A Message from the Dean - November 2019
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back to another edition of This Month in CAS!
It has been a few months since we’ve produced an issue of TMiC, while we were completing the search for our new Communications Specialist, Robin Fultz. Robin has hit the ground running, and is doing a great job making connections and meeting people across the College. This issue of TMiC is the result of those initial forays into the CAS wilderness. Please feel free to reach out to Robin directly with TMiC story ideas at rofultz@siue.edu.
Our faculty are the focus of this month’s issue. You can read about STEM University SIUE, held on Saturday, Nov. 2, when more than 400 second- through 12th-graders visited SIUE’s campus. Held in partnership with the Greater St. Louis Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, the full-day event gave attendees an opportunity to work with experts in STEM areas while completing fun, hands-on activities. High impact community engagement is also the focus of a new partnership between SIUE and Opera Edwardsville. You can read about Professor Marc Schapman and a cast of graduate and undergraduate vocal students working with Opera Edwardsville Artistic Director Chase Hopkins to bring an operatic adaptation of “Pinocchio” to elementary schools within the Edwardsville School District.
The creativity of our faculty is on display as well. Laura Strand, professor and head of textile arts, and Rodrick Whetstone, professor of graphic design, have been honored by the SIUE Graduate School in its annual Visualizing Research Impacts (VRI) competition. Strand is the recipient of the Best Representation of Research Impact Award, while Whetstone earned the Most Creative Representation of Research Impact Award.
The William and Margaret Going Endowed Professorship Award in CAS honors faculty who fundamentally connect their scholarship to their teaching and transform students’ lives. Dr. Jerry O’Brien, professor of social work, presented the 2019 William and Margaret Going Endowed Professorship public lecture on the topic of “Eugenics, Genetic Innovations and the Minority Group Model of Disability” on Tuesday, Nov. 12. You can read more about the fascinating lecture and subsequent panel discussion, which challenged many modern sensibilities of human value, in this month’s issue as well.
Finally, as you know we are celebrating a year of anniversaries. Along with the 25th anniversary of CAS, departments and programs are celebrating anniversaries of all types across the College. You can read about the 50th anniversary of the Dance in Concert series, which featured current SIUE students, alumni and local dance studios performing choreography by faculty, alumni and guest artists. Congratulations to Head of Dance, Kristin Best-Kinscherff, for producing this year’s outstanding celebration!
Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving and, until the next time, here’s the November issue of This Month in CAS!
Greg
