The ACU Theatre Department has never let controversial subject matter prevent it from putting on a play, and this years' Cornerstone production, "Next to Normal," is no exception. The musical won the Pulitzer for Best Play in 2010, dazzling audiences with its story of the effect of mental illness on a family. "Next to Normal" tells the story of ... [Read More…]
Theatre performs for Cornerstone classes
This year's Cornerstone production will address the difficulties of mental illness through the ACU Department of Theatre's performance of the musical "Next to Normal." Chair of the theatre department, Adam Hester saw the play on Broadway three times and said he knew he wanted to produce it at ACU because of its inherent truth and emotion. "I ... [Read More…]
Performances that ‘stand still’
Each year, the freshmen Cornerstone classes are required to attend a play put on by the ACU theater department. This year's Cornerstone production, "Time Stands Still," is much more than an entertainment piece, it is an invitation to discussion. The play tells the story of Sarah (Rachel Faulkner), a photo journalist who was injured while on the ... [Read More…]
Freshman to read ‘Farsi’ in Cornerstone
Among the changes to the Cornerstone course this year has been its consolidation with the Freshman Common Reading, which new students now will read as part of the first-year course. This year students will read Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas. In the past, incoming freshmen would receive a free copy of ... [Read More…]
Core revamps Cornerstone
The Cornerstone course required for incoming freshmen will take on a new look this semester in response to feedback from last year's freshmen students. Gregory Straughn, assistant provost for general education, said the new course would be focus on science, social science, art and theology and will have more cohesion with the topics discussed ... [Read More…]
Cornerstone creates new outlook
Last Friday, the Optimist ran an editorial about the Fall 2010 Cornerstone class, declaring that it "failed colossally." Clearly it did not "succeed spectacularly" - but neither was it the abysmal failure so described. Rather, it was a bold first step for this University, using a method and scale of teaching that was new to ACU: Spotlight ... [Read More…]
Cornerstone fails students
Cornerstone failed colossally last fall. CORE 110, spearhead of the new core curriculum, forced freshmen to suffer a class related neither to their majors nor to their interests and lives. Students packed into Cullen Auditorium each Monday for Spotlight Series lectures by notable community members and esteemed ACU professors from a variety of ... [Read More…]
Students, faculty back new course
Carly Henderson did not know what to expect from Cornerstone when she arrived at ACU and was not convinced she would like the new class. But through the engaging Spotlight Speakers and in-class discussions with students of diverse majors, Henderson said she began to learn not only about philosophy and contemporary issues but her own beliefs as ... [Read More…]
Chapel and Cornerstone themes to coincide
Students involved in ACU's new cornerstone curriculum will see an obvious connection between their academic studies and spiritual guidance in Chapel this semester. Director of Spiritual Life & Student Ministries Mark Lewis has been working on a four-year Chapel curriculum to coincide with the new freshmen course to begin this fall. Chapel ... [Read More…]
New class introduces freshmen to critical thinking
This year's freshmen will not be able to brush off the traditionally bare-bones "welcome to college life" class. A 3-hour Cornerstone class has replaced the 1-hour University Seminar (UNIV 100) as a part of ACU's new interdisciplinary core curriculum. Cornerstone shifts the focus from simply providing students with fundamental learning skills, ... [Read More…]