Vol. 25 No. 29 - April 19, 2021

 
Truman is now accepting applications for two new master’s programs in counseling.

Both the Master of Arts in Counseling: School Counseling, and the Master of Arts in Counseling: Mental Health Counseling, will begin in fall 2021, and prospective students can apply now at connect.truman.edu/apply.

Created in response to market demands, the new programs strive to equip caring, committed, competent and culturally aware individuals with the knowledge, skills and dispositions required to become professional counselors in school and community settings.

The Master of Arts in Counseling: School Counseling program is geared toward meeting the academic, career and personal/social needs of culturally diverse students in elementary, middle and secondary schools as certified and licensed school counselors.

The Master of Arts in Counseling: Mental Health Counseling program specializes in community-based work as licensed professional counselors.

For more information about either program, visit counseling.truman.edu or contact Graduate Admissions at 660.785.7343 or gradinfo@truman.edu.

As the winner, he received the Cody Sumter Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award and earned a prize of $3,000 for his pitch for Receipt Hero, a business solution designed to assist construction companies with easily and conveniently collecting and sharing receipts for tax preparation.

Esther Lee, a sophomore business administration major, received the Amanda Gioia Entrepreneurship Award and earned $2,000 for her pitch of Smarter, an automated study partner with voice recognition capabilities to enhance study time for students. Mitchell Kronsbein, a senior business administration major, finished third and won $1,000 for his pitch for Fur Hearts, a premium pet food business that directs a significant portion of its revenue to support animal shelters.

The other students who made the finals were Mackenzie Miller, a senior business administration major, Victor Wei, a sophomore computer science and statistics major, and Brandon Winston, a sophomore business major.

Bulldog B.I.T.E., which stands for Business Innovation by Truman Entrepreneurs, allowed participants to pitch a for-profit or not-for-profit concept. The competition is funded through the Villhard Innovation Fund, which was created by Doug and Diane Villhard to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship at Truman and has received gifts from both individual and corporate donors.

Volunteer judges selected six individuals to attend the finals April 9. This year’s finals were conducted through a Zoom meeting. Contestants were judged based on the problem, product/service solution, market, competition, value creation, seed money, a Q&A session and the presentation of the concept.

The qualifying round judges for the Bulldog B.I.T.E. were Dan Schmidt (’02) and Dane Stangler (’01). The practice round judges were Stephanie Mills (’07, ’10), Rashmi Prasad, Anastasia Tiedemann and Eric Wang (’19). The final round judges were Amanda Gioia (’93), Mike Heckman (’99), Marco Ilardi (’99), Paul J. McCain (’12) and Cody Sumter (’10).

 
The Economics Department Speaker Series will welcome Matt Zwolinski to present about universal basic income.

Zwolinski is a professor of philosophy at the University of San Diego. He is also the founder and director of USD’s Center for Ethics, Economics and Public Policy. One of Zwolinkski’s areas of expertise is universal basic income.

After the idea of a universal basic income gained national attention with the presidential campaign of Andrew Yang, people began to wonder where this idea came from and whether or not it made economic or moral sense. In Zwolinski’s talk, he will answer those questions and more. He will cover the history of UBI, the main arguments for and against it and the appeal not only on the political left, but among certain conservatives and libertarians as well.

Zwolinksi’s presentation will take place at 7 p.m. April 19 in the Student Union Budiling Georgian Room B and will be available as in-person or live streamed event.

MCMA is an organization representing newspapers and yearbooks from colleges and universities around the state of Missouri.

The annual conference was intended to take place in-person on Truman’s campus but got moved to virtual format due to COVID-19.

“I couldn’t be more proud of The Index staff and their dedication to creating quality news and entertainment content for the campus community,” said Ryan Pivoney, editor-in-chief of The Index and MCMA president “We had winners in a variety of areas, so it’s nice to get that validation that we’re on the right track.”

Index staff won the following awards for Division II:

First Place
Gordon McPherson
Entertainment Review
“Honey Boy’ is harrowing and memorable”

Samuel Sardis
Non Political/Entertainment Cartoon
“Room selection be like”

Second Place
Samuel Sardis
Non political/Entertainment Cartoon
“Is that the sound of … food?”
Political/Editorial Cartoon
“It’s just a cough”

Elisabeth Shirk
Sports Writing

Third Place
Joey Doughrty
Entertainment Review
“Chrisopher Nolan’s Tenet’ is bold and relentless”

Ryan Pivoney
Sports Page
“Totta leads bulldogs with talent, passion”

Elisabeth Shirk
Editorial/Op-Ed Page
The Index Vol. 111 Issue 13

The Index
Website—tmn.truman.edu

The Index
Sweepstakes

The Index Editorial Board
Editorial Writing
“Our view: #CampusClear-ly not working”
Rachel Becker and Anakin Bush
News Writing
Rachel Becker and Anakin Bush
News Photography
“Truman students organize march, vigil for Breanna Taylor”

Anna Mercer, Erica Shamel, Orielle Heilicher and Rita Hanch
Investigative Reporting
“Campus parking causes frustration”

Rachel Becker
Page One Design
The Index Vol. 111 Issue 13

Ryan Pivoney
News Photography
“Peaceful protest hosted in Kirksville”

Elisabeth Shirk
Column
“Fighting the misinformation pandemic”

Voting for Student Government annual spring elections will take place from April 19-22 at vote.truman.edu. Results will be announced April 23 via Zoom. The link for the results event can be found here. Contact Owen Smith, elections administrator, with any questions.

Work-life Balance/Self-Advocacy
5-6 p.m.
April 20

Stress Management
5-6 p.m.
April 22

Surviving Grad School
5-6 p.m.
April 27

Taxes 101
5-6 p.m.
April 27

Life After Collegiate Sports
5-6 p.m.
April 29

This year the Advancement Office has organized Truman Giving Day, April 21-22. This allows the Truman community 24 hours to make a difference to an area of campus they find important. Matching funds are available for the following campaigns: athletics; piano lab; School of Business; Truman Food Pantry; and the Brent Buckner & Diane Janick-Buckner Student Research.

The University will celebrate and honor spring graduates May 7-8. Several volunteers are needed to help take tickets, pass out programs and direct people to the marked seating areas at the May Commencement Ceremonies.

Truman will be conducting seven ceremonies in order to provide socially distant, in-person experiences for graduates and their two guests. Volunteers can pick which ceremonies they would like to attend. All ceremonies will take place in Pershing Arena so they can be livestreamed for those who are not able to attend in-person.  

The Registrar’s Office is trying to create three “Commencement Teams” based on the grouping of ceremonies instead of trying to staff individual ceremonies. The commencement teams are broken into a Friday team, a Saturday early team and a Saturday late team with the divisions as follows:

Friday team – The 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 6 p.m. ceremonies

Saturday early team – The 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. ceremonies

Saturday late team – The 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ceremonies
 
Anyone willing to serve on any of the commencement teams, or anyone with questions about volunteering, can contact Nancy Asher at nasher@truman.edu or Anna Ruiz Esparza at annare@truman.edu, or call extension 660.785.4143. For those who volunteer, more detailed information will be sent closer to the actual date.

Joey Hubbard, assistant professor of biology, will be the presenter at the final Faculty Forum of the 2020-21 school year. Hubbard’s talk, “Understanding the causes & consequences of plumage color variation in North American barn swallows,” will take place at 7 p.m. April 21 on Zoom. All are welcome to attend.

Presentation abstract:

In North American barn swallows, Hirundo rusticate erythrogaster, ventral coloration is the target of sexual selection such that males with darker plumage experience higher reproductive success. Cross-fostering experiments demonstrate that plumage color, while heritable, is also impacted by environmental conditions during early development (i.e, while nestlings are still in the nest). Given its role as a sexually selected trait, we are investigating information that might be conveyed by this coloration. Specifically, my students and I are examining the role of nest temperature during both the incubation and brooding period on color development as well as hatching success and nestling survival.

The Truman Faculty Forum was created in 2003 to give faculty the opportunity to present their research and creative work to the Truman community, and to enhance the importance of scholarship and creativity in the culture of our institution. In the spirit of the liberal arts and sciences, the Forum is a showcase of Truman faculty’s many creative and intellectual pursuits. The Forum offers a variety of formats – public lectures, classroom-style symposia, performances, and gallery exhibitions – to best suit different fields of study as well as different individuals.

After being a completely virtual event last year due to the pandemic, the Student Research Conference will return April 22 in a hybrid format.

Asynchronous virtual oral, poster, performance art and studio art presentations, as well as a limited number of face-to-face oral presentations, will be facilitated. Undergraduate and graduate students from all academic disciplines were invited to present their scholarly or creative work.

Dr. Kalynda C. Smith, assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina A&T State University, will be the plenary speaker. Her current teaching load is primarily social psychology and cultural psychology courses. She is also a Co-PI of several STEM education NSF-funded projects focused on the academic achievement of students of color, especially as it pertains to pursuing research and graduate training. These interdisciplinary projects include faculty from education, engineering, mathematics, political science, social work and sociology and are cross-institutional. Smith’s duties include quantitative and qualitative data collection, analyses, interpretation and publication. She is primarily interested in how identity impacts the achievement outcomes of students of color including, but not limited to, racial identity, gender identity and academic identity.

Smith’s presentation, “The Exploration of Identity Intersectionality of Black Female STEM Undergraduates attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU),” will take place at 12 p.m. April 22 via Zoom.

Additional information for the Student Research Conference, including abstracts, a schedule of events and access to virtual presentations, can be found online at osr.truman.edu/src2021. Questions about the program for the conference can be directed to the Office of Student Research via email at osr@truman.edu.

 
This workshop is specifically for potential applicants who will be graduating by the end of the 2021-22 academic year and plan to complete a Fulbright application in the fall of 2021. Any potential applicants are welcome to join this event for specific advice and an opportunity to meet and discuss their applications with members of the committee.
 
The workshop will also be available via Zoom for applicants who are not currently on campus or who cannot meet in-person. The Zoom information is zoom.us/j/98338576225. Meeting ID is 983 3857 6225.

The intern will work with the food pantry committee on all aspects of operation. They will help in assessing and analyzing food insecurity and its impact on students, as well as drafting, implementing and maintaining policies and procedures of the program.

Applicants should have a strong background in writing and social media creation and maintenance, as well as knowledge and understanding of food insecurity and its impact in a campus community. For more information, email JD Smiser.

Preparation courses are non-credit bearing and are offered at a range of lengths, at a variety of times and dates, and various points throughout the year. Students who register at least 10 business days in advance of the course can secure discounts of between $50-$100 per course. Courses are priced to be competitive with other national providers.

For high school students, preparation courses for the ACT and SAT are also available.

For detailed descriptions of the available courses, and for more information on how to enroll, visit examprep.truman.edu.

Kory Carter, men’s baseball, was named Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Player of the Week for baseball. He is the first Bulldog to win the award since Jason Priest in 2017. Carter was also named Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association ending April 11.

The Bulldogs’ senior outfielder set multiple new career highs with four hits, two home runs and four RBIs. He tallied seven extra-base hits for the week of April 5, including four home runs and three doubles. He recorded 10 RBI and scored nine runs in a four-game series against William Jewell.

Tanner Lain, football, was selected as the Great Lakes Valley Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after the Bulldogs blocked three punts in a 34-15 win over William Jewell, April 10. Lain had the first block that directly resulted in the first score of the game.

The Delta of Missouri Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa honors society inducted 25 students April 18.

Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa recognizes undergraduate excellence in the depth and breadth of the liberal arts and sciences. This class represents the twentieth anniversary of the chartering of Truman’s chapter in 2001.

The 25 students inducted include:

Kate Grace Becker

Peyton Nicole Bell

Annie Joe Bensyl

Cody Dean Boyd

Maxwell James Chappell

Liam Morris Connolly

Riley Benjamin Dawkins

Kelli N. Ellis

Andrew Donald Gentry

Addie Clare Godsy

Michael Jeremy Green

Samantha Alice Hunsel

Bonnie Christine Jeune

Malia Gail Johnson

Caroline Morris Lesch

Michael James Lonnberg

Allison Ann Maschhoff

Kay Sue McNeary

Caitlin Alexandra Mueller

Connor Kenneth Neils

Logan Jane Peterson

Kim Renee Ramos

Evan Benjamin Reeves

Bryan Patrick Ritchey

Truman’s Speech and Hearing Clinic has been selected as a recipient for the 2021 SPEAK OUT! & LOUD Crowd grant for the third consecutive year. This clinical grant is sponsored by Parkinson Voice Project, a non-profit organization that developed a voice treatment for people with Parkinson's disease. As a grant recipient, the communications disorder department will have access for two of the CMDS faculty, as well as online SPEAK OUT! & LOUD Crowd training for all graduate students.

In their weekly meeting, Faculty Senate COVID-19 Working Group committee members Nancy Daley-Moore, Christine Harker and Scott Alberts discussed case numbers, vaccines and the local mask ordinance.

Truman reported zero active cases for the week of April 14. Since returning from spring break the University has twice reported no active cases. The group credited the work of the campus community in actively observing safe practices and in getting vaccinated. Among students and employees, the process is going well enough there are currently no plans for a second on-campus vaccination clinic.

At a recent meeting, the county health board voted to end its mask ordinance effective May 1. Daley-Moore, Harker and Alberts recommend all students and employees continue to wear a mask when in public. The campus mask mandate is still in effect, and everyone is encouraged to follow safe practices by washing their hands, maintaining a social distance and wearing a mask.

A recording of the conversation can be found here.

The Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation will offer the Purdy Emerging Leaders Scholarship, named in honor of Allan Walker Purdy.

Purdy was born in 1914 on a farm near Macon and was the first in his family to attend a four-year college. He worked in the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture before becoming the campus’s first director of scholarships and student financial aid.

The scholarship is designed to provide merit-based scholarships to emerging leaders who are outstanding students and have a need for additional resources for higher education. The scholarship amount can vary based on an applicant’s circumstances. The general range will be $1,000-$5,000 based on expected family contribution (EFC), unmet need and other factors.

Applicants must be a Missouri resident, typically a 2.5 or higher cumulative GPA, a U.S. Citizen, and a sophomore, junior or senior attending a Missouri public four-year university or the State Technical College of Missouri. Deadline to apply is June 30, 2021. Applications should be submitted online through Scholarship Central at moslf.org. To access more information about this scholarship, click here, or contact the Financial Aid Office at 660.785.4130.

 
Listed below are several of the major national fellowships and their websites. More information about these fellowships is available at www.truman.edu/majors-programs/more-learning-opportunities/fellowships.

For Graduate Studies
Fulbright Grants
Research grants and teaching assistantships for a year abroad

Rhodes Scholarships
Grants for two years of study at Oxford University

Marshall Scholarships
Awards for two years of study in any British university

Mitchell Scholarships
One year of graduate study or research in Ireland or Northern Ireland

Gates Cambridge Scholarships
Awards for an advanced degree or second bachelor’s degree at the University of Cambridge
 
For Undergraduate Studies
Goldwater Scholarships
Up to $7,500 annually for tuition, fees, books, room and board for science and mathematics majors

Harry S. Truman Scholarships
For senior year and post-graduate study leading to a career in public service

Udall Scholarships
For students interested in careers related to environmental issues or for Native Americans and Alaskans interested in careers related to health care and tribal public policy

Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellowships
For students interested in international affairs to work as research assistants to the Endowment’s senior associates in Washington, D.C. for a full year

Boren Scholarships
To study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests