The University of Tulsa Kendall College of Arts & Sciences Magazine - Fall 2016

KENDALL COLLEGE of ARTS AND SCIENCES MAGAZINE

Fall 2016

the university of tulsa Kendall College of Arts and Sciences

a campaign everyone can support:

In this Issue F E AT U R E S 3 True Blue Neighbors Clinic meets community-student needs 6 D’Arcy Fellows Program supports vital internships 7 Program introduces teens to theatre 8 Perhaps the most important culture you’ve never heard of 10 Assessing visual language 12 Literary celebration ushers in new creative writing major 13 Something to chew on 14 Anthropology alumna receives NSF grant to complete doctorate 15 Film studies junior wins student Emmy award On the cover: D’Arcy Fellow Nour El Sabbagh interning at Tulsa’s Iron Gate. (See page 6 for story.)

’Tis the season for political cartoons, campaign ads and promises of change. In an election year, voters mark their ballots to participate in American democracy.

lifetime opportunities for political science, economics and history majors along with many other students.

Whether you’re red or blue, please vote for TU with a donation to the Annual Fund.

As a graduate of the Kendall College of Arts & Sciences, you too can play a role in shaping the future. Contributions to the TU Annual Fund create once-in-a-

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The University of Tulsa does not discriminate on the basis of personal status or group characteristics including, but not limited to individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, or marital status in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, employment policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other University sponsored programs. Questions regarding implementation of this policy may be addressed to the Office of Human Resources, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-9700, 918-631-2616. Requests for accommodation of disabilities may be addressed to the University’s 504 Coordinator, Dr. Tawny Rigsby, 918-631-2315. To ensure availability of an interpreter, five to seven days notice is needed; 48 hours is recommended for all other accommodations. TU#16259

CONTACT US 918-631-3152 SUZY-THOMPSON@UTULSA.EDU

16 The value of a liberal arts education 17 It’s worth the effort

D E PA R T M E N T S 2 A Message from the Dean 18 College News 20 Faculty News 22 Student News 24 Alumni News 25 Bookend

2016-17 Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors Ellen Adelson Mitch Adwon, BS ’79 Joanie Atkinson Leta Bell Bartko Don Blackburn, BA ’66 Barbara Blackburn Beth Bovaird John Bovaird

Sarah Brown, BA ’07, JD ’10 Laurie Brumbaugh, BS ’78 Elaine Burkhardt, BA ’77 Bill Derrevere, BFA ’67, MA ’69 Harriet Derrevere, BFA ’69 Linda Feagin, BS ’66 John Finley, BA ’96 Linda Frazier, MA ’80

Marc Frazier Greg Frizell, BA ’81 Michael Graves, BA ’67, MA ’70 Jenk Jones Jerri Jones, MA ’84 Jake Jorishie, BS ’71, BA ’08 Cheryl LaFortune, BED ’77, MA ’79

Mary Lhevine, BS ’82 Bob McCormack, BA ’61, JD ’69 Judy McCormack, BA ’63, MA ’77 Paula Milsten, BS ’61 Bob Mogelnicki, BS ’79 Mahvash Karimi Moghaddam, BS ’81

Valerie Naifeh, BA ’86 Tim Phoenix, JD ’80 George Schnetzer Greg Spears, BA ’94 Bill Watson, BA ’88 Julie Watson Melissa Weiss Martin Wing

A message from the Dean Welcome to the 2016 Kendall College of Arts & Sciences alumni update. Last year, we began publishing this in a magazine format.

Many of you took time to tell us how much you enjoyed the attractive, entertaining and informative publication, and we really appreciated the feedback. We continue to experiment with changes that enhance your experience and keep you up to date with the latest information. This year’s magazine does not include the calendar of upcoming events or class notes. These are now on the university website where they can be accessed at your convenience, and information is always current.

This issue brings you more stories that highlight the outstanding achievements and activities of our alumni, current students and faculty. The central theme of these articles and news items highlights the advantages of a liberal arts curriculum and illustrates the myriad ways in which our dedication to such an education has tremendous positive impact on the world.

Our alumni have used their liberal arts degrees to advance their careers, become leaders in their professional fields and serve their communities. At Homecoming, Kendall College alumna Mary Lhevine (BS ’82) and her husband, George Schnetzer, will receive the J. Paschal Twyman Award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to TU and the Tulsa community. This award honors individuals whose service extends far beyond the call of duty, and Mary and George epitomize the attributes of leadership and commitment that Twyman admired and sought to inculcate in all TU graduates.

In Spring 2017, another outstanding alumnus, Bill Hinkle (BA ’69), president – creative director of Hinkle Creative Services, Inc., is set to be inducted into the Communication Hall of Fame. A highly successful advertising executive, Hinkle

2016-17 Dean’s Circle Mitch and Melinda Adwon Tom and Joanie Atkinson Olivia Belknap Elizabeth Bender Clint and Maria Burrus Burton Foundation Bill and Harriett Derrevere Tom and Jean Ann Fausser Linda Feagin Marilyn Girouard Michael Graves and Kathleen Page 2

is associated with the widely acclaimed Ad Program at TU and has trained and mentored hundreds of students who have won competitions and secured jobs in the marketing, advertising and public relations fields across the country. Bill’s commitment to our students is truly exemplary, and we are grateful for the doors that he has opened and the numerous opportunities that he has provided for them to launch their careers.

Our current students continue to distinguish themselves locally and nationally. In May, film studies major, Chase Chambers won an Emmy for his short film, Deaf Code, in the College Television category. Speaking at the glittering award ceremony in Los Angeles, Chase credited the mentoring of Professor Jeff Van Hanken and the equipment and facilities at TU for an important part of that achievement. The TU Symphony Orchestra has been invited to perform a concert next spring at the College Orchestra Directors Association Conference in Washington, D.C. Marking the first time that a TU Orchestra has been invited to perform at a national event, their selection for this concert appearance is truly an honor and significant achievement for the 75 student members of the orchestra and their director, Professor Richard Wagner.

The following pages also show you how current Kendall College students are making an impact on the community here in Tulsa. The newly established True Blue Neighbors Behavioral Health Clinic provides free counseling services to our neighbors in need; a program that allows psychology graduate students to engage in experiential learning while recognizing the value of service to others in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood.

Such impressive accomplishments and achievements bring honor to our institution and serve as inspiration for current and future students. As good as this past year has been, we look forward to scaling ever more heights of excellence in the year to come!

Kalpana Misra, Dean

Dean’s Circle members contribute $2,500 or more in unrestricted funds for the college and or departments.

Herbert and Roseline Gussman Foundation Fred and Kellie Harlan Pearl M and Julia J Harmon Foundation Mary Ann Hille Robert Hogan/Hogan Assessments Burt Holmes Jenk and Jerri Jones Harlan and Virginia Krumme Trust Bob and Judy McCormack

Paul and Teena Merrywell Malcolm and Paula Milsten Kalpana Misra and Murali Iyengar Brad and Valerie Naifeh Melinda Noel George Odell Foundation Vicki Soderberg Parry Jesse and Mindy Pearson Tim and Kay Phoenix Ron and Peggy Predl Jean Roberts

James Ruddle Mary Lhevine and George Schnetzer Kelly and Betty Swindle A.R. and Marylouise Tandy Foundation Steve and Norma Turnbo Bill and Julie Watson Charles and Marion Weber Foundation Martin Wing and Jack Harker

D’Arcy Fellows Program Supports Vital Internships In today’s job market, recent college graduates are more likely to land a first job if they’ve had meaningful internships during college. But there’s a catch: While the majority of internships are unpaid, most college students need to earn money to continue their education.

Students are forced to choose paid work over an unpaid internship opportunity, potentially missing out on the vital skills and career preparation that an internship provides.

To address this issue, Kendall College developed the D’Arcy Internship Program to provide invaluable opportunities for Arts and Sciences students. Funded through a generous estate gift from alumna and long-time TU supporter, Patti D’Arcy (BFA ’49), the D’Arcy Fellowships give students an opportunity for career exploration and professional preparation without creating a financial hardship.

To be successful in their first jobs and eventual career path, students need to have experience and exposure to a wide range of organizations and fields. The D’Arcy program gives students a glimpse of what the business culture is like by bridging the gap between student life and their experience as a working professional through a substantive, projectbased internship during the summer and/or academic year.

The D’Arcy program launched in May According to federal sources, nearly 22 percent Oklahoma adults have 2016 byofawarding five scholarships to students chosen through an application and interview some sort of mental illness. Sadly, about 70 percent of them cannot or process. do not receive treatment. A lack of insurance makes it difficult for lowIn addition to helping students, the program income families to receive the care they need.

Other arts barriers include allows nonprofits, organizations, policy think transportation, language or fear. As atanks, result, Oklahoma consistently consulting firms, corporations and others theinbenefit of having a full-time for eight ranks near the bottom of the nation mental health status.intern n The to ten weeks to help with special or ongoing University of Tulsa, through its True Blue Neighbors (TBN) program, projects. Prepared with TU’s core liberal arts is working to overcome these barriers inwith its own backyard.

For education its emphasis on advanced about a year, the TBN Behavioral Health Clinic, staffed Kendall critical thinking, analytical andby problemsolving skills, D’Arcy interns will make College of Arts & Sciences psychology faculty and graduate meaningful contributions to their host students, has provided counseling, therapies, testing and organizations. other vital services free of charge to community members.

In summer 2016, the inaugural student internships took place at OK Policy Institute, YWCA Tulsa, Iron Gate, Habitat for

True Blue Neighbors Clinic meets needs of community and students

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“As part of the TBN effort, we invite residents and nonprofit organizations serving the community to help TU identify how best to meet community needs,” said Susan Neal, TU vice president for public affairs, research and economic development, who directs TBN efforts across campus. “We knew that access to behavioral health services was a real need in our neighborhood.”

In response to that need, Neal said psychology faculty jumped right on board to find a creative way to both help the community and allow students to get practical real-world experience.

The concept of a TBN Clinic began to blossom, and TBN identified a perfect location for the clinic. The TBN offices were housed in a storefront office suite on Lewis Avenue, just west of campus. The offices could be easily modified to become a clinic and would be within walking distance for most neighborhood clients as well as TU psychology students.

“So we kicked ourselves out of the building,” laughed Neal, “and we moved the clinic into the space. It’s been rewarding to be part of starting this clinic, knowing community members are getting the help they need.”

TU isn’t the only university to use a behavioral health clinic to both train students and serve the community.

Fortunately, some of the psychology faculty involved had attended or worked in some of these programs before coming to Tulsa.

“So we were all scrambling to find funding, to set up procedures, make sure students’ academic needs were met and clients’ health needs were protected. This effort had a lot of moving parts,” said John McNulty, head of the psychology department. “But there was so much support and momentum, that it all got done.”

A generous investment by the Morningcrest Foundation ensured the clinic had start-up funding to put plans into action.

In June 2015, the clinic had its “soft” opening, seeing a few clients and ironing out the final details. By fall 2015, the clinic was ready to become fully functional. Students, under the careful supervision of faculty, provide a variety of services, including IQ and achievement testing for children referred by neighborhood schools and taking referrals from local community health centers.

Although other academic programs may have similar clinics that serve the community, the TBN Clinic is unique in that it provides these services at absolutely no cost to the client, eliminating the biggest barrier to accessing services.

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Real-World Experience for Students Kelsey Hancock (BA ’13, MA ’15), a Tulsa native, is a thirdyear student in the clinical psychology master’s program who applied to do her practicum work at the TBN Clinic.

“I’ve worked with other community organizations and they were great,” Hancock said. “But I knew how solid this program would be, and I really wanted a chance to work with Dr. Megan Ballew [visiting assistant professor of psychology and clinic director].”

Currently, there are 14 master’s and doctoral students working at the clinic. In addition to being supervised by Ballew, students’ work is also directed and evaluated by psychology department faculty.

Each session with a client is videotaped, allowing students and faculty to review and critique the student’s style and practice. The videos are designed to ensure maximum privacy for clients while showing students exactly how well they are implementing what they’ve learned in the classroom.

“The level of supervision is fantastic,” Hancock said. “During my first weeks of training, the cameras allowed me to signal for help during a session with a hand movement. The recordings allow me to watch, analyze and improve my psychological skills.”

Hancock said faculty supervisors rotate every semester, so students get the benefit of a variety of expertise and teaching styles. She said the clinic is and will continue to be a huge selling point for top-notch students who are choosing a program.

“When you are doing a practicum in the community, you might just do one kind of work with one type of client,” said Hancock, who plans to stay in Tulsa and work with underserved populations. “Here at the clinic, there is a tremendous variety that provides broad experiences and will make me more valuable as a professional.”

Coming Full Circle The majority of neighborhood families are Hispanic and, although some TU students do speak Spanish, language remains a barrier. Fortunately, the clinic has the help of TU alumna Jennifer Coronado (BA ’15), who is not only a native Spanish speaker but also grew up in the neighborhood and attended Kendall-Whittier Elementary.

Coronado earned a degree in psychology at TU and works full time at the clinic, helping to overcome language barriers.

Ballew said Coronado does more than bridge a language gap; she also serves as a great role model for children, who begin to see college as way to transform their own futures.

In addition to inspiring and supporting children, TU’s True Blue Neighbors program, along with other partners, has been transformative for the whole area: What was once a sanctuary for criminal activity is now a healthy, vibrant community, despite its low-income status.

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“It is amazing to work in a facility like the TBN Clinic,” said Coronado. “I love being able to stay and work in the community I grew up in. I have truly come full circle.”

Changing Lives An elderly woman living in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood, Estelle (not her real name) preferred to hide in her low-income home and avoid contact with people. Over her life, she had been diagnosed with a variety of mental health problems, and although she was being medicated, she had no social support, couldn’t hold a job and was looking for help when she learned about the free services at the clinic.

Upon her arrival at the TBN Clinic, students began a comprehensive diagnostic assessment, something that she had never been able to afford in the past. The assessment identified a vast history of undiagnosed trauma that had continued to impact Estelle’s state of mind. She was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Over the course of her treatment, Estelle’s life began to change. She began making friends in the community and enjoyed going out in public. Recently, she enrolled in college to finish the degree she’d given up on long ago.

Today, Estelle reports almost no PTSD or depressive symptoms. She is one of dozens of community members who have benefitted from clinic services. In fact, since it opened, the clinic has logged nearly 1,000 hours of service for clients.

“Yes, we are helping the community and that’s great,” said Megan Ballew, director of the clinic. “We also are providing a unique learning experience for our students. It is a win-win for everyone involved.”

Ballew said an important part of the clinic’s mission is to conduct outreach into the community. She and the students deliver psycho-educational lessons at the TBN after-school program at Kendall-Whittier Elementary, attend neighborhood health fairs and meet with community members at the local library.

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“The library in this neighborhood is a tremendous community asset with a lot of traffic,” Ballew said. “We can count on library staff to post our information and lay out our brochures, but they also let us set up a table in the library and just visit with people as they walk in. This is a wonderful neighborhood to be part of.”

Neighborhood citizens learned about the clinic’s services through these outreach events, fliers posted in community gathering places, referrals from other service providers and word of mouth.

“We don’t have to do a lot of advertising for people to know we are here,” Ballew said. “They find out.”

The Need Continues As word about the clinic spreads throughout the community, the demand for services continues to grow.

“We used to have so few clients we could schedule them immediately for services,” Ballew said. “Now, there is a short wait, but we try to see clients as soon as possible.”

In the 2016-17 school year, the behavioral health clinic plans to hire two graduate assistants to increase community engagement within Kendall-Whittier Elementary, Sequoyah Elementary and Will Rogers High schools. Additionally, a school-based character development group will be launched in coordination with TU’s TBN after-school program. This development group will service students from first through sixth grades with advanced clinic student therapy.

“We have created such an immense impact in a short amount of time,” Ballew said. “As the clinic grows, we will continue to see its influence within the community.”

Influencing and giving back to the community is at the core of the True Blue Neighbors’ movement. Since TBN began in 2009, the campus has worked to meet the needs of the neighborhood in which it resides.

“TBN started with providing meals, school supplies and clothing to kids in need…more of a transactional relationship,” Neal said. “Today, we see our impact as transformational and in partnership with the neighborhood. We not only have the clinic, but we work in the schools to offer educational and enrichment opportunities not available otherwise, and we continue to meet all kinds of other needs when they arise.”

As a member of the Kendall Whittier neighborhood, Neal said the philosophy of the university is to be a good neighbor and make a difference in people’s lives. “We want to live our mission; to make better citizens, university and community through service. The TBN Clinic is becoming a flagship of that effort,” Neal added. “And everyone wins.”

To learn more about the TBN Behavioral Health Clinic, contact Jennifer Coronado or Dr. Megan Ballew at 918-6313342. To learn more about TU’s True Blue Neighbors program, contact Michael Mills at 918-631-2510.

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D’Arcy Fellowship supports vital internships In today’s job market, recent college graduates are more likely to land a first job of their choice if they’ve acquired key skills through substantive and meaningful internships. But there’s a catch: While the majority of internships are unpaid, most college students need to earn money.

Students who must choose paid work unrelated to their field over an unpaid, but relevant internship, miss acquiring the vital skills and career preparation that an appropriate internship provides.

To this end, the college launched the D’Arcy Fellows Program in May 2016 to provide its students valuable professional experience across a range of fields — nonprofits, arts organizations, policy think tanks and business corporations. An outstanding liberal arts education equips students with advanced critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills that are highly sought after by employers. The D’Arcy Fellowship helps students put such skills to immediate use, enabling them to gain valuable realworld experience, expand networks and explore career options before they graduate.

Funded through a generous estate gift from alumna and long-time TU supporter, Patti D’Arcy (BFA ’49), the D’Arcy Fellowship is a paid internship program that is competitive and challenging with a selective process that matches students with employers to benefit both. Employers have bright, capable and motivated interns for eight to ten weeks in the summer (or a little longer during the academic year) to help with special or ongoing projects, while interns get a glimpse of the workplace and its demands, bridging the gap between student and professional life.

The inaugural class of D’Arcy Fellows was selected through a rigorous process of applications and interviews. Fellows interned at 108 Contemporary, Habitat for Humanity, Iron Gate, OK Policy Institute and YWCA Mission Impact. Yearly program expansion is anticipated as more employers join the effort and the college is able to extend internships to juniors and seniors. Judging by the enthusiastic reports of our 2016 participants, we are off to a great start!

For more information, please contact Suzy Thompson at suzy-thompson@utulsa.edu.

Introducing teens to theatre A few years ago, Susan Barrett was disturbed at how arts education was increasingly being cut from public schools. In response, she developed a program that offers free matinees of TU theatre productions to high school students.

“Art is the seed of creativity, and creativity is what moves civilization forward,” said Barrett, chair of the Department of Theatre and applied associate professor. “Reading a play in class is fine, but actually seeing a theatre production of the play makes it far more meaningful.”

The matinees, which have been offered since 2014, allow high school students the experience of seeing a live production and interacting with the cast and crew in a question-andanswer session after the play.

“The first year, I sent notices to schools and hoped some would participate,” Barrett said. “Now I don’t have to do any marketing at all. The word is out there, and teachers contact us to find out when the next performance will be. We’re full every time.”

Productions such as I Hate Hamlet, Little Women and The Glass Menagerie have been part of the program. Barrett provides each school with a study guide that allows teachers to discuss the play in class both before and after the performance.

“The question-and-answer period is the most rewarding part of the program,” Barrett said. “High school students ask these probing questions, and our college students, who are only

a few years older, give these amazing, thought-provoking and in-depth answers.”

Often an audience member will ask how actors have time for the intense rehearsal required for a performance while maintaining a challenging academic schedule.

“My students respond with how important time management is, and I think, ‘Yes! They are getting it!’” Barrett said. “They are showing these high school students what it takes to be successful and the high school students are actually listening to them.”

In addition to helping area schools during a budget crisis, Barrett has recognized how the matinees, which are also open to senior citizens, have helped build the TU theatre company.

Both cast and crew members have displayed an increased ownership and pride in their work.

“Theatre is one of the fastest growing majors in the nation,” Barrett said. “Not only are young adults hungry for creative outlets, but also the practical skills they gain in theatre training — like public speaking, time management, and thinking on their feet — make them more successful, regardless of their career choice.”

Free matinees are planned for all TU productions this year: Hair, Julius Caesar and Lysistrata. Tickets for free matinees for high schools and senior citizens can be accessed by calling Sandra Plaster at 918-631-2566.

ysistrata This year’s D’Arcy scholars include Mikayla Pevac, Tara Grigson, Daniela Rosales, Catherine Crain and Nour El Sabbagh.

HAIR

the tribal love-rock musical 6

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OCT. 13-15 & 21-22 @ 8 P.M. OCT. 16 & 23 @ 2 P.M.

JAN. 24 @ 7 P.M.

TOUR DATES: CHECK TU WEB CALENDAR

MARCH 23-25 @ 8 P.M. MARCH 26 @ 2 P.M.

Perhaps the most important culture you’ve never heard of TU PROFESSOR PUBLISHES FIRST VOLUME IN GILCREASE SERIES Some 2,000 years ago — long before the Aztecs built their empire — another culture dominated ancient western Mexico. The influence of these people can be seen in the art and culture of their descendants today, but their name remains a mystery.

“It’s kind of a shame to identify such an important culture by the way they buried their elite, but Shaft Tomb Culture is what archaeologists have called it,” said Bob Pickering, professor of anthropology and director of the TU Museum Science and Management program. “This is probably the most important Mesoamerican culture you’ve never heard of.”

About 150 years ago, local farmers and a few explorers began excavating the shaft tombs. The tombs themselves were engineering wonders, each featuring a four-foot wide shaft going as far as 60 feet into the earth before opening into one or more burial chambers. Once the dead and their belongings were placed into the tombs, the shafts were capped with a stone.

Ceramic figurines, vessels and tableaus buried for approximately 2,000 years were preserved well enough for modern scientists to draw reasonable conclusions about how these ancient and sophisticated people lived their daily lives.

Pickering and his team have worked for three years to

create West Mexico: Ritual and Identity, an exhibit of the ceramic figures and vessels at Gilcrease Museum. Two new volumes, an academic volume of research and an exhibit catalog have been published in conjunction with the exhibit, which is open through November 6.

The exhibit is grouped into three distinct sections: the first displays more than 100 ancient artifacts and describes what scientists know about the culture; the second outlines the fascinating processes archeologists use to better study the artifacts; and the third illustrates the clear influences of this culture on modern and contemporary artists.

“The tableaus on display are the closest we’ll ever get to an actual snapshot of how they lived,” said Pickering. “We can see them as people, not just figurines.”

Much of the exhibit comes from the vast collection of western Mexico artifacts collected by Thomas Gilcrease, purchased from 1948-1955, with additional pieces on loan from other museums and private collections. Educational materials and curator guides are available in both English and Spanish throughout the exhibit.

“Tulsa has a large Hispanic community,” Pickering said.

“We want this exhibition to be accessible in Spanish and English and to be a source of pride.”

The two related volumes include Shaft Tombs and Figures in West Mexican Society: A Reassessment, a collection of articles by 14 international scholars, coedited by Christopher S. Beekman and Bob Pickering; and the first volume in the Gilcrease Ancient America Series and West Mexico: Ritual and Identity, authored by Pickering and Cheryl Smallwood-Roberts. Both volumes are published by Gilcrease Museum.

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For exhibit and museum information, visit www.gilcrease.org.

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Illustration based on the excavated 9 tomb at Huitzilapa. © Herb Roe

Assessing visual language TU PROFESSOR HELPS DEVELOP AN EMERGING INTERNATIONAL STANDARD FOR ASSESSING VISUAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

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around the world at the National Science ny parent knows Foundation-funded Science of Visual the pleasure of Language and Visual Learning (VL2) lab at watching young Gallaudet University and began discussing children master the lack of appropriate assessments. a language. It starts with the basics – “Three affiliated researchers at VL2 asking for a parent, voicing displeasure, decided to collaborate on a new assessment or requesting a bottle. Then, suddenly, tool and began working on it in our very those few words explode into language. limited spare time,” Baker said.

Language development, which The result is the standardized Visual typically unfolds in predictable stages, is Communication and Sign Language an indicator of child development and, Checklist for Signing Children also known as eventually, academic readiness. For VCSL. decades, professionals and parents have “We drew information and background used language assessment checklists to research from about 10 other measures that identify milestones in development and had been developed but not thoroughly to spot potential problems. standardized or tested,” Baker said. “Many But what if the child’s first language of them were teacher-developed assessments isn’t spoken? What if the child is deaf designed for classroom use, or they were early or hard of hearing, or has parents Sharon Baker research-based measures that were just too who communicate only through sign daunting to administer and score.” language? Traditional assessments simply won’t work.

Baker and her colleagues wanted the VCSL to clearly When deaf education began in the 1800s, teachers (most document the developmental language milestones of children of whom were deaf) used sign language to communicate who are acquiring sign language from birth to age five. Their with students. But the use of sign language was banned from vision was to create a user-friendly format accessible to both schools after 1888 until about 30 years ago. As sign language parents and teachers, not just researchers and specialists. in education entered the 21st century, there still were no standardized and thoroughly-tested language assessments for children whose first language was American Sign Language VCSL takes a Test Drive (ASL) or other visual languages.

To ensure the checklist’s effectiveness, accuracy and “In the 1990s, research teams began studying patterns of standardized use, elementary school teachers and parents in linguistic acquisition in children who were deaf or hard of Washington, D.C. (where Gallaudet is located) piloted the hearing,” said Sharon Baker, director of urban education, who checklist for two years with children who were deaf or hard of also heads the department’s deaf education program. “During hearing but had no other known disabilities. Each milestone that time, researchers began working on some checklists was listed in age-based groups, and children’s acquisition was here and there, but by 2011, there were still no standardized ranked from “not yet emerging” to “mastered.” checklists with norms.”

After piloting the checklist with teachers and parents, Baker It was in 2011 that Baker joined other researchers from and her partners had ASL linguists conduct a review of the

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assessment and make recommendations for modification before final field testing.

Based on the feedback from teachers, parents and other experts, the developers modified the checklist and tested it again with elementary teachers and parents at the same school.

“All of that was just the first stage of testing the instrument,” Baker said. “We then recruited 35 teachers from 23 schools in different geographic locations to assess children in their classrooms.”

The results of these assessments were sent electronically to the VL2 database and were used during the standardization process.

An Emerging International Standard Since VCSL has been finalized, it is quickly becoming a new standard for assessing language development in young children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

“But it’s used in many other situations as well,” Baker explained. “The tool is invaluable for assessing many children who are not deaf or hard of hearing. For example, children whose parents or a sibling speak only in sign language will, obviously, use visual language themselves.”

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Baker said the tool also works for children who have limited spoken language for reasons other than hearing loss.

Last year, Baker presented the VCSL at the International Conference on Sign Language Assessment in Amsterdam.

Researchers around the world immediately wanted information on the tool.

“It’s now being translated into several other languages,” Baker said. “The assessment is being used around the world to assess children, and as a researcher and educator, that is very exciting.”

The VCSL is currently available as an online application that can easily be administered with a tablet or laptop computer.

“This will allow the assessor, whether they are a teacher, a parent or other professional, to conduct the assessment in a natural environment like the home or classroom,” Baker said.

“The tablet application will allow for immediate tabulation of results as well as links to the video examples of each checklist item.”

In addition, it will capture data from each child throughout the country so that Baker and other researchers will be able to continue to research visual language development in signing children.

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Literary celebration ushers in new creative writing major noticed this trend and wanted to ensure that the university could meet the needs of incoming and current TU students.

He worked with Michael Wright, applied professor of film studies and Grant Jenkins, professor of English to design an academically rigorous and creatively satisfying program.

Assistant Professor Keija Parssinen, who joined the TU faculty in 2015, also is involved in the program. Parssinen studied English literature and graduated cum laude from Princeton University. She also earned her master of fine arts degree at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has penned two novels, The Unraveling of Mercy Louis and The Ruins of Us. Her work has appeared in The Brooklyn Quarterly, Five Chapters, This Land, the New Delta Review, Salon, Off Assignment and Marie Claire.

The Department of English Language and Literature is launching a much-anticipated bachelor’s degree in creative writing this fall. The interdisciplinary program features courses taught by English, theatre, communication and languages faculty. Students will study literary technique, style, form, genre and the Anglo-American literary tradition while developing as poets, fiction writers, novelists, nonfiction authors, playwrights and screenwriters. Students who major in creative writing must also earn a minor.

The decision to add a major resulted from growing student interest in creative writing classes, which tend to fill quickly. At informational events for prospective English majors, roughly 75 percent of students indicate an interest in creative writing. English Department Chair Randy Fuller

To celebrate the major’s kickoff, the creative writing program

will host nationally recognized authors, many of them TU alumni, on campus Sept. 23-24, 2016, for a weekend of panel discussions,

workshops, readings and a keynote talk.

The keynote talk will be delivered by former U.S. Marine and National Book Award-winning author Phil Klay. Joining Klay are Rilla Askew

Klay

Askew

(BFA ’80), Vu Tran (BA ’98, MA ’00), Benjamin Lytal, Trudy Lewis (BA ’83), Lindsay Smith (BA ’05), Katie Rain Hill (BA ’16) and Eilis O’Neal (BA ’02).

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Something to chew on “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

— Virginia Woolf shapes the very ways we write Food undergirds all cultures. and speak about ourselves: taste The ways we grow, prepare, and hunger, consumption and regulate and share what we eat starvation—words that borrow the shapes our cultural, political, rituals of the table to describe our ethnic and national identities. pleasure, desire and pain.

Food preparation is a source of Throughout the 2016-17 enormous creativity, and our academic year, the Oklahoma kitchens nowadays are social Center for the Humanities will sites where tradition mixes with explore food’s human dimensions innovation amid a global flow of through a diverse array of ingredients, tastes and techniques. programs including concerts, Eating lies at the core of most performances, film screenings, world religions, giving rise to ritual exhibitions, discussions, lectures, as well as to values like hospitality cooking demonstrations and and generosity. We find food shared meals. In spring 2017, everywhere in the arts, from early participants from the OCHimages of hunters scratched into sponsored Interdisciplinary rock through Renaissance still lifes Humanities Seminar will share to modern cinema. Even from the their work with the larger earliest recorded literatures (e.g., Pan-seared porterhouse community. Participants include The Egyptian Book of the Dead), food with a pat of local butter and fresh thyme.

Lisa Cromer, associate professor has driven the plots of Renaissance of psychology; Sam Halabi, plays to current dystopian novels.

Photo by Brooke Allen associate professor of law; Chris Some of the great cultural and Edible Tulsa Photo Exhibition: Exploring the diversity of Ruane, professor emeritus of historical shifts in human history Green Country’s local food movement • Tyrrell Hall Gallery August 22 – December 7 history; Bruce Willis, professor can be traced to changing food of languages; and Jan Wilson, ways. Agricultural innovations, associate professor of history and women and gender studies. like the plow, and ecological disasters, like the Irish famines, They will be joined by Molly Noah, a museum studies graduate have concentrated populations and dispersed them. We see student; and Emma Stewart, an English literature undergraduate. the evidence of these great migrations in abandoned Mayan The three public fellows are Michelle Donaldson, executive chef ruins as well as the towns of western Oklahoma where the at Tallgrass Prairie Table; Sasha Martin, Tulsa author of Life prairie turned to desert in the Great Dust Bowl. Today, the From Scratch: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Forgiveness; and Anhindustrialization of food production is changing what and how Thuy Nguyen, artist and assistant professor of fine art at Rogers we eat, simultaneously contributing to climate change while State University. generating vast global food supplies. The language of food

O’Neal

Please make plans to join us for this free, fun celebration.

Information and registration are located online at utulsa.edu/literaryarts.

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Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Film studies junior wins student Emmy award

Anthropology alumna receives NSF grant to complete doctorate Doctoral candidate Alicia Odewale began studying archaeological evidence of slave quarters in St. Croix in 2015; and in the spring 2016 semester, the Department of Anthropology received a grant from the National Science Foundation to continue research on the history of enslaved Africans who once lived on the Christiansted National Historic Site in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: A Cross Cultural Comparison of Risk and Adaptation Strategies will be facilitated by Odewale and Associate Professor Thomas Foster. The NSF grant will support a second summer of field research in the U.S. Virgin Islands in partnership with the National Park Service and the Southeast Archaeological Center. Odewale’s dissertation, “Living Among Presidents and Kings: Enslaved Africans Coping with Risk in Service to the Elite,” offers a comparative analysis of slavery through the lens of archaeology. Odewale and Foster are researching artifacts recovered from the residential spaces of enslaved Africans at the Christiansted National Historic Site as well as the Montpelier Plantation in Virginia.

“The comparison between urban and rural African heritage sites as well as highlighting the experiences of those individuals who were enslaved under the most elite factions of society, namely presidents and kings, makes this research an important contribution to current scholarship in African Diaspora archaeology,” Odewale said.

Her field research in the Virgin Islands also includes a

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community outreach component. In the summer of 2015, Odewale was asked to serve as the archaeologist-in-residence for a local youth camp program in the Crucian community.

The camp, AUTISM Globe: Humane Inclusion Camp at Salt River Bay, offered a three-week immersive experience for children along the autism spectrum. Sponsored by the organization Earthangle in partnership with the National Park Service, the program introduced students to archaeology with opportunities to build their own archaeologist tool kit, draw and trace artifacts, and participate in a mock excavation. Odewale resumed her work with the camp this summer.

Odewale’s accolades also include being awarded the 2015-16 American Anthropological Association Minority Dissertation Fellowship, sponsored by AAA and the Committee on Minority Affairs in Anthropology. The annual $10,000 fellowship encourages minorities to complete doctoral degrees in anthropology, increasing diversity within the discipline and promoting research on issues among minority populations.

Odewale received funding from the Society of Historical Archaeology to attend the New Considerations in African Diaspora Material Culture and Heritage symposium held in Washington, D.C., this past January.

Odewale is the first person of color to graduate from TU with a master’s degree in museum science and management.

She anticipates being TU’s first African American alumna to earn a doctorate in anthropology in December 2016.

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University of Tulsa film studies junior Chase Chambers has been awarded a student Emmy for his short film Deaf Code, which was selected as the best nominee in the Variety category.

The 2016 Television Academy Foundation ceremony was held May 25 in Los Angeles, and many TV and film stars attended the red-carpet event to celebrate the students’ achievements.

“I’m still in shock but very honored that the Television Academy Foundation thought Deaf Code was deserving of an Emmy. It was a tough competition with many very well-made films, and I am honored they consider Deaf Code as a part of that caliber,” Chambers said. “And of course, it wouldn’t be possible without The University of Tulsa’s generous access to the best equipment and filming spaces for an emerging filmmaker.”

The film is a 20-minute pilot for what Chambers, who is hearing impaired, hopes will turn into a TV series that explores life within the deaf community. “It is very apparent that this award opens up many opportunities for me to grow and network as a filmmaker. I am looking forward to making more episodes of Deaf Code, so stay tuned!” he said.

Actor Adam Pally (Happy Endings, Iron Man 3 and Dirty Grandpa) presented Chambers, of Broken Arrow, Okla., with the award. During his acceptance speech, he singled out his mentor, TU Associate Professor Jeff Van Hanken. “I want to

thank my professor … I appreciate him for believing in my project and pushing me to accomplish this project,” Chambers communicated, as his address was spoken by a sign language translator.

“This College Television Award is a wonderful acknowledgement of Chase’s talent and the importance of the film’s content. Deaf Code is thoughtful, humorous and informative,” Van Hanken said. “I also think the award confirms that TU’s Department of Film Studies has created a space where talented, dedicated young filmmakers can produce meaningful work that competes at the very highest levels against big-name programs from universities in California and New York.”

Chambers is working on four new episodes. Deaf Code videos are available on YouTube.

Follow his project on Facebook or Twitter @ TheDeafCode.

Actor Adam Pally (left) awarded Chase Chambers a student Emmy for his short film Deaf Code.

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The value of a liberal arts education; dispelling the myths Sooner or later, every liberal arts major gets the question, “Really? What are you going to do with THAT?” Concerned family members and friends often worry about a student’s graduating from college and becoming a well-educated barista or having to earn an advanced degree right away just to qualify for a job.

Last year, a group of senior sociology students set out to explore these and other myths about earning a liberal arts degree.

“The senior class often takes on a real-world project,” said Susan Chase, professor of sociology, who teaches the department’s capstone course. “Last fall, I challenged them to use their skills as social scientists to find out what we actually know about the value of a liberal arts degree.”

Dean Kalpana Misra visited the class and described the challenges the college has in addressing the concerns of parents who want to ensure their child has a viable career path.

The eight students were tasked with researching the real value of a liberal arts education and presenting a final product by the end of the semester.

“We learned there were a lot of stereotypes about liberal arts majors,” said Ethan Rex (BA ’16), who was part of the class. “We knew the first thing we had to do was research and collect data to get to the truth.”

The group identified four common myths associated with liberal arts degrees and then countered those myths with data-backed realities.

“We started brainstorming to figure out what kind of product would tell the story best,” said Grace Farha (BS ’16), another group member. “We spent a lot of time conceptualizing and designing a pamphlet, but then we realized that our target market — high school students 16

— would just throw away a pamphlet.”

Farha said it was painful to throw out an idea they had spent so much time with, but they were excited about doing something with more impact.

The group started working with students at Third Floor Design, the TU student graphic design firm, to help them create a three-minute video titled, “Liberal Arts Myths and Realities.”

“Kinetic typography is really trendy,” said Rex, describing a style of informational videos that incorporate moving text. “We thought it would be something that appealed to high school students but could include text and statistics that resonate better with parents.”

The group wrote a script for the video, Third Floor students created it, and Rex provided the narration. The students sought university approval at various stages to ensure the video met the public information requirements of the institution.

“We had visitors come to our presentation when we premiered the final video,” Rex said. “The dean’s eyes lit up when she watched the video, which felt great.”

Rex and Farha are prime examples of the various paths a liberal arts graduate can take. Rex is working at Tulsa’s Family & Children’s Services, and Farha is working at a free health clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while she prepares to apply for medical school next year.

“With a goal of being a doctor, people questioned why I was majoring in sociology instead of a hard science,” Farha said. “I’ll have plenty of those science classes in medical school, but my sociology degree will help me understand people. After all, I won’t be treating a cell, I’ll be treating a person.”

Myth

The liberal arts will not teach you marketable skills.

Reality

The liberal arts help students cultivate skills that are useful in a variety of work settings.

Myth

A liberal arts degree will narrow your career options.

Reality

The range of careers for liberal arts majors is actually wider than it is for many pre-professional and STEM majors.

Myth

Graduate school is required after majoring in the liberal arts, and your major will determine the graduate degree you pursue.

Reality

Career-level jobs can be obtained with a bachelor’s degree, but some jobs and career paths do require further education. Liberal arts graduates can pursue a wide range of graduate degrees.

Myth

After earning a bachelor’s degree in the liberal arts, you should go directly to graduate school or establish a career—any short-term alternatives are a waste of time and money.

Reality

Short-term alternatives can help graduates explore their long-term interests.

artsandsciences.utulsa.edu/ liberal-arts-myths-and-realities/ K E N D A L L

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It’s worth the effort ones? More broadly, how could “The best movies are the

By John Coward, “unlikeable” books, art, music, ones you don’t like,” our English Associate Professor of Communication theater and other forms of professor said when I was a popular culture be worthwhile? freshman in college. This guy’s Why should I or anyone else crazy, I thought. His idea was have to put forth any serious ridiculous, and my classmates and effort to enjoy a movie, a play or I didn’t buy it, not for a minute. a painting?

We spoke up all at once. How could that be right, we wanted It took me some years to work through my professor’s idea, to know? If you didn’t like a movie, then the film was flawed. but over time I came to see its wisdom. For me, the payoff It was “bad” in some way — that’s why you didn’t like it. came with the realization that all forms of creativity and Duh! Taste was personal, after all. If you liked a movie, that cultural experience were opportunities for learning, for a deeper was proof that it was entertaining, which meant that it was understanding of the human experience. I realized this slowly, good. All this was obvious, or so we argued. challenging myself through reading and by visiting art museums But you’re missing the point, our professor said. Movies regularly when I was in Europe as a young naval officer. you don’t like are the best ones precisely because they are Back home in Norfolk, Virginia, I visited the Chrysler challenging. They require the audience to make an effort, to Museum of Art on many Sunday afternoons, rushing past the do some work, both mental and emotional. The best movies, boring stuff to get to the art that I liked. One day, hurrying like the best books, music, and art, are difficult because they through a room of painfully dull Flemish portraits, I was push boundaries and challenge conventional thinking. suddenly mesmerized. I stopped. I looked — really looked for My classmates and I weren’t convinced. Difficult movies, the first time — at these portraits. What I had dismissed as dull I one student responded, put viewers off, confusing them with now saw as finely controlled portraits of great beauty and style. disjointed plots, pretentious themes and obscure references.

For me, a small-town Southern boy who grew up largely without What was the point of alienating or boring the audience? art or literature or sophisticated music, this was a revelation.

Why not just make movies that people enjoy? Surely that The boring art — the stuff I didn’t like — was in fact delightful was Hollywood’s primary goal — to make crowd-pleasing and glorious, just like opera, another art form I discovered as an blockbusters that put paying customers in the seats. On that adult. point, at least, we all agreed.

For me, the appreciation of art, literature and other forms I don’t remember how this discussion ended, but I suspect of creative expression has been a way to deepen my experience that most of the students — me included — remained in the world and enjoy a fuller, richer aesthetic life. These unconvinced. Good movies were still the most popular ones experiences gave me a way to see and hear with new eyes and — the ones we liked. The ones we didn’t like were simply ears. To embrace the difficult takes time and effort. It’s not bad movies that didn’t connect with their audiences. Those always easy. It’s not always successful either: Some paintings, movies had earned their obscurity — good riddance to them! books and operas haven’t worked for me. But making the effort Yet something about my professor’s contrarian idea stuck has always been worth it. In fact, the effort itself is part of the with me across my undergraduate years and beyond. As a satisfaction of embracing the difficult and the obscure. And for curious student and aspiring sophisticate, I pondered this that, I thank my freshman English professor, Earl F. Schrock. apparent paradox. How could “unlikeable” movies be good

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Stellar year for the fine arts

The TU Symphony Orchestra is one of only three university ensembles that will perform at the prestigious College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) conference in Washington, D.C. next February. Richard Wagner, orchestra conductor, will accompany the group of 75 undergraduates.

“This invitation is a real feather in our cap,” said Vernon Howard, director of the School of Music. “Our undergraduate musicians were up against orchestras from across the nation, including major universities with large graduate programs.”

“Selection through this blind process not only illustrates the quality of students in TU’s program,” Howard said, “but also the excellent leadership of Wagner, who, after years of serving the school in a part-time capacity, recently became a full-time assistant professor.”

“Wagner’s time and advocacy has helped the orchestra become more competitive,” agreed Teresa Reed, professor of music and associate dean. “We have always attracted excellent music students, but tremendous support in recent years has provided resources we’ve not had before.”

The state-of-the-art facilities and equipment at the Lorton Performance Center undergird the strength of the music programs and faculty, which, in turn, attract more students to the School of Music. Additional scholarship opportunities ensure that TU can be competitive in recruiting as evidenced by the 45 new music majors who started TU this fall.

“As this program grows,” Reed said, “I expect we will gain even more recognition and more honors like CODA.”

The School of Art had a busy year with eight exhibitions at the Zarrow Center for Art and Education and seven exhibitions at the Alexandre Hogue Gallery. One of the highlights of the year included the Ruth Mayo Memorial Visiting Artist exhibit with Nancy Friese’s show, Encircling Trees and Radiant Skies. Friese gave a public lecture and a gallery talk, and consulted with both undergraduate and graduate students on their work.

The School of Art also developed a two-week program for high school students designed to help them prepare advanced portfolio work typically sought by undergraduate art schools. Students were immersed in courses in various media taught by college professors at Kravis Art Camp. Courses included charcoal, watercolor, jewelry making, pottery, printmaking, flash lamination, digital media, acrylic painting, photography and lasercut light sculptures. By developing their artistic knowledge and technique, the students were motivated to become working professional artists.

The School of Music hosted several visiting artists. Award-winning jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig performed Latin interpretations of classic jazz compositions. Flamenco guitarist and recording artist Ronald Radford gave a formal concert in the Gussman Auditorium of the Lorton Center and educational concerts at Kendall-Whittier Elementary and Will Rogers High School. The Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet performed selections to a standing-room only audience at TU. Leona Mitchell, the Grammy Award-winning operatic soprano and highly regarded recitalist, was featured in a TU concert and led a master class for TU music majors.

Students work screened at Circle Cinema The Department of Film Studies presented two student film festivals, fall and spring, with students winning awards in “Best Film” and “Audience Choice Award” categories. The department also participated in the first annual Tulsa American Film Festival. This series launched the Bill Blair Award for “Achievement in Film” and involved the screening of seven TU student films at Circle Cinema, Gilcrease Museum and the Woody Guthrie Museum.

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Practical anthropology for Kendall Whittier

Sean Latham, professor of English and Pauline Walter Professor of Comparative Literature, taught TU’s first-ever course on Bob Dylan, which coincided with the announcement of the acquisition of the Bob Dylan Archive by Gilcrease Museum.

Anthropology students in Lamont Lindstrom’s class “Practicing Anthropology: Principals of Applied Anthropology” surveyed Kendall Whittier neighborhood housing stock this year. They photographed houses in specified areas around KendallWhittier Elementary School, rating the homes using a scale based on Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). The project was in support of Growing Together, a local nonprofit organization helping to make the neighborhood a more promising place for families to live.

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Orchestra gets elite invitation

Hinkle to be inducted into Communication Hall of Fame John William “Bill” Hinkle (BS ’69) is slated to be the next inductee to the TU Communications Hall of Fame. Hinkle, who recently celebrated 25 years as president of Hinkle Creative Services, Inc., entered the advertising field immediately after graduating from TU and earned a stellar reputation for his creativity, business sense and investment in future generations.

In 1994, 25 years into his successful career, Hinkle approached the TU administration to ask how he could help the advertising program better prepare students to enter the field. The university was eager for his help but didn’t have funding to implement his plans.

“I heard they agreed to pay him a one-dollar salary to become an adjunct professor,” said M. Teresa Valero, applied professor of art and cofounder of the TU student-led advertising agency, Third Floor Design. “He took the job and helped create the certificate of advertising program, where he has

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mentored hundreds of students.”

Over the last 12 years, TU advertising students have gained numerous awards at regional and national advertising competitions under Hinkle’s guidance. His insistence that students gain practical experience giving client presentations and managing advertising production has ensured students are prepared to enter their careers with the skills and knowledge they need.

“But I warn them they will spend their first year or two doing the low-end work,” Hinkle said.

“My students know they have to work their way up in advertising.”

Hinkle, whose father owned a graphic design firm, grew up in the advertising business. He began as a copy writer at Lowe Runkle Advertising in 1969, and over the next five decades, worked as a marketing director, creative director and head of several agencies. He has served dozens of nonprofit, professional and civic organizations

as a volunteer and board member, including board membership of the Golden Hurricane Club and the TU Alumni Association.

Hinkle has garnered hundreds of awards and recognitions over the course of his career, including the Silver ADDY – Tulsa Advertising Executive of the Year Award in 1994 and Educator of the Year from the American Advertising Federation, 10th District, in 2009.

In 2012, he received the J. Paschal Twyman Award for service to TU “above and beyond the call of duty.”

“Bill’s commitment to TU and our students is truly exemplary,” said Dean Kalpana Misra. “We are grateful for the doors he has opened and the opportunities he has provided.”

Hinkle will be formally inducted into the Communications Hall of Fame in spring 2017. Previous honorees include: Jim Hartz; Bob Losure; Robert E. Lorton; Jenk Jones, Jr.; Steve Turnbo; Becky Dixon; and Michelle Beale.

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Jennifer Airey, associate professor of English, received the Chawton House Library Visiting Fellowship, allowing her to reside at the library while working on a monograph. Chawton House Library, located in the English manor house that once belonged to Jane Austen’s brother, Edward, is a research and learning center for the study of early women’s writing from 1600 to 1830.

Jon Arnold, associate professor of history, is lead author on a comprehensive cutting-edge survey of the rise and fall of Italy’s first barbarian kingdom, the Ostrogothic state, called A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy.

History Professor Joseph Bradley was named Fulbright Distinguished Chair in European Studies at the University of Warsaw.

Associate Professor of Educational Studies Josh Corngold has become executive director of the Philosophy of Education Society.

Psychology professor Joanne Davis was elected to the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Board of Directors.

She serves as chair of the organizing committee for International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and as expert trainer to the Army Medical Department Center for Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia and Nightmares.

Thomas Foster, associate professor of anthropology, coedited the book Viewing the Future in the Past: Historical Ecology applied to Environmental Problems for the University of South Carolina Press.

Randall Fuller, chair of English, published two reviews in the Wall Street Journal: “The Lesson of the Masters” (March 2016) and “Custer Agonistes” (November 2015).

Professor of Psychology Allan Harkness won the 2015 Martin

Mayman Award, which is bestowed annually for a distinguished contribution to the literature in personality assessment.

H.G. Barnard Associate Professor of Western American History Brian Hosmer coedited the book Tribal Worlds: Critical Studies in American Indian Nation Building within the SUNY Press book series.

McFarlin Endowed Professor of Philosophy Jacob Howland published “A Shimmering Socrates: Philosophy and Poetry in Kierkegaard’s Platonic Authorship,” in A Companion to Kierkegaard and “Fear and Trembling’s ‘Attunement’ as Midrash,” in Cambridge Critical Guide to Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling.

Vernon Howard, director of the School of Music, completed his 20th season as trombonist with the Fort Smith Symphony Orchestra.

Avi Minzt was appointed contributing editor to Philosophy of Education Yearbook 2016 and program committee member, Philosophy of Education Society, 2015-2016. He also was appointed to the board of Educational Theory.

Communications Assistant Professor Benjamin Peters published the book How Not to Network a Nation: The Uneasy History of the Soviet Internet with The MIT Press.

The book has already been covered on various media sites including The Atlantic’s website and Nature.com.

Professor of Anthropology Robert Pickering released two books: Shaft Tombs and Figures in West Mexican Society: A Reassessment and West Mexico: Ritual and Identity with the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art. Teresa Reed, associate dean in the Kendall College of Arts and Sciences, was one of the featured scholars in part one of the BBC’s four-part radio series, The Gospel Truth. The show aired in February 2016 on The Documentary, which is

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broadcast in the United States by NPR. Joseph Rivers, professor of music and film, published three new vocal compositions in 2015: Lone Wandering, for Treble Chorus and Piano; Adrift, for Treble Chorus and Piano; and Zechariah’s Blessing, for Mixed Chorus, Harp and Cello. He also completed the dramatic score for the film documentary High Stakes: The Life and Times of E.W. Marland.

Associate professor of political science Ryan Saylor was included in the Western Political Science Association’s Top 20 Reviewers for 2015.

Jessica Scott, assistant professor of deaf education, was appointed chairperson of the deaf/hard of hearing special interest group of the International Literacy Association.

She also received a 2015 Dissertation Award from Harvard University.

Laura Stevens, associate professor of English, as president of the Society of Early Americanists, secured funds facilitating public outreach programs for the society’s 10th biennial conference.

Assistant professor of music Richard Wagner served as president of the South Central Division and national board member of the College Orchestra Directors Association.

Michael Wright, applied professor of film studies, published Sensory Writing for Stage and Screen.

Sean Latham, Walter Professor of English and Comparative Literature, published two books: Modernism: Evolution of an Idea (Bloomsbury Press); and The Little Review ‘Ulysses’ (Yale University Press), which won praise and was featured in the New York Times Literary Supplement.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko, distinguished professor of literature, received the Zhongkun International Poetry Prize, one of China’s most prestigious literary awards.

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Students participate in Navy SEAL training The University of Tulsa hosted an afternoon of mental toughness training in April to teach Golden Hurricane student-athletes about the military culture experienced by today’s servicemen and women.

The TU Society for Military Psychology brought in Acumen Performance Group International of Austin, Texas, to facilitate the event.

The group of former and active duty Navy SEALS conducted an introductory session on the physical and mental techniques required to live the motto “Team, teammate, self.” Students then moved outdoors to do push-ups, carry sandbags and compete on relay teams for an intense workout session.

Lisa Cromer, assistant professor of psychology, was pleased with the event and how it demonstrated to collegiate student-athletes the level of accountability and mental toughness required to succeed not only in the U.S. military but also in life.

“We can all do well when things are going our way,” she said. “We can all shoot goals or baskets when the weather’s really nice, when mom or dad are there to cheer us on, when we’ve had a good day, when we’ve had a good sleep, when we’ve

got food in our bellies. But when there are crowds distracting us, when somebody broke up with us, when we just failed an exam, [we need] to be able to still perform.”

Covered in sand and sweat, the student-athletes learned about the SEAL “standard” to become a better individual and teammate by focusing on communication, leadership and team-building exercises.

The training supports TU’s

Farewells

New Hires Sara Beam, assistant professor of English, was appointed as the department’s new creative writing program director.

Dennis Dennisoff will join the university as McFarlin Chair of English. He was previously at Ryerson University of Toronto.

Sarah Richardson (BA ’15) joined the School of Music adjunct

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official designation as a militaryfriendly school by Victory Media, an organization that helps bridge the military and civilian worlds. The recognition provides service members and their families with transparent, data-driven ratings about post-military education and career opportunities.

To learn more about activities hosted by the TU Society for Military Psychology, contact Cromer at 918-6312267, or lisa-cromer@utulsa.edu.

faculty as instructor of jazz voice in fall 2015.

Justin Rawlins, an assistant professor of communication who teaches communication and film studies courses, has been hired to oversee the university’s television station, TUTV.

David Moncrief retired from his position of applied professor of communications and film studies after 32 years of exemplary service. Moncrief was praised for helping students in their career beyond the classroom and for his work as the TUTV television station director.

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Film studies student Clara Ard submitted a 60-second video into a Red Bull competition where it was accepted and competed for placement on the national Red Bull website.

Dominique Barnes won first place in the video game musical scoring competition at the Heartland Gaming Expo held at TU’s Reynolds Center in April 2016.

Political science major Alex Bischoff accepted an internship with Congressman Frank Lucas for fall 2016.

Ellen Dauk (violin); Melanie Piche (vocal soprano); Jack Bussert (horn); and Abigail Raiford (soprano) were selected as winners of the 2016 TU Concerto-Aria Competition and performed as soloists with the TU Symphony Orchestra on April 25, 2016.

Sociology student Ellen Emeric studied in the Dominican Republic last fall and was awarded the 2016 National Science Foundation/Research Experiences for Undergraduates summer fellowship on “Investigating Social Disparity and Social Vulnerability” at Texas A&M University.

Communications and political science double major Matthew Faeth was campaign manager for Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett’s 2016 re-election bid.

Elizabeth Govig, communications, received the prestigious Stickell Internship, a national award issued by the American Advertising Federation to the top 19 students in the nation. She proceeded to be named the top Stickell intern of 2015, which allows her to serve on the Stickell Board of Governors for the next three years.

Sociology major Kaitlyn

Graham was awarded a summer internship with Teach for America for summer 2016.

Political science student Jake Harrison will spend this academic year in a German language program at the highly ranked University of Freiberg.

Joshua Hinchie, philosophy, received the Freeland Award for Philosophy by unanimous decision of the department for outstanding work in philosophy.

Theatre major Chris Jett received the faculty award for “Excellence in Performance” for his work in The Hourglass Project, I Hate Hamlet, and Theatre X. Cristina Moore (BFA ’16) received one gold, three silver and three bronze awards at this year’s 50th Annual American Advertising Awards competition.

Her gold winning piece was a logo for Pathways Adult Learning Center of Tulsa she produced through Third Floor Design, an accelerated graphic design program that produces pro bono communications materials for nonprofit organizations. Moore had a summer internship with Richards Group, the largest independent advertising agency in the nation.

Student composer and violinist, Kiersten Morales won the Béla Rózsa Composition Competition in February.

Graduating history major Hutton Person was accepted into the Christie’s of London’s MA program in fine and decorative art from the Renaissance to the Modern.

Melanie Piche, vocal performance major, won first place in the Senior Women’s Division of the Oklahoma District of the National Association of Teachers of Singing auditions on April 9, 2016.

Political science student Jessica Pongonis accepted a summer position as a VISTA associate through AmeriCorps at the Central Foodbank of Eastern Oklahoma.

Alex Reinert, a political science and economics double major, will spend the 2016-17 academic year at the prestigious politics and economics program at Oxford University.

Emalia Seto, communications major and member of the TU women’s rowing team, received the Jim McKay scholarship, a $10,000 award in recognition of an individual outstanding academic achievement for someone with the potential to make a major contribution to the sports communication industry. This award goes to one female studentathlete each year for postgraduate study in communication.

Communications student Katie Snyder became the second TU student to be awarded a nationally selected Stickell internship in advertising.

Arts major Emily Taylor presented at the 26nd Annual Oklahoma Conference of Art Historians.

Political science major Julia Westbrook completed a research internship with the Tulsa Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

In the Department of Urban Education, elementary education major Kait Westfall and Professor Jolly Meadows collaborated on a project involving Burmese children enrolled in Jenks Public Schools. Their study helped determine if children of different cultures internalized instruction of the same project differently.

Student debuts GearGallery app Psychology senior Zik Asiegbu has launched a new photo-sharing app named GearGallery. The iPhone app allows users to post selfies in more than 20 categories such as best shirt and best dress to compete for prizes.

Users who receive the most likes by the end of each competition are awarded through PayPal. Asiegbu, of Dallas, partnered with his cousin and computer programmer Joseph Onwuchekwa to design and program GearGallery. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in organizational studies, Asiegbu is earning a certificate in advertising and plans to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities in Silicon Valley’s technology scene.

TU students among first Tulsa Schweitzer Fellows The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) announced the selection of its inaugural class of Tulsa Schweitzer Fellows. Eleven graduate students from The University of Tulsa, Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma will spend this year learning to effectively address the social factors that affect health and developing lifelong leadership skills. In doing so, they will follow the example set by famed physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, for whom their fellowship is named.

Pictured below with TU President-Designate Gerard Clancy, M.D., are the TU Schweitzer Fellows: Danielle Zanotti, clinical psychology, will create and implement a program to help veterans strengthen parenting skills and gain developmentally appropriate knowledge about what to expect from their children. Her community site is the Coffee Bunker: A place for veterans to connect.

James Scholl, clinical psychology, will coordinate care for the medical and behavioral health concerns of underserved patients in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood and surrounding areas. His community sites are the True Blue Neighbors Behavioral Health Clinic and OU Bedlam Longitudinal Clinic.

This poem by Leigh Naifeh appeared in the 14th volume of Stylus Journal of Student Art & Writing, an annual publication curated and produced completely by students at The University of Tulsa. The 2015 Stylus was edited by students Lotti Bublitz, Candace Gilstrap and Leah Suleski. Faculty advisors are professors Michael Wright and M. Teresa Valero. Naifeh is a senior English student minoring in art.

Variation Leigh Naifeh My Dance begins at sunrise.

First position, second position.

Starting barre practice at cognition.

A sinister crescendo has begun.

A pirouette over books, papers and pens.

Destined to repeat itself over and over again.

I twirl past other dancers, somber in their form.

Some try to break free from the dance.

But we need it to live. the mundane transcendence. over and over again.

A pleading arabesque.

And a final chassé. a wary ballerina Who needs more hours in the day.

Center stage.

The spotlight dim.

Pointe shoes worn thin.

My bow is met with no applause A distorted velvet curtain falls.

My Dance begins at sunrise.

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TU supporters receive high honor The J. Paschal Twyman Award, sponsored by the TU Alumni Association, honors individuals exhibiting leadership, commitment, and other qualities admired

by TU’s 14th president.

Alumna Mary Lhevine (BS ’82) and her husband, Dr. George Schnetzer, have always been fans of universities, a sentiment that’s reflected in their steadfast support of TU. “In our personal lives, education is our No. 1 effort,” said Mary.

That love for education stems from their respective collegiate experiences. George, a Princeton alumnus, received his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania and completed his post-graduate studies at the University of Michigan Medical Center while serving in the U.S. Army.

“Neither of my parents went to college, so it was a huge step up for me and never something I took for granted,” he said. Schnetzer built a successful career as an oncologist in the city he now calls home, playing an instrumental role in expanding medical services in Tulsa as a founding partner of Cancer Care Associates, one of Oklahoma’s largest providers of cancer-related services.

Mary attended TU as a nontraditional student and juggled raising a family with earning her degree. Initially unsure of which degree she wanted to pursue, a required economics class sent her on a path she might never have taken. “Taking Steve Steib’s class changed my life,” she recalls. “I got my degree in economics because of one professor, and my career as an independent investment advisor came out of that experience.”

Mary has served as a member of the TU Alumni Association Board of Directors, Friends of Finance, the Nimrod Literary Journal Advisory Board and the McFarlin Library Visiting Committee. And though George didn’t attend TU, he shares Mary’s pride for the university. A longtime member of the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC) advisory board, he helped develop the board’s bylaws and initiate the first Outstanding TURC Mentor Award in 2005.

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As founding members of the Kendall College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors, George and Mary have developed a deep admiration for the college and the value of a liberal arts education. “This is where you learn to think about, evaluate and handle complex problems,” said Mary. They were honored with the college’s Distinguished Service Award in 2005.

Tying together their commitment to scholarly excellence and a desire to help students reduce concerns about paying for college, George and Mary established an endowment for the Provost Scholarship Fund. They look forward to the annual luncheon that connects donors with scholarship recipients. “You get a true sense of the impact you have on these students’ lives,” said George.

The couple’s charitable involvement spans dozens of civic organizations and causes, but they delight most in mentoring and teaching. Their latest endeavor, teaching a math course for GED candidates in the Women in Recovery program, has proved a fun challenge. “Our goal is to teach these women how to think; not how to work a math problem,” said Mary. “We want to teach them to be confident that they can learn — that’s what our professors did for us.”

Outside their volunteer efforts, George and Mary travel, cook, read and spend time with their five children, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Ever the adventurers, the pair relish any opportunity to widen their view of the world.

In recognition of their generous contributions, TU is pleased to recognize the couple with the J. Paschal Twyman Award.

“Next to the care and love we give to our family members, giving back is one of the most meaningful things we can do, whether it’s time devoted to the university, helping young people learn or funding programs,” George said.

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Photo by Rebekah Hogan, BA ’16, Organizational Studies, Spanish

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OCTOBER 20 6:00 p.m. Distinguished Alumni Celebration, Lorton Performance Center

OCTOBER 21 5:30 p.m. 1966 and 1991 Reunion Receptions, Collins Hall 7:30 p.m. Homecoming Bonfire & Pep Rally, Dietler Commons 8:30 p.m. TU on Tap, Tulsa Oktoberfest

OCTOBER 22* Gold Medallion Society Brunch, Allen Chapman Student Union Official Alumni Association Homecoming Tent Party, Chapman Commons TU Football vs. Tulane, H.A. Chapman Stadium * Saturday event times will be announced by Tuesday, Oct. 11.

TU School of Music and Marching Band Reunion and Cookout TU School of Music and Sound of the Golden Hurricane Marching Band alumni and patrons are invited to a reunion and cookout two hours before kickoff, Oct. 22, Band Annex.

Psychology Department Open House Join alumni and friends prior to the bonfire, Oct. 21, 6:00Â p.m., Lorton Hall.

For more information, visit tualumni.com.