Volume 29, No. 25
March 20, 1998
Scott A. Miller
Contact: MU PR Office 662-4844
NEWS
Public Policy analyst to speak
MU will host a wide-ranging talk by a Pennsylvania senate policy analyst Wednesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. in North Dining Room.
Kay Robinson Packer will speak on "Public Policy Advocacy: You Can Make a Difference."
"Public policy is exceedingly democratic: it affects every one of us by impacting on such diverse matters as access to day care and to medical attention, public restrooms and addictions treatment, college expenses and nursing home care," Packer says. "It is not unusual for someone like you or me to become frustrated because of our ability to access needed services has been delineated by a public policy in which we have had no voice, about which we have no knowledge, and over which we have no control. But there's recourse."
Packer's talk will address what public policy is, who's affected by it, who crafts it and how you can influence it.
"If you don't like to watch sausage being made, you may not like to watch public policy being formulated either," Packer quips. "On the other hand, if you know who the players are, how to reach out to them, and what to reasonably expect of ‘getting to' them, it can be pretty exciting stuff!"
The talk is sponsored by MU's Psychology, Social Work and Political Science clubs.
Fine Arts Series features acclaimed violinist
The MU Fine Arts Series will present a recital by violinist Greg Fulkerson Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m. in Steadman Theatre.
Fulkerson is one of the best known and most sought-after of the younger generation of American violinists. Among his honors are a first prize in the International American Music Competition, formerly sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation (now sponsored by Carnegie Hall). His performing career has included debuts in New York, London, Paris, Rome, and Brussels.
Accompanying Fulkerson will be Gary Boerckel on piano. Boerckel has appeared as a soloist with the Jupiter Symphony, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra. He has toured colleges and universities throughout the state as a member of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council Speaker Bureau. He chairs the music department at Lycoming College, where he has been a faculty member since 1979.
Jazz Ensemble gets back in the swing
The MU Jazz Ensemble will perform its annual concert of the finest modern jazz by today's top big band composers and arrangers Sunday, March 22, at 3 p.m. in Steadman Theatre.
Under the direction Michael Galloway, music, the ensemble will perform several big band selections of standard tunes. Ray Noble's "Cherokee" has long been a virtuoso piece for jazz improvisation. Featured in this Frank Mantooth arrangement will be tenor saxophonist Jim Reilly and trumpet player Andre Canniere.
"It Could Happen to You" is another jazz musician favorite. The Count Basie-influenced arrangement by George Stone will feature alto saxophonist Millie Bealer.
Jazz musicians often write tunes based on the form and harmony of standard tunes and the MU concert will feature one such example: John Mahoney's "Another One of Those Things" (based on "Just One of Those Things"). The clever and demanding arrangement includes a solo by Matt Kanon on guitar, a terrific sax solo and a fugue.
Among the several originals on the program is "Places," written by distinguished MU graduate Neil Slater. The ballad will feature Canniere on fluglehorn and Joe McConnell on piano. Also included are Bob Washut's "Reverend Jack" and Bob Lowden's "Le Grande Funk."
Three Women's Arts and Culture Events scheduled
MU's Women's Studies Program will sponsor three Women's Arts and Culture events in the coming weeks.
Allyn Van Deusen of Binghamton University will lecture on "Media Representations of Post-War American Women." A reception for Van Deusen will begin at 3 p.m. followed by the lecture at 3:30 p.m.
All MU women are invited to read and all members of the university family are invited to attend the annual Women's Open Mic Reading Wednesday, March 25, at 3 p.m. in Allen Lecture Hall. Refreshments will be served.
Closing out the events will be the MU Women's Art Show beginning at noon Monday, March 30, and ending Friday, April 3, in the Women's Center (102 Pinecrest). Works in various media by MU students, staff, and faculty will be on display.
Saturday, March 21, 8 p.m., Steadman. The MU Fine Arts Series will present a recital by violinist Greg Fulkerson. (See above)
Sunday, March 22, 3 p.m. Steadman. The MU Jazz Ensemble under the direction Michael Galloway, music, will perform its annual concert of the finest modern jazz by today's top big band composers and arrangers. (See above)
Monday, March 23, Steadman. Anthony Leach of Penn State University will be on campus for MU's annual school choral festival. On Monday, March 23, at 8 p.m., Leach's renowned Gospel choir, "Essence of Joy" will present a concert in Steadman Theatre. This group is rapidly becoming the definitive ensemble for Black Gospel music. Leach will remain on campus two more days to work with area choirs as well as the university ensembles. Fourteen choirs from elementary through high school age will perform at 45-minute intervals from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, March 24-25. On Wednesday at 4 p.m., Leach will give a lecture/demonstration on Black Gospel music style and literature. The public is invited to attend any part of the festival. For more information, call Peggy Dettwiler, music, at 4721.
Have an Updater announcement? Send it to Scott A. Miller
The baseball team finished its Spring Break southern tour with a 7-4 record and jumped to 15th in this week's NCAA Division II National Baseball Poll. The Mountaineers were 17th in last week's poll. To say the team hit the ball well may be an understatement. Over the 11 game span, the Mountaineers posted a .355 batting average and scored 95 runs. Fifty-nine of their 123 hits were for extra bases including 22 home runs for a .636 slugging percentage. Although he was only credited with a 1-0 record in three starts, junior Chris McGee was exceptional on the mound. In 20.0 innings, McGee struck out 19 batters with just four walks and gave up just three earned runs for a 1.35 ERA. Towanda's Tim Watkins went 2-0 in Florida with 19 strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched while senior Chris Zallie, who was hampered with a blister on finger on his pitching hand, was 1-0 with 14 strikeouts in 9.1 innings worked. The Mountaineers will travel to Norfolk, VA, this weekend for a tournament featuring Davis & Elkins College, West Liberty College and PSAC East foe Bloomsburg University.
The softball team's record stood at 7-3 after its southern Spring Break trip. The team travels to Lock Haven on March 26, hosts Shippensburg on March 28 and travels to West Chester on March 30.
Senior wrestler Joel Brinker finished his career by going 1-2 at the NCAA Division II national championships last weekend. Brinker, who was the NCAA East Champion for the last two years, ended his career with a 88-39 record to tie Scott Setzer for most career wins.
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