Six to be Inducted into Hall of Distinguished Alumni during Alumni Weekend

Eastern Kentucky University alumni and friends are invited to visit the campus April 26-27 when the University hosts its annual Alumni Weekend.

This year’s event features special reunions for the classes of 1943, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978 and 1983, with the Class of 1963 inducted as Pioneers. Alumni of all years are welcome.

A highlight of the weekend is the annual Alumni Awards and Recognition Banquet, where six Eastern graduates are to be inducted into the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The event will be held Saturday, April 27, at 6 p.m. in the Keen Johnson Ballroom. Tickets for the banquet are $35 each.

A full listing of Alumni Weekend events is available at alumni.eku.edu/insidelook/alumni-weekend.

The six Hall of Distinguished Alumni inductees are: Rev. Robert Blythe, Richmond, pastor of First Baptist Church and city commissioner; Jeanie Gail Ashe Bowman, Hattiesburg, Miss., president of J Bowman Associates; Judy Layne-Wood, Yorktown, Va., retired teacher and registrar, now community volunteer; Jean Chenault Logue, Richmond, Chief Circuit Judge, 25th Judicial Circuit; Col. (Ret.) Ralph Newman, Grayson, retired Army officer; and Dr. Janna Vice, Richmond, provost and vice president for academic affairs, EKU.

Also, Dr. Ezra Engling, professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Humanities, and Karen Millsap, American Sign Language specialist in the Department of American Sign Language and Interpreter Education, will each receive the Alumni Association’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

A Distinguished Service Award will be presented to David McFaddin, Richmond, a 1999 EKU graduate now serving as executive director of government relations for the University.

“Spring is a wonderful time to visit The Campus Beautiful and see it blooming with color,” said Jackie Collier, director of alumni relations. “Alumni Weekend offers our alumni and friends a special time to reconnect with each other and with Eastern.”

The Richards Alumni House will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. Early Bird Registration will be offered at the Alumni House between 10:30 a.m. and noon.

At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, President and Joanne Whitlock will host a reception for members of the Pioneer Class of 1963 and their guests at the Blanton House. A dinner ($20 per person) will be held at 6:30 in the Stratton Building Cafeteria.

Events continue Saturday, April 27, with registration beginning at 9 a.m. in the Keen Johnson Building.

Saturday morning also includes a continental breakfast, class reunion photographs, and class luncheons and meetings at 11:30 a.m. ($19 per person).

The day also features campus tours, recognition of EKU Pioneers (those who graduated from the University at least 50 years ago), and the dedication of the William H. Berge Virtual Oral History Center in honor of the late EKU history professor. Any graduate from 1963 or earlier who would like to be recognized this year as an EKU Pioneer should contact the Alumni Relations office, 859-622-1260.

The weekend also includes a reunion of Phi Mu alumni.

For more information about Alumni Weekend, or to make reservations for any of the events, contact the Alumni Relations Office at 859-622-1260 or, toll-free, 866-624-4050, or e-mail alumni.relations@eku.edu.

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Weekend music concert schedule announced

Bemidji State University?s Department of Music will host a concert of its Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band and a recital by senior Erik Bergsven on Oct. 27-28.

Erik Bergsven vocal recital
On Oct. 27, Bergsven, a senior from Bemidji, will perform a vocal recital as part of the requirements for his bachelor?s degree in music. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Thompson Recital Hall of Bemidji State?s Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex; it is open to the public free of charge.

Bergsven, a tenor, will perform fourteen pieces in French, German, Italian and English. These pieces are from a variety of composers, including Gabriel Faur?, Robert Schumman, Stefano Donaudy, Guiseppi Verdi, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Stephen Sondheim. The chosen music pieces center mostly around the themes of nature, love, journey, and self-discovery and according to Bergsven reflect his own college journey of self-discovery.

Wind Ensemble / Jazz Band
Bemidji State?s Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band will hold a post-tour home concert on Sunday, Oct. 28. The two-hour concert will begin at 3 p.m. in the main theatre of Bemidji State?s Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex.

Tickets for the concert are $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens; students are admitted free.

The bands at Bemidji State University have a long-standing tradition and are recognized throughout Minnesota as some of the finest programs in the region. The Wind Ensemble is Bemidji State?s select wind band. Its repertoire includes many of the exciting contemporary wind band pieces as well as 20th Century concert band classics.

The Wind Ensemble is open to all BSU students and rehearses three days per week. The ensemble takes an annual band tour with its concerts performed at many of the major high school music programs in the area. Recent tours include performances in Winnipeg and Minneapolis.

Now in its 32nd year of existence, Bemidji State University?s Jazz Band is an auditioned group of student musicians. The group practices twice weekly and throughout the years has been accompanied by some of the greatest names in Jazz ? including Rich Matteson, Bobby Shew, Steve Turre and Frank Mantooth. Each year, the Jazz Band tours regionally and has traveled as far as Mexico and Hawaii.

The BSU Jazz Band is directed by Dr. Del Lyren, and participating students may earn up to two credits per semester of participation.

For more information on this performance, please contact Bemidji State University?s Department of Music at (218) 755-2915.

About Bemidji State University Bemidji State University, located in northern Minnesota's lake district, occupies a beautiful campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. The University enrolls nearly 5,000 students annually and offerings include more than 65 undergraduate majors and 13 graduate programs encompassing the liberal arts, interdisciplinary studies and applied fields. The University is a member of the Minnesota State College and Universities System and has a faculty and staff of nearly 600. University signature themes include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and global/multicultural understanding. For further information about the University, visit our web site at: http://www.bemidjistate.edu.

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