Those interested in learning more about Teach For America are invited to join Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) alumna Christy Wessel Powell '04 as she discusses her experiences with the program during a presentation on Monday, Dec. 1. The presentation will take place at SMWC from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. in Jazzman’s Café, which is located in the College’s Mary and Andrew Rooney Library. Lunch is available for purchase from Jazzman’s Café.

Teach For America (TFA) aims to end educational inequity, and the organization envisions a day when all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. Through TFA, outstanding recent college graduates commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Today, 6,200 corps members are teaching in more than 1,600 schools in 29 regions across the country, while more than 14,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity.

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The Saint Mary of the Woods College (SMWC) Art Gallery will host its Annual Art Market Dec. 2-8. Visit the Art Gallery to purchase arts and crafts created by SMWC faculty, staff, students and alumnae/i. The art gallery is located in Hulman Hall, Room 132. Regular Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 812-535-5265, email artgallery@smwc.edu, or stop by during regular Gallery hours.

In June 2008, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College announced that it has been selected as a recipient of a 2008 HP Technology for Teaching grant. The grant, which was designed to transform teaching and improve learning in the classroom through innovative uses of technology, included an award package of HP products and faculty cash award valued at more than $77,000.

On Monday, Nov. 24, SMWC faculty, staff, students and friends had the opportunity to see how the Tablet PCs are being used at the College during the HP Open House. Jim Vanides, program manager of worldwide education strategy for HP Global Social Investment, addressed those in attendance via webcast from his office in Palo Alto, Calif, and SMWC President David G. Behrs, Ph.D., was also in attendance to express words of appreciation to HP for awarding this Technology Grant to the College.

For more information about SMWC's use of Tablet PCs, contact Jennie Mitchell at jmitchel@smwc.edu or 812-535-5279 or Bellampalli Ramachandran at brama@smwc.edu or 812-535-5268. More information about the impact of the HP grant can be found online at http://www.smwc.edu/grants/hp_tablet/.

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Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) will host a Graduate Studies Open House on Wednesday, Dec. 3, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Independent Colleges of Indiana building, 3135 N. Meridian, Indianapolis, Ind. During the Open House, prospective students can learn more about the graduate programs at SMWC and scholarship and financial aid opportunities.

SMWC currently offers six graduate programs in art therapy, earth literacy, education, leadership development, music therapy and pastoral theology. All of the graduate programs at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College are open to women and men, and they are delivered through distance education, which means that students spend minimal time on campus.

In addition to offering students quality graduate education in a convenient distance format, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is committed to making higher education affordable. Each year SMWC awards six $6,000 scholarships and six $3,000 scholarships to graduate students who demonstrate financial need as assessed by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) results. SMWC has also partnered with several businesses to provide their employees with a 10 percent tuition discount when they enroll in one of SMWC’s graduate programs or the College’s Woods External Degree (WED) program.

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Female high school juniors and seniors who are interested in learning more about Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) are invited to the SMWC Campus Visit Day on Dec. 6.

SMWC’s Campus Visit Day is a great opportunity to see and experience The Woods. Prospective students and their families will have the chance to meet faculty, staff, coaches, and current students; learn about SMWC’s athletic and academic programs; ask questions about college planning and financial aid; and tour campus.

During the Campus Visit Day, students will also get the chance to compete for the Woods Writing Achievement Award. The Woods Writing Achievement Award is a first-year award valued at up to $1500. To compete, students will submit essays, which will be evaluated by SMWC’s English faculty members.

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The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Staff Development Committee invites all members of the College community to learn how to be a better steward of nature.

Keeping Earth, a presentation by Candace Hack of the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, will take place on Dec. 4 in the Faculty Lounge, which is located on the third floor of the Mary and Andrew Rooney Library. The event will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., and Candace's presentation will begin at 12:15 p.m. Bring a brown bag lunch, or on your way to the presentation, stop by Jazzman’s Café, which is located on the first floor of the Library!

For more information about the Keeping Earth presentation, contact Julie White at jwhite@smwc.edu.

On Nov. 22, the Robert Frost poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” will serve as the inspiration for the Sinfonietta Pops Orchestra’s first Christmas Concert, which will also be the orchestra’s first concert at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC). The concert, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Saturday, November 22, at 3 p.m. in the Cecilian Auditorium, of the SMWC Music Conservatory building. Several SMWC students and faculty members will participate in the concert as instrumentalists and vocalists.

SMWC serves as the home base of operations for the Sinfonietta Pops Orchestra, and James Chesterson, music director of the Sinfonietta Pops Orchestra, said he appreciates the many contributions that the SMWC Music and Theatre Department has made to this program. He also expresses his thanks to the SMWC Office of Conferences and Non-Credit Programs for their continued support. For more information about the concert, call 812-535-6440 or 812-466-2755.

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Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) will host a Master of Education Program Information Session on Wednesday, Nov. 19, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Guerin Preparatory High School, 8001 W. Belmont Avenue, in River Grove, Ill. 

The accelerated Master of Education (M.Ed.) program at SMWC, which can be completed in one year, is designed for practicing teachers with at least two years of teaching experience. The program’s curriculum focuses on the development of leadership skills and excellent teaching, empowering teachers to integrate collaborative technology tools and other pedagogical resources to address diverse student needs and circumstances.

The M.Ed. program incorporates a hybrid delivery model that blends Internet and classroom study, and to bring the program into the Chicago area, SMWC has partnered with Guerin Preparatory High School. With the hybrid course format of the M.Ed., students are required to engage in classroom study approximately every eight weeks throughout the one-year program. For the convenience of the students in Chicago, Guerin Preparatory High School will host all of the face-to-face components of the program. This new Chicago-area cohort will begin in February 2009.

During the M.Ed. Information Session, prospective students can also learn about scholarship and financial aid opportunities. Each year, SMWC awards 12 need-based scholarships to students who are admitted to the College’s graduate programs. Six $6,000 scholarships and six $3,000 scholarships are awarded to graduate students who demonstrate financial need as assessed by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) results.

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Female high school juniors and seniors who are interested in learning more about Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) are invited to the SMWC Campus Visit Day on Nov. 15.

SMWC’s Campus Visit Day is a great opportunity to see and experience The Woods. Prospective students and their families will have the chance to meet faculty, staff, coaches, and current students; learn about SMWC’s athletic and academic programs; ask questions about college planning and financial aid; and tour campus.

During the Campus Visit Day, students will also get the chance to compete for the Woods Writing Achievement Award. The Woods Writing Achievement Award is a first-year award valued at up to $1500. To compete, students will submit essays, which will be evaluated by SMWC’s English faculty members.

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The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble will present a free concert on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Cecilian Auditorium of the SMWC Conservatory of Music Building. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Jazz Band will perform selections including “Stormy Weather,” “Satin Doll” and “Take the A Train.” SMWC senior Valerie Higbee will also join the Jazz Band as the featured vocalist on “It's Only a Paper Moon,” “Don't Get Around Much Anymore,” and “Summertime.”

The Wind Ensemble will be performing “The Washington Post March” and the Finale from “Symphony in F minor, No. 4” by Peter Tchaikovsky. In addition, the SMWC Chamber Winds, a select group gleaned from the Wind Ensemble, will perform 3 movements from Mozart's “Serenade in Eb major for 8 winds.”

“Combining these groups on a single concert, allows the Music and Theatre Department to serve up a varied repertoire ensuring something for everyone,” said Steve Prescott, director of the ensembles and assistant professor of music at SMWC. “Val Higbee is a wonderful vocalist who captures the style of each work she sings.”

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By Elaine Yaw, SMWC assistant professor of journalism

When Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) received computers as part of an HP Technology Grant, no one could say exactly how the computers would enhance courses at SMWC. But now, after only a few weeks using the Tablet PCs in the classroom, faculty members are certainly realizing the impact of the new technology.

“It fundamentally changed the way I teach,” said Jennie Mitchell, Ph.D., professor of business who’s taught at SMWC since 1989. She’s using the Tablet PCs in a business finance course. “I didn’t know how important they were going to be.”

SMWC announced in June that it was one of 39 two- and four-year colleges and universities to receive a grant, with an award package of HP products and faculty cash award valued at more than $77,000.

Bellampalli Ramachandran, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemistry, served as SMWC’s principal investigator for the HP Technology for Teaching grant proposal. Mitchell and Dottie King, Ph.D., associate professor of mathematics, served as co-investigators for the proposal, which was titled "Enhanced Learning Experience Via Advanced Tablet-PC Environment – ELEVATE – Using HP Tablet PCs in Instruction at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.”  (Visit the Elevate Website - http://elevate.smwc.edu)

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By Elaine Yaw, SMWC assistant professor of journalism

Sixty-five girls in grades sixth through eighth attended the Expanding Your Horizons conference at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) on Oct. 25.

Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is a career conference for girls in sixth through eighth grades, and it is designed to highlight the wonderful and interesting career possibilities that are available in science, technology, engineering and math. Numerous EYH conferences are held throughout the United States each year, but this was the first conference in the Wabash Valley area.

During the conference, SMWC faculty and other Wabash Valley women who work in science and mathematics led hands-on workshops from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the College’s Hulman Hall.

The goal was to show that science and math can be fun and that they can lead to careers.

“Studies still show women are not persisting through college in math and science majors or careers,” said Janet Clark, Ph.D., SMWC assistant professor of chemistry and co-organizer of the event. “ Many times it is middle school when girls decide if they do or do not like math and science.”

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Students filled the Cecilian Auditorium of the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Conservatory of Music Building when We The Living performed on Nov. 5, 2008. The concert, which was free and open to the public, was sponsored by the SMWC Campus Life Office.

Hailing from Los Angeles, Calif., We The Living delivers everything that makes a band worthy of acclaim – a mix of melodic rock and soulful lyrics, along with striking musical talent. With much accomplishment and dedication, We The Living has made its way through its first national tour under their debut release, “Heights Of The Heavens.” Along the way, the band has earned a diverse audience at renowned festivals such as Summerfest and the Van's Warped Tour.

More information about We The Living can be found online at www.wetheliving.com or www.myspace.com/wetheliving.

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Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC), in partnership with the Follett Higher Education Group, today announced that the campus bookstore will be totally remodeled to enhance the shopping experience for faculty, students, alumnae/i, and the community.

“We want this store to be a destination for every student as well as a campus meeting place,” said Richard Goodpaster, regional manager for Follett Higher Education Group. “We know we will achieve this goal in our renovation.”

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John McIntyre, associate professor of music and chair of the Department of Music and Theatre at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, has been named a recipient of a 2008-2009 ASCAPLUS Award. McIntyre has applied for and received the award eleven times since 1998. 

The award, given by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), reflects the Society’s continuing commitment to assist and encourage ASCAP composers. Awards are granted by an independent panel and are based upon the unique prestige value of each applicant’s catalog of original compositions, as well as recent performances in areas not surveyed by the Society.

McIntyre’s award is a cash award meant for composers who work in “non-commercial” fields, such as concert and church music. These composers are not compensated for the public performance of their works, unlike most composers of music for film, TV, theater, and other commercial venues.

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With their tonal brilliance, superb intonation, distinctive rich blend of sound and energetic vitality, Jitro Czech Girls Choir has been recognized as one of the best children’s choirs in the world. And, on Monday, Nov. 3, the sounds of the admired choir filled the Cecilian Audiorium during a concert at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College as part of the College’s Four-Star Series.

Jitro, meaning “daybreak” in Czech, is more than just a concert choir from Hradec Kralove, a town in the Czech Republic. It is an organization of 500 children in seven preparatory ensembles, of which only the best 25 or 30 qualify to tour.

For 35 years they have been admired all over the world, and many awards have been bestowed on the choir. The list can begin with the prestigious European contests in Llangollen (1988), Nantes (1989), Lecco (1990) and Neerpelt (1996) and finish with the recent world competitions in Olomouc (2003) and Xiamen (2006).

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The Saint Mary of the Woods College (SMWC) Art Gallery’s next exhibition will feature the photographs of artist Wolfgang Schmidt. The exhibition, Sacred Faces, will be on display Nov. 5 through Nov. 25. An opening reception will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Schmidt's images document people from other cultures, capturing the human face as the site of a sacred intercultural exchange. Originally from Germany, Schmidt now lives in Granger, Indiana. He has exhibited his photographic project, Sacred Faces, internationally, including the South Bend Regional Museum of Art in South Bend, Indiana; Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana; Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan; Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable, Massachusetts; and Bad Neuenahr Augustinum in Bonn, Germany.

The SMWC Art Gallery is located in Hulman Hall, room 132. Admission is free and open to the public. Regular Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. For more information, contact Rebecca Mollenhauer, Gallery Director, by phone at 812-535-5265 or by email at artgallery@smwc.edu.

The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) Chorale and Madrigals presented their annual choral Pops Concert on Nov. 1, in the Cecilian Auditorium of the SMWC Conservatory of Music building.

The theme for this year’s concert was “American Bandstand,” and the Chorale and Madrigals, under the direction of R. Ryan Endris, visiting assistant professor of music, performed some of the greatest hits in American pop music culture, including “Rockin' Robin,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”

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