Volume 28, No. 24
March 14, 1997
Scott A. Miller
Contact: MU PR Office 662-4844
NEWS
James Earl Jones date moved to March 26
Celebrated actor James Earl Jones, a star of such films as "Great White Hope," "The Hunt for Red October," and "Field of Dreams," will appear at Mansfield University Wednesday, March 26, for a series of events including an general address at 8 p.m. in Decker Gym.
Jones was originally scheduled to appear at MU in April, but signed a movie deal, making an earlier date necessary.
Among the other events are meetings with African-American, honors program and selected theater students in North Hall's Traditional Reading Room as well as a Scholarship Dinner in Manser Hall.
"James Earl Jones' career perfectly represents the high ideals and goals President Kelchner has set for the university," says Leslie Folmer, MU vice president for development. "His message of dignity, intelligence, passion and accomplishment will provide inspiration for all members of the community and the campus family."
Tickets are available for the Scholarship Dinner, which runs from 6-7:30 p.m. at a cost of $25 per person. Those who attend the dinner, where Jones will make brief remarks, will be given free admission to Jones' general address in Decker Gymnasium.
Admission to the address is $5 per person and free to MU students with ID. All proceeds from the dinner and speech will benefit MU's general scholarship fund.
Jones first came to international acclaim in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" opposite George C. Scott. He earned a "Most Promising New Actor" award from the Hollywood Foreign Press and an Academy Award nomination for his role as "Jack Johnson" in the film version of "The Great White Hope," plus a Golden Globe Award and NAACP Image Award for his role in the 1974 film "Claudine."
His distinctive voice, perhaps the most famous speaking voice in the world today, has enriched recordings of everything from classic dramas to Bell Atlantic commercials to the character of "Darth Vader" in the "Star Wars" trilogy.
Jones' television career has been no less stellar, beginning with an Emmy nomination in 1963 for a guest appearance in the George C. Scott series "East Side, West Side." Most recently he has starred in the Turner Network Television movies "Percy and Thunder" with Billy Dee Williams and "The Vernon Johns Story" as the title character, a true-life civil rights leader.
Jones has won Tony Awards for his portrayal of "Jack Johnson" in the stage version of "The Great White Hope" and for his performance in the Athol Fugard's "Fences."
For more information on tickets to "An Evening with James Earl Jones" call the Office of Development at 4292.
Women's Arts & Culture Week begins March 23
Music, poetry, art and international perspectives will highlight Women's Arts & Culture Week beginning March 23.
The week of free events will begin Sunday, March 23, with the concert "Music By Modern Women" at 7 p.m. in Steadman Theatre. Keiko Abe, Emma Lou Diemer and others will perform..
The Vesta Women's Art Collective will display work in various media by local artists beginning Monday at noon in the North Hall Community Room. Exhibit hours will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.
Mansfield women artists will also hold an exhibit beginning at 1 p.m. Monday in the Old University Gallery in Manser Hall. Hours are 1-4 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Tuesday .
Global perspectives from Russia, Egypt and other countries will be the subject of International Women's Night Tuesday at 7 p.m. in North Hall's Traditional Reading Room.
The popular Women's Open Mic program will be held Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Manser Hall's North Dining Room featuring women from the local and university community. At 7 p.m. the a discussion on "Living, Working, Thinking: Non-traditional Women Students" will take place over a pot luck supper in Memorial Hall 204 at 7 p.m.
"Writing Our Lives: A Reading of Women's Autobiography" will be held Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in North Dining Room. The program will feature writers Mimi Bixby, Judith Sornberger, Louise Sullivan-Blum, and Kath Thompson.
"Parallel Lives," comic vignettes on women's lives by Angelique L. Hawkes and Susan Guinter, will be held in Straughn Hall at 7 p.m.
Women's Arts & Culture Week is coordinated by the MU Women's Studies Program. All events are free and open to the public.
Service Recognition program announced
MU's 1997 Service Recognition program will be held in early May. Honored will be staff who have served MU for 20, 25, 30, and 35 years. (Faculty will be recognized by academic year.)
Also recognized will be persons who have retired or will be retiring between August 1996 and August 1997. The following individuals have been identified as meeting this criteria.
Twenty years: James Cobb, John Estep, David Flesch, Stanley Heinrich, Jerome (Jerry) Kostovick, Stephen McEuen, and Cleo Russell.
Twenty-five years: Ellen Blais, Deborah Cleveland, Linda Cloos, Joyce Colegrove, David Darby, Yvette Finkele, Sandra Linck, Kenneth Meyer, Sterling Salter, Hugh Schintzius, Connie Shaw, Lynn Stroud, and Barbara York.
Thirty years: James Brown, Robert Putt, Walter Sanders, Charles Seidel, Marylou Shaw, Jack Sidler, and Stanley Werner.
Current employees who have or will be retiring prior to August 1997: Francis Stock, Wayne Rusk, John Wacker, Frank Sherant, John Cady, Howard Wilcox, Dorothy Starkweather, Ivan Teeter, Joann Creeley, and Joyce Wunderlich.
If you feel you qualify under the above criteria and we have missed your name, please call Lorraine Farr at 4893 by March 15 to confirm your years of service.
Monday, April 7, 8 p.m., Steadman. The world-renowned guitar duo, The Assad Brothers, will perform as part of the university's Fine Arts Series. Recognized across the globe for their technical virtuosity, their uncanny precision of ensemble and their musical and stylistic sensitivity, Sergio and Odair Assad are hailed by many critics as the foremost duo guitar team in the world. They have been credited with "doublehandedly" reviving Brazilian music for the guitar. Tickets are $5. For more information call the Mansfield University Fine Arts Hotline at 717-662-4444.
Have an Updater announcement? Send it to Scott A. Miller
The most recent University Lecture Series offering, "Sex, Laws and Cyberspace" was covered on Page One of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette Sunday, March 9, by correspondent Gayle Morrow-Harris. Also receiving coverage as a sidebar was the most recent university Forum on the MU student web server.
MU standout seniors Lawrence Culver and Louis Judson were named to the National Association Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Sears Division II East All-District team, putting them one step closer to All-American recognition. The head coaches in each of the eight NCAA Division II Regions selects the top 10 players in their region. Only players who are selected to the All-District team are eligible for the NABC/Sears All-American honors to be announced later this month. Culver and Judson are the first Mountaineers to earn NABC/Sears All-District honors since Brian White in 1985-86. The Mountaineer men's basketball team ended the season as the 10th ranked team in NCAA Division II, tying the school record for wins at 26-4 and winning the PSAC Championship.
The baseball team snapped its longest opening season losing steak since 1972 with a 6-6 tie with Rockhurst (MO) College and 13-10 over Keene State at Ft. Myers, FL. Preseason All-American Tim Watkins got the start in the opener allowing just two runs before Hugh Dougherty hit an outside curve ball over the wall for a grad slam in the top of the fifth inning to give Rockhurst a 6-4 lead. The Mounties came right back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh when freshman Adam Lewis walked and went to third on a double by Joe Skelly. Senior Greg Robertson then singled in two runs. The Mounties had the bases loaded in the bottom of the eight with two outs but could not score and the game was called due to a three hour time limit. The Mountie bats came alive against Keene (NH) State rapping out a season best 12 hits. Robertson went 4-4 in the nightcap with three RBI while Skelly rapped out two doubles and Shawn Eighmey added a double and two RBI. Senior first baseman Dana Harrold slugged a grad slam home run in the bottom of the third.
The softball team broke into the win column for the first time in the 1997 season with a 6-5, 8-3 sweep over Eureka College. The opening game went to nine innings and was decided by the overtime tie breaker in which both teams get to bat with a runner at second base. Senior Heather Shelleman was on second and later scored on a sacrifice by freshman Megan Williams. Freshman Kim Swarts reached on an error later in the inning and scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Sophomore Missy Stock went all the way on the mound to pick up the win while sophomore Stephanie Kent was 2-4 with two RBI. Freshman Kelly Morse picked up her first collegiate win in the nightcap with junior Missy Tyson driving in three RBI and Stephanie Kent hitting two doubles.