I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but there have been a lot of stories lately on the front page of the WSU website about the great happenings going on in CoLA. I am so proud to continually see all of our hard work acknowledged and celebrated. The only down side is that everything I want to write about is already covered by our excellent Communication group.
Today, for example, the front page highlights CoLA's upcoming Pathways to Success event where we have invited prospective students to explore Wright State and our great liberal arts programs on President's Day, Feb. 17. This program is the brainchild of Associate Dean Herb Dregalla, and I can't wait! The website also highlights posts from Spencer Brannon, Political Science, a White House intern, Motion Pictures alumnus Brent Huffman who received a MacArthur grant to complete his documentary on the excavation of a 2,000 year-old Buddhist complex in Afghanistan, as well as Dance majors Alexis Evans-Krueger and Abby Leithart who will be performing with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) in their upcoming shows.
Our Collegiate Chorale's upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 16 is also featured. What a fantastic honor! The chorale includes over 40 WSU students, organ accompanist Amanda Roberts, and Director Hank Dahlman. Four students are going to make their solo debuts at Carnegie: Sara Lefeld, vocal performance, Amy Tackett, vocal performance, Cassandra Hockney, music education, and Megan Christman, music education. I will definitely be there to hear our students perform at the top venue in the world. For a dean, it doesn't get much better than that!
The First Annual College of Liberal Arts Authors' Reception was a big success! I rate that success by the number of smiles and the empty food containers at the end. We honored eleven faculty who published books in 2013.
(From left to right: Charles Funderburk, Erin Flanagan, Kristin Sobolik, Shelley Jagow, Edward Haas, Sean Wilson, Carl Brun, Myron Levine, Richard Bullock, Joe Deer, William Irvine. Not pictured: Mary Rucker)
The best part of the reception was learning about everyone's research. The worst part was that I left someone out. I am going to have to atone all year for leaving out Liam Anderson and his book on Federal Solutions to Ethnic Problems: Accommodating Diversity, Routledge 2013. He will have front and center at next year's reception, and I found out he also has another book coming out next year! Double celebration! Mea Culpa Liam!
I want to close with a SAVE THE DATE for everyone. The architects and our crew have been making great progress on the Creative Arts Center design and plans, and Groundbreaking is scheduled for April 11 - one day before ArtsGala on April 12. I hope to see many of you there as we celebrate getting this far and entering into the mirth and mayhem stage of the project. The modernization is going to be great, and the expansion plans are spectacular!
Kristin Sobolik
