The arts at Bowling Green State University came alive on April 2, 2016, for the second annual Bravo! BGSU. Students, faculty and alumni from across the arts performed and demonstrated their talents throughout the Wolfe Center for the Arts. Artists representing the College of Musical Arts, School of Art, Department of Theatre and Film, the Creative Writing Program and the Dance Program showcased the quality and vibrancy of all the University’s arts areas. With more than 250 attendees, more than $70,000 was raised to provide scholarship support for BGSU students in the arts.

The event, presented by PNC Bank for the second consecutive year, included performances and programs presented in The Wolfe Center’s lobby, the Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre, the Eva Marie Saint Theatre, the Margit Bloch Heskett Studio and the Marjorie Conrad, M.D. Choral Room. Guests enjoyed musical performances by the BGSU Men’s Chorus, the cast of BGSU’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” opera singer and master’s student Jennifer Cresswell, musical theatre students and a group of students from the BGSU-sponsored Toledo School for the Arts.

Mariah Burks, a 2015 musical theatre alumna, returned to BGSU to perform several selections and served as emcee for the opening program. At the 2015 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Burks won the national Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. She is currently studying at Case Western Reserve University, where she was one of three women in the country chosen for the 2018 class of the Case Western/Cleveland Playhouse MFA Acting program 

Guests also had the opportunity to listen to poetry and fiction readings in the Creative Writing Program’s Café Plume and stroll through the Gallery Walk – featuring various arts demonstrations ranging from painting, metals and ceramics to graphic design, film and computer animation. Among the items included in a silent auction were an original painting by the late BGSU artist Robert Mazur; signed books by author Wil Haygood and BGSU alumni Anthony Doerr and Tim Conway; blown glass art pieces; a BGSU customized Keurig and a granite cutting board; “Book of Mormon” tickets and collectibles; athletics tickets for BGSU and Toledo Mud Hens; a hand-painted cake plate/punch bowl; and a variety of gift certificates.

“Bravo! BGSU is the perfect opportunity to highlight the talents of our BGSU arts students, faculty and alumni,” President Mazey said. “Our guests enjoyed an evening of quality entertainment and food, and at the same time supported students’ arts scholarship.”

Make plans now to attend Bravo! BGSU 2017 on Saturday, April 1 to enjoy the very best of the arts at BGSU and provide scholarship support to talented students.

Falcon Flames provide leadership gift for CBA

Mike ’80 and Mary Lee ’80 McGranaghan are investing in BGSU and the future of the College of Business Administration. This year, the couple has committed $475,000 in gifts to the University: two separate University scholarships – an endowed scholarship they have built up over the years that provides scholarships each year to students in the College of Business Administration (CBA), and a scholarship for Honors students who are in the college – and a quarter-million-dollar contribution for a new building for the CBA.

“Our giving is really geared toward the College of Business, from where we are both graduates,” Mike McGranaghan said. “A good piece of our optimism centers around Ray Braun’s leadership and what he stands for. A part of it is getting a world-class business building in place: That’s key. The other parts are attracting and retaining remarkably bright students with scholarships and having special faculty who are teaching with the best methods. That’s kind of our three-pronged approach to our gifts.”

Plans are underway to create a new home for the College of Business Administration in Hanna Hall. The structure will provide for the teaching, study and practice of innovation and support pragmatic solutions for developing successful ventures.