USAO kicks off Spring classes

Though the clocks won’t spring forward until March, the University of Science and Arts is getting its traditional jump on things with the launch of the Spring 2012 trimester. Classes begin Friday at Oklahoma’s public liberal arts university in Chickasha. The first day of classes is also enrollment day at the college.

In addition to offering more than 400 classes in 22 fields of study, USAO’s spring calendar is filled with a number of musical and theatrical events. The university’s athletics program hits high gear as Drover men’s and women’s basketball play in the Sooner Athletic Conference play is already underway. In the not-too-distant future, the massive Spring Triad – an all-day academic, art and music festival that usually welcomes more than 3,000 to campus – is planned for April 5.

A spring class schedule is available from the USAO Admissions Office, 574-1204, or on the Internet at usao.edu/usao-course-schedules. Classes continue through Spring Commencement on April 20. Prospective students interested in enrolling for the summer or fall trimesters are invited to call the Admissions Office for more information about Unlocked, a preview day for high school seniors and their families, scheduled for January 14.

Students can apply online to USAO for free. The process takes about 20 minutes and students will need their ACT scores, household income and GPA/class rank. Go to the USAO website -- usao.edu -- and click the 'APPLY!' button.

USAO’s website also offers a full course catalog, event calendars, sports news and sections on art shows and fine arts events. Persons who wish to get e-mail updates about USAO news, events and sports can sign up for the Alumni News Hotline at usao.edu/alumni/alumni-news-service

The university’s basketball teams continue Sooner Athletic Conference play with home games against Oklahoma Christian at 3 and 5 p.m. on Jan. 7 and St. Gregory’s also at 3 and 5 p.m. on Jan. 14.

The Davis-Waldorf Performing Arts Series kicks off 2012 with latin-rock fusion group Tekumbé, scheduled to perform on campus at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 in Te Ata Memorial Auditorium. Ticket information is available at usao.edu/davis-waldorf-performing-arts-series.

Beginning Jan. 13, the USAO Art Gallery will exhibit work by photographer Charles Rushton titled En Passant. The show runs through Feb. 10. The Gallery is open weekdays 8:30-4:30 p.m.

On February 13 and 14, USAO will present the Festival of Arts and Ideas on the theme of Contemplating Beauty. This festival will look at the idea of beauty through the lens of a number of different but interrelated disciplines and will also feature a free Valentine’s dance on the evening of the second night.

The USAO Drama Department will hold auditions for its Spring production of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya on Jan. 10. The play, originally performed in 1899, continues to captivate directors, actors and audiences alike with its melancholy themes of lost dreams and fears of a wasted life. USAO’s production is scheduled to open March 9 and run three nights.

The 2012 Emerson-Weir Liberal Arts Symposium is scheduled March 14 featuring James Fowler as this year’s keynote speaker. Fowler is a professor of medical genetics and political science at the University of California, San Diego. Fowler, along with Nicholas Christakis, is the author of Connected, a book on social networks that has been translated into twenty languages, named an Editor's Choice by the New York Times Book Review and featured in Wired, Oprah's Reading Guide and earned them a cover story in New York Times Magazine. The evening presentation is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Te Ata Memorial Auditorium.

The close of the trimester will also bring concerts from the USAO music department’s five performance groups – the Concert Choir, the Concert Wind Ensemble, the Key Players, the Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the Showband. With one of Oklahoma’s longest running music departments, USAO’s music degrees are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, an organization of which the university has been a member since 1956.

Fields of study available at USAO are American Indian studies, art, biology, business (with concentrations in accounting, business administration and management), chemistry, communication, deaf education, drama, early childhood education, economics, elementary education, English, history, mathematics, music, natural science, physical education, physics, political science, psychology, sociology and speech pathology. Students can pursue a bachelor of art, bachelor of science or bachelor of fine arts degree with teacher certification in several areas.

The university welcomes new students and non-traditional older students who wish to continue or finish their degrees. The enrollment process takes about an hour, according to the admissions office.