Austin College

Austin College is the oldest institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. Established in 1849, Austin Collect is just north of Dallas, sitting on a 100 acre environmentally green campus in Sherman Texas. Austin College is a recognized leader in higher education for innovative programs, a strong faculty, and dedicated students. Since it’s founding by the Brazos Presbytery, Austin College has been associated with the Presbyterian Church. The covenant relationship the College maintains today with the Presbyterian Church provides a distinctive flavor to the life of the College.

Austin College Presents “An Evening of Chamber Music and Jazz”

BJ Kirkpatrick Austin College, Entertainment, News 04/14/201904/14/2019

The instrumental ensembles of Austin College under the direction of Dr. Ricky Duhaime will present their annual spring concert, “An Evening of Chamber Music and Jazz,” on Monday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Wynne Chapel at Austin College. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Music Department at Austin College at 903.813.2251.

This spring’s concert will consist of a first half devoted to the Austin College Chamber Orchestra, performing an Overture by Jean Berger and a suite of Old Dances and Airs by Ottorino Respighi, orchestrated for winds and strings by Duhaime.

The Chamber Orchestra is comprised of Austin College students, joined this semester by community members Greg Hendrix, Linda Milbourn, Jane Klausen, and Cathy Richardson. Students with majors and minors from across the disciplines of the College are represented in the group, with varying professional goals and a continuing interest in music.

The second half of the concert will feature the Greater Texoma Jazz Ensemble, performing a variety of big band charts in both traditional and contemporary styles, with soloists drawn from the group.

The Greater Texoma Jazz Ensemble consists of students, faculty, and other adults from throughout the region, with performance venues this semester at the Durant and Bells school systems in addition to Austin College. The concert this semester will feature jazz soloists Xavier Shubert and Chris Dickson, alto saxophones; Joseph Gaitlin, baritone saxophone; Jesse Speer and Chris Gregg, trombones; John Vietta, trumpet; John McGinn, piano; David Moore, guitar; and Richard Burleson, drums.

Duhaime, the Mildred S. Mosher Professor of Music at Austin College, has been a member of its Department of Music faculty since 1978.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with 46 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and more than 100 expert faculty members allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. This year, the campus recognizes 100 years of co-education and has had several opportunities to recognize the history of women and accomplishments of current alumnae. Austin College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.

Austin College Chef Completes Rigorous Training

BJ Kirkpatrick Austin College, News 03/09/201903/09/2019

Austin College and its Dining Services partner Aramark announce Chef Josh Brigman as a recent graduate of Culinary Institute of America ProChef II Certification Training. Brigman completed CIA training in San Antonio, demonstrating proficiency in general culinary applications, basic food science, baking and pastry, healthy cooking and nutritional analysis, management and supervisory skills, dietary guidelines for Americans, and the basic concepts of financial controls of a food operation.

“Josh is a respectful leader who is passionate about providing high-quality food that enriches and nourishes lives,” said Thomas Hermanson, Director of Food Services at Austin College. “His creativity allows for unique and tasty innovations. His work ethic and commitment to excellence are contagious.” Brigman has worked with Aramark at Austin College since June 2017.

“Aramark’s partnership with the Culinary Institute of America is part of an ongoing commitment to provide our leading culinary chefs with the training and tools needed to excel in their careers while delivering outstanding outcomes for our clients and customers,” Hermanson said. CIA is accredited as an authorized provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training.

Aramark at Austin College is a complete custom catering business with experience in weddings, anniversary dinners, parties, receptions, banquets, corporate events, cookouts, and school functions. For more information on facility rental and catering at Austin College, contact Hermanson at 903.813.2366 or thermanson@austincollege.edu.

Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives,Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with 46 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and more than 100 expert faculty members allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Austin College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.

Austin College Professor Opens Art Exhibition in Fort Worth

BJ Kirkpatrick Austin College, News 12/01/201807/31/2021Art Exhibit

Austin College professor of art Mark Smith has an exhibition of new paintings and drawings, The Signal Series, on display December 1 through January 12 at William Campbell Contemporary Art in Fort Worth. The show will feature 12 of Smith’s richly hued, abstract paintings and more than a dozen new drawings that directly address the artist’s fascination with the intricate physical and psychological networks of communication that saturate our culture. These abstract interpretations map out pathways that remain largely unseen despite their ubiquitous presence. Expressed in highly pigmented shapes and lines that emerge and recede both individually and in concert with one another, Smith says his nonrepresentational compositions reveal energy transference across space and time, delving deeply into the many complex layers of each.

Smith has long been interested in the systems and patterns around us, and as a result, continuously analyzes the spatial relationships in everything he sees. As such, The Signal Series saw its genesis in the artist’s investigations of communication-based structures that originated in the 18th and 19th centuries—the towers, light-emitting machines, and mathematical discoveries that defined early long-distance infrastructure. The ensuing pieces reference the underlying energy Smith perceives exists all around, for instance, the tangible and intangible transmission patterns within these larger, recognizable mechanisms.

Smith muses, “What if we could visualize the signals, the patterns, the bursts of energy, and the beautiful movement of waveforms that are made in time and space as we communicate with each other?” His latest series endeavors to encompass this idea in areas full of content deliberately applied and set organically in motion, radiating a quiet energy among the elements as they shift and float in an attempt to make connections. Each one needs another to fully complete itself, not unlike an electrical circuit (and not unlike humankind).

Smith’s paintings consist of high-density pigment on Russian birch panels. Visually and physically complex, they are more built than brushed, the result of a meticulous application process that includes layer upon layer of manipulated medium, often up to 10 strata that have been stacked, reduced, augmented, subtracted, separated, and fused. Heady yet delicate, the semi-translucent layers shift and pulsate to reveal additional information underneath and within the two-dimensional surface. Smith’s handling of his medium inspires conversations about excavation and discovery in visual and contemplative terms.

“I enjoy the pleasure of following through with the instincts behind the urge to make abstract paintings,” the artist writes. “I find it both comforting and affirming that the process itself always seems to evolve as a journey leading to insights about life and our inevitable connectedness as human beings.” In fact, Smith has created a certain synergy between intellect and intuition in this artwork, which allies cultural technological underpinnings with personal investigation and expression.

Overall, Smith’s networks of lines and shapes become quiet reflections on the fundamental yet extraordinary systems that galvanize infinitely disparate elements. They emit low reverberations throughout the picture plane, mimicking transmissions of energy, or signals, that power communications at every level of our existence. He writes, “If we could see these signals, which are everywhere, we would see a matrix that weaves our lives together. We are a glorious patchwork of connection and no doubt are part of a much bigger whole.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Mark Smith has exhibited work extensively throughout North Texas and across the United States, including solo and group shows in Fort Worth, Dallas, Arlington, Austin, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Santa Fe, and New York City. His work has been featured in numerous publications, among them Art in America, New American Paintings, the Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Weekly, Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, and the Times-Picayune. He has also been heard in segments on radio stations KERA, WRR, and WBAP.

Smith’s work appears in various corporate collections, including those of Belo, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citicorp, Neiman-Marcus, Nokia, Sony Music, the Tandy Corporation, and Texas Instruments. Additional collections include those of Austin College, Boston University, the City of Denton, the City of Los Angeles, KERA, Tulane University, and the University of North Texas, among others.

Smith currently serves as Craig Professor of the Arts at Austin College, where he has taught since 1986. He has held positions as visiting artist and lecturer at Boston University, the City University of New York, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Kimbell Art Museum, Texas Christian University, Texas Woman’s University, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Texas at Austin, to name a few.

Smith earned his MFA from Queens College of the City University of New York and his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. William Campbell Contemporary Art has represented him since 1985.

ABOUT THE GALLERY

Founded in 1974 by William and Pam Campbell, William Campbell Contemporary Art exhibits high-quality contemporary art in a variety of media, including paintings, works on paper, mixed-media constructions, photography, prints, ceramics, and sculpture. By exhibiting nationally recognized artists, along with new and emerging talent, the gallery aims to nurture an awareness and appreciation of the exciting diversity found in contemporary art.