Inside Gustavus September 12, 2013 | Volume 46, Number 2
Faculty/Staff Activities
In July, Yurie Hong (Classics) presented a paper titled "Leto's Wandering Womb and the Barren Island of Delos: In/Fertility and Instability in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo" at an interdisciplinary conference on Infertility and Sacred Space, which was hosted by Cambridge University. She has also published an article titled "Teaching Rape Texts in Classical Literature" in the journal Classical World (Summer vol. 106.4).
Doug Huff (Philosophy) gave a lecture on Soren Kierkegaard ("Fear and Trembling"), and a presentation and discussion of his play, "Emil's Enemies," which is based on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his role in the German Resistance to the Nazis during WWII at the Danabod Folk School in Tyler, Minn., on August 22.
Amy Seham (Theatre & Dance) completed work on her article "Performing Gender, Race and Power in Improv Comedy" to be published inthe Oxford Handbood of Critical Improvisation Studies. Along with two Gustavus students, in June, she travel to Miami University in Ohio to present their panel, "Theatre of the Oppressed as a tool in the fight against sexual assault on campus", at the national Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference. In August, she presented her research at the National Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference with colleagues from several universities across the country. The panel was "Playing with Improvisation: Approaches in Teaching Improv Methodologies when Improvised Performance is the Goal." Her presentation, titled "More Improv that Resists Stereotypes" built on her earlier presentations on improv, race and gender at this and other conferences. Finally, as this conference was held in Orlando, Florida, her daughter Miranda and her research the performance of mothers and daughters in the context of Disneyland and Universal Studios.
Louis Yu (Mathematics and Computer Science) presented "An Evaluation of the Effect of Spam on Twitter Trending Topics" at the 2013 ASE/IEEE International Conference on Social Computing in Washington, DC, September 11, 2013. The conference paper acceptance rate is 9.9%. Yu's coauthor, Grant Stafford, is an undergraduate student at Pomona College, where Yu was Visiting Assistant Professor of Computer Science.
David Fienen, Emeritus Professor of Music and former Provost, had a busy summer. He played for services at two churches in Excelsior and Richfield; was substitute organist at Mt. Olive Lutheran in Minneapolis, Union Presbyterian and First Lutheran in St. Peter; played organ recitals in Rochester, Mankato, and Hutchinson; played concerts at Gramercy Park and Becketwood in the Twin Cities; played two weddings at First Lutheran and at Christ Chapel; and worked as part of the regular core crew building a Habitat for Humanity house in Le Sueur alongside Byron Nordstrom, Emeritus Professor of History.
Linnea Wren’s (Art and Art History) research on ancient Maya art was presented at the Science Museum of Minnesota, in a presentation co-authored with the art historians Travis Nygard and Kaylee Spencer. The presentation, titled “What do Art Historians Contribute to the Maya Picture? Approaches to Understanding Maya Art,” included discussions of identifying Maya personages through portraiture and texts. As co-presenters, we drew on our experiences in working with archaeologists and using interdisciplinary perspectives. Nygard is an assistant professor at Ripon College, Ripon, Wis., and Spencer is an associate professor at the University of Wisconson-River Falls. The event was held on June 8, 2013 in conjunction with the museum's exhibit “Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed.”
Jeff Rosoff's (Mathematics and Computer Science) article "Arbitrarily Unfair Card Decks and a Conjecture of Artin" has appeared in the current issue of the Mathematical Intelligencer, vol. 35 #3.
During the summer of 2013, Elizabeth Baer (English and African Studies) taught a week-long workshop, with other scholars, on the Holocaust and Memory. The audience was high school and college teachers and the program was offered under the auspices of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota/Twin Cities. She also made a presentation, with Ben Leonard from the Nicollet County Historical Society, to the Danebod Folk School on the Dakota-U.S. War of 1862.
In The Media
- The Mankato Free Press featured student-athlete Jeffrey Dubose in a Sept. 7 story previewing the upcoming football season. Dubose and head football coach Peter Haugen were quoted in the story.
- The Star Tribune printed an extended news obituary about former President Frank Barth in its Sept. 5 edition.
- The Mankato Free Press printed a story on Wednesday, Sept. 11 with a headline "GAC jumps 9 spots in national rankings." The story was in regards to the latest rankings published by U.S. News & World Report. President Ohle was quoted in the story.
- KEYC-TV ran a story on its Wednesday, Sept. 11 newscasts about the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. Vice President for Enrollment Management Tom Crady was interviewed for the story.
- The St. Peter Herald printed a story on Thursday, Sept. 12 about a history class of Sujay Rao’s that will spend this fall working on a service learning project that involves the Lac quie Parle Mission site near Montevideo. Gustavus students Sam Luby, Lacie Micek and Katelyn Juni were quoted in the story.
- The St. Peter Herald printed a story on Thursday, Sept. 12 about a partnership between Gustavus and St. Peter High School with regards to athletic training services.
News & Announcements
PTO/Vacation Donations Being Accepted...Employees who would like to donate paid time off hours/vacation hours for a Gustavus employee who will be on an approved FMLA leave and will run out of paid-time benefits should complete and sign a request for transfer of PTO/vacation hours available at the Office of Human Resources (x7304).
Van Training...Training for the College's 10-passenger vans is available through the Campus Safety office. Trainings are scheduled on an as-needed basis. To register for the 10-passenger van training, please send your name, e-mail address, student/employee ID number and department/graduation year to Lisa Octigan in the Campus Safety office (eoctigan@gustavus.edu). She will set you up for the online portion of the training (Part 1) and coordinate the scheduling of a driving portion (Part 2). Please plan for at least one week advance notice of when you will need to be driving the vehicle for training to be coordinated.
Campus Happenings
Fall Research Symposium...This year's Fall Research Symposium will take place between 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13 in the Nobel Hall of Science. The Symposium features Gustavus students who engaged in scientific research either at Gustavus or off-campus over the summer. The event will begin with a poster session in the Nobal Hall atrium, and will also include oral presentations and a social time with refreshments.
Reading in Common Lecture...Author Tori Murden McClure, author of this year's Reading in Common book A Pearl in the Storm will speak in Christ Chapel at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Daily Sabbath Schedule...
- Friday, September 13 (Fun): Meet at Sesquicentennial Plaza
- Monday, September 16 (Pray): Digital Prayer Well, Prayers of the heart, Prayers for the world. Post your prayers online at padlet.com/wall/gustavusprays. Music for prayer in Christ Chapel. Silent prayer in Interfaith Space in the Campus Center
- Tuesday, September 17 (Discuss): Provost Mark Braun will consider "Are we really SO Lutheran?"
- Wednesday, September 18 (Celebrate): Morning Praise
- Thursday, September 19 (Re:vive): Worship led by Re:vive, Chaplain Brian Konkol preaching
Nobel Conference Preview...As a prelude to the 49th Nobel Conference, "The Universe At Its Limits", Professor S. James Gates will be on campus to deliver a talk titled "Symmetry and the Quincunx Nexus". Gates will speak at 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 in Alumni Hall. From the time of the ancient Greeks until today, symmetry has been an important but little understood concept driving advances in physics. In preparation for Nobel Conference 49, "The Universe At Its Limits," this presentation will take the audience from understanding this concept to its direct impact on ideas in string theory and with other human ways of interpreting the universe. Free and open to the public.
Three Weeks and Counting...The 49th annual Nobel Conference is less than three weeks away. Be sure to visit gustavus.edu/nobel for information and answers to most of your questions. Faculty, staff, and students are reminded to secure their one complimentary ticket by going online to gustavustickets.com.
Nobel Concert Information...The annual Nobel Concert will take place at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1 in Christ Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. This year's concert is titled "Dark Energy" -- Piano Trios by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) and Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975). Perfomers include Jill Olson Moser (violin), Sharon Mautner-Rodgers (cello), and Yumiko Oshima-Ryan (piano).
Are You Ready For Some Football...The Gustavus football team will open its 2013 regular season schedule on Saturday, Sept. 14 when the Gusties host Simpson College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Off-Campus Events of Interest
Singers new to the area are invited to join the Saint Peter Choral
Society to prepare a concert of French music featuring the Faure Requiem
with orchestra on March 9 and 16, 2014. Rehearsals are Monday evenings
from 7:15 to 9 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church. The Choral Society, now
in its 34th season, will be the guest choir at the annual Gymanfa Ganu
(Welsh Hymn Festival) on Sunday, Sept. 22 at First Presbyterian Church
in Mankato at 1:30 p.m. For further information contact director Sara
McKay at 934-6176.
Obituaries
- Ronald A. Jones, who served on the Gustavus Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2010, passed away at the age of 64 on Sept. 5, 2013 while traveling in Iceland due to complications from his battle with cancer. After concluding his service with the Board, Ron continued to serve on the Investment Committee of the Institutional Resources Group of the Board of Trustees through 2013. He also served on the Commission Gustavus 150 Task Force on Facilities and Finances. Ron is survived by his wife of 45 years Cindy, sons Eric (Carrie), Ryan, and Mark '00 (Kristy) Jones, along with six grandchildren. The funeral service is being held at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 13 at Village Church of Barrington in Barrington, Illinois.
To inform the campus community of the death of a current student, employee, or trustee; an emeritus professor or trustee; or an immediate family member of a current employee, contact the Office of the President (x7538 or jnoren@gustavus.edu). Death announcements and funeral notices for students, current and emeritus faculty and employees, and trustees will be sent to the community via written notice from the president, posted on community-l, the official campus-wide e-mail list, and published in the Inside Gustavus or Summer Scoop. Notices for immediate family members of current employees will be published in the Inside Gustavus or the Summer Scoop unless they occur during a publication break, in which case they will be posted on employee-l.
Congregational Outreach
Retreats...Church Relations in the Center for Servant Leadership will host a weekend confirmation retreat for St. John's Lutheran Church of Montgomery from Friday, Sept. 14 to Saturday, Sept. 15. The confirmation and youth retreat programs are a resource offered for youth of ELCA congregations who are also members of the Gustavus Association of Congregations.
Plugs
Professor Seeking Housing During Week...My name is Peter Shea. I have taught at Gustavus in various roles over the last ten years. I have returned to teach in the Philosophy Department at Gustavus Fall Semester, as a last-minute replacement. I will be teaching through Spring Semester. I need a housing option during the week; I will normally go home on weekends. This option can be a room, or a house-sitting arrangement, or a reasonably priced rental. I am allergic to cats and cigarette smoke, and I need a quiet place. I don't need a lot of space. Wifi would be helpful. I have made house-sitting and rental arrangements with Gustavus faculty for several years and can provide references as needed. I can be reached at shea0017@umn.edu or by cell phone at 612-250-4207.
"Plugs" is maintained as a forum by which members of the Gustavus community may offer goods and/or services to others in the community, or seek the same from them. It is not meant to accommodate ads or announcements from area businesses such as real estate agents or retailers, although from time to time such announcements may be published when deemed to be of particular interest to the community.
To add or change items on the calendar, please fill out and submit a College Calendar event form. View the entire College Calendar online.
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Inside Gustavus is a newsletter for Gustavus Adolphus College employees produced by the Office of Marketing and Communication. It is published weekly during the academic year (except during the week of Thanksgiving, the Christmas break, Touring Week, and the Spring and Easter breaks). Anyone may submit items by filling out an online submission form. While online submissions are preferred, items may also be submitted typewritten on a letter-sized sheet of paper. Send "snail mail" items to: Inside Gustavus, Office of Marketing and Communication. Items must reach the office no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Tuesday before publication. For more information, contact Matt Thomas (mthomas@gustavus.edu or x7510).
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