Current Issue: Volume 26 - Number 1 - January 11, 2008
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Finalists named for MSSU Presidential position
The list of applicants for President at Missouri Southern State University has narrowed to two.
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Mr. Dwight Douglas, chair of the Board of Governors at MSSU, announced in a news conference today that Dr. Bruce W. Speck, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., and Dr. Joe A. Wiley, President of Rogers State University in Claremore, Okla., are the finalists for the position.
A Search Committee headed by Mr. Douglas has been working since last August to fill the post of President after Dr. Julio S. León announced his retirement. Dr. Terri Agee, formerly Vice President for Business Affairs, has been serving as Acting President since Dr. León’s announcement.
Douglas thanked the members of the Search Committee and members of the Board of Governors who had reviewed a total of 41 applications submitted. He said public visits to Missouri Southern are scheduled for next week.
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"We could not be in a better situation to have two highly qualified candidates from which to choose," Douglas stated. "We spent hours with each of them and they both provided outstanding interviews."
Speck received a B.A. in English from the University of Northern Colorado, an M.A.E. from Wayne State College and a Ph.D. in English with emphasis in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Wiley received a B.S. in Mathematics from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, an M.S. from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.
Biographical information on both finalists is available at http://www.mssu.edu/news/2008/finalists08.html.
A videotape of the announcement of the finalists will air at 6:30 p.m. this Sunday, Jan. 13 on KGCS-TV. The program will air on UHF channel 57, Cable One channel 7 and MediaCom Channel 77. It will also air on local cable networks served by Southern Instructional Television (SITV).
Public forums for candidates
Dr. Bruce Speck will visit our campus on Wednesday, Jan. 16 for an 11 a.m. public forum in the Billingsly Student Center 2nd floor lounge followed by a noon reception open to the campus community and the general community at the same location.
Dr. Joe Wiley will take part in a noon reception open to the campus community and the general community in the Billingsly Student Center 2nd floor lounge on Thursday, Jan. 17 followed by a 1 p.m. public forum at the same location.
Anyone wanting to submit questions for the public forum may do so by e-mailing them to mssupres@mssu.edu.
If a question is candidate specific, please indicate which candidate in the e-mail. Questions should be broad in nature and focus on important issues at Missouri Southern. As time permits, submitted questions will be asked to the candidate by Mr. Dwight Douglas, Chair of the Search Committee.
Your interest is appreciated.
Longtime faculty member Art Saltzman dies
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Missouri Southern professor of English Arthur "Art" Saltzman died suddenly at his home earlier this week of an aneurysm. He was 54.
Art joined the Missouri Southern faculty in 1981. He received his A.B., A.M. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign).
In 2003 he received Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was popular among students and faculty and was known for his wit and wisdom both in and out of the classroom.
Saltzman was selected as the winner of the 2003 Victor J. Emmett, Jr., Memorial Prize for his article, “On Not Being Nice: Sentimentality and the Creative Writing Class.” The Emmett Prize is awarded to the author of the best article on a literary topic to appear each year in The Midwest Quarterly.
Saltzman began writing at an early age and his articles, essays and creative works were widely published.
Dale Simpson, English-Philosophy Department head, remembers a young Art Saltzman typing his first book on an electric typewriter amid the noise of daily business in the English department outer office. Simpson also says Art had left manuscripts for at least two so-far unpublished books in his office.
A native of Chicago, Saltzman came to Missouri Southern after graduating from the University of Illinois in 1979. His books including: Nearer; This Mad Instead; The Novel in The Balance; Objects and Empathy; The Fiction of William Gass: The Consolation of Language; Understanding Raymond Carver; and Designs of Darkness in Contemporary American Fiction. A signing was for his most recent book, Solve for X, was held on Dec. 3 at Hastings in Joplin.
His creative writing has appeared a wide variety of journals including Gettysburg Review, Iowa Review, Black Warrior Review, Ohio Review, River City, Fiction International, Gulf Coast and Mid-American Review.
Awards for his writing include the First Series Creative Nonfiction Award (Mid-List Press, 2001), Nebraska Review Creative Nonfiction Award, Roy Ames Memorial Essay Award (Literal Latte), Columbia Nonfiction Award, Victor J. Emmett Memorial Essay Award and six Pushcart Prize nominations.
Art is survived by his daughter Elizabeth; his mother Marion; his brother Jeff, his three nephews; his companion Joy and her son, Jeremy; and his ex-wife, Marla. Funeral services take place today (Friday) in Arlington Heights, Ill. A memorial service is planned early February at Spiva Art Gallery at MSSU.
Higher Learning Commission seeks public comments
MSSU will have a comprehensive evaluation visit March 31-April 2, 2008, by a team representing The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Missouri Southern has been accredited by the Commission since 1949, when it was Joplin Junior College. Its accreditation is at the bachelor’s degree level and includes selected master’s degrees and an international site.
The Higher Learning Commission is one of six accrediting agencies in the United States that provide institutional accreditation on a regional basis. Institutional accreditation evaluates an entire institution and accredits it as a whole. Other agencies provide accreditation for specific programs. Accreditation is voluntary. The Commission accredits approximately 1100 institutions of higher education in a nineteen-state region. The Commission is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
For the past two and half years, Missouri Southern State University has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the Commission's requirements and criteria for accreditation and aspiration goals for the first year of college. The evaluation team will visit the institution to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate.
The team will recommend to the Commission a continuing status for the university; following a review process, the Commission itself will take the final action.
The public is invited to submit comments regarding the university to:
Public Comment on Missouri Southern State University
The Higher Learning Commission
30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400
Chicago, IL 60602
Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. Written, signed comments must be received by Feb. 28. The Commission cannot guarantee that comments received after the due date will be considered. Comments should include the name, address, and telephone number of the person providing the comments. Comments will not be treated as confidential.
Note: Individuals with a specific dispute or grievance with an institution should request the separate Policy on Complaints document from the Commission office. The Higher Learning Commission cannot settle disputes between institutions and individuals. Complaints will not be considered third-party comment.
Go green for Legacy Day
Legacies of alumni will receive the opportunity to explore what Missouri Southern is all about at this year’s annual Legacy Day.
A legacy is a child lucky enough to have one or more relatives that graduated or attended MSSU. On Saturday, Feb. 9, these legacies will have the opportunity to show their green colors while having fun with Missouri Southern’s fellow lions.
Registration will begin at 2:30 p.m., and an assortment of interactive classes will follow at 3 p.m. The classes will be taught by MSSU Teacher Education majors in the Taylor Education Building. The classes will allow each legacy to bring home a little piece of MSSU. Activities wrap up at 5 p.m.
Legacies are invited to help cheer on the Lions at the double-header basketball game against the Fort Hays State tigers. The women will tip off at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please contact Elisa Bryant, Alumni Association, at (417) 625-9355.
VoteSmart bus to visit MSSU next week
The Project Vote Smart rubber has hit the road! After 16 years of work by 6,000 volunteers, at the cost of twelve million dollars, the Voter’s Self-Defense System is finally complete, and ready to be presented to American voters from across the nation.
Project Vote Smart has acquired a 45- foot bus to tour the nation to teach voters how to defend themselves against the rhetoric and misinformation that come out of political campaigns
The bus includes a theater and a film which explains the project with a demonstration on how to accurately use the Project’s website. Computer terminals in the bus allow individuals the opportunity to research politicians and topics of their choice.
* The Project Vote Smart bus will visit Missouri Southern State University in Joplin from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 17. The bus will be located in the main parking lot next to Newman Road.
Project Vote Smart is a national library on information on 40,000 candidates for public office at all levels of government. Coverage includes basic categories: biographical background, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and performance evaluations made by over 100 special interest groups.
Other stops in the Show-Me State includes a Jan. 12 visit to the Jefferson City Jefferson City Community Center and a Jan. 16 stop at Washington University in St. Louis. The bus will travel to western states, ending in California in time for the “Super Tuesday” primary in February.
The project does not lobby, support or oppose any candidate and does not accept financial support from any organization that does. It is primarily supported by its 45,000 members and receives additional funding from the Ford, Hatton Summers and Revson Foundations.
For more information, visit the Project Vote Smart web site at www.votesmart.org or call 1-888-VOTE-SMART.
Firearms Safety class scheduled
Missouri Southern State University's Law Enforcement Academy has scheduled a firearms safety training course to satisfy the training requirement for the Concealed Carry statute in Missouri.
The basic eight-hour Concealed Carry class will begin at 8 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 19 in Room 125 of the Mills Anderson Criminal Justice Center at MSSU.
All of those attempting to qualify for the Concealed Carry permit must complete the class.
The class has been approved for Barton, Jasper, Lawrence, McDonald and Newton County residents. Participants will receive training in the areas of legal requirements of use of force, care and cleaning of firearms, handgun safety, and legal aspects of firearms.
The Missouri Southern State University Law Enforcement Academy will utilize the state-of-the-art live firing range and two state-of-the-art computerized electronic firing ranges. The course includes live fire and simulated fire exercises. Participants must pass a live fire qualification exercise.
For more information or details on registering for the course, visit the Missouri Southern news release site at http://www.mssu.edu/news/2008/firearmssafety_jan08.html.
America One Network to show Emerald Diamond
The America One Network will air the documentary The Emerald Diamond (2006) several times in January and February, according to Judy Stiles, General Manager of KGCS-TV.
The Emerald Diamond is a documentary about the underdog Irish National Baseball Team - a ragtag group of dreamers who taught themselves how to play baseball simply so they could represent their country as the first baseball team in Ireland.
The film's budget of $70,000 was financed on credit cards by first-time film maker John Fitzgerald. The film debuted to a sold out crowd in New York on Feb. 25, 2006 and has been seen in over 20 theaters across the country since then. It has been featured by The New York Times, New York Post, FoxNews, USA Today, Chicago Tribune and National Public Radio.
The program will air on UHF 57, Cable One channel 7 and Mediacom channel 77. Broadcasts will take place at: 10 a.m., Jan. 17; 10 p.m., Feb. 14; and 1 a.m., Feb. 17.
For more information, visit: http://www.irishbaseballmovie.com.
KGCS-TV to air program on ice storm cleanup
The KGCS-TV program Newsmakers will air a program on the cleanup following last month's ice storm. Newsmakers host, Judy Stiles, will talk to Keith Stammer, Joplin Emergency Management Coordinator.
This program will focus on the emergency response to the storm that hit the Joplin area. Keith Stammer will discuss the scope of damaged trees and power loss. He will describe how emergency operations were implemented to deal with the situation. Stammer also will review the current phase of clean-up of the storm debris.
The program will air at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 21 and Wednesday, Jan. 23. It will be shown on KOAM-TV at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26 and again on KOZJ Public TV at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27.
Nanette Philibert, Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration, recently earned certification as a Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR).
Art Saltzman, English, has had an essay accepted by Ninth Letter. "Squaring the Circle" will appear in the Spring 2008 issue.
Maryann Weber, French, received special recognition from the editor of The Modern Language Journal for her contributions over the past 11 years. Maryann has maintained a regular column entitled "In Other Professional Journals" that chronicles literature on language acquisition. The column is now part of the journal's Web site and remains an important research source.
For Sale: Students are selling MSSU sweat pants to help raise funds for a trip to Brazil and Argentina. Pants are $16 and the profit will go to the students for the trip. Contact Becky Gallemore at (417) 659-5425 or Taylor Hall 229B.
Feel Like Traveling? A May 19-28 trip is planned for Brazil and Argentina and bookings are taking place. A second trip will leave forEgypt on July 2. For details and pricing on either trip, please email/call Becky Gallemore at gallemore-r@mssu.edu or call (417) 659-5425.
Don't Forget: KGCS-TV covering Southern basketball games and replaying the games Sunday nights at 7 p.m. Tune in to UHF channel 7, CableOne channel 57 or MediaCom channel 77.
