Cinderella and the prince made a triumphal entry as their loyal subjects applauded. Everyone burst into song for the big finish. But the middle school musical’s fairy tale

ending needed more work: The arm raises weren’t in sync on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Impossible.”

Fortunately, a couple of fairy godmothers were on hand to help. As the last note faded, a dozen eager faces turned to the director, NC State student Jessica Ritter, a Park scholar who’s helped with the annual musical at Centennial Campus Middle School for four years. She’s carrying on the tradition of Curtain Call, a creative service project that began six years ago with a dedicated crew of drama buffs and a $1,000 grant from the Park program.

With opening night two weeks away, cast members quickly fixed the finale and ran through it with confidence. To wrap up the after-school session, Ritter and Elyse Smith, a Park scholar who directed two previous productions, shared a critique with the attentive young actors.

Middle School MusicalThanks to the Park scholars, a music program gets extracurricular help.

Article by D’Lyn Ford

Bulletin | November 12, 2009 2

All in all, it had been a productive rehearsal. Cinderella was more comfortable with the blocking in her sweeping scene. The dancers were getting the hang of the gavotte. The stepsisters showed solid comedic timing in their musical lament, although it was a little over the top. And the prince needed to convey a sense of urgency in the garden scene. “We’ll work more on it later,” Ritter promised.

As the cast departed, music teacher Sarah Smith’s classroom remained in cheerful disarray with gallons of paint and scenery flats pushed to the corners. The pumpkin coach wasn’t painted yet, but the fountain was finished and the columns were coming along nicely, thanks to a parent and daughter painting in the hallway.

Other volunteers were lending a hand with the costumes, which included voluminous crinolines and a sparkly gown for the petite Cinderella, who bears a slight resemblance to Gabriella of “High School Musical” fame.

Love at first sight leads to a royal wedding at Centennial Campus Middle School.

3 Bulletin | November 12, 2009

Three times a week, Ritter and a varying assortment of Park scholars, including Smith, Michael McKnight, Brian Carter, Christina Ritter, Jamie Meyers and Kelly Quesnel, lend a hand with the vocals, acting and dance sequences in Cinderella. The Park scholars, chosen for full scholarships because of their talent and potential, carry out service projects to develop their leadership skills and civic awareness. Most of the Curtain Call crew members were high school drama buffs.

“In high school, I did theatre religiously,” says Ritter, a senior zoology major. “I don’t have time to get involved in a university production, so I do it instead through service. This is my theatre outlet.”

Elyse Smith, a senior human nutrition

major, participated in one University Theatre production before deciding the demands of rehearsals for three hours, six nights a week were too much to manage with her course load.

The highlight is watching the students progress as they take part in productions from sixth to eighth grade, she says. “In middle school it’s so important to build self-esteem. Seeing the changes in the kids is amazing.”

The young actors are inspired by their college mentors, and it shows in how well they take direction. “I asked them to learn the lines earlier this year, and they did it,” Ritter says with a hint of amazement in her voice. It was a wise decision, as she’s learned from experience.

Although last year’s production, “The King and I,” was a rousing success in the end, the dress rehearsal was a bust. “I went home and cried,” Smith says.

Despite the work that remains, music teacher Sarah Smith has confidence that when the opening notes sound for performances on Nov. 19 and 20, the cast and crew will be ready.

“At first, they’re petrified. Then the lights go on and we do it, and it’s a miracle,” she says, laughing. “They feel triumphant and come off stage screaming with excitement.”

Park scholars Jessica Ritter, left, and Elyse Smith, give the cast a critique to wrap up a rehearsal of Cinderella. Top photo: the stepsisters recount their evening at the ball. Right photo: To prepare for the big ballroom scene, cast members practice the gavotte. Photos by David Hunt.

Faculty and Staff NotesShare NC State’s Good News

As faculty and staff know, NC State has a lot of news to share. National and international publications carry stories about our research.

In the age of Twitter and Facebook, you can help spread the news. Besides submitting items to the Bulletin (always welcome), consider sharing some NC State news with your friends and family. Of course, if you’re going to spread the word, you have to read the stories. You can find them through our Web site, Facebook group or Twitter feed. Here are some other ways to help spread the word:

> Bookmark our In The News site and check it regularly for interesting stories

> Share the links to those stories with friends on Facebook, Twitter and e-mail, or go old school and talk about it with your co-workers or over dinner.

> Get stories sent to you automatically by setting up an RSS/Google news feed.

> Send notes to your legislative representatives reminding them of how important NC State is to the state and thanking them for their support.

Share your ideas with us on our Facebook page, and let us know how

Bulletin | November 12, 2009 4

Philosophy PresentationRuth Elizabeth Chang, associate

professor of philosophy at Rutgers University and fellow with the National Humanities Center, will give a talk titled, “Do We Have Normative Powers?” today at 4:30 p.m. in Withers Hall 344.

America Recycles DayNC State will have an electronics

recycling and paper shredding drive for America Recycles Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, in the Reynolds Coliseum carriageway. Waste Reduction and Recycling staff will offer games with prizes.

Confidential shredding and recycling will be provided by Shred-it. All personal and departmental confidential materials are welcome, with a limit of seven boxes. No private business items will be allowed. Gently used office supplies and electronics are also welcome. Campus property will go to Surplus Materials Management. For those with personal electronics, Synergy Electronic will recycle many devices with cords for free and will dispose of televisions, which are banned from county landfills, for $5.

This Doc Makes Horse CallsDr. Marcia Thibeault, veterinarian,

professor and author of I Make Horse Calls and More Horse Calls, will read from her latest book at 1 p.m. on Friday at the D.H. Hill Library assembly room.

Often compared to author James Herriot, Dr. Thibeault writes wise and amusing collections of true, heartwarming stories from equine veterinary practice. Her talk is co-sponsored by the NCSU Hunt Seat Equestrian Club and the William Rand Kenan Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine.

Windhover Submissions and Open MicWindhover, the university’s visual and

literary magazine, is accepting prose, poetry, essays, art, design and music for its 2010 edition, which includes a music compilation disc. Tuesday, Dec. 1, is the deadline for book submissions. All work submitted by NC State students, faculty, staff and alumni will be published on the Web site and automatically considered for publication.Windhover accepts any kind of creative work, including fiction, nonfiction, spoken word and song lyrics. To learn more and see recent submissions, visit http://ncsu.edu/windhover.

Windhover’s third annual Open Mic Night begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22, in the Caldwell Hall lounge. It’s an evening of music and reading – an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to read or perform their work. Interested? Send an e-mail to editor@windhover.ncsu.edu.

State Wellness Expo at FairgroundsFaculty and staff are invited to a State

Employees Wellness Expo from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the Jim Graham Building at the state fairgrounds.

Health, safety and wellness information is free, but there may be a charge for some screenings. Parking is free. For more information, visit http://www.osp.state.nc.us/Wellness/StateEmpWellExpo.htm.

Hunger BanquetStudents in a hunger and homelessness

social work class will hold a banquet and food and clothing drive for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, Nov. 15-21.

Admission to the Hunger Banquet at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, is open to the public for a $5 ticket or a donation of three cans of food. Reservations are recommended because of limited seating. To RSVP or for more information, contact Susie Barnes at susie_barnes@ncsu.edu. Food donations will benefit local agencies serving the homeless. Donations of new and gently used outer wear, such as coats, scarves and gloves, will be accepted at the banquet and in Room 202-A of the 1911 Building throughout the week.

International Education WeekNC State will celebrate International

Education Week, Nov. 16-20, with more than 20 special events, including lectures, panel presentations, information sessions and cultural events. The week, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Education, promotes global education and exchange programs.

Cultural events will feature Ethiopian photos, Chinese drumming and calligraphy, Native American culture and Latin American film. Lectures and symposia include a Fulbright Scholars panel, culture shock seminar, talk on the Berlin Wall and Poland, and presentation on serving and marketing to Latinos in the New South. Study abroad and career seminars will also be offered.

For more information on the week’s events, visit http://ncsu.edu/oia/InternationalEducationWeek.html or contact Chantell LaPan at chantell_lapan@ncsu.edu. For updates and reminders, follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NCSUOIA.

Bulletin BoardPassport Fair

Planning an international trip? Apply for a first-time passport or a renewal from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Talley Student Center south gallery. Representatives from the U.S. State Department and U.S. Postal Service will be on hand to process passport applications.

Shoeboxes of LoveThe African American Cultural Center

is accepting donations for Shoeboxes of Love, a community service project to provide area children with necessities and educational and creative toys. To find out what’s needed, contact Toni Thorpe at toni_thorpe@ncsu.edu.

Christmas Trees, Wreaths and GarlandAlpha Zeta is selling Christmas trees,

wreaths and garland to deck the halls. All orders are due before Thanksgiving break.

Trees and wreaths are Fraser fir. Tree options range from a 6-foot tree for $40 to a 10-foot cathedral ceiling size for $75. Wreaths are priced from $15 to $35, depending on size. Fraser fir, white pine or mixed garland is available, starting at $12 for a 10-foot strand. For more information, contact Jesse Scott at jmscott@ncsu.edu.

Enjoy a joyous celebration of Chinese music with a world-renowned company of drummers, percussionists and musicians. Hear Jigu: Thunder Drums of China at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Thompson Hall’s Stewart Theatre. Hailing from Shanxi province, the ensemble has performed around the world. The Confucius Institute is sponsoring the performance during International Education Week. Check the Arts NC State online calendar for ticket information.

Thunder Drumsof China

5 Bulletin | November 12, 2009

BulletinThe Bulletin is published weekly, except during the summer and holidays, by North Carolina State University News Services. To subscribe to the online version, visit www.ncsu.edu/bulletin.

Please submit news and announcements one week in advance of publication.

News ServicesCampus Box 7504Raleigh, NC 27695

Phone (919) 515-5863E-mail bulletin@ncsu.eduWeb www.ncsu.edu/bulletinFacebook: http://tinyurl.com/c2ewk9

Editors: D’Lyn Ford David Hunt

you’re sharing the good news. You can find more information at http://news.ncsu.edu/good-news/.

Lomax Leads Space AssociationDr. Terri L. Lomax, vice chancellor for

research and graduate studies, became president of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology on Nov. 7 at the association’s national meeting in Raleigh. She will serve a one-year term.

MBA Students Win CompetitionAn NC State team in the Jenkins MBA

program won first place in the National Association of Women MBA annual case competition.

Team members Hong Jiang, Megan Naugle, Bri Tegtmeier, Emily Curley and Debranetta Gethers presented their marketing plan at the national finals in Anaheim, Calif., competing against five other teams that advanced through the first two rounds of competition.

The Jenkins team received a $3,000 award for winning the contest, which was sponsored by Home Depot.

Harrison Writes Book on Victorian PoetDr. Tony Harrison, department head

and distinguished professor of English, has a new book about a Victorian poet and critic due out this month. The Cultural Production of Matthew Arnold will be published by Ohio University Press.

College of Management Joins International Business Partnership

NC State’s College of Management is the newest member of the International Partnership of Business Schools, a dual-degree program hosted by the ESB Business School at Reutlingen University in Germany. Dr. K. Shannon Davis, associate dean of undergraduate programs, signed the agreement.

Barrie writes for Gandhi Center BookArchitecture Professor Thomas Barrie

contributed a chapter for a book published by the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts this year. The chapter, The Basilica of La Madeleine, Vézelay: Spatial and Symbolic Narratives in the Medieval Western Christian Church, is included in Pilgrimages: Sacred Landscapes and Self-Organized Complexity, edited by John Malville and Baidyanath Saraswati.

H1N1 Nasal Spray Clinic TodayNC State students, faculty and staff who

are most at risk for H1N1 flu can receive nasal spray vaccine today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Health Center, Room

2301. No appointment is needed.Those who qualify for the nasal vaccine

are:> Healthy people 24 years and under

who are not pregnant and do not have health conditions such as diabetes or asthma.

> Healthy people 25 to 49 years old who are emergency or health care workers

> Healthy people 25 to 49 years old who live with or care for infants younger than six months.

The vaccine is free, but all recipients must present a current university ID. Those with Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance should present a member card and photo ID to receive the free flu shot.

Pregnant women, people with certain medical conditions or weak immune systems, or those over age 49 should receive an H1N1 shot rather than the nasal spray.

Seasonal Flu Shots AvailableDon’t miss the last seasonal flu shot

clinic scheduled on campus. Today, State Health Plan members can receive free shots from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Talley Student Center ballroom. Register online at http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/hr/benefits/enrollment/flushots. Be sure to bring your insurance card.

W-2 Smackdown Made SimplerIt’s now easier and safer than ever to

help NC State make tax time greener. To save paper and time, sign up for an electronic W-2 earnings form. In response to security concerns from employees, now only the last four digits of your Social Security number are required. And yes, the IRS will accept a copy of the form from your home printer.

To see where your unit ranks in the standings, visit the payroll page. Each Friday through Dec. 18, payroll will update the standings. Units with the highest percentages will be recognized.

In MemoriamCindy Boone Sears, the university’s

director of trademark licensing, died Wednesday. She had worked at NC State for 32 years.

Sears is survived by her parents, Frank Boone and Mary Jones Boone; husband, Calvin; sons, Neal and Kyle; and brothers, Frankie Boone and Daniel Boone.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday at Thomas Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Piney Grove Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Wake Chapel Memorial Gardens.

Pay attention, Shaq: Two NC State engineers have figured

out the best way to shoot a free throw – a frequently

underappreciated skill that gets more important as the

game clock winds down.

To get a swish rather than a brick, you need the best possible

conditions for releasing the basketball from your hand, say Drs.

Chau Tran and Larry Silverberg, mechanical and aerospace

engineers and co-authors of a peer-reviewed study.

The engineers used hundreds of thousands of three-

dimensional computer simulations of basketball free-throw

trajectories to arrive at their conclusions. After running the

simulations, Tran and Silverberg arrived at a number of major

recommendations to improve free-throw shooting.

First, the engineers say that shooters should launch the shot

with about three hertz of back spin. That translates to the ball

making three complete backspinning revolutions before reaching

the hoop. Back spin deadens the ball when it bounces off the rim

or backboard, the engineers assert, giving the ball a better chance

of settling through the net.

Where to aim? Tran and Silverberg say you should aim for the

back of the rim, leaving close to 5 centimeters – about 2 inches

– between the ball and the back of the rim. According to the

simulations, aiming for the center of the basket decreases the

probabilities of a successful shot by almost 3 percent.

The engineers say that the ball should be launched at 52

NothingBut NetEngineering Profs explain the physics of a perfect free throw.

Bulletin | November 12, 2009 6

degrees to the horizontal. If you don’t have a protractor in your

jersey, that means that the shot should, at the highest point in

its arc to the basket, be less than 2 inches below the top of the

backboard.

Free-throw shooters should also release the ball as high

above the ground as possible, without adversely affecting the

consistency of the shot; release the ball so it follows the imaginary

line joining the player and the basket; and release the ball with a

smooth body motion to get a consistent release speed.

“Our recommendations might make even the worst free-throw

shooters – you know who you are, Shaquille O’Neal and Ben

Wallace – break 60 percent from the free-throw line,” Silverberg

says with tongue firmly in cheek. “A little bit of physics and a lot of

practice can make everyone a better shooter from the free-throw

line.”

The engineers used a men’s basketball for the study; it is

heavier and a bit larger than basketballs used in women’s games.

They also assumed that the basketball player doing the shooting

was 6 feet 6 inches tall, and that he released the ball 6 inches

above his head, so the “release height” was set to 7 feet. The

free-throw line is 15 feet from the backboard, a cylinder-shaped

opening that is 10 feet off the ground. Though it looks smaller,

the diameter of a regulation basketball hoop is 18 inches; the

diameter of a men’s basketball is a bit more than 9 inches.

The new Campus Farmers Market has become the freshest

attraction for lunchtime visitors to the Brickyard. On

Wednesdays, five regular vendors sell seafood and meat,

fruits and vegetables, milk and eggs, and soaps and lotions.

Students are running the market to help build a local food

economy within the university. The market is the brainchild of Eric

Ballard, a student in the College of Agriculture and6 Life Sciences.

As associate director of student government’s Sustainability

Commission, Ballard

recruited vendors for

a one-time market last

spring during Earth Day

activities.

The purpose of that

first market, in addition

to providing a campus

source for local food, was

education – letting the

campus community know

the benefits of buying

local foods. Agroecology

students of Dr. Michelle

Schroeder-Moreno, an

assistant professor of

crop science, developed

educational materials that

were given out at the event.

In preparation for

a weekly version of the market this fall, Ballard completed a

handbook, vendor agreements and a schedule during his summer

internship with the Center for Environmental Farming Systems.

This fall, Ballard was back on the Brickyard, this time as a

salesperson for one of the vendors, Mae Farms of Franklin

County. Each week, he sells local milk, eggs and pasture-raised

pork products.

Ballard says he’s been pleased with results this semester.

“The first thing I noticed is that sales are consistent and steadily

Farmers Market GrowsThis fall, a farmers market sprouted on campus, thanks to students.

Article by Natalie Hampton

increasing,” he said. Special events attract more customers, he

said. Before Halloween, market visitors were invited to paint a

pumpkin. On Wednesday, the last day of the fall market season,

caramel apples will be the featured attraction.

This year, Ariel Fugate, a sophomore majoring in fisheries

and wildlife, is managing the market for student government.

Each week, she sends market updates to a list of faithful market

shoppers. Recently, the market’s student board developed a

market Web site to

provide information

on products, farms

and vendors, as well

as recipes. Students

visited the farms to take

photos and develop

profiles of each one.

For vendors, the market

Web site includes links

to an application and

handbook.

“I think it’s gone

really well,” Fugate

said. “There’s been a

good mix of faculty and

students buying, without

a lot of advertising.”

After its fall finale

Nov. 18, the market will

reopen Feb. 17, about a month earlier than many local farmers

markets. Fugate says the plan is to keep the market open from

mid-February through mid-May, when most students leave for the

summer, and to reopen when fall classes begin.

This spring, organizers will put up posters in campus buildings

to promote the weekly markets. Fugate would like to see more

people from across campus coming to shop at the market, as well

as residents living near campus. “I want everyone to get involved

in building a local foods community on campus,” she said.

The Campus Farmers Market, featuring an assortment of produce and local products, will wrap up its fall season on Wednesday with a caramel apple promotion.

7 Bulletin | November 12, 2009