The Skyline Newspaper

McDonald Observatory Director To Deliver 20th Marshall Lecture

Dr. David L. Lambert, director of the McDonald Observatory, will deliver the 20th annual Mary Thomas Marshall Lecture Tuesday, Feb. 12, at SRSU.

Lambert, the Isabel McCutcheon Harte Centennial Chair in Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, will address "Heaven's Kitchens: Primordial Soup, Stellar Entrées, and Galactic Dessert," at 7:30 p.m. in Marshall Auditorium. There is no admission charge and the public is invited.

Lambert served as chair of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Texas from 2002-2003. Born and educated in England, he obtained a B.A. in Physics in 1960 and a PhD. in Solar Physics in 1965 from the University of Oxford. His contributions to research in astronomical spectroscopy have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards and appointments, including a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (1980-81), the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics from the American Institute of Physics and the American Astronomical Society (1987), and the Henry Norris Russell Lectureship, the top award of the American Astronomical Society (2007).

Lambert is one of the most productive and innovative astronomers in the world, with more than 450 publications during over 35 years of research. He has established the ?elds of Cosmochemistry and Galacto-chemodynamics and continues to lead them. His current research emphasizes precise analyses of the composition of evolved stars to determine how the chemical elements are synthesized by stars, along with studies of the chemical evolution of the galaxy as revealed by the chemical composition of un-evolved stars.

Lambert's lecture represents the official "kick off" event for the Sul Ross Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). Sul Ross student leaders chose the Milky Way as a logo and the name "Lobo Stars" for the plan. Symbolizing teamwork and humility, as well as the order of science that astronomy reveals, "Lobo Stars" represents a new vision for Sul Ross State University. One part of the plan focuses on using engagement with the West Texas outdoors, "Stars over La Frontera," to enhance student critical thinking skills in all academic disciplines.

Research has shown fairly conclusively that both student interest in, and their retention of, the subject being taught increases when they are given opportunities for active learning. Universities from Princeton to Texas Tech have recently added extensive outdoor programs in order to capitalize on this discovery. However, most of those universities are located in urban areas. With deer, javelina, wild turkey, pronghorn, raptors, and numerous other forms of wildlife often traversing campus property, and with a climate that supports outdoor learning year round, SRSU seems an ideal setting.

According to President R. Vic Morgan, "Just as the Milky Way shines a little brighter over West Texas, we believe that innovative thinking also has a better opportunity to shine at our small campus.

"Our two greatest assets are our small size and our huge and beautiful natural surroundings. The time is right to bring those together. I commend the QEP committee for envisioning that connection and for developing such an exciting and challenging plan."

One important natural asset unique to the low population area of West Texas is the dark night sky. At present, Sul Ross offers two courses in introductory astronomy. With a modern multi-use planetarium already a focal point on the campus, expanding astronomy as well as developing innovative connections to other courses such as mathematics, art, history, psychology, anthropology, and nature writing are possibilities for capitalizing on SRSU's existing assets.

The Sul Ross State University Lecture Series was renamed in 1985 to honor Mary Thomas Marshall, a good friend of the University. On Feb. 21, 1992, the Board of Regents, Texas State University System, approved renaming the Main Auditorium of Sul Ross State University to the Marshall Auditorium in recognition of Mrs. Marshall's many contributions to the University.

Mrs. Marshall's interest in Sul Ross State University stemmed from time spent as a young woman in the Trans-Pecos area of West Texas and from the longtime association of her sister-in-law, Stather Elliot Thomas, with the University as a member of the original faculty.

"Vagina Monologues" Coming Soon

By Amber Bowman
Theatre Major

The SRSU theatre department will be presenting Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues," Feb. 14, 15 and 16, at 8:15 p.m., in the Francois Fine Arts Building as part of the 2008 VDay College Campaign.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of VDay, a campaign that continues to raise consciousness and inspire a worldwide movement supporting groups working to end violence against women and girls.

The first time Sul Ross produced "The Vagina Monologues," in 2002, more than $1,000 was raised to help women's organizations. This year, senior Rebecca Benson is producing the show, with Director of Theatre Dona W. Roman directing a cast of 15 women (both from Sul Ross and the local community).

This year, as part of the campaign, Ms. Benson is overseeing the development of several projects to coincide with the production. There will be an art installation highlighting powerful women in history hanging in the halls of the Fine Arts Building; a juried art exhibit in the Francois Fine Arts Gallery with work by, for and about women; information from local women's organizations and a concession stand offering sensuous, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate goodies celebrating the female essence.

All proceeds from ticket sales and concessions will be donated to women's organizations. As part of the VDay 2008 College Campaign, 10% of the proceeds will go directly to the Women of Katrina fund; the remaining proceeds will go to the Family Crisis Center of the Big Bend.

Tickets will be available at the box office, or in advance by calling 837-8218, and are $8.00 for general admission and $5.00 for all Sul Ross faculty, staff and students with ID.

The show contains adult themes and language.

University To Host First Borderlands Research Institute Meeting

Landowners and civic leaders from Arizona, Texas, and northern Mexico will be present for the organizational meeting of the Borderlands Research Institute for Natural Resource Management Feb. 7-9, hosted by Sul Ross State University.

A business meeting will be held in the University Center Friday, Feb. 8. The meeting will include a tour of the Turner Range Animal Science Center and research presentations by Natural Resource Management faculty Louis and Patricia Harveson and Bonnie Warnock. An evening reception is planned at the Museum of the Big Bend, hosted by Sul Ross President Dr. R. Vic Morgan.

The mission of the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) is to help conserve the natural resources of the Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands through research, education, and outreach. The BRI, organized in 2007, is managed by Dr. Louis Harveson, Sul Ross associate professor and chair of the Department of Natural Resource Management.
Eleven advisory board members have been appointed.

Board members include: Valer Austin, Pearce, Ariz.; Robie Golden, Homer Mills, and Hiram Sibley, Alpine; Allen Smith, Austin; Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., Beeville; Bonnie McKinney, Del Rio; John B. Poindexter, Houston; Armando J. Garcia, García, Nuevo León, Mexico; and Alberto E. Garza Santos, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.

"All of the advisory board members have a strong affiliation with the Borderlands area and are passionate about natural resource conservation," Harveson said. "This organizational meeting will enable us to set goals with respect to our research programs, planned outreach and educational activities, and fundraising."

Harveson added that the ultimate goal of the BRI "is to provide land managers with the most current scientific information on the management of natural resources of the area. "We do this by planning research investigations that will help land owners in their day-to-day operations. This might include restoring hydrological function to a rangeland or better understanding the role precipitation has on mule deer population dynamics."

Through extensive research of wildlife/habitat and rangeland management and restoration, "we hope to provide science-based management alternatives to land owners and managers to enhance their ability to serve as land stewards," continued Harveson.

"Although our faculty have been leaders in this arena, the creation of the Borderlands Research Institute provides a better mechanism for us to conduct research and share those findings with the landowners and land managers of West Texas, southern New Mexico and Arizona, and northern Mexico," he said. "In fact, we're in the process of releasing a research bulletin that chronicles our accomplishments over the last 10 years, including summaries from approximately 100 research projects in these areas."

"The Borderlands Research Institute can help us expand these projects," Harveson said. "It is a landowner-based initiative; people trying to do the right things environmentally for this region."

For more information, contact Harveson at (432) 837-8488 or harveson@sulross.edu.