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                                                      College of Liberal Arts  

CoLA Weekly

   October 6, 2017

Last weekend we celebrated Wright State's 50th anniversary during Homecoming Weekend. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and retirees turned out in record numbers for a wide range of celebrations. The weekend kicked off with the Alumni Association Achievement Awards Dinner. Four of the six honorees had connections to CoLA. Congratulations to:
 
  • Alumna of the Year: Nicole Scherzinger, who studied in our department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures;
  • Honorary Alumna: Colleen Ryan, who has served the college as a past member and chair of the ARTSGALA Host Committee and a current member of the Dean's Leadership Board;
  • Alumni Society Award of Excellence: Stefanie Hreha, 2011 Anthropology graduate;
  • Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award: Karri O'Reilly, 1998 Motion Pictures graduate.
 
Left to right: President Cheryl B. Schrader,
Stefanie Hreha, Karri O'Reilly, Colleen Ryan 
 
Another highlight from the weekend was the Homecoming Festival on Saturday. It was great to see our Dean's Student Advisory Board take an active role in the event by hosting a booth with trivia, Jenga, information about the college, and of course our CoLA window clings!  
 
CoLA also participated in the CEHS Trivia Night,  which raised over $1,100 for student scholarships.  The CoLA Team finished strong with a tie for second place. Participants included Dawn Banker and Susan Paul, Dean's Office;  Cynthia Marshall and Michelle Metzner, English; David Baxter, Communication; and Elizabeth Bourgeois, Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures.  
   
On Monday the Dayton Metro Library hosted Community Conversations: Books of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.  This engaging event brought together professors and community members from around the area to talk about the great impact these books have had on so many, and about the power of the written word to promote peace. Andrew Strombeck, English, was joined by Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph to lead a discussion on The Sympathizer by Viet Thang Nguyen, the 2016 fiction winner. Nguyen joined the conversation via Skype.
 
CoLA faculty have been well-connected and involved in the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for many years.  Awad Halabi, History, led the first Community Conversation on August 24 about Your Fatwa Does not Apply Here by Karema Bennoune, the 2014 non-fiction winner.  Carol Loranger, English, who is a member of the associate board and the Holbrook Award nominating committee, will lead another Community Conversation on the works of this year's Holbrooke Award recipient, Colm Tóibín, at the Dayton Metro Library on November 2, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.  
 
Thank you to Awad, Drew, and Carol for spreading awareness and understanding about the Dayton Literary Peace Prize winners through their community conversations. And a s pecial thanks to this year's First Readers: Christopher Chaffee, Music; Lynette Jones, English/African and African American Studies; Dennis Loranger, Music/English; Mary Beth Pringle, English emerita; and Sarah Twill, Social Work. You can learn more about past awardees and this year's finalists here .
     
Don't miss the Chamber Orchestra's concert next Tuesday, October 10, at 8:00 p.m. in Schuster Hall. This concert is free and open to the public, so spread the word. Additional School of Music events can be found online .
 
This week's featured member of the Dean's Student Advisory Board (DSAB) is Hannah Baird . Hannah is a senior majoring in Mass Communication and minoring in Marketing.  She currently serves as the New Media Incubator intern at Wright State.  During her time here she has served as Entertainment Chair for Raiderthon, studied abroad in Spain through the University Center of International Education, and had the opportunity to intern at a local news station.  In her free time she loves anything to do with traveling, photography, and being outdoors. After graduating in December, Hannah hopes to move to the warm south and pursue a career in video production or social media.
 
     
Linda Caron
Dean    
 

   
CLASS CORNER 
 
Thursday, October 12 - Be a Career Fair All-Star, noon, Millett 106  
 
Monday, October 16 - Be a Career Fair All-Star - Strategies for Liberal Arts Majors, 11:00 a.m., Millett 106
 
Wednesday, October 18 - School of Public and International Affairs Alumni Career Panel and Program , 5:00-6:30 p.m., Millett Atrium 
 
Please check out the many upcoming activities planned through our Center for Liberal Arts Student Success (CLASS) .