Week of  March 3-9, 2008

Welcome to the Tower Topics E-newsletter for faculty, staff and students at Western. 

Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64507, 816-271- 4200

Click any link for these stories:

Board of Governors Reviews Building Plans

Western Room Rates Remain Steady

Western Hosts Women's Summit

February 2008 Points of Pride

Tower Sports

News Briefs

Calendar

Ads

Archives

The deadline for all entries is 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, for the next week's issue. Tower Topics will be online weekly during the fall and spring semester.  For more information call 271-5651.

Board of Governors Reviews Building Plans

Western Unveils Design for Agenstein, Remington Halls

The Western Board of Governors reviewed plans for the renovation of Agenstein Hall and the construction of Remington Hall Feb. 28.

Plans presented by the architectural firm HOK in conjunction with Ellison-Auxier Architects, Inc., call for the construction of the 59,740 square foot Remington Hall east of the existing Agenstein Hall, which houses the university’s biology, chemistry and computer science, mathematics and physics departments. The buildings will be connected by a three-story glass atrium. The project will nearly double the amount of space devoted to math and science activities.

“When construction is finished, Western will have state-of-the-art facilities for science and math instruction and research,” said Dr. Joseph Bragin, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “We are already a leader in developing the region’s workforce, and the new facilities will help our faculty and staff better prepare math and science students for a high-technology future.”

The project includes new teaching laboratories, larger classrooms and spaces devoted to group work and study areas, said Bragin. It will also include an Einstein Bros. Bagels store in the atrium, which could also hold special university events.

The project is estimated to cost a total of approximately $38 million, including construction, the purchase of scientific equipment and the establishment of an endowment, according to Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advancement. “A new building adds to a university’s operating costs,” Nicoson said. “The endowment will help Western pay for maintenance, utilities and other added expenses.”

A combination of state and private funds will pay for the project. The Missouri General Assembly allocated $30.1 million for the project when they approved Gov. Matt Blunt’s Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative last year. The rest of the money will come from private donations, including the $5 million gift pledged last October by Wes and Patsy Remington of St. Joseph, for whom the addition is named.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for Remington Hall will be scheduled in early May. Construction is expected to begin in July with completion scheduled for fall, 2009. The science and math departments will then use the lab space in the new building, classrooms in other campus buildings, and temporary office space in mobile units while Agenstein Hall is renovated. The renovation is expected to be completed by spring, 2010.

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Western Room Rates Remain Steady

Board of Governors Approves 4% Board Rate Increase

The Western Board of Governors voted Feb. 28 to keep room rates steady for the 2008-2009 school year. Board rates will increase by 4 percent, meaning the total room and board costs for students will go up by less than 2 percent.

Again next year, students will pay $1,850 per semester to live in double-occupancy suites in the Living Learning Center (LLC) and Logan, Juda and Beshears Halls. Single-occupancy rooms and suites in those halls will cost $2,450 per semester, while apartment-style housing in Vaselakos and Leaverton Halls will cost $2,080 per semester.

“In the last few years, we’ve done a lot to improve our residence halls, adding computer labs, meeting rooms and other amenities while boosting security, renovating living space, and providing ‘lifestyle’ housing so that students with similar interests can live near one another,” said Ron Olinger, vice president for financial planning and administration. “We’ve done that while keeping student costs relatively stable.”

The board rate will rise from $1,042 per semester for 20 meals per week to $1,084. “The increase amounts to about 40 cents per day for students,” said Olinger. “It reflects the higher prices we’re all paying for food.”

For students living in double-occupancy suites, total room and board costs will be $2,934 per semester, a 1.5 percent increase over this year. In double-occupancy apartments, the costs will be $3,164 (1.3 percent), while single-occupancy suites will cost $3,534 (1.2 percent).

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Western Hosts Women's Summit

The Center for Multicultural Education (CME) will host the second annual Women’s Summit from 2 to 6 p.m. on March 22 in the Nelle Blum Union.  The event will begin with a light lunch with keynote address by Tay Triggs, director of CME, followed by educational sessions and a workshop. Topics include positive living, communicating with confidence, priorities for women, self-empowerment and global sisterhood. Sessions also include College 101, aimed especially for high school girls, and a Spanish-language presentation on the benefits of a college education. Sessions and roundtable discussions will be led by Western alumni, faculty and staff and leaders from the St. Joseph community.

“The Center for Multicultural Education began offering more programs for women on campus two years ago after a number of students stated that there was a need,” said Tay Triggs. “The purpose of the Women’s Summit is to offer an opportunity for women from varying backgrounds to come together to form a dialogue about issues important to them.”

Those who register before March 7 will receive a complimentary gift bag. Regular registration is from March 8 through March 21 while late registrations will be accepted on the day of the conference.

Following the Summit at 6 p.m. in Leah Spratt Hall, Kemper Recital Hall there will be a performance by Missouri native Maxine Maxwell. She will perform “Echoes of the Past and Voices of Hope,” a drama depicting and celebrating African American women during turning points in history. With concise narrative and subtle costume pieces setting the stage, Maxwell will bring to life remarkable and courageous women including activist Sojourner Truth, journalist Ida B. Wells, athlete Wilma Rudolph and aviator Bessie Coleman.

Both events are free and open to the public.  To register for the Summit or for more information please contact the CME at 4150 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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Tower Sports

Women's Basketball

• Win vs. Northwest Missouri State, 69-66, Feb. 27

• Win vs. Missouri Southern, 70-58, March 1

• March 6-9 at MIAA Conference Tourney, TBA

Men's Basketball

• Loss vs. Northwest Missouri State, 55-84, Feb. 27

• Loss vs. Missouri Southern, 80-87, March 1

• March 6-9 at MAA Conference Tourney, TBA

Baseball

• Loss vs. Montevallo, 9-10, Feb. 27

• Win vs. Montevallo, 5-3, Feb. 27

• Loss vs. Montevallo, 5-6, Feb. 28

• Win vs. Augustana, 8-7, Feb. 29

• Loss vs. Augustana, 2-10, Feb. 29

• March 5 vs. University of Nebraska - Omaha at 3 p.m. Doubleheader

• March 8 vs. North Alabama at Arkansas Tech University at 3 p.m.

• March 8 at Arkansas Tech University at 1 p.m. Doubleheader.

Softball

• March 8 vs. University of South Dakota at Missouri Western Crossover in St. Joseph, Mo., at 11 a.m.

• March 8 vs. Minnesota - Duluth at Missouri Western Crossover in St. Joseph, Mo., at 5 p.m.

• March 9 vs. Augustana College at Missouri Western Crossover in St. Joseph, Mo., at 1 p.m.

• March 9 vs. University of Nebraska - Omaha at Missouri Western Crossover in St. Joseph, Mo., at 5 p.m.

Tennis

• Win vs. Newman University, 7-2, March 1

• Loss vs. University of South Dakota, 1-8, March 1

Step Afrika The Center for Multicultural Education at Western is hosting Step Afrika March 5 at 7 p.m. in Potter Hall Theatre. Step Afrika is a professional dance company founded in 1994 that is dedicated to the tradition of stepping. The group performs annually on American university and college campuses as well as on stages throughout North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. The event is free and open to the public. Call the CME at 4150 for more information.

Creole Fiddler Acclaimed Creole fiddler, singer and storyteller, Dennis Stroughmatt, will be performing at Western at 7 p.m. March 3, at Kemper Recital Hall in Leah Spratt Hall. The performance, entitled “La Guillanee: Ancient French Traditions Live in Missouri through Music and Food,” is free and open to the public. For more information contact Dr. Susan Hennessy, associate professor of French, at 5813 or hennessy@missouriwestern.edu.

Motivational Rocker The Western Activities Council will be hosting a motivational speaker, Andrew W.K., at 7 p.m. March 6 in Kemper Recital Hall, Spratt Hall, room 101. Andrew W.K. is a rock musician and motivational speaker that has spoken at several college campuses across the nation. He incorporates live music and dance into his performance, making each one unique. Through interactive examples, Andrew will provide mental tools for day-to-day life to “create more love and fun.” Following the performance, Andrew will meet the audience and sign autographs at a reception in the Spratt Hall atrium. The event is free and open to the community.

Downtown Noontime Concert Series The Western department of music in cooperation with the First Presbyterian Church presents the First Thursday Downtown Noontime Concert Series, “Sounds of the Season,” at 12:10 p.m. March 6 at the First Presbyterian Church, 7^th and Jules. The audience is invited to bring lunch to eat while listening to the performances.  Beverages will be provided and there will be an opportunity to meet the musicians after the concert. A minimum donation of $3 per person is suggested in order to meet the expenses and provide continuation of the series.

"American Writer" Workshops Western is hosting an annual High School Writing Day from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. March 6, in the Fulkerson Center. This year's event theme is "American Writer" ala "American Idol." All of the workshops are interactive, including a "Convergent Journalism" session Bob Bergland will conduct, in which students will be compiling a digital composition of the day's events. There will be an “Open Mic” session at the end of the day where students will be able to show their compilations. Reservations from 14 high schools/223 students and teachers have been made.

360Search Within a few weeks, the MWSU community will have a new and simple way to search the library’s electronic databases. The library has purchased a product, 360Search, to cross-search our electronic databases. It allows individuals to cross-search the library catalog and the majority of the electronic databases with a single search statement. For more precise searching, subject categories have been created. This resource will be particularly useful for those students unfamiliar with the numerous databases accessible through the library or who stop their searching with the first database that they search. While this new search method will allow simple searching there, will be no loss of the unique features of the individual databases to which the library subscribes. All databases will continue to exist and will be searchable individually. For further information, contact Jim Mulder or any of the Reference staff.

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Monday, March 3

• Senate meeting at 5 p.m. in Blum 220

• "La Guillanee: Ancient French Traditions Live in Missouri through Music and Food" at 7 p.m. in Kemper Recital Hall

Tuesday, March 4

• Residence Council meeting at 7 p.m. in the Commons Building

Wednesday, March 5

• WAC meeting at 4 p.m. in the Junior College Room

• Step Afrika at 7 p.m. in Potter Hall Theatre

• Pride Alliance meeting at 4 p.m. in Spratt 103

Thursday, March 6

• Motivational speaker Andrew W.K. at 7 p.m. in Kemper Recital Hall

• "Sounds of the Season" at 12:10 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 7th and Jules

• "American Writer" High School Writing Day from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Fulkerson Center

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February 2008 Points of Pride

Excellence in our Faculty and Staff

• Art department faculty and students recently participated in the 34^th Annual Membership Exhibition at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art. Jim Estes, professor of art, won Honorable Mention in the Sculpture and Ceramics-Sculpture category with his work entitled “Crows at Dusk,” and Dr. Allison Sauls, associate professor of art and department chair, won second place in the Printmaking category with a work entitled “Isabella.”

• Julie Baldwin, instructor of nursing, was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service.

• Dr. Cindy Heider, interim assistant vice president for academic and student affairs, chaired the Missouri Assessment Consortium meeting in Columbia, Mo., in January.  Dr. Heider organized a presentation by representatives from ACT on the resources available to support the assessment needs of the Voluntary System of Accountability and the Missouri Curriculum Alignment Initiative.

• Dr. Melissa Daggett, assistant professor of biology, attended the mid-year steering committee meeting of the Association of University and College Biology Educators (ACUBE) in Hopkinsville, Ky. Dr. Daggett has been a member of ACUBE’s steering committee for the past three years. At the meeting, Dr. Daggett accepted an appointment as program chair for the annual meeting in 2009 which will be held at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo.

• Dr. Michael Ducey, associate professor of chemistry, begins his tenure as chair of the Kansas City section of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Ducey will plan, coordinate and oversee the activity of the section of over 750 professional chemists and chemical educators in a 24-county region covering Kansas and Missouri. Additionally, Dr. Ducey served as a Science Pioneers, Inc. volunteer at the Family Science Night event held in partnership with Science City in Union Station. This event brought more than 2,000 adults and children together for an evening filled with science activities and demonstrations.

• Dr. Brian Cronk, professor of psychology, was elected to a three-year term as a Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Councilor in the Psychology Division. CUR is the nation’s premier multidisciplinary organization promoting undergraduate research.

• Martha Greer, director for the Western Institute’s center for community arts, served as a judge for the Allied Arts Council’s “Art for the Health of It” competition. 

• Jeannie Harmon-Miller, associate professor of art, recently had two of her color triptics, “Storm Shadow” and “Midwest Space,” selected for inclusion in the 24^th Annual Five-State Photography Competition 2007/2008 Exhibition in Hays, Kan.

• Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology, and his research students Adam Brown, Kelly Malloy and Steven Hart, have published a paper entitled “Microarray Analysis of the In Vivo Sequence Preferences of a Minor Groove Binding Drug” in the international peer-reviewed journal BioMed Central Genomics. The study was supported by a National Institute of Health Academic Research Enhancement Award from the National Cancer Institute.

• Dr. Ben Caldwell, associate professor of chemistry, had his article describing the Summer Research Institute entitled “An Alternative Research Model of Faculty, Undergraduate, and High School Student Collaboration” published in the CUR Quarterly.

• Dr. Reza Hamzaee, professor of economics, has two research papers that have been accepted for publication. “Financial Challenges & Productivity at an Institution of Higher Education: Measuring Something of Value or Valuing Something Measurable?” has been published in The International Journal of Applied Management and Technology. “Economics of Freedom: An Empirical Analysis” will be published in The Journal of Business & Economics Research (JBER) in an upcoming edition in 2008.

• Dr. Robert Bergland, associate professor of journalism, with student co-authors Teresa Bozarth and Jennifer Thompson, published an article, “Convergent Media Curricula in American Journalism Programs: An Analysis of Degrees and Courses at Accredited Universities,” in the edited collection “International Dimensions of Mass Media Research,” published in 2008 by the Athens Institute for Education and Research.

• Dr. Cindy Heider, interim assistant vice president for academic and student affairs; Dr. Martin Johnson, dean of liberal arts and sciences; Dr. Steve Estes, dean of professional studies; Tyson Schank, communications and web coordinator; Rhonda Brown, transfer coordinator; Jim Hoffman, admissions counselor and transfer coordinator; Dr. Cynthia Jeney, assistant professor of English; Dr. John Tapia, professor of speech; and Dr. Jeanie Crain, special assistant to the president, attended the Committee on Transfer and Articulation in Columbia, Mo., in January. This conference focused on policy issues related to the SB 389 Curriculum Alignment Initiative.

• Dr. Cary Chevalier, associate professor of biology, presented a paper at the Missouri Natural Resource Conference at Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. The paper was the result of student-faculty collaboration and was entitled, “Summer Den Site Selection by Male Raccoons (Procyon lotor) in an Urban Setting in Northwest Missouri: First Season of an Ongoing Study.”

• Dr. David Ashley, professor of biology, presented a paper at the Missouri Natural Resource Conference entitled “Trends in Occurrence, Distribution, and Status of Missouri Populations of the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid, (Platanthera praeclara), During 13 Years of Monitoring.” Dr. Ashley co-presented with Thomas Nagel, naturalist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

• Dr. Michael Ottinger, associate professor of physics, attended the American Association of Physics Teachers Meeting in Baltimore. Dr. Ottinger gave a talk entitled “Enhancing the Study of Waves in Metals Using Computational Analysis” and presented a poster entitled “Enhancing Inquiry Science Teaching in St. Joseph, Mo., Middle Schools.”

• Dr. Jennifer Hegeman, associate professor of math, was a co-presenter at the 12^th annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators in Tulsa, Okla. The title of the talk was “The Pedagogical Preparation of K-12 Mathematics Teachers: A Discussion Group on Mathematics Methods Courses and Related Work.”

• Dr. Jeff Poet, associate professor of math, made two presentations at the annual Joint National Meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America Meeting in San Diego. The first presentation, UBM: Synthetic Biology Research for Undergraduates (SyBR-U), was an invited poster presented jointly with Laurie Heyer of Davidson College about the NSF-funded program. The second presentation was entitled “Bacterial Computers: Can E. coli solve a Hamiltonian Path Program?”

• Dr. Ken Lee, professor of math, gave a presentation entitled “Individualized Remedial Prescriptions for Mathematically Underprepared Students via ALEKS” at the National American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America Meeting in San Diego.

• Bob Long, assistant professor of music, recently gave a presentation at the 70th annual Missouri Music Educators Association In-Service Workshop/Conference held at Tan-Tar-A Resort. The presentation, “What’s in a Title? Choosing Appropriate Literature for Your Jazz Ensemble,” focused on what directors should look for when selecting literature to help maximize the educational process. The presentation also dealt with what is appropriate literature for concerts versus festival outings.

• Dr. Kelly Henry, associate professor of psychology, presented a paper, “Applied Learning, Student Success, and Professional Development in Organizational Psychology,” at the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla. At the conference Dr. Henry also was an invited contributor to the Houghton Mifflin Guest Lecture Series, which is a video project focused on peer-to peer teaching tips. Dr. Henry’s contribution described her strategies to develop scientific writing skills in her students and also her efforts to develop a research program that integrates her own scholarship with student research in organizational psychology.

• Dr. Phil Wann, professor of psychology, presented a poster entitled “Three Critical Writing Assignments for the Capstone History of Psychology Course” at the recent National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology. The paper described an evaluation of assignments developed in response to Western’s strategic plan initiative on incorporating critical thinking into the curriculum.

• Carol Roever, associate professor of business and department chair, gave a presentation on “Landing the Perfect Job” to Western’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi. Roever also presented “Understanding Thinking Preferences” at the Nurse Recruitment Event at Heartland Health. In addition, as a member of the Heartland Health board, Roever attended the annual Governance Conference for hospital trustees.

• Carol Roever, associate professor of business and department chair; and Tyson Schank, communications and web coordinator, gave a presentation to 60 students in the senior marketing classes at Central High School in St. Joseph about Western and the department of business.

• Joanne Katz, professor of criminal justice, presented her third year of research to the funder of her grant, The Center of Women in Transition, in St. Louis. Katz has completed collection of three years of data, looking at stakeholder attitudes about restorative justice and the criminal justice system. Dr. Gene Bonham, professor of criminal justice, University of Central Missouri, collaborated on the research and the presentation.

• Dr. Jin-Lee Kim, assistant professor of engineering technology, presented a paper, “Permutation-Based Elitist Genetic Algorithm Using Serial Scheme for Large-Sized Resource-Constructed Project Scheduling,” at the 2007 Winter Simulation Conference in Washington, DC.

• Dr. Nannette Wolford, professor of physical education, attended the Quality Health and Physical Education Writing Cadre meeting in Columbia, Mo. The task was to write the state workshop that is held through the Regional Professional Development Center.

• Rosalie Guyer, advising and A+ coordinator, and George Hammer, A+ specialist, served as judges for the annual science fair at Truman Middle School. 

• Linda Garlinger, career development director, coordinated the COSMC Interview Day at the KCI Expo Center. More than 40 companies were registered and about 30 or more Western students signed up to participate. Other fairs scheduled include the Spring Career Fair to be held in collaboration with Criminal Justice/Legal Studies Department in the Fulkerson Center with about 100 companies and agencies expected; the Education Expo, also to be held in Fulkerson Center, with over 100 school districts expected to attend; and the Employment Coalition of the St. Joe Chamber’s 2008 Career Fair at the Civic Arena. She is also coordinating with UMKC for the Heart of America Career in Swinney Gymnasium with over 75 employers and the KCI Northland Chamber Business Fair.

• Greg Kriewitz, instructor of physical education; and Western Institute staff members Stacy Turner, HK Meyer and Alecia Taylor-Cotter, presented information about the dual credit program to faculty and administration at Fort Osage High School.

• Peggy Ellis, director of non-credit programs and business and industry technology, attended a statewide meeting in Jefferson City for the Missouri Customized Training Program.

• Christa Byer, marketing coordinator, recently attended the University Continuing Education Association Marketing Seminar. Topics of interest included marketing continuing education to baby boomers, how to set up Google-paid placement ads, and trends in customer relationship marketing.

• Deborah Ellsworth, director of Pass the Power adult literacy, made a presentation to the Community Diversity Committee. Ellsworth discussed the upcoming Conversation Partners project and how local organizations can participate in this project to improve the speaking and listening skills of non-native English speakers. Ellsworth also met with representatives of the St. Joseph Public Library, Rolling Hills Consolidated Library, Wyatt Park Baptist Church and the Missouri Department of Family Services to review plans for implementing the Conversation Partners project.

• Dr. Reza Hamzaee, professor of economics, presented “A Financial Perspective to Risk and Risk Management,” an eight-hour executive training seminar to 65 iranian executives at the House of Executives, Industrial Management Institute of Iran.

• Dr. Reza Hamzaee, professor of economics, provided consulting services to the CEO of Pasargad Bank on Establishing an EMBA program and curriculum.

• Dr. Reza Hamzaee, professor of economics, was invited by a joint Ph.D. program of the University of Bordeaux-IV in France, and Industrial Management Institute of Iran to provide an intensive applied course in 36 hours entitled, “Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Applied to Management Science.”

Excellence in our Students

• Art department faculty and students recently participated in the 34^th Annual Membership Exhibition at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art. Ashley Beydler won first place in the Printmaking category with her work entitled “The Bridge;” “Decorated Holey Pot” was the work which won Leila Hicks third place in the Sculpture-Ceramics category; and, alumnus Brad Harrah won second place in the Photography category with a work entitled “Diss Tracks.”

• Aaron Westlake, a 2007 theatre/video graduate, recently received first place in the critics competition at the KCACTF Region 5 Festival. Westlake competed against twelve other critics from the six-state region. The competition required the critics to watch the festival plays and respond with a critique on the play. Westlake will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, DC, to compete at the ACTF National Conference to be held at the Kennedy Center.

• Five psychology students – Sami Hays, Brad Landrum, Rebecca Lehman, Jayme Morrison, and Tessa Warnke – won a Psi-Chi regional research award. Their work was selected as one of only 21 award winners from over 320 submitted papers.

• Three Western art students had their works accepted in the juried region for the 24^th annual Five-State Photography Competition 2007/2008 Exhibition in Hays, Kan. Star Gann, two works accepted: “New” and “Still Dancing;” Harvey Jackson: a black and white photograph, “Blessed,” and Sam Perkins: a photo gravure image entitled “Spires.”  Perkins’ photograph was not only accepted but received a Juror’s Merit Award.

• Zach Sauls was the featured artist in the Off Hours edition of the St. Joseph News-Press.

• Research students Adam Brown, Kelly Malloy and Steven Hart, along with Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology, have published a paper entitled “Microarray Analysis of the In Vivo Sequence Preferences of a Minor Groove Binding Drug” in the international peer-reviewed journal BioMed Central Genomics. The study was supported by a National Institute of Health Academic Research Enhancement Award from the National Cancer Institute.

• Teresa Bozarth and Jennifer Thompson, along with Dr. Robert Bergland, associate professor of journalism, published an article, “Convergent Media Curricula in American Journalism Programs: An Analysis of Degrees and Courses at Accredited Universities,” in the edited collection “International Dimensions of Mass Media Research,” published in 2008 by the Athens Institute for Education and Research.

• Allyson Wiegman, wildlife conservation and management major, presented a paper at the Missouri Natural Resource Conference on the research she conducted as part of her degree program internship requirements this summer. The paper, “Morning Dove Population Survey at Pony Express Conservation Area,” was co-authored with Dennis Browning, manager of Pony Express Conservation Area and wildlife biologist with Missouri Department of Conservation. Wiegman also presented a paper on the collaborative research she conducted with Dr. John Rushin, professor or biology, entitled “Changes in Bird Diversity Throughout the Spring in Diverse Successional Habitats at Pony Express Conservation Area, near Osborn, Mo.”

• Carol Clark, wildlife conservation and management major, presented a paper at the Missouri Natural Resource Conference on the collaborative research she conducted with Dr. John Rushin, professor of biology, entitled “A Comparison of Bird Species Diversity in Several Habitat Types at Pony Express Conservation Area, near Osborn, Mo.”

Excellence in our Programs

• Western was one of the three featured schools in a national webinar on retention programs sponsored by Noel Levitz. Highlighted was the use of the Student Satisfaction Survey. Dr. Judy Grimes, dean of student services, was the moderator for this event. 

• Western was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This distinction from the highest levels of government recognizes Western’s leadership in helping to build a culture of service and civic engagement on campuses and in our nation.

• Western’s developmental writing program won the 2008 Conference on Basic Writing (CBW) Award for Innovation. This award recognizes writing programs for innovations that improve educational processes for basic writers through creative approaches. CBW recognizes those college and university programs that are implementing new or unique ways to improve the success of their basic writing students. 

• Western’s Jazz Ensemble was recently invited to perform at the eighth annual North Texas Jazz Festival. This is an invitational festival, and performing groups must submit an application and recording to be considered for acceptance. The top applicants are then selected to participate for the three days of events, performing for an adjudication panel of some of the top names in jazz education. The North Texas Festival usually selects 10 to 12 college/university bands each year. While in attendance, Western students will have the opportunity to attend clinics given by the University of North Texas jazz faculty and guest artists. The Jazz Ensemble is directed by Bob Long, assistant professor of music.

• The history, philosophy and geography department held the annual Galileo’s Legacy Conference. Approximately 150 attended.

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For Sale: MIAA tournament tickets for sale for $40. For more information call 816-261-9098.

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