Time-travel through several decades of French film noir during November – without ever leaving the Lamar University campus.

Faculty members Kenneth Rivers and Dianna Rivers are hosting “French Film Fest VIII” every Wednesday during the month, except the day before Thanksgiving.

Screenings begin at 7 p.m. Nov. 2, 9, 16 and 30 in the Dishman Art Museum lecture hall on the Lamar campus. The films – all on the big screen – will have English subtitles.

Audiences will feast on a menu of French detective and crime film from the 1960s through 2000. The festival is open to the public without charge.

The coming attractions:

Nov. 2: “Les Rivieres pourpres” (“Crimson Rivers,” 2000). “Think CSI France,” Kenneth Rivers said. A Parisian detective (Jean Reno) and a competitive young policeman (Victor Cassell) use forensic methods on a quest to nail a serial killer in the mountains of central France .

Nov. 9: “Le Voleur” (“Thief of Paris ,” 1966). Jean-Paul Belmondo stars as a suave international jewel thief who outwits the political authorities while chaming the ladies. Genevieve Bujold co-stars in this colorful piece directed by the great Louis Malle.

Nov. 16: “Un Si joli village” (“The Investigation,” 1979). A Columbo-like investigator (Jean Carnet) doggedly pesters his suspect, an industrialist (Victor Lanoux), whose wife has “disappeared.”

Nov. 30: “On a vole la cuisse de Jupiter” (“Jupiter’s Thigh,” 1979). Kenneth Rivers describes this film as a fun romp about a woman police detective (Annie Girardot) and her archaeologist husband (Philippe Noiret) who interrupt their honeymoon in Greece to track down a missing sculpture. Philippe de Broca directs.                                                                                               

Kenneth Rivers is a professor in the Department of English and Modern Languages and Lamar’s 2005 distinguished faculty lecturer. Dianna Rivers is an associate professor of nursing.

“It’s truly great to see these recent and classic films projected on the big screen,” Kenneth Rivers said. “The series has been a real success, and we’ll keep doing it every semester for as long as people keep coming out. Our audiences are discovering something new and exciting, and that gives me a great deal of satisfaction.”

Additional information is available from Kenneth Rivers at (409) 880-8595 or by email at lipprivers@yahoo.com.

 
Lamar choirs reschedule fall concert for Nov. 6 after Rita;
performance to premiere composition by student Joey Love

Lamar University choirs will perform in concert at 6 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at First United Methodist Church , 701 Calder at Pearl in downtown Beaumont .

The performance will feature the world premiere of “Musica Dei, donum optimi,” by Lamar composition major Joey Love, a graduate of Hamshire-Fannett High School .

Works by Vivaldi, Gounod, Clausen, Holst, Maddux, Nestor, Rorem, Horvit and Barber will complete the program.

Eduardo Garcia-Novelli, director of choral activities at Lamar, will conduct the choirs, which will be accompanied by chamber orchestra and a brass ensemble.

Originally scheduled for Oct. 23, the performance was postponed because of Hurricane Rita.

The concert is open to the public without charge.

 
Lamar Grad Fair Nov. 14 tackles December commencement
preparations after Hurricane Rita splits fall semester

Lamar University ’s December graduates have been forced to endure more stress than those before them – thanks to Hurricane Rita and the 27-day evacuation from campus. Besides having commencement pushed back to the last day of classes, Dec. 22, the Lamar Grad Fair has also been delayed and abbreviated.

It is now scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 14 in the Setzer Student Center Ballroom – one day instead of the two days originally planned Oct. 19 and 20.

With “Imagination Graduation” as its theme, Grad Fair ’05 will enable upcoming graduates to take care of all their commencement needs under one roof, said Judy Ford, assistant registrar.

December graduates will be able to apply and pay for graduation, join the alumni organization, receive important financial aid information, discover job opportunities through the Career Center , talk with a graduate admissions representative, purchase caps and gowns from the Setzer Student Center Bookstore and order and pay for invitations and class rings from Balfour.

All the right people will be there to answer any questions graduates may have, Ford said.

Grad Fair ‘05 is a campus-wide effort, with participation by the records staff, career services, financial aid, graduate admissions, the office of alumni affairs, the Setzer Center Bookstore and its venders and Image Specialists, the official graduation photographer.

This is the fifth Grad Fair since its inception in the spring of 2004. This event was designed to help prepare graduates for their big day.

Additional information on Grad Fair ‘05 is available at (409) 880-8969 or 880-8359.

 
Houston's "Mattress Mack" will address budding 
entrepreneurs at Lamar University Dec. 6

McIngvale is a Mississippi native who moved to Dallas and graduated from Bishop Lynch High School. He attended the University of Texas and North Texas State, playing football at both universities.

To date, he has given more than 2,000 speeches on the importance of education and staying off drugs to area schools. Along with his commercials, these speeches have made him one of the most well known faces in Houston.

On Nov. 10, 2000, McIngvale received the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Patriots' Award for outstanding community service.

Along with his success as a businessman, McIngvale is a noted philanthropist, having contributed more than $1 million to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholarship Fund.

He also donates furniture to refurnish local teachers' lounges annually, and, every Christmas, he furnishes the homes of 15 Houston families who have been affected by personal tragedy. In the Houston flood of 2001, McIngvale contributed time and money to the relief fund. He gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the American Red Cross, along with many other organizations.

Following the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, the President of the United States asked former presidents Bush and Clinton to head up a nationwide charitable effort forming the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund. Former President Bush asked the McIngvales to lead the Houston area response to the relief effort and over a $500,000 was raised at the "Serving for Tsunami" Relief Charity Tennis event they organized.

After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, McIngvale has again been asked to chair the Houston-area fundraising effort for the Bush-Clinton team. Under his leadership, all money collected in the Bush-Clinton Houston Hurricane Relief Fund will be used in the Houston area, focused on job placement, education and housing for displaced persons from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Along with their incredible success at Gallery Furniture, the McIngvales are owners of the Westside Tennis Club, which hosts the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, the U.S. Davis Cup Tie vs. Spain, and the Tennis Masters Cup.

With a commitment to hard work, customer service, and grassroots marketing, along with quality and management philosophies, McIngvale has become a renowned speaker. Studying under the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming has helped make his management principles sought after by companies around the world.

The McIngvales have three children; James, Laura, and Elizabeth, who, he says, are his "greatest accomplishments."

President James Simmons addresses the damage and restoration at Lamar University during a faculty and staff convocation.  Classes resumed today (Wednesday) in Beaumont.

For years, Lamar University has been building momentum.  Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita – the most devastating blow in its history – President James Simmons is adding another attribute to the formula: Resilience.

“We have great momentum, and I’m telling you right now, we’re going to come back 

stronger than ever,” Simmons told faculty and staff attending a convocation marking the return to the fall semester.  “As we say,  we’re reinventing this university.  This gives us a great opportunity to reinvent and rebuild.” A capacity crowd of more than 500 turned out Wednesday morning for the presentation in the University Theatre – made ready for the event despite sustaining some of the most severe damage from the storm. 

Exactly four weeks earlier, on the morning of Sept.  21, Simmons announced plans to conclude classes and evacuate the campus as Hurricane Rita approached the Texas coast, then forecast to make landfall near Matagorda Bay.

“That’s probably the smartest decision made in the history of this university,” he said.

“And then,” Simmons recounted, “there was that horrifying moment we all went through.

My wife, Susan, woke me up about 5 o’clock Thursday morning and said, ‘Guess what, it’s not going to Matagorda, it’s heading right for us.’ We really suffered through a catastrophic storm.” As Simmons chronicled the weeks since Rita dealt what might have been a death blow to campus, he talked about heroes.  He talked about how hundreds of people rallied to accomplish a seemingly unsurmountable task. 

“Our problem right now is people come back and say, ‘It looks so good.  What hurricane?’ But we all know it was a traumatic and terrible event.,” Simmons said.

In all, 80 percent of Lamar’s 155 buildings received hurricane damage.

“Thank goodness, we had no loss of life.  That was one thing we were all grateful for,” Simmons said.

Beginning with his first communication with campus hours after landfall and continuing with initial damage assessment Sept.  26, Lamar had a singular goal.

“Our top priority was to get back as soon as we could and finish the semester,” Simmons told the faculty and staff members.  “Our future depended on coming back and finishing the semester.  So we want to apologize if we’re not up to par.  I ask your patience and indulgence with your facilities.

“The key message I have for you today is patience.  We have all suffered through a great deal of stress.

Imagine our students’ coming back.  They’re going to also suffer through many of the same issues and maybe even more than faculty and staff.  This is a great opportunity for us to show compassion and patience with our students to make sure they can continue their educational journey.” Saturday afternoon, Sept.  24, Simmons received his first description of the damage and contacted key players in the recovery, on and off campus.  He conferred early on with Charles Matthews, chancellor of The Texas State University System, who toured the campus twice during the recovery.

Early Monday, Sept.  26, damage assessment was underway.  With no electricity, facilities management and operations personnel braved dark buildings and stairwells with flashlights to assess every inch of every building.  Joining them were outside contractors and consultants.

By noon Monday, about 500 people here already on campus.  “They were on roofs, they were in buildings, they were beginning to dry out the campus.  It was really an amazing process to watch,” Simmons said.

By Wednesday, Sept.  28, more personnel were back on campus, and things were coming together.  By the weekend of Oct.  1, electricity was restored.  “Joe Domino (president and chief executive officer of Entergy Texas) and his staff put us on a top priority, and that really helped,” Simmons said.  “We had our systems up, and we were running.” The Mary and John Gray Library and the Maes Building were the hardest hit, Simmons said.  The University Reception Center on the eighth floor of the library was virtually destroyed when the ceiling collapsed and rows of floor-to-ceiling windows blew out.  Simmons’ first view was of bare walls.  “I said, my gosh, all of our history is gone.  All our pictures are gone.” He soon learned the center staff had secured precious portraits and other historical articles.

Cardinal Village lost almost every gable, and water soaked most rooms.  But, Simmons said, “Every room has been dried and painted.  The students’ clothes have been washed, their dishes cleaned and their trash cans emptied.  Parents said they had never seen rooms so clean.” Despite substantial roof and window damage to the Montagne Center, the Lady Cardinals returned to the volleyball court there Tuesday night – and won.

Vincent-Beck Stadium lost its press box, but all the seats survived.  MLK Jr.  Parkway underpasses and Cardinal Stadium turned into lakes.

At one time, 2,200 utility workers were living on the Montagne Center parking lot, most of them in tents.

“Can you imagine with the temperature 105 degrees during the day, coming home to this?,” said Simmons. 

He told the convocation audience about many heroes who emerged on the route to recovery, among them:

• Police Chief Dale Fontenot and four members of his staff remained on campus throughout the hurricane and its aftermath.  “They were on the second floor of the library.  When the eighth-floor windows crashed in and water started coming down the stairwells where they were camped out, they decided they’d better get over to the police station because it might be a safer place,” Simmons said.  “In the middle of the hurricane, they held hands and went across to the police station.  And then as soon as the storm is over, they were out there protecting us from looting, and as far as I know, we had none.  That’s what a great job they did.”
  

• “I can’t say enough about Gerald McCaig (associate vice president for facilities management and operations).  He was here 24 hours a day.  Everyone told me what a great job Gerald had done.  When a team of consultants arrived, the Tuesday after the storm, they looked at Gerald and his staff and said they couldn’t believe how well organized they were.”
  

• “Barry Johnson (vice president for student affairs), being an old band director, decided to handle it like a marching band show.  He got a flip chart for every campus building.  In the room right next to the police station, where it was 105 degrees, we taped up a flip chart for every building.  As people went through these buildings, under Gerald’s supervision, they came back and reported three times a day what they found.  The tape started slipping off the wall in the humidity, so we had to go back and nail all those charts.”
  

• Stephen Doblin, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Kevin Smith, associate vice president for academic affairs, put together a scenario, or schedule, extending through November.  “I asked them what they could do to see that we finish.  And they’d work on it and work on it and say, no, no, no,” Simmons said.  “They reworked and reworked it so that when we came back, we had a definite schedule.”
  

• “Mike Ferguson (vice president for finance and operations) came right on and made sure our payrolls were out and done.  
  

• Brian Sattler, director of public relations, worked with webmaster Santosh Tiruvanelluru to get the lamar.edu website up from a site off campus.”People thought we were up and running (on campus).  But we weren’t,” Simmons said.  “For some strange reason, the only access we had to the outside world for about a week was DSL in the president’s home.  You tell me how every pole was down in this part of town, and my DSL was working.  Brian stayed on that day and night, got the press involved and got the word out about Lamar.” During the recovery, the president’s home on Iowa Street served as Ground Zero, with as many as half a dozen key officials staying there.

“We had no electricity and we went for a while without a generator, and we had a gas grill to cook on.  It was really kind of like going back to Boy Scout camp,” Simmons said.  “We’d sit out in the evenings on the front porch, and you’ll never know how dark this place is when there’s no electricity and no moon.  But it was an exciting time.” During the storm recovery, Simmons said, Kevin Smith coined a term called management by the moment – “and that’s what we’re in right now.  But things will change.  We will move forward.” By 1:25 p.m.  Wednesday, Oct.  19, classes had resumed.  at Lamar University.  At 6:30 p.m.  Dec.  22, the commencement processional will begin in the Montagne Center.

Lamar University computer center staff powered up 10 of 11 campus servers on Monday, October 3 officials said.

The systems are running on the center’s backup generator, although they will be switched soon to power when the Cherry Engineering building is brought on line.

Staff and programmers are reporting for work tomorrow to begin financial aid processing, Woodruff said.

Inspection of the campus telephone system reveled significant problems. The roof of the building where the telephone exhange is located was heavily damaged during Hurricane Rita and water caused ceiling tiles to collapse in the room. Debris from the ceiling are in the PBX, the telephone exchange hardware that connects the university’s 6,500 telephones to Southwestern Bell.

“Our phone system will be down for at least a week, maybe two,” Woodruff said. AVYA technicians will painstakingly clean the cross-connects in the PBX after campus staff have removed the remaining ceiling tiles and cleaned the room.

Lamar University has developed several academic calendar scenarios that will allow completion of the fall semester, officials said today.

Each calendar is based on a potential starting date, and that date is largely dependent on the restoration of electrical power not only to the university but also to a majority of the region.

A critical issue is when students will be able to return to Cardinal Village and Brooks Hall, and – for those who do not live on campus – to their homes.

The calendars were developed with the goal of ensuring that those students who are scheduled to graduate at the end of the fall semester are able to do so, and that other students do not lose the semester and thus extend their graduation date.

“We must ensure that whatever we do complies with the policies of our disciplinary accrediting bodies including ABET for engineering, NLN for nursing, NASM for music, as well as our regional accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, as well as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas State University System,” said Steve Doblin, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Lamar.

“Most importantly, the approach we take must be based upon sound academic principles -- particularly with respect to the number of contact minutes for a specific number of credit hours -- and provide time to cover the material students will need in subsequent courses.”

The scenario Lamar adopts, and whether it impacts the length of the spring 2006 semester, depends on the date the university can begin classes, Doblin said.

“Unfortunately, there is no scenario that preserves the entirety of the scheduled Dec. 14 – Jan. 10 break,” Doblin said. “There is just not enough time without using those days to ensure completion of an acceptable number of contact minutes in both the fall and spring semesters.”

“We realize that all this is difficult and unsettling, but Rita was a disaster of major proportions and we all must adapt and move forward as best we can,” Doblin said.

He stressed that the university will do all it can to enable students to complete the fall semester in an academically sound manner while providing fair and appropriate adjustments in the various academic deadlines.

Whichever revised academic calendar is selected, all academic deadlines and events -- such as fee payment dates, drop deadlines, registration dates, and commencement -- will be adjusted accordingly.

“I am confident that non-academic issues and deadlines will be handled in a similar manner,” he said.
 

September 29 7 p.m.

News Release - Campus dry-out, cleanup continues

“We are making tremendous progress,” said Gerald McCaig, head of Lamar University’s physical plant. The goal is to get the university back into a pre-Hurricane Rita condition so that classes can resume in time to salvage the fall semester.

Just like the tens of thousands of residents whose homes and businesses were affected by the punishing wind and rain unleashed by mother nature, the many members of Lamar’s emergency response team are eager to get back to a normal routine.
For now, everything is anything but routine.

With only power provided by a limited number of diesel generators – and a very real effort underway to locate more as soon as possible – work is still moving ahead continuously.

With an estimate of four to five days yet to get things dried out from the wind-driven rains, McCaig emphasized that the campus did not experience general flooding. “The clean up isn’t anything like that facing those in western Louisiana or New Orleans,” he said.

All around the room the story rapidly unfolds in multi-color markings on oversized sheets of paper. Each tacked-up page bears the name of a campus building, its hurricane-related discrepancies and their status. Each time the team comes together the list of “ok” buildings grows longer and the clean-ups underway grows shorter.

Already cleared by Thursday afternoon were: Early Childhood Development Center, Energy Management, Health Center, Hydraulics Laboratory, Information Booth, Physical Plant, ROTC, Science Auditorium, Setzer Student Center, Social Work and Behavioral Sciences, Speech and Hearing, and the Women’s Gym Annex.

Over the weekend, McCaig expects crews from Midland Environmental to arrive with dump trucks, front end loaders, and chainsaws, as well as crews from Beaumont’s Garden of Gethsemane.“You’ll see even more progress,” he said.

All downed trees and branches will be chipped on campus and other debris will be hauled away for proper disposal, he said.

“After this weekend it will look like a different place,” he said.

Compiled by Brian Sattler

Sept. 29, 3 p.m

Lamar University continues restoration, storm clean-up

Lamar University physical plant staff, assisted by staff from Davis Brothers Construction, continued work to restore basic services to the campus today.

Employees are working on drying out buildings that were damaged by wind and water of Hurricane Rita. Roofers have been hired to make emergency repairs to damaged roofs and class companies are at work repairing campus buildings as well.

Teams are at work removing water, using fans and dehumidifies to reduce the humidity in affected buildings and treating surfaces to prevent the formation of mildew. Other crews are at work cleaning the campus grounds of downed trees, branches and debris.

Diesel generators are the only source of electrical power on campus.

Soon a team of professional estimators will go through all the campus facilities to put together a list of all repairs that need to be made to the campus. With this list, the university will issue requests for proposals to contractors to begin the repairs needed to return the campus to its pre-hurricane condition.

The two current campus construction projects, the new dining hall and the sports recreation center, fared the storm very well, campus officials said.

Compiled by Brian Sattler

Sept. 29, 3:20 p.m.

Lamar Athletics teams dispersed but committed to schedules

Lamar University’s athletics program will continue with games to be played on the road until the point that its own campus facilities can be used again, officials said.

“We plan to follow through on all our obligations,” said Billy Tubbs, athletics director and head men’s basketball coach in a phone interview from Oklahoma City.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams will begin practices at Angelina College in Lufkin next week. Lamar’s golf men’s and women’s golf teams will resume competition with the men playing next in Waco and the women’s team playing at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa.

Lamar’s volleyball team begins practice tomorrow UT-San Antonio where they are housed and will play the rest of its schedule on the road until LU’s facilities are again available. Lamar’s cross country team is housed at Blinn College in Brehnam.

Lamar's baseball team will be staying in Houston and its coach Jim Gilligan is working to make arrangements for practices for its fall program at area universities.

Cardinal Athletics can be followed on the web at www.lamarcardinals.com.

Compiled by Brian Sattler

Lamar University hosted a cooking seminar and wine pairing as part of La Dolce Vita, a celebration of fine wine and haute cuisine to benefit the Dishman Art Museum . 

Both events were in the University Reception Center on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.

Executive Chef Michael Bomberg of San Antonio presented “A Winter Harvest Celebration,” a cooking seminar and tasting in the Spindletop Room of the Reception Center . Listen

The pairing featured wines and gourmet dishes served at French, Italian, Cajun, Tex-Mex, dessert and cheese stations.

Chef Charles Duit, head of the Lamar University Culinary Arts Program, said he was pleased to assist in the fundraising for the Dishman Art Museum.  Listen

The wine pairing was held in the Plummer and Lamar Rooms , where chefs will prepare food samplings, served with wine to complement the selections.

The events are being planned so guests can attend both the seminar and the pairing.

For the first time this year, a collection of La Dolce Vita recipes were available for $10 each or two for $15. Also in the boutique area, patrons could purchase La Dolce Vita aprons, T-shirts and wine totes, as well as cookbooks offered by the Junior League of Beaumont. 

La Dolce Vita is the centerpiece of a campaign to create an endowment that will ensure continuation and enhancement of the museum’s collections and educational programs.  

Lamar University announces 
pre-med program scholarships

Lamar University ’s medical pre-professional committee announced the recipients of 38 pre-medical scholarships and one pre-veterinary scholarship, totaling more than $51,000 for the 2005-2006 academic year.

Most awards are in the $1,000 to $1,500 range, but those receiving awards through the Texas Legislature-funded Joint Application Medical Program (JAMP) may receive up to $4,000 per year.

Scholars are selected based on their past high academic performance and potential for successfully completing the rigorous prerequisites of medical professional schools, said Jim Westgate, chair of the medical pre-professional committee.

Eleven incoming pre-medical freshman received scholarship awards that will be renewed annually for three additional years contingent on availability of funds and their continued high academic performance. The average SAT scores of the 11 incoming freshman was 1,280, and 91 percent scored 1,200 or above. Westgate, who chairs the committee that comprises five biology and five chemistry professors and a medical pre-professional counselor, said “the committee is ecstatic that we can assist so many of our students with scholarship funds.”

While most of Lamar’s students must continue to work to afford the costs of school, rent and food, additional scholarship support “translates into more hours per week focusing on coursework rather than on off-campus jobs,” Westgate said. “That, in turn, is reflected in our students’ extremely high success rate when applying to medical schools.” For the past six years, 80 percent of LU pre-medicine graduates who have applied to medical schools have been accepted, compared to a 40 percent success rate for Texas medical school applicants in general.

The number of students enrolled in Lamar’s medical pre-professional programs grew 10 percent over the past year, up to 356 from 324 in fall 2004. Pre-pharmacy students showed the largest gain, with a 33 percent increase, Westgate said. “The increase is the result of both more effective recruitment of high school seniors and higher student retention rates through one-to-one advising,” Westgate said. “These additions to the pre-medical scholarship funds have also allowed us to extend more scholarship offers to highly qualified high school seniors.”

Scholarship recipients are:

Beaumont
Lindsey Cauthen, senior, pre-med/music, Jefferson County Medical Society Pre-med Scholar; Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholars Chris Coleman, freshman, pre-med; Miriam Dark, junior, pre-med, (also Joint Application Medical Program Scholar, Harry Starr Medical Scholar and Dr. Edward J. and Patricia B. Hurwitz Pre-Medical/Nursing Scholar); and Julie Pasciotti, sophomore, pre-med.
Robert Flores, junior, pre-med/math, Harry Starr Pre-medical Scholar; Jason Holliday, freshman, pre-med, Rabbi Newton J. Freidman Pre-Medical Scholar; and Jefferson County Medical Society Pre-Medical Scholars Monica Huff, senior, pre-med, and Sudjai Williams, junior, pre-med.

Bridge City
Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholars Justin Griffith, freshman, pre-med; Michael Kraus, senior, pre-med; and Kenneth Prosperie, sophomore.

Houston
Jelani Oville, sophomore, pre-med, Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar and Rabbi Newton J. Freidman Pre-medical Scholar.

Humble
Zachery Jones, freshman, pre-med, Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar.

Kirbyville
Denyse Howard, junior, pre-med, Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar.

Lumberton
Kelley Sampeck, freshman, pre-med, Rabbi Newton J. Freidman Pre-medical Scholar.

Mauriceville
Jamie Butler, senior, pre-veterinarian, Martha and Haldane Vinson Pre-Veterinarian Scholar.

Nederland
Brenna Pickard, freshman, pre-med, Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar; Alicia Girard, senior, pre-med/psychology, Harry Starr Pre-medical Scholar; Cecil Roberts, sophomore, pre-med, Thomas Odiorne Presidential Scholar

Orange
Doyle Bean, freshman, pre-med/chemical engineering, Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar; Amber Ernst, sophomore, pre-med, Joint Application Medical Program and Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar; James Dupre, freshman, pre-med, Rabbi Newton J. Freidman Pre-medical Scholar; Ryan DuBose, junior, pre-med, Jefferson County Medical Society Pre-med Scholar.

Port Arthur
Samer Harmoush, senior, pre-med, Jefferson County Medical Society Pre-medical Scholar and Browne-Goodwin Scholar; Khanh Thai, freshman, pre-med, Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar; Mai Truong, sophomore, pre-med, Joint Application Medical Program

Port Neches
Lyndsay Noble, senior, pre-med/chemistry, Harry Starr Pre-medical Scholar.

Sour Lake
Daniel Park, freshman, pre-med, Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Science Scholar. Megan Greer, freshman, pre-med, Rabbi Newton J. Freidman Pre-medical Scholar

Vidor
Brandon Bonds, senior, pre-med/biology, Harry Starr Pre-medical Scholar and Philip Greenberg Scholar.

Warren , Ark.
Sophomore Felicia Farmer, pre-med, Joint Application Medical Program and Mamie McFaddin-Ward Health Sciences Scholar.

Lamar University graduates are preparing to showcase their short film at festivals in Houston and Washington D.C. within the next two weeks.

Independent filmmakers former Bridge City resident C. Wyatt Cagle and Cleveland resident Gordon S. Williams are preparing to screen their short film Gemini at The Gulf Coast Film and Video Festival in Houston at 12:50 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, 2005 at the University of Houston ClearLake-The Student Services Building. At the end

of the week, the project will also be shown at the International Diversity TV and Film Market in Washington D.C. Sept. 22 -24, 2005.

Gemini, a short independent film featuring Calily Bien, Mitchell Lance Adams and David Wesson has experienced success at a number of film festivals.  The fictional film focuses on prominent athlete B. J. Stone, a man who has fallen prey to a mysterious female stalker after the death of investigative reporter Jennifer Nguyen.

Bien, lead actress of Gemini is surprised at the current success of the project and is excited by what the future holds.

“Gemini has received more recognition and screen time than any one involved could have ever imagined. The year 2005 has been an interesting and exciting, but there is still much more that the crew is looking forward to for Gemini,” said Bien.  

Gemini was selected as the Official Web Fest winner at the Southslam 2005 Film Festival, first-prize winner at the Oscar Micheaux Book and Film Festival 2005 and recently earned an honorable mention at the Pencil Head's Dusk Till Dawn Film Festival in Houston .

The film has also garnered a distribution deal through Westpark Foundries, which will make the short film available to over 2 million homes across the United States in 2006.  By the end of October, Gemini will have been screened 15 times at film festivals and micro-cinema events in cities across the United States including Austin , Chicago , Memphis and Atlanta .

Cleveland , Texas native Gordon S. Williams is excited about screening Gemini at The Gulf Coast Film and Video Festival.

“I've attend this festival in previous years with The Story of Marcus and Reyna and The Greater Ambition and I have always had an enjoyable experience,” Williams said regarding his other film projects that have screened at the festival.

Cagle and Williams are scheduled to leave for the nation's capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 20.  While attending the International Diversity TV and Film Festival in Washington D.C. , Williams and Cagle will screen Gemini at the festival and also pitch ideas to distribution and production companies from across the country.  Cagle, Williams, and Bien have been developing ideas for the past few months, which include a documentary about the 1943 race riots in Beaumont , Texas , and a television program.

“This is a great opportunity, not just for Gordon and me, but the group of dedicated people who work on the film.  The end goal is to get projects funded so that we can all continue to do the thing we love to do.” Cagle said.  

For more information on Gemini, visit www.geminithemovie.com.

James “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, owner of Gallery Furniture in Houston , will be giving the fall semester’s Entrepreneurship Executive Lecture at 11 a.m. Sept. 27 in Landes Auditorium.

McIngvale is a Mississippi native who moved to Dallas and graduated from Bishop Lynch High School .  He attended the University of Texas and North Texas State , playing football at both universities. 

After college, he moved to Houston and, with “$5,000 and a dream,” started Gallery Furniture in 1981.  With co-owner and wife, Linda, McIngvale guided Gallery Furniture into a thriving business, making it the single most successful furniture store in the United States .

To date, he has given more than 2,000 speeches on the importance of education and staying off drugs to area schools.  Along with his commercials, these speeches have made him one of the most well known faces in Houston .

On Nov. 10, 2000, McIngvale received the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Patriots’ Award for outstanding community service.

Along with his success as a businessman, McIngvale is a noted philanthropist, having contributed more than $1 million to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Scholarship Fund.

He also donates furniture to refurnish local teachers’ lounges annually, and, every Christmas, he furnishes the homes of 15 Houston families who have been affected by personal tragedy.  In the Houston flood of 2001, McIngvale contributed time and money to the relief fund.  He gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the American Red Cross, along with many other organizations. 

Following the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, the President of the United States asked former presidents Bush and Clinton to head up a nationwide charitable effort forming the Bush-Clinton Tsunami Fund.  Former President Bush asked the McIngvales to lead the Houston area response to the relief effort and over a $500,000 was raised at the “Serving for Tsunami” Relief Charity Tennis event they organized.

After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, McIngvale has again been asked to chair the Houston-area fundraising effort for the Bush-Clinton team.  Under his leadership, all money collected in the Bush-Clinton Houston Hurricane Relief Fund will be used in the Houston area, focused on job placement, education and housing for displaced persons from Louisiana , Mississippi and Alabama .

Along with their incredible success at Gallery Furniture, the McIngvales are owners of the Westside Tennis Club, which hosts the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships, the U.S. Davis Cup Tie vs. Spain , and the Tennis Masters Cup.

With a commitment to hard work, customer service, and grassroots marketing, along with quality and management philosophies, McIngvale has become a renowned speaker.  Studying under the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming has helped make his management principles sought after by companies around the world.

The McIngvales have three children; James, Laura, and Elizabeth, who, he says, are his “greatest accomplishments.”

“Billy’s Last Broadcast,” an award-winning play by Lamar University faculty member Randall Wheatley, will be presented as a staged reading Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23 and 24, on the Lamar campus. Performances will be at 7 p.m. in Room 106 of the Art Building.

“Billy’s Last Broadcast” is the story of Billy Gross, who has just been fired from his job at the lowest-rated radio station in America. With no prospects and nothing to lose, Billy gets a gun and holds the station hostage for one final show.

Wheatley’s comedy was the winner of the Best New Play award presented by the Austin Circle of Theatres. It was presented at Capital City Playhouse while Wheatley was serving as its playwright-in-residence.

“Randall Wheatley has distilled the spirit of Ernie Kovaks, added a dash of Mel Brooks and simmered it all in his own maniacal energy to produce a madcap comedy,” said the Austin American-Statesman. “The language is earthy, and the jokes run the gamut from gory to goofy, but the dialogue is serious enough to establish the characters as real people.”

The Austin Chronicle wrote: “Let’s just begin by saying Randall has done it again . . . Randall being Randall Wheatley . . . a man who in his two previous plays amply demonstrated a knack for creating arch, outrageous comedies that whiz along, thrilling audiences partly with their audacity and partly with the sensation of speed.

“Wheatley has again succeeded in composing a swift and Swiftian satire. But if his previous shows have been the equivalent of rides in fast cars and roller coasters, this is his white-water canoe trip. . . . Bumps come hard and right after another.”

“‘Billy’s’ sets new standards for the rapid-fire outrageousness of a Wheatley work. . . . It’s exhilarating just trying to keep up. And twisted as the turns are, they are somehow eerily real. The satiric bent of Wheatley’s world is close enough to be strange but true.”

A Lamar faculty member since 2001, Wheatley is an assistant professor in the Department of Music, Theatre & Dance. He also is directing “Billy’s Last Broadcast.”

His plays previously presented at Lamar include “The Blue Danube,” which earned critical acclaim. The Beaumont Enterprise critic Shari Fey named it the best play of 2004.

Last February, Lamar Theatre presented a student-directed version of Wheatley’s “Along for the Ride,” which has been made into a movie.

A discussion with the playwright is planned after the performances, which are open to the public without charge. The play is rated “R.”

Additional information is available from Wheatley at (409) 880-8154; the Lamar Theatre office, (409) 880-8037; or Lamar Theatre box office, (409) 880-2250.

Lamar University to host La Dolce Vita cooking 
seminar and wine pairing Saturday in Gray Library Reception Center

Lamar University will host a cooking seminar and wine pairing Saturday, Sept. 17, as part of La Dolce Vita, a celebration of fine wine and haute cuisine to benefit the Dishman Art Museum .  Both events will be in the University Reception Center on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.

Executive Chef Michael Bomberg of San Antonio will present “A Winter Harvest Celebration” – the cooking seminar and tasting – from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Spindletop Room of the Reception Center . The San Antonio Restaurant Association has named Bomberg the city’s best chef for the past two years.

A wine pairing is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Plummer and Lamar Rooms , where chefs will prepare food samplings, served with wine to complement the selections. The pairing will feature wines and gourmet dishes, served at French, Italian, Cajun, Tex-Mex, dessert and cheese stations.

The events are being planned so guests can attend both the seminar and the pairing.

For the first time this year, a collection of La Dolce Vita recipes may be purchased – for $10 each or two for $15. Also in the boutique area, patrons may purchase La Dolce Vita aprons, T-shirts and wine totes, as well as cookbooks offered by the Junior League of Beaumont.

Tickets to the cooking seminar and wine pairing will be available at the door, priced at $45 per event. La Dolce Vita is the centerpiece of a campaign to create an endowment that will ensure continuation and enhancement of the museum’s collections and educational programs.

Laurie Garrett is one of America's premier authorities on healthcare and disease prevention and a powerful advocate for a more forceful response to threats to human health.

She will be in Southeast Texas, Oct. 3, as a part of Lamar University's Academic Lecture Series. At Lamar, she will meet with students and provide a free public lecture, 7:30 p.m., in the University Reception Center, 8th floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.

The Lamar University Academic Lecture Series was created at the behest of the students of the university who voted to use student service fees to fund the series. The series brings a significant element to the university academic experience by featuring prominent academic speakers from disciplines represented by each of the university's colleges.

Currently the Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations, Garrett is the author of the best-selling books The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance and Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health. These books, which explore key developments in global health and disease prevention, have both received widespread critical and popular acclaim. Garrett has traveled the world to report and research the spread of some of the most deadly viruses in existence. The only person to have won all of the top three awards in American journalism, including the Pulitzer Prize, she is a dynamic speaker who incorporates lecture, slides and video for a truly captivating and informative multi-media presentation.

Drawing on her best-selling book, Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health, Garrett takes the audience on a fascinating journey into the reality of healthcare in the United States, Western Europe, Russia and Africa. Audiences leave the presentation with a deeper appreciation of both the challenges and the opportunities of delivering quality healthcare to the global village.

She has written for many publications, including Foreign Affairs, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Current Issues in Public Health. She appears frequently on national television programs, including ABC Nightline, The Jim Lehrer News Hour, The Charlie Rose Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Dateline. Over the years, Laurie Garrett has also contributed chapters to numerous books covering world crises in infectious diseases. Her website is a great source of information on her books, articles, media appearances, and includes bonus materials not available anywhere else.

A mesmerizing speaker, Garrett has the unique ability to make plain the science behind new threats to public health - both natural and man-made - and the political background that shapes the debate on this issue in America and around the world.

Garrett is a member of the National Association of Science Writers, and served as the organization's President during the mid-1990s. She lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York City.

Previous guest speakers in the series are cloning expert Robert Godke, business futurist Lester Thurow, musician Chuck Mangione, novelist E.L. Doctorow, paleontologist Jack Horner, UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, astronaut Sally Ride, publisher Christy Haubegger, journalist Tony Snow, columnist Molly Ivins, security analyst Gen. Barry McCaffrey, and actress Marlee Matlin.

For more information on the free public lecture, call University Advancement at (409) 880-8419.

Liesl Biehle, a senior studio art major from Vidor, has hand-painted a tablecloth that will be featured in the La Dolce Vita vintner dinner auction Friday at Lamar University

The tablecloth was painted in the style of Jackson Pollock, “a crucial figure in modern art, as we know it,” Biehle says.

with paint, and walked around the cloth in a circular motion while flinging or dripping paint. 

Biehle admits to enjoying the project.

“It was fun to break out of the conventional mode,” she said.

Her mother, Cheryl Biehle, is the art teacher at Vidor High School .  Even as a child, when other children were looking at picture books, Liesl and her mother were looking at the complete works of Michaelangelo, Van Gogh and Da Vinci.  She is thankful to her parents for their love and support.

“Both of them are very encouraging and supportive and that helps the creative process,” Biehle said.

Her plans after graduation from Lamar are to achieve her master’s degree in deaf studies/deaf education at Lamar, and then teach an art class for the deaf.  The Texas School for the Deaf in Austin would be her ideal location.

Biehle’s tablecloth will be on display in the Dishman Art Museum until it is sold to the highest bidder in a silent auction Friday night at La Dolce Vita, the annual fund-raiser that benefits the museum. Eight of Liesl’s paintings will be on display Dec. 2 for her senior thesis show, also in the Dishman Art Museum .

La Dolce Vita: Sept. 16-17 event celebrates fine wine
and haute cuisine; benefits Dishman Art Museum at Lamar

La Dolce Vita: The sweet life.

The stage – and the tables – are set for a celebration of fine wine and haute cuisine to benefit the Dishman Art Museum at Lamar University .   

Now in its second year, La Dolce Vita will offer new and exciting cuisine and wine-tasting experiences Sept. 16 and 17, said Lynne Lokensgard, professor of art history.

“This three-tiered event will take place every fall and sparkles with exciting opportunities to dine, partake of fine wines and learn new cooking techniques while experiencing fine art in the museum,” Lokensgard said.

La Dolce Vita will feature a vintner dinner at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16; a cooking seminar and tasting from 4 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17; and a wine pairing from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17. Guests may attend one, two or all three events.

The weekend will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, with “Vino Magnifico,” an evening of elegance and haute cuisine, fine wine and fine art in the Dishman Art Museum .

Patrons will share in an intimate dinner prepared by Executive Chef Michael Bomberg, named the top chef in the city of San Antonio by the San Antonio Restaurant Association for the past two years. Bomberg will prepare a seven-course dinner of unusual and elegant cuisine, with each course complemented by fine wine, selected and presented with information about the wine by F. Woody de Luna, wine critic and editor of the Wine Gazette.

“In the upper gallery, there will be a silent auction presenting specialty items related to the theme of fine wine and the sweet life, against a background of classical strings of Violini de Roma,” Lokensgard said.

Guests will bid on fine wines, a winery vacation, jewelry, a “Best of Beaumont” package and an evening of jazz hosted by President and Mrs. James Simmons, as well as other party and entertainment packages.

A centerpiece of the auction will be a hand-painted tablecloth, the creation of Liesl Biehle, a senior studio art major from Vidor.

The Saturday, Sept. 17, events are being scheduled so guests can attend both the cooking seminar and the wine pairing.

From 4 to 5 p.m., Chef Bomberg will demonstrate preparation of seven specialty dishes at “Bella Cucina,” in a cooking seminar and tasting in the Spindletop Room of the University Reception Center , on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library. “A Winter Harvest Celebration” is the theme of the seminar, featuring samples of Bomberg’s fare.

He will prepare and serve samples of six dishes: baked portobello mushroom caps filled with Italian sausage, spinach and asiago cheeese; curried butternut squash bisque with pears and Roquefort croutons; lone star citrus and vegetable salad with a spiced orange vinaigrette; roast quail stuffed with dried cherries, leeks and spicy andoulle; white cheddar corn cakes with a maple-glazed winter vegetable medley; and eggnog and cinnamon-spiked creme brulee.

Also beginning at 4 p.m., and continuing until 7 p.m. Sept. 17, will be “Buona Sera,” a food and wine tasting experience in the Plummer and Lamar Rooms of the University Reception Center . Guests will taste samples of unique foods at five stations, each offering fine wines specially selected to “pair” with the dishes. The pairing will feature Continental, Italian, Tex-Mex, Cajun cuisines, along with dessert and cheese stations.

The wine-pairing menu includes fallen souffle of goat cheese, salmon mouse and grilled beef tenderloin with marsala-mushroom sauce (Continental menu), Capri salad, wild mushroom and sun-dried tomato risotto and shrimp scampi (Italian); chicken and ancho chile soup with blue-corn tortillas, cornbread Mexicana, sour cream chicken enchiladas with green-chile sauce (Tex-Mex); and chicken and smoked sausage gumbo, boudin balls and crawfish creole (Cajun).

The dessert station will feature chocolate flan cake and apple-walnut strudel with bourbon walnut sauce. Cheeses include brie, sharp cheddar and aged sheep’s cheese.

Bomberg, the owner of Spice of Life Catering in San Antonio , has been executive chef of several top dining establishments in San Antonio over the past 15 years, including The Dominion Country Club, La Mansion, Polo’s at the Fairmont and the Anaqua Grill. He is a member of the Culinary Institute of America and Texas Chef’s Association.

Several options are now available for purchasing tickets to La Dolce Vita.

Reservations may be made by phone with the Dishman Art Museum , (409) 880-8959. Payment by credit card is required.

Tickets also may be purchased in person between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Lamar University Advancement office, Room 122 of the John Gray Center (Building B), 855 E. Florida Ave. in Beaumont .

In addition, reservations may be made online at www.lamar.edu/ladolcevita.

Tickets are priced at $150 per person for the dinner and $45 each for the cooking seminar and the wine pairing. Reservations must be made in advance, with checks made payable to the Dishman Art Museum .

Donna Meeks, chair of the Lamar University Department of Art, poses with one of her mixed-media paintings that are featured in the annual Faculty Exhibition in the Dishman Art Museum . A reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, will honor the 11 faculty artists whose work is being showcased.  The exhibition, which continues through Sept. 30, also features Linnis Blanton, ceramics; Greg Busceme, ceramics; Keith Carter, photography; Kurt Dyrhaug, sculpture and

Lamar University searches for nursing “apprentice”
at health care games Tuesday, Aug. 30

Lamar University’s nursing program is searching for its own “apprentice,” seeking knowledgeable freshman nursing students, four of which will receive a $500 scholarship .

Students will compete from noon to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30 and Sept. 15 in the Setzer Student Center at Lamar. During the nurse apprentice competition, freshman nursing students are invited to participate in games related to health care. Winners will get a chance to earn scholarships, sponsored by Memorial Hermann Baptist.

Students will enjoy health care games that test their knowledge of the human body and their expertise with a syringe.

The nursing apprentice program will offer students a chance to win scholarships and shadow nurses at Memorial Hermann Baptist Hospital through the operating and emergency rooms for a day.  The overall nurse apprentice winners will be named Sept. 15 in the Setzer Center.

For more information, call (409) 880-8817.

Lamar University announces 
new faculty for 2005-2006

Thirty-eight new faculty members began teaching assignments at Lamar University with the 2005-2006 academic year, and several changes occurred among department chairs and in deans’ offices.

Lamar newcomers include two department chairs and an assistant dean.

Harry Bulow assumes duties this fall as chair of the Department of Music, Theatre & Dance and professor of music.

Joining the faculty this summer were Jan Kemp, assistant dean of the Mary and John Gray Library and associate professor of library science, and Christina Rios chair and associate professor in the Department of Professional Pedagogy.

Lamar also announced several changes in department chairs within the College of Arts and Sciences. Keith Hansen becomes chair of the Department of Chemistry and Physics, succeeding Richard Lumpkin. Li Chen Ma succeeds Jim Love as chair of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice.

Retired Lamar faculty member Jim Walker becomes assistant chair of the Department of Psychology during the search for a successor to Oney Fitzpatrick, who will move from psychology chair to associate dean of arts and sciences. Cruse Melvin, professor of physics, also becomes an associate dean of the college. Jim Westgate returns full time to the faculty of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences after serving as associate dean.

These are the other new full-time faculty members and their positions.

Arts and Sciences – Dominic Beggan, assistant professor of political science; Stefan Brooks, visiting instructor of political science; Jeffrey Forret, assistant professor of history; Lisa Gongre and Beverly Hoffmeyer, instructors of nursing; Sherry Li, visiting lecturer in chemistry and physics; Timothy McNichol, assistant professor of mathematics; Christopher Nelson, visiting assistant professor of chemistry and physics; Patricia Patterson, instructor of nursing; Aline Rabalais, assistant professor of psychology; Maria Sandovici, assistant professor of political science; and Bennetta Schmidt, lecturer in earth and space sciences.                         

Business: Joko Saputro, assistant professor of information systems and analysis, and James Slaydon and Thomas Thompson, assistant professors of economics and finance.

Education and Human Development: Sheldon Buxton, visiting associate professor of educational leadership; Nancy Carlson, assistant professor of professional pedagogy; Richard Gachot, assistant professor of family and consumer sciences; and Lorraine Killion, visiting assistant professor of health and kinesiology.

Engineering: Mark Bourland, visiting assistant professor of civil engineering; Sy-Chyi  Lin and Qiang Xu, assistant professors of chemical engineering; and Weihang Zhu, assistant professor of industrial engineering.

Fine Arts and Communication: Bradley Kent, assistant professor of music, theatre and dance and director of bands, and Richard Logan and Dorothy Sutherland, visiting associate professors of communication disorders.

Moumin Quazi joined the faculty as visiting instructor of developmental studies.

New faculty and staff were introduced Aug. 23 at Lamar’s annual convocation kicking off the 2005-2006 academic year.

Faculty members who began their Lamar careers in the spring or summer of 2005 were also introduced: Caroline Munroe, Romona Norman, Sharon Williams and Lara Susan Lucero, instructors of nursing; Patti Lea Buxton, associate professor of educational leadership; Kumer Das, assistant professor of mathematics; Kevin Kendrick, assistant professor of health and kinesiology; and Tina Boykin Nolen, assistant professor of library science.

Lamar Theatre announces
2005-2006 performance schedule

Lamar Theatre has announced its 2005-2006 season, beginning Oct. 6-8 with Tennessee Williams’ “Vieux Carre” in the University Theatre.

The fall season of Lamar University campus productions will continue with Anna Deavere Smith’s “Fires in the Mirror” Nov. 17-22 in the Studio Theatre.

Dec. 2-4, Lamar Puppet Theatre will travel to Galveston for performances at Dickens on the Strand . This will be the 12^th year for Lamar’s participation in the event.

Lamar Theatre’s spring schedule includes “An Evening With Israel” by Israel Horowitz Feb. 9-14 in the Studio Theatre; the public performance of the annual children’s theatre production (play to be announced) March 19 in the University Theatre; and “Loot” by Joe Orton April 20-25 in the Studio Theatre.

Performances are at 8 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays, with 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays.

Other Lamar Theatre activities for the upcoming year include Kidwrites, a play-writing festival for children in grades kindergarten through fifth grade, May 6; “Lamar Theatre Originals,” a university play-writing festival, May 8-9; LU-llaby of Broadway XIV scholarship fund-raiser, June 6 and the summer theatre camp for middle school and high school students, June 19-23.

Additional information is available from Adonia Placette, Lamar’s director of theatre, (409) 880-8037, or from the Lamar Theatre box office, (409) 880-2250.

Nonetheless, he said, enrollment stands at more than 10,000, with fall registration continuing through Tuesday, Aug. 30. And Lamar is attracting a better prepared student, as evidenced in growth of the summer orientation program from 700 students and parents in 2001 to almost 2,600 in 2005.

Simmons began his “state-of-the-university” address by quoting computer guru Alan Kay, who once said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

That’s what Simmons set out to do seven years ago when he assumed the Lamar presidency.

“Together, we began to re-invent Lamar University. Together, we reversed the trend and began to see steady growth and improvement. Today, Lamar is no longer a small regional campus. Today, Lamar University is a newly shaped university with a need to position itself to compete against a new set of peers. We have taken seriously the charge to invent our own future.”

During the past seven years, Simmons said, Lamar has:

          * Taken dramatic steps in graduate education.

          * Hired impressive new faculty.

          * Renovated the campus environment.

          * Brought in more external dollars in donations, grants and awards than ever before.

“We can also be proud of the fact that Lamar University continues to be one of the most diverse campuses in Texas,” Simmons said. “That diversity brings an array of benefits to university life, and we celebrate this fact.”

Simmons also pointed to the high level of leadership and teaching expertise at Lamar. He announced that Lamar has budgeted a 4 percent pay increase for all staff and a 4 percent merit pool for faculty in 2005-2006.

Among giant steps in the academic arena, Simmons cited approval of the university’s first Ph.D. program, the doctorate in chemical engineering. Other new doctoral programs, in educational leadership and audiology, are off to great starts, he said.               

In athletics, addition of a women’s soccer program has been approved by regents of The Texas State University System, Simmons reported.                                                      

Among physical enhancements, construction continues on schedule for the new campus dining hall, to be opened for the spring semester, and the sports recreation center, on target to open in fall 2006. Both of these projects have potential to transform the university, much as Cardinal Village has done so, he said.

Simmons thanked the area legislative delegation for its efforts in Austin, where special items were funded and Higher Education Assistance Fund ( HEAF) allocations enhanced. The one remaining question is resolution of tuition revenue bonds, he said. “How this plays out will have a significant effect on the pace at which we can continue to fulfill elements of the campus facilities master plan. Without tuition revenue bonds, we will have to rely on local revenue and HEAF funds to continue campus renovations – and this will stretch the timeline on future projects significantly.”

Construction will take place in the “virtual world” of Lamar computer systems, Simmons said, “as we move forward with two major projects that promise significant strides forward in our ability to communicate and function as a university.”

LU Online is a new intranet portal program that will bring together faculty, staff and students as never before, using single-sign-on technology. A larger-scale projects, called Banner, will upgrade processing of campus student information, financial and human-resource systems into a real-time environment.

“We must continue to increase our quality to provide the educational excellence our students deserve,” said Simmons. “This commitment takes resources, Therefore, we must all continue to work very hard to provide the best value, the best scholarship support, the best need-based aid and the best academic support to keep the dream of a college education achievable.”

“I cannot overstate how important enrollment growth has been to our university – and how important it remains,” Simmons said in closing. “Your efforts in recruiting and retaining students are essential to our success. But I am also very encouraged by developments that signal growing quality at Lamar University.”

Enrollment down 4.2 as Lamar seeks to ensure quality: 
late registration continues through Tuesday, Aug. 30

Fall enrollment at Lamar University is down 4.2 percent, a shift directly linked to the university’s tightening of admission standards.

Wednesday morning, the first day of classes, a total of 10,230 students. On the first class day 2004, a total of 10,673 students for the fall semester.

By raising the academic requirements for students seeking admission to Lamar, officials turned away several hundred potential students who didn’t meet the school’s minimum requirements. In addition, about 1,400 current Lamar students received letters informing them they were on academic probation because they had lower than a C-average.

“We made a decision to raise the bar to ensure a higher caliber of students. This decision will carry a price in the near term, but I believe it is the right decision for the long-term health of the university,” President James Simmons said during the university’s back-to-school convocation Tuesday.

By tightening the enforcement of admissions standards, he said, Lamar has closed the door to almost 500 prospective students – substantially more than in previous years.

“These students were clearly not prepared for the rigors of university-level work and would have had little chance of success on our campus,” Simmons said. “We are very fortunate in this region because there are other educational options available to them, and we have encouraged them to pursue those opportunities.”

Lamar University has extended fall registration for all qualified students, with late registration continuing through Aug. 30.

Late registration is from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today (Wednesday, Aug. 24) in the Wimberly Building and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Aug. 30 in Wimberly.

Students who registering after Aug. 23 will be assessed a $10 late fee.

Lamar’s fall enrollment for the first day of classes totaled 10,191 in 2003 and 9,401 in 2002, with first day totals 8,452 in fall 2001.

This fall, Lamar students are taking 117,791 semester credit hours. In fall 2004, students enrolled in 120,331 semester credit hours. In 2003, students had enrolled in 113,808 course credit hours.

Qualified students can still register for the fall semester via the Internet at www.lamar.edu  if they have completed academic advisement.

All students must apply and be accepted for admission to Lamar University. Each applicant must receive a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from his or her advisor before registration. Individuals interested in attending Lamar should contact the admissions office at (409) 880-8888.

Those seeking enrollment into the university and students enrolling in person should visit the upstairs lobby of the Wimberly Building on the Lamar campus for assistance. Before enrolling, all potential students must apply for acceptance into the university.  Former Lamar students who are returning after an absence from LU must complete an application for admission. Recent high school graduates must supply a high school transcript, SAT or ACT scores and proof of Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) compliance, he said. Students transferring from other universities must provide Lamar academic transcripts and proof of THEA compliance.

For additional enrollment information, call (409) 880-8888.

Lindi Messina, center, became the first in her generation of her family to graduate from Lamar University . Joining her after Aug. 13 commencement ceremonies are her father, Jude, second from right, and Uncles Michael, Vincent and Frank, from left. Not pictured are two other uncles, Joseph and Thomas. Lindi earned a master’s degree in speech-language pathology after  receiving her bachelor’s in communication disorders in 2003.

Photo by Rohn Wenner/Courtesy of Lamar University

Lindi Messina is carrying on a family tradition and beginning a tradition of her own.

Her father and five uncles are Lamar University graduates.

On Aug. 13, she became the first of their 15 children to earn not only one but two degrees from Lamar.

Beyond the pride of following in their footsteps – even beyond her sense of academic accomplishment – are Messina ’s passion for her chosen profession of speech pathology and her desire to help others.

“I decided early on that I wanted to do something that when I left work every day, I would have had an impact not only on my patient, but also on his or her family and would have the feeling I did something for somebody else,” Messina says. “You have to be empathetic, and you have to be passionate about this. It’s this mentality that’s going to help make a difference in people’s lives.”

When Messina earned her master of science in speech-language pathology, she joined a small group of master’s-level professionals in her field. She was well rewarded. Twenty-four hours before she walked to the Montagne Center stage to accept her diploma, she received a job offer – which she gladly accepted – as a speech-language pathologist in outpatient rehabilitation at Renaissance Hospital in Groves .

Come commencement day, she had a large family cheering section: her father, Jude, a 1976 general business graduate of Lamar, and her mother, Ina, joined by uncles Frank (1971, marketing), Vincent (1979, general business) and Michael (1987, psychology). Uncles Joseph (1973, marketing) and Thomas (1982, mid-management) were unable to attend, but certainly there in spirit. All are members of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity – “and are still very supportive of that,” Lindi says.

The brothers are all involved in the family business, Messinas’ Liquor Inc. – Frank as president; Joseph as vice president, Jude as secretary-treasurer and Vincent, Thomas and Michael as stockholders. “Uncle Frank, Uncle Joseph and my dad got into business together and formed a partnership in 1974. My other uncles got involved later as the corporation grew,” Lindi said.

In addition, she said, “They’re big advocates of Lamar and work hard to promote the university. All of them, especially my dad and Uncle Frank, really pour their time into the Cardinal Club and various fund-raisers.”

“It’s an honor to follow in their footsteps. I feel very proud. There’s a family tradition across the board. And because I am the first in my generation to graduate from Lamar, it makes my parents very proud. My dad is really proud of his alma mater, and he says he’s proud to have a daughter who has supported Lamar University .”

Says Jude Messina: “I’m very proud of Lindi as I am of all my kids. Lindi persevered and achieved a master’s degree in one of the top speech-pathology programs in the nation. She’s blazed a trail and set high standards, serving as an example to other members of our family.”

Lindi Messina, now 26, was born and raised in Beaumont, the oldest of three children. Her sister, Abbi, is a sales representative, and her brother, Jude Jr., is a business major at Texas State University. She graduated in 1997 from Kelly High School, where she was active in the Anchor Club and on the cheerleading squad, and earned her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders from Lamar in 2003.

A master’s degree in speech-language pathology opens the door to a multitude of opportunities. “In the schools, I could serve children with articulation or language/delay impairment or who have autism or other specific syndromes that affect the normal speech and language development,” Messina said. “In the hospital or rehabilitation setting, I will work with patients who have suffered strokes to patients who have sustained traumatic brain injury. If the language and comprehension area of the brain was affected, therapy by a speech therapist is usually warranted.”

Messina ’s path toward her profession began when she was a child. “My younger brother, Jude, inspired me to further investigate this profession,” she said. At the age of 3, he received therapy at Lamar for a hereditary lateral lisp. I specifically remember going with my mom to bring him to therapy. I recall from a young age peering into the observation room. I was really interested in how he was doing and what the therapist was doing to help remediate the lisp.”  “That’s where my passion for speech pathology was born.”

In the course of completing two degrees, Messina has more than fulfilled her childhood aspirations. “I definitely have a passion for what I’m doing,” she said. “Parents have great respect for what we do as speech-language pathologists. They are very grateful for the therapy we provide to their children.”

One patient stands out:

“When I was a student in our clinical practicum, I worked with a child who was autistic. At the end of my semester, his mother pulled me aside and wanted to take a picture of me with the child. She went on to say that she had observed my therapy sessions for the entire semester and could tell I had such patience and compassion that I treated his case like he was the one and only. She felt like her son had made great gains at the clinic.

“I thanked her, and I remember when I was driving home that day, telling myself, ‘That’s why I’m in this profession.”

Messina also picked a field in which there is substantial need for professionals – especially those with masters’ degrees.

The week before graduation, Messina said, “I received several job offers. You call these specific places of employment, and excitement fills the voices of the employers. They tend to say, ‘Speech-language pathologists are hard to find. Can you come in tomorrow for an interview?’ There is a lack of speech pathologists across the United States , especially in the schools.”

Because of the limited number of master-degree speech pathologists, she said, “Employers are knocking down your door. It’s a great profession to get involved in.”

She said, “I studied under really great professors  – educators and mentors who had a lot to offer. I give a lot of credit to my professors. They were very, very influential.”

At Lamar, Messina was active in the National Student Speech-Language Association (NSSLHA) and a member of the Student Government Association. She looks forward to joining her professional organization, the American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA).

She also wants to get involved in the community, singling out Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). “I want to give my time to that organization by being a volunteer. There is no greater pride than making a positive impact on the lives of others.”

WOW shares magic of 
physics, cricket with students

Jake Hebert, a lecturer in chemistry and physics, will sit on nails and pull a few other tricks out of his sleeves while international student will share their love of cricket and their culture during a Week of Welcome today (Aug. 22).

"I plan to sit on nails and do some optical illusions. I'll also make an aluminum ring jump in the air," said Hebert, who will present his physics and chemistry magic show at 11 a.m. Monday in Room 106 of the Setzer Student Center. In addition, one experiment will cause someone's hair to actually stand up on end and he'll also make a beach ball levitate.

His goal is to create an interest for students that might convince them to study science as a major, Hebert said. If students enjoy what we do in the demonstration, they might give science a try, he said.

Week of Welcome, known as WOW, began Saturday and continues through Tuesday, Aug. 23. The event gives students the opportunity to learn about the campus and meet other incoming students. Students can find their classrooms, meet department representatives and learn tips to help them make the grade at Lamar. Special events are also planned for commuter students.

At 4 p.m. Monday, international students will give new students a few pointers on playing cricket during a demonstration in the field beside the Women's Gym. Afterward, foreign students will present "Cards Around the World" in the Setzer Center Ballroom, a program highlighting the different
cultures represented at Lamar and exotic foods from those countries. At 7 p.m. students will ready their vocal chords for the "Card Rock Café," a night of karaoke in Mirabeau's Café.

WOW will conclude Tuesday, Aug. 23, with highlights including a carnival in the Quadrangle from 2 to 4 p.m. and an ice cream social at 6 p.m. on the patio of Mirabeau's, with a Christian band providing the entertainment.

Week of Welcome Schedule
 
Monday, August 22
Dining Hall Open
7 ­ 10 a.m.
 
Services for Students with Disabilities Orientation RM 206, Setzer Student
Center 10 a.m. ­ Noon
 
Learning Communities Mixer
8th Floor, Mary and John Gray Library
10 ­ 11 a.m.
 
Dining Hall Open
11 a.m. ­ 2 p.m.
 
Fun and Games at the Library
Presented by Karen Nichols
1st floor, Library (at Big Red Resources)
11 a.m. ­  Noon
 
Physics Magic Show
Presented by Jake Hebert
RM 106, Setzer Student Center
11 a.m.  ­ Noon
 
Balancing Campus Involvement
Presented by Karen Thomas and Valerie Black RM 104, Setzer Student Center
11 ­ 11:30 a.m.
 
Commuter Student Lunch
(free gas will be given way to luck winners) Wimberly Building 11:30 a.m. ­
1:30 p.m.
 
Maximizing Your Investment in Me, Inc.
Presented by Dr. Frank Cavaliere
RM 210, Setzer Student Center
11:30 a.m. ­ Noon
 
WINGS Mentorship Mixer
8th Floor, Mary and John Gray Library
Noon ­ 1 p.m.
 
Cardinal W.O.W. Check ­ In
Lobby, Mary and John Gray Library
Noon ­ 3 p.m.
 
How to Study
Presented by Jake Hebert
RM 104, Setzer Student Center
Noon ­ 1 p.m.
 
The Difference Between High School & College Presented by Dr. Howell Gwin RM
206, Setzer Student Center Noon ­ 1 p.m.
 
Get Organized
Presented by Robin Schneider
RM 106, Setzer Student Center
Noon ­ 12:30 p.m.
 
Avoiding the Freshman 15: From an Actual Victim Presented by Omotore
Eruvwetere RM 210, Setzer Student Center 12:30 ­1 p.m.
 
Taking Essay Exams
Presented by Dr. Pamela Saur
RM 106, Setzer Student Center
1 ­ 2 p.m.
 
Test Preparation
Presented by Dr. Jeremy Shelton
RM 206, Setzer Student Center
1 ­ 2 p.m.
 
Building Friendships and Relationships
Presented by Ramona Hutchinson
RM 104, Setzer Student Center
1:30 ­ 2 p.m.
 
Student Computer Services
Presented by Microcomputer Support & Services RM 210, Setzer Student Center
1:30 ­ 2 p.m.
 
Safe Computing
Presented by Microcomputer Support & Services RM 210, Setzer Student Center
2 ­ 2:30 p.m.
 
Stress Management/Test Anxiety
Presented by Chuck Olliff, LPC
RM 104, Setzer Student Center
2:30 ­ 3:30 p.m.
 
Getting the Most Out of LU Without Living on Campus Presented by Dr. Kevin
Smith RM 106, Setzer Student Center 2:30 ­ 3:30 p.m.
 
How NOT to Gain the Freshman 15
Presented by Donna Gober
RM 206, Setzer Student Center
2:30 ­ 3:30 p.m.
 
Countrified Cricket
Annex Field by Women¹s Gym
4 ­ 5:30 p.m.
 
Dining Hall Open
4:30 ­ 8 p.m.
 
World Round-Up . . . Cards Around the World Ballroom, Setzer Student Center
5:30 ­ 6:30 p.m.
 
Card Rock Café
Mirabeau¹s Café
7 ­ 10 p.m.
 
Tuesday, August 23
 
Dining Hall Open
7 ­ 10 a.m.
 
Freshman Year Experience Field Trip
Cardinal W.O.W. Check ­ In Desk
Mary and John Gray Library
9 a.m. ­ 4 p.m.
 
Dining Hall Open
11 a.m. ­ 2 p.m.
 
Cardinal W.O.W. Check ­ In
Lobby, Mary and John Gray Library
Noon ­ 3 p.m.
 
Honors Program Orientation
RM 101, ROTC Building
1:30 ­ 3 p.m.
 
Carnival on the Quad
University Quadrangle
2 ­ 4 p.m.
 
PA Pow-Wow
Ballroom, Setzer Student Center
4 ­ 5:30 p.m.
 
Dining Hall Open
4:30 ­ 8 p.m.
 
Sundae Showdown
Patio of Maribeau's
6 ­ 8:30 p.m.

Orange residents Steven Trahan and Kimberly Mulhollan graduated from Lamar University Aug. 13. Now, within a week, they will become husband and wife.

Trahan, 22, may be the smarter of the two on paper. He earned two degrees from Lamar and was named the top male recipient of the Plummer Award with a 3.961 grade-point average. But, Mulhollan could be considered the wiser, at age 23.

Photos by Rohn Wenner/Courtesy of Lamar University

Charles Matthews, chancellor of The Texas State University System, presents the Plummer Award to Amanda Leigh Shaw of Vidor during summer commencement Aug. 13 at Lamar University . With a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, Shaw was honored as the top female academic graduate in her class.

The daughter of Hal Shaw and Christy Dilworth, both of Vidor, she graduated from Vidor High School.

Matthews was the keynote speaker at Lamar’s summer commencement.

Photo by Rohn Wenner/Courtesy of Lamar University

Charles Matthews, chancellor of The Texas State University System presents the Plummer Award to Steven Trahan of Orange at Lamar University summer commencement Aug. 13. With a grade-point average of 3.961, Trahan was the top male graduate in the August graduating class.

Trahan, son of Sylvia and Charles Trahan of Orange , is a graduate of Little-Cypress

Mauriceville High School . He received the 2005 C. Robert Kemble Award as Lamar’s outstanding senior man and participated in the Lamar Honors Program. 

Trahan will work for National Instruments in Austin and plans to pursue an advanced degree in electrical engineering (computer architecture).

Faculty Exhibit opens Aug. 22 
in Lamar’s Dishman Museum

Eleven members of Lamar University ’s art faculty will showcase their diverse talents during the annual Faculty Exhibition Aug. 22 through Sept. 30 in the Dishman Art Museum at Lamar.

A reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, in the museum will honor the artists.

The exhibition will feature works by Linnis Blanton, ceramics; Greg Busceme, ceramics; Keith Carter, photography; Kurt Dyrhaug, sculpture and drawings; Steve Hodges, painting; Meredith Jack, sculpture; Jamie Paul Kessler, painting; Rose Matthis, painting; Ann Matlock, fiber; Donna Meeks, mixed-media painting; and Prince Thomas, chromogenic prints.

Graduating summa cum laude, with GPAs from 3.8 to 4.0, were Elton Conn of Kountze, Pamela Packard and Amanda Shaw, Vidor; Jason Plunkett, Tatum; Lacie Salines and Steven Trahan, Orange; and Daniel White, Evadale.

Magna cum laude graduates, with GPAs of 3.65 to 3.79, are Travis Arnold and Christy Duran, Lumberton ; Susan Bard, Silsbee; David Kendrick, Nederland ; and Matthew Williams, Kountze.

Cum laude graduates (3.5 to 3.64) are Kelly Alton and Joseph McGee, Fannett; Ashton Burkett, Laurie Farshad, Colleen Leviner and Stacye Oster, Beaumont; Erica Dantley, Lake Charles , La. ; Britanie Harrington, Orangefield; Jessica Lyon, Bartlett; Celeste Montoya and Allison Van Pelt, Silsbee; Jason Richards, Nederland ; Devin Sistrunk, Vidor; Emily Spurlock, Woodville; and Kermit Walker, Mamou , La.

As she strolled the empty hallways of the art department during summer break eight years ago, she thought about how much she would love to return to school, but how it just wasn't a possibility. With three sons, Bard and her husband had just moved from Houston to Silsbee when she was exposed to what Lamar had to offer.

In 1999, Bard took a job as a reporter for the Silsbee Bee, which she says enabled her to learn a lot about her community.

"I really loved the job, and the people I worked with," she said. A year after landing the job, her husband was killed in a car accident, leaving Bard with her sons, ages 17, 13 and 6 at the time.

"As sad as that was," said Bard, "I found I had an opportunity to go back to school full time. So I did, and here I am. I'm still kind of awed by the circumstances."

Since 2003, Bard has been serving as curator of the Icehouse Museum in Silsbee.

"Even before I left the newspaper and before I started school, I wanted to become involved in any community arts organization that existed in Silsbee," she said. "I was surprised to learn how culturally in tune Silsbee is."

She decided to begin classes in 2000 and to pursue a major that she had been interested in since she was a child: art. Encouraged by teachers and family, Bard stated visual design as her major, but made a change soon afterward.

"When I entered Lamar, I was a visual design as my major," said Bard. "But as I began my first drawing class with Steve Hodges (associate professor of art), he suggested I change to studio art, so I did."

Bard, who had painted for several years, had experience in oils and watercolors and enjoyed drawing in graphite, pastels and colored pencils. "Each requires a different response, and both are rewarding."

Bard also enjoys other methods such as sculpture and photography, both digital and traditional, but says she would probably use that medium to assist with another. "That is, use a photograph to produce an image to paint or draw that can't be managed from life."

While she enjoys it all, Bard says painting is her favorite medium and images in her head make her want to paint. "If I don't paint them, it's like keeping secrets," she said. "I want to share them."

While balancing three children, school and a career would be more than most people would be able or willing to handle, Bard took a slightly different approach to her multitasking.

"A lot of people have said this should have been a struggle, but I always thought it was what had to be done," she said. "First and foremost, I believed I was setting a good example for my children."

She says she received incredible encouragement and help from board members and co-workers at the Ice House Museum and from her children.

"Like most people, I rearranged my priorities. My house wasn't always spotless, and we often put off extracurricular activities until I finished finals. My children helped by managing a lot of the household chores with few complaints."

When it came time for Bard to begin planning her senior thesis, she went back to the definition of "thesis" itself, in order to find her topic. The Dishman Art Museum showcased her work in the senior thesis exhibition in May.

"Thesis, as I understand it, is a problem resolved through art," she said. "Some artists look within themselves and select personal or intimate concerns. I chose to look outside of myself at the world. My work is social commentary."

This social commentary consisted of six life-size figures painted to resemble real sex offenders in Jefferson County. Bard says she spent many hours searching the sex offender database of Jefferson County for individuals whose crimes were fairly recent, particularly serious and who continue to be a high risk to society. After printing out the 2-by-2 inch images from the site, she looked for suitable models whose physical descriptions matched those provided in the database and then painted composite images to illustrate the physical reality of the offender.

"I chose to paint them because paintings have permanence," she said. "Though I expect the offenders to change, I expect the problem to be around for years and years."

She avoided color because she felt it "warmed them up," made them look romantic. She says her purpose was to provide information only.

"I believe not enough is done to protect the vulnerable among us from sex offenders," said Bard. "Since some are arrested, incarcerated and released back into society, our only defense is to be alert to their identity and location. The sex offender database is our only tool. I decided to change the size, add a body and deliver the information in an entirely different way, through a public gallery."

Bard says the work impacted her while she worked to impact the viewers. She says she memorized the faces while she worked and had discovered this result one day many years earlier.

"A little 7-year-old boy had died, whose father had worked with my husband," she said. "I thought if I drew his portrait, I could give his family something that would assure them their son wouldn't be forgotten. Years later, I realized I could still recall his face in exact detail. I can't remember the faces of his family, just his."

After receiving encouraging feedback from her thesis, Bard is now considering pursuing her master's degree in fine arts and wants to apply to the University of Houston since Lamar does not offer the M.F.A.. "Houston has a great arts community," she said. " I'm from there, so I'm familiar with the territory."

In 2000, Bard received the Mamie McFadden Ward Memorial Fine Arts Scholarship.

"I can only guess that Donna Meeks, chair of the art department, believed I was serious, and I was," she said. "I am incredibly grateful to them and to her."

Bard is also a member of Phi Kappa Phi national honor society and was recently elected to serve on the board of directors for the Beaumont Art League.

As Bard decides whether to embark on the second stage of her higher education, she is reflective of the time she spent at Lamar. "Lynne Lokensgard, professor of art history, has given me a history of art that is more than I dreamed," she said. "She made me think."

"Donna Meeks has been incredibly encouraging, always supportive and positive. She helped me abandon fears of age and gender issues, which for me, were very real."

"Steve Hodges probably has no idea how encouraging he was to me and I loved Butch's (art professor Meredith "Butch" Jack's) field trips to Houston."

"And finally, the students I met," said Bard. "They helped me forget how old I am. Many became long-lasting friends. I'm going to miss Lamar."

In 1966, it wasn't commonplace for an African-American woman to attend college. But, from the age of 5, she was told she would someday earn a college degree. Her family began her education early. Patterson studied vocabulary words from Reader's Digest. As a teen, she became an avid reader, often choosing books above her grade level.

During her recent stint at Lamar, Patterson was a graduate teaching assistant, working closely with undergraduates. Her long-term goal is to take advanced courses, eventually earning a doctorate. "My goal is to teach (nursing) and to continue working in ICU. I don't want to lose my skills. I
believe instructors should continue to work, even if it's one weekend a month."

Working in ICU is difficult, she said. It isn't for everyone, and some nurses end up suffering from burnout. "My goal is to take care of patients with compassion. Care and Dignity. Dignity, even in death," Patterson said.

Patterson started work on her master's with the first graduate class for nursing educators 2 1/2 years ago. She attended graduate school full time, but her education was delayed a semester after her grandchild was diagnosed with leukemia in July 2004.

She recently took her 4-year-old grandson to Houston for treatment. Patterson recalls one nurse saying, "He is just here for chemotherapy," coldly indicating there wasn't much the nurse could do for him. Patterson gently pulled the nurse aside and passed along the knowledge Sister Anna
gave her more than 30 years earlier ­- look beyond the machines.

"Many people get involved in the wires, and taking care of the machines," she said. "But, underneath it all is an individual who has a family that loves them."

While visiting the Houston hospital, she said, she and her husband saw a child in an iron lung. It reminded her that there is always someone who has it worse.

How is the family dealing with her grandson's medical condition? "It's by grace. You learn to take it one day at a time. One step at a time."

Brooke Hall’s stage portrayals stand in stark contrast to her scholarly roles as researcher, psychology teacher, mentor and counselor to future medical professionals.

Or do they?

“It’s curiosity,” Hall says of the common denominator linking the seemingly diverse pursuits. “Acting is about people’s motivations – 

how they think about things and why they do the things they do. Psychology is a lot about that too.  The interesting thing is not only collecting the data, but also in seeing what happens – in seeing life and why things are the way they are. I’m just curious about things in general.”

On Saturday, Aug. 13, Hall will make another stage appearance and receive a round of applause when she walks to the podium of the Montagne Center to accept her master’s degree in community psychology from Lamar University.

A 1999 graduate of Humble High School, Hall earned a degree in speech communication with a minor in psychology from Texas A&M University in 2003. She  “married into Beaumont” the same year. Her husband, Mark, a financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, is a graduate of Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School, where he was a basketball standout.

“I really like school, so, when I moved to Beaumont, I decided to go the graduate school route, and it’s been the most awesome experience,” Hall said. “I can’t say enough about Lamar University and the kind of opportunities I’ve gotten here as a graduate student.”      

Hall’s dean, her professors and her colleagues say her contributions to Lamar transcend the classroom. Outside her curriculum, she has worked for the past three years as a graduate student assistant in the College of Arts and Sciences. She has worn many hats – all of them a perfect fit, says Dean Brenda Nichols.                  

At 24, Hall has traveled internationally, attended prestigious conferences and helped shape the JASON project, along the way organizing campus lectures by the likes of columnist Molly Ivins. This fall, she will teach psychology classes and hopes to continue serving as pre-professional counselor and suspension/probation advisor.

When Hall came to Lamar to pursue her master’s degree, Nichols said, “She immediately started working in the deans office and quickly became invaluable, helping with all kinds of tasks big and small.”

She later took on the job of advising pre-professional (pre-medical, pre-dental and pre-pharmacy) students as her primary job. “She was great for the students and their family members – encouraging them, working with them and learning more and more about options for graduate study,” Nichols said. “This year, she began working with our students on probation and suspension – with excellent results.”

Plus, the dean added, she is a wife, an actress and, “a great friend.”

During her years at Lamar, Hall also has worked closely with Jim Westgate, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of earth and space sciences.

“Dean Nichols and Dr. Westgate create the most supportive, wonderful working environment, and they have let me have a lot more responsibility than the typical graduate student,” she said.

Even when she was a child, all the world was a stage for young Brooke Elaine Pearson.

“I think most people’s personalities come out pretty early in childhood,” she says. “I was getting into my mom’s high heels and putting on big hats and playing dress-up and doing shows for my parents’ company for as long as I can remember.”

Her parents, Jeanette and Steve Pearson, a librarian and a geologist, respectively, moved from Humble to Denver at the time she and Mark married.

Throughout her school years, Hall was involved in swimming and water polo, as well as speech tournaments and theater.

When she was in eighth grade, she landed the role of Shelby in “Steel Magnolias,” made memorable by Julia Roberts on film and by Hall in the Kingwood Center Stage production.

Her most interesting role – and her favorite until her recent tour-de-force in “A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around Talking” for Beaumont Community Players – was that of Jonathan Brewster in “Arsenic and Old Lace” at Humble High School. That’s right. The psycho brother with the Boris Karloff face, portrayed by Gene Massey in the 1944 movie classic.

“Basically, I am really, really tall. I was taller than 

all the boys in high school and still am taller than most guys – 6 feet 1, flat footed. So I went to audition, and the only women parts were the two little old ladies and the girlfriend. I really didn’t know if I would get cast in any of those parts. Then the director made me read for Jonathan Brewster.

“So I read. Apparently I had a deeper voice than some of the men, and he cast me in the part. I put on these thick shoes to be even taller and padded my shoulders, wore a wig and scarred my face with make-up. I had to watch ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ over and over to get those inflections down. I had to learn how to smoke a cigar.”

Her first performance for Beaumont Community Players – as Suzette in “Don’t Dress for Dinner” – earned her a Sallye award as the BCP’s best actress of 2004.

But the role that would finally upstage Jonathan Brewster was that of the repressed, neurotic, obsessive-compulsive perfectionist Maude Mix in John Ford Noonan’s challenging two-person play “A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around Talking,” co-starring Rachel Cain and directed by Gina Hinson.

“That was the most amazing production I’ve ever been a part of,” Hall said. “It is a two-woman show with characters who are exact opposites. My character is trying very hard to keep everything around her perfect so she doesn’t have to deal with the fact her life is really falling apart. Into her very wealthy neighborhood in moves Hannah Mae Bindler (Cain), who is this loud-mouthed, crazy Texan, every stereotype you can think of. The two women who are total opposites end up becoming friends. Hannah Mae is the catalyst to let Maude break free.

“It was so hard. In a two-person show, when you have to interact for two hours, you know that if somebody says a line and you don’t hear anything back, it’s your line. But lines were never a problem, and we really had a good time – and a lot of chemistry to take it to a level you don’t get to do when you have a big cast.”

Now a member of the BCP board, Hall is part of efforts to make the troupe’s downtown theater a reality.                                                               

“Since I moved here, I’ve been trying to branch out and meet people,” she said. “I’ve made a lot of friends at the university, but I was trying to make Beaumont my community too.”

Through Westgate, she became involved in the JASON project. “It’s an incredible program that really brings in a lot of community.”

She and Westgate recently traveled to Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, Mexico, a top international medical school, to further pre-professional relationships and recuitment. “It was an amazing cultural experience.” She’s attended conferences of the Texas Association of Advisors for the Health Professions and visited medical schools in Dallas, Fort Worth Houston and Galveston.

Lamar’s pre-professional programs have come light years in a short time, through new relationships with medical, dental and pharmacy schools. “It’s exciting to have seen the growth in the three years I’ve been here,” Hall said. “These are such wonderful recruiting tools. The first thing I tell students is how proud they should be that they’re at Lamar because of the hands-on teaching and many undergraduate research opportunities.”

Also, Hall said, “I’ve gotten to serve on more committees than I ever knew existed, including the speakers’ series committee and all kinds of grievance committees for both the college and the university – which is really interesting from the psychology standpoint.”

Her master’s thesis, “Narcissism, Self-Esteem and Aggression,” achieved significant results, she said, and she is now working with her thesis chair, Joanne Lindoerfer, to revise it for publication. “That’s my goal next year,” Hall said. “Even though I’m graduated, I want to continue being involved in research because I hope to get a Ph.D. and become a professor.”

Lindoerfer, associate professor of psychology and a 25-year faculty member, has high praise for her student. “I believe the whole department thinks of her as one of the most positive, most enthusiastic students we’ve ever had,” Lindoerfer said. “She’s also bright, a good researcher and writer and a good therapist.”

Hall looks forward to her continued relationship with Lamar University.

“I love it, and the reason I love it so much is that I have gotten a chance to do so many different things,” she said. “I don’t come in and sit at a desk. I can do research. I can work with faculty members. I can work with students. I’m always doing something.”

Lamar concludes student 
orientation Aug. 11-12
 
More than 1,800 students and their parents have participated in Lamar University orientation this summer, touring campus, registering for classes and meeting peer advisors during each two-day event.

The university is expecting its final orientation session, Aug. 11-12, to be the largest orientation session this year, said Cherrye Moore, coordinator of New Student Programs. “Any students who have not registered to attend should call student affairs,” Moore said.

The final orientation, aimed at familiarizing new students with campus, is scheduled for August 11-12. Students should have reservations to attend the event and must bring their THEA scores, Moore said.

The two-day orientation offers a complete, in-depth look at Lamar and student life.  Students who can't attend both days can register to participate in the second day only, which will offer basic information for new students.

The event begins with check-in at Cardinal Village at 1 p.m. That afternoon students will tour the campus, register for classes, and receive information about financial aid and meal plans.

Representatives of Monster.com will also be in attendance to present their “Making it Count” college preparation program.  The day concludes with a pool party at Cardinal Village.  Registered attendees will spend the night at Cardinal Village.

Day two, suggested for all new students begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Montagne Center, followed by a welcome rally hosted by Lamar University President Jimmy Simmons and Barry Johnson, vice president of Student Affairs. After students meet their peer advisors, they will learn the LU alma mater and the fight song.  In addition, students will learn about Greek organizations, university activities and the Student Government Association during sessions in the Setzer Student Center.

The Lamar bookstore will give away books for a semester to one student during a random drawing. The university will also give away scholarships.

Two-day orientation is $45 and one-day is $30. To make a reservation to attend, call (409) 880-8085.

Lamar offers reservation options
for La Dolce Vita fund-raiser

Several options are now available for purchasing tickets to La Dolce Vita, a weekend of fine wine and haute cuisine Sept. 16 and 17 at Lamar University .

Reservations may be made by phone with the Dishman Art Museum , (409) 880-8959. Payment by credit card is required.

Tickets also may be purchased in person between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Lamar University Advancement office, Room 122 of the John Gray Center (Building B), 855 E. Florida Ave. in Beaumont .

In addition, reservations may be made online at www.lamar.edu/ladolcevita.

La Dolce Vita begins with Vino Magnifico, a seven-course vintner dinner, at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, in the Dishman Art Museum . Activities move to the University Reception Center of the Mary and John Gray Library Saturday, Sept. 17, for Bella Cucina, a cooking seminar and tasting, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Spindletop Room and Buona Sera, a wine pairing, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Plummer and Lamar Rooms . The Saturday events are being scheduled so guests can attend both the cooking seminar and the wine pairing.

Executive Chef Michael Bomberg of Spice of Life Catering in San Antonio will present both the vintner dinner and the cooking seminar and tasting.                

Tickets are priced at $150 per person for the dinner and $45 each for the cooking seminar and the wine pairing. Reservations must be made in advance by Sept. 7. Checks should be made payable to the Dishman Art Museum , which hosts the annual fund-raiser.

La Dolce Vita – Italian for “the sweet life” – is the centerpiece of a campaign to create an endowment that will ensure continuation and enhancement of the museum’s collections and educational program.

Lamar to confer 370 degrees at
summer commencement Aug. 13

Lamar University is scheduled to confer 370 degrees during summer commencement at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, in the Montagne Center.

Degrees include a doctorate in engineering, to be awarded to Patrick Lo of Nederland.

The commencement speaker will be Charles Matthews, chancellor of The Texas State University System, of which Lamar University is a member institution. Before his appointment as chancellor this February, Matthews served 10 years on the Texas Railroad Commission. He is a former mayor of Garland.

Here are Lamar University’s summer degree candidates and their majors, listed according to their hometowns.

Doctorate

          NEDERLAND: Patrick Lo, engineering.

Masters’ Degrees

ANAHUAC: Paula Renee Harmon, counseling and development; Kristi Kay Hardy Abshier, special education.

ANDHRA PRADESH, India: Venkata Ramana Koushik Vedam, master of engineering.

AUSTIN: Raquel Kaye Eaton, Karlin Michael Hummel, deaf studies/deaf education.

          BANGALORE, India: Praveen Narayan Reddy, master of engineering.

      BANGKOK, Thailand: Kitipong Rattanapaibule, master of engineering science.

      BEAUMONT: Phyllis Lynn Loeb, Becky Vickery Thomason, applied criminology; Neil Edward Fogal, business administration; Vamshi Krishna Peyyavula, Michael Glen Weir, chemistry; Brooke Pearson Hall, community psychology; Sainath Mohan Adhiraj, Kevin Baxter, Stany Rock Fargose, Srilatha Gyambavantha, Rajesh Lal, Kiran Michelle Mendez, Prashanth Patlolla, Keyur Shah, Venkata Lakshmi Pandravada Twarakavi, Viswanathan Vaikundam, computer science; Dorothy Jean Griffin, Gabrielle Xy’nee Ligon_Polk, counseling and development; Donna Robles Valverde, deaf studies/deaf education; Jennifer Lynn Bruce Touchett, educational technology leadership; Chandra Gail Jones Brooks, elementary education; Patrick Donart, engineering management;

Also from Beaumont: Fasihullah Khan, Veerraju Mahesh Mummareddy, Rajashekhar Tadi, environmental engineering; Binod Basnet, Chowdary Bikkina, Vamshi Chander Reddy Beeravolu, Hima Bindu Gaddam, Sandeep Gandi, Raj Gaurav, Satish Chandran Gunasekaran, Bhavdipkumar Kalaria, Raghavendra Reddy Mudumalagurthy, Saritha Padhirae, Rahul Patil, Komkrit Pitiruek, Rana Saud_Ur Rehman, Sudheer Goud Sangam, Pardha Saradhi Vemulapalli, John Victor Vitovsky, Volkan Yalcinkaya, master of engineering; Santosh Chandru, Bhaskara Vijaya Chikkaveeraiah, Ritesh Navneetrai Vyas, master of engineering science; Beverly Thieme Hoffmeyer, Patricia Elizabeth Wilmot Patterson, nursing education; William Gary Stark Jr., public administration; KeeYatha Scott, secondary education; Harvey Lee  Bobs Jr., Lori Patrice Redeau, special education; Johnette Dyan Beresky_Segura, Rachel Nicole Knight, Lindi Patricia Messina, Leticia Roy, speech-language pathology.

BRIDGE CITY: Elizabeth Ann Bell Chandler, counseling and development; Jennifer Renee Chaddrick, speech-language pathology.

CARROLLTON: Sonya Marie Bodine, deaf studies/deaf education.

          CHENGDU, China: Yongxuan Zhu, chemistry.

CHENNAI, India: Padmaja Pallom, business administration; Thomas Johnson, master of engineering; Michael Anita, master of engineering science.

          CLEVELAND: Maria Magdalena Sanchez Schaefer, administration.

          DEER PARK: Jana Lynn Benson Crouch, speech-language pathology.

          EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.: Rohit Joshi, master of engineering science.

          GRANADA, Spain:  Kari Ann Henry Stewart, speech-language pathology.

          GRAYSLAKE, Ill.: Pavan Josyula, master of engineering.

       GROVES: Angella Marie Betar, counseling and development; Niki Diane Fails, special education.

          GUJARAT, India: Sarfaraj Memon, master of engineering.

          GWALIOR, India: Manjari Tiwari, computer science.

          HAMSHIRE: Janet Rhea Meloncon, nursing education.

          HANUMAN JUNCTION, India: Rajitha Devineni, mathematics.

          HIGHLANDS: Kimberly Joy Rawlinson, counseling and development.

      HOUSTON: Erron Mahone, administration; Meredith Jean Doerries, family and consumer sciences; Andrea Nicole Ogren, industrial and organizational psychology; Erin Elizabeth Coyne, speech-language pathology.

HYDERABAD, India: Arnold Naveen Eddula, business administration; Revathi Cherukuri, Komalatha Dandu, Savita Venkata Krishna Gumidyala, Ashwin Kumar Mupparapu, Pankaj Patil, Pranay Kumar Reddy Reguri, Naga Smitha Vadrevu, master of engineering; Venkatakarthik Prabala, Pramod Kumar Varma, master of engineering science. 

KATHMANDU, Nepal: Pema Kumar Lama, master of engineering.

          KILGORE: Jena Leigh Hedrick Walker, counseling and development.

KOUNTZE: Christy Lynn Lawrence, special education; Stacie Sue Chambers,           speech-language pathology.         

          KURNOOL, India: Tirumaleswara Reddy Ramapuram, master of engineering.

          LIBERTY: Suzanne Graves Lindsey, counseling and development.

          LONGVIEW: Cara Beth Black Robinson, administration.

LUMBERTON: William Richard Atwell, Dana Herbert Stoddard, deaf studies/deaf education.     

MAHARASHTRA, India: Ashish Jagannath Yeole, master of engineering; Deepak Gopinath, master of engineering science.

          MAURICEVILLE: Jeannie Kay Tuter Locke, counseling and development.

      MUMBAI, India: Bhushan Bharat Dalvi, Sirisha Sai Shyamala Kanukurti, master of engineering;

Prashant Ghanashyam Jani, master of engineering science.

          NALGONDA, India: Praveenkumar Daida, chemistry.

          NIRMAL, India: Vamshi Krishna Poodari, computer science.

      PELL CITY, Ala.: Christopher Scott Moon, Kimberly Terry Moon, deaf studies/deaf education.

PORT ARTHUR: Tonya Yvonne Alexander Bryant, Karla Julliette Coronado Obregon, administration; Tina Marie Vines, English; Joshua Bazzy, industrial and organizational psychology; Haidee Theresa Anglin Todora, kinesiology.

PORT NECHES: Marcia Sharp, administration; Niveen Yaseen, chemistry; Kelli Lynn Harlow, Jennifer Rene Lee, Natalie Martinez Long, family and consumer sciences.

          PUNE, India: Subodh Prakash Dalvi, master of engineering.

RAJAHMUNDRY, India: Surya Pavan Kumar Varma Nadimpalli, master of engineering.

SAN ANTONIO: Eve Delaney Fox, deaf studies/deaf education.

          SILSBEE: Tressa Kay Adams Traugott, counseling and development.

        SOUR LAKE: Shannon James Holmes, administration; Darlene Diann Pampell Bryan, speech-language pathology.

          SURAT, India: Bhavesh Pravinchandra Bhagat, computer science.

          TAMIL NADU, India: Srivijei Shanmugam, master of engineering.

          VICKSBURG, Miss.: Rebecca Ann Smith, master of engineering science.

      VIDOR: Brandy Lynne Smith Antill, Vanessa Elizabeth Peno Bennett, administration; Christopher Ray Westman, industrial and organizational psychology; Bradley Keith Haeggquist, kinesiology.

          VIJAYAWADA, India: Vivek Yadlapalli, computer science.            

           VISAKHAPATNAM, India: Venkata Surya Bellamkonda, chemistry.              

          WINNIE: Christi Michele Weber Silcox, administration.

          YAVATMAL, India: Javed Sabjaali Budhwani, master of engineering.

Bachelors’ Degrees

          ANAHUAC: Leslie Diane Foster, interdisciplinary studies.

            ARLINGTON: Trenton Bradley Price, finance.

          AURORA, Ill.: Raymond Ervin Anthony, general studies.

          BARTLETT: Jessica Leah Lyon, chemical engineering.

      BAYTOWN: Christopher Dale Crooms, applied arts and sciences; Arianna Trevino, communication disorders.

BEAUMONT: Julie Flores, Stacye Larlyn Oster, accounting; Kneco Briggs Jones, applied arts and sciences and criminal justice (two degrees); Shonda Rena Johnson, Tina Louise Johnson, Magon Hardin Loring, Cindy Manning, Kylyn Taylor, Rosa Perkins Thomas, Linda Sue Williams, applied arts and sciences; Ashton Neal Burkett, biology; Ryan Michael Sistrunk, chemical engineering; Gerald Wayne Riedmueller, communication; Nicole Marie Davis, criminal justice; Brian Amir Shajari, criminal justice; Stacy Jay Duriso, Andrew Winston Goolsby, Jessica Marie Rodriguez, family and consumer sciences; Jordan Joseph Bond, finance; Sidney Lawrence Perkins III, general business; Nathaniel Jefferson Alford III, Monica Boucher, Dustin Wayne Gaudet, Tina Louise Gipson, Ann Letitia Rix Golden, Cecil Bruce Morris Jr., Sandra Isabel Plasencia, Donyale Maurice Richard, Michael Andrew Saxton, Ashley Lynn Stone, Edward Jason Taylor, Ronica Roshonda Wiltz, general studies; Jessica Dale Roberts, graphic design; Colleen Judith Riley Leviner, Fayvetta Tolar Phillips, interdisciplinary studies; Candus Patricia Jack, Ashley Elizabeth Sheffield, management; David Maxey, marketing; Jack Wade Gilcrease, mathematics; Rebecca Delayne Glaser Dronet, medical technology; Amanda Gay Kimble, music; Laurie Rene’ Perozzo Farshad, political science; Daphne Dione Jones, Jon Christopher Anitsakis, Mary Elizabeth Whitehead, psychology; Sherry Denise LeBlanc, social work.

BRIDGE CITY: Jennifer Rae Yocham, accounting; Amy Margaret Groff, finance; Rachel Lee Kraus, management and marketing (two degrees).

            BRYAN: Roslyn Sheree Pittman, family and consumer sciences.

BUNA: Melissa Leigh Worsham, applied arts and sciences; James David Parden, Justin Michael Westmoreland, chemical engineering; Jason Ray Butaud, general studies.

BURKEVILLE: Jamietra Rochelle Hennington, social work.

CHINA: Jayne Dennis, human resource management.

CROSBY: Martina Raechelle Bellamy, communication.

DAYTON: Josie Culpepper Cancel, applied arts and sciences; Kelli Tims, history.

DEQUINCY, La.: Dematrius Anthony Davis, industrial technology.

DEWEYVILLE: Amanda Kaye Reed, interdisciplinary studies.
DUBAI , India: Tahir Raza, electrical engineering. 

EVADALE: Candice D’Lynn Olds Perry, communication disorders; Daniel Brent White, interdisciplinary studies; Krystan Danyel’ Murphy, psychology.

FANNETT: Terri Smith Walker, general studies; Joseph Bedford McGee, marketing; Shannon Michelle Tait, political science; Kelly Louise Burrell Alton, social work.

          FREEPORT: Tabatha Lee Dix, social work.

      GROVES: Patti Scruggs Ortolon, applied arts and sciences; Zachary Arthur Dubuisson, general studies; Lauren Nicole Fontenot Carrell, Josh Scott

LeBlanc, human resource management; Jamie Lynne Haining, Ashley Nicole Nicholson, interdisciplinary studies; Rachel Michelle McCain, psychology.

HAMSHIRE: Kimberly Rena Brown, accounting; Alexia Marie East, general studies; Stratford Leigh Meloncon, human resource management.

HOUSTON: Melanie Theresa Lyons Prevost, applied arts and sciences; James Jerald Barton, chemical engineering; Brandy Raye Seamon, general studies; Ikem Arisukwu, management; Bettina Jeannie Oten, marketing; Michelle Jennings, medical technology; Rochelle Nicole Lastrape, political science; Nkiru Chima Ejims, Vanessa Gayle Womack, psychology.

          JASPER: Nakiska Sharey Collins, Juanita Ann Thomas, social work.

      KIRBYVILLE: James Scott Moore, Jeannie Carrol Fussell Moore, Melony Ann Herrin Witmer, general studies.

KOUNTZE: Charles Christiaan Lawrence, applied arts and sciences; Elton Tyler Conn, chemical engineering; Matthew Lyle Williams, general studies; Ethel Jean Bush, kinesiology; Carol Michelle Parker McNeal, social work.

          LA MARQUE: Tisha Thibodeaux, interdisciplinary studies.

      LAKE CHARLES: Michael Wayne Watson, applied arts and sciences; Erica Dantley, social work.

          LIBERTY: Angela Dianne Caninenberg, chemical engineering.

          LUFKIN: Raven Marleana McKinley, social work.

LUMBERTON: Kevin Owen King, applied arts and sciences; Travis Scott Arnold, chemical engineering; Jesica Rene Bates, family and consumer sciences; Christy Rene'e Leach Duran, Christina Dennise Hladik, Brandi Leigh Powell, Stacie Michelle Sanchez, general studies; Waynette Rena Scheets Cooley, interdisciplinary studies; Stefanie Lene' Hefner, psychology.

          MAMOU, La.: Kermit James Walker Jr., kinesiology.

MARACAY Venezuela: John Henry Guerrero, finance.                    

          MAURICEVILLE: Kevin Sensat, general studies.                                              

NEDERLAND: Carlene Teixeira, accounting; Tyler Bryan Boyd Dabel, biology; Brad Ashton Guidry, environmental science; Kevin John Barbay, exercise science and fitness management; Iza Federico Arce, family and consumer sciences; Jason Wade Richards, finance/economics; James Michael Melancon, general business; James Brock Richardson, general studies; Cara Clark Lewis, human resource management; David Kyle Kendrick, Curtis Dwain Tinsley, kinesiology; Marie Christine Weeks, management; Candace Leigh McDonald, marketing; Scott Thomas Howell, psychology.

ORANGE: Heather Ann Prewitt Thomas, accounting; Zandra Dominic Collins, Robert Wayne Granger Jr., Vicki Lynn Reed Phillips, applied arts and sciences; Michael Kevin Vaughan, biology; Brandy Marie Bonnin, Donald Louis Rhodes Jr., communication; Tara Leigh Strahan, communication disorders; Steven Matson Trahan, computer science and electrical engineering (two degrees); Jennifer Johnson, criminal justice; Yulonda Roshell Lazenby, family and consumer sciences; Billy Eugene Burrow III, Wesley Dale Thompson, general business; Aaron Brandon Nies, general studies; Christopher Paul Benefield, Cyrus Boyd Brown, industrial technology; Lacie Kay Turner, interdisciplinary studies; Andrew Mitchell Craft, management; Garrett Hunter Hahn, marketing; Kristin Renae Cooks, Lacie Littlefield Salinas, social work; Kimberly Rae' Mulhollan, sociology; Cora Beth Betzen, studio art.

          ORANGEFIELD: Britanie Nicole Harrington, communication disorders.

PORT ARTHUR: Kendra De’Shawn Francis, accounting; Tracie Kay Badgett Billeaud, Monica Rae Henderson, Emma Lee Thomas McCall, applied arts and sciences and criminal justice (two degrees); Jennifer Lavelle Eglin Mosley, applied arts and sciences; Kenneth Ray Wycoff, communication; Desryl Lockett Henton, Tanya Latrice Richard, criminal justice; Michael James Andrews, electrical engineering; Shastity Denae’ Foots, family and consumer sciences; Dang Thi Pham, general business; Edward William Smith Jr., industrial technology; LeChi Thi Nguyen, medical technology.

PORT NECHES: Stephanie Leigh Boehm, accounting and finance (two degrees); James Walters, applied arts and sciences; Walter Wills, applied arts and sciences and interdisciplinary studies (two degrees); Rebekah Ann Sweetenham, biology; Tommy Lee Moore, finance/economics; Curtis Glenn Smith, industrial technology.

          ROSHARON: Anjanette Denise Mullins, general studies.

          ROUND ROCK: William F. Swor III, general studies.

          RYE: Dedria Kay Tanton, social work.

          SABANA GRANDE, Puerto Rico: Angel Marcel Torres, chemical engineering.

          SAN ANTONIO: John Austin Emmons, general studies.

          SAN AUGUSTINE: Candice Janee’ Matlock, social work.

          SEABROOK: Whitney Nicole Evans, communication.           

SILSBEE: Celeste Nicole Whitlock Montoya, English; Joshua Paul Powell, industrial technology; Cory Dwayne Harrison, kinesiology; Gregory Eugene Stuart, management; Allison Rose Van Pelt, social work; Susan Kay Bard, studio art.

SOUR LAKE: Amber Dianna Clark, family and consumer sciences; Jason Coy Sanford, general studies; Kimberly Bean, interdisciplinary studies.

          STOWELL: Katrina Renee’ Monroe, criminal justice.

      SUGAR LAND: Sepideh Kohanim, family and consumer sciences; Assad Ali Khan, management.

          TATUM: Jason Lynn Plunkett, applied arts and sciences.

          TEXAS CITY: LaVail Kelly Washington, industrial technology.

          VAN: Wesley Michael Tunnell, general studies.

      VIDOR: Monica Lynn Safar Sampson, chemical engineering; Pamela Rae Sam Packard, English; Howard Patrick Bailey, Jason Dewayne Hester, Devin Brooke Sistrunk, general studies; Sebrina Lenae Dollar, Christy Deeann Morris Mauboules, interdisciplinary studies; Ed Molanders III, marketing; Kenneth Eugene Dukes Jr., Amanda Leigh Shaw, political science.

       WINNIE: Erica Lynn Devillier Hampton, general studies; Loyd Gene Winzer, marketing.

         WOODVILLE: Emily Colleen Spurlock, communication disorders.

Associate Degrees

          BEAUMONT: Harolyn Jones, nursing.