Vol. 28 No. 11 - October 30, 2023

As part of Truman Homecoming activities, students raised more than $24,000 in support of local and national charities.

At halftime of the Bulldog football game, Oct. 21, representatives from the Homecoming Committee awarded checks to the Alzheimer’s Association and NEMO Senior Citizens Services in the amounts of $6,082.85 and $18,248.61 respectively for a grand total of $24,331.46.

For years, students and organizations have used Homecoming as an opportunity to support philanthropic causes. To raise money this year, students hosted events where members made and sold food items while other groups also offered food delivery. Other efforts included sponsored nights at local restaurants, pie an organization member, sticker sales, concert nights, game nights and other unique and fun events.

Last year the Truman community raised more than $17,000 in support of Special Olympics of Northeast Missouri. Previous local organizations supported during Homecoming include the Kirksville FLATS project, the Adair County Humane Society, the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, the Kirksville Child Development Center and the I Think I Can Foundation.

Truman will celebrate Homecoming next year the weekend of Oct. 26.

Comedians Opey Olagbaj, Biniam Bizuneh and Andrew LopezDoors will open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free and no tickets are required.

Truman’s Theatre Department will perform “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9-11 and Nov. 15-16 and 2 p.m. Nov. 12 in the James G. Severns Theatre.

This dynamic musical adaptation of Rick Riordan’s bestselling book opened on Broadway in 2019. When teenager Percy Jackson discovers he’s a demigod, he and his friends embark on an epic journey to find Zeus’ missing lightning bolt and prevent a war among the gods.

This production features the work of student director Jack Danter. The three leading actors are Lydia Lamb as Percy, Margan Youngstrom as Annabeth, and Parker Shin as Grover. This fast-paced musical features fight choreography by Gael Jenks and dance choreography by Danter.

The show will last approximately two hours with one intermission. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at boxoffice.truman.edu. For more information, contact the Truman Theatre Box Office at 660.785.4515 between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Miller is an associate professor in the division of oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis where his focus is on developing and applying computational tools to provide insight into the origins and progression of cancer. He earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and computer science from Truman and his Ph.D. in computational biology from Baylor College of Medicine.

Miller’s core research interests include understanding the clonal architecture of tumors and how they evolve in response to therapy, with a special focus on hematologic cancers. He also studies effective design and targeting of cancer immunotherapies, developing open-source software for interpreting and visualizing genomic data, and integrative analysis that translates multi-dimensional genomic data into both functional and actionable contexts.

All students, faculty and staff are welcome to attend Miller’s talk, especially those interested in computer science, biology, health, statistics, data science and/or bioinformatics. Light refreshments will be available.

On the day of his visit, Yonk will stop by the Economic Analysis of Social and Policy Issues course (ECON 345) at 4:30 p.m. to discuss Elinor Ostrom’s work for which she won the Nobel prize in economics. This event is open to the public and all are invited to come.

A.T. Still University’s College of Graduate Health Studies (ATSU-CGHS) is offering Truman alumni and employees a 20% discount on all online master’s and doctorate degree programs.

These online programs afford students the opportunity to study from anywhere and join other ATSU-CGHS alumni as influential leaders in the health professions. Degree programs include master of public health, master of public health-dental emphasis, master of health sciences, master of science in kinesiology, master of health administration, master of education in health professions, doctor of health sciences, doctor of health administration, doctor of nursing practice and doctor of education in health professions.

ATSU-CGHS is a preeminent leader in online health professions education. With nearly 25 years of experience in online education, the school offers an engaging, personal education experience that is student centered. ATSU-CGHS was awarded Exemplary Program status from Quality Matters, a global organization focusing on quality assurance for online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments.

Programs feature asynchronous learning environments to provide the flexibility needed for working professionals to earn a graduate degree, while maintaining a personal touch. Students have opportunities to meet with faculty remotely, are assigned a program-specific academic advisor who is there for them throughout their academic journey, and classroom learning is designed to be applied directly into students’ day-to-day professional lives.

ATSU-CGHS enrollment representatives offer a personal approach in helping students find the right program and in completing the application process. For more information, contact an enrollment representative at 877.626.5577 or cghsonlineadmissions@atsu.edu.

Union & Involvement Services will begin accepting room lottery requests for the spring 2024 semester from 8 a.m. Oct. 30 to 12 p.m. Nov. 3.

Recognized student organizations must be in good standing in order for requests to be processed. Any submissions received after 12 p.m. Nov. 3 will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis once lottery requests have been processed. Forms can be found here. Paper forms will not be accepted.

Contact the Union & Involvement Services Office at union@truman.edu or 660.785.4222 for more information.

Pickler Memorial Library is running its Food for Fines program from Oct. 30-Nov. 10. Anyone with a library fine can bring a can of food. For each can donated, $1 in fines will be waived. Food donations will only forgive fines from overdue materials and not replacement costs for lost or damaged books. All of the food collected will be donated to the Pantry for Adair County as part of the University’s annual Big Week of Giving. Everyone, with or without fines, is encouraged to donate food during the week.

Any Truman student planning to live on campus for the 2024-25 school year can now apply for housing online through the housing portal in TruView.

Living on campus provides students with a built-in community of peers, in addition to offering a variety of amenities. All campus residence halls feature furnished rooms, access to laundry facilities and a meal plan. On-campus residents also have all of their utility costs included in the price of their room. More information about applying to live on campus for the 2024-25 academic year can be found online here.

“Students who live on campus perform better academically because of the close connections to fellow students that develop,” said Jamie Van Boxel, director of Residence Life. “It is also more convenient to focus on your academics when you are close to your classroom, study, lab and performance spaces. Having an on-campus meal plan makes it easy to eat a well-balanced meal without taking the time to shop for groceries, prepare meals and do the dishes. We also have some new choices for the coming year, so when you compare housing options side by side, the convenience of living on campus is very plain to see.”

Along with the current existing room options, Residence Life will be offering more deluxe double rooms in some residence halls. Triple occupancy rooms in Blanton-Nason-Brewer Hall, which were rarely in demand, will be converted to deluxe double rooms. Students will now have the option to secure a deluxe double room for the same price as a standard double. For upper-class students, Campbell Apartments will offer single-occupancy options for the first time in recent history.

“Returning students living on campus have more options than a first-year student because returning students self-select their room earlier,” Van Boxel said. “Returning students can group up with their friends to take over a section of a residence hall or a group of apartments in Campbell. Returning students also have the opportunity to live in larger rooms or in an on-campus apartment with more space with a roommate of their choosing.”

The housing portal is open now and can be accessed through TruView. Room selection will take place in the spring semester. Questions about the housing process can be directed to Residence Life at 660.785.4227 or reslife@truman.edu.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi will host a professional clothing drive from 1-4 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Student Union Building Down Under. Donations will be accepted at the Career Center from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 30-Nov. 3. Items must be new, gently used, or in good condition. Shoes will not be accepted.

In partnership with the SERVE Center’s Pop-Up Pantry Nov. 9, the Truman community is invited to “shop” the professional clothing drive items. Shoppers may take what they need, but are asked to only take up to five items per person. It is also recommended to bring a reusable bag. No returns will be accepted.

Truman’s Sustainability Month is underway with several events taking place throughout the month. Since at least 2018, the Sustainability Office has led events in both fall and spring celebrating the environment and spreading awareness. This is the second time the office has put on a full month of sustainable events for fall semester, rather than just a week. The theme this semester is “Small Actions, Big Impact.” At the end of the month, the office will host an afternoon with organizations from campus and the wider community during Sustainability Fest from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 27 in front of the Student Union Building.

Stargazers Open House
7:30 p.m.
Slacklining
4:30-6 p.m.
Oct. 31
Quad

Pumpkin Composting & Battery Drive
12-4 p.m.
Nov. 4
Centennial Hall parking lot

Sigma Phi Epsilon is hosting Festa’s Fall Festival at 2 p.m. Nov. 4 at 1309 South Florence Street.

This fundraising event will include several games such as a pumpkin carving contest, apple bobbing and trivia. The event is named after Roger Festa, a long-time faculty advisor of the fraternity, who passed away in 2018 from oral cancer. All proceeds of the event will be donated in Festa’s memory to the Oral Cancer Foundation, an organization that funds cancer research, advocates for public awareness and provides support to those currently battling cancer.

Truman will conduct a test of the emergency notification system at 10:45 a.m. Nov. 9.
 
Students, faculty and staff who have signed up to receive Truman emergency alert text notifications will get a TruAlert text and email message letting them know it is a test. Those that have not signed up for emergency text messaging can do so through TruView.
 
To sign up, log in to TruView and click on the “Truman” tab. Click the “Update Emergency Text Messaging Information” under “Update and View My Personal Information” (lower right screen). A maximum of three phones can be registered to receive texts. Confirm information in the same manner.
 
In addition to text and email messages, an emergency alert will be displayed on all Truman computer systems (Windows and Mac) where the Alertus software has been installed. This should include nearly all workstations on campus. There will also be alerts sent to digital signs in Violette Hall, Magruder Hall, Ophelia Parrish and the Health Sciences Building, to the Truman channel on the cable televisions in residence halls, and to classrooms with the Truman touch-pad control system installed.
 
The campus is also encouraged to review the emergency procedures. It is important the entire community is familiar with these procedures to understand how to respond appropriately in several emergency situations.

The Anthropology Club is co-sponsoring an event with Dr. John Smelcer, one of the last native speakers of the Ahtna tribe in Alaska, at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 in the Del and Norma Robison Planetarium.

Smelcer will share his favorite tribal myths with Truman students, faculty and families in the planetarium. The planetarium itself will be decorated to look like an Alaskan wilderness, complete with Northern Lights. This event is free and for Native American Heritage Month.

CLAS 310: Classical Antiquity on Screen taught by Amy Norgard is available to take in the spring 2024 semester.

This class will study film, TV and video games set in/around the ancient Mediterranean. Particular attention will be paid to how different forms of screen media influence each other and work together to communicate different notions of the ancient past to modern audiences. Class time may be spent in Truman’s Esports gaming facility playing ancient world video games. Students will be able to access the Esports center outside of class to log hours for gaming homework.

This class counts for the arts and humanities perspective and the aesthetic area of the film studies minor. Contact anorgard@truman.edu with any questions.

Any student with an interest in Chinese language, Asian studies or foreign languages can take CHIN 101 in the spring semester.

This course will be taught by Hui-Chiao “Sally” Wang, an experienced Chinese-language educator from Taiwan and this year’s Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) grantee. With a deep understanding of Chinese culture and extensive experience in language education, Wang is dedicated to enriching students’ learning experiences. Under her guidance students will not only develop essential language skills, but also gain a profound appreciation for Chinese culture.
 
CHIN 101 offers students an excellent chance to develop linguistic and cultural proficiency, preparing them for success in the interconnected world and unlocking numerous career opportunities in their future.

Truman utilizes and supports several mobile applications to help the Truman community more easily access information resources as well as receive personal and timely notifications. The following tools can be used to access many important information systems on campus.
 
Learning Management System Mobile Application
The D2L Brightspace mobile application, called Pulse, can be found here:

• Brightspace Pulse (Google Play)
• Brightspace Pulse (App Store) - Apple

TruView Mobile Application
The mobile application for the TruView Portal can be found here:

• Truman TruView (Google Play)
• Truman TruView (App Store) - Apple

Microsoft Email Mobile Application
Install M365 Outlook on mobile devices to view email:

• Microsoft Outlook (Google Play)
• Microsoft Outlook (App Store) - Apple

Multi-Factor Authentication Mobile Application

• Duo Mobile for Android (Google Play)
• Duo Mobile App for iOS (App Store) - Apple

See this site for more information on setting up DUO.

There will be an outdoor siren test Nov. 2 to test some of the new E911 equipment before it goes online.