Columbia Gets a Second Life
With the purchase of Columbia’s own virtual island, the college joins a long and growing list of other institutions, including NYU, SCAD, Stanford, and Harvard, that use the virtual reality environment Second Life to extend their bricks-and-mortar campuses.
Second Life (SL) is a three-dimensional virtual world, accessible via the Internet, built and populated by more than five million people. Upon signing on to the website for the first time, a user is prompted to create an avatar, a digital alter ego or representation of him or herself. After choosing a name and a unique avatar look, users complete a short training to learn how to use their computer keyboard and mouse to make the avatar move, gesture, and even fly.
After this introduction, one is free to roam the extensive digital continent and interact with other residents of the world. Though it may initially feel like each interaction takes place in a digital limbo between fictional digital beings, a particularly fascinating aspect of Second Life is that each simulated experience happens in real time, with the participation of a real flesh-and-blood user behind each avatar. SL also includes a commerce component, conducted via the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to U.S. dollars at online Linden dollar exchanges.
SL’s flexible and cooperative online community provides an opportunity for students to use virtual representations of themselves to simulate real-world experiences and learn from virtual mistakes, making the virtual world a potentially valuable extension of the classroom learning environment.
The highlight of Columbia’s initial SL presence is Manifest SL, a nine-story exhibition center that will present student films, time-based work, and other interactive pieces in conjunction with Manifest. If you’re curious, stop by the IAM Manifest Exhibition in the Hokin Gallery on May 11, where you may simulate an in-world experience by viewing a live stream. Manifest SL is a project of the Department of Interactive Arts and Media sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs.
Learn more about Second Life and join for free:
http://secondlife.com/whatis/
Journalism Major Scores Sun-Times Column
Tiffany Breyne, a graduating senior in the Journalism department, has launched a new column in the Chicago Sun-Times. The column, which debuted April 12, will run every other week in the paper’s Lifestyles section.
Breyne, who is also a managing editor and columnist at The Columbia Chronicle, will focus her column on the trials and tribulations of college life. Breyne’s work came to the attention of the editors of the Sun-Times when columnist Neil Steinberg came to guest lecture in a Journalism department class. On the way back to his office, Steinberg picked up a Columbia Chronicle, read Breyne’s column for the student newspaper, and alerted Sun-Times editor Michael Cooke to her talent.
Breyne, who hails from Aurora, is concentrating in the magazine program of the Journalism department. She is a Fischetti Scholar and the former Arts & Entertainment section editor for The Chronicle.
College Moves to Acquire Sherwood Conservatory of Music
For more than 110 years, Sherwood Conservatory of Music has presented a comprehensive program of music education for amateur musicians of all ages, as well as for professional musicians and music educators seeking continuing education.
Columbia College Chicago and the Sherwood Conservatory of Music, at 1312 South Michigan Avenue, have signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for the 112-year-old conservatory to merge with the college. It is expected that, following a period of due diligence, the affiliation will be completed by the beginning of summer.
As part of its new relationship agreement with the college, Sherwood will retain its mission, as well as its name and legacy. The school will function as the Sherwood Conservatory of Music at Columbia College Chicago.
It will continue its commitment to community service and engagement. Through an extensive Ambassador Program, free master classes and performances by faculty and students are provided to students in area schools, day care centers, and at public events for the community at large. Sherwood delivers music training in schools, churches, community centers, and community hubs throughout the city of Chicago.
No decisions have been made about joint appointments of faculty between the conservatory and the college, says Richard Dunscomb, chair of Columbia’s Music department, though it is likely that opportunities for artistic and pedagogical collaborations will develop. The college expects to deliver certain administrative services to the conservatory – such as marketing, development, and accounting – in order to enhance operating efficiencies.
Sherwood’s commitment to community service and engagement, its focus on classical musical training, and its programming will continue. Such community-education projects complement practices and programs in Columbia’s Music department, says Dunscomb, and reflect the shared values of the two organizations.
Students in the college’s Music department will have access to recital halls and practice rooms at Sherwood, especially during the mornings and early afternoons before the conservatory begins its after-school teaching program.
Questions about the affiliation may be directed to the Music department.
Photographer John H. White Shares "PJ" Love at Photojournalism Conference
On Saturday April 14, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer/Columbia faculty member John H. White and some of his photojournalism—or "PJ"—students assembled a group of photojournalists from far and wide for a conference to show work and talk to students and the public. The event was a collaboration between the Photography and Journalism departments, with much of the organization undertaken by the students themselves.
Conference sessions featured three successful alumni: freelance photographer Tasos Katopodis, Pulitzer-winner and staff photographer at Crain's Chicago Business Eric Unger, and Pulitzer-winner and AP photographer Pablo Martinez Monsivais, who is in the White House pool these days and was the event's keynote speaker.
A Women in Photojournalism panel featured Stacey Westcott of The Chicago Tribune, Laura Stoecker of The Daily Herald, freelancer Stacie Freudenberg, and Dreambox Foto Gallery director Iwona Bieder Mann, moderated by Journalism faculty member Barbara Iverson.
More than 70 photographers, photojournalists, and others attended the day-long event, where student photojournalists from Columbia and other schools rubbed elbows with veteran professional photojournalists, including Bob Black, Jason Han, and Karen Kring.
NewsBriefs
A number of last-minute rush tickets are available for tomorrow’s “Conversations in the Arts…Up Close with Jane Alexander” program. Alexander, actress and former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be interviewed by Chicago Center for Arts Policy executive director Nick Rabkin Thursday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Getz Theater (72 E. 11th St.) Rush tickets are $10 for faculty, staff, and alumni, and students, who are especially encouraged to attend. Call 312-344-6600 and mention your Columbia affiliation, or get your tickets at the door starting at 6:00 p.m., pending availability.
Update: In our last issue we reported that Film + Video student Maria Gigante was among the 25 finalists to be named mtvU’s Best Filmmaker on Campus. We’re pleased to report that Gigante has made it to the final five, and will have her film, Girl’s Room, screened at the 2007 Tirbeca Film Festival in New York on Thursday, April 26. Visit http://www.bestfilmoncampus.com/ to learn more, and to vote for Gigante’s film as the final five go head to head for the Golden Popcorn Award beginning April 30.
The Center for Teaching Excellence will present an intermediate-level conversational Spanish language class for faculty and staff this summer. The eight-week class is free, limited to 15 participants, and runs Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:15. If you are interested, contact RoseAnna Mueller at rmueller@colum.edu or 312-344-7532.
Friends of the Library will hold a book sale at the Columbia College Library on Thursday, April 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Tune in t WYCC Channel 20 at 9:00 p.m. on Fridays in May to see "MusiciansStudio", produced by Columbia College Chicago and hosted by DownBeat Magazine publisher Frank Alkeyer. The first program, on May 4, features Bob Mould.
Faculty + Staff News
Chandra Dennis (Institutional Advancement) will be a panelist at POWER: Opening Doors for Women on May 24. The event is sponsored by Women’s Networking Community, a nonprofit organization committed to enabling professional women to transcend the traditional boundaries of the workplace and society.
Dieter Kirkwood (Library) presented a trunk show of spring/summer designs from his collaborative label, dIETERbENNET, at Jake on April 24. To view the dIETERbENNET collection, visit www.dieterbennet.com.
Philippe Ravanas (AEMM) has been invited to join the advisory committee of the Chicago Wallace Audience Engagement Network (CWAEN). The network, established by a grant from the Wallace Foundation to the Chicago Community Trust, will support the broader arts and culture community through knowledge sharing, learning opportunities, and resource support aimed at building audience appreciation and creating a demand for the arts. Ravanas will, among other things, assist the network in the analysis of the existing research in the field of audience development.
Vote Now, Vote Often: Columbia Students Vie for Best Film on Campus
Two Columbia Film and Video students—Maria Gigante (MFA ’07) and Ben Olson (MFA ’09)—are among the 25 finalists in the running for the Golden Popcorn—mtvU’s award for the Best Film on Campus (BFOC). BFOC is a web showcase for student filmmakers, where artists post their films and profiles, and viewers vote for their favorites.
Gigante’s film, Girls Room, recently won two awards at the fortieth Humboldt International Film Festival, and will be screened at the 2007 Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Olson has two films on the site; Flightpath and Popcorn. His work has appeared in festivals throughout the Midwest, including the Chicago Underground Film Festival, the Wisconsin International Film Festival, and the Milwaukee International Film Festival.
Visitors to the site may vote for their favorite films (as many times as they like) through Sunday, April 15 to help decide which filmmakers make it to the final five. The finalists will attend the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, where their films will be screened on April 26. One of the five will be named the Best Filmmaker on Campus and receive a trip to the MTV Movie Awards, a development deal with MTV Films, and the coveted Golden Popcorn award.
So cast your vote(s) for Maria Gigante and Ben Olson through Sunday!
Jane Alexander to Speak April 26; Faculty/Staff Discount Available
In 1993, the National Endowment for the Arts was the flashpoint for “culture war” conflicts over free expression, censorship, government support for the arts, homophobia, AIDS, cultural identity, and arts education. That was the year President Clinton appoint Jane Alexander, a prominent actress in theater, film, and television, to chair the beleaguered agency. Her four-year tenure began shortly before the Republicans achieved majority status in Congress and made abolishing the endowment a plank in their “Contract with America.”
The conflicts escalated, Alexander playing David against Newt Gingrich’s Goliath in the fight to preserve the principle of public support for the arts. Ten years after her term ended, the issues that rocked the arts world then are still with us. In the final event of Columbia College Chicago's 2006-2007 Conversations in the Arts series, Alexander will look back on the events and the lessons of those difficult years and ahead to what is certain to be a time of continuing change and adaptation in arts policy. She will be interviewed by Nick Rabkin, executive director of the Center for Arts Policy at Columbia.
Faculty, staff, alumni, and students may purchase tickets for $25 (a 50% discount off the regular price) by calling 312-344-6600 and mentioning their college affiliation.
Conversations in the Arts: Up Close with Jane Alexander takes place Thursday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Getz Theater (72 E. 11th St.)
Four New MusiciansStudio Segments to Air in May
“MusiciansStudio,” an hour-long television program hosted by DownBeat magazine's Frank Alkyer, will broadcast four new segments next month. The shows include interviews with Bob Mould (May 4), Jon Faddis (May 11), Bird York (May 18), and Robbie Fulks (May 25). The program airs at 9:00 p.m. Fridays (right after “Austin City Limits”) on WYCC-Channel 20.
The program is a collaboration among the Arts, Entertainment and Media Management, Music, and Television departments, and is taped before a live studio audience at the Music Center Concert Hall. Its mission is to produce an educational television series featuring interviews with emerging and prominent musicians and music managers who discuss their artistic and business careers. Conceived as a six-episode series for distribution on broadcast television as well as cable and DVD, MusiciansStudio began production in March 2006 with the taping of the first episode, featuring punk rock pioneer Bob Mould.
The show is produced by Mary Filice (AEMM) and directed by Chris West (Television), with students assisting lighting, camera work, and other technical aspects of the production. "Its a great way for students to put into practice what they learn in their production and aesthetics classes," explains Filice.
Demo, President’s Report, and Pass It On Catalog Win Awards
Columbia's Office of Creative and Printing Services has been honored with three major awards by the editors of Graphic Design USA. Demo magazine and the 2005 President’s Report, designed by Guido Mendez, and the A+D Gallery “Pass It On” exhibition catalog and postcard, designed by Robert Gauldin, were all chosen to receive 2007 American Inhouse Design Awards.
The American Inhouse Design Awards recognize outstanding work by inhouse designers and design teams. Columbia’s were among the roughly 15 percent of entries to receive awards, out of a record 4,000 submissions.
College Website Policy and Identity Manual Available Online
The college’s web policy, which governs appropriate use, format, appearance, and maintenance of all college web pages, has been approved by the President’s Cabinet. The policy is available at www.colum.edu/webpolicy.
College Webmaster Matt McClintock estimates that roughly 90 percent of administrative offices and 60 percent of academic departments have transferred their pages to the new content management system, which reflects the look and feel of the Columbia brand identity and allows content to be dynamically distributed throughout the site. Most of the remaining departments are in the process of making the shift, according to McClintock.
Anyone working on creating or revising college web pages is encouraged to consult the policy and the college Identity Manual, available at www.colum.edu/identity, and to contact Matt McClintock before embarking on the process.
Newbriefs
The Educational Studies Department, in partnership with Chicago Public Schools and Summit School District 104, has received a $318,100 grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education for their project, Extending Teacher Capacity to Increase English Language Learners’ Success in Mathematics.
The college’s signature “create . . . change” disk has received designation as a registered trademark.
Columbia faculty and staff receive two-for-one tickets ($35) to the Chicago Jazz Ensemble performance with renowned saxophonist and composer Jimmy Heath, April 12, 8:00 p.m., at The Black Orchid Supper Club (230 W. North Ave.) Call 312-344-6600 and mention the faculty/staff email announcement.
The college will host a free symposium, “Romare Bearden in the Modernist Tradition,” Friday April 20 and Saturday April 21 at the Film Row Cinema and Conoway Center. HIghlights include keynote speaker Kobena Mercer of Middlesex University, London and a performance by DJ Spooky. Call 312-344-7886 or email Andrew Whatley for more information.
Faculty + Staff News
Paul Amandes (Theater) directed imPerfect Balance at the Irish American Heritage Center March 31 and April 1 as part of the Women’s Art Series.
Julian Cox (Printmaking) is the artist whose work inaugurates the Evanston Art Center and Optima, Inc.’s new partnership to present works in Optima’s new high-rise condominium building at 800 Elgin Road in Evanston. Cox’s series of prints is titled “Reprise of the Archype: Male Torso Prints by Julian Cox.”
Corey Postglione (Fine Art) has work included in the exhibition “Continuum,” a celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the American Abstract Artists at the St. Peter’s College Art Gallery in Jersey City through April 25.
Rose Anna Mueller (Liberal Education) presented a slide lecture about holy week in Guatemala on April 3 at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, Indiana.
Dominic Pacyga (Liberal Arts + Sciences) will participate in TimeLine Theatre Company’s Sunday Scholars program on Sunday, May 20. The panel discussion and Q & A on the history of public housing in Chicago, the U.S., and Great Britain will follow a 2:00 p.m. performance of George Bernard Shaw’s Widowers’ Houses” at the North side theatre. Pacyga will join Tracy Davis of Northwestern University’s English and Theater departments and (tentatively) a representative from the Chicago Housing Authority. Sunday Scholars is free and open to the public; performance ticket information is at www.timelinetheatre.com
