CAS:
Leading a renaissance for the liberal arts
Regardless of major, students in the College of Arts and Sciences
receive a broad-based education—one for the whole person, not just for the job.
All CAS majors study the natural sciences, social sciences and
humanities. Some students, though, choose more than one major, becoming
"polymaths," or what more traditionally are referred to as "renaissance"
people.
The people with Arts & Sciences connections who are featured in
this issue of the Alum are representative of such individuals. They go beyond
the liberal arts concept of being well and broadly educated to excel in several
fields.
That includes many of our faculty, who find
their lives and talents as educators enriched by investing to the point of
excellence in more than one subject area. Such individuals come to understand
the connections among the disciplines—the interstitial spaces, as Foucault
referred to them—from which vantage one can see a larger picture of humanity
and the world.
For one person in the college, maintaining those connections is a
full-time job. The dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is charged with
overseeing the teaching and research missions of all disciplines within the
college, as well as managing the business side of things. The dean must become
the quintessential renaissance person to some measure, serving as political
advocate for each department and program. The dean must be the creative genius
who finds a way to achieve greater excellence with less state funding. The dean
is the one who ultimately must decide whether a new mass spectrometer for
chemistry or a new computer lab for physics takes highest priority.
And those are the decisions during the good years; in the lean
years, the dean will decide which people to let go and which programs to cut.
Arts & Sciences Dean Shelton Hendricks, in his fifth year
leading UNO's largest college, this spring was recognized with UNO's highest
honor, the Chancellor's Medal (Picture: Chancellor Nancy Belck presenting the
Chancellor's Medal). The award is presented to a full-time faculty or staff
"who has performed with excellence in his or her chosen profession."
A full professor of psychology, Hendricks has been a university
ombudsman, chair of the department of psychology and the dean of UNO Graduate
Studies. He also has served four terms with the Faculty Senate (one term as
president) and held membership in numerous campus and professional
organizations.
Hendricks has administered and/or participated in research projects
receiving funding support from 10 university research grants, six federal
government research grants and 70 pharmaceutical industry contracts.
As dean, he has overseen a rise in student count while enrollments
in the other colleges largely remain flat.
"These data for CAS are
nothing short of amazing," Hendricks says, "and, I believe, attest to the
rightness of the strategies we have employed to serve students, the outstanding
work our faculty do in and out of the classroom, and the rightness of the value
we place on a liberal arts education.
"The head count of
students enrolled in the college is the highest it has ever been. I have always
had a strong faith that if you do the right thing, the worst that will happen
is you will wind up broke and out of business and knowing you have done the
right thing. But the more likely outcome is that you will thrive."
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Musical Chemists: 'Elegance of Style'
"Music and science have an ancient connection," says UNO Professor
of Chemistry and pianist James Hagen. "Consider the Pythagorean studies of the
mathematics of musical intervals, or Kepler's passionate devotion to the idea
of the 'harmonies of the spheres' in which he tried to connect planetary orbits
to musical tones.
"One must, of course, mention Borodin, a Russian known more to the
world at large as a composer, but who made his living as a chemist."
The fascination that scientists have had with
music since the very beginnings of civilization provides overwhelming anecdotal
evidence for a connection between science and music. Though none of these
scientists yet has been able to define the formula for good music, there are
studies to prove that music appreciation and analytical processing do happen in
the same relatively small area of the brain.
"I have heard that the connection between music and chemistry is
through the octaves of music and the octets of chemistry," says Chemistry
Professor James K. Wood, bass player for The Rivertown String Band. "I have
never really thought about that connection. I do know that over the years our
outstanding chemistry majors have minored in music, were previous music majors,
or already had degrees in music.
"Most, if not all of our chemistry faculty either play a musical
instrument, sing in a choir or have a strong interest in music."
Rivertown String Band
The Rivertown String Band includes Wood, his wife, Kathy, and Jenni
Wallace (Pictured: from left, James Wood, Wallace and Kathy Wood). The trio has
played together for more than 20 years. "Jenni plays the hammered dulcimer,
fiddle, guitar, banjo, fife and penny whistle. Kathy plays banjo, autoharp and
now mainly guitar," says Wood. "I just play the upright acoustic bass but
sometimes will pick up a jaw harp and a mouth harp if needed. I am not allowed
to sing."
The group plays festivals, private parties, museum openings,
fund-raisers for various organizations and historical functions for the
national and state park services. Rivertown also plays for square and contra
dances and is the primary band for Contra Omaha, where Associate Dean Eric
Manley, associate professor of chemistry, calls the monthly dances.
Another chemist and musician, Instructor Ron Bartzatt, has played
the flute and piccolo since he was a teenager. "Since then I have learned to
play the classical guitar, mandolin and fife," Bartzatt says. "Music is not
only a means to reduce stress, but it also stimulates the mind to be creative.
I am certain that music has not only helped keep my blood pressure down but
greatly amplified my creative productivity in research and life in general."
Hagen points out that the connections between the sciences and the
arts don't stop with music: "Experience in music and language are better
predictors of success than grades in physics, math or even general chemistry,"
he says. "I believe that the habits of mind that language and music induce . .
. train the mind to think about vocabulary (notes), grammar and syntax—rhythm,
melody, etc."
Persons fluent in a
language or who excel in musical performance, Hagen adds, also exhibit "elegance
of style," a term used frequently in commentaries on brilliant organic
synthetic work. "It refers to a high level of compositional achievement that
goes beyond the nuts and bolts of language or music or chemistry."
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Writing about algebra adds up
"I've always looked at the elegance of language and seen
mathematics," Assistant Professor of English Marsha Watson (pictured) says.
No surprise, then, that Watson enthusiastically
greeted a proposal by Dean of Arts and Sciences Shelton Hendricks. His idea:
establish a new course in which the traditionally active learning processes of
writing instruction would be used to understand and reinforce algebraic
concepts.
The new course will be offered for the first time this spring
semester. All of the students enrolled in the "Writing about Algebra" course
also will be enrolled in a "cohort" section of intermediate algebra.
Watson foresees a twofold benefit: writing assignments will give
students a chance to process what they learn in their algebra lessons; algebra
lessons will help students understand how to construct stronger essays with
more logical arguments.
Watson didn't realize she had her own special abilities in math
until taking an aptitude test while in the Navy. After eight years performing
electronics testing for the Navy, she decided to build on that experience by
pursuing a degree in engineering. About halfway through her course of study,
however, she found that field to be uninteresting and less than purposeful for her.
She switched disciplines, completing her degree in math and deciding
to teach. When she was given the opportunity to continue in graduate study in
either mathematics or English, she chose the latter field, feeling it would
allow greater opportunities for creativity.
Watson, a member of
the UNO assessment team, also will be taking a critical step forward in
revising the way UNO does program assessment. Students in the Writing about
Algebra course will create online learning portfolios using new laptop computers
with wireless network access. The portfolios will be used both as learning
tools for the students and as assessment tools for the institution.
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Not taking the easy way out in the Big Easy
Hurricane Katrina's devastation gave Michael Homan an out. Instead,
the Arts and Sciences alum decided to stick it out.
Homan, an assistant professor of theology at Xavier University of
Louisiana since 2001, has returned to New Orleans to help rebuild that city and
his school. The decision wasn't easy. (Picture, Homan in Jerusalem with his
wife, Therese Fitzpatrick, daughter Kalypso and son Gilgamesh).
"I'm nearly 40, ripe for a midlife crisis, and
this would be a great time to move to another place and start over," Homan
wrote in his online journal. "Life can be very easy outside of the Big Easy.
There are few places in this country with as much poverty, poor education and
overall problems.
"But I think that for me and
my family, returning to the devastation of New Orleans offers us a chance to
really make a difference in the world. We could help to rebuild the great city
that has become our home, and at least make our modest contribution to this
Herculean task."
Homan always has taken on more than most would dare—a renaissance person
from his earliest days in CAS. He graduated in 1993 with honors and with majors
in psychology, history and religion. Referring to his liberal arts education,
Homan writes, "Then, I was no longer a kid from Omaha in the late 20th century.
Instead, I was a human being, doing my best to connect to other people,
appreciating their accomplishments while trying to understand their meaning for
the future."
His future included master's and doctorate degrees in ancient
history and the Hebrew Bible from the University of California at San Diego. He
has lectured at Notre Dame Seminary, Loyola and Jerusalem University College.
He has authored a number of books, including the forthcoming "Over, Under, and
Through the Bible: An Archaeological, Historical, and Satellite Atlas" with
co-authors Jeffrey C. Geoghegan and Robert A. Mullins.
"Writing is cathartic and can change the world," offers Homan. Case
in point: Homan's blog accounts of his escape from a flooded New Orleans. Brief
excerpts follow; for more, visit http://michaelhoman.blogspot.com.
"As I lay in my bed surrounded by my flooded city I heard on the
radio caller after caller cry out for help and ask why they and their loved
ones were not being rescued. People lay in hospitals and nursing homes and
starved to death. It occurred to me that it was more complicated than
concluding that suddenly the American government was forgetting these
impoverished people, these descendants of the slaves who built New Orleans and
this country. Instead, I realized that these poor people had been forgotten for
hundreds of years."
"I had heard that they were not letting people evacuate with their
animals. But these guys said that had changed, and so I put my computer and a
few papers in my backpack, loaded the dogs, let the birds go, and put out the
sugar glider with food and water in Kalypso's room to await my return, much
like Napoleon leaving for Elba I suppose. We drove in the boat all over the
city looking for people."
"They promised they would take us to Baton Rouge. But then
everything went to hell. Many refused to get out of the van but they were
forced. The van drove away as quickly as it could, as the drivers appeared to
be terrified, and we were suddenly in the middle of 20,000 people. I would
estimate that 98% of them were African Americans and the most impoverished
people in the state. It was like something out of a Kafka novel. People said
they had been there 5 days, and that on that day only 3 buses had shown up. I
saw murdered bodies, and elderly people who had died because they had been left
in the sun with no water for such a long time."
"There was a group of
officials going around and taking people's animals away. It was then that I
decided to try to escape. I knew there were armed looters outside the camp, but
there were inside as well, and I had Mosey, who is a pretty big dog and can be
scary when she is barking. I could not have ever told my children that I gave
up the dogs to save myself."
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A&S grad awarded Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
Natalie Black (pictured), graduate of the College of Arts and
Sciences, is one of 76 new recipients of a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
scholarship. The scholarships, among the largest in the United States, are
worth up to $300,000 each.
Black (pictured, who majored in biology with
minors in chemistry and German, now attends medical school at the University of
Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).
"Natalie conducted research in my laboratory for over three years,"
says Associate Professor of Biology Scott D. Snyder. "She is one of the most
intelligent, conscientious and energetic students I have had the pleasure to
interact with. She has a passion for the study of medicine, and I have no
question that she will succeed as a student and a physician."
Black's biography on the Kent Foundation website says that,
"Natalie's aim is to become one of the caring doctors, and to make affordable,
quality medical care available, especially to people who are elderly and poor.
She is pursuing a master's in public health along with her M.D. to qualify for
work on policy issues with non-medical professionals."
Black, though just 22 years old, has been drawing connections
between life and education for many years, and she speaks with great passion
about the connections between the sciences and the arts. "I loved the Native
American Studies course with Carolyn Fiscus," she says. Black credits Fiscus
for guiding her toward an understanding of Native American culture, something
that will help her in her future life. This spring she will take her first
medical mission trip to a Native American reservation. There she will assist in
basic medical care and educate young people about careers in medicine.
Black says a combination of language study and travel stimulated her
passion for getting to know and work with other cultures. In addition to her
minor in German, she also has begun studying Spanish. She was a member of UNO's
chapter of Delta Phi Alpha, the German Honor Society.
"Members of Delta Phi Alpha . . . recognized Natalie's cheerful dedication,
conscientiousness and excellent leadership capabilities by electing her to
several offices in the executive committee, including the vice-presidency,"
says German Professor Anthony Jung. "She is a very reliable self-starter, but
also works patiently and productively on teams until a given task is
successfully completed in her customary friendly and helpful manner."
Black's praise for
the "outstanding" education she received from the sciences faculty is matched
by their corresponding praise for her. Her chemistry professors, though, would
no doubt point out her skill as a violinist.
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New website to facilitate aid to College of Arts &
Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is launching a new website designed
to assist students, faculty/staff, alumni and friends in keeping up to date on
current news and critical information. The site will be available by the end of
November at http://cas.unomaha.edu.
Though the college long has had a website with useful information
for students and faculty/staff, the new website will place special emphasis on
communication with alumni and friends. Features of the site will include news
stories about alumni, faculty, and students of the college.
The site also will strengthen the college's ability to uphold its
mission as a result of financial support from alumni and the community, says
Mary Bernier, director of development for the University of Nebraska
Foundation. "This assistance is vital to the health of the college as state
funding is greatly decreased due to budget constraints," Bernier says.
Alumni, friends, businesses and corporations aid CAS programs and
research in multiple ways. They include:
• Gifts provided through the NU Foundation via annual fund phone and
mail campaigns;
• Memorials or honorary donations to remember a classmate,
faculty member or loved one;
• Research support, establishment of a named scholarship, or
creation of a fellowship;
• Named, endowed chairs and professorships, significant gifts
that enable the college to attract and recruit outstanding educators;
• Matched employee gifts by a company, doubling a donation.
Unrestricted gifts, which can be used for areas of greatest need
within the college, allow the dean flexibility and responsiveness as the
college's requirements grow and change over time. Gifts to the UNO Arts and
Sciences Fund for Excellence create new possibilities for many years to come.
Contact information
for Bernier will be available on the new website, along with information on contributions
through the NU Foundation.
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