ANOTHER REMINDER! Attention, alumni and friends of Iowa State Universitys (#ISU) #journalism department/#Greenlee School of Communications, especially you old-timers on campus in the 60s, 70s and 80s: We’re writing to invite you to a Greenlee School DOUBLE-HEADER on Wednesday, April 16 on campus. The first event is a program “Remembering Bill Kunerth,” who died of lung cancer in December at age 89. There will be a gathering with Bill’s wife, Willie, and at least three Kunerth children from 3.00 to 4.30 p.m. in the Cardinal Room of the Memorial Union. The other half of the doubleheader features a (free) one-night performance of a one-woman play about the Texas political columnist (and hell-raiser) Molly Ivins at 7 p.m. in Fisher Theater. The play, which ran to excellent reviews for more than a year, is Red-Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins. (More about this after Bill). Bill Kunerth, as you may know, taught in the Department/School from 1957 to 1988 – and then stayed around Ames for another 15 years to help monitor the University and the Regents. He was especially dedicated to ensuring that academic and governmental agencies maintain transparency and openness. And I can attest that he was a terrific teacher -- a man who changed my career and my life. During the program, the Greenlee School’s Michael Bugeja will present Willie a “Champion of the First Amendment” award recognizing Bill’s activities and service. The head of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union also has asked to speak briefly about Bill’s efforts over nearly a half a century. The Kunerth children will show be a slide and video presentation theyve assembled covering their father’s life – and then it will be time for anyone in the audience to talk about Bill and some of his scuffles with the ISU administration, the Athletic Council and the ISU Foundation. . . . plus lots of other things. If you can come to this event, please RSVP so we will know how many chairs and cookies to have on hand. Anyone with anything to say is encouraged to speak – or send us an e-mail about your experiences with Bill. (We will assemble a Memory Book for the Kunerth family.) BACK TO MOLLY IVINS: The play was co-written by Peggy and Allison Engel. Allison is a 1973 graduate in Home Ec. Journalism. Kathleen Turner originated the role. For our gig, the School has lined up Barbara Chisholm of Austin, Texas. She’s played the part already and was “terrific,” our ISU sources in Texas say. Ivins, as you may know, was renown for her outspokenness, especially in her coverage of Texas politics. She once wrote, when the Texas legislature was about to convene, that “every village is about to lose its idiot.” About one specific legislator, she declared, “If his I.Q. slips any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day.” Molly Ivins died, age 62, in February 2007. This should be a don’t-miss show, introduced by the Engel sisters, who are coming to Ames for this specific purpose. Note: Fisher Theater seats 450, but seats are unreserved and it will be first-come, first seated. We hope you can make it to Ames and look forward to seeing you here (or at least hearing from you). Tom Emmerson Cindy Oppedal Paschen & Thomas R. ODonnell
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 00:02:41 +0000
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