MACON - Michael Thurmond, former Georgia commissioner of labor and 2010 Democratic nominee for United States Senate, will speak at Mercer University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Presidents Dining Room of the University Center. The speech is the keynote event of the 2012 Leadership MU Conference, sponsored by Mercer's Office of Campus Life and Division of Student Affairs.
MACON - Baseball meets Broadway in the grand slam musical Damn Yankees at The Grand Opera House April 7 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. A 1950s middle-aged baseball fanatic trades his soul to the devil for a chance to lead his favorite team in the pennant race against the New York Yankees. Faust, fly balls and devilishly good fun all meet at the home plate of this comedy musical that has earned seven Tony Awards. Filled with hit songs, including "Whatever Lola Wants" and "You Gotta Have Heart," this show has been a home run with audiences since its Broadway debut in 1955. Tickets are $28 to $46, with discount rates available for groups of 10 or more. Purchase by phone at (478) 301-5470 or in person at The Grand, 651 Mulberry St., open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; or purchase online at TheGrandMacon.com.
MACON - Mercer University's Townsend School of Music today announced the appointment of Dr. Jack Mitchener as associate professor of organ and church music and director of the Townsend-McAfee Institute of Church Music. Dr. Mitchener currently serves as associate professor of organ at Oberlin College and Conservatory.
MACON - GrammyTM nominated jazz saxophonist Brad Leali will headline the final concert in a yearlong series that has celebrated the 10th anniversary of the McCorkle Music Building at Mercer University, held on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Fickling Hall. He will be joined by the Mercer Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Monty Cole, director of jazz studies at Mercer. Tickets are $10 for the general public and free with Mercer I.D. Call (478) 301-5470 or buy online at tickets.mercer.edu.
MACON - Mercer University environmental engineering professor Dr. Philip T. McCreanor has been recognized with the 2012 Outstanding Mid-Career Teaching Award by the American Society for Engineering Education Southeastern section. Dr. McCreanor will receive his award at the annual Southeastern section meeting on April 2 at Mississippi State University.
ATLANTA/MACON - Mercer University's Executive Forum, presented by BB&T, will feature Budge Huskey, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, on March 29. He will give a presentation titled "Real Estate Market Outlook" to Executive Forum members and invited guests during a lunch presentation at the Capital City Club in Atlanta at noon and a dinner presentation at 6:30 p.m. in the Presidents Dining Room of the University Center on the University's Macon campus.
OGAN, Utah - A landmark season for the Mercer men's basketball team resulted in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament Championship, earned in a hard-fought 70-67 win at Utah State on Wednesday night. Mercer's victory secured the team's spot in history as the Atlantic Sun Conference's first team to capture a postseason crown. Junior Travis Smith booked a career-high 17 points in the win, while sophomore Langston Hall added 16. Sophomore Bud Thomas notched his second straight game in double figures with 10 points.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -Mercer University senior Chelsea Flieger was awarded the Gulf South Summit Award for Outstanding Student Contributions to Service-Learning at the Gulf South Summit on March 23 for "extraordinary public or community service efforts." Flieger was recognized for her work with Mercer's Local Engagement Against Poverty (LEAP) Initiative, a service program that she helped found with three other Mercer Service Scholars. LEAP launched in 2011 with a conference as part of an initiative for Mercer students to volunteer to help alleviate poverty in Macon. Flieger is the second Mercer student to win the award, Hannah Vann won in 2010.
MACON -- Mercer Service Scholars Chelsea Flieger and Garret McDowell were invited to attend the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative University (GGIU) national leadership conference in Washington, D.C., this weekend. The conference will be held at George Washington University today through Sunday. The honor is based on their work to launch and enhance Mercer's Local Engagement Against Poverty (LEAP) initiative.
Mercer Theatre director, professor and alumnus Scot Mann has his feet in two worlds this month with the opening of two musicals in which he plays major roles behind the scenes. Mercer Theatre's co-production with Mercer Opera of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music opens at The Grand Opera House on April 13. His second role as fight director for the premiere of the star-studded production of a new play, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, opens at The Alliance Theatre, Atlanta's reigning professional playhouse located at the Woodruff Center, on Wednesday.
