“During that time, I participated in three artist residencies,” Holder said. “While at the Hambidge Center in the mountains of north Georgia, I focused primarily on research and writing, while experimenting with new techniques to create text-based works. I then spent five weeks at a ceramics residency in Rome looking closely at ancient monuments, which inspired a series of sculptures and site-responsive photographs. Next, I spent six weeks at Guldagergaard International Ceramics Research Center in Denmark, where I continued to create sculptures, photographs, and built a new installation.” Holder said the sabbatical proved to be a very productive time for her as an artist. “I not only produced an abundance of new work, I also connected with artists from across the globe and participated in two international exhibitions,” she said. “I am grateful for the support from the university, my colleagues, and the other arts institutions that made this deep creative dive possible." The gallery is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the week when classes are in session. There is no cost to visit the gallery.The Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, a long-time national advocate for children, will speak at University of the Ozarks on Monday, Feb. 10, as part of the Cecil and Ruth Boddie Farmer Chapel Guest Speakers Series.
Lindner’s talk is titled, “Is Childhood an Endangered Species?” and will begin at 7 p.m. in the Rogers Conference Center. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.
The Presbyterian pastor has worked on behalf of children for most of her professional life. She served as the director of the Child Advocacy Office for the National Council of Churches of Christ in the 1970s and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as U.S. Commissioner for the International Year of the Child where she worked closely with the White House on child welfare policy during the Carter administration. In 2006, she wrote the book, “Thus Far on the Way: Toward a Theology of Child Advocacy.”
In her talk on the U of O campus, she will discuss how we can help ensure the wellbeing of children in today’s society.
“Today throughout the world children are subject to economic exploitation, trafficked for purposes of sexual abuse or as child soldiers and are subjected to rates of poverty and neglect that are unprecedented,” Lindner said. “Even in affluent countries, children today are often oversubscribed to tutoring, sports, drama, music and martial arts training leaving little time or opportunity for the essential developmental task of being children. As we increase our awareness and concern for the natural environment we might do well to consider the circumstances of the youngest cohort of humans and reconsider our priorities. Poet John Donne long ago lamented the plight of children who are “...weeping in the playtime of others.” We will look together at the plight of children asking ourselves how we can best enable today's children to live the lives for which they were created.”
Lindner, who earned her Ph.D. in church history from Union Theological Seminary, was ordained in the Philadelphia Presbytery in 1975. She has served in churches throughout the country, most recently as senior pastor at Presbyterian Church at Tenafly in New Jersey from 2009 to 2018. She currently serves as a consultant for the Presbyterian Foundation and Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Lindner served as the Deputy General Secretary for the National Council of Churches from 1986-2007. She also served as the Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of the Palisades from 2007-2009.
The American Shakespeare Center will present William Shakespeare’s masterpiece, “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, as part of the 2019-20 Walton Arts & Ideas Series.
The production will be held in the Walton Fine Art Center’s Seay Theatre on campus. The event is open to the public and there is no cost to attend.
Written by Shakespeare in 1595-96, the comedy portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. Shakespeare casts a theatrical spell powerful enough to make audiences of all ages believe in anything. This mischievous comedy of lovers, heroes, fairies, and rude mechanicals is his tribute to humankind's power of imagination, and reveals that the “course of true love can alter with just one touch of magic.”
The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.
Based in Staunton, Virginia, the American Shakespeare Center recovers the joys and accessibility of Shakespeare’s theatre, language, and humanity by exploring the English Renaissance stage and its practices through performance and education. Year-round in Staunton’s Blackfriars Playhouse — the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre — the ASC’s innovative programming and “shamelessly entertaining” (The Washington Post) productions have shared the delights of Shakespeare, modern classics and new plays with millions over the past 30 years.
Beyond the Playhouse, the ASC is a hub for Shakespeare education and scholarship and also tours from Texas to Maine each year with a repertory of three plays. Founded in 1988 as Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, the organization became the American Shakespeare Center in 2005 and can be found online at www.americanshakespearecenter.com.
University of the Ozarks conferred degrees upon 24 graduating seniors during the 2019 Fall Commencement, held Saturday, Dec. 14, in Munger-Wilson Chapel.
Dr. Angela Wheeler Spencer, a 1998 U of O alumna and an accounting professor at Oklahoma State University, served as the keynote speaker. Dr. Jim Bruning, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, also commended the graduates on earning their diplomas.
Janae Williams, an environmental studies major from the Bahamas, gave the students’ welcome address and classmate Micaela Winters, a psychology major from Fort Smith, Ark., provided the scripture reading.
The Fall 2019 graduates were:
Bailey Sierra Albertson
Shell Knob, MO
BS, Marketing
Shelby Lynn Bosken
Valley Center, KS
BA, Art
Magna Cum Laude
Lillian Marie Bostic
Rogers, AR
BA, Art
Johnathan Scott Bowen
Hartman, AR
BS, Political Science
Madison Carol Chaney
Sikeston, MO
BS, Health Science
Fielder Thomas Dufrene
Clinton, AR
BS, Physical Education
Monica Flores
Clarksville, AR
BS, Health Science
Summa Cum Laude
William Merrem Forbes
Houston, TX
BS, Mathematics
Brittany Alexis Holt
Mansfield, Texas
BS, Biology
Cum Laude
Jordan Alexander King
Moore, OK
Bachelor of General Studies
Rebecca Anne McCarron
Covington, LA
BS, Health Science
Magna Cum Laude
Alec Daniel Mertin
New Blaine, AR
BS, Mathematics
Summa Cum Laude
Jaret Kyle Milligan
Hillsboro, AL
BS, Health Science
Abigail Rae Mork
Aurora, CO
BS, Chemistry
Siaygnoun Somphone Nhamnhouane
Van Buren, AR
BS, Health Science
Cecilia Marie Pearson
Clarksville, AR
BA, Communication Studies
Aaron Elliott Smith
Bentonville, AR
BS, Health Science
Taylor Antionette Snellback
Lonsdale AR.
BA, English
Manuel Tambriz Sac
Aldea Palacal, Solola, Guatemala.
BS, Management, International Business
Magna Cum Laude
Amber Lennex Taylor
Tulsa, OK
BS, Business Administration
Jacob Austin Toland
Little Rock, AR
BS, Health Science
Cody Lane Walters
Rogers, AR
Bachelor of General Studies
Janae Danielle Williams
Nassau, Bahamas
BS, Environmental Studies
Magna Cum Laude
Micaela Elizabeth Winters
Fort Smith, AR
BS, Psychology
University of the Ozarks senior art major Kirsten Endicott of Rogers, Ark., will present her Senior Exhibit, “Patchwork Through Time,” from Nov. 24 through Dec. 4 in the Stephens Gallery.
There will be a reception to meet the artist from 6-7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2. Endicott will also present an artist talk from 2-3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, in Baldor Auditorium.
Endicott said “Patchwork Through Time,” is a tribute to her late grandmother, who first introduced her to the world of quilting and art.
“The warm memories that I have of my grandmother before she passed away from cancer are ones that I will keep in my heart for the rest of my life, such as re-painting a garden bench, going around neighborhoods looking at other people’s houses decorated with Christmas lights, and helping her do little things like re-filling the bird feeder outside her dining room window,” Endicott said. “I even remember the time when my sister and I made a few quilts with our grandmother from old denim jeans and cotton fabric. Since gardening and quilting were my grandmother’s favorite hobbies, I wanted to put those two things together in one huge scene, as seen in ‘Bench in Grandmother’s Garden.’ I wanted to challenge myself with a different quilter’s skill in each of these cotton fabric pieces.”
Endicott said she uses numerous quilting skills and tools in manufacturing her quilts.
“For the smaller quilts, I use a needle and thread to hand-sew them together, but for the larger quilts I would apply fabric with my sewing machine,” she said. “I was inspired to give hand-sewing a try and challenge myself to this new way of making these masterpieces. I also incorporate found objects such as dolls' clothes, buttons and different styles of beads onto the quilt in order to give dimension, instead of being flat like other traditional quilts.”
Many of Endicott’s quilts utilize the skill of appliqué, a method of sewing a piece of fabric to another larger piece of fabric.
“Appliqué gives me the option of using organic shapes rather than using geometric shapes throughout the entire quilt,” she said. “Another technique I used to make some of my quilts is to take some old photos I found and print them onto a special fabric paper. In ‘A Birdwatchers’ View,’ I used applique on the birds, feeders, and the tree leaves. After cutting out all the necessary pieces, I then used basting spray in order for the fabric to stay in place while I ran it through the sewing machine. If the applied fabric moved even a little, then it would be very difficult to fix without accidentally tearing the fabric.”
Endicott said some of her larger quilts took several weeks to make.
“The ones that I make by just using a needle and thread sometimes takes me only around five days, so not as long as making one huge quilt,” she said. “The one important thing that I keep in mind, while sewing, is to ask myself, ‘why am I making this quilt? What purpose does it serve or who will it benefit?’ Mostly, I have been making quilts based on memories of important events and the people I love.”
Following graduation, Endicott plans to return to Northwest Arkansas and pursue a career in teaching art.
Approximately 25 graduating seniors are expected to receive their diplomas during the University of the Ozarks’ 2019 Fall Commencement ceremony, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14.
The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. in Munger-Wilson Memorial Chapel. Immediately following Commencement, there will be a reception for the graduates and their families and friends in the Rogers Conference Center.
Dr. Angela (Wheeler) Spencer, a 1998 graduate of Ozarks, will serve as the keynote speaker during the ceremony. A native of Lamar, Ark., Spencer serves as the Undergraduate Program Coordinator in the School of Accounting at Oklahoma State University, where she also holds the Lanny G. Chasteen Chair and Haskell Cudd Professorship. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses at OSU, including courses on accounting theory and accounting tools, technologies, and innovation. Her research interests primarily focus on issues related to financial reporting, including off-balance sheet items and disclosure.
Spencer, who earned an MBA from the University of Central Arkansas and her Ph.D. from OSU, has received a number of awards related to teaching, research, and service, including the Federation of Schools of Accountancy FSA/Mark Chain Innovation in Graduate Teaching Award, the Kenneth D. and Leitner Greiner Teaching Award and the Phillips 66 Exceptional Service Award. She previously served as treasurer of the U of O Alumni Association and currently serves as a member of the American Accounting Association’s steering committees for the Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting and the Intensive Data and Analytics Summer Workshop, City of Stillwater Audit Committee, and Stillwater Medical Center Finance Committee.
Spencer lives in Stillwater, Okla., with her husband, Shawn, and sons Jack and Jamie.
The senior welcome will be provided by Janae Williams, an environmental studies major from Nassau, The Bahamas.
Commencement week will also include a senior dinner in the Rogers Conference Center at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, and a brick ceremony on the campus mall at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13.
University of the Ozarks senior art major Willow Stratton of Fayetteville, Ark., will showcase her Senior Art Exhibit, titled, “Flock Life,” from Nov. 18-23 in the Stephens Gallery.
Willow, who is minoring in education and psychology, will present an artist talk at 3 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, in Baldor Auditorium. There will be a reception to meet the artist at 5 p.m. on Nov. 23 in the gallery, which is located in the Walton Fine Arts Center.
In her exhibit, “Flock Life,” Stratton honors her life-long attraction to birds.
“Most of my childhood was spent watching the birds and wishing for the ability to fly,” she said. “Now, birds are the main focus of the works due to my natural draw towards them. Each bird that I depict has a meaning, some from Celtic, European and Native American cultures. In each culture, items have different significance, occasionally sharing similar symbols. The cultures and symbols I am inspired by connect to my family lineage, making the works more personal to me.”
Stratton said each bird in her artwork represents a person in her life.
“For example, the hummingbird represents my mother,” she said. “A hummingbird symbolizes endless insight and wisdom, and it seeks out the good and beauty in life. My mother, to me, has endless knowledge about the world and she is always the person I reach out to for problems. In addition to the bird totems, the drawings include items that represent each person, whether it is something they like or something in their possession. Each symbol and bird is researched and noted so that the imagery will represent the person before I start the piece.”
Stratton said that in Native American culture, the yellow cactus flower represents motherhood and unconditional love.
“The Native Americans described the yellow flower as symbolizing patience and endurance,” she said. “My mother forever acts maternal towards me; taking care of me when I am sick or giving me motherly advice. The hummingbird and flower together represents her infinite patience and love for her children, resulting in its name, ‘Infinite Infinity.’ After the imagery is determined, sketches are created to plan a layout that includes their personality through cultural symbols and objects. Colored pencils are used to form the bird while an array of mixed media are used to create the background. The bird is drawn separately and then meticulously cut out and attached to the background. Other pieces are cut out and collaged in.”
Stratton said that not all of her artworks in “Flock Life” represent a positive relationship.
“One of the pieces, ‘You Ran Over Me,’ presents a dead owl, symbolizing the destruction this person caused on my life and self-esteem,” she said. “The background embodies the feeling of slowly being consumed by the feeling of dread and hopelessness, which ended up being a healing experience. The pieces will represent the positive and negative relationships in my life, some past and some present.”
The University of the Ozarks Theatre will host the Arkansas Festival of the 2019 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) Region 6 on Nov. 14-16.
University Theatre will present its production of “Love’s Labour’s Lost” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, in the Walton Fine Arts Center’s Seay Theatre.
In addition, the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (UAFS) theatre program will present “Ghost Sonata” at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, and “Side Man” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in the Seay Theatre.
The Arkansas Festival will also include forums, workshops and an awards ceremony on Saturday.
The University of the Ozarks Theatre is vying to get its production of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” selected for the Region 6 2020 Regional Festival, scheduled for Abilene, Texas, in February. A total of five productions will be selected for the regionals from the five-state region, which includes collegiate programs in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national organization that exists to celebrate the educational and creative process of university and college theatre. KCACTF promotes professional standards and provides students and faculty with opportunities to bridge the academic and professional worlds.
University of the Ozarks will welcome a record 40 businesses, organizations and graduate schools to campus on Thursday, Nov. 14, for the University’s annual Career Fair.
The Career Fair, which will run from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Rogers Conference Center, is an opportunity for University students to connect with local, state and international businesses and organizations as well as graduate and professional schools.
Ruth Walton, director of career services, said she estimates that more than 250 students will attend the event.
“I am excited that we reached our goal of 40 organizations and businesses to attend our annual Career Fair,” Walton said. “It is refreshing to experience so many companies understanding how important it is to have a presence at a university career fair. Not only is it a cost effective way to recruit; it is building and fostering a collaborative partnership. We are a small, yet, mighty school. As our University grows its enrollment, companies and graduate schools can depend on University of the Ozarks to provide them with top candidates for their programs.”
U of O students are encouraged to dress in interview attire and bring their resumes to the event.
University of the Ozarks senior Shelby Bosken will present her butterfly-inspired Senior Art Exhibit titled, “Betterfly,” from Nov. 11-15 in the Stephens Gallery.
There will be an artist talk by Bosken at 3 p.m., Nov. 15, in Baldor Auditorium as well as a reception to meet the artist at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15 in the gallery, located in the Walton Fine Arts Center.
Bosken, an art major and psychology minor from Valley Center, Kansas, is scheduled to graduate in December. She said the exhibit is a reflection of her personal journey.
“It is an accumulation of artworks that emerged from a time in my life where I was consumed in a cocoon of uncertainties and pain and that transformed into a journey of self-liberation,” Bosken said. “I am better. I will fly. I am a ‘Betterfly.’”
She said that the transformation of a butterfly, starting as a larva, forming into a cocoon, and finally as adult has “captivated and inspired humans for centuries.”
“The process of metamorphosis is not easy; it is filled with many challenges, and the end result changes the character and appearance of anyone that goes through it,” Bosken said. “My artwork is focused around the physical appearance of butterflies, but it is deeply influenced by the rebirth, realigning and renewal of my life over the past year.”
Bosken utilizes a mixture of mixed media, such as charcoal drawing, watercolor, printmaking, collage and decorative materials in her artwork.
“My subconscious thoughts and emotions drive the overall composition and in turn create a therapeutic experience,” she said. “The majority of my show is focused on mixed media collage, however I have also incorporated two series of charcoal drawings.”
Bosken said that in two of her artworks, “Acknowledging” and “Deciding,” she focuses on the more somber aspects of transformation.
“The symbolic significance of ‘Acknowledging,’ is that oftentimes it takes an introspective look at oneself and deciding that change starts from within,” she said. “’Deciding,’ shows the other side, when support is needed, the butterfly must land on flowers for pollen, just as humans must also gain emotional nutrients from the environment around them.”
Bosken plans to apply for art therapy graduate programs after graduating from Ozarks.
The exhibit will be on display in the gallery from Nov. 11-15 and is free and open to the public.