MacMurray College News

An improbable life

2/21/2012 1:00:17 PM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL – Richard Nelson, a longtime, highly respected world history teacher at Jacksonville High School, will recount the uplifting life of Nobel poet Vaclav Havel.

His talk, “The Improbable Life of Vaclav Havel,” will be 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1 at the Putnam/Springer Building, on the southeast corner of State Street and Clay Avenue on the MacMurray College campus.

Havel, who died last year, went from being the most renowned imprisoned dissident of Communist Czechoslovakia to being free Czechoslovakia’s first president, all in the matter of months. He played an impressive and crucial role in midwifing a country brutalized by Nazi and Soviet-style oppression into a viable and respected democracy.

Nelson’s talk is the next event in the 2011-12 MacMurray Speakers Series, which gives a venue to local residents who have special knowledge or expertise to share with the community.

At 6 p.m. prior to Nelson’s talk, an exhibition of photography will open in the Applebee Gallery, also in the Springer/Putnam Building.

Koffel speaks at alma mater

2/21/2012 12:39:56 PM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL -- MacMurray Associate Professor of Art Khara Koffel gave a guest lecture Feb. 16 at her alma mater, Juniata College, in Huntingdon, PA. She graduated from Juniata in 2000 with a bachelor’s in Studio Arts and Arts History.

Koffel was asked to give a lecture about her work and inspiration to the college and the community. She spoke on “everything is something,” at the Neff Auditorium on campus.

In 2003, she received an MFA in sculpture and photography from the University of Alabama.

New York artist to show photos

2/20/2012 1:24:38 PM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL – Rochester, NY, artist Margaret LeJeune will exhibit her images March 1 to March 24 at the Applebee Gallery on the MacMurray College campus. An opening reception for the show, “The Modern Day Diana,” will be held 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 1 at the gallery.

Curator of photographs at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Roxana Marcoci, selected the work as 2010 Curator’s Choice Award at Center, Santa Fe, NM. It was also selected as Best In Show at the International Women In Photography Exhibition at the 12 12 Gallery in Richmond, VA.

The title of the exhibition is a reference to the Roman goddess Diana. Goddess of the hunt, Diana was described as strong, graceful, beautiful and possessing superior hunting skills. Her protection was sought for young children and women in childbirth.

In the context of that myth, LeJeune’s series of photographs, taken across the U.S., explores the modern notions of women hunters and the issues of gender, power and representation. Each image captures a personal depiction of the sitter, made evident by the setting. By photographing in each woman’s home or hunting lodge, she seeks to create a dynamic that questions the relationship between the domestic sphere, traditionally the women’s place; and the hunting world, typically a masculine realm.

LeJeune’s work has been exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Newspace Center for Photography, The Center for Fine Art Photography and in numerous national invitational and juried exhibitions. She is an assistant professor of art at Lyon College in Batesville, AR.

The Applebee Gallery is located in the Putnam/Springer Building at the southeast corner of State Street and Clay Avenue in Jacksonville.

Pictured: “Robin and Rose”

Note: After the “Diana” opening, Jacksonville resident Richard Nelson will speak on Vaclav Havel as part of the MacMurray Speakers Series, “Jacksonville Speaks.” He will present “The Improbable Life of Vaclav Havel” in the Thoresen Recital Hall, also located in the Putnam/Springer Building on the MacMurray College campus.

Choir to preview tour

2/13/2012 1:02:04 PM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL – The MacMurray College Choir will perform 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 17 at Annie Merner Chapel, showcasing music the choir will take on a spring tour later this year to Washington, D.C.

Selections include songs from the upcoming Spring Sing, as well as last fall's MacMurray Goes to Broadway concert, and range from Felix Mendelssohn’s “Die Nachtigall (The Nightingale)” to George and Ira Gershwin’s “Embraceable You.”

The MacMurray Choir leaves for Washington, D.C. on March 3 and returns about March 10. Among the venues the choir will perform at during the tour are the Douglas Memorial United Methodist Church near Capitol Hill and Christ's Church in Alexandria, VA, where George Washington and Robert E. Lee were regular worshippers.

Student named January student of the month

2/13/2012 10:00:35 AM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL – Joseph Essig, of Homer, IL, was named MacMurray student leader of the month for January. To be named a student leader, scholars must show academic excellence and involvement around campus.

A senior at MacMurray, Essig is involved in various campus activities, including the Campus Activities Board (CAB), and the MacMurray Student Association. He is a resident assistant and enjoys cycling. He also received a MacMurray scholarship.

“On top of being a second-year RA in Kendall Hall, he has taken an interest in other areas of student affairs,” said Dan Roberts, coordinator for residence life. “Last semester, Joe joined CAB and has been a big help for Cori Wagner, (MacMurray’s career services coordinator). His enthusiasm to help out when needed is refreshing,” Roberts said.

A 2008 graduate of Heritage High School in Broadlands, IL, Essig is the son of Dean and Sara Essig of Homer. He is pictured with Dean of Student Affairs Martin Sabolo.

MacMurray recognizes scholar

2/3/2012 9:51:20 AM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL – MacMurray named Daniel Routh of Edelstein, IL, as student leader of the month for December 2011. To be named a student leader, scholars must show academic excellence and involvement around campus. A biology major, Routh is the son of Ron and Anita Routh of Edelstein.

Routh is currently a resident assistant in Rutledge Hall, a football player and tutor in the Center for Learning Excellence on the MacMurray campus.

“Daniel is an awesome example of our core values of Mac football: honesty, respect and effort,” said Chris Douglas, head football coach. “He demonstrates great sportsmanship, and was awarded team and UMAC Sportsmanship Award for the 2011 season,” he said. “He also earned a Top 10 award for work in the classroom in the fall 2011 semester.”

Pictured: December Student Leader of the Month Daniel Routh with Dean of Student Affairs Marty Sabolo.

MacMurray to audition for Spring play

2/1/2012 8:12:30 AM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL – MacMurray College will hold an audition for the play “Bleacher Bums: a nine-inning comedy,” 7-9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6 at the Thoresen Recital Hall in the Putnam/Springer Building at the corner of Clay and State streets on the MacMurray campus. (Note change of location.) The parts range from characters age 20s to 50s and include:

Greg -- a gentle young man in his 20s. He has been blind from birth.
Melody King -- an attractive and serious sun-worshiper in her 20s
Zig -- a large, 50-something, cigar-chomping guy who bleeds Cubbie blue
Rose -- Zig’s long-suffering wife and closet Cubs fan
Decker -- a successful businessman in his 40’s
Richie -- in his 20s, with disgusting hygiene and personal habits
Marvin -- a professional gambler in his 30s
Cheerleader -- obnoxious teenage uber-fan with face paint and air horn
Announcer -- an off-stage voice

The performance dates are will be March 22-24.

Speaker to explore deaf culture

1/31/2012 12:56:52 PM CST

Katherine "Kitty" Aubry will discuss cultural similarities and differences, including the role -- or not -- of music in the deaf community, for the next event in the MacMurray Speaker Series, “Jacksonville Speaks.”

Her talk, "A Hearing-Deaf Connection: Music in the church? Straight talk for hearing people," will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7 in the Thoresen Recital Hall at the Putnam/Springer Center, the corner of Clay and State streets on the MacMurray College campus. The event is free and open to the public.

If you have not seen a visual presentation of music interpreted in American Sign Language, it will lift your spirits and give a whole new meaning to the term, "visual communication."

Prof. Aubry is a freelance interpreter and adjunct faculty member in the Interpreter Preparation Program at MacMurray College. Proficient in both English and ASL, her wide range of experiences as a life-long interpreter make her a knowledgeable and entertaining presenter of the serious and the lighter sides of cross-cultural communication and, sometimes, the lack of it.

See other Jacksonville Speaks events here.

Inspirational speaker to share wit, wisdom

1/30/2012 3:18:54 PM CST

Naima Johnston-Bush will bring her uplifting music, wit and wisdom to Jacksonville at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 6 at the Marian Chase Schaeffer Studio Theatre on the MacMurray College campus. The Theatre is located in the Education Complex on Hardin Avenue in Jacksonville. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Johnston-Bush will present a musical production and dynamic program based on her book, “Confessions of a Big Girl: Reflections on Fat, Faith and Femininity.” Her autobiographical presentation will reflect on her battle with food addiction, her loving and struggling family and on mixed up men and musical masterpieces.

Student recognized as leader

1/24/2012 11:26:14 AM CST

JACKSONVILLE, IL – MacMurray named Amy Goodman of Peru, IL, student leader of the month for November 2011.

Student leaders are selected by showing academic excellence and involvement around campus.

A 2008 graduate of LaSalle-Peru Township High School, she is involved in many various activities on campus, such as a resident assistant in Kendall Hall and a tutor at the Center for Learning Excellence.

Goodman also sings in the MacMurray Choir; works on Montage, the student literary magazine; and is a member of the MacMurray Student Association; Mortar Board, an academic honors organization; and the Campus Activities Board and Boost Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students (BACCHUS).

“Amy takes initiative to help her fellow (choir) members learn music, she recruits for the choir at events such as the student organization fair and she is very helpful with the general needs for the choir, said Laurie Lewis, MacMurray director of music.

Goodman, a psychology major, is the daughter of Chris and Gary Goodman of Peru, IL.

Pictured: November Student Leader of the Month Amy Goodman with Dean of Student Affairs Marty Sabolo.