OCU Dedicated New Cross and Mace
The Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel at Oklahoma City University hosted a dedication ceremony in October for its new altar cross and mace. The new cross and mace were custom-designed and hand-carved for the university. Rodney Newman, campus chaplain, said the two pieces are beautiful artistic expressions of OCU’s ideals. Local woodcarver Haven Mankin made both pieces. Mankin has done work for several churches and was featured in the Oklahoma Heritage Association magazine in April. The cross is of Celtic design featuring intricate knots and a “triquetra,” three interlocking ovals representing the Holy Trinity. Mankin used OCU’s Cross four types of wood including olivewood imported from Bethlehem, Israel. The cross stands nearly three feet tall. Mankin said he was sensitive to the design of the original mace when designing the new one. “An important symbol of the Office of the President of Oklahoma City University, the new mace reuses two important elements from the original which brings continuity into this important symbol and speaks to the longevity of OCU as an institution,” he said. “Addressing purity, no stains or paints were used—only the natural colors of beautiful hardwoods show through a simple clear wax finish.” Mankin said he chose to use olivewood in both pieces because the “Biblical wood comes from trees that bear fruit, as the university bears fruit in education.”
Washington National Opera Names OCU Alum Sarah Coburn 2009 Artist of Year
Sarah Coburn (MM ’01) has been named 2009 Artist of the Year by the Washington National Opera. The award was announced by Plácido Domingo at the opera company’s annual Board of Trustees dinner. Domingo praised Coburn, who made her WNO debut in the company’s 2008 production of Tamerlano, where she played Asteria opposite Domingo’s Bajazet. The Artist of the Year award salutes young artists who have displayed exceptional artistic merit in their appearances with WNO, and recognizes their professional growth and development. Since the award’s inception in 1977, recipients have included mezzosoprano Frederica von Stade, conductor John Mauceri, soprano Ruth Ann Swenson, and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. Praised as “blissfully sublime” by Opera News, Sarah Coburn is noted for her “precision placement, mercury speed, and a gorgeous liquid gold tone, gilded by a thrilling top and bottom register” (The Globe and Mail). Following her performances in the title role of “Lucie de Lammermoor” at Glimmerglass Opera, the New York Observer noted “she turns out to have John Grisham
fOCUS
qualities that have made legends out of so many of her predecessors, from Adelina Patti to Maria Callas: stage charisma, a thrilling upper register and, crucially, a fearlessness about abandoning herself to opera’s most abandoned heroine ... this is a palpably exciting voice ... Ms. Coburn is a budding prima donna of exceptional promise.” She received her master of music degree in vocal performance from the Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University, studying with Professor Larry Keller. Law School Brings John Grisham to Campus
Bestselling author John Grisham spoke at OCU’s Henry J. Freede Wellness Center. In his program, titled “The Innocent Man and Wrongful Convictions in America,” Grisham told the story of his blockbuster non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, which recounts the saga of the wrongful conviction and ultimate exoneration of two Oklahomans, Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz. Based on his experience writing this book, Grisham has become dedicated to supporting programs throughout the nation to identify and correct wrongful convictions. The event was the first in a series of efforts to establish one such center at OCU LAW.
7