Current Issue: Volume 26 - Number 13 - April 11, 2008
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Faculty and Staff retirement reception
The Board of Governors and the Administration are inviting the campus community to attend a Faculty and Staff Retirement Reception from 2-4 p.m., Wednesday, April 30 in the Billingsly Student Center's 2nd floor lounge.
A total of 14 faculty and staff members who have or will be retiring from Aug. 1, 2007 through Aug. 1, 2008 will be recognized during the reception. Light refreshments will be provided and a ceremony will take place at 3 p.m.
Those being honored for their many years of dedicated service to the University are: Neal Blades, Marketing (21 years); David Comstock, Telecommunications (6 years); Robert L. Clark, Communication, (24 years); Jay E. Fields, Theatre (21 years); Ron Foster, Office Services (27 years); Dallas Fortner, Department of Public Safety (20 years); Betsy Q. Griffin, Academic Affairs (30 years) ; Nick Kyle, Art (11 years); John Lewis, Management (8 years); Carolyn Meyer, Business Office (10 years); Gwen Murdock, Psychology (23 years) ; Don Schultz, Computer Assisted Manufacturing Technology (17 years); Janice Stebbins, Physical Plant (28 years); and Steve Taylor, Athletics (32 years).
The retiring employees have devoted a total of 278 years to the university.
Nichols receives Governor's award
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Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt presented awards to nominees for the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education's "Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching " honor this week in Jefferson City.
The winner of the award from Missouri Southern was Brian Nichols, assistant professor of Business in the Robert W. Plaster School of Business Administration. Brian began working at MSSU in 2000.
He received his B.S.B.A. from Missouri Southern and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He continues doctoral studies at the University of Arkansas. In 1993, he was named Missouri Southern's Outstanding Graduate, Outstanding Honors Graduate and Outstanding Graduate in Economics and Finance.
He designed the MSSU Edward Jones Investment Center, completed in 2006. He developed the Portfolio Management class, in which students manage the $300,000 Youngman Portfolio, provided by a grant from the Missouri Southern Foundation. He is faculty advisor to the Finance/investments Club, a member of the Faculty Senate, a member of the Honors Convocation committee and a member of the Library committee. He received the Missouri Southern "Outstanding Teacher" Award in 2007.
Brian, a Joplin native, resides in the city. He and his wife Shelly have two childred, Zachary, 9, and Lauren, 2.
Today's Brown Bag
Don't miss today's Brown Bag Lunch for faculty and staff.
Danny Overdeer, Teacher Education, will speak on "Science Education in Japan."
The Brown Bag will be held from 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. in the Keystone Room on the 3rd floor of the BSC. Lunch is provided courtesy of Academic Affairs and Sodexho.
MSSU marks 39th year of children’s theatre
with James and the Giant Peach
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Missouri Southern will mark its 39th year of children’s theatre with the production of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach. Directed by Pam Claussen, the work was adapted for the stage by David Wood.
The play will be presented at 2:30 p.m., April 19 - 20 at Taylor Performing Arts Center at Missouri Southern State University.
Over almost four decades, over 100,000 children have enjoyed the productions, both on weekends and during the week in schools in the Four-State area.
"Many of the original members of the Show-Me-Celebration Company have mentioned to me over the years they are so proud of the work they did. It is not uncommon for a university student to brag about seeing productions here as a child," said Director Pam Claussen.
In the play, orphan James is sent to live with his aunts after his parents are killed in an accident involving a rhino, but the aunt treats him horribly. One day, an old man gives him a bag containing the strongest magic in the world. When he accidentally spills it near an old peach tree, the most marvelous things happen, and James’ adventures begin.
Admission is $1 for adults and $0.50 for children 12 and under. (Sorry, no free passes are accepted for Children's Theatre shows.) Tickets may be reserved between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday at (417) 625-3190.
Accommodations for disabilities should be made at least 72 hours prior to the production. For theatre production information or requests for accommodations related to a disability, call Terri Spencer, Theater, at (417) 625-9393.
Southern Jazz Orchestra to perform April 17
The Missouri Southern Jazz Orchestra (SJO) invites the campus and community to attend its Spring Showcase concert at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 17, in Webster Hall Auditorium on the MSSU campus.
Joining the SJO on this concert will be its very special guests, drummer Greg Gaston and the MSSU Student Jazz Combo. Greg will join forces with the combo in performances of two of his original compositions, “Swing Set” and “December.”
He will then join the SJO in performances of Pat Williams’ arrangement of the Cole Porter classic “In the Still of the Night” and Miles Davis’ “Milestones.” The band will also showcase a number of student musicians including Luke Ochsenbein, guitar, Kyle Babbitt, tenor sax, Tom Smith, trumpet, Paul Whetstone, trombone and Levi Randolph, alto sax.
The orchestra is under the direction of Jeff Macomber, Music. The MSSU Student Jazz Combo is under the direction of Phillip C. Wise, Music. This concert is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jeff at ext. 9635 or e-mail macomber-j@mssu.edu.
Those wanting details on the Southern Jazz Orchestra may visit the SJO online at:
www.mssu.edu/music/newjazzorchestra.html.
Guest artists to lecture
The Missouri Southern International Piano Competition presents two guest lecturers who will speak and perform for area schools and college students. The lecturers appear in conjunction with the 2008 piano competition.
On Thursday and Friday, April 24-25, Justin Kolb will present school programs exploring Why Music Students Excel and Can I Really Make it on Stage? On Saturday, April 26, Barry Snyder will speak to students planning a career in music. His lecture is titled, What it Takes to be a Modern Musician.
Justin Kolb is a pianist/recording artist who has appeared in many well-known venues such as Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. In the September 2007 cover story of Clavier magazine Kolb was featured in another facet of his career: his role as an advocate for arts in education. Kolb explains to students the role music plays in their education and in their potential careers.
On Thursday morning, he will address Seneca students exploring Why Music Students Excel. At 12:30 p.m. he will appear on stage in Taylor Performing Arts Center at MSSU to address Theater and Music Department students. At that time, in a “how-to” and “hands-on” workshop, he will discuss Can I Really Make it on Stage? After the workshop, Kolb will be available for questions and consultation.
At 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Friday, he will present two elementary/secondary school programs in Webster Hall .
Barry Snyder is the winner of three major prizes at the 1966 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He has since gone on to international acclaim as a concert pianist and teacher in venues that span the globe. He has recorded nearly 40 CDs and collaborated with many well-known artists in chamber music groups over his four-decade career. Snyder's program is directed toward students and others wishing to pursue a career in music. He will appear in Webster Hall at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 26.
Lectures are free of charge and open to the public. For further information contact the MSIPC office (417) 625-9755, msipc@mssu.edu, or visit the website www.mssu.edu/msipc.
12th MSIPC slated for April 21-26
The 12th Missouri Southern International Piano Competition will be held April 21-26. All competition rounds and lectures are free of charge and open to the public. For the Opening Recital and Gala Concert, April 21 and April 26, tickets are $15. Students and seniors 60+ may obtain a free pass to attend these concerts.
MSIPC is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation funded by contributions from businesses, foundations, and individuals.
Department gets new moniker
The Public Information office is now the office of University Relations and Marketing.
Rod Surber, Director, says the scope of responsibilities of the department have changed dramatically since it was first organized four decades ago. He says this has been especially true with the advent of computer, web and graphic art technology in the last 20 years.
"We are now a full-service public relations agency, providing a wide range of public information and marketing services," Rod states. "Those include marketing, advertising, publicity, press relations, public affairs, Web management, Alumni relations support, Foundation relations support, constituent relations, issues management and special event and programs planning and management."
The name changed was approved by the administration earlier this week.
Tree Fund developed to replace trees, create arboretum
The Physical Plant, the Foundation, the Alumni Association, and the Sustainability Committee have recommended that Missouri Southern hire a landscape architect/artist to develop a master landscape plan for the campus. The master plan's objectives will include making use of the 240 native tree species in Missouri, improving the aesthetic appearance of the campus and creating an arboretum.
John Knapp, Geophysics, and a member of the Sustainability Committee, says the MSSU Foundation has set up a Tree Fund to receive all-size donations to help replace trees destroyed by an ice storm several weeks ago
Donations can be pooled within a department first and then be sent as a large donation in the name of the department. Individual contributions are also encouraged. After about 30 days of fund raising, employees will be informed how the effort is progressing and far how many trees will be replaced in the near future.
"Suggestions have been made to the archictect to develop a showcase and learning center of Missouri fauna," John says. He adds that suggestions have also been made to develop international-based gardens and groves of trees that represent countries celebrated during the International Semesters.
He says it is anticipated that the master plan will be developed within the next few months and trees will begin to be replaced as quickly as possible. However, the master plan will serve as a guide to campus landscaping for several decades.
Employees or groups of employees can send donations to the Missouri Southern Foundation. Remember to write the words "tree fund" on checks.
MSSU Social Science Department partner in $1 million grant
The Social Science Department at MSSU and the Southwest Center for Educational Excellence will participate with the primary recipient, the Carl Junction School District, in receiving a $1 million Teaching American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant is for the project, What is an American?: Teaching American History through Biography.
Additional project partners include SuccessLink, The Joplin Globe, and a rich mix of humanities including National Archives and Records Administration (Central Plains Region), Missouri State Historical Society, the Missouri Historical Society, the Powers Museum, George Washington Carver National Monument and Jefferson Expansion National Monument.
What is an American is a three-year program to improve the teaching of history in local schools. MSSU history professors will provide history content seminars for teachers, which will be followed by faculty-led field trips to historic sites including Colonial Williamsburg, historic Missouri sites, and a Civil Rights tour of the south.
Benefits to Missouri Southern include thousands of dollars for library resources, classroom technology, and guest speakers. More importantly, the project strengthens the bonds between Southern, local schools, and other educational and humanities institutions. MSSU has taken part in five Teaching American History grants.
Jeans Lecture in History April 24
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The fourteenth annual Jeans Lecture in History will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 24 in Webster Hall Auditorium.
The speaker will be T. H. Breen, William Smith Mason Professor of American History at Northwestern University. Breen's address is titled “It Rained Dead Cats and Dogs the Day the Revolution Began: Political Ideology and Popular Mobilization on the Eve of American Independence”
Breen received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1968. He is interested in the history of political thought, material culture, and cultural anthropology. A Guggenheim fellow, he has held appointments at the Institute for Advanced Study and the National Humanities Center as well as the Pitt Professorship of American History and Institutions at Cambridge University and the Harmsworth Professorship at Oxford University.
His publications include five monographs, among them Tobacco Culture: the Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution (recipient of the T. Saloutos Prize) and Imagining the Past: East Hampton Histories (winner of the Historical Preservation Book Prize), as well as portions of the highly successful undergraduate text, America: Past and Present. Breen has most recently published Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence, with Oxford University Press, and won the Colonial War Society Prize for the best book in 2004 on the American Revolution.
The Jeans Lecture in History is named in honor of Dr. Virgil and Virginia Jeans, longtime residents of Joplin. They were lifelong learners and placed high value on education. At their deaths, contributions in their memory were made to the Missouri Southern Foundation, and it is that support that funds the lecture series. Funding is also provided by the Social Science Department.
Contemporary Foreign Film Series
The fifth feature film for the Contemporary Foreign Film Series' spring 2008 season will be shown at 7 p.m. tonight, Friday, April 11 in Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall.
This film will be shown as part of a Missouri Southern continuing education class. The cost of the class is $10 per person per semester and those interested may register before the film Friday evening. Subsequent films will be shown this semester on April 25, and May 9.
Tonight's feature is
12:08 East of Bucharest (Romania, 2007; 89 minutes).
This film, which has been called a “deadpan masterpiece” and “pitch-perfect satire,” is one of the latest new wave of Romanian socio-political comedies. It centers on what happens when a TV talk-show host invites two acquaintances, one a retiree who sometimes poses as Santa Claus, the other a hard-drinking teacher, to reminisce about their roles, as they remember them, in the revolution that ousted the dictator Ceausescu.
Business contest results revealed
The 30th Annual MSSU High School Business Contest brought over 700 students from 28 schools to campus on April 2. Nineteen students were awarded scholarships to attend the Robert W. Plaster School of Business. Kickapoo, Purdy, and Jasper High Schools won sweepstakes awards in their respective divisions.
Dean's Performance Awards went to Kickapoo, Mountain Grove, and Northeast Vernon County. The School of Business thanks all those who contributed their time and talent to make this event a success. For more information and individual results, visit: http://www.mssu.edu/business/business_contest.html.
Lifetime Sports Academy
Applications are being accepted for the Children's Lifetime Sports Academy sponsored annually by the Missouri Southern department of Kinesiology. The dates of the academy this summer are June 9 -12 from 12:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. 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, and rhythms.
Children and grandchildren of MSSU faculty and staff receive a $10 discount. A fee of $60 per child will cover the four days of instruction, use of facilities and equipment, and a t-shirt.
Photos of previous academies, as well as registration forms and additional information, can be viewed on our website at www.mssu.edu/kin/sportsacademy.htm.
All children who attended the academy last summer should be getting a flyer in the mail soon. If you would like me to send you a flyer through campus mail, please hit reply or call Patsy Lipira, Kinesiology, at 625-9573.
Debate Team competes at Washburn University
The Missouri Southern Speech and Debate squad competed in championships held April 4-7 at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan. A total of 30 participants took part from 20 colleges and universities.
At the tournament, Kyle Buzzard, freshman undeclared major from, Lamar, qualified for elimination rounds where he was defeated in the partial semi-final novice bracket. Buzzard was also the top speaker in the novice division.
Dylan Slagel, senior political science major from Aurora, finished 7th. Whitney Hart, junior political science major from Lamar, finished 6th. Valerie Melton, sophomore communication major from Mt. Vernon, finished 13th.
“The superb individual performances allowed MSSU to garner the 2nd place team sweepstakes trophy at the tournament,” says Kelly B. Larson, Debate.
The MSSU forensics squad is now off until the National Forensics Association (NFA) Championships slated for Tennessee State University during the third week of April.
Suzuki students to play
The Suzuki Violin Academy will host a Play-In concert at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, at Webster Auditorium on MSSU campus. Area violin students are cordially invited to join Suzuki Violin Academy students in the performance. The concert is open to public and admission is free.
For Play-In repertoire and further information, contact Kexi Liu, Suzuki Violin Academy Director, at (417) 625-9681, or e-mail him at liu-k@mssu.edu.
National Library Week National Library Week will be observed April 13-19 with the theme, "Join the circle of knowledge at your library." Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of National Library Week, first sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate. National Library Workers Day National Library Workers Day, celebrated the Tuesday of National Library Week (April 15), is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. Show your support and go to www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwdstarsform.html to nominate your favorite Spiva library employees! |
COMMIT AN ACT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT! The Energy Problem: |
Color Guard Auditions
Color Guard Auditions for the 2008 Lion Pride Marching Band are coming.
The auditions will be held on Wednesday April 16, 2008 in Phinney Hall (Music Building 222) from 4 - 6 p.m.
Equipment will be provided.
For more information call Rusty Raymond, Music, at 625-9634.
FACULTY/STAFF
Joaquin Rodriguez Suro, Foreign Languages, was head translator for the 2007 Spanish version of Blunt Facts, Congressman Roy Blunt´s yearly report to constituents regarding his voting record and other congressional activities.
Tim Wilson, Criminal Justice, attended the 2008 International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association Police Trainers' Conference near Chicago, Il. The conference was attended by over 800 police officers and trainers from the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia and the United Kingdom. Tim competed in the ILEETA Cup Shooting competition and placed third overall, the ILEETA Driving Skills competition and placed third overall and also competed in the ILEETA Iron Cop competition and finished fourth overall.
Eleven business students and their advisor are representing MSSU at Delta Epsilon Chi's International Career Development Conference in Atlanta, Ga., April 12-16. Delta Epsilon Chi is a student organization with emphasis in Marketing, Management, and Entrepreneurship. MSSU's chapter is currently the largest chapter in Missouri with over 60 members. Students will be competing in team events, such as Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Business Ethics, and Business Law as well as the individual events. Advisor, Scott Cragin, Marketing/Management, has been nominated for Missouri DEX Advisor of the Year Award. For information, e-mail deltaepsilonchi@mssu.edu or contact Scott Cragin at cragin-s@mssu.edu or call (417) 625-9609 for more information.
CLASSIFIED
For Sale: 2004 commercial Snapper rider mower, zero turn, 48 in. deck, 19 H. Kawasaki motor, approx. 460 hours. $3600. call ext. 9558 or 620-249-1984.
For Sale: Year old English Bulldog, female, brindle color. She is fixed and very lovable. She is good with children and other dogs. Please call Misti Knisley at (417) 621-5212 or e-mail knisley-m@mssu.edu.
Wanted: Lake front property or house/trailer on lake front property. Table Rock Lake. Prefer he Shell Knob to Eagle Rock area. Any style house or a "fixer-upper" would be fine. Please call (417) 540-3423 or e-mail Becky Gallemore at gallemore-r@mssu.edu.
Sixth Annual Freeman Excellence in Nursing Gala tickets on Sale! The more tickets that are sold, the more money that will be donated to the Nursing department. $22 for students. Preferred seating for $45, General Admission, $30. The event will begin at 6 p.m., April 17, at John Q. Hammons Center in Joplin. Social hour with a cash bar plus dinner will be followed by keynote speaker, LeAnn Thieman, author of Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul- Second Dose. The Awards Ceremony caps the evening. To buy tickets, call Melissa at 625-9322.
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For Sale: 2008 Chrysler 300T; loaded, 7500 miles. Gold with beige interior. Must see to appreciate! $19,900.. Long distance cyclist has realized her bike will not fit in the trunk! Call Becky Gallemore at 659-5425 or cell at 540-3423.
