Bismarck State College will host the Everett Albers Chautauqua July 25-27 on the BSC campus. The North Dakota Humanities Council's new summer Chautauqua again presents scholars portraying historical figures connected to a theme. Programs will be structured around "Lincoln, Land and Liberty: The Civil War Era and Beyond."

Evening performances featuring nationally recognized Chautauqua scholars begin at 7 p.m., with musical entertainment preceding at 6:15 p.m. On Friday, Dr. George Frein appears as Abraham Lincoln. Saturday's evening performance features Charles Everett Pace as Frederick Douglass, and on Sunday evening, Dr. Carrol Peterson portrays Walt Whitman. Dr. Jerry Tweton will serve as moderator in the character of William Jayne, first governor of Dakota Territory.

Each scholar will also present a daytime program on some aspect of the Lincoln era.

BSC has arranged for musical entertainment before the evening performances. Singer/guitarist Art Rude will perform novelty songs that reflect his viewpoint of the Northern Plains. Rude is scheduled at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, July 26. Family Folk, a group that performs music of the 1860s in costume, entertains at 6:15 p.m. Friday, July 25, and Sunday, July 27.

Programs are scheduled in BSC's new National Energy Center of Excellence at 1200 Schafer St., unless the building is not ready for occupancy. The alternate location for Chautauqua is the Sidney J. Lee Auditorium in BSC's Schafer Hall, 1500 Edwards Ave.

Here's the complete schedule:

Friday, July 25
6:15-6:45 p.m., Musical entertainment by Family Folk
7 p.m., An evening with Abraham Lincoln and scholar George Frein

Saturday, July 26
10 a.m., "Whitman's Lincoln Poems," Carrol Peterson
2 p.m., "Lincoln and the Homestead Act," Jerry Tweton
6:15-6:45 p.m., Musical entertainment by Art Rude
7 p.m., An evening with Frederick Douglass and scholar Charles Everett Pace

Sunday, July 27
1:30 p.m., "Douglass and Black Soldiers in the Civil War," Charles Everett Pace
3 p.m., "Lincoln the Writer," George Frein
6:15-6:45 p.m., Musical entertainment by Family Folk
7 p.m., An evening with Walt Whitman and scholar Carrol Peterson
Finale, A conversation in the parlor: Lincoln, Douglass and Whitman

Dr. George Frein, now professor emeritus, was a member of the Philosophy and Religion Department at the University of North Dakota from 1968-97. After retiring he moved to South Carolina, where he serves as artistic director of the Greenville Chautauqua Society.

Charles Everett Pace holds a master's degree in American studies from Purdue University. As a veteran Chautauquan, he has portrayed Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, and York, as well as Frederick Douglass, throughout the U.S., Africa and England.

Dr. Carrol Peterson taught English at Doane College in Crete, Neb., from 1964-2000. He has interpreted the characters of Thomas Paine, Jack London, James Thurber, and Walt Whitman throughout the U.S. with various Chautauqua groups.

Dr. Jerry Tweton is professor emeritus of history at UND and serves as senior consultant to the N.D. Humanities Council. He has portrayed figures such as John Jacob Astor and Teddy Roosevelt with Chautauqua.

Chautauqua will also travel to Jamestown and Fargo this summer. For additional information, see the Humanities Council Web site at www.nd-humanities.org.

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The summer holds the promise of fun with "College for Kids" at Bismarck State College starting June 9 and through July.

Weekly enrichment courses offer children and teens age 8 to 18 a chance to stretch their imaginations by solving a mystery or exploring chemistry, severe weather, Spanish, welding, creative writing, and health science. No grades, just fun learning through classroom activities and field trips with transportation provided by BSC employees.

Spanish and French camps will present an entertaining introduction to foreign language and culture through songs, games, art, and other activities. Science buffs can learn about human anatomy, medical lab testing, and the chemistry of sports. See a real operating room and prepare for a mock surgery.

Register online at bismarckstate.edu/ceti/kids, or contact BSC Continuing Education, Training and Innovation for a brochure at 1815 Schafer Street, Bismarck, (701-224-5600). Fees range from $40 to $100 per session.

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Sherman Alexie will appear as key presenter at the North Dakota Arts and Humanities Summit sponsored by Bismarck State College Oct. 9-10.

Held every two years, the summit is an educational creative arts showcase, where students and faculty from North Dakota's colleges and universities share their work with each other and the public.

Alexie, an award-winning author, poet and filmmaker, has written novels, screenplays, short stories, and 11 collections of poetry. Scholars and literary and film critics have lauded his work with countless awards, including the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Pushcart Prize for poetry, PEN/Malamud Award, Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, and many others. He displays his exceptional humor and performance ability at poetry readings and comedy venues.

The arts summit will include a visual arts exhibit, musical performances, readings, and presentations by scholars and students. View the Summit Web site at bismarckstate.edu/summit/

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Bismarck State College will begin offering Instrumentation and Control Technology, a new two-year program, this fall.

Students in the program will begin with courses in Electronics Technology for the first year of the Instrumentation & Control (I&C) program. The second-year courses in I&C will begin in the fall of 2009.

Representatives from North Dakota's energy industry requested that BSC offer the program to help meet the growing need for skilled instrumentation and control technicians in North Dakota's power plants, ethanol plants and other process plants. Other employment opportunities would be with manufacturers of appliances, medical equipment, or others industrial sites in which automated systems are used.

Students in the program will gain the skills and knowledge to install, repair, upgrade, maintain and troubleshoot instrumentation and control systems. They will earn an associate in applied science degree or a diploma upon successful completion of the program.

BSC is the only college in the North Dakota University System offering this program.

For information about the program, contact Bob Arso, chair of the Industrial Technology Department, at (701) 224-5416. For information about admissions, contact Marla Hagemeister at (701) 224-2475.

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