HendersonLetter from the DeanThis issue of the Forge Magazine is unique in that it is the result of a class project. Michael Taylor came to my office one day last fall and presented the idea of offering a magazine-writing class for our undergraduate students. In the course of our discussions we decided to let the class write articles and take photos for the fourth issue of Forge. I think you will be pleased with the work these young people have done. I know they learned a great deal about journalism and teamwork in the process.

The past two years have been interesting, to say the least. Sitting as interim dean for two years has provided me a great deal of insight into our programs, faculty ambitions, student life, and the community in general. It has been a turbulent time in many respects, both on campus and in the world, but we are stronger and better prepared to face the future because of the challenges we have overcome. I was pleased to be named “permanent” dean in March and look forward to many years of helping our programs grow and our students achieve. As you will see in Dr. Palmer’s letter, he will be stepping down as interim associate dean in order to return to the classroom and his research projects. He has done an outstanding job and will be missed.

I hope you enjoy this “first” student-generated magazine. We welcome any comments or suggestions you might have. Please send to me at HSU box 7622, Arkadelphia, AR 71999 or e-mail to sommerm@hsu.edu. Thank you for your continued support of the “School with a Heart.”

Sincerely,

Maralyn Sommer, Dean

HendersonCONTENTS | Vol. 4

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A Labor of LoveAuthor explores decades of women’s roles

Comics Invade Huie LibraryGraphics gain respect with new section Professor HonoredGovernor applauds artist’s endeavors Never ForgottenWriter’s glimpse at personal hero All in a Day’s WorkEmergency hones student nurses’ skills Casting Out ConventionNew vision in dance program A Web with a ViewLiterary treats only a mouse-click away British Studies ProgramStudent remembers fables, food, fuzzy cows Marian Breland BaileyPioneer behaviorist loves teaching at Henderson

A Quest for the BestFrom Arkansas to Austria, Bosendorfer wins vote Departmental SpotlightBiology: mysterious life, mysterious deaths

Words from the Associate DeanA warm farewell

Forge is published annually by the Matt Locke Ellis College of Arts and Sciences.

Henderson State UniversityArkadelphia, Arkansas

PresidentCharles D. Dunn

Vice President for Academic AffairsRobert Houston

Dean of Ellis CollegeMaralyn Sommer

Editor and Coordinator of Publications: Diane Runyan

Contributing editors:Mike TaylorJennifer GodwinBilly Abshier

Contributing writers:Katie BrewerMandy DaiBobby EstellMelanie FlennikenShannon FrazeurAshley HarrisT.J. HendricksStephanie KellyJayson LoweryWendy PlylerFrances SowellScott TurnerCelise VarnedoreJohn Worthen

Cover Design: David Stoddard and Diane Runyan

On the cover: Illustration by Thomas Fernandez, ‘99.

Ellis College logo design by Penny Murphy and Bruce Watterson.

Summer 2002

2

Scarlett O’Hara is nowhere to be found in Her Act and Deed: Women’s Lives in a Rural Southern County 1837-1873, by Angela Boswell, associate professor of histo-ry and winner of the Liz Carpenter Award for Research in Women’s History. Instead, the book focuses on the lives of Southern women in Colorado County, Texas, a rural county on the western edge of what was the South in the middle of the 19th century, weaving their stories together with the help of the public records of the county.

The book began as Boswell’s dissertation at Rice University and is the product of seven years of work, nine months of which were spent in the Colorado County Courthouse while she poured over documents for eight hours a day. She has been interested in women’s issues for as long as she can remember. She sealed her fate as a researcher at Rice with college courses in Women’s Literature and U.S. Women’s History (a class she now teaches at Henderson).

But Boswell’s inspiration to tackle the subject of rural women in the time period was sparked by a book her mentor suggested to her before she began her graduate stud-ies. She loved the methods used by the author, but she recognized that the criticisms the book received for covering an industrialized southern town in a period when most women lived in rural areas were valid. Boswell decided to use the research methods of the author; however, she decided to base her studies in a rural area in a western part of the South. Even after she received her doctorate, Boswell continued working on the text and eventually signed a book contract with Texas A&M Press, with the encouragement of her mentor.

The book was released in October 2001 and won the Liz Carpenter Award in March of this year. Victoria E. Bynum of Southwest Texas State University called the book “an important and original piece of work that helps fill the enormous gap that cur-rently exists in Southern women’s history.”

Boswell considers herself enormously lucky. She says that most people who are willing to give up nine months of their life to do this kind of research are unlikely to get the financial support she was able to receive while conducting her studies. While

A Labor of LoveWhat began as a dissertation grew into seven years of research and concluded in nine months of eight-hour days at the Colorado County Courthouse as Dr. Angela Boswell birthed a book of love on the women of south Texas in the mid-19th century.

Angela Boswell is associate profes-sor of history at Henderson. She received her doctorate from Rice University and has written exten-sively on the history of Southern women.

By Ashley Harris

3

trying to find a suitable county to use, she quickly learned that because of tornadoes, hurricanes, and fires, only three rural counties in Texas have records dating back more than ten years before the Civil War. The people in Colorado County were ex-ceptionally friendly and supportive of her work, so she decided to base her research there.

Winning the Carpenter Award was “closer to fantasy than reality,” she said. During Boswell’s time as the executive director of the Texas Women’s Political Caucus, she was actually able to meet Liz Carpenter, a Texas icon who was Lady Bird Johnson’s press secretary. Carpenter also helped to organize the National Women’s Political Caucus and chaired a national organization that fought for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. Boswell remembers Carpenter as being a “legend in person as well as lore” and feels that winning the award gives her and the book a sense of ac-ceptance and validity.

While the history of Caucasian males has been explored for centuries, the study of women’s history has only been accepted in the past few decades. Boswell’s book, while obviously historical in subject and research, is mainly shelved under the head-ing of “women’s studies.” When asked about her feelings on this categorization, Boswell feels torn. She recalls feeling somewhat slighted in the library at Rice Uni-versity where the “women’s history” books were on a different floor from the more traditional history books, although she was also grateful they were grouped where she could easily determine which were women’s history and which were not.

While Boswell hopes that women’s history will eventually be fully integrated into “general” history, she believes that there still needs to be special recognition and encouragement given to specialized topics such as women’s history, just as there should be for African American, Asian, working class, and gay and lesbian histories.

“The hundreds of tiny specialized topics help make up the historical picture,” she says. “And the more pieces you have, the more accurate picture of history you have.”

A Labor of Love

The Colorado County Courthouse in Columbus, Texas, built in 1891, was were Boswell conducted nine months of intensive research focusing on the women of South Texas.

The cover of Boswell’s book.

Deeds, wills, divorce decrees, and other evidence of the public lives of nineteenth-century women belie the long-held beliefs of their public invisibility. Boswell’s Her Act and Deed: Women’s Lives in a Rural Southern County, 1837-1873 follows the threads of Southern women’s lives as they weave through the public record of one Texas county during the middle of the nineteenth century. Her unique approach to exploring women’s roles in a South that spanned the frontier, antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras illuminates the truths of the feminine world of those periods, and her analysis of this set of complete public records for those years challenges the theory of men’s and women’s separate spheres of influence, as advanced by many scholars.

The world Boswell reconstructs allows readers a more egalitarian, multicultural look at life: working class and poor women, both black and white, join their more affluent sisters in the pages of the Colorado County, Texas, courthouse records. Those same records reveal that the men of that world–most of them planters or farmers, the majority of them owning a least a few slaves–are a force for women to reckon with, both in public and at home. The almost constant presence of men in the home and their need to uphold the dominant, slave-holding hierarchy produce a patriarchy more pervasive than that experienced by women in the urban north.

4

Zip!

The lowly comic book has come of age. One can now follow the adventures of Spiderman as well as study comic art in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Latin America, and do so in the Huie Library. Located in the reference section on the first floor, the Graphic Novel and Comics Literature section has grown from less than 10 books to over 200 since its inception in 1999.

“Comics echo the way the brain works,” says Art Spiegelman, winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for MAUS, a graphic novel. “People think in bursts of language, not in paragraphs.”

Spiegelman, a staff artist for the New Yorker, delivered this assessment at a 2001 speech called “comics 101,” but he could have been referring specifically to Huie’s newest collection. The Huie Library staff had considered a number of special collections when the topic of Comics Literature was introduced. Initially, the staff worried that there wasn’t enough worthy material to base an entire library section to the comic medium. With the assistance of Randy Duncan, professor of communication, the staff discovered a wealth of research and scholarship on the medium, and a graphics novel section was started. The library is the only one in Arkansas to feature a Comics Literature section.

Joe Sacco, a comic journalist, and Scott McCloud, a leading comic critic, visited the Huie Library on October 22-23, 2001, to mark the dedication of the Graphic Novel and Comics Literature Collection. Sacco and McCloud directed lectures and slideshows for the event.

Sacco discussed comics as journalism, detailing his experiences in Bosnia and the Gaza Strip, where he created fact-based comics for Time magazine along with an award-winning series of books.

McCloud explored both the potential for sequential storytelling offered by emerging technology and the design challenges of on-line comics. Both lectures were open to the public.

Holy pop culture, Batman, there’re comic books in the library!

Special Topics Consultant LeaAnn Alexander now maintains the comics literature section. Some of the works include comic book culture, an encyclopedia of cartoons, and The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics. Included in this collection is a series of inks on cartoon and art studies.

“ I enjoy Will Eisner’s New York,” says Duncan. “The Big City is a collection of vignettes rather than a true graphic novel, but it provides some wonderful examples of the powerful storytelling potential of the comics medium. All of the Sandman collections are good, but I particularly like Sandman: Fables and Reflections, and Sandman: World’s End. Then there are the Concrete collections ... I could go on and on.”

Duncan teaches a Comics as Communication class every other fall. The main focus of the class is to understand comic books and graphic novels as a unique form of communication.

The emphasis of the class is to explore how the comic works: that is, how the verbal and visual codes combine to create an experience and a meaning that is greater than the sum of the parts. In addition to the formal aspects, the history of the medium, fan culture, and creative process is studied. Students get to do some creative work, even if their artistic talent is limited to stick figures used to lay out a script they have written.

Guest speakers visit the class. In past years students have gotten a chance to talk to Paul Levitz (DC publisher, and now president), Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, Trina Robbins, Mark Waid, and other big names in the comics world.

For some comics become a hobby, while others dedicate their whole lives to the study of a medium that can yield surprising sophistication and beauty, despite its prosaic reputation.

You can learn more about your favorite comic or graphic novel in the Comics Literature section of the Huie Library.

By: Bobby Estell

5

In response to the events occurring around the world and on campus following the September 11 tragedy, Ellis College sponsored panel forums that addressed events in New York, Washington, and around the world. Topics included political issues and foreign policy, ethical and moral issues, and social and economic issues.

In the first forum, Political Issues and Foreign Policy, panel members spoke

of the policies of the United States and what the U.S. needed to do before retaliating.

The second forum addressed Ethical and Moral Issues. This forum looked at the reasons for warfare and what would make them just. Because the United States is mainly based on Christian fundamentalism, there were reasons that needed to be addressed before the U.S. called the “War on Terrorism” a just war.

The final forum addressed the Social

and Economic Issues that stemmed from September 11. These included the unemployment issues and psychological issues of those directly involved in the attacks.

Most of the professors expressed their satisfaction with the forums and all would like for them to continue. The faculty expressed that a university should be a place where students can hear the views of different professors and form educated opinions on current issues.

Ellis College hosts faculty forums following September 11 tragedy

Gary Simmons rose to prominence with the stark simplicity of pen-and-ink drawings, but his professional palette is extensive and was the basis for an award from the State of Arkansas.

In a ceremony last October, First Lady Janet Huckabee presented the Governor’s Award on behalf of her husband to Simmons, whose work has ranged from watercolor and terra cotta sculpture to science illustrations, still photography, and film production.

Simmons accepted the award in the presence of his wife and daughter and fellow artists, including Linda Kas, who nominated him for the award. Huckabee discussed Simmons’ achievements as slides of his art were shown to the audience.

Simmons has devoted 35 of his 42-year career in art to his pen-and-ink work, which has taken his to national renown. His visibility as an outstanding artist is reflected in his long-term gallery affiliations, shows, awards, publications, presentations, and press coverage. His gallery work is collected nationally and internationally and has been recognized in a variety of competitions, such as the Knickerbocker Artista of New York; the Arkansas State Festival of Art; and the Arkansas Arts, Crafts, and Design Fair.

Sylistic varieties bring artist Governor’s Award

By Stephie Kelley

Gary Simmons, professor of art, recived his doctor-ate from Indiana Univer-sity at Bloomington.

6

“Well, aren’t you all dressed for summer?” the kind but weak voice of Larry Frost said as the professor of English welcomed me into his home.

The house was spotless. Pictures of his only daughter, Laura, were scattered in different parts of the sky-blue living room. Books of various genres were stacked neatly on the shelves by his television. The carpet was thick and recently vacuumed. Nothing looked out of place.

I looked down at my attire, a bright short-sleeved button down shirt that fell over some wrinkled khaki shorts and a pair of sandals, not exactly professional dress for an interview with Frost. My stomach began to tighten as nerves set in.

Wearing that familiar warm smile I had heard so much about, he motioned for me to sit in a comfy-looking maroon chair. His smile could calm even the fiercest anxiety attack. It took him a matter of moments to see the beads of sweat on my brow as I stuttered my hellos. Frost parked himself in the chair across from me and allowed his smile to drop into a sympathetic grin.

“Sorry it took so long to answer the door. I was doing the laundry,” he said. “I am starting to enjoy being the house husband.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I started to calm down. I was, I knew, in the presence of a great man.

Frost received his bachelor’s degree in English at Arkansas State Teachers College in 1965. In 1970 he completed the master’s program at the University of Arkansas and began to teach high school in Wynne, Arkansas. He taught there for five years before realizing he wanted more and was accepted into the doctoral program at Texas A&M-Commerce, where he graduated in 1978. Henderson hired him at age 26.

I still remember when I was 10 or 11 and my school had let out for the day. My mother was taking a science fiction class with Frost, and he allowed her to bring me that day. Normally, I would have been drawing or playing with toys, but not that day. I was captivated by being in a real college classroom, and by how nice the professor had been to me, even as a roomful of college students hung on his every word. Little did I know that I would be sitting in his living room 10 years later, discussing both traumatic and inspirational matters with him.

Larry Frost was diagnosed with throat cancer in March 2001.

“I had voice problems for years.” Frost told me. “My voice would just get weaker and weaker. Finally I had to have a grad assistant come into my classes to read and discuss with the class. I was afraid I would never speak again.” He had no choice but to take early retirement at age 57. Afterward, he received 35 radiation treatments on his vocal cords from CARTI.

While he was there, he met many people in worse shape than he was. One day in the waiting room, he saw a young girl who was unconscious as she went into the therapy room. Another time he was introduced to a man with a hole in his throat the size of a golf ball. It was there to aid his breathing.

“I consider myself very lucky,” he added. “The radiation had no bad effects on me, and the cancer is gone. The doctors say that if I make it two years without the cancer

Never ForgottenOne writer’s personal glimpse of a Henderson hero

By: Jayson Lowery

7

reoccurring, I will have the same chances as a normal person.”

Since retirement, Frost has used his time wisely. He has already written one novel and is halfway through his second. His finished book, Feud, takes place in an imaginary county in Southern Arkansas called Royston. The hero in the story is a Vietnam veteran who lost his leg in the war. He works as an income tax accountant, and problems emerge between him and a lower-class group known as the Turban Clan. The Turbans just will not allow the conflict to end.

“I finished the novel in about four months. That’s writing about 2,000 words a day,” he said as he explained to me the fundamentals of writing a novel. “The key to writing a novel is to start with a scene. Finish that scene and move to another. Then go back and write a few lines that tie the two scenes together. After a while the novel will start playing itself out scene by scene for you, and all you do is type it on the keyboard. It really has become an addiction now. Because I do not know what is going to happen next, it is actually more fun that reading someone else’s work.”

In late April the first publisher read his book for consideration. Frost knows that a first novel is hard to publish, but he is optimistic. His writing has taken a pause for turkey season, one of his favorite pastimes.

“Being retired has its advantages,” he said. “Not only do I get to plug away at the word processor, but I can fish and hunt anytime I want to. I have a bass boat and enjoy using it on DeGray Lake.”

Frost and his wife Lorene, who teaches English and speech at Bismarck High School, also enjoy traveling. They have been to England, France, and various destinations throughout the U.S. They hope to make another long journey soon. Their daughter, Laura, is finishing her Ph.D. at Ohio University.

“I really do miss my students and colleagues, though, with all the stimulations they provided,” Frost said. “However, life goes on, and I am very happy.”

Frost explained that his favorite students were the nontraditional women like my mother, who were just trying to better their families’ lives by getting a degree. “They were some of the better students, because they worked so hard,” he said. He enjoyed watching them succeed and getting to play a major part in helping them achieve better lives for themselves and their families.

Frost is not only a great teacher who touched the lives of many; he is also a great friend. Today he still carries that soft warm smile that can’t help but become contagious wherever he goes. Many students will never get the chance to experience his teaching firsthand, and some do not know what they are missing. They will never get the chance to be a part of those chosen few who were able to get to that personal level with such a great man.

Thank you Dr. Frost, for all the lives you touched and friendships you made, for the time you gave to your students. For all the times you made them laugh.

Thanks for the memories. From your past students, colleagues, and that 10-year-old boy who has become a man, we wish you all the happiness in the world.

You deserve it.

Never Forgotten Mandalas: Sacred Art, Physics and Ancient Wisdom Caroline Garrett, guest lecturer/illustrator Sponsored by the Art Dept.

Visiting Writer’s Series: David Jauss, guest lecturer/writer Sponsored by the English and Foreign Languages Dept.

Student Concerto Competition and “President’s Concert” Competition winners and members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Sponsored by the Music Dept.

Sequential Art and Digital Media Scott McCloud, guest author/artist Sponsored by the Art Dept.

Graphic Novelist, Joe Sacco Sponsored by the Communications and Theatre Arts Dept.

Music Literacy Through the Orff Approach Susan Van Dyck and Fran Addicott, guest clinicians Sponsored by the Music Dept.

Poet, Ray McNiece Sponsored by the English and Foreign Languages Dept.

An Evening With Lawrence Hamilton Lawrence Hamilton, Broadway Singer, guest artist Sponsored by the Music Dept.

Todd Howell, Broadway Actor, guest artist Sponsored by the Communications and Theatre Arts Dept.

Bob Dorough, jazz artist/composer Sponsored by the Music Dept.

Student Competitive Art Exhibition Sponsored by the Art Dept.

Band Conducting Workshop Sponsored by the Music Dept.

Woodward Lecture Series Daniel P. Jordan, guest speaker Sponsored by the HSU Foundation

International Focus Week-Guest Lecturers

William L. Briggs, guest lecturer Sponsored by the Mathematics and Computer Science Dept.

Mathematical Association of America Oklahoma/Arkansas Section Meeting Sponsored by the Mathematics and Computer Science Dept.

Guest artist, Joe Vick, string bass Sponsored by the Music Dept.

Guest artist, Wildy Zumwalt, saxophone Sponsored by the Music Dept.

Margin of Excellence Project Winners

Background photo taken at DeGray Lake

8

Twisted metal clung to the guardrail on the Highway 7 dam that crosses DeGray Lake near Arkadelphia. The smell of fuel and blood filled the cool March air.A woman, the victim of a multiple car accident, lay helpless on the cold pavement, terrified as blood streamed from her body. Candi Wheelington and Christy Shiver, both senior nursing students, became her saviors. The two nurses were returning to Arkadelphia from a day-long clinical study session at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hot Springs when they drove up to the scene of the accident.Their hearts raced. They were the first medically trained personnel on the scene, and they immediately dashed out of their car to assist the bleeding woman who was crying for help. The two took charge, utilizing every skill that they had ever learned: taking vitals, calming victims, administering first-aid. They were weary from a full day’s work at St. Joseph’s, but they still found the strength to make sure that a life was saved.

On her first examination, Shiver discovered that the woman had two broken arms, as well as a multitude of other injuries. The most critical was the open gash on her leg, which was bleeding profusely. Wheelington used her fleece pullover to wrap around the woman’s

All in a Day’s WorkStudents learn to accept traumatic emergency situations as routine under Henderson’s nursing program.

By: John Worthen

9

leg as a crude but effective tourniquet to stop the bleeding, while Shiver calmed the woman by talking to her.

A few minutes later, local EMS and volunteer fire fighters arrived to relieve the two already exhausted nurses, but they continued to help officials by making sure that the woman was stable before she was transported. Shiver and Wheelington helped place a neck brace on the injured woman and transferred her to an EMS board so she could be safely carried to a waiting ambulance; they were thanked, and told that their help was no longer needed before they left the scene.

The two student nurses discussed their experience as they maneuvered their way through the multitude of police and emergency vehicles that cluttered the roadway.

They thought they were on their way home. They didn’t know another accident was just ahead.

The adrenaline was still coursing through them from the DeGray crash site, when they found themselves driving up to another multiple-vehicle accident across from the bowling alley in Arkadelphia; it already had the attention of EMS officials. They didn’t hesitate once again to offer their skills to those in need. Luckily, the victims of this crash were not as severely injured as the woman at DeGray Lake had been. The nurses provided some assistance but were soon able to complete their trip home.

Officials have since thanked Shiver and Wheelington multiple times for their help at the two accident scenes, but the two were just happy to see a life saved. It was just another day of work for them.

“Thanks to the excellent instruction and training we received in Henderson State’s nursing program, we were glad to be of assistance in both of these accidents,” Shiver said. “Nursing is so much more than what a person imagines. Nursing entails a rich assortment of assessment skills, critical thinking, and an intellectual knowledge...of nursing. To me, nursing is my heart. It means caring, helping, and motivating people to achieve a better state of mind, body, and spirit.”

Wheelington, like her colleague, takes great pride in her work as a nurse. “To me, nursing is a profession of service, caring, and sharing,” Wheelington said. “I view nursing as an opportunity to minister to those in need with the hope to bring a glimpse of joy, peace, and appropriate humor to those experiencing sadness, stress, and serious, life-changing events. I value my role as BSN RN and the opportunity I have to display honest, trustworthy, and respectful care to the patients I see each day.”

Laura Meeks Festa, chair and professor of the department of nursing at Henderson, has seen dedication like Shiver’s and Wheelington’s course through the veins of almost every student who has entered the nursing program, and each student who enrolls has an almost 100 percent chance of making it through

to become an actual working nurse. “We currently have 145 dedicated students in our program, and of that 145, I expect all to graduate and become successful nurses,” Festa said.

This success rate has allowed the department to make sure that each of the nursing students on campus are able to receive hands-on experience at hospitals and health care providers throughout the state via a contract system. The system allows a nurse studying at Henderson to work at a major hospital in Little Rock learning the latest, high-tech ways to treat patients, or assigned to Malvern, to help aid in the treatment of patients in a small town clinical environment.

The department currently holds 200 such contracts, and Festa keeps track of them with a large state map filled with pushpins: red, blue, green and yellow. Each one represents a health care facility housing her students. The map, along with dozens of awards from organizations like the Arkansas Student Nursing Convention, hangs permanently on the walls of the department. Festa proudly points them out to all of her visitors.

“I am so excited about this program at Henderson,” Festa said. “We try to provide a professional atmosphere for students while they are here, and we really stress the importance of faculty support of our

students as well.”

Because of Henderson’s programs and thorough curriculum, two students were able to help save a woman’s life.

“I couldn’t ask for better students,” Festa says of the two. “They have really made the department proud.”

Christy Shiver and Candi Wheelington were the first medically trained personnel on the scene of the multi-car accident on Highway 7. The fast action of these student nurses helped assure the recovery of the victim of the accident.

“We currently have 145 dedicated students in our program, and of that 145, I expect all to graduate and become successful nurses.” Laura Meeks Festa Chair and Professor Department of Nursing

10

SKA-plomth SKA-plomth SKA-plomth SKA-plomth

The clamor was like a stampede of energy reverberating through the halls.

SKA-plomth SKA-plomth SKA-plomth SKA-plomth

Reaching its fever pitch, the gallop peaked and then waned.

SKA-plomth SKA-plomth....ska-plompth ska-plompth ska-plompth

The dancers trudged on. Yes, trudged. Sweat trickled from every body part. Their leotards were drenched in this Rorschach pattern of liquid blots. Their once-graceful bodies lumbered like ants, trailing each other in a perpetual circle as they chanted an off-key version of “Happy Birthday.”

As the neo-samba beat reached its frenzied and climactic end, the dancers collapsed-panting in unison-all 13 sets of lungs breathing together as if in one body.

It was day three of Marlies Yearby’s two-week residency. She–the Tony-award-winning choreographer of the Broadway show Rent–and they–the dancers subjected to her unrestrained movements–had struck a discordant note. Their bodies were used to the familiar balletic strains of grande plies and breathy, fluid modern warm-ups, not the childhood games of follow-the-leader and Simon says. But between the jumping and running and sweating and suffering, they stumbled (albeit gracefully) upon an epiphany that had been buried deep in their flesh. Dancing, they realized, was more than the movement. For them, it had become everything.

MORE ART THAN EXERCISE

The Dance Company began nearly 20 years ago. Initially, there was no official company; instead, a group performed musical theatre under the direction of Tommy Adis. There were only a few classes offered - tap, jazz, and some ballet comprised the repertoire. In the 80s, students inspired by “Flashdance” donned sweatbands and leg warmers flocked to the studio for their weekly dose of aerobics-infused workouts.

In 1987, Adis asked friend and fellow dancer Jennifer Maddox to take over the program. She agreed. She brought with her a strong background in modern dance and a mind abounding with creativity. “I shifted gears,” Maddox said. “I had different ideas for developing the dance program.”

By opening up avenues, and providing, as she says, “something for everyone,” the program grew from an after-hours class to two full days of technique in ballet, modern, jazz, and tap.

“It was a focused atmosphere,” Maddox said of the change. “It became more art than exercise.”

By Jennifer Godwin

Illustrations byThomas Fernandez

Casting out conventionDance program allows for new vision through melding of art and abandon.

11

But she had to start from nothing. No costumes, no money, no recognition. Then in 1988, under the influence of a strong-willed and inspiring administrator, the program began to bloom. Martha Anderson, Maddox remembers, had a presence of her own. As chair of the arts and sciences college, now the Ellis College, she pushed for a dance minor to be added to the curriculum.

After that, the feet got to moving-quickly. More students enrolled in classes-along with tap, jazz, and ballet, they could take modern dance, theatre dance, dance history, and choreography. Maddox also brought guest artists to the campus.

The Dance Company was growing. A nucleus of serious, dedicated students carried the dancing to a higher level, exploring all creative avenues. Maddox exposed them to the larger world of dance, opening windows into the professional-sometimes ugly, but always captivating-dance environment.

“My taste in dance, and what I think is good dance and bad dance, has changed,” says Eve Flueras, a current member of the company. “I can see more clearly now how movement can reflect politics, society, and economics as well as emotion.”

Maddox introduced the company to the American College Dance Festival, where dancers from around the country flock to take classes, perform, and meet fellow students. It is a grueling week, full of bruised shins and egos, but it is as true to life as it gets.

In 1998 Charles Dunn, president of the university, established three performance scholarships, one of those for dance. John Hall, treasurer of the HSU Foundation, also gave his avid support. The foundation account he established supplements the ACDF expenses as well as costumes.

The Dance Company’s evolution occurred in more than just the physical sense. Students were growing as artists, as choreographers, and as individuals. There was a sense of creative freedom found in the dance studio. Maddox encouraged students to choreograph pieces for the company. The result was a blend of classical ballet pas de deux, disarming and abstract modern dances, and jazzy Chicago-esque numbers. With this newfound creativity unleashed, the dancers felt free to blaze new trails.

There are a million and one uses for tape.

Art is not usually one of them. But for Thomas Fernandez, it was at one time a large part of his art medium. He puzzled his audiences by taping canvases that weren’t broken and papers that weren’t ripped.

But this taped art and other experimental pieces have blossomed over the past couple of years, leading him to a long-awaited direction for his work. He has gained inspiration from those he cares most about and is proud to know.

The Heights Gallery in Little Rock, the University of Idaho Reflections Gallery, and the Hot Springs Art Center are just a few of the places that Fernandez’s work has been featured. He has received the Best Mixing Award, First and Show of Three in a student competitive exhibition, and various other awards. Today, he is actively pursuing an art career that is influenced by his life experiences.

Fernandez’s work depicts the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Most take pictures of things they wish to remember. Fernandez captures his memories through snap shots he creates. These memories are often of family and friends. He creates works about them because he does not have time to make work for them.

“It snowballed from there,” he says. “I have realized how much feelings can influence me. My very intense feelings for my great-grandmother who’s six years deceased makes me very aware of the work.” Through these works, he can share memories of far-away friends and family.

In 1999, Fernandez graduated from Henderson with a BFA and went on to earn his master’s degree from the University of Idaho this spring. This master-level graduate still loves to eat his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, drink chocolate milk, and dance the night away.

When he’s not creating masterpieces, he’s turning the tables as a deejay. In 10 years he hopes to have a least three galleries representing him.

But for now, Fernandez says, “My main objective is to make great art, retain identity, and pay bills due.”

Thomas Fernandez

“Dance is the perfect complement to the liberal arts: it embraces creativity, thought, knowledge of history, and a mind open to ideas.” Jennifer Maddox Dance Instructor Henderson

By Katie BrewerCasting out convention

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Maddox’s approach to dance has always been to fine-tune the instrument with ballet and modern fundamentals. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and studied at Texas Women’s University before teaching at dance studios around central Arkansas. She has studied under Jose Limon and danced in several noted companies.

Often, dancers are taken aback in Maddox’s classes. For some, it is their first introduction to modern, a dance form that began in the early 20th century that is done with bare feet and with what Maddox calls “a feel for the earth.”

“I was a little hesitant at first,” recalls company member Lauren Wallace. “It is a new and different style of dance that honestly requires the dancer to ‘let go’ and just dance.”

After the first few awkward steps, dancers were falling in line with the breathy, meditative style of modern dance. They broke with the rigid conventions of ballet and learned techniques pioneered by Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan and others.

Modern has become a favorite among the dancers.

“It just feels good,” says Michael McGehee. “It uses the whole body from my fingers to my toes and even the breath in my lungs. You really feel like the dance is coming from inside of you.”

McGehee applied what he learned in modern class to his choreography. His piece, “Vietnam: A Memorial” was the first of Henderson’s to be selected by ACDF judges to be performed on the national stage. On any given afternoon, the studio might look empty: lights out, doors shut, save for a hum trickling through the cracks. Inside the studio, dancers dot the floor like specks of star clusters, emitting a murmur of meditative breath.

The product of such classes has been an integration of styles, ballet pieces infused with modern angles and lyrical dances that draw on all techniques. At the heart of every piece is not just the flow of movement, but the flow of emotions.

The dancers say that Maddox is the life force behind the company. To them, she is an inspiration, a mentor, and a doting mother at times. She urges dancers to find their emotional center, even if it means excavating layers to get to it. Maddox says that dance is a perfect complement to the liberal arts: It embraces creativity, thought, knowledge of history and a mind open to ideas.

POINTS IN SPACE

It’s a Tuesday/Thursday ritual, sitting on the floor of the dance studio, taping up blistered feet, talking shop, massaging worn muscles. The dancers say being in the company is like adopting a family. The experience and talent levels differ, but the overarching focus binds the company – that, and the two weeks they spent with Yearby.

“Marlies really helped pull the company together...they were forced to do a lot of grueling work and spent quite a bit of time ‘suffering’ together,” Joi Straight said.

In the past 15 years, the Dance Company has moved into the spotlight, performing in places from Chicago to New Orleans and all around Arkansas. It is more than just an after-hours activity. For many, it has been a chance to parlay their talents into bigger things.

Recent graduates of the company have gone on to become professional dancers. Kenia Brown and Daryl Minefee have found creative outlets at regional and dinner theaters. Brown has also employed her dance experience before national television audiences as a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. Shirlene Gills has opened her own dance studio. Jennifer Parker is the dance coordinator at the Oaklawn Magnet School in Hot Springs.

Maddox believes that dance transcends the stage and can be used in community outreach. Eve Fleuras has taught at AEGIS camps during the summer. Amy Jester has given lessons for the Association of Retarded Citizens. Many hope to continue dancing in some form after graduation.

“Most people do not come to Henderson looking to be a professional dancer,” says Wallace, who was torn between her love for dance and marine biology, but recently chose to pursue a dance career. But now, with the Henderson dance program on the map, students are finding their goals more attainable. “I do plan to dance in the future,” says Kelly Bennett. “I just can’t see myself doing anything else.”

It’s a Tuesday/Thursday ritual, sitting on the floor of the dance studio, taping up blistered feet, talking shop, massaging worn muscles.

LETTING GO

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Quietly sitting in a driveway, the 1955 Chevrolet becomes a living time capsule. The car reveals the lives that have made it their own – the glass windows create a black and white television image, reflecting those lives in stories of winding highways, antiquated gas stations, and trailing sunsets along open roads.

Forging real life adventures into vivid fictional encounters, Shannon Johnson is writ-ing a novel that revolves around a cross-country trip made by four women in the ’55 Chevy that has been in her family for decades. Excerpts from her novel in progress have been featured in past volumes of the Arkansas Literary Forum, published by Henderson as the state’s premier on-line literary journal.

“The Forum has been good for me, because it’s one of my very few publication credits,” said Johnson, who works in the writing department at the University of Central Arkansas. “I received a great deal of encouragement from readers after I was published in the Forum.”

The Arkansas Literary Forum is an on-line journal that offers unpublished writ-ers and artists, as well as established ones, an opportunity to publish their work. “The state had no high quality on-line journals nor any other venue devoted only to publishing Arkansas writers,” said Marck L. Beggs, dean of the Graduate School, associate professor of English, and founding editor of the Forum.

When the Forum began in the fall of 1999, the web site became vessel for talented Arkansas writers and artists. The Arkansas Literary Forum, which is affiliated with Henderson, helps expose new writers with strong, provocative work to a dimension of praise as well as criticism.

Beggs, along with associate editor Michael Ray Taylor, associate professor of com-munication, are both published writers. Assisted by graduate editors from the Master of Liberal Arts program, they select works for the Forum, including essays, poetry, short stories, book reviews, artwork, drama, and even some chapters out of novels. The wide range of literature and art attract a diverse audience to the Forum’s web-site, www.hsu.edu/dept/alf/index.html.

Since the first issue, the Forum has been published every fall, opening doors to many accomplished writers, as well as those writers in pursuit of publication. “The Arkan-sas Literary Forum provides a great showcase for Arkansas writers. It gives stars like Shannon Johnson and Alana Merritt Mahaffey a chance to publish alongside such famous names as Philip Martin and Miller Williams,” said Taylor, who edits the nonfiction selections in the journal.

Beggs has many aspirations for the publication: “My future goals for the journal are to publish new work by the triumvirate of Arkansas literature: Dee Brown, Ellen Gilchrist, and Charles Portis,” he said.

Creating the journal requires a great deal of time and dedication. The editors work for free, while Beggs does the web design and typesetting. “Marck Beggs has done a great service to the readers and writers of Arkansas with his dedication to the on-line journal,” Taylor said.

The widely accessible web site is the key to promoting the Arkansas Literary Forum, but it is the quality and breadth of writing that makes it so important to the state’s culture.

“We hope all Arkansawyers will discover, and rediscover, the great literary tradition that is evolving right this moment in Arkansas,” Beggs said.

A Web with a ViewA literary delight lies only a mouse-click away

By: Celise Varnedore

The summer of 2001 might have been normal for most college students, but for six fortunate Reddies, it was magic. July 5 was a day that those will recall having butterflies in their stomachs, as they anxiously awaited departure for London, England.

These six were a part of more than 200 students participating in the British Studies program. Each of the students received a $2,000 scholarship to help offset the cost of the trip. Henderson teamed up with the University of Southern Mississippi to take part in this remarkable opportunity.

David Powell, a senior English major from Little Rock, studied literature surrounding the legend of King Arthur. The class itinerary was not like the typical summer courses at Henderson. He recalls guest speakers, field trips, and being required to attend classes on three or four days each week, which left him ample time for independent travel from London to other parts of Britain and Europe. A few stops on Powell’s agenda were St. Paul’s Cathedral, the prehistoric site of Stonehenge, Westminster Abby, and Tintagel–the legendary birthplace of King Arthur.

Each evening a social gathering took place at the Stanford Arms, a pub down the street from King’s College. British Studies Program students inhabit the King’s College hall of residence, located adjacent to Waterloo Station, the River Thames, and the South Bank Arts Complex.

“I like to try new things, so I do not feel as though I experienced a huge culture shock,” Powell said. He found the food to be “pretty good,” but, he advises visitors to get used to not being served ice in their drinks at restaurants. “If you request ice, the waiter will bring one piece, and it melts upon contact,” he said. For those students who got a bit homesick and needed a taste of America, there was always a McDonald’s around the corner.

The scenery is beautiful in London’s countryside, Powell recalls. “The landscape seems to change about every 20 miles or so,” Powell said. “One stretch will be a lush forest with thatched houses and then a stretch of massive hills with scrub grass.” He found a tremendous amount of diversity in a very compact landscape.

One thing sticks out in Powell’s mind as being one of the strangest sights he has ever encountered: fuzzy cows. While traveling along the countryside, he noticed some cows grazing in a pasture. He didn’t think anything about it until he got closer and he saw that they had very thick, fuzzy hair.

Another thing that was a bit odd was that there never seemed to be nighttime. “The sun shone around 19 hours a day,” Powell said. “But you could not see it shining; it was rather gloomy and cloudy most of the day, although, as soon as you reached the countryside, the sun’s beam magically appeared.”

Another big event that Powell got to experience wile in London was his 21st birthday. He celebrated at a pub in Tintagel. While there, a professor told him a story surrounding the legend of Merlin. There was a king who kept trying to build a wall, but each time he got it completed it crumbled to the ground. He was told that to please the gods, he had to sacrifice a child. A little boy who was about to be sacrificed told the king that if he would spare his life, he would tell him how to build a solid wall. The king listened with anticipation as the boy said there was a cave underneath the ground where he kept trying to build the wall. The boy told the king that if he would drain the cave, the dragons would stop fighting and would leave, and then he could build the wall. The king did just as the boy had told him and he finally completed his wall.

It turned out the little boy was Merlin.

The professor at the pub told Powell and one of his friends that the cave was still there. Powell and his friend rock-climbed down the side of the mountain, swam across the ocean at low tide, and made it to the cave. He now carries a lucky rock from Merlin’s Cave in his pocket.

“This was an opportunity of a lifetime and I loved every minute of it,” Powell said. “One of the best parts is that I made some friends and we still keep in touch. One day I plan on going back.”

Students find magic and history in British Isles

By: Ashley Harris

Areas of StudyAccounting

Anthropology

Computer Science

Criminal Justice

Economics

English

Film

Finance

Forensic Science

Geography

History

Interior Design

Journalism

Management

Marketing

Political Science

Sociology

Speech and Hearing Science

Speech Communication

Theatre

Women’s Studies

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15

Marian Kruse Breland Bailey died on September 25, 2001, at Hot springs.

Millions of visitors flock to Sea World and other animal parks each year to see dolphins and other animals perform amazing feats, but few Arkansans were aware that the woman who helped pioneer the techniques used to teach the animals was a longtime psychology professor here at Henderson.

She was born on December 2, 1920, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was while she was an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota that she met fellow animal researcher Keller Breland. She and Breland married in 1941, and she became the second graduate student of the renowned psychologist Skinner, working with him on the famous Pelican Project as part of the World War II support effort.

The Brelands were the first to stage dolphin and bird shows using behavioral analysis, and Marian taught handlers to respect the animals. Before she developed her techniques, trainers used punishment to make animals behave the way they wanted them to. The Brelands proved that positive reinforcement was more effective than punishment in reinforcing behavior.

After the war, the Brelands returned to Minnesota and founded Animal Behavior Enterprises. They developed training techniques that recognized instinctual behaviors and the breakdown of learned behavior.

This research - which also broke ground and aided the understanding of mentally retarded and autistic children - brought them fame in the form of popular animal commercials in the 1940s and 50s.

Marian Breland trained “Priscilla the Fastidious Pig” for General Mills commercials in the late 40s, which featured a pig performing such everyday tasks as pushing a shopping cart down a grocery aisle and vacuuming.

Another commercial, done in 1954 for Coast Federal Savings Bank and featuring a rabbit that dropped coins into a replica of the bank, became the longest-running commercial on television. “Buck Bunny’s” ads aired for 20 years.

The Brelands moved to Hot Springs in 1950 and opened the I.Q. Zoo in 1954. The zoo, home to tic-tac-toe-playing hens, firefighting rabbits and Cadillac-driving pigs, was a popular tourist attraction until it closed in 1990.

Keller Breland died in 1965, and Marian Breland took over as president and chief executive officer of Animal Behavior Enterprises. She married fellow researcher and longtime

A pioneer in the field of behavioral science, a student of B.F. Skinner, a brilliant teacher, and a mother who served as president of her children’s PTA while they were in school: She possessed all of these qualities.

colleague Bob Bailey in 1976.

They opened Animal Wonderland in 1972. It was the first amusement park to display the largest avian show in the world. Visitors to the park also saw dolphins.

In 1978, almost 40 years after she began her undergraduate studies in Minnesota, Marian Breland Bailey earned her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Arkansas. She began teaching at Henderson State University in 1981 and rose to the rank of full professor. She taught a wide range of upper-level courses, including behavior modification, history and systems, physiological psychology and a course she created, verbal behavior. She also founded the Psychology Club and the local chapter of Psi Chi National Honor Society.

She also was known for bringing chickens to class to demonstrate animal training. She retired from teaching at Henderson in 1998.

A few years before her retirement, Breland Bailey and her husband founded Bailey & Bailey Operant Conditioning Workshops and presented classes throughout the United States. Her husband is continuing with the 2002 workshop schedule in her honor.

Todd Wiebers, associate professor of psychology, counted Breland Bailey not only as a colleague, but also as a close personal friend.

“She was pleasant, never angry, always there to help,” he remembered affectionately. “She always carried herself as a true scholar.”

Senior psychology major Tommy Stinnett had only one class with Breland Bailey - motivation, which he took in the spring semester of his sophomore year in 1998 — but he knew after that class that he wanted to pursue psychology. Although Breland Bailey was nearing retirement, he said, “She taught every day and never, ever cancelled class.”

Stinnett said he found it amazing that an author of such noted psychology works would be teaching here at Henderson. The psychology department honored her shortly after her death last fall by establishing the Marian Breland Bailey Endowed Scholarship for Psychology, ensuring that her legacy will live on at Henderson State University.

Those who wish to contribute to the endowment can make checks to “HSU Foundation-Bailey Scholarship” and send it to The HSU Foundation, 1100 Henderson Street, Box 7550, Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71999-0001.

Marian Breland Bailey

16

By Dr. Ann Rye

17

Ann Rye performs on the Bosendorfer in Russell Fine Arts Harwood Recital Hall after the piano was tuned and acclimated to Arkansas and the Hall.

Ellis College Departmental Spotlight

On a cool, sunny spring afternoon, with the cold wind whipping through my hair, I felt the boat slow to a gracious speed as we approached Ozan Point in DeGray Lake. The moment we dropped anchor, James Engman, associate professor of biology, pointed out an osprey flying above the tree tops, clenching a small fish. It was a beautiful sight.

A few years earlier I might not have been able to witness such an encounter. At that time an abnormally high number of eagle and coot deaths in this area of DeGray Lake caught the attention of scientists and environmentalists across the country.

Avian brain lesion syndrome, a disease fatal to birds, was first detected in American bald eagles and coots on DeGray Lake in 1994. During the winter of 1994-95, a total of 29 dead eagles were collected from locations at or near DeGray Lake. Studies were conducted by the Corps of Engineers and professors from different universities as they hunted for a solution to the problem. A short time later the Corps of Engineers gave Engman and Dennis McMasters, chair and professor of biology, the task of researching the vegetation in the lake.

Engman and his group of research students noticed the presence of freshwater sponges at DeGray. Was there a possible connection between the abundance of freshwater sponge and the occurrence of eagle deaths? This is what the team of researchers wanted to know.

Freshwater sponge grows on the aquatic plant Egeria. When the sponge is stressed, it gives off toxins as a defense. Coots and other herbivorous birds feed on the Egeria. Eagles, which are higher in the food chain, prey on the coots.

The students under Engman’s direction looked for a detectable pattern in sponge abundance compared to eagle deaths. Research indicated that in the years when there were high numbers of eagle and coot deaths, there also seemed to be a high amount of freshwater sponge growth. This occurred largely in the winter months, when the eagles migrated south.

When we pulled into Ozan Point to begin sampling, the students started off by checking the depth of the water using a depth meter. The most efficient way of collecting samples is to start at the edge of the vegetation bed and move out at one meter intervals. The water level dictates the proper depth to begin. This day the water level was high, so the first samples were taken at three meters. An undergraduate research student, Adam Rivers, collected the first sponge by using what is called a White Sampler - named after Greg White, a former research student and Henderson graduate. The White Sampler is a V-shaped piece of metal, smooth on one side and with tooth-like slits on the other for snagging the Egeria.

A thirty foot rope is used to sling the White Sampler far away from the boat. After a few tries, Adam pulled a substantial clump of Egeria onto the boat. While the students were collecting samples of Egeria, Engman took light, oxygen, and water readings from the lake. He used a secchi disc to measure the amount of light and a dissolved oxygen meter to measure the oxygen concentration. After an adequate amount of Egeria was labeled and bagged, it was time to take the samples to the lab.

Early in his freshwater sponge research, Engman began inviting his students to

Biology

Sponge research provides clues to ongoing mystery of eagle deaths at DeGray Lake

Biology SpotlightBy: T.J. Hendricks

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Ellis College Departmental Spotlight Magnolia Manor mystery discovered in estate pond

19

What has two eyes, an inverted mouth with thick lips, green spots, and is about the size of a pen’s point? Well the species, Phaenocora virginiana, of course.

This is the tiny species that initially captured the interest of Jane Dunn, assistant professor of biology, who is currently conducting a project examining “microturbellarian” worms found in the Magnolia Manor pond. Dunn launched the study after finding the very small flat worms that are a brilliant green color from the Symbiotic algae living under the skin layer of their cells.

There are no records of any studies being conducted on the microturbellarians in Arkansas or other contiguous states. Some work has been conducted on the mysterious worms since the late 1800s, but the majority of the studies have occurred in Europe, particularly Germany and Italy.

Since September 2001, Dunn’s initial investigations indicate at least three different genera, or broad biological families, present in the pond, with two or more species within each genera. The diversity within this one group of organisms is a good indicator of the relative health of the pond.

After collecting water samples on the south side of the pond, she brought the specimens to a lab in the Reynolds Science Center for analysis of growth characteristics. Under microscopic vision, Dunn observed the internal structures of the organisms with symbiotic green algae. These include protozoans, rotifers, and hydra. This symbiotic relationship has been the subject of much study since the organism has been described.

In September 2000, a botanist and zoologist joined a departmental trip to the pond to observe the unusual growth of the aquatic American Lotus. The pond was relatively dry, with the exception of a few inches of standing water in the center. The lotus, which usually appear only a couple of feet in length, were towering above at heights ranging from eight to ten feet.

“Walking through the plants was like walking through the Garden of Eden,” said Dunn.

And within that tiny garden, living mysteries continue to be revealed.

participate. Three students, all biology majors, now help to conduct the studies: Rivers, Kristen Bailey, and Teri Tuxson.

For the past two years these three have remained very dedicated in their lab and field research. Freezing temperatures and cold rain have not stopped them from collecting samples at the lake. The dedication does not stop there: Hours upon hours of lab research consists of identifying and documenting freshwater sponge.

Bailey shrugs off the long hours, “I feel that the knowledge and experience I have gained from conducting this research will help me achieve greater success in graduate school.”

I watch as a random selection of 20 stems of Egeria from a sample bag is chosen for analysis. The percentage of sponge, if any is present, is noted. After the sponge is identified it must also be documented. The stems of Egeria with sponge growth are preserved in alcohol for later data analysis.

The digestion process begins by boiling the sponge in nitric acid for 30 to 40 minutes to break up the gemmules. Gemmules are the resting stage of the sponges. After boiling, the sponge is prepared for future viewing under a microscope. The information from the slides will assist in the identification of the genera and species of different freshwater sponges growing in DeGray Lake.

Each student involved in the project presented research at the Undergraduate Research Conference on April 20, 2002. Bailey presented her research in the change of sponge abundance. Tuxson and Rivers presented their work on the digestion process and species identification.

“I enjoy working on Dr. Engman’s sponge project,” Tuxson says. “Although it is year-round and a lot of hard work, the experience is invaluable. Hopefully, I will be able to use the experience I get in the field and in the lab throughout my career in biology.”

Meanwhile, the eagles have returned to Ozan Point as mysteriously as they had once vanished. Engman and his students continue to unravel the biological detective story, in hopes that future generations of America’s national symbol may be spared.

The background photo on this page is a slide from a sponge sample after the digestion process has taken place.

Left and Below: Dr. James Engman and students use the White Sampler to gather vegetation from DeGray Lake.

Upper Right: Dr. Jane Dunn takes wa-ter samples from the Magnolia Manor pond in order to collect specimens for research.

OF�

Words from the Associate Dean

This year ends my assignment as interim associate dean, which was for the period of time required to find a new Dean. I will soon be returning to the classroom and my undergraduate research projects. What started as a one year process ended with a two year nationwide search for the very best candidate to serve as Dean of the Ellis College of Arts and Sciences. As a testament to the quality of the HSU faculty and administrators, our own Dr. Maralyn Sommer was selected to fill the position. During the two years she served as interim dean, she proved to be the person most capable and best suited to give the Ellis College the vision and direction needed to continue our mission as Arkansas’s premier public liberal arts university.

For me it has been an enjoyable, delightful and rewarding two years as it allowed me to better know our faculty and staff and view the interactions of the students, faculty, staff and administration. My conclusion— this truly is the school with a heart.

To Dr. Dunn, Dr. Houston and Dr. Sommer, thanks for providing me the opportunity for such a unique and delightful “capstone” to my sabbatical!

To the faculty and staff, thanks for all of the assistance, guidance and cooperation you have given me. A more competent, dedicated and caring group one could never find.

To the student body who as individuals excel in their classes and find ways to explore opportunities in leadership positions, research, performance, athletic and service activities, thanks for giving real meaning to what we call “the Henderson Experience”.

To our many former students and friends who return to campus and share with us their time, gifts and memories of their own “Henderson Experience”, thanks for your continued support and demonstration that Henderson was and still is an important part of your life.

And for those of you in search of a vibrant, quality university experience come to our campus, view our facilities, visit with our faculty and students-I believe you will agree with me, this is the place to be.

Best wishes, Bryan D. Palmer

20

Adoptees in Arkansas may soon have the right to learn their birthparents’ names on their 18th birthday, if Laci Strode has her way.

Strode, a psychology major at Henderson, wants the laws to be changed and has presented research that may bring that change about. Currently, children who are adopted in the state can not legally learn their birthparent’s names. Strode, a product of an adoption in Arkansas, learned of the laws when she was trying to find her own biological parents. When she discovered that the names could not be released, Strode began research on the adoption laws in Arkansas. These results, along with the research products of dozens of other students, were presented at the Arkansas Undergraduate Research Conference this spring. The conference provided an academic forum for students from around the state to present their research to experts in many fields.

The conference is in its ninth year; however, its true beginning came a few years earlier as a Henderson–only event. Today, it draws students from colleges all over the state, including Arkansas State, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, OBU, Lyon College, Arkansas Tech and UCA.

Presentations by approximately 150 students represented various departments and disciplines. Some topics from HSU included the effect of media conglomeration on reporting; charismatic leadership; the works of Claude Cahun and Cindy Sherman; and children’s positive and negative views on racial stereotypes.

For her project, Strode researched Arkansas adoption laws. She investigated the rights of the adopted to obtain biological parental information. In her survey of General Psychology students, she learned that more women than men felt it was more important that the adopted have access to biological information

Ellis College Research

so long as they are 18 or older. Strode has now taken her work beyond the classroom, speaking on the floor of the state senate in favor of changing adoption laws.

Andrew Howard, another presenter at this year’s conference, researched conservation problems with water in children ages four to seven. His research was to determine how children of different ages assess problems with mass and volume. He surveyed children from the child service center, Bright Beginnings Day Care and Perritt Primary.

Mindy Johnson, a third presenter, analyzed murder cases and their evidence. Johnson wanted to learn what types of evidence led to the accused being sentenced to life in prison as opposed to the death penalty. After dividing the evidence into the categories of standard evidence, standard evidence with past behavioral problems and standard evidence with mental problems, she compared 15 different types of murder cases according to types of evidence. Johnson amassed the records of five different cases for each type of evidence. She then surveyed 20 people to mark how they would rule in each of the cases. Johnson’s results indicate that a person convicted of murder with a past history of mental problems is more likely to receive the death penalty in Arkansas than someone with no mental health history.

The Undergraduate Research Conference allowed students the opportunity to inquire into a subject, examine and test theories, and present their results to professors and students on a state-wide level. The presenters discovered new ways to change the state and their chosen fields of study, one person at a time.

For more information about the Undergraduate Research Conference, visit Henderson’s Undergraduate Research Conference website at http://www.hsu.edu/dept/unr/.

Undergraduate Research Conference

By Wendy Plyler

Yes, let me help!I am contributing $____________________ to the Ellis College Support FundPer month ❑ Per quarter ❑ As a single payment. ❑I provide this gift to support ❑ the area of greatest need within the Ellis college of Arts and Sciences❑ the specific area of __________________________________________________________________________________________

Name _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Street City State ZipPhone___________________________________E-mail Address_________________________________________________________Mail your gift and form to The HSU Foundation, 1100 Henderson Street, Box 7550, Arkadelphia, AR 71999-0001. Thank you!

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PAIDArkadelphia, AR 71923

Permit No. 60OF�

“Helpless Firemen”by Wes Flenniken of Hot Springs

The Fifth Annual Student Exhibition was in the Henderson Russell Fine Arts Gallers. Juror Gary Cawood from the University of Arkansas announced the winners at the Show’s opening on February 26.

Best of Show Amanda Clark “Misconception” Toned Silver Print

1st Place Wes Flenniken “Helpless Firemen” Chalk on Paper

2nd Place Jason Wilson “Drifting Off and On and Off and On” Digital Illustration

3rd Place Patty Beck Untitled Plaster Sculpture