By Cole Hatcher
Ohio Wesleyan University has announced its March 2025 lineup of public events. Unless otherwise noted, admission is free.
Through March 23: Art exhibitions “Caribbean Transformers: Becoming and Being in the New World” and “Culture Push,” at Ohio Wesleyan’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware.
- In “Caribbean Transformers,” artist Alicia Brown investigates colonial histories and legacies through portraiture. Born in Jamaica and based in Florida, her work is personal, powerful, and intimate. Brown’s sitters are painted lovingly and reflect the artist’s gentle but profound awareness of the forces shaping identity. Learn more at www.alicialisabrown.com.
- “Culture Push” is a response to Fritz Scholder’s “Hollywood Indian” on loan from Art Bridges. This exhibition supports the curriculum developed for OWU’s first-year student seminar, with works chosen to investigate the powerful cultural forces that shape people’s lives.
During the academic year, the Ross is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed March 8-16 for spring break. The museum is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 or visit owu.edu/Ross for more information.
2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. March 1 and 2 p.m. March 2: “Doubt, A Parable,” written by John Patrick Shanley (“Moonstruck”), will be performed in the Studio Theatre inside Chappelear Drama Center, 45 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, a strong-minded principal wrestles with her conscience as she copes with concerns about a progressive young priest. Directed by OWU faculty member and graduate Bradford Sadler, the play addresses issues straight from today’s headlines, earning Shanley a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play. Admission is free, but reservations are required by visiting owu.edu/PerformingArts beginning two weeks before the show debuts. For questions, call the box office at (740) 368-3855.
4:10 p.m. March 4: Samantha Fedoush ’19, Ph.D. student at Ohio University, discusses “Molecular Trash Cans in Plant Space Adaptation: E3 Ligases Role in Plant Gravitropism,” in Room 163 of Schimmel/Conrades Science Center, 90 S. Henry St., Delaware. This event is part of OWU’s ongoing Science Lecture Series. Admission is free. Learn more at owu.edu/BiologySeminarSeries.
8 p.m. March 4: OWU student recital, in Jemison Auditorium inside Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. Admission is free. For more information, visit owu.edu/PerformingArts.
4:15 p.m. March 5: Marianne Chan, MFA, assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at Old Dominion University, reads from her poetry collection “All Heathens,” in the Milligan Room of Slocum Hall, 75 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. “All Heathens” revisits Magellan’s voyage around the world and navigates Chan’s Filipino heritage by grappling with diaspora, circumnavigation, and discovery. It won the 2021 Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) New Writers Award, the 2021 Ohioana Book Award, and the 2022 Association for Asian American Studies Book Award for Outstanding Achievement. Chan’s second poetry collection, “Leaving Biddle City,” is a coming-of-age narrative that explores the Filipina American speaker’s experience of growing up amid a white, Midwestern suburbia. Her individual poems have appeared in outlets including the Kenyon Review, Crazyhorse, American Literary Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review. Her reading, part of the Department of English’s Visiting Writers Series, will be followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing. Admission is free. Learn more about the department at owu.edu/English.
8 p.m. March 7, 14, 21, and 28: Friday night guest nights, at Perkins Observatory, 3199 Columbus Pike (U.S. 23), Delaware. Content varies based on weather conditions, but may include a planetarium show, observatory tours, or stargazing with the 32-inch Schottland Telescope. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 on the day of the event and at the door. Reserve tickets by calling (740) 363-1257. Learn more at owu.edu/Perkins.
4 p.m. March 16: OWU alumna Kate Cremean, Class of 1996, leads the Gahanna Community Chorus in presenting John Rutter’s “Gloria,” in Gray Chapel inside University Hall, 61 S. Sandusky Ave., Delaware. Organist Nate Terry will play OWU’s 4,644-pipe Rexford Keller Memorial Organ as part of the hourlong performance. Admission is free, but a free-will offering will be taken. Learn more at www.gahannachorus.org. Learn more about upcoming OWU performances at owu.edu/PerformingArts.
7 p.m. March 20: Michael Pierce, Ph.D., associate professor of History at the University of Arkansas, discusses “Why There Is No Socialism in America: An Ohio Story,” in the Benes Rooms inside OWU’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Pierce is the author of “Striking with the Ballot: Ohio Labor and the Populist Party” and a co-editor of books including “Race, Labor, and Violence in the Delta.” The annual Joseph and Edith Vogel Lecture is made possible through an endowment from their son, Ezra Vogel, Ph.D., now deceased. Ezra Vogel was a 1950 Ohio Wesleyan graduate, retired professor of East Asian Studies at Harvard University, and author of the critically acclaimed book, “Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China.” The lecture is organized by the OWU Department of History. Learn more at owu.edu/history.
7 p.m. March 23: OWU senior student recital featuring Aubrey Gerhardt, clarinet, in Jemison Auditorium inside Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. Admission is free. For more information, visit owu.edu/PerformingArts.
March 24-26: Kickstart Ohio, featuring Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak as the keynote speaker, will celebrate innovation, entrepreneurship, and community growth while it connects entrepreneurs, investors, and businesses to share ideas, collaborate, and grow. The conference will be held at the Hilton Columbus at Easton, 3900 Chagrin Dr., Columbus. Attendees will gain insights from industry leaders, network with peers, and experience the vibrant spirit of Ohio’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Kickstart Ohio conference-only tickets are $250; tickets including admission to Wozniak’s address are $300 for overflow seating and $375 for in-the-room seating. Additional ticket options are available. To learn more or purchase tickets, visit kickstartohio.com. Kickstart Ohio is presented by the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University (DEC OWU). Learn more about the center, including memberships and programming, at owu.edu/DEC.
4:10 p.m. March 25: Kayla Cross, Ph.D. candidate at The Ohio State University, discusses “Investigating the regulation of the invertebrate gut microbiome by innate immunity,” in Room 163 of Schimmel/Conrades Science Center, 90 S. Henry St., Delaware. This event is part of OWU’s ongoing Science Lecture Series. Admission is free. Learn more at owu.edu/BiologySeminarSeries.
8 p.m. March 27: OWU Choral Art Society concert, conducted by faculty member Rachel Parfenchuk, in Gray Chapel inside University Hall, 61 Sandusky St., Delaware. Admission is free. For more information, visit owu.edu/PerformingArts.
March 27-29: The second Melvin Van Peebles Symposium, featuring actress and activist Erika Alexander as the keynote speaker, will honor the life and legacy of the 1953 OWU graduate and accomplished filmmaker whose work broke through the boundaries of race and gender. The theme of the 2025 biennial symposium is “Disruption! Signal Fires, Reckoning, and Jubilee Through Black Art.” It will be held in various locations on the Ohio Wesleyan campus and feature both free and ticketed events and include a public screening of the film “American Fiction,” featuring Alexander. Additional presenters will include visual artists Alicia Brown and Lance Johnson with dancer Candace Igeleke. General admission tickets are $135 per person, or $155 after March 1. Discounted rates are available for Ohio Wesleyan alumni and employees. For the latest schedule of events or to purchase tickets, visit owu.edu/VanPeebles.
7 p.m. March 30: The Summit Ridge Duo featuring Kelsey Shaheen (violin) and Ben Shaheen (percussion), directed by OWU faculty member Chris Lizak, in Jemison Auditorium inside Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware. Learn more about the artists at www.summitridgeduo.com. Admission is free. For more information, visit owu.edu/PerformingArts.
All Ohio Wesleyan public event information is subject to change. For the latest updates, visit owu.edu/calendar. For more Battling Bishop athletics events, visit battlingbishops.com.
Photo: Ohio Wesleyan’s March events include the 2025 Melvin Van Peebles Symposium. The inaugural symposium honoring the impact of the 1953 OWU graduate was held in 2023. (Photo by James DeCamp)
Source: OWU
