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December Points of Pride
Excellence in our Faculty/Staff
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The Western Institute received approval for a $2.5 million grant to
construct a science and technology incubator. Dr. Chris Shove, executive
director/dean, first proposed this idea to the federal government in
July 2004, and it is built on earlier grant proposals with the City of
St. Joseph and Chamber of Commerce for $20,000 to Western in 2005 and a
$75,000 grant in June 2006 for architectural planning of the incubator.
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Dr. Chris Shove, executive director/dean of Western Institute, and
Dr. Shiva Nandan, professor of marketing, received a $10,000 grant to
plan a business incubator in
Clinton,
Mo., in collaboration with the
University of
Central
Missouri. Dr. Shove and Xiaozhong Zhang, research associate, went to
Clinton, Mo., to meet with regional officials regarding their proposed
business incubator and to begin the project.
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R.E. Moore, director of developmental mathematics, attended the fall
conference of Midwest Regional Association for Developmental Education.
He participated in discussions and presentations on computer
instructional programs, evaluation of developmental education programs,
and NADE certification. He was elected chair of the Awards Committee.
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Dr. Ken Rosenauer, department chair and professor of journalism,
attended the Fall National College Media Convention in
St. Louis.
In addition to serving on a panel discussing the value of the doctorate
for media advisors, he judged entries for the Best of Show competition
for Associated Collegiate Press, conducted on-site newspaper critiques,
and met with the planning team for the Spring National College Media
convention, for which he serves as convention publicity coordinator. He
also chaired the Hall of Fame Committee meeting and attended the
Research Committee.
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Dr. James Bargar, professor of psychology, attended the Missouri
Undergraduate Psychology Conference held at
Avila
University. He served as a moderator for an applied learning panel and
also as a judge. Four psychology students accompanied him to the
conference and three presented on applied learning panels.
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Dr. faye smith, professor of business, attended the annual
conference of the Midwest Academy of Management in
Louisville.
She was named the program chair-elect and was named the program chair
and president-elect for the 2007 conference.
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Larry Andrews, professor of criminal justice, was invited to serve
as a mediator on the Fee Dispute Resolution Committee of the Missouri
Bar. The Bar requests assistance by members of the committee who have
been professionally certified in mediation and arbitration issues.
Andrews also recently arranged for the Missouri Court of Appeals,
Western District to come to campus. This is the ninth consecutive year
that the Court has held court on campus, hearing several appeals cases
involving both criminal and civil cases. Over 500 Western students,
along with people from the community, observed the hearings. Students
participated in question-and-answer sessions with the judges at the end
of the case presentations.
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Dr. David Bennett,
assistant professor of music and president-elect of Missouri Music
Teachers Association, organized recitals, master classes and sessions
for the annual conference held at William Jewell College.
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Jeannie Harmon-Miller, associate professor of art, and six of her former
photography students now have art work displayed in the campus library.
Harmon-Miller has a large fine art quilt titled “Digital” along with a
photo collage titled “Abbey’s Journey.”
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Dr. Matrese Benkofske, assistant professor of business, had an invited
book chapter entitled Program Evaluation accepted for publication
in Heppner, P.P., Kivlighan, D.M., Jr., & Wampold, B.E. (2008).
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Dr. Chris Shove, executive director/dean of the Western Institute, and
Dr. Shiva Nandan, professor of marketing, completed the research and
presentation of Venture Capital and Brand Equity for St. Joseph and
Kansas City. This is the first official research publication of the
Western Institute.
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Teresa Harris, assistant professor of art, had three works chosen for
inclusion in the national juried 12th biennial “Oklahoma: Centerfold.”
There were 45 works by 29 national artists selected and over 500 entries
received. The exhibition will be held at the Leslie Powell Gallery in
Lawton, Okla. and the University of Arts and Sciences in Chickasha,
Okla.
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Dr. Jeanne Daffron, assistant vice president for academic and student
affairs; Dr. Jeanie Crain, special assistant to the president; Dr.
Joseph Bragin, provost and vice president for academic and student
affairs; and Ron Olinger, vice president for financial planning and
administration; attended the initial assessment meeting for the City of
St. Joseph's participation in the Governor's DREAM initiative along with
representatives of state economic development agencies, the mayor, city
council members, representatives of the St. Joseph Area Chamber of
Commerce and the business community. Western's commitment to
participation in city development efforts was stressed, and several
suggestions were made as to how the university could assist the city
with its strategic planning.
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Dr. Bob Bergland, associate professor of journalism, presented a paper,
“Finding the Next Campus-Gate: Investigative Reporting Strategies for
College Journalists,” at the National College Media Convention in St.
Louis and conducted publication critiques at the conference.
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Dr. Jason Youngkeit, assistant professor of Spanish, presented a paper
entitled "The 'Historical Novel and Malinche, insights into an
essential figure in the Conquest of Mexico," at the Tierra Tinta Annual
Conference on Latin American, Spanish and Luso-Brazilian Literatures at
the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
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Dawn Terrick, instructor of English, presented "Using the Learning
Community to Instruct and Engage Underprepared Students" at the annual
College Reading and Learning Association national conference in Austin,
Texas.
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Dr. Susie Hennessy, associate professor of French, presented "Plan
B--Sexuality and Birth Control in Zola's ‘Fécondité’” at the
Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium in Bloomington, Ind.
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Dr. Jane Frick, professor of English, gave a presentation, “On
Demand Writing,” at “Writing Programs: Past, Present, and Future,” the
20th anniversary meeting of the Colloquium on Writing
Assessment/Missouri Association of Writing Program Administrators held
at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.
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Prairie Lands’ Teacher Consultants, including Steve Frogge,
instructor of English, Charlotte Grider, instructor of English, and Dr.
Elizabeth Sawin, professor of English, read their original writings at
“When Writing Teachers Write V,” a public forum held at Western. Tom
Pankiewicz, instructor of English, hosted the annual event.
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Dr. Ann Thorne, professor of journalism,
presented two sessions at the 85th National College Media Convention.
The sessions were "Building Your Yearbook's Budget: Bids, Contracts, and
Keeping Expenses and Income Balanced," and "How to Be the Editor You
Always Wanted to Have."
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Dr. Jinwen Zhu, assistant professor of engineering technology, and Dr.
Virendra Varma, professor and chair of engineering technology,
co-authored a paper, “Charting a Pathway for Nanotechnology in
Engineering Technology Education” for the 2006 International Journal of
Modern Engineering (IJME) Conference held at The Kean University in New
Jersey. Dr. Zhu presented the paper, and the paper was published in the
conference proceedings.
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Dr. Virendra Varma, chair and professor of engineering technology,
presented a paper, “Design-Build Approach to Project Delivery: The
Checks and Balances in the Overall Construction Process,” in the
Construction Engineering Division Session of the 2006 American Society
of Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference held in Chicago. The paper is
published in the conference proceedings. Dr. Varma also co-authored and
published a paper, “Investigation of Developing and Delivering On-Line
Courses in Construction Management,” with Dr. Zhili Gao, former Western
faculty member, in the proceedings of the same conference.
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Dr. Susan Hennessy, associate professor of
French, presented "Reproducing Death in Les Rougon-Macquart" at the
Midwest Modern Language Association meeting in
Chicago.
She also iecompleted a workshop on
oral proficiency interview protocol in New York for the Defense Language
Institute and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.ie
Dr. Hennessy also coordinated the visit and lecture by Sir Eldon
Griffiths --"Which Way Europe?" at Western.
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Dr. Jane Frick, professor of English, gave a
presentation, “Retelling the Stories: Mary Alicia Owen’s Folk Tales,” at
the 2006 Missouri Folklore Association meeting at the
University
of Missouri – Columbia. She also made two invited presentations,
“Thinking Strategically About Technology in Support of Site Work,” and
“Developing In-Service Work in an Increasingly Digital Age: Questions,
Successes, and Challenges,” and one refereed presentation, “Teaching
English in a Digital World,” at the National Council of Teachers of
English meeting held in Nashville, Tenn. The presentations featured the
effective use of digital tools in teaching—developed as a part of
Prairie Lands Writing Project’s participation in a national technology
initiative. Presenting with Dr. Frick at the NCTE session, which she
chaired, were Tom Pankiewicz, instructor of English, three area high
school English teachers, and NCTE officers Mark Henderson and Michelle
Anthuis. Over 250 teachers from throughout the United States received
copies of a CD that included projects developed by Western’s pre-service
teachers and Prairie Lands Teacher Consultants.
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Tom Pankiewicz, instructor of English, and Dr.
Jane Frick, professor of English, coordinated the annual fall English
dinner for
St. Joseph administrators and language arts teachers
and Western administrators, pre-service English teachers, and English
and education faculty. Melody Smith, ’87,
St Joseph
School District superintendent, gave the keynote address.
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Dr. Steven Morris, assistant professor of
philosophy, was an invited panelist at “Forum on the Ethics of Stem Cell
Research” for the philosophy club held at Northwest Missouri State
University, and he presented a paper entitled, "The Fundamentalist
Attack on Science: A Problem That Won't Just Disappear," at the 2006
Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Vancouver,
Canada. He also participated in a panel on stem cell research with Dr.
Todd Eckdahl, chair and professor of biology, at Western.
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Dr. David Bennett, assistant professor of music,
performed “Three Novelettes” by Francis Poulenc at the Mayors
Thanksgiving Dinner.
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Carol Roever, associate professor of business and
department chair, attended the annual International Convention of the
Association for Business Communication. She presented “What Cell Phone
Communication Reveals about Turkish Culture” and co-presented “Are
Managers Accessing Online Information to Assist Them with Decisions
about Hiring, Promotion or Dismissal?” She was part of a panel
discussing “Building International Contacts for Research and Teaching:
ABC Conventions in
Asia and
Europe and a Clearing House Initiative.” As the vice president of the
midwest region, Roever attended the all-day board of directors meeting
and hosted the annual midwest region breakfast.
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Several department of business faculty gave
presentations at a recent meeting of the St. Joseph Originals, an
organization of 80+ companies owned and operated by people in
St. Joseph.
The presenters included Carol Roever, associate professor of business;
Dr. Shiva Nandan, associate professor of marketing; Dr. Jitendra Tewari,
assistant professor of marketing; Dr. Karen Lewis, assistant professor
of business; Dr. Todd Mick, associate professor of business; and Dr.
Konrad Gunderson, assistant professor of accounting. The purpose of the
presentations was to encourage mutually beneficial partnerships between
the department of business and the St Joe Originals.
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Joanne Katz, professor of legal studies,
presented a paper at the American Society of Criminology in
Los
Angeles. Her paper was entitled “Restorative Justice: Coalition
Building from a Grass Roots Perspective.”
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Joanne Katz, professor of legal studies, along
with Frederica Nix, instructor of criminal justice, took 10 students to
the 2006 Peace Colloquy in Independence, Mo. Dr. Katz also presented
“Restorative Justice for Skeptics” while at this conference.
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Dave Tushaus, department chair and associate
professor of criminal justice, presented “Election Protection through
Service Learning” at the National Society for Experiential Education’s (NSSE)
national conference.
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Dr. Cindy Heider, interim dean of professional
studies, presented a paper on “Reading Motivation: Possibilities for
Teaching and Learning” at the Missouri International Reading Association
Conference at
Lake of the
Ozarks.
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Dr. Nannette Wolford’s, professor of physical
education, PED 245 class taught badminton skills to home-schooled
children on campus. The children ranged in age from five to 15.
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Dr. Evelyn Brooks, professor of nursing; Crystal Harris, assistant
professor of nursing; Dr. Stephanie Corder, assistant professor of
nursing; Dr. Monica Nandan, associate professor of social work; and Lisa
Robbins, instructor in education; presented “Early Childhood Development
and Literacy Efforts: Assessment and Evaluation" at the American Public
Health Association 134th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Boston.
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Cpl. Robert Bidding, public safety officer; and Dave Brown,
director of the counseling center; attended a gambling training workshop
at the
University of
Missouri.
The University of Missouri Partners in Prevention Coalition hosted the
training.
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Officer Trevor Brown and Jon Kelley, director of public safety,
attended the Western Partners in Prevention breakfast meeting. Public
safety has assisted with prevention programs and getting other area law
enforcement involved with the prevention programs for the campus and
local community.
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Cpl. Robert Bidding’s was awarded a $1,800 alcohol enforcement
grant for the public safety department, the St. Joseph Police Department
and the Missouri Liquor Control Agency to address underage drinking in
the community.
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Sharon Gray, associate professor of music and director of vocal
studies, accompanied three students to the Missouri Music Teachers
Association Collegiate Honors auditions in
Liberty,
Mo.
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Dr. Tim Crowley, counselor, presented to several groups recently:
Tina-Avalon teachers attending an in-service (“How to Inspire the
Uninspired Student”), the local TOPS group (“The Power of Positive
Thinking”), Leadership St. Joseph (“Characteristics of Effective
Leaders”), and Heartland Hospital chaplains (“Guided Imagery and
Healing”).
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Dr. Vincenza Marash, diversity and women’s issues counselor, was
facilitator/moderator for the presentation “Survivor Testimony,” a panel
discussion which included select students discussing their recovery from
sexual trauma. Dr. Marash also led a discussion with an abnormal
psychology class entitled “The Beast Within: Thoughts on Therapy with
Clients Who Have Eating Disorders from a Relational Perspective.”
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Dave Brown, director of the counseling center, provided a session
on “Learning Styles” to the center for academic support tutors and led a
discussion on “Time Management” with Disability Services Coordinator
Mike Ritter's continuing education success and motivation class.
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Dr. Chris Shove, executive director/dean of the Western Institute,
presented “Venture Capital for
St. Joseph”
in a seminar with Mr. Greg Main (a venture capitalist) on Dealing with a
Venture Capitalist.”
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Rosalie Guyer, advising and A+ coordinator; George Hammer, A+
specialist; Jeff Wilson, student employment coordinator; and Dr. Judy
Grimes, dean of student services, all made presentations at various
admissions day open houses on campus. Topics included: student services,
choosing a major, and A+ programs. Dr. Grimes also provided a program on
advisement, choosing a major, and registration procedures for about 70
student athletes as part of the NCAA Champs/Life Skills program.
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Sherri Cooper, fixed asset/grant accountant, and Hawley Rumpf,
accounts payable/procurement card clerk, attended the KC Purchasing Card
Forum in
Kansas City,
Mo.
presented by UMB.
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Mark Mabe, director of Information Technology Services,
participated in the Missouri Education and Research Consortium (MERC)
Institutional Representatives meeting held in
Columbia.
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Faculty participants for Western’s Outdoor
semester community presentation were: Dr. Elizabeth Latosi-Sawin,
professor of English; Jim Grechus,
professor emeritus of
health, physical, education and recreation; Dr.
Ken Dagel, associate professor of geography;
Tom Pankiewicz, assistant professor of English; Dr. Deborah Freedman,
professor of music; and Dr. Russ Phillips, assistant professor of
clinical psychology.
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The music department sponsored the Northwest Missouri Choral
Auditions. Approximately 400 area high school students participated in
the competition which was organized by Frank Thomas, associate professor
of music, director of choral music and coordinator and artistic director
of the
St. Joseph
community chorus; Dr. David Benz, assistant professor and associate
director of choral activities; and Sharon Gray, associate professor and
director of vocal studies. Dr. Benz served as director of the Northwest
District Choir Concert.
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Admission counselors attended the 58th annual
Missouri School Counselor Association Fall Conference. Over 1,200
members attended the three-day event, in which over 80 workshops were
offered with 150 exhibitors from many universities, colleges, technical
schools and book companies.
Excellence in our Students
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Jailall Jairam, a construction engineering technology student, received a
travel grant to participate in the International Construction
Innovations Conference held in
Peoria,
Ill.
The program was sponsored by the Center for Emerging Technologies in
Infrastructure at Bradley University.
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Computer
information systems 2005 graduate Josh Quick presented a departmental
colloquium entitled “What It’s Really Like to Produce a Commercial Game
– My Experience with the Superman Team.” He was contracted by EA to
work on the recently released “Superman Returns.”
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Western’s Outdoor Semester students made a public
presentation to approximately 100 people in Kemper Recital Hall. The
students prepared exhibits, described the unique multi-disciplinary
program, read from their journals, displayed photographs and prepared a
slide show that covered their adventures extending from a four-day canoe
trip on the upper Missouri in recognition of Lewis and Clark’s Corps of
Discovery to exploring Anasazi ruins in Chaco Canyon. The students who
presented were Kaitlin Allison, Sandra Auxier, Rachel Booth, Loriann
Fish, Joshua Kalin, Darin Schildknecht, Megan Schildknecht, Dustin
Trainer, and David Wyble.
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Chemistry students Deborah Wright, Jonathan
Morrison and Joseph Noynaert; Excelsior Springs High School student Tara
Hill, and Dr. Michael Ducey, associate professor of chemistry, presented
the results of their research at the 41st annual
Midwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Quincy,
Ill. The students presented “Effect of Solvent on the Alkyl
Conformational Order in Alkyl Methylimidazolium Room Temperature Ionic
Liquids,” describing work conducted as part of the 2006 Summer Research
Institute.
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Four psychology students attended and presented
at the Missouri Undergraduate Psychology Conference held at Avila
University: Jillian Liu presented “Practicum Experience at the Buchanan
County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office,” Eva Williams presented “Practicum
Experience at the Missouri Career Center-St. Joseph” and she won the
first place Best of Panel award. Brandy Criss presented “Psychology in
Development.”
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Six students from biology and mathematics, Adam
Brown, Trevor Butner, Eric Jessen, Kelly Malloy, Marian Broderick and
Brad Ogden, and
Central
High School student Lane Heard, participated in the International
Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) Jamboree at M.I.T. iGEM is an
international initiative to expand the field of synthetic biology.
Thirty-three teams participated in the jamboree, presenting the results
of their summer 2006 projects. The team won first place for best oral
presentation. In a collaborative effort with Davidson College, the
Western team won three additional awards: second place for best poster,
second place for best cooperation and collaboration; and third place for
best conquest of adversity. Team leaders were Dr. Todd Eckdahl,
professor and department chair of biology, and Dr. Jeff Poet, assistant
professor of mathematics.
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Daniel Kirk presented a session on “Poetry and the Chopin Ballades”
at the annual conference held at
William
Jewell College. Kirk traveled with Dr. David Bennett, assistant
professor of music.
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Two students participated in the Missouri Music Teachers
Association Collegiate Honors auditions in
Liberty,
Mo. Senior voice majors Karla Buckminster and Mindy Southard competed in
the lower division. Southard was named first runner up and Buckminster
was chosen to perform in the vocal master class with adjudicator Dr.
Genara Mendez from the University of Kansas.
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Fourteen construction students from a structural steel and wood
design class in the department of engineering technology successfully
completed a 10-hour Occupational Safety and Health Training Course in
Construction Safety at the facilities of Black & Veatch, Consulting
Engineers and Planners, in
Overland
Park, Kan.
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Five students, accompanied by Ellen Jordan, instructor of
engineering technology, attended the 2006 Annual Conference of the
Society of Women Engineers in
Kansas City,
Mo.
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Eight students, accompanied by Angela Caw, instructor in
engineering technology, took a study tour of Terracon’s professional
engineering testing laboratories in
Overland
Park, Kan.
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Surveying students, accompanied by Keith Stutterheim, instructor in
engineering technology, took a study/field-trip to learn about the
professional surveying field practices. The field trip to Initial Point
of 6th Principal
Meridian near
Washington,
Kan. gave students an opportunity to view a survey marker which was set
in the mid-1800s and is still used today for all the property surveys in
Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado and South Dakota.
Excellence in our Programs
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Dr. Chris Shove, executive director/dean of the Western Institute;
Marion Agnew and Jerry Fischer participated in a quarterly review of
Correctional Center operations with the Department of Corrections
contract officer. It was noted that the Western-run diagnostic program
has the best processing time in the state, and the Western-run General
Equivalency Diploma (GED) program had the highest improvement of grade
levels than any other GED program in Missouri correctional centers.
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The Alchemist Club (Student Chapter of
the American Chemical Society) hosted a Merit Badge Workshop for 55 Boy
Scouts from the Pony Express and Heart of America Councils. The Scouts
completed their Chemistry and Energy merit badge requirements.
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The student chapter of the
Society for Technical Communication hosted a workshop for area Girl
Scouts. Seventeen girls attended the daylong workshop and earned their
Desktop Publishing badges.
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The National Writing
Project has released Prairie Lands Writing Project’s “Annual Site
Profile” figures for the year. During 2005-2006, Prairie Lands
conducted 65 programs, reaching 1,516 participants (including 1,031
teachers and pre-service teachers) and conducted the most teacher
institutes and graduate course offerings ever recorded by Northwest
Missouri’s writing project site. Since 1998-1999, the site’s total
program hours have increased 540 percent, from 3,012 to 19,285 hours.
Dr. Jane Frick, professor of English, serves as site director.
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The department of history, philosophy, & geography sponsored the 16th Annual
Missouri Western History Bowl. Eight high schools participated:
Benton,
East Buchanan, Elwood, Hickman Mills,
Savannah,
Smithville, St. Pius X, and Tarkio. Savannah won the championship,
Tarkio was the runner-up, and Smithville finished third.
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The music department hosted a total of 32 bands involving more than
3,000 people on campus for their two annual fall competitions. Thirteen
bands participated in the annual Homecoming parade and marching
competition. Bob Long, assistant professor of music, assisted by the
music faculty and students, organized the high school band portion of
the event. The Grand Champion trophy was awarded for the second year to
Belton High School, directed by Chris Sullivan. First place in each
category was Stewartsville, North Platte, Cameron and Benton High
Schools, respectively. Nineteen bands competed in the Tournament of
Champions, which is an invitational field competition, directed by
Jeffrey Hinton, assistant professor of music and director of bands.
Grand Champion was Grandview High School with Macon, North Kansas City,
Park Hill and Olathe South High Schools all placing first in their
respective divisions.
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The Golden Griffon Marching Band, directed by Jeffrey Hinton,
assistant professor of music and director of bands, performed in the
Edward Jones Dome in
St. Louis
for the Greater St. Louis Marching Festival with 14,000 people in
attendance.
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The Jazz Sextet was the featured entertainment at Gov. Matt Blunt’s
introduction of the DREAM initiative for downtown
St. Joseph.
Bob Long, assistant professor and director of jazz studies, directed.
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Thirty-two high school pianists performed in the 14th Annual
Young Artist Piano Competition for grades nine through 12 with students
from
Missouri,
Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. Winners were from St. Louis, Iowa
City, Ia.; Overland Park, Kan.; and Des Moines, Iowa. Jerry Anderson,
director of keyboard studies, was coordinator of the competition.
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The 2006 alumni phonathon concluded on Nov. 12.
Student callers raised about $25,000 and reactivated over 250 lapsed
donors. The phonathon is primarily a new donor acquisition program.
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The Non-Traditional Student Association (NTSA)
raised over $1,600 in their fall fundraisers (Chiefs raffle, Spaghetti
Supper, Silent Auction). They adopted 20 families for Thanksgiving food
baskets, donated to
United Way,
and gave Christmas gifts to more than 10 families.
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The Center for Community Arts enrollments for Fall 2006 totaled 402
students.
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The Center for Community Arts Symphonic Youth Orchestra performed
their fall concert in the
Fulkerson
Center. There were approximately 100 people attending the concert, which
was conducted by Terry Brock, instructor of music.
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The Center for Community Arts Griffon Jr. Singers Prelude Choir
performed as part of the program of the American Guild of Organists. The
members of this children’s choir, grades three-six, are selected by
audition and recommendation of their music teachers. The choir is
directed by Karen Jensen.
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The Foundation received a $65,000 grant that will assist students
who intend to pursue an advanced degree in business, accounting,
economics or law. In addition to providing scholarship funds, the grant
will support faculty research, which is a part of Western’s pursuit of
accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business International (AACSB).
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