Week of March 6-19, 2006

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:

Western Holds Forums for Strategic Planning

Conference Debates Intelligent Design and Evolution

Engineering Technology Hosts Ethics Talk

Writing Contest Winners Named

Tower Sports

News Briefs

Calendar

Points of Pride

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.

Student Editor:
Katie Johnston

Staff Advisers:
Kristy Hill and Diane Holtz

Western Holds Forums for Strategic Planning

Faculty, staff and community members had the opportunity to express opinions and give input into Western’s next strategic plan at a pair of forums that were held Feb. 22 and 23. Western’s current five-year strategic plan will end in 2007.

At the brainstorming session, Dr. James Scanlon, Western’s president, noted that Western serves as a model of strategic planning for other higher education institutions in the state. He called the strategic plan a “guide for building a future for the campus.”

Participants were divided into groups, with each suggesting focus areas for the next strategic plan. Ideas for focus areas included graduate programs, the international student population, the study abroad program, residential life, student services, faculty development, information technology, university image and first-year experiences.

Two more opportunities for faculty, staff and community input are planned. On March 21 and 22, participants will have the opportunity to refine the brainstorming focus areas that were developed at the February meetings. Both will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. in Blum Union, Hoff Conference Room, 219. On April 25 and 26, the focus areas will be further refined. The April meetings will be held from 3 – 4:30 in the Hoff Conference Room, also.

Dr. Scanlon noted that the next strategic plan does not have to be a five-year plan, and that participants will help determine the length.

“I think we can be bold,” said Dr. Scanlon. “I think we can take risks and stretch.”

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Conference Debates Intelligent Design and Evolution

Just as Galilei Galileo’s theory of the earth revolving around the sun was criticized and rejected in the 17^th century and later found to be indeed true, Dr. Paul Nelson believes that the proposition of intelligent design should not be dismissed by the scientific community today.

Dr. Nelson, philosopher of biology at the Discovery Institute of Science and Culture, was one of three nationally known speakers who were guests at Western's Evolution and Intelligent Design Conference, appropriately named “Galileo’s Legacy,” Feb. 24 and 25. At a public forum Feb. 25, Dr. Nelson argued his points against Dr. Ursula Goodenough, professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Dr. Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister professor of philosophy at Florida State University.

The debate was the culmination of the conference which included presentations by each speaker and a panel discussion by Western faculty and community members. Western students and faculty, and community members attended the conference.

“I’ve been wanting to do this since I came to Western a year-and-a-half ago,” said Dr. Sandie Seeger, assistant professor of biology, one of the coordinators of the event with Dr. Steve Morris, assistant professor of philosophy. She said the purpose of the conference was to promote a healthy dialogue on a national critical issue from the perspectives of science, philosophy and culture.

Dr. Ruse believes that Charles Darwin, author of “Origin of the Species” in 1859, was “spot on” in his theories about evolution and natural selection. When dissenters offer problems with Darwin’s theories, Dr. Ruse says it just means there is more research to be done. “In science, when you’ve got problems, you don’t throw up your hands and say, ‘It must be intelligent design.’ You just keep looking for solutions.”

Peter Nelson, a freshman biology major from St. Joseph, believed the conference was very informative and interesting. He said he received many emails from students who said they learned a lot. “This was a good thing for Missouri Western to do. A university is supposed to question everything, especially in biology and philosophy,” he said. “The conference was designed to be informative, and it did a good job of that. We got people to think about it (evolution and intelligent design).”

Peter Nelson said he thought the topic was a good choice, because it is being talked about a lot in the United States. He believed the conference was balanced on both sides of the issue, and it confirmed his views.

Dr. Seeger said there are many topics in university science classes that place scientific views in tension with the belief systems of many Americans, but there is never enough time to fully discuss the controversial topics during class times. So she believes the conference offered a forum for students to hear both sides of the issue and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Dr. Ruse and Dr. Nelson also spoke in a biology class on Feb. 24.

Dr. Seeger and Dr. Morris intend to host a “Galileo’s Legacy” conference each year, and planned topics include stem cell research, climate change and endangered species.

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Engineering Technology Hosts Ethics Talk

What would you do if you just didn’t believe the construction plans on a project were safe, but the contractor was reluctant to change the plans? That was one of several questions posed to Western engineering technology students at a recent engineering ethics seminar.  

Merrill Watt II of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers and Dr. Virendra Varma, professor of construction engineering and department chair, hosted an engineering ethics workshop for approximately 70 students this month.

“Ethics has become a very important issue,” Dr. Varma told the students. “It is becoming increasingly important that we teach ethics and expose our students to ethics education in the engineering technology program.”

Dr. Varma and Watt each led the students through a case study. Watt also explained the definitions of ethics and principles, and how value systems are formed. He encouraged the students to study the codes of ethics of the professional engineering societies.

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Writing Contest Winners Named

Scribes and Muses, a student writing club at Western, recently announced the winners of their annual student writing contest. Students will read their winning entries for the campus and community at 2 p.m. March 10 in Nelle Blum Union, Junior College Room. A short awards ceremony and prizes will accompany the reading with an open mic session to follow.

Students who participated in the contest could submit one entry in any of the three genres: nonfiction, poetry, and fiction.   

“An Unvarnished Moment,” the winning nonfiction piece written by Julie Summa, a senior speech communications major from Lathrop, Mo., was written about the birth of her daughter. “It was written in response to a prompt that asked us to write something from our lives and not gloss over anything,” she said. Summa also won third place in the poetry division of the contest and received honorable mention for her fiction entry.

Amanda Hash, a freshman education major from Levasy, Mo., entered the contest on a whim. She said that she saw a flier for the contest and figured she would enter some things she had been working on to see how they would do. Her poem, “Stare at the Pinstriped Walls,” won first place in the poetry division.

Kathy Crawford, a senior English/journalism major from Platte City, Mo., has her creative writing professor to thank for her first-place fiction submission, “Bleach and White Beaches.”  “I took a subject I knew well and plugged it into the formula I learned in creative writing class,” she said. “Bleach and White Beaches” was only her second attempt at writing fiction.

Other winners included: Jo Ann Floyd, honorable mention, nonfiction; Mary Stone, second place poetry, and Nellie Trigg, honorable mention, poetry.

The contest was judged by Jo Van Arkel, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Texas Christian University. Van Arkel, winner of the Missouri Arts Council’s 1990 Missouri Writers’ Biennial Award, has published fiction in several literary magazines, and she is the author of two books. Van Arkel also teaches courses in creative writing and poetry at Drury University, Springfield, Mo.

The award sponsors include Barnes and Noble Bookstore and Scribes and Muses. Josh Kalin is the current president of Scribes and Muses.

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Tower Sports

Men's Basketball

• March 3 - at MIAA tournament - Western 49, Northwest 72

Women's Basketball

• March 2 - at MIAA tournament - Western 79, Missouri Southern 59

•                                                Western 60, Washburn 73

Western Baseball

• Feb. 28 - Western 4, Nebraska-Omaha 10

• March 1 - Western 2, Nebraska-Omaha 14

• March  - Western 5, Augustana 3

• March 5 - Western 6, Augustana 5

Western Softball

• March 3 - Western 3-9, North Dakota State 0-1

Western Tennis

• March 3 - Western 0, East Central 7

• March 3 - Western 5, Arkansas Tech 4

• March 4 - Western 0, Southeastern Oklahoma 5

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• The Missouri Western State University Republicans will have a meeting at 7 p.m. March 9 in Blum Union, room 114. For more information, contact Michael Stevens at mstevens@mocr.org.

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Monday, March 6

• Disney World Presentation - 4 p.m. Eder Hall, 208

Tuesday, March 7

• Kappa Mu Epsilon Book Sale - 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Agenstein Hall, first floor

• Disney World Presentation - 12 p.m. Eder Hall, 208

• Academic Profile - 5 p.m. Hearnes Center, 102

• Power of Words workshop - 6 p.m. Blum Union, 222

Wednesday, March 8

• Walgreens Interviews - Sign up in Eder Hall, 202

• Kappa Mu Epsilon Book Sale - 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Agenstein Hall, first floor

• Western Softball vs. Nebraska-Omaha - 2 p.m.

• Economics Club presentation with presenters Susan Huffman and Bastian Huck - 3:45 p.m. Spratt Hall, 205

• CSMP department colloquium - "Do You Really Know Your Multiplication Tables" presented by Dr. Jennifer Hegeman - 3:45-4:40 p.m. Agenstein, 109

• "Suffering for Beauty: Medias Perception of Beauty" - 7 p.m. Spratt Hall, 216

Thursday, March 9

• Black and Veatch on-campus interviews - Sign up in Eder Hall, 202

• GED - 8 a.m. Eder Hall, 208

• Western Baseball vs. St. Mary's College - 3 p.m.

• Western Concert Band and Chamber Ensembles Concert - 7:30 p.m. Potter Hall Theater

Friday, March 10

• Scribes & Muses writing contest reception - 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 11

• Residence Halls close - 2 p.m.

Sunday, March 12

• Spring Break - no classes

• Center for Academic Support closed

Monday, March 13

• Spring Break - no classes

• Center for Academic Support closed

• Western Softball vs. Tiffin - 7:50 a.m.

• Western Softball vs. Wisconsin-Parkside - 9:40 a.m.

Tuesday, March 14

• Spring Break - no classes

• Center for Academic Support closed

• Western Softball vs. Minnesota-Duluth - 7:50 a.m.

Wednesday, March 15

• Spring Break - no classes

• Center for Academic Support closed

• Eggs and Issues with speaker Tom Lesnak, vice president, economic development, St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce - 7 a.m. Fulkerson Center

• Western Softball vs. Wayne State - 7:50 a.m.

• Western Softball vs. East Stroudsburg - 3:10 p.m.

Thursday, March 16

• Spring Break - no classes

• Center for Academic Support closed

• Western Softball vs. Shippensburg - 7:50 a.m.

• Western Softball vs. New Haven - 9:40 a.m.

• Alumni Social - 5-8 p.m. Uncle D's Sports Bar and Grill, 621 S. 36th St.

Friday, March 17

• Spring Break - no classes

• Center for Academic Support closed

• Western Softball vs. UMass-Lowell - 9:40 a.m.

• Western Softball vs. Saint Xavier - 11:30 a.m.

Saturday, March 18

• Spring Break - no classes

• Western Tennis vs. Lincoln University of Missouri - 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 19

• Spring Break - no classes

• Residence Halls reopen - 8 a.m.

• Western Tennis vs. Augustana - 9 a.m.

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Points of Pride

Excellence in our Faculty/Staff

• Twenty staff members were awarded Outstanding Staff Employee Awards for 2005-2006. This award program recognizes and rewards exemplary performance by employees based both on performance of their responsibilities as outlined in their position description and associated goals, and on their specific contributions to the mission, goals and values of the university. The following individuals were outstanding employees: Jennifer Bagley, head coach, women’s softball; Susan Bracciano, assistant registrar; Cori Criger, classroom services manager; Barbara Davis, administrative coordinator – liberal arts and sciences; Judy Fields, institutional research analyst; Jamie Hahn, admissions coordinator; Alice Harless, custodian; Stena Hinkle, administrative assistant psychology; Diane Holtz, public relations and alumni services coordinator; Danielle Hunt, education television services manager; Sandy McGuire, custodian; Carey McMillian, senior accountant; Beverly Payne, advising and placement director for business; Peggy Payne, assistant director of admissions and recruiting; Jon Recob, groundskeeper; Sandy Rogers, student development program coordinator; Victoria Sample, central stores laboratory coordinator; Patsy Smith, assistant athletic director/SWA; Terry Smith, assistant director of admissions/operations, and Stacy Turner, administrative assistant for the Western Institute.

• A study and program developed by Joanne Katz, professor of criminal justice, through a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, United States Department of Justice, was cited extensively as a model practice in a new book, “The Little Book of Restorative Discipline for Schools.” The grant was a partnership with Western and the St. Joseph School District in 2001-2002, and utilized restorative justice as an effective re-entry tool for middle school students.

• Michelle Ritter, webmaster, instructional media center; was elected to the Disability Services Board for the City of St. Joseph.

• Michael Ritter, disability services coordinator, has been selected to be a member of the 2006 Leadership Northwest training program, sponsored by the Heartland Foundation.

• Ellen Kisker, director of nontraditional student services, serves on one of the United Way Community Investment Committees (formerly allocations committees) again this year. This gives her the opportunity to see agencies and what they do in the community firsthand and for them to hear about Western.

• Teresa Harris, associate art professor, had a mixed media work, “Clay Satires,” which was accepted into the 35^th annual Americas 2000: Paper Works Exhibition featuring international art works in the Marnett Hall Gallery at Minot State University, North Dakota. There were over 800 works submitted and 30 works were accepted.

• Teresa Harris, associate art professor, had a three-dimensional mixed media work, “Legacy,” which was selected to be included in the Rocky Mount Arts Center’s 7th Annual Handcrafted Juried Art Exhibition in Rocky Mount, N.C. This is a national exhibition with 44 artists showing 78 works. Over 225 works were submitted for consideration.

• Kent Pickett, assistant professor of computer sciences, co-authored an article entitled “FCS Modeling and Simulation Support 21st Century Soldiers” which appeared in the November-December issue of  “Army AL&T, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.” Pickett’s article deals with recent technological developments in the warfare simulation models used in the Army’s development and acquisition of its new group of weapon systems called the Future Combat System (FCS). 

• Dr. Alicia de Gregorio, associate professor of Spanish, had an article entitled “La presencia de España en Kansas City, Missouri” in Lorca.

• Denise Smith, associate professor of business, had an article entitled “The Evolution of the Age Discrimination in Employment Charge: The Impact of Smith v. City of Jackson on Employer Liability,” published in the 2006 “Regional Business Review.”

• Dr. Bob Bergland, associate professor of English, was named to the Fulbright Senior Specialist roster, and was selected for a three-week grant to teach in Ukraine. Dr. Bergland also coordinated the visit of Ukranian scholar Dr. Larissa Nizhegorodtseva, and co-presented with her on “Mass Media in Ukraine” at the Northwest Press Association meeting.

• Greg Kriewitz, instructor of physical education, and Dr. Todd Mick, assistant professor of marketing, attended a training session at the Chillicothe Women’s Correctional Facility entitled “Recognizing the Set Up” in preparation for teaching at the women’s prison.

• Geo Sipp, associate professor of art, had a drawing entitled “Ubiquitous” juried in the 21st Greater Midwest International Exhibition to be held at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg.

• Greg Kriewitz, instructor of physical education, participated in a workshop entitled “Understanding the Female Offender.”

• Dr. Nannette Wolford, professor of physical education, participated in a Quality Physical Education workshop in Columbia, Mo., where she helped create a statewide Public School Health and Physical Education in-service.

• Bonnie Gregory and Bonnie Alsbury, assistant professors of nursing, represented Western’s Omicron Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau at the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing’s 38th biennial conference in Indianapolis as delegates to the convention.

• Rosalie Guyer, advising and A+ coordinator, and George Hammer, A+ specialist, served as judges for the Truman Middle School Science Fair.   

• Dr. Monica Nandan, associate professor of social work, presented several workshops titled “Cultural Assimilation from India into the Heartland Workforce,” at Heartland Health. She also presented “The Status of Women in a Land of Goddesses” to the members of the Runcie Club at the Moila Shrine Temple in St. Joseph.

• Dr. Len Archer, chemistry professor, presented a program entitled “Science as Portrayed in Reality TV - Edutainment For the Masses” to the Chemistry Educators Association, a regional organization of high school and college teachers of science.

• Dr. Jennifer Hegeman, associate professor of math, presented “A New and Improved Secondary Mathematics Methods Course” at the 10th Annual Conference of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators held in Tampa, Fla.

• Dr. Jeff Poet, assistant math professor, presented “An Overview of Ongoing Undergraduate Investigations at MWSU” at the annual national meeting of the American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of America, in San Antonio, Texas.

• Dr. David Bennett, assistant music professor, was featured at the St. Joseph Symphony’s Mozart Bash Concerto. Dr. Bennett played Beethoven’s Concerto no. 5 in E-flat Major (“Emperor”).

• Dr. Elizabeth Latosi-Sawin, professor of English, and three Outdoor Semester students, Brad Landrum, from St. Joseph; Emily Steele, from Chillicothe; and Allyson Wiegman from Henderson, Iowa made a presentation in Kansas City at the meeting of the Missouri-Kansas chapter of the National Lewis and Clark Trails Heritage Foundation. Dr. Sawin introduced the integrated interdisciplinary learning behind Western’s unique Outdoor Semester, while the students showed slides of their journey on the northern Great Plains, read from their journals, and answered questions from the audience. In honor of this creative faculty/student learning community, the Trails Foundation presented them with a commemorative book of Lewis and Clark artifacts collected specifically for the bicentennial (1804-1806). The book will be donated to Western’s library.

• Dr. Jane Frick, professor of English, conducted a workshop, “Improving MAP Essay Scores,” for the language arts staff at Park Hill South High School in Kansas City, Mo.

• Dr. Jim MacGregor, assistant professor of history, presented a paper, “Secularizing Saint George: Transforming a Saint into a National Symbol,” at the 120th Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, Philadelphia.

• Russell Phillips, instructor of psychology, presented a poster entitled “’Jack Nicholson is My Professor,’ Using Movies to Enhance Student Learning of Abnormal Psychology” at the National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology Conference in St. Petersburg, Fla.

• Dr. Kathleen Andrews, associate professor of nursing, and department chair, presented a paper entitled “Perceptions of High School Boys toward Nursing as a Career Choice” at the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing 38th Biennial Conference in Indianapolis.

• Dr. Cindy Heider, associate professor of education, presented a paper “Defining and Assessing Teacher Leadership Dispositions” and facilitated a presentation at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education Annual Conference. In addition, Dr. Heider attended several sessions of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Board of Examiners.

• Steve Potter, counselor and international student advisor, gave a class presentation on effective mentoring with the peer counseling class.

• Dr. Chris Shove, executive director/dean of Western Institute, attended a three-day training conference, “Development for Deans,” in which 250 deans from across the United States attended to learn how to raise gifts for the university.

• Dave Brown, director and assistant dean of student services, made a presentation to a College 101 class on “Learning Styles.” Brown also provided a session on student services to a group of football recruits one weekend.

Excellence in our Students

• Senior computer science majors Norman Beers, Brian Parrish and Robb Winkie; and junior computer science major Brian Jacobs, received the Region 3 Hero Award at the Association of Information Technology (AITP) Region 3 Conference in Abilene, Texas. This award is the top award in the region.

• Brad Dixon, junior business major, was appointed by Rob Anderson, Director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally Network as a Network Representative for Retion IV of the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA). Brad will be working with three other representatives across Region IV, which includes Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. The combined effort of all the representatives is to produce informative events, programs, and presentations for the NODA Region IV conference.

• Western Chamber Singers were selected to sing at the Missouri Music Educators Convention in Tan-tar-a resort in Osage Beach, Mo. The ensemble was selected through a rigorous audition process by adjudicators from outside Missouri.

• Aaron Caw, senior economics major, placed 8^th for Western in the Eastern Economics Association online simulation “Beat the Market” called “Monopolistic Competition.” Caw was responsible for making five simulated business decisions in each period of the competition.

• Bob Hughs, senior economics and finance major, has an internship with State Rep. Ed Wildberger this semester in Jefferson City, Mo.

• Brad Landrum, from St. Joseph; Emily Steele, from Chillicothe; and Allyson Wiegman from Henderson, Iowa made a presentation in Kansas City, Mo. at the meeting of the Missouri-Kansas chapter of the National Lewis and Clark Trails Heritage Foundation. Dr. Elizabeth Latosi-Sawin, professor of English, introduced the integrated interdisciplinary learning behind Western’s unique Outdoor Semester, while the students showed slides of their journey on the northern Great Plains, read from their journals, and answered questions from the audience. In honor of this creative faculty/student learning community, the Trails Foundation presented them with a commemorative book of Lewis and Clark artifacts collected specifically for the bicentennial (1804-1806). The book will be donated to Western’s library.

• Danyell Bordeaux, senior psychology major from St. Louis, has an internship with the counseling center. Bordeaux has been instrumental in aiding the center’s peer education group, Sharing Our Stories (SOS), in providing in-class demonstrations on various topics and also providing some training on healthy relationships to the resident assistants group.

Excellence in our Programs

• Prairie Lands Writing Project served as a preliminary judging site for the Scholastic Writing Awards of 2006, the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers’ national annual high school writing and art contest. Thirty-four area pre-service teachers and teachers met at Western where they judged over 3,100 student contest entries. The teachers scored dramatic scripts, poetry, personal essay/memoir, humor, journalism, novel, science fiction/fantasy, and portfolio pieces written by students, grades seven-12, from throughout the country.

• Western Institute web-based geographic information systems (GIS) computer mapping system is now online and allows users to make maps of St. Joseph to identify commercial buildings and other data. Working with the Department of Corrections and Western students, the system is being expanded to the whole state to show detailed topography.

• An online International Development Certificate program has been created for international economic development professionals and consists of several online classes. Enrollment is planned for fall of 2006. Interest has been expressed by professionals from South Africa and Uganda.

• The Western Institute provided Command Spanish® for 26 physicians, nurses, and other medical staff from area physician offices and clinics. Teresa Noyes, RN, was the instructor.

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• Necklace lost in hallway between Spratt Hall and Blum Union, or near Spratt Hall, 214. If found, please contact 5621. Sentimental value - small reward.

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