Grace E. Bodey | Co-Editor-in-Chief
Following the news that former Buena Vista University (BVU) Academic and Cultural Events Series (ACES) Director Tom Musel was no longer employed at the university as of Feb. 27, The Tack sat down with Associate Dean of the Faculty Dr. Peter Steinfeld to discuss the future of the ACES Program and explore the value to the BVU and Storm Lake communities.
Bodey (B): To whom or where should students go if they have questions about ACES?
Steinfeld (S): Right here. [Peter Steinfeld’s office]
B: Are all of the ACES Events decided for this semester or will any new ones be added?
S: There will be new ones added. If you look at the calendar, you’ll see that March and April are a little bit light right now but we are trying to get more events scheduled for both months. So yes, there are more events coming.
B: Are there going to be any events taken away?
S: No. We’re just looking to add, not take away. We actually have two Signature Events still left…they are both in the works and everything is set for them to go. Nothing about what is already scheduled is changing at all.
B: Is there still going to be somebody in charge of monitoring behavior during events?
S: Yes. Like I said, we only have two ACES Signature Events left this year, but yes, they will be monitored in the same way as they have been monitored before. And that will probably be my job!
B: How is the lack of an official director going to effect the rest of the ACES season?
S: It will simply continue as is. We will be completing the academic year with the ACES Events that are already planned. Everything will be intact, and we will be working to add more events as we are able to. We’ve got several in the works right now. I think altogether this semester we have…if you add all the music and theater dates that will come, we have in the neighborhood of 30 events.
B: Do you have any idea when or if the director position will be filled?
S: That is all part of the future planning that I don’t know, and I can’t say anything because we really just don’t know anything yet.
B: Do you think there is any chance that the ACES Program would go away next year?
S: You’re going to have to wait. I truly don’t know what’s going to happen.
B: What reasons do you see for keeping it? Do you see it as a valuable resource?
S: Absolutely. I mean, I think the ACES Program is a tremendously valuable program for students; it’s been so for years. It has a long and cherished history. We keep tweaking the number of and what kinds of events we want students to go to. With the Signature Events or what used to be called the Cultural Events together with the Scholarly Events and the Student Life Events, it’s a nice triplet of programs available to students that provide an opportunity to explore. It broadens horizons, and that is so valuable. No one is questioning the value of this program at all. I think for the past year or two, there’s been an effort on the part of faculty, which is not a new effort – it’s one that comes up periodically to restore the academic focus of the ACES Program to make sure that there’s enough good, provocative Scholarly Events – so there’s always this revival of an interest in either increasing the number of Scholarly Events students are required to attend or simply increasing the quality of those offered. The Signature Events are of course very valuable too. They offer the opportunity to students to have experiences that here in Northwest Iowa we don’t typically have access to. Having access to things that you normally only get access to in Des Moines or Omaha or Minneapolis or Chicago…to have them all right here in Storm Lake for students, and to offer it for free. It’s a remarkable opportunity.
B: How do you think the Storm Lake community benefits from having ACES Events here at BV?
S: All of the Student Life and Scholarly Events are always open to the public, so we sometimes do get folks from the community who come to campus. The Signature Events have been pretty well maintained for students here on campus and we do not open them up to the public except for special guests. Folks who are related to the campus philanthropically – people who have given donations – who have been invited to attend these events…It’s been a nice gesture over the years to include them in those special events by extending an invitation to them.
B: Do you think that some tie to the community or to those philanthropic people out there…do you think that a tie with them would be lost if there were no ACES Program, or would it be better to say that a tie with them has been strengthened due to the ACES Program?
S: Yes. That is something that’s going to be part of the conversation about what happens in the future to ACES. It’s certainly been a part of the tradition at BVU to make sure that our relationships with the town are good ones. We want to make sure we maintain those good relationships with the community. The ACES Program has been a good way to do that and stay close with people who are actually giving to the Order of the Arch: those that give at a certain level are always invited and able to come to any of the Signature Events for free. Now, that is not the main reason for it. We like the academic benefits the program brings to the students who are already here, and then this is just a side benefit that aids in community relations.
B: Is there anything else you would like to say in general about the ACES Program to the student body after this news [about Tom Musel]?
S: Obviously the planning for these events needs to take place well in advance of when the events actually take place. The planning for next year’s ACES Program and all of the events needs to already be happening. In fact, there’s quite a bit of pressure to make a decision about what’s going to happen here relatively quickly. So that’s why ‘stay tuned’ really is the answer here. Things will be moving along relatively quickly, I think. There will be discussions about it in the Academic Affairs Committee, in school meetings among faculty to talk about what the future of ACES looks like…so there will be discussion about this all over the place in very short time. I think the discussion itself will be pretty public. There’s not going to be any secrecy about the conversations that happen. There will be plenty of opportunity to weigh in and talk about it very shortly.
With questions about ACES requirements, upcoming events, or the program in general, Steinfeld can be reached at [email protected].
