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Fri, Dec 17, 2004

DECEMBER 17-19, 2004

THIS WEEK
Final Exams Are Here

Final Examinations for First Semester 2004-2005 will be given throughout this week (Dec. 13-17).

Click the link to view the university's official policy on Final Examinations and Dead Week, from the Academic Services Handbook.

ACADEMIC SERVICES HANDBOOK

NETV, DEC 17-21
NETV's "Statewide" to Feature US Poet-Laureate Kooser

This week on "Statewide," the Nebraska ETV Network's award-winning weekly news journal, meet Ted Kooser, one of Nebraska's most highly regarded poets and the country's newest Poet Laureate of the United States. This episode of "Statewide" will air Friday, Dec. 17, at 7:30 p.m. CT (6:30 MT).

Statewide's Annie Mumgaard recently traveled to Washington, D. C. for Kooser's induction as U.S. Poet Laureate. She visits with him to learn what the honor means to this Great Plains poet, and what he hopes to accomplish as our Nation's top poet. Kooser is the author of ten collections of poetry and winner of the 2001 Nebraska Book Award for poetry. His poems appear regularly in textbooks and anthologies currently in use in secondary schools and college classrooms across the country.

During this "Statewide" episode, you will also meet photographer Charles Guildner, whose work focuses on Nebraska ranchers. There's also a segment on painter Anne Burkholder and her Sandhills landscapes, we well as the premiere of a song composed to honor the people of the Omaha Tribe.

Air Times:
NETV
  Friday     @ 7:30 pm
  Saturday @ 7:30 pm
  Sunday   @ noon

NETV2
  Saturday @ 9:30 pm
  Sunday   @ 8:30 am
  Tuesday @ 1:30 pm

NETV | STATEWIDE

BEHLEN OBSERVATORY, FRI 7PM - 10PM
Behlen Observatory Hosts Open Viewing

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Behlen Observatory near Mead will be open to the public from 7-10 p.m. Dec. 17. There is no admission charge.

Provided the sky is clear, visitors will be able to view a variety of objects through the 30-inch telescope and other smaller telescopes set up outside of the observatory. Early in the evening, these will include the moon and the planet Uranus, while the planet Saturn and the Orion Nebula will be visible during the last hour of the public night. Other objects that can be observed throughout the evening include star clusters and double stars. Saturn, with its spectacular ring system, is one of the most beautiful and interesting objects in the sky. Depending on the stability of the Earth's atmosphere that night, it may be possible to see that the broad, bright ring is actually divided into two rings by a narrow dark gap known as Cassini's division.

At 7:30, UNL astronomer Kevin Lee will give a talk titled "The Year in Astronomy" in which he will discuss some interesting developments in astronomy during 2004. At various times during the evening, UNL astronomer Edward Schmidt will give a slide talk describing the objects currently in the evening sky.

Directions to the Observatory:
From LINCOLN: Take U.S. 77 north to six miles past Ceresco, turn east on Nebraska 63 and go eight miles to 10th Street (which is the road to Mead). At that corner there is a large brown sign on the left that lists a number of locations on the field lab, including Behlen Observatory. Turn left and go one mile north to Avenue H. Turn right on Avenue H and continue east two miles until you reach Eighth Street. Turn left on Eighth Street and follow it north 0.6 miles to the observatory, which will be seen on the left.

From OMAHA: Take Nebraska 92 west to Mead. At Mead, turn south on Nebraska Spur 78F and follow it about five miles to Avenue H. Turn left on Avenue H and continue east two miles until you reach Eighth Street. Turn left on Eighth Street and follow it north 0.6 miles to the observatory, which will be seen on the left.

BEHLEN OBSERVATORY

DEVANEY CENTER, SAT, 9:30AM
LIVE WEBCAST (Windows Media, Win/Mac) begins 9:00am Central
Ted Kooser to Address 1,450 UNL Graduates at Dec. 18 Commencement

Ted Kooser

Ted Kooser, poet laureate of the United States and professor of English in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Arts and Sciences, will give the address and receive an honorary doctor of letters degree at UNL commencement exercises Dec. 18 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, 1600 Court St.

Chancellor Harvey Perlman will preside over the 9:30 am ceremony. Approximately 1,450 students will receive degrees.

Because of construction of the Antelope Valley Project south of the Devaney Center (including the closing of Court Street on the south side of the building), those planning to attend commencement exercises are urged to use the 27th Street entrance to State Fair Park to get to the ceremony. Shuttle buses will be available for transportation from parking lots to the Devaney Center.

Kooser was named poet laureate (officially the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress) Aug. 12 by James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, and began his duties on Oct. 7. Previous poets laureate include Robert Frost, Gwendolyn Brooks and Rita Dove.

The author of 10 collections of poetry and prose including "Local Wonders, Seasons in the Bohemian Alps," (2002) published by University of Nebraska Press, Kooser was born in Ames, Iowa, in 1939 and attended public school there before earning his bachelor's degree at Iowa State University (1962). He taught school for one year before moving to Nebraska to pursue graduate school. He received his master's degree at the University of Nebraska in 1968. He has lived all of his life in Nebraska and Iowa and worked for 35 years in the life insurance business, retiring in 1999 as a vice president.

Kooser's most recent work is an upcoming University of Nebraska Press book, "The Poetry Home Repair Manual," due out soon, following "Delights & Shadows" (2004). His other collections of poetry include "Sure Signs" (1980), which received the Society of Midland Authors Prize for the best book of poetry by a Midwestern writer published in that year; "One World at a Time" (1985); "Weather Central" (1994); and "Winter Morning Walks: One Hundred Postcards to Jim Harrison" (2000), winner of the 2001 Nebraska Book Award for Poetry. "Local Wonders" also won the Nebraska Book Award for Nonfiction in 2003. The book was also chosen as the Best Book Written by a Midwestern Writer for 2002 by Friends of American Writers, and it won the Gold Award for Autobiography in ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Awards.

Kooser is also the author, with his longtime friend Jim Harrison, of "Braided Creek: A Conversation in Poetry" (2003), for which the two poets received the 2003 Award for Poetry from the Society of Midland Authors. Among Kooser's other awards and honors are two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, the Pushcart Prize, the Stanley Kunitz Prize, the James Boatwright Prize and a Merit Award from the Nebraska Arts Council.

Doctoral candidates will be honored in a hooding ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at Kimball Recital Hall, 11th and R streets (extended). Doctoral candidates will receive their diplomas at the Dec. 18 commencement exercises at the Devaney Center.

A drop-off area for graduates and mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the Devaney Center on Dec. 18. Sign language interpreters for hearing impaired individuals will be provided on-screen by HuskerVision. Guests in wheelchairs will be seated on the northeast corner of the arena floor. Golf carts will be located at the ramps on the exterior north and south sides of the Devaney Center to assist disabled guests entering and leaving the building.

Admission is free to both ceremonies, and tickets are not required. The Dec. 18 commencement exercises will also be streamed live on the UNL Web site.

UNL | GRADUATION LIST

EISENTRAGER•HOWARD GALLERY, THROUGH DEC. 17, NOON-5PM
Capstone Exhibition Presents Work of Nine BFA Candidates

The semiannual BFA Capstone Exhibition in the Eisentrager•Howard Gallery, on the first floor of Richards Hall.

The closing reception for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Capstone Exhibition will be held tonight from 5-7 pm in the Eisentrager•Howard Gallery. The Gallery is located in Richards Hall, Stadium Drive and T streets, on UNL's city campus.

The BFA Capstone Exhibition features the work of graduating seniors from the Department of Art and Art History. This presentation is the culminating undergraduate presentation for art students during their university program. The following nine artists are included in the exhibition:

Shannon Bourne shows a series of oil paintings depicting organic forms in atmospheric environments.

Matthew Gohring is a graphic designer who is exhibiting several brochures and magazine covers he produced for the College of Engineering and the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Kris Haskin is presenting a series of small and larger oil paintings that employ bold and textual abstractions.

Justin Irwin shows five larger abstract paintings on shaper canvases distinguished by layers of marks and patterns.

Jessica Mills is exhibiting colorful etchings with overlayed drawings and images that are identified by poetic titles.

Kathryn Scherfenberg presents exquisite sets of earthenware ceramic plates, cups, serving dishes and place settings, glazed with beautiful decorative surfaces.

Meghan Stratman shows paper and collage images depicting women and works based on female storybook characters.

Nolan Tredway exhibits oil paintings of fantasy landscapes, and a DVD series entitled "Milk" that employs puppet-like figures in epistemological dialogues.

Timothy Wegner shows eight stoneware and porcelain sculptures based on organic images with monochromatic satin glazes.

The Department of Art and Art History's Eisentrager•Howard Gallery is open Monday through Friday, noon-5pm. The gallery is located on the first floor of Richards Hall.

COLLEGE OF FINE AND PERFORMING ARTS | ART AND ART HISTORY

NORTH STAR HIGH SCHOOL, SAT, 3PM
UNL Opera to Perform 'Amahl and the Night Visitors'

After a successful collaboration last year, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music and Lincoln Public Schools will again present "Amahl and the Night Visitors" as a holiday program this year.

Gian Carlo Menotti's one-act opera will be performed at 3 pm, Dec. 19 at Lincoln Southwest High School, 7001 S. 14th St. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and are available at the door.

In the opera, a poor mother and her crippled child are in desperate straits. They are cold, hungry and destitute. Then suddenly one night, three kings appear at their door bearing magnificent gifts for an unknown child, led by a great star in the sky, and the stage is set for miraculous events. Originally composed for NBC television, Menotti's opera was first broadcast on Christmas Eve 1951. Its memorable melodies and inspirational story have touched audiences of all generations.

The opera will feature lead singers from the UNL opera program alongside the outstanding choruses of North Star and Southwest high schools. Sung in English with a running time of one hour, it is a perfect holiday treat for the entire family, celebrating the true spirit of giving.

Support for "Amahl and the Night Visitors" has been provided by the Woods Charitable Fund Inc. and the Lincoln Arts Council. For more information, contact William Shomos, associate professor of music at UNL at (402) 472-2494 or wshomos1@unl.edu, or visit the School of Music's Web site

SCHOOL OF MUSIC