Artist and animator Drew Christie ’07: Self-portrait
Enjoy Drew’s tribute to the great J.J. Cale, father of countless great songs. Personal favorite: “After Midnight.” This animation ran in the December 16 2013 Op-Ed section of the New York Times.com.
Take a look at the newest addition to Evergreen’s social networking suite: Evergreen’s LinkedIn University Page.
According to LinkedIn, “University Pages” will support its fastest-growing demographic, students and recent graduates. Here’s what “Campus Technology” says about the new service:
This summer, LinkedIn announced University Pages, giving schools the opportunity to create a more structured and consistent presence on the social network. Hundreds of institutions have already jumped on board–with 200 more pages going live each week, according to the site.”
Greeners, being the collaborative networkers they are, may find Evergreen’s new LinkedIn University Page a great pathway for reconnecting with college friends and faculty members. We hope it will also be helpful in supporting alumni professional development.
It’s always interesting – sometimes inspirational – to see how Greeners are creating, collaborating, communicating and generally making the world a better place. Already, LinkedIn has identified 16,500-some Greeners in their system, so jump right in and start making connections. Happy networking in 2014!
Naima Lowe’s limited edition publication “Thirty-nine (39) Questions for White People.”
Evergreen faculty member Naima Lowe has a new publication that is getting some important attention. The title is “Thirty-Nine (39) Questions for White People,” and those questions can really make a person stop and think.
An artist and filmmaker, Naima recently gave an interview to Salon.com about her latest work and it’s focus on race, privilege, perspective and social context. In a preface to the interview, Salon.com offers this characterization:
Naima Lowe’s “Thirty-Nine (39) Questions for White People,” a book born from observations about her class of predominantly white students, has been generating buzz for the potentially uncomfortable questions it forces its viewers to consider. The project presents 39 simple questions — questions that are all-too-relatable for anyone who identifies as a racial minority — but flips the perspective from the minority back to the majority. Questions like “How do you know you’re white?” and “Do you notice when the last white person leaves the room?” become surprising and almost jarring, forcing white people to think more critically about the experience (and inherent privilege) of being white.
Publisher DangerDot Publishing applauds the work as “a stunning art piece and rare book that insists that readers reflect on the complexity of race, and the privilege to not have to notice it.” The first edition consists of 40 hand letter-pressed copies that sold out quickly. In response to the interest, Naima back at work on a larger run, 2nd Edition, in an alternate format.
In any social context, this is an important conversation. Brava to Naima for asking the questions.
Diversity Note: As of this fall, twenty-five percent (25% -1,085 students) of Evergreen’s student body self identify as students of color. Of that total enrollment number, about 100 students of color attend Evergreen’s Tacoma Program.
The Search for Treasure, from Tim Girvin’s Strategic Branding Blog.
For anyone working in the field of strategic communication, Tim Girvin ’75 is an inspiration. Next time you’re sitting in front of your computer, drained of creative juice, click over to Tim’s Strategic Branding Blog and be inspired.
Here is an excerpt from In the Quest for Light,Being Beauty and the Bearing of Story:
But in the quest for our work –
everything that we do,
it’s a kind of quest for light,
and bearing that light forward.
At the very best, a team of people shines in their work, in the telling of their story –
it’s an uplifting experience;
everyone rises to the wave of momentum in
the team that seeks the upscale rendering of beauty,
truth and the profundity of enhanced experience.
Each of us looks for betterment;
and many of us
look for beauty.
A moment of light –
the cracking open of discovery
is our own personal treasure finding.
Perhaps, that is the
nature of the work.
Finding treasure.
Magic.
Truth.
Wonder.
That’s where I go,
that’s where I come from.
TIM
Every June, the Master in Teaching Program at Evergreen graduates a new class of passionate, creative, innovative teachers. The program has gained a reputation for excellence, and every year, MiT alumni win more awards and accolades. They are close cohorts and like to stay in touch with each other, and with their graduate program.
In celebration of the public service Evergreen MiT alumni provide – as teachers, administrators, education innovators and advocates – we’ve created this space to share, with permission, “MiTeachers” vignettes and updates: classroom wit and wisdom, awards and honors, “a-ha” moments, cheers and tears – the meaningful elements that comprise a teaching life.
Of course, you can stay in touch with Sherri, Loren and Maggie directly as always. Now, you can also post directly in the “Leave a Reply” comments section, below.
Poet, Singer, Feminist Icon – Kathleen Hanna, ’91
In the Seattle Times: a review of the new documentary film about Evergreen’s own Kathleen Hanna, ’91.
(Excerpt)
Director Sini Anderson’s inspiring documentary, “The Punk Singer,” opens with a spoken-word performance at The Evergreen State College in Olympia by Kathleen Hanna, in which the riot-grrrl pioneer speaks publicly about dealing with abuse in her life. “I am your worst nightmare come to life / I’m the girl you can’t shut up / There’s not a guy big enough to handle this mouth.” It’s a powerful scene that shows just how valiant and determined Hanna is to speak her mind in order to effect change. Read the full review.
Douglas Kahn ’73, Ph.D Professor of Media and Innovation at Australia’s University of South Wales.
Meet Douglas Kahn, ’73. He received a few more degrees after leaving Evergreen: Ph.D. Art History and Theory, M.F.A. Post-studio Art, M.A. Music Composition.
Douglas is Professor of Media and Innovation at Australia’s University of New South Wales and is listed on the University’s website as an “historian and theoretician of media, media arts, music and sound.” His publication list is staggering, ditto his Wikipedia profile. Facebook tells of an October 2013 meet-up celebrating Douglas’s new book,: “Earth Sound Earth Signal” – a “groundbreaking work that explores the frontiers between technology and nature in the experimental arts of the past 200 years.”
If anyone knows Douglas, or knows how to get in touch with him, please tell him the Evergreen community wishes him continued success. Perhaps he will visit the Pacific Northwest someday. If so, we will invite him to campus to meet with current students in the many fields his experience spans.
In any event, here is another amazing Evergreen Mind to add to your Greener network.
Wooden campagnolo derailleur created by student Max Hoffman.
Max Hoffman is an Evergreen student. When not in class, he is often to be found at The Evergreen Bike Shop. The 21-year old cyclist has created something amazing. Here’s a bit of the story, with thanks to “BikeRumor.com:”
At an early age, his passion for bicycles had him turning wrenches for one the of largest Campy dealers in the country – the Bicycle Pro Shop in D.C. It’s their in the trenches that he developed an admiration for the beautiful and exotically priced Italian components.
Having never owned any of the components, Max had his first break during his Sophomore year of school at Evergreen State College. While working at the community run campus bicycle shop, someone donated a broken Campy Record Derailleur. By dissembling and hand measuring with a set of calipers each component, he carefully translated every subtle curve into a small block of walnut. Without the assistance of a computer, mill, or CNC machine, he constructed the wooden sculpture over the course of 50 hours, using nothing but hand tools such as jewelers saws, files, and chisels!
Read the full post and see more photos at BikeRumor.com.
Composer and jazz pianist Myra Melford ’81.
Chicago native and acclaimed musician Myra Melford ’81 discovered her passion for jazz as an undergraduate at Evergreen. According to her web site, she “saw early on that aesthetic expression could both be built from and be a structure for profound emotions.”
A recent article in “Jazz Times” notes: “Upon graduating from Evergreen she studied with Art Lande and Gary Peacock at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, and,..after honing a vocabulary of extended piano techniques, she methodically began to develop a highly personal compositional vision informed by Caribbean rhythms, classical Indian traditions, Sufi mysticism, architecture and Henry Threadgill’s cellular approach to building tunes.”
We could go on here, pasting in quote, excerpts and accolades (“Melford’s intrepid virtuosity is consistently breathtaking…”) but suggest you go directly to her web site and become acquainted with this accomplished Greener.
