Convocations

Spring 2008 Schedule

Download a Spring 2008 Convocation flyer

Tuesday, January 15 - 11:30 AM - SUU Auditorium
The Spirituals Project
Dr. Arthur Jones and Marta Burton

Arthur Jones is a Senior Clinical Professor of Child Psychology at Denver University. He is also the founder of The Spirituals Project, which is concerned with the preservation and revitalization of the spirituals tradition. In addition to the current multidisciplinary website, the initiatives of The Spirituals Project include various community-based education programs, a documentary film project, and a 70-voice multi-ethnic, multi-generational community choir. Trained as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Jones is currently a faculty member in the Psychology Department at the University of Denver. He is also an accomplished singer who, since 1991, has presented lecture-concert and workshop programs focused on spirituals in educational, community and church settings around the country.

Marta Burton has been working as a professional singer for over 14 years, soloing with dozens of major orchestras, and singing in concert halls and theatres internationally. Marta’s love for the folk music traditions of the British Isles and America, her passion for using music to bridge the gap between people, and her experience as a producer and performer all contributes to her passion about the Spirituals Project.

Spirituals are the religious folk songs created and first sung by African Americans in slavery. “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot;” “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho;” “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child;” “Go Down, Moses;” “Steal Away to Jesus;” “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel?;” “Wade in the Water;” these are some of the best known survivors of the hundreds of remarkable religious folk songs that were created by enslaved African Americans. In fact, many Americans from all ethnic backgrounds can remember “growing up” with these songs, which were created by a circumscribed community of people in bondage but eventually came to be regarded as the first “signature” music of the new American nation. In time, the spirituals were offered as a gift to the whole world, exerting their cultural impact well into this last part of the twentieth century.

The Spirituals Project website
Learn more about Spirituals

Tuesday, January 29 - 11:30 AM - SUU Auditorium
WEDUNIT! Making a Jazz Mystery Ballet: American Culture Reflected in Dance and Music
Susan Hadley and Bradley Sowash

Susan Hadley has choreographed new work for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Repertory Dance Theatre, American Repertory Ballet, BalletMet Columbus, Ballet Pacifica, Ballet Memphis, OSUDance, Drums Downtown, and Contemporary American Theatre Company. A principal dancer with the acclaimed Mark Morris Dance Group and Senta Driver's company Harry, she also performed in Meredith Monk's opera Quarry. She served as Rehearsal Director for Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project, and the Morris production of Platee at the Royal Opera and Lincoln Center. Hadley is a professor in the renowned Department of Dance at The Ohio State University, where she received the 2002 Colleges of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award and the 2006 OSU Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Composer, critically-acclaimed recording artist and concert jazz pianist Bradley Sowash has delighted listeners of all ages in concert halls and churches throughout the United States and Europe for over two decades. His broadcast credits include national radio airplay on NPR’s "Morning Edition" and he has been a regular guest on the PBS-TV series, "The Piano Guy" since its inception. His publications include jazz hymn arrangements published by Augsburg Fortress Press and educational jazz piano books published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company and Houston Enterprises. Sowash is a regular guest lecturer and musician in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State University. His work with dance companies includes BalletMet, Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Meredith Monk, Mark Morris, and Paul Taylor among others.

Hadley and Sowash began collaborating in 1984 at Dance Theatre Worshop in NYC, and their latest work is WhoDunIt? for BalletMet, where pink tulle meets film noir.

Tuesday, February 12 - 11:30 AM - Randall Jones Theatre
Portraits of Courage: African Americans You Wish You Had Known
A Two Person Show highlighting unsung African-American heroes and their contributions to American History.

Portraits of Courage is an examination of overlooked African-Americans and their contributions to American history. Surprised at the absence of African-American figures in today’s history books, playwright Colin Cox created a theatrical piece to help bring recognition to a few of those who have helped shaped our country. In a 65 minute, two-person presentation you will meet:

Ida B. Wells: the activist who, at great personal cost, brought to mainstream America the horrors of the South. A powerful journalist, her writing made the country deplore the ‘justice’ of the lynching system.

Lewis Latimer: one of the original Edison Pioneers and the greatest electrical engineer in America. It was Lewis Latimer, draftsman for the invention of the telephone, who designed a lasting and cost-effective light filament that propelled the light bulb into widespread use.

Colonel Young: commander of the 9th Cavalry, the renowned Buffalo Soldiers. Colonel Young relates his experience as a graduate of West Point, and the commander of the 9th Cavalry in the Apache Wars, the Spanish-American War and the American-Philippines War.

CJ Walker: an American entrepreneur who started life in Mississippi as a laundress then rose through her business acumen with ‘hair growth’ products to become America’s first female millionaire.

Bass Reeves: the first black marshal west of the Mississippi who spent thirty-two years crossing the notorious ‘dead line’ into Indian Territory in pursuit of America’s worst outlaws. Three thousand were apprehended by this cowboy legend, including his own son.

Fannie Lou Hamer: the youngest of twenty from a sharecropping family in Mississippi, she picked three hundred pounds of cotton a day until she learned that as a black woman she had a right to vote. Fanny Lou Haner spent the rest of her life ensuring other African-Americans also understood they had that right.

Portraits of Courage is presented by Will & Company
Presented as part of SUU’s celebration of African-American History Month

Get an overview of African-American History or learn more about any of the men and women portrayed in this production at Wikipedia

Tuesday, February 26 - 11:30 AM - SUU Auditorium
Einstein and Niels Bohr: Models of Wonder and Playfulness
Len Barron

Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr were giants of 20th Century physics. Both men were governed by a deep rooted faith in the intuitive process and a grand sense of play. They shared a passion for justice, sailing, long walks, and tobacco. Mr. Barron’s presentation illustrates not only the work of these great scientists, but their humanity as well.

Mr. Barron began college when he was thirty years old after years of hauling scrap iron, selling magazines and driving a cab. Since graduating from the University of Colorado in 1967 and Antioch-Putney Graduate School in 1969, he has been engaged in various education projects that include founding and directing a school for high school drop-outs and teaching at the University of Colorado, San Diego State University, Prescott College in Arizona, and Dull Knife Memorial College on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. Mr. Barron has presented all over the country for schools, scientists, even the military. Bearing a striking resemblance to Einstein only enhances the nature of his presentation.

Learn more about Niels Bohr
Learn more about Albert Einstein

Special Bonus Convocation

Noon, Wednesday, March 5 - Great Hall, Hunter Center
Hating Women; The Growing Mistreatment in American Culture and What We Must do to Combat It
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
"America's Rabbi"
Presentation at noon followed by questions

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is host of the daily national radio program, The Rabbi Shmuley Show on Oprah & Friends, XM Satellite Radio, and host of the award-winning national TV show, Shalom in the Home on TLC. He is also the international best-selling author of 19 books, including his most recent work, The Broken American Male: And How to Fix Him, released by St. Martin’s Press in January of 2008. His recent works, Parenting With Fire and Ten Conversations You Need to Have With Your Children were both launched on Oprah’s TV show.

In 2007, Rabbi Shmuley was labeled “a cultural phenomenon” and “the most famous rabbi in America” by Newsweek magazine, and was named one of the ten most influential rabbis in America. Also in 2007, Rabbi Shmuley was honored by The National Fatherhood Initiative, receiving their most prestigious award for his efforts on Shalom in the Home to promote the importance of a caring father in the contemporary family.

In 1999, just days before the millennium, Rabbi Shmuley won the highly prestigious "Preacher of the Year" Award from the London Times, setting a record for the most points ever garnered in the competition's history. Rabbi Shmuley also publishes a weekly syndicated column for which, in 2005, he was awarded the American Jewish Press Association's highest award for excellence in commentary.

Rabbi Shmuley first came to world attention through his founding of the Oxford University L'Chaim Society, an organization of Oxford students that within three years of its founding in 1988 had become the second largest student organization in Oxford 's history.

Hailed by Dennis Prager as 'possessing one of the most fertile minds of our generation,' Rabbi Shmuley has written many best-selling books including Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Kosher Sex , Kosher Adultery , Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments , Face Your Fear , the critically-acclaimed Judaism for Everyone , The Private Adam , his critique of American celebrity culture , and his review of Oxford history and life, Moses of Oxford , Vols. I & II. His book Why Can't I Fall in Love was a finalist for the 2002 Books for a Better Life Award, and in April 2005 Rabbi Shmuley published Hating Women: America 's Hostile Campaign Against the Fairer Sex . Many of Rabbi Shmuley's books have been serialized in major international publications and have been translated into seventeen languages, including Japanese, Thai, Czech, Chinese, Italian, Dutch, German, Russian, and French.

Rabbi Shmuley is a highly sought-after television and radio guest, having appeared on shows ranging from The Today Show to The View to The O'Reilley Factor to Good Morning America, and nearly everything in between. He was also the subject of a full-length BBC documentary, Moses of Oxford. He has been profiled in many of the world's leading publications, including Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, The London Times, The L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The Washington Post.
 

If you attend this Convocations for 2010 or University Orientation (UNIV1010) credit, turn in the correct completed reflection sheet to the Student Success Center within two days of the event. Convocation class Reflection Sheets  -----  Orientation class Reflection Sheets.

Tuesday, March 11 - 11:30 AM - SUU Auditorium
Take Charge, Take a Stand, Get Ready for
Change
Mary Kim Titla

Mary Kim Titla was born and raised on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in southeastern Arizona. The name Titla, shortened from "hada-tithla" is part of an Apache word that means "lightning." Up until the age of 8, Mary Kim and her family lived with her paternal grandparents in the small community of Bylas (Graham County).

In 1987 Mary Kim became the first Native American TV reporter in Arizona when KVOA TV in Tucson hired her. She worked at KVOA for 6 years. KPNX TV hired her in 1993. She worked there until resigning in late 2005 to publish Native Youth Magazine online. Mary Kim has earned numerous awards for her TV news reporting and for the e-zine she created. She was recently inducted into the Walter Cronkite Hall of Fame at Arizona State University.

Visit Native Youth Magazine
Read a detailed bio of Ms. Titla

*Thursday, March 27 - 11:30 AM - Randall Jones Theatre
Time to Deliver
Stephen Lewis

Stephen Lewis is one of Canada's most respected commentators on social affairs, international development and human rights. Maclean's chose him as their inaugural Canadian of the Year in 2003 and in 2005 TIME named him one of the 100 Most Influential People In The World (in the same category as The Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela). Lewis is also the recipient of The Pearson Peace Medal for his outstanding achievements in the field of international service and understanding. Stephen Lewis is the former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. The Stephen Lewis Foundation, of which Lewis is the chair of the board, is similarly dedicated to easing the pain of HIV/AIDS in Africa. His 2005 international bestseller, Race Against Time: Searching for Hope in AIDS-Ravaged Africa, is a heartfelt and sometimes maddening look at how the world is failing the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals, which were meant in part to cut poverty in half by 2015. In impassioned prose, Lewis shows us how the international community is falling desperately short of these goals—but he also offers bracingly attainable solutions.

Lewis is formerly a Commissioner for the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. He is a Senior Advisor for Health and Human Rights to the Harvard School of Public Health, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. From 1995 to 1999, Lewis was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, where he spoke and traveled regularly, advocating for the rights and needs of children, especially children of the developing world. In 1997, Lewis was appointed by the Organization of African Unity to a Panel of Eminent Personalities to Investigate the Genocide in Rwanda. The 'Rwanda Report' was issued in June of 2000. From 1984 through 1988, Lewis was Canadian Ambassador to the UN, where he chaired the Committee that drafted the Five-Year UN Programme on African Economic Recovery.

He also chaired the first International Conference on Climate Change, which drew up the first comprehensive policy on global warming. Lewis is currently a Professor in Global Health at McMaster University. He is teaching a course on the Health Impacts of Global Climate Change that will explore all aspects of Climate Change, and look at the consequences for Global Health in both the developed and developing countries.

Lewis holds 25 honorary degrees from Canadian universities and is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is a Senior Fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto, and, in 2003, was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest honor for lifetime achievement.

Please visit AIDS-Free World... it's time for education and advocacy

The Spring 2008 Grace A. Tanner Distinguished Lecture
*Please note this Convocation is on a Thursday.

Tuesday, April 1 - 11:30 AM - SUU Auditorium
Teaching about Life through Dance
Rosa Ramirez Guerrero

Rosa Guerrero, a native El Pasoan, discusses the role of Mexican-American culture (particularly music and dance) in her life. She explains that dance provides a medium through which different people and different cultures may better understand each other. She discusses her belief that children can learn language through movement and talks about her experiences teaching in the public schools during the 1960s and 1970s as well as her work with children in bilingual classes and folkloric dance classes in the 1980s and 1990s. She also discusses her videos Tapestry and Tapestry II. In recognition of her work, a school in El Paso bears her name.

Rosa Ramirez Guerrero’s efforts as an artist, educator, dance historian and humanitarian enhanced her commitment to promoting cultural awareness and resulted in her developing the first intercultural programs within the El Paso Public schools in 1970 where she taught for 20 years.

She was awarded a Life Membership with the Texas PTA and was the first Hispanic woman in El Paso to have a school, Rosa Guerrero Elementary, named in her honor. Ms. Guerrero founded and became the artistic director of the International Folklorico Dance Group. Her film “Tapestry,” on creating cultural harmony and understanding, was honored with a national award for documentary filmmaking.

She received many honors, including Outstanding Woman in the Arts (Women’s Political Caucus); Outstanding Woman Artist in El Paso (the Mexican American National Association); one of the Outstanding Hispanics in the Southwest (Adolph Coors, Co.); and Outstanding Hispanic of El Paso (the University of Texas at El Paso). Among her other awards are the Valley Forge Freedoms Foundation Award; the LULAC Arts and Humanities Award; the Human Relations Award (Texas State Teachers Association); and the Good Samaritan Award (Catholic Media Ministries of El Paso). Ms. Guerrero also received the Setoma Service to Mankind Award, the Arts Alliance Individual Dance Award, and the Adelante Mujer Hispana V Award for her continuous support of the advancement of Hispanic women.

She has been called “a tapestry of many cultures whose mission is to share this tapestry of cultural diversity, and how it is woven, with all people.” Ms. Guerrero earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso and was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1997.

Read an oral history interview with Rosa Ramírez Guerrero

Tuesday, April 15 - 11:30 AM - SUU Auditorium
Deep Sea Exploration
Dr. Edith Widder

Biologist and deep-sea explorer Edith Widder combines her expertise in research and tech-nological innovation with a commitment to reversing the worldwide trend of degradation in our marine environment.

Widder helped establish and lead the Ocean Research & Conservation Association in 2005, having previously served as a senior scientist at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution. A key effort of the Association is the development of state-of-the-art sensors and technological systems for evaluating water quality and ecosystem health. While translating complex scientific issues into workable solutions, Dr. Widder is fostering greater understanding of ocean life as a means to better, more informed ocean stewardship.

A specialist in bioluminescence (the light chemically produced by many ocean organisms), she has been a leader in helping to design and invent new submersible instruments and equipment to enable discreet observation of deep-sea environments. Working with engineers, she has built a number of unique devices that enable scientists to see the ocean in new ways, including HIDEX, a device that measures how much bioluminescence there is in the ocean, and LoLAR, the most sensitive deep-sea light meter. Most recently, Widder helped to design a remotely operated camera system, known as Eye in the Sea (EITS), which, when deployed on the sea floor, automatically detects and measures the bioluminescence given off by nearby organisms. EITS has produced footage of rare sharks, jellyfish, and squid in their natural habitats.

Edith Widder received a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She holds adjunct appointments at Johns Hopkins University, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Institute of Technology, and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Scientists.

Learn more about Dr. Widder (and see video of her work)

Special Bonus Convocation

Tuesday, April 22 - 11:30 AM - Sharwan Smith Center Theater (ST 161)
The Palestinian/Israeli Conflict from a Palestinian Perspective
William Van Wagenen
 

In the United States, the media does an excellent job of explaining the conflict from the Israeli government point of view, namely that Israeli government violence is motivated by a desire to provide security to Israel’s Jews in a hostile world dominated by Anti-Semitism. Thus Palestinian violence against Israelis is viewed as motivated by an inherent hatred of Jews, while Israeli violence is viewed as a defensive response to these Palestinian attacks, whether suicide bombings or the firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza. Even casual observers in the U.S. are familiar with this explanation for the necessity of Israeli military operations in Palestinian villages, and the building of settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories to be inhabited by Jews only.

In contrast, few observers in the U. S. are familiar with explanations of the causes of the conflict from the Palestinian point of view. For Palestinians, the cause of the conflict is not an inherent hatred of Jews, but rather Israeli Jews’ attempts to colonize and confiscate Palestinian territory for the sake of realizing the aspirations of the Zionist movement.

Understanding both Palestinian and Israeli perspectives on the conflict is important in understanding the dynamics of the violence and how to solve it. In addition to explaining the conflict from the Palestinian perspective, Mr. Van Wagenen will share some experiences from when he was living in the Palestinian Territories as a student at Bir Zeit University.  From those experiences he hopes to give some insight about what it is like to live under occupation as Palestinians have for decades.

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Last Update: Tuesday, April 15, 2008