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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Graphic Design Lecture Series continues in March

"Brighton Ma 5.19.09" by Karl Baden

Fitchburg State University’s Communications Media Department will launch its second Graphic Design Lecture Series this spring with a photographer’s look at “The Self and the Street.”

Photographer Karl Baden will present “The Self and the Street” on Wednesday, March 6 at 3:30 p.m. in Ellis White Lecture Hall in Hammond Hall. He will discuss his self-portrait series, in which he photographed himself every day for 26 years to highlight time as change in the medium. His talk will also explore his collection of book covers and will be showing some of the smart and funny photographs he’s collected in a series called “Roadside Attractions.”

The series continues with a discussion by Jan Kubasiewicz, director of the Dynamic Media Institute at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design on Wednesday, March 27 at 3:30 p.m. in Ellis White Lecture Hall. Kubasiewicz will present “Dynamic Media; The Future of Communication Design.”

The series concludes in April with a presentation by Fritz Klaetke, design director of Visual Dialogue, titled “10 Rules (To Design and/or Live By).” That talk will be given Tuesday, April 30 at 3:30 p.m. in Ellis White Lecture Hall. Klaetke recently won a Grammy Award for best boxed or special limited edition package design for “Woody at 100,” a centennial celebration of the music of Woody Guthrie produced for the Smithsonian Institution.

The lecture series is coordinated by Professor Stephen Goldstein (Communications Media) with support from the university’s Ruth Butler Grant.

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Distinguished Speaker Series continues March 13, 2013

The self-described “reading arsonist” Dr. Steven L. Layne will address educators on the topic of igniting a passion for reading when he takes the microphone at Fitchburg State University’s Distinguished Speaker Series on March 13, 2013.

The Distinguished Speaker Series is now in its seventh year, and hundreds of area educators attend each year for an inspiring and informative professional development opportunity. This year’s event will take place from 8:30 to 2 p.m., March 13, 2013 at the Holmes Dining Commons on the Fitchburg State campus.

With his trademark combination of humor and heart, Layne, pictured, tackles one of the most significant issues in reading instruction today:  how to engage reluctant readers. Teaching the skill of reading is viewed by many educators as a major objective; teaching the will of reading is too often an afterthought. Layne’s charismatic blend of anecdotes and practical suggestions for the classroom are sure to fan the flame of literacy into a raging inferno inspiring teachers as well as their students to keep the bedside lamp on just a little bit later into the night.

Educators will leave the workshop with

Increased knowledge of literacyPractical strategies to engage reluctant readersEfficient real-world suggestions to dramatically impact school culture

Layne serves as full-time professor of literacy education at Judson University in Elgin, Ill. His vast array of experience working at multiple grade levels in the public schools allows him a unique camaraderie with teachers and librarians and his award-winning books for children and young adults add another appealing element to his dynamic presentations. Layne is a frequent keynote speaker at large conferences and gatherings of educators and librarians throughout the world. In addition, Layne continues to do school appearances each year as a guest author and provides in-service for schools throughout the nation.

“Steven Layne is one of the most dynamic keynote speakers I have had the pleasure to listen to,” said Fitchburg State University Dean of Education Dr. Pamela Hill. “His warmth, humor, and love of teaching resonate. He made us laugh and made us cry—but most of all, he inspired us.”

The Distinguished Speaker Series is designed for superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, curriculum directors, special education directors, teachers, graduate students, higher education faculty, and other interested school administrators and educators. Books by Layne will be available for purchase, and checks, credit cards and cash will be accepted.

The registration fee of $150 includes the workshop, luncheon and continuing education units. This program offers four PDPs for educators. Payment is by check, credit card or purchase order. Teams of three or more within the same school district pay $125 per person and must register by purchase order. Print the invoice or registration form online to complete and mail or fax in per instructions.

Registration has begun and is open until March 1, 2013. Registrations received by Jan. 31, 2013 will be entered into a raffle for free admission.

For more information or to register, visit www.fitchburgstate.edu/gce/speaker.

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Third Thursday film series continues Jan. 17 with “Baby Face”

The Third Thursday film series – bridging the Fitchburg State University campus and the city – continues this spring. The community is invited to join Fitchburg State faculty and staff members for free monthly film screenings and discussions at the Fitchburg Public Library.

Each film is presented at 7 p.m. in the library auditorium, introduced by a member of the university’s faculty or staff. The films touch on issues or events that will resonate with today’s audiences. A discussion follows each screening.

The spring semester offerings are:

Jan. 17 – Laura Baker (Economics, History and Political Science) presents Baby Face (1933), starring Barbara Stanwyck  as a young woman who uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness.

Feb. 21 – Michael Turk (Economics, History and Political Science) presents Inside Job (2010), which takes a close look at what brought about the financial meltdown.

March 21 – Kristy Collins (Capital Planning and Maintenance) presents Marwencol (2010), a documentary about Mark Hogancamp, a man left brain-damaged and broke after a vicious attack who seeks recovery in “Marwencol,” a one-sixth scale World War II-era town he creates in his backyard.

April 18 – Joana Dos Santos, a graduate student and director of the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center, presents Papers: Stories of Undocumented Youth (2009). Papers is the story of undocumented youth and the challenges they face as they turn 18 without legal status.

May 16 – Eric Budd (Economics, History and Political Science) and Joe Moser (English) present Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), about an elderly couple forced to separate when they lose their house and none of their five children will take in both parents.

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"Race to Nowhere," "Temple Grandin" highlight education film series at Fairfield University

Fairfield University's Graduate School of Education and Allied Professions (GSEAP) will host a free public film series beginning on Wednesday, February 20 with the first of three films about the American educational system and related topics. The series is sponsored by GSEAP, The Office of Graduate Student Life and the Connecticut Writing Project-Fairfield.

The films will be shown in the multimedia room of the University's DiMenna-Nyselius Library with ample parking behind the Quick Center for the Arts. Fairfield welcomes the public to these free screenings. Light refreshments will be served and GSEAP faculty will facilitate discussions following each film.

The first film is "Race to Nowhere," which will be screened at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20. Released in 2010, this thought-provoking film features the troubling stories of students across the country pushed to the brink by overscheduling, over-testing and the relentless pressure to achieve. Sheri Linden of the Los Angeles Times called "Race to Nowhere" "a dire warning and solid piece of advocacy journalism, complete with an action checklist at film's end."

Next up is the award-winning "Temple Grandin" (2010) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27. Claire Danes won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance as the title character, a woman who refuses to let autism limit her true potential. "The best biopic in a very, very long time," wrote A.O. Scott of At the Movies.

The final film in the series, "The Revisionaries," will be screened at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 25. This 2012 documentary showcases how public education has become the latest battleground in a new wave of cultural, religious and ideological clashes, with local Texas education board members advancing agendas of Creationism and other religious issues in public schools. "It's a symbolic fight of our times, making [the film] a compelling and involving work," wrote critic Cary Darling of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

For more information, contact Stephanie Burrell Storms, Ed.D., at (203) 254-4000, ext. 3334 or sstorms@fairfield.edu.

Media Contact: Meredith Guinness, (203) 254-4000, ext. 2950, mguinness@fairfield.edu

Posted on January 15, 2013

Vol. 45, No. 141

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The Young Artists Series presents Kate Liu, award-winning pianist

3 p.m., Sunday, January 27, 2013
Lawrence A. Wien Experimental Theatre
Quick Center for the Arts
Free Admission

Award-winning pianist Kate Liu performs at 3 p.m., on Sunday, January 27, 2013, in Fairfield University's Lawrence A. Wien Experimental Theatre, located in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The concert is part of the Quick Center's Young Artists Series and is presented in association with The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation. Admission is free and open to the public.

Kate Liu was born in Singapore in 1994 and began playing the piano when she was four years old. She moved to the United States with her family when she was eight years of age. She won the Illinois Junior Music Teachers National Association Competition in 2007 and 2008 and both the Junior and Senior Divisions of the Chicago Steinway Competition in 2006 and 2007 respectively, and performed on the Young Steinway Concert Series in 2007. In 2008, Ms. Liu won Second Prize in the International Institute for Young Musicians Competition, and received honors in the regionals of the Junior MTNA Competition.

In 2010, at the age of 16, she won First Prize at the Fifth New York International Piano Competition, a biennial event presented under the auspices of The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation. She was also the Prize Winner for Best Performance of the Required Contemporary Work by Avner Dorman. Ms. Liu was a scholarship recipient and student of the Music Institute of Chicago's Academy program for gifted pre-college musicians, where she studied privately with artist faculty member Alan Chow and Emilio Del Rosario

She was also featured on WTTW Chicago's "Tonight" show. Following an audition held by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Kate was chosen to perform with the internationally renowned pianist Lang Lang and also to participate in his master class. She played Schubert's Fantasy in F minor, one-piano, four hands with Lang Lang in two concerts at the Symphony Center in Chicago in November, 2008. That year, she also performed a live recital on WFMT radio's Introductions Program.

In March of 2009, she traveled with the Music Institute of Chicago to the east coast where she performed at Weill Hall, at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In October of 2009, she won the Junior Division of the Louisiana International Piano Competition. In July, 2010 she performed Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Cleveland Orchestra as a finalist of the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, receiving Third Prize.

Kate Liu has performed with the Skokie Symphony Orchestra in Illinois, and in New York at Temple Emanu-El, the Ossining Public Library, The Park Avenue Christian Church and the Bohemian Club. Ms. Liu is the recipient of a scholarship from the Chopin Foundation of the United States and has also been featured on NPR's "From the Top." During the 2011 season, Kate Liu's recital at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. "confirmed a burgeoning talent and a musical poise well beyond her years. She is already a pianist worth leaving home to hear" according to The Washington Post.

Kate Liu entered Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in the fall of 2012 to begin her undergraduate studies with Robert McDonald.

The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, through its flagship program, The New York International Piano Competition, is committed to furthering the education, recognition and fostering of a new generation of talented young musicians, directly serving pianists ages 16-21. The Foundation helps aspirants achieve their personal and professional goals through mentoring, career guidance, artistic development, and performance opportunities throughout the year.

For Quick Center Box Office information, call (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Visit online at www.quickcenter.com.

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Free, secure parking is available. Access for people with disabilities is available throughout the Quick Center for audience members and performers. Hearing amplification devices are available upon request at the Box Office. Fairfield University is located off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions, call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.quickcenter.com.

Media Contact: Mike Horyczun, (203) 254-4000 ext. 2647, mhoryczun@fairfield.edu

Posted on January 09, 2013

Vol. 45, No. 148

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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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