Students Elect New Student Body President and Vice President

BW has a newly elected President and Vice President of the student body. Kevin Warman '15 and his running mate, Annette Fetter '15, will lead the BW student community for the 2014-2015 term.

Warman (pictured left), a Political Science, Sustainability and International Affairs triple major from Strongsville, previously served as Student Body Vice President with President Patrick Mahoney '14. In his time as Vice President, Warman made it a priority to promote sustainability for the campus. He is also in the Honors Program, a member of the R. Amelia Harding House for Sustainable Living Hall Council, in the Sustainability Mentorship Program and part of the Honors Recruitment Team.

Fetter (right), a Public Relations major from Stow, is the Director of Alumnae Relations for Alpha Phi, the PR & Marketing Chair for Dance Marathon and is Secretary of Order of Omega. As the past President of Alpha Phi Women's Fraternity and a Summer Orientation Leader, Fetter hopes to use this past leadership experience to enhance her efforts as Student Body Vice President.

The Inauguration Ceremony for the pair was held on February 25 with a dinner celebration at Pickwick and Frolic in downtown Cleveland. Both Warman and Fetter hope to continue efforts to build a more sustainable BW.

Student Artists Present at Senior Art Exhibition

The capstone exhibition featuring the works of senior BW art studio and art education majors is underway at the Fawick Art Gallery.

Seniors Allie Primisch, Kate Carabin, Niko Williams, Sarah Robasser, Cheyenne Richmond and Diana Hlywiak are showcasing the artistic results of their hard work in the 2014 Senior Art Exhibition.

The exhibition is open weekdays from 2-5 p.m. through March 21 (closed March 10-14 during Spring Break) and is free and open to the public. An opening reception is set for Friday, February 28 from 5 - 8 p.m.

The show is sponsored by BW's Art and Art History Department.

Students Shine at Model African Union Conference

Twelve BW students recently traveled to Washington, D.C. for Howard University's 12th Model African Union Conference turning in one of BW's strongest conference performances to date. Six out of 12 students won awards and three won double awards, according to BW Political Science and International Studies professor, Judy Krutky.  

Daniela Muhaj, Matt Kusznir, and Antonio Paris won both the Leadership Award and the Outstanding Delegate in Committee. Sarah Villarreal, Sophie LeGot, and Sundous Eddeb all earned the Outstanding Delegate in Committee.

All students kicked off the conference with a briefing at the Egyptian embassy.

Professor Earns National Athletic Trainer Service Award

Dr. Jessica Emlich Jochum, a BW professor in the Athletic Training Education Program, will be honored with the 2014 Athletic Trainer Service Award by the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) for her dedication to local and state athletic training associations.

With experience as an athletic trainer in colleges, schools, and hospitals, Dr. Jochum's service and commitment has gained her respect from peers, as well as this prestigious national award recognizing her years of service to NATA and athletic training profession. The award will be presented at the 2014 NATA Convention in Indianapolis in June.

Religion Students Appear with Noted Theologian

BW students Matthew Gesicki '14, Johnathan Jackson '15, and Sophia Vigliane '14 recently had the chance to appear alongside a renowned author and theologian. The three students, all majoring or minoring in religion, were featured in a panel discussion with Dr. Paul Knitter, from Union Theological Seminary and BW professors, Dr. Alan Kolp and Dr. Ellen Posman. The group discussed the topic of "The Promise and Perils of Religious Pluralism."

Knitter, author of Without Budda I Wouldn't Be a Christian was on campus for BW's Faith & Life Lecture series. The panel was the final event in the two-day series.

Campus Composer Lands Residency with Albany Symphony

Dr. Clint Needham '04,  BW's Composer-in-residence and assistant professor of music in BW's Conservatory of Music, has been chosen for a residency with the award-winning Albany Symphony Orchestra for the upcoming season. He'll serve as the Andrew W. Mellon Composer Educator and commissioned composer.

Needham's orchestral work, "The Body Electric," will be performed at the symphony's opening Gala Concert in September. Throughout the season, Needham will be traveling to Albany to present masterclasses, visit public schools and universities, run outreach functions, and meet with area composers. He will also serve as the preliminary judge for the Albany Symphony's Composer Reading Session Competition.

 Gary Gold, vanguard-aso.org

The finale of Needham's residency will be the world premiere of his work, "We Are All From Somewhere Else" at Albany's American Music Festival in May 2015. To find more information about Clint Needham, visit ClintNeedham.com.

BW Student Wins Scholarship Pageant

BW Music Theatre major Hannah-Jo Weisberg '15 put her considerable talents to work pursuing scholarship rewards in the Miss Vacationland Scholarship Program over the weekend, and walked away with the title. Weisberg not only won the crown, but claimed the top spot in the talent and interview portions, as well. She earned more than $2,400 in scholarship money.

She will be competing for the title of Miss Ohio in June, which sends its winner onto the Miss America competition. Good luck, Hannah-Jo!

Weisberg is on a roll. She also just wrapped up a star turn as the title character in BW's production of EURYDICE.

BW People Take the Polar Plunge

At least two people in BW's philanthropic-minded community have turned their fundraising for a good cause into an extreme experience. Despite our frigid winter, Career Services Graduate Intern, Marissa Bozak, and Chemistry Professor, Stephen Tytko, took the "plunge" into Lake Erie at Geneva State Park's Breakwater Beach on February 22 to raise money for the the Special Olympics.

Duncan Scott/DScott@News-Herald.com

Bozak and Tytko, collected pledges to support the 2014 Law Enforcement Polar Plunge for the Special Olympics, contributing to an event total of more than $50,000. A shirtless Tytko was featured in a News Herald photo of participants trying to stay warm before their icy dip (right). And, that's Marissa emerging from the frigid water above sporting a Stinger tee!

BW Fulbright Researcher Explores and Blogs from Ghana

Dr. Thomas Sutton, a professor and chair of the political science department at Baldwin Wallace University is spending this semester conducting research on a Fulbright Scholar award in Cape Town, Ghana.

In a recent blog post, Dr. Sutton details his family's exploration of the Elmina Castle, a fort built by the Portuguese in 1482 to protect the gold and slave trade. He describes the visit to this historical landmark as an unforgettable and emotional learning experience for his family.

If you'd like to keep up with Dr. Sutton's adventures in Ghana,  you'll find his blog here. 

BW Alumnus Celebrated in Black History Month Tribute

A distinguished Baldwin Wallace alumnus is featured in a Black History Month tribute on WEWS-TV NewsNet5 this month. Hazel Mountain Walker (1889-1980), who graduated from BW's former law school, was a champion for education.

Walker served as Cleveland's first black school principal. She is credited for teaching children how to read who came from illiterate families.

Walker's purpose in attending law school and completing the bar in 1919 was not to become a practicing lawyer, but to show that black women could become lawyers. Walker became one of the first black women allowed to practice law in Ohio.

Apart from education, Walker enjoyed theatre as a member of the Karamu House. She also had an interest in politics as an executive officer for the Cuyahoga County Republican Party.

A profile of her life previously have been featured on Cleveland.com.

BW Professor Guest Lectures On Love

How does the brain change while in love? BW's Dr. Michael Dwyer has the answer. The longtime and celebrated professor in BW's Department of Psychology was invited to give a lecture about these changes at the Westshore Campus of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) on Wednesday, February 12, at 7 p.m.

Dr. Dwyer will teach the audience about the development of the love and attachment in the brain during the course of a lifetime.

"In a nutshell," says Dr. Dwyer, "I begin with what the poets say about the emotions and behavior of love, and then look at the physiology of love and how they all interact."

The lecture is free lecture and open to the public. More information can be found at  www.tri-c.edu/YearOfTheBrain

CARRIE: The Musical Garners Advance Buzz

Ben Meadors '12 Photography

From the cover story of today's Plain Dealer - Friday Magazine (based on the photo above by BW alumnus Ben Meadors '12) to this month's Cleveland Magazine to BroadwayWorld Cleveland and beyond, the Baldwin Wallace University and Beck Center for the Arts collaboration on CARRIE: THE MUSICAL has attracted a lot of early media attention heading into tonight's opening night. Today's PD preview says the production has "found its sweet spot, its horror and heart."

The partnership will showcase the talents of students in BW's acclaimed Music Theatre program, alongside alumni who are equity actors. In an article titled, Blood Bash, BW director of Music Theater Victoria Bussert told Cleveland Magazine that CARRIE, based on the novel by Stephen King,  is "a story that will generate its own conversations about how we treat other people who are different than we are."

2014 Economic Outlook Live-Tweeted

If you missed the recent Economic Insights event, hosted by BW's Business Division, you can still catch some of the major points via Twitter. Michelle Park Lazette, the Crains Cleveland's banking and finance reporter, live-tweeted through the late January event, creating and capturing a synopsis for those not able to attend. If you're on Twitter, you can search up the feed through #2014outlook.

The featured forecasters were Michael Weidokol, BW Alumnus and Executive Director of ISA (International Strategic Analysis), Kevin Jacques, BW finance professor and former U.S Treasury economist and Thomas Waltermire, CEO of Team NEO and a BW Trustee. 

By the way, Dr. Jacques, who appears frequently as a media expert, also was asked by Politco recently to prognosticate on another issue--the future of the Federal Reserve under new leadership. His comments appear in an article titled, "The Janet Yellen era begins." 

Conservatory Alumna Tours in Tony Award-Winning Musicial

 (Photo courtesy of porgyandbessthemusical.com)

It's always nice when one our own comes "home" to perform. BW Conservatory Alumna Adrianna Cleveland '12 is on stage in the Tony Award-Winning 'The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess' running at Playhouse Square through February 16. Cleveland plays the "Woman of Catfish Row, Clara" in the Broadway production that is in the midst of its national tour.

Cleveland was recently featured in a review from the Akron Beacon Journal where she shared her passion for the production and her experience performing alongside her fellow cast mates. She told the paper that when she first heard the number "I Loves You, Porgy" performed live, "It made my heart want to scream."

Cleveland's ongoing success is not surprising. When she took the stage in BW's 2012 opera production of Don Giovanni, her lush voical drew special notice in the Plain Dealer's review.

Creative Writing Professor Pens The Book of Duels

Michael Garriga, Assistant Professor of English at BW, is preparing to hit the road for a book tour after publishing a collection of flash fiction, The Book of Duels. The book, described as "fierce, searing, and darkly comical," recounts historical and fictional duels from three perspectives; that of each duelist, and a witness. It explores "what becomes of the human spirit in the pressure cooker of a duel."

In his review, Kent Wascom, author of The Blood of Heaven, said, "With his Duels, Garriga defies classification, transcends form, and gives us neither prose, poems, or prose-poems, but a work of unassailable linguistic art."

The book is set for release on March 18, with the national book tour starting in Seattle and ending in Tampa. Visit the website of the publisher, Milkweed Editions, to listen to a SoundCloud of Garriga reading from the book, or to pre-order a copy. 

Yellow Jackets Gain Super Experience

Students interviewed for WEWS-TV 5

Twenty-two BW students traveled to New Jersey to work Super Bowl XLVIII over the weekend. BW professors Charles Campisi and Alvy Styles lead the group of BW Sport Management majors to the Metlife Stadium and Izod Center to do paid hospitality and guest relations tasks for the NFL mega-event.

Before they left town, the students also were featured in news reports on Channel 5, 8 and 19. For the complete story, you can visit this BW news page.