The lecture is free and open to the public. The audience is also welcomed to attend a reception for Dr. Gabaccia in the Salon B in the Reynolds Center following the lecture.

Dr. Gabaccia is professor of history and director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota.

She is the author of numerous books and articles on immigrant life in the U.S. and Italian migration around the world, including From the Other Side: Women, Gender and Immigrant Life in the United States (Indiana University Press, 1994) and Italy’s Many Diasporas (Routledge, 2000). She has also written about food, culture, and migration in We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans (Harvard University Press, 1998). Reviewers have praised her work for revealing how the immigrant experience shaped American culture.

The lecture is sponsored by the History, Political Science, and Geography Department at Southern Arkansas University and is part of the Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecture Program.

Dr. Robert Walz taught history at SAU from 1958 to 1987 and was recognized as a leading scholar of Arkansas history. The Walz Lectureship was established in 1995 with a bequest from the estate of Mrs. Curtistine A. Walz, in honor of her husband’s long service to the university.

The rodeo is brought to fans by the rodeo team at Southern Arkansas University and is approved by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s Ozark Region rodeo. The Ozark Region of the NIRA consists of colleges and universities in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Indiana, Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and parts of Louisiana.

“We have about 15 schools in the region and about 220 participants total,” said SAU Rodeo Coach Rusty Hayes.

Hayes said he expects the SAU men’s team to dominate the calf roping and team roping while the SAU women’s team to be strong in the barrel racing, goat tying and break-away roping. Hayes said the women’s team recently won the title in their first rodeo of the season in Marshall, Missouri.
As true with other sports, sometimes athletes performing on familiar turf have a home field advantage, Hayes said, adding his athletes will have the benefit of being able to rest before the events.

“Because all of us and the horses haven’t ridden in a truck for 10 hours, we should be fresher,” he said.

Hayes said proceeds from the rodeo and the concession stand at the event pays for the Agriculture Formal each December, as well as some of the supplies for the animals.

A special aspect of Friday and Saturday evenings rodeos will be a calf scramble will be held for children 10 and under. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded to the children who can grab a ribbon of a calf’s tail the fastest.

Also, the collegiate cowboy and cowgirl with the highest totals for the rodeo will each be given a saddle donated by the Magnolia Advertising and Promotion Board.

For more information on the rodeo, call the SAU Agriculture Department at 870-235-4340.

“The Closeline Project” is a traveling exhibit of approximately 300 hand decorated items of clothing, each representing a life lost due to domestic violence in Arkansas over the past 10 years.

“April is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so we were pleased to be able to schedule this exhibit to visit Magnolia and SAU,” said Deborah Wilson, SAU psychology instructor. “An average of 30 Arkansans are killed each year from domestic violence. This exhibit helps to remember the victims while raising awareness about domestic violence.”

The display includes a shirt remembering Brittany Pater of Magnolia. Pater’s story and the stories of the other victims are hanging with their respective shirt on display.

Wilson recalled her first viewing of the exhibit, and described it as a “powerful, unforgettable display.”
The event really hit home for her when she discovered a shirt representing a woman she knew. “It brought up a lot of emotion. I stood there thinking about her and what she went through,” said Wilson.

The exhibit is sponsored by the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ACADV) and the Women’s Crisis Center in Camden. It is free and open to the public.

SAU students and faculty will be assisting in arranging and repacking the display both days. “We are actively involved in the issues we teach [in the psychology department at SAU],” said Dr. Chrisanne Christensen, psychology professor. “That is really important to us.”

The initiation will be celebrated at the Wilson Building, room 327. The ceremony will be conducted and sponsored by Dr. Elba D. Birmingham-Pokorny, professor of Spanish. Sigma Delta Pi is the largest foreign-language honor society in existence, the only one devoted exclusively to students of Spanish in four-year colleges and universities, and one of only three foreign language societies accredited as members of the Association of College Honor Societies.

The following students will be inducted into Sigma Delta Pi Mayumi Abe of Japan, Christi Albrecht of Monticello, Ark., Holly Ball of Emerson, Ark., Morgan Collier of Mesquite, Texas, Laquita Houston of Wilmot, Ark., Katie McWilliams of Emerson, Ark., Elcia Olivo of Bay City, Texas, Gitanjali Shrestha of Nepal and Wendy White of El Dorado, Ark. Also to be inducted as special members are Dr. Yonghu Dai, associate Spanish professor, Dr. Elizabeth Davis, chair of the SAU Department of English and Foreign Languages, and Dr. Juping Wang, assistant Spanish professor. Ms. Danielle Danci will assist in the ceremony.

Sigma Delta Pi was established on November 14, 1919, at the University of California in Berkeley. Its symbol is the royal seal of Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Castile, Leon, and Aragon. The society’s colors are red and gold, and its flower is the red carnation. In order to qualify for admission, students must have minimum grade of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 in all Spanish courses.

The purposes of Delta Sigma Pi are to honor and encourage excellent students of Spanish language, literature, and culture; to honor those who create awareness within the English-speaking community of Hispanic contributions to modern culture; and to foster friendly relations between Hispanic and English speakers.

There are more than 430 chapters of Sigma Delta Pi at American colleges and universities. The society sponsors grants, cultural activities, scholarships, state and regional symposia, and other activities to support the study of Hispanic languages, literature and culture.

The center, located at 200 West Calhoun, will continue providing services offered at the former center located in the Fountain Plaza Shopping Center on Main Street. These services include providing counseling to people who suffer from domestic abuse as well as coordinating a safe place for them to live while they transition into their new lives. The center will also serve as a place for the community to drop off donations such as clothing and nonperishable food items.

Students who could have spent the morning sleeping in arrived early to strip carpet and tile from the floors and dispose of unwanted items in the center. Some students also sanded the walls in preparation for new coats of paint to give the center a new feel.

Jay Hale, a sophomore from Orlando, Florida organized the event because he said he recognized the importance of the center in the community. Hale, who lived in different parts of the country, said no matter where he has lived he has maintained an active role in the community.

“I just wanted to give something back,” said Hale who is the grandson of Flossie Biddle Thomas who serves as the center’s chief executive officer and the great nephew of Bernice Parhm, who serves as the crisis coordinator

Ruby Burgess, dean of the college of education as well as president of the Columbia County Crisis Center, said she commended the volunteer effort made by the students.

“As people engaged in higher education we live in a community, and part of our responsibility is to serve the community,” Burgess said.

Darwin Moore, a senior from Smackover, Ark., and president of Phi Beta Sigma said projects such as this go hand in hand with what fraternities such as his were based on when they were founded.

“Anytime someone in the community needs help we need to come to running,” Moore said. “We are based on community service so as a brotherhood we should do this.”

SAU groups who were represented Saturday include Alpha Sigma Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Honors Hall, Phi Beta Sigma, Phi Lambda Chi, Phi Mu, Resident Hall Association and Sigma Sigma Sigma. Margie Sharp, who serves on the crisis center board, also helped out with the cleanup effort.

Students participating in the ceremony are required to line up at 6 p.m. in Harton Theatre. Graduates of the Colleges of Business and Education are asked to line up on the left side of the theater, while those graduating from the Colleges of Liberal and Performing Arts and Science and Technology are to line up on the right.

In the event of inclement weather, the W.T. Watson Athletic Center will serve as an alternate site for the commencement exercises. If this is the case, two separate ceremonies will take place. The College of Business and the College of Education will have their ceremony at 7 p.m., and the ceremony for the College of Liberal and Performing Arts and the College of Science and Technology will take place at 8:30 p.m.

Bob L. Burns, chairman and CEO of Farmer’s Bank & Trust in Magnolia since 1983, will serve as the guest speaker at the ceremony.

Regardless of the weather, the Nursing Department ceremony will be at 4 p.m. in the Reynolds Center Grand Hall. Participants are asked to line up at 3:30 p.m. in Foundation Hall. In addition, the School of Graduate Studies will hold its ceremony at 5:30 p.m. in the Grand Hall as well. Students, faculty and platform guests are to line up in Foundation Hall at 5 p.m.
The Office of Alumni Relations will sponsor a reception for graduates, family and faculty from 4:30 to 6:45 p.m. in the Blue and Gold Room of the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center.

For more information regarding graduation at SAU, call the Office of the Registrar at 870-235-4031.

Byron Pitts, a CBS National Correspondent has been selected as this year’s speaker. Pitts, CBS News’ lead reporter during the Sept. 11 attacks, has also been recognized for covering other key national stories in recent years. These include the war in Afghanistan, the Elian Gonzalez story, the Florida Presidential recount, and reporting the fall of a Saddam statue while under fire.

Pitts is the recipient of four Associated Press awards, one national Emmy award, six regional Emmy awards, and a National Association of Black Journalists award.

“Mr. Pitts is one of today’s leading television journalists. We are pleased and fortunate to be able to add this diverse and experienced speaker to our list of Emerson-Thomas Crone lectures. I hope that everyone will be able to attend this lecture and hear about the personal obstacles he has overcome in his life as well as his first-hand observations of both the 9-11 tragedy and as an embedded reporter in the war in Iraq. It should be an exciting evening.”

The Emerson-Thomas-Crone Lecture is free and open to the public.

The guest speaker this year will be W. Dan Hendrix, president and CEO of the Arkansas World Trade Center, which connects Arkansas to the world by providing international trade services to companies and individuals. Hendrix has had a diverse career in transportation, import/export operations, marketing, development, logistics, administration and consulting.

Before heading up the Arkansas World Trade Center, he was on the team that raised over one billion dollars for the University of Arkansas in the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. He has held such ranks as president/CEO and chairman of ABF Frieght System, senior vice president of Trans-States Lines, and senior vice president and general manager of an Oklahoma transportation company involved in U.S., Mexican and Canadian transportation.

The GTEDC is a regional economic development group consisting of members from Camden, El Dorado, Magnolia, Smackover, and Hampton. It is committed to supporting existing business and industry and attracting new business and industry to the Golden Triangle area. David Rankin, chairman of the GTEDC, will give the annual report for the year’s activities and events.

“Now, more than ever, it is essential for cities and counties to work together on a regional basis,” said Rankin. “I appreciate everyone who has helped make the GTEDC a leading economic development effort.”

Tickets are $20 per person and include the meal. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact GTEDC Administrative Coordinator Deborah Lewis at (870) 235-4924 or email at gtedc@saumag.edu. You may also purchase tickets at your local chamber of commerce or economic development office.

The special event is being sponsored by the SAU Foundation and proceeds will benefit the foundation and the Kathleen Mallory Lectureship Endowment.

A private reception with Babineaux will be held from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. in the Magnolia Room of the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center. The private reception will be followed by a 7 p.m. dinner and remarks by Babineaux in the Grand Hall of the Reynolds Center.

Ticket prices are $25 for dinner and remarks and $50 for entry into the private reception, to receive a photograph with Babineaux and to attend the dinner with remarks by the athlete.

The mission of the Kathleen Mallory Lecture Series is to honor the contributions of Dr. Mallory, an English professor who has made extraordinary contributions to SAU and to issues of English Curriculum improvement in Arkansas and the United States. Mallory is credited with brining scholars working in the fields of African Diasporic and African American Studies to Southern Arkansas University to share their scholarship with students, faculty, staff and members of the community.

For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, call the SAU Foundation Office at 877-235-7409 or 870-235-4078.

The article is titled “Divide Your Portion: An Illustration of Portfolio Diversification.” It highlights the importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket and stresses the benefits of diversified portfolios in an unstable market.

Ashby received his bachelor’s degree from SAU, his master’s from the University of Mississippi, and his doctorate from Louisiana Tech University. He is also a practicing financial planner with Mustard Seed Financial, LLC.