There's a date!

Attention everyone wanting to know more about when Janet Echelman's dynamic sculpture, "Her secret is patience," will be installed:

At the Art, Space, and the City public art symposium/lecture on Thursday, Ed Lebow, City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture director, said that Janet Echelman's long-awaited dynamic sculpture, "Her secret is patience," will be installed the week of March 9th. This is the same week as ASU's spring recess.

In related news, the Dean's-eye view webcam from the College of Public Programs will come back online soon. Stay tuned...

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Helping in times of crisis

As I was going through my daily routine of looking through Twitter updates and blog entries, I came across this poignant thought from a commenter on lightrailblogger.com. This hearkens back to an entry I posted back in December with some words of wisdom from Kirsten Martin, a good friend and one of my Student Ambassador colleagues:

With all the cuts in the Phoenix city budget and Maricopa County budget, there are going to be far fewer services to help the homeless get off the street and back into productive living. We need to step up and help - NOW. Whether it's serving food at St. Vincent de Paul, or Andre House or getting involved at the Lodestar Day Resource Center or making a financial donation (even $5 will be welcomed) to CASS or SVdP -- every little bit helps. In my experience, volunteering my time to help those in need provides far greater personal rewards than the help that I give. I particularly suggest it if you are having your own pity party about your personal financial situation. It helps put life into perspective. Donation and volunteer opportunities can be found at www.stvincentdepaul.net.

Please feel free to pass this along to your contacts and networks so that we can make Phoenix a better place, even if it is in a time of economic hardship.
-Edward Jensen

Art, Space, and the City: Public Art and Why It Matters

Students of Public Affairs Network (SPAN), in association with Barrett, the Honors College at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, proudly present a forum on public art.

The forum explores the process of how public art can be a change agent for the community, enhances community identity and impact economic development. Come and find out why public art matters.

Thursday, February 19, 2009, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, room 202
(555 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85004)
Free.

Panel:
Introductory Remarks: Dr. Robert Denhardt, Director, ASU School of Public Affairs

Moderator: Dr. Betsy Fahlman, Professor of Art History, School of Art, Herberger College of the Arts and Member, Tempe Municipal Arts Commission

Speakers:

• Mary Lucking, M.F.A., Public Artist, Tucson, Arizona
• Dianne Cripe, Public Art Specialist, City of Goodyear
• Ed Lebow, Public Art Program Director, City of Phoenix
• Valerie Vadala Homer, Director Scottsdale Public Art Program & Vice President Scottsdale Cultural Council
• Nancy Levinson, Director, Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory, College of Design, Arizona State University
• Cyd West, Director of Research and Economic Partnerships, Maricopa Partnership for the Arts

Faculty, students, staff and members of the community are invited to attend, offer feedback, and discuss the importance of public art in the community.

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

The Barrett Light Rail Party

Yesterday (6 February 2009), the Barrett Honors College hosted the Barrett Light Rail Party, with 250 players in over 50 teams. Starting at the ASU Tempe campus and finishing at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, the teams and players found items, took pictures, and answered trivia questions along the twenty-mile line.


if you cannot see the slideshow, come to my blog to see it!

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Canalscape: A Sustainable Desert Urbanism for Metro Phoenix

Canalscape is this Friday from 9am-3pm at the Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory, 234 N. Central Avenue (8th floor). For more information, click on the image above (or here).

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Nonprofit & Government Careers Employer Panel

Join ASU's Career Services for the Employer Panel Series: Nonprofit & Government Careers on Wednesday, February 4 from 3.30-4.30pm!



For a PDF version of the flyer, click here to download (2.8MB).

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

ASU celebrates Barack Obama's inauguration

Earlier today, Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the forty-fourth President of the United States. In the First Amendment Forum of the Cronkite School building, students from across the campus gathered to take in history.

Here are some pictures from the day:


if you cannot see the pictures, stop by my blog to see them!

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

New ASU Downtown campus immigration art exhibit

[source: Corey Schubert, ASU College of Public Programs media manager] ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus is offering an exciting new arts exhibit, "Migration: Immigration, Giving Honor to Cultures and Communities," now through May 16 on the second floor of ASU's University Center, 411 N. Central Ave.

Artists from urban Phoenix and community partners of the downtown campus teamed with ASU for this free exhibit which aims to use art to encourage open-minded dialogue about an important and divisive current issue.

More than 60 new works are on display, with about 100 more arriving from the ASU West Campus and South Mountain High School in Phoenix in time for an Urban Gallery Exhibition on April 3.

For a complete story, visit: http://asunews.asu.edu/node/6216

For photos of the event, visit: http://copp.asu.edu/do/college-news/events-gallery/immigration-art-exhibit

Please help us spread the word! Feel free to use the story and photos to promote the event.

CAP LTER Poster Symposium!

If you are interested in emerging ecological research for arid urban environments, stop by Old Main on the ASU Tempe campus tomorrow (Thursday January 14). A class project I was working on in the fall 2008 semester was selected to present a poster. It will be my first poster session but most certainly not my last!

Our research focuses on demographic factors influencing water quality perceptions and bottled water consumption. We're presenting from 3.10-4.10p; however, you're more than welcome to stay for whatever you want! A program is online here (PDF).

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Light Rail Opens: Schedules for 27-31 December 2008

Our good friend and supporter Nick Bastian of RailLife.com has been following METRO's progress and is excited to see it open up in a week. He wrote an excellent post summarizing highlights of the Grand Opening and just today, he wrote another excellent post talking about hours of operation in METRO's first week.

Some highlights:

• SATURDAY DECEMBER 27: Grand opening! METRO's hours of operation will be 10a-8p with station celebrations happening from 10a-5p.
• SUNDAY DECEMBER 28: 10a-6p.
• MONDAY DECEMBER 29: Normal hours of operation, with the first train starting from either end at 4.40am and the last train leaving from either end at 11.00pm
• TUESDAY DECEMBER 30: Normal hours of operation (see above)
• WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 31: Normal hours of operation, but the last train will leave from either end at 2am January 1 to accommodate New Year's revelers.

The best part: ride METRO for free in 2008! Fare service begins at 4.40am January 1.

Thanks again to Nick Bastian for compiling all this for us! We can't wait for METRO to open up!

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Reminder: DPC Chorale and Glee Club rehearsal!

This is a reminder for you! We meet up tomorrow in UCENT 286!

Come join the Downtown Phoenix Campus Chorale and Glee Club spread winter cheer in downtown Phoenix.

To create a festive atmosphere around the Downtown Phoenix campus, the Downtown Phoenix Campus Chorale and Glee Club are going to go caroling around the campus on Wednesday December 10 in the afternoon and evening. So, come join us for a rehearsal on Thursday December 4 from 4.30-6pm in UCENT 286. We'll work on traditional holiday favorites and new music.

Come check us out on Facebook. Please forward this to anyone who might be interested in joining us! The more we have, the merrier the campus will be!

Best-
Edward Jensen

ASU College of Public Programs Grad Fair - Dec. 2nd

Come learn about Graduate Degrees in the College of Public Programs!



We offer Master’s degrees in these 6 exciting professional fields:

• Criminology & Criminal Justice
• Nonprofit Studies
• Public Administration
• Public Policy
• Recreation & Tourism Studies
• Social Work

At the Info Fair, you’ll:

• Learn about programs that can accelerate your career.
• Have your questions answered by professors, advisors, and current students.
• Find out about financial aid options, and
• Start your application to Graduate School for next Spring, Summer, or Fall!

When: Tuesday, December 2 from 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Where: University Center building (411 N. Central Ave., Phoenix), second floor lobby
What: College of Public Programs Graduate Programs Info Fair (light refreshments provided)

Insure your career – begin your Master’s degree with the ASU College of Public Programs in 2009!

RSVP at: http://copp.asu.edu/do/students/gradinfo08

ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus Chorale and Glee Club

Ladies and gentlemen, it's official!

Like to sing? Want to be part of a new club at ASU Downtown? Then join the Downtown Phoenix Campus Chorale and Glee Club! With the holidays fast approaching, we’ll work on some festive carols and songs to mark the season. We’ll have an informational meeting on Friday November 21 from 2-3pm in UCENT164 (home of the Barrett Honors College on this campus). For more information, e-mail me by clicking here.

See you there-
Edward Jensen

A message from ASU Student Government

I received this note in my e-mail inbox this evening:

Students,

Tomorrow is Election Day. This year, youth voters will make up one quarter of the electorate. For some of you, it will be the first election in which you have a chance to vote. For others, it will be a second or even third chance to make your voice heard through the democratic process. Either way, your vote will be a deciding factor in this historic election. Your vote can help elect legislators who care about students, who care about financial aid and who care about you and your education.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. No matter who you vote for, make sure you VOTE. Ensure that your voice is heard and that politicians at all levels of government start listening to you.

If you need to find your polling place, you can visit the following website:
http://www.azsos.gov/election/polling_places.htm.

If you are unsure of what ID you need to bring to the polls, you visit this website:
http://www.azsos.gov/election/Prop_200/poll_identification.htm

Don’t let this election pass you by. Make sure you VOTE tomorrow, November 4.

All the best,
Your Student Government and the Arizona Student Vote Coalition

Columbus Day

Columbus Day is one of those weird holidays that are inconsistent in who has what off. So let me summarize what's going on so that you're in the know.

First, it's classes and business as usual here at ASU. In elementary, middle, and high school, you probably got the day off (I did) but it's no such luck here. Now, confusing this, it's a paid holiday for Arizona employees (I thought ASU faculty and staff were state employees) so there will be no state services.

It is a Federal holiday tomorrow. That means that you won't have any mail to read. (One less day to be bothered by political adverts, so I'm grateful!)

The City of Phoenix does not recognize Columbus Day as a holiday. All City services will operate as normal tomorrow. Also operating on their typical weekday schedule tomorrow are Valley Metro bus services.

I hope you're not confused anymore! If it's a Federal holiday, it should be a state and city holiday and therefore there should be no classes. It would serve to be a good break! If there's a spring recess, then there, too, should be a fall recess.

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Immigration solutions forum set for Oct. 13 at ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus

[source: Corey Schubert, ASU College of Public Programs]

PHOENIX -- Arizona State University's College of Public Programs will host a public forum, “Immigration: Creating a Path to Solutions,” from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Room 122, located at 555 N. Central Ave.

The forum aims to start the process of community action with dialogue for comprehensive immigration reform. A panel of experts will address how to create opportunities for expanding civic engagement using a process of dialogue and deliberation to begin to identify common-ground solutions. The event is a deliberative democracy project of Voices for Civil Dialogue, a Phoenix-based coalition of community leaders dedicated to respectful cooperation among groups and individuals from all sectors of society.

A question-and-answer session will follow the panel discussion.

Panelists include Ron Wakabayashi, board member of the California Association of Human Relations Organizations; Deedra Abboud, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation of Arizona; Roshi Johndennis Govert; Julie Erfle, law enforcement advocate; Sheridan Bailey, president of Ironco Enterprises and co-founder of Arizona Employers of Immigration Reform; and Genoveva Acosta-Bueno, community health adviser for Maricopa Integrated Health Systems.

Moderators include Annie Loyd, president of the FUSION Foundation and chairwoman of Voices for Civil Dialogue, and ASU research professor James Garcia.

Space is limited. For reservations, e-mail asuforum@voicesforcivildialogue.com or call 602-795-9938 with the name, phone number, e-mail address, affiliation and/or company of those who wish to attend the event.

To learn more about Voices for Civic Dialogue, visit www.voicesforcivildialogue.com.

PSO performs Haydn's Creation

[The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performed Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Creation on 2nd, 4th, and 5th October. This review is on the October 4th performance at Phoenix Symphony Hall.]

Few works in the entire repertory of Classical music have achieved such notoreity as Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Creation. Composed in 1796 during Haydn's most productive and famous years (The Creation was the first work to be published in two languages at the beginning, it was also written in German as Die Schöpfung), this oratorio explores the first days of earth as recorded in Genesis beginning with a musical representation of chaos up through the first few happy hours of Adam and Eve.

The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra (PSO) has just recently established itself as a master of large but nimble symphonic works under the batons of Robert Moody (who is now at the helm of the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina and the Portland Symphony Orchestra in Maine) and present music director Michael Christie. But The Creation should not be regarded as a small chamber piece: it calls for full complements of strings, woodwinds, brass, and tympani as well as a chorus. Soloists Celena Shafer (soprano), Gregory Kunde (tenor), and Philip Cutlip (baritone) complete the ensemble for the performance.

The three soloists were on top of their game Saturday evening. Their dynamic with Maestro Christie was fantastic. They were free to add their own cadenzas whenever the parts fit and Christie was receptive to that. Their dynamic with each other in trio sections was sublime. Even with supertitles projected above the stage, hearing what they were singing was easy, despite being in the back of the house with a lot of coughing going on from my fellow concertgoers. Mr. Cutlip, playing the role of the angel Raphael, manipulated his voice to imitate the different things that were being created.

There were a couple of movements that Maestro Christie took simply too fast to accommodate the orchestra and chorus. Typically this was during some of the contrapuntal sections. A good example of this was during the finale to part II, "Achieved is the glorious work". Both the orchestra and the chorus were having difficulties keeping up with Christie's tempo. Articulation by the orchestra was sub-par and so was the chorus's diction. Having played and sung this movement, the proper articulation and diction conveys the jubilation that Creation is complete.

All in all, the PSO and the Symphony Chorus presented a tour de force and only further proved that Phoenix and the Southwest are incredibly lucky to have such a fantastic orchestra in the region. If I had to rate this, I would give it 8.3/10.

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Sheraton Phoenix Downtown grand opening pictures

Today was a big day in downtown Phoenix history. Downtown Phoenix's first new hotel in over 30 years opened. This is the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, located along 3rd Street between Taylor and Van Buren Streets.

I went inside and had a look around to see what was on the inside (after a couple of years of seeing construction on the outside!).


if you cannot see the slideshow, click here for the album

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

METRO Light Rail Dinner & Dialogue

On October 8th, METRO Light Rail in conjunction with ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus Student Affairs, is hosting a Dinner & Dialogue event where you can be part of an active discussion on METRO safety awareness. The event takes place in POST room 120 from 5.30-6.30p.

RSVP's are required. For more information, see the flyer, available here.

Cheers-
Edward Jensen

Backpack to Briefcase Workshop Series

Backpack to Briefcase Workshop Series
THIS WEEK: September 29 to October 3

Come to one or all of these workshops. No RSVP required. All workshops held from 12.40p to 1.30p.

Monday, Sept. 29: Writing Resumes & Cover Letters
University Center 211
Hosted by: City of Phoenix

Tuesday, Sept. 30: Job Searching & Networking 101
Cronkite 414
Hosted by: David & Sam PR

Wednesday, Oct. 1: Finding Internships
University Center 219
Hosted by: ASU Career Services

Thursday, Oct. 2: Interviewing & Professional Dress
Cronkite 453
Hosted by: The Center for Habilitation

Friday, Oct. 3: Evaluating & Negotiating Job Offers
Cronkite 124
Hosted by: ASU Career Services

For questions or more information, please call the Career Services front desk at 602-496-1213 or email us at dpccareerservices@asu.edu!