July 2-15, 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

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Western Recognizes Elementary Students' Character

Lynn Plett Named Women's Basketball Coach

June 2007 Points of Pride

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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.

Western Recognizes Elementary Students' Character

Hundreds of “hoodies” – that’s how Western helped recognize students at St. Joseph’s 18 elementary schools for their demonstration of character and good citizenship. Western donated more than 1,900 hooded sweatshirts (“hoodies”) to be distributed to the students who were named Citizen of the Month throughout the school year.

“I can’t tell you how much the kids appreciate it,” said Janet Elrod, counselor at Skaith Elementary. “They were all so proud of them.”

Elrod noted the students felt extra special that they were recognized, not only by their schools, but by the community. “It’s huge for our children to see they are being recognized by the university and the community,” she added.

“At Western we value service to the community, and we wanted to recognize that commitment for these elementary students helping to create a habit of service,” said Kristy Hill, director of public relations and marketing at Western. 

The sweatshirts read, “MWSU Recognizing Character,” and were distributed along with certificates at year-end assemblies throughout the school district. The Citizen of the Month awards are usually based on students who demonstrate the monthly character trait from the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce’s “A City Building Character” campaign.

“Every counselor in the district appreciates what was done for the children,” said Elrod.

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Lynn Plett Named Women's Basketball Coach

Western Director of Athletics Mark Linder has announced Lynn Plett as the head coach of the Griffon women’s basketball program. Plett comes to Western from Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., where he led the Flyers program for the previous five seasons (2002-2007).

“We are excited to have Lynn join our staff,” Linder said. “During this process, he stood out as an individual who embraced and exemplified our vision of graduating champions. His success as a head coach and years of experience at Division II will allow us to continue our tradition of excellence in women’s basketball. Lynn is a great addition to the Griffon family.”

During the 2006-2007 season, Plett led his team to a school best 28-4 record and was the host institution and no. 1 seed of the 2007 Great Lakes Regional Tournament. Lewis also won both the Great Lakes Valley Eastern Division Conference Championship and Great Lakes Valley Post-Season Tournament Championship. His team achieved a national ranking as high as no. 7 in the NCAA Division II Coaches Poll and finished the season no. 12 in NCAA Division II. He was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year and NCAA Division II Region 4 Coach of the Year.

“I am extremely grateful to Mark Linder and the search committee for giving me this opportunity to be Missouri Western’s women’s basketball coach,” Plett said. “I have had success over the years recruiting quality student-athletes who have developed into exceptional players and I believe the same can be done at Missouri Western.”

At Lewis, Plett inherited a program that finished 7-19 in its previous season. In just three seasons, he led the Flyers to a 19-11 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004-2005. His first team to make the NCAA Tournament also excelled in the classroom as they finished the season ranked no. 13 on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll with a team grade-point-average of 3.434. In 2005-2006, Plett’s squad returned to the NCAA National Tournament and moved up to no. 8 in the WBCA Academic Top 25 poll with a team GPA of 3.515.

“Although the Western basketball program graduated some key individuals from last season’s 30-4 team, there is a solid core of players returning along with a number of incoming freshmen who appear to have a great amount of potential,” Plett said. “Missouri Western’s season was very similar to the season we had at Lewis University last year, and I am optimistic that the work ethic that is usually established through having such a successful season will carry over for years to come.”

During his tenure at LU, he has led two NCAA Division II All-Americans, two NCAA Division II First Team All-Region selections, two Conference Players of the Year, and one Conference Newcomer of the Year. He was a member of the NCAA Division II National Coaches Poll Committee and was the conference representative on the Advisory Committee to Women’s Basketball Officials Consortium.

“The women’s basketball program at Missouri Western has been consistently competitive for many years in one of the most competitive conferences in the nation. Josh Keister and the coaches before him did an excellent job of establishing and maintaining a program that is respected throughout NCAA Division II. I look forward to the challenge of maintaining that success within the program and continuing to build the program with excellent student-athletes that will make the university and the community of St. Joseph proud.”

Plett becomes the seventh coach in Western basketball history and takes over a program that finished the season 30-4, was the host institution and no. 1 seed of the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament, and had a final ranking of no. 9 in the NCAA Division II Coaches Poll.

Plett earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and another in humanities and biblical studies from Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., where he competed in basketball and soccer. He and his wife Brenda have a son, Matt, and a daughter, Stacy.

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June 2007 Points of Pride

Excellence in Our Faculty and Staff

• Dr. Bob Bergland, associate professor of journalism, won two awards for articles he wrote last year working at The Grand Forks Herald as part of a six-week American Press Institute residency. He and the Herald sports editor won a Minnesota Press Association first-place award in the “Enterprise” category. Dr. Bergland also wrote seven of the 10 articles for an entry that won first place in the “Sports Reporting Series” category in the North Dakota Newspaper Association contest.

• Dr. Kelly Henry, associate professor of psychology, was named a finalist of the 2007 Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service-Learning. She, along with a brief description of her work, will be featured on the Campus Compact website. Dr. Henry was invited to present at the American Association for Colleges and Universities national conference about Western’s program as a result.

• Dr. Joseph Bragin, provost and vice president of academic and student affairs, has been invited to participate in a statewide task force to develop a funding formula for Missouri’s public institutions of higher education. The task force is advisory to the Council on Public Higher Education and includes representation from that group and the Department of Higher Education. The group meets bimonthly in Columbia, Mo., and will continue its work throughout the coming year.

• Dr. Joseph Bragin, provost and vice-president of academic and student affairs, has been invited by Gordon Lamb, interim president of the University of Missouri System, to participate in developing a plan to increase the number of graduates of health professions.

• Dr. Elizabeth Latosi-Sawin, professor of English and director of the Honors Program, has been accepted as a participant in the National Collegiate Honors Council Faculty Institute called “Prairie Attitudes and Urban Realities” to be held in Lincoln, Neb. The institute will make Lincoln a laboratory experience for faculty interested in developing experiential and interdisciplinary learning courses with field-based experiments at their own universities.

• Dr. Cindy Heider, associate professor of education, co-authored a publication, “Motivating Students to Read in the Content Classroom,” for the peer-reviewed Journal of Content Area Reading.

• Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology and department chair, and biology student Jordan Baumgardner recently attended the national meeting of the Institute for Biological Engineering in St. Louis where they gave oral and poster presentations of synthetic biology work conducted by the Western/Davidson iGEM team.

• Dr. Michael Ducey, associate professor of chemistry, presented “Introducing Students to Computational Chemical Structure Modeling in First Semester General Chemistry,” at the 2007 Freshman Year International Chemistry Conference in Boulder, Colo.

• Nader Vargha, associate professor of economics, presented a paper, “Minimum Wage and Illegal Immigration: A New Economic Paradigm,” at the 24^th annual Southwest Business Symposium at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

• Dr. Bob Bergland, associate professor of journalism, presented “Convergent Media Curricula in American Journalism Programs: An Analysis of Degrees and Courses at Accredited Universities,” at the fifth annual International Media and Communications Conference held in Athens, Greece. Bergland co-authored the paper with students Teresa Bozarth and Jennifer Thompson.

• Bill Church, instructor of English, presented a paper entitled, “Keeping the Faith: The Elusive Christian Moral Center in Edward P. Jones’ Fiction,” at the American Literature Association’s Annual Conference in Boston.

• Dr. James MacGregor, assistant professor of history, presented a paper, “Praying to Saint George in Late Medieval England,” at the 43^rd International Congress on Medieval Studies in Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo.

• Dr. Phil Wann, professor of psychology and department chair, presented a poster entitled, “Service-Learning and Undergraduate Research: Symbiotic Applied Learning across the Psychology Curriculum,” at the Council of Undergraduate Psychology Programs Creative Department Poster Competition at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in Chicago. The paper dealt with how the department has used assessment studies designed by students to evaluate the outcomes of service-learning projects.

• Dr. Phil Wann, professor of psychology and department chair, presented a paper entitled “Type D Personality, Blood Pressure Regulation, and Everyday Memory Lapses,” at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science in Washington, D.C.

• Dr. Teddi Deka, professor of psychology, presented a poster entitled “Let’s Play: A Class Exercise Emphasizing Cognitive-Developmental Principles,” at the Midwestern Psychological Association Conference in Chicago. She also served on the Psi Chi regional steering committee for the conference, moderating student presentation sessions.

• Dr. Russ Phillips, instructor of psychology, co-presented a poster entitled, “The Relationship between Religion and Physical Health Varies by Religious Coping Style,” with recent psychology graduate Julie Garside at the Association for Psychological Sciences conference.

• Dr. Cindy Heider, associate professor of education, and Carolyn Carlson of Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., were invited to present, “Motivating Students to Read in the Content Classroom,” at a content area reading special interest group at the International Reading Association annual meeting in Toronto. They also presented a research poster, “Secondary Reading Specialists: Demographics, Training and Employment Characteristics.”

• Marsha Dolan, associate professor of nursing and coordinator of the Health Information Technology Program, recently presented at the 15^th annual Congress of the International Federation of Health Record Organizations (IFHRO) in Seoul, South Korea. IFHRO is affiliated with the World Health Organization and is committed to improvement and promotion of health informatics and health care records throughout the world. Dolan spoke at a plenary session on the topic of personal health records, a vital area of interest in today’s healthcare environment, and the migration toward electronic health records.

• Carol Roever, associate professor of business and department chair, presented a program on the “Hermann Brain Dominance Concept” to the St. Joseph Chapter of Credit Unions.

• Dr. Shauna Hiley, associate professor of chemistry, and Rosalie Guyer, advising and A+ coordinator, provided development sessions for over 80 faculty and staff advisors. They are also coordinating the academic advising part of Destination Western. 

• Peggy Ellis, director of noncredit programs and business and industry training, presented “Missouri’s Customized Training Program” to members of the Kiwanis Club of St. Joseph. She also attended Advanced Apprenticeship training in Jefferson City, Mo. This training is funded by the Missouri Division of Workforce Development and will assist in an initiative to focus on promoting and expanding apprenticeship to new and emerging businesses in high growth industries.

• Dr. Gary Homann, instructor of psychology, defended his doctoral dissertation entitled, “An Examination of Maintenance Practice Incorporated into a Weight Loss Program.” Dr. Homann earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Wyoming.

Excellence in Our Students

• The following Western student-athletes have been named to the 2006-2007 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association All-Academic Team: Alyssa Berg, volleyball, junior; Ashley Blickenstaff, volleyball, junior; Leon Douglas, football, senior; Nicole Heineman, softball, senior; Jill Johnson, women’s basketball, junior; Melissa Malone, volleyball, senior; Lindsey Predovich, softball, senior; Michelle Ritter, tennis, sophomore; Patrick St. Louis, football, junior; and Dustin Strickler, football, sophomore. To earn this distrinction, student-athletes must have a cumulative 3.50 GPA in two terms of attendance at the nominating institution and earn All-MIAA honors in their sport over the past season.

• Biology student Jordan Baumgardner and Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology, recently attended the national meeting of the Institute for Biological Engineering in St. Louis where they gave oral and poster presentations of synthetic biology work conducted by the Western/Davidson iGEM team.

• Three students presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association conference in Chicago: Amanda O’Dell presented, “Impact of Parenting Styles on Weight in College Females.” Koren Dailey presented, “Birth Order and Its Effect on Motivation and Academic Achievement.” Rachel Lyday presented, “Gifted and Confident: The Benefits of Gifted Programs on Coping Skills.” Dr. Teddi Deka, professor of psychology, sponsored the three presentations.

• Amanda O’Dell jointly presented a poster entitled, “Obese Show Lower Investment in Self-Worth Contingencies Across Domains,” with Dr. Teddi Deka, professor of psychology, at the Association for Psychological Science Convention in Washington, D.C.

• Business majors Erin Ward and Nicole Render presented “Leveraging Your Dollars Through a Partnership with an Educational Institution to Get Real Numbers,” at the annual conference of the Missouri Association of Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus.

Excellence in Our Programs

• The department of psychology received the first-place award in the Council of Undergraduate Psychology Programs Creative Department Poster Competition at the Midwestern Psychological Association meeting in Chicago.

• The chemistry department hosted the 30^th annual Chemathon competition. It brought 540 students from 29 regional high schools to Western’s campus to participate in a day filled with chemistry and physics competitions and activities. The Chemathon is the nation’s longest running continuous high school competition in chemistry and physics structured under the science Olympiad format. 

• First Year Programs has had two very successful registration/orientation programs so far and has received positive feedback from parents and students. The total of the first R/O program was 130 students and 101 guests.  The total for the second R/O program was 115 students and 129 guests.

• The Western Institute has begun to move activities to the new downtown center including the law enforcement academy and Pass the Power adult literacy program. Community arts classes and urban research activities are being planned for this summer and fall.

• Class 26 of the law enforcement academy participated in the Special Olympics Torch Run. The cadets ran from Cameron, Mo., to the Missouri Highway Patrol in St Joseph, Mo., where they met other law enforcement officers and proceeded down Belt Highway to the Ramada Inn on Frederick Avenue for the presentation. The cadets are also helping the Special Olympics by selling Torch Run t-shirts and hats. The academy will move to a new location, the Downtown University Center, this summer.

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Western hosted the fifth annual St. Joseph International Guitar Festival and Competition May 16-20. Contenders competed for over $8,000 in prize money including gifts and debut concerts in St. Joseph, Boston and Houston. Eduardo Minozzi Costa of Brazil won first-place. Second-place winner was Austin Moorhead, and third-place was Jonathan Dotson, both of the United States. Masterclasses and lectures (shown right) took place during the day, while the competitions took place during the evenings.

Take me out to the ball game The St. Joe Blacksnakes, partnered with the United Way of Greater St. Joseph, have brought United Way Nights at the Blacksnakes. Fifty percent of the ticket price for each ticket sold by United Way or United Way volunteers is donated to United Way. Upcoming United Way Nights are July 21 and July 29. Games start at 7:05 p.m. Grandstand tickets are $6 each, and box seat tickets are $8 each. Call 364-2381 for more information.

New Assistant Director of PR and Marketing Western announces the appointment of Kent Heier as assistant director of public relations and marketing. Heier comes to Western after nearly 10 years as a reporter for Eagle Radio in St. Joseph.  In addition to his news duties, he has provided color commentary for Western football and basketball broadcasts.  Previously, he was news and sports director for KVSV Radio in Beloit, Kan.

Western Is Online The Western television shows "Western Reports" and "U-News" are now online. Individual segments can be seen as streaming video or downloaded to be watched in an asynchronous manner. A button will be placed on the homepage as "Watch Western Television," which will lead viewers to the following URL: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/IMC/News/index.html explaining the programs with links to the actual archives of program segments.

Destination Western Here are the remaining dates for Destination Western, the summer orientation program for incoming freshman:  July 11-12, 15-16, and Aug. 19-20.

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Monday, July 2

• Planetarium series, "More than Meets the Eye," at 7 p.m. in the planetarium, Agenstein 105

• First day of classes for second four-week session

Tuesday, July 3

•  Final grades due for first four-week session

Wednesday, July 4

• Independence Day. Campus closed

Wednesday, July 11

• Fifth session of Destination Western begins. Lasts until July 12

Sunday, July 15

• Sixth session of Destination Western begins. Lasts until July 16

Thursday, July 26

• Final exams for eight-week and second four-week session

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For Sale by Owner: 5410 South 40th (A Highway) 2/3 acre ranch home. Living area of 2,400-plus, 3 bedroom, 3 bath. Large family room with walkout basement and large two-car attached garage. Lots of extras, underground electric fence to keep pets safe, central vacuum unit, landscaped yard, and more. Visit online at , or call for an appointment at 816-279-2582. Asking Price:  $203,000.

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