Common Book nominations being accepted

Nominations for next academic year’s Common Book are now being accepted.

The Common Book is read and discussed by all first-year students through their UNIV 101 course.

Email nominations by April 1 to [email protected]. Please limit to one title per person.

Camerata to perform with Great Britain orchestra

The Nicholls State University Camerata string ensemble will share the stage with a student orchestra from Great Britain’s University of Chichester on March 30 at 7 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church in Cut Off and April 2 at 8 p.m. in Talbot Theater.

The concerts will commemorate the official name of the Mary M. Danos Theater (Talbot Theater) and the addition of a new Steinway piano to the Nicholls Music Department.

The concerts are free and open to the public.

Doucet named Dean of Arts and Sciences

Congratulations to John Doucet, who was officially named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, pending approval of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.

Doucet is a distinguished service professor, director of the University Honors Program and author. He also became Louisiana’s first certified public health geneticist in 2010.

Powell Auditorium, Talbot Theater getting a makeover

Renovations to Powell Auditorium, which began in December, will be complete May 15.

The auditorium will have new ceiling tiles, seating with tables, carpeting, doors, lighting, paint and a rear projection system. It will also be easily accessible for the disabled.

Talbot Theater is currently in the design stage. The theater will get new seating, paint, carpeting, flooring, curtains, a sound system and lighting. Acoustics will also be improved, asbestos will be abated, and it will be easily accessible to the disabled.

A renaming ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m. April 2 to rename the theater in honor of Mary M. Danos. Danos and her husband Allen established the Durel Martin Endowed Professorship in Reading Education, the Mary M. Danos Endowed Professorship in Nursing and the Endowed Scholarship for first generation college students. Allen has already made a donation toward the renovation and has pledged to donate more.