compiled by Amy Welch

FSU singers in Great Britain

FSU voices carry abroad.

This summer FSU Choral Director Andre Thomas and the University Singers, a mixed ensemble of the finest student singers in the School of Music, traveled across Great Britain, singing in some of the most prestigious cathedrals.

The 72 students sang with members of the City of Birmingham Symphony. They performed songs ranging from choral hymns of the Middle Ages to Negro spirituals.

"It is a personal honor for the City of Birmingham to invite me to conduct what is considered to be an 'A' orchestra, that ranks with symphonies in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles," Thomas said before the tour. "I have conducted internationally in the past, but nothing of this magnitude before."

Bowden receives own postmark

On July 29 Bobby Bowden was awarded his very own "cancellation postmark" by the United States Postal Service. The honor was issued along with special legendary coaches' stamps including those of Bear Bryant, Pop Warner, George Halas and Vince Lombardi.

Bowden, fifth in career victories (270) on the all-time Division I coaching list, is the first person in Tallahassee to receive a "cancellation postmark," the mark over a stamp showing that it is used.

Debbie Smith, customer relations coordinator for Tallahassee's main post office, said her office got the idea for the postmark when it heard about coaches' stamps.

"We saw the stamps that were coming out with legendary coaches, and our immediate thought was of our own legendary coach, Bobby Bowden," Smith said.

Her office called Bowden to ask for his approval, and he said he would be honored. The postmark appeared only on July 29.

D'Alemberte widely quoted but the subject is not FSU

In a July New York Times Magazine feature on Janet Reno, FSU President Sandy D'Alemberte, a long-time friend of the Attorney General, once again gave the public an insider's view of one of the most powerful women in Washington.

Reno, who describes D'Alem-berte as her mentor, has received a lot of flak from Washington lately about how her department is investigating the Democratic National Committee's money raising in the 1996 Presidential election. The July 6 article raises questions: Is she covering for the President by not asking an independent counsel to investigate the allegations of illegal contributions? Or is she merely trusting the Justice Department, her department, to do its job?

Although the writer couldn't pin her down on the issue, D'Alemberte gave the readers a view of what she might be thinking.

"The thing about Janet is that if she discovers evidence adverse to the President, she won't hesitate to use it," D'Alemberte was quoted. "I doubt the President feels very protected by her."

D'Alemberte, a former law partner of Reno's, and her boss when he was a Florida Senator, has given newspaper reporters across the country a view of Reno since she became the Attorney General. He has been quoted in The Washington Post, Time Magazine, The Los Angeles Times and U.S. News and World Report, among others. Reno even mentioned him in a speech she gave at Howard University Law School, saying he was "a person whom I admire a great deal."

Law/social work degree offered this year at FSU

This fall marks the inauguration of a new degree program at FSU. The School of Social Work and College of Law have teamed up to offer an MSW-JD degree program, one of only 10 in the country. Students will graduate with both degrees in four years instead of the five normally required.

"For people who are interested in areas such as family mediation, advocacy on behalf of children or minorities, or the social policy implications of law, this is a perfect course of study,"said Dianne Montgomery, dean of the School of Social Work.

Buying an FSU license plate will help with scholarships

This year when you buy a garnet and gold FSU license plate, 96 percent of that money will help a student get through college. An estimated $1 million a year is earned from the sale of the plates, which are sold for $25 a piece.

FSU President Sandy D'Alem-berte said the university has used most of the license-plate money in the past to raise more money, because the university was lagging in that area. But since the capital campaign has earned FSU an average of $1 million a week, he said, FSU has decided to switch back to the old policy - using most of the cash flow to help needy students.

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Copyright © 1997 Florida State Times