How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Of course you know the traditional response to this
old joke—practice,
practice, practice. But for Southwestern College students, alumni, and friends,
there’s a new response.
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Join the SC A Cappella
Choir there on stage in March 2005.
David Gardner, director of choral music at SC, has
been invited to direct a massed choir and orchestra performance at
the famed New York concert
hall in
less than a year, and Southwestern’s A Cappella Choir will be part
of the 180-voice choir. Alumni and friends also are encouraged to participate
in the New York experience.
This will be Gardner’s second appearance on the Carnegie Hall stage recently—in
May 2003 the musical group Gardner directed in Tucson (the Tucson Masterworks
Chorale) was invited to be part of a larger group directed by Almeda Berkey.
“I enjoyed that so much that I immediately got in contact with organizers
at Carnegie Hall and said I would like to be invited back, this time as the conductor,” Gardner
explains.
In December, he received that official invitation.
A choir made up of the SC A Cappella Choir, SC alumni
and friends of the colleges, and other groups (probably from other
colleges
and perhaps
area
high schools)
will spend five days and four nights in New York City, rehearsing
with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and performing a
30-minute concert.
“One of the things that’s fun about this experience is that there
is time to do some sight-seeing and go to shows in New York,” Gardner
adds.
Music to be performed probably will be a major classical
work,
but there might be time for one shorter piece, Gardner says—possibly the “Beautiful
Savior” that has ended SC’s choral concerts for
decades.
Now the music department and the institutional advancement
office have moved into full gear raising funds for the trip.
The goal,
which would
allow each
student to be fully supported, is to raise $60,000.
For more information on the trip, contact Gardner at Southwestern,
(620) 229-6302, or dgardner@sckans.edu.
Here
Today ---
Gone
Today
They
stood for 94 years but were gone in less than six hours. Demolition
of Southwestern’s beloved 77 Steps began and ended on May 18
as the Heart of the Hill project began to take shape.
The new 77 are
expected to be in use when fall classes begin and will be dedicated
at Homecoming ‘04. See pictures of the construction progress
on the Southwestern College Web site, www.sckans.edu.
SIFE
Team Wins at Regional Competition
The Southwestern College SIFE team matched its educational outreach projects
against other SIFE teams at the 2004 Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Regional
Competition and Career Opportunity Fair April 8 in New Orleans, and came home
with two of the top awards—Rookie of the Year, and Regional First Runner-Up.
“The experience in New Orleans was enlightening to the team and to me,” says
Michael Wood, assistant professor of business and finance and SIFE sponsor. “The
competition was stiff and very professional and the projects presented were amazingly
effective. Our team met the challenge, however.”
Founded in 1975, Students In Free Enterprise is a
non-profit organization that works in partnership with businesses
and higher education and is active on
more than 1,500 college and university campuses in 37 countries. SIFE encourages students to take what they are learning
in the classroom and apply this knowledge to real-life situations,
using their expertise to
better
their communities through educational outreach projects. Southwestern SIFE
did this by teaming with the internal revenue service (IRS) in preparing
and filing
tax returns for lower income, disabled, and elderly individuals; by conducting
an entrepreneurship workshop at Winfield High School; by leading seminars
on financial planning, and other activities.
At competition, teams are judged on how well their
projects taught others the principles of free enterprise.
Wood serves as advisor for the Southwestern SIFE team
and was named a Sam M. Walton Free Enterprise Fellow in recognition
of his leadership
and support
of the SIFE program at Southwestern
Professional
Studies to Mark 10 Years in August
A decade of degree completion at Southwestern College
will be celebrated Thursday, Aug. 26, with the 10th anniversary gala
of the Winfield Professional Studies program. The Winfield Downtown
Center opened in 1994, and has been the longest-running off-campus
center for SC education. Four centers now are in operation—the
other three are located in Wichita on the East Side, on the West
Side, and at McConnell Air Force Base.
Professional studies alumni and current
students are encouraged to attend the come-and-go-social beginning
at 5 p.m. Aug. 26. Those who wish to participate will then be part
of the Moundbuilding ceremony on campus.
Two
to Retire in July |
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Mary Blake, executive
assistant to the president, has assisted three different presidents
during her 20 years at SC. She was hired on a part-time basis
in 1984 to work in public relations and publications, later becoming
full-time office manager of the Investing in Leadership campaign,
and moving to the president's office in 1988. |
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Greg Zuck, library
director since 1987, has been on the leading edge of Southwestern's
technological advancement. He is credited with founding the CowlNet
library consortium, and introduced wireless access in Memorial
Library well before the remainder of the campus went wireless. |
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Little
Builders Preschool Achieves National Accreditation
The Little Builders Preschool at Southwestern College
has been accredited by the National Association for the Education
of Young Children, the nation’s leading organization of early
childhood professionals.
Established
as a laboratory experience for the college’s early childhood
education students, the preschool is located adjacent to the Center
for Teaching Excellence.
“Accreditation by the NAEYC enhances the quality
of the program for the children,” explains Shawn Neises, assistant
professor of education and director of the early childhood education
program. “Parents appreciate being able to place their children
in a center where they know they’re being cared for under the
highest standards.”
The accreditation process began
in late 2000 and was granted following a lengthy self-study and a
site visit by NAEYC representatives. A grant from the Ronald McDonald
Foundation helped the college improve technology in the preschool,
and a grant from the Kansas SRS led to quality enhancement including
expanded educational playground equipment.
NAEYC created its accreditation program in 1985 to
set professional standards for early childhood education, and to
help families identify high-quality child care and early education
programs. Programs are accredited by NAEYC for a five-year period.
