Slippery Rock University

Hosting one postseason sporting event is no easy task, with the competitors and the weather not known until a few days before it starts. Imagine the challenge of hosting six championships in one day. So, when SportsPITTSBURGH put in a bid to host the NCAA Division II Fall Championships Festival, officials from the sports division of Allegheny County's tourism promotion agency sought out a capable partner in Slippery Rock University to help win the bid and make the festival a success. Although all the sporting events will take place 50 miles south of campus in Pittsburgh, SRU is serving as the co-host institution for the festival, which will include six championships, Nov. 29 to Dec. 1.

Emphasizing the person, not the disability, is one of the many topics being addressed by the Slippery Rock University President's Commission on Disability Issues. This includes the use of person-first language, such as saying the name of the student who has a disability and not referring to him or her as "that handicapped student."

Domestic terrorism, hate crimes and homegrown violent extremism are becoming more prevalent in America. A group of students in Slippery Rock University's Homeland/Corporate Security Studies Department is partnering with the FBI field office in Pittsburgh to enhance community awareness of potential behavioral indicators exhibited by violent extremists. They'll also look at some basic prevention and intervention strategies which family members, co-workers, peers and others can employ in an effort to prevent radical behavior before it occurs.

While the 17-day celebration of the University and the inauguration of President William Behre could be categorized as an extravaganza, an actual one is part of the planned festivities. The Planetarium Extravaganza, 4-5:30 p.m., Nov. 14 in the Vincent Science Center, will feature montages with wildlife, underwater and abstract visualizations, as well as a half-hour educational program about the mystery of dark matter in outer space. The event, cosponsored by Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, is free and open to the public.

Slippery Rock University's marching band, The Marching Pride, is ratcheting up preparations and fundraising to take part in the 2019 St. Patrick's Day Festival in Dublin, Ireland. The band was invited to make the March 14-21 trip by Brendan Carr, Lord Mayor of Dublin.

Two military veterans with strong ties to Slippery Rock University will serve as keynote speakers at SRU's Military Appreciation Week Veteran's Center sponsored breakfast and the annual Alumni Association sponsored Veterans Day Ceremony.

Among the activities planned for Slippery Rock University's celebration of the Nov. 9 inauguration of President William J. Behre are two processions, one with a bark and another with a bang. The Slippery Rock Student Government Association will kick off the 17-day celebration of SRU's 17th president by hosting "Paws for a Cause," which will include a Presidential Pet Parade, Nov. 1.

Reclined in a seat inside Slippery Rock University's planetarium, an awestruck second-grader points to video projected on the 30-foot-wide domed ceiling and tells a classmate how all the planets revolve around the sun. Their classmates later hold up fruits and vegetables that represent the size of the planets, like a cherry tomato for Earth and a watermelon for Jupiter. This was just part of the experience for more than 400 second-grade students from the Butler Area School District who visited SRU's Vincent Science Center, Oct. 19 and 24, where 50 SRU students from three classes taught the elementary school students as part of their courses' service-learning project.

When a parent goes to prison, they are not the only person serving a sentence. So are their children, who have to cope with the stigma, separation and not having a personal connection with their parent. A program at Slippery Rock University called "Read to Me" is hoping to change that equation by uniting children with their incarcerated parent through video and the power of literacy and storytelling.

As a budget-conscious college student, Kyle Lewis was more than ready to answer the call for free housing for his final semester at Slippery Rock University. But in doing so, he had to be prepared to also answer another type of call - the kind that comes in the middle of night - when the Slippery Rock community needs him as a first responder. Lewis, a senior safety management major from Butler, is the first SRU student to take advantage of a live-in program created by the Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Team last year. For the fall semester, Lewis is living in a 400-square-foot bunk room, just one of the amenities inside SRVFC's 5,500-square-foot Rescue Building that was built in 2015 near the corner of Elm and New Castle streets. The SRVFC provides his housing in exchange for Lewis remaining on call for four overnight duty periods per week.

Fourteen Slippery Rock University student vocalists will demonstrate their range at 2 p.m., Nov. 4 at Swope Music Hall when they compete for the Chad Williamson Memorial Vocal Scholarship as part of the 26th annual competition.

Slippery Rock University's Afro-Colombian Dance Ensemble will take its show on the road when it performs "Palenque!" at 8 p.m., Oct. 26 at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre in Pittsburgh.

With the fall semester in full swing and the holiday season right around the corner, it's only natural for a student to start making plans for ... summer? Well, if you're Robert Bailey, it's never too early to get a jump, or rather a peddle, on your plans. Bailey, a Slippery Rock University junior accounting major from Mount Pleasant and president of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity's SRU chapter, has been selected as one of just 100 cyclists - from a nationwide field of more than 10,000 of his fraternity brothers - to participate in the 2019 Ability Experience's Journey of Hope.

Although the cool temperatures might tempt you to want to do nothing but settle on the couch with a blanket and binge watch Netflix - don't do it. Instead, grab a ticket for the Slippery Rock University Theatre Department's production of "Concord Floral." The production will run Oct. 19-20 and 23-24 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 21 and 25 at 2 p.m. in the University Union Multipurpose Room.

While most students are busy cramming as midterm exams approach, dance majors and their faculty are busy bending and stretching in preparation for an upcoming performance. Slippery Rock University's Dance Department will host its annual Faculty and Guest Artist concert at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Oct. 21 at Butler County Community College's Succop Theatre.

Being a university president comes with privileges, like having your own parking spot. William Behre, president at Slippery Rock University, covets a different privilege: serving SRU's students. That's why Behre recently started raffling off the privilege of using his parking spot for one week to a trio of students.

Slippery Rock University women's tennis standout Lacey Cohen made history Oct. 1 by defeating Katya Minchenkova of Indiana University of Pennsylvania to capture the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference women's singles championship at the Burt Reese Tennis Courts on the campus of Bloomsburg University.

Fall has arrived and with it the sounds of rustling leaves, whistling trees and ... flutes, piccolos and oboes? Hey, autumn isn't just for pumpkins and miniature candy anymore, it's also for band concerts and the Slippery Rock University Symphonic Wind Ensemble has you covered. The 50-plus student-musician group will host its first performance of the season at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 16 at Swope Music Hall.

There's some heady research going on at Slippery Rock University that could help humans wrap their brains around what's holding all their gray matter together. Last month, a research group consisting of faculty and students from SRU, Ohio State University and the University of Florida embarked on a study to examine how cranial growth determines skull shape. To better understand the human skull, the researchers are analyzing the cranial base structures of other types of primates thanks in part to a $109,470 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Slippery Rock University will recognize five recipients of the Women and Allies of Distinction Awards as part of the 32nd annual Leadership and Mentoring Dinner. The event, hosted by the President's Commission on Women and SRU's gender studies program is 5 p.m., Oct. 9 at the Russell Wright Alumni House.

A mathematician may seem out of place working with clinicians at the National Institutes of Health researching matters of public health, but don't tell that to John Yannotty. Yannotty, a Slippery Rock University senior mathematics major from Butler, recently completed a summer internship at the NIH after being selected to assist a biomedical research group exploring environmental triggers that cause an autoimmune disease called myositis.

Slippery Rock University's mailroom is processing more packages than ever. At last count, more than 15,000 parcels per semester arrived or departed to and from the University.

Slippery Rock University's Dance, Theatre and Art Departments will present a multimedia concert consisting of 60 one-minute pieces Sept. 27.

Election Day 2018, the day U.S. citizens can exercise their right to choose the candidate of their choice, is fast approaching. But for many Slippery Rock University students, another choice looms on the horizon: where they should register to vote. Eligible voters in Pennsylvania must register by Oct. 9 to cast a ballot in the Nov. 6 election.

The Slippery Rock University honors program has been "redesignated" as an Honors College, following the successful completion of a three-year strategic plan for SRU's growing interdisciplinary community. The change to an Honors College follows criteria laid out by the National Collegiate Honors Council.

Hannah Nestor, a Slippery Rock University senior accounting major from Lykens, has been awarded a $10,000 academic scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for the 2018-19 academic year.

Jacob Gillette, a Slippery Rock University junior political science major from Schuylkill Haven, is working in the office of state Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, as part of a 15-week internship sponsored by Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education.

Cassandra Eisenreich, a Slippery Rock University assistant professor of music, will lead a group of music education students in introducing music exploration to children at the Slippery Rock Student Government Association Preschool and Child Care Center courtesy of a "Pre-K Counts" grant from the state of Pennsylvania.

First-year members of Slippery Rock University's Army ROTC program prepare the cannon that is fired after each time SRU scores during home football games, a tradition that dates more than 25 years.

Slippery Rock University is expecting a freshman class of 1,580 students when fall semester classes begin Aug. 27, and although the number may not exceed last year's school-record freshman class of 1,597, SRU officials are thrilled with the types of students arriving.