A Texas Wesleyan University - Office of Communications Publication

August 16, 2006 

Texas Wesleyan University Alumni Association 2006 Medal Award Recipients

Each year the Alumni Association bestows awards on alumni and special friends who have made contributions to the University or who have achieved personal or professional sucess.

Additional Free Tickets Available for Faith Night with the Fort Worth Cats August 19

Free tickets are available for the August 19 minor league baseball game between the Fort Worth Cats and the Sioux City Explorers. Mainstay will perform a pre-game concert at 5 p.m. and the game begins at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available through the Office of Admission on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please email Chad Mills here or call (817) 531-6509 to reserve your tickets. Texas Wesleyan has been co-sponsoring the Faith Nights this summer. One of the star players for the Cats is third baseman Terence Green, BS '05.

President's Picnic August 22

All students, staff and faculty are welcome to attend the President's Picnic at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 22, in the Sid W. Richardson Center gymnasium. There will be free food, music, and prizes! Contact Jenny Houze via email or at (817) 531-4872 if you have any questions.

Construction Updates

Work began June 6 on the $2.2 million Ed & Rae Schollmaier Science and Technology Center. Scheduled to be completed in January 2007, the 7,000 square-foot facility will house six SMART classrooms, four faculty offices, two multimedia seminar rooms, a student lounge and a kitchen. The Center will support a variety of science and math programs, included enhanced curriculum with bioinformatics technology.

The crew poured the concrete foundation in July, and began work on the steel frame and decking (roofing) in August. After that, workers will begin exterior stud framing and sheeting for the walls of the Center.  Click here to read more abut the Science and Technology Center.

The project is funded through a $500,000 gift from the Schollmaiers, a $250,000 from The Alcon Foundation, a $969,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, and other gifts. The new building will be located between the Ella C. McFadden Science Center and the Oneal-Sells Administration Building.

Construction is also underway for the Louella Baker Martin Pavilion. The pavilion will be a 3,500 square-foot building designed for University functions, including receptions. When used for dining, the facility will seat 144 people. The project will cost $739,000.

Louella Baker Martin has a long family tradition with Texas Wesleyan. Her father, Edward L. Baker, and

her grandfather, J.B. Baker, served on the Board of Trustees and she has carried on the legacy as a

trustee since 1994. Nicholas and Louella Baker Martin have been longtime supporters of Texas Wesleyan.

The structure is scheduled to be completed in January 2007.

Martinez to be Featured Speaker at Symposium on Second Language Acquisition & Diversity

Dr. Carlos Martinez, dean of the School of Education, will be a featured speaker at the Symposium on Second Language Acquisition & Diversity to be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, August 19, at the University of North Texas at Dallas Campus. Symposium topics include: Bilingual/ESL Literacy Strategies; Cultural Considerations in Teaching ELLs; Strategies for Parent Involvement; Transition to Biliteracy and Challenges of the New Spanish Proficiency Test for Bilingual Certification. Dr. Martinez' presentation is The Scoring Accuracy of the IDEA Test: Problems with Assumed Items, Ordinality and Ceiling Rules. Other featured speakers include Georgina Gonzalez, TEA Bilingual Director and faculty from Texas A&M University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Woman's University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of North Texas, the Intercultural Development Research Association in San Antonio and local independent school districts. For more information or to register contact Ana Coca, UNT College of Education, at (940) 565-2931 or email at ACoca@coe.unt.edu.

Constitution Day Program 

Faculty, staff, and students from the historic campus are invited to join the law faculty, staff, and students for an interesting lunch discussion on the topic of judicial independence from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Monday, September 18.  This event will take place in the law school auditorium and conference center. Professors Lynne Rambo and Reggie Oh  will present the program. Please watch future issues of The Wesleyan Flame for more details.

Pai Attends Workshops in Luxembourg, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Kalpana Pai, assistant professor of economics and finance, attended the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Summer Workshop that was held in Luxembourg June 25 - July 1. The workshop was designed to introduce young scholars to comparative research in income distribution and social policy using the LIS database, which contains comprehensive measures of income and economic well being for a set of 30 modern industrialized welfare states.

     Dr. Pai was also selected to attend a seminar June 5-7 in Washington D.C. on the use of National Center for Education Statistics Databases. The seminar was sponsored by the NCES and the U.S. Department of Education.

Texas Wesleyan Cheerleaders Receive Invitation to Nationals

The Texas Wesleyan cheerleaders attended a camp at Southern Methodist University, where they received an invitation to the National Competition in Florida, beating out Oklahoma State University. Invitations were extended to several categories of cheerleaders including the one we received-all girl teams. The team also received two large trophies: one for the most improved squad during the camp and one for their spirit routine. The squad included five new freshmen and three returning students.

Wesleyan Chorale Begins August 28  

The Wesleyan Chorale begins rehearsals August 28 for its third season. The Chorale will begin work on Mendelssohn's Elijah, to be performed in November, at its first rehearsal from 5:45 to 7 p.m. Monday, August 28, in Martin Hall. The Wesleyan Chorale ensemble is comprised of music students, alumni, faculty and staff, and is intended to give a University community experience for all those interested in singing quality choral music. Anyone interested in singing with the choir this fall should email Steve Simons, director of the chorale, or attend the rehearsal on August 28. Music to Elijah will be provided.

Academic Convocation Set for August 29

Mark your calendars for the fall semester's Academic Convocation at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, August 29, in Polytechnic United Methodist Church. Anne Skipper, BA '78, chair of the Board of Trustees, will be the keynote speaker.