Week's events offer plenty of reasons to give thanks

What a great week at Columbus State University. First, allow me to wish all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday. Special thanks to all of our troops serving around the globe during this holiday season. We can thank you and all veterans for the freedoms we enjoy.

Over the past week, I enjoyed an extraordinary concert in Legacy Hall presented by our Schwob School of Music Jazz Ensemble under the exceptional guidance of Dr. Alex Pershounin. The concert was truly spectacular, and the talent among our students is best-of-class. I then had the unique opportunity to attend an incredibly innovative performance comprised of music and art students at our Corn Center for the Visual Arts.

The audience was fully engaged and the program assembled by professor Kristen Hansen was most impressive. Three Sisters, the famed Anton Chekhov play, was performed by the students in our Theater Program in the Studio Theater. They were terrific, and the audience was again treated to great acting, costumes, set design and performance.

I attended a magnificent original short story reading by  David Samuel Levinson, the 2012 Marguerite and Lamar Smith Writing Fellow, who has spent the fall semester living in the McCullers House on Stark Avenue. Levinson is a writer driven by passion and sentiment and experience. The reading was outstanding and one, I am certain, we will see in print.

Our campus Visitation Day was busy!  Thanks as always to our Enrollment Management Team, CSU Cheer Team, all faculty who attended and the staff who work tirelessly to make the event run flawlessly. Saturday and Sunday , come help us cheer the CSU Lady Cougars basketball  team at Lumpkin arena.

Inaugural, bike ride and Gusto!

What an honor and a privilege it was for me to attend the 12th investiture ceremony for a University System of Georgia chancellor. Chancellor Hank Huckaby was formally installed in the State Capitol, and the ceremony, conducted by the governor and the speaker of the House, was truly exceptional. What an honor for Columbus State University that our Student Government Administration president, Antonio Orsborn, was in attendance. Also, of all the faculty in the USG, our own Curry Eminent Scholar Chair, Earl Coleman, was selected to represent the faculty in speaking at the investiture. His remarks were outstanding and a great day was had by all.

On Friday, my wife Lauren joined me as we biked from the RiverPark campus along the Fall Line Trace with students, faculty and staff to the recreation center on main campus. Thanks to a crack CSU Police escort, the ride was smooth and without incident, and all of those in attendance celebrated for the second year in a row this fantastic trail that gives a new meaning to personal transportation in Columbus. My thanks to the Student Affairs staff who ensured a fantastic evening.

Saturday night, our own Columbus State University Schwob School of Music hosted Gusto! an elegant evening of fare and flair at the RiverMill Event Centre. Co-Chairs Gail Greenblatt and Jackie Titus led a committee that produced a magical evening and the performances of our students were breathtaking. My thanks to all involved in every detail, from table decor to logistics. This set a new standard for CSU special events!

College of the Arts dean responds to student death

As you may have read through an email and posting on the university's Facebook page, our campus is mourning the loss of theatre student Shea Barnett. Interim Dean of the College of Arts Richard Baxter offered his own words to members of that college today. They are touching, timely and thoughtful. With his permission, I'm posting his note here:

Dear College of the Arts Majors:

It is with great sadness that I share with you the tragic loss of Shea Barnett's family and our college family in Shea's death yesterday. On behalf of you, the faculty, and the staff of the College of the Arts, I want to express our condolences to the Barnett family.

The CSU Counseling Center has outstanding staff members who can assist you in coping with your grief for a lost peer or any anxieties you may be feeling as the semester continues and pressure in your classes mount. I would also remind you that your faculty members are dedicated professionals who care about your well-being and are committed to helping you with the challenges you may face.

I chose to come to CSU seven years ago because I was impressed by the genuine care faculty had for the students. My time here has only reinforced that perception as I have witnessed your faculty celebrate your success, through their laudatory remarks after your performances, and their expressions of empathy at your less successful efforts. They all have rich experiences in life and are a valuable resource available to you.

I personally can relate to your feelings at this challenging moment having tragically lost a fraternity brother when I was a senior in college. The death of a peer rattles our sense of security, it challenges our feelings of invincibility, and it heightens our anxieties about the ambiguity that is life.

Hopelessness is a state of mind; it is not a physical action. Like love and anger it can manifest itself in action, but in and of itself it is not an action. You must make a conscious effort to turn feelings into action. Sharing your feelings with family, friends, faculty or counselors can give you a broader perspective of what your feelings mean and how best to act upon them.

Do not lose sight of the fact that this is about Shea and the loss of her family and not solely about us the survivors. At the same time, commit yourself to create support networks among your peers, encourage each other, and remember your life is precious to all of us.

My door in the Dean's Office in One Arsenal is always open to your needs. My email is baxter_richard@ColumbusState.edu if you are ever alone and need to talk. I receive my emails on my phone, and I would rather be awakened by a call for help than the notice of another student tragedy.

May God watch over you,

Richard Baxter

Interim Dean, College of the Arts