ASU observes Constitution Day with Judge Miller Sept. 21
ASU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences invites ASU students and faculty and selected area high school students to join in observing the 5th Annual Constitution Day Monday, September 21. The program will begin at 9 a.m. in Centennial Hall, ASU Student Union, with a keynote address by Judge Brian S. Miller of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. For Constitution Day he will speak on the topic, “Concerning Article III: The Federal Courts and American Society.” Other activities will follow at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on the third floor of the Student Union. The opening talk will be followed by a variety of activities at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on the third floor of the ASU Student Union. Students may choose to discuss “The Bill of Rights and You,” using colorful applications from case law; test their knowledge of the judicial branch and its structure and functions; attend a roundtable that draws on the expertise of ASU faculty members and local lawyers; or learn about judicial procedure from the members of the ASU Moot Court Team, who will provide a brief demonstration of an oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court. This year’s program commemorates the 222nd anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. For details, or to bring your Monday morning classes, contact Dr. Richard Wang, chair and professor, Political Science, at ext. 3048, or Dr. Ruth Owens, interim associate dean, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, at ext. 3973. For more details, see the NewsPage release.

Journalist Chanda Washington opens speaker series
Chanda J. Washington, a veteran journalist and editor at the Washington Post, will open the second annual Journalism Alumni Speakers series at ASU, Monday, Sept. 21. She will spend Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 22, speaking to several classes in the College of Communications. Washington is the first of several scheduled speakers for the 2009-10 series sponsored by the Department of Journalism. The series features outstanding alumni who will return to campus to speak and interact with students and faculty in classes and other settings. Washington is a 1995 journalism graduate of Arkansas State. While a student, Washington, a graduate of Lakeside High School in Lake Village, was editor and sports editor of The Herald as well as design editor for the Pocahontas Star-Herald.  She was named Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Women in Communications, Inc. For details, see the NewsPage release.

Dean B. Ellis Library's 'Soul of A People' lectures slated
As part of the Dean B. Ellis Library program, "Soul of A People: Voices from the Writers' Project," Dr. Linda Lovell, associate professor of English at Northwest Arkansas Community College, will discuss the Arkansas Slave Narratives on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 3 p.m. in the Dean B. Ellis Library's third-floor programs/exhibitions area. During the 1930s, the Federal Writers’ Project interviewed hundreds of ex-slaves in a project known as the Slave Narratives. These American slave narratives were gathered in 1940-1941--80 years after the outbreak of the Civil War--by interviewers of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a program of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. In Arkansas, the effort was headed by Bernie Babcock, a local author and founder of the museum that would become the Arkansas Museum of Discovery, and administered out of the former WPA's headquarters at the Old State House, which now is home to the Old State House Museum. The Arkansas interviews are particularly noteworthy for their candor, a testament to the ability of the interviewers to put their subjects at ease. As part of Dr. Lovell's lecture, ASU Theatre students Freddie Fulton and Bridget Bolton will do readings from the narratives. The event is free, and the public is invited. Previous events have included lectures by Dr. Michael Dougan, professor emeritus, History; many other ASU professors will be featured lecturers throughout the project. Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch, History, is the project scholar. For details, call April Sheppard, chair, library programs, at ext. 3077, or view the program schedule through Sunday, Nov. 1. The Dean B. Ellis Library at Arkansas State University is one of 30 libraries nationwide that received a $2,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to present different outreach programs in connection with the upcoming documentary, “Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers’ Project.” The Dean B. Ellis Library is working in collaboration with the Craighead Country Jonesboro Public Library to bring quality humanities and historical programming to as wide an audience as possible. Events at both libraries are free and open to the public.

KASU's Blue Monday-Paragould  Bluesberry Jam Band
KASU 91.9 FM presents the Bluesberry Jam Band at the next Blue Monday-Paragould on September 21 from 7-9 p.m. at the Red Goose Deli, 117 N. Pruett Street, downtown Paragould. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public, but KASU will pass the hat to pay the musicians. Admission to the Blue Monday-Paragould concert featuring the Bluesberry Jam Band is free, but seating is limited. The Bluesberry Jam Band performed at last year's Saturday afternoon Blues Bash, in the grand finale to Delta Blues Symposium XV. For details, contact Todd Rutledge, director of development, KASU, at ext. 2807.

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