The Yellow Sheet for May 3, 2007May 3, 2007 | Volume 39, Number 29

News & Announcements

Honors Day... Gustavus Adolphus College celebrates student academic achievement on Saturday, May 5, at the annual Honors Day convocation in Christ Chapel. The convocation, which begins at 10:30 a.m., is open to the public. Other public events scheduled for the day include a coffee reception hosted by the Faculty Senate (Johns Courtyard, 9:30 a.m.), the Senior Honors Recital (Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall, 1:30 p.m.), the opening reception of the senior art exhibition (Hillstrom Museum of Art, 4-7 p.m.), a political science research symposium (Old Main, 1:30 p.m.), and the Gustavus Choir's 75th-anniversary concert (Christ Chapel, 7:30 p.m.).

Docents Wanted... All members of the campus community are invited to sign up to serve as volunteers for the Department of Biology when the rare Amorphophallus titanum (Titan Arum, commonly named the corpse flower) blooms, an event expected to occur sometime next week or next weekend. Volunteers are needed to help in and around the Nobel Hall of Science greenhouse when it will be open to the public to allow people to view (and smell) the first known corpse flower to bloom in Minnesota. The greenhouse will be open to the public at no charge between 8 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on dates to be announced. To sign up, contact greenhouse manager Emily Hoefs at ehoefs@gustavus.edu. For more details on the flower, visit the website link. The plant's blog and three live webcams may be accessed through http://blogs.gac.edu/arboretum/category/titan-arum/. Blog comments are welcome. Students and staff are also welcome to stop by the greenhouse for a look at the plant, the appearance of which is now changing drastically from day to day. Stop-motion video links (including YouTube and Google Video) are available at gustavus.edu/gts/coreservices/. One of the webcams also transmits via Channel 7 on the Gustavus Network.

Tickets for The Tempest Now on Sale... Tickets for the Department of Theatre and Dance's 75th-anniversary season finale production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest in Anderson Theatre are now on sale at the Ticket Center in the Student Activities Office. Capping a yearlong celebration of 75 years of Gustavus theatre, The Tempest features retiring theatre professor and director Rob Gardner as Prospero and and a cast under the direction of Amy Seham. The Tempest runs Wednesday, May 9, through Friday, May 11, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 12, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, May 13, at 2 p.m., with an additional performance added for area schools on Friday, May 11, at 1 p.m. Tickets are going fast. Don't miss Anderson Theatre's season finale. "We are such stuff as dreams of made of..."

Grant News

College Receives NCAA 'Choices' Grant... The Office of Alcohol and Drug Education was recently notified that Gustavus is the recipient of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) "Choices" grant in the amount of $29,003 over three years. The goal of the grant is to study the impact of a social norms intervention aimed at reducing misperceptions of alcohol use among student-athletes and other student peers, and thus to reduce personal risk. An anonymous survey of all student-athletes will be conducted annually for three years, and the resulting data used to create social norms messages that reflect accurate alcohol use patterns. In turn, these messages will be disseminated broadly and assessments conducted to determine the extent to which misperceived norms associated with alcohol use have been corrected both on the part of athletes and non-athletes. The principal program directors are Judy Douglas, director of alcohol and drug education and Kari Eckheart, program coordinator in the Office of Alcohol/Drug Education.

Upcoming Events

Chapel Schedule... All are invited to the worship services at 10 a.m. weekdays and 10:30 a.m. Sundays in Christ Chapel. The upcoming schedule is as follows:

• Friday, May 4 - Pastor Bheki Mathe, South Eastern Diocese of the ELCA in South Africa
• Sunday, May 6 - 5th Sunday in Easter, Chaplain Brian Johnson
• Monday, May 7 - Schwalm Brostrom Awards, Kari Lipke
• Tuesday, May 8 - Will Freiert (classics)
• Wednesday, May 9 - Morning Praise
• Thursday, May 10 - TBA
• Friday, May 11 - Chris Bacon, senior
  

Religion Research Presentations... Senior religion majors will present their research work at the Spring Semester Poster Happening 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, May 3, in the Dive. Topics range from speaking in tongues to Islamic extremism. The senior presenters will show and discuss their posters representing their research papers. Refreshments will be served.

Steinway Celebration... Gustavus Adolphus College will celebrate its place on the "All-Steinway Schools" list with a celebratory piano recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 4, in Jussi Björling Recital Hall. Seniors Ryan Ike, Phil Sowden, Beth Stauffer, Brianna Vaa, and Alex Zupan will all perform pieces at the dedication. Sam Eberwein from Steinway and Sons will be present to make the official presentation to the College's Department of Music. To be considered for the Steinway distinction, at least 90 percent of a school's pianos must be Steinways. Currently there are 66 colleges, universities, and conservatories throughout the world that can say they are an All-Steinway School. Gustavus is one of four All-Steinway Schools in Minnesota, along with Bemidji State University, Concordia University-St. Paul, and the University of Minnesota. Friday's dedication recital is open to the public without charge.

Senior Art Exhibition Opens... The Hillstrom Museum of Art presents questions, comments, concerns: Senior Show 2007, on view May 5-27. The exhibition highlights the student careers of 11 studio art majors and is a culminating event in their curriculum, and a required component of the major. The exhibition demonstrates the diversity of styles and approaches taken by the artists, some of whom intend to continue studying or working in art after graduation. On display will be works by Eva Christopherson, Melissa Friebe, Katie Leaf, Brianna Monahan, Abby Pedersen, Sarah Pedersen, Matt Port, Becca Thompson, Matthew Mark Van Dusen, Toua Vang, and Leah Wynveen. A number of the works are being offered for sale by the individual artists. Regular Museum hours are weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends 1 to 5 p.m. There will be an opening reception on the College's annual Honors Day, May 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. The exhibition and its reception are free and open to the public, and all are welcome.

Manhattan Project Lecture... Richard Fuller (physics emeritus) will present an interdisciplinary seminar titled "The Manhattan Project--Revisited" at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 7, in Olin 220. All are welcome.

Lindau Symposium on May 8... The inaugural Lindau Symposium will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 8, in Alumni Hall. Featured speaker is the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a conservative Catholic intellectual whose topic will be "Religion in American Public Life." Fr. Neuhaus, a former Luther pastor in Brooklyn, N.Y., who converted to Catholicism in 1990, argues that religious ideas and voices--particularly Christian ones--have a place in American public life. In 1984 he published The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America, in which he asserted that secular voices and big government had crowded religion out of the "public square." The symposium, established with a gift from the late Phil Lindau, alumnus, board member, and campaign volunteer, aims to provide a forum in which conservative intellectual voices and mainstream beliefs and values can be brought together in a liberal arts environment. The lecture is open to the public without charge.

Cancer Support Group... The campus Cancer Support Group meets at noon in Linner Lounge on Wednesday, May 9. Bring a lunch and join the conversation.

Lunch and Learn... "Fruit and Veggie Basics" is the theme of GHP's last Lunch and Learn of the school year Thursday, May 10, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the PDR. Come and join presenter Mary Dooher, a senior health fitness major. Topics will include an introduction to the new food guide pyramid and mypyramid.gov, health benefits of fruit and veggie consumption, how many fruits and veggies you need and how to measure them, and some great fruit and veggie recipies. To register, please contact Kari Eckheart at x6416 or by e-mail at keckhear@gustavus.edu.

Off-campus Events of Interest

Annual Cox House Plant Sale... The E. St. Julien Cox House Annual Heritage Plant Sale is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at the E. St. Julien Cox House in St. Peter. Many old-fashioned perennials, herbs, and house plants will be for sale, as well as shrubs, rhubarb, raspberries, etc. Master gardeners will be on hand to answer questions. All proceeds go toward upkeep of the historic house and grounds at 500 South Washington in St. Peter. People wishing to donate garden plants or who have questions may contact Marilyn Robertz at 507-934-3883, Bev Wetherill at 507-934-4417, or Barb Olmanson at 507-934 2828.

Poets and Writers Read... The Arts Center of Saint Peter (315 S. Minnesota Avenue, St. Peter; www.artscentersp.org) will host "Reading Day: a gathering of Gustavus poets and writers," on Thursday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. Come celebrate original works by eight members, current or emeritus, of the Gustavus Department of English: Philip Bryant, Rebecca Taylor Fremo, Baker Lawley, Al Learst, Matt Rasumssen, John Rezmerski, Don Scheese, and Joyce Sutphen. Adults $5, AC members $4, students free. Seats can be reserved by calling the Arts Center at 931-3630. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

Support the Susan Komen 3-Day... Kathy Larson, wife of Karl Larson (HES), and nine other St. Peter women will be walking in the Breast Cancer 3-Day event in the Twin Cities August 24-26. The Breast Cancer 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust, which fund important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment. Participants agree to raise money for the cause, and this team has a fundraising goal of just under $20,000 (about $2,200 per walker). To make a donation (of any amount), you may go to Kathy's fundraising webpage at http://www.the3day.org/twincities07/kathylarson.

Extraordinary People

Mike Ferragamo (biology), Janine Wotton (psychology), and Patricia Costello (psychology), along with faculty at Carleton, Macalester, and St Olaf, organized and hosted the inaugural MidBrains Undergraduate Neuroscience Conference held at Macalester College in St. Paul on April 28, 2007. The conference provided a forum for undergraduate students in the Midwest to present research findings, to attend research lectures and special panels, and to meet other undergraduate students interested in the neurosciences. A number of neuroscience students from Gustavus attended (see below).

Scott Bur (chemistry) had a review article, titled "The Synthesis of Heterocycles Using Cascade Chemistry," published the the monograph series Advances in Heterocyclic Chemistry. Another review article, titled "The Domino Way to Heterocycles," was published in the journal Tetrahedron. Heterocyclic molecules are of interest because they comprise roughly 2/3 of the known pharmaceutical compounds. Cascade chemistry (also known as domino chemistry) is a way of quickly and efficiently building complex molecules.

Student News

Obituaries

• Gordon Ellwood Gessner, father of Carl Gessner (custodial) and step-father-in-law of Harold Tish (physical plant), passed away on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at the Norton Hospice Unit in Louisville, KY. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 28, at Scott Funeral Home's North Chapel, with burial on Monday, April 30, in New Albany National Cemetery.
  

Position Openings

• Research Analyst, Institutional Research
  

CONGREGATIONAL OUTREACH:

Speaking in Congregations... The Rev. Mary Gaebler (religion) will be preaching at 8 and 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in LeCenter, Minn., on Sunday, May 6. This program is coordinated by the Office of Church Relations.

Retreats... The Office of Church Relations will host a confirmation retreat for Grace Lutheran Church from Dawson, Minn., on Tuesday, May 8, and Wednesday, May 9.

Caregiver Retreat... Nicollet County's VINE Faith in Action is coordinating a day retreat for caregivers from the St. Peter and Mankato area from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 9. This special retreat is being planned as a day for caregivers to relax as they experience worship in Christ Chapel, a luncheon, and fellowship time. They will tour the Granlund sculptures in Christ Chapel, listen to Julie Larson's talk, "Journey of Change," and enjoy a special presentation by Jim Gilbert and a tour of the Linnaeus Arboretum. This program is sponsored by the Office of Church Relations and the Nicollet County VINE Faith in Action organization.

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

FUNDING OPPS:

• National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipends... The National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipends program provides individuals with an opportunity to pursue research in the humanities that contributes to scholarly knowledge or to the public's understanding of the humanities. Each stipend provides $6,000 for two consecutive months of full-time independent research and writing. Summer Stipends support projects that can be completed during the tenure of an award or those that are part of a long-term endeavor. Applicants must be nominated by their institutions; only two faculty members may be nominated each year, at least one of whom should hold the rank of instructor or assistant professor. The online application deadline is October 2. For more information, please see http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stipends.html. Faculty interested in submitting an application should send an e-mail so indicating to Bob Weisenfeld (bweis@gustavus.edu) by July 1. In the event that more than two faculty wish to be nominated, Bob will follow up in July with those interested regarding the nomination process.
  

IN THE MEDIA:

• The May 2007 issue of the Metro Lutheran announced the notable achievements of three Gustavus students: Erica Duin, on being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for 2007-08 to study in Morocco; Ashley Gibbs, on being named a Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation Scholar for 2007-08 and 2008-09; and Alex Zupan, on being recognized as one of 58 USA Today/All-USA College Academic All-Stars nationwide.
• Gustavian Weekly editor Tane Danger's article on the College's Intentional Learning and Service Program, administered by the Office of Residential Life, was published by the Mankato Free Press and published in the front page of its May 1 Currents section, along with two color photos of students meeting in the Asian Cultures house.
• Brian O'Brien (chemistry) was interviewed by WCCO Radio, KEYC-TV (Mankato), and the Gustavian Weekly about the Amorphophallus titanum (Titan Arum, or corpse flower) that is coming into flower in the Gustavus greenhouse. The imminent blooming of the corpse flower was the subject of an April 30 Mankato Free Press article titled "Ripe for Blooming," and O'Brien was quoted in the story.
• Brian Ojanpa's column on the front page of the Sports section of the April 29 Mankato Free Press featured the statistical project of senior students Tyler Kramer and Dan Johnson, who studied the impact of steroids on homerun production in Major League Baseball and have thrown some cold water on the debate. Their effort has attracted notice; the pair will travel to Ohio State University to present their findings at the United States Conference on Teaching Statistics.
• Sophomore Rachael Click, starting shortstop on the Gustie fast-pitch softball team who is leading the team with 37 RBIs and is second in home runs with seven, was profiled in an article in the Rochester Post-Bulletin Sports section on April 28 (http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/?a=292399&z=22).
• The St. Peter Herald published a preview article on April 26 regarding the upcoming lecture (May 8) by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus that leads off what is to be an annual symposium honoring the late Phil Lindau ('58).
  

Anyone who has suggested additions for this list, suggestions for potential future media stories, or interest in being a media source should contact Marketing and Communication (x7520 or news@gustavus.edu).

Plugs

Music Sale: Including record albums and scores, $.50 each. Monday, May 7, through Sunday, May 13, in lobby near circulation desk at Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library.

Seeking Rental Housing: A visiting professor for 2007-08 seeks rental housing for the school year for two adults, nonsmokers. Unfurnished, furnished, or semi-furnished. Contact Sarah Dille, sdille@golden.net, 519-886-7827.

For Sale: 2-bedroom, 2-bath townhome with attached 2-stall garage in quiet St. Peter neighborhood. If interested please contact Patricia at 507-382-0228.

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.