Vol. 16, No. 29 - April 17, 2012

Michael Delcau, a junior chemistry major, will participate this summer in a selective internship with the American Chemical Society national nuclear summer school in San Jose, Calif., because he is interested in pursuing a career in nuclear chemistry.

This elite program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, had more than 200 applicants with only 12 chosen for the San Jose site. The six-week program’s incentives include a $4,000 stipend, room and board and transportation to and from California.

Delcau found out about the ACS summer school through Alpha Chi Sigma, a national chemistry fraternity on campus. He is excited to change cities over the summer and fulfill his aspiration of living on the west coast.

“All my feelings are positive toward the internship,” Delcau said. “I am slightly nervous that it will be very intense as the schedule usually has classes going from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. with seminars in between and at night.”

Delcau believes that Truman has prepared him for this opportunity by giving him a strong chemistry background through coursework and the ACS exams.

Besides the American Chemical Society, Delcau considered and was accepted to Doisy SLU Biochemistry, Kansas-State Research Experiences for Undergraduates and a University of Missouri-Columbia Fellowship.

The formal program from June 10 to July 20 consists of lecture and laboratory components that cover the fundamentals of nuclear theory, radiochemistry, nuclear instrumentation, radiological safety and applications to related fields.

In addition, there are special symposia, guest lectures and field trips to nearby research centers.

Topics include nuclear medicine, nuclear power, fundamental particle physics and environmental radiochemistry. Students will also get to meet and interact with many leading scientists in various fields including personal assistance with Ph.D. and M.D. programs across the nation and future research opportunities.

The top student gets to go to the ACS national conference the following year.

Truman and the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) have formed an articulation agreement between UMSL’s College of Optometry and Truman’s Health and Exercise Sciences Department.

Truman students who qualify under the terms of the agreement will receive an automatic interview and priority in interview scheduling. Truman is Missouri’s number one feeder school to UMSL’s College of Optometry.

“We are very excited to have this articulation agreement in place as it formally establishes and affirms the long-standing relationship between Truman and UMSL Optometry,” said Barbara Brown, director of Student Recruitment and Admissions at UMSL’s College of Optometry.

While the current agreement is between Truman’s Department of Health and Exercise Sciences and the College of Optometry, it is designed to allow the addition of other academic departments at Truman in the future.

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.

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 Rotary Foundation is now accepting applications for the world-competitive Rotary Peace Fellowship. The fellowship provides academic and practical training to prepare scholars for leadership roles in solving conflicts around the world.

Up to 110 fellows are selected every year in a globally competitive process based on personal, academic and professional achievements. Fellows earn a master’s-level degree or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies at one of six Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities in Australia, England, Sweden, Japan, the United States and Thailand.

The master’s degree option entails 15-24 months of Rotary-funded graduate study toward a master’s degree at one of five Rotary Centers. Students will receive training in the root causes of conflict, theories of international relations and effective models of cooperation, conflict resolution and negotiation including coursework and applied field experience. They will be exposed to a growing network of committed alumni employed around the world in diplomacy, government, non-governmental organizations and private corporations.

The professional certificate option included a three-month professional development certificate program designed specifically for candidates already working in the field of peace and conflict studies to further their understanding of conflict resolution. Fellows will receive theoretical foundational knowledge during eight weeks in the classroom and practical experience during two to three week on-site fieldwork.

Both programs require a bachelor’s degree in a related field, three years of relevant work experience and proficiency in a second language for the master’s program and five years for the professional development certificate and proficiency in English.

The 2013 Academic term deadline is July 1. Applications are available at rotary.org/rotarycenters.

All Rotary Peace Fellowship applications need the endorsement of applicants’ local Rotary district. Applicants can find their nearest local Rotary Club by using the Club Locator tool on the Rotary International website at rotary.org/en/AboutUs/SiteTools/ClubLocator/Pages/ridefault.aspx.

The departments of communication disorders and education will present Deborah Glaser, renowned national trainer of Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), at the Fourth Annual Language and Literary Conference April 27.

Pre-registration and payment is required. Seating is limited.

The workshop, scheduled from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., in the Student Union Building Georgian Rooms, will acquaint teachers, administrators, speech-language pathologists and associated professionals with Glaser’s most current work on establishing instructional routines for reading that include oral language and writing. The routines offer efficient, yet highly productive and successful procedures that ease teacher planning and boost student engagement.

At the culmination of this session, participants will be able to state the importance of systematic instruction, know how to identify target skills to teach and plan routines that can be used often to teach the target skills. Attendees will become acquainted with and experience several ready-to-use instructional routines designed to be adapted for a variety of learners and skill levels.

The workshop content is applicable to elementary, small- and whole-group instruction, general classroom and intervention groups, and is intended for teachers, administrators, speech-language pathologists and associated professionals.

Glaser is an educational consultant and professional development provider with expertise in reading assessment and a vast knowledge of instructional methods derived from trusted research. She consults with national policy institutes, assists universities with the development of research-based reading curricula and assists schools and districts with the implementation of scientifically-based reading programs and strengthening practitioners’ collaborative efforts toward improved instruction and student reading abilities.

To register, go to the Northeast RPDC website at rpdc.truman.edu. Click on “Workshops,” then on “Northeast RPDC Workshop Registrations.”

Communication students will be showcasing their work from the past year at the COMMference at 6 p.m. April 21 in the Student Union Building Alumni Room.

The communication event will feature an extended alumni panel to talk about jobs and graduate school in addition to a group of current students who will review their communication projects. These works range from a presentation on Internet regulations, the 2012 political campaigns and photography captured during the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

Event organizers, communication seniors Sara Kluba and Carrie Nelson, said the event’s focus enables students new to the discipline to see what senior students have accomplished in upper-level courses as well as getting to interact with former communication students who are now working in their interested fields.

“We want to show others what they can learn too and how it can be applied in the future,” Kluba said.

This year’s alumni panel is comprised of five speakers who represent the variety of occupations open to communication majors and minors, including a public relations account executive, a magazine editor, a television director, a communications coordinator and a broadcast news producer.

Representatives from the department’s co-curricular student media will be available to talk about on-campus opportunities. Other department-related groups, who are co-sponsors of the event, will also be on hand to talk about their activities.

The event was first launched in spring 2011 by seniors Kelly Fox and Amanda Goeser.

More information about the COMMference can be accessed at thecommference.blogspot.com.

Truman’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) was recently awarded a $2,000 grant from Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation (LCEF) as part of their Community Improvement Challenge. This grant was established three years ago as a means for SIFE teams across the United States to further aid community partners in need of assistance.

Truman SIFE applied for this grant in order to help the La Plata Christian Ministries Food Distribution Center (LCM). This non-profit organization provides food and clothing to the needy in the La Plata, Mo., area. Up to now, they have been solely supported by local Christian churches and individual sponsors.

Through this grant, Truman SIFE intends to help the LCM purchase a new chest freezer and additional shelving units in order to be able to assist even more people in need in the La Plata area.

Currently, the LCM provides food for around 400 people per month. However, after these improvements and additions they will be able to help even more people in the community.

Additionally, SIFE plans to help the LCM improve their storage capabilities of their inventory for their clothing store. The LCM stores clothes for the holiday seasons, but do not currently have the necessary supplies to properly store this inventory.

With this grant, they will be able to make the additional purchases and changes to improve this program for the community.

“We are blessed that we have the opportunity to work with SIFE and LCEF to improve the LCM to better serve the community,” said Stephanie Allen, director of the LCM.

In the future, SIFE intends to continue working with the LCM and hopefully help them acquire even more financial support.

Twenty-seven students represented Truman at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR).

This year’s conference took place March 29-31 at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. NCUR was established in 1987 and is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities across all disciplines. The conference welcomes undergraduate scholars to share with their peers the results of their of work in the form of presentations, posters and works of art. Truman’s delegation is usually one of the larger groups and this year was no exception.


The Truman students and their faculty mentors represented at NCUR 2012 included: Giorgi Amashukeli (Shirley McKamie); Brockell Briddle (Shirley McKamie); Megan Burik (Terry Olson); Alyssa Duffy (Jerry Mayhew); Nathan Hardy – Phi Kappa Phi Fellow (Patricia Burton); Casey Henderson (Hena Ahmad); Melissa Kapitan (David Robinson); Emma Lennon (Alex Koch); Kristin Marshall (Pamela Ryan); Elli Mathis (Alex Koch); Alex McKamie (Clifton Kreps); Maurine Pfuhl (Linda Seidel); Rebecca Pursley (Julia DeLancey); Siera Ramsey – McNair Scholar (Jennifer Hurst); Anne Ratermann (Alex Koch); Joseph Santoli – McNair Scholar (James D’Agostino); Mary Sauerwein (Julia DeLancey); Abby Schuerman (Rachel Ruhlen - ATSU); Manisha Shrestha (Michael Goggin); James Thompson (Shirley McKamie); Curtis Westbay (Rebecca Harrison); Jason Whiteley (Terry Olson); Olivia Wikle (Shirley McKamie); Matthew Willis (Thomas Zoumaras); Benjamin Winter (David Partenheimer); Syed M. Mehdi Zaidi – Phi Kappa Phi Fellow (Rubana Mahjabeen) and Laipeng Zheng (Michael Adams).

Funding was provided primarily by the Office of Student Research but also by the School of Science and Mathematics, the Biology Department, the Health and Exercise Sciences Department, the Economics Department and the Phi Kappa Phi honors society.

April 18
Social Media in the Classroom
The use of social media in the classroom is a hot topic these days. Learn more about how schools are addressing social media in the classroom, recent laws related to social media and students, and more. Learn more about how others are effectively using social media to create learning opportunities “where they live.”

April 25
Fun, Free Tools for Use in Education
The final workshop in the series will focus on sharing additional free tools such as Prezi, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon and much more. Join us for a fun-filled hour of sharing our favorite “freebies.”

To register to attend any of these sessions, go to eventmanager.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.

This year’s annual steam system shutdown for maintenance and inspection is scheduled May 7-10.

The steam system will be shut down at approximately 3 p.m. May 7 and is expected to be back in operation by May 10. The shutdown will effect every building except for Barnett Hall, Campbell Apartments, Ryle Hall, the Student Recreation Center and West Campus Suites.

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.

Truman’s men’s and women’s club volleyball teams competed in the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation National Club Tournament April 5-7 in Kansas City. A record 360 teams from across the nation competed in seven different divisions based on their tournament records. Competing in Division I, the top division of the tournament, the women’s team went 3-3 over the first two days, with victories over Virginia Tech, Penn State and Florida, and loses to San Jose State, Michigan and Grand Valley State. Competing in the silver bracket on the third day, the team defeated Iowa and then lost to Texas A&M. The men’s team, competing in Division I-AAA went 5-1 over the first two days with victories over Maine, RIT, John Carroll University, George Washington and Wake Forest and the lone loss against Villanova. In the gold bracket on day three, the men’s team defeated the University of Chicago before losing to eventual champion Villanova to finish third. Two team members received individual honors: setter David Jameson was named First Team All-Tournament, and outside hitter Daniel Condra was an Honorable Mention.

Earth Week is taking place through April 22. Events include: Alternative Feminine Hygiene Products from 7-8:30 p.m. April 16 in Violette Hall 1328; Showing of “Wasteland” from 7-9 p.m. April 18 in Baldwin Hall Little Theater; Local Foods Dinner from 6-8:30 p.m. April 19 in the Student Union Building Georgian Rooms; Zero Waste Picnic from 12-5 p.m. April 21 on the Quad; and Dark Hour from 7-8 p.m. April 22 on the Quad.

Concert Percussion Ensemble I, led by professor of music, Michael Bump, will be presenting their annual Spring Percussion Extravaganza Concert at 8 p.m. April 16 in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall. The concert will include a wide variety of percussion music, demonstrating instruments, styles and techniques from all over the world. The program will also feature junior music major, Julian Gibson-Cornell. Julian will perform a new “Concerto for Vibraphone and Percussion Ensemble.” Admission is Free. The concert will also be live-streamed, for those who may not be able to attend. For more information, contact Michael Bump, at mbump@truman.edu or 785.4052.

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.

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.

Special Olympics will take place from 12-5 p.m. April 21 at Stokes Stadium. Those interested in volunteering to be buddies for the athletes can sign up anytime by contacting Kristen Little at knl7714@truman.edu.

Tryouts for Showgirls Dance Team will take place from 12-5 p.m. April 21 and 8 a.m.-12 p.m. April 22 in Pershing Small Gym. More information and tryout criteria can be found at showgirls.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.

Collection boxes for Soles4Souls, a shoe charity, will be available until April 21 at the Student Union Building, Student Recreation Center, athletic training room and each residence hall. They are collecting gently used gym shoes, dress shoes, sandals and boots.

The Quincy Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will present “Mass of the Children” at 3 p.m. April 22 in the Quincy Junior High School Morrison Theater in Quincy, Ill. Admission is free with a Truman ID.

Franklin Street Singers will perform at 6 p.m. April 22 in Baldwin Auditorium. The concert is free and will feature music from "Rent," "The Muppets" movie, "Grease" and more.

Earth Week Dark Hour will take place from 7-8 p.m. April 22. Everyone is invited to turn off their lights in their house or dorm room and join the Earth Week Committee for snacks and games on the darkening quad. More Earth Week events will take place April 16

The Office of Public Safety, in cooperation with the MODOT Northeast District, would like to remind everyone that April 23-27 is Work Zone Awareness Week. Check out modot.org/operationorange for more information.

Psychology majors will present their capstone research from 2-4 p.m. April 24 in the Student Union Building Activities Room. Anyone from the University community is welcome to view poster presentations and speak with the researchers. For more information, contact Karen Vittengl at ksmith@truman.edu.

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.

ATSU-KCOM will host the Fourth Annual Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Symposium from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. September 29. The conference will provide a venue for faculty, students and all those interested in biomedical research.