91社区 Art and Design students honored at Evansville AAF Awards Ceremony听
Five 91社区 art and design students received awards for their outstanding design work at the 2023 Evansville American Advertising Federation (AAF) awards ceremony on February 17.听
Brianna Beard won a silver award for her Happie Box design and a gold award for The Fine Swine design. Kaleigh Appell also won a silver award for her Forthright design. Hope Burdette was awarded the gold award for her Organic + Tattoo Gallery poster. Alicia Ackermann won a gold award for her While It Lasted design. Megan Raleigh won a gold award for her Tarot Cards design and was also awarded Best of Show, along with a $500 scholarship.听
91社区 Art and Design students swept the student awards this year, a testament to the program's commitment to excellence. Faculty advisors for the students include Chuck Armstrong, Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, Dr. Greg Blair, Assistant Professor of Art and Design, Rob Dickes, Assistant Professor of Photography, and Sophia Okotah, Assistant Professor of Art and Design.听
The Evansville AAF Awards Ceremony is an annual event recognizing outstanding advertising and design work. This year's event was attended by more than 200 advertising and design professionals from the Tri-state.听
The 91社区 Art and Design program provides students with a comprehensive education in the visual arts, preparing them for successful careers in a variety of fields. The program's emphasis on creativity, innovation, and collaboration has earned it a reputation as one of the best in the region.听
For more information on the 91社区 Art and Design program, visit their website at .听
Caitlin Daymon 听
Talk about somebody who exudes kindness and a quiet confidence, and you have Caitlin Daymon. She鈥檚 a Presidential Scholar who more than lived up to her billing and will head off to a Peace Corps assignment in Madagascar after she graduates this Spring. Caitlin tells us more.听
You majored in political science, global studies and French. How did that happen?听听听
My biggest inspiration is that I grew up in a Missionary Baptist church, so there were always people visiting from different countries and cultures, which really fascinated me coming from a small town.听听
What do you hope to accomplish with your degree?听
I鈥檓 doing the Peace Corps after I graduate, but my long-term goal is becoming a foreign service officer with the Department of State and working in an embassy.听听
How would your peers describe you?听
That鈥檚 a tough one. Adventurous? Maybe soft-spoken, sometimes?听
What are your greatest strengths as a student?听
I鈥檓 really determined to reach my goals. I have very clear goals and those push me to work hard because I know what I want to get out of them.
What programs, internships, clubs, or other opportunities have you been a part of here at 91社区?听
I studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence and worked in a bookstore there for an internship. French citizens coming in the bookstore loved talking to an American student, especially about politics. They鈥檙e fascinated by our gun laws. I鈥檝e been part of French Club, SGA, the Global Awareness Project, and some honor societies.听听
What characteristics do you prize the most in your fellow students?听
I prize how open other people at 91社区 are to exploring new things. I know a lot of people with multiple majors, and sometimes, when I hear about the different combinations, I think, it鈥檚 so interesting that you came up with that.听
What are one or two of your proudest accomplishments at 91社区?听
Getting into the Peace Corps. I worked with the French Department a lot on that application. Getting accepted was a really big deal. Also, maintaining a 4.0 GPA while still being involved in extracurriculars. I managed to juggle all of that and not take away from my grades.听听
Who made the biggest impact on you as a student prior to coming to 91社区, and who at 91社区 has positively impacted your success?听
Prior to 91社区? It was probably Ms. Fowler, who taught history and English classes at my small high school. She was always encouraging me to not be limited by what my high school had to offer. Our only extracurricular was Ag. I liked it but wanted a little more. Here, it was Dr. Jensen. I actually met her through the Presidential Scholarship process. She interviewed me, sold me on the French program, and led me to focus on French and francophone cultures.听
What are three essential strategies for other students to succeed in college?听
Focus on your passion, on something that interests you and not something you think other people will approve of. Make sure you find a good balance between social life and school. Some people put too much pressure on one or the other, but it鈥檚 the balance that makes people successful. Finally, establish good relationships with your professors 鈥揼o out of your way to go to their office hours. They know of opportunities you may never see, and they can send them your way.听
Shannon Hoehn, Senior Applications Administrator
No one embodies the phrase 鈥渉igh energy鈥� quite like Shannon Hoehn, Senior Applications Administrator. In this role, she focuses primarily on Zoom and LMS academic technologies. But wait, there鈥檚 more: she鈥檚 an adjunct instructor in Communications, Gender Studies, Professional Studies听and UNIV 101. She鈥檚 also鈥� 鈥渁lso鈥� is a key word here鈥攁 second year student in the education doctorate program, adding to her MAC and MBA degrees. Additionally, her son is a 91社区 graduate. This is a person with 91社区 bona fides. Let鈥檚 hear more from Shannon.听
Why did you decide to go for the Ed.D.?听
I wanted to go into upper administration in higher ed. I wasn鈥檛 sure if I wanted to be on the student side, but I knew I wanted to effect change鈥攇ood change. Also, I wanted my kid to have to call me 鈥淒r. Mom.鈥�听
Did you have other jobs before joining 91社区?听听
I started here as 鈥�Project Coordinator for Instructional Tech Services鈥� in 2002. Before that, I was a student employee, a bartender, and I worked at a liquor store.听听
What strategies do you use to be successful and balance work, school and life??听
There are strategies?听 I try to prioritize; I take time to do things to re-center myself, like going on a hike or to a concert, or Thursday night 鈥淕irls Night,鈥� which I don鈥檛 like to miss. I don鈥檛 sleep much.听
How would your colleagues describe your teaching style?听
Pretty open and free. I like to do a lot of creative projects鈥攖hings that get students to open up and share themselves. You鈥檙e not going to see a lot of tests and quizzes from me unless it鈥檚 mandated. I鈥檓 committed to open resources.听听
What do you think are your greatest strengths as an instructor?听
I think I鈥檓 relatable. I try to be open and make every student feel like their thoughts and opinions are valued鈥攖hat they can share anything within the boundaries of respect. I also think I connect through humor.听听
What is your current research interest?听
It centers around creating safe spaces for queer students, seeing things we can do to help them achieve success. I鈥檓 also crazy about ed tech.听
What characteristics do you prize the most in your colleagues?听
A good work ethic, being respectful, meeting deadlines and being open鈥攐pen to new thoughts and ideas. 听
What are one or two professional accomplishments you are most proud of at 91社区?听
Getting Ally implemented in Blackboard. [Ally is accessibility software that helps convert course content into multiple formats so that all learners have access.] I kept pushing until it was implemented. Also, getting people to adapt my UNIV 101 training module, which walks students through Blackboard and gets them set up for Office 365 in just one hour.听听
91社区 Radio and Television students place in prestigious Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts听
Two 91社区 student workers at 95.7 The Spin radio station have earned recognition in the prestigious Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts. The festival is a competitive event for BEA faculty and student members, featuring entries from more than 300 colleges and universities in various categories such as audio, documentary, news, and more. The festival received over 1,650 entries.听
91社区 radio and television (RTV) student Tyler Huyser won first place in the PSA, Promo or Commercial Category for his entry titled "Clairo Tickets." Adrianna Garcia, 91社区 RTV student, tied for second place in the Radio Newscast Category with her 鈥�9am News鈥� entry. 听
The winners will be formally recognized in award ceremonies during the BEA convention in Las Vegas in April.听
Faculty Achievements
Click here to see more achievements from the College of Liberal Arts.
Dr. Leigh Anne Howard, Chair of the Communication and Media Department and Professor of Communication Studies, Dr. Anne Statham, Professor Emerita of Sociology, Dr. Erin Dennis, Associate Professor of Advertising and Dr. Wendy Turner, Professor of Social Work, published 鈥�.鈥� in the Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice journal 2022. 听
Dr. Anna Stroulia, Adjunct Instructor for World Languages and Cultures, co-authored the article, "A 鈥榝amily of wear鈥�: Traceological Patterns on Pebbles Used for Burnishing Pots and Processing Other Plastic Mineral Matters,鈥� which appeared in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 2023. See the abstract here.听
Yu-Li Alice Shen鈥檚 10-minute play, Be My Qur鈥檃ntine, received two premier productions in February: one at White Mouse Theatre Productions鈥� Queer Theatre Festival at Florida State University and one at TheatreWorks of Southern Indiana鈥檚 Humanity Festival of 10-Minute Plays in New Albany, Indiana. In a near-apocalyptic future, on what could be the last night of their lives, Lark and Mohammed, two estranged friends, meet up to play kickball and to question the hereafter.听
Dr. Del Doughty, College of Liberal Arts Dean, contributed two chapters to The Resource Handbook for Academic Deans (Johns Hopkins, 2023), the first chapter is on budgeting and the second on partnerships.听
A Word From the Dean
鈥�Del Doughty, PhD
Dean, College of Liberal Arts
I spent the better part of February and early March reading annual faculty activity reports, also known as 鈥淔ARs鈥� around 91社区, and although it is a lot of work鈥攍iterally, it is a stack of about 100 or so reports鈥擨 like it. Once you get going on the task and get a little momentum, you really begin to get a picture of the diversity of talents and skills that exist in a University faculty.听
In between reading sessions, it seemed every time I looked up from the reports someone was writing about the decline of humanities in The New Yorker, The New York Times, or some other national outlet. The 鈥渄ecline of the humanities鈥� has long been a genre piece in mainstream media, but why so many now, all at once, I wondered? First, there was Nathan Heller鈥檚 piece in The New Yorker, lamenting the falling enrollments and the lack of federal and state support for anything but STEM initiatives. Then there was Russ Douthat in the Times, fastening onto the notion that contemporary students have such a strong 鈥渙rientation to the present鈥� that they have 鈥渓ost their bearings in the past.鈥� But it is not just students who have that orientation鈥擠outhat confesses to it himself.) Pamela Paul, also writing in the Times a few days later, chalked up the decline to a multitude of factors, including shifting trends in the job market, the growing popularity of 鈥渆soteric鈥� interdisciplinary majors, and the way that literature is framed as 鈥渓anguage arts鈥� in K-12 and taught in such a way as to drain the joy from reading. 听
And there I was, silly me, getting all buzzed up on FARs here in Evansville.听
What all those aforementioned, gloomy op-eds have in common is their look at enrollment numbers. They see a drop in the number of English or history majors and conclude that the humanities are dying. As if the humanities existed only in higher education鈥攁s if the health of the humanities could be measured only by the number of graduates year-to-year! Of course, enrollment trends are a concern. But health can be measured in other ways. Influence, for example. The humanities inform us who we are as people and shape the way that frames our trajectories as a society. When I put it that way, it sounds kind of anodyne, but as we all know, sometimes the humanities get tagged for troublemaking in carrying out that seemingly simple mission (鈥済ood trouble,鈥� I would be quick to add, borrowing from John Lewis). Yet another member of the chattering class, David Brooks, chimed in with this very point in his own op-ed, contending that at the dawn of the age of artificial intelligence, there has never been a better time to understand what is uniquely human about us by studying art, philosophy, languages, and other disciplines in the field.听
As a humanist myself, I have something at stake in this conversation about the health of the humanities. When I read the Times, I get a little down, alarmed, and defensive. When I read the FARs, I found that the humanities still have the ability, as ever, to enlighten, disrupt, empower, and transport.听
Coming Soon
Upcoming Events
World Religions: Exploring Diversity听
Cultural Showcase on the LA Center Labyrinth听
5 p.m.
Live Musical Performances in Kleymeyer Hall
5:15pm
Roundtable with Q&A in Kleymeyer Hall
The Good Boss (Spain)
7:30 p.m. April 7
Forum I
鈥淐ultural Experiences: Traveling and Building Bridges in Eswatini and Bolivia with Engineers in Action鈥�
Noon April 4
Carter Hall
Applied History Series
鈥�Theory to Praxis at a Moment of Human Crisis鈥�
4 p.m. April 10
Featuring Evansville Fire Chief, Mike Connelly
Noon April 12
Kleymeyer Hall
鈥淗onoring the Legacy of the Gullah People鈥�
Noon April 12
Tom Drury in Recital
7 p.m. April 12
Performance Center
91社区 Theatre Performance听
Mallette Studio in the Lower Level of the Liberal Arts Center
91社区 Theatre's Devised Show
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Hatching听(Finland)
7:30 p.m. April 14
Forum I
Save the Date
Distinguished Scholar Series听
2 p.m. April 19
Kleymeyer Hall听
Interdisciplinary Colloquium听
8 a.m. April 20
University Center 2217-2218听
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After Life (Japan)
7:30 p.m. April 21
Forum I听
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Official Competition听(Spain)
7:30 p.m. April 28
Forum I听
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Soul Kitchen (Germany)听
7:30 p.m. May 5
Forum I
College of Liberal Arts Commencement听
Screaming Eagles Arena
