The Leading Edge

Events

March 31

Student art reception: Please join us in celebrating our art students’ work and take this last opportunity to see what they’ve been doing.  Show includes drawing, painting, print making, encaustics, photography, and sculpture. 4:00-5:00 p.m., Fairbanks Hall.

April 2

Performance artist Soomi Kim: OSU alum Soomi Kim, an award-winning actor and movement artist, will be speaking and performing on campus April 2-4. On April 2, 5:00 p.m., she will hold a workshop in the Lab Theatre in Withycombe Hall. On April 4, 7:30 p.m., she will give a performance and lecture in the Lab Theatre. Both events are open to the public.

The New Surveillance Society: Big Brother Grows Up: 7:00 p.m., Austin Auditorium, LaSells. Nationally syndicated radio show Philosophy Talk returns to OSU for a live taping, with assistant professor of history Christopher Nichols. Recent revelations confirm not only is Big Brother watching you, he is also reading your emails, listening to your phone calls, mapping your personal networks, and tracking your every move. How do we adjudicate between national security and individual rights?  Are whistleblowers traitors or heroes? Come and join in the conversation!

April 3

SCHOOL OF ARTS & COMMUNICATION (SAC)—Director Search Events: First of the two final candidates for the directorship of the SAC, Lee Ann Garrison of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will share a presentation, Identity, Vision, and the Future of the School of Arts & Communication, at 2:00 p.m. in the Withycombe Lab Theatre; all are invited.  The public presentation will be followed at 3:30 in the Withycombe Lab Theatre by an extended forum for SAC faculty and staff.  Both events will be recorded and made available via the CLA website.

Steve Browning, a visiting U.S. State Department Diplomat-in-Residence will discuss career, fellowship, and internship opportunities in available in the State Department. 4:30 p.m, MU La Raza Room.

April 4

“Deciphering the Ukrainian Crisis: European, Ukrainian, and Russian Perspectives” – Want to know more about Ukraine, Russia, and Crimea? OSU professors Sarah Henderson and Alison Johnston (Political Science and Public Policy) will offer insight into the current crisis. 12:00-1:30 p.m. Snell Hall’s International Forum. Free and open to the public. This event is sponsored by the OSU School of Public Policy.

Performance artist Soomi Kim: OSU alum Soomi Kim, an award-winning actor and movement artist, will be speaking and performing on campus April 2-4. On April 2, 5:00 p.m., she will hold a workshop in the Lab Theatre in Withycombe Hall. On April 4, 7:30 p.m., she will give a performance and lecture in the Lab Theatre. Both events are open to the public.

April 5

WW II – 70th Anniversary Swing Dance. 6:30 p.m., Women’s Building. Pull out your 40s era clothes and dancing shoes and join us for a memorial dance and fundraiser featuring the Albany Swing Band, Corvallis Swing Dance Society, WW II re-enactors, and more! Doors open at 6:30 and dance lessons begin at 7:00. $10 per person – $15 per couple (avail in MU103). Proceeds benefit the Benton County Cultural Coalition.

Upcoming Events

Free screenings of the 2012 documentary “Gold – You Can Do More Than You Think,” will be held April  6, 7 and 10 at Darkside Cinema in Corvallis. “Gold” chronicles the journeys of three athletes as they prepare for and participate in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. The screenings are sponsored by the School of Language, Culture and Society and are co-sponsored by the OSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and by Parapictures Film Production. They are free and open to the public but attendees need to obtain a free pass at the snack bar after entering the theater. Screenings will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 6; 7 p.m. Monday, April 7; and 9 p.m. Thursday, April 10. To enhance accessibility for the visually-impaired, the April 6 screening will include audio descriptions of the scenes.

Ian Boyden, “Avian Flame: Mirror Ecologies of the Mind Consumed,” Tues., April 8, 7:00 p.m. in the MU Journey Room. Environmental artist Ian Boyden will show images and speak about his recent art installation project. The free event will serve as the launch for the Spring Creek Project’s second annual Campus Creature Census.

SCHOOL OF ARTS & COMMUNICATION (SAC)—Director Search Events: Second of the two final candidates for the directorship of the SAC, David Raskin of the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, will share a presentation, Identity, Vision, and the Future of the School of Arts & Communication, at 2:00 pm on Thursday, April 10 in the Withycombe Lab Theatre; all are invited.  The public presentation will be followed at 3:30 in the Withycombe Lab Theatre by an extended forum for SAC faculty and staff.  Both events will be recorded and made available via the CLA website.

Awards and Honors

The Library Journal selected The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Military and Diplomatic History, which was edited by assistant professor of history Chris Nichols, was selected as a “Best Reference of 2013 in  Law and Politics” by the Library Journal. The book was lauded for providing, “Comprehensive, authoritative, and current entries from leading scholars give you the real story not always found on the Internet.”

Qwo-Li Driskill, assistant professor of women, gender and sexuality studies, received the inaugural Stonewall Service Award from the Conference on College Composition and Communication. The award “seeks to recognize members of CCCC/NCTE who have consistently worked to improve the experiences of sexual and gender minorities within the organization and the profession.”

Congratulations to Dwanee Howard, assistant to the director for SHPR, who received the March ‘Our Hero’ award given by the Professional Faculty Leadership Association. Howard was presented with the award during a meeting on March 25. Her nominator said that she was ‘the most dedicated professional she’d ever met, putting everything she has into creating an efficient, supportive environment for students, staff and faculty.’

Current Research, Publications and Creative Activity

The latest op-essay by Christopher McKnight Nichols, “Open Diplomacy, Wartime, and the Modern Surveillance State,” is currently featured on Huffington Post.   This article ties in with Nichols’ upcoming appearance on the syndicated radio show Philosophy Talk on April 2.