MondayMorning ^newsletter

In This Issue March 16, 2009 Vol. 26, No. 23 Frozen Four Boston bound! Lakers head Wrestling Champ to their first Frozen Four Sweet Charity The No. 3 Mercyhurst College women's hockey team is Weekend Service Projects Boston bound! The third-seeded Lakers punched their ticket RecycleMania Update for the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Frozen Four with a 3-1 victory over St. Lawrence in the NCAA Quarterfinals Saturday Fashion Savvy afternoon at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Happenings on the Hill The Lakers will take on No. 2 Minnesota Friday Applause evening in Boston, Mass., while Wisconsin This Week at the Hurst faces defending champ We'd love to hear from you Minnesota-Duluth in the other NCAA semifinal Monday Morning is produced contest. The national weekly during the academic championship game is year for the Mercyhurst slated for noon on Sunday. According to the NCAA, the games College community. Send will be streamed live on NCAA.com, and the final will be news items or story ideas to carried on the CBS College Sports Network. editor Sue Corbran or call her Mercyhurst (30-5-0) sealed its first-ever NCAA win in at 824-2090. convincing fashion, outshooting the Saints, 44-13, and holding them to just a single score. However, that score was the first . Happy St. Patrick's Day! of the game and put the Lakers behind 1-0 for nearly 20 To get a glimpse of how minutes. the day is celebrated in Despite a solid performance from Saints goaltender Brittony Ireland, check out a video Chartier, freshman Kelley Steadman and junior captain that features interviews with scored in the second period to give the Irish students Oonagh Lakers a 2-1 advantage. Mercyhurst sealed the game with an Foley, Shane Hoyne, insurance goal early in the third period by freshman Jess Ciaran Doherty, Tomas Jones. Freshman goalie improved her Bolger and Richeal Forde season record to 23-2-0 with 12 saves over 60 minutes. on GoErie The Lakers have won 16 straight games and 27 of their last 28; they were undefeated at home. In more good hockey news, the men's team swept Army in its quarterfinal series this weekend at the ice center and heads to Happy Birthday! Rochester, N.Y., next weekend for the Association's tournament. They'll face second-seeded March 16 Rochester Institute of Technology. The AHA champion earns a Kelly Stolar bid to the NCAA men's tournament. Dance Visit hurstathletics.com for updates on both teams. Kathryn F r a z e e MAI Shields wins national championship in wrestling March 17 Stephen Marrin HOUSTON, Texas - At the Division II Winter Championships Festival hosted by the University of Houston, Josh Shields Intelligence Studies became Mercyhurst's first national champion with a 5-0 Marilyn Livosky decision over Nebraska-Omaha's fifth-ranked Aaron Denson Psychology at 165 pounds. Katherine Thornton The sophomore is the first national champion in the history of Campus Ministry the Lakers' wrestling program. March 18 The Lakers finished the 2009 NCAA II Wrestling Sarah Allen Championships with all three qualifiers earning All-America Student Union certificates as No. 6 Andy Lamancusa finished third at 157 March 19 and Payne Lint finished eighth at 125. David Pedler Check the Mercvhurst athletics Web site for more details. Archaeology Gerard Barron Psychology March 20 Michael Elnitsky Biology

Student team to stage song-and-dance classic 'Sweet Charity'

About 40 Mercyhurst students will take the stage next weekend to perform the musical Sweet Charity, the story of dance hall hostess Charity Hope Valentine, who makes all the wrong choices in love but still manages to live "hopefully ever after." Producer Kara Stadelman said the student team behind the show is excited to produce a musical that's different and challenging, and that many people aren't familiar with. She says the jazzy feel of the music appealed to musical director Chris VonVolkenburg, who not only taught vocals to the entire cast, but also directs a pit orchestra of more than 15 students. Perhaps the most recognizable number in the show is "Hey, Big Spender." The original 1966 production of Sweet Charity was nominated for a dozen Tony Awards, and won for the exciting choreography of Bob Fosse. That made the play a good choice for choreographer Trevor Sones and the many dance majors interested in taking part. Everett Olszewski directs the show with David Matthews, former managing director of the Erie Playhouse. Brent Weber served as faculty adviser. Katie Wagner, a freshman vocal performance major, stars as Charity, with junior communication major Chris Cummings as her love interest Oscar; graduate student Jessica Provenzano and senior musical education major Jessica Rudisill as her sidekicks, Nickie and Helene; and Garrett Evans, a junior political science major, as Daddy Brubeck. Sweer Charity is the sixth annual student musical at Mercyhurst since the series was revived in 2004, and many students - music majors and non-majors alike - are involved year after year. Stadelman, a senior music education major, appeared in both Grease and Bye Bye Birdie, and directed last year's hit Seussical. She changed gears this year to take on production duties, but does get to make a brief appearance on stage - watch for her near the end as the fairy godmother. To insure that the musical series continues, students have already been recruited to run next year's still-unnamed production: Alicia Dannenberg will direct, Lauren Haines will handle musical direction, Claire Hinde will choreograph, and Kayla Nash and Amy Ziegler will produce. They learned the ropes by shadowing their counterparts throughout the current show. Sweet Charity, with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon, is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights ofCabiria. Performances are scheduled Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m. in the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $12.50 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, $6.50 for President's Cardholders, $5 for youths 15 and under, and $1 for Mercyhurst students. Tickets will be available at the door, or can be purchased at the PAC box office or by calling 824-3000.

One weekend, two powerful service projects

Mercyhurst students will be taking part in two powerful service projects next weekend, and are inviting the whole college community to support them by donating cash and household items. One group will be fasting for 24 hours (starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 20). While going without food, they'll be collecting donations for an African village. In addition, in the days leading up to the fast, they're staging a donation drive to benefit refugees, who often arrive in Erie with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Collection boxes have been placed in Old Main, Zurn and the Campus Ministry office in the student union, where staff and employees can drop off pillows, blankets, sheets and pillowcases (single sheets are most needed), and any kind of cleaning supplies. The drive continues through Friday. The second project - dubbed Cardboard Village - is designed to raise awareness for homelessness and displacement. Students will be camping out in cardboard boxes on the grassy area in front of Zurn Hall from Friday, March 20, at 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday. Funds they raise will be donated to Invisible Children, an organization addressing the plight of child soldiers in northern Uganda. For more information about the Cardboard Village, contact student coordinator Joseph Weidenboemer, 450-5032. For details on either project, contact Greg Baker, director of campus ministry, 824-2301. 'Hurst now ranked 11th in RecycleMania

Mercyhurst dipped slightly in the RecycleMania rankings last week, but still remained among the national leaders. The Hurst finished 11th (out of 202 schools) in the Grand Champion class, recycling a cumulative 53.01 percent of the waste generated on campus since the competition started. That's the best rate among the 21 colleges taking part in Pennsylvania. The rankings reflect numbers reported during the week of March 1-7, when students and faculty were on spring break. The weekly recycling rate was 55.3 percent but, with fewer people on campus, recycling per capita dropped sharply, from 4.35 pounds per capita the previous week to just 1.93 pounds. The cumulative total of 19.65 pounds per capita was the second best in Pennsylvania and the 20th best in the country. RecycleMania continues for three more weeks.You can view all the results at the RecycleMania Web site.

Mercyhurst team unleashes fashion savvy in LAKE ERIE Lifestyle magazine

A team of Mercyhurst College students unleashed their fashion sense onto the glossy pages of LAKE ERIE Lifestyle's March issue as part of a new monthly "Dress A Celebrity" feature. Fashion merchandising instructor Erin Magorien, a graduate of Mercyhurst and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and students Angela Long, Heather Sirna and Marissa Stuart combined their expertise to dress, design the fashion shoot, produce the photo and write the copy for the full-page spread featuring inaugural model Char Szymanowski, owner of Ambridge Rose Spa and Salon. The team worked with regional retail outlets, from jewelers to clothiers, to produce the total look. Szymanowski, who said she typically wears a lot of black, said she felt "energized" with the splash of sunshine the Mercyhurst team added to her wardrobe in the form of a bright yellow jacket over a black and white pants outfit. "We are seeing many shades of yellow and I thought it would really pop with Char's hair and skin tone," Magorien explained in the magazine. LAKE ERIE Lifestyle managing editor Pam Parker said she was excited about the magazine's latest collaboration with Mercyhurst. "I told Erin about our idea to add a little pizzazz to regional celebrities' wardrobes every month for our fashion pages, and she stepped right up with a team of enthusiastic students who are doing a great job," Parker said. You can see the Mercyhurst team's inaugural effort online. For the April issue, the team will be dressing Erie Zoo President and CEO Scott Mitchell.

Happenings on the Hill

SENIOR AWARD NOMINATIONS: Faculty and staff are invited to nominate their choices for 2009 Senior Awards online now. Click here to nominate for the following awards: Carpe Diem Award, Frank Barry Leadership Award, Sr. Carolyn Herrmann Service Award, and Catherine McAulev Adult Student Award. The list of eligible students will aooear in a droo-down box beneath the criteria for each award. Select up to two nominees, enter the supporting information, submit the form, and you're done. The online nomination form will only be available until Friday, March 20, at 4:30 p.m. If you have any questions, please call Karen Meyer in the Office for Academic Affairs, ext. 2268. HONORING STUDENT SERVICE: The Service Honor Society is seeking nominations for graduating seniors who exemplify the college's mission-centered commitment to service through a demonstration of significant and sustained service to the Mercyhurst College community and/or meaningful and mission-inspired service to the local community and/or larger world. The committee welcomes nominations from any member of the Mercyhurst community and encourages self-nominations as well. Graduating seniors inducted into the society will be recognized by a graduation cord. The nomination form is available online and must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 30. TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPS: Matt Engel will present a workshop on how to "Spruce Up Your PowerPoint By Adding Audio & Video" on Monday, March 16, at 3:30 p.m. in L306. He'll cover applying themes and adding sounds, movies, and transitions to create more effective PowerPoint presentations. Pre-registration is not required. Library staff members Mallory Sampson and Earleen Glaser will present Literary Resource Seminars on Wednesday and Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in L306. Call Glaser at ext. 2190 or Sampson at ext. 3305 to register. The sessions will cover the use of the Literary Resource Center, Scribner Writers Series and Twayne Writers Series online databases.You can check out other workshops planned for this month online(click on Faculty/Staff Training). FACULTY DEVELOPMENT: Presenters for this week's "brown-bag" forum sponsored by the Faculty Development Committee are Dr. Christy Rieger and Dr. Randy Clemons who'll discuss writing book chapters or books. They'll speak on Wednesday, March 18, from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. in the Alumni Board Room. RSVP to Dr. Ruth Auld (ext. 3370) to help the committee plan for lunch. PSYCHOLOGIST TO SPEAK: A developmental psychologist from the University of New Hampshire will visit Mercyhurst next week to discuss his cross-cultural research on how parents interact with their children and how that influences children's styles of learning. Dr. J. Pablo Chavajay will speak on "Cultural Arrangements of Learning in a Guatemalan Mayan Community" on Monday, March 23, at 8:15 p.m. in Taylor Little Theatre. Chavajay, a native of Guatemala, earned his master's and doctoral degrees in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and is an associate professor at UNH. He has been widely published in such premier journals as Developmental Psychology and American Psychologist. His talk, which was funded through a Mercyhurst Diversity Grant, is free and open to the public.

Applause!

Tom Hubert, associate professor of art, had a ceramic teapot accepted to the A. Houberbocken 20th Annual Teapot Show at the Chiaroscuro Galleries in Chicago, III. The show runs April 5 through May 18. Bob Hvezda, director of career services, will serve as assistant to the president of the Pennsylvania Education Recruiting Consortium (PERC) for the Teacher Job Fair in Cheswick, Pa., on April 2. More than 130 school districts from all over the United States are registered to attend this regional recruiting event, which is expected to draw 1500 teaching applicants from western Pennsylania. "We have averaged 55 graduating and alumni education majors who attend the fair on an annual basis. Sometimes students have been offered contracts on the spot, depending on their area of certification. In this economy to have 130 school district representatives in one place for an entire day is a fantastic opportunity for our students," he said. Dr. Christina Riley Brown, assistant professor of English, presented "Though we were slaves, we were gentlemen: American virtue in the writings of John Foss" at the Society of Early Americanists in Bermuda on March 5. Her presentation examined the rhetoric of "civic virtue" from a narrative written during the Early Republic, in which an American citizen and sailor was held captive in the Atlantic slave trade. She also participated in a roundtable discussion about teaching transatlantic literature. Mark Santillano, assistant professor of dance, and three students recently attended the American College Dance Festival Association's northeast regional conference at Penn State University, where the dancers attended four days of classes, workshops and concerts. Santillano, who serves on the board of directors for the ACDFA, presented a master class on contemporary partnering and another class on martial arts/dance fusion at the conference. Senior dance major Justin Hogan presented his choreography in one of the four adjudicated concerts. His dance, Momentary Forevers, a duet with junior dance major Alyssa Algers, was selected for the gala performance. Sophomore dance major Sarah Mastrocola also presented her choreography, Bygone Dreams Unwound, in the informal concert. During term break, Santillano taught two master classes at Dance Awareness Days at SUNY Brockport. He and his wife, adjunct faculty member Solveig Santillano, also presented their work during the Read Across America celebration at JoAnna Connell elementary school and presented lecture/demonstrations at Irving and Edison elementary schools. Forensic anthropologist Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, research assistant Erin Chapman and graduate student Allison Nesbitt were interviewed by WQLN's Kim Young about their strategic role in recovering human remains from the scene of a fatal Continental plane crash Feb. 12 near Buffalo, N.Y. The interview was heard on "All Things Erie" aired over WQLN-91.3 FM. FACULTY AND STAFF: Submit news items for Applause to [email protected].

The Arts

FILM: 'FLOW Wed., March 18, 2:15 and 8 p.m. • Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center This award-winning documentary investigates what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21 st Century - the world water Ilfi!^ 'i^jS crisis. View the trailer. General admission: adults $5, ^^ seniors and students $4, President's Cardholders $3, Mercyhurst students with ID free. Call 824-3000.

OPERA: 'LA SONNAMBULA' Sat, March 21,1 p.m. • Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego FI6rez, back from their sensational run together in La Fille du Regiment, star in Bellini's La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker). The performance is simulcast "Live in HD" from New York's Metropolitan Opera. Director Mary Zimmerman's production underlines the opera's dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Front row balcony $30, adults $18, seniors and students $15, youths $10. Call 824-3000. Click here to view a trailer describing the Met's Live In HD Series. ART: SENIOR EXHIBITION Through April 5 • Cummings Gallery Display showcases works by nine graduating art majors. Gallery open Tues.-Sun. 2-5 p.m., and Thurs. 7-9 p.m. For more information about upcoming events at the Performing Arts Center, click here.

Sports at Home

TUES., MARCH 17 Men's lacrosse vs. Pace • 4 p.m. WED., MARCH 18 Women's lacrosse vs. Slippery Rock • 4 p.m. FRI., MARCH 20 Baseball vs. IUP • 1 p.m. (double-header) For more information about Laker sports, visit the Mercyhurst Athletics Web site.

In Memory

Condolences to: Joe Brown, director of maintenance purchasing, on the death of his sister, Gertrude Brown, 82, on March 7, at Erie Presbyterian Lodge. Bill Welch, director of the Center for Intelligence Research Analysis and Training, on the death of his mother, Margaret Welch, 90, on March 9. Mrs. Welch was also the grandmother of Patrick Kelly, assistant professor of mathematics.

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