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Unconventional Wisdom
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ART: Kelly Wacker (Art) recently attended the Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC) last week and had the opportunity to spend time with a former student, Corinna Brewer (BA ’08) who recently received the MFA in painting from UC Berkeley last May. At SECAC she chaired a session called "African-American Presence at Academic Art Conferences," which was designed to seek answers to questions about the lack of African-Americans at art conferences and art academia, in general. The session was well-attended and the discussion so lively that the panelists and participants had to continue in the hall so that the next scheduled session could commence. Those who attended this session included the chair of SECAC’s diversity committee, the conference coordinator for next year’s SECAC conference, the president of the National Association of Artists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and several people who said they attended the conference just because of Corinna’s session. The session provided a dynamic point of contact and I cannot help but believe that Corinna initiated a networking web that very well may improve the diversity of the organization. After the session, one of Corinna’s panelists said, "You rocked it out…I think you have officially established a platform for Black academics to feel like they have a place at SECAC." This is significant because SECAC, while a regional organization, has members from across the United States and internationally and is the second largest organization of its type in the country. I am very proud to have been Corinna’s mentor while she was a student at UM. As a UM student, she participated in NCUR and was a McNair Scholar and the experiences she had in both of these programs laid the foundation for her current successes. She is now looking for an academic teaching position and I continue to be her enthusiastic cheerleader. She is the kind of student of which UM should be very proud. COMMUNICATION: Communication Students, Sydney Shell and Ashley Humphreys was awarded the Service Learning Award. Jeff Walker, Communication Graduate and UM adjunct instructor, was awarded the University of Alabama Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Doctoral Student and has successfully defended his dissertation. Way to go Jeff!! Terra D. Moody, a 2006 Communication graduate, will receive the Nathalie Molton Gibbons Young Achiever’s Award...read more Note from Chris Davidson, recent Mass Communication graduate to Jay Cofield: Just wanted to let you know that today I landed my dream job as a regular music contributor for Birmingham Weekly. I just wanted to write and thank you for everything you taught me about the media industry during my time at Montevallo. COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC: Our family feels so lucky to be a part of the university and have these incredible opportunities for our children. Please let Mr. Provost know how appreciative we are to allow XXX to observe the master class yesterday. XXX loved the class and the concert on Monday. Yes, the class did inspire XXX – he wants to try out a new right hand technique. And thank you Lauren for being positive and encouraging XXX as he continues to develop his love for music and the guitar. MUSIC: news from two recent Music alums: Hi Dr. Wood! Just a little note to say thank you for everything you do! Jordan opened as "Zerlina" in Don Giovanni at the University of North Texas this weekend and as I sat through the production I honestly thought that the productions you put on at Montevallo are every bit as good as the productions they do at UNT. The thing that impresses Jordan and me the most is while UNT has a production team of about 10 people working on everything, you do all of it at the same caliber on your own! It really opens our eyes to how lucky Montevallo is to have you. On a side note, thank you also for teaching me how to sing Mozart correctly THEATRE: Theatre alumni Griffin Hood recently returned from meetings in Los Angeles where he is working to green light his next feature film. His film THE BAYTOWN OUTLAWS (writer/Co-Executive Producer), starring Eva Longoria and Billy Bob Thornton, will be released in theatres at the end of the year and on DVD in 2013. BFA Theatre major Michael Tallon was accepted into a program where he will spend the fall 2012 semester studying Theatre and Acting overseas at the legendary Moscow Art Theatre. Alumni Chris Sams (BFA 2005) and Grant Bowen (BFA 2011) will be performing in lead roles in two new plays at the high profile Midtown International Theatre Festival in August 2012 in NYC: Bowen in GRIMM: A NEW MUSICAL and Sams in POISON APPLE, which he also performed in Los Angeles last summer, where he currently resides. From a high school senior: My name is XXX, and I am a senior at XXX High School. I came to see Pippin on Friday, November 11, 2011, and was amazed by all of the talent in your program. A few weeks ago I went on a tour of Montevallo's campus and talked to some of your theatre students. I was very eager to learn about your program after speaking to them. Then when I found out you gave FREE tickets to prospective students, I nearly cried. I was so excited to come see it. It was amazing!! I really hope I can come see another show before the school year ends. I will be auditioning at Trumbauer and Montevallo for theatre scholarships and hope to see you there. Thank you for the free tickets and the great show! |