Olin Wins $1000 for Hiram College Library

Jessica Olin, Information Literacy/Instruction Librarian, has won a $1,000 raffle to buy books for the Hiram College Library. The prize was given by VanitaBooks in Akron, Ohio, which specializes in children’s books. Olin said she plans to use the money to enhance the existing children’s literature and curriculum collections.

Olin entered the raffle while attending the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., which ran from June 24 through June 29. While at the conference, Olin viewed many exhibits from around the world and attended several educational sessions, including one on how librarians can help students make the transition from high school to college.

VanitaBooks specializes in stories that “help children work through those life experiences we adults call ‘growing up.’ They can be as universal as getting a pet or being afraid of bees. Or they can be as complicating as learning about disability or being an adopted sibling.”

Learn More About American Death Rituals at Capstone Presentation

Hiram College and the Office of Graduate Studies invite you to attend a summer 2010 Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) capstone presentation.

Saturday, August 7, 2010 at 11 a.m. in the Garfield Meeting House.

The presentation will be given by Jennifer A. Teeter, B.A., Hiram College. Teeter will speak on “American Death Rituals: Transitioning the Dead.” She is advised by Willard Greenwood, chair and associate professor of English and Jonathan Moody, professor emeritus of religious studies.

Lunch will be served, so please RSVP to 330.569.6111 or mais@hiram.edu.

Learn About “The Entrepreneurial Mindset” From Teaching Fellow Applicant

Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 20, at 3 p.m. an applicant for the Integrated Entrepreneurship Teaching Fellow Position, David Baker, will give a presentation on “The Entrepreneurial Mindset” in the Forum in East Hall.

Baker is a Ph.D. candidate at Kent State University. His dissertation is a study of international entrepreneurship through country comparison.

Please join us for the presentation – there will be snacks.

Hiram College Receives Second National Endowment for the Arts Grant for The Big Read in Portage County

Hiram College’s Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature has received a $17,050 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to host The Big Read in Portage County, focusing on “The Things They Carried” by Pulitzer Prize finalist Tim O’Brien. This is Hiram’s second Big Read grant; it hosted a Big Read in January and February of 2009 focusing on Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon.”

As the NEA says, “Tracing the tour of one American platoon, this book is not just a tale of the Vietnam War, although it’s considered one of the finest books ever about combat. This award-winning book is a brutal, sometimes funny, often profound narrative about the human heart—how it fares under pressure, and what it can endure.”

Hiram College is one of just 75 not-for-profits—including arts and cultural organizations, libraries and universities—to receive a grant to host a Big Read project between September 2010 and June 2011. The Big Read gives communities the opportunity to come together to read, discuss and celebrate one of 31 selections from U.S. and world literature. Since the 2006 pilot program with 10 participating organizations, the NEA has given more than 800 grants to support local Big Read projects.

“Hiram College is excited to engage the community in a timely and thought-provoking book by a contemporary American author,” said Paul Gaffney, Hiram College assistant professor of English and Big Read director. “It is our hope that these events will lead to positive and enriching discussions about issues of war and memory within Portage County.”

In planning the Big Read events, Hiram is partnering with numerous Portage County organizations, including Kent State University, Portage County District Library, Reed Memorial Library, Kent Free Library, WKSU, PARTA and the Record-Courier. Big Read activities will take place throughout the month of October 2010. Highlights include a visit by author O’Brien; presentations by local authors Peter Scott, Janie Reinart and Mary Anne Mayer; a reading by poets Naomi Shihab Nye and Chana Bloch; a musical performance of Vietnam War era music; dramatic readings; movie screenings; book discussions; postcards for current overseas troops and an exhibit of art by Vietnamese children on the themes of peace and war.

“The arts in general – and literature, in particular – often serve as an expression of our shared values,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. “This is exactly why they are so effective as a fulcrum for community engagement. Thanks to these 75 grants, communities nationwide will be inspired, delighted and challenged by a book they are discovering for the first time, or an old favorite to which they are returning.”

The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Support for The Big Read has been provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Boeing Company, the Poetry Foundation and the Ford Motor Company.

For more information about The Big Read please visit www.neabigread.org.

Verb Ballets to Perform “Luis” to Celebrate 20 Years of Literature and Medicine

As part of the Center for Literature, Medicine and Biomedical Humanities 20^th anniversary celebrations, the Center is celebrating with a performance of “Luis” performed by Verb Ballets on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 5 p.m. in Hayden Auditorium.

“Luis” is a contemporary ballet based on a short story by Richard Selzer, M.D. The story is set in a city in Brazil and explores the intersecting lives of a wealthy radiologist and a young man who survives by scavenging at the city dump. As the narrative unfolds, the characters become entwined in a morality play that resonates with universal themes. Award-winning playwright Eric Coble and choreographer Mark Tomasic were the original collaborators on the adaptation of the story to dance.

Verb Ballets is Cleveland’s National Repertory Dance Company. The mission of Verb Ballets is to promote and develop interest in and appreciation for contemporary dance nationally, regionally and locally through performance, programs that promote learning and nurture wellness, audience and community dialogue and advocacy efforts to support the art form. As a curator of expressive movement that is globally connected and nationally respected, Verb Ballets is a leader in performing dance works of the highest caliber, including historical masterpieces, works by outstanding contemporary choreographers and by dynamic emerging artists. While performing nationally, from its Northeast Ohio base, this repertory company presents programming for youth through adults that promotes learning, nurtures wellness and encourages dialogue on the dance art form to stimulate and enliven the community.

This event is free and open to the public. No registration is necessary. For more information about the Center’s anniversary celebration you can visit the Center’s website. If you have questions about this event, please contact Brittany Jackson ’04 at JacksonB1@hiram.edu or 330.569.5380.

Emergency Communications Systems Test

We are conducting a test of our emergency communications systems. These are the ways by which Hiram College may communicate a disruption of services:

1.      Information Line at 330.569.5959
2.      A campus-wide voice mail (Hiram extensions only)
3.      A campus-wide email (Hiram email only)
4.      A campus-wide text message
5.      A special notice on www.hiram.edu
6.      Faculty and staff phone tree

Please use this time to be sure that you are able to retrieve messages from these sources. Hiram College employees who expect to receive a text message and fail to do so during this test should contact Director of Human Resources Lynn Kostrab.

In some cases, one or more method may be unavailable for communications, so it is important to verify your access to all of them.

As you know, we developed a phone tree for all departments. We will use this phone tree to contact employees individually in the event of a services disruption. Again, please use this time to verify your department’s phone tree and calling procedure.

Thank you for your attention.

Center for Literature, Medicine and Biomedical Humanities Hosting Best Selling Author

As part of the Center for Literature, Medicine and Biomedical Humanities’ 20^th anniversary celebrations, the Center is hosting Richard Preston, author of “The Hot Zone,” on Friday, July 16, 2010, at 7 p.m. in Hayden Auditorium.

Richard Preston’s critically and commercially acclaimed books have cemented his status as a first-rate investigative journalist and gifted storyteller, as well as put him in the forefront of the emerging diseases and biotechnology arenas. He first took the world by storm with “The Hot Zone,” the international best-seller that introduced the world to the threat of Ebola and other rain forest viruses. Spending 42 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, “The Hot Zone” inspired several fictional adaptations and has been translated into over 30 languages.

In “The Cobra Event,” also a bestseller, Preston turned his attention to the very real threat of biological terrorism. “The Demon in the Freezer” takes us back into the hot zone, delving with unprecedented detail into the government’s response to the anthrax attacks of October 2001 – the first major bioterrorism event in the U.S. and the second largest investigation in FBI history. Preston’s latest, “The Wild Trees,” is an account of scientific and spiritual passion for the tallest trees in the world, the coast redwood trees, Sequoia sempervirens. He expertly explores the startling biosystem of “the canopy” and shares the story of those who are committed to the preservation of this astonishing and largely unknown world.

This event is free and open to the public. No registration is necessary. For more information about the Center’s anniversary celebration you can visit the Center’s website. If you have questions about this event, please contact Brittany Jackson ‘04 at JacksonB1@hiram.edu or 330.569.5380.