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Western Students Give Back To Community at Big Event
“I’ve been looking at these
clothes mound up, thinking, ‘How are we going to get this done?’ This
has been so much help.” Those were the words of Gayle Wise, service
coordinator at the Northwood apartment complex, when several students
from Missouri Western State College showed up on April 23 to help Wise
and Diana Crofutt get ready for a 4-H garage sale.
The students, Rob Martin of
Gower, Mo.; Nick Thyfault of Chicago; Rich Crowe of Chillicothe, Mo.;
Thomas Hanrahan of Liberty, Mo., and Lacey Merrell of Lewistown, Mo.
were part of the Big Event, a semi-annual day of service sponsored by
the Center for Multicultural Education. More than 130 volunteered at
15 not-for-profit organizations throughout the community.
“I am very grateful,” said
Wise. “I thank the college for doing this.” She said Western has
provided volunteers at several Big Events since they began the volunteer
day in 2001. In the past at Northwood, Western students and staff have
planted a garden, cleaned an apartment and aided an elderly handicapped
woman. One time, rain canceled an outdoor service project, and students
spent the day writing, making props and performing a play for the young
apartment residents.
“It’s a good
chance for the college to come out and make a difference in the
community,” said Martin.
Crowe agreed.
“It’s a good opportunity for Western students to be seen making a
difference in the community. I’m having a good time working with these
guys.”
Along with
helping at Northwood, Western students and staff throughout the
community helped clean a warehouse and work on a house for Habitat for
Humanity, performed yard work for several families, helped with the
March of Dimes walk and a Special Olympics event, worked at a garage
sale for Mid-City Excellence and worked outdoors at Camp Geiger Boy
Scout Camp.
Students all
stated the same reasons for their participation: “It’s fun and I enjoy
it. I wanted to give back to the community and help out. I wanted to
make a difference.” And for many students, Saturday’s event was not
their first stint at volunteering. Many had participated in the Big
Events several times, and several noted that they also volunteer with
their campus organizations.
Students
Natalie Bailey of Sedalia, Mo.; Alicia Falter of Westphalia, Mo., and
Kari Snyder of Hamilton, Mo., were working together on the foundation of
a Habitat for Humanity house. “It’s a good way to meet people from
Missouri Western and in the community,” Falter said.
Bailey said she
was having a good time. “It feels good to give back to the community. I
like to make a connection between St. Joseph and Missouri Western. We’re
doing a good thing today.”
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Western
Students "Share Our Stories"
Have you ever
felt like you were the only one in the world to go through tough times?
Have you ever felt alone and afraid of the future? Missouri Western
State College’s peer counseling group, Share Our Stories (S.O.S.), has
found a way to reach out to fellow students who just need someone to
listen.
The group
features three different approaches to reaching out to people of all
ages: improvisational theater, peer counseling and the student speakers
bureau, “Voices.”
The
improvisational theater division of the group focuses on performing
skits and role playing on topics such as drug use, date rape, drinking
and sexual awareness.
The
improvisational group, with team leader Jasmine Thomas of Kansas City,
Mo., recently presented five skits covering various topics at the annual
Meeting of Minds Conference for college students in Kansas City, Mo. The
group is also planning to perform for a local middle school.
The newest
division of S.O.S. is the student speakers bureau “Voices,” for anyone
who is passionate about a subject and wants the opportunity to share his
or her passion with others. Topics range from drinking and driving to
financial aid. “Voices” is also creating a program called “Don’t Cancel
That Class” which is designed to fill in for teachers when they are
absent. Instead of canceling the class teachers may call S.O.S. students
to speak during that period.
Twenty-two Western students attended a
weekend training session to become certified as peer counselors. The
peer counselors are not trained to give answers to
problems, said Tim Crowley, counselor and
coordinator of S.O.S.; they are there as a shoulder to lean on and to
listen. Peer counselors provided a breakout session at the Meeting of
Minds Conference called “Call Me Crazy,” that explored the stigma
attached to mental health and college students.
“I joined S.O.S.
because I enjoy helping people, and I have a gift for uniting people of
differences,” said Karen Pruitt, Western student and team leader for the
peer counselors. “I have been helped in so many
ways by this campus that I felt it was time to give back.”
S.O.S. is
really the revamping of a peer-counseling group that began in 1987 and
called themselves The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club was a group of
students who would get together in the mornings before class and discuss
their lives. The Breakfast Club turned into a group called Peers
Reaching Others before interest waned in 1997.
“The common
cause of S.O.S. is the students’ dedication to making a difference,”
said Crowley. “It is our responsibility to provide a safe environment,
and when that is driven by students it’s that much better.”
Along with
Pruitt and Thomas, student leaders include S.O.S. President Jael Haecker,
Plymouth, Neb.; “Voices” team leader Terence Berger, Kansas City, Mo.,
and peer counseling team leader LaNisha Bosby, St. Joseph, Mo.
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Points
of Pride
Western announces recent achievements of its
faculty/staff, students and programs.
Excellence in our
Faculty/Staff
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Dr. Robert Nulph, associate professor of video art, won two Bronze Telly
Awards for the Parkinson Care Series, an eight-video series that is
being used throughout the U.S. and Canada as a training tool for
professional caregivers. Facilities such as all of the Mayo Clinics and
a number of premiere neurological care facilities have adopted the
series as an integral part of their Parkinson’s Disease Care training.
Dr. Nulph also was approached to provide footage for a fund-raising
video for the annual Mohammed Ali Banquet. This national event raises
millions of dollars each year for the funding of Parkinson’s research.
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Dr.
Ann Thorne, associate professor of journalism, won “Top Faculty Paper
Award” in the History Division for the refereed paper she delivered at
the Southeast Colloquium of the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication in Athens, Ga. The topic of the paper was “Janet
Flanner and the Emergence of Literary Journalism.”
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Prairie Lands Writing Project has been awarded a matching grant for
2005-2006 of $68,000 in federal funds from the National Writing
Project (NWP). In addition to core funding grants of $43,000, the site
has also been awarded three competitive grants totaling $25,000. Dr.
Jane Frick, professor of English and Prairie Lands director, was the
primary grant writer; she will coordinate the implementation of the
site’s technology and reading projects with Mary Lee Meyer, Prairie
Lands media coordinator; Valorie Stokes, Western adjunct reading
instructor and Prairie Lands Reading initiative coordinator; and Heidi
Mick, Platte County R-III English teacher and Prairie Lands
professional development coordinator.
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The Institutional Advancement office received two Communicator Awards
in the 2005 Print Media competition. Points of Pride and Western
Magazine both received an Award of Distinction. Points of Pride was
coordinated by Kristy Hill, director of public relations and
marketing. Diane Holtz is the editor of Western Magazine. The
Communicator Awards is an international awards competition that
recognizes outstanding work in the communication field.
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Jim Estes, professor of art, had his ceramic sculpture entitled
“Ancient Ones” chosen to be included in the 48th Annual
Delta Exhibition to be held at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little
Rock, Ark. Forty-five works by 44 artists were chosen from 630 pieces
submitted by 351 artists.
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Kathleen Andrews, associate professor of nursing, completed degree
requirements for the Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Missouri –
Kansas City. Her dissertation was entitled: “Perceptions of High
School Boys toward Nursing as a Career Choice.”
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Dr. Chris Shove, dean and executive director of the Western Institute,
recently had his article entitled “ Emerging Space Commerce and State
Development Strategies” published in Economic Development Quarterly.
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Dr. Reza Hamzaee, professor of economics, had his article entitled “A
Survey and Theoretical Model of Distance Education Program” published
in the refereed journal of International Advances in Economic
Research.
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Dr. John Rushin, professor of biology, and four of his former students
in the biology department recently published the results of their
six-year study entitled “Effect of Two Different Burn Treatments on
the Vegetation of a Successional Tallgrass Prairie Site” in the
Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science. Also, Dr. Rushin and
several of his current students recently gave a workshop on “Missouri
Native Plants” to area park rangers at Smithville, Mo. In addition,
Dr. Rushin recently gave a talk on “Missouri Prairies” at the Beta
Beta Beta Biological Honor Society Initiation Ceremony at Avila
University in Kansas City.
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Dale Krueger, associate professor of management, and Denise Bartles,
associate professor of general business, had an article, “The Travel
and Tourism Business,” published in the April edition of the Kansas
City Korean Business Journal.
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Vincenza Marash, counselor, had an article published in the Winter
2005 edition of Reflections. The article was entitled “Story Sharing,
Voice Fatigue, and Moving Forward After Divorce: When Women Resist
Being Defined by Their Tragedies.”
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Dr. J. David
Arnold, vice president for academic and student affairs, presented
twice at the Annual Meeting of the Higher Learning Comission of the
North Central Association in Chicago. The first paper, “One Year After
the Strategy Forum,” was co-presented with Dr. James Scanlon,
president; Dr. Jeanie Crain, special assistant to the president; and
Dr. Jeanne Daffron, assistant vice president for academic and student
affairs. It focused on Western’s Academic Quality Improvement Program
(AQIP) activities. The second presentation was part of a panel of
provosts invited by Dr. John Gardner from the original 12 founding
public institutions in the Foundations of Excellence in the First
College Year, a project sponsored by the Policy Center on the First
Year of College. Dr. Arnold’s segment reviewed the relationship
between Western’s AQIP Action Project on Student Engagement and
Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year.
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Dr. John Tapia, professor of speech, participated in the “Active
Learning in the Four Year College Setting: The MWSC Case Study”
program at the Central States Communication
Association Convention in Kansas City, Mo. He chaired this
session. He participated in the “Competitive Papers in Communication
Education: Exploring Issues at the Heart of Instruction” and served as
respondent to four papers. Dr. Tapia also participated in the
“Community as an Instructional Resource” program, where he discussed
how internships at Western work within the framework of active
learning.
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Dr. David McMahan, assistant professor of speech, attended the Central
States Communication Association Convention in Kansas City, Mo. for
which he served as program planner and as chair of the Communication
Education Interest Group. While at the convention, he was elected as
an officer of the Basic Course Interest Group. Dr. McMahan is also
serving as a member of the National Communication Association
Taskforce for Online Communication Courses.
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Dr. Marilyn Hunt, associate professor of speech, attended the Central
States Communication Association Convention in Kansas City, Mo. She
presented “Active Learning in the Senior Portfolio” on a panel,
“Active Learning in the Four-year College Setting: The MWSC Case
Study.”
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Dr. Diane Gorcyca, professor of speech, was part of a panel at the
Central States Communication Association Convention in Kansas City,
Mo. The panel focused on active learning strategies and their relation
to the responses on the National Survey of Student Engagement.
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Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology, presented “Stem Cell Research:
Perceptions and Reality” to the St. Joseph Downtown Rotary Club.
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Dr. Ben Caldwell,
associate professor of chemistry, presented two papers at the American
Chemical Society Meeting in San Diego. The first talk was entitled “A
Learning Community Designed to Link Chemistry and Biology Laboratory
Courses.” The second talk was entitled “Cooperation Between Chemistry
and Biology Departments can Lead to a Successful Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology Undergraduate Degree.” He also presided over a
symposium on “Educating Biochemists for the Future, Not the Past” and
led a panel discussion on the topic following the session.
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Dr. Shauna Hiley,
associate professor of chemistry, presented two posters at the
National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego. The
first was entitled “Chemical Instrumentation in the Freshman
Laboratory: It Can be Done.” Dr. Hiley, Debra Durham, chemistry major,
and Jodi Stamback of South Harrison High School presented the second
poster entitled “Development of Inquiry Centered Activities for the
Secondary Chemistry Classroom.”
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Dr. Steven Lorimor,
assistant professor of chemistry, presented “Thirty Years of the
Chemistry Educators Association: A Partnership Between Missouri
Western State College and Regional High School Teachers” at the
National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego.
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The chemistry
department hosted over 450 students from 25 area high schools at the
28th annual Chemathon. Western chemistry and physics
professors led the events, which included written tests, oral team
competitions, “Chemistry Game Shows,” and building “Spoon-a-pults.”
The grand prizes for the top winners in six divisions of written tests
were scholarships for six credit hours at Western. The event is
co-sponsored each year by the Western Chemical Educators Association,
an organization of chemistry faculty and area high school teachers.
This year the event was also sponsored by a grant from the Western
Foundation.
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Jianping Su,
assistant professor of computer science, presented a computer science,
mathematics and physics departmental colloquium entitled “Algorithms
on the Approximation of Eigenvalues.”
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Dr. Darell
Johnson, assistant professor of physics, presented “Field Extensions
(Getting More from What You Already Have)” at a computer science,
mathematics and physics departmental colloquium.
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Dr. Jeff Poet,
assistant professor of mathematics, spoke at the Kappa Mu Epsilon
Initiation on “The No-7 Series: The Harmonic Series With All Terms
Containing The Digit 7 Deleted.”
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Dr. Steve Klassen,
associate professor of mathematics, participated in a Professional
Enhancement Program of the Mathematical Association of America
Workshop entitled “The Mathematics of Images” in Berkeley,
Calif. at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.
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R. E. Moore,
director of developmental mathematics, and Meri Thompson, 2004
graduate, attended the National Association of Developmental Education
in Albuquerque, N.M. Meri received the national Outstanding
Developmental Education Student Award, and Moore presented “Stone-Age
Technology: Why Not Both? A Colloquium on Technology.”
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Dr. Bob Bergland,
associate professor of journalism, was an invited speaker at
Khemelnytsky National University where he delivered four
presentations, including “American Newspapers, Past and Present,”
“Journalism Economics in the United States,” and “The Impact of the
Internet on Newspapers and Journalism Education.”
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Dr. Elizabeth
Latosi-Sawin, professor of English, delivered a paper entitled “Appraising
Environmental and Human Values” at the National Conference on College
Composition and Communication in San Francisco. Her presentation was
part of the special interest group meeting of the Association for the
Study of Literature and the Environment.
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Dr. Kenneth
Rosenauer, associate professor of journalism, presented two sessions
at the Spring National College Media Convention sponsored by College
Media Advisers in New York City. His two topics were “Coaching Student
Publication Staffs” and “Evaluating Student Performance Using
Criteria-Based Check Sheets.” Dr. Rosenauer will be serving as
convention coordinator of this meeting for the next two years,
responsible for all on-site operations and activities.
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Dr. Ian Roberts,
associate professor of English, presented his paper “Art and Androids
in ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’” at the 2005 Popular Culture
Association/American Culture Association joint conference in San
Diego.
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Dr. Patricia
Donaher, assistant professor of English, presented her paper, “Cartoon
Grammarians: Language Attitudes and Language Lessons in the
Funny Pages” at the 2005 Popular Culture Association/American Culture
Association joint conference in San Diego. Dr. Donaher also was a
discussant in the professional placement panel, “Thou Shalt Not: Dos
and Don’ts of Conference Presentations.”
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Dr. Monica Nandan,
associate professor of social work, presented a paper entitled
“Changing Consumer Behavior: Alteration in Ability Levels of the
Mature Adult Population” and served as a moderator for three research
papers.
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Denise Smith,
associate professor of general business, presented her paper entitled
“Recent Cases of National Origin Discrimination” at the March Midwest
Business Administration Association conference in Chicago.
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Dr. Shiva Nandan,
associate professor of marketing, presented his paper entitled
“Building Brand Equity Online: An Investigation of the Dominant
Brands” at the Annual Conference of American Society of Business and
Behavioral Sciences in Las Vegas.
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The Chamber Choir
of the St. Joseph Community Chorus, directed by Frank Thomas,
associate professor of music, was hosted by the French choir, the
Chorale Divertimento, in France during spring break. During their stay
in Lille, France, the St. Joseph choir performed Anthony Glise’s
Children’s Mass and Stabat Mater. David Benz, assistant professor of
music, directed the Chamber Choir in American a cappella repertoire.
Sharon Gray, associate professor of music, was the soprano soloist
with the French choir in the Mendelssohn motet for soprano soloist,
choir and orchestra. Anthony Glise, instructor of music, was the
coordinator for both tours.
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Dr. Teddi Deka,
associate professor of psychology; Dr. Michael Ottinger, assistant
professor of physics; Dr. Mark Johnson, assistant professor of
construction engineering; and Dr. Sandie Seeger, assistant professor
of biology, served as directors for the Mid-America Regional Science
and Engineering Fair, sponsored by Western Foundation. Eighty high
school students presented their science projects at the fair, and two
overall winners were selected to attend the International Science and
Engineering Fair in Phoenix.
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Larry Andrews,
professor of criminal justice, chaired two panels, “New Directions in
the Study of Criminal Law” and “Issues in Law Enforcement Training,”
at the 42nd annual Conference of the Academy of Criminal
Justice Sciences in Chicago. This conference is the largest academic
national gathering of criminal justice educators and practitioners
held annually to specifically work toward the goal of improving the
quality of criminal justice education across the country. Andrews
additionally gave refereed paper presentations on “Fourth and Fifth
Amendment Issues – Stop and Identify Statutes” and “Supreme Court
Decisions: Use of Force.”
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Dr. Gene Eulinger,
registrar, attended the annual conference of the American Association
of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). While
attending the conference, he served as a coordinator for the
first-time attendees orientation and met with other members of the
Missouri AACRO executive committee to plan state activities.
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Tim Crowley
provided a presentation on “The Leadership Journey” to Barbara Sprong
Leadership Challenge participants, gave the commencement address at
the GED graduation at the Western Reception Diagnostic Correctional
Center (WRDCC), and provided the opening/welcome to prospective
students and their families at a visit day.
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Steve Potter, counselor, conducted a seminar entitled “Taking Care of
Self” to the social work staff at Western Reception Diagnostic
Correctional Center.
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Cathy Gann,
Center for Academic Support reading
and study skills coordinator,
participated in round-table discussions at the Heartland College
Reading and Learning Association Conference in Omaha, Neb. She was
also asked to extend her tenure as treasurer of that association for
an additional year.
Excellence in our
Students
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Jenny Olsen won
Second Place for Organization Writing for Yearbook in the National
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Awards Competition
2005 presented in New York City. Olson is a junior majoring in
English/journalism and copy editor of the Griffon Yearbook.
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Adam Kling won
second place in the international 2005 Student Writing Contest
sponsored by the Association for Business Communication (ABC). Kling
is a senior finance major. Adam will travel to New Orleans in October
to attend the annual convention of ABC. He will be recognized at the
conference luncheon when he will receive a check for $200. He has also
been invited to serve on a panel discussing the writing competition.
The panel will be a part of the conference presentations. Kathrin
Carpenter placed fourth in the competition. She is a junior business
management major and will graduate in May.
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Senior Jael
Haecker, a psychology major, was named Area 5 Bacchus and Gamma Peer
Education Outstanding Student for 2004-2005 at the annual Meeting of
the Minds Conference in Kansas City, Mo. sponsored by Missouri
Partners in Prevention. Jael’s selection marked the first time a
Western student has earned this prestigious award.
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The Griffon
Yearbook won 15 awards in seven categories at the 2005 Missouri
College Media Association conference held in Kansas City, Mo. First
place winners were Diamikia White and Mika Snodgrass, portrait design
and sports design; and Gretchen Kunkle, personality design. Snodgrass
also received second place overall for Theme Development. Valissa
Kraus won third place in Feature Photography. Jake Grzenda and Melissa
Scearce won third place in Student Life Design. Jeremy Weikel won
third place in Sports Photography. Johntell Young won third place in
Feature Photography. White and Snodgrass also received honorable
mention in the categories of Portrait Design and Sports Design.
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Meri Thompson,
2004 graduate, attended the National Association of Developmental
Education in Albuquerque, N.M., where she received the national
Outstanding Developmental Education Student Award.
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Eight Western students were inducted recently into the Omicron of Missouri
chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon,
an international honor society in economics. They included Robert
Hughs, Cole Kiner, Kevin Plummer, Marcus Shobe, Jeremy David Simmons,
Joshua Marc Smith, Brian Taylor and Nicole Wright.
The
minimum requirements are a completion of 12 semester hours of
economics courses, attainment of at least a B average in economics
courses and all other classes. Students do not have to be economics
majors, but must have a genuine interest in economics.
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Ten Western
student papers were competitively selected for the Central States
Communication Association Convention in Kansas City, Mo. The students
whose papers were selected included Megan Bone, Kimberly Bunten, Amy
D. Hankins, Hannorah Harrah, Crystal Hickey, Melissa Jackson, Danielle
Shoemaker, Randall Siddens, Amanda Stapleton.
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Thirteen Western
English students presented their papers at the 2005 Popular Culture
Association/American Culture Association Joint Conference in San
Diego. Student presenters included: Dawn Baker, Jeff Briedwell,
Katherine Burns, Candace Collins, Melanie Fisher, Kelli Gardner, John
Grogan, Amanda Gruber, Matthew Lillie, Brandie Ponting, Kim Schutte,
Mildred Stewart and Ashley Wales.
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The members of the
Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity organized and presented a Battle of the
Bands Competition. Twelve rock bands from the greater Kansas City/St.
Joseph area competed for cash prizes and recording time in Mark
Elting’s studio. Estimated attendance was 400 people from the
northwest Missouri area. Music major Brian Burlingame was the
principal coordinator, assisted by Christopher Brough and Tyler
Chiarelli, also music majors.
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The advanced stage
combat class attended a participatory workshop in staged violence in
Ruston, La. Seventeen fight masters, fight directors and certified
teachers of the Society of American Fight Directors from the U.S. and
Britain conducted this two-day event.
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The Western
Symphonic Winds concert band, under the direction of Jeffrey Hinton,
assistant professor of music, was the featured ensemble for the Noon
Recital Series at First Presbyterian Church.
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Clay Rush, a
former kicker for the Western football team, now plays for AFL’s
Colorado Crush. He is in his seventh AFL season and ranked second in
scoring among kickers, with 106 points. During his college career,
Rush was named to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics
Association All-Conference Team and was NCAA Division II Second Team
All-American in his senior year at Western. Rush works with kids in
nationwide kicking camps during the offseason.
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Ten psychology
students, Melonie Decker, Emily Kempf, Tabby Larson, Brooke
Lindenbusch, Angela Mobley, Alyssa Myers, Marion Petty, Jennifer Rippy,
Jennifer Roether, and Erin Wilson, presented six research projects at
the 25th Annual Great Plains Regional Undergraduate
Psychology Convention in Omaha, Neb. Brooke Lindenbusch won second
place for her project entitled, “The Effects of Video Games on Memory
and Frustration Tolerance.” Her faculty sponsor was Dr. Brian Cronk,
professor of psychology.
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The Western
improvisational group “Sharing Our Stories” (SOS) with team leader
Jasmine Thomas, a speech and theatre major, presented five skits on
various topics at the annual Meeting of the Minds Conference in Kansas
City, Mo. sponsored by Missouri Partners in Prevention. A panel of
Western students also provided a breakout session called “Call Me
Crazy,” that explored the stigma attached to mental health and college
students.
Excellence in our
Programs
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In response to the need expressed by several area businesses and
agencies, the Western Institute (WI) pursued and received certification
as an Official Registered Provider of Command Spanish, Inc. As an
official provider, the WI can offer on-site, job-specific Spanish
language and cross-cultural training in such diverse areas as nursing,
law enforcement, dentistry, public safety, construction, hospitality,
office management, warehousing, manufacturing, education, and retail
sales. In addition, public courses will be offered in topic areas based
on community interest. The programs are all nongrammar-based, noncredit
programs. No previous Spanish experience is necessary to enroll in
Command Spanish courses, which are low-stress, direct, and typically
last eight-24 hours.
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The Center for Arts and Culture’s advanced Suzuki violin students played
for a reception of the governor’s signing of the bill for university
status in Spratt Hall. The students are under the direction of violin
instructors Terry Brock, Amanda-Fry Gaston-Moore, and Lauren Morehead.
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Rhonda Rund, director of the Center for Arts and Culture, gave a
presentation entitled “The Arts and Child Development” to the local
Parents As Teachers organization. This presentation was part of a series
of presentations sponsored by the St. Joseph Chapter of the United Way,
which focuses on supporting the healthy development of young children in
northwest Missouri.
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