General News

ENMU Hosting 'Sharing Cultural Diversities' Banquet on March 29
by Helen Rodriguez
Communication Services

“Sharing Cultural Diversities” is the theme for the Office of International Affairs’ first annual banquet at Eastern New Mexico University.

The theme will be evident by the food, entertainment and speakers. The banquet is slated for 6 p.m. on Monday, March 29, inside the Campus Union Building Ballroom.

The menu will include stations of food from the Mediterranean, China, Jamaica, Europe, Mexico and more. Students will also provide the desserts, which will represent an array of countries. In addition, international music and dance will be showcased, including African dances, Mexican ballet folklorico and Moroccan belly dances.

Dr. Mary Ayala and Dr. Nina Bjornsson will be the featured speakers. Dr. Ayala was raised in the United States but studied in Mexico, where she continues to teach summer classes. She is the assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and is a professor of modern languages. Dr. Bjornsson, assistant professor of English, is from Iceland and was educated in the United States.

Loveleen James, who is from the U.S. trust territory of Micronesia and is student director for the Office of International Affairs, said that the purpose of the office is to make sure international students have a support group and create cultural awareness on campus.

According to Diana Cordova, coordinator for Multicultural Affairs, there are 12 students active in the International Students Club. However, there are many more international students on campus. ENMU has students from India, the majority of who are graduate students, as well as students from Africa, Canada, Jamaica Russia, Ukraine, Belgium, France, Mexico, Micronesia and other countries.

The banquet is open to the public. Tickets are $15 and should be reserved by Friday, March 19, by contacting Ms. Cordova at 505.562.4914.
(photo by Richard Salas)

Miss Native American ENMU Encourages Others to Go to College and Become Professionals
by Helen Rodriguez
Communication Services

Growing up on the Ramah Navajo Reservation, Dwan Martinez noticed as a young girl that many non-Native Americans held key positions as doctors and teachers in the community.

	Dwan Martinez – Miss Native American ENMU

Gradually, she has seen the number of Native Americans with professional positions on reservations increase as more and more Navajos get a college education. Some of these college graduates are returning back to the
reservations where they grew up to work and give back to the community.

Dwan is the reigning Miss Native American ENMU at Eastern New Mexico University. She identifies herself in her native way as Meadow People born from Bitterwater. Her paternal grandfather is Chirichua and her maternal grandfather is of the Coyote Pass People Jemez Clan.

The 23-year-old criminal justice major plans to return to the Navajo reservation after completing law school. Her ultimate goal is to become a courtroom judge. In the meantime, she is not content with sitting back, waiting for her day to return.

With her new title of royalty, she is using her crown to visit reservations, as well as public schools around the state, encouraging students, in particular Native-Americans, to get a college degree. This spring she is traveling with an ENMU admissions counselor, Viviano Archuleta, to speak to students at reservation schools. Dwan is also a College Success Program mentor at ENMU, a position in which she helps single mothers and fathers and other students struggling through school. As a mentor, she teaches students life skills, goal setting, self-management skills, career planning and job hunting.

“It can be a big culture shock at first for Native-Americans who go to college,” Dwan says. “On reservations, we tend to be family-oriented, but education should still be a priority.”

Dwan adds, “I also stress to people it is never too late to get an education. I think anyone can do well in school if they have the right resources and protocols. I tell them how fun it can be if you balance fun and academics.

“In the past, we heard where they took children away from their families and reservations, had their hair cut and were put in an environment they were not used to. That was back in the days. Now we have civil rights, a lot more privileges so we can’t look back to the bad things of the past, but rather grow and learn from them. We can only look forward to what we can do to change society and make it an even better place.” [more]
(courtesy photo)

Native American Speaker Coming to ENMU
The Native American Student Organization of ENMU will present Joseph Quintana of Cochiti Pueblo on Tuesday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the ENMU CUB.

He will sing in his native language, talk of the Cochiti Pueblo traditions, the Cochiti language, what it was like being a Cochiti Pueblo official, tell a traditional Cochiti Pueblo story, and more.

Everyone one is welcomed. It is free to the public.

Student Diversity Festival Underway
by Scarlet Smith
Communication Services

The 2004 Diversity Festival will be presented at 8 p.m. through March 17 in the University Theatre Center at Eastern.

The Festival gives ENMU students opportunities to write, act, direct, design and create all aspects of eight unique plays. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance, the Festival will last about two hours each evening. Admission is $3 per evening.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

March 16: Artificial Jungle by Charles Ludlam, directed by Ronald Hensley of Sundown, Texas; Werewolf by Jennae Pinnell of Albuquerque, directed by Amanda Czuprinski of Tucumcari; and It’s Love by Jennae Pinnell, directed by Amanda Czuprinski.

March 15 and 17: Gnome Game by Jennae Pinnell, directed by Amanda Czuprinski; Dirt and Gasoline by Joshua Aguirre of Littlefield, Texas, directed by William Curry of Albuquerque; The Sewing by Charlie Nielsen, directed by Christi Bradshaw of Hobbs; Giving Up by Monica Macias of Las Cruces, directed by William Curry; Strings by Lily, directed by Christi Bradshaw.

For more information, call 562.2711, or Dr. Ann Beck at 562.2476

April Blaskowski Named Director of Enrollment Services
Story and photo by Wendel Sloan
Communication Services

April Blaskowski, previously ENMU's recruiting manager, has been promoted to director of Enrollment Services. She will be responsible for coordinating all of ENMU's

recruiting and admissions efforts.

April has a 2001 master of education in agency counseling from Southern Arkansas University, and a 1994 bachelor of science in psychology with a minor in family relations from Cameron University.

"I am very excited about this new challenge," says April. "Bringing admissions and recruiting under the umbrella of Enrollment Services will bring the two areas together to work toward a common goal. That goal is to recruit quality students for ENMU and to provide each of those students with an opportunity to achieve student success on our campus."

April has previously served as a counselor/curriculum coordinator for Upward Bound, Freshman Seminar instructor, camp/conference coordinator, and college reading instructor at Southern Arkansas.

Other positions have included associate director of Admissions, and Admissions counselor/recruiter for Phillips University in Enid, Okla.

April is married to Kevin Blaskowski, ENMU's softball coach.

Alumni Musicians Blow Roof Off at Jazz Fest
Story and photo by Scarlet Smith
Communications Services

Four Eastern New Mexico University alumni came together with two Eastern New Mexico University professors of music (Chris Beaty and John Kennedy) to blow the roof off at the Jazz Fest in the University Theatre on Friday night, March 5.

The sextet featured a variety of traditional combo arrangements, jazz standards and vocals. The four alumni, John Kilmer, Jim Ates, Cam Clapp and Bill Atchley, were

students during the early 1960's when they studied under the direction of Dr. Merle Hogg, associate professor of music from 1957 to 1963.

Mr. Kilmer, tinkling the ivories with enthusiastic abandon, graduated from ENMU in 1963 with a BA in music, eyboard/composition/theory. He spent many years in Florida playing piano bars, one-man-bands with piano and organ, jazz bands and actively booking music groups. Since relocating to Albuquerque in 1987, Mr. Kilmer has formed two combos: Rio Rhythm and Kilmer & Company.

Mr. Ates, plucking the bass like a gifted madman, graduated from ENMU in 1963 with a BA and MA in psychology and an undergraduate minor in applied music. He entered ENMU as a music major. During his years at Eastern, he performed with ENMU symphony, chorus and the jazz band. He has had the opportunity to perform with a plethora of musicians, such as Nancy Wilson of Heart, Richie Cole, Rosemary Clooney, Frankie Avalon, Jerry Van Dyke and many more.

Mr. Clapp, brushing the drums like a master painter, attended ENMU from 1962 to 1963. He began playing with his fellow musicians in the fall of 1960 under Dr. Hogg while stationed at Walker Air Force Base in Roswell. In the 1970's he decided to "retire" in San Francisco from playing drums and percussion with the locals. He has performed with Latin jazz bands, big bands and the San Francisco Barqoques Ensemble. In June of 2002 he came out of "retirement" to reunite with his old musician mates, Mr. Atchley and Mr. Kilmore to perform at a reunion festival honoring the late Dr. Hogg.

Mr. Atchley, playing the baritone saxophone like a skilled glassblower, graduated from ENMU in 1964. For a number of years he has played tenor saxophone with the Casablanca Orchestra, performing through the Carolinas and Virginia, while leading a jazz sextet named Savoy Swing. Mr. Atchley is a distinguished professor of genetics, statistics and biomathematics at North Carolina State University. He has received a number of international scientific awards. On a side note, he was also ejected from piano class at ENMU for playing a lot of Horace Silver licks in a Bach etude.

Dr. Kennedy, assistant professor of music, played the flugelhorn for the sextet, while Mr. Beaty, Jazz Fest director, played the tenor saxophone.

"The 2004 festival was a huge success! We had an enormous crowd this year – larger than ever before. We were thrilled with all of our guest artists – the High Winds Jazztet, the Bert Dalton Trio, the ENMU Alumni Sextet, and the ENMU Jazz Ensemble with guest artist Jon Birdsong. We are really looking forward to an even bigger 2005 Jazz Fest," said Mr. Beaty.

Band Trip: Eastern Musicians Flying Across the Pond for Spring Break
by Marc Schoder
Communication Services

During spring break, the Eastern New Mexico University Band, led by director Dustin Seifert, will perform two concerts in England.

The band will perform during the noon hour in Oxford as part of the Oxford Town Hall Concert Series. A second concert performance takes them to the city of Bath.

"A total of 56 people are going, including 13 alumni," says Dustin. "This will be the second band that I have taken overseas."

The trip, planned since August of 2002, will be a nice break from school for the band members. Besides the two concerts, there will be structured tours, such as visiting the Roman Baths and seeing the birthplace of Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon. They will also have time for sightseeing on their own.

The band members didn't do any fundraising; each is paying their own way.

"I have never been to London and I'm looking forward to it," says band member Christopher Glaser. "I am going with enough money to have some fun over there. After all, it's spring break!"

When the band departs London on March 28 to make the jump back over the pond, they have a long trip ahead of them – leaving London at 1:40 in the afternoon (local time) to get back to Albuquerque at 9:11 p.m. The band will then hook-it straight back to Portales so that they will be ready for school on Monday.

"The interesting part about us coming back on Sunday is that it is when Daylight Savings Time begins. It's going to be the longest day in the students' lives as well as my own," says Dustin."Everything is ready to go; I think we are in good shape," he adds.

The band has been rehearsing on Sundays for the last few weeks to prepare for the unusual spring break "road" trip.
(photo by Richard Salas)

Young Mother from Las Cruces Finds Success at ENMU
by Tracy Chavez
Communication Services

When Jena Herman, now Jena Harthorn, got pregnant in high school, they told her she had no chance at success. "When I was in high school with a baby, people said I wouldn't be able to do anything," she said. "And now I'm proving people wrong."

Now, Jena is a second-semester freshman at Eastern New Mexico University. At Las Cruces High School she spent her time singing in the choir and playing soccer, but now she devotes her time to her son and husband, and her school work. "It's hard to juggle, but I really enjoy learning stuff," she said.

Jena enjoys college because she gets to choose what subjects she wants to study, such as religion and psychology. Jena decided to attend Eastern when her husband, Casey, got a job in Clovis. She said she wouldn't want to go to school anywhere else.

"I love it here," she said. "I like the teachers; I like that it's smaller."

She said her friends at New Mexico State University are in classes so large that professors have little time for individual students. She also noted that the Eastern learning communities are another reason she loves being at ENMU.

"In the learning communities we have seen that students get better grades and have lower withdraw rates," Learning Community Director Steve Dixon said. "Students in the communities have better retention year to year." Mr. Dixon said by being in the community students make friends easier.

Jena's Freshman Seminar teacher, Sharon King, agrees. "With Freshman Seminar we're trying to help first-time students adjust to college life," she said. Ms. King added that with the learning communities, students are in class together two-and-one-half hours twice a week.

"They really liked each other," she said. "It was fun watching all the bonding that was going on."

Jena said her husband has a job offer in Las Cruces, but the couple plans to stay in Portales for one reason: Eastern New Mexico University. ENMU is the only school in New Mexico where students can get a degree in religion and Jena, a psychology major, wants to continue taking religion courses and figure out a way to put the two together.

She was was told she couldn't balance everything, but ended the semester with all A's and one B, making her way into the Alpha Lambda Delta honor fraternity.

"I really enjoyed watching Jena grow," Ms. King said. "I'm so proud of her for making the honor fraternity. If anyone deserves it, she does."
(photo by Jill Butler)

Albuquerque Graduate Attracted to ENMU by Theatre Department
by Tracy Chavez
Communication Services

When Solomon Romney visited Eastern New Mexico University to attend the annual Drama Festival, he was hooked. "It felt right," he said. "What it really came down to was the gut." So after graduation, he packed up his bag and made the three-hour trip (driving fast) from Albuquerque to Portales.

"The (theatre) department and people were very instrumental in me coming out here," he said. "It's the best theatre program, the people are nice, but the one thing that attracted me is that my biggest class may be 50 people." Department of Theatre Chair Felipe Macias said he recruited Solomon for two years before he got him to come to ENMU. "He seemed like a heads-up young man and we were very impressed with him," he said.

Solomon said he's happy with his decision to attend ENMU and that the theatre department is one giant family. "At Eastern people know who you are. You have a name."

"Solomon's great; we're glad he came here," Mr. Macias said. "We always get good students out of Valley High School."

Solomon is a second-semester sophomore and said since he's been at ENMU he has been involved with every theatre production, sometimes as an actor, other times as part of the carpentry or costuming teams.

"I love ENMU; I dig it," he said. "It's a great school."

Solomon said he wouldn't go to school anywhere else unless it came with a lot of money and a house. "I couldn't be happier here. It's everything I wanted and a bag of chips," he said.

The people at ENMU and in Portales are his favorite things about attending the University. "The people are dedicated and go the extra mile and make it a point to learn your name."

Though Portales may be a smaller town, Solomon said there is always something going on, even at 3 a.m., such as a trip to Wal-Mart. "You don't need all the big-city stuff to stay entertained here," he said. "The other day the resident assistants from a boy's dorm had a snowball fight with a girl's dorm."

Solomon said the only way one won't succeed at Eastern is if they don't try.
(photo by Jill Butler)

ENMU-Roswell Participating in Occupational Therapy Month
by Yolanda Lopez
ENMU-Roswell

April is Occupational Therapy Month. Many activities occupy our days – we get up and get dressed, eat breakfast, brush our teeth, dial the phone, write a check, drive the car, fold the laundry, and shop for groceries. But how can we do these things in the face of major health problems? That's where occupational therapy helps, with special skills and tools to get you back to doing things for yourself.

People who benefit from occupational therapy range from a baby at risk of developmental delay, a school child struggling to master handwriting, an employee with a job-related injury, to an older person recovering from a stroke.

AOTA's Tip Sheets for Consumers offer information to help you cope with a variety of health conditions in children and adults and explain how occupational therapy can help. The Tip Sheets can be downloaded and printed free of charge. Go to www.aota.org

Students and staff of the ENMU-Roswell Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program contribute to the Roswell community by volunteering their services. Activities include participation in health fairs, screening children’s fine and gross motor skills at our local Headstart Program, backpack awareness campaigns, consultation with classroom teachers, and caseworkers for Children Youth and Family Services and providing one on one Occupational Therapy services in the community.

Last fall, the OTA department at ENMU-Roswell hosted the New Mexico Occupational Therapy Associations Annual Conference. The highlight of the two-day conference was keynote speaker Deborah L. Moy, O.D. She presented “The Relationship Between Vision, Reading and Learning.” Participants state wide earned credit for continuing education.

The occupational therapy staff at ENMU-Roswell welcomes any questions. To learn more about the OTA Program at ENMU-Roswell, go to www.roswell.enmu.edu.

Special Thank You

Steve Blakeley, the director of printing/duplicating, wants to thank everyone for their patience in getting their duplicating on Tuesday and Wednesday last week. For the first time in 18 years we had all three of our duplicators down at one time. We are in the process of replacing two of the duplicators with a new digital system which should be up and running by the middle of June. This new system should keep us up and running for the next 18 years.

If you would like to publicize a special thank you to someone, e-mail information to monday.memo@enmu.edu.

Don't Forget

The faculty recitals this week. Read the "Announcements" section for details.

Employee Briefs

Dr. Tamara Raatz, associate professor of music, will present the ENMU Chamber Players Recital at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 19 in the Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos. The public is invited and admission is free. The lecture and performance focus on a musical masterpiece composed while Oliver Messiaen was imprisoned in Germany during the Holocaust. Unsure if he would survive to see his loved ones again, Messiaen composed Abime Des Oiseaux (a-beam day we-so) from Quartet for the End of Time – The Musical Mechanics of Mysticism. “This is a performance analysis of Messiaen’s piece,” said Dr. Raatz. For more information, call her at 505.562.2374.

Dr. Mark Dal Porto, assistant professor of music, has had a paper selected for presentation at the Music and Language Conference to be held at The University of Aberdeen, Scotland. The title of Dal Porto’s paper is The Similarities of Structure Between Music and Speech. The conference will take place June 21-22.

Dr. Tamara Raatz, associate professor of music, has received notification that her paper titled Mastering the Stage – Creative Approaches to Understanding and Managing the Psychology of Performance has been accepted for presentation at the International Clarinet Association Conference at the University of Maryland in July.

Dr. John Humphreys, Dr. Bill Brunsen, and Dr. Dale Davis, College of Business, have authored a paper titled The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Coping Ability, and Affective Commitment: Further Implications for Health Care Management. The manuscript has been accepted for presentation and publication in the proceedings of the 21st Annual Southwest Business Symposium to be held at the University of Central Oklahoma in April.

Four faculty from HPE and FCS/Ag recently attended the convention of the Southwest District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance held at the Tamaya Resort outside Albuquerque. Faculty attending were Mr. Fred Chilson (FCS/Ag), Dr. Megan Chilson (HPE), Dr. Mary Drabbs (HPE), and Dr. Cheryl Holloway (HPE). Fred and Megan Chilson presented "Effects of 'Brain Gym' Activities on the Idaho Reading Indicator: What This Means for New Mexico Students." They also presented "Movement Symbols: Integrating Art into Your Physical Education Class." Dr. Drabbs presented "Activities for Comprehensive Health Education." Fred, Megan and Mary Drabbs are also members of the Executive Board for the New Mexico Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (NMAHPERD).

Candid Camera

It Only Hurts When I Do This... (photo by Jill Butler)

Secretary Carries Through with Threat on Editor (again) – The executive secretary in Business Affairs who threatened – "I will blacken both of your eyes this time if you dare run that photo of me!" – more than made good. Last time she simply blackened one of the Monday Memo editor's eyes in retaliation for him running a dessert-time photo. This time, the two black eyes were just the beginning – and may affect everyone's insurance rates. (The editor said he hadn't been hurt this badly since playing The Fighting Tumbleweeds from the Roswell campus in basketball last year.) Below is the photo that riled up the sweet-toothed secretary this time.

(photo by Wendel Sloan)

Nice Coverage... (photo by Richard Salas, scanned by Betsy Chavez)

In Around Town, Lubbock Newspaper's Entertainment Guide – Around Town, the weekend entertainment guide that comes out each Friday in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, ran this nice photo of the "My Fair Lady" cast, taken by ENMU student Richard Salas. Thanks to the newspaper's entertainment editor, William Kerns, Eastern has been getting very nice coverage of its Fine Arts events. In this particular issue, not only was "My Fair Lady" publicized, but also ENMU's "Diversity Festival," Tamara Raatz's upcoming faculty recital, and the Runnels Gallery.

Scenes from Jazz Fest (photos by Richard Salas)

With Guest Artist Jon Birdsong

Visitors from the Far East (photo by Wendel Sloan)

Come West to Pay Tribute to Jack Williamson – (L-R) Mr. Huo Bao Zhu, president of Shaanxi Five Rings Sculptural Art Co., Ltd. in China, recently visited Eastern in preparation for donating a bust of Dr. Jack Williamson to the school. Dr. Williamson is the world-renowned science fiction writer who still teaches a yearly science fiction course at Eastern. Also pictured with ENMU president Dr. Steven Gamble is Mr. Jia Zhuo Fei, sculptor of the Williamson bust and professor at Xian Jiao Tong University. Huo Bao Zhu has previously donated a Greyhound statue to ENMU.

Rendering of Jack Williamson Bust (photo provided by Patrice Caldwell)

In Transit from West (Coast) to East(ern) – This rendering of the Jack Williamson bust is what it will look like when it is put in place on the ENMU campus in the near future. The bust, after being flown over from Chine, is currently somewhere on the highways of America.

Three Grand Masters (photo by Wendel Sloan)

Of Science Fiction – (L-R) Jack Williamson, Robert Silverberg and Frederik Pohl, three world renowned Grand Masters of Science Fiction, signed copies of their award-winning novels following lunch on Thursday during the 28th Annual Willimason Lectureship in the ENMU Campus Ballroom. The three presented a panel discussion that evening on "Space Opera: Then and Now."

Very Special Book (photo by Wendel Sloan)

Honors 75 Years of Williamson Science Fiction Steve Haffner of Haffner Press presented Jack Williamson, 95, with a special etched and embossed edition of Seventy –Five: The Diamond Anniversary of a Science Fiction Pioneer. The anthology, bound in black goat skin with a copper emblem of Dr. Williamson's face and inscribed with his name, represents a compilation of the writer's first 75 years of published science fiction.

It Was Shot on the Spur-of-the-Moment (photo by Helen Rodriguez)

With a tiny little camera from the back of the room – But this grainy image still captures the surprise that Dr. Patrice Caldwell expressed at the evening Williamson Lectureship when she was honored with an extremely nice plaque for her many years of tireless service in making the annual Lectureship an unqualified success.

No Science Fiction: (photo by Marc Schoder)

Just a Science Fair Fact – Air Force representatives flew down the highway from Cannon in their car to volunteer at the recent Science Fair at ENMU.

Original Tile Is... (photo by Wendel Sloan)

'Nearly Like Red Clay' – according to Building Services manager Mike Nuckols. Mike is referring to the 1930s-era tile that was recently unearthed during renovation work in the Administration Building. The greenish painting on the lower wall is also throught to be original. No doubt Eastern's early pioneers had a constant subliminal craving for key-lime pie.

The Lower 40 (photo by Wendel Sloan)

Was the Easy Part: It Was All Downwhill – but now it's time for (left) Payroll Generalist Jackie Kabrick to plow the uphill upper 40. At least she has buddy Crystal Payne-Sawyer to help her round up the cows and mooo-ve them out of the way.

Please don't forget to read the "Announcements" by clicking on them at the top of this page.

The Monday Memo is published by the Office of Communication Services Editor Wendel Sloan Monday.memo@enmu.edu 505.562.2253 Staff Writers Scarlet Smith Marc Schoder Helena Rodriguez Staff Photographer Richard Salas Jill Butler ENMU-Roswell Contributing Editor Donna Gutierrez ENMU-Ruidoso Contributing Editor Jim Miller Technical Support ENMU Web Team