Racer Report: Oct. 28-Nov. 1

MURRAY, Ky. – The latest Murray State University Racer Report includes student, faculty, staff and alumni accomplishments, announcements, upcoming campus events and more for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 1.

 

 

 

 

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Two Murray State students earned top honors at the Kentucky Chapter Student auditions for the National Association of Teachers of Singing that was held at Asbury University on Oct. 4-5. This is a voice competition with more than 100 students from across the state of Kentucky.

Natalie Sims, of Mayfield, Kentucky, won first place in the Freshman Treble Classical Category. Jessie Leal, of Madisonville, Kentucky, won first place in the Freshman/Sophomore Tenor/Baritone Musical Theatre Category and the Gina Scaggs Epifano Award for best overall performance. Both Sims and Leal are students of Dr. Maribeth Crawford, director of musical theater at Murray State.

 

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Murray State University’s National Public Radio station, WKMS, took home two awards last month in Excellence in Broadcasting from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association, including Radio Reporter of the Year for News Director Derek Operle. 

The WKMS student news team took home Best Overall Digital Presence in the College Radio category, and Assistant News Director Hannah Saad was runner-up for Rookie of the Year, having made a strong entrance into the radio news scene since her start in March of 2023.

Station Manager Asia Burnett says, “As a station, one of our most important missions is training the next generation of journalists. Getting top recognition for not only our full-time staff, but the students who train under them, is a wonderful reminder of how powerful good news leadership can be. We’re proud of the WKMS news team and grateful to the community that supports and relies on this work every day. Every news story and new journalist trained is a reflection of listeners’ support of this non-profit news source.”

WKMS news is accessible on the air at 91.3 FM, 90.9 FM Madisonville, 89.5 FM Fulton or anywhere and any time of day at wkms.org.

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Dr. Elise Kieffer, a faculty member in the Department of Organizational Communication and Leadership as well as director of the Nonprofit Leadership Studies program, has co-authored a book titled “Rural Arts Management.” A recent review by the American Journal of Arts Management said that “Rural Arts Management is an important book and comes at a crucial time for the arts. While most books on managing the arts take a ‘one size fits all’ approach, Rural Arts Management is the first major publication to take a deep dive into the unique characteristics of rural communities and their effect on arts programming.”

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Assistant Dean of Libraries and Research and Instruction Librarian Dana Statton Thompson recently co-authored a book, “A Slow Approach to Visual Literacy in Higher Education: Lesson Plans for Critical Discernment,” with Stephanie Beene.

The book, published by ALA Neal-Schuman, emphasizes the importance of attention and focus to the process of visual literacy. The principles of “slow librarianship”—which prioritizes reflection, collaboration, solidarity and valuing all kinds of contributions—can also support deeper and more sustained learning and understanding. The authors also demonstrate how this approach supports the Association of College and Research Libraries’s Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education and the Framework for Visual Literacy in Higher Education. Library workers, educators and instructors will discover:

• Dozens of flexible lesson plans for teaching visual literacy, scaffolded by competency levels: novice, intermediate and advanced

• Ways to integrate slow looking into the classroom, emphasizing careful observation and the sustained act of looking

• Techniques for showing learners how to select images with intention, as well as carefully determine when and how to share those images

• Reasons why slow creating is essential to understanding and applying visual literacy in the 21st century

• A look at how increasing access to internet connectivity, generative artificial intelligence and new ethics for sharing and using information online will affect the future of visual literacy

Instructors who are interested in adopting this title for course use may request examination copies at alastore.ala.org/form/lis-desk-copy-requests.

The book is available for purchase at alastore.ala.org/slowlearn.

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Emily Freeman, a Murray State Bass Fishing Team member and biology graduate student from Ozark, Missouri, recently helped propel Team USA to a gold medal in the Pan-American Black Bass Championship on the Saint John River in New Brunswick, Canada, with teammate Rhonda Pitts.

Ten teams competed in the competition: USA, China, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and two Native American teams: Turtle Island and Wolastoqey. This was the first year an all-female team was represented.

Team USA took gold, Canada took silver and China took bronze. Team USA consisted of 12 anglers and six boats. The other team members consisted of Bassmaster professionals and Major League Fishing professionals, which are the best in the country, Freeman said.

“It was an honor to fish among some of the greatest in the sport of bass fishing, and I also looked up to many of them,” said Freeman.

The other team members included Jacob Wheeler, Scott Martin, Brett Carnright, Nick Hatfield, Alec Morrison, Trey McKinney, Tyler Williams, Joey Cifuentes, Josh Weaver and Ryan Latinville. Taking the team's top four combined weights of a five fish limit over two days determined the tournament winner.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for female anglers to take part in showcasing the international sport of bass fishing,” said Freeman. “I represented not only the nation but also all female anglers worldwide and the Murray State Bass Fishing team. I grew up with a background in fishing, and fishing in high school was an excellent place to gain the confidence to fish in college. However, college fishing was my place to grow and gain connections in the industry as an individual angler. It provides an environment where you can truly develop your passion for being an angler and compete at the highest level, not only at a national level but also at the international level. The Murray State Bass Team welcomed female anglers into the sport with open arms and allowed doors to open for me. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level.”