JSC President Barbara E. Murphy

February 17, 2010

Dear Faculty and Staff,

It seems like the semester just began, yet winter break is already upon us. Safe travels to those of you who are venturing off to distant lands, however “distant” those may be. Please join me in extending a special bon voyage to students, faculty and staff who are participating on one of our phenomenal BreakAway trips – to New Orleans to help with post-Katrina rebuilding or to Washington DC to work on hunger and homelessness issues. We know they will have a rewarding and memorable experience.

CHANCELLOR'S VISIT TODAY
VSC Chancellor Tim Donovan is on campus today connecting with JSC faculty and staff, and later attending the evening performance of “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” in Dibden. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity to speak with Chancellor Donovan; his schedule for the day is outlined below. I hope you will be able to make it to the open session at 1:30 in the Stearns Performance Space.

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. (Performance Space): Coffee Break with VSEA
11:00 to 11:45 a.m. (Performance Space): Coffee Meet with VSC - UP members
12:00 to 1:15 p.m. (Stearns Dining Hall): Lunch with Faculty
1:30 to 2:15 p.m. (Performance Space): Open Session
-- Break for Chancellor --
4:00 to 4:45 p.m. (Performance Space): Meeting with students - refreshments
5:00 p.m. (President's House): Dinner with President's Council

SAVE THE DATE: MARCH 17: Annual Employee Recognition
Please plan to join your JSC friends and colleagues at the 5th Annual Employee Recognition reception, to be held at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 17, in the Stearns Performance Space.

STUDENT FUNDRAISERS FOR HAITI
Congratulations to the JSC student body for their spectacular efforts to support relief efforts in Haiti following that country’s devastating earthquake. Shortly after the quake hit, students coordinated three impromptu yet very successful events on Jan. 26: a 50/50 raffle and concession sales at a home hoops game, plus a pass-the-hat at a Pojazz concert that brought in a total of $260. In addition, last week’s “Swipe a Meal” fundraiser (which allowed students to swipe their card for an extra meal and contribute that amount to the campaign) netted $500! Upcoming is the T-shirt sale from Printmaking students, with proceeds going to Haiti relief as well.

THEATER CONGRATS
Congratulations to director Russ Longtin and students involved in the fall production of “The Trojan Women” for making it through the first round of cuts in the prestigious Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival regional competition. The play was one of 18 semi-finalists chosen from 98 productions evaluated by Kennedy Center judges. In addition to making the first cut for regional honors, the play catapulted six JSC student actors — Claire Demarias, Lynne Dumais, Eric Hill, A.J. Gagliardi, Alannah Halliday and Zoe Yioulos — as well as stage manager Taryn Glasser and special effects/lighting designer Henry Meola to another regional competition: the renowned Irene Ryan Scholarship Auditions, which were held Jan. 26-30 at the University of New Hampshire. Not only did the eight students participate in workshops led by professional actors (among them Teri Hatcher of TV’s “Desperate Housewives”), but several of them returned to JSC with awards. Taryn Glasser earned the 2nd place stage manager award, while chorus honors went to Amanda Bryan, Kayla Jorobsky, ZoeYioulos, Nancy Gallante, Madeline Gibbons, Rhiannon Fleckenstein, Bridget Conway, Amanda Webster, Bridget Conway. Congratulations all!

‘PICASSO’ WRAPS UP TOMORROW
A reminder that tonight and tomorrow (Feb. 17 and 18th) are the final performances of the JSC Theater Department’s production of “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” a comedy written by Steve Martin. Curtain time is 7 p.m. Come out and show your support for our student actors and tech crew, and enjoy a great night out. Opening night was a huge success!

BADGER CONGRATS
Kudos to the JSC men’s and women’s basketball teams for some great games this past week. Last Tuesday (Feb. 9), the men and women both came out ahead against Lyndon State (by just one and two points, respectively – real nail-biters). This Friday and Saturday, the men bested Maine Maritime Academy and Husson University at our last home games of the season, all of which were very well-attended. Thanks to Barb Lougee, Mike Osborne, and of course the men and women Badgers for making our debut season in the new SHAPE gym so memorable.

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Best wishes to all for an enjoyable February break.