Oct. 9, 2009

The OSU Alumni Association’s presentation of Homecoming 2009: Branded for Life is just a few days away! The College of Arts and Sciences alumni reception will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 in the parlor of the newly renovated Murray Hall. Alumni from the classes of 1984 and 1959 will be honored and presented with pins by Peter M.A. Sherwood, dean of the College, and Dr. Timothy Geib, the College's alumni board president. Snacks, beverages and door prizes will be on hand. Afterward at 8:15 p.m., the OSU Cowboys take on the Missouri Tigers.

To learn more about the College’s homecoming reception that welcomes alumni and friends from all 24 of its departments, phone Lorene Roberson Hickey at 744-7497 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . To stay up-to-date on homecoming news, visit www.orangeconnection.org.

Photo: Dean Peter M.A. Sherwood presents alumni board member Annawyn Shamas with a 50-year pin.

Oct. 13, 2009

Noted ethnobotanist Wayne Elisens will lecture on “Plant Iconography in Maya Material Culture” at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 in 101 Life Sciences East.

Elisens’ work interprets the botanical iconography of Maya ceramics. He and his colleagues have examined more than 2,500 images from a collection at the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Crystal River, Fla. The studies take an in-depth look at plants illustrated on Maya ceramics produced in the southern lowland region of the Maya, in the modern countries of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico.

“Professor Elisens' goal is to rediscover unknown or forgotten plants that had been important – symbolically, ritually, or economically – to the ancient Maya,” said Linda Watson, professor and head of the botany department at OSU.