Wittenberg University

Wittenberg Series Celebrates 24th Season
of Outstanding Programming

Tibetan Monks' Mandala Sand Painting

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A celebration will take place on the Wittenberg University campus during the 2005-06 school year, without the balloons and confetti.

Themed “Celebrations,” the Wittenberg Series will continue its tradition of offering value-centered, intellectual and entertaining programming during the 2005-06 school year. A Springfield community institution, the Wittenberg Series has offered hundreds of culturally diverse free public events since its inception in 1982. Through the years, the Wittenberg Series has featured distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence, and 2005-06 is no different.

The 2005-06 Wittenberg Series begins at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31, with the opening convocation of the university’s 161st academic year featuring Mark Erickson, Wittenberg’s newly appointed president. Erickson’s presentation will take place in historic Weaver Chapel.

Erickson’s address kicks off a Wittenberg Series schedule filled with big names and unique educational opportunities, including presentations by award-winning author Tim O’Brien, environmental lawyer and activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and noted scholar, historian and author Henry Louis Gates, the featured speaker for the university’s annual Martin Luther King Commemorative Convocation. In addition, Susan Marshall & Co., a renowned dance troupe, and Second City, a comedy improv troupe that has produced many famous actors, are scheduled for performances.

Adding an international flavor, Tibetan monks from the Depung Loseling Monastery will stage a two-hour performance titled “Sacred Music Sacred Dance for World Healing” to culminate a week-long residency on March 23. During the residency, the monks will present a photo exhibit in the Thomas Library, construct a Mandala Sand Painting in the Benham-Pence Student Center and lecture on Tibetan history, philosophy, psychology, art and meditation.

“In our 24th season of the Wittenberg Series, the committee on programming is proud of the university’s continued commitment to presenting the best possible performers and speakers to address ethnic, gender, religious, creative and international concerns, as well as specific disciplines in the sciences, humanities and arts,” said Gwendolyn Scheffel, Series coordinator and adjunct assistant professor of music.

The committee on programming is a joint committee of faculty and students appointed by the provost’s office. In an effort to respond to the wide variety of interests, concerns and disciplines represented on Wittenberg’s campus and to appeal to the Springfield community, the committee coordinates its work with several administrative offices and academic departments across campus, as well as various campus-wide programs and committees, including those appointed to plan specially endowed events.

“Series planners have been pleased with the wide variety of high-quality guest lecturers and the compelling subject matter they each have covered, as well as the performing artists who have accepted their invitations to come to Springfield and to Wittenberg,” Scheffel said.

Scheffel said a conservative estimate of overall Wittenberg Series attendance, just in the past decade, would exceed 100,000 people, with an approximate cost of nearly $1 million.

“This is truly a gift not just to Wittenberg, but the entire Springfield community,” Scheffel said. “We welcome the community to our campus and to an open interaction with our students, faculty, staff and the invited guests.”

All Wittenberg Series events are free admission because of generous contributions to the general fund, income from endowed lecture funds, student fees, cosponsors and foundations. A substantial grant from the Freeman Foundation continues to support the efforts to include an Asian component in the programming.

Free general admission tickets for events at Kuss Auditorium in the Clark State Performing Arts Center can be reserved by calling the Benham-Pence Student Center Service Desk, (937) 327-7443, or the Kuss Auditorium Box Office, (937) 328-3874. Free tickets for Second City will be available at the Beham-Pence Student Center Service Desk only. Tickets are not issued for any other events.

To make special arrangements, receive a Wittenberg Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Scheffel at (937) 327-7918 or send an e-mail to gscheffel@wittenberg.edu.

>The complete calendar of events of the 2005-06 Wittenberg Series includes: