Submit items to Campus Currents - Top

The Campus Currents is distributed every Friday. To submit an item send it to Campus Currents, Unit 9512 or by e-mail to Campus Currents. Deadline is Thursday at 8 a.m.

Welcome to Black Hills State University - Top

• Kristen Waterland, information specialist, University Communications

• Janet Rockey, custodial worker, Facilities Services

Resignation - Top

• Colleen Gustafson, senior secretary, Field Experiences

BHSU faculty members receive governor’s teaching with technology awards - Top

Thirteen Black Hills State University faculty members have been awarded Teaching with Technology grants from South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow. 

 “This year’s grant applications were among the best we’ve seen,” Janklow said. “Faculty members on our state campuses are finding exciting and creative ways to use technology to enhance learning.” The governor is awarding $2 million to 120 faculty members at the state's six public universities to develop and integrate new classroom technology.

Since the inception of the Governor's Faculty Awards in 1998, more than 300 university professors have received about $7.5 million to enhance coursework through technology. The Advanced Faculty Awards for Teaching with Technology were created last year. Both groups of award winners will receive financial support for equipment, software, and training.

The faculty members whose projects are chosen receive a grant that provides support for one to three months' work. Faculty are paid for work during the summer and are released from teaching in the fall. Robert T. Tad Perry, executive director for the South Dakota Board of Regents, says the governor’s awards encourage high-tech innovations in the university classroom.

Faculty at BHSU who received a 2002 award and the title of their award are listed below. 

• Dr. Siriporn Sujithamrak, “Graduate Students’ Application of technology in the Current Issues in Service Industries Course”

• Dr. Stanley Smith and Dr. Gary Hagerty, “Implementation of a Web-Based Objective Mastery Tutorial System in College Algebra”

• Dr. Dan Durben, “Infusing Technology into the Astrophysics System General Education course PHYS 185/185L for non-science and education majors”

• Verona Beguin, “Updating Small Business Management”

• Jean Johnson, “Computer Applications: Placement, Assessment and Curriculum Evaluation”

• Dr. Kathleen Parrow, “Technology-Enhanced Learning in Early Modern European History”

• Dr. Priscilla Romkema, “Technology Applications for Future Entrepreneurs and Business Education Teachers”

• Dr. Curtis Card, “Interactive Calculus using Mathlets"

Winners named for Young Performers Competition - Top  

Eighteen young people participated in the Young Performers Competition which is part of the Black Hills Summer Institute of the Arts hosted by Black Hills State University. The performance was held at the Matthews Opera House in Spearfish recently.

Katie Kellogg, daughter of Stuart and Mary Kellogg of Rapid City, won the category for older students with a violin performance of “Tambourin Chinois” by Friz Kreisler. Second place went to Matt Trucano, son of Michael and Cynthia Trucano of Deadwood, who performed a vocal baritone rendition of “I Hear An Army” by S. Barber. Third place was awarded to Melody Waring, daughter of Bill and Diana Waring of Spearfish. Her piano performance was “Prelude from the Suite Bergamasque” by Claude Debussy.

In the younger performers category for students age 9-14 there were seven competitors. Tori Looyena, daughter of Paul Looyenga of Rapid City, won first place with her pianist rendition of “Ronda from Sonata Pathetique.” The second-place winner was Dan Bickett, son of Robert and Kelly Bickett of Rapid City, who also played a piano piece. He performed “Sonata K.545” by Mozart.

First-place winners in each category performed at the “Gala Celebration of the Arts” the following evening.

The performers were judged on their presentation, consistency and technique, musicality, career potential and overall performance rating. Contestants are required to memorize their performance of a classical piece of music. Performances ranged from vocal presentation, piano performances and several different instrumental presentations including violin, bells and flute.

Judges for the event were Johanna Meier, Mara Waldman and Tony Bellomy. Meier is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and made her debut with the New York City Orchestra in 1965. She is well known as the first American to sing the role of Isolde in the Bayreuth Festival.

Waldman also graduated from the Manhattan School of Music. She made her debut at Carnegie Recital Hall and has since appeared many times with the New York City Opera.  

Bellomy holds a master’s of music degree in vocal accompanying and opera coaching from the University of Wisconsin. Currently, he is pianist for the Milwaukee

Eighteen young people participated in the young performers competition at the Matthews Opera House recently. This event is part of the Black Hills Summer Arts Institute hosted by BHSU.

Ballet Company and is vocal coach and recitalist throughout the Midwest.

Events for the Black Hills Summer Institute of the Arts continue Friday, June 28 with the presentation of "An Evening of Songs and Dance" at 7 p.m. at Woodburn Auditorium on the BHSU campus. The performance will feature vocal arts students and dancers. 

Saturday, June 29 Arts Opera Festival will be held on the east lawn of BHSU near Woodburn Hall with a 6 p.m. picnic dinner, followed by a show at 7:30 p.m. and a reception at 9 p.m. This event will feature faculty and students of the opera theatre school.

Sunday, June 30 an opera potpourri will be held on the east lawn of BHSU near Woodburn Hall beginning with a 10 a.m. vocal arts opera theatre graduation. A round-table discussion on opera will follow. A reception will be held at noon.

Faculty and staff are invited to stop by the College of Arts and Sciences in Jonas 108 for free tickets to these performances.   

For more information contact BHSU College of Arts and Sciences at 642-6420.

High school students paint Black Hills scenes at visual arts camp hosted by BHSU  - Top

Instructor Gary Steinley and art student Jake Haskins, Gillette, Wyo, discuss painting techniques, perspectives and use of color at an outdoor painting session during the Visiting Artists Summer Program at BHSU.

Seventeen regional high school students are attending the Visiting Artist Summer Program at Black Hills State University this week. The students will display their newly created artwork at a special one-day exhibit at the Ruddell Gallery on the BHSU campus Friday, June 21.

Participants in the program are Mary Schleich and Constantine Dorn, Mitchell; Ashley Hoffman, Wessington Springs; Jessica Marshall, Sturgis; Amanda Samuelson, Faith; Rachel Virgil, Vale; Anna Hafele, Newell; Katie Smith, Martin; Amanda Scott, Custer; Nathan Fink, Harrisburg; Andrew Vigoren, Spearfish; Ashley Kerr, Spearfish; Bobbi Lorenz, Fulton; Tony Etzkorn, Hill City; Jake Haskins, Gillette, Wyo.; Jackie Kriebel, Rapid City; and Nathan Sparks, Rapid City.

Jim Knutson, BHSU art professor who organized the camp, said these students were selected from applicants throughout the region. Applicants for this new program were nominated by high school art teachers and were required to submit photographs of recent work.

The students spent the first day in the classroom increasing their knowledge of watercolor and oil painting and learning specifics about techniques from the instructors, Gary Steinley and Kay Mateer-DuBois.

The remainder of the week will be spent “on-location” in the Black Hills applying this knowledge and enhancing skills and techniques in painting. Each morning the students work with watercolors; in the afternoon they do oil painting.  The 

week-long camp focuses on painting live outdoor scenes. The students spent time early in the week painting on-location at the Christensen house west of Spearfish and also planned to go deeper into the Black Hills to try different types of painting with hills, streams and possibly some old Homestake buildings.  

Students are encouraged to create several pieces of artwork during the session.  Each painter, as well as the instructors, will be asked to leave one artwork piece at the camp. These pieces will be auctioned to raise money for additional visual-art camp activities.

Steinley, a 1963 graduate of Black Hills State University with a double major in English and art, spent most of his life pursuing the English part of his major. He went on to earn a master’s degree from Fresno State and a doctorate from the University of Utah. He taught English for many years, most recently teaching linguistics and research methods to graduate students.  

“That’s what I did for 25-30 years, so this [art] is a return for me,” Steinley said. In 1993 he took a workshop on outdoor landscape painting and says he knew that’s what he wanted to do.

“That workshop really inspired me to get back into painting,” he said. He now has the opportunity to inspire other artists as he recently took early retirement from South Dakota State University and now spends much of his time with a renewed interest in the other part of his double major - art.  He splits his time between a studio in the Black Hills and one in Brookings.

Kay Mateer-DuBois, watercolor instructor at this art camp, is also a graduate of BHSU with a degree in art education. She teaches computer classes at a Rapid City middle school and enjoys painting with her husband, Richard, who is an art professor at BHSU.

Mateer-DuBois was a founding member of Northern Plains Watercolor Society, a group of local watercolor artists dedicated to encouraging artists and providing opportunities for local and area watercolor artists to show and compete in exhibitions. This visual arts camp is one way that Mateer-DuBois encourages beginning artists.

Postage cost to increase - Top

Employee organization meeting set - Top

The South Dakota State Employee Organization (SDSEO) will meet June 25 at 4:30 p.m. in the Pangburn Hall Dining Room. All state employees are welcome to attend.

Golf tournament and auction is today - Top

Would you pay $20 for a regular roast beef a week for a year (52 sandwiches total). If so, consider attending the Gold Dust Yellow Jacket Golf Classic Auction. Last year one bidder did just that. There were many other great deals as well.

Over 250 items will be sold at the auction which is open the public. All proceeds benefit the student/athlete scholarship program at BHSU.  The auction will be held tonight at  7:45 p.m. at the Spearfish Park Tretheway Pavilion. 

The auction is part of an annual fundraiser event  - The Gold Dust Yellow Jacket Golf Classic and Sports and Leisure Auction.

The golf tournament will be held at the Spearfish Canyon Golf Course beginning with registration and a putting contest at 11 a.m. The sports and leisure auction will include a social hour and dinner at the Spearfish Tretheway Pavillion beginning at 6:30 p.m. Golfers and non-golfers alike are invited to take part in the sports and leisure auction that begins at 7:45 p.m. The day’s golf tournament activities begin with a 1 p.m. shotgun start featuring an 18-hole Texas best-shot tournament (rain or shine).  

For golf or auction information contact Steve Meeker at  (605) 642-6385 or email <stevemeeker@bhsu.edu>.  

The sports and leisure scholarship auction includes a variety of items.  Some of the sports items available at the auction include:  

• autographed Tiger Woods PGA pin flag

• new Callaway golf bag

• Dale Earnhardt gold pocket watch

• autographed baseball from Barry Bonds

• New White Hot Odyssey putter

Complete list of auction items.