Mansfield University Blog

The 17th Annual Fabulous 1890s Weekend ended a bit soggy but the rain did hold off for the parade which saw the debut of the stage coach built by two local men, Ed Roupp and Larry Wilson.  The 1890s and Sesquicentennial Committees commissioned the stage coach  to commemorate the university’s and borough’s  150th anniversary in 2007.  President Loeschke and husband Dick Gillespie walked in the parade so she could display the dress made for her by retired MU employee Liv Mitcheltree.  The museum tent with Joyce Tice’s display and 97-year-old curator Chester Bailey, was a big hit.  We’ll post more 1890s photos on our website and a couple videos on YouTube soon.

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News item: Our fall 2009 enrollment is 3569, making it the largest enrollment in MU history. The freshmen class is up 5.7%, the largest class in 20 years. Freshmen to sophomore retention rate this year is 74%; up from 70.6% last year.

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In another corner of the universe, Hugh Schintzius, has published his book, Get It Yet?  Everyday Rules for the Game of Life.  “Schintz,” who led the women’s volleyball team to 5 national playoffs, started the book years ago, then was sidelined with overseeing the design and construction of the Kelchner Fitness Center. He’ll be on campus Oct. 6-10.   Buy his book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and he’ll be happy to sign it.

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Last year a group of wildly energetic students created the MU Crew to raise school spirit at football games.  The red/black painted crew  enter their second year.  I mean, wouldn’t your spirits lift after experiencing this group?

Mike Vayansky, who taught here for 43 years, passed away Sept. 16.

Bridget Irwin ’07  sent this sent this  touching note:

“Prof. Vayansky was teaching us one day and the projector (the old one) was never lined up correctly. He jumped up on top of it to ‘correct it.’ All of a sudden we heard a loud THUD. The room became silent. Of course it was pitch dark when he turned the lights off so no one could see what the thud was-let alone see around to help whatever/whomever it was. It ended up being Prof. Vayansky. He had fallen off the projector. The only reason we knew it was him was because the silence was broken with an “….I’m okayyyyy…..” We felt horrible because there was such a long pause between the thud and his statement of relief. At least he is on the other side of the heavens he enjoyed so much.”

Gregory Orr sent this photo and this annual April 1 satirical issue of the Flashlight fondly known as The Trashlight. It’s the Trashlight’s tradition to roast faculty and staff who are loved, respected and have a sense of humor.

Mike lived for the heavens and influenced  tens of thousands of children and adults with his night sky tours in the  planetarium.     He will be missed.

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The Fabulous 1890s Weekend is in its 17th year and there’s something for everyone, from polkas to the Prism Concert in Steadman.  Click here for a complete 1890s Weekend schedule.

Alumnus Thomas Jones will do a recital Sunday, 9/27 to benefit the Jack Wilcox Scholarship Fund. Details here.

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My student photographer, Matt Coppadge snapped this  photo a couple days ago.  The DJ on the right looks like he could use a good bouncing regimen himself.

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Next week we’ll see how the purchase of one toy gun escalated into  The Nerf Wars.

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Comments & ideas are welcome!

Entertainment for this year’s 1890s Weekend is bigger and more varied than ever.  We’ve booked for the first time a polka band.  Also performing is Time-Traveling Minstrel Roy Justice,  storyteller/ historian/musician and a  1976 MU graduate .

Click here for a complete schedule.

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And don’t forget, the world’s first night football game was played right here on Smythe Park on Sept. 28, 1892, something General Electric, which lit the historic game, acknowledged with a commercial about it that aired internationally for several years beginning in 1992.

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Congratulations to  Eleanor Kodish ’47 , on the  novel To Catch a Cagey Crook which she and her friend Mary Eischied wrote.  I had a chance to get a sneak peak at it when she sent me the proofs a couple years ago.  It’s a fun mystery written for middle school readers about six cousins on a summer vacation and a mean escaped crook.  Congratulations, ladies!

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Our recent Conversations show, featuring President Loeschke giving a tour of the president’s house, has been a big hit.  The show has been edited and posted on YouTube.  The tour is a fascinating look at the inside of a historic  building as well as President Loeschke and husband Dick Gillespie’s artwork and Dick’s photos from around the world.  Click here for Part 1.

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The stage coach, which was started during our  sesquicentennial is coming down the finish line.  It’ll be one of the featured attractions of this year’s Fabulous 1890s Weekend.  It’s being built by Ed Roupp and Larry Wilson.

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I took this shot from my 5th floor office window, showing our beautiful rural campus and mountains.  I’ll be taking more as the seasons change.

A few weeks ago on our TV show “Conversations,”  I interviewed President Loeschke about fund raising priorities for this year.  It’s edited into two episodes on our YouTube channel.  You view it here.

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I also interviewed former slave Frances Bok during his two-day visit here, sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Institute.  Frances is a gentle person who maintained his faith and vision during 10 years of enslavement and torture. Today he’s working to end slavery around the world.  You can listen here.

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Remember the rather barren walk behind North Hall? Concrete wall, broken pavement?  That’s all changed.  Stone wall, iron safety fence, benches, lamp posts, shrubbery.   We’ve always had the natural beauty, now the landscaping and physical improvements are enhancing it.

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A street corner evangelist appeared on the student mall last Friday, spreading his message in a booming voice.  It was a beautiful sunny afternoon.  A lot of freshmen took offense at being called sinners during the first week of school.  Upperclassmen laid on the bank and accepted it as free entertainment.  Other students brought out their guitars and tried to drown the preacher out by singing (didn’t work).  One quiet freshman stepped up to the man and waited for a pause in the loud preaching:  “You aren’t ever going to get people to follow you when you yell all the time.”

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The Fabulous 1890s Weekend is fast approaching .  This year the entertainment lineup is the best ever from rock music’s Havoc Jack to Bob Melnyck’s Polka Magic Band to Frogs of Pennsylvania.  Entertainment director Steve Brown has done a super job. For a complete list of acts, click here.  More about this historic event in the next blog.

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MU alumnus Ali Soufan continues to make international news with this New York Times op-ed piece arguing against torture.  Ali was an FBI special agent from 1997 to 2005.