TITLE DEAN’S NEWSLETTER Issue # nnn Dean’s Newsletter VOLUME 2, ISSUE NO.1 KATHLEEN CASSITY, PH.D. DEAN, COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & SCIENCES TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome to the new academic year! Dean’s Message 1 Welcome to campus, Class of 2023! by University of Michigan English professor WOU Events 2 Welcome back to our classes of 2020, ’21 and Kathleen Fitzpatrick. “Generous thinking” is ’22, along with our hard-working faculty and defined as “a mode of engagement that Faculty Publication 3 staff. Our magnificently sunny yet emphasizes listening over speaking, comfortable summer seemed to evaporate community over individualism, and Welcome, Veronica! 3 quickly with the sudden change in weather, collaboration over competition.” Embracing but in addition to the expected Oregon rain generous thinking as a guiding principle has Rainbow Dance TedX 4 we have also enjoyed some glorious fall days. numerous positive implications for all of us in Though fall means we are growing closer to higher education, no matter what role we Fall Babies! 5 the end of the calendar year, for those of us play here. As a group of people who are in the academic world this is also a time of committed to the pursuit of knowledge and Penitentiary Healing Garden 5 new beginnings. to the ideal of education as serving the greater good, WOU is well positioned to be a Ceramics at Capital Manor 5 This academic year marks some especially positive beacon to the surrounding exciting new changes at WOU. We’re pleased community as we continue to go through Welcome, New Wolves! 6-7 to be rolling out our new General Education challenging times. program, along with an appealing line-up of College: Age-defying Experience 8 first-year seminars. As you’ll see in this For the complete script of my address, see newsletter, we’ve recently welcomed many the link at our LAS web site here. One new faculty members to WOU. Collectively, initiative I plan to pursue this year is creation they bring impressive, cutting-edge of a book discussion group, starting with expertise. Here in the Dean’s Office, we’re Generous Thinking and, time permitting, also happy to welcome our new Office moving on to some other thought-provoking Coordinator, Veronica Bailey, who started at books on issues facing higher education WOU on September 3. Read on to learn more today. Stay tuned for further information, . about Veronica. and contact me at [email protected] if . you’re interested in participating. I’m looking As I stated in my opening remarks to the forward to an exciting and groundbreaking College of Liberal Arts & Sciences faculty, academic year. one of the themes that will focus our work together this year is the concept of “generous thinking.” I’ve pulled this idea from a recent book bearing that title, written TITLE DEAN’S NEWSLETTER | Issue # 2 10/14-11/01, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Campbell Hall: Two Water Ways: An exhibit of water paintings by Pam Serra-Wenz and Bill Shumway. F-Sa, 10/18-10/19, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Western Oregon University: Homecoming & Wolves Reunion Weekend: Celebrating our Golden Wolves (class of 1969), Silver Wolves (class of 1994), and Bronze Wolves (class of 2009). All alumni and friends are welcome! S, 11/23, 2:00 p.m., Smith Hall: faculty and community Drew Swatosh’s Master’s Recital, members. Th, 10/24, 11/07, 10:30 a.m., featuring his own compositions. Bellamy Hall 333: EL Club DE T, 11/26, 7:30 p.m., Smith Hall: F, 12/06, 7:30 p.m., Smith Hall: ESPANOL. Meets every Brass Ensemble & Guitar Western Oregon Voices. Thursday except 10/31. Ensemble. Directed by Directed by Dr. James Reddan, Christopher Woitach, featuring featuring jazz music performed Sa, 10/19, 1:05 p.m., McArthur WOU student and faculty and by WOU students. Field: WOU Football vs. Central faculty musicians. Washington. Homecoming! S, 12/07, 7:30 p.m., Rice Cheer on the Wolves! Student M, 12/02, 7:30 p.m., Rice Auditorium: Smith Fine Arts tickets are free. Auditorium: Spectrum & Presents Kiran Ahluwahlia. Percussion Ensemble. WOU Inspired by India, the repertoire F, 10/25, 7:30 p.m., Smith Hall: music student composers’ work, includes desert blues and jazz. Jazz Orchestra & Latin Jazz performed by WOU students and Ensemble. Directed by Dr. Keith musicians and mentored by Dr. Karns and featuring WOU Kevin Walczyk and Dr. Carlos student musicians. Velez. MTW, 10/28-10/30: ALL DAY at T, 12/03, 7:30 p.m., Rice Werner University Center, Dia de Auditorium: Concert Choir & Los Muertos: Day of the Dead Chamber Singers. Directed by celebration. Brought to you by Dr. James Reddan, featuring Multicultural Student Union. WOU music students and non- music students. Th, 11/21, 11:00 a.m., Smith Hall: Student Recital: WOU music W, 12/04, 7:30 p.m., Smith Hall: students performing pieces they String Chamber Ensemble. have studied this term. Directed by Obsidian Garber, featuring WOU music students F, 11/22, 7:30 p.m., Hamersly along with faculty and musically Library: Early Music Ensemble, inclined administrators. directed by Dr. Dirk Freymuth Th, 12/05, 7:30 p.m., Rice and featuring WOU student, faculty and staff musicians. Auditorium: Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Ike Nail and featuring WOU music students, TITLE DEAN’S NEWSLETTER | Issue # 3 Dr. Keven Malkewitz Publishes Article On March 1, 2019, Dr. Keven Malkewitz, where information sharing within team- Western Oregon University Associate based environments is critical to successful Professor of Marketing, along with his co- product design and development processes. author, Ian Parkman of the University of The results provide insight into how Portland, published an article entitled organizations create, codify and “Design-Driven New Product Development communicate knowledge from different in the Journal of Design, Business, and functional areas and support flows of Society.” This study empirically examines the knowledge. role of product design briefs within design- driven new product development (NPD). Please congratulate Dr. Keven Malkewitz on Contemporary NPD is increasingly seen as a his recent publication. design-driven and knowledge-based activity Welcome, Veronica! On September 3rd, we welcomed Veronica During her time as a medical office Bailey to our team. Veronica is new to specialist, Veronica earned her Western Oregon University and will be Bachelor of Arts in history and her working full- time at the front desk in the Master’s degree in higher education. LAS Dean’s Office. Her hours will be 7:30 She is currently taking a break from a.m. to 4:30 a.m. Veronica will be assuming college to spend more time with her Mylisa Behling’s prior duties as well as daughter and take time for herself. She providing assistance to Debbie Braun and eventually has plans to go back to school Dean Cassity. and would love to pursue a Ph.D. that connects her interests in art, history and Veronica is a second-generation Mexican- architecture. American. Her parents were migrant workers, so she has traveled up and down the Veronica is very proud of her daughter, who Pacific Coast from Texas to Washington. Her will be graduating from West Albany High family fell in love with Oregon, so much so School this coming spring. Two that the majority of her childhood was spent, quirky facts about off and on, living in Oregon. When she Veronica is looking forward to getting Veronica: She admits that became an adult she decided to make married next Halloween to her childhood she sometimes combines or reverses Oregon her permanent home. best friend (the kid next door), with the well-known catch phrases (such as “kill two theme being Practical Magic (like the movie) stones with one bird”). Also, at times when Veronica has worn many hats throughout her under a night sky. life thus far. She has worked in agriculture, as she is really excited about something, her mind can be faster than her mouth; she often a line cook, dishwasher, waitress, retail Veronica is a strong believer in positive ends up uses her hands a lot and making associate, loan/collection manager, energy and leads her life with an optimistic sound effects to explain things, like charades. newspaper collection/accounting manager, outlook. She is passionate about her family, medical office specialist, and secretary to the her animals, art, music, history, traveling, Please join the LAS Dean’s Office in assistant superintendent for the Albany road trips, food, experiencing new things and welcoming Veronica to WOU! School district before joining us here at life in general. She enjoys being crafty and WOU. As such, she brings a rich set of skills creative. to our office. TITLE DEAN’S NEWSLETTER | Issue # 4 Rainbow Dance Theatre at TEDx in Salem Thomas believes that “coding is the new literacy,” one that students only have access to On January 2018, Darryl Thomas, Professor of 2% of the time in K-12 schools. Dance at Western Oregon University, He developed illumiDance as a introduced illumiDance, a combination of way to incorporate technology dance and Illuminated lights, to TEDx in Salem. into learning to facilitate teaching code along with an Thomas states that the Rainbow Dance appreciation for the arts. Thomas Theatre is a celebration of diversity through also believes we need to use dance. He created illumiDance, a union of art technology to investigate new and science, by combining EL wires, computer frontiers with dance, especially coding and body movement. The combination using coding. Found out how Darryl Thomas brings together of art and science create a beautiful and art and science by clicking the link to his TEDx colorful dance structure.