engaged in this important work.

Upcoming Events

Pow Wow Tonight... The public is invited to the third annual Native American Pow Wow at 7 p.m. tonight (Feb. 26) in Johnson Hall at the Nicollet County Fairgrounds, 400 Union St., St. Peter. This event is free and is sponsored by the Diversity Center.

Good News Feb. 26-29... The 1920s musical Good News continues Thursday-Sunday (Feb. 26-29) in Anderson Theatre. Times are: 8 p.m. Feb. 26-28 and 2 p.m. Feb. 29. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket center. Cost is $7 for adults and $5 for non-Gustavus students and senior citizens.

More Fine Arts Events This Weekend... The public is invited to the following upcoming free events in Bjorling Recital Hall:

• At 7:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 27), the Franz Berwald Trio, comprised of Gustavus music faculty Mia Lai-Carlson, violin; Jonas Carlson, cello; and Solon Pierce, piano will perform. The program will include Franz Berwald's Piano Trio No. 3 in D Minor, the Piano Trio in C Major by Jean Sibelius, and Paul Schoenfield's Cafe Music. This is the first performance on campus by the Berwald Trio and new music faculty members Mia Lai-Carlson and Jonas Carlson.
• At 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 28), the Department of Music will present a mixed faculty recital. This recital includes performances by four-hand pianists Helen and Paul Baumgartner (who will retire at the end of Spring Semester); solo performances by Stephen Baumgardner, tenor, with Jennifer McDougald, piano, Scott Kallestad, saxophone, and Theo Wee, piano; and Christina Smith, soprano, assisted by Coni Liljengren, piano. The recital ends with the Trio Franz Berwald presenting an encore performance of Paul Schoenfield's Cafe Music.
  
• At 7 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 29), Northwestern College Associate Professor of Music Marc Wooldridge will present a solo percussion performance, titled "Journeys: Multimedia Percussion." Wooldridge, a founding member of the Maelstrom Percussion Ensemble, has performed at the Lincoln Center Institute, the Percussive Arts Society, and the Charles Ives Center for New Music. He will present works by Jean Sibelius, Gordon Stout, Bruce Hamilton, Gary Kulesha, and Steve Reich. In addition, Wooldridge will present three of his own works, Two Biblical Dances, Kaleidoscope, and Ace. Wooldridge's performance includes readings and short film segments by Andy Warhol, Yacov Agam, and Robert Rauschenberg.
  

Talk Shop March 5... Leila Brammer (communication studies) will present the next Faculty Shop Talk of the 2003-04 academic year. Her talk, titled "Exclusionary Politics of Social Movements," will be presented at 4:30 p.m. on March 5 in the Interpretive Center. Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed at http://gustavus.edu/events/shoptalks/.

Swedish Ensemble Here March 7... The Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble, with The Global Percussion Network, will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 7 in Björling Recital Hall. The vocal ensemble consists of 16 professional singers from the northern region of Sweden and is directed by Erik Westberg, who founded the ensemble and has conducted them for the past ten years. The Global Percussion Network, a trio of keyed percussionists under the direction of Anders Åstrand, will accompany the choir on a portion of the program and contribute "Nattetid" ("Night Time"), a solo composed by Åstrand. The vocal ensemble will perform in Swedish, Latin, and English. The ensemble's comprehensive choral smörgåsbord of contemporary Swedish choral music promises to mesmerize music lovers of all ages and persuasions. Tickets for this Gustavus Artist Series event can be reserved by calling the ticket center (x7590) or purchased at the door one hour prior to the show. Cost is $12 for adults, $8 for non-Gustavus students, senior citizens, and Gustavus staff.

MLK Lecture March 11... William Greaves, African-American filmmaker, actor, and writer, will present the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture at 7 p.m. March 11 in Alumni Hall. He will screen and discuss his documentary, titled "Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey." The film has been called "one of the rare cases where a documentary manages to combine really powerful material with an appealing and truly engrossing presentation." Greaves has produced more than 200 documentary films and won over 70 international film festival awards, as well as an Emmy and four Emmy nominations. "An American Odyssey" focuses on the life of Ralph Bunche, who served as Under-Secretary General of the United Nations in the two decades following World War II and is considered by many to be the first Black American to have "crossed over" into the American mainstream in a field other than sports or entertainment. In 1950, Bunche became the first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Bunche was awarded an honorary degree by Gustavus the same year. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Gustavus Peace Studies program. Prior to the lecture, there will be a reception for Greaves at 3 p.m. in the Diversity Center, followed by an informal discussion from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on the African-American experience in film. Contact Mimi Gerstbauer (x7421) with questions.

Off-campus Events of Interest

Music for Missions Recital Sunday... The Murasaki Duo will perform a benefit concert for the Volunteer Interfaith Network Effort (VINE) at 4 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 29) at First Lutheran Church (1114 W. Traverse Rd., St. Peter). The duo consists of Luther College faculty members Eric Kutz, cello, and Miko Kominami, piano.
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Extraordinary People

Glenn Barnette, economics and management, presented a paper, titled "Electric Utility Competition and Total Factor Productivity," to the Mid-South Association of Business Disciplines on Feb. 6 in Jackson, Miss.

Patricia Freiert, emeritus classics, has her hand-dyed silk scarves pictured in The Rake Appeal, the fashion supplement to the March issue of The Rake that appeared on the stands Feb. 23 in the Twin Cities.

John Lammert, biology, wrote two chapters, "Host Defenses" and "Respiration," for a non-majors biology textbook to be published late this year by Prentice-Hall.

Horst Ludwig, modern foreign languages and literatures/German, had an article, titled "Horst Ludwig rezensiert einige Rezension" ("Horst Ludwig reviews some reviewing"), on recent German haiku reviews appear in Vierteljahresschrift der Deutschen Haiku-Gesellschaft, December 2003. The same issue contains an English haiku by Ludwig, his translation of a Japanese haiku by Yukio Kotani, Risshô University, and a report on the procedures of last year's Hamburg Haiku Convention, for which Ludwig provided the keynote paper, titled "Zur Kritik von einzelnen Haiku deutscher Autoren" ("On Criticism of Individual Haiku by German Authors"). Ludwig read the English version at the Conference of the Haiku Society of America in October 2003 in Evanston, Ill.

Steve Wright, music, was a guest trumpet soloist/clinician Feb. 21 at the annual Waseca High School Jazz Festival that attracted 12 Minnesota high school jazz ensembles. Also, in honor of its 30-year anniversary, Wright's professional band, The Steve Wright Big Band, did a live recording on Feb. 22 at the Artists Quarter jazz club in St. Paul for Jerry Swanberg's "Big Band Scene" show on KBEM Jazz radio (88.5 FM). The performance will air at 11 p.m. March 21 and 5 p.m. March 27. Recently, the band has also performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and Doc Severinsen and recorded for David Haas, noted GIA contemporary Christian composer.

Births

Position Openings

• Administrative Assistant, Admission
• Admission Counselor/Assistant Director, Admission

Congregational Outreach

Retreats... The Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations Retreat Center, coordinated by the Office of Church Relations, will host a retreat Feb. 27 for St. John's Lutheran Church of Waseca.

Gustavus Youth Outreach... Upcoming trips include: Feb. 27-28 in Stewartville. This program, coordinated by the Office of Church Relations, consists of student team members who develop relational youth ministry programs in congregations, including lock-ins, family night programs, and church services.

Music in Worship... Any Gustavus music ensemble or soloist is welcome to perform in congregations. For more information, contact Brian Beckstrom (x7001).

Gustavus Tidbits

To submit items (questions or answers) for consideration in this section, contact Jonathan Kraatz (x7510 or jkraatz@gustavus.edu.

Funding Opps

• Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program... The Council for International Exchange of Scholars -- Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program (separate from the Fulbright Scholar Program) offers awards for distinguished faculty to lecture or do research in 12 European countries, Israel, Russia, and Canada. Awards are available from two months to an academic year or longer. Grant stipends and benefits vary by country or regional program and type of award. The deadline for required letter of interest, sample syllabus, and curriculum vitae is May 1. For more information, see the November 2003 issue of Grant Information at http://gustavus.edu/cfrelations/fundingsources/BlueSheet/November2003.pdf (click on the Bookmarks tab on the left side of the screen, then look under Government Opportunities).

In the Media

• On Feb. 19, the Free Press of Mankato published a story on the play "Good Times (News)" that is now appearing at Gustavus. The story ran on the front page of the Currents section, with two color photographs of several of the actors and actresses, including students Chris Bacon and Marie Williams. The article is titled "Curtain calls. Old-fashioned 'Good Times (News)' are at Gustavus Adolphus College" and includes quotes by Rob Gardner (theatre and dance).
• On Feb. 19, the St. Peter Herald ran a story on student Mark Apfelbacher's project of designing an 18-hole disc golf course. The page 7A article, titled "Gustavus student maps course for recreation," included a black and white photograph of the proposed Riverside Disc Golf Course.
• The following articles appeared in recently on "The Passion of the Christ" with quotes by Darrell Jodock (religion):
  • On Feb. 21, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis ran a story on page B5 that was titled "Mel's (Gibson) reel leap of faith."
  • On Feb. 22, the St. Paul Pioneer Press published an article titled "'Passion bound to stir passions."

Anyone who has suggested additions for this list, suggestions for potential future media stories, or interest in being a media source should contact Director of News and Information Jonathan Kraatz (x7510 or jkraatz@gustavus.edu).

Telecommunications Updates

• x8985 -- Michael English, Safety and Security (change)
  
• x8984 -- David Klein, Safety and Security (change)
  
• x7329 -- Amanda Stonehouse, astoneho@gustavus.edu, Biology (addition)
  

Plugs

Attention Knitters... Bring your needles, latest project, and lunch to the Faculty and Staff Center (lounge) in the Campus Center any time between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on the fifth of each month during the school year. Contact Barb Kaiser, Judy Schultz, or Lynn Boehne if questions.

Retirement Get-Together... The campus community is invited to a party honoring Carol Solberg (admission), who will retire after almost 25 years of service to Gustavus. The get-together will take place at 5 p.m. March 2 at Whiskey River in St. Peter. Anyone who would like to contribute to a gift should contact Sandy Grochow by Feb. 27.

Calendar of Events

To add or change items on the calendar, please fill out and submit a College Calendar event form. View the entire College Calendar online.