Summer 2010 • Volume 3 • Number 2 MEMBER, TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY SYSTEM Double O Heaven Dear Friends: from the President Angelo State University Cover Story The coming months will be pivotal ones for Angelo State University as our student enrollment figures this summer and fall plus those next spring will determine the amount of funding we Future Shock ............................................... 13 Summer 2010 Vol. 3, No. 2 receive from the state in the next biennial budget cycle. We continue to have a healthy growth With the release of the strategic planning document “Vision 2020,” Angelo State is mapping out its future. with ASU’s highest spring enrollment ever as well as a record graduate enrollment for the Angelo State University Ahead of the Game ................................... 18 second consecutive semester. But, we face an increasingly competitive recruiting environment Member, Texas Tech University System for new students, even as the Texas Legislature is contemplating a 5 percent annual reduction Computer Science’s gaming development program Board of Regents illustrates how universities can identify a business need, in funding to higher education. Larry K. Anders, Chair, Dallas Jerry E. Turner, Vice Chair, Blanco address it and earn recognition as a result. 13 The key to enrollment success is to create and market the reasons why attending ASU is a L. Frederick “Rick” Francis, El Paso John Huffaker, Amarillo great choice for a student. While our decision in our academic master plan to highlight three Mickey L. Long, Midland Features Nancy Neal, Lubbock academic areas of distinction – teacher preparation, agriculture and nursing – will be featured John Field Scovell, Dallas Double O Heaven ..................................................................................20 Daniel “Dan” T. Serna, Arlington in our marketing strategies, we have several other innovative initiatives under way. Kyle Miller, Plainview For ASU, the 2000s were a pivotal decade, falling somewhere between heaven and swell. ASU Magazine reflects on the top 10 events of the decade. First is the initiative to bring high school students to campus during the summer to take ASU Chancellor Kent Hance, Lubbock classes. These students will earn college credit and will be counted by the state as part of our State of the Arts....................................................................................24 Angelo State University ASU’s art and music students provide the culture and spice to campus life while fulfilling total enrollment for purposes of funding allocations. Ideally, many of these students will so en- Joseph C. Rallo President: Dr. Joseph C. Rallo joy their experience that they will enroll at ASU after high school. The first program scheduled Provost and Vice President for their creative ambitions. Academic Affairs: Dr. Anthony P. Blose for this summer is called “Summer Immersion Dual Enrollment in the Sciences (SIDES),” Vice President for Finance and ‘Carousel’ of Life ...................................................................................25 Administration: Sharon Meyer From Broadway to the ASU stage, 82-year-old Bill Reynolds is profiting ASU theatre students with an expected class size of more than 20 students. Vice President for Strategy, Planning and Policy: Dr. James M. Limbaugh by his experience. Second is the creation of the Center for Security Studies under a major grant from the Department of Defense. ASU will Angelo State University Magazine Perfect Timing .......................................................................................26 create academic programs for Air Force personnel, as well as introduce a new major in “Cultural Competence” to recruit The Angelo State University Magazine Audrey Sato got a JAMP start at ASU on her dream to become a physician. Now she’s the students to ASU. Courses will focus on the language and culture of critical world regions. The new major will enhance is published three times a year by the ASU Office of Communications and Marketing, first graduate of the statewide program to earn a medical residency. our academic offerings and create name recognition in areas where we seek to recruit new students. The annual grant of ASU Station #11021, San Angelo, TX 76909-1021; (325) 942-2248; Fax: (325) 942-2238, Job Crunch Survival ..............................................................................28 $3 million will make an immediate and long-term impact on our academic programs. [email protected]. In hard times, knowing a few new search strategies can be the difference between finding ASU Magazine Staff a job and being unemployed. Third, in February the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents approved the next step in a mixed-use develop- Editor: Preston Lewis ment on the eastern border of the campus. Midway Companies Inc. of Houston received approval to begin to design a Director of Graphics: Michael Martin Graphic Artist: Bree Walker Cultivating Roots ..................................................................................30 project which will incorporate graduate and married housing with retail shops, restaurants and other possible private Design Assistant: Leonor Constancio As executive director of one of the state’s most prestigious museums, 1968 ASU graduate Photographers: Danny Meyer projects. This new complex will serve as a new gateway to the campus and also will provide a venue for students, espe- Tina Doyle Tim Gette is shaping the building blocks of Texas heritage. cially those from larger population centers that have similar recreational spaces. It will also generate significant annual Writers: Tom Nurre Jr. Roy Ivey revenues, which will support the goals stated in our university strategic plan. Jayna Phinney Sections Rebekah Brackin Dave Wester President’s Message ................................................................. Opposite Finally, the rules of the Texas Tech University System allocate 1 percent of new construction funds and ½ percent of ma- Student Assistants: Ashlea Haney jor renovation projects for public art for the campus. We have a beautiful campus, but the addition of future pieces of art Kimberley Parker Along the Mall ........................................................................................4 will only enhance the aesthetic appeal for visitors, including students and parents searching for a university to call home. Alumni Association Seeing Stars (and more) … Giving Them the Business … Journey Out of Darkness … Contributors: Kim H. Hunter A committee consisting of five community members, three faculty, three staff and one student is meeting regularly to Melinda Springer Briefs … Angelo Staters develop an art master plan for the campus. AJ Lopez III Mario Martinez Athletics .................................................................................................32 All in all, the next few months will be an exciting time. Your continued support for ASU, its students, faculty and staff Center Stage … Wool Meets Cotton … Rams Build on Success … Home Sweet Home … © 2010 Angelo State University ’Belles Embrace Change … Hall of Honor is greatly appreciated. All Rights Reserved Alumni Association ...........................................................................38 Sincerely, Corporate Elite … Home Again … Looking Ahead … Sign of the Times … Class Notes … In Memoriam …Donors On the cover: With so much of the university’s present and future shaped by information technology, a com- puter hard drive is a fitting symbol for the campus of tomorrow. (Photo by Danny Meyer) Back Cover: Under Roscoe’s watchful eyes, graduate student Skylar Byrd of San Angelo, freshman Dakarai Joseph C. Rallo Pecikonis of Allen and senior Ashlea Haney of San Angelo check out the touchscreen monitor in the Univer- President sity Center. (Photo by Kimberley Parker) 2 SUMMER 2010 Angelo State University Magazine Angelo State University Magazine SUMMER 2010 3 news ALONG the MALL by Tom Nurre The universe is expanding for “Not only will it take you beyond the projected in the Planetarium as some part of “I often try to tag along with something the ASU Planetarium as it celebrates its surface of the Earth and look at the universe a class they are teaching.” that people may be seeing in the sky and 25th anniversary. from distant galaxies,” he added, “it will re- Digital programming capabilities will wondering about, and I try to have a pro- Since it opened in 1985, the Planetari- place all the projectors we have. It can do further expand the Planetarium’s possi- gram about that topic,” Sonntag said. um has used its original equipment to help it all and provide a much more robust view bilities for security-themed classes and The new projection and sound systems educate astronomy students and host pub- out to the visible edge of the universe.” instruction. The software could also aid will also allow the Planetarium to begin lic star shows. This year, it is getting all The incentive for the new mission is fund- Goodfellow personnel in their study of offering the newer, higher quality shows new equipment, a new mission and a new ing provided as part of a record $2.4 million seismic activity, orbital mechanics and ce- incompatible with the current equipment. name as it becomes an integral component ASU grant from the U.S. Department of lestial navigation. Five new shows are slated for purchase of the university’s new Center for Security Defense (DOD). The ASU grant along with Additionally, new ASU degree