|
Week of April 23 - 29, 2007 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: Commencement Ceremonies May 12 Professor to Teach GPS Workshop Fountain City Brass Band Wins National Competition Presentation at Western Addresses Graying America Lost & Found: If you have lost any items, please come to SU 228 to claim them. You may be required to describe the item. Click on
Guidelines for Tower Topics: Tower Topics submissions should state time, date, place, sponsor, title of event, name of speaker's and admission fees. Send complete information to the Public Relations and Marketing office (Leah Spratt Hall, Room 106). 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:
|
|
|||||||
|
Commencement Ceremonies May 12 Western will hold its commencement ceremonies at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 12 in the Looney Complex. Nicholas Saccaro ‘01, CEO of Care and Share Food Bank in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be the featured speaker at each ceremony. Other events include an ROTC commissioning ceremony at 4 p.m. May 11 in Blum Union, room 218 and a pinning ceremony for nursing graduates at 8:30 a.m. May 12 in the Fulkerson Center. Receptions for graduates and their families will follow the commissioning and the pinning. The Alumni Association will host a free reception for graduates and faculty after each commencement ceremony on the lawn west of the Looney Complex. Graduates from the following departments will take part in the 11 a.m. ceremony: art, communication studies/theatre, criminal justice/legal studies, education, English/foreign languages/journalism, government/social work/sociology, health/physical education/recreation, history/philosophy/geography, music, nursing, bachelor of interdisciplinary studies, and bachelor of science in technology 2+2. Graduates in the 3 p.m. ceremony include: biology, business, chemistry, computer science/mathematics/physics, economics, engineering technology, and psychology. In July 2006, Saccaro became CEO of Care and Share Food Bank. He is now charged with growing the organization’s capacity to narrow the gap between the 85,000 people Care and Share serves annually and the 130,000 people in need of emergency food assistance throughout Care and Share’s 31-county, 52,000 square-mile service area. In his first year, he helped the organization raise nearly $3 million of capital funds for a new facility and increased food distribution from 7.2 million pounds to projected 8.4 million pounds. Previously, Saccaro was the executive director of America’s Second Harvest of Greater St. Joseph, where he assisted in increasing food distribution from 2.3 million pounds to 3.6 million pounds. He also assisted in increasing the annual funds from $300,000 to $425,000. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Professor to Teach GPS Workshop Western’s Dr. Cary Chevalier, associate professor of biology and certified Trimble Navigation trainer, will teach a three-day workshop entitled “Introduction to Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for Mapping and Navigation,” May 16-18. The workshop is limited to a maximum number of 10 participants to ensure quality instruction and personal attention. If you are interested, reserve your place as soon as possible. The course is designed with no prior knowledge in GPS required or expected. The workshop will train on Trimble Geo CE-XT mobile Geographic Information Systems (GIS) GPS units with Terrasync Pro software. Members of the course will use Pathfinder Office integration software and will learn to use Bluetooth wireless communication, WAAS real-time differential and Coast Guard Beacon real-time differential. Anyone who needs to know how to gather GIS-level mapping GPS data, correct it and export it into a GIS is encouraged to attend. This includes people of law enforcement backgrounds, natural resource management, research involving geospatial-type data, urban planning/management, emergency providers or anyone else who needs to know how this data is collected and manipulated. Professionals as well as students who anticipate going into fields that use geospatial data are welcome to attend. For details including course content and instructions on how to register, visit www.wi.missouriwestern.edu/Seminars/gps_gis/index.html, or call 4100 for more information. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Fountain City Brass Band Wins National Competition The Fountain City Brass Band, started by Western instructor of music Lee Harrelson and including another Western instructor and students as members, won the “Super Bowl for brass bands,” according to Harrelson. The band was named champion in the North American Brass Band Championships in Kansas City, Mo., essentially being named America’s top brass band. The band also shattered the championship record, scoring a record 293 out of 300 possible points. Along with Harrelson, other band members include Steve Malloy, instructor of music, trumpet; and students Tim Thomas, cornet; David Haeker, percussion; and Joe Hull, percussion. Harrelson said the band has made a meteoric rise since its inception four years ago, being named “Most Entertaining Band” two years running in the U.S. Open Competition. Under the direction of Dr. Joseph Parisi, professor of music at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC), the band is a cross section of professional musicians, college and university music professors and students, and music educators. The band is the first American band to be invited to compete in the prestigious Masters Competition in Cambridge, England this May. While in the United Kingdom, they will present concerts in Manchester, Coventry, and Scotland. Those wanting to hear the national champions can do so at the next concert at 7:30 p.m. May 13 in While Hall at UMKC. Tickets are available by calling the central ticket office at 816-235-6222 or online at www.fcbb.net. |
||||||||
| Omicron Psi Induction | ||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||
|
Western inducted 39 nontraditional students at the 13th annual Omicron Psi induction ceremony April 18. Omicron Psi is a national honor society for nontraditional students over 24 years of age with at least 60 completed hours and at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average. The student must be involved in three campus and community activities. |
||||||||
| On April 13, 135 students from Kearny and Union Star high schools attended the Ready Set Go presentations. Josie Snelling, admissions counselor and Ready Set Go coordinator helps the students with the Reality Game. |
 |
|||||||
|
Presentation at Western Addresses Graying America One automobile manufacturer requires their 20-something designers to don a “third age suit” to give them an idea of the limitations faced by older consumers. Clothing designers are making fashionable clothing that addresses the needs of people with arthritis. Small kitchen gadgets are made with older hands in mind, large kitchens are being designed with slip-proof floors, and food manufacturers are producing more and more healthy items to fill those kitchen cupboards. These are examples of businesses that have realized the value of responding to the needs and wants of the aging Baby Boomer generation, according to Western professors Dr. Monica Nandan, associate professor of social work and coordinator of the gerontology program; and Dr. Shiva Nandan, professor of marketing. They recently presented “Graying America: Golden Opportunities in Silver Industries” as part of Western’s Eggs and Issues speaker series. “We have to re-invent the wheel,” said Dr. Shiva Nandan. “Unless we understand that each cohort is different, we will miss the boat in marketing to them. It cannot be business as usual. The ‘silver industries’ are those that specifically cater to the wants and needs of mature adults, or existing industries that are altering their products to cater to this segment.” Dr. Monica Nandan noted that there were 35 million Americans 65 years and older in 2000, and by 2010, there will be 40 million. But by 2030, it is estimated that there will be 72 million. “And they have tremendous buying power,” she said. “Those 50 years and older control 50 percent of all United States discretionary income. They spend $1.7 trillion on goods and services each year.” She noted that as people age, “We want to continue doing what we have always done.” And with life expectancies increasing, designers need to come up with ways that enable people to continue functioning at a high level as they age. “They want grace, health and elegance,” Dr. Shiva Nandan added. “The focus is, ‘I don’t want to limit my mobility just because I’m older.’” “There are tremendous opportunities out there,” said Dr. Shiva Nandan. |
||||||||
|
Baseball
Softball
Tennis
Men's Golf
|
||||||||
 |
Joyce Rochambeau holds a framed resolution honoring her deceased husband, Richard. Richard was honored at the Foundation Appreciation Dinner April 10 for his service to the MWSU Foundation Board. | |||||||
|
Thirty alumni of the St. Joseph Junior
College were inducted into the Golden Griffon Alumni Society at the annual
St. Joseph Junior College Reunion Brunch April 15. The Society is for
those who have graduated 50 or more years ago.
Approximately 80 people attended the brunch.
|
 |
|||||||
|
Music Concert The music department is having its third annual Benefit Concert: "May Musical Mania" at 7:30 p.m. May 5 in the Fulkerson Center. There will be a variety and quality of musical styles and performances from students, faculty, and alumni talents. The event is free and open to the community, although donations are graciously accepted. Help is Coming to Honduras From now until the week of finals, Western's nursing department has boxes by the main entrances to all major buildings on campus. Their goal is to collect 4,000 toothbrushes, bars of soap and multivitamins for the underprivileged citizens of Honduras, the third poorest country in Central America. Two faculty members and 11 students from the nursing department will travel to Honduras in July. Be sure to donate to the good cause! Spring Final Grades Beginning May 11th, you can view your final grades through My Western. Use the Student & Financial Aid option, Student Records and either Final Grades or Academic Transcript to view the information. If you took classes which do not appear with a grade, or appear as "In Progress" on your transcript, please contact the instructor of the class or the appropriate academic department. Guitar Festival Western will host the fifth annual St. Joseph International Guitar Festival May 16-20. Contenders will compete for over $8,000 in prize money, including gifts and debut concerts in St. Joseph, Boston and Houston. This year’s prizes ranks the festival in the top four classical guitar competitions in the United States. For more information about the events taking place, visit www.missouriwestern.edu/guitarfestival or contact the music department at 4420. Extreme Home Makeover The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition broadcast with the Jacobo family will be May 13 at 7 p.m. Mitchell Closing Due to bridge work and road construction, all campus entrances on Mitchell Ave. will be closed beginning May 14 for approximately 2-3 months. The Faraon St. entrance will be the only access to campus. Virginia Tech Shooting We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred at Virginia Tech University. Western students, faculty and staff who are concerned about the tragedy are urged to contact the counseling center by calling 4327. The department of public safety at Western would like to remind the university community to be actively alert to their surroundings. If you see suspicious or strange activity of persons on campus, contact the public safety department immediately. From campus dial 4438; from a cell phone or off campus dial 271-4438. In an extreme emergency situation, the campus community can also contact the local police communications center by dialing 911 from any on-campus phone. |
||||||||
|
Monday, April 23
Tuesday, April 24
Wednesday, April 25
Thursday, April 26
Friday, April 27
Saturday, April 28
Sunday, April 29 |
||||||||
|
We want your ads! Email publicrelations and we'll add them to Tower Topics. |
||||||||
|
Wanted: Your want ads! You
are welcome to submit ads to the Western ADvantage each week.
|
||||||||
