Private lessons in voice, piano, guitar, Suzuki violin, drawing and photography offered through Community School of Arts

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Students in the Suzuki violin program from Evangel University's Community School of Arts play in the 2012 Christmas Concert.

Budding local artists of all ages have found a home at Evangel University’s Community School of Arts. Since 2008, the CSA has been offering classes in music, drama and art, uniting Evangel faculty and students with those in the surrounding community who share a passion for the fine arts.

Director Susan Sheets says the idea for CSA came during the 2007-2008 academic year when she and Dr. Michael Kolstad, chairman of the Music Department, shared a vision to offer classes and lessons in the fine arts to the surrounding community. The two met with Dr. Nathan Nelson, Humanities Department chairman, about including art and drama instruction along with the music. Together, they made the CSA a reality.

Opening to the community in 2008, the CSA initially offered classes and lessons in voice, piano, worship piano, guitar, Suzuki violin, drawing and photography. Since then, the CSA has decided to only offer private lessons. Instructors include Evangel faculty, graduate students and even qualified undergraduate students.

“It is a nice way for our EU music and art students to develop their teaching skills,” she says. “All of our student instructors are highly recommended to us by a EU professor.” 

Sheets says the instructors personally schedule, organize and promote their own lessons. While the instructors hold many lessons on campus, she says several instructors also teach in off-campus studios or from their homes. Recitals take place in Evangel’s Barnett Recital Hall.

Currently, the Community School of Arts offers lessons in drawing, digital photography, voice and several instruments. Sheets says the age range of students is 4 to 70.

“We are always adding new instructors and instruments options and are open to anyone who desires to teach private lessons in music, art and drama.” 

While the CSA does not currently offer any drama courses, Sheets says one of the plans for the future is to hold a community theatre production. Other goals include offering a public speaking class and music education classes to private preschools and schools that do not have music programs in their curriculum.  A community choir is also part of future planning.

Kolstad says the CSA serves as a valuable community outreach program for Evangel. He also says it allows fine arts students who may have never heard of Evangel to connect with the university.

“It is a wonderful recruiting tool,” he says. “For many participants this is their first exposure – and often only exposure – to the university.”

Anyone interested in beginning lessons can find the current lesson offerings on the Community School of Arts page. To get in touch with an instructor to set up lessons, email the CSA at CommunitySchoolofArts@evangel.edu for contact information.  

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Community gathers for Sklut Hillel Center dedication

A renovated home near the Academic Village was made possible by gifts from Eric and Lori Sklut P’14 and several generous benefactors.

From left: Elon University President Leo M. Lambert, Lori Sklut, Eric Sklut and Assistant Professor Geoffrey Claussen attach a mezuzah to the entrance to the Sklut Hillel Center

*****

Jewish students, parents, faculty, staff and their friends at the university joined together Sunday to dedicate a new home for Elon Hillel, a member of a worldwide organization that fosters personal connections to Jewish life, learning, and Israel, and to “cultivating commitment to the Jewish people and the world.”

Named for Eric and Lori Sklut, parents of a university student and the benefactors who made a lead gift to fund the center through the Levine-Sklut Family Foundation, the Skult Hillel Center will serve Jewish students studying at Elon this year as well as the countless others who will one day make the campus their home.

The renovated building formerly housed the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual LIfe, which has since moved to Elon’s new Numen Lumen Pavilion.

Eric and Lori Sklut P'14 made a lead gift to help bring the vision for a Hillel center to reality on campus.

“We are overwhelmed with the warmth and cheerfulness this house now exudes,” Lori Sklut said as she and Eric addressed the crowd that gathered for the March 3 dedication on the lawn outside the house, which sits at the intersection of Antioch and East College avenues. “The picture of Jewish life at Elon is now complete.”

Hillel at Elon offers Shabbat programs, Jewish cultural events, Passover meals, worship opportunities and interfaith events. The Sklut Hillel Center includes a modern kitchen, student lounges, offices, a conference room and business lounge to provide a home-like atmosphere.

“The Sklut Hillel Center assures us that there will always be a place, there will always be a home, for Jewish life on this campus,” said Hillel director Nancy Luberoff, who noted that the center complements a growing academic focus on Jewish studies and, in the Greek system, a new Jewish fraternity that has recently colonized at Elon University.

“Beyond your financial commitment, I want to thank you for your vision and leadership,” Elon President Leo M. Lambert said the Skluts during the March 3 dedication.

Elon senior Arielle Weil, president of Elon Hillel, explained the role Hillel played in her own spiritual growth. When she first joined Hillel, she knew little about Jewish traditions, she said. That changed as Luberoff shared with Weil reflections about what it means to be Jewish.

“Being Jewish isn’t about knowing the traditions,” Weil recalled Luberoff telling her. “It’s about how you treat people and taking opportunities to improve their lives.”

Remarks were also made by Deborah Geiger, director of the Soref Initiative for Emerging Campuses at the Hillel Schusterman International Center in Washington, D.C., and by Jeff Stein, chief of staff and senior advisor to the president, both of whom were instrumental in marshaling resources and creating the vision for what Hillel has become at Elon.

Elon University President Leo M. Lambert thanked the Skluts as well as other donors whose generosity to the university have made it possible to grow a vibrant Jewish life on campus. “Beyond your financial commitment, I want to thank you for your vision and leadership,” Lambert said. “Like so many of our wonderful parents, you have stepped up and provided leadership when we needed it, and funds when we needed it, to translate that vision into reality.”

The formal program was preceded by the hanging of mezuzahs on doorposts throughout the home. The ceremony ended with a final mezuzah affixed by Eric Sklut and Assistant Professor Geoffrey Claussen to the right column next to the center’s main entrance.

The Skluts are active supporters of Jewish life at Elon. They endowed the Lori and Eric Sklut Emerging Scholar in Jewish Studies, a named professorship that Claussen holds, and their son Mason, an Elon junior, serves on Hillel’s student board. Lori and Eric Sklut also serve as co-chairs of the Jewish Life Advisory Council with fellow Elon parents Andy and Debbie Cable.

The center will also serve campus groups such as the Elon Academy, a college access program for promising high school students with financial need or no family history of college. Elon Academy students taking sustainable food courses will use the center’s kitchen to store and prepare food grown in Elon’s Community Garden.

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by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 3/3/2013

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Flagler College Community Lecture Series to look at Yellow Journalism and the Spanish-American War

September 20, 2011

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series continues on Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. with a presentation by Dr. John Diviney, associate professor of Liberal Studies. His talk will be, "The Spanish-American War: You Furnish the Pictures and I'll Furnish the War."

"Yellow journalism was pervasive in the United States in the years preceding the war," said Diviney. "Hearst and Pulitzer both owned major newspapers in New York, and they were not averse to sensationalism. I'm looking at this culture and how it played into racial prejudices against blacks and Hispanics. These prejudices in large part fed the decision to go to war. The consequences on Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines were, of course, tremendous."

Diviney is a retired United States Army Major and has completed training missions in Panama, Colombia, Liberia and Buenos Aires. A decorated army veteran, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. Widely published in academic and literary journals, Diviney teaches courses in Spanish and Hispanic literature, Latin American Studies and Latin American History.

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series was established in 2007 and offers educational and cultural opportunities to the St. Augustine community. Topics are provided by local experts and Flagler faculty. Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 for the semester. Active military personnel may attend at no charge.

Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required as space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 819-6282 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for reservations or more information.

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Flagler kicks off Community Lecture Series with presentation on Civil War

August 16, 2011

The 2011-2012 season of the Flagler College Community Lecture Series will kick off on Tuesday, Sept. 6, with a presentation on "Friends of the Old Flag: Unionists in Civil War Florida" by Liberal Studies Assistant Professor Tracy Upchurch.

The lecture will take place at 10 a.m. in the college's Flagler Room in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel.

The presentation will explore the experiences of Southerners-particularly those in Northeast Florida-who did not support the Confederacy during the Civil War. Upchurch will examine ways class, geography and proximity to Union strongholds may have played a part in the development and strength of Union loyalties in our region.

"People remained loyal to the Union for different reasons," Upchurch said. "And it's important to ask why they made that decision, and to examine what their experiences were when they expressed their beliefs."

Upchurch received his Juris Doctorate from The University of Florida College of Law and his B.A. from Davidson College with a major in history. He is a former Florida state representative, a former mayor of the city of St. Augustine and a former St. Augustine city commissioner. Upchurch is well-known for his active public and civic service; he serves in an "of counsel" capacity to the law firm of Upchurch, Bailey and Upchurch and is a trustee and former chairman of Flagler Healthcare Systems Inc., the parent company of Flagler Hospital.

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series was established in 2007 and offers educational and cultural opportunities to the St. Augustine community. Topics are provided by local experts and Flagler faculty.

Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 per semester. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required as space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 819-6282 for reservations or more information.

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Elon community celebrates Hunt Softball Park

Donors, student-athletes, administrators and friends of the university took part Thursday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new athletics facility.

The Feb. 28 ribbon-cutting at Hunt Softball Park and BB&T Field was attended by more than 100 donors, students, administrators and Phoenix softball fans.

*****

The Elon University community gathered Thursday afternoon to formally dedicate Hunt Softball Park and BB&T Field, the new home of the Elon Phoenix softball team and the latest addition to a growing area of campus on North Williamson Avenue.

Named for Vicky and Sam Hunt of Burlington, N.C., who gave lead gifts of more than $1.25 million for the project, the stadium opened earlier in February and has already witnessed its first record-breaking performance.

Vicky Hunt is an Elon trustee and Sam is a local business leader and a softball fan.

Elon senior Tomeka Watson, on the enthusiasm for the new park: “Having this kind of energy and excitement is what every student-athlete lives to play for.”

BB&T Corporation, one of the largest financial services holding companies in the nation, also made a $500,000 gift to complete fundraising for the park, and gifts from Zac Walker III ’60 and his wife, Dot, whose contributions helped complete Elon’s North Athletics Complex. The new park was also supported by the estates of Florence Kivette Childress '37 and Camille Kivette '41.

“All of our donors have made a wonderful thing possible,” said Elon University President Leo M. Lambert. “You help us recruit great coaches … you help us recruit great students. This is an experience these women are having that is going to prepare them for leadership in life, and I don't know if we've ever had a time where we need leadership more than we do right now."

BB&T Field features natural turf outfield, a synthetic turf infield apron and a high-tech clay infield with optimal drainage, allowing games to be played within minutes of a rainstorm. Phase I of Hunt Softball Park includes brick grandstands with seating for 311 fans and a spacious press box; concourse and concessions areas; two batting cages and a bullpen on the home side; and a batting cage and bullpen on the visitors side.

The Elon softball team attended the dedication.

Work will begin soon on a second phase of the project, providing a field house that will include a locker room, team lounge, coaches' offices and training facilities.

“This facility raises the bar for our women’s softball program beyond the quotations of ‘significantly,’” said Director of Athletics Dave Blank. “What a difference this is going to make. … A vision like this doesn’t happen without people like Vicky and Sam Hunt who stepped forward and said, ‘This is important.’”

Elon University President Leo M. Lambert: "This is an experience these women are having that is going to prepare them for leadership in life, and I don't know if we've ever had a time where we need leadership more than we do right now."

Head Softball Coach Kathy Bocock also offered remarks, as did senior Tomeka Watson, the all-time home run leader for the Elon softball program. Watson belted her 27th career home run in an 8-2 win over Hampton on Feb. 24 during the final day of the Phoenix Softball Clash tournament at Hunt Softball Park.

“I can’t remember a more exciting time for softball here at Elon,” Bocock said. “This stadium, with all its amenities ... will help us in attracting and recruiting top players to Elon.”

“After so many memories at East Field, I’m excited to start making more memories here at Hunt Softball Park and BB&T Field,” Watson said. “Having this kind of energy and excitement is what every student-athlete lives to play for.”

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by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 2/28/2013

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Flagler College Community Lecture Series to look at Yellow Journalism and the Spanish-American War

September 20, 2011

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series continues on Oct. 11 at 10 a.m. with a presentation by Dr. John Diviney, associate professor of Liberal Studies. His talk will be, "The Spanish-American War: You Furnish the Pictures and I'll Furnish the War."

"Yellow journalism was pervasive in the United States in the years preceding the war," said Diviney. "Hearst and Pulitzer both owned major newspapers in New York, and they were not averse to sensationalism. I'm looking at this culture and how it played into racial prejudices against blacks and Hispanics. These prejudices in large part fed the decision to go to war. The consequences on Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines were, of course, tremendous."

Diviney is a retired United States Army Major and has completed training missions in Panama, Colombia, Liberia and Buenos Aires. A decorated army veteran, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. Widely published in academic and literary journals, Diviney teaches courses in Spanish and Hispanic literature, Latin American Studies and Latin American History.

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series was established in 2007 and offers educational and cultural opportunities to the St. Augustine community. Topics are provided by local experts and Flagler faculty. Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 for the semester. Active military personnel may attend at no charge.

Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required as space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 819-6282 or visit www.flagler.edu/our-community for reservations or more information.

View the original article here

Read More

Flagler kicks off Community Lecture Series with presentation on Civil War

August 16, 2011

The 2011-2012 season of the Flagler College Community Lecture Series will kick off on Tuesday, Sept. 6, with a presentation on "Friends of the Old Flag: Unionists in Civil War Florida" by Liberal Studies Assistant Professor Tracy Upchurch.

The lecture will take place at 10 a.m. in the college's Flagler Room in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel.

The presentation will explore the experiences of Southerners-particularly those in Northeast Florida-who did not support the Confederacy during the Civil War. Upchurch will examine ways class, geography and proximity to Union strongholds may have played a part in the development and strength of Union loyalties in our region.

"People remained loyal to the Union for different reasons," Upchurch said. "And it's important to ask why they made that decision, and to examine what their experiences were when they expressed their beliefs."

Upchurch received his Juris Doctorate from The University of Florida College of Law and his B.A. from Davidson College with a major in history. He is a former Florida state representative, a former mayor of the city of St. Augustine and a former St. Augustine city commissioner. Upchurch is well-known for his active public and civic service; he serves in an "of counsel" capacity to the law firm of Upchurch, Bailey and Upchurch and is a trustee and former chairman of Flagler Healthcare Systems Inc., the parent company of Flagler Hospital.

The Flagler College Community Lecture Series was established in 2007 and offers educational and cultural opportunities to the St. Augustine community. Topics are provided by local experts and Flagler faculty.

Tickets are $5 per person for a single lecture, or $15 per semester. Active military personnel may attend at no charge. Lectures begin at 10 a.m. in the Flagler Room at Flagler College, 74 King St. Reservations are required as space is limited. The lecture will last approximately one hour and will be followed by a coffee and pastry reception. Call (904) 819-6282 for reservations or more information.

View the original article here

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Campus community 'locks arms for peace' in silent walk

Students, professors & staff took part in a Friday walk to honor the civil rights struggle while pledging to combat remaining oppression.

*****

The latest in a series of Elon University events honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. took place Friday when students, professors and staff members joined in the "Lock Arms for Peace" Beloved Community Peace Journey through campus.

Called a "symbolic burial of violence and oppression," walk participants held small rocks they were asked to inscribe with words describing burdens they faced. The route looped from Boney Fountain by the side entrance to Moseley Center, down to Haggard Avenue, and back along Young Commons to the main entrance of Moseley.

Originally scheduled for late morning, the walk was moved to mid afternoon due to inclement winter weather the night before that had delayed the opening of the university.

"We wanted our students to have an experience where they walk away and can effectively lead these kind of demonstrations and conversations that oftentimes can be difficult," said Leon Williams, director of the Multicultural Center at the university. "And we want them thinking about the burdens that wear you down, and the trying times we've had as a nation and as a people."

Once back inside, the group formed a circle in Hearth Lounge, and the 18 participants placed their rocks on the floor before them. University Chaplain Jan Fuller encouraged the group to begin thinking of ways to transcend the words of burden written on the rocks.

"It's one thing to know about (the burdens) and share them, but what we want to do is move to the hope for this pile of stones, the hopes for this world," Fuller said.

Moments later, in a show of optimism, walk participants pledged on bright note cards ways they would seek to better the world. Pledges included broad ideas like "pray" and "love one another" to specific actions like "petition against laws that promote sexism" and "volunteer at local shelters and kitchens."

Those pledges were posted to a board in Hearth Lounge for passersby to read.

The Peace Journey was among several events scheduled from Jan. 15-21, 2013, to honor King, an American civil rights pioneer slain in 1968. Programs earlier in the week included a special College Coffee and a commemorative program featuring remarks from a professor of social justice from Vanderbilt University.

A service day is scheduled for Monday. Interested volunteers are invited to McKinnon Hall inside Moseley Center at 9 a.m.

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by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 1/18/2013

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Campus community 'locks arms for peace' in silent walk

Students, professors & staff took part in a Friday walk to honor the civil rights struggle while pledging to combat remaining oppression.

*****

The latest in a series of Elon University events honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. took place Friday when students, professors and staff members joined in the "Lock Arms for Peace" Beloved Community Peace Journey through campus.

Called a "symbolic burial of violence and oppression," walk participants held small rocks they were asked to inscribe with words describing burdens they faced. The route looped from Boney Fountain by the side entrance to Moseley Center, down to Haggard Avenue, and back along Young Commons to the main entrance of Moseley.

Originally scheduled for late morning, the walk was moved to mid afternoon due to inclement winter weather the night before that had delayed the opening of the university.

"We wanted our students to have an experience where they walk away and can effectively lead these kind of demonstrations and conversations that oftentimes can be difficult," said Leon Williams, director of the Multicultural Center at the university. "And we want them thinking about the burdens that wear you down, and the trying times we've had as a nation and as a people."

Once back inside, the group formed a circle in Hearth Lounge, and the 18 participants placed their rocks on the floor before them. University Chaplain Jan Fuller encouraged the group to begin thinking of ways to transcend the words of burden written on the rocks.

"It's one thing to know about (the burdens) and share them, but what we want to do is move to the hope for this pile of stones, the hopes for this world," Fuller said.

Moments later, in a show of optimism, walk participants pledged on bright note cards ways they would seek to better the world. Pledges included broad ideas like "pray" and "love one another" to specific actions like "petition against laws that promote sexism" and "volunteer at local shelters and kitchens."

Those pledges were posted to a board in Hearth Lounge for passersby to read.

The Peace Journey was among several events scheduled from Jan. 15-21, 2013, to honor King, an American civil rights pioneer slain in 1968. Programs earlier in the week included a special College Coffee and a commemorative program featuring remarks from a professor of social justice from Vanderbilt University.

A service day is scheduled for Monday. Interested volunteers are invited to McKinnon Hall inside Moseley Center at 9 a.m.

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by Eric Townsend, Staff Last Updated - 1/18/2013

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Becker Community Veterans Speak at Veterans Day Ceremony

Published on Monday, November 12th, 2012

Veterans Day is a time in which we acknowledge those men and women who serve and have served our country as members of the military. They uphold the American way of life and have risked much so that we can enjoy the safety and security that much of the world still struggles to achieve.

To honor the veterans among the Becker College community as well as the approximately 23.2 million veterans who have also served our country, the College commemorated Veterans Day with a ceremony on Monday, November 12, at 11:00 a.m., on the Worcester Campus quad.

The program included words from members of our community who have served their country–Chris Lizotte ’15, Dean Hickey ’83, and Professor John Deitrick–a reading of the names of our faculty, staff, and students who have served, and attendees were led by .

Banners, in addition to 100 American flags, were placed on each campus, and red, white, and blue ribbon pins were distributed at College dining halls.

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