Personnel

Dr. Chad D. Stebbins became director of the Institute of International Studies on July 1, 1999, after spending 16 months as assistant director. Dr. Stebbins is also a professor of journalism and advised Missouri Southern's weekly student newspaper, The Chart, for 15 years. He is a 1982 graduate of Missouri Southern, having received a bachelor's degree in business administration. He has a master's degree in mass communication from the University of Central Missouri and a Ph.D. in mass communication from Bowling Green State University. A scholar in community journalism, Dr. Stebbins is the author of All the News Is Fit to Print: Profile of a Country Editor, published by the University of Missouri Press in 1998. He is also the executive director of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, which is headquartered at Missouri Southern. Stebbins has traveled to France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, England, Croatia, Russia, China, Taiwan, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and the British Virgin Islands speaking at international conferences and negotiating agreements and partnerships for Missouri Southern. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Paris-based Center for the Study of International Communications and has helped develop the International Media Seminar in conjunction with the Center and the American University of Paris. Send e-mail.

William (Bill) Trudeau is director of the International English Program. He worked for 10 years as Assistant Campus Director and Director of Student Services at a rural campus of the University of Alaska Southeast, where he was responsible for international student admissions and the second language English program. After a six-month sabbatical teaching western philosophy in Russia’s Far East, he began focusing on language acquisition and returned to school at Northern Arizona University to earn his MA-TESL degree. At NAU, he taught freshman composition and in the Intensive English Program, inaugurating in both a web-based instructional component. He comes to MSSU from three years teaching in the English Language Center at Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. Academically, he is interested in the role of reading in non-native language development and the use of technology for language teaching. Send e-mail.

Stephanie Davis Goad became the International Student Advisor and Exchange Program Coordinator on January 1, 2003. She has also been the Web editor for the Missouri Multicultural Network since September 27, 2000. She built a Web site for the Missouri Multicultural Network, an information resource for Missouri immigrants. She graduated from Missouri Southern in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications with an emphasis in print journalism and completed 13 hours of Spanish. Upon graduation, she secured a position with The Joplin Globe, where she worked for three years as a reporter of news, features, food and business stories, and coordinated the newspaper's annual recipe contest. In December 1999, Stephanie started working as a content editor for Hookup.com, the Internet division of 28-year-old Hook Up, Inc. in Joplin. In February 2000, she was promoted to managing editor of Hook Up's two Web sites, became the company's director of public relations and gained experience in advertising and marketing. Send e-mail.

Leslie Parker became the director of the International Language Resource Center in January 2008. Previously, Ms. Parker was a Spanish faculty member in the Department of Foreign Languages since 2003. She continues to teach Spanish and chairs the Modern Foreign Language Field Day for area high schools. She also directs La Villa Española, a Spanish immersion summer camp for children ages 8 through 13. In addition, Ms. Parker organizes professional development workshops for area teachers, supervises foreign language outreach classes for area school children, oversees foreign language tutoring and the Language Lab. She obtained a Master's degree in Spanish from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish and Psychology from MSSU. Ms. Parker is also the Study Abroad Coordinator for Spanish and the Spanish Club Advisor. Send e-mail.

Sheira A. Whetstone is the secretary to the Institute of International Studies. She came to MSSU on Jan. 2, 2007. Sheira recently had the opportunity to travel abroad on a mission trip to Kharkiv, Ukraine, to work with children and hopes to have many more opportunities for international travel in the future. Her hobbies include redecorating her home, sewing, reading, loving on their four dogs, and spending time with her husband and daughter. Send e-mail.

Sharen M. Brown is a part-time secretary to the Institute of International Studies. She spent more than nine years as the secretary to the Department of Communications, moving to the Institute on Jan. 3, 2000. On Jan. 1, 2007, Sharen retired after 20 years of service, and now works one afternoon a week for the Institute. She has designed nearly all of the web pages for the Institute and has streamlined the record-keeping process. In 2000, Sharen traveled with the Intercultural Assimilation Spanish Class to Xalapa, Mexico. She has completed 13 hours of Spanish at MSSU. Send e-mail.

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