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President James Scanlon Announces Retirement Plans
Dr.
James Scanlon, president of Western, announced his plan today to retire
June 30, 2008. He made his decision known to the Board of Governors during
the closed session of the meeting last night, and he announced his plans
to the campus April 27.
“Western is a wonderful place. It has given me the best years in higher
education, the very best years. Whatever I may have been or will become, I
will always be one of you – a Griffon. Thank you for allowing me to be a
Griffon. Thank you for encouraging me to work with courage and imagination
for students, the community and the region. It will always be my pleasure
to be a Griffon,” Dr. Scanlon said when announcing his decision to the
campus today.
He
decided to announce his decision early to give the board more than a year
to complete the search process for the next president.
“We
appreciate Dr. Scanlon’s leadership and vision over the past several
years. He will be missed,” said Janet Leachman, chair of the Board of
Governors. “Over the next few months the Board of Governors will begin
the search process for the next president.”
According to Dr. Scanlon, he will turn 65 in October 2008 and felt this
was the right time to retire. He and his wife Lauren plan to relocate
permanently to their home in North Carolina after his retirement.
Western has grown significantly under Dr. Scanlon’s leadership, and one of
the most significant changes was the designation as a university in 2005.
Dr. Scanlon’s leadership in communicating Western’s accomplishments to the
legislature and community helped promote this change. Under his
leadership, Western successfully received approval to offer an applied
master’s degrees beginning fall 2007.
“President Scanlon is a man of great integrity. He is unwavering in his
commitment to quality, applied learning, community partnership and ethical
practices. Working with him is a rewarding experience,” said Dan Nicoson,
vice president for university advancement.
Dr.
Scanlon has focused Western’s efforts outward as a partnership between the
university and the region it serves. This initiative of combining student
and community needs is the model of a New American Regional University.
One of the strongest components of this approach is the focus on community
partnerships and economic development. During his tenure, Western’s
economic impact in the region has grown from $118 to $160.9 million.
Western partners with more than 60 community organizations in many areas,
especially workforce and economic development.
The
creation of the Institute for Industrial and Applied Life Sciences and the
construction of the Christopher S. “Kit” Bond Science and Technology
Incubator are important steps in growing the life sciences in the region.
The master of applied science also directly supports the development and
growth of the life sciences in the region.
Another important part of his vision of the New American Regional
University is his focus on applied learning and applied research. During
his time at Western, Dr. Scanlon took Western’s strength of applied
learning, which is categorized by internships, clinical experiences and
faculty-student research, and made it the university’s statewide mission
and university signature. The percentage of graduates completing these
experiences has grown to 80 percent during the past five years. In the
next strategic plan the goal is to reach 100 percent of graduates.
During constrained budget years, where universities saw budgets continue
to shrink in depressed economic times, Western was able to grow. During
this time Western maintained quality programs, staffing levels, and
continued to keep a high proportion of its budget, about 83 percent,
directly serving students. Western maintained one of the lowest tuition
levels in the state at the same time. In fact, Western did not raise
tuition in three of the last six years, even with a decreased level of
state funding.
The
campus has grown during President Scanlon’s administration. The Living
Learning Center, Commons Building, and Fulkerson Center have been
constructed. The University Plaza will be dedicated this year. In
addition, the cafeteria, the library and several student spaces have been
renovated.
During Dr. Scanlon’s tenure, Western completed a five-year strategic plan
and is working on creating a new plan for the next five years. During the
first strategic planning process, more than 400 members of the campus and
the community participated in the creation and implementation of this
plan. Dr. Scanlon made the plan a living, working document and has
dedicated funding for plan implementation each year.
Building on the work of the strategic plan, Western voluntarily joined the
Academic Quality Improvement Project in 2003. This program aligned
Western’s accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North
Central Association of Colleges and Schools with the strategic planning
process. This accreditation focuses Western’s efforts on strategic
improvements and continuous quality improvement. At the time of
application, Western received word that its application was a “model
application” and has since successfully completed its first systems
portfolio, or progress report on improvement, for the project.
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April 2007 Points of Pride
Excellence in Our Faculty
and Staff
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Dr. Ken Lee, professor of mathematics, was selected as the Distinguished
College or University Teaching of Mathematics Award winner by the
Missouri Section of the Mathematical Association of America. He is the
first faculty member from Western to receive this award in its 15-year
history. This, in essence, a lifetime achievement award.
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Patty
Hartenbower, assistant professor of physical education, attended the
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
National Conference in
Baltimore where she received the Pathfinder National Award.
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Jill Miller,
professor of criminal justice, attended the 70th annual
conference of the American Criminal Justice Association – Lambda Alpha
Epsilon in Wilmington, Del. with seven students. Miller placed first in
juvenile justice in the professional division.
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At the American
College of Personal Association/National Association of Student Personal
Administrators conference Michael Speros, director of residential life,
received an award for developing inclusive programs in the residence
halls.
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The Fountain City
Brass Band, which was started by Lee Harrelson, assistant professor of
music and theory coordinator, was named champion in the North American
Brass Band Championships in Kansas City, Mo., essentially being named
America’s top brass band. Along with Harrelson, other band members
include Steve Malloy, instructor of music, tumpet; and students Tim
Thomas of St. Joseph, cornet; David Haeker of Parkville, Mo.,
percussion; and Joe Hull of Lebanon, Mo.,percussion.
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Dr. James Puckett, instructor of chemistry, was recently elected to a
three-year term on the 18-member National Science Teachers Association’s
(NSTA) Council representing Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Dr. Puckett
also attended the recent NSTA National Conference on Science Education
in St. Louis where he served as a council liaison to the coordination
and supervision committee and assisted with the awards and recognition
banquet preparations.
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Ellen Kisker,
director of the nontraditional student services, was named the National
Nontraditional Adviser of the Year at the recent national meeting of the
Association for Nontraditional Students in Higher Education at Oklahoma
State University.
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Mike Ritter,
disability services coordinator, was a keynote speaker at the Meeting of
the Minds Conference, speaking on character development and providing a
breakout session on disability awareness. Ritter also made presentations
for the Salvation Army Women’s League, the International Association of
Administrative Professions and Kiwanis. He also coordinated the
“Celebrating the Human Spirit” banquet at Western, where the efforts of
51 student volunteer note takers were recognized and over 20 faculty
members were recognized by their students as “Outstanding Instructors.”
He also published a workbook on character development and made
presentations for College 101 classes on “Drinking and Driving & Making
Health Choices.” Ritter was also asked to join the St. Joseph Drug Free
Community Coalition.
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Dr. Joseph Bragin, provost and vice-president for academic student
affairs, has had an article entitled “Superconductivity of Lithium Under
Pressure,” co-authored by R. A. Jishi, department of physics, California
State University, Los Angeles, and M. Benkraouda, department of physics,
United Arab Emirates University, accepted by the Journal of Low
Temperature Physics.
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Dr. Dan Cox, assistant professor of government, co-authored an article
“Democratic Sanctions: Connecting the Democratic Peace and Economic
Sanctions” which was published in the Journal of Peace Research.
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Dr. Chris Shove,
executive director and dean of the Western Institute, attended the Clay
County Economic Development Summit that included the county
commissioners and Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes. Dr. Shove also met with
the Kansas City International Airport Development Action Team to plan
their new 640-acre airport industrial park. In addition, Dr. Shove
attended the National Space Symposium to develop collaborations and
donations to improve science, technology, engineering and math education
for high school students via dual credit where he met with many senior
officials from NASA and aerospace firms.
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Susan Bracciano,
assistant registrar, recently attended the SCT/Banner Summit. This is
the national meeting for banner users and gives users the opportunity to
attend various workshops and to receive the latest updates regarding the
banner system.
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Dr. Marilyn Hunt, associate professor of communication studies and
department chair, attended the annual Southern States Communication
Conference in Louisville, Ky. She served as respondent on a panel,
“Current Topics in Applied Health Communication Research,” sponsored by
the Applied Communication Division.
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Dr. Cindy Heider, interim dean of professional studies, participated as
the Board of Examiners Chair for a
National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education
accreditation visit in Illinois.
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Dr. Michael Ducey, associate professor of chemistry; Victoria Sample,
lab coordinator; and Craig Darrough, environmental safety coordinator,
partnered with the Kansas City section of the American Chemical Society
to offer a high school laboratory safety workshop. The workshop was
attended by 12 regional secondary science educators.
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Dr. Mei Zhang, assistant professor of communication studies, gave a talk
on intercultural communication at the St. Joseph Runcie Club’s world
affairs meeting.
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Dr. Tim Crowley,
licensed counselor, provided a presentation to a Plattsburg leadership
group on “Developing the Leader Within.” He also provided the keynote
address for the Caring Communities Conference on Alcohol/Substance Abuse
Prevention and Intervention in Cape Girardeau, Mo. The presentation was
entitled “This Place – How Did We Get Here, Where Will We Go?”
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R.E. Moore, director of developmental math, attended the 2007 annual
conference of the National Association for Developmental Education in
Nashville Tenn. He gave a presentation entitled “What’s on My Line?” an
overview of several computer-based developmental mathematics
instructional programs including the developmental math program used at
Western.
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Dr. Jeff Poet,
assistant professor of mathematics, and Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of
biology and department chair, gave the fourth of five lectures in the
series of presentations of faculty research initiatives called “Flippin’
Pancakes: A Synthetic Biology Adventure.”
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Dr. Catherine
Lawson, professor of economics and department chair; and student Stacia
Stallman made a joint presentation of the paper “Designs on Learning:
Creating Video Games to Teach and Learn Economics” at the Eastern
Economics Association conference in New York City.
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Dr. Reza Hamzaee,
professor of economics, presented two of his research papers, “Bank
Valuation Methodology” and “Economic Freedom: An Empirical Analysis,” at
the annual convention of the International Atlantic Economic Society in
Madrid, Spain.
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Dr. Paul Shang, dean
of student development; Michael Speros, director of residential life;
Jennifer Kacere, residence hall director; and Stan Sweeney, center for
student engagement director, attended the American College of Personal
Association/National Association of Student Personal Administrators
conference in Florida. Dr. Shang and Speros presented a three-hour
preconference workshop entitled, “Promoting Community in Residence Halls
When the Students Are Never Home.” The selection of this presentation is
especially noteworthy because the conference only occurs once every 10
years and the competition for presentations is very rigorous.
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Dr. Mike Cadden,
professor of English, delivered the annual Lois Lenski Memorial Lecture
in Children’s Literature at
Illinois
State
University.
The title of the talk was “Before the Beginning and After the End:
Forewords, Afterwords, and Other Words in Children’s Literature.”
Co-sponsored by the university library and the department of English,
the lecture is addressed annually to members of the local and university
communities.
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Dr. Kaye Adkins,
associate professor of English, presented a paper “Sarbanes-Oxley: The
Technical Communicator’s Role in Compliance Documentation” at the annual
conference of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing in New
York. While in New York she attended the Conference on College
Composition and Communication. She also judged papers at the Greater
Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair. Judging was organized by
members of the Kansas City chapter of the Society for Technical
Communication.
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Dr. Ken Rosenauer,
professor of journalism and department chair, helped to organize and
present the Spring National College Media Convention in New York City.
As convention services coordinator, he handled registration and related
materials for more than 1,500 advisors, journalism educators and
students attending the meeting. Dr. Rosenauer is also one of two
candidates for president of College Media Advisers.
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Dr. Monica Nandan,
associate professor of social work; and Dr. Shiva Nandan, professor of
marketing, conducted a workshop entitled “Prolonged ‘Middlescence’ of
Mature Adults: Recommendations for Marketers” at the annual conference
of the American Society on Aging held in Chicago.
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Dr. Steven Greiert,
professor of history, presented a paper entitled “Disregarded But
Vindicated: The Earl of Halifax: A Solitary Voice of Warning against
the Braddock Expedition of 1755” at the 50th annual Missouri Valley
History Conference in Omaha, Neb.
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Dr. Faye Smith,
professor of business, made a presentation entitled “SWUF your SWOT:
Help your Competitive Strategies Succeed” at the Central Exchange
Professional Development – Learn from Area Academics series held in
Kansas City.
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Dr. Cindy Heider,
interim dean of professional studies, presented a paper, “Using
Leadership Traits and Emotional Intelligence to Develop Beginning
Teacher Dispositions and Skills,” and a poster session, “Highly
Qualified Teachers: The Challenge of Out-Of-Field and Not Fully
Certified Teachers,” at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher
Education annual conference in New York City.
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Xiao Zhang, research
associate and GIS analyst of the Western Institute, prepared geographic
analysis maps for the proposed Western center in downtown St. Joseph.
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Peggy Ellis,
noncredit programs and business and industry training of the Western
Institute, presented Missouri’s Customized Training Program to members
of the Institute of Management Accountants.
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Dr. Chris Shove,
director and dean of the Western Institute, made a presentation to the
St. Joseph Historical Society regarding collaboration on an
archeological dig in downtown St. Joseph.
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Kit Blake,
instructor of education, attended the annual conference of the
Association of Teacher Educators in San Diego where she presented
“Partner Dialogue Journaling.” This research resulted in a publication
in the International Reading Association’s special interest group’s
Professors of Reading Teacher Educators, peer reviewed journal, The
Reading Professor.
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Rosalie Guyer, A+
coordinator, was part of a group of panelists at the Missouri ACT State
Organization 2007 conference in Columbia, Mo. The presentation was
“Ready, Set, Go: Helping First Generation Students Take the Next Step.”
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Dr. Judy Grimes,
dean of student services; Dr. Jeanne Daffron, assistant vice president
of academic and student affairs and interim graduate dean; and President
James Scanlon gave a presentation at the Higher Learning Commission in
Chicago as part of the Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP)
pre-conference sessions. Their presentation was entitled “Strategic
Planning, AQIP, Recruitment and Retention: Putting the Pieces
Together.” Dr. Grimes has also been invited to make a similar
presentation at the Noel-Levitz National Conference on Student
Recruitment, Marketing and Retention in July.
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Frederica Nix,
instructor of criminal justice, presented “Mental Health Issues in the
Criminal Justice System” at the 44th Annual Academy of
Criminal Justices Sciences annual conference in Seattle.
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Tom Fuhrmann,
instructor of business, took three business majors to the seventh Annual
Global Student Investment Forum at the University of Dayton. This is the
first time Western has participated in the event.
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Dr. Cindy Heider,
interim dean of professional studies; Dr. Jeanie Crain, special
assistant to the president; and Dr. Martin Johnson, dean of liberal arts
and sciences, attended the Higher Learning Commission Conference on
“Making a Difference in Student Learning: Assessment as a Core
Strategy” in Lisle, Ill.
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Greg Lindsteadt,
instructor of criminal justice, presented “The Use of Release Discretion
in Facilities for Female Youth” and “The Behaviorally Challenged Youth
in Juvenile Justice Facilities” at the 44th Annual Academy of
Criminal Justices Sciences annual conference in Seattle.
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Dr. Bob Bergland,
professor of journalism; Dr. Chris Shove, director and dean of the
Western Institute; and Dr. Judy Grimes, dean of student services,
organized the visit of four international students from Ukraine and
Romania. The group will participate in journalism and community
development projects. This will ensure that Western will maintain the
visa granting status with U.S. Immigration.
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Dr. Chris Shove,
director and dean of the Western Institute, met with the executive
director of the Regional Planning Commissions of Missouri to start a
regional planning intern program for Western students. Various regional
planning commissioners agreed to offer paid internships to 10 to 20
students.
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Master Sgt.
Christopher Grant, instructor of military science, and Sgt. 1st
Class Joseph Becker, instructor of military science, accompanied 13
cadets from the military science department as they participated in the
Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico. Thousands of military and
civilian participants from across the country participated to honor the
sacrifices of thousands of allied service members who died while being
marched by Japanese forces through the Philippine jungles in 1942.
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Linda Garlinger,
career services director, and Venny Pruitt, northlands education
coordinator, represented Western at the KCI Northland Chamber of
Commerce Business Fair.
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Michelle Ritter,
webmaster, spoke at the three day “Spinal Cord Injury: From Injury to
Home Again” seminar. This seminar, in collaboration with Heartland
Health, Western’s physical therapy assistant program, and the center for
professional development, provided a total of 430 contact hours of
continuing professional education for regional physical therapists,
occupational therapists, physical therapy assistants, certified
occupational therapy assistants and nurses.
Excellence in Our
Students
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Student Ed Harris
was named the National Nontraditional Student of the Year at the recent
national meeting of the Association for Nontraditional Students in
Higher Education at
Oklahoma
State
University.
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Student Leon Douglas
received the Physical Education Major of the Year award from the
National Association of Sport and Physical at the American Alliance for
Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance National Conference in
Baltimore.
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Seven students from
the construction materials class passed the national American Concrete
Institute’s concrete field testing technician grade I written and
performance examinations and are now officially certified. Angela Caw,
instructor of engineering technology, and Dr. Virendra Varma, professor
of engineering technology and department chair, served as supplemental
examiner and examiner for the certification examination.
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Western alumni from
Black & Veatch Engineers in Overland Park, Kan. made a presentation to
engineering technology students. Students were interviewed for
internships and job placement.
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The Fountain City
Brass Band was named champion in the North American Brass Band
Championships in
Kansas City,
Mo.,
essentially being named
America’s top brass
band. Band members include Steve Malloy, instructor of music, tumpet;
and students Tim Thomas of St. Joseph, cornet; David Haeker of
Parkville, Mo., percussion; and Joe Hull of Lebanon, Mo., percussion.
Lee Harrelson, assistant professor of music and theory coordinator,
started the band.
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Seven students who are computer information system or computer science
majors, attended the Association of Information Technology Professionals
conference in Detroit. Western’s analysis and design team brought home a
second place trophy and certificate for the web design contest.
Students Stacy Downing, Teri Hughes, Brian Jacobs, Ben Weldon, Ben
Kacirek, Amy Porter and Jared Arslanian participated in a variety of
IT-related contests, networked with peers and IT recruiters and attended
sessions with keynote speakers. The students from the Systems Analysis
and Design class from fall 2006 started a project with the non-profit
Corvette Club of St. Joseph to re-design their website. This project
allowed the students to apply what they were learning in the classroom
to a real life experience and also provide a service to an organization
in our community. The students submitted their web site proposal in
December 2006 and their design specification in February. With each
successive submission they were approved and went to the next level of
competition. After submitting the final website in March, they were
chosen to present at the conference and, at the awards banquet that
evening they won second. Connie Hecker, instructor of computer science,
and Deborah Becker, instructor of computer science, traveled along with
the students.
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Seven students
accompanied by Jill Miller, professor of criminal justice, attended the
70th annual conference of the American Criminal Justice
Association – Lambda Alpha Epsilon in Wilmington, DE. The students
competed in written tests: crime scene, physical agility, and
firearms.
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Three psychology
students participated in the Great Plains Students’ Psychology
Convention held over spring break at
Friends
University in Wichita, KS. The conference featured 150 papers presented
by students from more than 35 midwestern colleges and universities.
Sonya Colvin and Julie Garside presented a poster entitled “Carl Jung
Neopsychoanalytical Psychologist” that was sponsored by Dr. James
Bargar, professor of psychology. Julie Garside also presented a poster,
“The Relationship Between Different Forms of Religious Coping and
Physical and Mental Health,” that received a first place award in her
session. The research was sponsored by Dr. Russ Phillips, instructor of
psychology. William Spalding gave a paper “An Investigation of the
Relationship of Type A and Type D Personalities” that earned the first
place award in his session. The research was sponsored by Dr. Phil Wann,
professor of psychology and department chair.
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Roger Morrison, an
independent study student of Dr. Tim Miller, professor of mathematics,
presented his work on “Plane Cross Sections of Platonic Solids” at the
Mathematical Association of America meeting.
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Graduates Robert
Smith and Warren Noll gave a computer science, mathematics and physics
colloquium and recruiter seminar entitled, “Seniors, Need a Job?”
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Tyler Rohr, a junior
Communication major at Western, spoke at the three day “Spinal Cord
Injury: From Injury to Home Again” seminar. This seminar, in
collaboration with Heartland Health, Western’s physical therapy
assistant program, and the center for professional development, provided
a total of 430 contact hours of continuing professional education for
regional physical therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapy
assistants, certified occupational therapy assistants and nurses.
Excellence in Our
Programs
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Foreign language faculty hosted regional
high school students for Foreign Language Day. One hundred forty-nine
students participated in academic and cultural competitions, including
poetry recitation, cooking, ethnic dancing, and cultural quizzes. Four
students received Western scholarships for their performance on the
foreign language placement tests. The foreign language honor society,
Alpha Mu Gamma, assisted in directing the days activities.
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Western’s department of music and the St.
Joseph Community Chorus sponsored the St. Joseph Regional Pre-Contest
Concert 2007 at the Central High School Auditorium. Participating high
schools were Benton, Lafayette, Central and Savannah.
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Forty-four construction engineering
technology students accompanied by Dr. Jin-Lee Kim, assistant professor
of engineering technology; participated in a field trip to a
construction project for the Kansas City Police Department Academy. The
project consists of a main building, the assimilation building, and the
firing range building and incorporates sophisticated technology.
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Over 300 high school juniors from the
five-state area and their parents were on campus on Good Friday for an
admission Open House Day. There was an excellent turnout of faculty to
assist with the day.
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A student/parent reception was held at the
Days Inn in Macon, Mo. Kristen Neeley, admissions counselor, and current
Western students ran the program for transfer and first-time students.
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The Saturday VIP Visit Day was a great
success. One hundred seventy-five students and parents attended the
program. Faculty from most departments presented in the morning
session. There were visitors from several states in attendance.
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With 13 scheduled visit days, admissions
counselors were able to speak to over 1,200 middle school students about
the many different post secondary-education opportunities that are
available to them after high school graduation. They also reviewed the
Missouri Core Curriculum along with other important information to
better prepare them for the future, whatever path they may chose.
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Career development and student employment
hosted the spring career fair with more than 85 companies attending and
more than 250 students participating. The Education Expo was held at
Western with 83 school districts and over 100 teacher candidates in
attendance.
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The Western Institute Palette art class
schedule designed by Lisa Novinger, marketing analyst and coordinator of
the Western Institute, was selected as a winner of the 2007 American
Inhouse Design Awards by Graphic Design USA. There were over 4,000
entries and roughly 15 percent received recognition.
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Over 30 people attended the three day
“Spinal Cord Injury: From Injury to Home Again” seminar. Speakers from
Craig Hospital, Denver; Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago;
Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City; Madonna Rehabilitation
Hospital, Lincoln, Neb.; Think First Missouri; Columbia, Mo., and
Heartland Health, St. Joseph joined Western staff and a Western student
in presenting this program. Guest speakers included Michelle Ritter,
webmaster, and Tyler Rohr, a junior Communication major at Western. This
seminar, in collaboration with Heartland Health, Western’s physical
therapy assistant program, and the center for professional development,
provided a total of 430 contact hours of continuing professional
education for regional physical therapists, occupational therapists,
physical therapy assistants, certified occupational therapy assistants
and nurses.
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The Center for Conferences ran a successful
Boy Scout Merit Badge program for 500 Boy Scouts.
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Dr. Evelyn Brooks, professor of nursing; Dr.
Doug Eicher, associate professor of education; Evan Noynaert, assistant
professor of computer science; Dr. John Ellis, assistant professor of
education; Roger Voelkel, assistant professor of nursing; and Bonnie
Alsbury, assistant professor of nursing, prepared and cooked a breakfast
for the Vaselakos residents. Dr. Brooks, along with residents from
Vaselakos, attended the luau lunch in the cafeteria.
- Residence Council
(RC) provided a week of programs including country learning, a Madden
tournament, a block party, Campus Activities Board vs. RC in dodge ball
and Western Jeopardy.
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