Sun News: BW Grads 'Score' with Celtic Music

BW alumni Jared and Andrew DePolo are the creative musical force behind an Irish dance show making its way to Northeast Ohio next week. The twins scored the music for Rhythm in the Night, billed as "an Irish Dance Spectacular." 

The show's national tour lands at Canton Palace Theatre on March 17,  Sandusky State Theatre on March 19,  and the Lakewood Civic Auditorium on March 22. Sample the music on their Rhythm in the Night soundtrack which combines traditional Celtic elements with a full orchestra.

Andrew shared some of the twins' advice for succeeding in the music business with a local Sun News columnist. “Spend quality time studying the ins and outs of music production, composition and the business behind it. Set out to be an expert in your craft and be prepared!” The foundation of the DePolo's business preparation took place in Kamm Hall as BW Business majors!

Honors Seniors Get "Filthy Rich"

Wealth, love, ambition, family, integrity…what does it all mean in today's society? And is "Getting Filthy Rich in Rising Asia" really the answer?

Last week 18 seniors in the Honors Program addressed these "big picture" life issues with President Bob Helmer and the Honors Program staff for dinner and a roundtable discussion of Mohsen Hamid's book, "How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia."

"I wanted them to have a sense of coming together as a community to share a special opportunity before they graduate," said Amy Story, director of the Honors Program. "This is a way for them to engage with the values of the Honors Program related to independent thinking and lifelong learning.

"This book raises great, open-ended questions about the meaning of a life well-loved. It asks them to consider the value of wealth, love, ambition, family and integrity in our lives, without offering concrete answers," she continued.

"For students about to graduate, these important issues will grow more pressing in their lives," Story added. "Honors is dedicated to developing the whole student. Success is best built on a foundation of self-awareness, of knowing who you are and what you want out of life."

More photos

Post Season Success - Track Quartet Qualifies to National Meet, Women Hoopsters in Sweet 16

Kevin Johnson and Brandon Eddy

More Yellow Jacket student-athletes are headed to post-season competition this Friday and Saturday, March 14-15! Four members of the Baldwin Wallace University men's and women's indoor track and field teams have qualified for the 2014 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship Meet at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

The national qualifiers include a duo from the men's team, sprinter Kevin Johnson '14 and All-American decathlete Brandon Eddy '15, and a pair of women, heptathlete Melanie Winters '16 and thrower Kim Gallavan '16. Read more on BW's Athletics website.

Meanwhile, the BW women's basketball team has the made the Sweet 16 and will travel to Madison, New Jersey this Friday and Saturday to play in the Sectional round of the 2014 NCAA Division III. National Tournament.

And, three Yellow Jackets who qualified for the 2014 NCAA Division III National Tournament will compete in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  

Go Jackets!

BW Circle K Club Claims 12 Awards Including Best Club in Ohio

Another hardware haul for BW's Circle K International service club at the 57th Annual Ohio District Circle K Convention (DCON). For the third year in a row,  BW was selected for the Daniel J. Romanello Achievement Award,  given to the best overall Circle K Club in the state. The club was recognized for individual service projects as well.

In addition, club President Maria Curcio was elected as the new Western Reserve Lt. Governor for 2014-15 year, while a number of individual leadership awards were presented to BW: 2nd Place for Outstanding President to Maria Curcio; Outstanding Vice President to Katy Johnson; 2nd Place for Outstanding Secretary to Christina Rueger;  Outstanding Treasurer to Maureen Giardina; P.A.C.E. Newsletter Award to Colleen Bodkin, Outstanding Advisor to Robin Gagnow; Outstanding New to Elizabeth Scozzaro; and 3rd Place Outstanding Member to Leslie Shewalters.

Club members have racked up close to 400 service hours since August 2013. The group is sponsored by the Berea Kiwanis Club, which was named Outstanding Kiwanis Sponsor.

BW Students Rally Behind Delta Zeta Family Fundraiser

The big hearts on the Baldwin Wallace campus grew even larger this winter as Delta Zeta Sorority raised money to assist a local family in need, unifying the BW Greek community around the cause. 

Earlier this year, the chapter became aware of a local family that was at risk of eviction, and made a goal to raise $500 to help the family.  The sorority sisters contacted members of their national chapter, as well as members of BW's Greek community, to support an emergency fundraiser. They created a website to collect donations, and set up a donation table where students could leave spare change. Within a few hours, they had raised $350, and in less than 2 days they collected over $1,000!

Katie Mitchell, President of Delta Zeta, said "I just want to say thank you to all who donated, shared the link to the GoFundMe site, and spread the word about our fundraiser. It was truly amazing to see what it means to have strength in numbers… I know I speak for the rest of the Delta Zeta Sorority when I say that this exceeded our expectations."

That's the BW way!

Cyber Defense Team Wins First Place in Ohio

BW's Cyber Defense Team, advised by BW computer science professor Kenneth Atchinson, was tops in Ohio at the Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) State Qualifier for Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Ohio.

With the win at the state level, the team moves on to the Midwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition to compete for the Midwest CCDC Champion title March 28 and 29 in Chicago.

Conservatory Professor Contributes to Popular Music and Film Book

The work of Gene Willet, professor of music theory, is featured in the new book, Popular Music and the New Auteur:Visionary Filmmakers After MTV. The book, published by Oxford University Press, offers arguments about contemporary directors and films, and discusses how music videos and soundtracks have inspired cinema.

Dr. Willet, an audiovisual researcher, penned the third chapter, titled, "A Musical Tour of the Bizzare: Popular Music as Fantasy in David Lynch." The piece analyzes visionary director, David Lynch's use of narrative imagery. The book, available on Amazon and other international booksellers, is now required reading for students studying film music and sound.

Winning Student Ideas Earn Blackstone LaunchPad Contest Cash

BW’s Blackstone LaunchPad has announced the first round of student winners in the Year of the Idea Contest, with a “Made to Fade Tattoo” claiming first place in the for-profit category and a headline on cleveland.com. Of his concept for real tattoo ink that fades after a year, Kevin Howell ’16 said, “Parents can no longer say, ‘You know that never comes off,’ because it will!”


Students submitted a total of 51 ideas in three categories: For-Profit, Non-Profit and Baldwin Wallace University. The first place non-profit idea was a Professional Extracurricular Teachers program suggested by Julie Smith ‘15. In the BW category, Thurman Anderson ’16 came out on top with a BW Shuttle Service. Second place winning ideas came from Ivan Wyrsta ’14, Joshua Sattelmaier ’14, and Maureen Benoit ’17.

Judges considered the originality and problem-solving power of each idea in awarding the $200 first place prizes and $100 to runners-up. The goal of the contest is to spark campus creativity and increase awareness about BW's Blackstone LaunchPad services. Phase two contest entries are due by March 28. Full contest details and entry forms are available at https://tackk.com/YearoftheIdea

Blackstone LaunchPad is sponsored by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

Boesel Gift Boosts Honors Program

A $1 million gift from Stephen '68, and Jacquelyn Boesel will enable BW to further build the stature and success of the Honors Program. Three student-focused initiatives will benefit from the gift–fall honors retreat, experiential learning, and innovative honors coursework.

"The Honors Program is key to enrolling and retaining top students," said BW President Robert Helmer. "Steve and Jackie's gift is a tribute to their ongoing generosity to the University as well as their belief in the great work already being down to elevate the Honors Program."

"We stand poised to make another leap forward," said Amy Story, director of the Honors Program. And with this inspiring gift, we are well on our way." Read full story and watch video on Honors Retreat.

Fall Honors Retreat

Women's Basketball, Wrestling Advance to Nationals

Go Yellow Jackets

Post-season excitement is in the air as BW Women’s Basketball and three members of the Wrestling team are headed to NCAA tournaments.

The Women's Basketball team will be making its 12th trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The Yellow Jackets, 20-6 overall and co-champions of the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season, will be travelling to York, Pa., to play Lebanon Valley (Pa.) College on Friday, March 7.

Three wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament March 14-15 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They are sophomores 125-pounder Jesse Gunter (Akron/ Coventry) and 165-pounder David Shapiro (Beachwood) and senior 133-pounder Andrew Taylor (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne). 

Read the women’s basketball and wrestling stories at the BW athletic site. Follow their success and other sports on the web, Twitter and Facebook.

CARRIE Writer to Attend BW-Beck Performance

As CARRIE: The Musical heads into the final weekend of its highly praised run at Beck Center for the Arts, the man who adapted Stephen King's novel for both stage and screen, Lawrence D. Cohen, has decided to fly in to see what all the fuss is about.

Based on the glowing reviews, it looks like BW talent -- starting with Music Theatre Director Victoria Bussert and including a stellar student and alumni cast-- finally got this show right... the right scale, the right teen angst, the right horror, the right heart (to paraphrase The Plain Dealer critic Andrea Simakis).

Cohen is slated to attend the Friday, March 7 production of CARRIE, which runs through Sunday in Lakewood. Could the BW/Beck collaboration fuel new life for CARRIE in another venue? Stay tuned!

Ben Meadors Photography

Conservatory Grad in the Spotlight on Eve of Met Debut

BLEEP Magazine

"Ravishing. Electric. Vibrant. Sublime."

On the eve of her premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, BW Conservatory of Music graduate Jennifer Rowley ’02 is featured in a glowing profile in the current issue of BLEEP magazine, billed as "a digital magazine about creative culture and the people that make it matter."

"It's time for this soprano to take center stage... on one of the world's largest stages," BLEEP writes about Rowley, who makes her Met debut in the role of Musetta in La Boheme on March 19.

In an article, titled "Lady in Red," Rowley is quoted a saying, "It's the dream. It's what you dream of when you're going to class at 8 a.m. in your pajamas when you're in college and have coffee in your hand. 'This is so I can make my debut at the Metropolitan Opera. This is what it's all for.' And I have no idea what it's going to feel like."

The feeling around BW is pure pride in Jennifer Rowley's success. Break a leg!
Update: Another great story previewing Jennifer's debut in the March 18th Wall Street Journal!