Professor Snyder Elected to Head Physician Assistant Education Association
PUBLISHED ON Oct 31 2014
Jennifer Snyder, a professor in the Physician Assistant Program, has been elected President-Elect of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), the national education association representing 188 physician assistant programs.
Snyder is concluding her elected term as a Director at Large on the Board of Directors for the Association on December 31, 2014. She begins her three-year term with PAEA, first as President-Elect on January 1, 2015, followed by one year as President, and then one year as immediate Past President.
Responsibility for all Association activities lies with the PAEA Board of Directors. The board administers the association's financial affairs, appoints and conducts association business. As president, Snyder will represent PAEA on all issues affecting the association and assure the board fulfills its responsibilities for governance of the association, PA education and the profession.
“Being elected to this position is a great honor,” Snyder said. “The number of PA programs and the number of students in those programs have grown dramatically; healthcare and higher education are in a time of great transition. There is much work to be done.”
PAEA is a not-for-profit association representing accredited physician assistant educational programs in the United States. PAEA provides services for faculty at its member programs, as well as to applicants, students, and other stakeholders.
In September, Snyder completed her doctorate at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, becoming the first graduate of the program offered by the school’s College of Health Care Sciences. She wrote her dissertation on the “Investigation of Physician Assistants’ Choice of Rural or Underserved Practice and Framing Methods of Recruitment and Retention.”
Snyder has taught at Butler since 1999. In 2009, the Physician Assistant graduating class voted her Faculty of the Year. In 2010, the American Academy of Physician Assistants recognized her as a Distinguished Fellow for her outstanding dedication to the PA profession. In2011 the Student Academy of American Academy of Physician Assistants awarded her the President’s Award for her service and promotion of leadership, educational and professional development of PA students.
Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
317-940-9822
Professor Snyder Elected to Head Physician Assistant Education Association
PUBLISHED ON Mar 17 2015
After more than 30 years as Artistic Director of the Indianapolis Opera and guest conducting across the country, James Caraher now relies on his vast expertise to prepare the next generation of opera talent—students.
Caraher, who joined the Butler Opera Theatre as Music Director in January, has opera students preparing for the upcoming “A Night at the Opera” performances, March 27-29 at the Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts.
Show times are March 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. and March 29 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for seniors and students. Tickets and more information are available at schrottcenter.org. The program is below.
The performances join the opera theatre and Butler Symphony Orchestra for an unamplified, live musical journey through contemporary and historical opera.
Carissa Riedesel, a graduate student in her final year of the Master of Music in Voice Performance program, will perform an aria as Sesto, a revengeful and hot-headed young man from the Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Julius Caesar in Egypt), and a comedic scene as Despina, a snarky maid who claims all men are the same—useless—from Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte.
Riedesel said getting to perform in the Schrott Center with a live orchestra is a valuable experience for singers in the program. The opportunity to spend time developing her characters and then to bring them to life onstage with an orchestra has provided “a vivid glimpse into professional life.”
Thomas Studebaker, Director of the opera theatre, said he offers all seniors and graduate students the chance to perform an aria with the orchestra. The experience is advantageous for Butler students thanks to the small size of the program.
He hopes to grow the number of professional performance opportunities for Butler opera students in the coming years. The goal: to hold an opera performance each semester, including full operas and scene performances.
But the dream doesn’t end there. For opera students to gain realistic performance experience, there must be “butts in seats” to provide a live audience to engage with, Caraher said.
With soulful American tunes, vengeful Italian arias, and hilarious comedies about unrequited love, he encourages people from Butler and the surrounding community to give “A Night at the Opera” a chance and support the student singers armed with only their voice and expression, not even a microphone.
“It’s music theatre,” Caraher said. “Everybody thinks of oversized folks with horns on their heads screaming, but that’s not the case. It’s vocal music, orchestral music, drama, and theater. It’s many art forms in one big package—there is something for everybody.”
BUTLER OPERA THEATER SCENES PROGRAM
Overture from Guillaume Tell (Gioacchino Rossini)
Act I Trio from L’elisir d’amore (Gaetano Donizetti)
L’angue Offeso from Giulio Cesare (G.F. Handel)
The Trees on the Mountain from Susannah (Carlisle Floyd)
Act II Trio from Così fan tutte (W.A. Mozart)
Sous le dôme épais from Lakmé (Leo Delibes)
Donde lieta usci from La Bohème (Giacomo Puccini)
Evening Prayer duet from Hansel und Gretel (E. Humperdinck)
Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila (Camille Saint-Saëns)
INTERMISSION
Three Little Maids from School from Mikado (Sir Arthur Sullivan)
Quanto è bella from L’elisir d’amore (Gaetano Donizetti)
Finale from Mitridate, Re di Ponto (W.A. Mozart)
Vilia from Die Lustige Witwe (Franz Léhar)
Act III Quartet from La Bohème (Giacomo Puccini)
Ach, ich fühls from Die Zauberflöte (W.A. Mozart)
Act III Trio from La Rondine (Giacomo Puccini)
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (Pietro Mascagni)
Va, pensiero from Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi)
A Night at the Opera: Soulful, Vengeful, Comedic and More
PUBLISHED ON Dec 04 2015
If you were a college professor giving seniors their final 20-minute lecture, what would you say?
National college senior honor society Mortar Board posed this question to four Butler professors, who then presented their “last lecture” on Thursday, December 3, to about 60 students.
Chemistry Professor Stacy O’Reilly took a scientific approach. She explained how Gore-Tex is made from petroleum for use in ski coats. She said students should be aware participants and consumers as they head out into the real world.
“Remember that everything you use comes from somewhere and from someone,” she said.
Philosophy and Religion Professor Brent Hege spoke about finding enlightenment, reminding students to continue to think critically.
Christine Smith, an Adjunct Professor in the Core/First-Year Seminar, wanted students to reflect on their life's purpose and to live unapologetically.
“For being yourself, you don't need to apologize,” she said. “If I never have, why should you?”
And Journalism Professor Scott Bridge just wanted his students to know how much they mean to him.
“I would want students to know how much they have meant to me and how I will continue to help them long after they've graduated,” he said.
All professors agreed that, although it was daunting to prepare for their theoretical last lecture, they were glad to participate.
Students felt the same way.
“It was an honor to hear their varied life perspectives in such an intimate setting,” Ashley Zegeistowsky ’16 said. “I've never had one of the professors for a class, but it was still really cool to listen to their lectures.”
And Now, Some Parting Words From Your Professors
Four Butler professors were asked to give their “last lecture” to graduating seniors. Here’s what they said.
Four Butler professors were asked to give their “last lecture” to graduating seniors. Here’s what they said.
PUBLISHED ON Feb 27 2013
Butler University Associate Athletic Director Jim McGrath has been selected for induction into the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame.
This honor is presented to members of CoSIDA who have made outstanding contributions to the field of college athletic communications. McGrath will be inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame at a luncheon and ceremony on Thursday, June 13, in Orlando, Fla.
McGrath has served as Butler's sports information director since 1981 and assumed the title of associate athletic director in 1989 after four years as an assistant athletic director. In his current role, he is responsible for overseeing media relations for Butler’s 19 intercollegiate sports, and he’s the individual sport contact for men's basketball, football, men's soccer, softball, men's and women's golf and men's and women's cross country and track. During his tenure, he has covered more than 2,000 Butler athletic events.
Since assuming his post at Butler, McGrath has served as the host SID for four NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Final Fours and one Women's Basketball Final Four, as well as nine NCAA men's first and second rounds tournaments. He’s served on the NCAA Media Coordination staff for the Final Four since 2008, and he’s been a member of the NCAA Media Coordination Advisory Board since 2012.
McGrath has worked in press operations at amateur national championships in boxing, swimming and track and field. He was a press officer at the 1982 and 1983 United States Olympic Committee National Sports Festivals and the 1986 U.S. Olympic Festival, and he served as a press officer for the United States team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. He co-chaired the Media Center Development and Operations Committee for Pan American Games X and served on the media coordination staff for the 2002 World Basketball Championship.
McGrath arrived at Butler after a 10-year stint as sports information director at his alma mater, Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.). While at Augustana, he served as the host SID for five NCAA Division III national basketball championships. He was publicity director for the Ed McMahon Quad-Cities Open professional golf tournament for five years, and he served five years as the director of communications for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. While at Augustana, he received 30 publications awards from CoSIDA, including 10 Best in the Nation certificates.
McGrath received the “Helping Hand” Award from the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association in 2010, and he was inducted into the Butler Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2012. He also joined the Augustana College Tribe of Vikings Hall of Fame with the 1972-73 men’s basketball team in fall 2012.
A 1971 graduate of Augustana, McGrath and his wife, Judy, have three sons, Chad, Scott and Christopher, and five grandchildren.
Media contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822