December 2004

Happy Holidays

News From The Leigh Gerdine College Of Fine Arts:

Art Department Happenings

Memphis Faculty, Staff Gather at Workshop

Webster Village Apartments Get National Recognition

Kampus Kudos

St. Louis Calendar Highlight

Employees of the Month

Service Anniversaries

New Employees

Happy Holidays!

The Inside Webster editorial staff extends holiday greetings to each and every member of Webster’s worldwide family. We have enjoyed getting to know you better this year, and we look forward to sharing more of you’re wonderful stories in the year ahead. Happy holidays and see you next year!

News From the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts

According to Peter Sargent, dean, Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, the thing that most distinguishes the College is its consistent involvement in community outreach. Sargent points out that, in addition to their demanding teaching schedules, the Fine Arts faculty regularly perform and exhibit in the St. Louis area, as well as nationally and internationally. “When we look at what we celebrate, we look at them,” Sargent says.

Theatre and Dance faculty contribute their talents to many local productions, as well. A typical recent example was the production of Earth Songs, a theatre-music-dance piece commissioned by the Metro Theater Company. Beckah Voight, associate professor, choreographed the production, while John Wylie, professor, provided the lighting. In addition, two fine arts alumni performed in the production.

Art exhibits created and/or coordinated by Art Department faculty can be found in prestigious galleries all over the world.

In addition to his enthusiasm about the College’s seemingly ubiquitous faculty, Sargent feels very positive about the quality and number of students applying to study in the College. “It’s exciting that the application pool of students has qualitatively increased,” he says. “This ultimately will make our classes more selective and stronger.” Sargent believes the reason for the increase in applications is the College’s ongoing reputation for quality teaching and increasing renown as a magnet for fine arts study. “The community recognizes the work faculty are doing, and that’s helping to bring the students in,” he says.

Art Department Happenings

Promotional materials for Removed describe it as an exhibit of prints and paper. Lang says the pieces are a combination of handwork—papermaking and etching—combined with digital and computerized techniques. “My prints incorporate old technology with new technology,” he says. “It’s a real continuum of medieval process and the latest contemporary processes.”

“Night Rust” 23cm x 23cm iris print on somerset, 2004, Tom Lang

Danny Yahav-Brown, visiting artist and assistant professor, Art, has had a very productive semester. His thought-provoking exhibit, Golden Hour, was recently displayed at the Hunt Gallery on the St. Louis campus. In addition, the Israeli native’s current exhibit, And Then They Danced, is now being shown at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis. Yahav-Brown often uses everyday objects in his work—a clothes pin, pages from a pocket notebook, a plastic grocery bag—in unusual ways to make a point. His work has been exhibited in New York, Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv, Israel.

"Study for And Then They Danced" digital image, 2004, Danny Yahav-Brown

The next Hunt Gallery exhibit , which runs from Jan. 21–Feb. 18, 2005, will include the work of John Watson, visiting assistant professor, Art. The exhibit titled, Three Sculptors, was curated by Jeff Hughes, professor, Art, and also includes work by Joe Chesla, professor at Meramec Community College, and Stephen Yusko, preparator, St. Louis Art Museum and a former Webster adjunct professor. Currently, Watson’s work is part of an exhibition titled, Opening on 14th Street, at the Hemphill Fine Arts Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Watson says his pieces in Three Sculptors will be a continuation of the body of work now at Hemphill. “The sculptures included in the Hemphill exhibition illustrate my continued exploration of discarded material and roughly constructed architectural forms,” he says. Watson uses found wood combined with bits of reclaimed debris and places them on hand-built, wall-mounted shelves. “Physically, they recall the long linear shapes of mobile homes, semi-trailers, and railroad cars,” he explains. “They look very much like forgotten buildings or neglected toys and exemplify my serious approach to playful making.”

"Paoli" mixed media, John Watson

“Returning to the Midwest from the East Coast and being at Webster has provided me with new energy and interest in my work,” Watson says. “The Art Department is alive with students making strong, articulate and exciting work, and their enthusiasm is contagious. I continue to be impressed by the students’ dedication to their work and the faculty dedication to their students.”

More information about Webster’s Art Department activities and faculty will appear in future issues of Inside Webster.

Here is a list of current Art Department exhibits:

• Tom Lang – Removed, Dec. 4, 2004 through March 2005, Innsbrook Conference Center, Wright City, Mo.
• Danny Yahav-Brown – And Then they Danced, Dec. 3, 2004 through Feb. 27, 2005, Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, Mo.
• John Watson – Opening on 14th Street, Nov. 16 through Dec. 23, Hemphill Fine Arts Gallery, Washington, D.C.
• John Watson/JoeChesla/Stephen Yusko – Three Sculptors, Jan. 21 through Feb. 18, 2005, Cecille Hunt Gallery, St. Louis, Mo.
• Webster Student Exhibit – On Deck, (curated by Danny Yahav-Brown) Dec. 17, 2005 through Jan. 11, 2005, 1608 Gallery, St. Louis, Mo.
• Webster Student Exhibit – Nework – Dec. 10, 2004 through Jan. 11, 2005, Sargent Gallery, St. Louis, Mo.
• Nilsen Turann-Kennedy Retrospective – Dec. 3 through 31, 2004, Marbles Gallery, St. Louis, Mo.
  
  

Memphis Faculty, Staff Gather at Workshop

BY DOMINIK JANSKY, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Faculty from the Memphis Naval Support Activity (NSA) campus gathered Dec. 11 for networking and professional development at their Spring 2005 Faculty Workshop.

Twenty-four faculty and staff attended the Saturday workshop organized by Connie Milner and Janice Mains, department associates, under the direction of Carol Nelson, director, Memphis Campus. “It was a good time to gather information, share ideas and fellowship with coworkers,” Milner says.

Attendees participated in a leadership program by Margaret Ridings, faculty coordinator, and a workshop on using integrated Internet resources and the campus’s wireless lab, presented by Dave Masterson, adjunct instructor and faculty mentor in the Computer Resources and Information Management program. Attendees also discussed and received complimentary texts from publisher representatives, as well as course updates and information from the campus staff.

Johnny Green, adjunct professor, addresses group at Memphis Faculty Workshop.

Webster Village Apartments Get National Recognition

FROM RADHIKA RAI, STUDENT EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Webster University made a big sweep at the Fall Awards Banquet. Competing with 26 other locations managed by CCHM, the WVA bagged the awards for Maintenance Supervisor of the Year, Overall Residence Life Program of the Year, Community Service Program of the Year and Facility of the Year.

Larry Mitchell is a second-time winner of the Maintenance Supervisor of the Year Award. “It was not possible to win the award without the support of the rest of the staff and my student workers, especially during move-in and move-out time,” Mitchell says. Holland Saltsman, managing director at the WVA, nominated Mitchell for the honor and was full of praises for him. “He is well-known across most of the CCHM locations in the country,” she says. “He is really the ideal maintenance supervisor and conducts training programs at other campuses, as well.” Mitchell helps other maintenance supervisors organize their workday to accommodate their busy schedules.

For the Overall Residence Life Program of the Year category, the campuses were judged on the kind of programming, discipline, quality of life, etc. The Community Service Program of the Year was awarded to the WVA for “It’s a Homeless Life,” a homeless awareness program. A week-long string of events, such as a canned food drive, fundraising by selling cream pies to “Pie Your RA” and an oppportunity to experience a night sleeping outside and eating like the homeless were integrated into the program. “We have started an annual tradition of the Homeless Awareness Week,” Saltsman says, explaining that it helps the WVA build better community relations.

The WVA also won the Facility of the Year award for its exemplary partnership with the University. The budget system, curb-appeal, occupancy, quality of life, staff and marketing theme were also cited. Saltsman reports to Ted Hoef, dean of students, to get approval on budgetary and legal matters and project proposals on the University side, while also reporting to the CCHM management.

"I am thrilled to see the good work of the Webster Village Apartments staff recognized with these awards,” Hoef says. “The whole team works very hard to provide an excellent living environment for our students. Congratulations to everyone involved!"

Editor’s Note: Each issue of Inside Webster includes 10 Kampus Kudo listings, which appear in the publication in the order they are received by the Office of University Communications. If your information is not in this issue, it will appear in a future issue.

Gay Holmes Spears, adjunct, Music Department, was chosen as an American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) grant recipient. Awards are granted by an independent panel and are based upon the unique prestige value of each writer’s catalog of original compositions, as well as recent performances in areas not surveyed by the ASCAP.

Barry Hufker, associate professor, Audio Production, recorded the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus concert “Lovers and Lyres” with assistance from Webster alumna Patricia Tolentino. Hufker also recorded and edited “Rejoicing in His Birth,” a compact disc of Christmas music featuring the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus; several selections for the jazz/rock trio Raw Silk; and the Holiday Concert of the Bel Canto Chorus of St. Louis.

Guillermo Rodriquez, director, International Projects, Study Abroad, was re-elected to serve a three-year term on the board of directors of the Webster Groves/Shrewsbury Area Chamber of Commerce.

Andrea Rothbart, professor, Mathematics, wrote “The Theory of Remainders,” which was originally published by Janson Publishers in 1995. The book is being re-published next spring by Dover Publications.

Kate McPherson-Hope, community relations coordinator/academic advisor, Denver Metropolitan Campus, was recently elected treasurer of Denver’s Local Education Adult Resource Network (LEARN), an organization of regionally accredited colleges and universities that promotes outreach to adult learners. She has also been volunteering as an editor for the Publications Committee of the Colorado Human Resource Association.

Keep us posted on your professional activities and send us your story ideas by completing the UFO form.

Employees of the Month

December 2004 Spotlight Award

FROM ROBYN GAETA, STUDENT EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Claudia Burris, senior editor/photojournalist, University Communications, and Debbie Ray, department associate, Business, share the Employee Spotlight Award honors for December.

Claudia has worked as a writer, editor and photographer at Webster for over 14 years and is the editor of the University’s alumni magazine, Webster World. A co-worker who has worked closely with Claudia says, “Claudia should feel very proud of the awards and acclaim Webster World has received within the advancement profession over the years.” Another co-worker agrees: “Claudia has done a wonderful job of making the magazine a consistently excellent publication.”

Her current supervisor says Claudia is a great editor and photographer and commends her loyalty to Webster. “Her willingness to jump in where needed makes her a true and committed member of the Webster family,” she says. “She also has a very big heart. We all know of her efforts to help those less fortunate and to garner assistance from her colleagues.”

“I was very excited and honored to win the Spotlight Award,” Claudia says. “It makes me feel appreciated. I really enjoy it here, and I hope to work here for 14 more years at least.”

Claudia chose a parking spot for a month as her prize.

Debbie Ray’s nominators say that Debbie is a great asset to the University. “She is an exceptional worker and gives her all to help out co-workers, students and faculty,” her nominator says. “Debbie deserves this award for all that she has done over the years for both departments, as well as her co-workers.”

Debbie stepped up to help the Management Department train new staff during a recent period of transition. “Debbie has shown exceptional poise under high uncertainty and stress and made it easier for both faculty and staff to weather this major transition in leadership and staffing,” one of her nominators says. “She has trained the new department associate in Management while still doing her job in the Business Department,” another nominator says.

“I think she needs to be recognized for exceptional effort and ability over the past few months in particular, but she has also been consistently outstanding for the past five years I’ve worked with her,” another nominator says.

Debbie chose a day off with pay as her prize.

Employees everywhere are eligible for the monthly Employee Spotlight Award. Using the nomination form is easy!

Service Anniversaries

The University extends its appreciation to the following individuals who have ably served the institution for many years:

December 2004

Ken Ayres, General Clerk, Academic Affairs, 15 years

Kimberly Whitehorn, Financial Aid Counselor, Financial Aid Office, 10 years

Ryan Barke, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Athletic Department, five years

Maggie Dyer, Research Development and Technology Associate, LIFT Program, five years

Doris Edwards, General Clerk, Film Series Office, five years

Teresa Lazarin, Office Manager, Lackland AFB, five years

New Employees

A warm welcome to the newest members of the Webster family:

Andrea L. Fitzgerald, department assistant, Fort Stewart, Georgia, ext. 912-876-8080 or speed dial #6 092, replaces Robin Arndt.

Thomas M. James, representative, Faculty Development Center, ext. 8648

Shelley K. Watson, coordinator, Community Relations, Little Rock Metropolitan Campus, 1-800-828-2598 or speed dial, #6 064, replaces Julie Copeland.

To learn more about job opportunities at Webster, go to the Human Resources Jobs site.