SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Guest lectures and theatrical performances highlight events at Wofford College in April.

All events are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise noted. Please check the online calendar at calendar.wofford.edu for frequent updates. For athletics events, please go to athletics.wofford.edu.

For more information, contact Laura Corbin at woffordnews@wofford.edu or 864-597-4180.

Monday, April 4, through Friday, April 8
Spring Break
No classes; campus offices will remain open.

Tuesday, April 12
Faculty Talk Series: “Virginity in Chaucer: The Tales and the Critics”
Speaker: Dr. Natalie Grinnell, professor of English
4 p.m., Gray-Jones Room, Burwell Building
Dr. Natalie Grinnell, professor of English at Wofford, will discuss the changing discourse about virgins in “The Canterbury Tales,” especially over the past 60 years.

Wednesday, April 13
Guest Lecture: “The Best Conservation is Prevention”
Speaker: David Goist, American Institute for Conservation
4 p.m., The Space in the Mungo Center, Michael S. Brown Village Center
David Goist, American Institute for Conservation Fellow, will discuss good collection management as a significant aspect of preservation and conservation, providing first-hand information about potential careers in conservation and museum collections.

Thursday, April 14
Lunch and Learn with Marcel Anderson
11:30 a.m., Holcombe Room, Burwell Building
Marcel Anderson, writer and sexual assault survivor, will discuss the healing process of surviving sexual assault especially as a male survivor. He also will present his new book on surviving sexual assault.

Thursday, April 14
Exhibition: “The Dead Father Portfolio”
Artist Talk, Poetry Reading and Opening Reception
4 p.m., Sandor Teszler Library Gallery, Sandor Teszler Library
Wofford College’s Special Collections will exhibit its copy of “The Dead Father Portfolio,” one of 26 copies of a special edition of “The Dead Father Poems” (Holocene, Publishing, 2000), a book written by John Lane, Wofford professor and director of the Goodall Environmental Studies Center, and illustrated with etchings by Douglas White.

Thursday, April 14
Sexual Assault Awareness Panel
6:30 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
A panel discussion will addresses sexual violence on college campuses within the Spartanburg community. Panelists will discuss ways to best support survivors and to help create an environment that promotes healthy relationships.

Monday, April 18
RESULTS: Learn How You Can Help End Poverty
3 p.m., Olin 115A, Franklin W. Olin Building
Members of the Wofford and Spartanburg community are invited for a conference call about RESULTS, a non-partisan grassroots advocacy organization creating the political end to hunger and poverty. RESULTS volunteers believe that having one out of five children living in poverty in the U.S. is not right and invite the community to learn how they can help end poverty in America.

Monday, April 18
Performance: “Calculus: The Musical!”
4 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
“Calculus: The Musical!” is a comic “review” of the concepts and history of calculus using a blend of sketch comedy, musical theatre and classroom lecture. Using musical parodies that span genres from light opera to hip hop, the theatre company introduces concepts such as limits, integration and differentiation. Musical tributes to Lorde, Gilbert and Sullivan, Bonnie Tyler and even Eminem will be included; they are just a few of the artists who have inspired this engaging and educational lesson that is nothing at all like your high school textbooks. “Calculus: The Musical!” promises to be entertaining to the arithmophobe and the rocket scientist alike.

Tuesday, April 19
Guest Lecture: “Inglorious Passages: Noncombat Mortality in the Civil War”
Speaker: Brian Wills, the Lewis P. Jones Visiting Professor of History
4 p.m., Olin Theater, Franklin W. Olin Building.
This year’s Lewis P. Jones Visiting Professor of History, Brian Wills, will discuss his current research project. Scholars are now revisiting the traditional numbers for Union and Confederate deaths, and now consider the previously accepted totals as substantially lower than the actual death toll.

Tuesday, April 19
Native Tongues: 4th International Poetry Reading
4 p.m., Sandor Teszler Library Gallery, Sandor Teszler Library
“Native Tongues” will feature poems from all over the world. Readers from the Wofford community will read a poem of their choice in its original language and then present it in English. Refreshments will follow.

Tuesday, April 19
Inaugural Lecture: Milliken Lecture Series on Sustainability and Public Health
Forum: “How a Warming Climate Affects the Spread of Pathogens and Infectious Disease”
7 p.m., Olin Teaching Theater, Franklin W. Olin Building
The Milliken Lecture Series on Sustainability and Public Health is part of the Milliken Sustainability Initiative at Wofford, announced in December 2015. The initiative was made possible by a $4.25 million grant from the Romill Foundation, the personal foundation of the late Roger Milliken, a dedicated champion of Wofford and the Upstate. Milliken was the longest-serving trustee on Wofford’s Board of Trustees and was a major benefactor of the college, overseeing the growth and strategic planning for the college as well as its arboretum, named in his honor. The inaugural event will feature a forum addressing how a warming climate may affect the spread of pathogens and infectious disease.

Wednesday, April 20
Guest Lecture: “Making Sense of Sacrifice: The Sensory Experience of Greco-Roman Cult”
Speaker: Dr. Candace Weddle, Anderson University
4 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
Dr. Candace Weddle, assistant professor of art history at Anderson University, will discuss animal sacrifice culture during the Greco-Roman period. Large-scale sacrifices, including spectacles in which more than 100 bovines were slaughtered and consumed in a single day, were among the most important and impressive Greco-Roman gatherings. The many sensory elements of those sacrifices – for example, the sounds of prayers and songs and the smells of blood, burning incense and roasting flesh – were carefully controlled in order to complete a successful ritual. Weddle’s talk will offer evidence for the multi-sensory impact of sacrifice, focusing particularly on the senses of hearing, smell, taste and touch and using archaeological and textual evidence as well as insights gained by attending Islamic bovine sacrifices.

Thursday, April 21
Guest Lecture: “Latin American Art and its Vanguard: A Search for Identity and its Unique Expression”
Speaker: Silvana Gabriella
8 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
Sharing numerous examples by several artists – from the Mexican muralists to the Brazilian tropicalists, the optical art of Venezuela and the Argentine masters since Berni – this presentation covers major Latin American artists whose work reflects a search New World identity and a unique expression of that search. Silvana Gabriella completed her licenciada degree in curatorship with an emphasis in art education at the Instituto Universitario ESEADE in Buenos Aires. She has taught at all levels, from elementary to college level, and is credentialed by the Secretary of Culture and Tourism of Buenos Aires, giving her regular access to foreign groups visiting the Argentine capital. She is fluent in Spanish, Italian, German, French and English.

Thursday, April 21, through Saturday, April 23, and Thursday, April 28, through Saturday, April 30
Wofford Theatre Presents: “Spring Awakening” by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater
8 p.m., Tony White Theater, Campus Life Building
“Spring Awakening” is an award-winning Broadway rock musical set in late 19th century Germany. The musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of teenage sexuality, and alternative rock is employed as part of the folk-infused rock score. The production will star Madison Eberhardt and is a collaborative effort of the Departments of Theatre and Music.

Wednesday, April 27
Southern Guards Battalion ROTC Awards Ceremony
2:30 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
The Southern Guards Battalion ROTC will recognize the achievements of its cadets in its annual awards ceremony. The 100th anniversary of Army ROTC will be observed with Wofford ROTC alumni attending the event.

Gallery Exhibitions:

Through April 5
“Ephemeral Flights” – Works by Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn
Martha Cloud Chapman Gallery, Campus Life Building
“Ephemeral Flights” juxtaposes the hyper-sexualized with the desexualized. The forms are paired with balloons, which function as a surrogate for life. The exhibit is intended to show that form does not matter and that socially integrated expectations can be damaging to the individual. Through “Ephemeral Flights,” visiting artist Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn shows that life is short and at times unfair, but it still offers opportunities to tell our story. The exhibit is designed in honor of March as National Women’s History Month. For more about Blinkhorn and her art, go to http://jessicaelaineblinkhorn.weebly.com.


Through May 10
Teaching Exhibition: Religion 362 Ritualized Space in the Middle East
Slide Room Gallery, Daniel Building
Students enrolled in Religion 362: Ritualized Space in the Middle East selected works of ancient Near Eastern pottery from the Wofford College permanent fine arts collection to analyze and display in the Slide Room Gallery, Daniel Building. They have written descriptive text for gallery visitors. Items on display include terracotta figure, mold, oil lamps and other cultural objects.

Through May 15
“The Dead Father Portfolio” – Writings by John Lane, Wofford College, and etchings by Douglas White
Sandor Teszler Library Gallery, Sandor Teszler Library
Wofford College’s Special Collections will exhibit its copy of “The Dead Father Portfolio,” one of 26 copies of a special edition of “The Dead Father Poems” (Holocene, Publishing, 2000), a book written by John Lane, Wofford professor and director of the Goodall Environmental Studies Center, and illustrated with etchings by Douglas White.

Upcoming events in early May:

Monday, May 2
Spring Strings Ensemble and Chamber Players Concert
7 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
The concert will feature the Wofford String Ensemble and Wofford Chamber Players in a program of Tartini sonata in A, Mozart “Adagio,” featuring Boyd Richardson (violin soloist); Faure “Elegie” for Solo Cello and Orchestra, featuring freshman Kyrie Hugdahl (cello); and a medley of James Bond themes. In addition, the Wofford Chamber Players will perform a movement from Beethoven Piano Trio Op. 70 #1, featuring Marcus Ellison (piano), Boyd Richardson (violin) and Kyrie Hugdahl (cello); Schubert’s “Trout” Quintett, featuring Vivian Tran (piano), Saleha Salehani (violin); Abraham Marsh, (viola); Timothy Lindsey (cello) and Nolan Moser (double bass); and Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria,” featuring Nathan Fechheimer (cello) and Linsey Teisl (harp).

Tuesday, May 3
Honors Convocation
11 a.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
Wofford College will present academic awards and other recognitions to students at the annual Honors Convocation. The new Presidential International Scholar also will be announced.

Tuesday, May 3
Phi Beta Kappa Initiation
4 p.m., Reception Room, Papadopoulos Building
New members of Phi Beta Kappa will be initiated at this event. Wofford is home to one of the nation’s 283 Phi Beta Kappa chapters.

Friday, May 13
Southern Guards Battalion ROTC Spring Commissioning Ceremony
2 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
The Southern Guards Battalion ROTC will observe the time-honored tradition of commissioning its graduating cadets to the rank of second lieutenant in the United States Army, Army Reserve and National Guard. Maj. Gen. Gregory W. Batts, a 1979 Wofford graduate and assistant adjutant general for the South Carolina Army National Guard in Columbia, S.C., will be the guest speaker. Batts received his commission as an infantry second lieutenant in May 1979 through the Southern Guards Battalion ROTC at Wofford, where he was a Distinguished Military Graduate. Throughout his military career he has served as a traditional citizen-soldier in the SCARNG while pursuing a civilian career with the Charleston (S.C.) Police Department, from which he retired in October 2003. He was promoted to major general on Sept. 16, 2012, and on Feb. 15, 2014, he was assigned as deputy adjutant general with the South Carolina National Guard. A reception will follow the ceremony in the Papadopoulos Room.

Saturday, May 14
Baccalaureate Service
5 p.m., Front Lawn, Main Building
Perkins-Prothro Chaplain Dr. Ron Robinson will lead this annual service during Commencement Weekend. The service will be followed by a reception on the lawn. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held in the Benjamin Johnson Arena, Campus Life Building.

Sunday, May 15
Commencement Exercises
9:30 a.m., Front Lawn, Main Building
Wofford will present several honorary degrees, the Roger Milliken Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Science, the Philip Covington Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Social Sciences, and the Algernon Sydney and Mary Margaret Sullivan Awards to students and community members. The honor graduate will be recognized and degrees will be bestowed on members of the Class of 2016. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held in Benjamin Johnson Arena, Campus Life Building. The featured speaker and honorary degree recipients will be announced soon.