Basketball, jazz offer holiday excitement from campus to campus

Last night, I left the Lumpkin Center excitement and energy created by our women's and men's basketball teams (the women remain undefeated!)  to immerse myself in the energy and excitement at our Studio Theater at RiverCenter, created by our CSU Jazz Ensembles. Kudos to the exceptional leadership provided by Dr. Alex Pershounin, director of jazz studies, with exceptional support from Drs. Paul Vaillancourt (director of percussion acitivities) and Dr. Amy Griffiths, a stellar saxophone professor. The concert performed by 17 Schwob School of Music students was magical. Professor Pershounin shared his wonderful depth of jazz knowledge with the great audience, and the saxophones, trumpets, trombones and rhythm sections were on fire. In preparing all for the holiday season ... everyone left "in the mood!"

Connect with Columbus State ... if you can keep up!

What a week! I joined six busloads of CSU students, staff and faculty on a short ride to the new Auburn Arena to watch the preseason debut of Coach Robert Moore and the Cougar men's basketball team. Our student-athletes were terrific and won the cliffhanger, 54-52. The women too won their preseason opener against LaGrange, and Coach Jonathan Norton and team are  poised for the season. Let's hope our great CSU community continues to support our men's and women's teams this winter.

At the Fall Festival, hosted by the Peach Belt Conference, our women's soccer team and men's and women's cross country teams both captured Peach Belt championship honors. We will host the NCAA Regional Soccer Tournament this Sunday at our stunning Walden Soccer Complex.

I had the great pleasure of attending our Tuba/Euphonium Studio Concert at Legacy Hall. What a treat. I also saw great new plans unveiled for our Coca-Cola Space Science Center as we make room for space shuttle equipment secured by the center's director, Dr. Shawn Cruzen. I attended a great lecture by Dr. Jonathan Schwabe, from the University of Northern Iowa, who presented great insights on his musical score from one of Carson McCullers' works. Today, a group of faculty across the university will participate in a colloquium on religious diversity moderated by Dr. Ron King of the Pastoral Institute. Tonight is the concert debut at CSU of our new Whiddon Piano Chair Professor Alex Kobrin.  At great universities, the pace never slows. Engage, connect with CSU.

Columbus State's support of Fort Benning reflected in Doughboy Stadium game

Thursday, October 28 was one more fantastic day at Columbus State University. That evening, our Cougar Club Football Team competed in an incredible game vs. the 3rd Infantry Division Team at Fort Benning's historic Doughboy Stadium. (While in the Army, Dwight Eisenhower coached a team at Doughboy, built in 1925.) The Army team tried out while on active duty in Iraq and, for the first time since 1983, competed in this fantastic, renovated venue. Thousands packed the stadium while thousands of others enjoyed food, festivities and fun outside the stadium. The game, broadcast over the Armed Forces Network reinforced the exceptional partnership between Columbus State University and Fort Benning. Our team coached by Bruce Hubbard (who played valiantly, as well, as a starting defensive end!) looked terrific and, although bested 29-13, kept the contest close until the very end. Special thanks to Phi Mu sorority for a great turnout and section and, as always, to our mascot, Cody, who never misses any events. All food provided by vendors was gratis, including the 10,000 pizzas, 10,000 hot dogs and tens of thousands of soft drinks distributed. Special thanks also go to our Annual Fund chair, John Hargrove, who orchestrated the event, and to Major General Mike Ferriter and Colonel Pete Jones for their enthusiastic support. Hopefully, this will become an annual event.

Campus talent impressive in concert, with visitors; come see game Thursday

Monday brought a wonderful first-time experience. I attended a Bass Ensemble Concert conducted by Dr. Alex Pershounin. The music performed by this ensemble of five of our exceptional CSU Schwob School of Music students ranged from classical (Handel, Mozart, Brahms and Bizet) to funk (Pershounin). It was an amazing display of exceptional talent. One of the students, Jack Meisburg, just received word that he has been selected to perform for the LaGrange Symphony. The Schwob School of Music level of talent is extraordinary, and its concerts are so very impressive. My thanks to our Enrollment Management team and all other participants, faculty, staff and students for a great Parents Weekend this past weekend, as well as our earliest-ever Visitation Day on Saturday. We had exceptional weather and a great tour of the Student Recreation Center. This was a wonderful team effort. Finally, our club football team plays a team from the U.S. Army's 3rd Brigade at Doughboy Stadium on Thursday. This gives us great connectivity to the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning and offers a great platform for our student-athletes to compete.

Fall highlights include concerts, soccer, lectures, art and more!

The last few weeks have represented a whirlwind of activities that are clearly reflective of a busy, engaged university.

I had the great pleasure of attending two exceptional concerts at our world-class Legacy Hall in the RiverCenter. Professor Paul Hostetter, our new Foley Distinguished Chair of Orchestral Activities, led an incredibly spirited performance by our CSU Philharmonic Orchestra. This grand evening was followed by an exceptional concert led by Dr. Jamie Nix, the new Director of Wind Ensemble Activities. This too was a wonderful evening.

Other recent events: I rode with our women’s soccer team to Savannah as they continued their stellar season. Jim Morpeth, a truly classic entrepreneur and founder of Country’s Barbecue, spoke to a packed house in Davidson Auditorium in a program sponsored by the Turner College of Business and Computer Science. Colonel (ret.) Conrad Crane, a Distinguished Professor at the Army War College, delivered our fall Hallock Lecture. Our Center for International Education organized a campus event featuring a wonderful range of study abroad options, staffed by faculty, students and staff who all encouraged our students to GO! A terrific exhibit has opened at our Ilges Gallery, an Exhibition of Drawings from the Kentler Flatfiles, and the opening night had a terrific turnout.

Looking ahead: This weekend is our first-ever fall Parents Weekend, and we look forward to hosting both prospective students and families of current students on our campus. In all, a great run for a great U.

Day of Service demonstrates spirit of Columbus State

This weekend was truly what keeps all of us inspired, committed and amazed at the service focus of Columbus State University students, faculty and staff. For our second annual Day of Service, we again partnered with United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley, which is one of the nation's top 100 such organizations among 1,200 in the U.S. Well before 9 a.m., hundreds of students, faculty and staff gathered and began to load buses, ably driven by our transportation team, and we fanned out to a dozen different United Way projects on both sides of the Chattahoochee River. My wife, Lauren, and I joined a great group at the Russell County Child Advocacy Center, where we went to work. Around 12:30, we gathered back at the CSU intramural complex for a cookout and thank you. We have a giving university community, in both treasure and talent, and this was a fantastic event coordinated by CSU's Center for Career Development.

Columbus State bike ride inaugurates `rails-to-trails' project

Tuesday evening, August 24, offered a chance for spectacular reflection on the connectivity across groups on the Columbus State University campus. At 6 p.m., about 100 students, faculty and staff gathered at our Woodruff Park on the RiverPark campus, participated in bicycle safety training and, behind a City of Columbus police escort, rode the 6-plus miles to main campus. This was the inaugural CSU ride on the new fault line trail, a "rails-to-trails" project that connects our Uptown Columbus campus with the main campus. Ride On Bikes was so kind to loan bikes and helmets to all who needed them, and we took a leisurely ride behind flashing blue police lights on this beautiful trail. Once on campus, we were met by thousands of students and faculty and staff who joined us in a campus cookout, music and games. Dr. Kimberly Mullen and Mr. Steve Morse, both great colleagues, receive kudos for their exceptional logistical and support work for this evening. My wife, Lauren, and I had a great time, meeting new students and are so very grateful to community leadership to have constructed over 20 miles of paved bike trails (more to come) throughout our community.