| July 2006 Headlines
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Nearly 80 young people from around the world will immerse themselves in the English language and American culture next month at English Language Village, Hometown, USA. Concordia Language Villages holds the camp each summer on the Concordia College campus. This year, villagers ages 11 to 18 will study for two-, three- or four-week between July 10 and Aug. 5. An intensive English language course for 15- to 18-year-olds is also available to those who already have basic English-speaking skills. Assistant director for youth programs Rob Quanbeck says this year's English Language Village will include participants from Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, the United States, Brazil, Italy and Germany. Two large groups from China, partners with Concordia Language Villages through Global Language Villages, will also be attending. "We'll also have students from Twin Cities high schools here on scholarships," Quanbeck says. "They are immigrant refugees who have been in the United States for less than two years." While at Hometown, USA villagers will learn English through songs, games, small group learning sessions based on proficiency level, mealtimes, and by attending community activities including a Gooseberry Park Players, the Red River Zoo, a Redhawks game and tubing on an area river. Villagers will also spend one evening with a local host family, giving them an opportunity to learn first-hand what American families are like. Anyone in the Fargo-Moorhead area willing to host one or more villagers for an evening is asked to contact Julie Sather at (218) 299-3986 or clv@cord.edu. Now you can download a piece of Concordia as a background for your computer. Computer wallpapers with scenes from Concordia are now available at http://www.goconcordia.com/wallpaper/. Planning to e-mail a Concordia friend? Why not send them a virtual Concordia postcard? They are available at http://www.cord.edu/postcard/alumni/  The 2006 concert tour of The Concordia Choir in Ireland, Wales and Great Britain began in a village near Cork, Ireland's second city, with the local bagpipe band "piping in" the choir at Our Lady and St. John Catholic Church, an acoustic gem with a capacity audience.
Before the night was over there were two standing ovations and shouts from the audience of "we'll keep on clapping all night so you'll keep on singing." The choir sang two encores and finally closed the concert with an impromptu performance of "Amazing Grace" accompanied by the pipe band. The concert raised more than 4,000 euros for the Special Olympics. This amazing evening set the tone for the tour that followed, and in cathedrals, centuries-old churches and pristine concert halls the 75-voice choir demonstrated how beautiful choral music can be when sung with both skill and heart. One special moment for several seniors was performing live on BBC radio during the "In Tune" afternoon magazine show. Host Sean Rafferty knew all about The Concordia Choir, the legacy created by Paul J. Christiansen and the reputation of René Clausen as a noted composer and conductor. "You're one of the great standard bearers for the choral tradition in America," said Rafferty over the airwaves. Impressed by the students and their singing, the BBC later notified Clausen that it had donated $400 to the choir to help pay for tour expenses. Attending the Dublin concert was Jonathan Benton, deputy chief of mission at the U. S. Embassy. He was impressed by the choir's musicianship. "After listening to you, I now know why you are considered the premier collegiate choir in the United States. I'm very proud you have come to Ireland to share your extraordinary gifts with us. You are the best ambassadors our country can have." The concert program included works by René Clausen, William Byrd, Jacob Handl, Knut Nystedt, Eric Whitacre, Paul J. Christiansen, F. Melius Christiansen, Emily Crocker, David Mooney, Edwin Fissinger and Joseph Flummerfelt. After several seniors sang four selections from the concert program on the BBC's "In Tune" radio entertainment show, host Rafferty summarized the choir and conductor Clausen this way: "The Concordia Choir is led by René Clausen whose skill is demonstrated in the smooth, blended sound and clear diction of the choir, and also in the finesse with which the music is sung. The sincerity of emotion rings clearly through and there is no doubt that these singers are totally involved in the vocal experience." The tour brought the choir to Carrigaline, Galway and Dublin, Ireland; Chester and Shrewsbury, Wales; Bristol, Knightsbridge and London, England. As Concordia's summer book read, "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder is likely the most popular book on campus this summer. Here's a sampling of what else Concordia's faculty are reading. History professor Dr. Linda Johnson: 1. "Istanbul: Memories and the City" by Orhan Pamuk 2. "Snow" by Orhan Pamuk 3. "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk 4. "Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present" by Peter Hessler 5. "Death of a Red Heroine" by Qiu Xiuaolong "I just returned from a trip to Turkey with the students on the Credo in Crete program and we read Pamuk's memoir, ‘Istanbul: Memories and the City.' Pamuk is a wonderful writer. And in preparation for a trip to Shanghai, I am reading Hessler's book. He's a journalist and a great storyteller. Xiuaolong's mysteries feature a polic detective with the sensibilities of a poet. They offer interesting insights into contemporary Chinese bureaucracy." Education professor Dr. Marilyn Guy: 1. "1776" by David McCullough 2. "Beyond Band of Brothers" by Dick Winters 3. "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell 4. "Enhancing Scholarly Work on Teaching and Learning" by Maryellen Weimer 5. "It's the Little Things" by Lena Williams "I like history and biographies, so that's why I'm reading ‘1776' and ‘Beyond Band of Brothers.' ‘Tipping Point' is a book that keeps coming up in various groups of people with whom I associate and describes how and why trends occur and how opinions change over time. ‘Enhancing Scholarly Work on Teaching and Learning' contains very interesting information I can hopefully use in my work at Concordia. Finally, ‘It's the Little Things' is an excellent book suggested by my colleague Patty Gulsvig and is read by students in our education human relations class." Communication studies and theatre art professor Dr. Don Rice: 1. "The Art of Rhetorical Criticism" by Jim Kuypers 2. "Jarhead" by Anthony Swofford 3. The Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, which includes books such as "Master and Commander," "Post Captain" and"H.M.S. Surprise." "I am using ‘The Art of Rhetorical Criticism' in a course this fall. I know Kuypers from conferences and mutual friends. He's a very creative individual taking a new approach to this topic. ‘Jarhead' is on my list because it fits with some of my research in recent years about military fiction and film. O'Brian's books are great detailed, historical novels. He's excellent at writing period dialogue." Mathematics and computer science professor Dr. Bill Tomhave: 1. "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman 2. "Gettysburg" by Stephen Sears "I'm planning to read ‘The World is Flat' in order to learn more about the impact of globalization, especially since this topic has gained substantial visibility in both K-12 and higher education. I also hope to read ‘Gettysburg' because I enjoy history." The following is a schedule of the Concordia Golf Tournaments taking place this summer: June 19: Twin Cities Cobber Golf Classic, The Links at Northfork in Anoka July 10: Finn Grinaker Golf Classic, Meadows Golf Course, Moorhead - call Darla at 218-299-4434 for more information August 4: Football Golf Tournament, Moorhead Country Club - call Diane in the Alumni Office at 800-699-9020. August 21: Hvidsten Golf Classic, Wildflower at Fair Hills, Detroit Lakes Take Me Out to the Ball Game... Thursday, July 13 is the annual Cobber Night at the Twins. They will face the Cleveland Indians in an important mid-season match up. A Cobber pre-game gathering will be held at 6 p.m. with the game to follow at 7:10. Discounted tickets and Dome Dollars are available for this event... Corn Feeds Are Here! Join in the great Cobber get-together - Concordia Corn Feeds! Register now to attend one of 25 Cobber Corn Feeds across the country this summer.  Egypt Trip Set for Feb. 8-19, 2007Alumni and friends of the college are invited to participate in a tour of Egypt, February 8-19, 2007, led by Dr. Larry Alderink, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion. The tour will include stops in Luxor, Cairo, and several unique stops along the way. For more information, contact Searle Swedlund in the Office of Alumni Relations at swedlund@cord.edu or 800 699-9020. The Okaloosa, Florida, school district has earned bragging rights as the highest achievers in the state, measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. The school ranked number one in math, number two in reading and writing, and second in science. No other district, among the state's 67 school systems, did as well. Superintendent Don Gaetz '71 manages the school. "I am immensely proud of our students, their parents, and their teachers," said Gaetz. "High expectations and effective teaching produces very good results. And when you keep doing it you keep on being successful." This year is the fourth consecutive time that Okaloosa has out-pointed the rest of the state in either school grades or student achievement levels. Gaetz's tenure as superintendent has been marked by many innovations, one of the more significant being a reduction of approximately $5 million in district administrative overhead costs and a redirection of those funds to classroom instruction and teacher salaries. Although the school district receives less revenue per pupil than the state average, teaching salaries are in line with the highest in the state. Gaetz's background is in business and finance. Along with two partners he co-founded VITAS Healthcare Corporation in 1984 and saw it go from a $1,800 investment to become one of the country's most successful privately held healthcare companies. Gaetz is former president and chair of the National Hospice Organization and has been recognized by that group as the person most responsible for the establishment of hospice care within the healthcare payment system. In 2005 Duke University established the endowed Don Gaetz Distinguished Professorship in End-of-Life Care and Ethics in recognition of his role in improving care for terminally ill Americans and their families. Gaetz was first elected to the Okaloosa school board in 1994, was re-elected in 1998, and in 2000 he ran for superintendent. He won with 77 percent of the vote in a three-way race. In 2004 he was re-elected without opposition. Gaetz is currently a candidate to represent west Florida in the state senate. Homecoming 2006, "Combining the Years," is Friday, Oct. 13 - Sunday, Oct. 15. Class years ending in a 1 or 6 celebrate reunions this fall at Homecoming. For more information, go online to the Homecoming web page for updates, photo galleries and registration information. |
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