Plaster to receive Honorary Doctorate tomorrow

Robert. W. Plaster

Robert W. Plaster is a former student of Joplin Junior College (the predecessor institution of Missouri Southern State University) who went on to become one of Missouri’s most successful entrepreneurs and a generous philanthropist.  As a young man, Mr. Plaster was focused on achieving his goals and dreams.  Today he is focused on achieving his goals and even bigger dreams, but his purpose also is devoted to helping others reach their full potential.

Mr. Plaster was the founder and longtime CEO of Empire Gas and he is Chairman of Evergreen Investments LLC, a multi-million dollar development corporation.  The Plaster family has been so successful in business, it has been named to the top 25 wealthiest family list for the Midwest.

Mr. Plaster is a significant benefactor to higher education in Missouri.  Missouri Southern State University, its students, faculty, and alumni are fortunate to have been the recipient of his goodwill and generosity.  Because of his generosity, Missouri Southern State University is home to the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center and the Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration.  He also has supported Southwest Baptist University, School of the Ozarks, Crowder College and Missouri State University.

The former accounting student at Joplin Junior College in the 1950s became one of the most successful businessmen in the region.  Although he never earned a college degree, he has since been influential in helping thousands of students in Southwest Missouri achieve that goal.

Mr. Plaster was a major contributor to the success of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE). SIFE establishes student teams on university campuses, including Missouri Southern.  Those teams, led by faculty advisors, are challenged to develop community outreach projects that reach SIFE's five educational topics: Market Economics, Success Skills, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Business Ethics.

The fledgling organization had only six colleges when Mr. Plaster was introduced to the group.  With his direction and support, SIFE is today an international organization with more than 2,000 university teams in 46 countries.

President to deliver 48th Commencement address

Dr. Julio S. Le n

Missouri Southern State University president Dr. Julio S. León will be the speaker for the 48th Commencement ceremony at 9:30 a.m., and 12 noon Saturday, May 12  at MSSU.

The 9:30 ceremony will include graduates from the School of Business Administration, School of Technology and those receiving Associates Degrees. 

The noon ceremony will feature students from Cooperative Graduate Programs, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Education and Bachelor of General Studies recipients. 

Dr. León will make remarks at both ceremonies.

2007 marks Dr. León’s 25th year as president of Missouri Southern State University.  His tenure represents one of the longest University presidencies in the nation.  This year also marks the 38th year of Dr. León's service to MSSU.  Dr. León became interim president in July 1982 and on December 16, 1982, he was named the third president in the University's history as a four-year institution.           

His steady leadership and expansive vision have propelled the University and its pursuit of excellence into the 21st Century.            

Growth of the University has occurred on a multitude of fronts during his two and a half decades of leadership, including student enrollment, curriculum development, faculty enrichment, institutional stature and facility enhancements. Excellence in the classroom has been and is his first priority.

In 1969, when Dr. León arrived on Missouri Southern's campus as an assistant professor of business administration, the University awarded 350 degrees; today nearly 800 students earn diplomas each year.  In 1973 he became an associate professor and in 1976 a full professor and Dean of the School of Business Administration.

In addition to enrollment growth, he also has presided over dramatic physical expansion of the campus.  The square footage of building space added since 1982 is equal to almost 10 football fields.  In 1969 eight major facilities were in use; today there are more than 30.
           
Some of his most significant accomplishments include obtaining University status in 2003 which allowed MSSU to offer cooperative master's degree programs and creating a model Honors Program in 1984.

Also, during his tenure, he has collaborated to improve preparation of college-bound students, led a national effort to increase understanding of economics by requiring all students to take a course on the American economic system and making Missouri Southern one of the nation's first universities to institute mandatory assessment of learning for all graduates.

Dr. León shaped a nationally recognized and award-winning International Mission that was adopted in 1990 and supported by the Missouri legislature. In 1999, he oversaw the creation of the Division of Lifelong Learning to develop distance learning opportunities for place-bound students in a globally competitive world.

He has presided over a 30 percent increase in enrollment and directed more than $62 million in construction and improvements providing state-of-the-art facilities for students and faculty and creating hundreds of jobs in the public and private sectors.

In 1993, Dr. and Mrs. León were honored with the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Citizens award.  He has served in leadership roles on numerous national boards, including the Boards of Directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE), and the American Council on Education (ACE).   In 2001, Dr. León was chairman of the board of AASCU.    

His wife, Mrs. Vivian León, is director of the world-renowned Missouri Southern International Piano Competition.

KGCS to Provide Coverage of MSSU Commencement

The Saturday, May 12 commencement ceremonies will be televised live by KGCS-TV. In addition, both ceremonies will be rebroadcast next week and videotapes/DVD's are being offered for sale.

The live coverage begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Coverage of the second ceremony begins at noon.

The first ceremony will be replayed at 8 p.m., Sunday, May 13. The second ceremony will be replayed at 8 p.m., Monday, May 14.

Videotapes and DVDs are also being sold, with proceeds to benefit the MSSU chapter of the National Broadcasting Society. Graduates should have received order forms with the graduation materials. For more information about ordering, contact Judy Stiles, KGCS General Manager, at 625-9777.

MSSU signs agreement with UMSL

Missouri Southern State University is making history again. The University has taken another step in expanding advanced educational opportunities for professionals in this region.

On Thursday, May 10 in Billingsly Student Center Room 314, representatives from Missouri Southern State University and the University of Missouri – St. Louis signed an agreement to deliver a cooperative Master of Arts program in History

Missouri Southern President, Dr. Julio S. León, was joined by University of Missouri - St. Louis Chancellor, Dr. Thomas F. George, and UMSL Provost, Dr. Glen Hahn Cope, for the signing.

The joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) provides the framework for MSSU to move forward with the application process that will seek approval from the Missouri Department of Higher Education and accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association.

“This agreement is not historic in terms of what the program offers but gives evidence that two universities can develop a program that both benefits students and uses the resources of the state of Missouri in the best-possible way,” stated Dr. León.  “The new cooperative program will be another in a series of steps that will provide residents of this region with more educational opportunities and greater convenience.”

Similar cooperative programs have been launched or are being pursued with the University of Missouri – Kansas City, Northwest Missouri State University, Missouri State University and Southeast Missouri State University, for master’s degrees in early childhood education, instructional technology, teaching, nursing, dental hygiene and criminal justice.

Additional information is available at http://www.mssu.edu/graduate.

MSSU offers assistance to displaced O'Sullivan employees

Missouri Southern will soon be giving a helping hand to workers who have lost their jobs at Lamar's O'Sullivan plant. MSSU will hold two special sessions to provide more information and answer questions from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m., Thursday, May 17 at Thiebaud Auditorium in Lamar.

The Missouri Southern O'Sullivan Educational Assistance Program will offer help with tuition for regular undergraduate courses taken at the University. The program is available to:

• Full time employees of O’Sullivan who have been employed for at least 1 yr at time of layoff.
  
  Any current or new MSSU student that is a spouse or dependent of full time employees who have met the criteria above.

• Assistance is available for a consecutive two-year period, unless full-time employment is secured.

Tuition assistance does not apply to non-college credit Continuing Education courses. The current tuition assistance is one-half of the current tuition – the exact amount is determined each semester. Spousal dependency is established if the employee can show he or she filed jointly on their most current Federal Income Tax Return.

A dependent’s eligibility for this benefit is governed by IRS Code Section 132. An employee of MSSU will verify dependent eligibility by reviewing the employee’s most current Federal Income Tax Return through line 6(c).

The Dragon Awake:
China and its Emergence as a Global Business Leader

The Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration will host the second annual academic conference to coincide with the university’s themed semesters. This year’s conference will focus on the linkages between China’s historical, social, and cultural past and its current business practices.

The campus community is invited to submit proposals for papers or panels in any discipline that address China as a global business nexus and that discuss the country's history and its impact on business structures.

For more information or to view the Call for Papers, please visit the conference web site at: http://www.mssu.edu/business/china_conf_home.html

Phi Kappa Phi makes grant to NALA, IEP program

The National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Joplin NALA Read Literacy Council and the International English Program at M.S.S.U. are teaming up to assist local English learners. 

A $2000 literacy grant was awarded to Judy Stiles, Communications, Phi Kappa Phi and NALA board member who will serve as project manager.  Stiles is also general manager of KGCS television at Missouri Southern and brought the parties together for the project application.

Project design initiates a cooperative effort on the part of the IEP and NALA to provide basic English learners with computer-based technology to enhance language learning and aid individualized instruction.  With NALA providing the space and technical support, MSSU-IEP providing four computer stations and software installation, and Phi Kappa Phi providing funds for software, an important link between area English teaching programs can be established to benefit students.  The IEP will also provide training in the use of the software along with additional resources to support program and students.

University and community literacy programs teamed with school ESL programs provide a grid of services appropriate to meet language learner needs.  While elements of the grid are well established, interaction among them to benefit learners is the thrust of the grant.

The National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, is the nation's oldest, largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society. With chapters on nearly 300 select college and university campuses in North America and the Philippines, the Society's mission is to promote academic excellence.  The Literacy Grants program, initiated in 2003, grows out of its mission, “… to engage the community of scholars in service to others.”

This is the second grant awarded to Joplin NALA.  A family literacy project was developed last year to provide the Community Clinic and Lafayette House with reading materials for children and accompanying resource materials for parents.  The goal of the project is encouraging new readers.

Sitton - MSSU partnership benefits workers

An educational partnership between Sitton Motor Lines and Missouri Southern State University allows drivers and their immediate family members to earn a college degree. Scholarships offered by Sitton significantly reduce or cover costs entirely for qualified drivers. Coupled with these scholarship options and the affordable tuition at MSSU, the "Learn While You Earn" program is possible for everyone.

All full-time drivers at Sitton are eligible, as are immediate family members. Scholarships will cover only one family member at a time. For more information about the program, visit http://www.truckflix.com/buzz_article.php?bid=56.

McCaleb Peace Grants awarded

Three student-faculty projects have been approved for grants from the McCaleb Initiative for Peace project at MSSU, according to Chad Stebbins, Institute of International Studies.

In 1998, Kenneth and Margaret McCaleb of Huntsville, Ala., donated stock then valued at $150,000 as an endowment to assist in finding ways to bring about peace and to prevent war. Each year, the Peace Initiative provides at least one $5,000 grant to a student-faculty team selected through a campus-wide competition.

Although McCaleb died in 2002, his wife, Margaret, and son, Robert, still review the proposals. This year, they decided to fund three projects and make an additional donation to the Missouri Southern Foundation.

With all three projects, the students have pledged to write a series of articles that will make up special sections of the campus newspaper, The Chart. Kenneth McCaleb founded and named the paper while a student at Joplin Junior College (the predecessor of Missouri Southern) in 1939. He was shot down on a bombing mission over Germany in 1943 and spent 19 months in POW camps. During this time he became interested in studying the causes of war and ways of achieving peace.

For information on this year's awardees and their projects, visit the Missouri Southern website at http://www.mssu.edu/news/McCaleb_spring07.html.

Math League results revealed

The results of this year’s Math League competition were revealed at the annual Math League Awards Banquet, April 10, 2007 in the Billingsly Student Center on the campus of Missouri Southern State University. 

Plaques were awarded to the following high schools and individuals:

Class A:  Second place: none,  First place: College Heights and Billings (tie), Top individual:  Kyle Reinert, Billings.  

Class AA:  Second place:  Jasper, First place:  Riverton,  Top individual:  Ben Holliday, Jasper.

Class AAA:  Second place:  Mount Vernon,  First place: Columbus, Top individual:  Lindsay Dale, Mount Vernon. 

Class AAAA:  Second place:  Carthage,  First place:  Joplin,  Top individual:  Hao Chen, Joplin. 

In addition, those in attendance were treated to pizza, MSSU T-shirts, and math jokes told by the Math League Coordinator, Dennis Harmon, Mathematics.

Math League is a competition in which area high schools come to the campus of MSSU five times each academic year and compete by taking math tests covering a wide variety of topics in intermediate and advanced mathematics.

Business Honor Society Induction

The Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration at Missouri Southern State University inducted the first members into the Lambda Gamma Chapter of Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in Business Administration on Sunday, April 29, in a ceremony at the Billingsly Student Center.

Membership in Delta Mu Delta Honor Society is the highest national recognition a business student can earn. Founded in 1913 through a joint effort by Harvard, Yale, and New York University, the purpose of the Society is to promote higher scholarship in education for business, and to recognize and reward scholastic attainment in business subjects.

Twelve students and alumni were inducted into this prestigious honor society at the April ceremony. In addition, three local executives were extended invitations for honorary membership by the School of Business.

Steve Koelkebeck, Southwest Missouri Bank, Dale Blanchard, Commerce Bank (retired), and Michael Gray, BKD, were inducted in recognition of their outstanding service to the local business community.

For the names of student inductees, visit http://www.mssu.edu/news/deltamudelta07.htm.

KGCS Honors Students at Communication Honors Program

Student awards and scholarships were presented to students involved with KGCS-TV at the annual Department of Communication Honors Award Ceremony, held Wednesday, May 2 on campus.

Two students received awards from the Ruth I. Kolpin Broadcast Journalism Scholarship.  The endowed scholarship was established in 2003 to honor one of Southwest Missouri’s pioneers in broadcasting, Ruth Kolpin-Rubison.  It is presented annually to juniors majoring in broadcast communications, who meet academic criteria, complete an application process and write an essay sharing their views on the profession of broadcasting.

“We’re grateful for the endowed scholarship established by the Ruth I. Kolpin Foundation for our students,” says Judy Stiles, KGCS-TV General Manager.  “This recognition and financial assistance encourages students who see the completion of their academic work within reach and who will be heading into the field of broadcasting in another year.”

Awards presented included student awards, a "Meritorius Service" Award and the Student Volunteer of the Year Award.

For details, visit http://www.mssu.edu/news/communication_honorsspring07.html.

FACULTY/STAFF

Larry Cebula, Social Science, has been recognized with the 2007 Outstanding Graduate Alumni award from Eastern Washington University where he earned his MA.

The MSSU Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Rusty Raymond, Music, was featured at the spring concert for the Carl Junction High School Band. The C.J. Band, under the direction of MSSU alumni Jeff Taylor, recently received straight Division I ratings at the State Large Group Contest held on Southern's campus. Following the band performance the Wind Ensemble took the stage and performed works from their recent spring concert. Highlighted during the Wind Ensemble performance was Jeff Macomber, Music, on bass trombone performing Richard Lieb's Concertino Basso. The final selection the Wind Ensemble performed was Frank Ticheli's Blue Shades which featured Cheryl Cifelli, Music, on clarinet.

CLASSIFIED

Wanted: An old car to rent for a few weeks (or buy for very little $) to teach a new driver how to drive. Must have automatic transmission. E-mail Gwen at murdock-g@mssu.edu or call ext. 9504 or 623-0317 evenings.

Moving Sale: May 19, beginning at 7 a.m., 504 Empire, Joplin. Emptying out house. Normal household goods plus book collection (science, forensic science, death investigation.) For questions, e-mail ellis-s@mssu.edu.

For Sale: 2 TV's. One in console, $25; portable with 25" screen, $50. Call 659-5425 or 782-9643.

For Sale: Cannondale 2000 Tandem bicycle, $950. Contact Becky Gallemore at 659-5425.

For Sale: 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage on 2822 Delaware in Joplin. Contact Shane Werberger at (417) 385-7711 or (417) 781-3911. View the home online at: www.fsbolocal.com.

For Sale: GE electric range, smooth glass top. One of the 4 burners is broken. Good for your basement or second kitchen. Asking $75. Ext. 9681.

For Sale: Pacifica GT 400 electric potter's wheel with a 13-inch aluminum throwing head that turns both clockwise and counter-clockwise. Includes 3 bat heads and a removable splash pan. Only about 30 hours have been spent using this wheel. As-new condition. Retail: $719. Asking: $600. Can send pictures and more details. Contact msutliffsanders@gmail.com.