Wendy Johns of the Southeastern Development Foundation and guest director Wendy Taucher and producer Chuck Effler of the Southeastern Music and Dramatic Arts Department’s production of the hit musical Oliver!, thank the productions corporate sponsors, who have contributed more than $11,000 to support the June 27-28 production. From left are Johns; Sam Evans, Community Motors; Connie Haydel, North Oaks Health System; Taucher, Effler; Michelle Aycock, Microtel Inns and Suites, and Joe Abene, Allstate Insurance, Ponchatoula. Not shown are Bill Hood Automotive, Fay and Phelan Bright, Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Ed and Peggy Hoover, and Hammond Junior Auxiliary, Neill Corporation, and Danny Farris, Allstate Insurance, Hammond. Corporate sponsors support Oliver! Area businesses and professionals have contributed more than $11,000 to the Southeastern Development Foundation to help support the university’s production of the upcoming musical Oliver!       Featuring a large cast of area adults and children, Oliver! will be staged June 27-28 at Southeastern’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.        “We couldn’t do it without them,” said Chuck Effler, interim director of the university’s Opera-Music Theatre Program and producer for Oliver! The hit show will be directed by New York City director/choreographer Wendy Taucher, who led the production staff for Southeastern’s summer production of the musical "Annie,” which played to sold out audiences in 2001.       Oliver! corporate sponsors are the Southeastern Development Foundation; North Oaks Health System; Bill Hood Automotive; Fay and Phelan Bright; Wal-Mart Distribution Center; Joe Abene of Ponchatoula and Danny Farris of Hammond, Allstate Insurance; Ed and Peggy Hoover; Hammond Junior Auxiliary; Microtel Inns and Suites; Community Motors; and Rollette Chiropractic Clinic.       Advance tickets for Oliver! are available at the Columbia box office, 220 E. Thomas Street, 985-543-4371, from noon to 5 p.m., weekdays. Ticket prices are $15, $18, $21, and $24. Southeastern students are admitted free with their university I.D.

Bradley Barrios of Mandeville plays the conniving Fagin.	New York City director/choreographer Wendy Taucher, guest director for Oliver!, works with the cast’s children during a rehearsal.	Alumni Cedric Bridges and Kay Schepker rehearse.
Dylan Passman, right, and Evan Raider (red shirt) share the title role in Oliver!	The lively children's chorus!  Tickets: Columbia box office, 220 E. Thomas Street, 985-543-4371, noon to 5 p.m., weekdays.	Brandy Hotard of Port Allen, right, is “Nancy” and Maggie Rownd of Hammond, is “Bet.”

Southeastern hosts transportation/logistics conference Tuesday
Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana Economic Development will co-sponsor a half-day conference Tuesday, June 17, on human resource challenges in the transportation/logistics industry.
      The conference, entitled “Finding and Keeping Good Managers,” will be held from 9 a.m. through a noon lunch at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in downtown Hammond. The program is designed for managers involved in the areas of transportation, logistics and supply management. Cost of the conference and lunch is $25, payable at the door. Southeastern students are invited to the conference at no charge.
      Keynote speaker will be Chris Sultimeier, WalMart vice president of logistics for the southeast region. Sultimeier is based in the company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. His 11 a.m. lecture will be held in the Student Union Theatre on the Southeastern campus in conjunction with a mini-career fair to allow student participation and the opportunity for students to meet industry leaders.
      The program also will include a panel discussion involving industry leaders and a presentation by Toni Phillips, Southeastern professor of management, on “People Skills vs. Tech Skills: Finding Employees with Both.”
      “Industry leaders are telling us the difficulties in finding well trained lower and mid-level managers in this general field,” said Mike Jones, associate professor of marketing and coordinator of the conference. “This is an emerging field which requires managers who possess strong computer skills in addition to management and leadership abilities.”
      According to Louisiana Economic Development, more than 12 percent of the state’s workforce is involved in logistics, transportation and distribution activities. 
      Advance registration is encouraged by visiting the Louisiana Economic Development website (www.led.state.la.us/industry/logistics/agenda.asp) or by calling Jones at 985-549-2394.

Southeastern awarded quality/performance funds from UL system
Southeastern has been awarded $57,080 by the University of Louisiana System in recognition of its efforts to raise academic quality and student performance.
      The awards are designed to recognize specific priority initiatives of the system, including redesign of teacher preparation programs and enrollment management. Southeastern’s award is the third highest granted to the eight regional universities that make up the University of Louisiana System. In all, the system awarded $433,344 to the eight universities.
      “We certainly appreciate this recognition by the University of Louisiana System, and these funds will help us continue efforts to enhance Southeastern’s academic offerings and to reach our targeted goals in retaining students through graduation,” said Southeastern Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs John Crain.
      In making the awards, University of Louisiana System President Sally Clausen said, “During this time of tight budgets, it is important that our universities are investing resources in what counts. These awards serve as an incentive for our universities to focus on academic and accountability measures. As a result, graduation rates and retention rates are up, and academic program accreditation rates are at an all-time high.”
      Southeastern scored high points for its academic program accreditation rates; 100 percent of all graduate programs are nationally accredited, and 97 percent of undergraduate programs have reached that designation.
      “Accreditation is a key factor used in evaluating the quality of an academic program,” Crain said. “It represents an independent evaluation of a program’s quality by our peers and establishes specific objectives we can use to strengthen these programs.”
      The university was also cited for its freshman-to-sophomore retention rate, now at nearly 74 percent; the 85 percent of TOPS students who are eligible to return; and the 18.4 percent reduction in remedial credit hours taught. Other areas evaluated included six-year graduation rates, accomplishments by the university’s Unique Areas of Excellence, and performance on financial and compliance audits.
       Funding for the awards was made available to the system through special allocations by the Legislature and the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Today is final day for students to apply for December 2003 graduation
Students who plan to complete their coursework this summer and to graduate in December 2003 must apply for graduation and pay their graduation application fee by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 16. 
      Students who plan to complete their coursework this fall and to graduate in December 2003 must pay the application fee and apply for graduation by Sept. 15.
       The graduation application and payment deadlines will be strictly enforced, university officials said. 
      Candidates for associate, bachelor, and master's degrees can apply for graduation by logging into their Leonet campus accounts and choosing the graduation application option from the pull-down menu. Instructions are available on the “Student” link at www.selu.edu or by calling Southeastern’s Office of Records and Registration at 985-549-2066/62.
      The $35 application fee should be paid directly to the Controller's Office, located on North Campus in the Financial Aid Building.

Sorority Council members Erin Baham of Independence, left, and Jennifer Notariano of Ponchatoula, address invitations for the first “Sorority Social,” a joint Southeastern-Louisiana State University event designed to encourage women attending Southeastern or LSU to participate in fall sorority recruitment. Sororities partner with LSU for ‘Sorority Social’ June 22 Southeastern’s Sorority Council and its counterpart at Louisiana State University are joining hands for the first time to host an informational social event for young women interested in joining sororities.       The “Sorority Social,” scheduled for 6 to 8:30 p.m., Sunday, June 22, is designed to encourage women currently attending or planning to enroll at Southeastern or LSU to participate in fall sorority recruitment, said Kay Harrison, interim director of Student Organizations/Greek Life at Southeastern.       “All sororities from Southeastern and LSU will be represented and attendees can visit with different chapter members and learn more about the recruitment process,” Harrison said. The attire is casual and refreshments will be served.       Participants will also tour the Village, where the Sorority Social will be held.        Southeastern Panhellenic President Melissa Miller, a senior health sciences major from Gretna, said the Sorority Social “is a unique opportunity for students to get more acquainted with Greek organizations and to learn about the importance of getting involved on campus.        “It’s also been great for our Panhellenic community to partner with the sororities at LSU to exchange ideas and work for the same goal, which is to recruit quality women into all of our  chapters,” she added.       Panhellenic First Vice President Jennifer Notariano, a junior from Ponchatoula majoring in political science, said, “The Sorority Social is a great opportunity to meet new people from Southeastern and get to know more about the neat things sorority life can offer a potential member.  I encourage every woman who is even a little bit interested to come out and learn more.”       Southeastern sororities that will be represented at the social include Alpha Sigma Tau, Alpha Omicron Pi, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Phi Mu and Theta Phi Alpha.       For additional information about the Sorority Social, contact Student Organizations/ Greek Life at 985-549-2120.

Members of the Trumpet Ensemble, conducted by Southeastern trumpet professor Bryan DePoy of Mandeville, center, were among 25 college trumpet ensembles featured at the International Trumpet Guild Convention. From left, are Charles Arnold, Slidell; Kevin Messer, Baton Rouge; Nicholas Volz, New Orleans; Demarr Woods, Tickfaw; David Delaney, Mandeville; James Riley, Slidell; and Justin Albritton, Pumpkin Center. Trumpet Ensemble’s performance  praised at convention “Rock solid” was how reviewers described the Southeastern Trumpet Ensemble’s featured performance at the recent 2003 International Trumpet Guild Convention.        The eight-member ensemble, conducted by Southeastern trumpet professor Bryan DePoy of Mandeville, was one of 25 university and college ensembles invited to participate in the convention’s “Trumpet Preludes,” performances that open the convention’s major concerts. The ensembles were selected through the judging of audition tapes submitted by college trumpet ensembles from around the world. Hosted this year by Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, the convention drew more than 1,000 attendees.        The Southeastern musicians performed two pieces, including the premiere of a new work composed for them by Stephen Suber, professor of music theory and composition at Southeastern.        “I composed ‘Fanfare for the Protean Age’ at the special request of my colleague, Bryan DePoy,” Suber said, “The title refers to the god Proteus, famous for his ability to transform himself into any shape or form at will.”       The review of Southeastern’s Trumpet Prelude performances called the ensemble’s debut of Suber’s composition “a great premiere of a short, powerful piece that built to a steady climax, growing from low to high, with effective use of held notes.” The review said the ensemble’s second piece, ‘Three Statements’ by Kevin Houben, “was a measured and controlled performance with neat mute colors and offbeat accents providing a rhythmic context. The last high note was especially tasteful and in tune!”       The review concluded, “Well done to Bryan Depoy, the SLU Trumpet Ensemble, and the two composers of these compositions. It was a rock-solid prelude from start to finish.”       The Trumpet Ensemble includes alumnus Dominick Messina of Bush, and Southeastern music students Charles Arnold, Slidell; Kevin Messer, Baton Rouge; Nicholas Volz, New Orleans; Demarr Woods, Tickfaw; David Delaney, Mandeville; James Riley, Slidell; and Justin Albritton, Pumpkin Center.

Professional activities
Wayne Cain (KSLU)  attended a special day-long seminar on new EEO rules for radio on March 29th during the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters Convention in Baton Rouge. Cain and Steve Portier (KSLU) attended the annual Public Radio Conference in New Orleans May14-17.
      Todd Delaney (KSLU) attended the National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las  Vegas April 5-10.
      Drs. Alan Cannon and Lucy Kabza (Mathematics) have been informed that their paper, "Minimal and Maximal Right Ideals in the Nearring of Polynomials," has been accepted by the Journal of Algebra and Its Applications.
      Dr. David Gurney and Ms. Ann Kirkpatrick (Mathematics) attended the Workshop on Web-Based Course Materials in Probability and Statistics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville from May 19-23. The workshop led by Kyle Siegrist was supported by a grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation.
      Charles Elliott (History and Political Science) presented "Confederate Sentiment, Political Correctness and Cultural Sensitivity" at the 71st Annual Conference of the Louisiana Division, Children of the Confederacy held in Hammond on June 8. 
      Dr. Jeff W. Totten (Marketing & Finance) attended the AMA's Marketing & Public Policy Conference in Washington D.C. May 29-31. If you are interested in seeing the conference binders of summary papers and sessions, contact him at jtotten@selu.edu or 549 - 5776.
      Dr. Yanyi K. Djamba (Sociology and Criminal Justice) has been awarded a grant from the American Sociological Association’s Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline to conduct a research project on “Poverty, Sexuality, and AIDS in Africa.”  He also received additional funding from the Southeastern’s Faculty Development program.