This briefs package highlights timely news and events from The University of Southern Mississippi. For more information on any of the stories below or for assistance in arranging interviews, contact the Department of Marketing and Public Relations at 228.865.4573.

• Honors Forum to feature documentary by Southern Miss Student
• Children’s Center Open House to Mark 35th Anniversary April 16
• Professor, Student Contribute Chapter for Katrina Book
• Voice Professor to Perform in Washington, D.C.
• Graphic Design Students Win ADDY Awards

Southern Miss Honors Forum to feature Student’s Documentary

HATTIESBURG, Miss -- The next University of Southern Mississippi Honors Forum will feature a documentary film produced by a Southern Miss student.

“Center Mass,” made last year by administration of justice and mass communication student Shankar Borua, will be shown Tuesday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium. The film focuses on the perspective of police shootings in the United States through the eyes of a filmmaker from another country.

A question and answer session with Borua will follow.

This event will be hosted by the Center for Human Rights and Civil Liberties; the Center for Black Studies; the College of Science and Technology; the School of Mass Communication and Journalism; the Student Association of Social Workers and the School of Social Work; and the Honors College.

For more information, call the Southern Miss Honors College at 601.266.4533.

Children’s Center to Celebrate 35th Anniversary with Open House April 16

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Children’s Center for Communication and Development will celebrate its 35th anniversary with an open house Thursday, April 16 from 4-6 p.m.  Alumni, families and friends of the Center, as well as the USM community are invited to tour the newly renovated Center, located on the Southern Miss campus in the Communication, Speech & Hearing building on Fraternity Drive. 

The Children’s Center provides early intervention services for infants, toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities, while training future therapists and teachers as a clinical division of the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences. For more information, call 601.266.

Southern Miss Professor, Doctoral Student Produce Chapter for Katrina Book

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A University of Southern Mississippi professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education and her doctoral student have produced a chapter for a book about the education community’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
 
“Surviving the Storm: Creating Opportunities for Learning in Response to Hurricane Katrina” includes the work of Dr. Rose Jones and doctoral student Susan Whitcomb in Chapter Two, titled “Enduring Katrina Moments: Experiences at The University of Southern Mississippi.” It was published by the Association of Childhood Education International.

The international, referred chapter details how students and faculty in the teacher education program at Southern Miss coped with the disaster on a personal level and as professionals seeking to continue their work to serve students under difficult circumstances. It includes recollections of the days and weeks following the storm from students and other Southern Miss faculty, and photos of the university’s Hattiesburg campus, including shots taken just days after the storm.

Throughout the book, the perspectives of educators and students who experienced firsthand the storm and its aftermath, yet strove to create learning opportunities in response to the devastating natural disaster. After each section, the editors provide a summary of the lessons learned and offer lingering questions provoked by the readings.

One of the oldest education associations in the world, ACEI was founded in 1892 with the goals of promoting the inherent rights of children and the professional development of classroom teachers around the world. The Southern Miss chapter was founded in 2004, and the following year received the association’s Branch Excellence Award. For more information about the book or the ACEI, contact Jones at 601.266.5247.

Southern Miss Professor to Perform in Washington, D.C.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Dr. Maryann Kyle, professor of voice at The University of Southern Mississippi, was invited to perform with the Gulfport High School Chamber Orchestra April 8 on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The chamber orchestra will present a pre-Washington concert at 7 p.m. Friday, April 3, at the Gulfport High School Auditorium.

“The jewel of the ‘Performing Arts for Everyone’ initiative is the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, which offers a free, one-hour performance every day at 6 p.m.  In the past 12 years, nearly three million people have attended these live performances,” said Diana Ezerins, programming coordinator for “Performing Arts for Everyone.”

An impressive program of music is being prepared, including works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, Villa-Lobos, Still, Piazzolla and Massenet.  Student soloists from Gulfport will be Kristina Russell and Tristan Harrell.  Staff-member soloists are Alba Madrid and Daniel Martinez.

Dr. Kyle will perform the soprano solo in the Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos.  A prolific and sought-after performer, she has sung leading roles with the Mississippi Opera, Chattanooga Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Southern Arts Festival Opera, the University of Illinois, East Tennessee Opera, LSU Opera, Gulf Coast Opera and The Opera at USM.

She has shared the stage with some of world’s greatest artists, including performing the role of Micaela in Carmen, opposite internationally known mezzo-soprano, Denyce Graves, as a guest soloist with The Miami Festival, opposite famed bass-baritone William Warfield, and as soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Timothy Nobles and Marietta Simpson.

In addition, she appeared as a soloist on the pop music stage with famed artists Patti Labelle, Patti Austin, Dionne Warwick, Ann Nesby and Vesta Williams.

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Southern Miss Graphic Design Students Win ADDY Awards

HATTIESBURG, Miss -- Department of Art and Design students studying graphic communication at The University of Southern Mississippi took top honors recently at the Mississippi Gulf Coast 2009 ADDY Awards competition, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation.

The competition, held March 7 at the Imperial Palace Casino in Biloxi, awarded student Best in Show to Joshua Parker from Hattiesburg, while Kyle Hilton from Jackson won the Judges Special Award.

The department also received notice Monday that Millie Worthington, a native of Hawaii, received a Gold, and Hilton and Parker earned a Silver from the regional ADDY competition.  All will receive their award at a special awards presentation April 17 in Baton Rouge, La.

Southern Miss students earning gold awards at the Gulf Coast competition include Parker, Hilton, Blayne Ward of New Orleans, Elizabeth Maloy of Long Beach, Sophia Benn of New Augusta and, as a group entry, Bill Anderson of Natchez, Rachel Ross of Vicksburg, Jessie Sims of Florence and Kelly Snelson of Diamondhead.

Silver Award winners at the state competition included Worthington, Hillary Lovinggood and Stuart Lovinggood of New Orleans; Brenna Aplin of Hattiesburg; Rachel Ross of Vicksburg; Kelly Snelson of Diamondhead; Jackie Sullivan of Brandon and as a group, Michael Maruszake of Brandon, Kate Stanley of Slaughter, Ky.; Quincy Morris of Jackson and Sara Gonzales of New Orleans.

These students study with Southern Miss graphic communications professors John House, Bill Baggett, DeAnna Douglas and Ping Xu.

The American Advertising Federation, headquartered in Washington, D.C., represents 50,000 professionals in the advertising industry. The AAF has a national network of 210 advertising clubs and connects the industry with an academic base through its 210 college chapters.

For more information on the graphic communication program at Southern Miss, call the Department of Art and Design at 601.266.4972.

About The University of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi, founded in 1910, is a comprehensive doctoral and research-extensive university fulfilling its mission of being a leading university in engaging and empowering individuals to transform lives and communities. In a tradition of leadership for student development, Southern Miss is educating a 21st century work force providing intellectual capital, cultural enrichment and innovation to Mississippi and the world. Southern Miss is located in Hattiesburg, Miss, with an additional campus and teaching and research sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; further information is found at www.usm.edu.