Summer 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to the second issue of Alumni Spotlight, the quarterly e-newsletter of the ASU Herberger College Alumni Chapter. Designed to keep you in touch with your college and your fellow alumni, it features all the latest news. Of course, you’ll still find your favorite sections, such as Class Notes, and learn about exciting, fun networking events and news.
Got news to share? Send it to herbergeralumni@asu.edu.
“We embrace the notion that the knowledge which arises from the study and creation of art is central to the intellectual enterprise of a great university.” Listen to Dean Kim
The ASU Herberger College Alumni Chapter introduces its inaugural alumni calendar! Filled with inspirational stories and news about ASU Herberger College alumni from around the country, this is a calendar like no other.
The 2009 (16-month) calendar is just $10, including shipping and handling, and benefits the chapter’s scholarship programs. Get acquainted with your peers while supporting our scholarship programs. Order your calendar today!
480.965.8985 or herbergeralumni@asu.edu
If you are interested in ordering a calendar, please send checks to:
Deanna Stulgaitis
ASU Herberger College of the Arts
PO Box 872102
Tempe, AZ 85287-2102
Checks should be made to: ASU Foundation with the notation HCA Alumni Calendar.
Hundreds of hungry people gathered at the new Tempe Marketplace Chipotle Mexican Grill on April 17 to help raise $2,246 for the alumni chapter’s scholarship program. (more)
Haven’t become a member of our Virtual Mosaic or know an alum who hasn’t? Join today! It’s easy and a great way to share your news and reconnect with fellow alumni. Join now!
Did you read about When-Dee Franklyn-Morrison’s (BA Theatre, 1998) cool online cookie bakery, Fat Cookie? Read all about it on the Virtual Mosaic!
The ASU Herberger College Alumni Chapter Board of Directors honors Rebecca Bell (Music), co-president general operations, for her two years of service. Under her leadership, the chapter grew in many ways, including launching the Virtual Mosaic, overseeing a homecoming fundraiser, developing a strategic budget and securing our first corporate-underwritten fundraiser with Chipotle Mexican Grill.
The board welcomes Cathie Rubins (Art History) as she transitions from president-elect to co-president general operations. She is joined by Kris Michael (Art), co-president of communications; Allison Gee (Art History and Humanities), secretary; Gary Quamme (Music), treasurer; Stephanie Kelly (Theatre), director at large; and Laurie Hermann (Dance and Law), diplomat at large.
Alumni volunteers wanted to represent the college and to help us build a resource network among our alums and for our students. If your state is listed below and you’re interested, contact us today! herbergeralumni@asu.edu.
| Arizona | Oregon |
| California | New York |
| Colorado | Texas |
| Illinois | Washington |
| Ohio | Wisconsin |
Jerry Ann Alt (DMA Choral Music, 1985) director of choral activities at New Mexico State University, was presented the Douglas R. McEwen Award for Choral Excellence at the Western Division American Choral Directors Association Conference in Anaheim, Calif., in February.
Courtney Andrews (MM Music Theatre Direction, 2007) has been awarded a 2009 Fulbright Scholarship to study Polynesian and Samoan opera and musical theatre in New Zealand. Following her Fulbright study, Andrews plans to return to the ASU Herberger College School of Music to earn her DMA.
Eric Gewirtz (BM Percussion Performance, 2004) has been working for the New York Philharmonic since 2006. In March, he accompanied the orchestra, as its publicist, for its historic trip and performance in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Daveda Karanas (MM Opera Performance, 2006) was selected as one of five winners in the final round of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions held at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in February.
Tania Katan (BA Theatre, 1997), satirist and comedy performer, premieres the adaptation of her best-selling memoir, “My One-Night Stand with Cancer,” entitled Saving Tania’s Privates. The adaptation premiers in Edinburgh on July 30 direct from a sell-out season in the U.S.
Randy Kemp (BFA Painting, 1986) was nominated for the 2008 Contemporary Catalyst Award from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.
Christina Marin (PhD Theatre for Youth, 2005) received NYU Steinhardt School’s 2008 Outstanding Faculty Star Award, presented by the NYU Graduate Student Organization.
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Z. Randall Stroope (DMA Choral Conducting, 1987) is presently the Director of Choral Studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, where he oversees the graduate and undergraduate program in choral conducting.
Kim Walker (BA Painting, 2001) is currently exhibiting in Celebrating Art of the West Valley III at the West Valley Art Museum in Surprise, Ariz.
To learn more about your classmates, visit our Virtual Mosaic. Share your news, herbergeralumni@asu.edu.
Here’s what’s up with your favorite faculty members:
Congratulations to Baruch Meir, associate professor of piano in the ASU Herberger College School of Music; Johnny Saldaña, theatre professor and associate director of the ASU Herberger College School of Theatre and Film; F. Miguel Valenti, Lincoln Professor of Ethics and the Arts and assistant director of the ASU Herberger College School of Theatre and Film; and Bernard Young, professor of art education in the ASU Herberger College School of Art, on their student nominations for the ASU Parents Association 2008 Professor of the Year award. The annual award spotlights the contributions of excellent ASU professors.
David Coffman, clinical assistant professor in the ASU Herberger College School of Theatre and Film, recently arranged a field trip for 10 of his stage management students to go to Las Vegas and shadow professional stage managers at many shows, including Le Reve, Blue Man Group and several Cirque du Soleil productions. Several of the hosts were Coffman's past colleagues, who encouraged his students to send resumes and apply for internships at these productions
Mark Klett, Regents' Professor of Photography in the ASU Herberger College School of Art, received the 2008 Artist Award during the 27th Annual Governor's Arts Awards. The award is given to a living Arizona artist active in the field of literature, visual arts, performing arts, folk arts, architecture, design or film.
Pegge Vissicaro, associate chair at ASU Herberger College Dance and president of the Cross-Cultural Dance Resource Collection (CCDR), was instrumental in bringing the collection to the ASU Herberger College of the Arts and its department of dance. The collection’s new home is thanks to the generosity and vision of Elsie Dunin, a leading dance scholar, and is expected to open in spring 2009.
JoAnn Yeoman-Tongret - New York alums, be on the lookout for JoAnn! She is retiring from ASU Herberger College School of Music’s Lyric Opera Program, but not from the world of musical theatre. She and her husband Alan are moving to the greater New York City area, where she is currently booked in New York as choreographer for The Phantom of the Opera, which tours Europe starting in late September.
Tap into the pride of your college and nurture future alumni in the visual and performing arts by joining the ASU Alumni Association, which benefits our alumni chapter and includes all the association benefits.
Give to scholarship programs of the ASU Herberger College Alumni Chapter. To give online, click here.Alumni Spotlight is published quarterly and contains news and events for ASU Herberger College of the Arts alumni. To make sure you continue to receive our e-mails in your inbox (not sent to bulk or junk folders), please add hcfaweb@asu.edu to your address book or safe-sender list.