Student Union "Grand Opening" planned for March 24
The long-awaited new Student Union will officially open Wednesday, March 24, according to Student Affairs officials. Plans to celebrate the grand opening include several events and activities throughout the last week of March. Details of the events will be announced in the next few days.  The Student Union (see more photos) will be include a center court (to hold weekly events) and food court (Starbucks Coffee, Godfather’s Pizza, Chik-fil-A, Clyde's Grill). There will also be an auditorium with theatre seating for movies, a game room and television lounges, study rooms and study lounges, student activities offices, a dining hall, gallery, aerobics hall and fitness center (with on-site staff to provide assistance and training).  The 92,000-square-foot Student Union has been in the making since 1997 when the SGA began promoting the idea. The Student Union was Phase I of two projects. Phase II is renovation of the 1964-era Reng Center to accommodate all student services in one location.

Faculty and student achievements
Dr. Martin Huss, Biological Sciences, recently published an article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Dr. Gilbert Fowler, Journalism, has been elected to an office with Phi Kappa Phi. Dr. Lonnie Williams, Student Affairs, has been nominated to attend a national summit. Tyra Turner Whittaker, Rehabilitation Counseling, recently made a presentation. Tom Risch, Biological Sciences, and five undergraduate students recently made a presentation. Read more details in Campus News.

ASU Debate Team takes honors again
Weekend before last, the ASU Debate Team took top honors again competing in the Fulbright Championships, beating Harding University, Ouachita Baptist University, John Brown University and the University of Arkansas. Varsity debaters Chris Helms and Brett Atkinson were first and second place speakers, defeating 64 other speakers.  Congratulations to this team and faculty sponsors!

'Wallflowers' opens Thursday with reception
“Wallflowers” will open this Thursday in the Bradbury Gallery with an opening reception at 5 p.m.  The opening reception and exhibition are admission-free, and open to everyone. In all, 16 artists who share their own individual perspectives and interpretations of the flower are featured. This will include drawings, paintings, photographs and ceramics. In addition, the Jonesboro Garden Club will hold their annual flower show in conjunction with the exhibit, creating flower arrangements inspired by the works in the gallery. The exhibit will continue through April 18. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and Sundays 2 – 5 p.m.  For more details, see the news release or contact the Fowler Center, 910-8115.

TIAA-CREF financial counseling on campus this week
In  case you missed the e-mail, TIAA-CREF will offer a financial education seminar and one-on-one financial counseling sessions on campus this week. The seminar, "Five Habits of Highly Successful Investors," will be 3-4 p.m. on Thursday.  Individual counseling sessions are from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Thursday, but all slots have been reserved. To be added to a waiting list for vacancies, call (800) 842-2006 or visit www.tiaa-cref.org/moc or call your HR rep.

Delta Blues Symposium to highlight 1950s
ASU will host "Delta Blues Symposium X: The 1950s," the 10th installment of an annual conference held each spring on the Jonesboro campus. The event, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, March 25-27, is sponsored by the Department of English and Philosophy with assistance from the Department of Music, Department of Theatre, Department of Political Science, Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program, Office of the President, and Museum. 
     Program highlights include a student panel presenting ethnographic descriptions of traditional music performances in the Delta; the play “Lonesome Tonight” by Jim Tyler Anderson; a concert by rockabilly pioneers Billy Lee Riley and Sonny Burgess; concurrent sessions on Mississippi writers, rock and rockabilly, Elvis and Memphis music, and more.  Joel Williamson, University of North Carolina, will present a featured lecture on “The Elvis Girls.”  Fiction and poetry workshops for pre-enrolled participants, and a concert of works by Delta composers also are scheduled. For details about these and other Symposium events, contact the Department of English and Philosophy at 972-3043 or visit the web site at http://www.clt.astate.edu/blues.  All Symposium events are free and open to the public.

Tony Kenny's Irish Cabaret to perform tomorrow
Tony Kenny’s Ireland will perform at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in Fowler Center. Tony Kenny and his co-stars, the Dublin City Dancers, take their Irish music and show on the road every year, touring the United States. Named Ireland’s “Entertainer of the Year” in 1998, Kenny began his career starring in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Tickets for the event are $25 and $20 for adults; $18 and $14 for ASU staff, seniors and students, and $9 and $6 for ASU students. They may be purchased by calling the Central Box Office at 972-2781 or going online to http://tickets.astate.edu. The next Fowler Center events are part of the Riceland Distinguished Performance Series: the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra on March 23 and Rhythm and Brass on April 3.

Faculty Women's Club to learn more about Hemingway
The ASU Faculty Women's Club is going "on the road" Saturday, April 3.  The club is organizing an educational tour of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Education Center in Piggott.  Tour participants also will get an advance look at the nearby Matilda and Karl Pfeiffer Foundation Museum, which will not open to the public until May, and hear a presentation by museum director Dr. Ruth A. Hawkins.  The tour is open to everyone (membership in FWC is not required).  More information and a registration form is located on the Faculty Women's Club web site, http://fwc.astate.edu.  The deadline is March 24.

Internet Safety Tour
The Attorney General's Office is working to make the Internet a safe place for children, adults, consumers and businesses. Attorney General Mike Beebe and his staff are visiting communities throughout Arkansas to educate citizens about the potential dangers of the Internet. This Wednesday, they will conduct their Internet Safety Tour at Fowler Center for junior high, middle school, and high school students, elected officials, and law enforcement personnel.  A 6 p.m. presentation, aimed at interested parents, is open to everyone who would like to attend.  For more details about the series of presentations, visit www.keystosafety.org or call the Attorney General's office at (800)-448-3014.

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