NEWS & CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS

Trio Ginga will bring the music of Brazil to the stage at Tusculum College on Tuesday, April 26.

The musical group will perform at 7 p.m. in the Behan Arena Theatre on the lower level (side entrance) of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building. The performance is part of Tusculum College Arts Outreach’s 2010-11 Acts, Arts, Academia performance and lecture series.

Trio Ginga is the result of three virtuoso musicians who truly love Brazilian music coming together to create something beautiful while making people dance. Bassist Tony Nagy, guitarist David Martin and percussionist Dann Sherrill form the core of the group. “Using folkloric Brazilian rhythms, we aspire to create and play the music that we might hear in North America if transplanted Africans had been allowed to keep their drums,” says Sherrill of the band’s mission and vision.

The group’s music can be described as a combination of the Afro-Folkloric sounds of the Brazilian Northeast and the Bahia with the jazzy urbanity of Rio de Janeiro and a touch of some funky American soul.

Debora Brazil, the group’s featured vocalist, is from Florianopolis in the state of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. She adds the Brazilian vibe and a tropical fashion sense to the group, drawing on her experience as an accomplished fashion designer.

Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 60 years of age and older and $5 for children 12 and under.

For more information, please call Tusculum College Arts Outreach at 423.798.1620, e-mail jhollowell@tusculum.edu or visit http://arts.tusculum.edu.

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The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Career Coach will be visiting the Tusculum College main campus on Tuesday, April 26, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.   The Career Coach is a mobile unit designed as a community resource for employers and jobseekers.  Tusculum students will have exclusive access to one of the first visits in East Tennessee.  Workshops will be provided on Resume Development and Interview/Job Search Skills.  Four sessions will be provided throughout the day with a schedule as follows:

9 -10:30 a.m.   Resume Workshop sessions

10:30 a.m.-Noon: Interviewing Skills workshop sessions

Noon-1:30 p.m.:  Interviewing Skills workshop sessions

1:30 p.m.-3 p.m. :  Resume Workshop sessions

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development rolled out the Career Coaches program in January.  Three mobile units were purchased with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and serve each division of the state (East, Middle and West).   The mobile units are set up as computer lab classrooms, each having 10 workstations that are equipped with a laptop with high-speed Internet connection. At one end of the coach is the instructor’s workstation that is connected to a 42″ flat-screen TV with SmartBoard® overlay and a DVD/CD player. The coaches are equipped with a

wheelchair lift, and the workstations are ADA compliant.

To register for the Tusculum College sessions, students must RSVP to Amanda Waddell, Director of Career Development (awaddell@tusculum.edu).  For more information on the Career Coach program, please visit http://www.getonthecoach.tn.gov/ or contact Ms. Waddell for more information.

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Tusculum College will be opening a new Education Lab at the Knoxville Regional Center. This lab will allow curriculum development materials to be displayed and checked out for student and faculty utilization. The Education Lab will be utilized for active learning opportunities to include, but not limited to, lesson and unit plan development from curriculum materials, development of classroom materials, classroom laboratory setup, and other related activities.

The School of Education will be hosting an Open House on Friday, April 15, at the Knoxville Regional Center, from 4-6 p.m. Everyone is invited.

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Myron J. “Jack” Smith, Jr., professor of library science and history and director of the Thomas J. Garland Library, will be one of six presenters when the Association of Lincoln Presenters comes to Greeneville, April 14-17, for their annual Lincoln Colloquium, held this year at the General Morgan Inn.

Smith will present an illustrated talk on the history of the McCormick Hall bell. According to a story by Dr. Landon C. “Daddy” Haynes in the 1942 college yearbook, the bell now housed in the tower came to Tusculum in 1890 as payment in kind for student tuitions. Over the years, the bell has been rung to call the community to various events, to note the achievement of significant milestones or just to hear its rich sounds. Smith will profile the exciting history behind the 400-pound brass bell.

At Tusculum since 1990, Professor Smith is the author of more than 80 books, including six on the Civil War. He authored the bicentennial college history Glimpses of Tusculum with Professor Emeritus Donal Sexton in 1994. Several of his latest titles are available for purchase at the College bookstore.

Additional information on the Colloquium and other activities of the Association of Lincoln Presenters’ Annual National Convention can be found at www.ALP2011.thelincolnproject.com.

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Fashions of the 1940s will be celebrated April 19 during a benefit for Greene County Habitat for Humanity.

“Vintage Chic Love Affair” is the theme for a fashion show coordinated by the Tusculum College Bonner Leader student service organization and Center for Civic Advancement to benefit Greene County Habitat for Humanity. The fashion show will begin at 6 p.m. on the terrace at the General Morgan Inn.

The fashion show will feature about 30 Tusculum students, some children and community members modeling vintage fashions from the Greene County Habitat’s ReStore. Bonnie Weston, student life coordinator for multicultural affairs, and Tusculum student Trevor Long will be the master of ceremonies for the event.

“This is Habitat’s fourth year working with the Tusculum Bonner Leaders,” said Vicki Culbertson, executive director of Greene County Habitat for Humanity. “We’re excited about this year’s Fashion Show…it just gets better and more entertaining every year!  It is such a pleasure to watch the Bonner Leaders plan, organize, and work toward the ‘big event’.  They take pride in their community involvement and in helping Habitat’s mission to provide decent, safe, affordable housing to families in need.”

Sponsors for the event are Andrew Johnson Bank, Blackburn, Childers & Steagall PLLC, Bob’s Factory Outlet, Tusculum College Center for Civic Advancement and the college’s Student Government Association.

Refreshments will be served during the event.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and children. The fashions modeled will be available for purchase following the show. Tickets are available from the Center for Civic Advancement by calling 423.636.7372 and will be available at the door.

All the proceeds will benefit Greene County Habitat for Humanity in its efforts to help families achieve the dream of homeownership by providing decent, safe, affordable housing with a no interest mortgage. Habitat is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian ministry that provides homes to people in need regardless or race or religion and welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds.

The Habitat ReStore, in a new location on the 11E Bypass across from the Lighthouse Assembly of God Church, provides funds to Habitat from its sales of donated clothes, collectibles, household items, furniture and other items, and those funds are used in Habitat’s efforts to provide affordable housing for residents of Greene County.

The ReStore accepts donations of clothing and accessories and those who may have some items they may want to give are encouraged to do so prior to the event so their fashions may be used. Donations of clothing can be used as part of charitable giving for tax purposes.

Celebrating its 18^th birthday in May, Habitat has placed families in 26 houses throughout Greene County.  The organization is currently planning a house dedication/celebration for the house donated by John Deere Power Products and has started work on a build project, partnering with Cross Roads Missions and Wal-Mart Distribution Center to construct the 27^th home.

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A mystery with a twist, “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper,” will be coming to the stage April 14-17 at Tusculum College.

Revelry Repertory Theatre will premier the original mystery with performances at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14-Saturday, April 16 and a 2 p.m. matinee, Sunday, April 17. All performances will be in the auditorium of the Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Building on the Tusculum College campus. The play is part of Tusculum College Arts Outreach’s 2010-11 performance and lecture series.

“Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper,” written and directed by respected local actor Doug Presley, explores the notorious, unsolved 19^th century serial murders of prostitutes in the White Chapel section of London.

However, audiences should not expect a definite answer to the mystery of the identity of Jack the Ripper as each performance will have a different ending presenting one of four separate possible suspects as the murderer. Presley describes two of the suspects as probable candidates as the murderer and the other two as interesting suspects. Each performance’s ending will be a surprise to all but the stage manager, crew and the actor playing the Jack the Ripper suspect for that evening.

Presley first began to research Jack the Ripper as he was searching for a topic on which to base a scary play to be staged at Halloween. But, the deeper he researched about the murders, Presley said he realized he needed to tell the story of the victims of the crimes and their struggles to survive in the poorest section of London, which was the most prosperous city in the world at the time.

One of the victims was a widow, whose husband had died two years prior to her murder on Christmas Day, and with the low wages in jobs for women, had to resort to prostitution to provide for her family, Presley noted.

Another of the victims, Mary Kelly, was a woman of higher means than the other victims, an artist who was part of a brothel in the prosperous West End of London, Presley said, which prompts the question of what she was doing in White Chapel. An answer to that question is proposed in one of the endings.

In telling the stories of the victims, the play does not lose the edginess and scariness in depicting the vicious murders and the desperation and destitution of life in White Chapel. The play’s characters, some colorful and others unsavory, are expertly brought to life by a talented cast of actors, who include some local favorites including Wess duBrisk, Chris Greene, Seth Holt, Sandy Nienaber, Robbie Poteete and Brian Ricker. Due to a medical emergency of a cast member, Presley will also be appearing in the play. The cast also includes a number of Tusculum College students such as Jade Bussell, Anney Cox, Zackery Elliott, Valerie Harrell, Allison Harris, Andrew Herzig, Josh Hickson, Billie Jennings, Kayla Jones and Jeffrey Peck.

Accentuating the poverty of White Chapel and the gruesome crime scenes are the sets, expertly designed for the play by Frank Mengel, technical director and stage manager of Tusculum College Arts Outreach. The revolving sets also include the insides of the homes of the suspects, providing more clues into the mindset of those who may have been Jack the Ripper.

Period attire for the actors is being provided by Barbara Holt, costume director for Arts Outreach.

The playwright and director also received assistance in keeping the dialogue period-appropriate from one of the cast, Wess duBrisk and his wife, Marilyn, who is artist-in-resident at Tusculum College and director of its Arts Outreach program.

Presley is a veteran of many of the Arts Outreach theatrical programs under duBrisk’s direction and first appeared on stage at age nine in the Annie Hogan Byrd auditorium. “I never dreamed that a play I wrote and directed would be performed on the same stage where I started,” he said.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors (60 years of age and older). With the nature of the story, the violent murder of prostitutes, no children’s tickets will be sold. To reserve tickets, please call 423.798.1620 or e-mail jhollowell@tusculum.edu.

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Four students from Tusculum College’s English Department were presenters on Friday, March 25, at the Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference, held at Maryville College.

All of the papers were the product of a literary theory class the students took with Dr. Sheila Morton, assistant professor of English, and were focused on an interpretation of Agatha Christie’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.” Each paper employed different theoretical lenses in their study.

Students presenting were Elizabeth McDonnell, a senior from Memphis; Abigail Wolfenbarger, a junior from New Market; Kenneth Hill, a junior from White Pine, and David Roncskevitz, a senior from Franklin.

“The variety of their arguments illustrate just how much literary theory can enrich our reading of a single text, offering various and compelling readings that yet ring true,” said Morton. “In her paper, for example, McDonnell approaches the text as a new historicist, drawing parallels to other discourses contemporary with Christie’s novel, most notably film noir. Though very different in their realization, she argues, both are propelled by similar social feelings of isolation and alienation.” 

Both Wolfenbarger and Hill approach the novel from the standpoint of reader response critics, Wolfenbarger arguing that the failure of the novel to surprise many twenty-first century readers is due in part to our changing “horizon of expectations” that has grown to accommodate the idea of a dishonest first-person narrator.  Hill, by contrast, focuses on the shifting role of the “narrattee,” a role the reader is asked to play as they enact the drama of the novel. 

Roncskevitz’s presentation showed how he deconstructs the novel, likening the piecing of “clues” in whodunit novels to the linguistic piecemealing of everyday language.

According to Morton, the panel was a huge success, garnering considerable praise and attention, including an email from the coordinator of the conference.

The Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference is designed to encourage undergraduates in colleges in the Appalachian region to conduct research projects by providing a high-quality, low pressure forum for presentations. More than 80 undergraduate students from eight colleges in East Tennessee and Kentucky attended the 2011 conference.

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As the Tusculum College Earth Day Extravaganza community celebration continues to grow, volunteers are critical to being able to carry off the scope of the event. Sponsored by the Pioneer Green Team, the event commemorates Earth Day with activities focused on sustainability and environmental education.

This year’s Earth Day Extravaganza will be held on April 14, beginning at 9 a.m. Most of the activities will be held on the lawn between the Arch and McCormick Hall; however, historic tree tours will be given on campus and trees will be planted at the top of each hour at the Honors House near Doak Elementary School.

The event is open not only to staff, faculty and students at Tusculum College, but to the community and region. Several local school groups are expected to attend. 

As a result, volunteers are desperately needed, particularly in the morning hours. Any faculty member interested in using the event as an opportunity to participate in a group service project is encouraged to do so. And any other staff, faculty or student who is interested in helping out please contact the Pioneer Green Team; all help will be greatly appreciated. 

All volunteers are asked to consider wearing a green shirt on the day of the event for easy identification. Arm bands will also be provided. 

If you would like to volunteer or find out more about the event, please contact Kirstie Gust at kgust@tcstudents.tusculum.edu.

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Heather Patchett has been named vice president of Institutional Advancement at Tusculum College and will be assuming her responsibilities on June 1, 2011.

Patchett has more than 20 years experience in all aspects of fund raising, including major gifts, capital campaigns and planned giving programs. She has also managed three departments and has extensive experience working in higher education advancement and development programs.

She has spent the past two years working at Otter Opportunities, providing services to not-for-profit organizations, including fund raising, grant writing and working with research and information systems. She has also managed advancement programs at Converse College, where she served as vice president of Institutional Advancement; at the University of the South, where she served as director of capital gifts, and Gustavus Adolphus College, where she was the director of the Office of Gift Planning.

Patchett will assume the position from Susan D. Vance, a 1991 graduate of Tusculum College, who has served as interim vice president of Institutional Advancement. Vance, who has been with Tusculum College’s Advancement Office since 2003, will continue to serve the college as associate vice president of Institutional Advancement. 

“We are very pleased that our search efforts have led us to Heather Patchett. She brings a wealth of experience to the position and will provide strong leadership for an already dedicated and experienced staff,” said Dr. Nancy B. Moody, president of the college.

“Heather will be an excellent addition to our leadership team, and we are all very much looking forward to her becoming part of the Tusculum community.”

As vice president of Institutional Advancement, she will oversee the staff and its departments, including the Offices of Development, College Communications, Alumni Relations, Advancement Services, Church Relations and Special Events. She will manage a donor portfolio and will be responsible for meeting the goals of the Advancement Office in support of the goals and mission of the college. She will also serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet and will help guide the overall operation and growth of the institution.

Patchett has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of the South and a master’s of arts in teaching from Alaska Pacific University.

In her positions with institutions of higher education she has planned budgets, served on the President’s Cabinet and worked closely with members of the Board of Trustees. She has run successful capital campaigns and worked with major gift programs.

At Converse College she participated in a very successful $87.5 million capital campaign, including securing a $15 million major gift.

She is a member of the Spartanburg Evening Lions Club, where she serves as second vice president, and is a member of Westminister Presbyterian Church. She is also a patron of the Lawson Academy of the Arts.

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Kevin Rose has joined the staff of Tusculum College as an enrollment representative to serve adult learners in the Tri-Cities area.

Rose works in Tusculum’s Tri-Cities Center, located at 104 Dillon Court in Gray. He will serve career-minded working adults who wish to continue their education through Tusculum’s Graduate and Professional Studies program, providing information to help them with their decision of which degree to pursue, guiding them through the admission process and helping them explore financial aid.

            In working with prospective students, Rose can draw on his own experiences as a Tusculum student. He earned an associate of applied science degree in respiratory care from Walters State Community College in 2003 and later returned to school through the Graduate and Professional Studies program to achieve his dream of earning a bachelor’s degree. In 2009, he did just that, earning a bachelor of science degree in organizational management from Tusculum.

            Prior to joining the Tusculum staff, Rose worked as a respiratory therapist and registered polysomnographer. He later worked in corporate healthcare sales and marketing, promoting products and services in the healthcare setting.

            Rose, his wife Autumn and their two children, Brandel and Baylyn, live in Mt. Carmel. In 2009, Rose and his wife started the Brandel Rose Scholarship Fund at Tusculum in honor of their son who has Down’s Syndrome. The scholarship helps students who are majoring in special education or early childhood development.

            “Our lives have been greatly impacted from those who help teach and serve the special needs community,” he said. “It has been our honor to give back to this great institution.”
            Tusculum’s Graduate and Professional Studies provides working adults the opportunity to earn a college degree through a uniquely focused and practical program offered at convenient locations and on a flexible, accelerated schedule. Undergraduate degree programs include bachelor of science degrees in business administration and organizational management and bachelor of arts degrees in education and psychology with a concentration in behavioral health. Master’s degrees are offered in education, organizational management and teaching.

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