Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Looking Back At Hurricane Rita

From the Houstonian:
Evacuees of the Texas coastal region were placed inside Johnson Coliseum and [Academic Building Three] Dance Theater on the first night and the Health and Kinesiology Center was opened for more people on Friday morning. The Red Cross funded the entire relief effort, paying for blankets, food and multiple other services, but many volunteers were needed to help run the effort.

The first night only about 100 volunteers were present, but as the week progressed the number of volunteers ballooned to include a number of organizations, as well as National and State Guardsmen and women.

Despite a few minor conflicts in the Coliseum, the operation went quite smoothly in all three buildings. The Coliseum held 452 evacuees; AB3 held 206; and the HKC held 467.

The evacuees stayed from Wednesday, September 22 to the morning of Sunday, September, 26.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Houstonian: Smith-Hutson addition dedicated

From the Houstonian:
For a year and a half, the sounds of hammering and the smoldering smell of tar flooded the Mall area, all for the sake of the expansion of the Smith-Hutson building. The construction, now complete, yielded a large addition to the College of Business building and the university held a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony last Friday.

"I'd say about 300 [people attended]," Margaret Quarles, senior assistant to Dean Randal D. Lewis said, "We had a great turnout. The chancellor spoke and Dean Lewis gave us an introduction. Sponsors were given a brass key, symbolizing their contribution to education. Attendees received a commemorative coin that was minted especially for the occasion."

The project cost $8.3 million to build and doubled the size of the building, adding on 4,700 feet. The project added 900 additional classroom seats, 15 new classes, a new auditorium, 39 faculty offices, 2 department office suites, golf club learning lab, mailroom facilities and additional storage.

About the life of General Sam Houston

Today’s Houstonian looks back at the life and times of Sam Houston:
Sam Houston's family originally came from Scotland. Sir Hugh was a knight who was in the right place at the right time - he saved the King of Scotland and was given his own castle. Eventually, a town was built around the castle and they called it "Hugh's town," the roots of Houston.

Houston's grandfather came from Scotland through Ireland and then to the colonies. Once here, the family became one of the most well-known. Houston's father was patriotic and served in the continental army under George Washington. After the American Revolution, he stayed in the army as a major.

More of the article appeared in the Sep. 19, 2005 edition.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Houstonian: Sights around campus...

From the Houstonian:
Located in front of the art buildings, the Sculpture Garden contains permanent pieces from past students and current students temporary display their work for shows such as graduation.

The railings leading up to Art Building F were designed by the students of the 2001 Summer Session. The smooth forged steel railings are black with large spheres circled by rings.

A welded steel piece by Nancy Pfeifer sits on the lawn. "She used a lot of seedpod shapes and organic forms in her work," said sculpture professor Tony Shipp. Another steel piece, by Rick Rosebury, is a rustic boat figure held up by thin rod legs.

Also in the garden are two tire pieces. Inside both tires are metal pieces welded together in a spherical fashion. Shipp said that some of the metal pieces are from old stoves.

There are colorful, tile filled benches near by to sit and observe the art. Small stone walls outside the lawn are also filled with tiles. "They were created over the past eight years by students in a ceramic class who were learning about tiles and applications for them," said printmaking professor Kate Borcherding.

Thursday, September 1, 2005

Houstonian: SHSU acquires Raven Nest course in deal to establish golf program

From the Houstonian:
Sam Houston State University's ever evolving campus has now added another 'appendage' to its repertoire, as it now owns the Raven Nest Golf Course.

Raven Nest Golf Course, built in May 2003, was bought by the university today to sponsor the Professional Golf Association affiliated Professional Golf Management program, which is beginning its first year at SHSU. PGM is a program for college students wanting to break out in the professional golf world in a variety of careers.

"This is the first year of the PGM program," sophomore Andrew Lewis, Professional Golf Management major said. "Our first meeting started on Monday and our first tournament is supposed to be on Sunday September 12 at noon. It's official school property on the first [of September] but we've been able to practice since the 24th."

The multi-tee course expands to 7,001 yards of green and is located on I-45 South near Montgomery Road.