Tracy Upchurch, director of the Frank D. Upchurch Sr. endowed Law Program at Flagler College, has been appointed mayor of St. Augustine following a unanimous vote by the City Commission on March 4. Upchurch was selected for the position after Mayor Nancy Shaver resigned to concentrate on her recovery from a stroke.

On March 12 at the Lewis Auditorium on Flagler College’s campus, Roy Gutman, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter based in the Middle East for Frontline, will present to the public as part of the Forum on Government and Public Policy series. The title of his lecture is “From Al Qaida to ISIS: How to Fight Terrorism; How Not to Fight Terrorism.” The event is free.

The 50th anniversary year culminated in a gala last week, held in the Lewis Auditorium and Ponce de Leon Dining Room. In the spirit of gratitude for those who have sacrificed their time and treasures, there were many thanks said and tributes spoken. However, the focus was on the students and how Flagler is moving forward.

On March 12 at the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum on Flagler College’s campus, poet and short story writer Peter Meinke will do a reading at 6 p.m. as part of the Writers-In-Residence series.

This academic year, Flagler College welcomed Clint Weinberg, adjunct professor of applied voice and pep band director, to our faculty. Since joining us, he has made major progress in the music department by heading the new pep band and coaching voice students to victory.

On Feb. 27 at the Student Center on Flagler College’s campus, representatives from Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB), the St. Johns County School District and Flagler College, will host a panel to discuss the options available to the community’s students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The event is “Educating as a Team.” It is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

On Saturday, March 9, the bi-annual tradition of more than 200 Flagler College students, faculty, staff and alumni coming together for a community day of service will take place across St. Johns County. Many of the participating nonprofits hosting the volunteers are repeats, but the student-led group organizing the event said that there is still time to express interest in having volunteers come to your nonprofit.

Flagler College’s Theatre Arts students will perform one of Anton Chekhov’s classic and beloved plays, “Three Sisters,” from March 6 to 9 at 7:30 p.m. and March 10 at 2 p.m. in the Lewis Auditorium at 14 Granada Street.

The annual St. Augustine Spanish Wine Festival is Feb. 15-17 which is exciting for Flagler students for two reasons: experience and funding.

Professor Tracy Halcomb has had a whirlwind 2018 sabbatical, touring the festival circuit with her documentary on women in poker called “Cracking Aces: A Woman’s Place at the Table.” She and the film’s director, James H. Gilmore, have been everywhere to promote the film and have gained many accolades along the way.

The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum and Flagler College are pleased to announce a forthcoming exhibition titled, “Making Sense of Things”, which will include recent work by Washington, D.C. area artist, Erin Raedeke. The artist will give a walkthrough of the exhibition on Friday, March 1 at 5 p.m., to be followed by an opening reception until 8 p.m., in conjunction with First Friday Art Walk. These events are free and open to the public. The exhibit will run through April 20.

Abby Wendle, ’07, recently visited Flagler College to speak with students about her post-graduate experience. While on campus, she visited two classes, hosted a coffee chat with students, and held a workshop on handling uncertainty.

From Feb. 21 - 23, Flagler College will host the “Deeper Than Indigo: Southeast Textile Symposium.” The symposium provides an opportunity to investigate the rich history of St. Augustine and the Southeastern United States through the lens of the indigo trade and the repercussions of slavery and colonialism. Programming includes speaking events, a self-guided field trip day, public art project, national juried fiber exhibition, documentary film and a luncheon. All speaking events are free and open to the public. Fees are associated with the luncheon and some field trip experiences.

On Feb. 18, Mike Williams, chief executive officer for uShip, Austin, will continue the conversation surrounding this year’s theme on “Cultural Resilience and Contemporary America” with his presentation, “Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Twenty-First Century.” The event is free and open to the public.

On Jan. 31 Flagler College honored its highest achieving students — those who attained placement on the President’s List for their outstanding academic achievements — with a reception in the college’s historic Solarium. These students achieved a 4.0 grade point average with at least 12 hours of graded credit during the Fall 2018 academic semester.

On Feb. 13 at the Markland House on Flagler College’s campus, poet Holly Iglesias will do a reading at 6 p.m. as part of the Writers-In-Residence series.

Tracy Halcomb, professor and internship coordinator of communication, spent the week of Nov. 4-9 in Los Angeles for the Television Academy Foundation Faculty Seminar as one of 25 Faculty Seminar Fellows selected from colleges nationwide. The seminar provided attendees the opportunity to meet top executives in television development, production and programming.

During the winter break in Dec., Associate Professor Chris Balaschak participated in an international symposium on photography and capitalism hosted by the National Institute for Art History and the University of Paris, Pantheon-Sorbonne. He presented a paper on the work of African-American photographer and filmmaker Robert van Lierop during the Mozambique War of Independence during the early 1970s.

On Feb. 7 at the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum on Flagler College’s campus, novelist Alissa Nutting will do a reading as part of the Writers-In-Residence series. The title of her newest book is “Made for Love: A Novel.” The event is free.

On Feb. 5 at the Lewis Auditorium on Flagler College’s campus, Paul Stebbins, a founding member of FixUS, an initiative of the Campaign to Fix the Debt, will present to the public as part of the Forum on Government and Public Policy series. The title of his lecture is “Trillion Dollar Deficits: How the National Debt Symbolizes Our Broken Political System.” The event is free.