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(04/25/12 7:05pm)
David Keith, director of graduate studies and associate professor of the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Church Music will become the interim, or rather a temporary, dean for current Dean John H. Dickson on July 1.
Dean Dickson is leaving Mercer University after serving for four years to accept the position as Director of Choral Studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Mercer University’s Provost D. Scott Davis appointed Keith and announced the appointment of a search committee to assist with the recruitment of a permanent leader for the school.
In a press release earlier this semester Keith said, “I am excited about this opportunity to work with an extremely competent faculty and excellent students during this time of transition. John Dickson has done a marvelous job as dean, and I see no reason that we will not continue to move along the path of establishing the Townsend School of Music as one of the leading places for musical education in the country.”
Davis said in the same press release, “I am grateful that Dr. Keith has agreed to serve as interim dean of the Townsend School of Music. David has worked tirelessly to advance the School of Music, and I am confident he will provide great leadership and continue to move the School forward as we search for a permanent dean.”
Stanley Roberts, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies, along with five other faculties within the Townsend School of Music form the search committee.
The committee will place an advertisement throughout the country, in journals for music, until a dean is found. A meeting will be held with the Provost and committee to begin the search process this week.
The Dean of Music serves as the chief administrator who handles the budget, strategic planning, and supervises the development of the curriculum for the school of music. In this position, the Dean oversees fifteen full-time faculty members, give or take twenty adjunct members.
Townsend School of Music recently hired two new members to their faculty. Jack Mitchener is the Professor of Orchestra from Oberlin College and Conservatory and Ward Stare is the Director of Orchestra and is a world-class director featured in Musical America, an American magazine on classical music.
Before stepping down from his position, Dickson plans to finish some projects. Dickson wants to finish the Townsend School of Music’s website and speak with donors for additional funding. He also plans to work on the calendar of concerts for next season.
Dickson said that Mercer University has “a world-class center for strings,” which is what makes the Townsend School of Music similar to conservatories such as Julliard School or Oberlin College and Conservatory.
Mercer University is a small, private school compared to many music schools in the nation.
The total population of students is about 100 music majors with 85 of them as undergraduate.
Dickson said the size of the music school is “able to have outstanding ensembles, but small enough to give conservatory training.”
(04/11/12 7:41pm)
The Student Government Association at Mercer University has tentatively assigned a bell tower as the tribute from the graduating class of 2012. This senior gift will be at the upcoming football stadium by the team house.
Christina Vasquez, the Senior Gift Chair of SGA, previously reported at an SGA meeting that the gift would be a bear paw statue over the football player entrance. Player’s would touch or high-five the paw before entering a game.
Vasquez, along with a new committee, convened with seniors to decide on what tribute they would like to contribute to the university and how to raise money for it. They decided on the bell tower since it was more plausible and better planned for than the bear paw.
Senior Senator Trenton White said in response to the bell tower, “The blueprints I have seen ensure that this year’s senior class will contribute to bringing a new aesthetic monument and tradition to campus.” There are currently three different blueprint renditions for the bell tower and a decision has yet to be made.
The plan for the bell tower is to toll it as the football players enter the field. Also to ring it in memory of veterans and other deceased Mercerians.
Other ideas raised at the meetings included a mural and a memorial for veterans who attended Mercer University. “The pricing didn’t work out (for the mural),” said Vasquez. Stephen Bradshaw, another Senior Senator, said other options included “a fountain on campus, a new Christmas tree on campus, as well as a mural made of automobile tags from all across the nation/world from students.”
The issue with the memorial was that there is one in Conference Room II of Connell Student Center, although the memorial is not up-to-date.
In previous years, there have been benches, a light post, and the bear statue outside the University Center dedicated to the graduating classes. Vasquez said, “The bear is a conglomeration of more than one senior gift.”
Senior Senator Matthew Hickman said he believes the senior gift “should have potential to be utilized by the majority of the students.”
To endorse a gift for the graduating class, the seniors needed to raise money with the help of SGA. Last semester, they organized a fundraiser called Pie Your Senator.
Pie Your Senator was an effort in which members of SGA allowed students to pie their faces for a dollar each. Douglas R. Pearson, the Dean of Students, was also present and students could pie him for five dollars.
“The purpose for the fundraiser,” said Vasquez was not only to raise money, but “to gather seniors for a student body effort.”
The class of 2012 and Mercer alumni co-sponsored for the donated bell tower.
Pearson introduced the idea of a bell tower to Vasquez, and the date for the unveiling is not yet planned.
(03/28/12 8:42pm)
The 2012 Cherry Blossom Festival offered a variety of events in downtown Macon to celebrate the blooming of the cherry blossoms.
Each year, events are held along Cherry Street and in surrounding parks. A pink line is painted down Cherry Street along with cherry blossom flowers at the intersections. The line tracks the route of the parade each year.
Almost everything at the event was colored pink from trashcans to tablecloths to popcorn. There were even pink margaritas.
Drew’s Amusements was the company that produced the snacks and rides for the carnival. A few new rides opened this year including the X-Factory and the Wave Swing ride.
Angela Sabot at the Funnel Cake Stand said the carnival travels throughout the southeast region.
People come from all over North America each year to partake in the festivities. The festival attracted citizens mainly from the southeast, but residents of Canada also attended.
A Macon resident, Kaleigh Ferguson said, “Every year I enjoy the carnival rides, but I look forward to the alligator show.”
“Kachunga and the Alligator” show is a free event in which Kachunga, an animal contender, wrestles alligators.
Another event involving animals is the Petting Zoo with camels, geese, llamas, donkeys and more.
Activities a few vendors and attendees suggest to visit included the parade, some of the night concerts, and the Grand Finale Fireworks Show.
Emily Farlow and Amanda Pugsley are freshman at Mercer University who enjoyed attending the parade their first year at the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Pugsley said she liked the marching bands because of “the upbeat music and the excitement you could see people had when they were able to dance to the music.”
Music was also present at concerts played each day and night for no admission charge. The night concerts at the festival consisted of Floco Torres, HERO, The Grapevine, Sons of Sailors, Foxx City Band, Alter Eagles and more.
The Sunglass Booth and the Energy Armor booths sold products next to the stage at Central City Park. Both representatives set up their booths for the two most recent Cherry Blossom Festivals, and said that they would continue to sell their products at the festival in years to come.
The Third Street Park Festivities was another location that offered food, live music and horse carriage rides for the festival.
Catering for the event ranged from carnival snacks, such as snow cones and funnel cakes, to local restaurant tastings.
Next year, the Think Pink Campaign that organized the events will try to make a more profitable and beautiful Cherry Blossom Festival. They plan to incorporate different bands, more floats and more pink.
(03/14/12 8:43pm)
The cherry blossoms are blooming, and it’s festival time again in Macon.
Macon organizes the 10-day long festival each March to celebrate its world-renowned 350,000 Yoshino cherry blossom trees.
Congressional Records established Macon as the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World.
William A. Fickling Sr., a local realtor, first discovered the tree in Macon while strolling through his backyard in 1949. On a business trip in Washington D.C., he noticed a similar cherry blossom to the one in Macon and he began sharing them with the community.
Now the planting of these trees is part of an effort to the “Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission,” which established in 1974.
Through the blooming of the cherry blossoms, the “celebration highlights love, beauty, and international friendship,” said Stacy Campbell, the director of sales and marketing, for the event.
The celebration has over one hundred events, 80 percent of which are free to the public. Some of the annual events with free admission include the International Food Fair and the grand finale with fireworks.
Central City Park hosts nightly city concerts from March 16-25 including The Fabulous Boomers, Big Mike & the Booty Papas, Sons of Sailors and more.
Flash Foods & Georgia Farm Bureau present the Kachunga and Alligator Show. Also in downtown Macon, there will be a bed race and a parade. All of these events are of no cost to attendees.
A few events that require the purchase of a ticket at the festival include a gala, a comedy show and a fashion show. This year the festival will have camel rides, a petting zoo and a helicopter ride.
This festival has traditions that returning attendees are familiar with. Some of the traditions include an opening and closing worship service and a commencement ceremony in Central City Park.
In addition, Campbell said, “Dignitaries and visiting festival VIPs such as Tournament of Roses come for support” each year.
The Cherry Blossom Festival committee begins a Think Pink campaign every last week of February.
Campbell said, “Locals decorate their houses, cars, and businesses in pink to celebrate the coming of the festival.” In preparation, the city hangs banners on street lamps and paints a pink line down Cherry Street.
The committee, a non-profit organization, seeks sponsorships and plans the events for the festival beginning in July.
To raise funds, the Cherry Blossom Festival Committee “produces a fall barbecue and music festival, pageants in November, and a New Year’s Eve Cherry Blossom Drop,” said Campbell.
For more information about the Cherry Blossom Festival’s events, history, and sponsors, visit www.cherryblossom.com.
(03/14/12 8:19pm)
When searching for a job, most students are not sure where to begin or how to be appealing to a company. The terms “résumé,” “cover letter” and “experience” pop up, yet a student looking for a career may not know how to apply these words for his or her personal benefit.
Employers look for three elements in a résumé. The first piece of information an employer searches for is the heading, which includes the student’s name and contact information.
Following the heading would be an objective statement. Through this statement, a student can provide information about what they want to do with the position offered. Dr. Stephen Brown, Mercer’s Director of Career Services, advises students to use key words relevant to that position and to create a first impression with this statement.
The rest of the résumé includes facts as to how the job seeker could benefit the company, and what experience the applicant has relating to the position.
A list of abilities or a summary of skills that relates to the job is preferable to many employers. In addition, a combination of soft skills, such as a strong work ethic or communication skills, can add emphasis to traits that can create a unique résumé.
Emily Halstead, a senior at Mercer University’s business school, said, “Students should consider listing classes that are relevant, include extracurricular activities with transferrable skills and provide any leadership experience.”
A job hunter should include previous work experience. However, Brown said, “An applicant will be hired based on their potential, not really based on their experience.”
The information listed in the résumé should be relevant to the position or opportunity. Brown said, “A strategic résumé is going to be tailored to what the employer is seeking.”
Brown suggests that not only the content of the résumé be relevant, but also the format be efficient in that it is easy to read.
Many employers recommend a résumé written in one page of length. Brown warns students, “Don’t get cute with the graphics and funky with the fonts,” unless the position calls for it, like a graphic arts job.
In addition to résumés, Brown suggests students bring a cover letter and portfolio, if relevant, to interviews. A cover letter lists additional information on skills and experience. The compilation of an individual’s previous work is a portfolio.
When beginning to search for a job, Halstead and Brown recommend BEARLink, an online accessible link from Mercer’s Career Services webpage used to find a certain position or employer. BEARLink also encompasses jobs targeted specifically for students graduating from Mercer.
Halstead suggests that students “tell people they know that they are looking for a position in a particular field, because you never know who has a connection.”
The Internet is a great resource to use for information. However, to many students the World Wide Web can be overwhelming.
Brown also recommends rileyguide.com for its niche lists, which assist in finding employers suitable to an individual’s qualifications. He stated that the professions with the highest current hiring rates include sales, technical areas of engineering and computer science, accounting and finance.
To find a documented library with sample résumés, cover letters, and interviews as well as more information on job offers, visit the Mercer Career Services page at http://studentaffairs.mercer.edu/careerservices.