Vol. 9 No. 18 - Jan. 25, 2005

A team of eight peer reviewers, selected by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, will be on the Truman campus from Jan. 31-Feb. 2, culminating a process of self-study which began in fall 2003, and which has involved a large number of faculty, students, staff and administrators.

Truman is one of the first institutions to seek accreditation using new criteria developed for the Program to Evaluate and Advance Quality (PEAQ). Although neither the process nor scope of the decennial accreditation process has altered, the goals and focus have changed considerably.

“We are pleased with both the process and results of our self-study,” Self-Study Chair Debra Kerby said. “Truman’s unique characteristics and outstanding achievements are evident throughout. Our dedication to student learning, to affordability, and to continuous improvement through assessment all fit well with the goals and concepts of PEAQ. New opportunities for future development and effort have become apparent. It has been a productive undertaking for the University and for all those involved.”

During their visit, the “consultant-evaluators” will gather information for their final report and recommendations. They will supplement self-study documentation in the Resource Center and other locations, observe the campus and engage in formal and informal discussions with students, faculty, staff and administrators.

Members of the Truman community can help by becoming familiar with the self-study process and conclusions by assisting consultant-evaluators on campus and providing accurate information. The entire self-study report “Realizing the Promise,” along with a concise Executive Summary, can be viewed at the VPAA Web site http://vpaa.truman.edu/communications/hlc/ . For further information, contact Doug Davenport at ddavenpo@truman.edu or Karen Smith at ksmith@truman.edu.

The Vice President for Academic Affairs is inviting grant proposals that examine University-wide issues as well as discipline-specific questions. Faculty and staff may submit proposals in a variety of areas, including, but not limited to, improving curriculum, developing and refining student learning outcomes in the disciplines, improving retention and graduation rates, enhancing student success, enhancing student assessment motivation and improving current assessment tools.

The Assessment Grants are directed toward the basic goals of improving the quality of student learning and development and enhancing the culture of assessment through faculty and staff participation in assessment research and scholarship. All competitive grant proposals should focus on the use of assessment data to answer questions of importance to the University community.

Applications are due to the division or supervisor offices by March 1, and to the VPAA Office by March 8. See http://assessment.truman.edu/grants/ for grant guidelines, past approved projects and a printable application form.

Seventeen members of the Truman Forensic Union braved sub-zero temperatures Jan. 14-16 in Seward, Neb., for the first annual “Sun and Sleet Swing.” The team returned with more than 30 awards from the set of two invitational speech and debate tournaments co-hosted by Concordia University and Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif. The debaters ranked second in individual events sweepstakes for the Concordia half of the weekend and third in the Azusa half. Additionally, the team placed third in the debate and overall sweepstakes categories.

Truman debaters placed three teams in elimination rounds of parliamentary debate including the team of Tyson Helder, senior political science and communication double major from Sioux Falls, S.D., and Sam Hodge, freshman communication and political science major from Blue Springs, Mo., who reached the tournament semifinals. Reaching the quarterfinals were the freshman team of Sarah Archer, pre-business administration and accounting major from Kansas City, Mo., and Cody Snyder, political science and economics major from Neosho, Mo., along with the duo of Meghana Kunkala, senior biology major from Hattiesburg, Miss., and Dylan Rothermel, freshman chemistry major from Homewood, Ill. Five out of the top 10 speaker awards went to Truman team members as well.

In the individual events competition, Kunkala captured the tournament championship in extemporaneous speaking while Snyder earned the same honor in the impromptu speaking category. Elizabeth Hobbs, junior biology major, brought back a range of honors including second place finishes in both persuasive speaking and communication analysis events. Hobbs took second in the quadrathon for her diverse performance overall. Stefani Wittenauer, freshman political science and communication double major from Belleville, Ill., and Erin Palmer, freshman political science and justice systems double major from Kansas City, Mo., placed second in duo interpretation. Wittenauer also ranked third in the quadrathon.

The Azusa portion of the tournament brought similar successes to many of these students, adding Alex Hayden, freshman psychology major from Jefferson City, Mo., to the list of winners. Hayden took fifth in impromptu speaking.

Two new annual scholarships were recently established through the Truman State University Foundation.

Gregory Meier, a 1989 business administration and accounting graduate, and Cindy Dodson, a 1987 business administration and business education graduate, established these scholarships to assist current Truman State University students. Each scholarship for $750 will be awarded annually for the next four years. The 2005-2006 academic year marks the first time the scholarships will be awarded.

Meier and Dodson met as students while participating in activities at the Newman Center and established the Gregory and Donna Meier and Friends Newman Center Scholarship to honor the organization and assist current students. Preference in awarding will be given to students of junior status or above who are active members of an off-campus service or charitable organization such as the Newman Center.

The Gregory and Donna Meier and Friends Business Scholarship will be given to students, junior or above, majoring in business administration or accountancy, demonstrating leadership through at least one campus organization. Students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and can not be receiving other academic scholarships.

The Debra Fortenberry Nichols Brass Scholarship was recently established through the Truman State University Foundation as well.

This endowed scholarship was established by Dr. David C. Nichols and Debra Fortenberry Nichols in honor of Dr. Gregory Jones, professor of trumpet, in recognition of his contributions to music at Truman State University.

The first scholarship will be awarded in 2005-2006 and will be awarded to an incoming freshman trumpet or horn player. Preference will be given to music majors.

A. Kay Anderson has been named Truman’s registrar, effective July 1.

She has served as the interim registrar since 2001. Anderson joined the Truman staff in 1997.

She received her bachelor’s degree in English and German and master’s degree in counseling from Truman State University.

Anderson is active in numerous committees and organizations at Truman. She is currently the Staff Council chair. She has been a United Way co-chair at Truman for the past two years. She is a member of the Undergraduate Council and participates in the implementation of the the SCT Banner system, including the student and CAPP teams. In addition, Anderson serves as Truman’s transfer articulation officer.

She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi. In addition, she is the staff adviser for Student Senate and the adviser for Alpha Sigma Gamma.

In order to ensure the security of the Truman network and computer systems, the time for Password Tuesday has approached again. Just as in September 2004, ITS will be expiring all passwords for individual computer accounts for faculty, staff and students. Beginning at 7 a.m. Feb. 1, users will need to reset their TRUMAN account passwords in order to access the TRUMAN network, TruView, Blackboard and the Student and Employee tabs within TruView (also known as Banner Web). After 7 a.m. Feb. 1, each user will need to change his/her TRUMAN account password in order to access these and other resources.

Since the process to expire passwords will run at 7 a.m. Feb. 1, any users that change their passwords before Password Tuesday will again need to reset their password after 7 a.m. on Password Tuesday. Therefore, the only action faculty, staff or students should take now is to begin thinking about choosing a secure password that they wish to use on that day. The new password must have a minimum of six alpha/numeric/special characters. ITS also recommends that your password include a combination of upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers and special characters. It should not be an obvious letter or number sequence. A helpful method for choosing a difficult new password and remembering it is to use an acronym of a favorite line of poetry or quote, or even a song or movie title. Even a phrase that has meaning for you can make a great mnemonic for remembering your password. For example, “Harry S Truman called himself the 32nd president” could be used to remember the following password: hStcht32p! What ever you choose, try to pick something that will be easy for you to remember but difficult for someone else to guess.

On Password Tuesday, when you log into a Windows-based campus computer, you should automatically be prompted to change your password. If you do not normally use a Windows-based PC, after 7 a.m. on Password Tuesday, you will need to access the following Web site to change your password: http://secure.truman.edu/password. After changing your password you will then be able to access computing resources such as TruView and Blackboard in addition to others resources.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Help Desk at 785.4544.

The Truman physics discipline will be presenting a series of five public lectures in celebration of the World Year of Physics 2005 and the 100th Anniversary of Albert Einstein’s “Miracle Year.”

Everyone is welcome to attend these lectures, which will be appropriate for a general audience. Each talk will last about one hour, and will be followed by a reception with refreshments.

The first of these lectures will take place at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 1, in Violette Hall 1000. Ken Hahn, professor of physics, will speak on “The Relativity of Space and Time.”

For a schedule or more information on the lectures, please visit http://physics.truman.edu or call Matt Beaky at 785.4594.

Open Session for Students
4-5 p.m.
Jan. 31
Violette Hall 1000

Open Session for Staff
1-2 p.m.
Feb. 1
Violette Hall 1000

Open Session for Faculty
4-5 p.m.
Feb. 1
Violette Hall 1010

All are invited to participate in the campus-wide events honoring Martin Luther King Jr. this week.

Unity Luncheon “Alabama 1963: Jazz Musicians Respond”
Doors open at 11:15 a.m.
Buffet lunch begins at 11:30 p.m.
Performance begins at noon.
Jan. 26
SUB Georgian Room
Reservations are required.

The parking lot on the corner of Franklin and Patterson will be closed from 7 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Jan. 26 to allow for parking for community members attending the luncheon.

Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium
3:30 p.m.
Jan. 28
SUB Activities Room
The moderated five-person panel symposium will include insights and brief reflections on King’s speech, “Bring Us the Ballot.” Refreshments will be served.

To aid the millions of children and families affected by the recent earthquake and resulting tsunamis in South Asia and Eastern Africa, students from The Truman State University Milan Volunteers are making a vital impact in supporting UNICEF’s efforts to deliver relief and reconstruction assistance to all the affected countries.

Donation envelopes are available on Truman’s campus
Outside of Magruder Hall 3031
Centennial Hall 101

Cash donations should be put in a sealed envelope and placed under the door.

For more information or donations questions and confirmations, e-mail Jonathan Terry at jterry@truman.edu.

Students employed by the University in 2004 may pick up their W-2 tax forms from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Jan. 25-26, in the Payroll Office, McClain 105. A photo ID is required to pick up the form.

All W-2s remaining after 4 p.m., Jan. 26, will be mailed to students’ permanent address. Reissued W-2 form requests will be taken as of Feb. 14 with a three-day processing time.

Faculty/Staff W-2 tax forms will be available in each division/department Jan. 26.

Jon Beck, associate professor of computer science, had his paper “Using the CVS Version Management System in a Software Engineering Course” accepted for presentation at MSCCC, the third Mid-South College Computing Conference, April 1-2, at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss.

Taner Edis, assistant professor of physics, had his review of Susan Haack’s “Defending Science—Within Reason: Between Scientism and Cynicism” published in Reports of the National Center for Science Education 24: 3-4 54 (2004).

Warren Gooch, professor of music theory/composition, has had an original musical composition accepted for publication. “Let the Nations Tremble!” for chorus and piano will be published by Alliance Publications, Inc.

Teresa Heckert, associate professor of psychology, and Colleen Drazen, senior psychology and English double major from St. Louis, presented “Relations Among Student Effort, Class Difficulty Appropriateness and Course Evaluations” at the 27th Annual National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology, Jan. 2-5, in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla. Truman alumnae Amanda Latier and Amy Ringwald were co-authors.

Daniel R. Mandell, associate professor of history, recently had two entries published in the New Oxford Dictionary of National Biography titled “Mayhew, Thomas” and “Waban.”

Antonio Scuderi, associate professor of Italian, was invited to translate one of his articles, which was published last year in Modern Languages Review (UK). “The Cooked and the Raw: Zoomorphic Symbolism in Dario Fo’s Giullarate” will appear in a collection of essays on the Italian Nobel playwright, Dario Fo, published by the university press of of the Universita degli Studi di Pisa.

The Writing Center in MC 303 is now open for consultations with students.

The Badminton Club will meet from 3-4 p.m., Saturdays, on the eastern court at the Student Recreation Center. For more information, contact Fatima Smith at 349.0955 or at b2831@truman.edu or visit http://badminton.truman.edu.

The University Art Gallery at Truman State University presents “Society of Illustrators -An Historical View,” an exhibit of 50 original illustrations, five from each of the 10 decades of the 20th century. The show will be open until Feb. 25. The show, produced by the prestigious Society of Illustrators based in New York, will explore the changing role of the illustrator. It will feature early black and white illustrations, story illustrations and advertising art for cigarettes, automobiles and travel among others. There will be several events in addition to the opening reception. “A Night at the Gallery by Daryl Fazio,” assistant professor of art, will be at 6 p.m., Jan. 31, in the University Art Gallery. Rusty Nelson, associate professor of art, will speak at a “Gallery Talk” at 6 p.m., Feb. 7, in the University Art Gallery. The University Art Gallery at Truman is located on the ground floor of Ophelia Parrish. Gallery exhibits, talks and most other events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday from noon-4:30 p.m. This exhibit is sponsored in part by AIGA and the Residential College Program. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Tentative summer and fall 2005 schedules are now available via TruView. To view the schedules, select “search open course list” from either the student or the faculty tab.

Students living off campus should update their local mailing address and telephone number with the University via TruView. Address and phone number changes can also be made in the Registrar’s Office, MC 104. Students are responsible for all information sent to their local mailing address from University offices and personnel conducting University business.

May 2005 undergraduate degree candidates should make any needed changes to their course schedules that have been made since they submitted their graduation applications. The applications can be updated between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday-Friday, in the Registrar’s Office, MC 104. Candidates do not need to complete a new application. To remain on the graduation list, however, all changes to their degree plans must be on file in the Registrar’s Office no later than Jan. 31.

Sigma Kappa is having their first informal philanthropy recruitment event from 7-8:30 p.m., Jan. 25, in the SUB Spanish Room. All female students interested in joining this national social sorority are welcome to attend.

The Weekly Lunch Series session previously scheduled for Jan. 26 has been canceled in order to facilitate attendance at the Unity Luncheon.

Auditions for the Vagina Monologues, sponsored by the Women’s Resource Center, will take place from 8-10 p.m., Jan. 26, in the BH Little Theatre. Auditions are open to all female students, faculty and staff, and no preparation is necessary. Scripts are located in the main entrance of Ryle Hall. Call Samantha Cook at 665.2118 for more information.

Sigma Chi Delta is having an information night from 8-8:30 p.m., Jan. 26, in BH 252. Come get to know the girls of Truman’s only local social sorority. Call Valerie Robinson for more information at 665.9516.

Alpha Phi Omega will have informational meetings from 8-9 p.m., Jan. 26, in the SUB Alumni Room, and from 8-9 p.m., Jan. 27, in MG 2050. Alpha Phi Omega is a national coed service fraternity. Contact Shaun Kastner at 785.5804 or shaunkastner@truman.edu for more information.

The Women’s and Gender Studies Committee is calling for papers for their 10th annual conference March 3-5, in honor of Women’s History Month. The committee invites abstracts from all members of the Truman and Kirksville communities including Truman graduates now residing elsewhere. Internationalist points of view are especially welcome. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 26. Contact Linda Seidel at lseidel@truman.edu for more information.

The Pre-Law Club is meeting from 6:30-7:30 p.m., Jan. 27, in VH 1430. Those students considering a possible career in the legal field are welcome to attend.

The Truman State University Foundation Study Abroad scholarship applications are due Jan. 28. A special application is required and is available in the Center for International Education Abroad, Kirk Building 120.

The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and coed business fraternity Phi Beta Lambda are having an open informational meeting at 7 p.m., Jan. 31, and Feb. 1, in the BH Little Theatre.

Teach English in France. The French government will hire up to 1,700 American speakers of English, ages 20-30, to serve in paid internships of 12 hours per week as English assistants and teacher’s aides in the elementary and secondary schools. Currently, three Truman alumni are teaching in this program, and dozens have done it in the past. Learn more about this program on the Web at http://www.ciep.fr/en/assistantetr/pays/usa.html and http://frenchculture.org/education/support/assistant/index.html or e-mail gsiewert@truman.edu for more information. Applications must arrive in Chicago no later than Feb. 1.

Phi Kappa Phi announces Graduate Fellowships worth $2,000-$5,000 for graduate study. Truman PKP active members who plan to be full-time graduate students next year should submit applications to the local chapter office by Feb. 1. Details and applications may be picked up in the Center for International Education or from Wynne Wilbur, OP 1229, 785.4435.

Cardinal Key and Blue Key are sponsoring their annual Red Cross blood drive from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Feb. 1-3, in the SUB Activities Room. Contact Sara Kate Anderson by phone at 627.5182 or e-mail at ska392@truman.edu for more information.

The Freshmen Activities Coordinating Team (FACT) applications are now available in the Center for Student Involvement. Completed forms are due by 5 p.m., Feb. 2, in the CSI. Contact Maggie Wolcott, FACT coordinator, for more information at 785.4222.

Students interested in studying United States/ United Kingdom comparative educational systems at Edge Hill College in Northwest England this summer are invited to an informational meeting at noon or 6 p.m., Feb. 3, in VH 2351. Edge Hill is one of the leading teacher training institutions in England. The recommended criteria for admission is junior status or above with a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.

The University Observatory will be open to the public, weather permitting, from 8-10 p.m., Feb. 3.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) will meet from 4:30-6 p.m., Feb. 4, in the University Club. E-mail Marc Becker at marc@truman.edu for more information.

Cardinal Key will have several rush meetings. The first meeting will be from 1-3:30 p.m., Feb. 6, in the SUB Governors Room. They will meet from 6-9 p.m., Feb. 9, in the SUB Activities Room. An invite only rush event will be from 7-8:15 p.m., Feb. 13, in the SUB Spanish Room. For more information, contact Candice Murdock at d1123@truman.edu or go to http://cardinalkey.truman.edu.

The Society of the Prim Roses is having recruitment at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 7, in the SUB Spanish Room, and Feb. 8-9, in the SUB Alumni Room. Call Monica at 665.7389 for more information.

The Lincoln Contest will offer winners in each a division a trip to Washington, D.C. Applicants can submit their work in the form of artwork, an essay or an oratory. The deadline for submission is Lincoln’s birthday, Feb. 12. These contests are made possible by alumni Ethel Schwengel and the late Fred Schwengel. For more information about the contest or prompt, contact Barry Poyner at 785.4063.

The Upward Bound Project is offering employment opportunities for the 2005 high school summer session, June 12-July 22. Upward Bound is a college preparatory program serving northeast Missouri high school students. Positions are available for instructors in language arts, chemistry, physics, and journalism/yearbook. Residence hall staff, night supervisor, photographer and videographer positions are also open. In addition, the program needs a mentor/tutor for college freshmen to work from June 5-July 28. Applications are available on the Web at http://ub.truman.edu or by contacting the Upward Bound Office in KB 220. Completed applications are due Feb. 14.