MSSU Board reviews successful year

The year 2007 will be recorded as a good year for Missouri Southern and higher education in general in relation to support from state legislators in Jefferson City.  The MSSU Board of Governors heard a positive review of the last legislative session from its Jefferson City representative Kyna Iman.

Highlights of the legislative session include passage of Senate Bill 389 that included almost $19 million for a new health sciences building on the MSSU campus and the Access Missouri scholarship program that increases the number of Missouri Southern students eligible for state grants from under 100 to about 900. 

Physical fitness is a national concern and students will soon be able to take advantage of a new state-of-the-art Recreation Center on the Missouri Southern Campus. The Board moved that project forward today when it approved a Recreation Center fee of $150 for students taking seven or more hours of classes and $75 for students taking six or fewer hours. The fees are expected to be instituted in the fall of 2008.

In addition to the student fee, the Recreation Center will be made possible by other private support, including a $1 million gift announced earlier from Mr. and Mrs. George S. Beimdiek. The Board’s committee headed by Dr. Charles McGinty, conducted extensive research and communicated with student leaders while considering the fee structure.

Students have asked for this facility and the fee will provide the funding for the bonds necessary to finance construction of the $16.5 million project. Designs for the Recreation Center include three basketball courts, a walking and jogging track, aerobic workout rooms, an area for stationary exercise equipment, a room for free weights, shower facilities, office space and a new Health Center.  

It was also announced that the Health Center will be named the Willcoxon Health Center in recognition of a generous gift from Dr. and Mrs. Robert Willcoxon. Dr. Willcoxon is a general surgeon associated with Freeman Hospital.

The Board also approved a $60 million Fiscal Year 2008 budget, which includes an 18 percent pay adjustment for non-grade and step classified personnel hired after July 1, 1998 and a 3 percent pay increase for all other faculty, professional support staff and grade and step classified employees.

In making the recommendation, University President Julio S. León said the adjustment for classified personnel was necessary to match the market conditions. 

The Board also approved recommendations for faculty promotions. To see a list of appointments and tenure approvals, visit http://www.mssu.edu/news/board_yearlyreview07.html.

Board reorganizes

Dwight Douglas

Dwight Douglas of Joplin will once again serve as chairman of the Board of Governors at Missouri Southern as a result of the Board reorganization on Friday, June 22.

Douglas was appointed to the Board in 2003 to fill the term of Stephen Carlton. He was reappointed in February of 2006 for a term that will end in 2011. He held the top position on the Board in 2004 and again in 2006.

Mr. Douglas is an attorney in the Neosho law firm of Douglas & Douglas and serves as corporate counsel for Freeman Neosho Hospital.

He also has served on the Missouri Safe Drinking Water Commission and is a former member of the Southwest Missouri State University Board of Regents. Mr. Douglas received his law and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Dr. Douglas Brooks of Joplin was reappointed as vice chair of the Board of Governors.
Dr. Brooks has maintained a private practice in psychology in Joplin since 1982.

Summer Jazz Orchestra concert tonight

The MSSU Music Department will sponsor a Summer Jazz Showcase concert by the MSSU Summer Jazz Orchestra, with special guest vocalist Kathy Macomber.

The showcase concert will take place in Webster Auditorium on the MSSU campus at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, June 28. The concert is free and open to the public. No tickets are required.

Outstanding local musicians who love to play big-band music are invited to volunteer their considerable talents to the Summer Jazz Orchestra. Among those invited are local music educators, MSSU music alumni and current MSSU music students.

Directing the Summer Jazz Orchestra is MSSU music professor, and newly-appointed director of the Southern Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Macomber.

Among selections the band will perform is Swing Era classic Artie Shaw's Begin the Beguine, the instrumental ballad Polka Dots and Moonbeams, hard-swinging numbers from the libraries of Count Basie and Woody Herman, vocal features including My Funny Valentine and Peggy Lee’s hit Fever and modern arrangements including Mark Taylor’s Federal Blues Express.

CFL Games Airing on KGCS

Area football fans looking for their favorite sport in the summer may turn to KGCS-TV for action from the Canadian Football League. The station is airing games as part of the America One television network. The games will air on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

"We know that a lot of people enjoy seeing the Canadian games, with their different field dimensions and slightly different rules," says Judy Stiles, KGCS General Manager. "Watching these games in mid-summer is a good warm-up for football fans looking forward to the return of the sport in the fall in the U.S."

KGCS programming may be seen on UHF channel 57, Cable One channel 7, and Mediacom channel 77. The station is operated as a service of the Department of Communication.

McGrane to Serve on MOBIUS Executive Committee

Wendy McGrane, Library, was elected to another two-year term on the MOBIUS Executive Committee. She recently completed a two-year term as treasurer and will now serve as the representative for four year public institutions. The Executive Committee is responsible for the operational oversight of MOBIUS, a consortium of academic libraries with over sixty member colleges and universities in the state of Missouri.

The largest single project for which MOBIUS is responsible is the Common Library Platform(CLP). The CLP creates a virtual collection of the more than 18 million items contained in the libraries of MOBIUS member institutions and creates a single user interface that allows patrons to request library materials using any personal computer in any location with access to the Internet. Requested materials are delivered within one or two days of being requested by the MOBIUS Delivery System.

Engineering Technology camp

Local students can catapult into the world of engineering this summer at a three-day Engineering Technology Camp at Missouri Southern State University.
 
Missouri Southern and Franklin Technology Center will sponsor the three-day camp for 7th-10th grade students (as of this fall) July 12 - 14 at MSSU.

The Engineering Technology Camp program will include tours of local industries, focus groups on the engineering process, computer aided drafting and design, tooling and manufacturing. 

Participants will use the skills they learn to develop catapult systems.  A competition to see which catapult is most effective will take place from 10 a.m. - 12 noon on Saturday, July 14 near the Ummel Technology Building at MSSU.

Those taking part will receive free room and board and materials.  An application fee of $100 (refundable to students not accepted for the camp) will be charged.  Applications are due by July 9.

Those wanting information and/or an application should call Don Schultz, CAMT, at (417) 623-1098 or Deanna Anderson at (417) 623-8079

Interested parties may e-mail schultz-d@mssu.edu or danderson@joplin.k12.mo.us to obtain more information.

Spanish Language Village July 15-20

Villa Española, a Spanish Language Village, will take place July 15-20 at Missouri Southern State University.

The Village will offer a taste of Spanish-speaking cultures for 8 to13-year-olds who spend a week on the MSSU campus. Participants choose from residential or day camp.

Villa Española is a unique immersion program, which is now in its twelfth year. Its mission is to develop young people's Spanish language skills, to encourage their understanding of other cultures, and to educate responsible citizens with a global perspective. No prior foreign language experience is required. Advanced levels of instruction are available for those who have previous knowledge of Spanish.

Villagers will learn basic Spanish language skills, culture, geography, history, songs, dances and crafts. The faculty and staff include native speakers of Spanish, American Spanish teachers and students who have studied and lived in Spanish-speaking countries.

Campers will take part in small and large group games, computer activities and recreational events such as soccer, swimming and others. Villagers will receive a Southern "passport" and pass through immigration and exchange U.S. currency for Spanish pesetas.

For curriculum, cost and other information contact Tatiana Karmanova, International Language Resource Center, at (417) 625-3109, fax at (417) 625-9585 or e-mail karmanova-t@mssu.edu.

Session to focus on cultural change in southwest Missouri

The Ozark Regional Alliance, which seeks to provide educational opportunities to meet the challenges created by cultural change and immigration in southwest Missouri will sponsor "Coping with Cultural Changes in our Communities."

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from agencies and organizations in Jasper County. The session is slated for 3 p.m., Tuesday, July 10 at the Family Neighborhood Center at 706 Orchard Street in Carthage.

For information, contact Jinny Hopp of the University of Missouri Extension Center at (417) 358-2150 or e-mail hoppy@missouri.edu

Program to focus on Educational Talent Search

An upcoming edition of the KGCS program Newsmakers will focus on the Educational Talent Search program at MSSU. Rebecca Olivares discusses the development of the program for middle school and high school students. She shares pictures and information about the types of activities held and planned for students looking at future possibilities and higher education. Summer activities include out of town trips and plans for on-campus sessions for students.

Judy Stiles, Communication, host the program. She says it will air on the following stations:

• KGCS: Mon. July 16 & Wed. July 18 – 5:30 p.m.
• KOAM: Saturday, July 21 – 5:30 a.m.
• KOZJ: Sunday, July 22 - 12:30 p.m.
  

FACULTY/STAFF

Doug Carnahan, Dean of Students, announce that three recent MSSU graduates have been added to the Residence Life staff under the direction of Josh Doak, Director of Housing. The new Resident Directors are Danielle Dunn, McCormick Hall Resident Director, Kevin Ferdig, Blaine Hall Resident Director, and Brett Miller, East Hall Resident Director.

Suzanna Long, SOBA Marketing, participated in the FDIB Globalization Seminar in Global Supply Chain and Operations Management held at the University of Memphis on June 21-24.

Michael Garoutte, Honors/Physical Sciences, was one of four facilitators of a three-day introductory Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) workshop held June 11-13 at California State University, Northridge. Twenty-six participants from 11 US states and one foreign country (Guatemala) developed materials and implementation plans for reforming curricula at their home universities and high schools. The POGIL project is an NSF funded initiative to support faculty using the POGIL teaching method. POGIL teaches content and key process skills -- such as thinking analytically and working together as part of a collaborative team.

Michael Garoutte, Honors Program/Physical Sciences, says Seneca High School student Lacey Stansill, one of two grand prizewinners of the 2007 Missouri Southern Regional Science Fair, won a second-place award (worth $1500) in Behavioral and Social Sciences at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Albuquerque, NM on May 18. Lacey's prize winning project was titled "Quinolinic Acid Induced Neurotoxicity and the Protection of Cognitive Function in Planarian Using Taurine". Lacey also won a $500 award from the American Psychological Association.

Charles Nodler, Spiva Library, attended the Society of Southwest Archivists Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City, from May 30 - June 2, 2007.

CLASSIFIED

For Sale: Dining room set: 8 chairs, upholstered cream-colored tapestry seats, two pedestal table, two removable leaves, solid wood, excellent for formal dining room. $500, they must transport. To see pictures, e-mail huntington-c@mssu.edu.

Yard Sale: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday, June 30 at 319 E. 34th St. in Joplin.

Relief Day: Mt. Hope Church of Christ, 2830 Mt. Hope Road in Webb City, is having a public order day for Angel Food Ministries from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, June 30. Angel Food Ministries provides grocery relief by providing a quantity of both fresh and frozen food items for approximately half the retail cost. There are no income qualifications to meet. For more information contact Brian Nichols at ext. 9599.

For Sale: House for Sale, 5 minutes from MSSU. Beautiful sun room, 2 decks overlooking lots of mature trees. 2 or 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. full walkout basement, 2 car garage. $129,900 For information contact Dr. Jay Fields ext. 3015 or 782-3047.

For Sale: Black 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Sport 4x4, leather, navigation, 20" wheels, Line-X bed liner, lots of extras with only 25,000 miles. Contact Tim Wilson, at ext. 9519 or call 417-529-2506.

For Sale: Set of four 18" aluminum wheels from a 2006 Dodge Charger R/T. Contact Tim Wilson at ext 9519, or call 417-529-2506.

For Sale: Very good condition metallic blue 2000 Dodge Intrepid. It has approximately 100,000 miles, gets good gas mileage and is a great family car (huge trunk space!). $3950. Call John Knapp at (417) 437-2472.

For Sale: Mamiya/Sekor, 35mm, SLR camera, Model 1000DTL. Built in spot and averaging meter. 1:1.8 55 mm lens. Instruction manual included. In excellent condition. Also included: Lentar 1:3.5 200mm lens; Lentar 1:2.8 28mm lens; Vivitar Auto 2X Custom-Tele Converter; Kalcor Extension Tube set for macro closeups. Various filters, shutter release cable and other attachments, including camera bag and an electronic flash. Asking $100. Camera can be seen in office of Robert Clark in Webster Hall 134. Phone: 625-9791. E-mail: clark-r@mssu.edu. Office hours: Monday - Thursday 8 - 10 a.m.

For Sale: 2002 Ford Taurus 1 owner! 26 mpg on hwy. 91,500 miles. Maroon with beige interior. $5100 or best offer. Great car; must see to appreciate. Call (417) 782-9643 or (417) 540-3423.