Bre Pettis ’95 – Messing with the Shape of Things to Come

Posted on May 30, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Bre Pettis ’95

A recent article in Papermag credits wild-idea guy Bre Pettis ’95 with expanding the notion of DIY into new realms. Well sure, his “Makerbot” company – creating affordable 3-D printers – is a mind-blowing incursion into the manufacturing and retail world, creating a whole new niche: “personal manufacturing.” But we think this Greener has done more than that. We think he has potentially upended the way we think about, and put a value on, objects. Even shying away from the large, philosophical issues, this could become angst-producing. If you can 3-D print a pair of shoes the spittin’ image of Manolo’s, how do we think about the $735 price tag on these little beauties?

Shoppers beware, existential crisis ahead!

Join the Evergreen Conversation

MiT Grad Ashley Emmett ’09 on Wheel of Fortune Tonight (May 30)!

Posted on May 30, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Ashley Emmett MiT 2009 Preparing for Her Debut on Wheel of Fortune

Ashley’s blog post for May 29, 2013 is titled “Wheel of Fortune- The Craziest 1 Year and 36 Hours of My Life.”

Tune in tonight, May 30th at 7 pm to cheer her on. For the fantastic tale of all that led up to this big night, read her blog post..

Any other alumni on the big or little screen in the coming year or recent past? Let us hear from you. The Evergreen Mind is always hungry for more stories.

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Boulder Alumni Turn Out for a Traveling Seminar

Posted on May 29, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Boulder History Museum was the venue for the May 23 Colorado Traveling Seminar

May 23, Twenty alumni and their guests packed the small meeting space at the Boulder History Museum for an Evergreen Traveling Seminar. The title was Curating the Human Story: The Power and Influence of Museums.

Faculty member Jean Mandeberg

Faculty member Jean Mandeberg and her former student Seth Frankel ’93 facilitated the discussion that swirled around questions such as: Do museums transform living, changing cultural objects into fixed, preserved, stale collections? What stories do museums tell? What stories do objects embody? And what stories do we, visitors, tell ourselves?

Adding to the richness of the conversation was the fact that the Boulder Museum’s current exhibit was one of Seth’s installations, a history of beer. Needless to say, beer was part of the hospitality provided.

Seth Frankel ’93

Mandeberg had this to say about the event which was her first Traveling Seminar:

I had no idea that the seminar would attract such a diverse group of alumni … . The comments I heard after the discussion were all extremely positive reports about how much people enjoyed themselves and appreciated the stimulating conversation. That continued for me (and my husband Joel) when we had breakfast the next morning with Daniel Fonken (’95), one of the seminar participants who happened to be a former student of mine (1993-4, Sculpture in Time & Place). Daniel told us how the event helped him understand the unique connection Evergreen alums have with each other, and he looks forward to continuing that spirit.

Hope to hear comments from other alumni who have attended Traveling Seminars over the years. We are planning the line-up for next year right now.

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Annual Roll Call of the Dead: Evergreen Does Not Forget

Posted on May 28, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Memorial wall in the Library foyer

Every Memorial Day for the past several years, Evergreen has held a public reading of the names of service men and women lost in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It is a painful thing, a good thing – and a very Evergreen way to ensure we don’t forget.

Nobody said being an informed citizen was a bowl of cherries.

Read the story in The Olympian.

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Lee Lambert ’87 Takes Leadership Role at a College in Distress

Posted on May 28, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Lee Lambert ’87,

Lee Lambert ’87 plans to hoist Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona out of the deep hole it has, of late, fallen into.

Leaving his post as President of Shoreline Community College near Seattle, Lee heads south with high hopes, tough talk and a rock-solid commitment to public education. While acknowledging Pima’s several black eyes – allegations ranging from financial mismanagement to sexual harassment – he cites the imperative for quality education that is accessible to all citizens in this high poverty region.

According to an article in the Tuscon Sentinel, Lee points to a “lack of accountability” as having caused the College’s woes, and quotes his message to faculty and staff: “You will be held accountable.”

Read the full account in the Tuscon Sentinel

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Still Rioting, After all These Years

Posted on May 27, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Did you know that New York University has in their library a Riot Grrrl collection? Here’s a blurb from The New York Times Magazine:

Back in the ’90s, when the Riot Grrrl movement started, one of its catalysts was Kathleen Hanna, from the band Bikini Kill. Earlier this spring, Hanna was the subject of a new documentary called “The Punk Singer,” and in June, her writings, lyrics and artwork will be featured in the book “The Riot Grrrl Collection.” Lisa Darms, an archivist at New York University (and a former roommate of Hanna’s), who edited the book, says there is “a hunger out there for access to the movement.” Hanna, meanwhile, speaks of being at a safe remove from her riot grrrl days now that she’s 44. “Guys came to our shows and wanted to beat us up,” she says. “Even women were saying that we were doing it wrong. I didn’t enjoy it much at the time, but I’m really enjoying it now.”

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Sherman Alexie – 2013 Graduation Speaker

Posted on May 26, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Literary super star Sherman Alexie will play Red Square on Graduation Day this year. We can’t wait.

A tough guy to categorize, Alexie’s creative genius declines to fall neatly into a single category. Writer, movie-maker, stand-up comedian, equal opportunity iconoclast; where hasn’t this guy ventured in expressing his take on life, the universe and everything?

Here he is, talking to The Daily Beast about his new book Blasphemy.

I called the book Blasphemy primarily because I’ve been so regularly accused of being blasphemous by white folks and Indians. But they only speak of blasphemy in its most basic terms: disrespect toward religion, toward a philosophy. I think blasphemy is actually more directed toward other human beings, and most often expressed toward those who have lesser power in society. I think human beings are sacred and that all the evil shit each of us does is blasphemous…. White folks talk about finding the sacred in the wilderness, and I suppose it’s there, but I hear the sacred in 3 a.m. traffic and 747s descending and loud music from the house down the block and the ship horns in the foggy night and the whirr, whirr, whirr of crowds. If people are sacred then the most sacred places are the ones where the most people have gathered.

As we mentioned above, we can’t wait.

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Countdown to Alumni Day – Return to Evergreen 6.1.13

Posted on May 25, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Hope you’ve got Saturday, June 1 blocked out on your calendar. It’s going to be another great Alumni Day on campus. Starting at 9 am, seminars, workshops, student work, tours and a long evening of music on Red Square. Where else can you get 14 hours of cool for only $25?

Can’t get to campus on June 1st? You can still join in via live stream on the Evergreen You Tube Channel. Invite your Greener friends over for your own “Alumni Day” festivities around the TV. Here’s the line up of evening performers:

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Greener Entrepreneurs Directory Deemed a Standout

Posted on May 23, 2013 by R.J. Burt

Here in the alumni office, we recently received this delightful email:

“My name is Laura and I work for NerdScholar, a financial literacy website for students. To celebrate small business month this May we featured our favorite entrepreneurship alumni networks and found that Evergreen’s is one of the best out there. Check out the piece…”

The Evergreen Alumni Entrepreneurs Directory

Well isn’t that nice! If you go to NerdScholar, you may be as delighted as we are to see The Evergreen Alumni Entrepreneurs Directory listed along with those of Cornell, Emory, Georgetown and University of Washington. Gosh.

Laura also asked for three pieces of advice from three entrepeneurial Greeners. Here’s what we sent:

From Craig Chance ’81, President, Columbia Bank
Entrepreneurs by nature are optimistic, however, do not be blinded by aggressive optimism. Realistically assess risks, develop a strategy for mitigating them, and be prepared to implement alternative actions if things are not working as anticipated in the first plan.

From David Shaw, Member of the Evergreen Faculty
Never launch a business or new venture without an existing customer.

From Addie Wood ’09, Community Financial Resources, Columbia Bank
Regardless of where you are in your career or business venture, try not to lose sight of what inspired you to enter into that field and of the experiences you encountered along the way. When times get tough, it will be those very inspirations and experiences that help you create innovative ways to, not only make it through, but be even more resilient once you get to the other side.

How about the rest of you entrepreneurial spirits ? Give us your best piece of advice. We’ll pass them on to faculty members who are teaching in this area.

Join the Evergreen Conversation

Macklemore Again. Life is Good.

Posted on May 22, 2013 by R.J. Burt

And the winners are: Macklemore and Lewis

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Can’t Hold Us,” featuring Ray Dalton, rises 2-1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the pair’s second leader. With prior hit “Thrift Shop,” featuring Wanz, having reigned for six nonconsecutive weeks, the act is the first duo to take its first two singles to No. 1 in the Hot 100’s almost-55-year history.

Join the Evergreen Conversation