News Archive
Westminster College will celebrate Palm Sunday Vespers, April 4 at 7 p.m. in Wallace Memorial Chapel.
The service will feature Walter S. Marr, a member of the Elderton Presbyterian Church also known as the "Centurion.".
"He will do a first person remembrance of what it was like to walk Christ to the cross," said the Rev. James Mohr, chaplain at Westminster College. "Walt dresses in character, and should provide a powerful message."
The service will also feature a procession of psalms, the Westminster College Choir and the Westminster College Brass Ensemble.
For more information, contact Mohr at (724) 946-7116 or e-mail mohrjr@westminster.edu.
Dr. James Perkins, professor of English at Westminster College, has awritten "The Cass Mastern Material: The core of Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men.'" The book will be offered by the Louisiana State University Press in March 2005.
"The most interesting thing that I got out of this book is a new interpretation of Warren's "All the King's Men," Perkins said. "My research shows that the basic plot of the book has been misunderstood by critics for more than 50 years. Using genetic evidence derived from the descriptions of the major characters [Dr.] Patrick McCarthy (professor of biology at Westminster College) and I were able to eliminate Judge Irwin as Jack's Burden's father. It took me 10 years to write this book -- five to do the research and five to figure out what the research meant.
Critics of Perkins' findings are positive.
"This is assuredly the definitive book on the Cass Mastern story, tracing its gestation through two decades of genre mutations , from short story to play to the core' of Robert Penn Warren's greatest novel," said Victor Strandberg, author of "The Poetic Vision of Robert Penn Warren."
"In bringing together the matter of Cass Mastern, Perkins has performed an invaluable service for Warren studies, and his learned and daring introduction is certain to provoke spirited discussion," said William Bedford Clark, author of "The American Vision of Robert Penn Warren." "This volume both broadens and deepens our appreciation of Warren's protean genius, especially his penchant for the theatrical."
Perkins has published on the subject of Warren a number of times. In 2000, he co-edited, along with James A. Grimshaw, Jr. "Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men: Three Stage Versions." More recently he collaborated with Patrick McCarthy and Frank D. Allen, Jr. in writing "Human Genetics and All the King's Men; The Case of Jack Burden's Paternity" for Mississippi Quarterly. This volume is his first solo flight in book-length criticism..
Perkins, who has been with Westminster College since 1973, is also the chair of Westminster's Department of English and Public Relations. He earned his undergraduate degree from Centre College, his master's from Miami University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. During the fall term of 1998, he was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Seoul National University in Korea. He has also been honored as a Henderson Lecturer and McCandless Fellow. His publication also include three chapbooks of poetry; "For the Record: a Robert Drake Reader, a collection edited with Randy Hendricks; "Snakes, Butterbeans, and the Discovery of Electricity," a collection of short stories; and "Southern Writers at Centuries End," a collection of essays co-edited with Jeffrey Folks.
For more information, contact Perkins at (724) 946-1973 or e-mail jperkins@westminster.edu.
Dr. Edward Cohen, associate professor of political science at Westminster College, recently attended a meeting of the Working Group on Security Interests of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in Vienna.
"I was an observer at this meeting," Cohen said. "This group is putting together a legislative guide for countries interested in adopting a new law, or reforming an existing law, regarding the use of secured credit to finance business activity. It provides a good case study of how political and economic interests and legal conceptions shape the goals that countries pursue in the regulation of economic activity."
While at this meeting, Cohen interviewed Spirios Bazinas, a lawyer and member of the Secretariat of UNCITRAL.
"He is responsible for providing legal and technical advice for this working group," Cohen said. "My interview with him covered a range of issues concerning the role of UNCITRAL in the making of international commercial law, with a focus on the political processes and considerations that shape these activities."
Cohen also recently presented his research, "The Diffusion of Legal Models for Financial Governance: The Case of Secured Finance," at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) held in Budapest.
"This conference, which takes place every two years, is the largest European-wide gathering of political scientists, and one of the most important global forums for the presentation and discussion of research in political science," Cohen said. "The membership of ECPR is made up of all the leading universities in Europe and the most important research universities in the United States as well. My paper was an attempt to present my initial findings and interpretations of the attempts of UNCITRAL and other institutions to promote legal change around the globe in the area of commercial law."
While in Budapest, Cohen spoke with Professor Tibor Tajti, a member of the law faculty at the Central European University.
"He's one of the leading younger scholars on the law of secured credit and author of an important work comparing the law of secured credit in different states," Cohen said. "I was able to exchange ideas and learn a great deal about the current development and controversies in this field.
"Since I have returned, we have continued out conversation via e-mail and exchange of papers," Cohen said. "Both interviews with Bazinas and Tajti have proved invaluable in deepening my knowledge of this area of international commercial law, which is quite a mystery for non-lawyers like myself. The information and insight I gained will play a key role in deepening and focusing my research questions."
Cohen, who has been with Westminster College since 1996, earned his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College, and his master's and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Contact Cohen at (724) 946-7304 or e-mail cohenes@westminster.edu for more information.
Members of the Westminster College Science in Motion staff met with state representatives to discuss the importance of the "Science in Motion" program, which serves 280 Pennsylvania high schools.
Originally founded at Juniata College, Science in Motion currently exists at 11 colleges across the Commonwealth, including Westminster College. The Commonwealth provides funding to the colleges to purchase high-tech science equipment, such as atomic force microscopes and spectrophotometers, something that high schools cannot afford to purchase on their own. The colleges then transport and share the equipment with surrounding school districts and provide professional development to teachers.
"As a former teacher, I know a 'hands-on' education cannot be emphasized enough," said State Senator Bob Robbins (R-50) to his colleagues. "The truth is books alone will not stimulate the minds of students when it comes to mastering science. Students need science to come to life. That is precisely what Science in Motion is all about."
Earlier this year, Governor Rendell proposed eliminating all funding for Science in Motion, and proposed a new program, "Science in Elementary," targeting only elementary school students.
"It's important to note that for $2 million, Science in Motion touches 280 schools, while the Governor's proposal would spend $10 million and reach only 150 schools," Robbins said. "If each of the 280 schools participating in Science in Motion bought the same equipment that is purchased for the $2 million by the 11 participating colleges, the costs for the schools would be overwhelming."
"While I don't understand the Governor's reasoning for forgoing a proven high school program in Science in Motion for a new elementary-based program, I would like to see how these two programs can work together to provide all students with a solid foundation in science," said Robbins. "It is my hope that the Governor will work with the General Assembly to craft a comprehensive proposal to address science education so we can lead the way nationally and contribute toward an international comeback. It's absolutely a necessity for this country to be competitive 50 years from now."
Sen. Robbins is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 414, which would codify the Science in Motion Program into state law and provide an assurance to participating colleges and schools that the program will continue, rather than have to justify its existence each year.
Westminster College serves the following school districts in the 50th Senatorial District: Ellwood City, Farrell, Grove City, Hermitage, Jamestown, Lakeview, Laurel, Mercer, Neshannock, New Castle, Penn Crest, Reynolds, Seneca Valley, Sharon, Sharpsville, Slippery Rock, Wilmington, as well as Grove City Christian Academy, Kennedy Catholic, and New Castle Christian Academy.
Contact Bernard Durkin, mobile educator, at (724) 946-6295 or e-mail durkinbm@westminster.edu for more information about Westminster's Science in Motion program or visit www.westminster.edu/sim.
A large-scale production of "My Fair Lady" is coming to Westminster College Friday, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m. in Orr Auditorium, as the second show in the 2001-2002 Westminster College Celebrity Series.
Cardboard boxes will provide shelter for several Westminster College students during the "Quad-a-Thon" Friday, Sept. 15.
Dr. Leslie Wilk Braksick, president and CEO of GLC, the world's leading provider of strategy execution and performance improvement consulting, will speak at Westminster College Thursday, April 24, at 11 a.m. in Phillips Lecture Hall of the Hoyt Science Resources Center.
A nationally known consultant, executive coach, and published author, Braksick is noted for enabling dramatic business improvement in companies. GLC is a global leader in behavior-based strategy execution and performance improvement consulting. Since the 1993 launching of the Continuous Learning Group, the firm's original name, Braksick has built the company into a consulting organization of more than 160 consultants internationally. Some of her clients include Bell Atlantic, Chevron, ExxonMobil, GE, H.J. Heinz, Ingersoll-Rand, Lucent, and Union Carbide.
The Westminster College Celebrity Series presents "Christmas in Vienna," featuring the Vienna Choir Boys, Tuesday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m. in Orr Auditorium.
Dr. Carolyn Cuff, Westminster College professor of mathematics, recently attended an American Statistical Association conference in Salt Lake City.
Sheila Barnhart, a senior music performance major with piano concentration, will present her senior capstone recital Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m. in Orr Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
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