IPFW’s Career Services (CS) and Financial Aid Office (FAO) awarded Sasha Allgayer the Graduate Student Employee of the Year award in April. Allgayer works for the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) as the producer of the weekly television series Arts Weekly and was recognized for his commitment to IPFW and the arts.

IPFW has more than 850 student employees and in an effort to recognize the invaluable work these students do, each year CS and FAO ask for nominations for this award that consists of a plaque and a cash award to be used for education. Nominated by Melinda Haines, assistant to the VPA dean for community engagement and host of Arts Weekly, Allgayer was congratulated for treating his graduate assistantship like a career with a high level of professionalism in what can be a high-stress environment.

“Sasha is wonderful to work with,” explained Haines. “All of our guests and team and crew members enjoy working with him. He is respectful, smart, industrious and hard working. When presented with a new challenge, he doesn't panic but works through it, alerting team members in advance if necessary. He always has a smile on his face and is willing to go the extra mile.”

Jeff Casazza – Leepoxy Plastics Teaching Award Winner

Jeff Casazza, associate professor of theatre, has won the Leepoxy Plastics, Inc. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for his innovative approach to the teaching of Theatrical Composition. The award was established in 2003 by area businessman Lawrence Lee to recognize and encourage innovative undergraduate teaching that enhances student learning.

The selection committee, comprised of two faculty members, two students and a staff member designated by the vice chancellor of academic affairs, chose Casazza from among five nominees from three colleges. In coming to a consensus on the winner, the insights and perspectives of the student members of the committee were particularly persuasive. Further, Casazza provided ample convincing evidence showing that his innovation enhanced learning outcomes. The chancellor will present Jeff with the award and $1,000 in professional development funds at the annual convocation ceremony in August 2013.

Jazz Combo Invited to Play in NYC

The jazz combo Postmodern Prohibition was invited to perform at the New York City Jazz Festival held April 18-21. Sponsored by Sweetwater Sound, which helped finance the trip, the group (also known as the Sweetwater Jazz Project) includes two IPFW music majors, sophomores Evan Gidley on sax and Travis Lyons on guitar, and two high school seniors, Leland Nelson on bass from Canterbury High School and Sean Christian Parr on drum set from Carroll High School.

Postmodern was one of only ten groups selected to play at the festival. Other festival performers included four big bands from high schools and a middle school from California, Florida, New Jersey and Canada, along with five vocal jazz ensembles from high schools and a small university. They performed in the Allen Room located in Jazz at Lincoln Center, located on the fifth floor of the Time Warner building, overlooking Columbus Circle and Central Park.

“The entire experience was very memorable,” reflected Gidley, “and it was a ton of fun to finally go after all of the hours spent playing gigs around town to make the money we needed to pay our portion of the trip.”

Other highlights of their trip included listening to live jazz at Birdland and the Jazz Standard jazz club, participating in a clinic by a local jazz pianist David Berkham and attending a Q&A session with John Fedchock, a trombonist from NYC, and Janis Siegal, one of the members of the renowned vocal jazz group, the Manhattan Transfer. The festival concluded with a concert featuring Fedchock’s big band and Siegal singing with members of the vocal jazz ensembles, followed by a midnight cruise on the New York Harbor for the festival’s participants.

A Visceral Interpretation of Space

In May, Visual Communication and Design (VCD) alum Gregor Roth (’11) received his M.F.A. in Studio Arts from Maine College of Art (MECA) in Portland, Maine. The 2013 M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition of the graduates’ work is on display at the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA from May 14 through June 12. Roth has served as adjunct faculty in VCD while working on his advanced degree. MECA offers a low-residency M.F.A. in Studio Art, among the first of its kind in the nation.

Roth’s project abstract explains his view that typically art viewership is a static process where one stands in front of the image, gazing and studying, never merging in a real and natural manner with the artwork, rarely making more than a short-term emotional connection. In Roth’s site-specific thesis installation, string and yarn act as line and are used to draw in space to construct the illusion of structure. Roth asks the viewer to engage in a more intuitive and visceral interpretation of space by forming a third environment, encouraging the viewer to merge physically and emotionally in the work, altering his perceptions of space and time. Roth’s work has been well-received and contemporary performance groups are interested in exploring more about his visceral interpretation of space.

Sara Nordling Exhibition

 The solo exhibition Plication, Weavings by Sara Nordling currently is being shown at The Arts Place in Portland, Ind., from May 17 – June 28, 2013. Her weavings celebrate the process of producing textiles that stand on their own; works that are simple yet very complex. Nordling, adjunct faculty in the Department of Fine Arts, teaches design and painting for non-majors. Visit The Arts Place online for more information.