Wichita State News: English

Fall play: 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:56:00 CST

The Wichita State University School of Performing Arts and Theatre will perform "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 27-29 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30 at Wilner Auditorium. The show is rated PG.

Ticket prices for the show are $10 for the general public, $8 for military, senior citizens and faculty and staff, and $6 for students.

For additional ticket information, call the WSU College of Fine Arts Box Office at (316) 978-3233 or go to www.wichita.edu/fineartsboxoffice.

Tom Stoppard's modern-day classic serves as a companion piece to Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and presents the chaotically funny world of two minor characters from the Bard's famous play. The script for "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1968 and is continually performed around the world. It was also produced as a major motion picture.

The show is directed by Bret Jones, program director of theatre at WSU. The cast for the show includes Caleb Coffman, Damian Padilla, Rachel Curtiss, Trevor Comstock, Sean Gestl, Hannah See, Bailey Burcham, Karina Williams, Steffan Rowe, Robert Thomas, Dan Kampling, Kyle Dilley, Allyson Geschwentner, Rian Helgason and Melissa Hudson.

Theatre student Megan Hanson is the stage manager for the show. Theatre students on design are Maddie Nevins (set) and Amanda Keeton (costumes); lighting is designed by associate professor David Neville.

Faculty/staff news update: January 2012

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:22:00 CST

Academe welcomes news from WSU faculty and staff about research, teaching and service activities. This column recognizes grants, honors, awards, presentations and publications, new appointments, new faculty, sabbaticals, retirements and deaths of our current and former colleagues.

Albert Goldbarth, Adele B. Davis Distinguished Professor of Humanities, published his newest poetry collection, "Everyday People," with Graywolf Press. For a Wichita Eagle review of the work, go to http://www.wichita.edu/j/?1382.

Darron Smith

Darron T. Smith, assistant professor, physician assistant, was interviewed by KMUW 89.1 reporter Fletcher Powell about the recently published book "White Parents, Black Children: Experiencing Transracial Adoption." Smith is co-author of the book with Cardell K. Jacobson, Brigham Young University, and Brenda G. Juarez, University of Massachusetts Amherst. The interview can be heard at http://www.wichita.edu/j/?1385.

Debbie Wadman, Fairmount lecturer, German, was elected president of the Kansas Association of Teachers of German in September 2011.

IN MEMORIAM
Richard M. "Dick" Cottam, 81, retired Spokane Police Department spokesman and television journalist who formerly worked for KAKE-TV and taught journalism at Wichita State, died Dec. 23 in Wichita. He is survived by his wife, JoyLyn Updike Cottam, who moved back to Wichita with him after his retirement; daughter, Christine Susan Cottam; and sister, Susan Hayman. Services have been held. A memorial has been established in his name with the University of Missouri School of Journalism, 103 Neff Hall, Columbia, MO 65211.

Ernest W. Crow, 91, cardiologist and co-founder, University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, adjunct WSU professor, health education, died Dec. 26. He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Bertie Sullivan Crow. He is survived by daughters Barbara Biersmith (Ed) and Marilyn Waller (Dan); sons John Crow (Claudia) and Rick Crow (Karen); 13 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren; and brother James F. Crow. Services have been held. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Ernest W. and Bertha M. Crow Scholarship Fund at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita, attention Heather Clay, 1010 N. Kansas, Wichita, KS 67214, or the Circle of Friends Fund at Larksfield Place, 7373 E. 29th St. North, Wichita, KS 67226.

Robert Meyers, professor emeritus, English, founding minister of University Congregational Church, died Jan. 8 in Bellingham, Wash. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Billie; daughter Karen of Bellingham; sons Robin of Oklahoma City and Devon of Malibu; seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Condolences may be sent to 600 S. State Street, No. 115, Bellingham, WA 98225 or Robert_Meyers@comcast.net. Memorial service to be announced at a later date.

Albert Goldbarth named recipient of 2011 Coldsmith Award

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:15:00 CST

Albert Goldbarth

Albert Goldbarth, the Adele Davis Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Wichita State University, has been named the recipient of the 2011 Don Coldsmith Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement.

The annual award pays tribute to a distinguished Kansas author whose lifetime contributions have used the written word to enhance the proud literary legacy of the state.

This award is sponsored by Lucas, Kan.-based Ad Astra Publishing and will be presented during the noon luncheon of the annual conference of Kansas Association of State Librarians on Thursday, Oct. 13, in Salina.

Goldbarth, an internationally acclaimed poet, has been a part of WSU's creative writing faculty since 1987.

He has published more than 25 collections of poetry, has been a Guggenheim fellow and won the National Book Critics Circle award in 1991 and 2001, the only poet to ever receive the honor twice.

Goldbarth also won the Mark Twain Award for Humorous Poetry, awarded by the Poetry Foundation, in 2008.

Screenwriting award given to WSU grad student

Thu, 5 May 2011 10:54:00 CST

Luke Geddes, a graduate student in the Department of English at Wichita State University, has been named the winner of the 2011 Carol and Elton Holman Screenwriting competition for his screenplay, "The Brill Building."

Geddes, who graduates this spring with a master's degree in creative writing, will receive a $500 award. He is a native of Appleton, Wisc., and attended Appleton West High School.

While at Wichita State, Geddes has been a graduate teaching assistant, teaching English Composition and Introduction to Creative Writing. He describes himself as "primarily a prose fiction writer," having published short stories in literary journals, including Hayden's Ferry Review, Gargoyle, Pank and Jabberwock Review.

Geddes was awarded the Stephen C. Barr Endowed Fellowship at WSU and will begin his doctoral work in English and creative writing at the University of Cincinnati in the fall.â€¨

His screenplay is set in the iconic Brill Building in New York City during the early 1960s. The central characters are part of the pop music scene. There's tension in the air as the writers and producers sense a change in musical tastes.

"Luke Geddes has a clear sense of character and place," said Mike Wood, director of the Film Studies Certificate Program at WSU. "His dialogue is some of the most natural that I've read."

This is the ninth time that the award has been given. It is made possible by an endowment from Elton and Carol Holman. Carol Holman was the director of WSU's Media Resources Center from 1956 to 1978.

For more information, contact Mike Wood at (316) 978-7750.

Haiti earthquake hastens WSU prof's adoption plans

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:59:36 CST

Family has always played an important role in Jean Griffith's life.

For as long as she can remember, the youngest of 10 children has been surrounded by siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws.

"Being part of a family that is the size of a small country exposed me to an idea of family that goes way beyond boundaries of blood kinship and traditional social groupings," said Griffith, an assistant English professor at Wichita State University.

So when she and her husband, Ross Haskell, decided to adopt a child, they looked toward Haiti, a place Griffith had always had an interest in.

"My upbringing has contributed to my willingness to parent a child not mine by birth and across borders of race and nationality," she said.

Although matched with a baby boy named Alexander in April 2009, Griffith and her husband weren't expected to be able to take him home to Wichita until sometime in late 2010 or early 2011.

But all plans went out the window the second a devastating earthquake hit Haiti on Jan. 12.

Their immediate thoughts were about whether their son was even alive.

"There was an hour where we didn't know anything," Griffith said.

Once they received word that Alexander and the other children at the orphanage were OK, they started thinking about what would happen next for the children, who were stuck outdoors with limited clean water and poor security.

"My husband and I thought this would end our adoption," she said. "We were just fighting for him to survive."

They were lucky enough to be in contact with Alexander's caretakers, who said that the children – who were getting dehydrated and sick – would die if they were left for too much longer in the worsening conditions.

Working in emergency mode, Griffith and her husband did everything they could to arrange for water and safety for the children. All their thoughts were on Alexander and Haiti, a country Griffith holds close to her heart.

"We were up at 7, in bed at 3 in the morning," she said. "We didn't eat. It was a constant state of panic."

A week later, they were given word that more than 50 of the kids were on a plane out of Haiti, headed to Pennsylvania. Without knowing for sure whether Alexander was part of that group, Griffith and her husband jumped on a plane to find out. As soon as they saw his caretakers' faces at the airport, they knew their new son was there and was going to be OK.

Adjusting to a new life

More than a month later, life is returning to a new normal for the family. That has included scrambling to get all the things necessary to care for their son, who is now 18 months old.

It also means keeping a lower profile than in the days immediately following the earthquake, when the couple was interviewed on CNN by Anderson Cooper, as well as other TV stations and newspapers.

"Alexander – his face has been on CNN. People are dying to see him," Griffith said. "But we're trying to give him time."

He's doing well, but still gets scared on outings and needs to touch her or her husband as he sleeps at night.

Griffith said she is happy to be able to raise her son in Wichita. A native of Philadelphia, she has also lived in Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Texas, where she earned her Ph.D.

She came to Wichita State to pursue a tenure track, which she said is highly competitive, especially in the humanities. She teaches courses in American and ethnic literatures, focusing on fiction, and wrote "The Color of Democracy in Women's Regional Writing," which published in August 2009.

"The urban-serving research mission at WSU suits my needs as both an educator and a scholar perfectly, and being in the city suits my personal life and that of my family," Griffith said.

Even though her son is finally home, Griffith's thoughts are never far from Alexander's homeland. If there's one thing she wants people to know about her, she said, it's that she is still very much dedicated to Haiti and its people.

She said she's still trying to help in any way with the effort to provide safety for the remaining orphans.

"It's heartbreaking for those of us who love Haiti," she said, adding that she looks forward to the day she and her husband can take Alexander to visit. "I used to focus on the day I brought him home. Now I focus on the day we can bring him back."

MFA student writes about her community's hardships

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:26:08 CST

Natalie Olmsted came late to Wichita State University, but her experiences shaped the focus of her master's project and short story collection, "Voices from the North."

Olmsted, who grew up in Wichita's Hispanic community, worked at a dental office for 13 years. James Rhatigan, former WSU vice president and current WSU Foundation consultant, was a patient there.

She said he came in and talked about WSU. He read her work in the dental office and wanted her to go to college.

"He encouraged me," she said, "and made it really easy for me to walk back through the door."

She took her passion for writing to WSU's creative writing department.

Rhatigan had encouraged Olmsted to major in English, but since she'd been in the medical field for 13 years, she chose health administration.

After the first year, she determined that major wasn't right for her and went back to writing.

"I've always written short stories ever since I can remember," she said.

When she entered the master's program, her focus was on her short story collection, which was about the local Hispanic community.

Her graduate career got off to a shaky start, though. Her husband lost his job, and she had to work full-time while in school.

She said her first semester was tough. She lost her focus, couldn't write and didn't know what she was doing in Graduate School. Writing didn't seem important.

Richard Spilman, associate professor of English and her faculty adviser, told her to give it time.

"He was right," she said, "it came back."

And her collection was under way.

"Voices from the North" is about her community, which community members call North Side, the area near 21st and Broadway in Wichita.

"She has found a subtle and supple style in which to render people we actually care about," Spilman said. "Her stories have social and even political relevance, which will assure continuing interest."

Her inspiration came from her grandparents, who moved north from Mexico to better their lives and raise their family. Her collection is also about her father, whose story she said needed to be told.

"When I realized my community and family had a voice, I really wanted to write (about) that," she said.

She interviewed family members to get a better feel of the times and to understand the prejudice they faced when they first came to Wichita.

Her grandparents and parents were highly discriminated against, and she said she can hear the effects of that discrimination in their voices today.

She used her family's experiences and what she remembered from growing up to write her stories. She also researched Wichita's earlier history.

"Even though it's fictional, I wanted historical aspects, streets and buildings to be as accurate as possible," she said.

She said some short story collections are random pieces put together, but hers tells the story of a community over 50 years through different voices.

Olmsted has had some of her short stories published.

Mikrokosmos, WSU's literary journal, published "The Bread Maker." And Today's Latino Magazine, a bi-lingual magazine in the Mid-Atlantic area, published "Los Patos," a story about her father's golf group.

She hopes to have her collection published after graduation.

After midterms, when her manuscript is due, she plans to pull her three strongest stories and send a proposal for publication to the University of Arizona Press.

Olmsted began working full-time at the WSU Foundation as the planned giving associate in fall of 2006. She works with families when they establish memorials at WSU.

As a student, she was brought in to work on the "Spirit of the Gift" project focused on the histories behind WSU scholarships.

Her fantasy goal is to make a career out of writing. She said people have asked her where she would move to make that happen.

"I wouldn't move anywhere," she said. "I love Wichita."

And, more than anything, she enjoys being on campus and working at the foundation.

"If I'm here in some aspect and able to write, I'll be content," she said.

First WSU professorship in English department result of estate gift

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:49:50 CST

Melba Hughes

The Wichita State University Foundation received an estate gift from Melba V. Hughes in the amount of $421,188, putting into motion the M.V. Hughes Professorship in English in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

It is the first professorship in the English department and qualifies for the Kansas Board of Regents Faculty of Distinction program, which will supplement the payout of the fund, extending the impact of the contribution.

The fund will provide an annual salary stipend, in addition to possible research and professional travel support.

Hughes died Nov. 27, 2007. She left a legacy throughout her family, community and university.

She was a graduate of the University of Wichita in 1944, where she was active in student organizations and made many lifelong friends.

The 1943-44 edition of Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities listed Hughes as a psychology major who "will receive an A.B. Degree and plans to do Personnel Work."

She served the university community as executive secretary of the student forum board, president and rush captain of Sorosis (now Delta Delta Delta) and treasurer of Women's Panhellenic.

Hughes was a member of the YWCA cabinet and varsity committee, Alpha Epsilon, Young Republicans Club, Wheaties and Dean's Honor Roll.

During her adult life, Hughes organized and hosted events including the Sorosis Centennial Reunion in 1997 and the Wichita Art Museum reopening in 2003. In 1994, as part of the WSU Campaign for Students, she graciously donated funds to create the Melba V. Hughes Endowed Scholarship.

Elizabeth King

"Melba was an absolute delight," said Elizabeth King, WSU Foundation president and CEO. "She was most dedicated to her family and loved her alma mater. She was very pleased to make the provisions for this gift."

She married Oliver H. Hughes in 1948; they had three children, Marilyn, Steve and Mindy. In addition to Wichita, the family lived in Emporia, Topeka and Lake Pomona, Kan., returning to Wichita in 1987, where Oliver Hughes died the following year.

Hughes continued to enjoy travel, friends, children and grandchildren. In 2001, she married a college sweetheart also from Wichita, Vincent F. Hiebsch, who died in 2007.

Author Connie May Fowler to give readings at WSU

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:05:31 CST

Connie May Fowler, best-selling author of five novels and a memoir and Distinguished Visiting Writer in the Wichita State University Creative Writing Program, will read from her work in special collections of Ablah Library at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28.

Fowler will give a second reading at the Wichita Art Museum at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3.

These free events, held in collaboration with special collections and the Art Museum, will be followed by a reception and book signing.

Sue Monk Kidd ("The Secret Life of Bees") says Fowler, who will work intensively with MFA fiction students during the coming month, writes "with wonderful originality and biting humor. 'The Problem with Murmur Lee' is about all the things that matter: life, death, love, forgiveness and the journey toward truth. Its deeply affecting story left me with an aching love for life."

The Goldbarth standard

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:54:17 CST

This is Albert Goldbarth's moment, and it couldn't happen to a better writer or nicer guy.

Earlier this month, the 60-year-old Chicago native won the Mark Twain Poetry Award from the Poetry Foundation (poetryfoundation.org), the Chicago-based organization that publishes Poetry magazine.

His essay, "Everybody's Nickname," is included in the just-published "Best American Essays 2008" (Houghton Mifflin).

And in last week's issue of The New Yorker, you'll find a nifty Goldbarth poem: "The Way," an elegant and whimsical look at how we cut the universe down to size by the words we choose to describe it.

"Our language," Goldbarth writes, "scissors the enormity to scales we can tolerate."

The wondrous thing about Goldbarth, a professor at Wichita State University and author of "The Kitchen Sink: New and Selected Poems 1972-2007" (2007), is that he's no snob.

He loves comic books as much as he loves sonnets; he's a funny fusion of the high and low, the sophisticated and the earthy.

Read full story

Wichita State professor wins prestigious poetry award

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 14:21:58 CST

Albert Goldbarth, the Adele B. Davis Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at Wichita State University, has won the Mark Twain Poetry Award, part of the Poetry Foundation's annual Pegasus Awards.

This is only the third Mark Twain award given by the Poetry Foundation, one of the largest literary organizations in the world.

Albert Goldbarth

The award was given to Goldbarth for his contribution to humor in American poetry. It includes a gift of $25,000.Goldbarth was given the award in a ceremony Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion Stage at Millennium Park in Chicago.

The Pegasus Awards are a series of annual prizes with an emphasis on new awards to under-recognized poets and types of poetry.

Goldbarth is the author of 25 collections of poetry, including "The Kitchen Sink: New and Selected Poems 1972-2007"; five essay collections; and a novel. The Chicago native has taught at Wichita State since 1987.

He has twice won the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry, the only poet to win the award twice, and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation.

His work has appeared regularly in the Poetry Foundation's magazine, Poetry, since 1971. In 2005 he received the Frederick Bock prize from the magazine.

In 1999, he was named to the arts advisory board of the Judah L. Magnes Jewish Museum in Berkley, Calif.

Goldbarth has a new book, "To Be Read in 500 Years," to be published by Graywolf Press in May 2009.

For more information on Goldbarth's career, go to www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/1295.

For more information on the Pegasus Awards, go to www.wichita.edu/award.

WSU's Gythiel has become a top theological scholar

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:09:35 CST

There are many words used to describe Anthony Gythiel: scholar, teacher, mentor. And by all accounts, it seems Gythiel has earned each title.

Gythiel is a professor of history at Wichita State, where he has taught since 1971. He started in the English department, but was courted by the history department in 1992, in part because of his background in medieval studies and theology.

Gythiel's knack for history also had a bit to do with his own past. Growing up in Belgium during World War II, Gythiel saw and experienced things few people he knows today have dealt with.

In 1940, his mother was killed during the Nazi bombardment of Belgium. One of six children, and only 10 years old, Gythiel was left to help pick up the pieces and start over.

"We helped each other and survived," he said.

After the war, Gythiel stayed in Belgium and eventually went to college. He received a bachelor's in philosophy in 1953 and master's in theology in 1958. It was then that Gythiel decided to become a Catholic priest, and he was subsequently sent to work as a missionary in Zaire.

In 1963, Gythiel decided to leave Zaire, which was in the middle of a revolution. After losing everything he had there, Gythiel once again found himself starting over.

Although Gythiel went through many hardships in his young life, he said they helped make him what he is today.

"They made me more intimately aware of evil in the world," he said.

That, he said, is something he hopes he won't see repeated again in his lifetime.

After Zaire, Gythiel came to America, where he had received a scholarship to attend the University of Detroit. From 1966-1971, he earned a master's in English and a Ph.D. in medieval studies.

He then landed in Wichita, a city he said slowly grew on him, and became an assistant professor at WSU. During his early years at Wichita State, Gythiel worked with what he calls great teachers who inspired him to be better.

"I said to myself, 'I want to imitate them and be a good teacher,' " he said.

Gythiel has since won three teaching awards, including the John R. Barrier Distinguished Teaching Award from the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1993. He was the first person to win the award.

Aside from teaching, Gythiel has dedicated his career to translating historical theology works by world-renowned scholars. So far he has translated 10 works and is in the middle of his eleventh.

For his efforts, Gythiel was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by the trustees and faculty of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY, in May.

Keith Pickus

Keith Pickus, associate provost and vice president for academic affairs and research at WSU, said the painstakingly detailed work involved in the translations requires phenomenal linguistic skills and an immense knowledge of history.

He calls Gythiel's work a great contribution to the English-speaking Orthodox world and says he has established himself as a pre-eminent theological scholar.

"I discovered (years ago) that God had given me the great gift of language, but I had never used it," said Gythiel, who is fluent in five languages and has studied 13, including some that are no longer spoken.

"So I decided to do that in his honor."

At 77, Gythiel is in phased retirement at WSU and plans to stay another two years. He still teaches half-time and said he'll continue to translate works for as long as he can.

Once retired, Gythiel plans to relax with his wife, Dana, and stay in Wichita.

Pickus said he has been blessed to be friends and colleagues with Gythiel and is constantly impressed with his contributions to Wichita State.

"He is a wonderful human being and a highly accomplished scholar," Pickus said. "He is a real Renaissance man – a true scholar's scholar."

WSU grad student earns master's degree, writes novel

Tue, 13 May 2008 16:55:23 CST

For Richard Davies, the countdown is on. Only a few days remain until he completes his master's degree in fiction writing at Wichita State University.

Richard Davies

Davies has been studying at WSU off and on for the past 30 years, and is earning his second degree from the university, the first of which was a bachelor of fine arts.

Besides permanent student retirement, he has other things on his mind: getting published.

The 49-year-old father of two has authored a novel for his final project in the graduate program, and plans to submit it for publication as soon as he finishes his final draft.

The futuristic novel, titled "Heirloom," looks at the negative effects of peak oil, predicting what events may occur after the depletion of the resource. Davies' book will likely be the first of a series in a trilogy.

Along with working as a freelance journalist for a number of years, writing mainly for CBS.com, Davies has also written two screenplays, one of which placed in the top 20 out of several thousand entries in a prestigious screenplay and amateur filmmaking contest.

Davies has been back at WSU after first studying at the university in 1976.

He took nearly six years off to start a family while he owned and operated Kirby's bar, located just south of the WSU campus, and completed his undergraduate degree in 1988.

Three years ago, he began graduate school and has been impressed with the program.

Davies said the instructors eagerly strive to teach students how to write well, and he believes he has made measurable improvements while learning the tools and methods he needs to become a successful author.

In addition to coursework, Davies has also acted as a graduate teaching assistant, interacting with more than 35 students on a regular basis.

Out of this experience came a love for teaching, which he found ironic since his mother had been telling him for years that she thought he would make an excellent teacher. He looked forward to each day he spent in the classroom.

"I would leap out of bed excited, thinking about what I would teach my students," he said. "I ultimately want to work as an author and teacher."

After Davies concludes his studies this semester, he plans to teach Introduction to Literature at Butler Community College this summer, and also as an adjunct instructor at WSU in the fall.

Husband-and-wife team to headline WSU reading series

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:32:16 CST

The department of English at Wichita State University continues its 2007-08 Thursday Reading Series with fiction writer Amy Knox Brown and novelist/humorist John McNally at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Marcus Welcome Center.

John McNally

McNally is the author of the John Simmons Award-winning story collection "Troublemakers," the award-winning novel "Book of Ralph," and the recent comic novel "America's Report Card."

He also is a prolific anthologist, with his recent effort, "When I Was a Loser," about high school experiences, being a top seller. He is the Olen R. Nalley Associate Professor of English at Wake Forest University.

McNally's wife, Knox Brown, will be reading from her story collection "Three Versions of the Truth." She is an English professor at Salem College.

There will be a local jazz outfit opening for the readers, and free refreshments will be served. A book-signing will follow the event. The WSU Campus Bookstore will sell the authors' works.