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Love of genealogy leads to AU grad Allison Lawrentz Barnhart having book published
Ashland University graduate Allison Lawrentz Barnhart started writing her book in the past tense, but quickly changed that. “I thought, ‘This is going to be boring – this happened and that happened, and I don’t want to do that,’” said Lawrentz Barnhart, describing how “The Record Keeper: The Unfolding of a Family Secret in the Age of Genetic Genealogy” began. “It’s so much of a deeper story than that.” So, she switched to present tense as she described her…
Susan Jacobs, who has taught art online for AU, has celebrity portraits exhibition
A few years ago, Susan Jacobs really enjoyed an online Ashland University course she taught called Creative Thinking Experiences Through Drawing. “I had some astonishing results,” Jacobs said about the class. “Surprising to see such progress without actually meeting the students.” Jacobs has had some astonishing results with her art of people she also hasn’t met, including Bruce Springsteen, Barbara Streisand and Stephen Curry. Her exhibition of celebrity…
Art contest helps Correctional Education students 'feel more involved in the university'
Each year, state directors from Ashland University’s Correctional Education program have an annual meeting to plan its focus for the coming year. “In September 2022, our focus was retention by concentrating on making CE students feel more involved in the university,” said Denise Justice, executive director of correctional relations. “Being a college student and having that ‘college experience’ is so much more than just taking classes. If you live…
Ashland University art education graduate Mindy Duncan earns award at Mansfield Senior
Mindy Duncan has never forgotten how much Ashland University helped her career as an art teacher. “It helped immensely,” said Duncan, who has been teaching art for 29 years at Mansfield Senior High School. “I feel the close relationships with the very caring and excellent staff at AU helped foster my artistic and educational pursuits. Even after I graduated, there was continued support from art professors and colleagues.” Duncan was recognized recently for…
AU Theatre to host series of 10-minute plays on April 14-15
ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashland University Department of Theatre will close out its 2022-23 season by presenting a festival of 10-minute plays Friday and Saturday, April 14-15, in the Studio Theatre of the Center for the Arts (331 College Ave.). To conclude this season’s theme, “Standing Up, Standing Out,” these student-directed short plays each have characters who stand up for themselves and stand out by making choices that will change their lives. Admission is…
Ashland University grad Beery returns to area to teach theatre with experience in New York
While she enjoyed her time in New York, 1997 Ashland University graduate Maria Beery is happy to be back in the area teaching theatre classes at the Richland Academy of the Arts. “The building may be different and many of the faces are new, but RAA still has the same unmistakable creative energy that it had 25 years ago when I first started there,” said Beery, who first taught classes, workshops and summer programs part time for RAA while she was a student at…
Opera career taking off for Chanáe Curtis, an Ashland University music graduate
What started in Ohio and Ashland University as a love of music for Chanáe Curtis has blossomed into a successful opera career that has taken her not only across the U.S. but overseas. Curtis, who earned a Bachelor of Music from AU in 2012, recently finished performing “Falstaff” in San Jose and is now in London with the English National Opera for Jeanine Tesori’s “Blue.” “It is a privilege to be on any stage in front of a live audience doing what I love to…
1965 Ashland alum authors two books in one year
The past year has been a busy one for Clinton Stanley “Stan” Zimmer, a 1965 Ashland College graduate. He has written two books, one about his parents’ experiences in China as missionaries from 1936 to 1948 and the other about coping with mental illness in his family. “They will probably be the only two I write,” Zimmer said about his hectic year of writing, which saw “The Pull of China” published in December and “Eagle Wings Over the Valley” finished in…
AU grad Jennifer Winkler creates unique school art program in Smithville
“Thank you for allowing me to come into your awesome classroom. You should be so proud of the teacher you have become, evolving to meet the interests/needs of your students. I was so inspired.” This is one of several notes hanging on the bulletin board in the classroom of the high school and middle school art teacher at Green Local Schools, Jennifer Winkler, a 2012 Ashland University graduate. Surrounding the bulletin board of notes, photos and drawings are…
Star of critically-acclaimed ‘Till’ received an MFA in Creative Writing from Ashland in 2017
Danielle Deadwyler’s acting career has taken her from the Atlanta stage in her hometown to many parts in television and film, including the lead role in the recent movie “Till.” Earning a creative writing master’s degree in 2017 from Ashland University has helped in her journey toward movie star status and talk of possibly winning a Best Actress Oscar with “Till.” “The potential of teaching and writing were given, however, I always sought to incorporate the…
