Summer is Here. Time for Recharging and Rethinking

Lehigh's campus has a few days left of finals. It's been a long and hard semester. Many projects, additional outreach initiatives, and more than a full plate of regular day-to-day tasks required some highly skilled juggling.

One of the tasks is to scan social media for what's happening in the arts on campus and in South Bethlehem. Of course, scanning requires a fair amount of self discipline. I set a timer to redirect the rabbit holes I inevitably go down. But every rabbit hole offers insight and knowledge that comes in handy when I work with incredibly focused people. I'm often bringing community relationships into conversation with campus programs. Those relationships are institutional as well as personal. I love to learn about faculty research. The social and cultural organizations in the Lehigh Valley are also full of intelligent, curious, and passionate thinkers who love sharing what they do with others. Helping to make connections between folks on campus and folks in the community is what I was born to do. But it takes an extraordinary amount of time to learn about the community through making and sustaining relationships. Sometimes, I'll even do a deep dive into an experience or institution to really get to the know the people inside it. I research and experience as many programs off campus as possible; especially in the summer.

You see, you can't connect the dots in community engagement if you don't know what's happening in the community.

But that is also where I get into trouble. I see some pretty awesome things happening, and get to meet some pretty awesome people. I want to be a part of all the awesome stuff. The reality is, just because I could do anything, doesn't mean I can actually do everything. Try as I might to ignore the limitations of physical endurance and the finite resources of time, there comes a point when I must limit the monkeys.

The what?

Throughout the semester, I've been referring to a well known Polish proverb:

I took on some pretty substantial monkeys this semester. One included a deep dive into high school musical theater programs, another was to co-chair a local festival. These two projects were piled on top of teaching a course that had a higher enrollment than it should have had (that will require lots of rethinking this summer), and taking a course on program evaluation that makes me want to rethink nearly everything I do..... And then there's is the local history research project I started in 2010 - and continue to peck at it as national issues bring me back to finding lessons from our past.

And what about the Mountaintop Research project this summer? This is the project I've been wanting to do since before I got to Lehigh.

I hope to write about each one of these topics and more through the next couple of months. All of this stuff made the semester a pretty fantastic circus.

In the next couple of days, I will be plotting out the reading/writing schedule and figuring out a routine that should keep me on track to finishing a few items while also taking required recharge and respite time.  That usually means staring at a large body of water (lake or ocean) until I'm ready to come back to the drawing board for another go at the circus.

2014 Arts@Lehigh Year in Review

A friend in Lehigh's Communications Office asked me for the top three arts stories of 2014. Three.

Three? That's like asking me which of my children I like best. But I complied - kind of.

Instead of answering his email directly, I picked the top three stories in categories that are how I think about the arts when I look around campus: guest artists, news, student production, faculty research and campus arts integration. Arts news in Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania or the nation... Maybe I'll write those. Maybe.

I posted a shorter version on the Arts@Lehigh wordpress blog. For this post, I added a little more commentary. I love what I do, and I do what I love.

Guest Artists:

3. Smokey Robinson at the 2014 Zoellner Arts Center Gala. Mr. Robinson was generous, and in great voice. I only wish he would have taken me up on bringing a bassoon on stage for Tears of a Clown. I was ready. [smiley face emoticon]

2. Nas and Angela Davis for the MLK keynote. Yeah, that was kinda huge, even if they weren't "Zoellner" guest artists in the sense that they were on the season. Thanks to Dr. James Peterson for bringing him to Lehigh. There's nothing like celebrity status to start social justice discussions. Behind the scenes, witnessing Nas get nervous about meeting his idol Angela Davis was a very special moment.

1. Darlene Love - Zoellner's Artistic Director Deborah Sacarakis really nailed the timing of Darlene Love's show in Bethlehem the day after her final Late Night with David Letterman performance. Deb saw her perform live two years ago at 54 Below in New York City; before 20 Feet from Stardom, before her induction into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. She booked her then. Yes, that's how far in advance Deb works. Heck, after 40 years at Lehigh, Ms. Sacarakis knows a thing or two about booking shows. Ms. Love's first song of the show was, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The line, "...with angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem," the crowd went nuts. She even said, "singing in Bethlehem at Christmas is just unreal." 

Top three News Stories:

3. Zoellner Administrative Director Andy Cassano led the PA Presenters conference in May 2014. We are fortunate to have a visionary leader not only for our campus arts center, but for Pennsylvania.

2. Deborah Sacarakis was honored by the Lehigh Valley Dance Consortium with the Distinguished Service Award. (April 6, 2014) See? Even arts consortium's know how amazing she is.

1. Andy responds to Bethlehem City Council/Mayor proposal to raise the Amusement Tax in an op-ed piece to the Morning Call. This is an important issue for our community. We understand the importance of finding revenue to pay for the things that make our city great. We also understand that this speaks of the value of the arts in our community. Personally, I hope to see an increase of visible support from our city's leaders by merely attending more arts events by the organizations and artists affected by this tax. Dear reader, think about the last time you saw a member of city council or the Mayor at a ticketed arts event. Just saying.

Student Production

3. Mustard & Cheese Reefer Madness. The writer, Dan Studney came to the show on Dec 6th ! 

2. Marching 97 at Yankee Stadium (they were the stars of the Rivalry 150, IMHO)

1. Lisa Glover - Kit Rex

Faculty Research (these items picked with performance dates in mind)

3. Erica Hoelsher - Costumes and mask design for the Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium's production of Eugéne Ionesco's Rhinoceros

2. Bill Warfield's CD Release Party at Iridium

1. Steven Sametz with LU Choral Arts at Carnegie Hall

Campus Arts Integration

3. Increasing community school outreach. McKinley Elementary School second graders tour the campus after lunch in Rathbone Dining Hall and seeing Lightwire Theater at Zoellner. That campus engagement led to a week long residency in July with local artist, Doug Royston. In October, the entire Broughal Middle School saw Cirque Alfonse.  The PBS39 story on Broughal attending Cirque Alfonse starts at 6:30:

Both of these opportunities were the results of campus support; financial support from College of Education and College of Arts & Sciences, staff volunteer campus tour guides, and generous expertise from local artist, Doug Royston.

2. TIE Mercy Killers & Shostakovich 7th. Mercy Killers is a heart wrenching look at the consequences of America's health care system. The one-man play was written and performed by Michael Milligan. Experts from Lehigh faculty and administration were on hand to provide reflection and discussion after each show. Story by student Madison Gouveia in Lehigh's Brown and White. 

The Lehigh University Philharmonic took an extensive semester long study of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 which was written during the 1943-1944 siege of Leningrad. The members of the orchestra read an historic fictional novel based on events of the composer's and others involved in the premier performance, as well as describing the harrowing conditions the people of Leningrad endured. Professor Mary Nicholas of Lehigh's Russian Language and Literature also presented a cultural perspective on what the history of the siege continues to mean to Russians today. 

1. Hammerschlag Design series. Envisioned by two faculty, Anthony Viscardi and Nick Nikolov, these experience fully embraced the creative potential of the Mountaintop Learning Environment. 

1. Steven Sametz with LU Choral Arts at Carnegie Hall (I'm sure you've got enough on that)

Where I started.

I've been working in the field of Arts Integration and Audience Development since 1997. That's the official start I will claim; marked by a position with the former Performing Arts Council of Toledo. I was hired to direct The Muse Machine program for a 22 county-wide area of northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.

Before then, I had touch points in Arts Integration as a performer with Young Audiences of America while a doctoral student of bassoon performance at the Eastman School of Music. Through the experience of performing in a woodwind quintet for elementary students, I came to understand that my training wasn't really preparing me for the work that needed to happen "off" the bassoon. The degree program was rigorous and glorious. So much repertoire, so many memorable moments on stage with fabulous conductors and other musicians.... The culture wars of the mid-1990s was heating up in congress. Audiences were graying. The 1983 report, A Nation at Risk was being interpreted to mean more focus on math and science in school or the Japanese will be taking over our economy. Education reform was challenging the arts in schools. Young Audiences intended to provide quality arts experiences in schools and build new audiences. It was rewarding work, but something was missing for me as an artist. I realized that performing for these special audiences meant I needed a better methods to connect with them; not just in the music, but in how I talked about it.

My career aspiration was to find an orchestra position paired with a studio in a university. I was two semesters away from finishing a doctorate. I had one recital left and the doctoral comprehensive exams. I was preparing for a rehearsal with the RPO when all around me I was hearing concerns from my fellow musicians about how the public just doesn't get us. Were they crazy? Did they not see the beautiful theatre we were in? Did they not know the mecca stage we were sharing with a history of legends before us? How could they not be in awe of the opportunity we had to make magic? Guilting the audience into liking orchestral music might not be the best course of audience development action. I immediately knew I had to do something to bridge the new audiences to the music I adored.

I was lucky enough to have an academic advisor who saw administrative chops in my questions; and my resistance to prescribed curriculum. I didn't see the value in an entire semester spent on studying Bach's music during his Leipzig period when I needed to understand why our community wasn't supporting the local orchestra. Through his design, I was able to be a guinea pig for what is now the Filene Arts Management program at Eastman. I took his seminars on organizations structure, when to a few symposiums in New York city presented by the American Symphony Orchestra League, pushed and got the first student internship at the Rochester Philharmonic. Then I hit my first professional crossroads.

I didn't want to be a studio musician, or a tenure track professor with an orchestral gig. I wanted to put my energy into building the audience.

...

As a musician, I was trained in breaking down the musical challenges of a score; critically analyzing the performance to find problem spots and discover ways to smooth fingering technique, take the right amount of cane off a reed, and how to interpret phrasing based on theories of performance practice. Fixing musical challenges came down to intonation, tempo, balance and style. The performance was only as good as the weakest player. We learned to identify weak spots and figure out how to improve them. Improvement was addressed in a small closet with a metronome and a tuner. I had to solve my own problems.

This sensibility informs my work now, but working out solutions doesn't happen in a practice room. It comes through observation, finding models of excellence that inspire action. A breadth of different educational settings, meeting educators of all levels and degree, a complex society with ever- changing policies, traditions and practice - and a new field of work: audience development.

In the past 20 or so years, I've been working in both arts integration and audience development. I'm now at a university that is not a conservatory or music, or a drama school, or a noted for a fine arts school. It has incredibly fabulous faculty in all of the arts disciplines and I'm darned lucky to support their teaching and research. Most students who major in the arts combine the arts based major with a second major (engineering, business or other humanities). Other students who participate in the arts are involved in performance opportunities through university supported ensembles, or through co-curricular activities. The "arts" are not a particularly strong signature in the institutional brand. Yet.

I was hired by the university to direct and arts integration program. While the program was discontinued after seven years, I'm still at the university. Still working on raising the visibility of the arts on our campus. Still celebrating the artistic achievements of students and faculty. Still supporting the arts in the community that shares the university zip code. Still practicing what I preach: art is a way of learning and life.

I hope to focus more of these thoughts and wonderings on the blog in 2015. I hope it sparks discussion, but not about me. Let's explore the work that supports creative development in each student, faculty and staff member on campus, as well as our neighbors in the community.

It's time to retool...

Protest Music - the Concept radio show

A friend connected me to a wonderful thinking/community organizer over email. Alan Jennings and I met last week in which he wanted to tease out an idea for an episode of his talk show on local public radio, "Lehigh Valley Discourse." This is a weekly news/talk program that airs on WDIY 88.1 FM. Alan shared this show with three other hosts. Before I get into the show, here's a little bit about this host.

Alan has been with the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley since 1980, becoming its executive director in 1990.  During that time, CACLV created a wide range of anti-poverty initiatives, including the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Sixth Street Shelter, weatherization and other energy assistance programs, entrepreneurial training and microlending, homeownership counseling and foreclosure mitigation and neighborhood revitalization.  Alan has been outspoken in its effort to promote economic justice, affecting extensive public policy changes and building the region's capacity to address its problems.  The agency has received numerous national, state and local awards for its work, as has Alan, including being named by The Morning Call as one of the six most influential activists of the 20th century.  Alan is also on the adjunct faculty at Lehigh University, teaching social entrepreneurship.

We are both adjunct professors at Lehigh, teaching entrepreneurship courses through the Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation. But when we met for the first time last week over a cup of coffee - we connected on a whole different level. We explored the impact of music on social change. My music history muscle was flexing and my brain was whizzing through so much repertoire and history... I could barely keep my thoughts straight.

This is music that matters to people. By learning what connects people to music (so hard) that people will spend hundreds of dollars to see the artists perform these songs live. To scream along to every song in the crowd, in the car or in the shower. To relate a personal history or a cultural event that inspired the artist - THAT is the part of art that wakes me up.

I applaud Alan for taking on a subject that's interesting and fun while getting the listening audience to listen more deeply to music they may have been singing; but don't quite get the impact. Here's the list of music we are thinking about playing parts of and discussing on the radio show scheduled for June 12th at 6pm. Tune in to hear online. To listen live, look for the button at the top of the page.

Lyrics to the final song list will be posted before the show. It's an effort to "do the homework ahead of class" so that the listener can get more out of it. Here's the possible artist list:

The Beatles
Pete Seeger
Gil Scot-Heron
Marvin Gaye
Style Council
Buffalo Springfield
John Lennon
Sex Pistols
U2
Public Enemy
Tracy Chapman
Bob Marley
Macklemore
Bruce Springsteen


The final segment focuses on Bruce Springsteen:

#DigOutLehigh - first report

We started with one goal: to help at least one car owner extract their vehicle from mounds of snow and ice. Yesterday, a small group of people (Four; and one of us with the right equipment) decided to form a small team to grab a shovel and just start digging. Three of us work at Lehigh, and we all live in NOT South Bethlehem. One of the team members has no relationship to Lehigh (doesn't work there, didn't graduate from there), but is one of the most respected volunteers in Bethlehem, he's my neighbor and a really good friend. Yep, he's the one with the right equipment, too.

Kathy Frederick, Stacey Kimmel, Todd Dietrich and myself. What do we have in common?
We are all older than 30 years old; one just slightly.
We all had some flexibility in our schedule.
We all love to burn calories (Shoveling snow burns 500 calories per hour!)
We all appreciate our garages, car parks and spacious driveways.
We all have seen the road conditions in South Bethlehem.
We all needed to do something about it.

I started recruiting with a hashtag on Monday, after posting a picture of me helping one student dig her car out of a Lehigh parking lot. Through a few comments in social media, it became clear that many residents understand the conflict: students don't have the equipment needed to dig out their cars. And guess what? The stores are not stocked with shovels either. I was so happy to see a few friends join me in not just complaining, but in their willingness to pick up a shovel.

Just moments before our scheduled rendezvous, someone posted a link to this article about the same motivation, validating our actions.

When we got to our selected meeting point, we discovered the city was going to remove the snow that night, and alerted everyone to move their cars. There was no email, no posting on a website, no press release, no warning. Just signs planted in the snow mounds. These signs were planted at some point during the day. When the students are in classes. By the time most of them returned to their homes, panic hit. They called their landlords wondering where they were going to be able to move their cars. Luckily, a few administrators at Lehigh worked out a temporary situation, but it definitely took a network of knowing who on campus can actually get things done - thanks, Dale Kochard!

We started at 3:30 to take the most advantage of late afternoon sun to melt the ice a bit. We started with the first person digging out, a nice young man named Alex. By 4:15 traffic started to increase, school busses were playing chicken with cars fighting for right of way. We were trying to put snow anywhere we could that would get cars out. Realizing we would just have to move snow twice, we just started throwing it anywhere.

Neighbors helped. Students called their friends to help. Landlords (Louis, you are awesome) came out to work with their tenants. Yes, there are actually landlords who step up in these situations. Not all are absentee. We took turns digging and pushing while dodging cars that didn't have patience for us. We were getting worried about what might happen after dark. I called Campus Police to help traffic flow. Dispatch told me to call the city. I called the city - no guarantees for help in a growing safety concern.

After 2 hours and 15 minutes, we got three cars out; Alex, Cheri and another Alex. I also met two fine neighbors Carlos and his wife, who offered us coffee. Other people were working on other cars and had equipment. We left feeling good about our efforts, but worried that the city would actually come through and clear the snow.

I'm happy to end this post on a positive note:

#LehighDigOut; just an idea

It's been a while since I posted on this particular blog. But since I had a thought that could impact some folks on campus, let's see what might happen if I use this one to share an idea.

There are a significant number of student cars buried under snow. Because:
1. In a short period of time, there has been a significant amount of snow accumulated in Bethlehem.
2. even in dry weather, campus and South Bethlehem is challenged with too many cars, and not enough parking spaces.
3. snow removal on city streets has been complicated by parked cars snowed in and plows unable to get around them, so each time a new snow fall happens the same cars get more snow piled on them.

For a number of students who live off campus, there's also a challenge of where to put the snow - even if they had proper equipment to sign themselves out. Sure, they could walk to the hardware store on 4th street (Cantelmi's) and buy a shovel - if there were some in stock.

But what if the community rallied and helped out the poor folks, students and "townies" alike, who have their cars hopelessly buried?

We have a wonderful tradition on campus called "MOOV-in" where faculty, staff and orientation student leaders help move in the first year students into the dorms. It's a great welcoming experience for the students, and the nice bonding ritual for the staff who regularly participate. Why not take this same positive energy and help out the many students and folks who live in South Bethlehem to get cars moved in order to rediscover our curbs and parking lots?

I was working on a student's car this afternoon. With just the two of us and one hour, we were able to clear her tail pipe so she could at least make sure the engine turned over. I hope to help her finish the job so she can move her car to clear the entire parking space. She literally had snow and ice mounded from the plows.

I felt bad that I had to leave, but I only had an hour to spare today.

The best time to dig out cars is in the early afternoon, after the sun has warmed up the snow a bit. At night, all that warning turns into another layer of ice. Unless you have an ice breaker, the standard shovels aren't going to cut through it.

I wonder - how many people can dedicate some exercise time to helping others dig out their cars? We've got a few programs (Like the "Be Well") for staff, and a few smart people to help organize. It's not a "super storm" where folks are without power. But this really is a challenge for many folks.

So let's start on Wednesday, February 19th from 2-5pm on Webster street. We'll start at the corner of Webster and 5th street, and just move snow away from cars so that they might have a chance to move them. Bring a shovel, wear layers and be ready to lift and walk the snow across the street to a safe place. One shovel at a time. That's how this will go. The more people, the better the effort. I just hope the folks who own the cars won't freak out. I'll be leaving notes on them tonight.

It would be awesome if this effort could be coordinated with the City Snow Removal schedule. I called the streets department - and they are working on a schedule, but as we wait for that to be worked out, we have a lot of cars to dig out.

Seriously asking. Who wants to pitch in and help? Two weeks until Spring Break.

What is Beauty - part 1. Barbie's multiple careers

This week and next, Lehigh University campus will have an incredible opportunity to have a wide conversation about the topic of Beauty, book ended by the lens of performing arts, and with a NYTime author. Tonight at 7pm, Jane Comfort and Company will present their work, "Beauty"

   

From the company's website:

Beauty is a provocative dance theater work exploring the American notion of female beauty. It frames the dialogue of the cultural pressures surrounding women’s physique, attire, and appearance around the quintessential image of American beauty: Barbie.
Movement vocabulary is derived from an investigation of Barbie’s limited, robotic abilities contrasted with a fully expressive dance vocabulary. Beauty includes a Barbie beauty contest and an intimate encounter between Barbie and Ken. During the course of the evening, we become acquainted with the performers as Barbie dolls, as contestants, as characters with beauty aspirations, and as the dancers behind all these personas.

Of course, this bit of information led me to some important research.

I came across a website for all of the career options that Mattel has given our fair haired creature.

Arctic Rescue Barbie

President Barbie (comes in different hair)

Swim Champion Barbie - who needs a puppy. Note the tiny pink trophy

Chef & Waitress Barbie (Apparently, she runs the entire restaurant at the same time)

Pancake Chef Barbie - specific culinary skills? or repurposed "domestic bliss" set?

This is but a sampling. Gymnast, Babysitter, Baby Doctor (with different hair styles; i.e., blonde or brunette), Nurse, Nursery School Teacher (with play set), Pet Vet (redundant?), Actress, Track Champion (these sports themed dolls must have been inspired by the Olympics), Tennis Player, Skier, Splash and Spin Dolphin Trainer (not kidding), Magician...

What was most interesting to me on see these cataloged on their merchant web site was the text below the images:

• 21 items

Barbie “I Can Be…” Boutique Welcome to the Barbie I Can Be Family page! Our I Can Be Barbie line is designed to inspire your daughter to discover her dreams through a variety of empowering career-themed roles, from the nurturing Pet Vet Barbie doll to the geek-chic Computer Engineer Barbie doll. Choose from a fabulous variety of Barbie I Can Be dolls that allow your daughter to play the part of a young girls role model! If your little girl wants to be a big screen star, she’ll love the Barbie I Can Be Movie Star doll. You’ll find exquisite examples of the many directions your girls career can take, from a talented chef to a stylish news anchor. Your daughter is sure to be inspired by the Barbie doctor, Barbie ballroom dancer, Barbie Ballerina, and other beautiful Barbie I Can Be professions. Shop Barbie. And think pink!

 "GEEK-CHIC" gave me an idea. Don't worry Barbie, all of those careers you have tried that have left you feeling wanting for more aren't your only options. Here's the one that will fulfill all of your earthly desires and give your life direction. You're welcome.

Inquiry Based Learning Experience

Do you know your best learning style? Do you immediately comprehend information from reading? Are you a verbal processor who has to practice restraint to let others have a chance in classroom discussion. Are you a deep-thinking introvert?

Have you been conditioned to think a certain way about how learning is measured? Are tests the only way to go because the law says so? Does project based learning really support building 21st-century skills? Do you learn better when you teach the material to someone else?

What is knowledge? What is your responsibility to knowledge (self and others?)

If this sounds like the worst writing assignment ever -- you probably haven't struggled with these questions yet, or are so overwhelmed by these questions because they face you at the end of every day. How could one possibly summarize their responses in one paper, or even one dissertation?

Since the dawn of recorded history, philosophers have wrestled with these questions. Generations of thinkers have wrestled with these questions. Students have wrestled with understanding the questions and the subsequent measure of demonstrating their comprehensive awareness of these questions.

It's exhausting, isn't it?

Why can't we just be? Well, for one thing, we have this millennial institution called, "higher learning." And we're in a state of crisis. At one point, higher education is seen as the solution that everyone needs in the creative economy. At another point, the digital age has brought an incredible access to information; almost like the breach at Helm's Deep (guess that literary reference). Behold, the MOOCs.

[Take a deep breath, hold it for 5 seconds, slowly let it out over 5 seconds. Relax your shoulders. Deepest apologies for the drama - but I'm asking for something that, for some, is a stretch...]

Each day you've been on this planet, you've learned about the world and your relationship with it. From the day you were born, you have learned through experiences. Your first lesson was compassion from your mother. You didn't read about it. You experienced it. Later in life, you learned what the word "compassion" meant in reflection of love and comfort. You may have learned deeper compassion by becoming a parent, or caring for another person. Or you may have learned about compassion by not having it when you needed it most.

What other values do we need to learn or to pass on to others? How do we express what we see, feel or understand about our world? This is not the kind of knowledge one typically demonstrates on a written exam. Last I read, there are no core curricular standards for "compassion." But this world surely needs it. So how can one acquire this knowledge, or other human values?

It is certainly the kind of knowledge one could develop in a life-long relationship with art.

Having a relationship with art does not require intensive conservatory study, hours in the dance studio, or years of solitude with paints or a keyboard. A relationship with art - especially since it's all around you - starts with giving the experience your attention.

Go ahead and say, "Hello, [insert art experience]." Ask it some questions.
"Where are you from?"
"What's a nice portrait like you doing in a place like this?"
"How in the heck did you think of that?"

Relationships are a two-way street, right?

It's time to think about approaching art with your own life-long experience. Don't check your baggage at the door. Let your relationships with other people and situations feed your knowledge. Even better, listen to what others see in the art experience. Their observations may highlight something you haven't thought of, or didn't see from your perspective.

This approach to learning was exactly what the first cohort of the Center for Developing Urban Educational Leaders (C-DUEL) did yesterday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was one of two "Creativity & Imagination in Leadership" seminars held in conjunction with the C-DUEL's partnership with the Maxine Green Center for Aesthetic Education and Social Imagination. The second one will be July 11th :

Creativity & Imagination in Leadership Seminar @ Lincoln Center

...This is a rare opportunity for participants to expand their awareness of the importance of multiple perspectives, collaboration, risk taking, and reflective practices. We will enjoy a live jazz concert and interact with the performers as to their practice in terms of collaboration, improvisation, etc. We have a final debriefing session as to how these experiences might impact our own practice as leaders and educators. The results, of course, vary from participant to participant but are usually quite powerful and in many cases have a lasting impact. 

The students in the first C-DUEL cohort are amazingly compassionate educational leaders. Through this shared experience, they revealed insight into their sensitivity and awareness of human value in others. I see great things in people who express curiosity about the world, who are also interested in understanding things they don't initially understand - people who approach learning by asking questions. Being open to this way of thinking can only inform their leadership.

You're a leader. Whether you are a long practicing educator, or a student, you are a leader of your own path of knowledge. The question is... do you want to know more?

Cinderella - a Slutastic Conversation; part 1

A small group of campus professionals just met to discuss the first 6 chapters of the Peggy Orenstein book, Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture. The group of all women came from a variety of backgrounds; some mothers, some not but thinking some day maybe, others older than the first generation of Disney marketing targets, a mix of ethnic backgrounds (mostly white - seriously, it's Lehigh) all of them highly educated and passionate about feminism.

But before I get into a recap of the discussion, I want to share a few resources with the readers of this post who may also be reading Orenstein's book in preparation for her visit to campus on September 26th. 

Other book reviews:

• Annie Murphy Paul (NY Times Book Review , January 21, 2011 "Is Pink Necessary"
• Jessica Bennet (Daily Beast Book Review, January 26, 2011 "Disney Princesses and the Battle for Your Daughter's Soul." 

Other articles by Orenstein: 

"What's Wrong with Cinderella?" NY Times Magazine, December 24, 2006 - [This may have started the book.] 

"Should the World of Toys be Gender Free?" NY Times Magazine, December 29, 2011.

Or links to her blog which posts her written work, much like a composer's opus is divided into work periods. Here are the titles listed written in 2011 to the present - but not linked for you. I'm going to actually MAKE you click to her blog and surf. Why? This writer is not a one topic trick pony. She also has some very important things to say about breast cancer research and a whole new appropriation of the color pink. More on that after our group discussion finishes next week.

In the last month or so Peggy Orenstein has super charged the conversation about Breast Cancer Research. Those who may be interested in reading the significant NY Times piece April 25, 2013 "Our Feel Good War on Breast Cancer" can read it through this link. With all of the philanthropic work many of our campus sororities do toward raising money for breast cancer research, and the fact that a significant number of our staff have been touched by the disease in multiple ways - the conversation on pink becomes relevant in a whole new perspective. I urge anyone who has interest in Feminism, or public heath to read all of Orenstein's work. If you're on twitter, you don't need to wait for her arrival on campus to engage in conversation. She's pretty accessible already --> @peggyorenstein

Back to a recap of today.

Since we were only discussing the first 6 chapters, we focused on the topics: Disney marketing, princess culture, pink, girlie-behavior, dressing, and "what is normal?" The discussion was led by Brooke DiSipio, Assistant Director of the Lehigh Unviersity Women's Center. We focussed some conversation about what we thought the topics of this book might be reflected on Lehigh's campus. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to consider not only our own "girl" experiences, and (for some of us) our parenting questions about raising girls, but in how the Princess Culture might have impact on current students.

DiSipio shared with us that she's noticing a lot of communication issues with students now. In general, we are seeing more students communicating via text message (and long ones at that) rather than having face to face conversations. DiSipio's area of expertise is in sexuality. She guides female and male students through a tricky time in every person's life. If you are of any generation, think back to your own personal age of sexual awareness; which develops in stages. In a mostly repressed sexual society, how does a person come to terms with being sexual, being in a healthy sexual relationship, and (for lack of better way to say it) being appropriate?

How do we become and behave in our sexuality. In today's young "hook up" culture, how do couples develop relationships beyond sex? It was wonderful to consider how might the issues brought up in Oresntein's book be reflected in what our current students are dealing with? How does the objectification of women (a multi-centuries old issue) impact the independent growth and identity development of our students? How does contemporary culture impact the next generation of leaders? These are issues the staff of the Women's Center face every day. 

Not to put too hard a right turn on the subject - but this conversation made me extremely proud of working in a residential higher educational institution. It's staff and programs like the Women's Center that offer Lehigh students a chance to learn and grown beyond the classroom. The discussions, speakers, and conversations in a room filled with comfortable furniture led by highly skilled counselors and thoughtful academics, add value beyond measure to learning on this campus.

**** personal reflection******

Reading Orenstein's book and articles has me questioning so many things about my own childhood, and how I'm trying to be aware of the "different but informed" environment my husband and I are trying to raised our own children in. We are the parents of 10 year old boy/girl twins. I was thrown head first into gender issues the day they were born. Now, as a Girl Scout Leader, I'm seeing lots of programming coming through that organization to support young women's confidence beyond the Disney Culture these kids grew up with. Most of the girls in our troop have one or more Disney princess gowns in their closet. There's been a Halloween where they've fought over who gets to be Ariel, Aurora, Jasmine or Belle. They also played with Bratz dolls. Their idols are Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and (God help me) Kei$ha. They sing their lyrics not really knowing what they're singing about. They all want to have a birthday party at Sweet and Sassy and ride in this:

When my daughter came home looking like a cast member of MTV's "Jersey Shore," my husband had to hold me back from hosing down the layers of makeup and hairspray. Seriously.

... I can't wait to hear the conversations with my kids ten years from now. I wonder what experiences they are having now that will inform their cultural observations and reflections of what they thought was important in hind sight. I'm sure they will remember my over-reactions to purchase requests.

One last random thought. Anyone remember this toy form the 1970s? (Growing Up Skipper Doll, released in 1975) This may offer some insight into my own identity developmental confusion...

Another degree... really?

When I was an administrator of an arts integration program in Ohio, the president of the organization that oversaw the program said, "You speak too much educational-ese." I thought it odd that a university professor of theatre would say that. Shouldn't a fellow academic understand institutional structure, educational guidelines and best practices for curriculum development? Of course he did- but they were referred differently in his vernacular.

• "Institutional structure" meant: an "us-vs-them" battle ground between artists who need money to spend on productions, and administrators who can never raise enough money for their needs, and other artists who compete for limited resources. 
• "Educational guideline" meant tenure and promotion, or departmental accreditation.
• "Best practices" are artistic reputation specific to genre, or validated through ticket sales. 

When I was in this position, I frequently referred to the 1983 report, A Nation at Risk.  I even read it a few times. (Actually, it's an annual event) The report fuels my passion to make learning meaningful for all ages; not just K-12.

Consider this: "Why can't the audience come to understand artistic intentions by making connections to their own experiences?" Or even more shocking, "If audience members were encouraged to make their own art, might they find professional artist work that much more awesome?"

The response from some artists is an astounding resistance. I'm sure there are many reasons for this. But I've felt a sense of urgency for the past 20 years of my career to make more substantial changes in the places I am now. Why? In all of my training - over 11 years of high quality training - I never received any structure for thinking about how I could work with school teachers, how I would relate to different audiences, or how I could reach outside my disciplinary boundaries. When I did these things, I was a maverick, a trouble maker, or even a blasphemer. *

I'm pretty good at understanding structure, authority, systems and procedures. I'm a musician, after all. Years of practice trained not only my chops and fingers to master control of the bassoon, but how to listen to others around me, know the big picture (musical score), follow the vision of the conductor, etc. Most importantly, I learned to be prepared, be humble, and be like-able enough so that I would either win the audition, or get a call-back. All of this awareness transfers into what I do now.

I also learned how to develop musical relationships with the other musicians. Much of the relationship was based on understanding where we all needed to go together. It wasn't just about what ink was on the page of the second bassoon part. Being in tune, on time, and blending with the other timbres meant developing a hyper awareness of how I fit in the ensemble.

I've reach a point in my work where I'm hyper aware of a need to be much more strategic with understanding school systems, educational guidelines and best practices for arts integration between schools and arts organizations. I also don't see schools as bounded by a K-12 limited time frame. I see birth- through life opportunities; pre-school, higher education, elderhostle. See, I have this vision of what is possible, and I have about 20 years of practical experience supporting the vision. But in order to make some leaps forward, have anything I publish be legitimized by others in the field, I'm going to boot camp.

I seek coaches who are going to help shape my vision into something acceptable to a field of other practitioners. They will provide readings in new disciplines, identify new areas of research and best practices, offer their experiences for inquiry and reflection and more importantly - KICK MY BUTT into publishing. I officially started a new Masters Degree in Educational Leadership this week.

It's not the degree, or the letters. It's academic legitimacy. As much as I think I know what I'm going; in academia, it's all about semantics.

*I should re-read my doctoral research paper on "The Orchestra is nothing but a Tribute Band if they don't Commission New Work."

Second Half of National Arts & Humanities Month 2012

October 16: Friggin long day. Started at 8am with a freshman seminar, and was packed with kids' lessons, CCA Board meeting, then ended the day at the restaurant with a development officer from my undergrad. Each moment, I'm reminded of how embedded the arts are in my life. I am grateful.

October 17: heard a lecture by Dr. Lourdes Alvarez on "The Ends of Tolerance: Medieval Spain & the Def of Pluralism" - this was the first of four lectures to support the Lehigh Choral arts concerts, "The Jewel at the Center of the World." Fascinating information about 15th century Andalusian culture. Stunning relevance to my wishes for a more current society that holds pluralism as a principle worth cherishing. Reminded how delighted I am when a learned scholar revelas a mystery hidden in ancient books; makes the mysterious peoples of the past more humane, and more heroic.

October 18th: Lehigh's Women's Center launched a fabulous campaign of positive messages on post it notes in ALL the women's bathrooms on campus. Brilliant.

October 19th: Lehigh's Founder's Day. Posted the student leader speech on the ArtsLehigh bog. That's what it's for, isn't it?

October 20th: Spent afternoon manning a booth at the West Fest; talking about Zoellner programs with my friend, Linda Ganus. rushed home to clean up, put on my party hat and get all "glammy" for the Zoellner Gala. Did I mention, the artist was spectacular?

October 21st: What could be more culturally significant than picking up pumpkins for creative carving on Halloween? We named ours: Harold, Ed, Tina and Wendy.

October 22nd: discovered reddit. Then lost the rest of my day. Wonder how that happened?

October 23rd: Baker's Creativity Institute - got the kids there for the last 30 minutes. We made buttons and a model of the Wilbur Power house.

October 24th: Cleaned pumpkins for carving. Arabic poetry lecture just before orchestra rehearsal.

October 25th: Incredible panel discussion about John Cage inspired exhibits and Black Mountain College, and South Mountain College. Carved pumpkins. Later, I heard the final dress rehearsal for the Choral Arts concert. Always, an extravaganza.

October 26th: Trick or Treat night. Yes, I can apply Darth Maul make up and false eye lashes (different kids, honest) in less than 30 minutes.

October 27th: 

Yeah, that's me hanging out with Terri Gross! twitter.com/Silagh/status/…
— Silagh (@Silagh) October 27, 2012

Holy Cow, I got to meet Terry Gross! later, made it back to campus to lead the Zeek club discussion before the Choral Arts concert.

October 28th: The Lehigh Valley got it's most creative in preparing for the the Frankenstorm to hit. At home, I went on a mad cleaning spree. Organized a few creative projects I'd been wanting to get to for a while now. Hoping the power was going to stay on for my home. I's argue there is an art to organizing and preparing. I really had to work at NOT freaking out. The wind was wicked strong this night.

October 29th: Remember those classic movies I wanted to show the kids? We had plenty of time and didn't lose power the day after Hurricane Sandy. Schools were closed, as was campus. We got very creative at home watching classic films, thanks to Netflix. "Arsenic and Old Lace" with Cary Grant is almost an annual tradition now.

October 30th: I watched way too much TV. Sad to end this month so poorly. I resolved to embrace my inner Druid, make the most of Samhuin, and start fresh on November 1st as the New Year resolution begins.

October 31 - I got these posts done! (at least in draft form. Will do a review tomorrow; adding more links and more pictures if I can then.

Whew! Goal met. What did I learn by doing these two blog posts? The Arts and Humanities is my work, true. But they infuse my life with happiness, creativity and joy. Learning about history, celebrating traditions, and sharing new discoveries with my kids; it all goes back to art and the humanities. Life without either would be really, really pathetic.

First Half of National Arts & Humanities Month 2012

I had great intentions for the 2012 National Arts & Humanities month. Starting with the unveiling of a great big banner that was designed by a local artist, Holly Fields-Scott as the last part of her residency, the last artist in residence for ArtsLehigh.

The artist came through brilliantly. The challenge came with a few logistical hiccups in the rendering to a large print out. While we were that much closer to seeing the vision of a large banner on Maginnes for October, we still missed it. At least I'm closer for next year. What's the reference here? Last year, I had the idea but couldn't even get it to the concept stage artistically.Maybe I'll write a separate post about the October Banner, in case I need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs on the project....

When I accepted the reality of the Banner not coming to fruition, I started a daily twitter post on my personal account: what I did today to celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month. I was pretty good at first:

On the 1st day of National arts & Humanities month, I listened to a live poetry reading by Chard deNiord. Did you do anything to celebrate?
— Silagh (@Silagh) October 2, 2012

Day 2 of National Arts & Humanities month. Quoting the great, @abfalecbaldwin, "arts is all around me, maybe I should introduce myself."
— Silagh (@Silagh) October 2, 2012

Special formatting note for this blog post idea - when you need to scroll through your own twitter feed to find a month of daily tweet, and you're pretty active on twitter - it's a pain in the butt! After I copied the embed code for each tweet, the .com version bounced me back to current time line.

On the 2nd Day of National Arts & Humanities month, I didn't tweet through my daughter's violin lesson. This is big, folks.
— Silagh (@Silagh) October 3, 2012

I didn't post it on the 3rd - but I did live tweet with Euan Semple for the #EN195 course. Later that afternoon, I live-tweeted a lecture about two historic church buildings, and early Lehigh campus history (#AsaTwins). Later that evening, I went to orchestra rehearsal, and DIDN'T follow twitter for the Presidential Debate. Instead, I tweeted the next day:

Forgot to post yesterday: For 3rd day of National Arts & Humanities Month, I got my left ear blown out by a trumpet at rehearsal
— Silagh (@Silagh) October 4, 2012

Then there was the biggie:

On the 4th Day of National Arts & Humanities, @artslehigh received an institutional award for arts engagement. @lehighunews
— Silagh (@Silagh) October 5, 2012

After the award ceremony, I went back to campus to see "Oleanna" - it was the only night I could make it. Lucky me, there was a talk back after this performance led by the director of the Women's Center.

On the 5th day, my son and I spent the early part of the evening while my daughter was in her ballet class, strolling through South Bethlehem's first Friday. We made stops at the artists' studios in the Banana Factory and looked at Richard Redd's exhibit in Home & Planet. Nothing made me prouder that having my son recognize artists without reading the labels; "Oh, that's Ms Angie's painting. that looks like other stuf she's done." Granted, Ms Angie (Angie Snyder Lynde) was their art teacher when the Holy Infancy class went to the Banana Factory for their weekly trip. But the fact that he recognizes and artist's signature style? Wow! I'm a good mommy.

On the 6th Day, I finally produced a new post on my personal blog. While I've been way more productive there, than here - I want to write more. I needed to write on Saturday morning; I physically needed to write. Remembering how urgently I needed to create something feels good even at the end of the month.

On the 7th Day, I spent the afternoon with my family at the Philadelphia Please Touch Museum for a Suzuki Play in. I don't know why, but "Twinkles" never get old for me.

On the 8th Day, I celebrated out family's Italian heritage by making Nonna's minestrone and biscotti. That evening, I had a CCA Education Committee meeting. Yes, recapping a festival is part of the National Arts & Humanities, dammit. These meetings are fun.

On the 9th Day, I supported my local public radio station by attending the quarterly Community Advisory Board meeting .

On the 10th day, I proved the world (and myself) that I can keep an industry secret. Spent the afternoon being the social media "Johnny on the spot" person for announcing the Gala Artist change. Whew! Glad we got that off the ground. (BTW, the Gala artist was Kristin Chenoweth, and she was spectacular!) That night, I conducted the orchestra wind sectionals. Yes, I CAN play bassoon and simultaneously conduct Tchaik 6th. I got most of the notes!

On the 11th day, I mostly controlled myself on Twitter during the VP debates. Being civically engaged is VERY humanistic.

On the 12th day, I took the kids to dance to Delhi 2 Dublin at Zoellner. We had a blast. Some of the pictures they took on my phone made it on the Zoellner FB page. How'd that happen? Kids even got to meet the band. Favorite quote from my daughter, "Mom you have a pretty boring job most of the time. But every once in a while, there's some really cool side effects."

Day 13: After a long night dancing hard, the kids had Nutcracker rehearsals. While they took turns in different scenes, we took in the Downtown Harvest Fest. Nothing says "Arts & Humanities" like a soup and wine tasting. Heard some excellent live music, too. that night, I brought the kids to the Lehigh Jazz concert. Theme was "Hollywood Jazz." I have some old movies we need to cue up for the kids soon.

Day 14: Back to Zoellner for a piano trio recital. Also did some cooking experiments; my favorite kind of creative activity.

Day 15: went to the Nurture Nature Center in Easton, PA. Very cool place. Love the story of the Founder, Theodore Kheel.

Second half of National Arts & Humanities Month on next post.

Whitney Chen visits Lehigh

What does it take to get a FoodTV network start to visit a pilot class called, "Art Entrepreneurship Community?"
Awareness, actions, and a lot of connections. Not to be self- serving on this post, but I feel it's important to note some key awarenesses when tracing the path to success.

It all started when I was watching my favorite network, FoodTV. My love of this network started nine years ago when the only thing I could do on maternity bed rest was couch bound. In the days before social media, FoodTV kept my spirits up - keeping me in touch with one of my favorite things to think about, even when I can't cook or eat. Fast forward eight years plus a summer. Grateful now that my kids now love to watch the cooking shows with me.

We were watching the latest "Next FoodTV Star" reality competition. This particular episode featured a backstory on one of the contestants, Whitney Chen. She was talking about how she used to make gazpacho for her DG sorority sisters at Lehigh University. As soon as I heard that, I jumped to the internets for some investigation. Turns out, Whitney graduated just before I came to campus, but had a great story about plucking up the courage to leave a lucrative engineering consultancy to pursue her passion - food.

Through the capacity of Twitter and Facebook, I found my enthusiasm was shared by many of my friends and campus colleagues. Knowing that my enthusiasm needs to be checked - I made sure folks in other offices on campus (especially alumni relations) were OK with my enthusiastic support for her before I wrote this blog post. I also started following her on Twitter (@Whittybites) and after I posted a link off the ArtsLehigh facebook page, she friended me.

A good friend in the engineering department (Thanks Amanda Fabrizio) kept me in the loop of the plans to invite Whitney back to campus - and even asked me for ideas of connecting her to courses. As luck would have it, her schedule allowed her to come to my ENTR 198 - "Art Entrepreneurship Community" course to meet with the students. Knowing that she was very involved in the Lehigh University Art Galleries as a students, I was thrilled to be able to have the class meet in the main galleries at Zoellner Arts Center.

Students were a little timid, but Whitney warmed them up with her charm. After she left for her next appointment at her former sorority house, students shared their thoughts about the characteristics any entrepreneur needs to success. Whitney's story pointed out courage, tenacity, and blod steps AFTER considerable thought and making sure you keep all your windows open as you walk through the next door.

As a professor, I couldn't have been more pleased with the opportunity the students had to meet "the real deal." That moment wouldn't have happened without the tools of social media and strong relationships among the various staff and inter-connections on campus. I owe a great deal of thanks to Amanda for coordinating Whitney's entire visit with finesse.

Arts Entrepreneurship Community - A New Course

The Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation is offering me an opportunity to teach a pilot course in the upcoming semester. I couldn't be more thrilled.

ENT 198: Art Entrpreneurship Community (3 credits) T/R 2:30-4pm

It is up to the student to insert the punctuation or the prepositions, depending on their personal learning goals. For example:

"Art, Entrepreneurship AND Community" might focus on separate relationships between institutions.

"Art, Entrepreneurship IN Community" might focus on partnerships between institutions

"Art AND Entrepreneurship FOR Community" might focus on the entrepreneurial ingredients to an artful enterprise for community asset or service.

...and on, and on.

Here's the office Course Description:

The course will focus on art as an economic driver in community building. Topics include: understanding community arts districts, entrepreneurial contributions to venues and networks, new arts venture creation, management approaches inherent in the entrepreneurial mindset. Activities may include: positioning of arts events, determining target audiences, marketing, arts based business models and resource needs, development of preliminary action plan to execute an arts related event.

Note: “arts” activities here are broadly conceived, including visual, performing, technical and literary arts.

Reading from Richard Florida’s theory of the “Creative Class”, and from a course pack of blogs, articles (local and national) about the conditions that connect issues with urban communities through a vibrant arts culture. Finally, we’ll have some speakers throughout the semester come in and talk about their entrepreneurial ventures in the Lehigh Valley; long term, and newly emerging.

Ever since I got the Green light to teach the course, I've been pouring over accumulated texts, articles and mountains of bookmarked websites and blogs, that support the topics. Just today, I came up with a clever idea to curate two calendars:

1. Calendar of Obligation - course readings, assignment deadlines, required attendance

2. Calendar of Opportunity - places and events that may offer insight into topics, or inspire/inform student final projects.

Piecing this course together will hopefully present many opportunities for robust discussion on creativity in our present culture; but more importantly, serve the students' desire to make a difference. Sometimes, ideas just need the right tool, and knowing the right way to use it.