Gray wins Governor's Award for Teaching

James M. "Jim" Gray

Missouri Southern professor of Business Administration James M. Gray will receive the Governor’s Outstanding Teacher Award for 2007.

Gray, who teaches in the Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration (SOBA) at Missouri Southern, will accept the award at a ceremony and luncheon April 11 at the University of Missouri - Columbia.

Gray’s career in the School of Business spans 34 years, in which he has taught management, accounting, and economics courses. He served as Director of Data processing, and later taught in the computer area. He was an Assistant Dean for two years, and Dean of the School of Business Administration for 14 years.

The award ceremony provides the governor, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, and the Department of Higher Education an opportunity to acknowledge the importance of teaching and to recognize and honor outstanding faculty. After receiving the award, each honoree and his or her escort will have a picture taken with the governor.

 

Each institution selects faculty based on several factors including:

• Effective Teaching
• Innovation in course design and delivery
• Effective advising
• Service to the college/university community
• Commitment to high standards of excellence
• Success in nurturing student achievement

Gray has a strong background in technology, and is a two-time recipient of the MSSU Blackboard Online Teaching Award, first in 1994 and again in 2003.

Gray stepped down as Dean of the School of Business Administration in 2003 in order to spend more time with his family. “I wanted to be a grandfather,” said Gray.

He has since returned to the classroom, where his first priority is the students.

“I hope that if anyone says anything about me, it’s that I’m very student oriented,” Gray comments.

Gray holds a BSBA from Dana College, Blair, Neb., and an MBA from the University of Arkansas.

Student e-mail questions?

There have been a number of questions about the changes to student e-mail. Please go to the following link and click "Frequently Asked Questions" for answers to questions about e-mail and lots of other useful information about other aspects of LIONET.

Software Project Manager, Sandi Gieson says, for assistance, visit the following site: http://204.185.19.124/aboutlionet/Wiki%20Pages/Home.aspx.

Today's Brown Bag

Betsy Griffin, Academic Affairs, reminds faculty/staff about the Brown Bag lunch for today, Friday, April 6. Carla Huntington, Marketing/Management, will speak on "Appropriating Dance: Advertising and Culture."

The Brown Bag will be held from 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. in the Keystone Room on the 3rd floor of the BSC. Pick up your free lunch at the mini-buffet outside the room. Lunch is provided courtesy of Academic Affairs and Sodexho.

Suzuki Play-In slated

Suzuki Violin Academy students will perform a Play-In concert at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at Webster Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public. Area violin students are invited to join Suzuki students in concert.

For Play-In repertoire, please contact Kexi Liu, Suzuki Violin Academy Director, at (417) 625-9681

Ragweed to perform April 18

The popular country rock band Cross Canadian Ragweed will play in an outdoor concert at Missouri Southern State University Wednesday, April 18.

The concert is a presentation of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) at MSSU. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 p.m.

The rain or shine concert will take place just north of Fred Hughes Stadium, adjacent to the MSSU campus. Lawn chairs and blankets will be permitted but no ice chests or beverages may be brought into the concert. Concessions will be available. The John D. Hale Band will open the evening of music.

General admission tickets can be purchased by cash or credit at the MSSU ticket office on the first floor of Billingsly Student Center or by calling (417) 625-9366. Tickets cost $20 per person in advance and $25 the day of the show. No refunds or exchanges will be given. Tickets are also available by cash only from the Zimmer Radio Group and JR’s Western Stores in Diamond and Springfield.

For more information, contact the CAB office at ext. 9346.

Children's Lifetime Sports Academy

Applications are being accepted for the Children's Lifetime Sports Academy sponsored annually by the Missouri Southern Department of Kinesiology. The Academy will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. June 4-7. All children, ages 7-12, are welcome to attend.

The goal of the academy is to teach the skills and to promote the appreciation of selected activities that can be played for fun, health, and fitness throughout life. Activities include golf, bowling, fishing, racquet sports, frisbee, archery, and rhythms.

Children and grandchildren of MSSU faculty and staff receive a $10 discount. A discounted fee of $60 per child will cover the four days of instruction, use of facilities and equipment, insurance, and a T-shirt.

For application forms and/or additional information, please call the Department of Kinesiology at ext. 9316.

They can also get more information on the following website: http://www.mssu.edu/kin/register.htm.

SOBA to host Leon Royer on campus

Leon Royer

The Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration will host Leon Royer as part of its Business and Economic Lecture Series at 9 a.m., Monday, April 16 in Cornell Auditorium.

Royer is the featured speaker for the Leadership Joplin Symposium to be held at the Holiday Inn at 11:30 a.m.

Faculty, staff, students, and the community are invited to attend the campus event free of charge.

Royer serves on the board of Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment and is a 1972 graduate of MSSU’s School of Business.

One Acts slated for April 17-22

The Theatre Department’s last production for the spring semester will be an Evening of One-Acts. Directing II students of Jay Fields, Theatre, will present a variety of theatre productions on April 17-22 in the Bud Walton Theatre. Show times are 7:30 pm each evening.

On April 17 and 20, Jade Leggott, junior Theatre major from Carl Junction, will present Chamber Music by Arthur Kopit, and Brandi Hoofnagle, sophomore Theatre major from Carthage, will present Wanda’s Visit by Christopher Durang. Bobby Stackhouse, senior Speech/Drama major from Alba, will direct The Worker by Walter Wykes.

On April 18 and 21, Colleen Kartchner, Senior Speech/Drama major from Carl Junction, will direct The Drapes Come by Charles Dizenzo and Matt Davidson, Junior Theatre major from Joplin, will direct The Respectful Prostitute by Jean-Paul Sartre.

Also, on April 19 and 22, Sarah Jones, Junior Speech/Drama major from Joplin, will present My Left Breast by Susan Miller and Rachel Roberts, Junior Theatre major from Joplin, will present Dreams of Home by Migdalia Cruz.

These productions are free of charge but because of limited seating reservations are required. Tickets may be reserved starting April 10 by calling the Box Office at 625-3190 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays.

Jazz Orchestra concert features Kathy Kosins

Kathy Kosins

The Missouri Southern Jazz Orchestra Concert directed by Phillip C. Wise, Music, is slated for 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 17 in Webster Hall Auditorium.

The concert will feature vocalist Kathy Kosins. Critically acclaimed voice, eclectic musical palette, recipient of the 2001 Michigan council of the Arts/Artserve Michigan Jazz Composers Award, Six time ASCAP Award winning songwriter, and Jazz educator, Kathy Kosins is a force in the world of contemporary jazz.

Selections for the Missouri Southern Southern Jazz Orchestra concert include Bret Spainhour’s Step Lively, 81 by Miles Davis and Ron Carter, Perdido by Juan Tizol, Bob Stinnet’s Bossa Minor and My Favorite Things by Richard Rogers. Selections by Kathy Kosins will include No Ordinary Joe, I Was There (co-written with April Lang), Tomorrow’s Another Day, Lullaby of the Leaves and Old Man of the Mountain.

This concert is free and open to the public. Limited seating is available.

Hailing from Detroit, Kosins began singing and arranging background vocals for producer Don Was in the early 1980s, acquiring over 35 credits to her name. As a lead vocalist she recorded for both Cararre (Sony) and Quality Records then toured with Was/Not Was. By the early1990s, her musical taste in R&B evolved to straight ahead Jazz. Stints with the JC Heard and Nelson Riddle Orchestras followed and led to a 1996 release of All In A Dreams Work (Schoolkids Records).

Her 2002 release of Mood Swings (Chiaroscuro Records), continues to bring her recognition and success at the national level. On Vintage (Mahogany Jazz), she rediscovers little known songbook gems which she places alongside a few widely known, yet unexpected tunes from outside the jazz tradition.

Fall '07 class schedule available online

The Fall '07 Schedule of Classes narrative and course listings are now available online by visiting the WWW.MSSU.EDU home page and selecting the "Fall 07 Classes" icon at the bottom right side of the screen or by going directly to http://www.mssu.edu/classes/fall07 .

The course listings on the Web site appear in a pdf format and are not updated continuously as they were when linked though Lion Link Course Planner. However, currently enrolled students who have IDs and PINs and faculty have access to all of the real-time listings by accessing the courses through the LioNet "Student Menu" under Quick Links then select "Registration" and then select "Look Up Classes".

Faculty can select the quick link "Faculty Menu" under Faculty, then select "Course Catalog" for the same information according to Rod Surber, Public Information.

Sodexho announces "Stop Hunger Award/Scholarship"

The Sodexho Foundation, which provides food services at Missouri Southern State University, is seeking nominations of student leaders working towards reducing hunger within their communities for the newly-established Sodexho STOP Hunger Award and Scholarship.

Eligible candidates must be enrolled in an education institution served by Sodexho in the U.S. and be able to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to hunger relief activities in their community. A panel of judges appointed by the Sodexho Foundation will select the winners in May.

“We hope to have nominations from Missouri Southern included in those considered for this award,” said Munawar Ahmed, Sodexho Food Services Director at MSSU.

The selected winners will each receive a $3,000 scholarship award and a $3,000 grant, in their name, for the hunger-related charity of their choice. These will be presented to them in person on June 11 at the Sodexho Foundation Dinner, a gala event in Washington, D.C., where they will be the honored guests. The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2007.

For a complete description of the award or an online application visit www.helpstophunger.org. For more information, contact Munawar Ahmed, Food Services, at (417) 625-9825.

Tatum, Lipira guests on program

Lifelong Learning Director Jerry Williams hosts the television show Behind the Bricks. The program highlights the many different educational opportunities available on campus. The show will inform the public about MSSU and can be seen on both KGCS and SITV stations. The thirty minute program will highlight two areas on campus. This week’s program features Head Football Coach, Bart Tatum and Kinesiology Chair, Pat Lipira. Tune in Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. and Mondays at 10 p.m.

KGCS airs in Joplin, Webb City and Carterville on Cable One and on Mediacom outlets in surrounding areas and on channel 57. The program also will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday nights on SITV which is seen in Monett, Lamar, Carthage, and surrounding areas on Cox Cable systems and in Neosho on the Seabridge Cable system.

Contemporary Film Series continues tonight

The next Contemporary Film Series offering is a feature from eastern Europe.

In this widely acclaimed dark comedy—the first Romanian film screened in several years—Dante Lazarescu embarks on a night-long journey in search of proper medical care for his headaches. The film won prizes at many film festivals, including Cannes and the Chicago International Film Festival and was called by the New York Times “a thorny masterpiece, a sustained triumph.”

Nick Kyle, Art, says the film for tonight, Friday, April 6, is The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Romania, 2005 - 153 min.).

In what has been called a “gloriously irreverent” family comedy, a young woman introduces her fiancée to her Jewish family, revealing only belatedly that he is a Palestinian. From there, one catastrophe leads to another.

To enroll, simply come to the film and pay the tuition of $10 per person. The films are presented on DVD format at Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall. Please note the longer running time and plan ahead.

Education Digest to focus on World War II

Education Digest, a show hosted by Jerry Williams, Lifelong Learning, focuses on topics that are of great interest to our community. This week's program discusses The Veterans History Project, initiated and sponsored by the Library of Congress. Dr. Bob Markman, Social Science, and WW II Veteran, Ed Neer, discuss the war and video project. If you are interested in participating as a guest on this show please e-mail douglas-r@mssu.edu.

The show will air on KGCS at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, and 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. KGCS airs in Joplin, Webb City and Carterville on Cable One and on Mediacom outlets in surrounding areas and on channel 57. The program also will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday nights on SITV which is seen in Monett, Lamar, Carthage, and surrounding areas on Cox Cable systems and in Neosho on the Seabridge Cable system.

Cardinal Schedules available

It's time again for St. Louis Cardinal baseball.

KGCS-TV now has 2007 St. Louis Cardinals pocket schedules available.

Judy Stiles, KGCS, says those wishing to have one may stop by her office in Webster Hall, or e-mail her and she will send schedules via campus mail.

International Student research presentation

An International Student Research Presentation, "An Analysis of the Functionality of Foreign Language Instructional Software" sponsored by the Institute of International Studies and the CIS Department will take place from 12 noon - 1 p.m., Tuesday, April 10 in Cornell Auditorium

Hartford Tunnell, CIS, and Study Abroad Students Joachim Obeto and Ryan Goodwyn will take part.

The program will feature everything you ever wanted to know about off the shelf instructional software but were afraid to ask. An increasing number of companies have international business activities. That makes foreign language acuity increasingly important. Although the general functionality of the software will be presented the presenters will focus on the French, German, Chinese and Spanish languages.

Hartford says the presentation will be especially useful for CIS students, Business students, Language teachers,
area business professionals International Studies students, local area travelers, faculty travel sponsors, local church ministers and missionaries and others.

Special thanks goes to Richard La Near, Finance/Economics/International Business, and the student research committee for funding this project.

Blood Drive April 11

"Hey all you Pirates of the Caribbean. Come give blood on April 11 in the Connor Ballroom from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. or I'll have to make ye walk the plank. The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks and the MSSU nursing students will reward you with treasure of the best kind - snacks and a t-shirt with my face on it. And as you can tell I need all the blood I can get. AAARRRRGGGGG!"

Alumnus performs with composer

Paul Equiha (left) and Frank Ticheli

Rusty Raymond, Music, attended the College Band Directors National Association convention held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., March 26-31.

Missouri Southern Music major Paul Equihua (far left on picture at right) was selected to perform with award winning composer/conductor Frank Ticheli (right).

Frank Ticheli’s music has been described as being “at once novel and familiar, exciting and serious, optimistic and thoughtful” (Los Angeles Times), “ powerful, deeply felt...crafted with imagination, flair and melodic warmth” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel) and “immediately accessible but layered with delicate textures of meaning, like fine lace draped over a beautiful face” (Orange County Register). Ticheli (b. 1958) joined the faculty of the USC Thornton School in 1991, and he is currently professor of composition. From 1991 to 1998, Ticheli was composer in residence at the Pacific Symphony, Carl St.Clair, music director.