Current Issue: Volume 24 - Number 4 - February 9, 2007
Langston Hughes celebration Feb. 16
The Fifteenth Annual Langston Hughes Celebration will take place at 7 p.m., Friday Feb. 16 in Webster Hall Auditorium.
Hughes, born in Joplin in 1902, was a prolific writer and key figure in the "Harlem Renaissance" movement of the 1920s - 30s. He died in New York City in 1967. The featured speaker for the event will be writer and past Langston Hughes Prize recipient Dr. R. Baxter Miller. He will speak on "`I Heard Ma Rainey': Inspiration in Langston Hughes."
Dr. Miller was honored as one of only nine Senior Lilly Teaching Fellows at the University of Georgia in 1994-95. He has been a United Negro College Fund Distinguished Scholar at Xavier University in New Orleans and Mellon Visiting Professor at the University of San Francisco. Executive editor of The Langston Hughes Review, he is a past president of the Langston Hughes Society and founder of the Division of Black American Literature and Culture in the Modern Language Association.
Doris Walters, English, says the MSSU Jazz Quintet will play. A drawing for teachers and prospective teachers will be held for an activity book called Langston's Legacy: 101 Ways to Celebrate the Life and Work of Langston Hughes. Ten copies of the book will be given away, along with handouts about a Hughes-related program called the Dream Flag Project.
The event, co-sponsored by the Joplin NAACP, is free and open to the public.
Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Monday
The Annual Breakfast to honor Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. will take place at 7 a.m. Monday, Feb. 12 on the 3rd floor of the Billingsly Student Center. The speaker will be Michelle Ducree, Executive Director of the Joplin Community Clinic.
Seating is limited. For questions, contact, Al Cade, Teacher Education at ext. 4426.
Michelle Ducree is a native of New Orleans. She earned a Bachelors in General Studies from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1992. Michelle's professional background includes:
- Working with abused children at an adolescent hospital
- Legislative Assistant to (retired) U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston
- Personal assistant to former Lt. Governor Kathleen Blanco (now Governor of Louisiana
- Legislative Aide to State Representative Sharon Weston Broom
- Directed social justice education and legislative advocacy within the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
- Non-profit community organizing to teach citizens to work with government officials for social change in their city
- Human resources and safety management
Michelle is the Executive Director of the Community Health Clinic of Joplin, now in its 12th year of serving people who are uninsured with health and dental care and social services.
Enrollment up for spring semester!
Missouri Southern’s winning combination of affordability and academic excellence has translated into an increase in student enrollment for the spring 2007 semester.
Enrollment of students from outside the state of Missouri has taken a 7.5 percent jump and the total number of full-time students enrolled for the spring semester is up by 2.8 percent, according to Delores Honey, Assessment and Institutional Research.
She says total headcount for the semester has risen by 1.5 percent.
“We ascribe the increase to strong programs, low tuition and quality classroom experiences,” Dr. Honey says. “We offer excellent programs at an affordable cost,” she adds.
Missouri Southern and other public colleges and universities in Missouri are required to turn in enrollment figures to the state on a regular basis.
Presentation in Connection with Black History Month
“W.E.B. DuBois, Democracy and World War” is the title of a presentation slated for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 13 in Webster Hall Auditorium.
Dominic Capeci, professor of African American History at Missouri State University (MSU) in Springfield and Jack Knight, professor of Philosophy at MSU, will deliver the presentation in connection with Black History Month.
W.E.B. DuBois was the most prominent intellectual leader and political activist on behalf of African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century. He was labeled "The Father of Pan-Africanism." DuBois felt that they should, and with a group of like-minded supporters, he helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. For 25 years, Du Bois worked as Editor-in-Chief of the NAACP publication, The Crisis.
In his later years, DuBois came into conflict with the government due to his vocal criticism of the policies of the American government. He eventually moved to Ghana and died there in 1963.
The presentation, sponsored by the Social Science Department at MSSU, is free and open to the public.
Today's Brown Bag
Betsy Griffin, Academic Affairs, reminds faculty/staff about the Brown Bag lunch for today, Friday, Jan. 26. Josie Mai, Art, and Pat Hurley, Career Services, will speak on Service Learning.
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.
All faculty/staff are welcome to attend.
MSIPC receives Missouri's highest arts award
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Missouri Southern International Piano Competition (MSIPC) has received the state of
The Council initiated the Arts Awards in 1983 to honor individuals and institutions that have made a profound and lasting contribution to the cultural and artistic climate of the state. The award was presented officially by Gov. Matt Blunt and First Lady Melanie Blunt on Feb. 7 at a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda in
expressed her thanks to the Arts Council and the Governor for the prestigious award, and said:“We are very proud to be able to bring talent from all over the world to
During the competition week, concerts, lectures, school programs and competition rounds with international judges all are open to the public.
According to León, MSIPC has gained an enviable reputation for fairness and the highest caliber of playing among conservatories and music schools world-wide. The competition is celebrating its twentieth anniversary year during 2007.
Each year the MAC Arts Awards winners in five categories are selected by a committee of
Contemporary Film Series continues
The Contemporary Film Series will continue this semester as a Friday night continuing education class. To enroll, simply come to the next film and pay the tuition of $10 per person.
The film for Friday, Feb. 23 is Water (India, 2005; 117 min.) This film, the third (and final?)installment in director Deepa Mehta’s “elemental” series that began with Fire and Earth, both of which were shown in our series. A sensitive, disturbing and extremely controversial film, Water tells the story of Chuyla, an Indian girl married and widowed at age eight, who is sent to live in a home where other Indian widows live in penitence, set against the background of Gandhi’s growing influence as India approaches independence.
The films are presented on DVD format at Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall.
Your tuition payment will go toward purchase of videos for our film series and will entitle you to attend seven acclaimedforeign films, none of which have yet had public screenings in Joplin.
Musician/Educator visits campus
On Jan. 24, Eugene Corporon, Director of Wind and Percussion Studies at the University of North Texas, was on the campus of MSSU to work with area band directors on techniques designed to make an immediate impact on their bands.
Corporon also rehearsed the MSSU Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band. Mr. Corporon rehearsed Frank Ticheli’s Amazing Grace with the Symphonic Band and Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich with the Wind Ensemble, both of which he has professionally recorded.
Corporon then left for the MMEA State Convention at Tan-Tar-A to appear as the guest speaker for the Collegiate Music Educators National Conference held in conjunction with the Missouri Music Educators Association Convention. Mr. Corporon’s appearance at Southern was sponsored by Palen’s Music and Mid-Missouri Bank.
College Goal Sunday
College Goal Sunday, a program designed to assist college-bound high schools students in the completion and filing of important student financial aid documents, will return for a fourth year to the Show-Me State.
Kathy Feith, Financial Aid, says the program will take place in workshop format from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 11 at Cornell Auditorium on campus.
The workshops also will be held primarily on college campuses located throughout the state and will be staffed by financial aid experts from a variety of institutions. There is no charge to participate. The workshop focuses on assisting students and families with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. It is required by most educational institutions to determine eligibility for a wide range of grants, loans and scholarships.
The website, located at www.collegegoalmissouri.com contains basic information about college financial aid and provides information regarding specific program locations, a list of items needed for the event and driving directions.
More details, including contact e-mail addresses and phone numbers, are available at www.mssu.edu/news/collegegoalsundayspring07.htm.
Reading group selection to appeal to history buffs
The Story of American Freedom written by noted historian, author and lecturer Eric Foner, will be the next book discussed by the Literary Lions Book Club. The moderator will be Dr. Virginia Laas, professor of history at Missouri Southern State University.
The group will meet at 6:30 p.m. on March 1, 8 and 22 downstairs in the Spiva Library coffee shop. Foner will be on campus on March 29 as Jean's Lecturer. That event will take place at 7 p.m. in Webster Auditorium.
Foner recently was awarded the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching from Columbia University where he is the Dewitt Clinton Professor of History. He specializes in nineteenth century American history, the American Civil War, slavery and the Reconstruction. He concentrates on the interconnections of intellectual, political and social history. He has taught at Cambridge University as Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions, Oxford University as Harmsworth Professor of American History and Moscow State University as Fulbright Professor.
He serves on the editorial boards of Past and Present and The Nation, and has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, London Review of Books, and many other publications, and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows, including Charlie Rose, Book Notes, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and All Things Considered, and in historical documentaries on PBS and the History Channel.
In a recent book review, Professor Steven Hahn of the University of Pennsylvania wrote of Eric Foner:
"Like his mentor Richard Hofstadter, he has had an enormous influence on how other historians, as well as a good cut of the general reading public, have come to think about American history. This is the result of his voluminous scholarship and of his decades as a teacher. Indeed, when one considers the chronological and topical range of Foner's many books and essays--not to mention those of his doctoral students--only Hofstadter, C. Vann Woodward, David Brion Davis, and, in an earlier era, Charles Beard (who was also at Columbia) would seem to be his genuine rivals in impact and accomplishment."
The cost per person for participation is $25 ($15 for Friends of the Spiva Library) and includes a copy of the book which must be donated back to the Spiva Library. If you would like to join the group, contact the alumni office at (417) 625-9355 or by e-mail by Feb 15. This opportunity is limited to the first 15 persons who respond.
Come Chill with the Lions at Legacy Day
Legacies of alumni will receive the opportunity to find out what Missouri Southern State University is all about at this year’s annual "Legacy Day."
A legacy is a kid lucky enough to have one or even two relatives that attended or graduated from MSSU. On Saturday, Feb. 24, these legacies will have the opportunity to chill with some of Missouri Southern’s fellow Lions and have a little fun at the same time.
Registration will begin at 2:30 p.m., and a collection of interactive classes will follow from 3-5 p.m. These classes will be taught by Missouri Southern’s teacher education majors in the Taylor Education Building. The classes will allow each legacy to bring home a little piece of MSSU.
The legacies are invited to help cheer on the Lions at the double-header basketball game against the Missouri Western Griffons. The women will tip off at 5:30 p.m. and the men will tip off at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact Elisa Bryant, Alumni Association, at (417) 625-3068
Band receives recognition
Rusty Raymond, Music, reports that the Lion Pride Marching Band drum line has drawn some national attention to itself last semester. The NCAA, in a new national promotional video “I Chose Division II” features the MSSU drum line as the background soundtrack playing selections from the "Who" show from this past fall. Also included in the promo are video outtakes from one of the band’s rehearsals this fall showing the drumline and brass players.
Along with this honor, the MSSU drum line and percussion studio now currently endorse products from Innovative Percussion, Sabian Cymbals and Remo Drumheads. Please go to the MSSU percussion studio and drum line site for more information: http://www.mssu.edu/music/fronzagliapage.html. A short and long version of the promo are available at the NCAA website:http://thesac.athleticsite.com/article.asp?articleID=299
FACULTY/STAFF
Russia and Sweden Tour: Highlights include Kremlin, Red Square, Hermitage/Winter Palace, Peter and Paul Fortress, Vasa Ship; Stockholm Town Hall. We leave with EF Tours on the June 25 and return July 5 (11 day tour). $3,243 for round trip air, lodging, ground transportation, full time bilingual guide. Includes 2 meals a day; plus several option tours. Go eftours.com and go to the tour Russian Rhapsody for complete details. Contact Becky Gallemore in Taylor Hall 229B at gallemore-r@mssu.edu or call at 659-5425. "I have led 7 tours for EF and have found to be fun and very educational," she says.
Nada Banun, a Fulbright student who teaches English in Tripoli, Libya, made a presentation to an Intercultural Communication class taught by Carolyn Hale, Communication. The presentation included information on Libyan customs, geography, food, and marriages.
An article by Nanette Philibert, Marketing and Management, titled "Valuing the Gilbert Model: An Exploratory Study"
was published in Performance Improvement Quarterly Volume 19, Number 4. She wrote the article along with John H. Cox and Blake Frank. The article dealt with problem solving in business. For information, visit http://www.ispi.org/publications/piqtocs/piq19_4.htm
Art Saltzman, English, has had an essay accepted for publication by Marginalia. "London Fog" appear in the journal's next issue.
Library Lovers’ Month
Eight ways to love your library:
- Contribute to your library
- Donate a book...or a whole shelf of books, maybe even one you have written
- Donate money to your Friends of the Library group
- Honor a friend or relative with a book for the library
- Donate your time, money, and expertise to your library
- Be a friend to your library
- Join the Friends of George A. Spiva Library Group
- Give the gift of membership to a friend or relative
Please contact Amber Carr, Library, at ext. 9335 with any questions.
CLASSIFIED
For Sale: Cougar Cards are here! Save money while you help support CHCS. Buy one get one free offers at Papa Murphy’s Pizza, Sonic, Subway, Moe’s, Carl Richard Bowling Centers, Babes, Festival, For-All, Blockbuster, IHOP (20% off), Java Dave’s Applebee’s. You have 24 chances to use the card, expires 1/31/08. You may use the card 24 times at the same place or split it up among the many locations offered. Cost is $10. For more information or to purchase a card, call Rita at ext. 9318.
For Sale: Golf bag travel case. (Black hard shell travel case for golf clubs and bag). New condition. $40. Call Dave at (417) 529-0463.
For Sale: 2005 Honda Rebel Motorcycle. Price: $2,500. Has a 250 cc engine, only 800 miles. Black with a custom smoke windshield. Contact Paul or Sheira at 781-7645.
