Creation Autumn/Winter 2014

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reation Marshall University’s College of Arts and Media

Marshall Downtown

The first operating semester still underway, the Visual Arts Center has already proved beneficial to downtown Huntington

{ INSIDE } Empty Bowls 2015 Date Announced | MU’s Center for Wellness in the Arts Inaugurated | Jay Leno Visits Town, Talks with Students

{ DEAN’S MESSAGE } Milestones are often the measuring stick used to assess progress.

The College of Arts and Media has enjoyed numerous milestones in recent months, and we certainly take these as signs that we are moving forward.

Donald Van Horn

Dean, College of Arts and Media

Music student Danielle Ocheltree was selected to perform with an international wind band at summer 2014 ceremonies in France, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy. Imagine the impact on a young American chosen to perform with musicians from all over the world in that setting! That is a personal milestone that speaks volumes about Danielle and also about the quality of the education she is receiving at Marshall University.

Three glorious days of events in September marked the opening of the Visual Arts Center as we welcomed nearly 2,000 people who explored the new building. The overwhelming response is indicative of the investment the entire community shares with Marshall in the Visual Arts Center. A significant milestone in many ways, the center is Marshall’s downtown anchor, and it brings a whole new definition to the term “community engagement.”

The W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, led by school director Janet Dooley, has just completed the self-study portion of the accreditation process. The report, which has been forwarded to the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, will inform a team of accreditors due to visit campus for a thorough evaluation of the program later this academic year. Accreditation means peers in higher education certify that programs in journalism and mass communications meet high standards. Completing an accreditation self-study is a major milestone, and we are looking forward to the visit and subsequent report on the quality of the school.

A proposal for a new degree, the Bachelor of Arts in the Arts, is currently making its way through the university curriculum process. Vicki Stroeher (music) has worked with Susan Jackson (art), Lang Reynolds (theatre), and Ann Marie Bingham (music) to author the proposal. While not intended to offer students the intense focus of the BFA, this alternative degree offers breadth and experiences aimed at honing skills and developing competencies that will serve students well in interdisciplinary arts and arts-related careers. Discussions about this degree have taken place since I came to Marshall in 1995, and I see this as a significant milestone for the college and prospective students.

Professors Nicole Perrone (theatre) and Henning Vauth (music) have initiated a ground breaking, interdisciplinary Wellness in the Arts program with the College of Health Professions. You can learn more about this innovative program on page 4. Representing a major milestone for Marshall University, this program will distinguish our performing arts degrees from virtually all others in this country.

All highly visible milestones, these accomplishments help define the College of Arts and Media.

Just as important, however, are the smaller milestones that are enjoyed, and often with little notice. Those of us who are privileged to work in this environment see these milestones on a daily basis. We witness the student who has an “aha!” moment and grasps the complexities of music theory. We celebrate quietly when a student has her first article published in The Parthenon. We glow with pride when a new theatre performance major is cast in his first production at Marshall. We share internally the satisfaction that an art major gains when she finally understands how colors impact perception. Such are the rewards for working in the College of Arts and Media.

We are a vibrant assembly of gifted, creative and innovative students, staff and faculty, and we are blessed with a supportive community. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

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GOT NEWS? Let us know where you are and what you’re doing. We’d love to include you in an upcoming edition of Creation. creation editor | BETH CARUTHERS

Smith Hall 160, One John Marshall Drive Huntington, WV 25755 (304) 696-3296 | beth.caruthers@marshall.edu

dean | DONALD VAN HORN

associate dean | DAVID CASTLEBERRY associate dean | JANET DOOLEY

program assistant | TERESA HOLSCHUH

business manager | RACHEL WILLIAMSON

student services specialist | TAMMY REYNOLDS

special projects coordinator | BETH CARUTHERS

senior director of development | MELANIE GRIFFIS

marshall artists series executive director | PENNY WATKINS SCHOOL DIRECTORS:

school of art and design | SANDRA REED

school of journalism and mass communications | JANET DOOLEY school of music and theatre | RICHARD KRAVCHAK

CREATION IS PUBLISHED BY MARSHALL UNIVERSITY’S COLLEGE OF ARTS AND MEDIA SMITH HALL 158, ONE JOHN MARSHALL DRIVE HUNTINGTON, WV 25755 (304) 696-6433 | WWW.MARSHALL.EDU/CAM

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C R E AT I O N 2 0 1 4

AUTUMN/WINTER

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{ SCHOOL NEWS }

8 { ON THE COVER }

Marshall Downtown

As the university blooms on and off campus, the School of Art and Design’s

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Alumni Artist Hits it Big Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate Michael Paxton (’75) credits talent, luck for his success

Remembering Professor Ed

Alumni, colleagues share memories of passed SOJMC faculty Ed Knight

The New Doctors of Band Music’s faculty adds two directors

Visual Arts Center marks the first state-of-the-art addition in the heart of the city (Edward Tucker Architects, Inc. / Image-Thorney Lieberman).

{ F E AT U R E S }

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Don’t Break a Leg

New Center for Wellness in the Arts teaches students to understand and respect their bodies

Q&A with the Expert

Dr. Eckhart Altenmüller explains how Marshall’s focus on performing artists’ wellbeing is unique to this country

Mark your calendar for Empty Bowls 2015

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New Connections

Visual Arts Center helps form relationships and inspires change

Leno Chats with Students Marshall Artists Series performer Jay Leno stressed perseverance with theatre and music majors preshow

Friday, April 17 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church 1015 5th Avenue Huntington, WV You make a difference. Huntington’s version of the national initiative has raised one million meals worth of donations for the food bank.

Join the movement to end hunger.

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{Don’t}

Break a Leg T

here is a saying in the performing arts: The show must go on.

Unfortunately, that do-or-die mentality that often lives within actors and musicians can cause their life’s work to come crashing down, potentially even causing career-ending injuries.

“My ballet studio growing up had a poster on the wall that said ‘No pain, no gain,’” recalled Nicole Perrone, associate professor of theatre at Marshall University. “And I took that to heart, especially as my passion for dance grew in my teen years.

“I just kept pushing myself through pain, fatigue and injury,” Perrone admitted.

It wasn’t until she was an acting student at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York that Perrone discovered wellness in the arts through the Alexander Technique, a practice of release of tension and freedom of movement through body awareness and

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mindfulness.

About the same time, across the world, Dr. Eckhart Altenmüller, then an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of Tübingen researching auditory processing and motor systems in musicians, saw one of his first patients, a young German musician named Henning Vauth. What he learned from Dr. Altenmüller and from his own experiences guided Vauth’s pursuit to an increased focus on health in the arts.

“Personally, I have several friends—not one or two, but several friends—who had to give up their careers and lost their jobs because they injured themselves,” Vauth said. “These injuries not only just affected their playing, it was caused by their playing and by the way they practiced beforehand.”

Soon after his arrival to Marshall University as an assistant professor of music, a

dialogue began between Vauth and Perrone that set the script for a focus of wellness in the arts in Huntington.

Vauth and Perrone visited Ohio University last year and toured their Clinic for Science and Health in Artistic Performance. Vauth said such a clinic is a place where injured performing artists can be evaluated by licensed athletic trainers who have the proper knowledge and equipment to treat their injuries.

“We met with the director of the Ohio University clinic and brainstormed ways to implement this same type of program at Marshall University,” Vauth said. “When we first envisioned the center, we thought there would be three components: education, treatment and research. Many performing arts students have developed a mentality that a certain amount of pain is a part of the performer’s process. We want to change the culture and educate students, so they look

at pain as a problem and treat it accordingly and then can enjoy long careers.”

Since August Certified Athletic Trainers in the Center for Wellness in the Arts at Marshall University have seen nearly 200 students, and the demand keeps growing.

On Oct. 13, Vauth and Dr. Altenmüller were reunited when Altenmüller, now director for the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine in Hanover, Germany, toured Huntington for four days and delivered the keynote address during the Center for Wellness in the Arts inauguration.

“The professional life of performing artists is becoming more and more demanding,” Altenmüller said during his address.

“From our research we’ve learned strong performance anxiety frequently has its roots in early childhood—in over-demanding parents, low self-esteem and other anxieties. Musicians are like athletes working to their limits, and they need to develop excellent self-management skills to function at such a high level for many decades.”

During the ceremony, Perrone said she see the Center for Wellness in the Arts at Marshall only expanding, noting that there is talk of a degree program.

“I’m confident that eventually our efforts here will go beyond sprained ankles, and that we will be creating a culture of wellness that will be serving artists for years to come,” Perrone said.

Q +A they can give this to their young students after they have graduated. That’s why it’s a good level at the university, where you also educate the future educators. So I think this is a multiplying function you have here in Huntington.

Q: That you know of, how many We sat down with Dr. Eckhart Altenmüller, director of the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine at Hanover University of Music and Drama in Hanover, Germany to talk wellness in the arts.

Q: Do you think music education

and performing arts education in general are moving to a more wellness-oriented training process?

A: I think so. (Performing artists) are caring for their bodies much more. This has to do with a very interesting, new concept also in cognition. It’s called the embodiment concept—saying that our body is influencing our thoughts, and with our body we can somehow also structure our thoughts. And so the control of body tensions would also be helpful in controlling, for example, anxiety or in controlling stage fright.

Also what people do with relaxation techniques and breathing techniques, they are all influencing our mental set and our mental wellbeing. This is exactly the thing needed for acting students: to know how to reduce tension or how to increase tension if it’s necessary.

Q: Interesting. Noting that these

The Faces Behind the Wellness Movement Assistant Professors Nicole Perrone (theatre) and Henning Vauth (music) were able to implement Marshall’s Center for Wellness in the Arts with the help of Elliot Smithson, licensed athletic trainer; Donald Van Horn, dean, College of Arts and Media; Michael Prewitt, dean, College of Health Professions; and Dr. Eckhart Altenmüller, director of the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine at Hanover University of Music and Drama in Germany (Images Megan Archer).

artists learn techniques early in their careers—sometimes 5 years old­—at the university level, how does a Center for Wellness in the Arts impact a performer’s career?

A: What is very important is that we inform the students how to develop their own qualities, their own potential, as best as possible. Of course many of them have already worked on their instruments for many years, but here, they get direction for the long term.

It’s very important that students get informed about prevention, too. Then

other American universities are implementing Wellness in the Arts programs?

A: There is an interest into performing arts medicine since 1985. Americans were the first to found the Performing Arts Medicine Association, PAMA, and the leading personalities were Alice Brandfonbrener and Richard Letterman from Chicago and from Cleveland. I can say they built a kind of model for the Germans, though the Germans founded such a society in 1904. Americans have a program in Chicago, Northwestern University, and they tried to found a program in Rochester, but it’s not like here. In West Virginia, the unique thing is that it has a label: Center for Wellness in the Arts. There are universities in the United states that have collaborations with students and doctors, but where you have a center dedicated, there are not many of these. In Houston, Texas there is a colleague who is a psychologist and an ENT specialist. His name is Kris Chesky. He’s also trying to link the arts and wellbeing. In New York there is a personality at Mount Sinai Hospital, Steven Frucht. He is a doctor who is also trying to link medicine to wellbeing, but they don’t give these kind of courses. They are not in an integral part of the students’ formation. I think this is really one of the first places in the United States where you have this kind of implementation in a university, a center of wellbeing. It’s great what you do here.

Dr. Altenmüller holds a master’s degree in classical flute and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in neurology and neurophysiology, and has studied wellness in the arts for more than 20 years. He was the keynote speaker at Marshall University’s Center for Wellness in the Arts inauguration Oct. 13.

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Marshall Downtown Now-a-days booming with students, the six-story Visual Arts Center bridges Huntington’s historic downtown and Marshall University, past, present and future.

When Mayor Steve Williams announced the City of Huntington as a Certified Arts Community by the West Virginia Commission on the Arts on Oct. 14, Marshall University’s Visual Arts Center was referenced as a component to that step forward.

Indeed, the School of Art & Design downtown lights a path to the future, but it also paints a picture of old meets new: The VAC, once the historic Anderson-Newcomb Co. store, was built in 1902—the same year Marshall began its visual arts program.

The $13 million transformation to remarkable, world-class visual arts facility incorporates the building’s original hardwood floors with 66 tons of new steel, smart lighting, highly efficient heating and cooling, new elevators, digital monitors and Wi-Fi. Mary Waller, program assistant for the school, had her hands full as the on-site contact during the process!

The VAC is directly adjacent to Huntington’s Pullman Square. The ground floor features retail space and a

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2,200-square-foot gallery with upwards of 150 feet of linear display space.

Students of art education, art history, fibers, foundations, graphic design, painting, photography and printmaking study on floors two through six in spacious studios flooded with natural light, technology-rich classrooms, and flex spaces that accommodate various collaborative activities. The structure is capped with sixth-floor administrative areas. Students with a Marshall campus parking permit are provided an add-on downtown parking pass for a nominal $7 plus a $15 refundable deposit.

Right: The Painting Studio, like other academic areas in the building, offers vast space. Bottom Left: The 927 Third Avenue structure sits in the heart of Huntington’s historic downtown district. Bottom, Middle Left: The penthouse conference room combines state-of-the-art technologies with breathtaking views of Huntington and the Ohio River and a line of sight to Smith Hall on Marshall’s main campus. Bottom, Middle Right: Each floor is color-coded for easier way-finding. Bottom, Far Right: Open to the public, the first-floor gallery, with its architectural glass walls, places art exhibitions front and center. (Edward Tucker Architects, Inc. / Images -Thorney Lieberman)

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School of Art and Design Without a doubt, our new location has created many local networking opportunities: Neighboring businesses have initiated internships; students and staff have brought enthusiasm to events such as the “WV Makes Festival”; Professor Mary Grassell’s Sandra Reed students designed Director work for downtown School of Art and Design clients including the Dogwood Festival at the Big Sandy Arena; and Dr. Maribea Barnes and her students welcomed local 6th-8th graders to a series of Saturday workshops. Additionally, the School of Art & Design has signed an innovative art lease agreement with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, in which artwork by students and faculty is displayed in their offices. The Third Avenue neighbor maintains similar arrangements with a museum in Boston and a gallery in Nashville. This partnership will provide crucial income for gallery programming and academic travel, among other priorities.

Faculty members dedicated time to ensure a focused and inspirational start to the inaugural academic year in the VAC and at the same time maintained a presence in professional contexts. Among these many pursuits, Professors Hayson Harrison and Peter Massing presented “Convergence,” an exhibition of collaborative work that blurred the boundaries of graphic design and fine art in the Birke Art Gallery, and Professor Jonathan Cox received commissions from several institutions including the CAMC Cancer Center, where he will complete five works for three interior locations.

Focus on undergraduate education is a defining aspect of this time. The new studio foundations courses have a dual structure that firmly connects and transfers art and design principles to all areas of the visual art emphasis.

Students from around the world will take these courses through the Marshall INTO program’s Visual Art pathway this summer, and in the near future, we look to welcome students into a BA in the Arts program. In support of these and other initiatives, we are casting a wide net to hire an outstanding foundations professor for our ambitious students, growing programs and expanding curriculum. One of several new curricular areas being explored is cinematic production.

As we break new ground, we also cherish traditions. The 41st annual trip to New York City will be Feb. 25-March 1, and Assistant Professor Heather Stark (art history) and Associate Professor Ian Hagarty (painting) will lead courses for the College of Arts and Media’s Florence program in the spring. The Spring 2015 exhibition schedule opens with the 4th Annual National Juried Exhibition and closes with the Annual Juried Student Exhibition. So come on downtown—we hope to see you at these and other events at the VAC.

Alumni Artist Provides Insight into Past, Successful Career It’s 8 a.m. in Chicago, and Michael K. Paxton’s wife, fellow artist Jeanne Nemcek, has begun preparing the studio. The 1975 graduate from Marshall’s art program can hear her stirring down the hall.

Paxton, a sixth generation West Virginian, officially moved to the Windy City more than 30 years ago, when they, with no connections, packed up what Paxton described as necessary—“a U-Haul full of paintings, a parakeet in the front seat in a cage and two folding chairs”—found a mattress, and couch-surfed until they were able to purchase the building near Wrigley Field where they now live and work.

Even though he said he didn’t start selling his work to live off of until he was in his early 40s, he said it’s a combination of luck, talent and dedication that has gotten him this far. For starters, he didn’t have access to the visual arts until college.

The three-room schoolhouse with six grades and three teachers he attended in Logan County didn’t have room in the curriculum for art, and although he moved around the state and finally settled in Wayne County, he found a consistent lack of attention to the visual arts no matter where in the state he attended school. Still, Paxton made opportunities where there seemed to be none, drawing backdrops or building something for the photo opportunities at school dances.

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“Two things an artist needs are time and space,” Paxton said. “The more money they get, the more time and space they can have. That’s the bottom line.”

His advice to his students is to not underestimate the amount of sacrifice involved in art. He described how an artist must follow opportunities­—a life that most often doesn’t allow one to take their friends and family with them where they go.

“Sacrifice sounds OK when you’re 18 or 21, but when you get to be 45 and you’re off by yourself—it never gets any easier,” Paxton said. “Some people want to do it anyway—like me who are too stupid to quit—and some people can’t take the amount of rejection and sacrifice and the actual business of it. It’s a business.”

As the editor of his high school’s newspaper, Paxton planned to major in journalism when he came to Marshall in the early 70s, but when it came time to register, the line for journalism was long.

“There was nobody in the art line, so I signed up for art,” Paxton said. “That’s pretty much the story of my life. There’s a lot of lucky chance and serendipity.”

Paxton credits now retired art professors such as Michael Cornfeld and June Kilgore with recognizing and cultivating his talents. “(Kilgore) put me in with all the graduate students—kind of force-fed me art,” Paxton admitted. “By the time I got out of Marshall, I was ready to play ball.”

Now an adjunct faculty member at

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Columbia College Chicago, Paxton said several of the warehouses downtown have been converted to art spaces like the Visual Arts Center. Paxton said the buildings offer space: the greatest feature for an artist.

Paxton next to his art at the “On Big Drawings” exhibition in October at Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery at Columbia College Chicago. He created this type of art almost by accident: In 2011 during a residency in France, Paxton longed to create while waiting for big oil paintings to dry, so he picked up some drafting film and started applying ink. What he created early on were 2-by-3 masterpieces, loosely based on sketchbooks.

Building Facilitates New Connections

Megan Schultz Gallery Director and Facilities Coordinator

Much has been said about what the new Visual Arts Center has provided for Marshall University students, for School of Art & Design faculty and for the city of Huntington as a whole.

The beautiful design of the art studios, the investment in state-of-the art equipment and the renewed commitment to growing the arts and design programs at Marshall University, are all powerfully inspiring outcomes of a decision to turn a deteriorating historical building into a place where artistic creation can thrive.

Equally exciting, but perhaps not as clearly measured, are the relationships There is great that are potential for the developing Visual Arts Center between the School of Art & to help promote on a national level Design and the the wonderful and larger Marshall University important work of community, West Virginians, between and conversely, Marshall University to bring to and greater Huntington West Virginia inspiring and businesses influential visitors. and community groups and between West Virginia and National organizations. These new connections are directly linked to the Visual Arts Center’s innovative design and location downtown.

The Visual Arts Center has several features to attract a range of groups, both from within and outside of the university. Our dazzling, first-floor 2,200 square-foot art gallery is open to the public weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Exhibitions of artworks by local and national artists, as well as School of Art & Design students and faculty can be seen there. This grand space has already been the site for two large, multi-day conferences, bringing visitors from across the nation.

This fall, the Preservation Alliance of West

Virginia brought From the Ground Up, a conference about the preservation of historic buildings, the re-use of abandoned or underused industrial properties and the promotion of heritage tourism in West Virginia. Soon after, the gallery opened its doors to the West Virginia BAD Buildings Summit, a conference organized to address vacant and abandoned properties throughout the states. This conference gained national attention, attracting speakers from the Center for Community Progress in Washington, D.C., and from Emory Law School in Atlanta, Georgia.

We look forward to welcoming a wide range of upcoming events, such as the American Foundation for the Blind’s Board of Trustees meeting and a reception this spring for the Marshall Artists Series’ production of the Broadway musical “Anything Goes.”

Smaller groups have taken advantage of the impressive conference room located on the top floor of the Visual Arts Center.

The room’s large windows allow for great amounts of natural light to fill the space while offering expansive views of the Ohio River and downtown Huntington. The conference room’s audio/visual system allows for multiple presentation and communication options. Various groups and organizations within and outside of the university have had meetings and receptions in this attractive location, including INTO Marshall University, the West Virginia Economic Development Council and the Collectors Club of the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences.

Each of these events initiates important conversations about local and national issues. These conversations occur not only between individual members of visiting groups, but also between the School of Art & Design and its neighbors.

By connecting with communities outside of Marshall University, the Visual Arts Center helps broaden these conversations. There is great potential for the Visual Arts Center to help promote on a national level the wonderful and important work of West Virginians, and conversely, to bring to Huntington inspiring and influential visitors.

Megan Schultz can be contacted at schultzm@marshall.edu.

In Brief Awards Account Established Awards given at the Annual Student Juried Exhibition and end-of-year ceremonies make a difference in student lives. A new MU Foundation account, designated to receive donations in support of awards for visual art majors, is under development. For more information, contact Melanie Griffis at (304) 6962834 or griffism@ marshall.edu.

Professors Produce Promo Video Associate Professor Danny Kaufmann and Assistant Professor Ryan Wilson, along with Professor Mary Grassell and Assistant Professor Heather Stark, worked together to create the new school video, which explains the unique options and vast opportunities available in the School of Art & Design.

See the Video

Use your smart phone’s QR code reader to view the School of Art & Design promo video.

Neighbors Welcome Students Downtown Huntington Partners welcomed students Oct. 31 with brief presentations and pizza. Subsequent to Scheduling Day, the event had a great turnout with an outreach objective supporting the school’s academic mission.

Adjunct Faculty Enhance Experience Adjunct faculty members are integral to the teaching roster and provide students outstanding instruction. Of note, Linda Anderson is the School of Art & Design’s longest-serving adjunct faculty member (27 semesters) while Patrick Martin (BFA 2013, Fibers), Melissa McCloud (BFA 2009, Photography/Sculpture), and Sarah Olsen were new to classrooms this semester. Thank you to these and to our other talented adjunct artisteducators: Brent Thomas, Samantha Belcher, Sarah Brinegar, Beth Koch, Jillian Smallwood and Lorin Michki.

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School of Journalism and Mass Communications When I was a junior in English Literature, I nearly changed majors. It was my only flirtation with a major other than advertising, but Canterbury Tales and Paradise Lost were seductive. After some reflection I decided the only thing I could really expect to do Janet Dooley with an English degree Director, W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass was to teach, and that Communications had no appeal to me.

After several years of working in the industry, I had the opportunity to teach advertising, and at that point my perspective had changed a bit. I thought teaching might be fun for a couple of years. Still, I hadn’t taken Writing a Syllabus 101 or Advanced Paper Grading. There was a lot of problem solving and “figuring it out” to be done.

A degree in journalism and mass communications, I soon discovered, offered so much beyond learning an inverted pyramid style of writing or the appropriate camera setting to expose a photograph properly. As a student it may have seemed that formulaic, but in practice and in retrospect, there were numerous lessons and skills that transferred readily to my new experiences.

Writing demanded information gathering, sorting the relevant points, judging validity of sources and organizing a message. Design required problem solving, analytical skills came from research and strategic thinking was central to campaigns class.

Now, after 35 years as a college professor, I find many journalism and mass communications graduates relating similar experiences. The majority have had distinguished careers as reporters, broadcasters, advertisers and public relations practitioners. A number have moved into director’s chairs, anchor desks, editor’s positions. Others have opted to move in other directions. They’ve become business managers.

Some are independent business owners. There are lawyers. There are teachers. Opportunities aren’t always anticipated, but journalism and mass communications grads find they are poised to transition to variations within the field, to related areas or to totally new careers.

Our alumni have agreed to share their career paths post graduation, and to relate how they have applied their experiences from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. “My Degree in JMC” will be a monthly column written by alumni who will update us on their careers and trace the influences they have carried from college.

Watch the website: www.marshall.edu/jmc.

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Remembering Professor Ed He was described as humorous, a prankster, generous, a poet, a student of the French Revolution, a mentor and a friend. Regardless of the description, journalism and mass communications students and colleagues will remember and miss Professor Wallace “Ed” Knight.

Professor Knight, 88, passed away September 25 in his home in Dingé, France. He taught public relations at Marshall from 1982 to 1991.

“Professor” was Knight’s second career We were following his start as fortunate to a reporter have him as a and business editor for the colleague and Charleston friend.

(WV) Gazette newspaper and then a rich history -Dr. George T. Arnold as a public Retired Professor, relations W. Page Pitt School of practitioner at Journalism and Mass Ashland Oil. Communications Those who worked with him as peers or as students were quick to remember him.

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Dr. George T. Arnold, retired professor from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications said, “I think the thing I like best about Ed was his little humorous asides during meals and meetings. My favorite came at the Uptowner Inn. Without changing his expression, Ed ordered the fluffy

cheese omelet with the request that it be ‘heavy on the fluff.’ We were fortunate to have him as a colleague and friend.”

Diana Sole Walko, a 1982 graduate, remembered Professor Knight as a mentor. “Ed mentored me when he was at Ashland, and I was still a student,” Walko said. “He also hired me as an intern. I learned a lot from the man with the green pen!” Kelly Merritt, a 1984 graduate, was one of several of Knight’s students who remarked that he enjoyed his classes, his stories and his humor.

“I find it interesting that he retired in France,” Bob Saunders, a 1990 graduate of the program, said. “I still recall the time he opened his mass communications class by exhorting us to study the French Revolution. I don’t remember how he tied it in with journalism, but I eventually took his advice.”

Professor Knight was a writer first and foremost. His short story, “The Way We Went,” was published in The Atlantic Monthly magazine, reprinted in textbooks and was included in the anthology “Best American Short Stories of 1973.” He wrote “Lightstruck,” a novel published by Little, Brown and Company. He was also a poet and claimed to have written at least a poem each day. Dave Swint, a 1992 graduate, recalled Knight’s influence as a poet.

“He shared some of his poetry with me, knowing of my own poetic endeavors, and he inspired me. A generous man, indeed. And a prankster of the first order, but not a malicious one,” Swint said. “I’ll miss Wallace ‘Ed’ Knight.”

Support W. Page Pitt School in Style The School of Journalism and Mass Communications Alumni Advisory Council is having a Thirty-One fundraiser to help with specific projects the school is undertaking.

SOJMC alumnae Kari Shumaker is an executive director with ThirtyOne Gifts, and she is donating

100% of her commission to the school for products purchased as part of the fundraiser.

For more information, visit the MUJMC Alums Facebook page at bit.ly/SOJMCalumniFB.

PRSA Awards Student Work

JMC Students, Faculty Celebrate National News Engagement Day School of Journalism and Mass Communications students and faculty joined news organizations from the majority of states, the District of Columbia and six countries to participate in National News Engagement Day on Oct. 7.

National News Engagement Day was created to raise awareness about the importance of being informed, to encourage engagement with the news, and to help everyone discover the benefits of the news.

Editors of Marshall’s student newspaper, The Parthenon, handed out the day’s edition and talked with students, faculty and staff about the principles and processes of journalism. Editors also asked their audience what they wanted to see in the paper.

Codi Mohr, senior print major and executive editor for the paper, said she was excited for editors to get out on campus and get readers’ input on news and the student newspaper.

“I think it is really important for students

to engage especially with The Parthenon because there are so many events and things happening on campus that don’t get covered by other media,” Mohr said.

Students with MU Report asked students how they get their news. Answers included everything from social media to major networks and local news shows.

Using #NewsEngagementDay on social media sites and especially Twitter, news organizations from all over the world posted videos, photos and stories about their involvement in the special day.

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the sponsor of National News Engagement Day, is a nonprofit association of more than 3,700 journalism and communication educators, media professionals and graduate students.

See more

Use your smart phone’s QR code reader to follow The Parthenon on Twitter.

Public relations students, alumni and faculty from the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications celebrated the addition of 12 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) state and regional awards to the academic program’s acclaim this past summer at the PRSA Awards Gala held at Edgewood Country Club in Charleston, West Virginia.

Dr. Terry L. Hapney, Jr., associate professor of public relations at MU, said the 2014 gala proved rewarding for Marshall University.

“What’s special about these awards is the fact that my students’ work was judged by professional public relations practitioners from very large chapters of PRSA throughout the U.S.,” Hapney said. “While winning awards is great, the feedback we receive about our program is even better.”

Awards presented to alumni from Hapney’s Public Relations Campaign Management course included four firstplace awards in the six-state PRSA-East Central District­and two first-place Crystal Awards in West Virginia. Additionally, alumni from the Advertising Layout and Design class, taught by Christine Ingersoll, associate professor of advertising, won a first-place Crystal Award in the state.

Students in MU’s PRSSA, under the advising of Hapney, also won state chapter of the year.

“This year is the 35th anniversary of MU’s PRSSA chapter,” he said. “Of the four chapters in West Virginia, MU students took top honors this year. I’m pleased the judges saw the merit in their excellent work.”

Car Bash Benefits WMUL-FM WMUL-FM’s 13th annual Car Bash on Oct. 9 drew a crowd of on-lookers while more than 130 people paid $1 for two minutes with a sledgehammer and the Chevy S-10 donated by Kelly’s Radiators in Huntington. As in years before, the totaled car was later towed in the homecoming parade as WMUL-FM staff tossed candy and mini footballs to spectators.

Student Government Association President Duncan Waugaman throws the first swing.

MU Report’s Jessi Starkey tells viewers about the homecoming tradition in Buskirk Field.

School of Music and Theatre The School of Music and Theatre is very excited about projects undertaken, planned, and imagined for our 2014-15 season!

Our music program continues to make its presence known here, out of state and beyond.

Richard Kravchak The Marshall Guitar Director Ensemble successfully School of Music and Theatre toured Costa Rica, presenting concerts, collaborating with native guitar students and professionals and enjoying the country’s rich culture and natural beauty. Global Horizons, a program established

by Dean Van Horn to expose our interested students to international experiences, supported the tour. In the states, our 300-member strong Marching Thunder performed for 65,000 fans at a nationally broadcast Pittsburgh Steelers halftime show in September, and our drum line even participated in pre-game festivities with the NFL team’s resident drum line. Locally, more than 20 music students and faculty were thrilled to participate in the three-day grand opening celebrations for the Visual Arts Center downtown. On a personal note, I will be this season’s featured soloist with the Huntington Symphony, playing the Mozart Concerto in C major for oboe and orchestra.

Our theatre’s season is jam-packed with classic and award-winning plays. Laura Eason’s adaptation of Mark Twain’s classic novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was our season opener. Last month we featured one of the great treasures of 19th century theatre, Anton Chekhov’s “The Three Sisters.” Our school’s programs will collaborate to bring the Kit Kat Klub to Huntington through their presentation of the beloved musical “Cabaret” in February, and we’ll close the season with Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning “Clybourne Park.” Additionally, this marks the inaugural year of The Theatre for Young Audiences, a program that brings public school children to the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse and takes theatre into their classrooms.

Finally, our schools and the college are embarking on a major collaboration with the College of Health Professions called Center for Wellness in the Arts. This innovative program will provide guidance on avoiding performance-related injuries and help students treat injuries incurred.

As you can see, it’s an amazing time to be a part of The School of Music and Theatre. We look forward to welcoming you to each of the more than 150 performances we present to the public this year and every year!

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Meet the New Doctors of Band Dr. Adam Dalton assumes the lead role of the Marching Thunder Formerly a high school and elementary school band teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Adam Dalton, director of athletic bands, said he is excited and anxious to be teaching at the university level.

Dalton

“It kind of just hits me,” Dalton said. “I think, ‘You’re director of athletic bands at a university right now.’ That’s a big deal!”

A native of Virginia, Dalton earned a Bachelor of Music in music education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He went on to receive a master’s degree in Music Education and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting from The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Dalton performed in many ensembles during his undergraduate studies, including the Marching Royal Dukes and the Wind Ensemble. While at The University of Alabama, he performed with The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps for three years earning two world championships and a gold medal in individual and ensemble. He has also marched in various independent winter guards, consistently making finals at Winter Guard International. His color guard teaching experience includes the World Champion Phantom Regiment and The Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, as well as numerous winter guards around the southeast such as CrownGUARD and The University of Alabama Alta Marea.

Dr. Steven Trinkle named interim director of bands Dr. Steven Trinkle received a Bachelor of Music in trumpet performance from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, earned a master’s degree with the same focus from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, and completed his studies with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance and orchestral conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.

Trinkle said his students are his first priority.

“I’ve always been very close to my students,” Trinkle said.

A teacher for 42 years, Trinkle has held principal trumpet positions with orchestras in Augusta, Georgia; Dubuque, Iowa; Shreveport, Louisiana; and the Orchestra Sinfonica della Radiotelevisione in Turin, Italy. He was assistant principal trumpet with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Maracaibo in Venezuela and has performed with the Houston Symphony and the Kansas City Philharmonic. Under his direction ensembles have performed in Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and throughout the United States.

His own ensemble, Trinkle Brass Works, has received wide recognition through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest and Western States Arts Federation.

Additional grants from the Virginia Arts Council, North Carolina Arts Council, the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Wyoming Arts Council, Nevada Arts Council and many individuals and companies have funded hundreds of performances and Arts in Education residencies. The ensemble researches, commissions and performs music for brass and percussion.

Young Audience Goes Behind-the-Scenes Starting in Fall 2014, more than 800 local middle-schoolers got a different view of Marshall’s School of Music and Theatre: behind the scenes with the new Theatre etc! program.

Students enjoyed their regular matinée performances of Tom Sawyer, and then they took backstage tours and chatted with the cast and crew post-show. As part of the more in-depth view Theatre etc! offers, 30 students even participated in an acting workshop.

Artists Series Benefits Performing Arts Students When Marshall Artists Series brings highcaliber performers to town, it isn’t just for the entertainment of the general public.

Not only does each full-time student get one ticket to almost every event, on occasion several lucky one’s get to sit down and chat with the stars.

When Jay Leno visited Huntington Oct. 16, he made time to talk separately with theatre majors and Marshall University’s Chamber Choir: the opener for his show that evening.

Senior theatre performance major Jordan Marx said speaking with Leno was more like seeking advice from a friend than speaking to a celebrity.

“Mr. Leno’s story about his relocation from a small town life to the big city, and how he was able to work his way up from the very bottom to create his career was truly inspiring for me as an artist,” Marx said. “Walking away from the talk with this story in my mind filled me with anticipation and hope for the success of my own future in the entertainment business by helping to wipe away some of the mysticism, so to speak, of the industry and proving that hard work and passion can get the job done—or at least keep the jobs coming!”

In her time at Marshall, the Maryland native said she’s had a monologue workshop and a Q&A with Ed Asner and a Q&A with Kevin Pollak, both of whom were Marshall Artist Series performers.

With aspirations to be a music therapist, Corynn Hawkins, a music education senior from Morgantown, said Leno’s visit proved that one can achieve greatness and remain humble.

“Being humble is something—sharing your gift with someone is not something you should be conceded about,” Hawkins said.

Theatre Program Director Jack Cirillo said spending an hour with people such as Leno, Martin Short and other Marshall Artists Series performers is a way for students to connect more closely with their professional goals.

“The opportunity to participate in professional workshops with iconic talents, courtesy of the Marshall Artists Series, is incredible and adds so much to the value of our program,” Cirillo said.

“It is truly an invaluable experience for our students.”

Above: Theatre majors were the first class to greet Leno fresh off his flight from LA. Below: Corynn Hawkins said Jay Leno was down-to-earth when they met minutes before the curtain raised to the sold-out Keith Albee show.

Assistant Professor Nicole Perrone said Theatre etc! not only aids in recruitment efforts by exposing young students to Marshall’s theatre program, but it also helps retain current students.

“We think that by offering this experience at the college level, we’re making our students more competitive for that career path after they graduate,” Perrone said. “It’s a career path that a lot of young actors find their way into, especially right out of school.”

Jack Cirillo, director of the theatre program, said Theatre etc! is a chance for the university’s students to explore theatre in an entirely new way.

“Throughout most of their academic studies, Marshall University theatre students maintain a focus of personal artistic and educational development,” Cirillo said. “Our new Theatre ect! program allows our students to use the tools they’ve developed to inspire, and educate others.” Cirillo said.

A testament to the program’s early success is that the spring session of Theatre etc!, which takes “The Giver” off-campus and into student’s classrooms, is already sold out.

For more information on Theatre etc!, contact Perrone at (304) 696-2510 or at perronen@ marshall.edu.

Students from area middle schools got a backstage pass to Tom Sawyer, theatre’s season opener in October.

innovation creativity

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inspiration

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How Innovation Follows Investment

by Melanie Griffis Hooper, Senior Director of Development

Our schools produce accomplished problem solvers who work collaboratively to make their work—art, music, theatre and video, written or spoken word—all unique to the College of Arts and Media. Our students graduate with the skills to present fresh ideas to the global marketplace. Their creations are partly supported by each student’s innate and acquired inspiration, but for those innovations to flourish, there also must be investment— by the student, the faculty, our alumni and the community.

How do we promote innovation at Marshall University’s College of Arts and Media?

First, it’s important for our college to attract students with creative drive and high potential for innovation with the strong desire to learn. Our most successful students need financial stability, ultimately allowing them to pursue their education without worry. That stability is derived from parental support, part- or full-time employment, student loans and institutional and privately supported scholarships.

Not only is financial stability a concern

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for recruitment, it is also an issue for retention. Keeping a student after their first year is a particular challenge: By that time students and their families have discovered the true costs of a college education.

Second, as you read this issue of Creation, I hope you are impressed by the reports of enthusiastic, expert faculty leaders in their field. They compose. They write and publish. They direct, act, record, and produce news for print, video and digital media. They paint and design. In addition to their crafts, they also inspire Marshall’s most creative students.

Lastly, recruiting and keeping the best students and finding those inspirational faculty requires a strong and able team of leaders at the school, college and university levels.

Our team holds a collective vision: We plan and execute that vision to attract the best and brightest faculty; enroll students with a desire to excel; encourage alumni involvement to support the institution as mentors, future employers, and donors; and we do so despite severe financial restraints as our university adapts its funding model to depend less on state moneys and more on increasing success of attracting private support.

Where does private support fit into this equation?

More and more, private support of Marshall University is the bridge between what we can do and what we aspire to do for our students. There are numerous opportunities to support the College of Arts and Media—and at many different levels of investment. Indeed, committed investors must be an active participant in the process of teaching and making.

The College of Arts and Media has numerous scholarships at the college level and also specifically for the schools and even for individual departments. Although our total endowment exceeds $6 million for scholarships and programs, believe it or not, it is not enough.

Nearly every student in the college receives merit- or need-based support.

Continuing to build these endowments ensures that our students can complete their education without significant financial hardship. It is an institutional priority to focus on building endowments to assist qualified returning students through scholarship support.

To provide scholarships that allow our students the full measure of what the college has to offer, we need donors to establish and support new scholarships and awards.

Committed investors must be an active participant in the process of teaching and making.

Alumni and friends of the College of Arts and Media promote innovation through gifts directly to specific projects and programs. These funds may be through annual gifts of any size, through pledges for support over multiple years, through endowments directed for program support and through planned gifts of insurance, bequests, trusts or property.

Gifts for the program augment the university’s appropriated funds and assist in budget planning for the college. For example, The Global Horizons Initiative supports student travel, study, internships and exhibitions abroad. Students from our

college regularly participate in a program in Florence, Italy, while additional students have experienced France, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, Australia, Scotland and Costa Rica. In 2015 and 2016, these experiences will expand to include Spain and London. Global Horizons includes endowed and expendable funds, which assist the college in providing students with scholarships to help with the costs of these educational and cultural opportunities.

The Joan C. Edwards Quasi Endowment for Jazz supports and recruits faculty and students for the Jazz Studies program through a bequest from Joan C. Edwards.

Other program funds include The Peggy Hannan Fund for Piano, The Phillips Classical Music Fund, the Hinchman Fund for Dramatic Arts, the Marvin Stone Endowment, which provides a reading library for print journalism students, and Professor Burnis Morris holds the Gannett Distinguished Professor’s Chair in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. We are working with the Marshall Artists Series to build an endowment to support its programs for our students and community.

More broad gifts can be given to the College of Arts and Media Annual Fund.

Unrestricted gifts allow the dean to: • Fund unexpected needs for the college • Fund faculty development opportunities • Fund student activities or needs under special circumstances If a donor wants to be more specific with their Annual Fund support, gifts may be designated for the School of Art and Design, the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and/or the School of Music and Theatre. Donors can even direct their support to a specific degree program or activity (Marching Band, Annual Student Juried Exhibition prizes, The Parthenon or other activities of the donor’s choice).

Finally, each division of the college has capital needs for equipment and renovations. Alumni and friends can support those specific projects as the college articulates the need and the plan for completion. We need this support from alumni and friends to ensure that our facilities for teaching, performance, exhibition and production exceed the expectations of incoming students and faculty.

The most prominent example of capital

support in the College of Arts and Media is the campaign for the Visual Arts Center in downtown Huntington. Through the Campaign for Distinction, we continue to work to raise $4.7 million in private support for this innovative center for training visual artists.

How can alumni and friends inspire and contribute to creative innovation in the College of Arts and Media?

1. Be Present Spend time getting to know our students and faculty and what they do. There are more than 150 musical performances, recitals and theatrical performances in the School of Musical Theatre each year.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communications broadcasts eclectic musical offerings, news, sports and talk shows produced by our students on WMUL-FM. Tune in and enjoy their dedicated work. Read The Parthenon online or in print. Experience the visual art of students, faculty and guest artists in the Birke Art Gallery on the main campus and in the new Visual Arts Center Gallery.

Comment, applaud and tell your friends, family and colleagues. Be present for the creativity.

2. Join In The College of Arts and Media invites our community to take part in the talents heard, seen and felt here. The Choral Union offers community singers the opportunity to join student musicians in performance of major choral works. The Orchestra offers students the opportunity to share music stands in multiple performances throughout the academic year. Many volunteers serve on the Dean’s Fine Arts Council, the SOJMC Advisory Board, the Board of Directors for the Marshall Artists Series and as volunteer ushers for the Series’ performances.

3. Share Your Treasure To continue to grow, to inspire, to innovate, the College of Arts and Media needs and appreciates your financial support. Each gift—whether restricted to a particular need, scholarship or project or unrestricted gifts to be directed to the greatest needs of the college—solidify the future of the College of Arts and Media.

To add your generous financial support for the College of Arts and Media, please contact me at 304) 696-2834 or griffism@ marshall.edu.

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