Vol. 15, No. 32 - May 10, 2011

Students of all ages are being welcomed to the Truman campus again this June as part of the second annual “Taste of Truman” – an event designed to give participants a little taste of the high caliber classes offered by the University.

The weekend features 12 short classes from some of Truman’s most respected and honored faculty. In addition, participants can enjoy organized activities at University facilities, a themed banquet and lots of informal and organized social time, with complimentary meals throughout.

Originally envisioned as a “mini college” experience for returning alumni, organizers of the event have opened Taste of Truman to anyone in the community.

“Many colleges and universities hold events like these for alumni each year,” said Kevin Minch, director of the Truman Institute, “but we wanted to build an event that would be of interest to more than just alumni. We think the events we have planned will have really broad appeal and we hope people in the community will join us.”

Participants can elect two, three-hour extended courses and four, 90-minute short courses that interest them from a list of subjects. Topics range from the basics of digital photography and the rhetoric of food to the music of the “Silk Road” and 13th century Venetian art. For students with more eclectic tastes, the weekend also features a course on hypnosis and a class that addresses navigation by the stars.  

“There’s a little in here for everyone who wants to learn something new…and maybe a little off-beat,” Minch said.

For the benefit of K-12 teachers seeking continuing education credit, a special themed “track” has been created around topics related to Marco Polo’s legendary journey from Venice to China. For only $25, teachers can earn one graduate credit and receive supplemental training about creating interdisciplinary linkages between a wide range of topics.

Participants will also be treated to a range of fun activities, including: “Stars and S’mores,” a bonfire and night of stargazing at the University Observatory; a guided tour of campus history and architecture; a hands-on experience in Pickler Memorial Library’s Special Collections; and a guided visit to the Ruth Warner Towne Museum and Visitor’s Center, among other opportunities.

Saturday evening will be capped-off with an outdoor banquet – “Dinner and a Yurt” – casting the theme of Marco Polo’s travels in food with dishes representing the regions of Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

“Last year’s Taste of Truman was a blast,” Minch said. “We got so much positive feedback. We even had a couple get engaged while they were here. We won’t make any guarantees about romance, but we will guarantee that people will learn a lot and have fun.”

Taste of Truman will take place June 24-26. Participation costs $150 and is inclusive of all classes and meals. Additional options, including graduate credit and guest meal tickets are also available. Out-of-town guests are welcome and may elect to stay on campus or in one of several local hotels offering a special rate for participants.

For more information on the program, or to register, visit the Taste of Truman website at http://institute.truman.edu/taste.asp.

In the June 2011 issue, Consumers Digest rated Truman No. 1 on its list of “Top 50 Values for Public Colleges and Universities.”
 
Truman was one of some 2,000 colleges and universities that offer four-year degrees examined by the publication since October 2010 for its exclusive report on the “Top 100 College Values.” Separate top 25 lists for private schools and private liberal arts schools were combined to establish the top 100 schools. Not only was Truman the No. 1 public school overall, it was one of only two Missouri schools on the public list. The University of Missouri-Columbia came in at No. 40.

Consumers Digest looked at students’ academic excellence based on standardized test scores, high-school rank and the grade-point average of entering freshmen, as well as the quality of education offered as indicated by the student-to-faculty ratio, graduation rates and student retention rate, among others.

Rankings were calculated using only nonresident tuition figures and, even using the higher out-of-state rate, Truman’s annual cost of $18,438, which includes tuition, fees and room and board, was well below the average annual cost of $26,344 for Consumer Digest’s top public colleges and universities.

Alumnus Andrew Dykens has combined his medical education and his desire to help others to create Peace Care, a nonprofit organization designed to bring community health solutions to every corner of the globe.

After graduating from Truman with a degree in biology, Dykens volunteered for the Peace Corps, serving from 1997-1999 in Mauritania, West Africa. Through his experiences in the Peace Corps, he developed an interest in global health, and would later utilize the organization as a partner for launching Peace Care.

“Health is intrinsically linked to hope, and I truly believe that with hope, one has everything,” Dykens said.

Peace Care is a collaboration between the Peace Corps, U.S. health care training institutions and local communities to build a healthier world. Peace Care is essentially a consulting body providing technical expertise for volunteer projects. It links the resources of academic institutions with the expertise of the Peace Corps, which already has a presence in numerous communities around the world. What makes Peace Care unique is that it focuses not on simply volunteering, but in building sustainable health organizations that will be able to serve the community for years to come.


“Peace Corps Volunteers, being integrated within the community and trained extensively in cultural competency and local language, are highly qualified field workers,” Dykens said “Peace Care works with those volunteers who have training and a background in health to conduct projects in a sustainable manner by collaborating with a local counterpart.”

Currently, Peace Care has collaborative agreements in place with Peace Corps posts in Uganda, Jordan and Senegal, and is in discussions with several other countries.

Peace Care is not a government entity, but rather a nonprofit organization. To cover the costs of its pilot project in Senegal, Peace Care raised $10,000 during a 12-day pledge drive. Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible gift to Peace Care can do so at http://www.peacecare.org/Home/how-can-you-help.

While Peace Care does collaborate with the Peace Corps, one major difference between the two organizations it that Peace Care does not require service commitments. Anyone interested in volunteering can offer assistance in various capacities at http://www.peacecare.org/Home/volunteer-form.

Dykens, who works as an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Illinois-Chicago and as a clinical physician at UIC’s Mile Square Health Center, developed the idea for Peace Care as a capstone project for his public health degree in 2008.

“Peace Care holds a component of all of my worlds — public health, medicine, the Peace Corps and education — it is who I am,” Dykens said.

A native of Carl Junction, Mo., Dykens graduated from Truman in 1997. He received his medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed his residence at the UIC Department of Family Medicine Residency Program. At the University, he was a member of the wrestling team and was active in Blue Key. He and his wife Lauren live in Chicago with their daughter Sevilla.

Justin McDermott, a junior health science major, was honored May 1 as a Newman Civic Fellow sponsored by the national Campus Compact.
 
Nominations for this honor were collected from faculty and staff, after which, University President Troy D. Paino elected to nominate McDermott to Campus Compact.

All recipients are sophomores or juniors who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country.


McDermott is actively involved in health education and awareness nationwide. He has lobbied on behalf of the CDC and serves as the state-wide representative for Campus-Community Alliances for Smoke-Free Environments. He teaches workshops to youth in juvenile lock-up, at pregnancy care centers and at the Latino Youth Action Center. McDermott also teaches smoking cessation classes and is a certified Arthritis Foundation Exercise Instructor.

His community-based research focuses on local tobacco control initiatives, improving area youths’ health promotion behaviors, analyzing the learning climate in local schools and increasing diabetes management of area seniors.

McDermott was among 135 students from 30 states who were honored. Only one student from each institution can be nominated each year.

Through service, research and advocacy, Newman Civic Fellows are making the most of their college experiences to better understand themselves, the root causes of social issues and effective mechanisms for creating lasting change.

These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can and does play in building a better world.

Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 1,100 college and university presidents—representing some six million students—who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility.

Through the Newman Civic Fellows Awards, college and university presidents acknowledge students with the ability and motivation to create lasting change in their communities.

For more information about the Newman Civic Fellows, visit http://compact.org.

Junior Kevin Satzinger was among the recipients of the 2011-2012 Goldwater Scholarships. Satzinger is a mathematics and physics double major, with a minor in computer science, from Springfield, Mo.

 
The Board of Trustees of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation awarded 275 scholarships for the 2011–2012 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from the United States.

Goldwater Scholars are selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,095 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

Goldwater Scholars have very impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs.

The Foundation awards Goldwater Scholars one- and two-year scholarships that cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

The first recipients of the “Worcester Environmental Activist Award,” were named at Truman’s spring local foods dinner April 20.
 
The award, named in honor of recently retired employee Howard Worcester, was created to recognize students who actively promote environmental practices on campus and in the community.


Recipients of this year’s premiere award are Danielle Zemmel, a senior biology major, and John Nolan, a senior sustainable development major.

The creation of this award goes hand-in-hand with the University’s mission to become more sustainable overall. Members of the President’s Sustainability Action Committee (SAC), created in Spring 2009, wanted a way to honor Worcester for his dedication to the University as well as recognize students who are upholding Worcester’s dedication to the promotion environmentally friendly practices.

Truman students made a significant contribution to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami relief organizations recently by means of Sodexo’s fundraising event.
 
Sodexo, the University’s food service provider, implemented a “food fast” during the week of March 21-23. Students living in the residence halls participated in the fast by abstaining from eating in the dining halls for a designated meal.


The money that would normally be spent on that meal was then pooled into a donation fund.

Dennis Markeson, director of Sodexo and organizer of the food fast, said the event raised more than $2,795 to be donated to the Red Cross. Markeson said Sodexo enjoys working with students on worthwhile causes.

“I felt that it was important that we organize an effort in which all students living on campus could contribute,” he said. “I am pleased with the participation.”

Members of the Truman faculty and staff who are celebrating their retirement, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th and 40th anniversaries of service to Truman were honored at the Annual Service Recognition Banquet April 21 in the Student Union Building Georgian Room.

MAY
May 30-Memorial Day (no classes, offices closed)
May 31-First Five-Week Summer Classes Begin

JUNE
June 3-Summer Orientation
June 6-Eight-Week Summer Classes Begin
June 7-Summer Orientation
June 10-Summer Orientation
June 14-Summer Orientation
June 16-Summer Orientation
June 17-18-Tentative Board of Governors Meeting
June 20-Summer Orientation
June 24-Summer Orientation
June 24-26-Taste of Truman

JULY
July 1-First Five-Week Summer Classes End
July 4-Independence Day (no classes, offices closed)
July 5-Second Five-Week Summer Classes Begin
July 29-Eight-Week Summer Classes End
July 30-August Interim Begins

AUGUST
Aug. 5-Second Five-Week Classes End
Aug. 6-Tentative Board of Governors Meeting
Aug. 19-August Interim Ends
Aug. 19-Summer Orientation
Aug. 20-Freshmen Move-In Day
Aug. 20-24-Truman Week
Aug. 25-First Day of Classes

Strategic Name Development is offering a $2,500 scholarship opportunity for undergraduate students majoring in linguistics, English, marketing or mass communications with at least a 3.0 GPA. Applications are available at http://namedevelopment.com/scholarship/. Application deadline is August 15.

AES Engineers is providing $500 scholarships to high school seniors or college students, regardless of courses being studied, who meet certain criteria. Scholarships are intended for future leaders across a wide spectrum of fields of study. Students must submit an essay of no more than 1,000 words in answer to one of the questions posted at http://aesengineers.com/scholarships.htm. Deadline for entry is Oct. 7.