Winter 2011-12 | 3

CalendarSave the DatePerforming Arts Series

Spring 2012 Season

January7 Fiddler on the Roof .........$50, $40

8 Fiddler on the Roof

7 p.m. ................................$50, $40

21 Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band .........$45, $35

28 Simone Dinnerstein, piano.................................$35, $25

February3 Ensemble Español

Spanish Dance Theatre ...$40, $30

10 The Color Purple..............$50, $40

18 Stuffed and

Unstrung ...................$80, $45, $35

25 The Pine Leaf BoysPolsky Theatre .........................$30

March3 Danú..........................$80, $45, $35

4 “Tschaikowski” St. Petersburg State Orchestra................$45, $35

11 Jake Shimabukuro...........$35, $25

24 Soweto Gospel Choir ......$45, $35

25 Debby Boone, Swing This 2 p.m. .............$45, $35

April13 An Evening with Groucho

Polsky Theatre .........................$30

21 Suzanne Vega ..................$45, $35

22 Ricky Nelson Remembered

7 p.m. ........................$80, $40, $30

28 Moscow Festival Ballet ...$42, $32

All performances are at 8 p.m.,Yardley Hall, unless otherwisenoted.

Art auction to raisemoney for NermanMuseum sets newrecordAbiennial art auction to benefit the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art raised

more money this year than in any previous year, according to the JohnsonCounty Community College Foundation.

Beyond Bounds – Brilliant! netted a profit of $158,000, compared with $134,807raised in 2009. The bulk of the revenue, $161,825, came from the sale of 154pieces of art donated by local, regional and national artists.

The auction took place on Oct. 22 and drew about 700 people. The co-chairs forthe event were Dr. Mary Davidson Cohen and Dr. J. David and Dana Kriet.

The first Beyond Bounds benefit was organized in 1992 on behalf of the formerJCCC Gallery of Art. To date, the benefit hosted by the JCCC Foundation hasraised more than $850,000 to support exhibitions, acquisitions and arts educationprograms at the Nerman Museum.

Story by Diane Carroll

Pictured, from left: Dr. J. David and Dana Kriet, Dr. Mary Davidson Cohen and Bruce Hartman.

4 | Reconnect

Best-selling author Candice Millard,who spent her first year in college

at JCCC, recently began crisscrossing thecountry on her latest book tour. Hersecond book, Destiny of the Republic,follows up the popular and criticalsuccess of her debut, River of Doubt.

Before she left, however, she invitedSteve Gerson, a professor of English atJCCC, and his wife over to her house tocatch up. Decades after Millard sat inhis Composition I and II classes, Gersonsat as a guest in her home. The twohave a friendship that has continuedthrough the years.

After 25 years and thousands ofstudents, Gerson doesn’t have muchmemory of Millard’s performance inclass, but he does remember lookingfor good students to babysit his youngchildren – after those responsiblestudents had finished his class, of course – and Millard fit thatrequirement. She babysat for Gerson’stwo girls for years, and Gerson said hethen discovered what a wonderfulperson Millard is.

Millard is quick to return the compliment.Of Gerson, she said, “He is hilarious. He’sso smart, and he is such a good teacher.His teaching style is not only fun and interesting; it’s very thoughtful. I always

Best-sellingauthorretainsties withJCCCprofessor

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looked forward to class.”

Millard chose JCCC because she didn’tknow where to go to school or what tostudy. She knew she liked writing – shehad been on the newspaper staff atShawnee Mission Northwest HighSchool – but she didn’t know if it washer life’s work.

Unsure of her next step, she pickedJCCC for her freshman year. “I loved it.It was perfect for me. I took somebasic classes, but the two classes thatstand out for me were Composition Iand II.”

After completing graduate school andworking for a number of differentmagazines, Millard spent six years atNational Geographic. She moved backto the Kansas City area in 2002, whenshe signed her first book contract andher first baby was on the way. Sincethen, “it’s been books and babies,” shesaid. Her children, ages 9, 6 and 4, areone reason she likes living in the areaagain. “My first priority is my children,and it’s a wonderful place to raise kids.”

She took her two youngest children withher when doing research for Destiny ofthe Republic in Washington, D.C. Thebook, about the assassination attemptand subsequent death of U.S. PresidentJames Garfield, is an historic look at anoften-forgotten man who served onlysix months as commander-in-chief.

“He was one of the most extraordinarymen ever to be elected president,”Millard said.

Millard was so impressed withGarfield’s life and character, shebecame enmeshed in his world. Itseemed so real to her, she said, sheavoided writing his death scene.Finally, when the day came when shecould put it off no longer, she feltawash in emotions.

“It was a difficult story to write. It washeart-breaking, in fact,” she said. “Youspend years with these people youwrite about. On the day of [writing] thedeath scene, I called my husband intears. I said, ‘I can’t do this.’ That’s howemotional it gets.”

The idea for the book came when

Millard was researching AlexanderGraham Bell. Bell, best known forinventing the telephone, stopped all hisown scientific work to help invent adevice that would be capable offinding the bullet still lodged inGarfield.

Elyssa East, a book reviewer for TheKansas City Star, wrote, “Fans ofMillard’s first book … will find similarlycompelling characters and nail-bitingstorytelling, and will no doubt walkaway even more emotionally affectedby Garfield’s tragedy.”

Gerson said he couldn’t wait to get

Millard’s latest book. He described herfirst book as “lightning in a bottle.”

“I’m an English teacher. I’ve spent allmy life reading, and her book is simplymagical,” he said. “I can take no creditfor her writing style – that is her own –but I could happily retire now, havingbeen a part of her creation.”

River of Doubt was named one of thebest books of the year by The NewYork Times, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle and The KansasCity Star. The book also won a 2006William Rockhill Nelson Award.

Winter 2011-12 | 5

differentiation of tobacco’s ceremonialand spiritual use versus recreationaluse. First targeted to adults, 18 andolder, the program is now workingwith Native youth on smokingprevention.

JCCC’s Center for American IndianStudies is working on a bridge programthat will mentor Native high schoolstudents starting their junior year inorder to prepare them for JCCC andthen toward four-year institutions.KUMC will provide peer tutoring andmentoring for students seekinggraduate degrees in the healthprofessions. The center has agreementswith several high schools in Kansasand western Missouri to help Nativestudents enter the educational pipeline.

In 2010, AIHREA offered sevenundergraduate scholarships toinstitutions across the United States andthree graduate scholarships to conductcancer research at KUMC inpartnership with the Susan G. Komenfor the Cure. Two AIHREA staff fromKUMC come to JCCC one day a weekas part of the program.

AIHREA offers summer internships forstudents like Davis, who attended theKickapoo pow wow in Horton, Kan.,completing health surveys with theNative population.

Service-learning students at JCCC haveworked with AIHREA to complete avideo showing three tribal membersdiscussing cultural use of tobacco and

created a cookbook for diabetics,aimed at the Native population.

Smith, who is working on a master’sdegree at KU with a focus on culturalpreservation, is putting together ayouth culture camp, training Nativecollege students in traditional AmericanIndian skills like bow and arrowmaking, quill work, herbal traditionand flint knapping. The collegestudents would, in turn, teach the skillsto younger students.

“We want to instill the idea thatknowledge is to be passed on,” Daleysaid.

The center is also looking at creating aCD collection of tribal languages, manydocumented as endangered.

Currently JCCC offers Native Americansand American Indian ArtisticTradition. Daley is working with theNative community, as well as JCCCfaculty, to develop a couple of newcourses and eventually would like todevelop an interdisciplinary program inAmerican Indian Studies.

“AIHREA is addressing needs that were brought to us by the Nativecommunity,” Daley said. “Because theIndian community has shared theirtraditions with us, we have anobligation to return that gift. AIHREA isbased on a reciprocal relationship. Tome as an anthropologist in the 21stcentury, that’s the way it should be.”

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A bookshelf in the Center for American Indian Studies.

Dr. Sean Daley talks about how Indian HealthService is underfunded by 50 percent of its need.

Ed Smith says Native Americans traditionallybalance mental, physical, spiritual and emotionalhealth.

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live harmoniously on the same surface.By using resin in between layers ofpaint, he manages to combine thesetwo disparate forms of mark-makingthat reference NASCAR colorschematics, hunting gear, camouflageand graffiti.”

Abstraction has a been a mainstay ofSmith’s art since his undergraduatedays at Emporia State University, wherehe was named “most outstandinggraduating senior in the arts” in 2000,and studied under the staunch abstractpainter Richard Slimon. Smith enteredESU on a track and field scholarshipwith the sole intent to compete as anathlete. His life was running – about 25miles a day. A diagnosis of diabeteschanged that.

“All sorts of thing happen to put yourlife on a certain path,” Smith said. “After running was gone, I becamecompletely consumed with art and very passionate about painting.”

Especially abstract painting.

“It is the ambiguities that happen inabstract painting I am attracted to. I aminterested in things that don’t existphysically in the world and I can bringto life.”

Smith has worked at three museums –the Kennedy Museum at OhioUniversity; Kansas City Jewish Museumof Contemporary Art, Overland Park;and the Nerman Museum, where he

started in August 2007 prior to themuseum’s opening in October 2007,allowing him the opportunity to bewith the museum as it has defineditself in the first five years. Smith saysthe museum work complements his art.

“I can’t think of a better type ofenvironment to be around. Thecollections and shows at the Nermanare cutting-edge, at the forefront ofwhat’s going on in the art world. If Iworked in an historical museum, itwould be a juxtaposition of what I’m

doing at home. With my position here,I have a lot of the same issues andinterests in my work life and art life.”

While keeping his day job, Smith isready to expand his paintingexhibitions to other cities.

“I want to continue to make work thatI feel excited about.”

Visit the Nerman Museum on JCCC’scampus, Tuesday through Saturday 10a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.

14 | Reconnect

Lafayette Norwood has mentoredmany outstanding teams and

individual athletes since joining thecoaching profession in 1957 when hetook over the Wichita Biddy Basketballteam. He joined the staff at JCCC in 1982,spending nine years as head basketballcoach and 19 as golf coach. He hasguided some of the best teams and topathletes in both programs’ history. Andnow Norwood’s coaching legend comesto light in a book, Acrophobia 1977,written by Mark Nale.

In 1969, Norwood took over the boy’sbasketball program at Wichita HeightsHigh School and quickly establishedhimself as one of the top prep coachesin Kansas. He guided Heights to a 109-56 record in his eight years,winning three city titles. His 1975-76squad finished runner-up in the statetournament, but his 1976-77 team isstill revered as the greatest high schoolboys team in Kansas history.

Norwood guided a star-laden team thatfeatured five future NCAA Division Iathletes and three future professionalsto a 23-0 mark, capped by an amazing40-point win in the state championshipgame. That title enabled Norwood to share with coaching legend Ralph Miller the distinction of being theonly two people in Kansas history tohave played on and coached a boysstate championship team.

The title of Nale’s book refers to abanner that once was attached to a

wall in Heights’ gymnasium, “CITYLEAGUE SCHOOLS HAVEACROPHOBIA,” which means fear ofheights. His idea for writing the bookbegan in the spring of 2007, shortlyafter the 1976-77 team had its 30-yearreunion.

The book provides shared memoriesfrom the players and people associatedwith that team. It also is a tribute to theman who guided this group through thatmagical season – Lafayette Norwood.

“I have a passion to coach youngsters,and this book really brought out whatit means to me to influence others in apositive way,” Norwood said. “Someonehad to work with me early in my life,and I found it was easier to be myselfthan to try to copy someone else.”

One of the key players from the teamwas Darnell Valentine, who was an All-American, two-time Academic All-American and the first four-time

All-Big Eight pick at the University ofKansas.

Valentine remains close with Norwoodtoday, and expressed his respect andadmiration for Norwood in Nale’sbook:

“Coach Norwood set examples in lifethat any man would be able to follow.He’s a man that whatever possible traitsthat you can acquire from him, theywill push you to the uttermost of yourcapabilities in life. He practices whathe preaches, so that every man canface the reality of life. And yet, thisman is modest, sharing the good thatlife can bring, and fighting defeat byhimself, never looking for an excuse oraccusing anyone of fault. This is a manI want to be, and this is the man that Ishall become.”

Story by Tyler Cundith

Norwoodtoutedforheights,old andnew

Lafayette Norwood

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