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November/December 2008 Points of Pride
Excellence in Our Faculty
and Staff
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Dr. Elizabeth Hendrix, assistant professor of education, was selected
for the Top 100 Educators of 2008 from the International Biographical
Centre in Cambridge, England. Dr. Hendrix was also selected for Who’s
Who in the World for 2008 and 2009 as well as Who’s Who in America for
2008 and 2009.
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Marsha
Dolan, associate professor of nursing, received the 2008 Outstanding
Community Educator Campaign Award for her work with the Personal Health
Record Campaign and involvement with consumer education at the American
Health Information Management Association’s (AHIMA) national convention
in Seattle.
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Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advancement, has been elected
to the board of directors of the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce.
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Dr. Elizabeth Hendrix, assistant professor of education, was selected to
represent the U.S. as an ambassador in a Global Senate at the World
Forum in Washington, D.C. Dr. Hendrix will speak on threats of justice
at the forum.
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Dr. Joseph Bragin, provost and vice president for academic and student
affairs, chaired the National Science Foundation panel in Washington
D.C. to review applications for the Louise Stokes Alliance for Minority
Participation Award.
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Dr. Cindy Heider, assistant vice president of academic affairs, is a
member of the Learning Assessment in Postsecondary Education (LAMP)
committee and serves on the Communications/Next Steps and the Assessment
Survey Committee as well as the LAMP Steering Committee. LAMP will be
making recommendations to the Department of Higher Education related to
the assessment plan for the Curriculum Alignment Initiative which
focuses on entry level general education coursework.
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Dr.
Tingxiu Wang, professor and chair of the computer science, mathematics
and physics department, was a reviewer for Type 1 proposals submitted to
the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program and served on the review panel
that convened at NSF in Washington, D.C.
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Martha
Greer, director of the Center for Community Arts, has been asked to
serve on the Board of Directors of Missouri Citizens for the Arts (MCA).
MCA grew out of a grassroots movement of citizens who recognized the
need for an advocacy group dedicated to public support of the
preservation and growth of the state’s arts industry.
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Dr.
Michael Ottinger, associate professor of physics, co-authored two books
published by Pearson/Prentice Hall. The first is the instructor’s
solutions manual that accompanies the popular text, ‘Physics for
Scientist and Engineers with Modern Physics, 4th edition,” by Douglas
Giancoli. The second book is the instructor resource manual that will
accompany the same text.
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Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology; and Dr. Jeff Poet, associate
professor of math; coauthored an article titled, “Undergraduate
Research: Genomics Education Partnership,” that was published in the
Oct. 31 issue of Science magazine. The article describes a
consortium of colleges and universities led by Dr. Sarah Elgin of
Washington University that is offering undergraduate students
opportunities to work on cutting edge analysis of DNA sequence data,
contributing to an original research project. Students of Dr. Eckdahl
and Dr. Poet’s Bioinformatics course have participated in the project
twice before and new students will get an opportunity to do so in the
spring 2009 semester. Science is the flagship journal of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, has a circulation
of over 1 million, and is widely considered to be the most prestigious
science journal in the country.
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Dr. Konrad Gunderson, assistant professor of accounting, had his
article, “Liability vs. Equity: FASB Indicates Preference for Ownership
Approach,” published in the refereed journal Today’s CPA. Dr.
Gunderson also had his article, “Accounting Infrastructure: One Piece in
the Economic Development Puzzle,” published in the referred Ecuadorian
business journal Revista Amcham.
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Dr. Prashant Tarun, assistant professor of business, had his article,
“Incorporating Decision Makers’ Inputs in a Dynamic Multistage
Multiobjective Model,” published in Industrial Engineering Research
Conference proceedings.
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Dr. faye smith, professor of business, had her article, “A Meso-Level
Communicative Model of Collaboration,” published in the refereed journal
Communication Theory.
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Dr. Dale Krueger, associate professor of management, had his article,
“Branding in the Global Arena: The Role of Culture,” published in the
refereed Marketing Management Journal. Dr. Krueger also had his
article, “Professional Men’s and Women’s Psychological, Demographic, and
Cultural Implications,” published in the refereed journal Allied
Academics Journal of Culture, Communication, and Conflict.
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Dr. Brett Luthans, professor of management, co-authored an article,
“Impact of Behavioral Performance Management in a Korean Application,”
that was published in the refereed journal Leadership and
Organization Development Journal. Dr. Luthans also co-authored an
article, “The Relationship Between Bank Employees’ Positive
Psychological Capital and Performance Outcomes,” which was published in
the Midwest Academy of Management conference proceedings. Dr. Luthans
also co-authored a case, “Is there ‘Hope’ for a Brand New Airplane?”
that was published in a textbook produced by Sage.
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Dr. Vivek Madupu, assistant professor of business, co-authored an
article, “How Consumers are Searching; the Importance of Internet to the
Healthcare Industry,” which was published in the Academy of Marketing
Science annual conference proceedings. Dr. Madupu also had his article,
“An Exploratory Study of Cross-Border Shopping Behavior of Canadian
Consumers,” that was published in the Society for Marketing Advances
conference proceedings. Dr. Madupu also co-authored an article, “The
Relationship between Online Brand Community Participation and
Consciousness of Kind, Moral, Responsibility, and Shared Rituals and
Traditions,” that
was published in the Advance in Consumer Research conference
proceedings.
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Dr.
Steven Butler, associate professor of business, had his article, “The
Effects of a Long-Term Compensation Plan on Risky Choices,” published in
the International Journal of Behavioral Accounting and Finance.
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Professor
of speech Dr. John Tapia’s “Circuit Chautauqua, From Rural Education to
Popular Education,” has been republished by McFarland Publishers (2008)
with some revisions by the author. McFarland primarily publishes
academic and reference books. The book has received positive comments in
a review published in the American Studies Journal and includes
some old photographs of Chautauqua grounds, performers and orators. It
will soon be available at local bookstores.
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Dr.
Steven Morris, assistant professor of philosophy, published a manuscript
titled “Towards a More Empirically Informed Ethics” in the refereed
journal Review Journal of Political Philosophy.
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Dr.
Evelyn Brooks, professor of nursing, published Media Review for “Drive
Like a Champ: A Safe Start to Driving Smart” in Family and Community
Health.
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Dr.
Virendra Varma, professor of construction engineering and department
chair, was quoted in the international magazine of the American Concrete
Institute (ACI) Concrete International in the article “Mixing
Certification with Higher Education.” Dr. Varma is a national ACI
Examiner and encourages his students to pass at least two certification
examinations while still in school.
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Teresa
Harris, assistant professor of art, recently had three works accepted
into 20/20 International Small Works Exhibition at the Limestone Art
Gallery in Fayetteville, N.Y. The accepted works were “Upon Opening,” “Amiot,”
and “Ferns.” Harris has completed commissions for Corning Incorporated
in Corning, N.Y., and Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
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Dr. Phil
Mullins, professor of philosophy, recently published two essays: “On
Reading Polanyi and Reading about Polanyi’s Philosophical Perspective:
Notes on Secondary Sources,” in The Political Science Reviewer;
and “Faith, Tradition and Dynamic Order: Michael Polanyi’s Liberal Ideas
from 1941-1951,” with Struan Jacobs, in History of European Ideas.
Dr. Mullins also recently organized with Marty Moleski, S. J., a small
international conference, “Personal Knowledge at Fifty,” held at Loyola
University in Chicago. About 40 people attended the conference where he
presented a paper, “Marjorie Grene on Personal Knowledge.” Dr. Mullins
also attended an international conference, “Reconsidering Polanyi,” in
Budapest, Hungary, where Dr. Mullins presented a paper, “Michael
Polanyi’s Use of Gestalt Psychology.” In addition, he attended the
Polanyi Society and American Academy of Religion meetings in Chicago.
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Dan
Nicoson, vice president for university advancement, presented a
three-day program, “Planned Giving: Getting a Good Start,” for the
Indiana University Center on Philanthropy at the Nonprofit Leadership
Center in Tampa, Fla.
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Dr. Cindy
Heider, assistant vice president of academic affairs, attended the
Higher Learning Commission meeting focused on data, accountability, and
peer review in Chicago.
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Dr.
Michael Chiao, assistant professor of business, presented his paper
titled, “Relative Accuracy of Analysts’ Earnings Forecasts Over Time – a
Markov Chain Analysis,” at the October Financial Management Association
meeting in Grapevine, Texas.
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Dr. Prashant Tarun, assistant professor of business, co-authored a
technical report, “A Dynamic State, Multiple Stage Optimization Model
with an Application to a Wastewater Treatment System,” that was at the
Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science annual
meeting.
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Carol Roever, associate professor of business and interim dean of the
Craig School of Business, gave a keynote address at the annual
international convention of the Association for Business Communication.
Roever also co-presented “Teaching Abroad” at the Runcie World Affairs
meeting. In addition, Roever presented “Working Together: Strategies for
Effective Communication” at the St. Joseph Chapter of Credit Unions.
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Dr.
Cosette Hardwick, assistant professor of physical therapy; along with
Dr. Evelyn Brooks, professor of nursing; and five senior nursing
students, presented at the Missouri Campus Compact in St. Louis. The
presentation, “Building a Foundation with Community Partners to Enhance
High School Student Interest in Health Care,” was completed in
conjunction with the St. Joseph School District and the Northwest
Missouri Area Health Education Centers. Students included Stacie Beck,
Jennifer Sharp, Nathan Voelkel, Dawn Stark and Kelly Furtado.
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Dr.
Maureen Raffensperger, associate professor of physical therapy, attended
the Missouri Physical Therapy Association meeting in St. Louis. Dr.
Raffensperger is the chair of the Northwest district.
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Dr.
Melissa Daggett, assistant professor of biology; and Dr. Kristen Walton,
assistant professor of biology; attended the Association of College and
University Biology Educators national conference. At the meeting, Dr.
Daggett gave a workshop presentation and Dr. Walton gave a poster
presentation.
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The
following posters were presented at the National Association of Biology
Teachers in Memphis, Tenn.: “Effects of a University/School District
Professional Development Program on Middle School Science Teacher
Inquiry Skills and Science Lesson Development Ability” – Dr. John Rushin,
professor of biology; Jay Meyers; Dr. Mike Ottinger, associate of
physics; and Dr. John Ellis, assistant professor of education; “Student
Gains in Understanding Science as a Result of Two-Week Learning Cycle
Blocks in a 1st-Year General Studies University-Level Biology
Laboratory” – Dr. Rushin and Dr. Cary Chevalier, associate professor of
biology. Dr. Chevalier and Dr. Rushin co-authored a presentation titled,
“Assessing Applied Learning Skills in a First Year College General
Biology for Non-majors Laboratory Setting: The Effect of Two-week Long
Learning Cycle Blocks on the Development of Science Process Skills,”
which was presented at the National Association of Biological Teachers
meetings.
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Dr. Karen
Koy, assistant professor of biology, presented her paper, “Shared
Responses to Resource Heterogeneity and the Origins of Foraging
Behavior,” at the combined National Meeting of the Geological Society of
America and the Paleontological Society in Houston.
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Dr. Cary
Chevalier, associate professor of biology, developed a partnership with
Missouri Department of Conservation Private Lands Division to begin a
bobwhite quail habitat selection study. This will involve approximately
six to eight students and will involve putting radio transmitters on
quail and documenting their habitat preferences using radio telemetry
and geospatial technology like GPS and GIS. Dr. Chevalier taught a
three-hour radio telemetry workshop to students and MDC personnel who
will be working on this quail project.
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Dr. Mike
Ducey, associate professor of chemistry, presented “Dissolve It” as part
of the Science Saturday Seminar series sponsored by Kansas City Science
Pioneers. Nearly 400 students and teachers from the Greater Kansas City
area attended.
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Dr. Gavin
Waters, assistant professor of mathematics, presented a workshop at the
Kansas City Math Technology Expo at Rockhurst University. The two-hour
workshop discussed the integration of computers into geometry courses,
how to use Geometer’s Sketchpad to illustrate Euclidean geometry,
hyperbolic geometry and three-dimensional rendering of some platonic
solids.
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Dr. Tim
Miller, assistant professor of mathematics, presented a workshop at the
Kansas City Math Technology Expo at Rockhurst University. The workshop
demonstrated programs that he wrote for the TI-89 calculator, which
allow instructors to find partial sums of solutions to differential
equations.
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R.E.
Moore, director of developmental mathematics, attended the Kansas City
Math Technology Expo at Rockhurst University where he presented a review
of the MWSU Developmental Mathematics Program and its use of computer
assisted instruction through the ALEKS program. He also attended the
fall conference of the Midwest Regional Association for Developmental
Education. The theme of the conference was the use of technology in
developmental education. Moore presented information on the MWSU
Developmental Mathematics Program and its success in using the ALEKS
program in developmental mathematics. Moore is the chair of the MRADE
awards committee and a member of the officer’s board.
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Dr.
Michael Ottinger, associate professor of physics, attended the Missouri
Association of Physics Teachers Meeting. Dr. Ottinger also gave a class
presentation on acoustics at Coleman Elementary School in St. Joseph.
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Dr. Reza
Hamzaee, professor of economics, served as an invited speaker at the St.
Joseph Lions Club to analyze the ongoing financial crisis and the recent
rescue plans involving issues such as the Federal Reserve System’s
intervention, the U.S. Treasury’s intervention, and the facilitation of
bank acquisitions. Dr. Hamzaee also presented, “Some Substantial
Socioeconomic Issues of the Upcoming Presidential and Congressional
Elections,” to the campus and St. Joseph community.
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Dr. Susan
Hennessy, professor of French, presented a paper, “Foreign Bodies,”
about 19th century France, at the annual Colloquium on
Nineteenth-Century French Studies in Nashville, Tenn.
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Dr. Jane
Frick, professor of English and director of Prairie Lands Writing
Project, represented the National Writing Project’s State and Regional
Networks Leadership team at the 2008 Fall Conference on Content Area
Learning sponsored by the Kentucky Writing Project State Network at
Murray State University in Murray, Ky.
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At the
Prairie Lands Writing Project’s (PLWP) annual Saturday regional
conference for educators, “Content Area Learning: Teaching in an Online
World,” PLWP’s 2009 Invitational Institute cohort of 17 area teachers,
including Patricia Brost, instructor of English, were recognized for
receiving their National Writing Project Teacher Consultant
Certification. Dr. Jane Frick, professor of English and PLWP director,
was this year’s conference coordinator.
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Dr. Ken
Rosenauer, professor of journalism, attended the 57th Fall National
College Media Convention in Kansas City, Mo., sponsored by College Media
Advisers (CMA) and Associated Collegiate Press. Dr. Rosenauer, president
of CMA, led two days of board meetings prior to the convention, which
drew 2,040 media advisers, journalism educators and their students from
around the country. CMA represents more than 800 media advisers from
colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
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Pam
Clary, instructor of social work and social work program director,
attended the Council on Social Work Education AMP conference in
Philadelphia. She also presented “Caring for the College Student” to
Heartland Regional Medical Center Sexual Assault Nursing Exam training.
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Dr. Jimm
MacGregor, assistant professor of history, spoke about the history of
Saint George at a matinee showing of “Saint George and the Dragon” at
the Paul Mesner Puppet Studio in Kansas City, Mo. He also attended the
47th annual Midwest Medieval History Conference at Denison University in
Granville, Ohio.
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Dr.
Daniel Trifan, professor of history, presented a paper titled
“Privateers or Pirates? The Reiver Families of the Scottish Borders
during the Early Regency, 1567-1572,” at the 33rd annual European
Studies Conference at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
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Dr.
Steven Morris, assistant professor of philosophy, presented a paper at
the 2008 Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association in
Pittsburgh titled “The Evolution of Co-operative Behavior and its
Implications for Ethics.”
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Dr.
Russell Phillips, instructor of psychology, participated in the
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course at St. Luke’s hospital in
Kansas City, Mo. This was an eight-week class with research-based
strategies for stress management.
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Dr. Jim
Bargar, professor of psychology, attended the Missouri Campus Compact
Annual Civic Engagement and Service-Learning Conference held at
Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Bargar served on the Statewide
Conference Planning Committee and provided peer review for 31
presentation proposals. In addition, Dr. Bargar attended and judged the
Missouri Undergraduate Psychology Conference held at Northwest Missouri
State University in Maryville.
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Joanne
Katz, professor of legal studies, presented “Research Review of
Collaborative Efforts: What Works Best” and “Restorative Justice in
Community Corrections in Missouri” at the International Community
Corrections Association’s annual conference in St. Louis. The first
presentation was with Dr. Gene Bonham from University of Central
Missouri in Warrensburg.
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Dr. John
Ellis, assistant professor of education, and Dr. Debby Bogle, associate
professor of education, presented their findings from a regional study
of the southeastern United States titled “Placement: An Unforeseen
Casualty of No Child Left Behind” at the 55th annual Southeastern
Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE) in Myrtle Beach, N.C.
SRATE is a 15-state consortium consisting of states in the southeastern
United States representing teacher education programs. Data from this
study will be used to formulate a national study of Placement Directors
in early 2009.
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Dr. Doug
Eicher, associate professor of education, and Dr. Elizabeth Hendrix,
assistant professor of education, presented “Building Bridges to Closing
the Diversity Gap” at the 55th annual Southeastern Regional Association
of Teacher Educators in Myrtle Beach, N.C.
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Dr. Bill
Russell, assistant professor of physical education, presented his
research titled “Comparison of Exergaming to Traditional Video Games on
Mood, Attention, and Short-term Memory” at the 2008 Conference for the
Central States Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine in
Kansas City, Mo.
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Heather
Kendall, assistant professor of nursing, presented “Face the Music:
Competence in Nursing” at the National Conference on Professional
Nursing Education and Development in Kansas City, Mo.
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Dr.
Carolyn Brose, associate professor of nursing, presented “The Concept
and Context of Competency” and “Standards-Based Practice: The Forgotten
Context” at the National Conference on Professional Nursing Education
and Development in Kansas City, Mo.
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Dr. Durai
Sundarmoorthi, assistant professor of business, co-authored and
presented “A Data-Integrated Simulation Approach to Optimize Patient
Care” at the INFORMS conference, where he chaired a session
‘Simulation-Based Decision Making.’ Dr. Sundaramoorthi co-authored and
presented a poster titled “A Data-Integrated Simulation to Optimize
Nurse-Patient Assignments” at the Cerner Health Conference. In addition,
he also co-authored and presented a poster titled “A
Data-Integrated-Simulation Based Optimal Policy to Assign Nurses to
Patients” at the Mayo Clinic Conference on System Engineering &
Operations Research.
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Huey Shi
Chew, international student coordinator, took a productive recruitment
trip to China. She is currently working with Western faculty on an
action plan to develop undergraduate and graduate programs with one
particular school in China, Sichuan Normal University, and assisting
with incoming Korean music students.
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Several
faculty members and students set up displays at the International Fair
in the Commons Building. Eight cultures, Chinese, Korean, Ethopian,
Persian/Iranian, Indian, Malaysian, French and Latin American; were
represented at the fair. It was sponsored by International Student
Services office and the Office of Residential Life. Residential life
faculty mentors are Huey Shi Chew, international student coordinator,
and Dr. Susan Hennessy, professor of French.
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Dr. Cary
Chevalier, associate professor of biology, attended the Missouri State
Trappers Association meeting in Chillicothe, Mo., where he attended
several workshops and discussed with association leaders the development
of a training manual project. He also attended an annual Wildlands Fire
Ecology and Behavior refresher certification course, an eight-hour
training given by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Horton, Kan. Dr.
Chevalier organized a 40-hour entry-level training course on Wildlands
Fire Behavior and Ecology.
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Dr. Tim
Miller, assistant professor of mathematics, presented “Power Series
Solutions to Differential Equations” at a computer science, mathematics
and physics mathematics seminar.
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Dr. Chris
Godfrey, professor of physics; and Dr. Mike Ducey, associate professor
of chemistry; participated in a panel discussion for the Western honors
program and Alpha Chi National Honor Society, which reviewed the
best-selling book, “Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration
into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time
Travel,” by Dr. Michio Kaku.
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Kathy
Kelly, administrative coordinator for student development, planned and
executed the first-ever Autism Awareness Walk in northwest Missouri.
Seventy-one Greek students volunteered to help from four different
fraternities and sororities. The Alpha Sigma Alphas and the Alpha Phi
Alphas are each doing a story in their national magazine on the walk.
Each magazine reaches all alumni and current members of each
fraternity/sorority. Western is named in each one.
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Dr. Jeff
Poet, associate professor of mathematics, presented, “A Flippin’ Good
Time” at the Mathematics Seminar hosted by the computer science,
mathematics and physics department. His presentation was based on the
math/biology collaboration with students and faculty at Davidson College
in North Cariolina, and explored a pinpoint math algorithm that finds
the most efficient way to unscramble a stack of burnt pancakes.
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The
Missouri Department of Corrections held the 2008 Fall Education
Conference at Tan-Tar-A, Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. Dawn Miller, adult
basic education teacher for Western Reception Diagnostic Center (WRDC),
was the presenter of a workshop session on the Jeopardy program. Tim
Talbot, adult basic education teacher for WRDC, was the speaker at the
closing session for the convention.
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Martha
Greer, director for the Center of Community Arts, worked with the
Performing Arts Association to facilitate and develop after-school
theatre and art workshops for children kindergarten through sixth grade.
The workshops took place over three days and more than 65 children
participated.
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A team
from Western attended the Council on Undergraduate Research Workshop,
“Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research,” at Truman State University.
The Western team was comprised of Dr. Mike Ducey, associate professor of
chemistry; Keith Roberts, director of grants and sponsored programs; Dr.
Melissa Daggett, assistant professor of biology; and Dr. Tingxiu Wang,
professor and department chair of computer science, math and physics.
Excellence in Our Students
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Western
student Diane Pace has been awarded a scholarship worth $1,000 from the
national office for Omicron Psi, a national honor society for adult
students.
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Fifty-one
Western nontraditional students were honored as Outstanding
Nontraditional Students during Nontraditional Student Week. There was an
Award Recognition Reception in the Spratt Hall Atrium for the awardees.
Students include: Stacie Beck, Connie M. Brown, Katherine Bruns, Angel
Butterworth, Angela Clay, Sonya Colvin, Karyn Daugherty, Dawn Davis,
Charlene Divino, Dan Donan, Lori Duff, Rod Elms, Kelly Furtado, Tracy
Fuson, Patricia Gammill, Curtis Gammill, Bryan Guyer, Synthia Haggard,
Jeremy Hoffman, Betty Hoffman, Jeramie Howery, Mitch Hughes, Rebecca
Hughes, Jennifer Humphreys, Suzanne Jones, Nicholas “Joe” Karguth, Jed
Kent, Mark Linebaugh, Harold McClellen, Alexa McDonough, Barbara
McDowell, Shannon McMullin, Sharon Moore-Jowels, Diane Pace, Sarah
Peppers, Paula Roberts, Russel Sale, Don Sansone, Ryan Scroggins, Jen
Sharp, Randy Singleton, Kala Sledge, Lindsey Smith, Dawn Stark, Gerri
Tracy, Nathan Voelkel, Doug Wallace, Kyla Ward, Kathy Whitley, Darla
Whitt and Samantha Wilkins.
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The
following senior nursing research students and their faculty sponsors
presented at the Mind and Heart Together: Celebrating Intellectual
Pursuit in Undergraduate Nursing at The Stowers Institute for Medical
Research:
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Rachel
Adrian, Erica Dimmel, and Anna Stanley, sponsored by Dr. Evelyn Brooks,
professor of nursing, presented “ATI(Assessment Technologies Institute):
To Grade or Not to Grade.”
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Michael
Brooks, Dustin Helsel, and Luke Major, sponsored by Dr. Evelyn Brooks,
professor of nursing; and Dr. Deborah Champagne, adjunct professor of
sociology; presented “High School Males’ Perception of Nursing as a
Career.”
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Jennifer
Behnke, and Ashlee Rosmolen, sponsored by Dr. Evelyn Brooks, professor
of nursing; and Bonnie Gregory, assistant professor of nursing,
presented “Nursing Grades, ATI, and TEAS Scores: A Correlational Study.”
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Kylee
Binder, Lana Litzner, and Rachel White, sponsored by Dr. Stephanie
Corder, assistant professor of nursing, presented “Population-Based
Approaches Toward the Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity.”
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The
student affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of English held a
forum titled “Surviving the First Quarter of Teaching.” Western
graduates Mark Henderson, Barbara Meyer, Cindi McMurtrey, and Ronald
Knight returned to the classroom to present and discuss the topic.
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The
student chapter of The Wildlife Society (TWS) sent two delegates to the
national meeting of The Wildlife Society in Florida. They also organized
a deer aging workshop and deer management seminar by the Missouri
Department of Conservation lead deer biologist Lonnie Hansen. This
workshop was open to other students, but was required of the student
chapter of TWS members so they could staff processor stations to gather
deer aging data.
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Dr. Jeff
Poet, associate professor of mathematics, and Dr. Todd Eckdahl,
professor of biology, took six students to MIT in Boston to present, “E.
nigma: XOR Gates, a Bacterial Hash Function, and Viz-A-Brick,” at
the International Genetically Engineered Machines Jamboree. The
collaborative team from Western and Davidson College was one of more
than 75 teams to present their work as a poster, an oral presentation,
and a wiki. The work was funded by a National Science Foundation grant,
with additional support from the MWSU Foundation’s Student Excellence
Fund and the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.
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Western
students Stacie Beck, Jennifer Sharp, Nathan Voelkel, Dawn Stark and
Kelly Furtado along with Dr. Cosette Hardwick, assistant professor of
physical therapy, and Dr. Evelyn Brooks, professor of nursing, presented
at the Missouri Campus Compact in St. Louis. The presentation, “Building
a Foundation with Community Partners to Enhance High School Student
Interest in Health Care,” was completed in conjunction with the St.
Joseph School District and the Northwest Missouri Area Health Education
Centers.
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Four
students involved in the Summer Research Institute (SRI) presented their
work at the national Convergence and Society Conference in Columbia,
S.C.: Kallie Hartigan and David Hon, Platte County R-III High School,
presented, “Islands in the Streaming: Multimedia and Interactive
Features on U.K. Daily Newspaper Websites.” The team of Hartigan, Hon,
Sarah Noe, and Dr. Bob Bergland, professor of journalism, conducted the
study of daily newspapers in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand and
U.S. college newspapers during the SRI program in 2008. Dr. Bergland,
Noe and Lisa Crawford presented their paper, “Multimedia Features of
U.S. Daily Newspaper Websites: A 2007 Content Analysis,” based on a
similar study of U.S. paper websites in a 2007 SRI project. Dr.
Bergland, Noe, Hon and Hartigan also presented “The Urge to Converge: A
2008 College Newspaper Website Analysis,” at the National College Media
Convention in Kansas City, Mo.
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Five
psychology practicum students were accepted to present in the area of
Applied Learning at the Missouri Undergraduate Psychology Conference
held at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. First place
awards went to Sami Hays for her presentation titled, “St. Joseph Youth
Alliance;” Stephanie Nold for her presentation titled, “A Practicum
Experience in the Disability Service Office at MWSU;” and Sonya Colvin
for her presentation titled, “Practicum Experience at the MWSU
Counseling Center.” Also, Shawna Wolfe gave a presentation titled,
“Practicum Experience at Buchanan County RIV High School.” These
students were sponsored by Dr. James Bargar, professor of psychology and
practicum director.
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Psychology students Whitney Bryan and Jonathan Thiele received a
second-place award for research posters for their study titled, “Emotion
and Moral Decision-Making” presented at the Missouri Undergraduate
Psychology Conference at Northwest Missouri State University in
Maryville. The research was sponsored by Dr. Phil Wann, professor of
psychology and department chair.
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Nursing
students Lindsey Parrott, Nikki Campbell and Amy Walker collected data
for Health Literacy in Women: A Midwest Perspective at the Josephine
Expo in St. Joseph, Mo. Deb Ellis, assistant professor of nursing, was
the faculty sponsor.
Excellence in Our Programs
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Prairie Lands Writing Project held its
annual Saturday regional conference for educators, “Content Area
Learning: Teaching in an Online World.” Sixty-five teachers participated
in keynote sessions conducted by Kevin Hodgson, sixth-grade teacher in
Southampton, Mass., and technology panels and lesson presentations
conducted by Prairie Lands Writing Project (PLWP) Teacher Consultants,
including Western’s Tom Pankiewicz, assistant professor of English; Dr.
Patricia Donaher, associate professor of English; and Meredith Katchen,
instructor of English.
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The Social Work department has secured
reaffirmation of accreditation from the Council on Social Work Education
through 2015.
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The
history faculty in the department of history, philosophy and geography
sponsored the 18th annual Missouri Western History Bowl. Seven high
schools participated, including Benton, East Buchanan, King City,
Plattsburg, Savannah, South Nodaway, and Tarkio. Tarkio won the
championship and Savannah was the runner-up. Plattsburg finished third.
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The criminal justice department, along with
the Regional Community Police Institute, developed a needs assessment
survey for in-service law enforcement personnel in the Kansas City, Mo.,
metro area. The survey was disseminated electronically to approximately
2,000 officers.
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The education unit at Western has been fully
accredited through 2015 from the National Council for Accreditation of
Teacher Education (NCATE).
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The Health Information Technology program
and Pony Express HIMA were co-sponsors of a seminar held on campus. More
than 60 Health Information Management professionals and students from
northwest Missouri and the Kansas City, Mo., area heard speakers discuss
the Social Welfare Board, Medical Identity Theft, State Lunatic Asylum
#2 and Coding and Compliance Issues. All four speakers are nationally
recognized for work in their respective fields of endeavor.
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Ellen Kisker, director of nontraditional
student services, and the nontraditional students hosted Considering
College seminars in November and December to help adults returning
to college.
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The Nontraditional Student Association (NTSA)
held their annual spaghetti supper fundraiser in October. From their
proceeds they adopted fellow nontraditional students at Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
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Resident Life staff surveyed residents and
came up with a series of Wednesday programs called “The Sweet (Suite)
Series.” Resident assistants put on a program every Wednesday in the
large conference room in the Commons Building. Some of the program
titles included Savings and Debt, Dress for Success, Professional
Etiquette, Build and Write Your Resume and Grad School or a Full-Time
Job?
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To date, the Student
Development area (Student Development, Center for Multicultural
Education and Center for Student Engagement), and the Student Government
Association have either sponsored or co-sponsored 64 events that more
than 11,500 students, faculty, staff and community members have
attended. In addition, 54 recognized student organizations have
registered and hosted 81 events during the fall semester.
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The Center for
Multicultural Education hosted the Diversity of Faith: An Exploration of
Faith, Culture and Spirituality program, which provided outreach to a
population of students that are typically difficult to cater to in terms
of programming. Over 40 students attended this panel
discussion/question-and-answer session that engaged them in
conversations about faith, religion and spirituality from the
perspective of diverse denominations.
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The Center for
Multicultural Education hosted a Safe Zone Training/Workshop. The
intention of these ongoing workshops is to address the needs of the
university and community as it pertains to diversity and creating a
safer environment for students, customers, patrons, etc. Some of the
topics include: gay and lesbian support, respect for international
people, inclusive environments for students of color and more.
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Activities in conjunction with the
Homecoming parade and alumni breakfast were held at the Downtown
University Center. Face painting, crafts and live music were enjoyed by
approximately 150 community members. Activities were conducted by the
Center for Community Arts and Western Institute staff and volunteers, as
well as Alumni Board volunteers.
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The Rotary District
6040 governor has notified Pass the Power and East Side Rotary they have
approved the club’s request for a District Simplified Grant of $1,325.
This amount will be matched by the local club. Pass the Power will
receive $2,650 to assist with implementing two citizenship classes early
next year. The funds will be used to purchase educational materials,
posters promoting the project and some of the projected childcare costs
for the morning classes.
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