eInside Events

Sojourners’ Jim Wallis to Speak at Kent State on Morals, Ethics and Social Justice in 2012 Presidential Campaign

Jim Wallis, CEO of Sojourners, a national nonpartisan
Christian organization, will speak at Kent State University
on Sept. 13 about morals, ethics and social justice in the
2012 election.

Jim Wallis, CEO of Sojourners, a national nonpartisan Christian organization, will discuss “The Politically Engaged Believer: Morals, Ethics and Social Justice in the 2012 Election” at Kent State University on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva. The event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow his talk. For more event information, visit http://bit.ly/CSIR13sept2012Wallis.

A bestselling author, public theologian, speaker and international commentator on ethics and public life, Wallis recently served on the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and currently serves as the chair of the Global Agenda Council on Faith for the World Economic Forum. He teaches a course on “Faith, Social Justice and Public Life” at Georgetown University and has also taught at Harvard University.

Wallis’ latest book is Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street and Your Street — A Moral Compass for the New Economy. His two previous books, The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith & Politics in a Post–Religious Right America and God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, were both New York Times bestsellers.

Wallis frequently speaks in the United States and abroad. His columns appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe, among other major news venues. He frequently appears on radio and television, on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, on shows such as Meet the Press, Hardball, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The O’Reilly Factor, and National Public Radio.

Wallis comes to Kent State as the keynote speaker for the fall 2012 symposium of the Center for the Study of Information and Religion, a research initiative of the School of Library and Information Science. In addition to the annual symposium, the Center for the Study of Information and Religion hosts an annual spring conference that examines how various institutions and agents of religion impact social knowledge through the use, dissemination and diffusion of information.

Co-sponsors of this year’s symposium include Kent State’s Honors College, University Libraries, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science, Department of Philosophy, Religious Studies program and Center for Student Involvement, as well as the Church of the Saviour United Methodist, Cleveland Hts.
Sojourners is a national Christian organization committed to faith in action for social justice. With a 40-year history, Sojourners is a nonpartisan leader that convenes, builds alliances among and mobilizes people of faith, focusing on racial and social justice, life and peace and environmental stewardship. For more information on Sojourners and Wallis, visit www.sojo.net.

The School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University has the only American Library Association-accredited Master of Library and Information Science degree program in Ohio, offering courses in Kent, Columbus (State Library of Ohio) and through a fully online option. The school also offers a Master of Science in information architecture and knowledge management, and participates in an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in the College of Communication and Information. The School of Library and Information Science is recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s top 20 library and information science graduate programs, with a youth librarianship program that is ranked 13th. It is one of the largest library schools in the country, with more than 650 students enrolled. For more information, visit www.kent.edu/slis.

Wick Poetry Center Presents Celebrating Our Own on Sept. 11

Winners of last year's undergraduate and high school
scholarship reading competitions pose for a photo with
Wick Poetry Center staff after the 2011 Celebrating Our
Own event.

Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center invites faculty, staff, students and other members of the university community to Celebrating Our Own — the annual undergraduate and high school scholarship reading, on Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva. The event is free and open to the public.

The event will honor winners of the undergraduate and high school scholarship reading competitions, including Kent State students Tracy Paar, Mathias Peralta, Natasha Rodriguez-Carroll, Ellie Shorey and Zach Weiss. High school student winners who will be recognized at the event are Sabre Corea, Sarah Ellis, Brooke Heasley and Tanaka Mupinga.

Mira Rosenthal, 2010 winner of the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize, judged the undergraduate student competition. The high school competition was judged by Major Ragain, Ph.D., Kent State University creative writing instructor, Jack Boyle, Wick Poetry Center graduate fellow, and Jessica Jewell, program coordinator for the Wick Poetry Center.

For more information about Celebrating Our Own and other Wick Poetry Center events, visit www.kent.edu/wick/readingseries.

The Kent State School of Theatre and Dance Opens Season With Big Love

Bridezilla meets Survivor in this savagely funny play

The School of Theatre and Dance will
open its season with the hilarious play
Big Love by Charles Mee, Oct. 5 – 13.
For tickets, call 330-672-ARTS or visit
www.kent.edu/artscollege.

Kent State University’s School of Theatre and Dance will open its 2012/2013 production season with the Charles Mee comedy Big Love, from Oct. 5 – 14 at Kent State University’s Wright Curtis Theatre located in the Music and Speech Center, 1325 Theatre Dr.

Directed by Eric van Baars, professor of theatre in the School of Theatre and Dance, this production highlights the escapades of 50 Greek brides fleeing from the mother of all arranged marriages! Clad in white, the 50 maidens head to an Italian villa to escape marriage to their 50 cousins. The throng of grooms follow the brides and mayhem ensues. A modern rendition of Aeschylus’s The Suppliants, the play explores issues of gender politics, love and relationships.

“Charles Mee's modern twist on the ancient battle of the sexes theme takes the audience for a thrilling ride through primal emotions, carnal lust, revenge and condemnation,” says van Baars. “This is a savagely funny play for adult audiences.”

Shows run Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. There will be no performance of Big Love on Wednesday, Oct. 10 due to special event Steppin’ Out With Ben Vereen held in the E. Turner Stump Theatre that evening.

The new Performing Arts Box Office opens Sept. 10. Hours are weekdays from noon – 5 p.m. The box office is located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center in the Music and Speech Center. New this year, the Performing Arts Box Office will also sell tickets to events in the School of Music and for the Fashion School’s annual fashion show in April (Tickets won’t go on sale until March 2013). Patrons will be able to purchase tickets for such School of Music events as the KSU Orchestra concerts, Kent Keyboard Series, Chorale concerts, Opera productions and the Men’s and Women’s Chorus concert. For more information, including a full list of events, visit www.kent.edu/artscollege. The box office opens one hour prior to each performance. The box office accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, checks and cash.

Single tickets for Big Love are $8 for non-Kent State students with a valid ID or students under 18; $14 for Kent State faculty, staff and Alumni Association members; $12 for seniors (60+); and $16 for adults. Groups of 10 or more are $10 per person.

Flex passes for three, four or seven theatre and dance productions are available for purchase until Oct. 13. Prices for the flex passes run $42 - $98 for adults; $30 - $70 for seniors, Kent State faculty, staff and Alumni Association members; and $19.50 - $45.50 for non-Kent State students with a valid ID. For tickets or more information, call 330-672-ARTS (2787).

The 2012/2013 season of the School of Theatre and Dance will feature Rocky Horror Show, Nov. 2 - 11, and Dance 2012: Winterplay, Nov. 30 - Dec 2. The Roe Green Visiting Director Series presents Spring Awakening, Feb. 15-24, directed by Tony award-winning actor Michael Ruppert; BFA Senior Dance Concert and Student Dance Festival, March 15 – 17; Kent Dance Ensemble’s New View, April 5 – 7; and William Shakepeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, April 19 – 28.

Women’s Center Offers Yoga Classes This Fall

Just in time for National Yoga Month, the Women's Center at Kent State University announces four yoga classes for Kent State staff and faculty members this fall.

Daytime classes are offered at the Women’s Center on Tuesdays (noon- 1 p.m. and 1 – 2 p.m.) and early evening classes on Mondays and Wednesdays (5:15-6:15 p.m.). The fee for classes is $55 for a six-week session; $47 for returning students. All class sizes are kept to a minimum of 6 – 7 students only, and for faculty and staff.

Margot Milcetich, who has taught meditation since 1973 and Hatha yoga since 1983, will be teaching this year again. Returning instructors Mary Louise Holly and Victoria Bocchicchio also will be teaching sessions. Susan Haren will be joining the team of instructors this fall.

To sign up for class, contact the Women’s Center at 330-672-9230. Registration is required and will hold your spot in the class.