Things are really ramping up around here! Awards and Reception season is upon us, and it is one celebration after the other. It is so nice to have great things to celebrate and great people to give awards to. Last night I attended an Alumni and Friends Reception for the Department of Urban Affairs & Geography, including their fantastic MPA program as well as CUPA, our Center for Urban and Public Affairs. There were a lot of alumni, including some who graduated in 1969!, as well as our current students, faculty, and staff. I am so impressed with our MPA (Masters in Public Administration)! Everywhere I go in the community I run into our MPA grads - they are the region's leaders and they are everywhere, including in Dayton's mayor's seat.
This weekend I get to attend the MoPix Documentary Night, a celebration and viewing of our junior Motion Pictures' student film projects. I am very excited to see what thought-provoking topics will be showcased. Faculty, students, and alumni from this program have had fantastic success. Most recently, retired professor Julia Reichert served as associate producer on the Academy Award nominated short documentary Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall. The film Painted Lady, by students Brittany Shyne, Jacob Ebel, Cassie Ryan, and John Saylor, won Best Short Film, Best Director, and Best Actress at the 2014 Women's Independent Film Festival in Santa Monica. And recent graduates Ash Brandon and Dennis Hohne, just premiered their documentary Punches and Pedicures at the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival and the Cinequest Film Festival. I had the privilege of seeing both of these fantastic films at the 21st Annual Big Lens Film Festival last year.
Photos: Ash Brandon and Dennis Hohne; Brittany Shyne; Ash Brandon; MoPix Group at the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, MO
Our Social Work students have taken the lead to work with Enroll America to organize an enrollment event for this Tuesday, March 18 at WSU to get information out to the public regarding the new health insurance options that are available to people through the Affordable Care Act. This is the first time in Ohio where students have taken the lead to plan such an event to help their community, and it has turned into a great event for Wright State as Anne Filipic, President of Enroll Now and daughter of our own Matt Filipic, Political Science, will be there with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown. Thank you Michel Coconis, Social Work, for instilling such civic responsibility in our students!
Continuing our showcase on Internships and Job Opportunities, students earning our Professional and Technical Writing Certificate are doing well in the real world. Sam Ashman, English, landed a job with D+H (formerly Harland Financial Solutions) after his internship there. And Kate Hoover, Communication, is employed part-time by Woolpert after her internship there. Congratulations Sam and Kate!
And if you have been noticing a skip in many of our steps down in the Dean's Office, it's because it has become baby central, and babies are ALWAYS joyous, especially when they are other people's. We have two new grandchildren in the mix. Herb Dregalla's son and daughter-in-law have new baby Colby, and Susan Paul's daughter and son-in-law, and Morgan Paul's sister and brother-in-law, welcomed new baby Nolan. These two bouncing baby boys join our beautiful Alice Jane, Chris and Jamie Suttle's not so new baby. Life is Good down in the Dean's Office! But avoid the water.
