At a legal symposium in Charleston, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said issues dealing with church and state will always be among the toughest the nation’s courts deal with and there’s no easy test for deciding them. O’Connor’s talk was covered by the Associated Press. The one-day symposium, which focused on the separation between church and state, was sponsored by the Charleston Law Review and the Riley Institute at Furman.
FU in the News
A recognized commitment to green
Furman is among the schools selected for inclusion in fourth annual addition of The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2013 Edition. Published in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Center for Green Schools, the free, comprehensive guide focuses solely on colleges that have demonstrated a strong commitment to the environment and to sustainability.
An evening of Shakespearean wonder
The Furman Theatre opened its ethereal production of William Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” to an appreciative audience last week. Shakespeare’s play, one of his last, is alternately labeled a comedy and a pastoral romance, and presents a fantastical story of love, cruelty, loss and redemption that spans 16 years and two kingdoms. The production is directed by Furman theatre arts professor Maegan Azar.
Who regulates online education?
An organization led by Furman graduate and former U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley released a report Thursday which said institutions that offer online education programs should not be forced to answer to regulators in each and every state where they enroll students. Instead, according to the Commission on the Regulation of Postsecondary Distance Education, institutions could be regulated by a single state where they are based. Inside Higher Ed reported on the story.
Riley served as U. S. Secretary of Education under President Clinton (1993-2001) and was a two-term Governor of South Carolina (1979-1987). A 1954 Furman graduate, the Riley Institute at Furman is named in his honor.
Discussions about school safety
After the tragedy at Sandy Hook, Furman students and professors say it was time to open up the discussion about school safety. “Can We Make Our Schools Safe and Violence Free?” was the topic of a panel discussion at the university this week. WSPA-TV reported on the event, which was co-sponsored by the Furman Education Department, College Democrats and College Republicans.
Alumnus engages Supreme Court on gay marriage
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers the Defense of Marriage Act, a Furman graduate and his husband have submitted an open letter to Justice Antonin Scalia asking the Court to consider equality of laws and benefits in its deliberations. Jack Montgomery ’00 and Kelly Vielmo live in Washington, D.C. and are the parents of three adopted children; Montgomery’s video letter, read against the backdrop of images of the family, was posted on the Huffington Post webpage. See the video and story.
Don’t kill all the lawyers…
Jack McIntosh (Photo by Ken Ruinard, Anderson Independent Mail, S.C.)
At age 85, Furman graduate Jack McIntosh has published his first book, Don’t Kill All the Lawyers: I’ll Give You a Short List. The book is illustrated by award-winning editorial cartoonist Robert Ariail and was the featured book on NPR’s “The Radio Reader” with Dick Estell in March. McIntosh, who graduated from Furman in 1952 and practiced law in Anderson for more than 50 years, was the subject of a feature article in the Anderson Independent-Mail.
The chances of a perfect game
There is one statistic from the 2012 Major League Baseball season that may be difficult to improve upon in 2013: the number of perfect games pitched. Of all the major league games played since 1900, a mere 21 of them have been perfect games. But three of them occurred during the 2012 season. What are the chances you’ll see three more in a single season? After some serious calculations, Furman math professors John Harris and Kevin Hutson, and Davidson College professor Tim Chartier, say about 1.7 percent.
Supreme Court and affirmative action
Rod Smolla
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a second case involving affirmative action in higher education—even before it has issued a ruling on the other case it has considered this term. An article in Inside Higher Ed quoted Furman president Rod Smolla about the Supreme Court’s decision and what it might mean for higher education.
Smolla is an expert on free expression and academic freedom, and is the author of numerous books, including The Constitution Goes to College: Five Constitutional Ideas That Have Shaped the American University. Before joining Furman as president in 2010, he was dean of the Washington and Lee School of Law, dean of the University of Richmond School of Law, and director of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law at the College of William & Mary.
The Dames of Broadway
When Kristin Chenoweth performed in the “Live From Lincoln Center” series broadcast, “The Dames of Broadway…All of Them,” Furman graduate Mary-Mitchell Campbell was there to serve as musical director and accompany the Broadway star on piano.
Campbell, a 1996 graduate, is a leading musical arranger and orchestrator in New York. She won a Drama Desk Award in 2007 for orchestrations for the revival of the Broadway musical “Company,” and was music director for the Broadway production of “The Addams Family.” She has served on the faculties of NYU, Boston College and Juilliard.
