Other Items

• Created 5 October 2007; Published 25 January 2008
  Convocation: Doc Evans Centennial Jazz Band

  Former Prairie Home Companion house pianist and bandleader Butch Thompson led an all-star group in celebration of what would have been the 100th birthday of nationally renowned jazz musician Paul "Doc" Evans. A 1929 graduate of Carleton, Evans made it big in the 1940s with a pair of recordings that launched him onto the national scene. He was a prominent musician in Chicago's jazz scene before his career went national with tours and engagements across the country. The title of the presentation was "An Introduction to Traditional Jazz."

• Created 28 September 2007; Published 2 October 2007
  Convocation: Lupe Ontiveros

  "One Woman's Journey." Award-winning actress, producer, activist, and visionary Lupe Ontiveros is a woman who makes a difference. She has appeared on stage, screen and television, and her role in "Desperate Housewives" made her the only Latina nominated for an Emmy in 2005. But acting is Ontiveros' second career. A graduate of Texas Woman's University, she spent 18 years as a social worker in East Los Angeles and Compton where she worked with the Head Start program, senior citizens and developmentally disabled children. It was during this time that she became involved with issues involving women and education. She established a development consulting service to assist corporate America in funding nonprofit organizations that address the issue of domestic violence. In addition, she produced "Una Vez Al Ano Para toda Una Vida" (Once a Year for a Lifetime), an award-winning educational film focusing on the need for breast cancer awareness among Latinas.

• Created 21 September 2007; Published 25 September 2007
  Convocation: Paula Vogel

  "I'm here to proselytize. I'm here to deliver a sales pitch on the urgency of making art central to all of us as citizen participators in this country." Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel began her convocation address—titled "The Necessity of Art / The Impossibility of Art"—by encouraging students to "take very seriously your capacity for creating art here, as undergraduates at Carleton college." A passionate speaker, Vogel is known for exploring controversial topics in her work, such as domestic abuse, gender roles and stereotyping, pornography, and AIDS. Reviewers have commended her humor, compassion, and creative approach to sensitive issues, and she has received several prestigious awards and grants for her work, including the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for her play "How I Learned to Drive."

• Created 10 September 2007; Published 24 September 2007
  Opening Convocation: Emily Barr ’80

  Emily Barr ’80, president and general manager of WLS-TV (ABC) in Chicago delivered the address at Carleton College’s opening convocation for the 2007-08 school year. In her talk, titled “Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (With Apologies to Dr. Seuss)," Barr assured students that the essential qualities of Carleton students—passion, a good attitude, flexibility and a sense of humor—will serve them well in the world beyond college. Armed with a BA in film studies from Carleton, Barr began her career in broadcasting in 1980 as a news editor at KSTP-TV in St. Paul, Minn. She earned an M.B.A. in 1986 from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 1997 she became the first woman president of an ABC television station, and under her leadership WLS-TV has become the top-rated station in the Chicago market. A Carleton Alumni Trustee from 2002 to 2006, Barr has received multiple honors for her civic involvement in the Chicago community, where she serves on multiple boards and foundations.

• Created 6 September 2007; Published 25 September 2007
  Common Reading Convocation: Mountains Beyond Mountains

  On September 6, 2007, the Class of 2011 and other members of the Carleton community gathered for the annual Common Reading Convocation and afterward engaged in small group discussions based upon Tracy Kidder's "Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World." Paul Farmer is a doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant, and world-class Robin Hood. In medical school he found his life's calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Kidder's magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer blasts through convention to get results. The convocation features remarks by President Rob Oden and former Peace Corps volunteers Joseph Chihade, Associate Professor of Chemistry, and Patrick Ganey, Carleton Development Officer), as well as Amenah Babar '05, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

• Created 16 June 2007; Published 21 June 2007
  President's Report to Alumni at Reunion 2007
• Created 30 May 2007; Published 30 May 2007
  Convocation: Campaign Announcement

  "Breaking Barriers, Creating Connections: The Campaign for Carleton." Exciting announcement of Carleton's fund-raising campaign, with creative surprises from students.