Fine Arts Hall of Famers: Congrats, Class of 2017
Alumni, patrons and mentors were inducted into the WSU College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame on May 13. Members of the 2017 alumni class are the late James G. Davis, a painter whose works reside in collections at NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Tucson Museum of Art; Dean Hargrove, a Hollywood writer and producer who has a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe, and whose credits include “The Bob Newhart Show,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “It Takes a Thief” and “Matlock;” and David Hickman, a classical trumpet soloist and teacher who has released 19 solo albums, toured the world and received the Award of Merit and the Honorary Award from the International Trumpet Guild.
Patron class members are Mike and Dee Michaelis, who have long held a love for art, both personally and in creating a corporate art collection of more than 1,000 works of art for Emprise Bank, from which he recently retired as chair; and Ann and Dennis Ross, who set up the fine arts college’s first Faculty Chair of Distinction in 2005, have supported a guest-artist-in-residence program and have created student scholarships.
In the mentors class are Harrison “Bud” Boughton, who was professor and director of choral music at WSU for 39 years; Joyce Cavarozzi, whose career featured her directing more than 110 productions and designing costumes for some 150, most as a member of WSU’s theater faculty; and the late Elizabeth Sprague, a noted painter and art educator who established Fairmount College’s art department in 1901. Sprague was known for rarely signing her work. When she did, she typically used only her initials and placed the ES in a corner of the artwork. She was also known for taking as her motto: “We strive for beauty and hope for perfection.”
KMUW News Earns National, Regional Recognition
The news department of public radio station KMUW 89.1 FM, which is an NPR affiliate licensed by Wichita State, was recently honored with national and regional awards for excellence in journalism produced in 2016.
Reporter Deborah Shaar received the Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists for Radio Investigative Reporting. Her stories exposed the Federal Aviation Admin-istration’s plan to eliminate the weather observation program at Eisenhower Airport without local input about potential safety issues.
She reported on the story for six months until the eventual resolution in Congress that mandated the FAA to do a thorough safety review before making any changes. The news department also received two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association.
Aileen LeBlanc, news director, and Carla Eckels, assistant news director, were recognized in the Hard News category for “Then and Now: The Summer of Justice.” Nadya Faulx and Beth Golay were recognized in the Excellence in Social Media category for “Primary Primer,” an overview of primary election facts and figures.
WSU Honors: A Shocker Gathering of Distinction
An Honors program was founded at Wichita State in 1957 and named for university president Emory Lindquist in 1978. In 2013, an Honors college was created, and it was named for university benefactors Dorothy and Bill Cohen in 2015. Both the Cohen Honors College and the Lindquist Honors Program curriculum was designed to foster intellectual challenge, innovation, collaboration and service.
To date, more than a thousand Shockers hold the distinction of being Honors alumni. On April 28, at GoCreate, the WSU Honors Advisory Board, Honors Student Council, and WHEAT student organization hosted Honors alumni and student leaders, current and legacy faculty, and other guests for an evening together featuring a reception sponsored by Seigfreid Bingham PC.
Celebrating International Coaching over Coffee
Wichita State’s Community Engagement Institute celebrated International Coaching Week (May 15-21) with a special offer: Join them for coffee at Starbucks at 21st and Mike Oatman Drive for a sample coaching conversation.
The offer netted participants a taste of the positive results (everything from improved self-confidence to a better life/work balance) that can be gained from coaching. Hosted by the International Coach Federation’s Heartland Charter Chapter, the event featured 10-minute conversations with coaches, including Seth Bate, director of the Center for Leadership Development at WSU.
