Chinese Festival

Convocation on Critical Issues Features Thomas Friedman

The 18^th annual Convocation on Critical Issues at Missouri Western will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Thomas Friedman. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20 in the M.O. Looney Complex. The Convocation, sponsored by the MWSU Foundation, is free and open to the public.

All 9:30 classes will not be held that day so that students may attend this important campus event. Classes at 8 a.m. that day may be dismissed early so that students and faculty participating in the processional may arrive on time. Classes will resume at the completion of the convocation (11 a.m.). Campus offices may close during this time as well so that staff may attend the convocation. All who are marching in the processional/recessional need to wear academic regalia (no hats), and should gather in the old gym by 9:15 a.m. that day.

Friedman’s speech is titled “That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back.” The new book of the same name he co-authored with Michael Mandelbaum was featured on the cover of “The New York Times Book Review” on Sept. 11. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and Friedman will sign them in the Looney Complex after the Convocation.

“We’re very excited that Mr. Friedman is coming to St. Joseph,” said Dan Nicoson, vice president for university advancement and executive director of the MWSU Foundation. “No matter the subject, his approach is thoughtful, balanced and scholarly. He has been on our wish list of Convocation speakers for a long time, and we’re glad he’s finally coming.”

Friedman is currently the Foreign Affairs columnist for the New York Times. He won his first Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1983 for his work as the Beirut Bureau Chief for the New York Times during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. He won his second Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1988 for his work as the Jerusalem Bureau Chief during the early days of the first Palestinian intifada in the West Bank and Gaza. In 2002, Friedman was awarded his third Pulitzer Prize, this time for distinguished commentary, for his columns in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He has also written five bestselling books, including “The World is Flat” and “From Beirut to Jerusalem.”

In addition to his columns and books, Friedman has co-produced, reported and narrated six documentaries for the New York Times—Discovery Channel joint venture.

Friedman is a 1975 graduate of Brandeis University with a bachelor’s degree in Mediterranean studies. He received a Master’s of Philosophy in modern Middle East studies from Oxford University, where he attended on a Marshall Scholarship. He is currently a member of the Brandeis University Board of Trustees and the Pulitzer Prize Board, he was a visiting lecturer at Harvard University in 2000 and 2005, and has been awarded honorary degrees from 13 universities.

Western inaugurated the Convocation on Critical Issues program in 1993. The program was started as part of an overall commitment to offer enriching experiences to students while bringing together the college and community. The Convocation is held in honor of R. Dan Boulware, former president of the Board of Regents. Previous Convocation speakers include: Bill Bradley, James Carville & Mary Matalin, Sam Donaldson, Steve Forbes, David Gergen, Newt Gingrich, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jeane Kirkpatrick, Jerry Linenger, David McCullough, Joseph Nye, Colin Powell, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Daniel Schorr, Patricia Schroeder, J. C. Watts and Bob Woodward.

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Family Weekend

Four Athletic Director Finalists Interviewed

Missouri Western has scheduled campus interviews with the four finalists for the director of athletics position. Each candidate has been asked to prepare a presentation on the topic “A Vision for the Future of Missouri Western Athletics.” The public is invited to those presentations.

Kurt McGuffin, currently assistant athletic director/director of athletics development at the University of Colorado-Boulder, was the first to visit campus on Thursday, Sept. 15. McGuffin has been at Colorado since 2010. Prior to that, he served 10 years in the athletic department at Kansas State University, including time as senior associate athletic director for external operations, associate director of athletics for development, assistant director of athletics for annual giving and assistant director of athletic development. He also worked as a fundraiser at the University of Idaho and Wichita State University. McGuffin received his Bachelor of Science in Education from Kansas State and his Master of Science in Education from Wichita State.

Don Kaverman, currently director of athletics at Harris-Stowe State University, will visit campus on Friday, Sept. 23. His presentation will be at 2 p.m. in Spratt Hall, room 205. Kaverman has been at Harris-Stowe since 2010. He was director of athletics at Southeast Missouri State University from 1999-2009, and served as Missouri Western’s athletic director from 1995-1999. Before coming to Western, Kaverman spent nine years at San Diego State University, starting as head athletic trainer, then becoming associate director of athletics for student-athlete services, then associate director of athletics for business and financial affairs. He also served as an athletic trainer at Northwestern University, the Detroit Lions and Ferris State University. Kaverman received both his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Master of Arts in Exercise Physiology/Physical Education from Michigan State University.

Jeremy McClain, currently director of athletics at Delta State University, will visit campus on Monday, Sept. 26. His presentation will be at 2 p.m. in the KCP&L Lecture Hall inside the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex. McClain has been director of athletics at Delta State since 2007. Prior to that, he was the university’s director of development in 2006 and 2007, and previously worked as a marketing representative for Federated Insurance Company in Calhoun, Miss., and as an account executive for the Jackson Senators professional baseball team. McClain was an All-American baseball player at Delta State and played professionally for five years. He graduated from Delta State with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration.

Mark Alnutt, currently the senior associate athletic director for administration at the University of Missouri, will visit campus on Thursday, Sept. 29. His presentation will be at 2 p.m. in the KCP&L Lecture Hall inside the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex. Alnutt was promoted to his current position in 2009 after three years as associate athletic director for administration. He spent the previous six years as football’s director of operations. Prior to that, he was assistant video coordinator and an administrative and video graduate assistant in the athletic department, and a salesperson for Major Brands in Kansas City, Mo. Alnutt was a three-year letterman for the Tigers, and graduated from Mizzou with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Master of Public Administration with an emphasis in sports psychology.

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Synthetic Biology Gets a Boost: NSF Awards Western 2 Grants

Missouri Western has received nearly $500,000 in two grants from the National Science Foundation to fund research and education in the field of synthetic biology.

“These grants are largely the result of the excellent work our undergraduate students have done in conducting and presenting research in the field of synthetic biology,” said Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor and chair of biology. “In collaboration with faculty and students from Davidson College in North Carolina, we have excelled at an international synthetic biology competition, and have published research papers in professional peer-reviewed national journals.”

A $200,000 grant will support research at Western for the next two years. Dr. Eckdahl and Dr. Jeff Poet, associate professor of mathematics, wrote the grant proposal titled “Design and Construction of Second-Generation Bacterial Computers.” The funds will be used for undergraduate research stipends, faculty compensation, supplies, equipment and travel.

Dr. Eckdahl, Dr. Poet and their Davidson colleagues, Dr. Laurie Heyer and Dr. A. Malcolm Campbell, also recently received a $270,000 National Science Foundation grant to conduct workshops for faculty interested in conducting synthetic biology research.

“We held two pilot workshops at Davidson and Western, and they were very well-received,” said Dr. Poet. “We’re looking forward to building on that success with additional workshops.”

The grant will provide support for the four faculty members to serve as instructors for three more workshops that will train an expected 90 faculty members from colleges and universities throughout the country. The project is also supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which will host the workshops at their Janelia Farms Research Center near Washington, D.C.

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 SGA Members Travel to Jefferson City

Western Alumna Named Head of KC Federal Reserve Bank

In a short time, when you see a headline about the Federal Reserve Bank and its effect on the economy, a Missouri Western alumna will be close to the center of the action.

Esther George, a 1980 Western graduate, was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.  She will succeed Thomas M. Hoenig, who is retiring Oct. 1.

The position is an influential one: George will rotate with other regional Reserve Bank presidents as a voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee, which has authority over U.S. monetary policy. She will participate on the committee as soon as she takes office, and become a voting member in 2013.

George will lead the regional headquarters of the nation’s central bank, serving the seven states of the Tenth Federal Reserve District: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, northern New Mexico and western Missouri.

The Faucett, Mo., native graduated from Western with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is also a graduate of the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the Stanford University Executive Program.

George has been an active supporter of Western. She currently serves on the MWSU Foundation’s Board of Directors and previously was on the inaugural advisory committee for the Steven L. Craig School of Business.

For more information, see the official news release on the bank’s website: http://www.kc.frb.org/publicat/newsroom/2011pdf/press.release.09.15.11.pdf.

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