Islander Team Lends a Helping Hand
Islander softball players recently spent a Saturday morning painting and adding the finishing touches on a Habitat for Humanity home. The volunteers also cleaned and prepared a nearby lot for construction of a home and helped organize building supplies at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore retail outlet. Habitat for Humanity is a faith-based charitable organization that builds affordable homes for low income families.

Students Experience ‘Virtual Reality Day’
Cunningham Middle School seventh-graders learned about sea level changes and the coastal environment through virtual fly-bys and 3-D topography drawings of Earth and the Gulf of Mexico during a “Virtual Reality Day” Friday, Nov. 21, at the Education Center for Math and Science. Students also learned about the scientific method through experiments that relate to hurricanes. The event was presented by the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies' Laguna Outreach Project.

Don Luna, a professor in the College of Liberal Arts, has been selected as the 2008 University Educator of the Year by the Texas Educational Theatre Association (TETA) in recognition of his achievements and contributions to educational theatre. He will be honored during the TETA convention Sunday, Jan. 25, in Houston, Texas. Luna, who arrived at the University in 1994, has been in theatre for the past 25 years. He has directed and acted in scores of plays and has had starring roles in multiple film and television projects.

The Rotary Foundation has awarded a 2009 World Peace Fellowship to Dr. Andy Piker as part of the Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution program. Piker, an associate professor in the College of Liberal Arts, will attend the International Rotary Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, in summer 2009. The program was established by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International in partnership with Chulalongkorn University in 2004, and focuses on conflict resolution training.

The University will hold its annual “Islander Lights” celebration Friday, Dec. 5, at the Performing Arts Center Plaza. The holiday festivities kick off at 5 p.m. with a 4-mile Islander fun run and 1 ½-mile walk around the hike and bike trail followed by Santa’s visit to the Island at 6 p.m. The Wishes and Dreams Toy Drive and Student Picnic will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the University Services Center Plaza. At 7:30 p.m., the switch will be thrown to illuminate the campus along Ocean Drive in Islander blue, green and white lights. The evening will include music, games and activities. The celebration is open to the public.

Singing cowboy poet Michael Martin Murphey will once again celebrate the holiday season at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi when he brings his highly-acclaimed “Cowboy Christmas” concert back to the Performing Arts Center Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 to $30 for adults and $7 for children and students. To order tickets, go to http://tamucc.tix.com; or call 361.825.2787 (ARTS) to charge by phone.