Submitted photo

Dr. Timothy Scheurer has been appointed interim director of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts at Shawnee State University, following the departure of Carl Daehler this month. Pictured is “A Chorus Line,” performing at the VRCFA on March 7.

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RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY

PDT Staff Writer

Shawnee State University President Rita Rice Morris announced Friday that Dr. Tim Scheurer, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences has assumed the role of Interim Director of the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts while a national search will be conducted for a permanent director.

Former Director Carl Daehler announced earlier this month that he was stepping down as executive director to accept a position on the faculty at Shawnee State University teaching in the expanding university’s Music Department. Following Daehler’s announcement, the Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association (SOPAA) said the new season would go on uninterrupted while a new director was being sought.

Morris announced Scheurer’s interim appointment on Friday in her weekly e-mail report to university faculty and staff.

“My biggest role is going to be a liaison with SOPAA and helping with programming and guiding the programs that come in the fall. It’s just to maintain the structure of the organization and keep it going,” Scheurer said.

According to the university, Scheurer came to Shawnee in 2001 as the Chair of the English and Humanities Department, until he assumed the Dean’s position in 2006. In addition to his administrative duties, he also teaches a course a year covering a variety of subjects such as Adolescent Literature, American Poetry, Organizational Communication, and British Literature. It was his classroom focus on music, dance, and film that made him an ideal choice for this interim position.

“It’s a wide range of interests. I know classical music, I know film, I know dance, I know popular music and Broadway; kind of the whole gamut. My publications have been pretty wide-ranging. I think she (Morris) felt that if someone is going to come in and think about programming for the area and what is going to be successful, I think she felt I had a pretty good feel for that. And then there’s a lot of really good people on the board who also know these things,” Scheurer said.

He said Joanne Charles will be largely responsible for the finances while he focuses mostly on programming and holding the department together until a permanent director is hired.

“The biggest thing is I would begin working with the programming board on 2013-2014 and starting to do some of the programming for that,” Scheurer said. “The only thing is to make sure that procedures are all spelled out for the new director, so we make a real smooth transition from what Carl was doing.”

The new SOPAA season begins Oct. 14 when the Toledo Symphony returns to the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts, featuring Conductor Jeffrey Pollock and pianist Michael Boyd playing “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin and a selection of other American composers. Following is The Ohio State University Marching Band on Nov. 7, Empire Brass with Elisabeth von Trapp on Dec. 7, Shrek the Musical on Jan. 31, Ailey II dance company on March 2, A Chorus Line on March 7, Pianist Stewart Goodyear on March 21, The Addams Family on April 1, and Classical guitarist Sharon Isbin on April 23.

Season tickets went on advanced pre-sale to current SOPAA season ticket holders on June 4 until July 23. After that, season tickets and individual show tickets will be available to the public. Tickets for individual shows are available at Ticketmaster locations and at www.ticketmaster.com, or at the McKinley Box Office in the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts and by phone at 740-351-3600. For more information about the Southern Ohio Performing Arts Association, visit www.sopaa.org.

Ryan Scott Ottney can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 235, or rottney@heartlandpublications.com.