<div class="bodytext"> <h2></h2> <h2></h2> <div class="bodytext"> <h2></h2> </div> <table border="1" width="1111"> <tr> <td> <ul> <li><strong><a href="#rally">Pep Rally Will Send Cougar Cruiser Off In Style</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="#ranked">School Of Nursing Ranked Seventh In State On Licensing Exams</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="#prof">SIUE Professor/Designer Has Some Challenges This Summer</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="#showbiz">SIUE’s Summer ShowBiz 2005 To Kick Off With Nunsense II</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="#remember">A Season To Remember Concerts Enter Second Week June 6-10</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="#flutist">Native American Flutist To Perform June 10 For SIUE SummerArts</a></strong></li> </ul> </td> </tr> </table> <h2><br /> <a name="rally" id="rally">June 30, 2005</a></h2> <h2>Pep Rally Will Send Cougar Cruiser Off In Style<br /></h2> <p>(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Three Cheers for the Cougar Cruiser! Be part of the send-off for the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Solar Car Race team at a pep rally from noon-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, at the north entrance of SIUE’s Morris University Center.</p> <p>Here’s a chance to see first hand the Cougar Cruiser and to meet the SIUE Engineering faculty and student members of the race team, not to mention free ice cream.</p> <p>The Cougar Cruiser is the creation of 15 SIUE Engineering students who will be racing their solar-powered “buggy” in the North American Solar Challenge (NASC). A team of SIUE students and faculty will travel to Austin, Texas, for the race, which begins July 17 and finishes in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on July 27. This is the first solar car race to cross an international border, and this is the first time SIUE has participated in NASC.</p> <p>Three SIUE students will take turns behind the wheel of the Cougar Cruiser. Drivers will race from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The rest of the team will provide any needed maintenance, and drive the lead and chase cars.</p> <p>NASC cars must be powered solely by sunshine. The racers use photovoltaic (solar) cells to convert sunlight into electricity to power the cars. Energy management and weather conditions play important roles in the race. In general, the sunnier the day, the faster and farther the cars can travel. Brighter days also allow the cars to recharge their batteries for cloudy or rainy days.</p> <p>“We have many dedicated students on the team. We are seriously hoping to be at the top rank in the race,” said Andy Lozowski, an assistant professor in the SIUE Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.<br /><br /> <a href="#top">Back to top</a><br /></p> <h2><a name="ranked" id="ranked">June 23, 2005</a></h2> <h2>School Of Nursing Ranked Seventh In State On Licensing Exams<br /></h2> <p>(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Students in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing recently were ranked seventh best in National Licensing Exam (NCLEX) test scores compared with students in 29 nursing programs throughout the state of Illinois.</p> <p>Nursing Dean Marcia Maurer pointed out that SIUE’s 96-percent pass rate was up from 84 percent at the same time last year when the SIUE program was 20th best out of 30 programs in the state.</p> <p>In comparing all accredited nursing programs throughout the country—which include associate degree, diploma, and BSN—SIUE currently is ranked the 66th highest out of 681 programs, placing it in the top 10 percent nationally for NCLEX results. That ranking is up from 372nd out of 614 nursing schools whose graduates took the NCLEX last year.</p> <p>The dean said that passing the exams allows graduates, who have recently earned a bachelor of science in Nursing (BSN), to practice as registered nurses. “The 2005 NCLEX report shows the remarkable recovery that the SIUE School of Nursing has made since it was placed on probation in 2000 by the state of Illinois licensing board,” Maurer said. That probation was lifted in February 2004.</p> <p>Maurer said the current pass rate is a testament to the “hard work of the School of Nursing faculty” as well as curricular revisions that have been implemented. “In spring 2006, the School of Nursing will be ‘rolling out’ an entirely renovated undergraduate nursing curriculum,” Maurer said.</p> <p>“Philosophically, the School will be moving from a teaching paradigm to a learning paradigm and basing its nursing courses on Gordon’s Functional Health Patterns as the organizing framework for all the courses.” She said the changes are being made to insure that the National Licensing Exam results will stay in the 90th percentile.</p> <p>“In order to make our students better prepared for the exam, we’ve added more rigor to our nursing program,” Maurer said. “Those changes include addition of a stand alone pathophysiology course that builds on normal anatomy and physiology but focuses on the biological explanation for diseases.</p> <p>“Emphasizing a ‘Learner Centered’ approach in the curriculum will reshape the way the students acquire the fundamental knowledge essential to learning the art and skill of nursing. In the revised curriculum, students will take part in intense experiences in SIUE’s simulated learning lab, using human simulators,” Maurer said.</p> <p>These human simulator “mannequins” are computer-operated and programmed to react to various “medications” and “treatments” just as a live patient would in a hospital setting. “The students can correct their mistakes on a mannequin, so that when they are in a hospital, they make the right decisions,” she said.</p> <p>“The goal is for the nursing students to acquire the basic foundational knowledge,” Maurer said, “to better utilize critical thinking skills. Consequently, when the students encounter these scenarios on the licensing exam and in real patient-care situations, they will have the critical knowledge to make the correct decisions.”</p> <p><a href="#top">Back to top</a><br /></p> <h2><a name="prof" id="prof">June 12, 2005</a></h2> <h2>SIUE Professor/Designer Has Some Challenges This Summer<br /></h2> <p>(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) Jim Dorethy has two challenges this summer. One is to find a surrey, preferably with some fringe on top, and the other is to “make the same different.” Dorethy, an associate professor of Theater and Dance at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is also set designer for SIUE’s Summer Showbiz 2005 productions.</p> <p>He’ll be using one set for two very different musicals. The first musical is the comedy Nunsense II which focuses on the nuns at Mount Saint Helen’s School organizing a fund-raiser. As part of the script, they use a set left over from a school production of The Mikado, Dorethy explains. “Here, we’re using the set from Oklahoma! … sort of moving to the Southwest,” he says. Oklahoma! is the second offering in the Summer ShowBiz 2005 season.</p> <p>So, the challenge for Dorethy is to make the same set different and ensure it is as functional for the Nunsense II cast of five as it is for the Oklahoma! cast, which includes 30-plus dancers.</p> <p>Nunsense II runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, June 16-18, and June 23-25, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 19 and 26, all in SIUE’s Katherine Dunham Hall theater. Oklahoma runs Thursday-Saturday, July 14-16 and July 21-23, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 17 and 24. again in Dunham. Summer Showbiz is part of SIUE’s SummerArts ’05 program presented by the SIUE College of Arts & Sciences.</p> <p>“We had limited personnel, limited time, and a limited budget,” Dorethy points out. “We chose Nunsense II because it’s a smaller show. We’re using nuns’ costumes from an earlier production. The costume requirements for Oklahoma! are much more involved,” he pointed out.</p> <p>Dorethy went on to explain the differences in the sets. For example, with Nunsense II, the set will appear to be painted, but when it becomes Aunt Eller’s home in Oklahoma! it will look like wood siding with individual wood panels.</p> <p>The designer said one of the biggest challenges doing Oklahoma! is “the set is very flat. A barnyard is flat,” he said. “So, to get something up in the air we’re going to have the second floor windows open and have people coming out of them onto the roof. We’ll also have a 20-foot windmill.”</p> <p>Dorethy also plans to use projected images to add depth to the production.</p> <p>One thing Dorethy is happy about for both productions this summer is the pit extension. “We always use the extension coming off the orchestra pit for musicals for the added space,” he said. “It was rebuilt last year and it took about two hours to get it in place. Before the re-design, it used to take about three days.”</p> <p>The challenges of meeting production and audience demands require the ability to adapt, Dorethy says. “Our budget hasn’t flexed on the price of lumber or labor. Seven years ago our budget was smaller. But we could do more because of the lumber costs and we had more people to help.”</p> <p>And what about the other challenge of finding a surrey for Oklahoma! “I’ve got good horse connections,” Dorethy said with a laugh, “but the surrey is going to take a little longer.”For more information about Nunsense II and Oklahoma, contact the SIUE Fine Arts box office by telephone, (618) 650-2774, or by e-mail: theater-tickets@siue.edu. Information also is available on the Department of Theater and Dance Web site: www.siue.edu/THEATER.<br /><br /> <a href="#top">Back to top</a><br /></p> <h2><a name="showbiz" id="showbiz">June 2, 2005</a></h2> <h2>SIUE’s Summer ShowBiz 2005 To Kick Off With Nunsense II<br /></h2> <p>(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) “People should come out and support live theater; experience something they can’t put on pause,” says Brad Hofeditz, musical director for Nunsense II.</p> <p>The musical is the first of two Summer ShowBiz 2005 productions in June and July from the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Theater and Dance. Nunsense II opens June 16 and Oklahoma! opens July 14.</p> <p>Hofeditz said he loves live theater whether he’s in the orchestra pit, on stage as a performer, or in the audience. “I think it’s important for kids to see live theater, too. And, Nunsense II will be a good family experience,” Hofeditz adds. The production runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, June 16-18 and June 23-25, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 19 and 26, all in SIUE’s Katherine Dunham Hall theater.</p> <p>The musical focuses on five nuns led by Sister Mary Regina at Mount Saint Helen’s School in Hoboken, NJ. “It’s a very fast moving, lively show,” said Hofeditz, who may be remembered as musical director for Fiddler on the Roof and Grease during the past two summer seasons at SIUE.</p> <p>Nunsense II is Hofeditz’s 16th show at SIUE. This will be his 97th different show and his 169th different production, Hofeditz explained, which make some interesting statistics for someone who is by day a records officer in SIUE Admissions and Records.</p> <p>He is obviously good at budgeting his time and he’ll need that skill with Nunsense II. “The show has around 18 songs, ranging from some very pretty songs to What Would Elvis Do and The Padre Polka,” he said.</p> <p>Nunsense II has a small cast (five) but that apparently doesn’t make the musical director’s job any easier. “About eight of the numbers go into five-part harmony,” Hofeditz said. “Fortunately, I’ve got five great cast members.”</p> <p>Summer ShowBiz is part of the SummerArts ’05 program presented by the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, contact the SIUE Fine Arts box office by phone, (618) 650-2774, by e-mail: theater-tickets@siue.edu, or by visoting the Web site: www.siue.edu/THEATER.<br /><br /> <a href="#top">Back to top</a><br /></p> <h2><a name="remember" id="remember">June 2, 2005</a></h2> <h2>A Season To Remember Concerts Enter Second Week June 6-10<br /></h2> <p>(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) A Season To Remember is aptly named. “We wanted to showcase our department and feature the diverse facets of our faculty,” according to John Korak, chairman of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Music.</p> <p>The department will present four more concerts during the second week of the SummerArts 2005 program at the University. The concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. on each of three evenings, in three locations on campus:</p> <blockquote> <p>• A jazz concert Monday, June 6, with both traditional jazz standards and new music; in the Katherine Dunham Hall Choral Room;<br />• A chamber wind concert Wednesday, June 8, featuring three classic wind chamber pieces: Gounod’s Petite Symphony, Beethoven’s Octet, and the Rossini Italina in Algiers arranged for chamber winds, in John C. Abbott Auditorium on the ground level of Lovejoy Library;<br />• Rhythms of the Night—An evening of music performed by some of St. Louis’ finest percussionists in concert Thursday, June 9, featuring both classic symphonic works and the rhythms of Brazil, Africa, and Cuba, in the Dunham Hall Instrumental Room;<br />• John Two-Hawks, one of the top American Indian flute players in the world, will perform June 10, in Room 1105 of SIUE’s Science Building.</p> </blockquote> <p>The series includes everything from chamber music to show tunes to Native American music. But on June 9, the “Rhythms of the Night” will be very different from anything else. A percussion ensemble will include both classic symphonic works and the rhythms of Brazil, Africa and Cuba.</p> <p>“Blast and the Blue Man group have brought percussion to the public,” says Jerry Bolen, an SIUE alumnus, adjunct lecturer since 1971, and the veteran percussionist leading the 10-person ensemble. “We’re going to break up the program into two parts,” he said. “The first half will be traditional symphonic offerings including ‘Toccata For Percussion Instruments’ which is still the most performed piece in the world,” Bolen said.</p> <p>The second half will be devoted to “world percussion” music with jazz musicians joining the group. World percussion music incorporates percussion as it is used around the world in each country’s</p> <p>music, according to Bolen. He just returned from Brazil, where he participated in the “World Percussion Project,” begun by a professor in Long Beach, Calif.</p> <p>“We would have three hours of lessons each morning, then we would visit the Samba Schools in the evenings. Some of the schools have 3,000 students. When we were there they were preparing for Carnivale; bands with 300 people were rehearsing for their march to the Samba Dome. When we got to sit in and play with them it was loud, but it was the thrill of a lifetime,” Bolen explained.</p> <p>Bolen brought music and instruments back with him. “We got a grant a few years ago to get world instruments for classes, which include everything from bongos and congas to traditional timpani and snare drums,” he said. “There are 70 or 80 total instruments, and 25 to 30 of them are Latin,” he explained.</p> <p>“It’s folkloric music combining the jazz and the rhythms. We’re going to do a medley from one of the Samba schools. Who knows, we might even have a Samba line. You never know.”</p> <p>SummerArts 2005 is presented by the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences. For more information about the SummerArts Concert Series, contact the SIUE Department of Music, (618) 650-3900.<br /><br /> <a href="#top">Back to top</a><br /></p> <h2><a name="flutist" id="flutist">June 2, 2005</a></h2> <h2>Native American Flutist To Perform June 10 For SIUE SummerArts<br /></h2> <p>(EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.) John Two-Hawks has produced 10 CDs and a DVD video, and authored or co-authored two books. On June 10, he brings his artistry as one of the top flutists in the world to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as part of the Department of Music’s A Season To Remember program.</p> <p>The department will present four more concerts during the second week of the program, part of SummerArts 2005 at the University. The concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. on each of three evenings, in three locations on campus:</p> <blockquote> <p>• A jazz concert Monday, June 6, with both traditional jazz standards and new music; in the Katherine Dunham Hall Choral Room;<br />• A chamber wind concert Wednesday, June 8, featuring three classic wind chamber pieces: Gounod’s Petite Symphony, Beethoven’s Octet, and the Rossini Italina in Algiers arranged for chamber winds, in John C. Abbott Auditorium on the ground level of Lovejoy Library;<br />• Rhythms of the Night—An evening of music performed by some of St. Louis’ finest percussionists in concert Thursday, June 9, featuring both classic symphonic works and the rhythms of Brazil, Africa, and Cuba, in the Dunham Hall Instrumental Room;<br />• John Two-Hawks, one of the top American Indian flute players in the world, will perform June 10, in Room 1105 of SIUE’s Science Building.</p> </blockquote> <p>While he plays 20 instruments from the acoustic guitar to the dulcimer, Two-Hawks’ trademark instrument is the cedar flute. One might think that he makes them himself. “No, you would have to devote a lot of time to that and I don’t have that,” he explained. “My flutes come from the best flute makers in the business. Each flute carries the spirit of the maker.”</p> <p>His answer reflects the traditions and culture of his life as an Oglala Lakota whose ancestral homeland is the Great Plains. He now resides in Arkansas. “The Ozark Mountain Range is the oldest on the planet,” he said. “It is so spiritual here. Powerful and ancient and a good place to hide away,” he said.</p> <p>Arkansas is Two-Hawks’ home base, where he creates music, publishes a newsletter and maintains two Web sites: www.johntwohawks.com devoted to his music and performances and nativecircle.com focusing on educating the public about Native Americans.</p> <p>Two-Hawks just returned from visiting the set of Steven Spielberg’s $60 million production of “Into The West” about Native Americans in the 1800s. His friend and children’s book collaborator, Joseph Marshall III, is serving as technical advisor and narrator. “This production is promising to have as big an impact as Roots,” Two-Hawks says.</p> <p>The children’s book, with an audio CD, comes out in July, Two-Hawks said. Another successful collaboration was with a band called NightWish. “It happened to be the number one metal band in Europe. But they did big, soaring music with a 52-piece orchestra, the same orchestra that did the music for Lord of the Rings. It was a really enjoyable experience,” he explained.</p> <p>Two-Hawks has been nominated for a NAMMY (Native American Grammy) which automatically makes him eligible for a Grammy. For more information about the concert series, please call 650-3900. SummerArts 2005 is presented by the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences.<br /><br /> <a href="#top">Back to top</a></p> </div>