The public is invited to attend two Opera “scenes” performances on the Hardin-Simmons University campus Friday, November 16 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 18 at 2:00 p.m. Students will perform in the Woodward-Dellis Recital Hall and performances are free and open to the public.

The Fall scenes performances give students opportunities to learn a basic stagecraft skill set, while the audience is treated to smorgasbord of delightful operatic highlights. Students work with character development, stage movement, train in varied operatic genres, periods and styles, and work on ensemble skills. The scenes format also gives all students an opportunity to be soloists; desirable in a complete musical education.

This year’s attendees will enjoy:

“Suoni la tromba, intrepido” from Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani
Presentation of the Rose scene from Richard Strauss” Der Rosenkavalier
“Matchmaker” from Harnick and Bock’s The Fiddler on the Roof
“Try We Lifelong” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers
“Now for the Pirate Lair” from gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance
“Thine Own True Knight” from Ralph-Von Williams’ Sir John in Love
“Wie, wie wie” from W. A. Mozart’s Die Zauberfloete

Director Dr. William Mouat is thrilled with the talent he brings to the stage this year and believes the audience will enjoy the thrill of a close-up, live performance by students at the beginning of their singing careers. He likens it to a college football game versus a professional game “more unpredictable, and a little more exciting.” He feels the little known excerpt by Bellini may surprise opera-goers, “I have two very good low male voices this year; the “Souni la tromba” may be a show-stopper.”

Posted by Dave Coffield · November 12, 2007 4:44 PM · Comments (0)

The Texas State History Museum Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the educational programs of the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museumin Austin, announced the selection of HSU Alumnus Truett Latimer as its 2008 President of the Board of Trustees.

Truett Latimer

Mr. Latimer, an IMAX film producer, is a former Texas Representative, former Executive Director of the Texas Historical Commission (Preservation Texas each year presents the Truett Latimer Award to a working professional who demonstrates significant commitment and sustained involvement in preservation) and former President of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Truett brought the museum from what has been described as “a bunch of old bones and a life-size model of a pre-historic dinosaur” to a world-class museum that is the second-most visited attraction in Houston and one of the best attended museums in the United States.

He is a lifetime member of the Hardin-Simmons University Presidents Club. In 1991, he received the HSU Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 1996 HSU conferred upon him the honorary doctor of laws degree. In 2006, Latimer was inducted into the HSU Hall of Leaders. Truett continues to serve HSU as the current president of the Board of Development.

The Texas State History Museum

The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is the official state history museum of Texas. Since its opening in 2001, this dynamic, non-collecting educational and cultural institution has presented the story of Texas to over 3.5 million visitors using a wide array of interactive and traditional exhibits and programs. The Texas State History Museum Foundation provides support to the educational initiatives of the Museum in its mission of furthering the cultural education of the children of Texas. Since the Museum does not receive public funding, the existence of the Foundation helps ensure that there is sufficient support to provide free admission to students and to cover the costs of the more than 100 programs that are offered to the public free of charge each year.

Other officers elected include: The 2008 President-Elect, Bill Jones, a partner at the law firm Vinson & Elkins, LLP who previously served as General Counsel to the Office of the Governor for Governor Rick Perry. He also currently serves as Chair of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Mr. John Fainter, President of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, has been elected Vice-President. Mr. Fainter has had a long career in public service, including service as First Assistant Attorney General of Texas, Secretary of State of Texas, and Chief of Staff for Governor Ann Richards. Ms. Kay Woodward Olson of Waco, a dedicated community leader and wife of Former Ambassador to Sweden, Lyndon Olson, Jr., has been elected Secretary. Ms. Molly Sherman, Development Director of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and active community volunteer, has been elected Treasurer. All five were selected because of their distinguished contributions within their communities and state, and ongoing commitment and service to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Their terms will begin January 2008.
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Posted by Dave Coffield · November 12, 2007 11:37 AM · Comments (0)

Whenever a discussion gets heated about “grunting” at the gym, or when someone makes headlines for being thrown out of a gym for excessive vocalization under exertion, the media calls its go-to expert on the phenomenon, HSU’s own Professor of Physical Therapy, Dr. Dennis O’Connell. Dr. O’Connell conducted two studies on the effects of grunting while undergoing physical exertion and his work is getting international notice.

HealthDay News examined the controversy again recently, and the story was picked up by publications as diverse as Forbes magazine, U.S. News and World Report, the Atlanta Journal, and the Austin Statesman. Broadcasters took up the grunting cause and the story was featured on Fox News and the Canadian Broadcast Company; as well as innumerable affiliates around the United States. And now we see grunting going international as media in South Africa, Brunei, Pakistan, and Canada pick up the story.

So what’s the buzz about grunting, and does it enhance performance, or is it just annoying to gym members who have to listen to it? “For some people there was actually a small percentage increase when they grunted, in terms of the force produced,” says Dr. O’Connell of his study, “I wouldn’t be telling people not to grunt.”

While researching the process, Dr. O’Connell asked participants to do a dead lift with weights and either grunt or stay quiet. “Very experienced lifters that normally grunted when they lifted did have about a 1 percent improvement with grunting,” he said. “A group of college football players showed a 2 percent improvement, and the untrained group – graduate students in physical therapy – had about a 5 percent increase.”

The physical mechanism for the performance increase is still a mystery, but Dr. O’Connell suggested one theory, “Grunting quiets inhibitory nerve cells in the spinal cord. Those cells would normally impede the ability of muscles to contact and generate force.”
Dr. O’Connell is currently doing another study on grunting in the sport of tennis to see if results mimic those of the weight lifters. He’s begun gathering information at the college level - seeing a consistent 4 mph improvement over non-grunting players - and hopes to work with touring professionals later this year.

He’s amazed at the kinds of studies that interest the media, “We’re also doing a study on balance issues with roofers. Falls are the number one cause of morbidity or death among roofing professionals, and this study could have a positive effect on the safety of a significant number of construction workers. But, will the media publicize a story about roofers’ balance? Probably not.” For now, the world wants to hear about grunting, and Dr. O’Connell figures to be in the midst of the debate.

Posted by Dave Coffield · November 12, 2007 11:27 AM · Comments (0)

The Executive Vice President and Provost, professor of Religion, and visiting professor of Law at Baylor University, Dr. J. Randall O’Brien is the featured speaker at The George Knight Bible Conference, Nov 12 - 13, at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. An annual conference promoting Biblical scholarship in the Church, the theme for 2007 explores the rich range of meanings the book of Job offers for the human spiritual journey.

“God had one child without sin, but never one without suffering,” says Dr. O’Brien, “Sooner or later we all suffer. Then what? The story of Job is the story of every person. Standing like an Everest on the range of Scripture, the Book of Job treats the subjects of innocent suffering, divine justice, doubt, questioning, and faith unlike any other book in the Bible. The text completely rearranges the theological landscape!”

Dr. O'Brien

J. Randall O’Brien, a native of McComb, Mississippi, is a graduate of Yale Divinity
School,New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Mississippi College. He
has done additional study at Yale, Harvard, and Oxford Universities. He previously
served Baylor as Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor
and Chair of the Department of Religion, Acting Dean of the George W. Truett
Theological Seminary, and as Executive Assistant to the President of the University.

Before arriving at Baylor in 1991, Reverend O’Brien served as Senior Pastor of
Calvary BaptistChurch in Little Rock, Arkansas. Prior to that he held a tenured faculty appointment in Old Testament and Hebrew at Ouachita Baptist University, also in
Arkansas. Dr. O’Brien has received numerous teaching awards at Baylor, including Mortar Board’s Circle of Achievement Award on three occasions, the Carr P. Collins Outstanding Professor Award presented annually by the graduating class, the
Outstanding Professor Award given by Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, and the
Outstanding Faculty Member Award presented by the Student Congress.

Besides having served as Pastor or Interim Pastor of nineteen churches in Texas,
Arkansas, and Louisiana, Reverend O’Brien regularly preaches and teaches in
revivals and conferences in churches, conventions, and universities across America
and abroad.

O’Brien is a prolific writer, having published four books and more than 70 articles in
journals such as Christian Ethics Today, The Theological Educator, The Biblical Illustrator, Christian Reflection, Perspectives in Religious Studies, and multiple
Bible Encyclopedias,including the Eerdmans, Mercer, Holman, and Anchor Bible
Dictionaries. His books include, Set Free by Forgiveness: The Way to Peace and Healing, Who Is Jesus?, The Mosaic Messiah, and I Feel Better All Over Than I Do Anywhere Else (and other stories to tickle your soul). He is presently writing an historical novel on the Civil Rights Movement in the South in the 1960s, after which he plans to write a volume on the Book of Job, dealing with issues of innocent suffering, doubt, and faith.

O’Brien is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Religion, Who’s Who in Humanities in Higher Education, and is a member of the American Academy of Religion and The Society of Biblical Literature. He currently serves as President of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, Southwest Region.

O’Brien is a decorated military veteran, having served with the 101st Airborne
Division in Vietnam. There he received, among other decorations, the Combat
Infantryman’s Badge, the United States Air Medal, and The Republic of Vietnam
Gallantry Cross, and the Bronze Star.

The conference is named for former Hardin-Simmons University faculty Dr. George W. Knight who came to HSU in 1976 from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he had served as instructor of New Testament and Greek. He was subsequently appointed as the first Cook-Derrick Chair of Bible and Greek at HSU. He established HSU’s archeology program and led more than 20 archeological expeditions to Israel and Greece. He holds degrees from Louisiana College, the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he received his Ph.D. in 1973. Dr. Knight retired from HSU in 2002.

The 7:00 p.m. presentation in Logsdon Chapel on Nov 12, “Retelling the Story of Job and Hearing It Again for the First Time,” and the 9:30 a.m. Behrens Auditorium Chapel service on Nov 13, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People: Reflections on the Suffering of Job,” are free and open to the public. For more information contact Carol Bratton at 670-1287, or cbratton@hsutx.edu.

Posted by Dave Coffield · November 1, 2007 10:25 AM · Comments (0)

Representatives from Hardin-Simmons University were on-hand in Amarillo at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting this week when the history was made. Over 2,000 messengers to the convention elected a new slate of officers, including the Convention’s first-ever woman president. Messengers elected former missionary, church secretary, and Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas Executive Director Joy Fenner of Garland president in a close, 900-840 vote over David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon. The margin was one of the smallest in BGCT history. Fenner pledged to continue current BGCT President Steve Vernon’s emphasis of increasing mission work.

Joy Fenner at press conference

Steve Wells, pastor of South Main Baptist Church in Houston, nominated Fenner, praising her commitment to mission work. He noted her broad support among leaders across Texas, especially those within the Woman’s Missionary Union. “Texas Baptists have always been a missionary people,” he said, “Joy Fenner has been that literally.” He also indicated that Fenner is the person to lead the convention during a time when its executive director is about to retire, the chief operating officer has announced his resignation, and the executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union of Texas has resigned recently.

Dr. Tommy Brisco, dean of the Logsdon School of Theology, said the election was a historic occasion, but emphasized Fenner’s qualifications to lead the convention, “She is a logical choice because she has been so invested in missions work. Her life has really been committed to missions, and I would say that Texas Baptists have always been committed to missions.”

Lowrie, who ran on a platform of bringing the convention leadership back to the political center, facetiously said both candidates had won because he had made his point and now didn’t have to do the hard work associated with the position. He looks forward to working with Fenner and believes Texas Baptists can come together if everyone is included in the effort.

Fenner, who recently spoke at the Women in Ministry Conference hosted by HSU, was modest about being the first women to hold the position, but said, “It’s gratifying because women have been so involved in Baptist work. I hope it would honor some of our women who have leadership abilities.”

HSU unveiled its new booth in the display hall; a smaller replica of the new Alumni Wall. To say it created a sensation is an understatement. A place for alumni to gather and pastors and prospective students to inquire about HSU programs, the display was constantly besieged by alumni, friends, gawkers, and astonished representatives from other universities.

The Coleman's stop by the HSU booth

The 2007 Convention Alumni Dinner was held on the 30th floor of the nearby Chase Bank building. Over 60 HSU alumni who were either from Amarillo, or who had travelled to the convention from other parts of Texas were treated to a spectacular view of West Texas, a superb dinner, and inspiring testimonials by class of 2005’s Melissa Schaeffer and 1999’s Tracy Bruce.

Posted by Dave Coffield · November 1, 2007 10:04 AM · Comments (0)