Volume 5: Issue 8 | October 9, 2023

WT Homecoming Week Set for Oct. 6 to 14

Highlights will include:

The Phoenix celebration of WT’s Distinguished Alumni Class of 2023 will include a dinner and program, followed by jazz and desserts. It will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 12 in Legacy Hall. Honorees are Gary Barnes, a transformative former WT administrator; and the late William E. “Bill” Semmelbeck, a beloved business professor emeritus.
Celebration of Color: Four WT alumni of color and three Amarillo community leaders will be honored at this dinner event at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 in Legacy Hall.
Run with the Herd: WT Military and Veteran Services will host a 5K fun run around the WT campus at 8 a.m. Oct. 14.
Homecoming Parade: The Buff Playlist-themed parade will begin at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 and will follow a route from the First United Bank Center to the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex along Russell Long Boulevard.
Countdown to Kickoff Block Party: Tailgating activities will begin immediately after the parade along 26th Street across from Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium on campus.
WT Football: The Buffs will take on Western New Mexico at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 in Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.

"The Interconnected Landscape"

On her commute between Canyon and Guymon, Oklahoma, Katy George found unexpected inspiration in the rolls and folds of the Texas Panhandle landscape.

It reminded her of bedsheets,

of all things.

Now, George, the art program director at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, is using that inspiration in works on view in “This Interconnected Landscape,” her thesis exhibition for her Master of Fine Arts degree at

West Texas A&M University.

The exhibition will hang Oct. 5 to 28 in the Dord Fitz Formal Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall. An opening reception is scheduled for

5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 5.

For more information, click HERE!

WT’s Texas Poets’ Host Award-Winning Slam Poet

CANYON, Texas—Caleb Rainey, a spoken-word poet, will headline the Texas Poets’ Corner annual fall event at West Texas A&M University.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. Oct. 12 in the Poets’ Garden on the east side of Cornette Library on WT’s Canyon campus.

“Spoken word poetry is performance poetry,” said Dr. Patricia Tyrer, who coordinated Rainey’s visit to campus. Tyrer is the Jenny Lind Porter Professor of English and professor in WT’s Department of English, Philosophy, and Modern Languages in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities.

“It’s poetry that doesn’t just exist on the page but rather exists to be heard out loud and witnessed in person,” Tyrer continued.

This event is free and open to the public and will include a reception.

For more information click here

WT Great Books Series Blossoms in October with Discussion of Kate Chopin Stories

West Texas A&M University’s Great Books Series will offer a bouquet of lesser-known works by a major female author at its October meeting.

RayLene Dystert, WT instructor of English, will lead the discussion of Kate Chopin’s short stories “Lilacs” and “The Lilies” at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 via Zoom.

The discussion series — sponsored by the Department of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages in the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities —is open to those who either have or haven’t read the stories, said Dr. Daniel Bloom, Great Books organizer and associate professor of philosophy.

For More Information Click Here

WT Professor Explores ‘Magenta Mornings’

A West Texas A&M University art faculty member’s explorations of her new home will be on view at South Plains College beginning Oct. 9.

Anna K. Lemnitzer’s “Chaos Theory” will be on view through Nov. 17 in the Christine Devitt Fine Arts Gallery at the college, 1402 Barnes Drive in Levelland. A closing reception is set for 5 p.m. Oct. 30.

Lemnitzer moved to the Panhandle area from the Allegheny region of Pennsylvania and previously lived in Montana, Arizona and Oregon.

Nowhere before had she ever encountered the Panhandle’s iconic wide open spaces, nor a natural landmark like Palo Duro Canyon, nor the explosion of colors that burst across the sky at sunrise and sunset.

Lemnitzer earned her Master of Fine Arts in art from The University of Montana School of Art in 2012, and her bachelor’s degree in art education from The University of Arizona School of Art in 2005.

She teaches primarily foundations and digital art at WT.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

To learn more, click Here

Behind The Buff: Chasely Matmanivong

Chasely Matmanivong

Chasely Matmanivong, originally from Alabama, is getting her Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art. Chasely graduated with her bachelor’s degree from a college in Alabama and wanted to pursue a master's degree. She had a friend recommend West Texas A&M University because of the wonderful support system. Chasely has a passion for literature, where a lot of her inspiration for art comes from. Chasely’s grandmother was the most inspirational person in her life. Her grandmother was a hard worker and encouraged Chasely to consistently be her best and truest self.

To learn more about our students, click Herel

WT Forensics Reunion

Calling all WT Alumni who competed on the forensics team!