Today@Sam Article
SHSU To Host Second Annual Founders Day Event
April 1, 2015
SHSU Media Contact: Tammy Parrett
Sam Houston State University will celebrate SHSU’s history and future at the second annual Founders Day celebration on Saturday (April 18) at the Katy and E. Don Walker Sr. Education Center.
Founders Day will include interactive panels and a luncheon and will also provide a unique opportunity to “sprout” a new tradition.
“Founders Day will provide guests a chance to reunite with old friends, visit with faculty and take a trip back in time,” said Charlie Vienne, director of Alumni Relations at SHSU.
The celebration will kick off at 8:30 a.m. with registration and a continental breakfast.
At 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., guests can attend faculty and administrator-led panels that will explain the unique opportunities and research projects provided to SHSU students.
“Forensic Anthropology: Bringing Voices From The Past,” features Joan Bytheway, associate professor of forensic anthropology at SHSU, who will discuss what she’s learned through her research on skeleton analysis, and in “SHSU: Eyewitness to History,” Peter Roussel, Warner Endowed Chair of Journalism at SHSU, will share his experiences working with U.S. Presidents Ford and Reagan.
“3-D Printing: Where Technology and Services Meet,” will feature Pamela Zelbst, director of the Center for Innovation and Technology as she shares how her center uses robotics, radio frequency identification and 3-D printing for community service, campus professional development and cutting-edge academics, and in “SHSU: A Leader in Study of Disasters and Emergency Management,” Jason Enia, director of the Center for the Study of Disasters and Emergency Management, will discuss ways SHSU is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the field.
During the Founders Day luncheon, attendees will hear from SHSU President Dana Hoyt and keynote speaker Mac Woodward, director of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Huntsville mayor, who will discuss “Sam Houston State University–Then and Now.”
The event will continue at 1:30 p.m. with the Margaret Lea Houston Birthday Celebration on the museum grounds.
“This is the third year we’ve held the birthday celebration for Margaret Houston, and it worked out that the Founders Day event would be on the museum grounds, so we thought it would be a good way to wind down the day’s activities,” said Woodward. “Margaret had such an significant role in Sam Houston’s legacy, and she is so important to SHSU’s history, so we wanted to honor her for that.”
Guests will enjoy birthday cake and refreshments, and Una Grace Nash, a Huntsville resident who has portrayed Margaret Houston in various productions for more than 40 years, will perform a monologue.
Registration for Founders Day is $25. Registration, and complete schedule of events are available at shsu.edu/foundersday.
For more information, contact the Alumni Association at alu_kat@shsu.edu or 800.238.7478.
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