SBU Music Department Presents Chamber Orchestra April 12

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The public is invited to attend a free concert featuring the Southwest Baptist University Chamber Orchestra conducted by Director of Instrumental Studies Dr. Brian K. Hopwood. The concert will take place on Thursday, April 12, at 7:30 pm., at the Meyer Recital Hall, in the Casebolt Music Building, on the SBU campus.

The concert opens with a British brass band work transcribed for string orchestra. According to Dr. Hopwood, “it was John Ireland’s intention to transcribe “A Downland Suite” for strings in its entirety; but he finished only the two middle movements. In completing the transcription, Geoffrey Bush followed the composer’s example in re-conceiving the music as a composition for strings rather than making a literal re-arrangement of the brass band version.”

Church music major Michael Womack will be the featured soloist on George Frederic Handel’s Organ Concerto in Bb major, Op. 4, No. 6 and trumpet major. Morgan Katz will perform as soloist on the noble and mystical “Prayer of St. Gregory” by Alan Hovhaness. The program also includes a short Renaissance dance, “Galliard à 5” by John Dowland, and the second movement (Last Spring) of Edvard Grieg’s “Elegiac Melodies, Op. 34.” Utilizing the raucous rhythms and gritty harmonies of pop music and taking a cue from the ever-expanding stylistic repertoire of the contemporary string quartet, David O’Fallon’s “Legend” will round out the program.

The concert is free, and the public is invited. For more information, please call Dr. Brian K. Hopwood, Department of Music, at 417-328-1647 or email him at: bhopwood@sbuniv.edu.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Professor of Mathematics Presents at International Conference

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University Professor of Mathematics and Department Chair Dr. Kevin Hopkins recently presented at the 24^th International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics in Orlando, Fla. The title of his presentation was “Calculus Animations with Geogebra.”

“Geogebra” is free, web-based software that does dynamic geometry and graphing. The dynamic feature of the software allows for animations that can illustrate a variety of topics in calculus. The presentation showed some of the animations Dr. Hopkins has used in calculus and featured instructions on how to create such animations.

During the two-day conference Dr. Hopkins attended two focus groups, where Pearson Publishing was seeking feedback on Pre-Calculus and Calculus book projects, as well as thirteen other sessions.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Driskill Gallery Presents Students’ Exhibit

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Driskill Gallery, located in the Jester Learning and Performance Center of Southwest Baptist University, presents an exhibit by the college art students. Works include ceramics, prints, paintings, drawings, digital images, photography, graphic design and sculpture.

The exhibit will run through April 20, and is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday thru Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 For more information contact Gallery Director Dianna Callahan, 328 1651.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Student to Present at College Music Society Conference

SBU Student to Present at College Music Society Conference

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University music and communications student, Taylor Katz, a senior from Hampton, Iowa, was selected to present part of his SBU Honors Program Capstone research at the College Music Society Great Lakes Regional Conference. The conference will take place at Harper College in Chicago, Ill. on March 30-31, 2012.

Katz will present his paper, "God and Gaga: Music as a Communication of Religious Ideas," as part of the student competition.

Katz will represent SBU in front of musicologists, professors, and fellow students from universities throughout Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, including renowned music schools such as the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois, and the University of Indiana.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Concert Choir to Join Bolivar Community Choir in Spring Concert

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The SBU Concert Choir and Bolivar Community Choir will together present a spring concert on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Pike Auditorium on the SBU campus.

The program will feature selections by composers such as Jane Marshall, David Dickau, Randall Stroope, Stephen Sondheim, Rene Clausen, and Joseph Haydn. Also to be included in the program will be the entertaining “Jabberwockyby” by Sam Pottle, “O Sifuni Mungu” which was made famous by First Call, and an exciting arrangement of “Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho.”

The concert is free and open to the public. 

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

CIS Student To Intern at Brookhaven National Labs

CIS Student To Intern at Brookhaven National Labs

BNL Ranked #1 in the World for Hadron Collider Research

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University student, Josh Tiffany (JR, computer science/math major, Independence, Mo.), has been selected to participate in the highly competitive Department of Energy's Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) this summer.  Josh will spend his summer at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) located in Upton, New York, on Long Island. 

According to Karen Johnson of the Environmental Sciences Division at BNL,  Josh will be ”working in a Linux environment, adding features to and perhaps extending an existing graphical user interface application…intended to assist researchers in discovering and analyzing interesting features of cloud radar data.  The challenge is to take a massive volume of existing cloud radar data and make it easier for researchers to find the 'needles in the haystack,' the types of phenomena which are of interest to them and which can further their research objectives.”  

Dr. Tim DeClue, SBU Computer Information Science (CIS) Department Chair reports that Josh makes the 16th SBU student from the CIS Department in recent years to participate in a research internship programs like SULI, SERS (Science and Energy Research Semester), and DMP (Distributed Mentoring Program).  Josh is the second student selected to SULI.  Dr. DeClue said, “This is a great honor for Josh, and reflects very positively on the SBU CIS and Math Departments where Josh has found his academic home.”

According to their website, BNL was founded in 1946 by Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester, and Yale, and that “Brookhaven Lab was conceived to promote basic research in the physical, chemical, biological and engineering aspects of the atomic sciences…and an equally important concept was to…design, construct and operate large scientific machines that individual institutions could not afford to develop on their own.” Today, Brookhaven is ranked the number one institution in the world for hadron collider research.

SBU’s CIS department houses three degree programs (computer science, information science, web systems and design), four full-time faculty, two faculty associates and close to 80 students majoring in the computer or information sciences. Among evangelically Christian institutions, SBU is one of the leading producers of software engineers in the United States.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

es.

SBU Presents “Off the Wall: The Music of the Spheres”

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Chamber Singers of Southwest Baptist University will present “Off the Wall: The Music of the Spheres,” a program of early music on Tuesday, March 27, in the Meyer Wellness Center racquetball courts. The concert is free but seating is limited and reservations are required. The ensemble will present the program twice, at 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

The Chamber Singers is an auditioned ensemble of 17 singers whose repertoire consists of vocal music of the Medieval and Renaissance eras. “The title of our program gives a hint to the audience,” say assistant professor of music, and director of choral studies at SBU, Dr. James Tarrant. “The concert will take place in the only venue in southwest Missouri suitable for this type of music!” adds Dr. Tarrant.

The ensemble will present works from obscure composers such as Landini, Peñalosa, and Gesualdo, chant from anonymous manuscripts, and music from more well-known composers such as Josquin, Palestrina, and Victoria.

 For more information or to make reservations, please contact the Department of Music at (417) 328-1644.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Awarding Two Honorary Doctorates on Founders’ Day

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University will celebrate Founders’ Day with a formal chapel program on Monday, March 26, 2012, in Pike Auditorium on the Bolivar campus. Dr. C. Pat Taylor, SBU president, will deliver the address. All current and retired faculty and staff are welcome to attend the chapel service.

During the program, SBU will present Donald Babb, CEO of Citizen Memorial Hospital, an honorary Doctor of Business, and John Marshall, Lead Pastor of Second Baptist Church in Springfield, Mo., an honorary Doctor of Theology.

Biographies of Honorary Doctorate Recipients

Donald J. Babb

Donald J. Babb was born on October 19, 1940, in Piedmont, Missouri. His family moved to the small town of Silva and eventually West Plains, where he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents.

With a natural affinity for healthcare combined with education and duties while in the Air Force, Mr. Babb focused his energy in the healthcare field. He returned to school at Mineral Area College where he completed a business degree, and later continued his education earning a master’s degree in healthcare management and finance at Ohio State University.

Mr. Babb was working for Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1981 when he was called to help construct and develop a new hospital in Bolivar. What started out as a short-term project quickly developed into a life-long goal of creating a rural healthcare system that set the standard for care throughout the nation.

Mr. Babb has provided visionary leadership for Citizens Memorial Healthcare (CMH) for more than 29 years. Since 1981, Mr. Babb has led Citizens Memorial Hospital as its one and only chief executive officer. He also serves as the executive director of the Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation and Riverside Management and Rehabilitation, LLC. Under his leadership, CMH has transformed from a small, acute care hospital into a fully-integrated health care delivery system. CMH has grown at a rate seldom seen in rural areas and now provides a broad array of healthcare services to 100,000 residents of an eight-county area in southwest Missouri. CMH is Bolivar’s largest employer.

In recognition of his leadership and service, Mr. Babb has been presented with six major awards. In 1993, he received the Missouri State Association of Health Occupations Educators Distinguished Service Award for Community Involvement. He was honored with the Missouri Hospital Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 1994. In 1997, Mr. Babb was presented the prestigious Shirley Ann Munroe Leadership Development Award by the American Hospital Association’s Section for Small and Rural Hospitals and the Hospital Research and Educational Trust. He received the Visionary Leadership Award in 1999 from the Missouri Hospital Association. Honored for his outstanding contribution to healthcare in the state, Mr. Babb was presented the Missourian Award in September 2008.

Mr. Babb is a previous chairman for the Missouri Hospital Association and served on the board of directors for the Missouri Health Care Association. Mr. Babb is the current chairman for the Hospital Services Group, a company established to provide malpractice coverage for health care facilities and physicians. He also is a member of the board of directors for Southern Missouri Bank in Marshfield and Bank of Bolivar, and Silo Ridge Country Club in Bolivar. Recognizing that “good health” is a lifestyle, Mr. Babb has worked extensively toward the development of a wellness and fitness facility for the Bolivar community. He served as a member of a community steering committee for the development of a YMCA for Bolivar. He currently serves on the board of the Roy Blunt YMCA, which was constructed and opened in 2007.

 A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, Mr. Babb and his wife, Carrie, have lived in Bolivar, Missouri, for 30 years and have two children and four grandchildren

  

John E. Marshall

John E. Marshall was born on December 22, 1951, in Sikeston, Missouri.  He is a sixth generation preacher who was called to the ministry at age 15. 

The Marshalls came to Second Baptist Church, Springfield, Missouri, in November 1995. The church is annually one of Missouri’s leading churches in baptisms and is the state’s largest contributor to the Cooperative Program. Second averages 1700 in its three Sunday schools, and 2200 in its six worship services: two blended, two contemporary, one Burmese, and one Chinese. Second sends out hundreds of people each year on mission trips and has planted seven new churches in the past four years.

Dr. Marshall earned a degree in mathematics from Southeast Missouri State University in 1972. In 1975, he graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, becoming the youngest man ever to earn a Doctor of Ministry from a Southern Baptist seminary at the age of 23.

In 2004, Dr. Marshall won the New Orleans Seminary “Distinguished Alumnus Award.” He preached the 2009 Annual Sermon for the Southern Baptist Convention. Midwestern Seminary named him its 2011 “Honorary Alumnus of the Year.” He has served as second vice president, first vice president, and president of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Dr. Marshall married Ruth Huey on March 20, 1971. They have two children and five grandchildren.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

Speaking Bearcats Finish Strong at State Tournament and at LSU

Speaking Bearcats Finish Strong at State Tournament and at LSU

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. –The Southwest Baptist University Speaking Bearcats recently competed at the Missouri Association of Forensics Activities (MAFA) State Tournament at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., and at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

At MAFA, the Speaking Bearcats earned second place in overall team sweepstakes, finishing just behind their host Truman State University. The Speaking Bearcats also finished third in individual events and debate sweepstakes.

The Speaking Bearcats won the following individual awards:

Freshman Shawna Barkley qualified to attend the prestigious Interstate Oratorical Competition in April with her second place finish in persuasive speaking. Barkley also placed fourth in communication analysis, and fifth in informative speaking.

Freshman Meg Burns won pentathlon (best overall individual events speaker at the whole tournament) on the strength of her excellent results such as first place in forensics criticism, second place in communication analysis, fourth place in after dinner speaking, sixth place in program of oral interpretation, and fourth place in prose interpretation.

Freshman Kaila Todd was top novice in poetry interpretation and impromptu speaking with sixth place finishes in each event. 

Freshman Nik Fischer placed third in communication analysis and seventh in informative speaking.

Sophomore Matt Adams placed sixth in informative speaking.

Freshman Jenna King was the sixth place speaker in after dinner speaking.

The freshman team of Nik Fischer and Shawna Barkley were Missouri State Champs in novice Parliamentary debate. Jenna King and Meg Burns reached the quarterfinals of novice parliamentary debate.

SBU’s Director of Forensics Dr. David Bailey said, “In the ‘Mardi Gras Classic’ on the campus of Louisiana State University, the contest was a small but very competitive swing tournament (two back to back tournaments in a single weekend) drawing national-caliber competition from all over the Southern United States, including perennial powerhouses such as the University of Alabama, George Mason University, Texas State University, McNeese State University, and William Carey University. The Speaking Bearcats finished first in overall sweepstakes for both halves of the swing and for the weekend.”

In debate, Speaking Bearcats won the following awards:

Catherine Lathrop reached the octofinals of international public debate.

Kaila Todd was a quarterfinalist in public debate.

Meg Burns and Jenna King had the sixth-best preliminary round record at the tournament and just barely missed breaking to the semi-finals of parliamentary debate.

Nik Fischer and Shawna Barkley took second place in parliamentary debate.

The two individual events tournaments were also quite rewarding for SBU. A few of the highlights included:

Nik Fischer took third place in pentathlon behind a fourth place finish in extemporaneous speaking, a sixth place finish in persuasion, a fourth place finish in informative, a fourth place finish in after dinner speaking, and a first place finish in communication analysis.

Shawna Barkley placed sixth in extemporaneous speaking, third place in communication analysis, and third place in persuasion.

Meg Burns was the tournament champion in dramatic interpretation taking first place in the event. She also won second place in communication analysis, fifth place in after dinner speaking, seventh place in prose interpretation, and sixth in program of oral interpretation.

Jenna King also had a strong showing in her events with a fourth place finish in persuasion and a sixth place finish in after dinner speaking.

The Speaking Bearcats also received recognition for their comprehensive approach to forensics. The LSU tournament gives a special award called the “Tiger Award” recognizing the total point contributions made by individual speakers in both speech and debate combined.

Dr. Bailey noted that “in an era when so many intercollegiate forensics programs specialize in one category or the other but rarely both, the Tiger Award is excellent recognition for the hard work students do to be effective competitors in both debate and speech.”

Dr. Bailey added, “I am delighted to report that SBU competitors took five of the top seven places in the ‘Tiger Award’ competition at the LSU tournament. This is a powerful testament to the tremendous talent, dedication, and work ethic of our student competitors. SBU’s top ‘Tiger Award’ winners were: Nik Fischer (1^st), Shawna Barkley (2^nd), Meg Burns (4^th), Jenna King (5^th), and Kaila Todd (7^th).”

The Speaking Bearcats have been at home the past two weekends but are busy practicing for the National Comprehensive Tournament in Overland Park, Kan., March 16-18.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Student Receives Library Student Assistant Award

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University Libraries announced that Sky Scholz from Pineville, Missouri, was honored as the Outstanding Student Assistant of the Month for February 2012.

The University Libraries’ faculty and staff established the monthly award to recognize outstanding employment characteristics such as dependability, quality of work, motivation, attitude, and cooperation. Scholz, a student assistant in the Media Services department, received an award letter from Edward W. Walton, Dean of the University Libraries, a certificate of recognition, and a gift.

The University Libraries employs 27 part-time student assistants through the University’s work-study program. Scholz is an elementary education and childhood development major in SBU’s College of Education and Social Sciences.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU CIS Names Nine to Advisory Board

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The 2012 SBU Computer and Information Sciences (CIS) Advisory Board will bring together nine technology leaders to help set the future direction of the CIS department when it meets on Friday, March 9. An informal career fair will coincide with the advisory board meeting. Advisory Board members include the following individuals:

Neil Anderson, Manager of Application Development, ANPAC, Springfield, Mo.

American National Property and Casualty (ANPAC) is located in Springfield, Mo., and is a subsidiary of the American National Insurance Company. ANPAC was listed in Forbes Magazine in its "100 Most Trustworthy Companies" list for 2009. 

John Carr, Retail E-Commerce Manager, O’Reilly Automotive Corporate, Springfield, Mo.

O’Reilly Automotive has over 3600 stores in 39 states with more than 47,000 employees.

Chuck Campbell, Manager, GTS Services Delivery Center, IBM, Columbia, Mo.

IBM is a global technology company with close to 400,000 employees worldwide and revenues in excess of 13 billion dollars. Campbell is a 2001 SBU CIS alumnus and is located in Columbia, Mo.

Melissa Green, Group Technical Director, VML, Kansas City, Mo.

VML, headquartered in Kansas City, is one of the world’s leading digital advertizing agencies with offices in 11 other major media markets worldwide.  In 2012, VML was named to the Ad Age A-List, which recognizes the top agencies in North America. 

Kirk Hay, Director of Corp. Info. Services, Jack Henry & Associates, Monett, Mo.

Jack Henry, with headquarters near Springfield, Missouri, is an S&P 400 company and is the 18^th largest provider of financial software services in the world. 

Mary A. Hunt, EBS Professional Services Manager, FISGlobal, Little Rock, Ark.

FISGlobal, whose data processing division is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, is the world’s largest global provider dedicated to banking and payments technologies. 

Jeff Jackson, Project Leader, Intel, Seattle, Wash.

Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products, and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Intel employs over 82,000 individuals, over half of whom work in the U.S.

Damon Overboe, Research and Development Lead, Accenture, Bolivar, Mo.

Accenture is a Global Fortune 500 company and the largest employer of SBU CIS Department graduates. Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 244,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

Owen Straub, VP of Software Engineering, Cerner Corporation, Kansas City, Mo.

Cerner is the largest provider of electronic medical systems in the United States. Based in Kansas City, Mo., Cerner employs over 8,000 employees worldwide and is the second largest employer of SBU CIS Department graduates. 

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Literary Artist Series Presents Bryan Norman

SBU Literary Artist Series Presents Bryan Norman

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Barnett-Padgett Literary Artists Series at Southwest Baptist University will present Bryan Norman, associate publisher for Thomas Nelson Non-Fiction Trade Group, on March 29 at 6:00 p.m. in the Jester Learning & Performance Center, room 273, on the Bolivar campus. Admission is free and the public is invited.

An informal question and answer session will be held at the end of Norman’s presentation about editing in the publishing world.

Bryan Norman joined Thomas Nelson Publishers in 2004 after receiving his Master of Arts in English literature and language at the University of Colorado where he graduated with honors. Norman previously worked as associate acquisitions editor and senior editor of the Non-Fiction Trade Group. Since his employment with Thomas Nelson, he has worked closely with best-selling authors, such as Charles Swindoll, Charles Stanley, John Eldredge, Sheila Walsh, and John MacArthur. Norman lives in Nashville, Tenn., with his wife, Suzanne (Whisler), and son, Miles.

##

PHOTO: Bryan Norman

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU to Present Winds and Friends March 15

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Southwest Baptist University Department of Music will present “Winds and Friends” Thursday, March 15, at 7:30 p.m., featuring music performed by the SBU Wind Symphony, Brian K. Hopwood, conductor.  The concert is free and open to the public.

Works by Stamp, Margolis, Giannini, Dello Joio, Paulson, Himes, and Shostakovich, will be featured. Guest ensemble will be the Reeds Spring High School Band with John Devos and Heather Vondrasek, conductors. The free public performance will be held at Pike Auditorium on the SBU Bolivar campus.

The Reeds Spring High School Band will perform a variety of music including “Boy Scouts of America March” by John Philip Sousa and ”Anthem for Winds and Percussion” by Missouri composer, the late Claude T. Smith. The band performance also will include “Queen Anne's Revenge” by Robert W. Smith. The Wind Symphony performance will open with “Gavorkna Fanfare” by Jack Stamp, which is dedicated to his teacher and mentor, Eugene Corporon, director of wind studies at the University of North Texas.

“Dedication Overture” by Vittorio Giannini was the composer’s fourth band work and was written for the commencement ceremony of the first graduating class of the North Carolina School of the Arts. The composition, “Epinicion,” was written during the final days of the Vietnam War and is the composer John Paulson’s personal abstraction of war, in general. An epinicion is an ancient song of victory sung at the conclusion of a triumphant battle.

Additional works include “Satiric Dances” (for a Comedy by Aristophanes) by Emmy award-winning composer Norman Dello Joio and William Himes’ arrangement of one of the world’s most beloved hymn tunes, “Amazing Grace.” Claude Gervaise’s “Fanfare, Ode & Festival,” a suite of French dance music originally written for a small Renaissance wind band and arranged for the modern wind band, by Bob Margolis and “Folk Dances” by Dmitri Shostakovich will round out the Wind Symphony’s performance.

William Latham’s “Brighton Beach” will be performed jointly by both bands and will conclude the concert.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Hosts Annual Meet the Author Series

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

Dr. Rodney Reeves

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University Libraries will host its annual Meet the Author Series on March 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the Harriett K. Hutchens Library. The Hutchens Library is located in the Jester Learning and Performance Center at the Bolivar campus of SBU. Admission and parking are free.

Dr. Kelly Malone

Dr. Rodney Reeves and Dr. Kelly Malone of the Courts Redford College of Theology and Ministry at SBU will discuss their latest books – “Spirituality According to Paul: Imitating the Apostle of Christ” and “The Sword of the Spirit”. Dr. Malone will share about the Bible’s ability to transform individual lives and Dr. Reeves will provide insight on the significance of the Apostle Paul’s spiritual example for individuals in the twenty-first century.

The evening will begin with refreshments and music by the Clarinet Quartet, followed by author presentations and book signings. This event is open to the University and Bolivar communities. 

If you have any questions, please contact Bethany Messersmith via phone at (417) 328-1626 or via e-mail at bmessersmith@sbuniv.edu.

SBU Libraries is committed to nurturing students’ research needs by providing the information resources and services needed to support their academic programs.  For more information about SBU Libraries, visit: http://www.sbuniv.edu/library/

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats

SBU Theatre Presents “Between the Crosses”

Southwest Baptist University News Release

Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications

417-328-1803 / ssmith@sbuniv.edu

BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University’s Theatre Department will present two plays from the World War I era as part of a season-long exploration of war, forgiveness, and healing. “War Brides” by Marion Craig Wentworth and “Behind the Lines” by Helen Bagg will be presented back-to-back in the Davis-Newport Theater on the campus of Southwest Baptist University on March 8-10 at 7:00 p.m.

Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Theatre and Director of “War Brides” Dr. Elissa Sartwell states, “As a society, we tend to collectively forget the parts of the past we no longer find useful or important.” Dr. Sartwell adds, “Both of the plays we’re presenting examine the war we’d rather forget (WWI), but they are also both written by women. They were written during an era that we also tend to forget – the era before women had the right to vote.” Dr. Sartwell goes on to suggest that the plays represent one way women could voice their positions on the most important public policy issues of the day.

Instructor of theatre, Jonathan Wehmeyer will be directing the evening’s second play, “Behind the Lines.”  Wehmeyer points out that the two plays are very different from one another, reflecting the changing perception of the war from early isolationist policies to America’s entrance in the war. “’Behind the Lines’ is subtitled ‘A War Comedy in One Act,’ and the play’s comic elements provided a way for audiences to cope with the darkening cloud of war that was spreading from Europe to the United States,” Wehmeyer states.

Both Dr. Sartwell and Wehmeyer are excited to see how audiences today respond to these very different dramatic approaches to the reality of war. Sartwell invites the audiences to attend a post-show discussion following each performance.

Ticket prices are as follows: $5 for adults; $3 for SBU alumni, senior citizens, and students of other schools; $2 for SBU students; and complimentary for SBU faculty and staff. For more information, call (417) 328-1691 or visit www.sbuniv.edu/theatre.

###

Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.

www.Twitter.com/SBUniv

www.Twitter.com/SBUbearcats