Week of  February 23 - March 1, 2009

Welcome to the Tower Topics E-newsletter for faculty, staff and students at Western. 

Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64507, 816-271- 4200

Click any link for these stories:

State Cancels Western's GED Program

Local Governments Consider Training Facility Support

Blake Shelton Tickets On Sale Feb. 28

Criminal Justice Week at Western

Tower Sports

News Briefs

Calendar

Ads

Archives

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.

State Cancels Western's GED Program

The Missouri Department of Corrections has notified Western that, due to budget constraints, they are cancelling Western’s contract to provide adult basic education services to the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (WRDCC) in St. Joseph, effective April 24.

The Western Institute has provided adult basic education services to WRDCC inmates for the last nine years, helping more than 100 students a year earn their high school equivalency diploma through the General Educational Development (GED) tests. Nine Western Institute staff members work in the program and will lose their jobs when the contract ends.

“We understand the budget challenges facing the state, but we’re deeply saddened by this decision,” said Dr. Gordon Mapley, dean of the Western Institute. “The excellent staff of educators at WRDCC is committed to transforming lives through the power of education, and have done a phenomenal job of preparing their students to pass the GED, providing them with not only a credential that will assist them as they transition to life after incarceration, but also greatly enhancing their self-esteem.”

 “I believe this is the premiere GED program in the state’s prisons,” said Chad Elifrits, education director. “We are at or near the top of the 15 schools in the state in the number of GED graduates we produce every month, every quarter, and every year.”

Last fiscal year, 141 WRDCC inmates received their GED credential, a 13 percent increase over the previous year. Elifrits said that’s a remarkable achievement for such a small staff. He credits their focus on researching and implementing the best instructional and assessment strategies to motivate and help their students.

“In more than 30 years in public education, I’ve never worked in a place where I was so impressed with the results our staff gets,” he said. “It’s an amazing group, so diverse in their talents and backgrounds, yet each one is an extremely successful teacher.”

“The staff’s success is due to their passion,” Dr. Mapley said. “Indicative of this passion, when I informed the staff that they would be laid off, they asked ‘What will happen to the men that we are serving? Will their preparation be continued so they can pass the GED?’”

The staff sees the fruit of their efforts three times a year, when graduates who are still incarcerated receive their GED at a commencement ceremony, complete with donated caps and gowns.

“Commencement is one of the most emotional things I’ve ever witnessed,” Elifrits said. “Our graduates take a real pride in what they do. A lot of times, receiving that GED is the biggest positive achievement in the lives of these students, and they are proud to share it with their moms, dads, wives, children and other loved ones, as well as their fellow inmates.”

The name of each graduate is written on the wall of the education unit, and many graduates who are still incarcerated return to point out their name to fellow inmates, Elifrits said.

Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advancement, spoke at the most recent commencement ceremony earlier this year and agrees that it’s an emotional experience.

“Some of the recipients took the opportunity to tell about what the GED meant to them. Some even cited the special qualities of the program at WRDCC that allowed them to achieve their goal and praised the program over ones at other facilities,” Nicoson said. “It is truly disappointing to learn that this program will cease.”

“It is sadly ironic that these professionals who have dedicated their careers to improving the career opportunities of so many individuals now find themselves on a career search of their own,” Dr. Mapley said. “Western will support the search efforts of these talented and caring individuals as they look for new positions, and we are hopeful that others in the community will also be supportive.”

In addition to the adult basic education program, the Western Institute provides diagnostic services to approximately 450 new inmates each month at the WRDCC, monitors special education services for inmates under 22 years of age and provides credit coursework to inmates under the age of 26 at WRDCC, the Chillicothe Correctional Center and the Western Missouri Correctional Center at Cameron. Those programs are not affected.

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Local Governments Consider Training Facility Support

The effort to build a new indoor training facility/community sports center adjacent to Spratt Stadium has gotten a pledge of support from Buchanan County, and the St. Joseph City Council is considering the proposal at its meeting Feb. 23.

The new building would house an indoor practice facility with a full-sized football field, offices, classrooms, a locker room, weight room and training room. If completed by summer 2010, the facility would be used to host the summer training camp of the Kansas City Chiefs for three weeks every summer. The rest of the year, the facility would be used by Western and the community.

The Buchanan County Commission on Feb. 19 pledged $1.5 million over three years from its economic development funds. A formal vote is scheduled for Feb. 23.

The City Council, meanwhile, will consider an ordinance pledging $2.25 million toward the facility at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. As proposed, part of the money would come from emergency reserve funds in the current city budget, with the rest coming from ongoing cell phone revenue in next year’s budget.

The Gold Coat Club is planning a downtown rally to support the project. People dressed in Griffon black-and-gold or Chiefs red-and-gold will gather at Geneo’s Pizza, 811 Francis, at 5 p.m., then go to City Hall at 6:30 p.m. for the council meeting.

The contract agreement with the Chiefs and the Missouri Development Finance Board requires a total investment of about $15.7 million. That includes the training facility, a new softball field, a new parking lot, grass practice fields and associated fees. The Chiefs will donate $10 million toward the project and Western will contribute $1.2 million from the Max Experience bond issue. Private fundraising would cover the remaining $750,000.

The proposed location for the new facility has changed slightly. Instead of being built next to Spratt’s northwest end zone, the facility is now planned for a spot just west of the home-side grandstand. The new location will be more visible and accessible while reducing the project’s impact on Western’s 2.2 mile walking trail.

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Blake Shelton Tickets on Sale Feb. 28

Available to Western Students, Employees, Alumni March 2

Western Feb. 23 announced that tickets for the annual Western Activities Council spring concert, featuring country artists Blake Shelton and Joey + Rory, will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28. Tickets will be available to students, faculty, staff and alumni on Monday, March 2.

Shelton, who has produced five No. 1 country singles, will headline the spring concert at 8 p.m. April 9 in the St. Joseph Civic Arena. Joey + Rory will be the opening act for the concert. The husband and wife have been nominated in the Top Vocal Duo category for the 44^th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

Tickets for the general public will cost $30, plus a $2 facility charge. They will be available at the Civic Arena box office or through Ticketmaster.

Western students get one free ticket with their student identification card. They also have the opportunity to buy one additional ticket for $20, plus the $2 facility charge. Student tickets will only be available in the Center for Student Engagement (CSE), Blum Student Union room 207, beginning at 10 a.m. March 2.

Western employees can purchase up to two tickets for $20 each, plus the $2 facility charge on each ticket, also in the CSE beginning at 10 a.m. March 2.

Western alumni can purchase up to two tickets for $20 each, plus the $2 facility charge on each ticket, through the Western Alumni Association Web site, www.griffonalumni.org/blakeshelton, also beginning on March 2. Alumni must be registered users of the site to purchase tickets, and must pick up their tickets April 7-8 in Spratt Hall, room 106, with a valid ID.

The concert is an alcohol-free event.

For more information about ticket distribution to students, faculty, staff and the general public, contact the CSE at 4159. For more information about alumni ticket sales, call 5646.

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Criminal Justice Week at Western

The man who runs Missouri’s public defender system will highlight Criminal Justice Week activities, March 2-6 at Western.  

Marty Robinson, director of the Missouri Public Defender System, will present “The State of Indigent Criminal Defense in Missouri…Past, Present and Future,” at 7 p.m. March 3 in Leah Spratt Hall, Kemper Recital Hall. Robinson will speak about issues and concerns facing the criminal justice system, including access to justice and budgetary constraints in difficult economic times. The presentation is free and open to the community.

Also during Criminal Justice Week, the 30th annual Criminal Justice Day Career Fair will be held from 1-3:30 p.m. March 4 in the Fulkerson Center. Students from all campus departments are invited to gather information regarding agencies in the criminal justice field as well as a large variety of other professions. Representatives from local, county, state and federal agencies will be present to provide internship and career information. The fair is conducted in conjunction with the campus-wide career fair and is sponsored by the department of criminal justice and legal studies; Delta Phi Upsilon, student chapter of the American Criminal Justice Association; the Western Legal Studies Association; and the Western student chapter of the American Correctional Association.

A presentation titled “Preliminary Observations on Insect Activity Associated with Surrogate Corpses at the MWSU Forensic Scene Research Facility,” will be presented by Dr. David Ashley, professor of biology, at 8:30 a.m. March 5 in the Kemper Recital Hall. Western faculty and students collaborate at the research facility to study the community of invertebrate animals associated with typical corpse decomposition in northwest Missouri. A major objective of this study is to assemble a voucher series of specimens that would be curated as a museum collection and made available to local law enforcement personnel investigating an actual crime scene.

For more information about the events, contact David Tushaus, chair, department of criminal justice and legal studies, at 5627 or Barb Harris at 4293.

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Tower Sports

Men's Basketball

• Win vs. Truman State, 67-48, Feb. 21

• Feb. 25 at University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo., at 7:30 p.m.

• Feb. 28 at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo., at 7:30 p.m.

Women's Basketball

• Win vs. Park College, 60-47, Feb. 17

• Loss vs. Truman State, 62-71, Feb. 21

• Feb. 25 at University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo., at 5:30 p.m.

• Feb. 28 at Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo., at 5:30 p.m.

Baseball

• Winvs. Arkansas Tech University, 5-3, Feb. 21

• Win vs. Arkansas Tech University, 3-1, Feb. 21

• Win vs. Arkansas Tech University, 7-6, Feb. 22

• Loss vs. Arkansas Tech University, 4-9, Feb. 22

• Feb. 28 at Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo., at 1 p.m.

• Feb. 28 at Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo., at 3 p.m.

• March 1 at Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo., at 12 p.m.

• March 1 at Missouri Southern State in Joplin, Mo., at 2 p.m.

Softball

• Loss vs. Tarleton State University, 3-5, Feb. 20

• Win vs. Cameron University, 4-2, Feb. 20

• Win vs. Southern Arkansas University, 4-2, Feb. 21

• Win vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 8-1, Feb. 22

• Win vs. Northeastern State University, 6-4, Feb. 22

Tennis

• Feb. 27 vs. Baker University at 10 a.m.

• Feb. 28 vs. Westminster College at 9 a.m.

FAFSA Frenzy The financial aid office is reminding students to complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. Deadlines are quickly approaching. Students should make every attempt to have their applications completed by March 1, 2009, to be considered for all of the resources that may be available to them. The Financial Aid Office will be hosting two events from 3-6 p.m. Feb. 23 in Spratt Hall room 212 and Feb. 25 in the financial aid office, Eder Hall room 103. Financial aid staff members will be available to assist students in completing their FAFSA applications. Students should bring their and their parent's (if dependent for FAFSA purposes) 2008 Federal tax return information and W-2 forms, as well as their PIN number (if they have one). Pizza will be provided for those who come in and complete their applications. Given the current economic conditions in our country, it is more important than ever for students to complete their applications and start planning for next year. Call the Financial Aid Office if you have any questions at 5939.

Art Gallery The Potter Gallery opens an exhibit Feb. 23 titled "The Italian Experience." This exhibit is the result of students' visual research from their Study Away course to Rome and Florence, Italy, last May and June. We invite you to see how the students visually documented their experiences. The exhibit closes March 6.

New Website The Western Web site has a new look. The home page features changing images and an interactive drop-down menu for the Web site's various audiences, including future students, current students, faculty and staff, parents and family, alumni, donors, and visitors. The page also features links to Western's YouTube channel, Facebook page and Flickr account. Not all pages will reflect the new look right away. Only the home page, academic departments and other key sites feature the new design. Remaining sites will be converted over the next several weeks. For questions about the new design, contact Michelle Ritter at michend@missouriwestern.edu.

MIAA Tournament Tickets Tickets for the MIAA Basketball Championships March 5-8 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City are available through the athletic department. The all-session pass for $40 includes admission to all 14 games of the tournament. Tickets are available from the Griffon ticket office through March 4. Call 5904 for details.

Alumni Mardi Gras The Western Alumni Association will hold its third annual Mardi Gras celebration at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at Boudreaux’s Louisiana Seafood and Steaks, 224 N. 4^th St. in downtown St. Joseph. St. Joseph area alumni and friends are invited to attend, and asked to RSVP to mwalumni@missouriwestern.edu with the number attending. Last year, more than 200 people attended.

Foreign Film Series The last February movie in the Foreign Film Series, "Offside," will be at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 25 in the Spratt Hall, Kemper Recital Hall. "Offside" was released in 2006 and directed by Jafar Panahi. The movie showcases the struggle of women in a country that excludes them from entering sports stadiums.

Faculty Mentor Program Faculty members are invited to attend the Faculty Mentor Program Open House from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 25 in the Commons Building. There will be a number of short presentations about the Faculty Mentor Program scheduled at 2:15 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. These presentations are all the same, thus allowing you to pick the one you want to attend. Faculty mentors will be present to answer any questions. We will also offer tours of the residence halls if interested. The Faculty Mentor Program is an opportunity to enhance student's educational experience beyond the classroom environment through student interaction at floor meetings, lunch meetings and other programming opportunities. This program pairs up faculty with resident assistants and their respective floors. Faculty who have the desire to relate to students in a residential setting outside of the classroom or laboratory are encouraged to attend the open house. For questions, contact Jen Kacere at 7102 or jkacere@missouriwestern.edu.

War on Two Fronts Col. Christopher Hughes will be on campus at 9 a.m. Feb. 27 in Kemper Recital Hall. Col. Hughes is the author of "War on Two Fronts, a critical analysis of the 2003 Iraq War that compares the battles with the politics that occurred both in Iraq and in the Pentagon. Col. Hughes and this presentation will be introduced by Lt. Col. Marcus Majure, professor of military science; and by Dr. Dan Trifan, professor of history and scholar of military history. After Col. Hughes' presentation there will be a short question and answer period, with the presentation concluding at 10 a.m.

Attention Summer 2009 Graduates The Registrar's Office would like to remind all students who are planning on graduating this summer with a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, or master's degree that the graduation application deadline is March 1. Applications are available in the Registrar's Office, Eder 102, or on-line at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/Registrar/candidate.html. 

Chili Cook-off Griff-A-Licious Chili will be in the UCP Heart of American Chili Challenge at St. Joseph Civic Arena at 2:30 p.m. March 1. Join the athletics department, led by chef Regi Trotter, as they place an entry in the UCP Chili Cook-off for the fifth straight year. Help atletics win the peoples choice award by raising the most money for having the best chili.

Career Fair Plan now to attend the Career Fair from 1-3:30 p.m. March 4 in the Fulkerson Center. Besides career positions, there will also be internships and part-time jobs available. Bring resumes and dress professionally. Come and network with employers. Don't be without a job when you graduate or a part-time job this summer. Now is the time to get started on your job search.

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Monday, February 23

• Potter Gallery opens an exhibit titled "The Italian Experience"

• FAFSA Frenzy from 3-6 p.m. in Spratt 212

• Senate meeting at 5 p.m. in Blum 220

• “More Than Meets the Eye" at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Bushman Planetarium, Agenstein Hall 105.

• Ebony Collegians Week: Black History Challenge at 7 p.m. in Commons large conference room.

• Residence Council concert at 7 p.m. in the Blum Union Food Court

Tuesday, February 24

• Junior and senior Interview Day at KCI Expo Center

• Frenzy Free Zone from 4-8 p.m. at the Wesley Center

• Alumni Mardi Gras celebration at 6:30 p.m. at Boudreaux’s Louisiana Seafood and Steaks, 224 N. 4^th St. in downtown St. Joseph

• Residence Council meeting at 7 p.m. in the Commons Building

• “Hubble Vision" at 7 p.m. in the Bushman Planetarium, Agenstein Hall 105.

• Ebony Collegians Week: Night at the Looney at 9 p.m. in Looney small gym. 

Wednesday, February 25

• “St. Joseph School District: Vision for the Future,” Eggs and Issues presentation at 7 a.m. in the Fulkerson Center

• Faculty Mentor Program Open House from 2-4 p.m. in the Commons Building

• Career Services Seminar from 3-4:30 p.m.

• FAFSA Frenzy from 3-6 p.m. in the financial aid office

• President's Leadership Council meeting at 3:30 p.m. in Blum 218

• Western Activities Council meeting at 4 p.m. in Blum 223

• "Offside" at 6:30 p.m. in the Kemper Recital Hall

• Ebony Collegians Week: Group Bowl at Belt Bowl. Meet in Blum Union parking lot at 9:45 p.m.

Thursday, February 26

• Coffee and Conversation from 9 a.m. to noon in the Nontraditional Student Center, Eder 200

• CME Multicultural Institute at 5 p.m. in Blum 223

• Ebony Collegians Week: Black and White Social at 7 p.m. in Blum 218.  Must wear black or white or both.

Friday, February 27

• "War on Two Fronts" with Col. Christopher Hughes at 9 a.m. in Kemper Recital Hall.

• Ebony Collegians Week: Rap Battle at 7 p.m. in Spratt 101. If interested to participate, sign up sheets are in the dorms at the front desk.

Saturday, February 28

• WAC Spring Concert tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m.

Sunday, March 1

• Deadline to apply for financial aid

• Deadline to apply for summer 2009 graduation

• Griff-A-Licious Chili Cook-off at 2:30 p.m. in the UCP Heart of American Chili Challenge at St. Joseph Civic Arena

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Surplus: The department of government, social work and sociology has two office chairs in good shape from our department for the asking. Please see the hallway outside of our office.

Needed: Dog house for a medium to large dog. Email judnol or call 4554.

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