SHAWNEE STATE UNIVERSITY :: Office of Communications and Government Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2009

Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

Contract Signed Between Shawnee State University and Shawnee Education Association

            The Executive Committee of the Shawnee State University Board of Trustees approved a new contract with the Shawnee Education Association (SEA), which represents the faculty of Shawnee State University, during a meeting held Tuesday, August 25. The vote will be affirmed by the full Board of Trustees during its September meeting.
            SEA and Shawnee State members signed a tentative agreement earlier this month. After a faculty member vote held August 18, and SSU Board approval, the three-year contract goes into effect.
            “I am pleased that we were able to have such successful negotiations and I commend all involved for helping us move forward, plan for the future, and build our faculty to best serve our students,” Dr. Rita Rice Morris, said. “Even in these challenging economic times, the team was able to find innovative ways to meet the needs of the university, faculty, and most importantly, our students and their families.”
            “These negotiations were especially challenging for both the SEA and SSU teams given the current economic and political climate,” Steve Doster, President of SEA, said. “Our discussions at the negotiating table were often spirited, sometimes contentious, but always collegial and respectful. Both sides made significant monetary and non-monetary compromises to achieve the 2009-2012 collective bargaining agreement.”
            Morris and Doster said that the contract reflects a collaborative effort to contain costs in the current economic environment, while advancing Shawnee State and future growth in areas such as distance learning and graduate programs, attracting and keeping quality faculty, and maintaining quality programs for students.
            Doc Severinsen opens first show of season at Shawnee State University
            The Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association in conjunction with Shawnee State University’s Vern Riffe Center for the Arts opens the 2009-10 season with the Grammy Award-winning Doc Severinsen at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17.
            Severinsen, making his third appearance in Portsmouth, has made more than 30 albums, from big band to jazz to classical, and now he is introducing a new genre, Mexican music, Argentine tango, Spanish flamenco and gypsy jazz.
            He “retired” to Mexico in 2006 and discovered two new talented musicians, Gil Gutierrez and Pedro Cartas. With the two musicians, Severinsen has created an innovative new sound, “El Ritmo de la Vida” (“The Rhythm of Life”).
            Severinsen still has his flair for outrageous fashions and witty banter and he is respected as one of the world’s premier trumpeters and “showbiz” personalities.
“Doc has a personal connection to our area through his wife,” said Carl Daehler, director of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts. “The booking agent said he wasn’t sure if he could get Doc here. But within a half-hour we had Doc’s commitment to open the SOPAA season. He loves performing here almost as much as we enjoy having him here.”
            He began playing on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson when it first started in 1962 and stayed until the last show in 1992. After that he went on the road with his band playing important venues the world over. Severinsen moved to Mexico with the thought of retiring at the end of 2006 but when he heard Gutierrez and Cartas at a bistro in Mexico, he wanted to play music with them.
            The concert is part of the Family Pop Series and it is sponsored by the United States Enrichment Corporation in Piketon. Two other series will be presented this season, The Broadway Series and the Fine Arts Series. Tickets can be purchased for the whole series of nine performances or for each series at a reduced cost.
            Tickets are from $28 to $30 for students and $40 to $42 for regular admission. Seniors are $38 to $40. To find out more about the series or to order tickets, call the McKinley Box Office at (740) 351-3600 or go to the SOPAA Web site at www.vrcfa.org. Single tickets are not available until Aug. 24. Tickets also can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com and at Kroger stores.

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