Oracle The
MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013
HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 16, ISSUE 8
“We had to make sure that whoever we hire fits that dynamic,” Jones said. Ultimately, Dr. Jones made the final decision to hire Boyett. “We are excited to welcome Jennifer and her family to Henderson as we work to strengthen our advancement efforts,” he said in a press release issued to The Oracle by the university development office. “Her breadth of administrative experience will serve the university well as we continue to galvanize the support of alumni and friends in support of Henderson.” Boyett, an Arkansas native, first graduated from the University of Central Arkansas at Conway in 2001 with a bachelor of arts in journalism. Boyett then attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and
graduated in 2005 with a masters of arts in journalism. Boyett has had an extensive 12-year career in the advancement division at UCA. She has held several positions while employed at UCA, the most recent as the executive director of development. She is also a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “I am honored and humbled to be the new vice president of university advancement at Henderson,” Boyett stated in an email to The Oracle. “I love the work of advancement in supporting students and faculty in higher education. It’s critical for Henderson State to be engaged with its alumni and friends, to maintain those lines of communication and to inspire and enable donors to provide private support. My family and I look forward to making Arkadelphia our home and to becoming a part of the Henderson family. It’s an exciting time to be a Reddie, and I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends as well as serving
Dr. Lewis Shepherd is excited and is looking forward to Boyett’s arrival. “She has a great passion, as she said in her presentation for higher education,” Shepherd, vice president for students and external affairs, said. “She said, ‘This is where I belong and this is where I feel my life’s work is to make a difference,’ and that resonated with me on two particular things. Number one: I appreciate people who have a passion for a particular mission, issue or field. Second thing is: I appreciate them not only for having a passion, but working in that field where they have that passion and want to make the biggest difference. They want to see it enhance the lives of people.” Boyett has a passion for fundraising and will hopefully leave no stone unturned in the world of contributing financially to Henderson. “I look forward to raising funds to increase the availability of private student scholarships,” Boyett said. “Private gifts through the foundation can provide many additional enhancements that will benefit the student body.”
create a work from scratchboard and then digitally layer work that he created via Photoshop. Nance explained that his work was picked up by ABC’s “Nashville” after a member of the production team came across his work and asked him to submit a piece. Specifically, two of Nance’s posters can be seen on season one, episode 15, “When You’re Tired of Breaking Other’s Hands,” among other episodes throughout the show. Along with his success in television, Nance was recently announced as a winner in the poster category for the Print Regional Design Annual Awards. His winning piece, featuring the image of a devil, surrounded by the words, “The Music Was So Hot, That the Devil Played Air Guitar,” will be viewable during the exhibition. Within his seventeen works provided in the exhibition, Nance commented that his work is divided into two separate categories: Photoshop collage and digital scratchboard. “The collage pieces have more of a fine arts feel,” said Nance, “while with the digital scratch board pieces, that line is blurred and they have more of a graphic design element.” Among his scratch works and Photoshop collages, Nance has provided two music posters that feature “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Buddy Guy,” as a form of artistic advertisement. Within the exhibition, an “Artist Statement” has been provided. “I don’t set out to produce art,” said Nance, “but instead graphic design, and yet my art-
work winds up in a place that blurs a line between fine art and commercial art.” As the exhibition remains open for the month of October, students outside of the world of art and digital design have had the opportunity to view Nance’s work. Jeanne Miller, junior early childhood education major, visited the Russell Fine Arts Gallery to view the exhibition. “I loved the combination of techniques he used, as well as the fact that it was timeless,” Miller said. “All of his pieces were the perfect combination of modern and vintage art.” This style of art, which, according to Stoddard, “channels things like a wood cut look with old letterpress layering textures and motifs,” truly appeals to the generation that appreciates pop culture and has an ever-growing fascination to pushing boundaries. “His style lends itself to music culture,” Stoddard said, “but may be making fun of pop culture at the same time. It’s a lot of fun to see.” Nance favors one particular piece over the others. “My favorite piece is the ‘Prairie Home Companion’ poster that I designed,” Nance said. Nance continued to say that with this poster design, he got to meet Garrison Keillor, a wellknown American author and radio personality. Nance mentioned in his discussion on Oct. 1st that he is better known for his grudge theme throughout his work. An example of this is seen in one of his scratchboard pieces that contain the images of multiple guitars.
VP of advancement hired after months of searching Moe Skinner Staff Writer The long search for a new vice president of university advancement at Henderson is over. After several months of actively looking for the right person to fill the position, the search committee and Glendell Jones, president, made the final decision to hire Jennifer Boyett, executive director of development from the University of Central Arkansas at Conway. “We’ve made her an offer,” Dr. Jones said, “and she has accepted it.” Recently, Boyett was the only one of three candidates to complete the public interview process held on campus in September. The other two contenders accepted employment elsewhere before completing the full interview process at Henderson. “It left us with a strong candidate, and she will serve us well,” Jones said. The board, which consists of six alumni of Henderson, made their approval to hire Boyett based on her competency, ability, character and compatibility.
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on president Jones’ executive team.” The Henderson State University Foundation will vote on Wednesday to appoint Boyett as executive director of the foundation. This will be in addition to her position as vice president of university advancement. “The foundation at Henderson has enjoyed a strong base of support since its inception in 1982,” Billy Tarpley, chairman of the Henderson State University Foundation board of directors said in a press release issued to The Oracle, “and the board looks forward to visiting with Jennifer about her role in carrying out our vision for the foundation.” Boyett has her work cut out for her as expectations and concerns were raised and discussed in her public interview forum about what she could accomplish by Henderson’s 125th anniversary, which is fast approaching in 2015. “First thing to do is celebrate,” Jones said. “We are the second oldest university in the state. We will build upon our great legacy. It is our responsibility to tell our story comprehensively.”
‘Nashville’ artist creates works for TV, music festivals Victoria Culliver Staff Writer Rick Nance, an artist whose work can be seen on ABC’s hit TV show, “Nashville,” will be presenting his work in an exhibition held by Henderson’s Russell Fine Arts Hall for the entire month of October. Nance visited campus on Sept. 30th and Oct. 1st. He spoke with classes and gave a small workshop on his art techniques in “Design Program and Digital Arts.” David Stoddard, professor of art, is a close friend of Rick Nance. “He has a wicked sense of irony and fun,” Stoddard said. “Most of his pieces have an ironic quality to them.” Nance does not compose what most would perceive to be stereotypical art, but rather elaborate creations from a technique known as scratchboard. Stoddard commented that a common theme amongst Nance’s pieces was “pop culture, with a nostalgic edge, and an ironic bent.” Nance’s ability to capture so many different ideals and viewpoints proves that his work stands alone in a sea of masses. Nance had always drawn. From a young age, art had fueled his passion for expression. With an “illustrative style not unlike cartooning,” Nance said, “I was introduced to block printing and linoleum by a sign painter friend.” Nance continued to speak of how he gravitated to scratchboard from there. In much of Nance’s work, including several pieces provided in his exhibition, he would combine the worlds of traditional and modern art, as he would
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Photo courtesy of Kacy Mathews
ARTIST VISITS Rick Nance is shown speaking with a student during his show’s opening at Henderson. Nance’s art has been seen on ABC’s ‘Nashville.’ This take on art is what sets Nance apart from other artists, as his work appeals to a variety of fans. Before the plan of bringing Nance to Henderson’s campus was set in motion, one of Stoddard’s Digital Image courses last year involved themselves in multiple Skype sessions with various artists, Nance included. The idea of having his work brought to Henderson came from Aaron Calvert, a member of the art faculty and the one responsible for shows in the Russell Fine Arts Gallery. All agreed that Nance’s work should be brought to campus, as well as the possibility of a workshop, to show students his particular technique. Professor Stoddard then wrote a proposal for a “Margin of Excellence” grant that would allow for Nance to make the trip from Kentucky to Arkansas. A specific presentation was
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given on Oct. 1st in Huie Library where students and staff members attended and learned more about this art form and Nance’s personal story for making it into television. “It’s good to see an artist that starts to get some traction and starts to actually make a living off his art, rather than working for somebody else,” Stoddard said. “Rick has made it to that point, so I thought he would be a good inspirational story for everybody, because his work is so rich and wonderful.” Heath Sims, graphic design major, was present at the presentation and had the opportunity to view the gallery as well. “Rick Nance was a great visitor for the art department,” Sims said. “His style is very specific to him. This has helped me realize that even though everyone may not like the style of work I do, there will be that group that does appreciate it.”
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News: page 2 | Opinions: page 3 | Feature: page 4 Features: page 5 I Sports: page 6
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