MWSU Retirees

T. Boone Pickens to be Convocation Speaker

The legendary oil and gas entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens will be the speaker at Missouri Western’s Convocation on Critical Issues at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 4, 2012 in the Looney Complex. The Convocation is free and open to the public. Pickens will also participate in a question-and-answer session at a special Convocation Luncheon following the speech. Ticket information for the luncheon will be announced at a later date.

“Pickens is outspoken on the United States’ energy policies, energy options for the future and leadership,” said Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advancement and executive director of the MWSU Foundation. “The Missouri Western Foundation is proud to bring nationally prominent speakers to Missouri Western and the St. Joseph area. It is uncommon for a university and community of this size to regularly hear from leading experts of national fame.”

Pickens will be the 19^th speaker in the annual Convocation on Critical Issues series funded and hosted by the MWSU Foundation. The convocation exposes students at the university, as well as area high school students and members of the community, to some of the leading thinkers in the nation.

Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president, has some personal knowledge of Pickens and enthusiastically endorsed his selection as the next convocation speaker.

“Mr. Pickens was the chair of the Board when I was hired at West Texas A&M University nearly 25 years ago, so I have seen him in action ‘up close’ and from afar,” Dr. Vartabedian said. “I know that he will be an interesting, informative, and colorful addition to our prestigious annual Convocation on Critical Issues.”

A folk hero in global business for his tenacity in the rough-and-tumble world of mergers and acquisitions, Pickens’ career has staggering breadth. He first build and led one of the largest independent natural gas and oil companies. Then, at a time in his life when many of his peers retired to the golf course, he reinvented himself by establishing one of the nation’s most successful energy-related investment funds. He chronicled the lessons he learned during his journey in his best selling 2008 autobiography titled “The First Billion is the Hardest:  Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America’s Energy Future.” His speech at Missouri Western will be titled “Leadership and Getting Things Done:  Reflections on a Lifetime of Comebacks and America’s Energy Future.”

Ranked by Forbes as one of the world’s richest people, Pickens serves as the chairman of BP Capital Management. He is a noted energy activist who is also an innovative, committed philanthropist who has donated nearly $1 billion to charity. His impact on American culture reflects his many interests and passions, including an unyielding belief in the entrepreneurial spirit, leadership and corporate fitness, the need for alternative fuel development, and prudent stewardship of American lands.

The Convocation was started in 1993 as part of an overall commitment to offer enriching experiences to students while bringing together the college and the community. The Convocation is held in honor of R. Dan Boulware, a local attorney who served as president of the University’s Board of Regents and whose personal efforts were important in securing Pickens as this year’s speaker.

“I have wanted to have T. Boone Pickens address our Convocation about energy issues for some time,” Boulware said. “The timing is right. We are very fortunate to have him and I am looking forward to his presentation.”

Previous speakers at the Convocation on Critical Issues include Bill Bradley, James Carville and Mary Matalin, Sam Donaldson, Steve Forbes, Thomas Friedman, David Gergen, Newt Gingrich, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jeane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Linenger, David McCullough, Joseph Nye, Colin Powell, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Daniel Schorr, Patricia Schroeder, J. C. Watts and Bob Woodward.

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Night at the Ritz

The "Night at the Ritz" annual fundraiser for the MWSU Ambassadors was held Friday April 27. The theme this year was "Ritzy Night at the Theater." Students from the opera workshop provided the entertainment.

Commencement Ceremonies Scheduled May 12

Missouri Western State University will hold its spring commencement ceremonies at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, May 12 in the M.O. Looney Complex. David Tushaus, professor of legal studies and chair of the department of criminal justice, legal studies and social work, will deliver the commencement address at both ceremonies. The MWSU Alumni Association will host free receptions for graduates and their families after each ceremony in the Looney small gym.

Other commencement-related activities include an ROTC commissioning ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, May 11 in the Kemper Recital Hall inside Leah Spratt Hall; a pinning ceremony for nursing graduates at 8:30 a.m. May 12 in the Fulkerson Center; and a pinning ceremony for physical therapy assistant graduates at 1:30 p.m. May 12 in the Kemper Recital Hall inside Leah Spratt Hall.

Graduates of the following programs participate in the 11 a.m. ceremony:

·         Craig School of Business

·         Criminal justice, legal studies and social work

·         Engineering technology

·         Nursing and allied health

·         Psychology

·         Master of Applied Science in Engineering Technology

·         Master of Applied Science in Human Factors and Usability Testing

Graduates of the following programs participate in the 3 p.m. ceremony:

·         Art

·         Biology

·         Chemistry

·         Communication studies, theatre and cinema

·         Computer science, mathematics and physics

·         Economics, political science and sociology

·         Education

·         English, foreign languages and journalism

·         Health, physical education and recreation

·         History, philosophy and geography

·         Music

·         Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

·         Master of Applied Arts in Integrated Media

·         Master of Applied Arts in Written Communication

·         Master of Applied Science in Assessment

·         Master of Applied Science in Chemistry

·         Master of Applied Science in Information Technology Management

Tushaus was recently selected for a Fulbright Award to research and teach at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, this fall, one of only about 800 Fulbright U.S. scholars sent abroad for a semester. Tushaus began teaching at Missouri Western in 1999. Before that, he worked 14 years at Legal Aid of Western Missouri.

Tushaus received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and both a master’s degree in urban and regional planning and his law degree from the University of Iowa.

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Flex Food Drive

MWSU Students Support the Fight Against Hunger

Nearly 600 pounds of food were delivered to Second Harvest Community Food Bank last week, courtesy of dozens of Missouri Western students who donated excess Flex Dollars from their meal plan.

The Catholic Newman Center set up a table in the Blum Student Union Food Court April 23-27, asking students to donate their unused meal plan dollars to the cause. Aramark, Missouri Western’s food service provider, used the donations to purchase about 570 pounds of product for Second Harvest, which serves the hungry in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas.

Students started the project in 2009 as part of the Barbara Sprong Leadership Challenge. The Flex Food Drive has helped Missouri Western consistently earn a spot on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Students have contributed more than $15,000 to the drive in four years.

Volunteers from the Newman Center and Aramark employees delivered the fruits, cereal and juices on May 3.

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