2008 Woodie Awards
Faculty to present on pollen, stage theater at Forum
Terri Rott
Issue date: 10/28/04 Section: News
The Truman Faculty Forum is working to create a new tradition of annual presentations by faculty members.
The Faculty Forum will sponsor two presentations during the fall semester. The first will feature the scientific research of Jeff Osborn, associate professor of biology, and the second presentation will showcase the creative process of a group of Truman fine arts professors.
"[The presentation] sort of aims at finding out what's hot, what's new, what's exciting in research at Truman and creative work at Truman but presented in such a way that a general audience will be able to understand it." said Julia DeLancey, associate professor of arts and Faculty Forum co-chair.
DeLancey said the Faculty Forum presentations also give faculty members a chance to present work they've done to be shared with both Truman students and faculty and Kirksville residents.
The first presentation by Osborn, "Pollen: More Than Something to Sneeze At," will be at 8:15 p.m. Oct. 28 in Violette Hall 1000. An open reception will follow.
Osborn said he was honored that the Faculty Forum invited him to present. He said he will talk about the different areas of the research he and his student researchers have been doing on the aspects of pollen.
The title of the presentation is meant to get people thinking, he said.
"The impetus for the title is when people normally think about pollen, terrible images come to mind," Osborn said. "But the fact of the matter is that pollen is really central to every aspect about the biology of seed plants. And even though people are having allergenic responses to it, they're actually dependent upon the biology of the plant functioning."
Osborn said students should come to the presentation because it is important to understand something about plants.
He also said students could become more well-rounded, liberally educated individuals by acquiring knowledge from different areas, including basic scientific literacy and the value of participating in undergraduate research.
The second Faculty Forum presentation of the semester, presented by the group of Becky Becker, assistant professor of theatre, Daryl Fazio, assistant professor of art, and Joan Mather, associate professor of theater, will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Black Box Theatre in Ophelia Parrish. An open reception will follow in the OP main lobby.
Becker said the presentation will explore the process of both writing and collaboratively working the play "Greyhounds." She said it also will include a scene or two from the play written by Fazio.
"It's a different kind of process than most people are used to," Becker said.
Becker said people can attend the presentation to learn about the work of fine arts faculty members.
"There's this sense that we can just sort of pull it out of a hat, and there it is," Becker said. "And I just don't think people really think about the whole process."
Like Osborn, Becker said people also can attend the presentation to learn more about another aspect of liberal arts.
"It will not only be entertaining, but it will also be informative," she said.
Becker said the presentations of the Faculty Forum provide exposure for the work of faculty members outside of the classroom. The presentations also can assist faculty members in becoming better liberal arts educators, she said.
"If I'm going to be a good teacher, if I'm going to be creative and inspired, the only way I can be that is if I keep current, keep working on things, in a scholarly sense, too," Becker said.
DeLancey said the Faculty Forum presentations are significant because they indicate the importance the University places on the work of its faculty members.
"The idea is that it's going to be a tradition and that people will recognize it as an important event and that people will get excited about [it]," Delancey said.
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The Faculty Forum will sponsor two presentations during the fall semester. The first will feature the scientific research of Jeff Osborn, associate professor of biology, and the second presentation will showcase the creative process of a group of Truman fine arts professors.
"[The presentation] sort of aims at finding out what's hot, what's new, what's exciting in research at Truman and creative work at Truman but presented in such a way that a general audience will be able to understand it." said Julia DeLancey, associate professor of arts and Faculty Forum co-chair.
DeLancey said the Faculty Forum presentations also give faculty members a chance to present work they've done to be shared with both Truman students and faculty and Kirksville residents.
The first presentation by Osborn, "Pollen: More Than Something to Sneeze At," will be at 8:15 p.m. Oct. 28 in Violette Hall 1000. An open reception will follow.
Osborn said he was honored that the Faculty Forum invited him to present. He said he will talk about the different areas of the research he and his student researchers have been doing on the aspects of pollen.
The title of the presentation is meant to get people thinking, he said.
"The impetus for the title is when people normally think about pollen, terrible images come to mind," Osborn said. "But the fact of the matter is that pollen is really central to every aspect about the biology of seed plants. And even though people are having allergenic responses to it, they're actually dependent upon the biology of the plant functioning."
Osborn said students should come to the presentation because it is important to understand something about plants.
He also said students could become more well-rounded, liberally educated individuals by acquiring knowledge from different areas, including basic scientific literacy and the value of participating in undergraduate research.
The second Faculty Forum presentation of the semester, presented by the group of Becky Becker, assistant professor of theatre, Daryl Fazio, assistant professor of art, and Joan Mather, associate professor of theater, will be at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 in the Black Box Theatre in Ophelia Parrish. An open reception will follow in the OP main lobby.
Becker said the presentation will explore the process of both writing and collaboratively working the play "Greyhounds." She said it also will include a scene or two from the play written by Fazio.
"It's a different kind of process than most people are used to," Becker said.
Becker said people can attend the presentation to learn about the work of fine arts faculty members.
"There's this sense that we can just sort of pull it out of a hat, and there it is," Becker said. "And I just don't think people really think about the whole process."
Like Osborn, Becker said people also can attend the presentation to learn more about another aspect of liberal arts.
"It will not only be entertaining, but it will also be informative," she said.
Becker said the presentations of the Faculty Forum provide exposure for the work of faculty members outside of the classroom. The presentations also can assist faculty members in becoming better liberal arts educators, she said.
"If I'm going to be a good teacher, if I'm going to be creative and inspired, the only way I can be that is if I keep current, keep working on things, in a scholarly sense, too," Becker said.
DeLancey said the Faculty Forum presentations are significant because they indicate the importance the University places on the work of its faculty members.
"The idea is that it's going to be a tradition and that people will recognize it as an important event and that people will get excited about [it]," Delancey said.
