Published: September 06, 2008 09:06 pm      

SHSU Updates: Sept. 7

Statue to be dedicated to war hero, alumnus Sept. 11



The Sam Houston State University statue that pays homage to two war heroes and an artist will receive its official dedication on Thursday.

The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. between Academic Building I and the Smith-Hutson Building.

During the event, university president Jim Gaertner will recognize Col. M.B. Etheredge, one person in whose honor the statue of Gen. Sam Houston was given. The statue’s donator, alumnus Ron Mafrige, will also make a few remarks.

The ceremony will also include a presentation of the colors by SHSU’s ROTC and songs performed by the Bearkat Marching Band and will be followed by a reception in the LSC Mall Area.

The statue, a 20-foot replica of the 67-foot statue that stands on Interstate Highway 45 south of Huntsville, was created by sculptor and SHSU alumnus David Adickes, the other person in whose honor the statue was given.

Adickes also created the original “Big Sam” for Gen. Sam Houston's 200th birthday anniversary and named it “A Tribute To Courage.”

Etheredge, a 1937 graduate of Sam Houston State Teachers College and former SHTC track star, is this country's highest decorated surviving soldier of World War II.

In the U. S. Army, Ether-edge earned three Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts for gallantry in action.

For more information, call the President’s Office at (936) 294-1013.



Alumni Association creates student group



The SHSU Alumni Association is offering students the opportunity to become members before they earn their degrees.

The Student Alumni Association will have its first meeting of the year on Monday, from 6-8 p.m. in the John R. Ragsdale Visitor Center Auditorium.

The group was established last year “to help build loyalty and tradition on campus,” according to assistant director for Alumni Relations Kristle Castillo.

“We also wanted to give students the opportunity to build relationships with successful alumni and network for positions in the workforce while still in school,” she said.

While anyone can attend the meetings, members must pay $15 a year. Memberships run from June 1 to May 31 and can be paid online at http://alumni.shsu.edu/SAA08.html.

SAA members receive university publications such as the Heritage magazine, Sam eNewsletter and Kat Konnection and receive official SAA T-shirts, car decals, a lapel pin, and an honor chord for graduation, among other items.

“They have opportunities to network with successful alumni and other students, attend alumni events and volunteer,” Castillo said. “It’s a great way for students to get involved on campus, learn SHSU traditions and network with successful alumni.”

The 2008-2009 SAA officers include Michael Oder, president; Steven Smith, vice president; Alyssia Young, secretary; and Brigett Bear, treasurer.

Other meetings this semester will be held Sept. 22, Oct. 6, Oct. 20 and Nov. 3, all from 6-8 p.m. in the John R. Ragsdale Alumni Conference Room.

For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (936) 294-3924, or visit the SAA Web site.



Seminar to feature award-winning illustrator



Award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier will teach budding artists the tricks of the trade during the library science department’s “Art Seminar in Children’s Book Illustration” in October.

The semiannual seminar brings famous illustrators to campus to lecture and discuss their lives and work, as well as give participants hands-on practice in an art form, according to Rosemary Chance, event coordinator and assistant professor of library science.

The fall seminar, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom, will focus on collage.

Collier, who has won several Coretta Scott King awards, has done illustrations for such books as “Uptown,” “Martin’s Big Words,” “Rosa,” “Visiting Langston Hughes,” and, most recently, “Barack Obama” and “American Friendships.”

These books will also be available for purchase and autographing during the event.

The seminar is free for SHSU faculty members and students and is $25 for area art teachers, librarians or anyone else interested in attending.

Seating is limited, and spaces will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The spring art seminar will be held on Feb. 7, 2009, and will feature Houston illustrator Randy Cecil focusing on oil painting.

For more information, or to make a reservation, contact Chance at rxc001@shsu.edu, or visit the library science department Web site at www.shsu.edu/~lis_www.



President to treat faculty, staff to picnic



SHSU employees can have a free lunch on Friday during the annual faculty and staff picnic.

The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Old Main Pit.

Employees are encouraged to wear orange to the picnic and will be served hot dogs and hamburgers.

For more information, call the President’s Office at (936) 294-3415.



Exhibits give glimpses of Texas history



The Sam Houston Memorial Museum will celebrate Texas history with two exhibits running simultaneously in the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr., Education Center Exhibition Gallery.

Carried over from the summer, the “Mud Cats and Dog Trots: Historic Log Buildings in Walker and Montgomery Counties” features pictures taken by museum curator of exhibits David Wight and also borrowed from Walker County Treasures.

The approximately 45-photograph exhibit highlights the structural details of houses from the 1830s to late-1890s that were once so common they weren’t carefully documented, Wight said.

“The ones we took pictures of are being maintained, but who knows if that will go on forever,” he said. “A lot of log cabins have been lost simply because they fell down.”

In the center of the “Mud Cats and Dog Trots” exhibit will be a display celebrating 50 years of the Texas Historical Commission.

Comprised of nine cubes that are each about three feet high by two feet wide, the exhibit displays photos and information about the THC’s programs, including the LaSalle Archeological Project, the Texas Main Street Program and the Historical Marker Program.

Both exhibits will be held through Nov. 30.

The Walker Education Center is located at 1409 19th St.

For more information, call the Sam Houston Memorial Museum at (936) 294-1832.



Career Services to prepare students for job fair



Students will have the opportunity to get a jumpstart on finding a post-graduation job, as well as win prizes and learn how to tweak their résumés, during two events leading up to the Career Expo.

Career Services staff members and company recruiters who will participate in the Career Expo will be in the Lowman Student Center Mall Area on Wednesday for a kick-off party from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to discuss job opportunities and meet prospective employees.

The event will also include free food, music and a variety of prizes and other giveaways.

On Sept. 15, students can have their résumés critiqued by the Career Services staff during “Résumé Rescue,” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the LSC Mall Area.

“It is important to have a solid résumé to be able to market yourself to employers for full time positions or internships,” said Deana Hernandez, Career Services student assistant.

The 2008 Career Expo will be held on Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.

For more information, contact Career Services at (936) 294-1713 or careerservices@shsu.edu.



SHAEYC to get crafty at ‘Make And Take’ meeting



The Sam Houston Association for the Education of Young Children will allow students and area teachers to practice “the craft of teaching” with a “Make and Take” meeting on Wednesday.

The workshop will be held from 5:30–7:30 p.m. in Teacher Education Center Room 131.

A “Make and Take” meeting is a craft activity that allows teachers and future teachers to create art works for their classrooms, according to SHAEYC adviser Diana Nabors.

“They are going to learn how to use cray-pas to create artistic bulletin boards for their classroom, how to use the overhead projectors in order to blow up things to a larger size,” she said.

There will be two Make and Take meetings during the semester, with the second focusing on another topic, Nabors said.

“Our students in the classroom get a lot of information about how to teach, but sometimes there’s not time to practice some of the craft of teaching,” she said. “We also add two different knowledge bases for early childhood, because education runs the full gamut, so it’s allowing them to really focus in on early childhood and early childhood classes.”

The meeting is open to all teachers, students or “anyone who wants to come and learn” and is free for SHAEYC members and $5 for non-members, to cover materials, Nabors said.

For more information, contact Nabors at dnabors@shsu.edu or (936) 294-3950.





Watts selected as eeditor of national journal



Richard E. Watts, counseling professor and director for SHSU’s Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Counselor Education, has been named the new editor for “Counseling and Values,” the journal of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling.

ASERVIC is a division of the American Counseling Association.

Its “Counseling and Values” is a national, peer-reviewed professional journal of theory, research and practice issues concerned with the relationships among counseling, ethics, philosophy, psychology, religion, social values and spirituality.

Its mission is to promote free intellectual inquiry across these domains, according to Watts.