Volume 29, No. 12
November 7, 1997
Scott A. Miller
Contact: MU PR Office 662-4844
NEWS
Committee chairman provides presidential-search update
Lewis Lee writes: The Presidential Search Committee held its second meeting on October 27 and I want to bring everyone up-to-date on our progress. All members of the committee were present, and we accomplished a great deal.
Although the committee is in an early stage of recruitment, we already have 58 prospective candidates, 38 of whom have submitted their credentials. During the next month, we expect to receive many more expressions of interest from candidates who will emerge through our national recruitment activities.
With the assistance of our consultant, we spent considerable time at our last meeting trying to refine our thinking about the particular qualities and backgrounds we will be looking for as the members of the committee begin to review the credentials of candidates. In that regard, we approved a rating instrument, which will be used in our assessments of candidates, that incorporates our previously agreed upon desired characteristics of the next president. All members of the committee, individually, will be reading candidate files during the next few weeks.
Let us again urge you to submit your suggestions for good candidates to me by no later than mid-November. We don't want to overlook anyone who could be an outstanding president for Mansfield University.
As indicated in my first report, the members of the Presidential Search Committee are pledged to maintain confidentiality about candidates. Therefore, members of the committee will not provide identifying information about individual candidates nor respond to any inquiries about specific candidates. We know you will understand our obligation to protect candidates.
The committee will meet again on November 24 and I look forward to sharing a summary of our progress shortly thereafter.
Jazz concert has something old, something new
The award-winning MU Jazz Ensemble will present a concert Saturday, Nov. 15, at 8 p.m. in Steadman Theatre.
Under the direction of Michael Galloway, the ensemble regularly brings the best in big band jazz to the area. This year's concert features several popular standards, like "Fly Me to the Moon" and "All of Me" featuring pianist Joe McConnell, plus some old favorites done in new arrangements like Lou Fischer's "Deedle, Deedle," based on Gershwin's "I've Got Rhythm" and featuring soloists Dan Monaghan on drums, Jim Reilly on tenor, Andre Canniere on trumpet and Jay Vonada on trombone.
It's unusual for bass trombonists to take a solo in big band jazz, but such will be the case when John McKelvey solos on John LaBarbera's arrangement of "Wave," originally written for The Buddy Rich Band by John Carlos Jobim.
Another twist is Les Hooper's "Funk and Fanfare," which begins with a "legit" brass fanfare and rolls into a hard funk groove led by Les Fowler on guitar and Reilly on tenor.
The ensemble will dust off the Bob Washut samba "Santo Sencillo," originally commissioned by the MU chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 1984 and premiered by the Jazz Ensemble in February of that year. It features Matt Kanon on guitar and the entire rhythm section. The concert will close with "Slide's Derangement," originally written for and recorded by the Maynard Ferguson Band, and featuring Monaghan on drums, Reilly on tenor and Canniere on trumpet. The song rocked the house during MU's Fall Convocation and is certain to provide a rousing end to performance.
Composers to attend symphony, recital
Prize-winning composers Sy Brandon and Garrison Hull will be featured guests when the MU Symphony Orchestra performs Sunday, Nov. 16, in Steadman Theatre at 3 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. for the "Meet the Composers" faculty concert.
The 3 p.m. concert features Brandon's "Celebration Overture," which won first prize in WITF-FM's 25th Anniversary International Composition Competition, as well as Hull's "Of Prayer and Praise," winner of an international composition competition sponsored by the Louisville Orchestra. Both composers will be on hand to introduce their works.
Under the direction of Kenneth Sarch, music, the orchestra will also perform Copland's "Outdoor Overture" and MacDowell's "Second (Indian) Orchestral Suite."
The 7 p.m. evening recital will feature two works by each composer performed by Edward Brown, piano; Joseph Murphy, saxophone; Sarch, violin; and guests Matthew Kanon on guitar and Gary Boerckel on piano.
A reception to meet the composers will follow the recital.
Have an Updater announcement? Send it to Scott A. Miller
Barry Brucklacher, education, and Jannis Floyd, special education, presented a lecture and paper at the Eastern Area Convention of the National Science Teachers Association in Pittsburgh, PA, Oct. 30. In "Sciencing Outdoors: Preparing Preservice Teachers to Teach Environmental Education . . . Removing Barriers Between Regular and Special Education," Floyd and Brucklacher described a month-long project they conduct in the fall semester with their students in ELE 387--Teaching Science in the Elementary School and SPE 303--Observation and Participation. In the project's culminating activity, university students plan and teach a day of environmental education at Hills Creek State Park for the fourth-grade class from the Miller Elementary School in Mansfield. The presentation was attended by officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Education who discussed new standards being developed for assessment of science, technology and environment processes in the Commonwealth. Floyd and Brucklacher have been invited to make a related presentation at the NSTA National Convention in Las Vegas in April 1998.
Robert A. Amchin, music, is representing MU at the annual conference of the National Orff Schulwerk Association Nov. 5-10 in Seattle, WA. Amchin is the Level I instructor for MU's Orff Certification program, which he plans to teach this summer. He is attending workshops related to this course as well as collecting materials for his upcoming "World Musics" and "Elementary General methods" classes, which he will teach this coming semester. He will also be recognized for his contribution as guest instructor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania this past summer. Amchin also represents the region's music educators as vice president of the Twin Tiers Orff Schulwerk Association. Amchin is recognized nationally as a clinician and presenter of Orff pedagogy, an approach to teaching music to children.
Freshman Jamie Huffcut scored both goals to lead the field hockey team to a season-ending 2-1 victory over Houghton College. The victory gave the Mountaineers an overall record of 9-7, earning their first winning season since posting a 7-4-1 mark in 1985. Mansfield sophomore goalkeeper Jen Manton made eight saves to earn the victory. Mountaineer head coach Vickie A. Sax ends her Mansfield career with a 15-15 mark. She has accepted the position as head softball coach for Division I Colgate University.
Randy Teter's 21-yard field goal attempt with :05 remaining in the game was blocked to give East Stroudsburg a 23-21 win over Mansfield in a PSAC East game last week. With just under four minutes to play and the score 23-13, ESU mishandled a punt snap and the Mountaineers took over on the ESU four yard line. Lee Brannon scored on the next play to cut the lead to 23-19 and JJ Cleaver, the holder on the extra-point attempt, broke two tackles to score on a two-point conversion. Mansfield had two chances to win in the final minutes when Wyalusing's Matt Hanley recovered a fumble at the ESU 42-yard line. However the Mountaineers could move no further than the ESU-28 before turning the ball over on downs. RG Rolph recovered another ESU fumble at the ESU-21 where Brannon ran 13 yards and 3 yard to put the ball at the 5-yard line with five-seconds to play. After two ESU timeouts, Teter's 21-yard attempt in the pouring rain was blocked to end the game and the Mountaineers hopes. The winless Mounties host the winless Cheyney Wolves Saturday at 1 p.m.
Freshman Todd Stewart just missed earning All-PSAC East honors at the PSAC Cross-Country championship with a 17th place finish. The top 15 runners earn All-PSAC honors. Stewart finished with a time of 27:36.0. Brianne Liddick took top honors for the MU women with a 37th place overall finish. The freshman posted a time of 20:46 to lead the MU team to a 12th place finish.
Freshman Candace Cipolla set new school records with first place finishes in the 200 IM and 200 backstroke, but wasn't enough as the women's swim team fell to Millersville 113-73 in the season opener. Cipolla shattered the mark of 2:31.04 in the 200 IM set by Amy Dugo in 1996 with a winning time of 2:22.24 and bettered Sheri Weber's 1997 mark of 2:29.04 in the 200 back with a time of 2:20.91. Freshman Katrina Cibula (Bradford/Bradford) also set a new school mark with a second place finish 2:43.33 in the 200 breaststroke bettering Heather Scureman's 1992 record of 2:49.13. The Mountaineers host Bloomsburg at 6 p.m. on Friday.
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