Letterpress printing involves printing text with movable type, in which the raised surface of the type is inked and pressed against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. Eventually it was replaced by offset lithographic printing, in which an inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber cylinder, then to the printing surface. "In the last 20 years there's been a revival of letterpress, which has become an art form," said Kennedy, who worked as a computer programmer in the corporate world for 20 years before switching careers. He quit his last such job, for AT&T, two years after seeing a re-enactment of a Colonial printing press in Colonial Williamsburg.

Kennedy is the second person to hold the professorship that honors Barbara Lee Bishop (1939-1991), a 1960 Longwood alumna who taught in the Art Department from 1965 to 1990 and chaired the department for 14 years. The professorship was established through a $1.3 million gift from her mother, Mary H. Bishop of Roanoke, who died in 2000.

Members of the Camerata Singers, Wind Symphony, Jazz Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble will perform traditional favorites while guests enjoy a festive dinner. This is the 34^th year for the event, sponsored by the Department of Music, from which a portion of the ticket price is used to fund music scholarships. Seating will begin at 6 p.m., and the evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with a musical greeting. Seating selection is assigned as reservations are received.

To make reservations, phone the music department at 395-2504; download the form at http://www.longwood.edu/music/16486.htm and mail the completed form and payment to the music department; or visit the Theatre Box Office in the Center for Communication Studies and Theatre, open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. Reservations will not be accepted and seating changes/refunds will not be made after Nov. 17. Tickets will be mailed at the end of November.