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Week of May 4 - 10, 2009 Welcome to the Tower Topics E-newsletter for faculty, staff and students at Western. |
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Missouri Western State University, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64507, 816-271- 4200 |
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Click any link for these stories: Commencement Planned for May 9 The Power of Flex: Students Donate $6100 to Food Bank Paleontology Class Offered in Fall Students, Faculty Present at Missouri Academy of Sciences Lost & Found: If you have lost any items, please come to SU 228 to claim them. You may be required to describe the item. Click on
Guidelines for Tower Topics: Tower Topics submissions should state time, date, place, sponsor, title of event, name of speaker's and admission fees. Send complete information to the Public Relations and Marketing office (Leah Spratt Hall, Room 106). 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. Student Editor:
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Commencement Planned for May 9 Western will hold its spring commencement ceremonies at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. May 9 in the M.O. Looney Complex. Nearly 500 undergraduate students completing their courses of study this spring or summer will receive their degrees. In addition, 12 graduate students will participate in Western’s first hooding ceremony during the 3 p.m. commencement. Honorary doctorate degrees will be presented to Steven L. Craig at the 11 a.m. ceremony and to Wes and Patsy Remington at the 3 p.m. ceremony. Dr. Robert A. Vartabedian, Western’s president, will deliver the commencement address at both ceremonies. The Alumni Association will host a free reception for graduates and their families after each ceremony in the Looney small gym. Other events include an ROTC commissioning ceremony at 4 p.m. May 8 at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo., a pinning ceremony for nursing graduates at 8:30 a.m. May 9 in the Fulkerson Center, and a pinning ceremony for graduates of the physical therapist assistant program at 9 a.m. in Kemper Recital Hall, inside Leah Spratt Hall. Graduates from the following departments will participate in the 11 a.m. ceremony: Craig School of Business, communication studies, economics, engineering technology, nursing and psychology. Graduates in the 3 p.m. ceremony include the following: art; biology; chemistry; computer science, mathematics and physics; criminal justice and legal studies; education; English, foreign languages and journalism; government, social work and sociology; health, physical education and recreation; history, philosophy and geography; music; Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies; Bachelor of Science in Technology 2+2; post-baccalaureate certificates; and master’s degrees. During the hooding ceremony, the dozen students receiving Master of Applied Science degrees in chemistry, information technology management and assessment will come to the stage to receive their Western master’s hood from graduate faculty. Also, five students will receive graduate certificates in the teaching of writing. Western began offering master’s degree programs in fall 2007. Steven L. Craig is founding partner, president and CEO of Craig Realty Group of Newport Beach, Calif. The Savannah, Mo., native left the area to pursue his education and career, receiving his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1978, but never forgot his home. He has been an active supporter of several local charities. Last May, he pledged $5.5 million to the MWSU Foundation, the largest individual contribution in university history. The gift supported the creation of a school of business at Western, known as the Steven L. Craig School of Business. Wes and Patsy Remington are longtime St. Joseph residents. Wes started as a sales trainee at Anchor Serum in 1956 and rose to the position of president. He went on to help found several animal health companies. Those firms and their successors currently employ an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 people in the St. Joseph region. Patsy graduated from Western in 1979 with a degree in social work. In October 2007, the couple pledged $5 million to the MWSU Foundation. The new science and math building currently under construction on Western’s campus has been named Remington Hall in their honor. Dr. Robert Vartabedian became Western’s president on July 1, 2008. He is the fourth president since Western became a four-year institution in 1969. Dr. Vartabedian was born and raised in Fresno, Calif. He holds three degrees in speech communication, receiving his bachelor’s degree from Fresno State University, his master’s from Wichita State University and his doctorate from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to coming to Western, he held faculty and administrative positions at East Central Oklahoma State University, Wichita State University, West Texas A&M University, Western Carolina University and Eastern New Mexico University. |
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The Power of 'Flex': Students Donate $6,100 to Food Bank More than 120 cases of orange juice, fruit cups and cereal were delivered to America’s Second Harvest of Greater St. Joseph last week, courtesy of dozens of Western students who donated excess Flex Dollars from their meal plan. The first Flex Food Drive was the brainchild of Luke Akers, junior English major of Lawson, Mo., who participated in the Barbara Sprong Leadership Challenge this spring. Akers was looking for a service project his team could do and a friend suggested they find a way for students to donate extra Flex Dollars so they wouldn’t go to waste. “A lot of students have money left over at the end of the year,” Akers said. “I knew people had tried to find a way for students to donate that leftover money, but it hadn’t worked. So I decided to talk to Aramark about what we could do.” Akers talked to Jim Maides of Aramark and realized that the way to make the idea work was to have Aramark do what they do best … buy food in bulk. Students would donate part of their Flex Dollars; Aramark would put those donations in a special account, and use them to buy food for Second Harvest’s Backpack Buddies program, which provides a backpack full of nutritious, child-friendly food for schoolchildren to take home over the weekend. “This was an opportunity to support a student leader doing a volunteer effort for the community,” Maides said. “Luke came to me with the idea, and as we talked about it, it started to make sense.” The next challenge was to get the effort organized quickly, as time was running out on the semester. Akers and his teammates, LaKeisha Caldwell, sophomore business major of St. Louis, Mo., and Lindsay Jackson, sophomore speech communication major of St. Joseph, agreed to do the Food Drive on Thursday, April 16. They began asking fellow students to staff a donation table inside the Food Court, and by Monday, April 20, they had the table set up. More than 20 students would volunteer to work the table throughout the week, and the donations started coming in, far beyond Akers’ expectations. “I was ecstatic,” Akers said about the response of students. “Our goal was $2,000. We raised more than that on Monday, and set a new goal of $5,000.” Even that new goal was surpassed. By week’s end, more than $6,100 had been donated. One student donated $1,000, Akers said. Aramark ordered the food from its suppliers, and volunteered the use of its service trucks to deliver the purchases to Second Harvest. On April 29, Akers and a group of friends from the Newman Center helped deliver the first quarter of the donation. The rest was delivered on May 1. The gift was much appreciated by Second Harvest. “It’s wonderful to see a group of college students helping those less fortunate in the community, particularly those in elementary school,” said Scott Tomhave, Second Harvest’s executive director. “Obviously, this food purchased for the Backpack Buddies program will offset our cost, allowing for more children to participate in the program.” Akers hopes it doesn’t end as a one-time donation. He’s talked with the Newman Center about taking on the Flex Food Drive as an ongoing service project. |
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'Time Travel': Paleontology Class Offered in Fall A class for those students who never quite outgrew their childhood fascination with dinosaurs will be offered at Western this fall. “Paleontology is almost like a way of time-traveling,” said Dr. Karen Koy, assistant professor of biology. “It gives us a window into the past and can help us make predictions about the future.” The introduction to paleontology class will focus on the hands-on aspects of the field that are more fun, Koy said. It will be offered in a three-hour block on Friday afternoons to make it easier to plan field trips. Koy said she’s been told about nearby rock outcrops that might yield some fossils. The class also might take weekend trips to caves in the Ozarks where students can practice collecting and analyzing. Koy is also exploring the possibility of using the criminal justice and legal studies department’s forensic scene research facility on West Campus to do decomposition studies on dead animals. “Decomposition studies help us make sense of the fossil record,” Koy said. “Students will be able to see that how and where a carcass is buried affects how well it stays together, and how likely it is to leave a record.” This is the first time Western has offered a paleontology class, and Koy thinks it should be of interest to a wide variety of students. “Most people between the ages of five and 12 love dinosaurs, fossils and shells,” Koy said. “I hope it appeals to a lot of people.” The introduction to paleontology course is BIO 396 in the fall 2009 course catalog. Prerequisites are either BIO 101, BIO 105 or ESC 111. |
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Students, Faculty Present at Missouri Academy of Sciences Sixteen Western students and seven faculty members made presentations at the Missouri Academy of Sciences annual meeting April 24 and 25 at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Mo. Two of the presentations won first place in their category. Susan Brock, senior biology major of St. Joseph, won first place in Collegiate Division oral presentation. Brock presented research she did with Dr. Jason Baker, associate professor of biology, on a bacteria-produced protein they discovered that may be useful in killing other bacteria. Tom Crowley, senior biochemistry/molecular biology and chemistry major of Savannah, Mo., won first place in Collegiate Division poster presentation for research on a computer program simulation of solar systems with Dr. Michael Ottinger, associate professor of physics. Also making presentations were: Collegiate Division oral: Whitney Bryan, senior psychology major of St. Joseph, and Danielle Wellman, senior psychology major of Meriden, Kan. Collegiate Division poster: Andrew Gordon, senior biology major of St. Joseph. Student Senior Division oral: Xiao Zhu, junior biochemistry/molecular biology major of St. Joseph, and Robert Cool, senior biology major of St. Joseph. Student Senior Division poster: Teresa Ausberger, senior wildlife conservation and management major of Trenton, Mo.; Carol Clark, junior wildlife conservation and management major of Weatherby, Mo.; Sandra Levy, senior biology major of St. Joseph; Jennifer Shaffer, junior biology major of Blue Springs, Mo.; Margaret Slayton, sophomore biology major of St. Joseph; Matt Stehly, junior biology major of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Michael Voltz, junior wildlife conservation and management major of St. Joseph; Allyson Wiegman, senior biology major of Henderson, Iowa; and Shellie Murril, senior biology and wildlife conservation and management major of Maysville, Mo. Faculty oral: Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology, and Dr. Baker. Faculty poster: Dr. David Ashley, professor of biology; Dr. Cary Chevalier, associate professor of biology; Dr. Eckdahl; Dr. Kurt Hartman, assistant professor of biology; Dr. Mark Mills, assistant professor of biology; and Dr. John Rushin, professor of biology. |
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Baseball
Western baseball won eight straight games to close out the season, and 12 of their last 13, to finish with a record of 34-22 overall and 22-16 in the MIAA. The 34 wins is the highest victory count in Coach Buzz Verduzco's 10 seasons at Western. Softball
Western softball advances to the NCAA Division II national tournament for the fourth time in five years. The softball team was well represented on the 2009 All-MIAA Softball teams as announced by the MIAA office on May 1. Coach Jen Bagley was named coach of the year after leading the Griffons to a record of 43-8 in the regular season, including a conference record 32-game winning streak. Five Griffons were named to the first team by the conference, including sophomore pitcher Allison Jones, junior second baseman Shannon Pivovar, junior outfielder Becky Diehl, sophomore outfielder Brittany Douglas and senior designated player Samantha Buchanan. Senior catcher Keri Franks and senior third baseman Mandie Nocita were both named honorable mention. |
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Griffon Junior Singers Symphony Western’s Griffon Junior Singers Premiere Choir will perform with the Kansas City Symphony May 7 and 8. The singers will be part of the children’s choir for two performances of “The Lord of the Rings Symphony” at 8 p.m. both nights at the Music Hall, 301 W. 13th Street, in Kansas City, Mo. Tickets starting at $28 each are available through Ticketmaster. The Griffon Junior Singers will join with young women from the Shawnee Mission North Women’s Chorale and children from the Musical Arts Institute in Independence, Mo., to make up the children’s choir. The Kansas City Symphony Chorus will serve as the adult choir. Western alumnus Charles Bruffy ’81, a two-time Grammy winner, conducts the Symphony Chorus. Griffon Junior Singers is a choral music education program offered through the Western Institute’s Center for Community Arts in partnership with the St. Joseph Public Schools. Local public, private and home-schooled students in grades two through 10 participate. Tickets to the May 7 and 8 performances of the Kansas City Symphony may be purchased from Ticketmaster by phone at 800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com. For more information about Griffon Junior Singers, call Martha Greer, director of the Center for Community Arts, at 4121. Summer Jobs Young people in the St. Joseph area, including Western students, are drawing positive attention from state officials for their interest in a summer work program. On April 17 Vice President Biden and Governor Nixon announced the Next-Generation Jobs Team, a summer employment program that will match approximately 3,000 Missouri youth ages 16 to 24 with summer internships and work experiences at cutting-edge employers across the state. Young Missourians may register online at www.summerjobs.mo.gov to be part of this program. There is no fee to apply for or participate. Applications from students and businesses will be forwarded to local Workforce Investment Boards, where counselors will connect youth and potential employers. Vice President Biden and Governor Nixon encouraged young Missourians and potential employers to submit their applications as soon as possible by visiting www.mo.gov and clicking through to the Next-Generation Jobs Team Web site. Western students and other St. Joseph youth are apparently doing just that. Matthew Gregg, student employment coordinator, says St. Joseph was singled out on a conference call last week involving Workforce Investment Boards across the state. More than 200 young people had already applied, more than anywhere else. The Workforce Investment Board set up a table in the Blum Union last week, and Gregg says the representative was very impressed. Instead of having to explain the program to students, the representative said most of those who stopped by the table had already applied for the program and were anxious to hear back. Spring Grades Beginning May 8, students can view their final grades through My Western. Use the Student & Financial Aid option, Student Records and either Final Grades or Academic Transcript to view the information. If you took classes which do not appear with a grade, or appear as "In Progress" on your transcript, please contact the instructor of the class or the appropriate academic department. Night at the Ritz The Western Ambassadors' Night at the Ritz - Fun N' Sun is May 8. The fun begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. in the Fulkerson Center. This year's entertainment will be the MWSU Steel Drum Band, directed by Dr. Dennis Rogers. All proceeds from Night at the Ritz go to nontraditional student scholarships. Cost is $35 per person. If you know someone who would like to sponsor a table to support this great cause, please have them contact Carey McMillian, 4582 or mcmilli. You may also purchase raffle tickets at $1 each for great prizes or donate an item for the silent auction by contacting Ellen Kisker, 4280, or kisker. If you cannot attend, please consider a donation for the scholarship fund. 1920s Dance Night The Center for Community Arts will be hosting a 1920's Dance Night from 7-9 p.m. May 11 at the Downtown University Center, 515 N. 6th St. Jason and Margaret Baker, dance instructors for the Center for Community Arts will be giving free dance lessons and demonstrations featuring the dances from the "Great Gatsby" era. Admission is free, but space is limited and registration is required so call 4121 to reserve your spot on the dance floor. Attention, Fall 2009 Graduates The Registrar's Office would like to remind all students who are planning on graduating in the fall 2009 with a certificate, associate, baccalaureate, or master's degree that the graduation application deadline is July 1, 2009. Applications are available in the Registrar's Office, Eder 102, or on-line at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/Registrar/candidate.html. CME Hiring for Fall The Center for Multicultural Education is currently looking for students to assist with programming for the upcoming academic year (2009-2010). Please go to the Student Employment website and look for the position on Nacelink...then apply! Student Assistant-Programming (689646). |
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Tuesday, May 5
Thursday, May 7
Friday, May 8
Saturday, May 9
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For Sale: 1978 Prowler camper in good condition. It sleeps six and has air conditioning, a furnace, a refrigerator, a microwave and a bath and shower. Call 232-8384 for more information or to see. Surplus: The EFLJ
Department has a brand new, still in box, old style 19 inch monitor that
is available if anyone would like to have it. Please contact Barb at 4577. |
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Wanted: Your want ads! You
are welcome to submit ads to the Western ADvantage each week.
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