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News @ PSU

News and information from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas.

Monday, April 30, 2007

High school students test science skills at PSU

Hundreds of Four-State high school students will test their science skills on Thursday, May 3, as part of Pittsburg State University’s annual Science Day. The students will demonstrate their knowledge in chemistry, physics, biology and Earth and space science beginning at 9 a.m.

Organizers of Science Day say that in addition to traditional tests, students compete in a variety of events that require hands-on science. For example, students will put physics principles to work in the Paper Tower, Mousetrap Car and Paper Tower competitions.

The students will demonstrate their knowledge of Earth and space science during the Seismic Shakers competition in which they are required to construct a paper tower that will withstand shaking produced by a machine that simulates earthquakes. The Mars Colony competition requires teams of students to build models of a colony on Mars that could sustain human life. Entries are judged on uniqueness of design, completeness of design, efficiency of design, and feasibility of design.

Science Day organizers say the event is designed not only to challenge students’ knowledge, but also to be a fun introduction to the university and specifically to the programs in PSU’s chemistry, biology and physics departments.

For more information, please contact Tom Shoberg at 620-235-4387.

---Pitt State---

Carl Junction youngsters learn 'Wonders of Transportation'

It’s not every day that kindergarteners get a chance to fly a plane, race an electric car, or compete in a boat race, but for the students at Pittsburg State University’s Technology Education Department, there’s no age limit to hands-on learning.

After six weeks of helping Carl Junction R-1 teachers integrate some of the newest technologies in their classrooms, the PSU students will present “Wonders in Transportation,” from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, at the Carl Junction Primary School gymnasium. Transforming the room into a larger-than-life “discovery center,” the expo will offer hands-on demonstrations in space, human-powered, water, land, air, integrated transportation.

In its fifth year, the expo series has focused on topics such as science, invention, flight, and the ocean. This year’s expo will include the participation of more than 500 kindergarten and first-graders. It is the capstone project for the technology education majors.

Mike Neden, PSU assistant professor in technology education, says the event is a great way for future technology educators to see how much children can learn when they use technology to compliment the lesson.

“In today’s world, many teachers are graduating from college without much applied learning with technology,” he said. “This is a way for our students to work with real teachers and real kids and use it in the classroom.”

For more information on the “Wonders of Transportation” event, contact Professor Mike Neden at 620-235-4379.

---Pitt State---

Friday, April 27, 2007

Samuels to direct Honors College

Julie Samuels, Curriculum and Instruction, has been selected as the new director of the Pittsburg State University Honors College. Samuels, who has been a member of the PSU faculty since 1999, will begin her duties on June 18. She follows Becky Brannock, who had directed the Honors College since 2002.

The PSU Honors College is designed to provide a more meaningful educational experience for select superior students. To be considered for admission, applicants must have a minimum ACT score of 28 and meet a number of other requirements including demonstrated high school academic achievement, a written essay, activities and letters of recommendation.

Samuels holds a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from Ottawa University, a master of science degree in curriculum and instruction from PSU and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Kansas State University.

Samuels taught elementary school in Osawatomie, Kan., and Mnsfield, Mo., and middle school in Westphalia, Kan., before joining the faculty at PSU. She currently teaches undergraduate reading courses as well as classroom management.

Her awards and honors include Kansas Outstanding Reading Educator, Osawatomie District Teacher of the Year and runner up for the Third Congressional District Kansas Teacher of the Year.

---Pitt State---

NCAA applauds PSU-community bond

Pittsburg State University President Tom Bryant often says that “What’s good for Pittsburg State is good for our community and what’s good for our community is good for Pittsburg State.” That strong university-community bond and how to promote it in other university towns is the subject of a new NCAA Web site.

The Web site http://www.diicommunity.org/ includes a video about the game day atmosphere in Pittsburg on days that the Gorilla football team plays at home. The video was shot last fall and documents the day-long activities that begin with breakfast at Bob’s Grill, and tailgating in Gorilla Village and ends with PSU football players tossing footballs on the field after the game.

The video is directed by Dr. Rich Luker, a nationally recognized sports and leisure researcher who offers insights on the film about ways other Division II universities can start community engagement programs of their own.

In the video, Luker, surrounded by area children, PSU football players, students and families, said the environment has a lasting impact.

“It’s not just a one-time experience. When it comes times for them to think about school, when they think about community, this is what they remember,” Luker said.

For more information, call Tommy Riggs, PSU associate athletics director, at 620-235-4148.

---Pitt State---

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Student manufacturing project teaches important lessons

SURE TO BE A HOT ITEM -- A student in the Manufacturing Production Control Management class works in the foundry on this semester's project: a unique PSU bottle opener set.

Students learn many lessons from manufacturing project
Because of the invention of the twist-off cap, there may be less demand for bottle openers these days, but a group of enterprising Pittsburg State University students know that the Pittsburg State name will make their product a hot seller.

Russ Rosmait’s Manufacturing Production Control Management class has designed and is manufacturing a limited number of bottle opening kits that proudly sport the Pittsburg State name. Just 100 of the kits will be manufactured and the students say more than half have already been spoken for. Each set includes two bottle openers. The smaller of the two openers can be attached to a key chain while the larger is a “home edition” based on the letters PSU.

Rosmait said the point of the exercise is to create a project that reflects the complex real-world process of taking something from a concept all the way through manufacture and sales. Rosmait said the work began with a design development phase in which individual students developed ideas about products that they could manufacture and sell. From a wide range of suggestions, the possibilities were narrowed down to just a few from which prototypes were made. The class selected the winning project from those prototypes.

Like a real company, the students organized themselves so that each member of the class had a specific responsibility. Mike Verren, Pittsburg, Kan., is president of the business. Shiloh Williams, Columbus, Kan., is the production manager. Tim McCune, Parsons, Kan., is the personnel manager. Kyle Hutchison, Northville, Mich., is in charge of production control. Cody Haddock, Edgerton, Kan., is the materials manager. Eric Rodgers, Overland Park, Kan., is the finance manager. Andrew Tyler, Faucett, Mo., is the plant engineer. Chase Butcher, Chanute, Kan., and Craig Hellwig, Oswego, Kan., are the product engineers. Matt David, Dewey, Okla., and Jeremy Apt, Neosho, Mo., are responsible for quality control. Jake Adkins, Camden Point, Mo., and Quentin Holmes, Pittsburg, Kan., serve as methods engineers. Derek Spielbusch, St. Paul, Kan., and Charles Tullis, Oronogo, Mo., are the company’s manufacturing engineers. And Doug Wright, Downers Grove, Ill., is the marketing manager.

The second half of the semester has been focused on the manufacture of the bottle opener sets and marketing.

Rosmait said that in addition to teaching students about the complex process required to take a product from concept to manufacture, the project is also teaching students important lessons about leadership and teamwork.

To order a bottle opener set or get more information, call the PSU Engineering Technology Department at 620-235-4350.

---Pitt State---

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Project gives students a real-world experience

Instructor Paul Herring discusses the class project with students Phillip Bowden, far left; Shyam Sampathkumar, Cole Bowman, Jacob VanBecelaere, and Jennifer Muaghalu.

Putting plastic to work

Paul Herring, an assistant professor in Pittsburg State University’s Plastics Engineering Program believes it’s not enough that students know their subject matter. He wants to see them put what they’ve learned to work in real-world situations.

This year, the students in Herring’s Senior Class Project class had an additional opportunity to use their skills in what Herring describes as a team design project. The opportunity arose when a PSU alumna who is teaching special needs students in an Olathe elementary school called Herring for help.

Kerstin Womble, a life skills teacher at Clearwater Creek Elementary School, asked Herring whether his students would be interested in helping her acquire a tool, sometimes called a slant board, that is used to help special needs students improve their writing skills.

“The project fit our needs perfectly,” Herring said. “It was simple enough to accomplish in the time we had. It also had the element of public service that we liked.”

Herring said he had four goals for his students with this project.

“I wanted to introduce design tools and procedures, to complete the project in a timely fashion, to promote teamwork and to provide community service,” Herring said.

The students accepted the challenge and each volunteered to complete one task.

The project began with a telephone interview with the teacher in which she described how the slant board would be used and aspects of the design that were important. The process that followed included competitive product analysis, definition of product requirements, search and selection of hardware, selection of the materials and the processes to be used, computer design, tool fabrication and, finally, the actual manufacture of the product.

The students actually created four prototypes using different materials that they delivered to Clearwater Creek Elementary School in March. From those four, the teachers who would be using the slant boards selected one design from which Herring’s class will manufacture four to six units to donate to the class.

“It was a perfect project for the class,” Herring said. “The students were able to take the product from concept to production in a very short time. It is a condensed version of what takes place in the plastics industry on a daily basis.”

The students in Herring’s class said they were challenged by constraints of time and cost – factors that every business must consider, according to Herring. They said that as they worked as a team, not everyone agreed, but they learned to compromise and depend on each other.

The result was a hit. Womble said other special education teachers were impressed with the Pitt State students’ project.

“Pitt State is well known in the Kansas City area,” Womble said, “but not everyone up here knows about all the great programs we have at PSU. It was good to show off just a little.”

Students involved in the project were Phillip Bowden, Louisburg, Kan.; Cole Bowman, Fort Scott, Kan.; Jennifer Muoghalu, Pittsburg, Kan.; Joseph Oplotnik, Columbus, Kan.; Shyam Sampathkumar, India; Adam Tilman, Humboldt, Kan.; Zachary Tyler, Eudora, Kan.; Jacob VanBecelaere, Pittsburg, Kan.; and Chris Wagner, Stark, Kan.

---Pitt State---

Choirs, Symphony join for Oratorio

The internationally acclaimed tenor John Aler will join the Pittsburg State University Choirs and the Southeast Kansas Symphony for the annual spring oratorio at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, at Pittsburg’s First United Methodist Church at 5th and Pine. The program, entitled “Heroic Music for Voices and Orchestra,” is drawn from the “Egmont Overture,” by Ludwig van Beethoven; and “Te Deum,” by Hector Berlioz. The PSU Choirs are under the direction of Susan Marchant and the Southeast Kansas Symphony is under the direction of Stella Hastings.

Aler is one of the most acclaimed and admired singers on the international stage. He is a frequent performer with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. He has sung in Europe with the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Orchestre Nationale de France and the BBC Symphony, among many others. He has performed at the major opera houses of the world including the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Salzburg, Hamburg, Geneva, Madrid and Brussels as well as New York City Opera, the Washington Opera and Santa Fe.

Aler has an extensive concert repertoire that ranges from the evangelist in the “Passions” of Bach to the “War Requiem and Serenade” for tenor horn and strings of Benjamin Britten and Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. Aler is featured on three Grammy Award-winning recordings and can be heard on more than 60 recordings on more than a dozen labels.

Tickets for the performance are $7 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the PSU Ticket Office in the Overman Student Center or at the door the day of the performance. For more information, call the PSU Department of Music at 620-235-4466.

---Pitt State---

Students plan Korean Culture Day

Pittsburg State University’s Korean students will showcase their culture for the campus and surrounding community from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, April 26.

Korean Culture Day begins with free performances in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom of the Overman Student Center. The students plan presentations that include information about Korea and demonstrations of Korean Wrestling, a Percussion Quartet, Shuttlecock Kick, a Masked Dance and Taekwondo.

The performances will be followed by a Korean Dinner in the United Methodist Christian Ministries building at the corner of E. Williams and S. Elm Streets. Tickets for the dinner are $3 and will be on sale in the Crimson and Gold Ballroom before and after the performances.

For information, contact Chester Son, 620-240-7571.

---Pitt State---

Friday, April 20, 2007

Church social hall inspires performance

The next performance scheduled by the Pittsburg State University Theatre covers subject matter just about everyone in the Four State area can relate to. “Macaroni and Jello” is an original work by PSU faculty member Cynthia Allen that reflects life in a small-town church social hall. The production will be presented by the Advanced Performance Ensemble April 26-29 in the Studio Theatre on the PSU campus.

“It isn’t that everyone grew up going to church,” Allan said, “but anyone who has ever been frustrated with organizational meetings, well-intentioned volunteer efforts, too much Jello salad, and the general chaos that occurs when diverse people try to run something in their spare time can appreciate this play.”

Allan said she chose the location of a church social hall because it best represents a neutral meeting space used by many different groups, especially in small towns.

“The social, or fellowship, hall is the ‘middle’ space of a church,” Allen said. “It isn’t a sacred space, but it’s not really secular, either. I like creating work that shows the tension between opposing facets of real lives.”

“Macaroni and Jello,” like “American Edit,” which premiered at Pitt State in 2003, is a structured improvisation. This means that Allan writes the framework of the play and then works with actors over a period of weeks to develop the “meat” of each scene.

“This is an improvisational work,” said Allan, “and though the actors have a sense of what they want to accomplish during the scene, everything is really up for grabs. The show will be different from one performance to the next.”

Members of the advanced ensemble include Lucy Miller-Downing, Chelsea Smith, Austin Laverty, Daley Leintz, Todd Hoover, Roy Hatcher, Jodie Buster, Deidre Galloway, and Bekah Grieb. Set and lighting design are by students Jodie Buster and Deidre Galloway, respectively, with Stephanie Schartel serving as stage manager. Lisa Quinteros is costume designer, which was no small task given the range of possibilities for each scene.

“Lisa had to prepare an extensive amount of items for us to use in each performance,” Allen said. “It was as new an experience for her as it was the students.”

Allan stressed that she could not develop her improvisational work unless there was a good pool of talent and that is why she enjoys teaching at Pitt State.

“I have such creative people – both students and colleagues -- to work with. They are willing to push themselves to try something new.”

The play runs Thursday through Saturday, April 26-28 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 29 at 2 p.m. in the Studio Theatre. The entrance to the theater is on Joplin Street across from the Axe Library. Tickets are $8 for the general public, $6 for faculty/staff, $5 for under 17/over 65, and free to PSU students with a valid PSU photo I.D. Tickets are available through the PSU Ticket Office in the Overman Student Center or at the door approximately 45 minutes prior to curtain. Reservations are encouraged due to limited seating in the theater. Audience members are encouraged to bring a donation of “macaroni and/or Jello” products (Jello, pudding cups, canned fruit, spaghetti sauce, pasta, etc.) to be given to the Wesley House food bank at the end of the show. To make reservations, call the Ticket Office at 620-235-4796.

---Pitt State---

PSU Jazz Ensembles plan spring concert

The Pittsburg State University Jazz Ensembles will present a diverse program ranging from jazz classics to contemporary works in a free concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24, in Pittsburg’s Memorial Auditorium.

The program will include such songs as “Four Brothers,” “Back to the Blues,” “Fun Time,” “My Romance,” “My Foolish Heart,” “City Dock,” “My Buddy,” “RU Chicken,” “Blues in Hoss Flat,” “Time for a Change,” and “West Side Story.”

Conductors include: Robert Kehle (Jazz One), Todd Hastings (Jazz Two) and the associate director of Jazz Two, Matt Bennett.

This will be the final concert for three students who are either graduating or student teaching this fall. Zach Elkins, will be featured on an alto work by Pat Metheny called “If I Could,” along with Matt Bennett and Terri Houston.

---Pitt State---

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Students show support for VT, plan vigil

Students at Pittsburg State University will join with other students across the nation on Friday, April 20, to show their support of the Virginia Tech family in the wake of shootings there this week by wearing the VT school colors of Maroon and Orange. Maroon and Orange ribbons are available in the Overman Student Center and well-wishers may sign a banner there that will be sent to Virginia Tech after Friday.

In addition, the Student Activities Council, the Residence Hall Assembly and the Student Government Association will hold a vigil in memory of the those killed and in support of the Virginia Tech family at 9 p.m. on Monday, April 23. The vigil will begin on the PSU Oval, where candles will be passed out, and will continue with a walk to the University Lake.

Anthony Moreno, one of the student organizers of the vigil, said students are planning the vigil because they feel a special kinship with the Virginia Tech students.

“Because this was on a university campus,” Moreno said, “it affects all of us.”

For information, call the Campus Activities Office at 620-235-4795.

---Pitt State---

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Students camp out for violence prevention

This week a group of Pittsburg State University students is camping out in front of the Overman Student Center in an effort to prevent violence and sexual assault. Members of the PSU Students Against Violence through Education (SAVE) and Men for Violence Prevention (MVP) are living in a tent near a large rock in front of the student center where they are collecting donations for the Crisis Resource Center of Crawford County.

Organizers say they plan to continue living in the tent until midnight on Friday, April 20, for a total of 120 hours. Their objective is not just to raise money, but to also raise awareness of what life is like for survivors of sexual assault.

---Pitt State---

Organists schedule concert at PSU

Members of the PSU Organ Studio and the Southeast Kansas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists will present a concert on Sunday, April 22, at 3 p.m. in McCray Recital Hall on the Pittsburg State University campus. This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Fisk Organ Recital Series and the SEKAGO.

The organists in this performance will include Megan Hizey, Jackie Slater, Colleen Pearman, and Susan Marchant. The program will include music drawn from the following composers and works:

Dietrich Buxtehude, Praeludium in A minor; Louis Clerambault, "Pieces d'Orgue;" J.S. Bach, "Allein Gott in her Hoh' sei Ehr';" Louis Vierne, "Carillon;" Felix Mendelssohn, Prelude in G; Charles-Marie Widor, "Pastorale" from Symphony No. 2; Jehan Alain, "Variations on a Theme of Jannequin;" Jehan Alain, "Litanies;" Janice Linker, "Variations on 'The Water is Wide;'" Herbert Howells, "Psalm Prelude," Op. 32, No. 2; and Josef Rheinberger, "Pastorale" from Sonata No. 12 in D-flat.

For further information, contact Susan Marchant at 620-235-4476.

---Pitt State---

Monday, April 16, 2007

Students battle discrimination with silence

A group of Pittsburg State University students hopes that their silence on Wednesday speaks volumes. Members of the PSU Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) will participate in a national day of silence on Wednesday, April 18, to bring attention to discrimination, harassment and abuse that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies face in schools.

Lacy Bridgewater, QSA co-president, said the event is especially meaningful at PSU “because though our LGBT community may be small and our ally population seems to be even smaller, we still deserve to have a voice.”

Bridgewater said she hopes that the event will work towards ending some of the silence and hatred students face. A national school climate survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that more than 80 percent of LGBT students had experienced verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school and 29 percent reported missing at least a day of school in the past month out of fear for their personal safety.

“The Day of Silence is one way students and their allies are making anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and name-calling unacceptable in America’s schools,” Bridgewater said.

On Wednesday, members of the QSA will be wearing t-shirts identifying themselves and will be passing out “speaking cards” that explain their silence and encourage others to be aware of the problems that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students face.

For more information, contact Marshall Estes or Lacy Bridgewater at PSUQSA@hotmail.com
For more information and a complete collection of organizing materials, visit www.dayofsilence.org
For more information on the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, visit www.glsen.org

---Pitt State---

PSU sororities and fraternities celebrate Greek Week

PSU fraternities and sororities are celebrating Greek life this week with a number of Greek Week activities.

The week begins today, April 16, with the delivery of doughnuts as part of a faculty and staff appreciation effort. This evening, the groups will recognize leaders in the Greek community for scholarship, service and leadership at an awards ceremony at 6 p.m. in the Overman Student Center.

On Tuesday, April 17, the fraternities and sororities will sponsor a canned art competition at Gorilla Crossing and banners on the Oval to raise visibility about Greek life and Greek contributions to campus life. That evening, the fraternities and sororities will come together for a barbecue at 5 p.m. in Gorilla Village.

The traditional All-Greek photo will be taken at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18, on the Oval and will be followed by Greek Games at 5:45 p.m. on the Oval and in Gorilla Village.

As always, the highlight of Greek Week is the Airband and Greek God and Greek Goddess competition. The fraternities and sororities have been working for weeks on presentations, which will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 20, in the John Lance Arena in the Weede Physical Education Building. Donations collected at the door will benefit the KVC Kids and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

For more information, call Travis Smith, program coordinator for Campus Activities, 620-235-4795.

---Pitt State---

Friday, April 13, 2007

PSU honors high school student for community service


Gorilla's Choice Award winner Joel Preston with PSU President Tom Bryant, left; KSN Senior Anchor Jim Jackson; Joel's parents and grandmother

Neosho (Mo.) High School senior Joel Preston has been chosen to receive Pittsburg State University’s Gorilla’s Choice Award. The award, which recognizes high school seniors who have demonstrated exemplary community service, was announced at the university’s leadership banquet on Thursday, April 12.

As the Gorilla’s Choice winner, Preston will receive either a $2,000 scholarship at PSU or a $1,000 scholarship at another college or university of his choice. Preston says he plans to attend PSU where he is interested in the university’s technology programs.

The Gorilla’s Choice Award is sponsored jointly by PSU and KSN-TV. In presenting the award, KSN Senior Anchor Jim Jackson praised the accomplishments of all of the nominees.

“We had six finalists for this year’s award,” Jackson said. “All six of these students are terrific representatives of our future leaders. Their commitment to giving back to the community at such a young age is heartwarming and encouraging.”

Preston’s activities included participation in the Food Basket Brigade over the past eight years and work with Angel Food Ministries over the past year. Nominators noted that he has had many years of continuous involvement in these two causes through his school, church and as an Eagle Scout. Preston went door-to-door helping gather food and helped distribute it to the needy and he works one Saturday a month to help fill boxes and distribute them.

---Pitt State---

Thursday, April 12, 2007

PSU seniors take national construction exam

Forty-one seniors from Pittsburg State University’s Construction Engineering Technology and Construction Management programs took the eight-hour associate constructor professional exam this spring. PSU was one of the host sites for the national exam, which is sponsored by the American Institute of Constructors Certification Commission.

The exam is available for graduating seniors from accredited construction programs and construction professionals from the construction industry. Persons who pass the first eight-hour examination are certified as associate constructors by the American Institute of Constructors. A second-level examination is also available, which certifies successful participants as Certified Professional Constructors (CPC). The CPC certification is becoming a national standard for construction professionals in the United States, according to officials in PSU’s College of Technology.

PSU faculty members James Otter and Bill Strenth served as test administrators. Persons interested in the American Institute of Constructors examination process can visit the AIC Web site at www.constructorcertification.org or call 703-683-5053.

---Pitt State---

PSU hosts 33rd Waddill Chamber Music Competition and Concert

The Pittsburg State University Department of Music will host the 33rd annual Waddill Chamber Music Competition and Concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 16, in McCray Recital Hall. The performance is free and open to the public.

The program includes: Sonata in F Major, “Spring,” by Ludwig van Beethoven; featuring Erman Türkili, violin; and Gulimina Mahamuti, piano; “Passacaglia, by Handel–Halvorsen, featuring Ramiro Miranda, violin; and Irene Diaz Gill, cello; “Petite Suite for Piano Four Hands,” by Claude Debussy, featuring Debra Snodgrass, prima; and Zerlinda Tertia, seconda; String Quartet, Op. 3, by Emilio Bigi, featuring Erman Türkili, violin I; Ramiro Miranda violin II; featuring Ben Davis, viola; and Irene Diaz Gill, cello; Piano Trio in E-flat Major, by Ludwig van Beethoven, featuring Irene Diaz Gill, cello; Erman Türkili, violin; and Debra Snodgrass, piano; Quintet for Brass, Op. 5, by Victor Ewald, featuring A. J. Metzger, trumpet I; Erin Smith, trumpet II; Patty Condiff, horn; Terri Houston, trombone; and Jill Venter, tuba; String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110, by Dmitry Shostakovich, featuring Rebecca Cutler, violin I; Ramiro Miranda violin II; Ben Davis, viola; and Irene Diaz Gill, cello.

---Pitt State---

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Maize school superintendent to join PSU faculty

Chris Christman, interim dean of the Pittsburg State University College of Education, announced today the appointment of Craig L. Elliott as an assistant professor in the College of Education’s Department of Special Services and Leadership Studies. Elliott, the superintendent of USD 266 in Maize, Kan., will be an assistant professor and will teach education leadership courses. He announced his retirement from the district at a school board meeting earlier this week.

Christman said Elliott’s experience and his statewide reputation as an exceptional school administrator make him a “great addition” to the College of Education faculty.

Elliott holds an associate of arts degree from Butler County Community College, a bachelor of science degree in industrial education from Fort Hays State University, a master of education degree in educational administration from Wichita State University and a doctor of education degree in educational administration from Oklahoma State University.

Elliott has been with the Maize school district since 1981 and has served as superintendent there since 1996. In the time he has been with the district, which is just northwest of Wichita, it has grown from just over 1,000 students to more than 6,000 students today.

---Pitt State---

Series features two PSU writers

For years, the English Department’s Distinguished Visiting Writers Series has brought authors and poets from around the country to the Pittsburg State University campus. On Thursday, April 19, the series will host two of PSU’s own for the first annual Faculty Reading. Kathy DeGrave and Karen Stolz, who both teaching fiction writing, will read from their works at 8 p.m. in the Special Collections Room of Axe Library. The readings, sponsored by the Distinguished Visiting Writers Series and the Student Fee Council, are free and open to the public.

“I’m really excited that with our new Master’s Creative Writing emphasis that we’re able to
showcase our faculty writers in this way,” Said Laura Washburn, director of Creative Writing at PSU.

De Grave has published two books, a novel, “Company Woman,” and the scholarly work, “Swindler, Spy Rebel: The Confidence Woman in 19th-Century America,” as well as several articles and short stories in journals and anthologies. In 2000, “Swindler, Spy, Rebel” was named by MS Magazine as a book to take into the 21st century. Her most recent novel, “In Real Life Women Don’t Play Jazz,” was a finalist in the William Faulkner/William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition in 2004.

Karen Stolz’s first published novel, “World of Pies,” was a Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection and has been published in Germany, Sweden, Italy, Portugal, Australia and Holland. “World of Pies,” a June 2000 BookSense pick, was listed by the School Library Journal as one of the best adult books for young adults in 2000. Stolz’s second novel, “Fanny and Sue,” was the 2003 required summer reading pick for Ursuline Academy in St. Louis. Her short story, “A Beau for Aunt Sheree,” was published in the November 05 issue of Good Housekeeping. She is currently completing work on “Arvetta,” a novel she is co-writing with Herman Wright, set in the early 1900s in rural East Texas.

DeGrave did work in the creative writing program at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and the MFA program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She won a prize for short fiction while earning her Ph.D in American literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she is a professor of American literature and fiction writing at PSU.

Stolz, recipient of a 1999 Fiction Fellowship from the Austin Writers' League/Texas Commission on the Arts, received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She has taught at Austin Community College, St. Edward’s University and the Writer’s League of Texas in Austin. Currently she is an instructor of English and fiction writing at PSU.

---Pitt State---

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Student group plans car show

Gas may be nudging $3 a gallon, but Americans still love their cars. The Pittsburg State University Society of Automotive Engineers will indulge that passion with their annual SAE Car Show from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, in the north parking lot of the Kansas Technology Center at Ford and Rouse Streets.

In addition to cars, the event includes a live band, games and prizes. Admission is free for spectators. Persons wishing to exhibit a car will pay a $10 registration fee.

For more information, call Kayce Seiler at 417-529-0315.

---Pitt State---

Groups plan 5th annual Take Back the Night observance

Several campus groups will join the PSU Women’s Studies Club and the Crisis Resource Center of Southeast Kansas for the fifth annual Take Back the Night march and rally at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 12, at Pittsburg State University’s Timmons Chapel. Take Back the Night is an international event started in the 1970s as a means of calling attention to violence against women.

In addition to the Women’s Studies Club, student groups assisting with the event are the Sexual Assault Response Team, Men Against Violence Program, and Students Against Violence Through Education.

The evening will begin at Timmons Chapel. Just before it gets dark, participants will gather in front of the chapel to begin their march around campus. Chant guides will lead the participants. Organizers say the march is intended to help women feel empowered and safe in the streets at night.

This year's featured guest speakers will be Rebecca Reedy, president of the board of The Crisis Resource Center, and Dr. Kathleen Nichols of PSU’s English Department and former PSU Women’s Studies Club adviser. PSU student Krystel Pakitsos is the event’s featured musician. She will perform during the candlelight vigil at the University Lake to honor the victims and survivors of violence. Afterwards, there will be a survivor speak-out where survivors, friends of survivors, and others are encouraged to speak if they desire. No photography will be allowed the speak-out.

In conjunction with the Take Back the Night observance, the PSU Women’s Studies Club will present a check for $1,800 to the Crisis Resource Center. The money represents a portion of the proceeds from the club’s presentation of the “Vagina Monologues” in February. In total, the PSU Women’s Studies Club has raised more than $6,000 for The Crisis Resource Center of Southeast Kansas over the past three years. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds was donated to the 2007 V-Day Spotlight, “Reclaiming Peace,” which focuses on women in conflict zones.

The PSU Women’s Studies Club is a university and community organization that helps examine the diversity of women’s lives, experiences, and voices in our multicultural and globalized world through activism.

The PSU Women’s Studies Club is a university and community organization that help examine the diversity of women’s lives, experiences, and voices in our multicultural and globalize world through activism.

The Crisis Resource Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the adult and child victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking in the 10-county area of Southeast Kansas. Their services include but are not limited to: crisis intervention services, advocacy services, child exchange and visitation center, emergency transportation services for mothers and their families, referral services for medical treatment, and legal services.

For more information contact

Kylie Quick at 620-249-54595, kjquick@pittstate.edu
or
Goldie Prelogar at 620-704-2451, psuwomen@yahoo.com

---Pitt State---

Graduate to discuss Health & Development in Central Africa

Over the past three years, Maggie Fleming has seen first-hand the daily life struggle that millions of people in the nations of central Africa share. Fleming will share some of her experiences and her thoughts in a presentation on “Health and Development in Central Africa” at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 12, in the Balkans Room of Pittsburg State University’s Overman Student Center. Fleming’s talk, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the PSU History Department.

Fleming, a Pittsburg native, received a bachelor of arts degree from Pittsburg State University and a master of arts degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. For the past three years, she has worked on health care and development projects in West and Central Africa.

---Pitt State---

Monday, April 09, 2007

Final Solo & Chamber Series performance of the season features trumpet player Allen Vizzutti

Allen Vizzutti, trumpet, will perform the final concert of the 2006-2007 Pittsburg State University Solo & Chamber Music Series at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13, in McCray Recital Hall on the PSU campus. Vizzutti will also present a free masterclass for area trumpet students at 3 p.m. that day in McCray Recital Hall.

Vizzutti has performed with a wide variety of artists in 40 countries and every U.S. state. He has shared the stage with Chick Corea, 'Doc' Severinsen, the NBC Tonight Show Band, the Airmen Of Note, the Army Blues and Army Symphony Orchestra, Chuck Mangione, and Woody Herman. Performing as a classical and a jazz artist, often in the same evening, he has appeared as a guest soloist with symphony orchestras and as a soloist in major cities on nearly every continent.

From his home in Seattle, Vizzutti’s activities include a full schedule of recitals, concerts, recording and composing. He demonstrates his commitment to music education and the value of music in everyday life through an extensive schedule of guest appearances at universities across North America, Europe, Japan and Australia.

Vizzutti’s solo jazz recordings include “Trumpet Summit” and “Skyrocket” from Summit Records. Classical CDs currently available from DeHaske Music Publishing Recordings are “The Emerald Concerto and Other Gems,” with the Budapest Radio Orchestra; “Vizzutti Plays Vizzutti” and “Vizzutti and Soli On Tour.” His “High Class Brass,” (also DeHaske Recordings), is a classical and jazz blend co-produced, co-written and performed with fellow trumpet artist, composer and conductor, Jeff Tyzik, along with a 90-piece studio orchestra.

As an artist in residence, Vizzutti has taught at the Eastman School of Music, the Banff Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas State University, Ohio State University, West Texas State University, the Skidmore Jazz Institute, and the Trompeten Akademie of Bremen Germany. He is professor of trumpet at the University of Washington. His treatise, “The Allen Vizzutti Trumpet Method” and his “New Concepts for Trumpet,” (Alfred Music Publishing), have become standards works for trumpet study world wide.

While growing up in Montana, Vizzutti was taught by his father, a self-taught musician and trumpet player, until he left home to attend the Eastman School of Music. There, he earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music.

While living in Los Angeles during the ‘80s, Vizzutti performed on more than 100 motion picture sound tracks, (such as “Back To The Future” and “Star Trek”), as well as countless TV shows, commercials and recordings with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, Chick Corea, the Commodores and Prince. His recent projects include the movies “40 Days and 40 Nights,” “Unfaithfully Yours,” Gridiron Gang,” “Scary Movie Four,” and also video games “Medal of Honor” and “Halo II.”

In Pittsburg, Vizzutti will be accompanied by his wife, pianist Laura Vizzutti. The two met while they both were students at the Eastman School of Music and married 17 years later. Together, the Vizzuttis have performed around the globe. Their recordings include “The Carnival Of Venus” and “A Trumpeter’s Dream,” as well as recent CDs with the renowned international trumpet ensemble, ‘Ten of the Best.’

The program for the Pittsburg concert will include Concertino in Eb, by J.G. Albrechtsberger, Andante and Capriccio, by Allen Vizzutti; Theme from “Concerto de Aranjuez,” by Joachim Rodrigo; “Carnival of Venice,” by Delaware Staigers; “Nine Black Riders: Fantasy for Trumpet and Piano,” by Allen Vizzutti; “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” by Harold Arlen; “Bohemian Dance,” from the opera “Carmen,” by George Bizet; and a Gershwin Medley.

Concert tickets are $10 for the general public, $7 for persons over 65 or under 18. Full-time PSU students are entitled to a free ticket. Tickets are available in advance at the University Ticket Office in the Overman Student Center or at the door prior to the performance.

The Solo and Chamber Music Series is supported by major funding from the PSU Student Government Association.

---Pitt State---

Grant to fund summer Spanish program in Paraguay

A federal grant will make it possible for a group of Kansas Spanish and area studies teachers and senior university-level Spanish education candidates to study Spanish language and culture for a month this summer in Paraguay. Dr. Alice Sagehorn, a member of the faculty in Pittsburg State University’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction and director of the Pittsburg State University in Paraguay Program, announced this week that applications are now being taken for the Culture and Language Learning in Paraguay Program (CLLIP).

CLLIP, Sagehorn explained, is a Fulbright Hays Group Study Abroad Project funded by the U. S. Department of Education and sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education and PSU. The program, which is limited to 18, will run from July 6 through Aug. 4. Sagehorn said the grant will pay for round-trip air travel from Kansas City to Asuncion, Paraguay; the cost of lodging with a host family; two meals a day; some laundry service; tuition and materials; and transportation to and from the language institute.

Sagehorn said program participants will attend 80 hours of Spanish language and culture classes taught by native language instructors. They will observe at K-12 schools to learn teaching methods strategies and will work together to create language and culture lesson plans and that will be placed on the Kansas State Department of Education Web site. The participants will also attend lectures on history, culture, and/or political and economic issues. Field trips to museums and historic sites are planned to enhance cultural experiences and knowledge. On weekends, the participants will have an opportunity to travel at their own expense to historic and cultural sites outside of Asunción, including Foz de Iguazu, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Sagehorn said the deadline for applications for CLLIP is May 1. Interested persons may learn more and request an application form by contacting Sagehorn at 620-235-4499 or by e-mail at asagehor@pittstate.edu.

Download information and an application form here:
http://www.pittstate.edu/cgs/documents/FulbrightProjectAnnouncementandApplication.doc

For more on the Fulbright Hays Group Study Abroad Project:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsgpa/index.html

---Pitt State---

Thursday, April 05, 2007

SAC sponsors Easter Egg hunt Saturday

The Pittsburg State University Student Activities Council will sponsor its annual Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 7, on the PSU Oval. In addition to the egg hunt, there will be games, prizes and an appearance by the Easter Bunny.

For more information, call the SAC Office at 620-235-4801.

---Pitt State---

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

PSU names student employee of the year


PSU Student Employee of the Year Winners: Kimberly Shultz, 2nd runner up, left; Lyndsi Kjonegaard, 1st runner up; and Nick Dellasega, 2007 Student Employee of the Year.

Nick Dellasega, a senior finance major from Pittsburg, was named the 2007 Pittsburg State University student employee of the year today. As he received the award, Dellasega was informed that his nomination had been forwarded to the state level and he has already been chosen the 2007 student employee for the state of Kansas. Dellasega works in the Career Services office at PSU. He is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Joe Dellasega of Pittsburg.

The first runner up in the competition was Lyndsi Kjonegaard, a senior management major from Chouteau, Okla. Kjonegaard works in the Department of Technology Management. She is the daughter of Greg Kjonegaard, Choteau; and Sandi Peeples, of Inola, Okla.

Kimberly Shultz, a senior marketing major from Erie, Kan., was selected second runner up. She works in the Office of University Marketing and is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Shultz of Erie.

The three winners were chosen from nominations submitted by offices across campus. A committee screened the submissions and chose the three winners. Dellasega’s nominators wrote that he is “professional with great business instincts. He has a great work ethic.”

Dr. Brad Hodson, PSU vice president for University Advancement, told the audience at the awards ceremony that “without the more than 900 student employees at PSU, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish what we do.”

Hodson said that both the university and the student workers benefit from the relationship, citing research that shows student workers tend to do better academically than others. Additionally, Hodson said, student workers form a deeper bond with the university.

The annual Student of the Year Award is sponsored by the National Student Employment Association, the Midwest Association of Student Employment Administrators and the PSU Office of Career Services.

---Pitt State---

PSU hosts Math Relays for high school students

Sometimes it seems that Americans have an unnatural fear of math. The Pittsburg State University Math Department hopes to send the message that math can be fun with its 39th annual Math Relays on April 10. This year, more than 900 high school students from the Four-State are expected to participate.

The event begins at 10 a.m. with a general meeting in the Weede Physical Education Building. Individual and team competition will continue throughout the day and will culminate in medal awards at 3:30 p.m. in the Math Department Office in Yates Hall.

Terry Martin, a member of the Math Department faculty, said the events are designed not only to test the students’ math skills, but to also be fun. Events such as this are also a good way to acquaint high school students with Pittsburg State and its programs, he said.

Some of the individual mathematics events at Math Relays include: Algebraic Equations & Inequalities, Algebraic Word Problems, Algebraic Simplifications, Computational Mathematics, Geometry, Analytic Geometry, Trigonometry, Logic and Set Theory, Number Theory, Probability and Statistics, and Programming. Team events include: Algebra Medley, Geometry, Algebraic Word Problems, Trigonometry, Calculator.

For more information, call the PSU Department of Mathematics at: 620-235-4400 or visit their Web site at http://www.pittstate.edu/math/math.html

---Pitt State---

Pitt State physical education experts laud philanthropy for battling childhood obesity

Physical education experts at Pittsburg State University said today they are pleased with this morning’s announcement by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that the philanthropy plans to commit at least $500 million over the next five years to battle childhood obesity.

“I hope that the southeast Kansas area will benefit from this initiative, as well as well as others that are currently being developed,” said Janice Jewett, a member of the faculty in PSU’s Department of Health, Human Performance & Recreation.

John Oppliger, chairman of the department, said the public health threat posed by childhood obesity is not news among physical education professionals, but public awareness of the problem is increasing.

Jewett said efforts to combat childhood obesity are growing, “but more needs to be done.” She pointed to school and community groups that have been formed to fight the epidemic and grants from agencies such as the Kansas Health Foundation to implement programs and services to make southeast Kansas a “healthier” place to live.

“Awareness is increasing,” Jewett said. “Families, schools and even entire communities need to see the lack of physical activity and unhealthy food choices for children as a risk factor that affects us not only at the current time, but also will have a strong impact on our future.”

Oppliger agreed, noting that the childhood obesity epidemic and its health consequences could mean that children in school today could represent the first American generation to see an actual decrease in life expectancy.

According to a release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation issued on April 4, the foundation’s goal is to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity in the U.S. by 2015. The foundation’s focus will be on “improving access to affordable healthy foods and opportunities for safe physical activity in schools and communities. It will place special emphasis on reaching children at greatest risk for obesity and related health problems.”

Childhood obesity facts
• More than 33 percent of American children 6-11 are obese (approximately 25 million children).
• Overweight adolescents have an 80 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.
• Some research estimates the cost of childhood obesity in the U.S. at $14 billion annually in direct health care costs.
• Overall, the direct health care and lost productivity costs of obesity in the U.S. is estimated at about $117 billion annually.

For more on the PSU Department of Health, Human Performance & Recreation go the department Web site at http://www.pittstate.edu/hper/ or call 620-235-4665.

For more on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and childhood obesity, visit the organization’s Web site at http://www.rwjf.org.

---Pitt State---

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

PSU Faculty Brass Quintet to perform April 4

The PSU Faculty Brass Quintet will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4, in McCray Recital Hall on the PSU campus. The concert will include a range of works from light classical to jazz to contemporary works.

Members of the PSU Faculty Brass Quintet are Todd Hastings, trumpet; Matt Carter, trumpet; Robert Kehle, trombone; Carol Deats, French horn; and Douglas Whitten, tuba.

---Pitt State---

Students make good business decisions

Some Pittsburg State University students have demonstrated they are pretty savvy about making business decisions. Four students in Tom Box’s Business Policy class recently scored among the top 25 teams worldwide in an online business simulation test. Box, a professor in the Department of Management and Marketing in PSU’s Kelce College of Business, said about 2,500 teams from around the world participated in the simulation.

The students are Jacob Boan, a senior accounting major from Overland Park, Kan.; Pierce Curran, a senior management major from Clarksville, Ark.; Steve Erdman, a senior management major from Pittsburg, Kan.; and Matt Pappas, a senior finance major from Lee’s Summit, Mo.

The simulation exam, GLO-BUS, published and marketed by McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Inc., is an exercise designed to test students’ knowledge about a wide variety of aspects of running a company. According to the GLO-BUS Web site, the exam helps students “understand how the functional pieces of a business fit together, provides valuable practice in crafting profitable growth strategies, (and) sharpens (their) business judgment.”

For more on GLO-BUS, go to their Web site at http://www.glo-bus.com/.
For more on programs in the Kelce College of Business, visit http://www.pittstate.edu/cob/

---Pitt State---

Broadcasting students win record number of awards

Pittsburg State University’s campus television station, CAPS 13 (Cable Access Pitt State) took home a record 17 awards from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters’ annual banquet on Monday, April 2, in Wichita.

While the program has recently been recognized at both the state and national level for the quality of college broadcasts they produce, Broadcasting Director Troy Comeau said the students should be proud of this year’s accomplishments.

“The most awards we’ve ever won at the state level was nine two years ago,” Comeau said. “To nearly double that in a couple years is impressive and the students should be very proud of their accomplishments.”

Students from Pittsburg State competed in a variety of broadcasting categories against students from all other colleges and universities in the state. Pittsburg State received six first-place awards, four second-place awards, and seven honorable mention awards this year.

First Place Awards
First place winners were Dannie Wesley, a senior from Miami, Okla.; and Kelci Williams, a senior from Uniontown, Kan.; for their enterprise news package, “Stripper.” Williams also won a first place for her complete sports feature, “Miners Bowl Rivalry.” Seniors Christina Brown, from Joplin, Mo.; Brandon Taylor, from Olathe, Kan.; Jacob Schreiner, from Sharon, Kan., won a first-place award for their station promotion announcement, “CAPS 13 Pitt State Football.” Taylor and Schreiner, along with freshman Dallas Cross, from Olathe; senior Rye Addis, from Oswego, Kan.; junior Tennyson Williams, from Pittsburg; and junior Andrew Daugherty, from Cherryvale, won another first place for their sportscast, “Pittstate 360.” A sports play-by-play of “Pittsburg State vs. Truman State Football” won a first-place award for Addis; junior Zoel Lopez, from Coffeyville; sophomore Tyler Swezey, from Drexel, Mo.; and senior Pam Peters, from Richmond, Kan. Peters also won a first-place award for her documentary, “The USS Dunlap: Recollections of Those Who Served.”

Second Place Awards
Second place winners included Lopez and Daugherty for their sports play-by-play of “Pittsburg State vs. Fort Hays State Football,” and Taylor and senior Grant LaForge, from Chanute, for their station promotion announcement, “CAPS 13.” A second-place award went to Joshua Ames, a senior from Winfield, Kan.; and April Green, a senior from Pittsburg for their enterprise news package, “Beyond the Game.” Another second-place award went to Jake Fontes, a junior from Thayer, Kan.; and Greg Melching, a senior from Tulsa, Okla.; for their radio commercial, “JB’s Sports Bar and Grill.”

Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention went to Lopez for his D.J. personality air check, “Brett Martinez Air Check,” and to Addis and Swezey for their complete sports feature, “PSU Intramural Flag Football.” Taylor and Brown also received an honorable mention for their public affairs program, “Study Abroad Trips,” and Taylor, along with Jordan Beggs, a junior from Columbus, Kan.; received another honorable mention for their complete sports feature, “Pete’s Life.” Honorable mention also went to Williams; Beggs; Brown; Lopez; Daugherty; Schreiner; Melching; Sweezey; Peters; Addis; Cross; Trent Kling, a junior from Wichita, Kan.; Andrew Reeves, a freshman from Buhler; Zack Howard, a senior from Pittsburg; Brad Hester, a senior from Bucyrus, Kan.; Tim Mobley, a senior from Pleasanton, Kan.; and Angelo Fears, a junior from Kansas City, Kan., for their sports play-by-play of “Pittsburg State vs. Central Missouri Football.” Kling and Swezey also received an honorable mention for their radio sports play-by-play of “Colgan vs. Labette County Boys Basketball.” In addition, Tim Wass, Jr., a graduate Communications student from Parsons, Kan., received an honorable mention for his graduate research paper “Music and Advertising Effectiveness.”

While Comeau gives most of the credit to the students, he says they have some very knowledgeable faculty teaching them the ropes.

“We are very fortunate to have the knowledge and talents of Assistant Professors Leo Hudson and Vic Miller teaching with me in the broadcast area,” Comeau said. The combination of backgrounds we have makes our students very well rounded and sought after in the broadcast field.

“Six first place awards were the most of any university in the state in the television category,” Comeau said. “It will be hard to beat next year, but I believe in the students of Pittsburg State and know they can accomplish wonderful things if they set their minds to it.”

CAPS 13 is Pittsburg State University’s cable access channel airing student programming on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday’s during the school year.

---Pitt State---

Chamber Orchestra presents spring concert

The Pittsburg State University Chamber Orchestra will perform its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, in McCray Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public.

The program for the spring concert includes Concerto Grosso in D Major by Archangelo Corelli, String Quartet in C Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “Balade and Bergomask” by Percy E. Fletcher, and “Simple Symphony,” by Benjamin Britten.

The PSU Chamber Orchestra is under the direction of Selim Giray.

For information, please call the PSU Department of Music at 620-235-4466.

---Pitt State---

CCC band joins Pitt State Wind Ensemble for concert

The Coffeyville Community College Concert Band will be special guest performers during the Pittsburg State University Wind Ensemble Concert on April 5. The free concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium at 5th and Pine in Pittsburg.

The concert will feature Dr. Joanne Britz, associate professor of clarinet and saxophone in the PSU Department of Music. Britz will perform “Damn!,” a piece written by John Mackey for percussion quartet and clarinet soloist.

Vocalist Andrew Fuchs, son of Dr. Craig Fuchs, director of bands and chairman of the PSU Department of Music will also perform. Andrew Fuchs is graduating in May from the University of Kansas with a degree in vocal performance. He will sing the American Song Set No. 1 by Aaron Copland.

Four student conductors in the PSU Band Program will conduct portions of the concert, which will include “Festive Overture,” by Dmitri Shostakovich; “Polly Oliver,” by Thomas Root; “Trail of Tears,” by James Barnes; Variations on “Scarborough Fair,” by Calvin Custer; “Bosnian Folk Songs,” by Fred Allen; and “Lincolnshire Posy,” by Percy Grainger.

---Pitt State---