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     After a 20-year history of successful Madrigal Feastes at Austin Peay, the department of music and the Center for the Creative Arts expanded the scope of holiday entertainment this year by presenting an international Holiday MusicFest with seasonal music and foods from around the world.
     On Dec.7 in the instrumental and choral rehearsal halls of the music/mass communication building, the Holiday MusicFest began with a fingertip reception featuring international cuisine. Following the reception, guests moved to the concert theatre where they enjoyed music from Spain, the West Indies, Austria, West Africa, England, the United States, Puerto Rico, China, Poland and many more--all in celebration of the holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the new year.
     Tickets for the first-ever international Holiday MusicFest were $20. Proceeds will go toward defraying costs of a trip to San Diego, Calif., in March, where the APSU Chamber Singers will perform for the American Choral Directors Association national convention.
     The Chamber Singers is one of only six university choirs nationwide to receive this prestigious invitation.

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     For Dr. George Mabry, director of choral activities at Austin Peay, a career-long ambition was realized when he was notified that the Chamber Singers at APSU have been invited to perform for the National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in San Diego, Calif., March 6, 1997.
     Gene Brooks, executive director of the ACDA, which has a membership of more than 40,000, said, "This is a most prestigious honor, as our national biennial convention is now considered one of the premier choral music events in the world."
     APSU's 30-voice group will deliver three performances for approximately 6,000 members. A total of 34 performing organizations from the United States and around the world will sing. Only six university choirs in the nation were chosen.
     The Chamber Singers also will serve at the convention as a demonstration choir for one of the interest sessions on Choral Conducting.
     Mabry said, "The success of our program is due to an abundance of wonderfully talented students who recognize that excellence in art entails dedication and hard work, and the payoff comes when beautiful music is the result."
     The choral program previously has been invited to perform for regional ACDA conventions, last year for the Southern ACDA convention in Norfolk, Va., and for the national Music Educators National Conference in Kansas City, Mo.
     The selection process for the national convention began more than a year ago when Mabry submitted a tape recording of the Chamber Singers that was heard in blind audition by a series of state and regional ACDA judges, and then by a national panel of renowned choral musicians.

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     Dr. John Foote, chair of the department of chemistry, is serving as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
     Foote will serve until a successor to Dr. D'Ann Campbell is named. Campbell resigned as dean July 31 and has returned to the classroom as professor of history.

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     Clarksville visual artist Becky Hall has been named coordinator of Austin Peay's Community School of the Arts, a program of the APSU Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts.
     Hall recently received an MFA degree in studio art and photography from the University of Kentucky. She did post-graduate work in studio art and photography at Austin Peay and received a bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of Tennessee.
     The Community School of the Arts was established in 1991 to enrich the cultural life of the surrounding community and provide quality arts education for everyone, regardless of financial ability, and to fortify a relationship between the University and other local arts programs.

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    As of July 1996, Austin Peay has an assistant vice president for enrollment management -- a first for the University.
     Working within the Office of Academic Affairs, Dr. Barbara J. Tarter is responsible for programs and activities to enhance student recruitment, advisement, retention and persistence to graduation.
     Tarter came to Austin Peay from Emporia State University, Emporia, Kan., where she was the assistant vice president of enrollment management and director of admissions.
     She earned her doctorate in organizational communication with a minor in business from Ohio University, Athens. Her bachelor's and master's degrees, both in communication, also are from Ohio University.
     Throughout her career in admissions and enrollment management, Tarter has developed effective plans for recruiting and retaining specific student populations, including high school, transfer, minority, adult, international and students with disabilities. Among her many accomplishments in these arenas, she developed one of the first community college transfer guides in the United States, which has been replicated by most institutions of higher education nationwide, including Austin Peay.

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     In July 1996, Dr. Jacqueline E. Wade was appointed new director of the Wilbur N. Daniel African American Cultural Center, replacing Dr. Ruth Dennis, who served as interim director for a year.
     Wade was founder and chief executive officer of Wade Educational Programming and Consulting Services, Antioch, and an adjunct faculty member for Middle Tennessee State University. From 1990-94, she was executive director of The National Council for Black Studies Inc., The Ohio State University, Columbus.
     Wade earned her doctorate in education and her master's degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Her bachelor's degree in music is from Fisk University, Nashville.
     She is a gifted writer and researcher and has been published in numerous professional journals. Among her titles is "Race and Raceness: A Theoretical Perspective of the Black American Experience."

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     Winners of the 10th annual Young Composer's Competition have been announced.
     Eric Alexander, Boulder, Colo., was awarded first prize for his "Three Songs" for voice and piano. His winning composition will be performed on Austin Peay's Dimensions New Music Series in the spring.
     Composer Peter Knell of Pasadena, Calif., was awarded second prize for his "Wham-Bam!" for chamber ensemble. Third prize went to Dennis DeSantis, a student at Western Michigan University, for his "Kaleidoscope Eyes" for flute, clarinet and piano.
     Sponsored by Austin Peay's Center for the Creative Arts, this annual competition was established to encourage young composers nationwide by providing professional-level performances, as well as a financial incentive, with the hope that this kind of professional recognition will create a greater community of awareness of these young composers.

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     Austin Peay has been awarded two grants, valued at $123,836, to assist students with disabilities.
     The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) of the State of Tennessee Department of Human Services awarded APSU $102,400. A second-year continuation grant was provided by the Developmental Disabilities Council of the State of Tennesssee Department of Mental Health and Retardation.
     Both grants will be administered by Beulah C. Oldham, Austin Peay's coordinator of disability issues. For more information on APSU's disability issues programs, telephone Oldham at (615) 648-6230.

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     Two continuation grants have been awarded to help support Austin Peay's High School Upward Bound and Veterans Upward Bound programs.
     The High School Upward Bound Program, which encourages disadvantaged youths to pursue post-secondary education, was awarded $275,076 from the U.S. Department of Education for the academic year.
     The Veterans Upward Bound Program encourages disadvantaged veterans to pursue post-secondary education; it received a grant of $251,917 from the U.S. Department of Education for the academic year.

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     An Austin Peay student was named a winner in the Metropolitan Opera auditions recently held at Belmont University in Nashville.
     Barbi DeAnna McCulloch, soprano, a senior vocal major from Spring Hill, won in the Middle Tennessee/East Tennessee combined district auditions, the youngest of nine men and women who participated.
     As a district winner, she will compete at the Southern Regional Auditions Feb. 1 in Memphis. That winner will compete at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City Feb. 16 where several winners will be chosen.
     A graduate of Spring Hill High School, McCulloch is the daughter of Brandon McCulloch of Spring Hill and Brenda William of Griffin, Ga. She is a Governors Ambassador, and a member of several honor societies. She was winner in the senior women division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) collegiate voice competition in April.