CALENDAR College of Liberal Arts and Sciences The University of Iowa School of Music is 240 Schaeffer Hall celebrating its centennial throughout 2006-07; The University of Iowa visit www.uiowa.edu/~music for a calendar Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1409 of events. November E-mail: [email protected] Visit the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences REQUIEM at www.clas.uiowa.edu By Giuseppe Verdi A School of Music, Division of Performing Arts, centennial event featuring the University Symphony Orchestra and Choirs with alumni Arts&Sciences guest soloists FALL 2006 Arts & Sciences is published for alumni and friends of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences December at The University of Iowa. It is produced by the Offi ce of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and by the Offi ce of University Relations Publications. WINTER COMMENCEMENT Address changes: Readers who wish to change their mailing address for JanuaryFebruary Arts & Sciences may call Alumni Records at 319-335-3297 or 800-469-2586; or send an e-mail to [email protected]. INTO THE WOODS Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim DEAN Linda Maxson Department of Theatre Arts, Division of E XECUTIVE E DITOR Carla Carr Performing Arts M ANAGING E DITOR Linda Ferry February CONSULTING E DITOR Barbara Yerkes M AIA STRING QUARTET DESIGNER Anne Kent COLLABORATION P HOTOGRAPHER Tom Jorgensen Department of Dance and School of Music, CONTRIBUTING FEATURE WRITERS Division of Performing Arts Peter Alexander, Winston Barclay, Lori Erickson, Richard Fumerton, Gary W. May Galluzzo, Lin Larson, Jen Knights, Sara SPRING COMMENCEMENT Epstein Moninger, David Pedersen COVER P HOTO: Art Building West provides a study June in refl ected light. The new building won a 2006 Honor Award of Excellence from the American A LUMNI R EUNION WEEKEND Institute of Architects, Iowa Chapter. UI Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni (Photo by Tom Jorgensen) Awards Luncheon September Editor’s note: Murray Seeger (BA ’51) was bureau HOMECOMING R EUNION WEEKEND chief in Moscow and Bonn for the Los Angeles Times, not The New York Times (Arts & Sciences 2005, page 9). Cheryl For a current list of CLAS events, visit Jacobsen drew the illustration for “Alumni Volunteers” www.clas.uiowa.edu (Arts & Sciences 2005, page 20). For a list of all University of Iowa arts events, visit www.uiowa.edu/artsiowa Contents Arts&Sciences 3 20 Their Brilliant Careers Performing’s the Thing Alumni focus the public’s eye Bassist turns students’ eyes toward the stage 6 22 From Iowa to Hollywood Teaching Philosophy Through Film Movers and shakers have CLAS roots Professor brings cinema to class 10 24 Eyes on the World Six CLAS Students Find Their Niche Political Science takes a global view Arts & Sciences takes a close-up look 15 30 Tradition Meets Innovation Online with Your Alma Mater Art Building West unites looks, usability It’s easy to stay in touch 18 42 Mind, Body, Medicine Two for Adventure Psychologist seeks evidence of links Pair keeps Iowa ties 2 Message from the Dean 32 On Stage 34 Department News 36 Discoveries 37 CLAS Notes 43 Development Letter It’s an exciting time for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences! We are in the midst of a historic building boom for the college and are celebrating the centenaries of two of our distinguished arts units. The School of Music is presenting a year-long schedule of major events to mark its centenary. Included are Verdi’s Requiem with alumni guest soloists in November, concerts featuring premieres of works commissioned for the centenary, a spring production of Puccini’s La Bohème, and a final concert in April. For the complete schedule, visit the school’s web site (www.uiowa.edu/~music) and plan on joining us for one or more of these exciting performances. The School of Art and Art History also is celebrating its centenary, as well as its dramatic new Art Building West, which opened in September (see pages 15-17). Designed by architect Stephen Holl, the new building is located on Riverside Drive across from the historic Art Building. It includes exhibition space for student work, state-of-the-art digital technology for teaching and artistic production, and the Mansfield Media Theatre. We hope you will visit the building in person or take the online tour at the school’s web site (www.art.uiowa.edu). The school has organized a digital exhibition show- casing the work of its alumni over the past 100 years, also on its web site. A message from Another important new facility—the addition to the Dey House, home of the Writers’ Workshop—was dedicated in October. Art Building West and the Dey the dean House addition are the latest in a string of building and renovation projects that have benefited our students, beginning with the 1996-97 renovation of Schaeffer Hall and continuing with the new Biology Building East, renovation of the existing College of Liberal Biology Building, and construction of the Philip D. Adler Journalism and Mass Arts and Sciences Communication Building, which opened in 2005. And we aren’t yet done! The Chemistry Building is now being renovated for 21st- century science teaching and research. The University also is planning to renovate and enlarge Seashore Hall. Thanks to the support of Iowa’s Board of Regents and the University, we can look forward to the continued renewal of our teaching and learning facilities. We thank you for supporting these new buildings and other college initiatives during the University’s Good. Better. Best. Iowa campaign. More than 18,000 alumni and friends contributed a total of $76.11 million to the college, almost double our original goal. The college has always been shaped by the encouragement and involvement of alumni and friends like you. It’s important to us that you stay connected to our mission and our future. Please keep in touch and let us know what you think of our programs, our priorities, and our progress. 2 Arts & Sciences announces Veteran the majorsvoice By Sara Epstein Moninger Milo Hamilton knew that his voice—a rich, cheery baritone— would play a major role in whatever profession he pursued, but he never guessed it would propel him to the major leagues. An opportunity to call a Navy baseball game in 1945 led the future College of Liberal Arts and Sciences graduate to a career min sports broadcasting. Since then, Hamilton, the play-by-play an- nouncer for the Houston Astros for the past two decades, has called some 9,000 games. “I had a chance to announce a baseball game on Armed Forces Radio on Guam, because nobody else had played the game,” explains Hamilton, who had been a high school athlete in Fairfi eld, Iowa. “I ended up reading news and spinning records, and I started to think that radio work might be something I’d like to go home and do.” After leaving the Navy, Hamilton majored in communication and theatre arts at Iowa. Before graduating in 1950, he worked at WSUI and pursued dramatic roles, playing the lead in a UI production of Our Town. An introduction to longtime Hawkeye broadcaster Bob Brooks lured him to sports radio. “He took me under his wing,” Hamilton says, “and I worked with him at Hawkeye football and basketball games. I had been an Iowa fan growing up, so to be at that school and in the booth with Brooks was like a dream.” Hamilton did a stint with a minor-league team in Davenport, Iowa, then announced for a string of big-league clubs, including the St. Louis Browns (1953), the St. Louis Cardinals (1954), the Chicago Cubs (1956-57 and 1980-84), the Chicago White Sox (1962-65), the Atlanta Braves (1966-75), and the Pittsburg Pirates (1976-79), before landing in Houston. His most historic microphone moment almost didn’t happen: Henry Aaron’s 715th home run in 1974. “It didn’t look like the ball was going to go out of the park,” Ham- ilton recalls. “It wasn’t like the home runs you see today, that end up in the upper deck. This one was almost caught.” Photo by Stephen P. O’Brien While baseball has evolved over the decades, the veteran announcer’s approach hasn’t changed. “I just need a microphone,” says Hamilton, who also has covered basketball, football, golf, and boxing. Hamilton peppers his broadcasts with stats not kept by the teams or the leagues. He arrives at the ballpark with a tote full of yellow legal pads, where he meticulously details stolen bases, double steals, winning RBIs, and other such trivia—a practice that has earned him the nickname “Mr. Briefcase.” Hamilton has been inducted into the broadcast wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, the Radio Hall of Fame, and the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He recently published a lifetime of radio stories in his book, Making Airwaves: 60 Years at Milo’s Microphone. “I love my job,” he says. “Baseball is the greatest game because it’s the most unpredictable game. It’s a big respon- sibility to go to the ballpark every day knowing that 50 stations are relying on you, but it’s a labor of love.” THEIR BRILLIANT CAREERS The University of Iowa 3 Artist draws on his opinions By Sara Epstein Moninger Paul Conrad is one feisty cat. With pen in hand, the 80-year-old editorial cartoonist prowls, zeroes in on his prey, and goes for the jugular—exposing what he sees as corruption and hypocrisy with simple, deliberate strokes of black ink.