Professor Andrew Zohn

Professor Zohn enthralled a grateful audience at Legacy Hall last night with an incredible guitar program. For more than a decade, he has directed our guitar program and organized the annual Guitar Symposium. His own composition, Con Pulso, dedicated to Carlos Perez, our 2011 Amos Eminent Scholar, was truly exceptional.

What a weekend

Kudos to our great Orientation and Student Affairs team for a wonderful Parents Weekend, as well as an early fall Open House. Great energy, programming and attendance. My thanks to all involved. The caricatures on Woodruff Park were a great hit, as was the spectacular weather.

Sunday afternoon, baritone student Byron Mayes rocked the Studio Theatre at RiverCenter with a wonderful concert. The program was great from Gagliano to Brahms to Hogan, and the audience was mesmerized by his passion and talent.

On Sunday night, our LegacyLive concert series brought P\professors (in alphabetical order!) Jason Eklund, Zoran Jakovcic, Lisa Oberlander, Alex Pershounin, Sergiu Schwartz, Wendy Warner and Ron Wirt together for an all-Beethoven concert. Legacy Hall was packed, and the concert was incredibly powerful. How fortunate we are to have this array of world-class talent on the faculty of the Schwob School of Music.

CSU Wind Orchestra

What a night! Under the direction of conductor Dr. Jamie Nix, guest conductor\ Dr. Sean Powell and graduate conductor Josh Kearney, our Wind Orchestra mesmerized a great crowd at Legacy Hall. All the compositions played were written by composers who studied at either Eastman or Juilliard. The progression of one-half century of composition revealed some fascinating insights into the evolution of sound and musical style. Kudos to the Schwob Students who truly distinguished themselves last night.

Program Accreditation

One of the key drivers in our strategic planning is achieving best-of-class status in our undergraduate and graduate program offerings.

For some programs, this includes a commitment to national or international accreditation. During the past few months, our colleagues in the Department of Chemistry (Drs. Floyd Jackson and Samuel Abegaz) and in the Department of Political Science (Dr. Kimberly Gill and Amber Dees) have worked tirelessly on their program submissions to the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and  Administration (NASPAA).

These Herculean efforts pertaining to our exceptional chemistry program and our robust public administration program have been essential to the positioning of our university. While there are absolutely no guarantees of approval for initial or subsequent submissions, these efforts have served to galvanize and focus faculty and programs and have been incredibly impressive and rewarding to all involved.

Braves Game

Kudos to Jennifer Joyner, director of Alumni Relations, for orchestrating a great day at Turner Field for 100-plus Columbus State University alumni and friends. The gathering at the wonderful 755 Club at Turner Field was terrific, and it was so very nice to catch up with friends and supporters at the game. The Braves helped as Chipper Jones had two of the three hits and knocked in the Braves' only run -- enough to clinch the victory. If anyone has great ideas for other Atlanta-area events, please let us know!

Thanks to a partner

Dr. Tina Cross, with the Muscogee County School District, has, over the last three years secured more than $5.5 million in Department of Defense funding for profoundly important educational initiatives. Over $2.1 million of the funding has been directed to our Coca-Cola Space Science Center, our Center for the Quality of Teaching and Learning, our mathematics faculty, the Carson McCullers Center the Math Collaborative, Oxbow Meadows and the College of Education and Health Professions. This is truly how great community partnerships work!

A Proud Moment

On September 11, 2011 the Columbus State University Wind Orchestra along with the Maneuver Center of Excellence Bank and the Columbus State University Singers mesmerized more than 1000 in attendance at RiverCenter's Bill Heard Theater with a stirring tribute to those who perished in the horrific attacks on our nation. Sponsored by AFLAC, this exceptional program included Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, Major General (ret.) Walter Wojdakowski, Colonel Walter Piatt Commandant of the Infantry, our own Dr. Tom Dolan and revered community leader Bunky Clark. Our Schwob School faculty and students were exceptional and the tribute was inspiring.