News Archive 2022
December 2022
November 2022
The next meeting of Shepherd University’s Stammtisch will be on Wednesday, November 30th, at 6:00 p.m. It will be held here in Shepherdstown at Alma Bea’s Restaurant, which is located at 202 E. Washington Street. Stammtisch is a conversation group for those interested in German language and the culture of the German-speaking peoples. It is open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Everybody is welcome to attend, from native speakers to those just learning the language. For more information, please contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
October 2022
Join Sigma Tau Delta members, friends, fellow students, and faculty for some creepy fun on Friday, October 28th. There will be a Halloween party from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in room 202 of Knutti Hall. It’s a covered dish event, but you’re welcome to come, even if you can’t bring anything. Just come and have a spooky good time.
The next meeting of Shepherd University’s Stammtisch will be on Wednesday, October 26th, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. It will be held here in Shepherdstown at the home of Dr. Rachel Krantz. Stammtisch is a conversation group for those interested in German language and the culture of the German-speaking peoples. It is open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Everybody is welcome to attend, from native speakers to those just learning the language. For more information, please contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
Members of Shepherd University’s English honor society, Sigma Tau Delta, served as volunteers at this year’s F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival in Rockville, Maryland on Saturday, October 15th. They were accompanied by Dr. Heidi Hanrahan, one of the sponsors of the campus chapter. Over the course of the day, the student volunteers were able to meet novelist Alice McDermott (pictured at right with Dr. Hanrahan, Mark Cuthrell, Logan King, Clara Monson, and Olyvia Thompson) and Richard Powers, this year’s Fitzgerald Award Recipient.
Dr. James Pate, Associate Professor of English, recently published a poetry collection titled Mineral Planet. The experimental/surrealist book explores climate change, the pandemic, and recent global catastrophic events, often employing the imagery of Hades and underworlds to do so. The book was published by Schism Press, and copies can be found at Four Seasons Books, 116 W. German St., Shepherdstown. Congratulations, James!
September 2022
On Friday, September 16th, Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, is hosting a “Pizza, Poetry, and Palling Around” party to serve as a meet and greet for new, incoming English, Spanish, and Modern Languages majors and minors. The event will be from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in Knutti Hall room 202. There will be not only pizza and poetry, but baked goods from our one and only Clara Monson, as well as drinks and games, so be sure to stop by on Friday to meet old friends and new (and also for free food)!
The next meeting of Shepherd University’s Stammtisch will be on Wednesday, September 7th, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. It will be held here in Shepherdstown at the home—or in the garden, if the weather is nice—of one of the newest participants, Joya Subudhi. Anyone interested in participating should go through the gate marked “Private Entrance” next to the Lost Dog Café on German Street. Stammtisch is a conversation group for those interested in German language and the culture of the German-speaking peoples. It is open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Everybody is welcome to attend, from native speakers to those just learning the language. For more information, please contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
August 2022
Shepherd University’s Stammtisch group will be getting together on Wednesday, August 17th, from 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Blue Moon Café. (If the weather is nice, the group will gather outside in the back garden.) Stammtisch is a conversation group for those interested in German language and the culture of the German-speaking peoples. It is open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Everybody is welcome to attend, from native speakers to those just learning the language. For more information, please contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
Shepherd University’s Rude Mechanicals Medieval and Renaissance Players announce auditions for William Shakespeare’s romantic tragicomedy The Winter’s Tale on Wednesday, August 24th, and Thursday, August 25th, from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m., in Reynolds Hall. There are multiple roles, both large and small, for all genders and levels of experience. A diverse cast is highly desirable. Tech crew, dancers, musicians, and video artists are also needed. Community members 16 and older are welcome to audition. Performances will take place November 5th through the 13th. For more information, contact Betty Ellzey (304-876-5208, bellzey@shepherd.edu).
July 2022
Shepherd University’s Rude Mechanicals Medieval and Renaissance Players will perform acclaimed playwright Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, a modern revisioning of the ancient Greek myth about loss, grief, memory, and making almost impossible decisions. Performances are scheduled for Friday, July 8th at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, July 9th at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, July 10th at 3 p.m. All performances will be in Reynolds Hall. Tickets, which can be purchased at the door, are $10 for the public; $2 for Shepherd University faculty and staff; free for Shepherd University students; and $5 for non-Shepherd students. For more information, contact Dr. Betty Ellzey (bellzey@shepherd.edu), Chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages.
June 2022
Shepherd University’s Stammtisch group will be getting together on Wednesday, June 15th, at the home of frequent participant Daan Vreugdenhil here in Shepherdstown. Stammtisch is a conversation group for those interested in German language and the culture of the German-speaking peoples. It is open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Everybody is welcome to attend, from native speakers to those just learning the language. For more information or to get the address for Daan’s house, please contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
April 2022
On Friday, April 22nd, Shepherd University held its annual McMurran Convocation, and seven English majors were recognized as McMurran Scholars. This year’s recipients include Mary Barker (Literature), Izzy Hawkinberry (Creative Writing), Lily Kessler (Education), Isabella Sager (Literature), Sarah Seibert (Creative Writing), Maddi Sites (Creative Writing), and Vivienne Wells (Literature). The McMurran Scholars program was started in 1961, and it is the highest academic honor awarded by Shepherd University. Mary, Izzy, Lily, Isabella, Sarah, Maddi, and Vivienne: You all are most deserving, and we couldn’t be prouder of you!
On Thursday, April 21st, five students were inducted into Shepherd University’s chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honors society. The inductees this year, English and English Education students, were Mark Cuthrell, Logan King, Clara Monson, Olivia Stevens, and Carter Warhurst. In addition, the roster of Sigma Tau Delta officers for next year was announced. Tanner Boeckmann will be serving as president, Kim Cano as vice president, Lee DiFante as secretary, and Mark Cuthrell as treasurer. Shepherd’s chapter of the honors society is very active and is sponsored by Dr. Heidi Hanrahan and Dr. Tim Nixon. Welcome aboard new members and officers!
As the semester and the academic year draw to a close, it’s time for us to come together again and celebrate the work of our graduating seniors. English Capstone students will be presenting their final projects this week. The presentations will be divided up over two sessions, one on Thursday, April 21st, and the other on Sunday, April 24th. The presentations are free and open to the public.
On Thursday the 21st, the presentations will be held in the Byrd Center’s multipurpose room, and they will begin at 6:30 p.m. The presentations that evening will be
- Isabella Sager— “Emily Dickinson’s Paradoxical Variants: The Tension of Choice and the Other”
- Maddi Sites— “Fractured Glass”
- Megan Bicking— “Submarine Dreams”
- Celine Wilson— “Human/Nature”
- Dannah Lohr— “The Horror of Eleanor Vance as an Unreliable Narrator”
- Emily Keefer— “The Journey”
On Sunday the 24th, the presentations will be held in the Byrd Center’s auditorium, and they will begin at 2:00 p.m. The presentations that day will be
- Vivienne Wells— “The Chaste Are Chased in Ovid’s Metamorphoses“
- Mary Barker— “‘As if the Devil Was in Her’: Fanny Fern Redefining the Nineteenth-Century Woman Writer”
- Sarah Seibert— “Half”
- L. Harvey— “The Dream Team”
- Shelby Daughtery— “She’ll Be All Three”
- Abi McClung— “On Leaving Home, or The Answer”
- Izzy Hawkinberry— “embody: verb“
Professor Sadie Shorr-Parks, Instructor of English and Director of the Society for Creative Writing, was just presented with an Adjunct Faculty Award in Instruction. Dr. Richie Stevens, Assistant Provost for Faculty Affairs, said that Sadie’s award and the others that were conferred this year “celebrate the excellence of our faculty at the undergraduate and graduate levels.” Sadie is a fixture on campus and around Shepherdstown, and we, her departmental colleagues, couldn’t be happier for her. You deserve this recognition, Sadie, and so much more!
Shepherd University’s Stammtisch group will be gathering this coming Friday, April 1st, at the home of frequent participant Daan Vreugdenhil here in Shepherdstown. Stammtisch is a conversation group for those interested in German language and the culture of the German-speaking peoples. It is open to faculty, staff, students, and community members. Everybody’s welcome to attend, from native speakers to those just learning the language. For more information or to get the address for Daan’s house, please contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
The Rude Mechanicals, Shepherd University’s medieval and renaissance performance troupe, is proud to present William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The performances will run from April 1st to April 10th. All performances will be held in Reynolds Hall. On April 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 9th, the performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. On April 3rd and 10th, the performances will begin at 3:00 p.m. Admission is free for Shepherd University students, faculty, and staff. Other students will be charged $3 per ticket, and the general admission price is $10. For more information, contact Dr. Betty Ellzey (bellzey@shepherd.edu or 304 876-5208) or check out this flyer.
March 2022
The Rude Mechanicals Medieval and Renaissance Players, under the direction of Dr. Betty Ellzey, performed Joseph’s Wedding, a sixteenth-century Spanish play, at the New College Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Sarasota, Florida, on Friday, March 4th, as part of the conference’s Performance Series. Joseph’s Wedding, an auto sacramental, is a play that combines religious themes with comedy and social messages about religious tolerance. Shepherd University students who performed include L Harvey, an English major; Dakota DiMarino, an environmental science major; Victoria Fairchild, a photography/computer imagery major; Sadé Herring, a sociology major; Olyvia Thompson, a secondary education major; Julie Bowen, a secondary education major; and William Prudnick, a chemistry major.
February 2022
Shepherd University’s Stammtisch group gathered on Friday, February 25th, at the home of one of the frequent participants, Daan Vreugdenhil. Stammtisch is a German conversation group that is open to everyone, from native speakers to those just learning the language. The current plans are for the group to meet on Friday, March 11th; Friday, April 1st; and Friday, April 15th. The upcoming meeting on March 11th will be at 5:00 p.m. and will take place at Alma Bea’s restaurant in Shepherdstown (202 E. Washington Street). For more information, contact Dr. Rachel Krantz (rritterb@shepherd.edu).
The Rude Mechanicals will perform the sixteenth-century Spanish play, Joseph’s Wedding, in an English translation at the 2022 New College Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Sarasota, Florida. Dr. Betty Ellzey, Chair of the Department, will be taking the troupe down to Florida March 2nd through the 6th. English majors and minors in the cast are L Harvey, William Prudnick, and Olyvia Thompson. Break a leg and enjoy the beach everybody!
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Sigma Tau Delta is teaming up with Students for Reproductive Rights and will be handing out roses with romantic and erotic poems attached. Take one for yourself! Give one to your crush! Give one to your best friend! Make a stranger’s day! Each poem will be labeled—romantic, sexual, or otherwise—to avoid giving the wrong poem to the wrong person. Members of ΣΤΔ will be handing out poems in a variety of places, including the Rams Den and the library, and leaving some roses for the taking in academic buildings. In the Rams Den, ΣΤΔ and Students for Reproductive Rights will also be giving out cupcakes, so make sure to drop by before they’re all gone! Finally, the organizations could use everybody’s help now. Faculty, friends, colleagues, and community members are encouraged to send romantic, sexual, wholesome, and/or friendly poetry to shepherdlovespoetry@gmail.com for use in the Valentine’s Day event.
January 2022
Shepherd senior English major Emily Keefer has published her first novel, The Stars on Vita Felice Court. The book’s main character, Val Beckley, is facing what many teenagers experience—a yearning to escape her small hometown, which just happens to be in West Virginia. Emily’s novel grew out of a project she started in one of Dr. Carrie Messenger’s creative writing courses, and it has been published by Köehler Books. In addition to her fiction writing, Emily is a local columnist and full-time reporter; she has published over 250 bylined articles and written several feature sections in The Journal of Martinsburg, Around the Panhandle Magazine, and Country Connections/Jefferson Magazine. Emily plans to graduate this May. The Department of English and Modern Languages congratulates her on this milestone. Way to go, Emily! As Emerson said to Whitman, we “greet you at the beginning of a great career.”