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November and December 2007 Points of Pride
Excellence in Our Faculty
and Staff
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The Fall 2007 Western
Magazine cover featuring the University Plaza won a Platinum Award in
the category of design/magazine cover from MarCom Awards. The MarCom
Awards is an international creative competition that recognizes
outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals.
The MarCom’s prestigious Platinum Award is presented to those entries
judged to be among the most outstanding entries in the competition.
Platinum Winners are recognized for their excellence in terms of
quality, creativity, and resourcefulness. About 18 percent won this
award. Credit for the cover photo goes to alumnus Eric Callow;
photographer, Kendy Jones, director of campus printing and design
services; and Scott Johnson, graphic designer.
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Western’s Points of
Pride Brochure 2007 won a Gold Award in the category of direct
mail/brochure from MarCom Awards. The Gold Award is presented to those
entries judged to exceed the high standards of the industry norm.
Approximately 18 percent were Gold Winners. Points of Pride was produced
by Diane Holtz, public relations and marketing coordinator, and designed
by Kendy Jones, director of campus printing and design services.
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Linda Garlinger, career
services director, received the Brad Barackman Award at Kansas
Association of Colleges and Employers (KACE) conference. The award is
given to a person who has been able to “bridge” between employers and
colleges effectively, and is one of the true honors bestowed upon a KACE
member. Garlinger was nominated by a peer at another local institution.
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Dr. Jeff Poet,
associate professor of math, and Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology,
along with eight Western students, attended the 2007 International
Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) Jamboree held at MIT. The group
joined their collaborators from Davidson College to present the team’s
synthetic biology project to use DNA flipping in the creation of a
bacterial computer. For their contribution of genetic parts and their
website, poster, and oral presentations, the team was recognized with
gold medal status, the highest level of participation. The
Western/Davidson students and faculty have been working on their project
since May at their respective institutions, communicating via electronic
media during that time. The members of the team did not meet in person
until Friday night before the Jamboree. The Western/Davidson team was
the only team to demonstrate successful collaboration between remote
sites. This collaboration will continue for the next three years,
supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
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Carol Roever, associate
professor of business and department chair, received the 2007 Meada
Gibbs Outstanding Teaching Award given at the annual meeting of the
international Association for Business Communication in Washington, DC.
As a result of receiving this award, Roever will deliver the keynote
address at the 2008 convention.
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Jill Miller, professor
of criminal justice, and two students, Leona Long and Whitney Wagner,
attended the Region 3 conference for the American Criminal Justice
Association – LAE in Liberal, Kan. They competed with 112 other
participants in lower, upper and professional divisions in written,
crime scene and physical agility. Miller placed first in Juvenile
Delinquency and second in LAE knowledge in the professional division.
Long took first place in lower division in LAE knowledge and placed
third in women’s physical agility course. Long and Wagner, with Miller,
placed third in the professional division for crime scene.
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Dr. Cindy Heider,
interim assistant vice president for academic and student affairs,
completed the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Systems Portfolios
Appraiser training. Upon completion of this training, she was selected
to serve as a peer reviewer for the Academic Quality Improvement Program
of the Higher Learning commission of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools. This training and appointment as a Systems
Appraiser allows her to serve as a peer reviewer for higher education
institutes seeking HLC re-affirmation of accreditation.
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Dr. Cindy Heider,
interim assistant vice president for academic and student affairs,
served as the Chair of a National Council for Accreditation for Teacher
Education Board of Examiners visit for another higher education
institution seeking national recognition in teacher education. She led a
team of five in creating a report document and recommendation of
accreditation.
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Dr. Glenn Rice,
assistant professor of mathematics, has been selected as one of four
“Early-Career-Faculty” for the 2008 University of Nebraska’s IMMERSE
program. He will be involved with pre-research activities this spring
and then spend the summer at the
University of
Nebraska-Lincoln
working with pre-graduate students and students who have completed their
first year of graduate work at the University of Nebraska.
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Dr. Ann Thorne,
professor of journalism, was elected Teaching Standards Committee Chair
of the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication (AEJMC) at the fall AEJMC national convention in
Washington DC.
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Dr. faye smith,
professor of business, served as program chair for the Midwest Academy
of Management conference that was held in Kansas City. She also serves
as president of the organization.
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Dr. Gene Eulinger,
registrar, recently completed his year as president of Missouri
Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. He also
received the Outstanding Professional of the Year award from this
organization. This is a relatively new award and Dr. Eulinger is the
fourth person in the organization to receive this honor, which is based
on nominations from peers in other institutions.
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Peggy Ellis, director
of non-credit programs/business and industry training, served as a panel
member at the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library to identify for
regional and state librarians, community resources available to assist
Spanish-speaking library patrons.
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Geo Sipp, associate
professor of art, had his print, Algerian Series #3: The Question,
selected for inclusion in the 2008 Delta National Small Print
Exhibition. The Delta National is considered one of the nation’s premier
print exhibitions. It is held at the Bradbury Gallery on the campus of
Arkansas State University. Sipp has also been asked to submit five
prints for inclusion in the inaugural Clemson University Print
Invitational.
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Dr. Matthew Edwards,
associate professor of music, will have two publications, Piano Concerto
No. 2 in G Major and Beethoven: Fur Elise and Other Bagatelles, featured
at the 2007 World Pedagogy Conference in Las Vegas.
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Dr. Teddi Deka,
professor of psychology, recently had her article, “Sustaining the
Trinity of Service Learning,” published in the fall 2007 edition of
Academic Exchange Quarterly.
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Bryan Courtney, program
director of the Regional Community Policing Institute, contributed to
the publication of Planning and Managing Security for Major Special
Events: Guidelines for Law Enforcement and the accompanying CD-ROM of
the same title. These two resources fulfill a great need for information
and training on special event security that will help law enforcement
ensure the safety of our citizens and our nation.
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Dr. Chris Shove, dean
and executive director of the Western Institute, had a research article
“American University Presidents’ Economic Development Policies” accepted
for publication in the Russian Academy of Sciences journal,
USA: Economics,
Politics, Ideology.
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Dr. Stephen Morris,
assistant professor of philosophy, presented a paper, “The Impact of
Neuroscience on the Free Will Debate,” at the third annual meeting of
the Florida Philosophical Association in Tallahassee, Fla.
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Dr. Ben Caldwell,
associate professor of chemistry, hosted children from the St. Joseph
School District’s Rainbow Program. Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders
visited campus for chemical demonstrations. Sixth-graders also performed
an experiment in the labs on the dangers of inhaling cigarette smoke.
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Deborah Becker,
instructor of computer science, and Connie Hecker, instructor of
computer science, presented a computer science, mathematics, and physics
colloquium entitled “Time Management” for students and faculty.
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Dr. Jeff Poet,
associate professor of math, presented a computer science, mathematics
and physics colloquium entitled, “Proofs without Words.”
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Dr. Michael Ottinger,
associate professor of physics, attended the Missouri Association of
Physics Teachers Meeting and gave a presentation on the Collaborative
Inquiry Project with the St. Joseph School District’s middle schools.
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Dr. Susan Hennessy,
associate professor of French, presented, “Contes de Sage-Femme” (Tales
of the Midwife) at the annual 19th Century French Studies
Colloquium in
Mobile,
Ala.
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Dr. Robert Bergland,
associate professor of journalism, presented “Finding the Next
Campus-Gate: Investigative Reporting for College Journalists” at the
National College Media Convention,
Washington,
DC. He also presented “Applied Learning and the Missouri
Western Journalism Program” at the Conference on the Future of English
Studies in Springfield, Ill., and “Interactive Features and Newspaper
Websites: A 2007 Content Analysis of Daily Newspapers,” with students
Lisa Crawford, Sarah Noe and Melody Ellsworth at the International
Convergence and Society Conference at the University of South Carolina.
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Dawn Terrick,
instructor of English, gave a panel presentation on “Applied Learning in
English Studies: A Portrait” at the Purposes of English -- A Conference
on the Future of English Studies, which was held at the University of
Illinois-Springfield. She also discussed Western’s developmental writing
program and its innovations in instructing under-prepared students with
her two presentations, “Using the Learning Community to Instruct and
Engage Under-prepared Students” and “Using a Student Publication to
Motivate, Challenge and Retain Students in Developmental Writing
Classes,” at the 2007 Midwest Regional Association of Developmental
Education Conference.
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Dr. Kaye Adkins,
associate professor of English, presented a poster “Grabbing the Brass
Ring: Applied Learning and Technical Communication” at the international
conference of the Council of Programs in Scientific and Technical
Communication at
East Carolina
University.
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Dr. Kaye Adkins,
associate professor of English; Dr. Robert Bergland, associate professor
of journalism; Dr. Patricia Donaher, assistant professor of English; Dr.
Ian Roberts, associate professor of English; and Dawn Terrick,
instructor of English, presented a panel “Applied Learning and English
Studies: A Portrait” at the conference on The Future of English Studies
at University of Illinois, Springfield.
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Bill Church, instructor
of English, led student poets Ciarra Leathers, Brooke Kuykendall, and
Mary Stone as they performed their original works for an Advanced
Placement Literature course taught by Stephanie Davis at Lafayette High
School in St. Joseph.
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Jeff Hinton, band
director, judged 38 Nebraska and Iowa High School Bands in the Lincoln
All-City Marching Contest in Lincoln, Neb. Hinton also traveled to
Carthage, Mo. to judge 29 high school bands in the Maple Leaf Festival.
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Dr. Phil Wann,
professor of psychology, and Dr. Barney Beins of Ithaca College,
presented a symposium, “Research Teams: Developing a Capstone
Experience with Programmatic Research,” at the Beginnings & Endings:
Best Practices for Introducing and Bringing Closure to the Undergraduate
Psychology Major conference sponsored by the Society for the Teaching of
Psychology, in Atlanta.
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Dr. Jim Bargar,
professor of psychology, attended the Missouri Undergraduate Psychology
Conference. Five psychology students attended the conference held at
Northwest Missouri State University. Dr. Bargar sponsored three
students’ applied learning panel presentations. One of those students,
Alesha Humphrey, won first place in her panel.
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Dr. Joanne Katz,
professor of legal studies, presented, “Restorative Justice in a Global
Context” at the American Association of Paralegal national conference in
Baltimore.
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Dr. John Ellis,
assistant professor of education, and Dr. Debby Bogle, associate
professor of education, presented their findings and conclusions from a
national study they conducted entitled “An Assessment of the Depth and
Frequency of the Social Studies and Science Curriculum at the Elementary
Level: A National Study, at the 54th annual Southeastern
Regional Association of Teacher Educators held in St. Louis. The study
sought to measure the impact of No Child Left Behind on the social
studies and science curriculum at the elementary level.
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Marsha Dolan, associate
professor of nursing and coordinator of the HIT program, was a
co-presenter for “Personal Health Records-An International Tool?” at the
national American Health Information Management Convention (AHIMA) and
Trade Show in Philadelphia. A poster describing the progress of AHIMA’s
Community Education Campaign was also presented at this conference.
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Professor of physical
education, Dr. Nannette Wolford’s, methods class taught tennis,
badminton, elementary games and creative movement and dance to area
homeschooled children. Dr. Wolford presented “The Importance of Movement
Education for 18 months through Preschool Children” at the King City
Parents as Teachers meeting. In addition, she coordinated a fitness
activity at Edison Elementary entitled “Healthy Happy Eatery.” Dr.
Wolford also represented the HPER department and Western at the Lawson
High School career day.
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Five Instructional
Media Center staff members attended the Clemson University Professional
Development for Women conference held in Overland Park, Kan. Those who
attended were: Cori Criger, Danielle Hunt, Mary Miller, Tara Stroll, and
Cindy Wells. The conference focused on professional advancement and
continuing education.
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Julia Schneider,
library director, attended the “Understanding Institutional Copyright
Policy” conference in Charlotte, N.C.
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Librarians Terry
Weaver, Rick Dyson, Michelle Diaz, and Sandy Phillips recently attended
the seventh Annual Brick and Click Library Symposium at Northwest
Missouri State University.
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Peggy Ellis,
director of non-credit programs/business and
industry training, attended WorkKeys Administrator Training in
Trenton, Mo. Completion of this training will allow her to administer
the WorkKeys test and implement the Missouri Career Readiness
Certificate at area prisons.
- Meredith Katchen,
instructor of English, and Dr. Jane Frick, professor of English,
participated in the “Improving Students’ Academic Writing” Conference at
the University of California – Berkeley.
Excellence in Our
Students
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Western’s student
chapter of The Wildlife Society was named Student Chapter of the Year
for the North Central Section of The Wildlife Society. This is the
second time Western’s student chapter has been honored in the past five
years, and the second time in three applications that they have
succeeded. Some of the universities they competed against are the major
natural resource universities in their state, and some possess the
largest, oldest, and most prestigious wildlife, fisheries, and natural
resource management programs in the region and the nation. This is a
very significant achievement, and a prestigious honor. A student chapter
competes for Student Chapter of the Year for two years. Their
application details their organization’s accomplishments for the two
years prior to submission, and are judged in several categories
including workshop development, professional development, contributions
to wildlife management, community service, natural resource education,
and others.
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Traci Haug, Residence
Council president, received the Midwest Affiliation of College and
University Residence Halls (MACURH) Regional Board Choice Award at the
MACURH Conference in
Fargo,
N.D.
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Jordan Baumgardner, Tom
Crowley, Lane H. Heard, Nick Morton, Michelle Ritter, Jessica Treece,
Matt Unzicker, and Amanda Valencia along with Dr. Jeff Poet, associate
professor of math, and Dr. Todd Eckdahl, professor of biology, attended
the 2007 International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) Jamboree
held at MIT. The group joined their collaborators from Davidson College
to present the team’s synthetic biology project to use DNA flipping in
the creation of a bacterial computer. For their contribution of genetic
parts and their website, poster, and oral presentations, the team was
recognized with gold medal status, the highest level of participation.
The Western/Davidson students and faculty have been working on their
project since May at their respective institutions, communicating via
electronic media during that time. The members of the team did not meet
in person until Friday night before the Jamboree. The Western/Davidson
team was the only team to demonstrate successful collaboration between
remote sites. This collaboration will continue for the next three years,
supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
-
Jonathan Thiele won the
first place award in the research poster session of the Missouri
Undergraduate Psychology Conference held at Northwest Missouri State
University for his paper, “The Influence of Emotional Context and
Personal Views of Human Nature on Moral Decision Making.” The paper was
sponsored by Dr. Phil Wann, professor of psychology. Their project was
completed in the 2007 Western Undergraduate Research Summer Institute
funded by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
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Alesha Humphrey took
first place for her applied learning panel at Missouri Undergraduate
Psychology Conference. Dr. Jim Bargar, professor of psychology, and five
other psychology students were also in attendance. Dr. Bargar sponsored
three of the students’ applied learning presentations.
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Business majors Monica
White, Tiffany Thomas, and Jason Bone, took second place in team
competition at the Great Northwoods Sales Warm-Up held in Eau Claire,
Wis. Eight schools from five states participated in the competition.
Jason placed fifth among more than 50 students in the individual
competition for selling a service. Brandon Spaeth, instructor of
business, was the team’s advisor and coach.
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Leona Long and Whitney
Wagner, along with Jill Miller, professor of criminal justice, attended
the Region 3 conference for the American Criminal Justice Association –
LAE in Liberal, Kan. They competed with 112 other participants in lower,
upper and professional divisions in written, crime scene and physical
agility. Long took first place in lower division in LAE knowledge and
placed third in women’s physical agility course. Long and Wagner, with
Miller, placed third in the professional division for crime scene.
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Sarah Watkins was
recognized as Outstanding Physical Education Major at the Missouri
Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance
convention.
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SGA Election results
are as follows: Harold Callaway and Jennifer Kohler were elected
president and vice president. Janell Banks is the president of Western
Activity Council. Kayla Wymore and Sami Northcutt are president and vice
president of Residence Council.
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Mary Stone, a junior
English major, will have a poetry piece published in North Central
Review, a literary magazine at North Central College in Naperville,
Ill. Her piece, “He Drew Me From Behind,” was written and revised in
her creative writing poetry class. Bill Church, instructor of English,
encouraged students to submit works to North Central, which is
dedicating an issue to the best undergraduate writing nationally. Stone
has been published elsewhere; she is also a regular contributor to
Western’s student literature and art journal, Canvas.
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Deborah Weems will
present a paper entitled, “Smoking in the Cinema, Ratings and
Censorship” at the Pop Culture Association/American Culture Association
in San Francisco.
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Student poets Ciarra
Leathers, Brooke Kuykendall, and Mary Stone performed original works for
an Advanced Placement Literature course taught by Stephanie Davis at
Lafayette High School.
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A music department
recital was held with performances by Kim Evans, mezzo soprano; Elexis
Carr, flute; Levi Neely, Lance Franzen, Stacy Saythany, and Jeremy
Lawing, guitar quartet; Sara Beas and Damon Juarez, euphonium; and
Isaiah Miller and Ethan Patterson, tuba.
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Raquel Rodriquez,
trumpet, Antoine Courtois-Paris artist and clinician, presented a
masterclass to students and performed a concert at Potter Theater. She
was assisted by Xiao-Li-Ding, piano, and Cindy Strait, piano.
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Daniel Kirk, a current
student teacher in instrumental music at Blue Valley North High School,
has had his work and expertise recognized in the region as he was
invited to adjudicate marching band festivals in Lincoln, Neb; St.
Joseph, and Lee’s Summit.
- Senior Research
students in criminal justice and legal studies held their annual
Criminal Justice and Legal Studies Poster Day where they presented their
research projects through poster displays and answered questions
regarding their chosen topics.
Excellence in Our
Programs
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Residence Council
received a Midwest Affiliation of College and University Halls (MACURH)
Award for hosting the Pre-MACURH Conference at Western.
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The 2007 Griffon
Yearbook won third place in best of show at the Fall National College
Media Convention in
Washington
DC. They competed with yearbooks (under 300 pages) from
colleges and universities around the country. More than 2,500 media
advisers and journalism students attended the meeting.
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Prairie Lands Writing
Project (PLWP) is one of 15 writing project sites throughout the country
selected to be part of a four-year study conducted by SRI International
in collaboration with the National Writing Project (NWP). The study will
examine the effectiveness of NWP professional development for teachers,
and the extent to which engagement with the writing project improves
teachers’ practices and the writing performance of their students in
grades seven and eight. Prairie Lands will receive $24,000 through
2010-2011 to partner with Platte City and Excelsior Springs middle
schools in delivering in-services to improve writing/literacy in these
schools, while the Maryville middle school will be a control school for
the national research project.
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The Golden Griffon
marching band performed by invitation for the St Joseph branch of
American Family Insurance commemorating their 25th anniversary.
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Western hosted 18 area
high school bands totaling more than 1,800 students and another 800
audience members and supporters for the 22nd annual
Tournament of Champions.
Olathe
High School
won the overall competition.
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The Western Activities
Council students and advisor attended the National Association for
Campus Activities Regional Conference in Little Rock, Ark. This
conference provided opportunities for students to develop skills related
to providing campus activities and contract programs for the spring
semester.
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During October and
early November, the Up-till-Dawn philanthropy program was conducted. The
activity sponsored by the Center for Student Engagement is a
fund-raising project to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital. Students conducted
a letter writing campaign to solicit funds and the event ended with a
celebration of a lock-in. To date, the students have raised $7,026.86
for the St. Jude’s Hospital.
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Western Activities
Council hosted a number of events in the last month. Those included a
movie night, Friday Night Comedy Club, a Saturday night Hypnotist, and a
lecture on sexual responsibility.
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The Center for Student
Engagement and the Center for Multicultural Education cooperated on the
annual Light Up Western. Students, faculty and staff attended the
lighting ceremony at the clock tower with music provided by Phi Mu Alpha
Sinfonia. The center sponsored an educational display of nationally
celebrated winter “holidays.” Displays included Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Divali,
Christmas, Yule, Ramadan, history of Santa Claus, the Christmas tree and
candy cane. The Center provided coloring pages, Hanukah and Kwanzaa
songs, refreshments and decorating of trees in the Blum Union Lounge.
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The Center for
Multicultural Education held its final “Fate of Hate Week” program with
a lecture by TJ Leyden.
Leyden is an ex-recruiter for a national white supremacy group who
now works against their progress through lectures and programming. He
spoke to an audience of approximately 200 students, faculty and staff in
Kemper Recital Hall about the dangers of hate groups, racism and
prejudice.
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The Center for
Multicultural Education sponsored a live taping of a documentary about
gangs in the military by the History Channel. Representatives for the
History Channel interviewed
Leyden and allowed several history major students to sit in and
take part in the interview process.
- The Center for
Multicultural Education finished the third Annual Hunger and Homeless
Awareness Week. Nonperishable food items were collected during the week
from several student organizations and from the community at the North
Belt Wal-Mart. The food was donated to Second Harvest of St. Joseph.
- Residence Council
Programs:
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Residence Council hosted Trick-or-Treat Off the Street on
Oct. 30. There were between 300-350 children who walked around the halls
to get candy. There were also games and activities in the Commons.
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Residence Council
hosted a Halloween Dance for Residents on Oct. 30.
- Residence Hall
Programs:
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The
Living
Learning Center participated in the Homecoming decorating contest. The
residents helped to decorate the lobby and turned it into the LLC Bunch.
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Sexual Jeopardy, Oct. 1 – Residential Assistant (RA) Mercedes
Hyman hosted Sexual Jeopardy.
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Foreign Film Night, Oct. 8 – RA Kendall Bell showed a Russian
war film with subtitles recounting the Soviet Afghan War.
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Safety Awareness, Oct. 9 – RAs Patrick Banks, Lauren Shroyer,
and James Reddoch, took residents to the Public Safety program.
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Personal Safety, Oct. 16 – The office of residential life
hosted a Personal Safety Program. Detective
Wilson from the St.
Joseph Police Department was the speaker.
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Ping-Pong Tourney, Oct 18 – RA James Reddoch held a bracketed
ping-pong tournament in Leaverton’s basement with multiple prizes.
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Stressed? Oct. 17 – RA Amber Adams held a program “Stressed?
Manage it!”
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Battle of the Sexes,
Oct. 18 – RA’s Jessi Treece, Brett Dreas, Maureen Meyer, and Harvey
Jackson, held a Battle of the Sexes.
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Breakfast in Leaverton, Oct. 18 – RA Lauren Shroyer visited
with 23 residents while providing them with breakfast before classes.
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Halo 3, Oct. 21 – RA Jordan Baumgardner and Residence Council
held a Halo 3 Tournament on Oct. 21.
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Know the Issues, Oct. 23 – RA James Reddoch gave a political
quiz to help determine where residents stand on issues before the
primary elections.
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Punch out Stress, Oct. 23 – RA Jeredine Hughes had residents
write stressful things on balloons before popping them; she then
presented them with stress reducing exercises.
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Women’s Health, Oct. 24 – RA Dani Longworth held a program
“Women’s Health.”
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Backyard Campout, Oct. 26 – RA Patrick Banks hosted an
overnight campout behind the LLC on Oct. 26.
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Halloween Safety, Oct. 29 – RA Mercedes Hyman held a
Halloween Safety program.
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Think You’re a Rockstar? Nov. 1 – The Living Learning Center
Staff held the “So You Think You’re a Rockstar” program. They played
Guitar Hero III.
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The faculty mentors
in the Living Learning Center held an advising program. They helped
students plan their schedules and assisted them with questions. The
faculty who participated were: Evan Noyanert, assistant professor of
computer science; Jeanie Manning, director of developmental reading; Dr.
Jimm MacGregor, assistant professor of history; Dr. Jim Okapal,
assistant professor of philosophy; Dr. Doug Eicher, associate professor
of teacher education; Dr. Elizabeth Hendrix, assistant professor of
education; and Rosalie Guyer, advising/A+ programs coordinator.
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