Homecoming celebration set for students, alumni
A series of homecoming events for students and alumni are planned for the week of Sept. 8-12 at Linfield College.
Student activities begin Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 8 p.m. with an outdoor concert by Tall Heights on the intramural field. On Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 8 p.m. a drag show will be held Ice Auditorium, located in Melrose Hall. “Shot of Reality” will be held Thursday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m. in Ice Auditorium. On Friday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m., the annual Mr. and Miss Linfield competition will be held in the Ted Wilson Gym.
Registration for alumni activities begins Friday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m. in Fred Meyer Lounge in Riley Hall. The Founders’ Society Luncheon will be held at noon in Jonasson Hall, lower level of Melrose Hall. At 1:30 p.m., alumni can learn about Oregon wine varietals through a guided wine tasting in downtown McMinnville.
Dan Roth, class of 2000 and recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, will discuss how his Linfield education prepared him for work in politics at 3 p.m. in 222 T.J. Day Hall. Marcy (Hamby) Towns, professor of chemistry at Purdue University, class of 1985 and recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Award, will present at 4 p.m. in 222 T.J. Day Hall.
“Linfield’s Finest,” a gathering for alumni, friends and faculty, will salute the alumni award winners at 5:30 p.m. at the McMinnville Grand Ballroom. In addition to Roth and Towns, other award winners include Ray Olson, class of 1954 and Alumni Service Award recipient, and Maria Stuart, co-owner of R. Stuart & Co. Winery and recipient of the Walker Service Award.
Alumni events continue on Saturday, Sept. 12, with registration starting at 9 a.m. and campus tours at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. At 10 a.m., a Lambda Lambda Sigma Sorority reunion will be held in Ford Hall and a reunion for the Health, Human Performance and Athletics (HHPA) Department will be held in the Paul Durham Foyer in the HHPA building. At 10:30 a.m., there will be a reunion for the Business and Economics Departments in T.J. Day Hall.
An all-alumni barbecue begins at 11 a.m. in the parking area of the Vivian A. Bull Music Center, followed by the Linfield Wildcats vs. the Chapman Panthers football game at 12:30 p.m. At 1 p.m., alumni may visit the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum and take in a men’s soccer game vs. Northwest Christian at 2:30 p.m. at the Linfield soccer field. Post-game class reunions will be held for the classes of 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2005, in addition to past participants in the Alternative Spring Break program. Alumni from all eras are invited to participate in a music alumni talent show at 7 p.m. in the Delkin Recital Hall in the Vivian A. Bull Music Center.
For more information on alumni events, contact Debbie Harmon Ferry, director of alumni and parent relations, at 503-883-2607 or dharmon@linfield.edu. For more information on student activities contact Dan Fergueson, director of college activities, at 503-883-2435 or dfergue@linfield.edu.
Linfield Gallery to host photography series, ‘Dualities’
“Dualities,” a series of photographs by Art Professor Liz Obert, will be on display Aug. 31 through Oct. 10 at the Linfield Gallery in the James F. Miller Fine Arts Center at Linfield College.
A reception will be held Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 5-7 p.m. in the gallery. The series, which has been featured on Huffington Post, Slate and Refinery29, documents the experiences of people suffering from bipolar disorder.
The exhibition features two images of each subject, one of how they prefer to be seen and one showing what they do when they are depressed. To capture these intimate portraits, the artist worked closely with her subjects, meeting them for coffee and establishing a rapport before discussing how they wanted to be photographed. It was important to her that her subjects were able to decide where they wanted to be photographed and what they would be doing.
The resulting images have resonated extensively with online communities and have been shared widely on personal blogs, bipolar websites and in the news. A feature on “Dualities” was named “One of the 10 Most Popular Stories in 2014” on Slate.com. In her statement about the work, Obert talks about how her own experiences shaped the project:
“As a person who suffers from bipolar II disorder, I lead a double life,” she explained. “I have one persona that people see every day, and another that I hide from the world. Many others who suffer from bipolar and depression have the same experience. I believe it is important to put a human face to disorders that affect millions of people.”
Obert was awarded a grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council to frame this work. She received her BFA from College of Santa Fe and her MFA from Washington State University. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally. Most recent exhibitions include the 3rd International Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography; Municipal Museum of Malaga, Malaga, Spain; and Musings 18th Annual Photo Competition and Exhibition, Photo Center NW, Seattle, Wash.
Faculty research overview launches Science Colloquium Series
“An Introduction to Linfield Faculty Research” will kick off the Science Colloquium Series Thursday, Sept. 10, at 4:15 p.m. in 100 Graf Hall.
Presenters are professors Xiaoyue Luo (math), Jeremy Weisz (biology) and Megan Bestwick (chemistry). This year, the Science Colloquium Series is partnering with the Program for Liberal Arts and Civic Engagement (PLACE) theme: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire: the ancient elements on a changing planet.
For more information on Science Colloquium visit http://www.linfield.edu/science-colloquium.html
For more information on PLACE events visit http://www.linfield.edu/place/place-events.html or contact Gina Castillo gcastill@linfield.edu.
Browning to share Hong Kong experiences
Austin Browning ’16 will present “From McMinnville to Hong Kong and Beyond” on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 4 p.m. in 201 Riley Hall.
Browning, a biology major, spent last spring abroad studying at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). In his presentation, he will speak about life at HKBU and the differences between China, Hong Kong and the U.S. He will also discuss the “Hong Konger,” the complex identity of Hong Kong people, with influence from China, the U.K. and other western nations.
“My experience abroad has enriched not only my Linfield experience, but my life experience,” Browning said. “I am so happy I did it, and it is definitely the highlight of my time at Linfield thus far.”
Linfield’s alliance with HKBU is a direct exchange program, which means that every year students from HKBU also study at Linfield for a semester or a year. Linfield provides all students, regardless of major or discipline, the opportunity for January Term, semester or year-long experiences in more than 30 locations around the world.
The event is free and open to the public and sponsored by the International Programs Office. For more information, contact Michele Tomseth at 503-883-2434 or mtomseth@linfield.edu.
Reinke to explore genetics research in faculty lecture
Professor Catherine Reinke will kick off the Linfield College faculty lecture series when she discusses the study of genetics in the age of whole-genome sequencing Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in 201 Riley Hall at Linfield.
Reinke, assistant professor of biology, will present “From Observers to Participants: Building the scientific community through independent and course-based research in genetics.”
How do organisms use their genetic information to carry out essential life processes and generate the diversity of form that we observe? Or put another way, what do genes do and how do they do it? The talk will describe Reinke’s genetics research in model organisms, including plants, yeast and insects over the past 20 years. Many aspects of this work continue with undergraduates in her laboratory at Linfield.
Rapid advances in genetics research are allowing geneticists to ask new types of experimental questions using protocols such as RNA-seq and whole-genome analysis. Reinke will introduce how these new techniques are being used in her lab to better understand how organisms make use of the information in their genomes at the molecular level.
Before coming to Linfield, Reinke worked as a yeast cell biologist at the University of Chicago, where she engineered proteins and observed their movement in living cells to better understand how cellular compartments are organized and propagated. She later worked as a fruit fly geneticist at Northwestern University, where she began work to decipher the requirements for gene silencing and the molecular mechanisms of this silencing. This continues to be the focus of her work now.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and English from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology from the University of Chicago. Her research is currently funded by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.
The lecture is free and open to the public. The Linfield College faculty lecture series offers one presentation each month by a member of the Linfield faculty. For more information, call 503-883-2409.
Linfield theatre season kicks off with ‘We Are But One Thread’
The Linfield Theatre Program will kick off its season with “We Are But One Thread,” a devised work with Jerry Goralnick and The Living Theatre Workshops.
Goralnick and Linfield students will develop an original production based on Linfield’s PLACE (Program for Liberal Arts and Civic Engagement) theme for 2015-16, “Air, Water, Earth, and Fire: The Ancient Elements on a Changing Planet.”
Performance dates are Thursday, Sept. 17, Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the Marshall Theatre in Ford Hall.
Air, water, earth and fire create the loom upon which the tapestry of the planet is woven, connecting all its elements by a common thread. “We Are But One Thread” examines the way in which humankind, a single filament within this fabric, alters the design in ways no other creature has ever done. What happens to the planet and to ourselves when we pull one interconnecting thread?
Themes for the play will be drawn from the common reading for Linfield’s entering students, “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert. Using improvisation and other acting techniques, the ensemble will develop the script and production elements.
Goralnick will be in residence at Linfield for two weeks, working with Linfield students from across the college and participating in class discussions. Since 1947, The Living Theatre has created an imaginative alternative to the commercial stage by using the theatre to further social change. Founded by Judith Malina, the German-born student of Erwin Piscator, and Julian Beck, an abstract expressionist painter of the New York School, The Living Theatre has staged more than 100 productions performed in eight languages in 28 countries on five continents – a unique body of work that has influenced theatre the world over. To learn more, visit: http://www.livingtheatre.org.
The play is presented by the Linfield Theatre Program and the Lacroute Art Series, and is a Linfield PLACE event. The Lacroute Arts Series is made possible by the generosity of Ronni Lacroute, Linfield College trustee and arts benefactor.
All tickets are $5 and seating is reserved. Tickets are available at http://www.linfield.edu/arts and beginning Sept. 14 at the Marshall Theatre Box Office. The box office is open Monday through Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 503-883-2292. The Marshall Theatre is fully accessible.
Community News
Tania Carrasquillo Hernández, assistant professor of Spanish, presented her scholarly work “El San Juan metafórico que se reinventa ante la modernidad” on May 30 at the XXXIII International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Joyce Betita, director of the Experiential Learning Center for the nursing school, received a grant of $3,500 from The Jackson Foundation towards the purchase of a pediatric manikin to be used in nursing simulation labs on the Portland campus. Manikins provide students with risk-free opportunities to learn how to handle a variety of medical situations such as heart attacks, septic shock, seizures and more.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Megan Bestwick, assistant professor of chemistry, and Anne Kruchten, associate professor of biology, a grant of $83,177 to acquire a liquid chromatography system, which will enhance interdisciplinary biochemistry research for faculty and their undergraduate collaborators. The system will also be used by students during labs in biochemistry and molecular biology courses.
Thomas Love, professor of anthropology, has also secured a grant from the NSF. He and David Murphy, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at St. Lawrence University (subgrantee), successfully applied for funds ($49,788) to coordinate a workshop on the implications of declining net energy for complex food/energy/water systems. The conference is scheduled to be held on the McMinnville campus during January Term.
The Oregon Community Foundation Trillium Fund awarded Joni Tonn a grant of $1,500 for the WISE (Working to Inspire Students to Excel) mentoring program at Duniway and Patton middle schools. This program, pairing college-age mentors with youth ages 11-13, is headed by a Change Corps student leader through the office of Community Engagement and Service.
Linfield archivist Rachael Woody secured a grant of $6,130 from the Oregon Cultural Trust in support of the digitization of and access to interviews of contributors to Oregon’s wine industry as part of the Oregon Wine History Archive. Two notable interviews to be digitized and uploaded to the DigitalCommons@Linfield are of Janis Miglavs, author of Oregon: The Taste of Wine, and of David Lett, founder of The Eyrie Vineyards and a pioneer of the wine industry in this state.
Campus Calendar
TUESDAY, SEPT. 8
All week: Homecoming
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9
5 p.m.: “Dualities” exhibit reception, Linfield Gallery
7 p.m.: Men’s soccer at Trinity Lutheran
THURSDAY, SEPT. 10
1 p.m.: Study abroad fair, Fred Meyer Lounge
4:15 p.m.: Science Colloquium, 100 Graf
TBA: Women’s soccer at Corban
FRIDAY, SEPT. 11
9 a.m.: Volleyball at Puget Sound Premier
1 p.m.: Volleyball at Puget Sound Premier
5 p.m.: Men’s soccer at Concordia
5 p.m.: Cross country at WOU Ash Creek Invitational
SATURDAY, SEPT. 12
Today and tomorrow: Women’s golf at Pacific Lutheran Invitational
10 a.m.: Volleyball at Puget Sound Premier
12:30 p.m.: Football vs. Chapman
2:30 p.m.: Men’s soccer vs. Northwest
4 p.m.: Volleyball at Puget Sound Premier
