Elizabethtown College News 
Back to top 10/25/2007 Masters Center dedicated during Homecoming, Family Weekend Elizabethtown College dedicated the Masters Center for Science, Mathematics and Engineering and its Lyet Wing for Biological Sciences on Oct. 20,  during Homecoming and Family Weekend. Recognized at the event were Frank M. Masters Jr. (second from left) of Harrisburg, who contributed $4 million – the single largest cash contribution in Elizabethtown’s history -- toward construction of the Center, and alumnus Dr. J. Paul Lyet III (third from left) of Lititz, for whom the Lyet Wing was named. When completed next year, the entire Masters Center project will renovate more than 95,000 square feet and provide an additional 33,000 square feet of science classroom and laboratory space.
“The new teaching and research laboratories in the Lyet wing will strengthen the biology programs by providing state-of- the-art-facilities, opportunities for new faculty student research, and opportunities for closer collaboration between faculty in the sciences,” said Tom Murray, professor of biology and chair of the Department of Biology. Back to top 10/18/2007 Arun Gandhi to present Carper Lecture Arun Gandhi, grandson of legendary peacefighter and spiritual leader Mahatma  Gandhi, will present Elizabethtown College’s 2007 Rev. Dr. Frank S. Carper Lecture on Ethics, Business and Society at 7 p.m., Nov. 15, in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. His talk, which will be followed by a book signing, is open to the public. Free tickets are required and are available by calling 717-361-1410.Arun Gandhi was born in South Africa to Gandhi’s second son and was raised in the first of the nonviolent communities established by M. K. Gandhi in South Africa and India. In 1946, his parents sent him to India, where he lived for 18 months with his grandfather during the campaign for independence from British rule. At 23, Arun Gandhi returned to India and became a journalist with the Times of India. He met his wife Sunanda, a nurse, when he was hospitalized in Bombay, and the couple married in 1958. Together with their colleagues, they founded the Center for Social Unity, an economic self-help program to alleviate poverty and discrimination among India’s poor, an initiative that has now spread to more than 300 Indian villages. In 1987, the Gandhis came to the United States, where they founded the M. K. Gandhi Institute at Christian Brothers University in 1991. The mission of the Institute, which is currently hosted by the University of Rochester, is to foster understanding of nonviolence and develop ways to put that philosophy to practical use through workshops, lectures and community outreach programs. A speaker of international acclaim, Gandhi has spoken before hundreds of colleges and universities, and corporate and civic organizations. His unique talents and cross-cultural experiences have brought him before governmental, social and educational audiences in countries all over the world, including Brazil, Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Lithuania, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Nicaragua. Back to top 10/17/2007 Fall theatre production, "Gint," scheduled to begin Nov. 1 Elizabethtown College’s theatre program will present “Gint” -- a retelling of Henrik Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt” -- at 8 p.m. on Nov 1-3 and Nov. 8-10 in Tempest  Theatre. Tickets cost $5 and are available by calling 717-361-1170.Ibsen’s classic folk drama about the boy who thought he could be enough unto himself is moved from Norway to Appalachia by Obie Award-winning American playwright Romulus Linney. The life of Pete Gint -- son, lover, rascal, and rogue -- spans the 20th century, trailing from North Carolina hollers to California resorts, from fantastic failure to soaring success. Yet Gint still searches for his soul. Cast members for the production include Sam Gillam (pictured), a senior theatre and political science major from Glen Burnie, Md., as Pete Gint; Katlyn Howes, a junior English education and theatre major from Taneytown, Md., as Gint’s Oldie Momma; and Emily Grove (pictured), a sophomore theatre major from Harrisburg, as Sally Vicks, Gint’s soulmate. The remaining cast members, who play multiple roles, are: Elyse Venturella, a junior theatre and communications major from Palmyra; Ezra Schatz, a junior theatre and business administration major from Elliottsburg; Megan Roberts, a senior theatre and psychology major from Bordentown, N.J.; and Graham Stokes, a junior theatre major from Exeter, R.I. “Gint” is the first Elizabethtown College production for Director and Associate Professor of Theatre Michael Swanson, who joined the faculty this fall. Swanson was previously theatre arts director and instructor at Fresno City College. In addition, he has taught at the University of Arizona, Western Illinois University and Franklin College, where he served as chair of the Department of Fine Arts. Swanson has staged more than 60 productions and has served in key leadership positions, including regional chair, for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region III. He also founded the Shakespeare & More Theatre company of Central Indiana, and his work has been published in several scholarly publications and has been presented at a variety of national conferences. Back to top 10/9/2007 Long's book on Jackie Robinson earns favorable reviews An Elizabethtown College professor has collected and edited the letters of Jackie Robinson in a new book that reveals  how the baseball legend sought to use his fame to further the civil rights cause. Major league baseball this summer marked the 60th anniversary of Robinson’s historic debut – which broke the sports color barrier – as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.Michael Long’s “First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson” (Times Books) is a collection of previously unpublished letters from the 1950s through the 1970s. It includes Robinson’s correspondence with – and personal replies from – Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller and Barry Goldwater. The book’s foreword was written by Henry Louis Gates Jr. Positive reviews have already appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, Publishers Weekly and Book Forum. “Writing eloquently and with evident passion, Robinson charted his own course, offering his support to Democrats and to Republicans, questioning the tactics of the civil rights movement, and challenging the nation’s leaders when he felt they were guilty of hypocrisy – or worse,” writes publisher Times Books. Long is an associate professor of religious studies and peace and conflict studies at Elizabethtown College and is the author of several books on religion and politics in mid-century America, including “Against Us, but for Us: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the State” and “Billy Graham and the Beloved Community: America’s Evangelist and the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.” “First Class Citizenship” was funded in part through a grant from The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg. More information is available at www.firstclasscitizenship.com. Back to top 10/3/2007 Homecoming, Family Weekend to include public events  Elizabethtown College’s annual Homecoming and Family Weekend, scheduled for Oct. 19 – 21, will feature the dedication of the Masters Center, performances by students in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, as well as an opening for an exhibit of printmaking and installations. These events are open to the public free of charge. The Masters Center for Science, Mathematics and Engineering, including the Lyet Wing for Biological Sciences, will be dedicated at noon on Oct. 20. Frank M. Masters Jr. of Harrisburg contributed $4 million – the single largest cash contribution in Elizabethtown’s history – toward the construction of the Center. The $19-million project has entailed considerable work to update existing science laboratories and classroom space in Musser and Esbenshade Halls, and construction of the Lyet Wing for Biological Sciences, which opened this fall. An opening and gallery talk for an exhibit of installations and printmaking by Lemoyne resident Shawn Williams will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Zug Hall’s Hess Gallery. The exhibit runs through December 7. Hours for Hess Gallery are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. on weekends. The choirs at Elizabethtown College will join forces with the Jazz Band for a concert at 2:30 p.m. in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. This concert will feature music for all tastes, including Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia,” hymns from the Brethren tradition, songs from Africa and jazz standards. The Concert Choir and Jazz Band will also collaborate to present renditions of “Moonglow” and “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo.” The College’s performance students will also present an afternoon and evening of entertainment titled “Night on Broadway.” Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 in Zug Recital Hall. In addition to the free items above, Homecoming and Family Weekend will also feature two performances by Robert Wuhl, star of HBO’s “Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl. ” The shows begin at 7 and 9 p.m. in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. General admission tickets cost $17 and are available at www.etowncollegeonline.com. For more information, call 717-361-1273. To download a complete schedule of Homecoming and Family Weekend 2007 events, click on the link below. • Homecoming and Family Weekend 2007 schedule of events (PDF download) Back to top 10/2/2007 Cullen to present guitar concert Grammy Award-winning guitarist and Elizabethtown College artist-in-residence David Cullen will perform at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 15, in  Zug Recital Hall. The event, part of the Monday Series sponsored by the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, is open to the public free of charge.The concert program will feature pieces by Heitor Villa-Lobos, J.S. Bach, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Cullen’s original compositions: “Sedona’s Red Sky, “Memphis Sunday” and “Tijuana Times.” Cullen was among the 12 artists featured on “Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar,” which earned the 2005 Grammy Award for best pop instrumental recording. He has performed with Will Ackerman, Samite, Michael Manring, Victor Wooten, The Jaco Big Band and with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Cullen is featured on the Windham Hill Guitar Sampler and other Windham Hill Compilation CDs, and he has released two books -- “Jazz, Classical and Beyond” and “Grateful Guitar” -- through Warner Brothers Publications. Cullen has performed throughout North America for classical guitar societies, jazz festivals and performing arts series. He has released nine CDs for the acoustic guitar label Solid Air Records, and his recordings have been featured on NPR stations across the country. Cullen earned a bachelor of music in classical guitar performance at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music. Amidst his schedule of touring and playing, he teaches at Elizabethtown College and Kutztown University. Information on Cullen and ordering his music is available at www.cullenguitar.com. |
Back to News Index
