Artist talk
Central’s Allison B. Allen Visiting Artist Talk featuring Andreas Brannlund is Thursday, March 3, in van Emmerik at 6 p.m. Brannlund, from Sweden, is a multi-media artist working in photography, painting and performance art. His artwork will be on display in Mills Gallery March 7 through April 8.

Bone density and blood screening in April
Thursday, April 7, will be the annual campus-wide Health Fair Springfest 2005 with over 30 health-related stations available. Blood screening tests will be from 9 a.m. until noon. Bone density screening will be 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Stroke detection plus is from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Watch for a flyer in your mailbox to sign up. There will be door prizes!

Relay for Life
Central’s Relay for Life to help the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer is Friday and Saturday, April 22-23. Go to http://www.acsevents.org/relay/ia/centralcollege for more information about the event plus an online registration form for teams and individuals.

Kuyper closed for spring break
The Kuyper Athletic Complex will be closed during spring break starting Friday, March 4, at 6 p.m. Normal hours will resume Monday, March 14.

Library and media center hours
Geisler Library and Media Center will close at 5 p.m. Friday, March 4, and will be open 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. during the week of spring break, Monday through Friday, March 7-11. Both buildings will be closed Saturday, March 12. The library and media center will open Sunday, March 13 at 5 p.m.

The Café will be closed the entire week of spring break, starting Friday, March 4, at 1 p.m. It will open Monday, March 14 at 7 a.m.

Bookstore hours
The bookstore will be open Monday through Friday, March 7-11, from 9 a.m. until noon. The bookstore will be closed Saturday, March 5, and Saturday, March 12.

Central joins PLUS program
Central College has been accepted into the Partnerships for Learning Undergraduate Studies Program (PLUS) Consortium for 2005-07. The PLUS program is designed to reach a broader sector of college-age youth from diverse backgrounds in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and North Africa and provide them with a greater understanding of U.S. institutions, society and culture. Students are encouraged to complement their academic work with extracurricular activities on campus and in the local community.

PLUS scholars are chosen based on their academic achievement and leadership potential, as well as their diversity of experience. Students will spend two years completing their undergraduate degrees in the social sciences and humanities at select U.S. institutions. Between five to 10 students will be admitted at Central College as per scholarship offers. The scholarship is primarily funded by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and includes a pre-academic English language-training component administered by AMIDEAST. Academy for Educational Development manages the academic program, including placement in a U.S. undergraduate program, monitoring and enrichment activities.

AFAA workshops April 9-10
Central College is hosting an Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) practical skills and choreography workshop Saturday, April 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central is also hosting an AFAA primary group exercise certification workshop Sunday, April 10, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contact Dave Pavlat for more information.

Alum starts Web site
Check out an article by Kyle Munson ’94 about Ben Spierenburg ’04 in the Des Moines Register Friday, Feb. 25, in the Iowa Life section and Spierenburg’s satirical Web site, www.bsnews.org. The direct link to the article is: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs
dll/article?AID=/20050225/LIFE01/502250361/1039

Freed published
Jann Freed had a piece published in the Feb. 14 issue of the Des Moines Business Record titled “Work status woes create other problems.”

Zaffiro has six published
Jim Zaffiro (political science/environmental studies) recently had six entries published in The Encyclopedia of African History (London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005): “Communication in Africa,” “African Mass Media as Propaganda,” “Robert Mugabe,” “Joshua Nkomo,” “The Press in Southern Africa,” and “Zimbabwe, Lancaster House and Independence: 1978-1980.”

McNee at planning meeting
Nancy McNee (modern languages) attended the planning meeting for the 2005 Iowa World Languages Conference Feb. 12. The meeting was held in Belle Plaine and the conference will be in Dubuque in October at the new Grand Harbor Resort.

Ratzlaff’s work presented
On Feb. 19, Culture Café at ArtHouse West in Valley West Mall presented “Across the Known World,”selected works by Keith Ratzlaff (English), directed by Ann Wilkinson.

Eastin at environment conference
Matthew Eastin (mathematics and environmental studies) and Rebecca Mills ’06 attended the 5th National Conference on science policy and the environment Feb. 3-4 in Washington, D.C. The focus of the conference was the future direction of environmental science and policy across all scales and government levels, as well as the improvement of academic programs to prepare the next generation.

Breckenridge in piano festival
On Feb. 20, Carol lei Breckenridge (music) gave a fortepiano lecture-recital at the University of Iowa School of Music as part of a piano festival.

Schanke guest lecturer in North Dakota
Robert Schanke, professor emeritus of theatre, was a guest lecturer at the University of North Dakota for four days. He received an advance contract from Southern Illinois University Press for a book titled Angels in the American Theatre, which will be a collection of essays about the patrons and benefactors of theatre, going back to the early 1900s. This is his ninth book. His last book, The Gay and Lesbian Theatrical Legacy, was published in Feburary. In early March, he is presenting a paper at the annual conference of the Mid-America Theatre. Just this year he donated funds to the MATC for an endowed, annual prize called The Robert A. Schanke Research Award. In April, he will be a guest lecturer for two days at the University of Missouri.

Five attend workshop
Mark Howard (dining services), Terri Vander Molen (campus services), Lee Vande Voort (computing services), Betty Buitenwerf (human resources) and Sheryl Kamerick (controller) attended the Central Association of College and University Business Officials Workshop in St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 15-17.

Benedict presented at seminar
Russ Benedict (biology) was invited to present a seminar Feb. 18 at Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo. The seminar, titled “Ecology and Evolution in Action: Parapatric Boundaries in Short-tailed Shrews,” was attended by 30 students and faculty members. Benedict also has a paper accepted for publication in the Occasional Papers of the Museum of Texas Tech University. This paper is co-authored by Jerry Choate and Hugh Genoways and is titled “Taxonomy of Short-tailed Shrews (Genus Blarina) in Florida.” In this paper, the authors argue that a population of shrews in Florida should be recognized as a new species.

George on accreditation review team for Kaplan
Phil George (education) was a member of the Iowa Department of Education accreditation review team for Kaplan University. The review occurred Jan. 26-28 in Davenport.

Pavlat named Who’s Who
Dave Pavlat (exercise science) was named in the ninth edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. This is the third time he has been nominated for the honor.

Stark at symposium
Mary Stark (English) just attended a “Symposium on Wildness, Wilderness and the Creative Imagination” Feb. 20-22 at Iowa State University. 

Pella community awards
Congratulations to Bob Wegter ’62(former associate professor of speech), Davis Folkerts ’60 (professor emeritus of music) and Milly Vande Kieft (English) who received 2004 Pella Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame awards. Wegter received the professional award. Folkerts received an education award and Vande Kieft was recognized for tourism.

No corresponding announcements.

Jen Strum has joined the Central College staff as Upward Bound student development coordinator.

No report.

Pella Corporation Scholars dinner
The Pella Corportation Scholars dinner was held at Pella Corporation Feb. 15 and recognized several Central students. Those present were members of the Kuyper and Farver families who made these scholarships possible, senior executives at Pella Corporation, Central faculty honors committee and spouses, and senior leadership team of Central College.

Joan Kuyper Farver Scholarship
Jessica Thune (Dec. '04 grad), Burnsville, Minn. - 4th year recipient
Amy Ugulini (senior), Bondurant - 3rd year recipient
Miriam Clemmons (junior), Olathe, Kan. - 2nd year recipient
Katherine Fuchtman (sophomore), Ankeny - 1st year recipient

H.S. Kuyper Scholarship
Clayton Mellgren (Dec. '04 grad), Prairie Village, Kan. - 4th year
Gwendolyn Worster Waddingham (senior), Keokuk - 3rd year
Dawn Nissen (sophomore), Princeton, Ill. - 2nd year
Jered Wells (sophomore), Altoona - 1st year

P.H. Kuyper Scholarship
Jeff Bridges (senior), Madison, Wis. - 4th year
Jacquelyn Johnson (senior), Ankeny - 3rd year
Sarah Schlager (senior), Platteville, Wis. - 2nd year
James Smith (sophomore), Pekin - 1st year

Pella Rolscreen Scholarship
Stephanie Bearden (senior), Overland Park, Kan. - 4th year
Kimber Jones (senior), Ankeny - 4th year
Melissa Miller (senior), Wever - 4th year
Tracy Needham (senior), Oakland - 4th year

Heidi Miksch (senior), Washington - 3rd year
Alisa Scarrow (senior), Clive - 3rd year
Justin Brueck (junior), Burlington - 3rd year
Andrew Kinney (junior), Lake Villa, Ill. - 3rd year

Andrea Kapusinski (junior), Fulton, Ill. - 2nd year
Christina Shimak (junior), Cedar Rapids - 2nd year
Rob Tanzer (junior), Orland Park, Ill. - 2nd year
Chase Ungs (junior), Ames - 2nd year
Sarah Wilson (sophomore), Farmington, Minn. - 2nd year

Stacy Bartelt (senior), Grimes - 1st year
Diana Carr (junior), Keokuk - 1st year
Kendi Beyer (sophomore), Pella - 1st year
Lindsay Kelderhouse (sophomore), Island Lake, Ill. - 1st year
Blake Scott (sophomore), Norwalk - 1st year
Thomas Hartshorn (freshman), Carlisle - 1st year
Whitney Taylor (freshman), Eddyville - 1st year

Weber and math students at convention
Wendy Weber (mathematics) accompanied and coordinated financial support for a group of nine secondary mathematics education students to the annual convention of the Iowa Council of Teachers of Mathematics in Ankeny Feb. 18. The theme this year was improving mathematics achievement. They were joined by Teresa Finken(education), who made two presentations at the conference. The first, titled “What Did You Need to Know That You Didn’t Learn in Mathematic Courses,” was a roundtable discussion session aimed at audience identification of the mathematics needed to teach that is not available in college classes. Eighteen people attended that session. The session was engendered by work within the Regents’ Academy of Mathematics and Science (RAMS) by Weber, Finken and Kris Kilbarda (education) along with people from other instiutions working within the RAMS group.

Finken’s second presentation titled “Using Aspects of Lesson Study with Preservice Teachers” shared results of work done with both in-service and pre-service teachers using four column lesson plan structure to focus attention toward student-centered practices and on teacher collaboration. A number of Iowa educators including Mindi Kacmaryinski’93 attended as well as the conference headline speaker on lesson study Akihiko Takahashi.

Students pursuing a secondary endorsement in mathematics who attended were: Kristen Friedrichs ’06, Erika Hartung ’06, Sonja Henderson ’06, KatieAnn Hugh ’06, Greg Kapusinski ’07, An Le ’06, Breanne McCoy ’05,Katrina Obermeier ’07, Trent Powers ’05, Corrie Schmidt ’05 and Lisa Ward ’05.

Baehr outstanding witness
Luke Baehr ’05 of Central’s mock trial team took the outstanding witness award at the Topeka regional tournament.

Staff professional development retreat
Motivational speaker, Susan Wilson, will present an interactive speech focusing on the concept of GOMO (Get Over It; Move On) which entertains and informs. The retreat will be Wednesday, April 6, at 10 a.m. in Graham Conference Center Banquet Room. Watch for invitations in the mail!

Assistant professor of music
Central College invites applications for a tenure track appointment as an assistant professor of music to begin August 2005. Qualifications include a D.M.A., D.M. or Ph.D. (A.B.D. may be considered), demonstrated excellence as a performer of clarinet or saxophone and a commitment to excellence in teaching and advising. Application deadline is March 25. Please visit the college Web site at www.central.edu for a full position description. 

If interested in any of the above positions, please send an application, a cover letter, a resume, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three professional references to: Human Resources, 812 University, Pella, IA 50219, or by email to employment@central.edu. If you have any questions please call 628-7681. For additional information on Central College or to print off an application, please view our Web site www.central.edu/humanresources.

Central College is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and actively seeks a diverse pool of candidates.