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Community donations at heart of Radical Jewelry Makeover Exhibition at KU
LAWRENCE — A fall 2024 class project to repurpose unwanted jewelry into new pieces will culminate in an exhibition later this month at the University of Kansas. Radical Jewelry Makeover: KU, led by Sunyoung Cheong, assistant professor of metalsmithing and jewelry, sought donations —and stories — from Lawrence and Topeka residents for the project. The exhibition will take place Jan. 21-31 at the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Gallery in Chalmers Hall, with a closing reception and sale from 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 30.
KU strengthening national defense partnership with new office
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas is reinforcing its commitment to national security and strengthening its partnership with the Department of Defense by launching a new Office of National Defense Initiatives. ONDI combines the expertise of the former Office of Graduate Military Programs with KU’s three Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Mike Denning, who has served as the director of the Office of Graduate Military Programs since 2011, will lead ONDI as the assistant vice chancellor for national defense initiatives.
KU senior DaNae Estabine named a Schwarzman Scholar
LAWRENCE — DaNae Estabine, a University of Kansas senior from Olathe, is among the select students who have been named to the 11th class of Schwarzman Scholars. The program is a fully funded, one-year master’s degree in global affairs and leadership program at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Authors unearth layers of meaning in ‘West Side Story’
LAWRENCE — For Paul Laird, University of Kansas professor emeritus of music, “West Side Story” is not just the quintessential Broadway musical. It’s like the Bible or Shakespeare — an inexhaustible source of inspiration, interpretation, analysis and commentary. “The Cambridge Companion to ‘West Side Story,’” just out from Cambridge University Press, is Laird’s third scholarly book about the musical.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Sunyoung Cheong, Department of Visual Art, [email protected]
Community donations at heart of Radical Jewelry Makeover Exhibition at KU
LAWRENCE — A fall 2024 class project to repurpose unwanted jewelry into new pieces will culminate in an exhibition later this month at the University of Kansas.
Since 2007, Ethical Metalsmiths has facilitated semester-long projects around the world through the Radical Jewelry Makeover initiative. Metals and gemstones are often mined in some of the poorest countries, on sacred lands and in disputed territories, resulting in significant costs to both human lives and the environment.
RJM: KU, led by Sunyoung Cheong, assistant professor of metalsmithing and jewelry, sought donations —and stories — from Lawrence and Topeka residents for the project. Participating students, along with regional artists from the Lawrence and Kansas City area, spent the semester collecting donations, sorting through them and creating new pieces of jewelry that honor their origins and the environment.
Many donations were from older residents and had sentimental value, Cheong said. Some pieces were vintage jewelry from the 1960s to ’70s, including a Charles Revson/Aldo Cipullo 18 karat gold-plated love bracelet.
“After Cartier released the love bracelet in 1968, Aldo Cipullo — who designed it — decided to make a more affordable version for mass marketing in collaboration with Charles Revson of Revlon Cosmetics. Students and I learned so much about historical jewelry and materials used then and how to identify materials for the first time,” Cheong said.
She said some students pushed themselves to create unique pieces, trying new techniques and processes and learning how to embrace imperfections and repurpose materials into something creative. Among them:
Charlie Gelhausen created a skull pendant that used recycled silver and beads from donations. Gelhausen began with a CAD design, followed by 3D printing, casting and flocking on the backside.
Soobeen Lee designed yellow earrings made from metal beads and wire. She disassembled the beads, powder-coated each one individually, then reassembled them using wire.
Grace Billman’s fake pearl necklace features pearls of various sizes and is finished with ribbons.
“As a teacher, I have learned how important it is to make a positive impact on students, especially after collaborating with our community and nonprofit organizations like Ethical Metalsmith,” Cheong said. “This was the first time my students and I worked on a project outside of school, and it was fascinating to see how the students challenged themselves and grew as artists.”
The Radical Jewelry Makeover Exhibition will take place Jan. 21-31 at the Edgar Heap of Birds Family Gallery in Chalmers Hall, with a closing reception and sale from 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 30.
Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan 31.
Any leftover materials will be returned to Ethical Metalsmith after the show.
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Contact: Mike Denning, Office of National Defense Initiatives, 785-864-1684, [email protected]
KU strengthening national defense partnership with new office
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas is reinforcing its commitment to national security and strengthening its partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD) by launching a new Office of National Defense Initiatives (ONDI).
The new office will serve as KU’s central hub for DoD engagement to focus KU capabilities to better serve the state of Kansas and the nation. ONDI combines the expertise of the former Office of Graduate Military Programs with KU’s three Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs. Organizationally the new office resides within the Office of Academic Affairs.
This restructuring recognizes the DoD as an academic partner and emphasizes the importance of national security research and education as core components of the university’s strategic plan. By centralizing these efforts, KU enhances both current and future contributions to the nation’s national defense.
“The creation of ONDI amplifies the message that national security research and education are not just important, but vital to our academic mission,” said Jen Roberts, senior vice provost for academic affairs. “With the recent hiring of Dr. Kurt Preston, a former senior leader within the DoD research enterprise, and the promotion of Trent Williams to director of National Defense Education Initiatives, we are demonstrating our commitment to bridging KU’s expertise with real-world security needs.
“This restructuring, which includes bringing KU ROTC programs under ONDI, creates a powerful synergy and a single point of contact for the DoD.”
Mike Denning, who has served as the director of the Office of Graduate Military Programs since 2011, will lead ONDI as the assistant vice chancellor for national defense initiatives. His leadership ensures continuity and deep institutional knowledge of both KU and the DoD.
“This restructuring represents a significant step forward in KU’s steadfast commitment to supporting the DoD and national security,” Denning said. “In a time of rapid technological advancement and evolving global threats, ONDI will place KU’s exceptional faculty, talented students and cutting-edge research at the forefront of numerous DoD opportunities.”
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Contact: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, KU News Service, 785-864-8858, [email protected], @ebpkansas
KU senior DaNae Estabine named a Schwarzman Scholar
LAWRENCE — DaNae Estabine, a University of Kansas senior from Olathe, is among the select scholars who have been named to the 11th class of Schwarzman Scholars, which provides for a year of graduate study in China.
Schwarzman Scholars is a fully funded, one-year master’s degree and leadership program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Scholars earn a master’s degree in global affairs.
Estabine is majoring in psychology with minors in business and philosophy. She was among around 5,000 applicants for the award.
Scholars chosen for this highly selective program will live in Beijing for a year of study and cultural immersion, attending lectures, traveling and developing a better understanding of China.
After completing the Schwarzman Scholars program, Estabine plans to attend law school and pursue a career as a prosecutor in Kansas.
“One of my key interests is prison reform — a global issue that often goes unnoticed but affects every nation and its citizens,” Estabine said.
The Schwarzman Scholars program, she said, will prepare her with a global perspective and the leadership skills needed to tackle complex challenges like prison reform, both in Kansas and around the world.
“Through my experience in China, I hope to gain insights into their prison system and its impact, as understanding what works — along with what doesn’t — is crucial to shaping effective policies,” Estabine said.
During her KU career, Estabine has also been named a Newman Civic Fellow and a finalist for the Truman Scholarship. Moreover, she serves as the student body president, having been elected by her peers in March 2024.
“It has been such a pleasure working with and getting to know DaNae over the past two years. Her passion for prison reform is inspiring, and I am certain her experience as a Schwarzman Scholar will expand her leadership skills and global knowledge, enhancing her work as a future prosecuting attorney,” said Erin Wolfram, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships. “I look forward to seeing the impact she makes in the state of Kansas and beyond over the course of her career.”
Named for Blackstone co-founder Stephen Schwarzman, the scholarship program was inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship — founded in 1902 to promote international understanding and peace — and is designed to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.
Admissions opened in fall 2015, with the first class of students in residence in 2016. Estabine is the second Jayhawk to receive the honor. KU graduate Ashlie Koehn was among that first class of Schwarzman Scholars.
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Contact: Rick Hellman, KU News Service, 785-864-8852, [email protected], @RickHellman
Authors unearth layers of meaning in ‘West Side Story’
LAWRENCE — For Paul Laird, University of Kansas professor emeritus of music, “West Side Story” is not just the quintessential Broadway musical. It’s like the Bible or Shakespeare — an inexhaustible source of inspiration, interpretation, analysis and commentary.
“The Cambridge Companion to ‘West Side Story,’” just out from Cambridge University Press, is Laird’s third scholarly book about the musical. Laird and Elizabeth Wells of Mount Allison University in Canada co-edited the new work, and Laird wrote or co-wrote two of its 16 essays. The contributors analyze everything from the show’s adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” right up to the 2021 Steven Spielberg film version.
“There were some perspectives that came out of this book that surprised me,” said Laird, who has written an additional five books on composer Leonard Bernstein alone. “I certainly learned things. We were asking people from various backgrounds and generations to write about it, and they did so in very different ways. That was instructive for me. I don’t agree with everything in the book, but as an editor, that’s not my job. My job is to bring together an interesting volume, and I love the different perspectives we have.”
Jane Barnette, KU professor of theatre, and Martin Nedbal, KU professor of musicology, also contribute chapters that look at “West Side Story” from the perspective of their specialties — adaptation dramaturgy and Viennese musical history, respectively.
Laird’s solo chapter deals partly with the compositional methods Bernstein used to unify the show.
“Bernstein is a composer in the classical tradition,” Laird said, “and most Broadway composers are not. There are very few who have also written symphonies and ballets and operas. This is how Bernstein wanted to work, and in his previous musicals he’d already done this.”
Laird said Bernstein foreshadows certain actions with musical snippets, then recalls them later.
“There are intervals and themes that he uses to tie the thing together,” Laird said. “It’s a musical way of enhancing the drama.”
The Broadway musical premiered in 1957, but Laird says it was the 1961 movie version, which won 10 Academy Awards, that made “West Side Story” a global hit.
The 2021 film version was a box office failure, which the editors acknowledge in their foreword, but Laird said “West Side Story” remains relevant.
“Clearly, we still have issues of race and prejudice and bias in our culture,” he said. “That’s what brings about the hatred that makes this show work and makes it so visceral. It’s about human beings who just can’t get outside themselves and think with empathy about other people.
“Because of that, and because we’re human beings, I think it’s always potentially relevant. I thought the new movie was very good, but clearly it wasn’t what America wanted to watch in 2021. But as we said in the preface, at least it shows the work is still current. But you don’t even need to show that, because, as the world turns, ‘West Side Story’ has been put on somewhere virtually every week. This show is not going away, like ‘Romeo and Juliet’ doesn’t go away.
“We love to watch people fall in love. We love to hear them sing about it. That’s why musicals and operas exist. I think that’s a basic human desire, and it’s going to stick around with us.”
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