News and Notes

Bus tour rolls on to Northern Virginia

Old Dominion's ninth annual bus tour will begin its second leg of the semester when President James V. Koch leads a cadre of more than 60 faculty, administrators and students to Northern Virginia, March 8-9.

Faculty will teach classes at Annandale, West Springfield, Hayfield and J.E.B. Stuart high schools and Arlington Career Center, Robinson Secondary School and Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology.

They will cover topics such as nuclear physics, health careers, mass extinctions, tsunamis, information systems, government, American literature and alternative medicines. President Koch will give his "Life After High School" talk to seniors at Annandale High School Monday, March 8, and West Springfield High School Tuesday, March 9.

The Old Dominion group will host an admissions reception for prospective students and their families the evening of March 8 at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner.

The Department of Human Resources is sponsoring a special open enrollment period through March 31 for Cigna long-term disability coverage.

This program is available for full-time faculty and staff who earn at least $15,000 a year. For an application or more information call HRD's Benefits Section at 683-3051.

The following slate of officers for 1999-2000 was approved at the Feb. 24 meeting of the Hourly and Classified Employees Association: Bobby Powell of the Science Shop, president; Fern McDougal of the University Library, first vice president; Sharon Joyner of the Academic Skills Center, second vice president; Sandi Lewis of the educational leadership and counseling department, recording secretary; Anne Hester of the CHANCE program, corresponding secretary; and Jackie Drew of academic affairs, treasurer.

The officers will be installed at the annual HACE luncheon on May 20. Bill Whitehurst, Kaufman Lecture of Public Affairs, will be the guest speaker. His topic will be "The New Millennium."

The University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of music department chair Dennis Zeisler, will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, on the University Theatre stage.

Community Music Academy student recitals are scheduled for 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday, March 6, in Chandler Recital Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center.

All of these performances are free and open to the public.

The Department of Human Resources has scheduled briefings March 3-6 for faculty, staff, adjunct faculty and hourly employees interested in learning about enrollment in a life insurance plan.

Representatives of Boston Mutual Life will be available in Webb Center March 3-5, and in HRD Building II on March 6, to provide in-depth information.

For times and more information call Marcha Schriver at 683-4760. Everyone who attends one of the briefings will be eligible to enter a raffle for a 13-inch remote-control TV set, Sony Walkman or Sony automobile CD player.

A reception was held Jan. 13 to commemorate the donation of books from the collection of Earl Alluisi to the University Library. Alluisi, who taught psychology and served as director of the Performance Assessment Lab at Old Dominion from 1974 to 1982, died in 1993. His widow, Mary Jane Alluisi, donated the books to the psychology department and arrangements were made to transfer selected volumes to the library.

Alluisi, a renowned human factors psychologist, came to the university in 1974 as Old Dominion's first University Professor. He was the author of more than 350 publications, research reports and presentations. At Old Dominion, Alluisi was instrumental in establishing the doctoral program in industrial/organizational psychology.

Performing artist Reanae McNeal will present the final Black History Month program at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, a nationally acclaimed one-woman play about the history of the rape and sexual assault of African-American women from enslavement to the present day.

The story is conveyed through eight character sketches, dances and spiritual and blues songs, and shows how African-American women have survived rape and sexual assault and their simultaneous oppression.

The free performance will be held in Chandler Hall of the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Center.

Old Dominion University Theatre's production of Euripides' "Medea" ends this month, with final performances scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday to Sunday, Feb. 26-28, and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 28.

Directed by Leon Ingulsrud, the play is being staged at the University Theatre. Tickets are $10 general admission; $7.50 for seniors, military personnel and non-Old Dominion students; and $5 for Old Dominion students. They may be purchased at the door. For more information or reservations call 683-5305.

Old Dominion University Theatre will present the final performance of "My Father Told Me," a Playtime Theatre for All Ages production written, produced and directed by Frankie Little Hardin, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Stables Theatre. Tickets are $3 for children and $4 for adults.

Performed by Old Dominion students, the play is an original retelling of history and folklore from the African-American experience. The production, which features characters such as Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Gator and Harriet Tubman, combines biographical information with unique African-American stories while following one family's journey through the generations.

The Debate and Forensics Team recently brought home four awards from the "I Have a Dream" tournaments at the University of Lamar-Orange and McNeese State University in Louisiana.

At McNeese, senior Tara Bailey won 6th place in Poetry Interpretation and freshman Noelle Gabriel was awarded Top Novice in Extemporaneous Speaking. At Lamar-Orange, Bailey picked up another 6th place award, this time in Program of Oral Interpretation, and freshman Angel Valentino-Fulani won 6th place in Poetry Interpretation.

The six team members who participated in the tournament competed against students from such well-known universities as Rice, UT-Austin, Xavier, LSU and Louisiana Tech.

"We've made another good showing and intend to continue to do so," said coach Sandra Washington, lecturer in the communication and theatre arts department.