Sul Ross State University
A Member of the Texas State University System
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News Release for Sept. 6, 2011MUSEUM OF THE BIG BEND EXHIBIT OPENS SEPT. 10
Started in 1921 as the Department of Drawing for education majors, the department soon developed courses for students who wished to pursue art as a career. In 1932, the summer Art Colony was established and for over fifteen years some of the best artists and students from in and out of state came to teach at the university. Artists’ works in the exhibit include Mabel Vandiver, Anna Keener, Elizabeth Keefer, Julius Woetlz, Xavier Gonzalez, Coreen Mary Spellman, Harry Anthony De Young, Otis Dozier, Beatrice Cuming and William Lester. Students are represented by James Swann, Ethel Edwards, Alice Reynolds and Juanita Montgomery. The exhibit will be on display through January 29, 2012. The Museum of the Big Bend is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are always excepted. Free parking. For more information contact Mary Bones at 432-837-8734 or at maryb@sulross.edu. NEW SUL ROSS STUDENTS COMMENDED FOR “MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE”
They were also urged to obtain a degree in four years and become serious investors in their education during the 13th annual New Student Convocation last Thursday (Sept. 1). Dr. Ricardo Maestas, Sul Ross’ 11th President, presided over the convocation. He greeted over 400 new students, as well as faculty and staff. The yearly event is designed to introduce students to the traditions of Sul Ross and encourage commitment and participation in the university community. “We are excited and honored that you have chosen to join the Sul Ross State University family as part of the class of 2015,” Maestas said. “Since you made the right choice about coming to Sul Ross, we hope you have also chosen to set your goal for a degree in four years-to truly be a member of the class of 2015. At Sul Ross, our job is to help with your education by providing a supportive academic and co-curricular environment.” Maestas quoted Richard Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education, who said each student must “become a serious investor in your own education. Your education will give you great advantages, but only if you take advantage of your education.” Student Government Association president Johnathon Cruz, San Antonio, also addressed the new students, praising them for their decision to enroll at Sul Ross. “Today is a celebration; a celebration of your decision to attend Sul Ross State University,” he said, “and it’s probably one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.” Cruz urged each new student “to define what success means to you,” and to be persistent in attaining goals. “Whatever success means to you...never back down, never give up (in the effort to achieve it),” Cruz said. He also emphasized the importance of involvement, both in campus and community activities and closed with stressing the 3 R’s: respect for self, respect for others and taking responsibility for one’s actions. Maestas emphasized the importance of Sul Ross traditions and academic traditions in general as a means to build continuity, cohesiveness and pride in the culture and heritage of university life. He referred to the new student convocation, painting and lighting the Bar-SR-Bar at Homecoming, singing the “Alma Mater”, the W.O.W. (We’re on Our Way) banquet, enjoying the Meal on the Mall and hiking to the desk at the top of Hancock Mountain as some of the Sul Ross traditions. “Individual organizations have their own traditions that are handed down from class to class and many times lead to memories on the part of former students that create actions in the future,” he said. “Hence the importance of getting involved in campus organizations.” He added that traditions “are part of the institutional memory and your memory as you graduate and become former students,” and noted that the university seal and the Bar-SR-Bar brand “will bring recognition all over the world.” Maestas concluded by referring to Riley’s quote about investing in one’s own education. “I remind you again that your education is what you make of it,” he said. “You get out if it what you put into it. In the final analysis, you are responsible for what you do....We are honored that you made the right choice to choose to enroll at Sul Ross State University this year as part the Class of 2015.” Dr. Donald Coers, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, gave a brief history of Sul Ross and its namesake, Lawrence Sullivan Ross, who was a Texas Ranger, Civil War hero, Governor and Texas A&M University president.
In a new tradition, Morgan also received the Bar-SR-Bar branding iron from Randy Jackson, a member of the Sul Ross Alumni Association Board. Jackson welcomed the Class of 2015 to “a new chapter in your life and your journey in education.” He noted that “riding for the brand” meant showing honor and respect as well as working hard for the organization one represents. “When you signed on here at Sul Ross, you became part of the Sul Ross tradition,” Jackson said, adding, “pride never graduates.” The convocation concluded with singing the “Alma Mater,” led by Dr. Donald Freed, associate professor of Music. Steve Bennack, visiting lecturer in Music, played the Processional and Recessional. The annual Fall on the Mall student organization recruitment fair and an ice cream social on Mall followed the convocation. Photo: Sea of Red: Photo: Passing the Spirit Stick: SUL ROSS STUDENTS RECEIVE DEGREES AT SUMMER COMMENCEMENT A total of 155 students, 99 from the Alpine Campus and 56 from Rio Grande College, were candidates for degrees during summer commencement exercises at Sul Ross State University. Ceremonies were held Saturday, Aug. 13 in the Pete P. Gallego Center on the Alpine Campus. Alpine campus graduates, their degrees and hometowns are listed below. Degree codes are as follows: AA-Associate of Applied Science; BA - Bachelor of Arts; BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration; BFA - Bachelor of Fine Arts; BS - Bachelor of Science; Cert. - Certificate; MA - Master of Arts; MAg. - Master of Agriculture; MBA - Master of Business Administration; MEd - Master of Education; MS - Master of Science; VN - Vocational Nursing Certificate; cum laude, 3.5-3.69 grade point average; magna cum laude, 3.7-3.89; summa cum laude, 3.9-4.0. SUL ROSS STUDENTS RECEIVE DEGREES AT SUMMER COMMENCEMENT A total of 155 students, 99 from the Alpine Campus and 56 from Rio Grande College, were candidates for degrees during summer commencement exercises at Sul Ross State University. Ceremonies were held Saturday, Aug. 13 in the Pete P. Gallego Center on the Alpine Campus. Rio Grande College graduates, their degrees and hometowns are listed below. Degree codes are as follows: AA-Associate of Applied Science; BA - Bachelor of Arts; BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration; BFA - Bachelor of Fine Arts; BS - Bachelor of Science; Cert. - Certificate; MA - Master of Arts; MAg. - Master of Agriculture; MBA - Master of Business Administration; MEd - Master of Education; MS - Master of Science; VN - Vocational Nursing Certificate; cum laude, 3.5-3.69 grade point average; magna cum laude, 3.7-3.89; summa cum laude, 3.9-4.0. NOTED WRITER DENISE CHAVEZ AT SUL ROSS SEPT. 9 Noted author Denise Chavez will present “Familia! An Evening of Stories,” Friday, Sept. 9 at Sul Ross State University. Chavez’ presentation will begin at 7 p.m. in the Espino Conference Center, Morgan University Center. There is no admission charge and the event is open to the public. Chavez’ appearance is sponsored by the Department of Languages and Literature and the Ira Blanton Folklore Excellence Fund. “¡Familia! An Evening of Stories” celebrates the power that culture and love have to bind us together with each other and with the land in which we live. Chávez's stories and dramatic readings remind us of the connections with family, with the ancestors, and with each other that are the underpinnings of our lives. Through her explorations of the universal in both regional landscape and in the human family, Chávez invites us to remember that our stories tell us who we are and from whence we come. Much of Chávez’ performance will come from her latest novel, “The King and Queen of Comezón,” set in Comezón, N.M., a wild and wonderful border mystery and love story. A Comezón is, literally, an itch, but it is also, in Spanish, a longing that can never be satisfied. Chávez has said, “My characters are survivors. I feel, as a Chicana writer, that I am capturing the voice of so many who have been voiceless over the years....My work is to capture as best as I can the small gestures of the forgotten people. My work is rooted in the Southwest, in heat in dust, and reflects a world where love is as real as the land. In this dry and seemingly harsh and empty world there is much beauty to be found. That hope of the heart is what feeds me, my characters....Everything has a voice, and you just have to listen as closely as you can.” Chávez has her roots in New Mexico, Texas and México. She grew up in Las Cruces, N.M. with her father’s family and in far West Texas with her mother’s family and learned to love tacos in both places. A true child of La Frontera, Chávez is the author of the recent memoir, A Taco Testimony: Meditations on Family, Food and Culture and the novels “Loving Pedro Infante” and “ Face of An Angel” as well as a short story collection, “The Last of the Menu Girls.” She has published a children’s book, “La Mujer Que Sabía El Idioma de Los Animales/The Woman Who Knew the Language of the Animals.” The author of many plays, she considers herself a performance writer. Chávez is the director of The Border Book Festival, a major national and regional book festival in Mesilla, N.M. as well as the Cultural Center de Mesilla, the festival’s bookstore and home base which brings literature, literacy and storytelling to people of all ages and backgrounds in the border corridor of southern New Mexico, West Texas and Northern México. She is the winner of the Don Luis Leal award in Chicano Literature given by the City of Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Book Festival, University of California Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College, as well as the Governor’s Award in Literature, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature and The American Book Award, among others. FIVE NEW INDUCTEES TO SUL ROSS HALL OF HONOR Football standouts Sam Sparks and Wayne Thorp and two-time basketball captain John Fortenberry are among the 2011 inductees to the Sul Ross State University Hall of Honor. Also to be enshrined are Outstanding Boosters Bob and Lucy Ward, Alpine. The five new members will be inducted during the annual awards banquet, Saturday, Oct. 29, part of Homecoming events. Other award recipients include Dr. Bill McDonough, a professor of Geology at the University of Maryland, and a 1983 Sul Ross graduate (Master of Science, Geochemistry) who will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Lamar Urbanovsky, former Chancellor of the Texas State University System, will receive the Slingin’ Sammy Baugh Award for Outstanding Service. Sparks, San Angelo, is a 1967 Sul Ross graduate. The Van Horn native was a three-year letterwinner in football and played on the 1965 Lone Star Conference championship team. He earned his J.D. degree from the University of Texas in 1970 and since 1972, is a partner in the Webb, Stokes & Sparks Law Firm, San Angelo. Thorp, Mertzon, was a member of the 1982 NAIA national playoff team, a two-time All-Lone Star Conference selection and an NAIA All-American defensive back (1984), as well as an Academic All-American. The 1985 Sul Ross graduate played three seasons for the Lobos and was named to the Dean’s List six times. Thorp is presently operations manager for Thorp Transport Co., Mertzon. Fortenberry, Newton, a 1974 graduate, was an All-Conference and All-Regional basketball player at Hill County Junior College before transferring to Sul Ross. He was captain of the 1972-73 and 1973-74 Lobo teams, an Academic All-Conference selection in 1974 and a two-time selection to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. He works as an independent advertising consultant in Newton. The Wards, owners of Morrison True Value Hardware in Alpine, are long-time Century Club members and strong supporters of Sul Ross athletics. In addition, they have been key players in the formation of the Alpine Cowboys minor league baseball team. COWBOY ARTIST WAYNE BAIZE TO LECTURE AT SHOOTING WEST TEXAS Noted cowboy artist Wayne Baize, Fort Davis, will be among the featured speakers at the 2011 Shooting West Texas Photography Symposium, Sept. 15-18 at Sul Ross State University. Baize will discuss the importance of photography in his paintings. From the beginning of his art career, he has based his paintings on photos taken while lending a hand at many West Texas ranches. Baize considers his invitation to become a member of the Cowboy Artists of America (1995) the highest honor in his art career. His work has won numerous awards, including the silver medal award for drawings at the 1997 Cowboy Artist Show in Phoenix, Ariz. Most recently, he was warded the American Cowboy Culture Award for 2004. His paintings and drawings have graced the covers of several horse and cattle magazines, including The Quarter Horse Journal, Western Horseman, and the Texas Hereford. Baize’s art can be viewed at his studio near Fort Davis, the Midland Gallery in Midland, the Whistle Pic Gallery in Fredericksburg, and Trailside Galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyo. and Scottsdale, Ariz. He shows annually with the Cowboy Artists of America at the Phoenix Art Museum and at the Governor’s Invitational art show in Cheyenne, Wyo. His work can be viewed at www.waynebaizeca.com/index.html. Registration for the symposium is available through the Sul Ross Cashier’s Office, 432-837-8129, and at www.shootingwesttexas.org. Other local photographers giving talks at Shooting West Texas are Rachael Waller, award-winning photographer specializing in wild horses, Indian ponies, and longhorn cattle; Lauren Bridges, who runs her Alpine photography business covering all venues of equine photography, weddings, school photos, senior portraits, and more; and Crystal Allbright from Terlingua, whose photos have adorned many area publications and supported many area organizations. Nationally and internationally know photographers at Shooting West Texas include T.J. Tucker, creative director of Texas Monthly magazines; Adam Jahiel whose work has appeared in most major U.S. publications and in dozens of books; Wyman Meinzer who was named the official Texas State Photographer in 1997 and is internationally acclaimed as an author and photographer; Jeremy Woodhouse, outdoor photographer based in Dallas; Russell Graves, photographer and author of the 2008 Kodak digital photography guide; and Terry Nathan, photographer and professor in the Art/Science Fusion and Atmospheric Science programs at the University of California at Davis. |
A new exhibit, The Lost Colony: Texas Regionalist Paintings opens Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Museum of the Big Bend, Sul ross State University. This exhibit celebrates an important chapter in the history of the Art Department at Sul Ross.
Sul Ross State University’s Class of 2015 was praised for choosing to enroll.
Leo Dominguez, associate vice president for Advancement and interim dean of Students, welcomed new students to the campus and presented the class to Maestas. The convocation included a charge to the entering class and the passing of the spirit stick from Michael Williams, Austin, a Class of 2014 member, to 2015 representatives Antonio Castro, Socorro; and Kevin Morgan, Austin.