New Ashland
leader named
Ashland University President Dr. Carlos Campo has announced that Dr. Mark Harden has been hired as the new president of Ashland Theological Seminary, a division of Ashland University. Dr. Harden will start in his new role on July 1.
“We are very pleased to have Dr. Mark Harden and his wife, Sharon, join our AU family. Dr. Harden is an accomplished academic and faithful man of God, with an extraordinary background and the vision needed to lead ATS to new heights,” Campo said. “The senior leadership team is looking forward to Dr. Harden’s input on our Cabinet as we work to identify more ways to partner with the seminary in the days to come.
“Our thanks to the search committee for their tireless work in securing our next seminary president, and we also recognize past president Dr. John Shultz at this time for his faithful leadership,” Campo added. Shultz will retire at the end of this academic year after serving as ATS president since 2006.
Tom Murray, chair of the presidential search committee, said, “We are excited to have Dr. Harden join our ATS community. Our committee devoted many hours in searching for the right person who can lead our seminary into the future. Seminaries across the country are facing challenges on different fronts. We are confident that Dr. Harden shares our passion for the mission of Ashland Theological Seminary and that he has the necessary skills to navigate us through the storms in close collaboration with our faculty, administration, staff, students and trustees.”
Harden has served as Boston Campus Dean and Associate Professor of Community Development and Outreach at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Roxbury, Mass., since 2012. Prior to that, he was Dean of Intercultural Relations at Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minn., from 2007 to 2012 and was also Associate Professor of Community Development and Outreach, Degree Program Director and Lead Faculty Instructor at Bethel from 2002 to 2012.
Audition dates
set for 1776
The Ohio State University’s Black Box Theater and Licking County Players have announced audition dates for the July production of 1776, winner of the 1969 Tony Award for Best Musical.
Auditions are open to the public and will be held on Monday, April 18 and Tuesday, April 19, at 7:00 p.m. at The Black Box Theater in LeFevre Hall, 1199 University Drive, on the shared campus of Ohio State Newark and Central Ohio Technical College (COTC). Performance dates will run from June 30 – July 2, 2016 with a private performance for Ohio State Newark and COTC alumni on July 3. All performances will be held at the Alford Performing Arts Hall in the John Gilbert Reese Center.
The Newark production of 1776 is being produced in collaboration with the Licking County Players and will be directed by Edie L. Norlin with musical direction by Paul D. Sanders.
Audition requirements include 18 bars of prepared music (not from 1776) with cold script reads. Also be prepared to sing short selections from the show. Parts are available for 25 men and 2 women.
Author, professor
to give lecture
Helen Benedict, professor of journalism at Columbia University and author of multiple novels and non-fiction books, will be reading from her acclaimed 2012 novel, “Sand Queen,” as part of Ashland University’s English Department Spring 2016 Reading Series.
This event will be held April 18 from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Ridenour Room (115 Dauch) located in the Dauch College of Business and Economics. The event, which is free and open to the public, replaces the canceled Jeffrey Lent reading event that was scheduled for April 20.
“Sand Queen” was called “one of this year’s best new novels about war” by Publisher’s Weekly and NPR, while the Boston Globe called it “‘The Things They Carried’ for women in Iraq.” In 2015, she was a finalist for the UK Liberty Human Rights Arts Award for her play, “The Lonely Soldier.”
In 2013, she was awarded the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism and named one of the 21 leaders for the 21st century by Women’s eNews in the U.S., and she has also won the Ken Book Award and the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism.
Ohio State Newark to
launch completion program
The Ohio State University at Newark will launch a program autumn semester 2016 to help students in their senior year deal with financial issues and complete their degrees. The Ohio State Newark Senior Completion Program is being funded through a grant from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU), Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation and the Lumina Foundation.
“All of Ohio State’s regional campuses received a $50,000 completion grant,” said Executive Director of Regional Campuses and Ohio State Newark Dean/Director William L. MacDonald, Ph.D. “Each regional campus will receive $12,500. The program will help prevent low-income college students nearing graduation from dropping out. Jennifer Cowley, vice provost for capital planning and regional campuses, did a great deal of work to make this happen, and we are very appreciative.”
The completion program focuses on reducing students’ financial burden in their senior year by making expanded aid available for selected students.
“This will make a huge difference for many of our students,” said Ohio State Newark Retention Coordinator Jamie White. “This program will reduce the financial stress some students experience and help them focus on completing their degree.”
