Springfield, Ohio

The event was organized by Wittenberg’s Community Service Program in collaboration with Concerned Black Students, an organization that advocates for African Americans on campus. Wittenberg students spent about four hours with students from Lincoln and Hayward Middle School, celebrating the teachings of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and creating a literacy service craft that will be donated to the Warder Literary Center.

Throughout the day, there were opportunities to discuss how young people can take action for positive change in their own lives and their communities. The event also included a readers’ theater to learn about King’s legacy.

“We knew we wanted to continue to strengthen the bond that Wittenberg has formed with Lincoln and Hayward through this event, and we thought the day could be an even more unique experience for all if we tried out a new location,” said Emily Bermes, class of 2014 from Northbrook, Ill. “Holding the event at the Springfield Center for the Arts was a great way to integrate the arts as we celebrated Dr. King through a day of service, collaboration and action.”

The event is part of the National Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, which is observed the third Monday in January each year. It is a national holiday, created to encourage individuals to view Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a “day on, not a day off.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which coordinates the service day at the national level, views the event as something that “empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, addresses social problems and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of ‘Beloved Community’.” Wittenberg’s Community Service Program plans the event on a Saturday later in January since the university already offers the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation and other events to remember King on the actual holiday.

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Kate Causbie ’14

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Springfield, Ohio

All Wittenberg Series events are presented free of charge, although tickets are required for the performance by Doug Varone and Dancers. Tickets may be obtained at Wittenberg’s Benham-Pence Student Center service desk or at the box office at Clark State Performing Arts Center. Call the student center at 937-327-7443 or the box office at 937-328-3874 for more information.

Doug Varone and Dancers was founded in 1986 and has built a reputation for expansive vision, versatility and technical prowess. The resident company at the 92^nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center in New York City, Doug Varone and Dancers has performed throughout the United States, in addition to performances in Europe, Asia, Canada and South America.

Varone, his dancers and designers have been honored with 11 New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies). In celebration of the company’s 25^th anniversary, this year’s tour will reconstruct major dances from past repertory, as well as recent new works and premieres.

In addition to the Wittenberg Series performance, Doug Varone and Dancers will teach a masterclass to Wittenberg students at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Chakeres Memorial Theatre.

The performance by Doug Varone and Dancers was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Now in its 30^th year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, reserve a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Jeannine Fox at 937-206-3539 or via email at jfox@wittenberg.edu.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

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Springfield, Ohio

The event, which takes place each year on the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, will be led by University Pastor Andy Tune. Pre-service music starts at 7:15 p.m.

The service marks the occasion in which the Virgin Mary presented Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after giving birth, as was the custom according to Jewish law. Candlemas is distinguishable from other services at Weaver Chapel because of the fashion in which the event is celebrated.

“The music comes from the Middle Ages,” Tune said. “There are no electrical lights and no use of the organ – only candles.”

The worship is primarily musical, with an instrumental group, Wind in the Woods, and an all-male choir, Schola Cantorum, assisting in the evening’s service. The ceremony will include a reading from a late medieval writer.

The annual service was born out of the joint efforts of several people, including The Rev. Larry Houff, a former Wittenberg campus pastor; Jane Otten, retired adjunct instructor of voice and leader of Kalliope, an early music ensemble; and the late Professor of Music and University Organist Donald Busarow. The musical nature of the service piqued the interests of the professors and the pastor, who was also a musician and often assisted in chapel music. From its modest beginnings the service has become an appreciated annual mid-winter worship event.

The director of the Schola Cantorum this year will be David Weimer, music teacher and choral director at Springfield High School. The choir will sing period works and chant a psalm, following the practices of monks in the medieval monasteries. Wind in the Woods, whose members come from Beavercreek, Tipp City and Springfield, will play such medieval instruments as recorders, the lute and a predecessor to the trombone.

The blessing of the candles, from which the service derives its namesake, will occur immediately following the opening procession. In this tradition, all of the candles used by the chapel for the coming year will be blessed, and the public is invited to bring in their own candles and take part in the old ritual.

“It is a more contemplative type of worship service,” said Tune. “While the crowd is generally not large, it attracts folks from Dayton, Columbus, and other neighboring cities. And as far as I know in our area, it’s only held at Wittenberg.”

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Erin Pence

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Springfield, Ohio

Click here to watch video/view photo gallery

The keynote speaker for the annual event was award-winning author and Tufts University Professor of History Peniel Joseph. He educated the audience on what he called the “heroic period of the civil rights movement” in a speech titled “The Great Wells of Democracy: Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, and the Civil Rights Movement’s Heroic Years.”

Joseph paid respect to King, one of the foremost civil rights leaders in American history, by noting that the struggle for equality continues in 2013, even on the very same day that the nation’s first African-American president is sworn in for a second term. President Barack Obama is a “profoundly important figure,” Joseph noted, but many of the societal ills that King fought against in the 1960s remain prevalent a half-century later.

“The materialism, the militarism, and the racism that Dr. King spoke out against so eloquently, so articulately and with so much passion have not subsided since his death,” Joseph said, citing several things as evidence, including the fact that more African-Americans are in jail today than ever before.

Joseph is the author of the award-winning Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama as well as editor of The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era and Neighborhood Rebels: Black Power at the Local Level. Joseph also is the founder of a growing sub-field in American History and Africana Studies that he has characterized as “Black Power Studies,” which is actively re-writing post-war American and African American History as well as related interdisciplinary fields of Africana Studies, law and society, sociology, political science, Women’s and Ethnic Studies, philosophy, anthropology, literary studies and American Studies, among others.

The recipient of fellowships from Harvard University’s Charles Warren Center, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Ford Foundation, Joseph’s essays have appeared in The Journal of American History, The Chronicle Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Book Forum and The American Historical Review.

Joseph was introduced by Moses Mbeseha, class of 2013 from State College, Pa., after a performance by IMANI, Wittenberg’s Gospel Choir, directed by Kent Brooks.

Established prior to the 1989-90 school year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation features an academic procession with faculty in full regalia and as all Wittenberg Series events, is free and open to the public.

Now in its 30^th year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, reserve a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Jeannine Fox at 937-206-3539 or via email at jfox@wittenberg.edu.

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Erin Pence

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Springfield, Ohio

The ranking includes “some of the most artistic and complex architecture created by man,” according to an introduction prepared by JD Arney, chief author and researcher for the list. “College campuses across the world have worship chapels and historical cathedrals that entail a rich history along with brilliant architectural design.”

Opened in 1958, Weaver Chapel has been the site of thousands of campus events, frequently featuring world leaders, famed performers and thought-leaders. During the academic year, the university pastors conduct a Lutheran service on Sunday mornings, and weekday chapel occurs twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

Among the most recognizable features of Weaver Chapel is its spectacular stained-glass windows, which include graphics of solid lead, with glass used only as background. The 24 panels, which have been featured in National Geographic, depict the history of Wittenberg, from Luther’s Wittenberg in Germany to the present institution. The last pane displays Wittenberg’s Seal and its famed motto, “Having Light We It On To Others.”

Outside the chapel, the statues on the 212-foot tower represent Gottfried Leibritz, John Milton, Johann Sebastian Bach, St. Augustine, Martin Luther and St. Paul of Tarsus.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

004-13

Springfield, Ohio -

Thanks to a generous investment by Springfield philanthropist Rosalyn Bullock, who credits her attorney, Daniel C. Harkins, for the idea, as well as her late husband’s love of math, the new Bullock Math Academy will provide sought-after enrichment opportunities for local students who demonstrate a high aptitude in math. Students will start with the academy in 7th grade and stay with the academy through high school and beyond. Upon their high graduation, academy graduates will then receive a scholarship to help with college.

The first cohort of students will be selected for enrollment in the academy through an application process in partnership with city, county, private and parochial schools throughout Clark County. Once admitted, the students will attend a weeklong residential Summer Institute and then participate in a monthly after-school program held during the school year. The expenses for the faculty teaching in the program, equipment, materials, transportation and any related auxiliaries will be covered by Bullock’s gift.

Called a “win-win for everyone all around” by those involved in establishing the academy at Wittenberg, including Doug Andrews, professor of statistics, and Sally Brannan, professor of education, the Bullock Math Academy resonates with Hallinan on so many levels.

“In this position, I can bring my project management skills and design projectbased curriculum to get kids excited about math,” said Hallinan, who is a certified math and physics teacher in addition to her 20 years of experience as an engineer at Delphi in Dayton. “I want to be a mentor to as many students as possible.”

The Bullock Math Academy will welcome its first students in summer 2013. In addition to the programs for the students, the academy will also sponsor an annual community speaker event.

For more information on the Bullock Math Academy, contact Hallinan at 937-327-7936 or by
e-mail at hallinanl@wittenberg.edu.

Written By: Karen Gerboth

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Charles Chatfield shows off his Peace Hero award.

Springfield, Ohio – Professor Emeritus of History Charles Chatfield was recently honored for his achievements and activism as one of two 2012 “Peace Heroes” by the Dayton International Peace Museum.

Chatfield retired from Wittenberg’s faculty in 1999, but he has continued his activities in the peace history movement, and he has donated many of his groundbreaking books to the Dayton International Peace Museum Library. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the subject of peace history, including An American Ordeal: The Antiwar Movement of the Vietnam Era, a book co-written with Charles DeBenedetti that won the prestigious Kuehl Prize in 1991.

The Dayton International Peace Museum is one of the few community-based institutions with a focus on peace in the United States. The non-profit museum offers educational programs and exhibits featuring themes of non-violent conflict resolution, social justice issues, international relations and peace.

Chatfield first came to Wittenberg in 1961 – a turbulent time in U.S. history marked by war and social change. Chatfield believes American culture matured in the 1960s, and the decade itself contributed greatly to the formation of a new branch of history.

During his tenure at Wittenberg, Chatfield served as chair of the history department, director of International Education and director of the “Global Issues and World Churches” study-abroad program. In 1996, Chatfield received the Wittenberg Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching, the highest recognition Wittenberg bestows on its faculty.

Wittenberg’s first professor to hold the H. Orth Hirt Chair in History, which was established in 1998, Chatfield was honored by the Peace History Society (PHS) in 2007 with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Founded in 1964, PHS seeks to broaden the understanding of and possibilities for world peace as its members work to make peace research relevant to the scholarly disciplines, policy makers and to their own societies.

Chatfield received his bachelor’s degree from Monmouth College (Ill.) and his master’s and doctorate from Vanderbilt University. During his career, he presented papers at professional meetings throughout the world, including Austria, Mexico, India and Russia, and he is credited with being one of the first scholars to draw a connection between peace and justice movements. He was named a Danforth Fellow and a recipient of a Danforth Year of Theology Award, and he served as a fellow at the Mershon Center for Education in National Security at The Ohio State University.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

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Springfield, Ohio

A professor of history at Tufts University, Joseph is the author of the award-winning Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama as well as editor of The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era and Neighborhood Rebels: Black Power at the Local Level.

Joseph is the founder of a growing sub-field in American History and Africana Studies that he has characterized as “Black Power Studies,” which is actively re-writing post-war American and African American History as well as related interdisciplinary fields of Africana Studies, law and society, sociology, political science, Women’s and Ethnic Studies, philosophy, anthropology, literary studies and American Studies, among others.

A frequent national commentator on issues of race, democracy and civil rights, Joseph appears on C-SPAN’s Book TV, NPR, and PBS’s NewsHour. During the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions he provided historical commentary on NewsHour.

The recipient of fellowships from Harvard University’s Charles Warren Center, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Ford Foundation, Joseph’s essays have appeared in The Journal of American History, The Chronicle Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Book Forum and The American Historical Review.

Following the convocation, Joseph will attend a question-and-answer session in room 105, Joseph C. Shouvlin Center for Lifelong Learning, 737 N. Fountain Ave.

Established prior to the 1989-90 school year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Convocation features an academic procession with faculty in full regalia and as all Wittenberg Series events, is free and open to the public.

Now in its 30^th year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, reserve a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Jeannine Fox at 937-206-3539 or via email at jfox@wittenberg.edu.

Written By: Phyllis Eberts

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Weaver Chapel

Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University’s annual German Language Epiphany Service will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, in historic Weaver Chapel. Pre-service music begins at 7:15 p.m.

The service, a campus tradition since 1985, brings the Christmas season to a close. The service is conducted entirely in German and uses a format from a contemporary German Lutheran hymnal. The worship music comprises German Christmas carols and Epiphany hymns with Professor Emerita of Music Trudy Faber playing the organ.

Rev. Stephen Foster, interim pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield, will preach and conduct the service. Special music will be provided by the Liedertafel Singers, directed by Keith Ward, as well as pieces played on the organ by Faber.

Wittenberg was founded by a group of pastors of German background who created the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio. While respecting their German tradition and language, the pastors believed that the English language was a way to foster the inclusiveness of the new American nation. In 1842, the new synod voted unanimously to establish a theological and literary institution that would serve the educational and cultural needs of new immigrants and new communities, and Wittenberg was founded in Springfield three years later.

The German Language Epiphany Service honors the heritage of those whose vision lives on today at Wittenberg University.

The service is open to the public, and Weaver Chapel is accessible to those with disabilities.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

096-12

Springfield, Ohio –

The new app, called InTune, was approved by Apple earlier this month. InTune develops and tests users’ ability to hear very close music pitches. The app was created through collaborative effort led by Professor of Music Daniel Kazez, with Peiqian Li, class of 2013 from Changchun, China, as lead software engineer and Assistant Professor of Art Crispin Prebys as graphic designer.

The concept for InTune is based on a computer program created by Kazez and his son Ben, with assistance from Professor of Statistics and Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department Doug Andrews and Professor of Psychology Mary Jo Zembar. Andrews created a mathematical algorithm for changing the distance between pitches and Zembar developed analysis of data for a study indicating that with repeated use of the program the ability to discern very close pairs of pitches improves.

InTune is the second Wittenberg collaboration that has produced a music app for iPhone and iPod touch. If history is any guide, InTune will surely be a big hit.

Kazez worked with music students, alumni and fellow faculty members in 2009 to create an app called Composer of the Day, which offers concise, one-sentence biographies of classical composers – one per day, on the composer’s birthday. It was named one of the “Top Five Classical Music iPhone Apps” by New York radio station WQXR – the country’s first (and most listened to) classical music radio station.

John Chowning, Wittenberg class of 1959, is among the featured composers. Called “a pioneer in computer music” by the New York Times in 2006, Chowning creates compositions that “are among the most beautiful and sophisticated achievements in computer music,” according to the Oxford Companion to Music (2002).

Version 1.1 of Composer of the Day provides the ability to hear sound clips for each composer. The app was listed in a “Wish List of iPhone Apps That I’d Like For Droid” by Lowe Piano Studio.

Composer of the Day app is a free download, while InTune is sold for 99 cents, with all proceeds going to support Wittenberg University. Complete information and a link to the download can be found online at www.wittenberg.edu/music/app-intune.

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Erin Pence

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