Vol. 16, No. 28 - April 10, 2012

Two Truman students have been selected to receive the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Lauren Choate and Miguel Fernandez Flores are among the 282 individuals chosen for the national competitive scholarship. Choate, a biology major from Farmington, and Fernandez, a physics and mathematics double major from Festus, are two of only six Missouri residents to receive the award this year.


Both students applied for the award through Truman’s Graduate Studies Office. Choate and Fernandez each have aspirations of attaining a Ph.D. and conducting research in their respective fields.

“I felt very comfortable early on approaching my physics professors regarding research I could get involved in,” Fernandez said. “The professors and the upperclassmen were encouraging and positive about seeking out research experience for undergraduates for the summer.”

Choate also credits her early experiences at Truman for helping her secure a Goldwater Scholarship.

“Truman gave me the opportunity to get involved in undergraduate research as a freshman and through this I found an area of research that I truly enjoy,” she said.

The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,123 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

The one- and two-year scholarships, awarded annually to sophomores and juniors, cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. Fernandez plans to have the scholarship for one year, while Choate will have it for two.

Goldwater Scholars have very impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs. Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 78 Rhodes Scholarships, 112 Marshall Awards, 104 Churchill Scholarships and numerous other distinguished fellowships.

Truman will showcase the work of the Local Records Preservation Project at an open house with special guest Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan at 10:30 a.m. April 18 in the Student Union Building Alumni Room, with tours to follow in the General Services Building Room 208.

The Local Records Preservation Project is a unique partnership with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office to provide workspace for an area archivist to process pre-1900s court documents and prepare them for duplication and storage via microfilm. The project has been running at Truman since September 2011.

This preservation project serves as a special opportunity for Truman students to get involved. An internship program is available each semester, including the summer term, where students receive training in archival work, hear lectures by state archivists and have opportunities to tour state facilities in Jefferson City. In their archival work, participants will do hands-on work cleaning, preparing, processing and indexing court records. Students can receive academic credit for their participation.

Mary McIntosh, the local archivist in charge, will be working with Truman students while Jeff Gall, professor of history and social science education, will be their advisor.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for our students to work closely with a state archivist and explore careers available in the fields of archives and historic document preservation,” Gall said.

Currently, four students are helping in the preservation project, but that number is likely to grow.

The community also benefits from this project, since copies of microfilmed records will be provided to Pickler Memorial Library. Opportunities for public lectures and training will also be available to the community through the Local Records Preservation Project.

While similar agreements with universities exist, this is the first one whereby the Local Records Program has been provided physical space on campus to perform this work.

Almost 1,400 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students will visit Truman for the Children’s Literature Festival from 9 a.m.-2:15 p.m. April 20 in the Student Union Building.

Visiting authors and illustrators include Tracy Barrett, Eric Berlin, Henry Cole, Lulu Delacre, Mary Downing Hahn, Cheryl Harness, Kate Klise, Kirby Larson, Rosanne Parry, Kurtis Scaletta and Suzanne Morgan Williams.

Students will participate in 30-minute sessions with the guest authors and illustrators. All children attending must be pre-registered. University faculty, staff, students and other interested adults are welcome at any of the sessions.

Anyone interested is welcome to attend an informal meeting and book signing with the authors and illustrators from 3-4 p.m. in the Student Union Building Room 3000. Refreshments will be served.

The festival will conclude with a dinner at 6 p.m. and a presentation by author Kirby Larson at 7 p.m. in the Student Union Building Activities Room. The dinner is limited to pre-registered adults and children accompanied by an adult. The cost of the dinner is $10.75.
 
To register for any event, contact Daisy Rearick at drearick@truman.edu or call 785.4048.

The authors’ books are available at the Truman State University Bookstore.

The Children’s Literature Festival was an annual event for 21 years, but discontinued in 2004 due to budget cuts. A Children’s Literature Festival Fund was started in 2007 in an effort to bring the Festival back, and it returned in 2009. For more information about the fund, contact the Office of Advancement at 785.4133 or visit giving.truman.edu/SpecialInitiatives/ChildrensLiteratureFestival.asp.

The Children’s Literature Festival is sponsored by Pickler Memorial Library with financial support from the Freeman Foundation, Follett High Education Group–Truman State University Bookstore and the Truman State University Foundation. The festival is also supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library.

Truman will host the 25th Undergraduate and 10th Graduate Student Research Conference (SRC) April 17.

The SRC is a celebration of undergraduate and graduate research, scholarship and creative achievement. To provide an opportunity for all students and faculty members to attend the conference, no classes will meet during the day. Evening classes will meet at their scheduled times.

This year’s conference will feature contributions from more than 400 undergraduate and 34 graduate student authors, mentored by 127 faculty members. Presentations will take the form of oral papers, posters, performing arts and studio arts. The SRC website, available at src.truman.edu, provides information on all presentation abstracts, which can be electronically browsed and extensively searched. Customized schedules can be created on the website.

As the SRC Plenary speaker, Truman will welcome visiting scholar, David Micklos, executive director and founder of the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. Micklos specializes in eugenics as well as incorporating DNA technology into middle and high school curricula. A description of Micklos’ plenary address can be found on the SRC website. In addition, Micklos will be available in a meet-the-speaker event to discuss Nobel Laureate James Watson and DNA molecular biology in general from 4:30-5:30 p.m. April 16 in Magruder Hall 1096.

Oral papers will be presented in Violette Hall and Magruder Hall. Music performances, art exhibits and oral presentations will be featured in Ophelia Parrish. Hard copy program booklets will be available in buildings with presentations. There will be no registration table or name tags at the SRC event.

A continental breakfast and morning and afternoon refreshment breaks will be available in all presentation buildings. A concurrent poster session and SRC reception will take place in the Student Union Building Georgian Rooms from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

The Student Research Conference is planned and coordinated by the Office of Student Research.

The College Republicans, in cooperation with the Clair Boothe Luce Policy Institute, are sponsoring a presentation by best-selling author and conservative pundit Ann Coulter at 7 p.m. April 12 in the Student Union Building Activities Room.

Coulter is the author of seven New York Times best-sellers and is a nationally syndicated columnist. She is a frequent guest on many TV shows, including the “Today” program, “Good Morning America,” “The Early Show,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Hannity,” “The O’Reilly Factor” and HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.” She has been profiled in numerous publications, including the April 25, 2005 cover story of Time magazine.

A Connecticut native, Coulter graduated with honors from Cornell University, and received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was an editor of The Michigan Law Review. Coulter clerked for the Honorable Pasco Bowman II of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and was an attorney in the Department of Justice.

After practicing law in private practice in New York City, Coulter worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where she handled crime and immigration issues for Sen. Spencer Abraham of Michigan. From there, she became a litigator with the Center For Individual Rights in Washington, D.C., a public interest law firm dedicated to the defense of individual rights with particular emphasis on freedom of speech, civil rights and the free exercise of religion.

Truman’s American Chemical Society (ACS) recently sent three students to the National Conference in San Diego, Calif., March 25-29 to present a poster featuring their chapter’s activities and accomplishments.

While present, they also received the “Outstanding Chapter Award” for undergraduate student chapters. This is the third consecutive year they have earned this distinguished award.

Their trip to the National Conference was sponsored through support from Truman’s Chemistry Department and the local ACS professional chapter as well as a grant from the National ACS Organization.

At this conference, the students were able to meet and network with a variety of professionals in both industrial chemistry and academia, as well as share information with other student chapters from across America.

Their presentation focused on the service events provided by their chapter, including National Chemistry Week events in the fall and their annual spring Musical Demo Show, which will be April 15 in Magruder Hall. Additionally, the Truman ACS sponsors a yearly scholarship through local high schools for graduating seniors who intend to pursue a chemistry major at the university level.

Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity is going green for the month of April; literally. The charity’s website has been changed to green for the entire month and Truman’s Student Recreation Center has decided to get on board with their support.

With an average of 700 million pairs of shoes thrown away by Americans each year, the effect on the nation’s landfills and atmosphere could be devastating.

Soles4Souls is doing their part to change that. By recycling gently worn shoes, the discarded footwear will be given a second chance. By being redistributed through the charity’s international and domestic partners, millions of children and adults could receive their first pair of shoes.
 
“We are excited to affiliate with Soles4Souls and we’ll be accepting gently used shoes like gym shoes, dress shoes, sandals and boots,” said Sue Limestall, director of campus recreation.

Collection boxes will be available April 16-21 at the following locations: the Student Union Building, Student Recreation Center, athletic training room and each residence hall.

Soles4Souls has distributed more than 17 million pairs of shoes around the world with the help of partners like the Student Recreation Center.

With one in every four adults in the world living in extreme poverty, basic necessities like shoes are simply unavailable. In developing nations like Haiti, Honduras and Tanzania, walking is the main form of transportation, and shoes can protect feet from cuts and infections.

Sidney Watson of Saint Louis University will discuss health care reforms from 7-9 p.m. April 10 in the Baldwin Hall Little Theater.

Attendees will learn about key features of the law, how the law affects college students and young adults and how the comprehensive health insurance reforms will unfold during the coming years.

Before Watson’s talk, students and faculty are invited to a reception with refreshments entitled, “Are You Covered?  What’s Up With Health Care Reform?” at 6 p.m. 

Watson is a nationally-known scholar and specialist in health law and health care access for the poor. She has spent her legal career advocating on behalf of low-income people, both as a legal services lawyer and as a law professor.

The St. Louis University Center for Health Law Studies has been rated the No. 1 program for health law studies by U.S. News and World Report for several years in a row. This is a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in graduate study related to practicing law, medicine, advocacy or public health.

Admission is free for the event, sponsored by the Multicultural Affairs Center, the Nursing Students Association, AMSA and Alpha Chi Sigma.

Going Global information day will be from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 11 in the Student Union Building. It will offer information about studying and working abroad.

Lambda Pi Eta invites all Truman students to compete in the 2012 Chandler Monroe Oratorical Contest April 21. Students may compete for cash prizes with ceremonial, informative or persuasive speeches.

Registration is open now through April 13. For more information and to register online, visit  communication.truman.edu/chandlermonroe2011.asp.

The National Communication Association Student Club is hosting the event “TOMS One Day Without Shoes” in conjunction with the worldwide TOMS event April 10. On this day, the club will spread awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life by asking the Truman community to take off their own. Millions of children live without proper footwear, exposing them to injury and disease everyday.

“Shoeless” t-shirts will be available to purchase for $6. Contact btw5342@truman.edu or visit the Facebook event TOMS ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES for more information.

Sigma Kappa's RespEKt Movement, designed to raise awareness about the dangers of hazing, will take place April 18-20. Information will be available on the Mall about what constitutes as hazing and how to avoid hazing practices.

Senior Kelly Gorman organized this campaign based on similar projects that other Sigma Kappa chapters have conducted. This inaugural promotion will be fairly low-key, but “hopefully [the] program will continue to grow in the years to come,” Gorman said.

The organization hopes this campaign will raise awareness and prompt any organization that engages in hazing to reassess its decision. In addition to information on the mall, Sigma Kappa will post signs across campus to share statistics and facts about hazing.

The Students Supporting the Exceptional Community is looking for volunteers to be buddies for the athletes at the Special Olympics, 12-5 p.m. April 21. Buddies will remain with an assigned athlete all day, cheering them on and helping them enter their events. Volunteers can sign up to be a buddy anytime by contacting Kristen Little at knl7714@truman.edu.

FAC (Funds Allotment Council) is having open enrollment through the end of the semester. Applications can be found at fac.truman.edu and outside the FAC office in the Student Union Building 1109A.

Activity: Golf Scramble
Division: Open/Greek/Org
Deadline: April 16
Captains’ Meeting: N/A
Play Begins: April 17

Activity: Punt, Pass & Kick
Division: Open/Greek/Org
Deadline: April 14
Captains’ Meeting: N/A
Play Begins: April 17

Activity: Track Meet
Division: Open/Greek/Org
Deadline: April 12
Captains’ Meeting: N/A
Play Begins: April 19

All information, rules and registration requirements are online at recreation.truman.edu/intramuralrec.asp, or contact the Intramural Office at 785.4467. Captains’ Meeting is at 4:30 p.m. in the SRC Conference Room.

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis is a non-profit organization that provides access to higher education to St. Louis area students through interest-free loans. The program assists students with financial need. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average, demonstrate good character and must be a permanent resident of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles or Warren, or the Illinois counties of Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe or St. Clair. Applications are due April 15. For more information, call 314.725.7990 or email info@sfstl.org.

SellUsedBooks.com is currently accepting applications for their Spring 2012, 500-word essay, “Why I Deserve to Win this Scholarship” contest. More information may be found at sellusedbooks.com/sell-used-books-college-essay.htm. Deadline for the $1,000 scholarship application is April 15.

Charter One is taking applications for their 40 TruFit Good Citizen Scholarships to be awarded to students who demonstrate the difference they have made in their communities through volunteering. There will be one $5,000 grand prize, four $2,500 second prizes, and 35 $1,000 third prizes. Entries must be received between April 1–30. For more information go to charterone.com/scholarship.

The William M. Reiss Foundation is offering scholarships to graduates of publicly supported high schools located within the city limits of Belleville, Ill. Official college transcripts are required and a copy of the Student Aid Report from the FASFA is recommended. For more information, or to apply for this scholarship, visit the Financial Aid Office at McClain Hall 103. Deadline to apply is May 1.

The Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis is inviting eligible media communication and journalism students to apply for scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year. Students of journalism or related fields who are residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area (City of St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis and Warren counties in Missouri; and Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties in Illinois) are eligible to receive these scholarships. Applications are available online at stlpressclub.org/scholarships.html. Deadline for applications is May 4.

The Jack J. Isgur Foundation awards scholarships to students studying at colleges and universities who indicate an interest in teaching courses in the humanities, such as literature, fine arts, music, art, poetry and dance in Missouri schools, preferably in rural school districts. It is available to those at the junior and senior levels of undergraduate college, as well as graduate students. For more information, please stop by the Financial Aid Office, McClain Hall 103. Applications must be submitted by May 15.

The creators of the “Student Award Search Aid” website are offering a $1,000 scholarship for 2012. To learn more, visit studentawardsearch.com/scholarships.htm. Deadline for application is May 28.

The BigSun Organization is offering a $500 scholarship. All student-athletes are eligible for this award, regardless of sport. Deadline for submission is June 22. To learn how to apply, visit bigsunathletics.com.

The GP LSAT Prep Scholarship is available to students interested in applying to law school. One or more grants of $1,000 are awarded twice yearly (Jan. 30 and June 30). To apply, use the “contact us” form at getprepped.com/net to request the application packet.

The James “Rhio” O’Connor Memorial Scholarship Fund is offering its scholarship again this year to all college students. The scholarship awards are based on an essay contest with the subject concerning cancer. The scholarships amounts are $5,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place. Students can receive more information and request an application packet at cancermonthly.com/scholarship.asp.

AES Engineers will continue to provide $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 in answer to one of the two questions that are posted online at aesengineers.com/scholarships.htm. Deadline for entry is Oct. 5.

Currently enrolled undergraduate college students are eligible to apply for the Foreclosure.com 2012 Scholarship Program. Students may go to foreclosure.com/scholarship to find out how to be entered to win one of five scholarships by writing an essay on stimulating the US housing market. Top prize is $5,000, second through fifth place will receive $1,000 each.
Deadline to enter is Dec. 1.

Wells Fargo is offering 40 $1,000 scholarships. Twenty will be awarded to high school students and 20 to college students through a random drawing throughout the year. Apply on line at wellsfargo.com/collegesteps for chance to win.

Milk & Honey Publishing, CollegeGreekBooks.org and Big Walt Anderson will offer up to seven $700 cash awards for the current fall/spring academic year. Students may apply each month to be eligible for one of these scholarships. Students must be a member of a social Greek organization and have a minimum 2.0 GPA. For more information and application go to collegegreekbooks.org/cashaward.html.

Dennis Leavens, professor emeritus of English literature, has accepted a position as provost of the American University of Armenia. Leavens has served as associate dean and interim dean in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, for the last seven years. He assumes his position in Yerevan July 1.

Antonio Scuderi, professor of Italian, presented “World Music in the Songs of Renato Carosone” at the Italian Music as Poetry Conference March 31 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Truman students won three first place and two honorable mention awards in the 2012 Missouri Broadcast Educators Association (MBEA) student media contest. The awards were accepted by students who accompanied Mark Smith, associate professor of communication and MBEA vice president, to an MBEA conference/ceremony at Missouri State in late March. First place awards went to the projects of Sam Sherman, Geoffrey Woehlk, Sam Spencer, Paul Bischoff, Patrick Gross, Andrea Hewitt, Faith Martin and Jessica Scheetz. Honorable mentions were awarded to the work of Natalie Turney, Brian Wells and Geoffrey Woehlk.

The Department of Music’s Concert Percussion Ensemble II will present its spring concert at 6 p.m. April 10 in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall. The ensemble is conducted by graduate teaching assistant Culver Hackel and will feature a wide variety of chamber music for percussion instruments. Admission is free.

The next Physics Colloquium, “Photorefractive Polymers: Amalgamation of Organic Chemistry, Solid State Physics and Optics” will take place from 4:30-5:30 p.m. April 11 in Magruder Hall 1096.

Spring Awakening will run at 8 p.m. April 11-14 in the James G. Severns Theatre. Tickets are free and are now available at the Ophelia Parrish Box Office. Patrons can reserve tickets in person or by calling 785.4515.

The Escape the Titanic Party will be from 11 p.m.-2:30 a.m. April 11 in the Student Recreation Center. Participants will complete different activities to escape the ship before it sinks.

The next Board of Governors meeting will be at 1 p.m. April 14 in the Student Union Building Conference Room.

A Service Recognition Luncheon will recognize 127 faculty, staff and retirees at 12 p.m. April 16 in the Student Union Building Georgian Room. Tickets are $10 in the Human Resources Office, McClain Hall 101, and must be purchased by April 10. A complete list of this year’s honorees may be found at hr.truman.edu/recognition/srb/2012honorees.asp.

The Women’s Resource Center is accepting applications now through April 16 in the Women’s Resource Center in the Student Union Building 1109 B. Applications may be submitted in paper and on TruPositions. They are accepting work-study, volunteer and scholarship workers.

Labiche’s comedy “La Fille bien gardée” will be presented in French by Truman French students and faculty at 8 p.m. April 18 and April 19 in the Student Union Building Down Under. For more information, contact Patrick Lobert, professor of French, at plobert@truman.edu.

Local bands Deadwood and Redwing will perform a night of blues and acoustic music at 7 p.m. April 21 in the Student Union Building Down Under. Admission is free.

Applications for the MATH Pioneers Fellowship in Merrimack Valley, Mass., are available now at matchschool.org/matchcorps/pioneers.htm and are due June 25. Fellows will be tutoring high school algebra and geometry.