Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Students part of national advertising group's promising scholars
Karen Madera
Three UNL students are part of the American Advertising Federation's 2012 class of Promising Minority Students.
Amy Struthers, associate professor and advertising/PR sequence head in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, said Karen Madera of McKinney, Texas, was selected as a finalist; and Alex Perez of Fort Worth, Texas, and Luke Tidball of Lincoln were named to the Honor Roll. Madera and Perez are majoring in advertising and public relations; Tidball is studying film and new media. Read more about this recognition on Today@UNL.
UNL again a Kiplinger's 'Best Value'
UNL was named one of the top 100 Best Values in Public Colleges by Kiplinger's Personal Finance for 2012. The report features schools that deliver a quality education at an affordable price. UNL placed 68th. According to Kiplinger's, the total cost of private colleges has recently averaged almost $39,000 a year, more than twice the average annual in-state sticker price — roughly $17,000 — at public schools. A third of the public schools on Kiplinger's top-100 list charge about the same as or less than $17,000.
Kiplinger's assesses quality and affordability according to a number of measurable standards. This year, Kiplinger's revamped the rankings to give more weight to academic value, such as the percentage of students who return for sophomore year and the four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include low prices, abundant financial aid and low average debt at graduation. Read more about this report on Today@UNL.
(From left) Eric Richards, Gene Aitkena and Paul Haar stand next to a poster advertising the Shanghai Conservatory Jazz Orchesta's concert featuring the commissioned work of Richards with guest soloist Haar.
China trip offers music profs new perspective
Music faculty Eric Richards and Paul Haar traveled to China in November to perform and deliver master classes at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
The Shanghai Conservatory Jazz Orchestra performed a concert featuring compositions by Richards, assistant professor of composition and jazz studies. One of Richards' friends and mentor, Gene Aitken, former director of the jazz studies program at the University of Northern Colorado and now a guest professor at the Shanghai Conservatory, has commissioned works by Richards since the mid-1990s. Aitken has commissioned a new piece annually from Richards since 2008 for the Shanghai Conservatory's fall concert. Read more about this teaching and learning trip on Today@UNL.
"High Plains — Range Land," an oil on linen painting by Raymond J. Eastwood.
New exhibitions explore Great Plains landscapes
The Great Plains Art Museum's new permanent collection exhibition "Transported with Wonder" opened Jan. 3. The exhibit runs concurrently with "Marking the Prairie Sublime: Paintings and Prints by Jonathan Goodding." "Transported with Wonder" features Great Plains landscapes.
"There is often a sense of grandeur — visually intense and emotionally powerful — in portrayals of Great Plains landscapes," said Amber Mohr, curator of the museum. "During the time of westward expansion, artists were commissioned to convey a temptation to bountiful promise — broad expanses of land, plentiful game and agricultural potential. Read more about this exhibit on Today@UNL.
