Vol. 23 No. 14 - Nov. 26, 2018

Truman will celebrate the holiday season with a performance by m-pact at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 in Baldwin Hall Auditorium as part of the Kohlenberg Lyceum Series.

M-pact is a group respected worldwide as a cutting-edge trailblazer in the realm of a cappella music. Imagine the smooth soul of Sam Smith, the percussive power of “Stomp,” the funk and groove of Bruno Mars, the sophisticated harmonies of Take 6 and the brass bite of the Michael Bublé Big Band – all created by the human voice alone.

As seen in the PBS special “L.A. Holiday Celebration,” the warmth and elegance of m-pact pairs perfectly with an evening of holiday favorites. Audiences can’t help but get in the giving spirit as the guys share selections from their award-winning album, “The Carol Commission,” plus a few other surprises.

Tickets for m-pact are $10 each, including tax. They can be purchased at the cashier window in McClain Hall, at Edna Campbells in downtown Kirksville or online at lyceum.truman.edu. If tickets are still available on the day of the performance, they can be purchased at Baldwin Hall Auditorium at 7 p.m. For more information, call 660.785.4016.

The Athletics Department continues to be a leader among national, conference and state public institutions in the latest release of the NCAA Academic Success Rate data.

Truman was named one of five NCAA Division II public schools nationally with an ASR of 88 percent or higher. That was also tops among the six public schools in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the eight Division II public schools in the state of Missouri. Bulldog student-athletes were 40th out of 317 Division II schools, seventh out of 15 conference members and trailed only Rockhurst, Maryville and Drury in the state.

Academic Success Rate is calculated by the NCAA and considers only student-athletes enrolled. The rate is typically more accurate than the federal graduation rate since it includes transfers, mid-year enrollees and non-scholarship student-athletes. The rate is recorded six years after initial collegiate enrollment.

The national average for Division II schools was an ASR of 68 percent and all Truman sports had an ASR above the national average of their respective sport.

Stop by the pizza party for a complimentary meal of pizza, veggies, drinks and cookies. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are available on request. This will be an opportunity for students to pick up other gifts such as their first official Bulldog Forever alumni T-shirt.

Those students who cannot attend may stop by the Office of Advancement, located in McClain Hall 205, after Dec. 10 to pick up their T-shirt and goodie bag. T-shirts will also be given out at commencement, immediately following the ceremony.

Questions regarding the pizza party, goodie bags or T-shirts can be directed to Jordan Smith, coordinator of alumni relations, or check out the Facebook event.

Details on commencement can be found online at truman.edu/registrar/commencement or through the Facebook event. Those wishing to share their experiences through social media are encouraged to use #TrumanGraduation, #TrumanGrad or #BulldogForever.

Dr. Elizabeth Barkley will host a full-day workshop for faculty from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 8 in the Student Union Building.

Barkley is a co-author of “Student Engagement Techniques,” “Learning Assessment Techniques” and “Interactive Learning.” Recently, she has been announced as one of the keynote speakers at the 2019 Teaching Professor Conference in New Orleans, La., but she will present first at Truman.

More information about Barkley can be found here. The schedule for the workshop will be as follows:

Terms of Engagement: Understanding and Promoting Student Engagement
9-11:30 a.m.
Student Union Building Georgian Rooms
A common challenge for many college teachers today is achieving persistent, high-quality student engagement. In this interactive workshop, Barkley will offer a dynamic, five-component model for understanding what ‘student engagement’ means and then use the framework to identify strategies for promoting engagement. Attendees will leave with a repertoire of practical strategies for teaching in a manner that fosters sustained attention and elicits students’ best work in today’s challenging teaching and learning context.

Buffet lunch
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Student Union Building Activities Room

Making Lectures Interactive and Engaging
12:30-3 p.m.
Student Union Building Georgian Rooms
Educators today would be hard-pressed to identify a teaching technique more heartily maligned than the lecture. But lecturing can be very effective if done well and in ways that promote active learning. In this interactive workshop, attendees will learn strategies for creating and presenting more engaging lectures that also support student learning through class activities designed to encourage student preparation, attention and application of newly learned information.

Faculty who plan to attend need to RSVP here by 5 p.m. Jan. 4.

While attending the 2018 National Communication Association (NCA) conference, Nov. 10, director of forensics Chris Outzen was recognized with a national award for speech and debate educators.

Outzen was awarded the Bob R. Derryberry Award for New Forensic Educators from Pi Kappa Delta, one of the largest national forensic organizations in the United States. The award recognizes one recipient each year who has made outstanding contributions to forensics in the first five years of their career as forensic educators.
 
After completing his MFA-Forensics, Outzen joined the Truman forensic union in the fall of 2014. He first served as director of individual events in 2014-15, then as director of forensics since fall 2015. In addition to his coaching and administrative duties with the team, Outzen has served as president of the Missouri Association of Forensic Activities, vice chair and division planner of argumentation and forensics at NCA and as an at-large council member for the National Forensic Association. Additionally, he fulfills a number of reviewing, responding and committee roles as part of each of the aforementioned positions. He also teaches a number of different classes in the Communication Department oriented around public speaking and performance.
 
Outzen said he is thrilled to work with the amazing Truman speech and debate students every day and is grateful to Pi Kappa Delta for this meaningful and affirming recognition.
 
Those interested in learning more about the Truman forensic union can contact Chris Outzen or Craig Hennigan, assistant director of forensics.

The Truman chapter of the Association of American University Professors will host a meeting open to all faculty members at 3 p.m. Nov. 27 in Baldwin Hall 100. For more information, visit the website, Facebook page or contact Marc Rice, chapter president.

An informational for the Spain study abroad trip is scheduled at 5 p.m. Nov. 28 in McClain Hall 305.

This summer study abroad opportunity will take place in Salamanca, Spain, from May 17 through July 11, 2019. While in Spain, students will stay with a host family and travel to some of the country’s historically and culturally significant cities including Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, León, Segovia and Mérida. Apart from studying at one of the best language institutes in Spain, students will have the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the language and culture of Spain.

Students who are accepted will spend seven weeks studying at Academia Mester, earning 12 credits. Nine credits can count toward a Spanish minor; Spanish majors can bring six credits. All students will advance their speaking and writing abilities as they take Spanish grammar and composition (advanced and superior levels), Spanish conversation (advanced and superior levels), peninsular culture and civilization and either topics of Spanish literature or Spanish for the medical professions. Students must have taken Spanish 330, Spanish Grammar and Composition, prior to travel.

This trip is sponsored by the Department of Classical and Modern Languages. Any interested students are encouraged to attend or email Stacy Bryant or James Hammerstrand for more information.

The Education Department will be offering a training session about trauma-informed instruction for wounded students to both pre-service and in-service educators. Under Missouri Senate Bill 638, the state launched its Trauma-Informed School Initiative, part of which includes increasing professional development concerning trauma-informed instruction and trauma-informed schools. As such, this training session for teachers will address what trauma is, the effects of trauma on students, strategies to teach students affected by trauma and more. This session will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 28 in Violette Hall 1010 and last approximately one hour.

Study Abroad Ambassadors will host a holiday decorating event from 7-8 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Student Union Building Alumni Room. Participants can decorate ornaments and cookies.

Visiting lecturer Jim Ralph, a professor at Middlebury College, will present “Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Most Relevant Civil Rights Campaign: The Chicago Freedom Movement Reconsidered” at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 in Baldwin Hall Little Theatre. Ralph has been studying the movement for more than 30 years. He is the author of “Northern Protest: Martin Luther King, Jr., Chicago, and the Civil Rights Activism in the North.”

The Department of Classical and Modern Language will host a poster exhibition of Special Topics in Chinese Culture from 12-1:15 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Student Union Building Down Under. Students with various cultural backgrounds will present their research projects about Chinese culture. A variety of topics ranging from traditional Chinese culture to modernization will be covered. Light refreshments will be served.

Andrea Aderton, a licensed Master Social Worker, will speak at the Social Work Club meeting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 29 in Barnett Hall 2227. Aderton, an assistant clinical professor at the University of Missouri School of Social Work, will discuss Mizzou’s Master of Social Work program, advice for applications and her personal journey in social work. All interested students are encouraged to attend.

The English, linguistics and creative writing will host their biannual Capstone Conference Nov. 29-30.
 
Fifty-one students from across all three disciplines will present 10- to 12-minute presentations.
 
Alumna Renee Eveland, J.D., has been invited to serve as the guest speaker. Eveland earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Truman in 1998. After working for Buchroeders Jewelers in Columbia, Mo., for four years, she attended law school at the University of Nebraska where she earned her law degree with distinction in 2005. She has been employed at Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather L.L.P. in Lincoln, Neb., since 2016.
 
Eveland’s practice is focused on civil defense litigation and appellate advocacy. She has argued successfully before the Nebraska Supreme Court, the Nebraska Court of Appeals and the former Nebraska Workers’ Compensation appellate review panel. She received the first annual Nebraska Defense Counsel Association “Rising Star” award in 2011, presented to a Nebraska attorney practicing 10 years or fewer who has exhibited skill in defending businesses and individuals in civil matters with the highest degree of professionalism and ethics and who also has exhibited leadership, mentoring and community services outside the practice of law.
 
The Capstone Conference will take place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 29 and 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Nov. 30 in the Student Union Building Georgian Rooms A and B.
 
Eveland is scheduled to present “Truth and Advocacy: What We Learned From the Justice Kavanaugh Hearings” at 12 p.m. Nov. 29 and “English Degrees at Work – Careers in Trial Law” at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 30.

The Staff Council is sponsoring a Holiday Door Decorating contest for staff, faculty and students. Those interested in participating should email Diane Sandefur by Dec. 5. Judging will take place Dec. 10.

Nabil Alghalith, professor of business administration, will have his manuscript entitled, “Tesla: Innovation with Information Technology” published in the International Journal of Business Research and Information Technology, vol. 5, no. 1, winter 2018.

W. Michael Ashcraft, chair and professor of philosophy and religion, presented a lecture called “New Religions and Those Who Study Them” at the College of Wooster Nov. 8, Wooster, Ohio.

Jerrold Hirsch, professor emeritus of history, presented a paper, “White Eyes, Black Voices: Lawrence Gellert, John Lomax, and African American Folksong,” at the annual meeting of the American Folklore Society, in Buffalo, N.Y.

Huping Ling, professor of history, donated seven books authored/edited by her to Truman’s Special Collections Department in Pickler Memorial Library. Among the donations were “Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia” and “Chinese Chicago: Race, Transnational Migration, and Community Since 1870.”
Huping Ling (left) presents her donation to Amanda Langendoerfer, associate dean of libraries for special collections and museums.

A total of 15 football players were named all-conference voted by the Great Lakes Valley Conference coaches. In addition to his first-team honors, Lawrence Woods also received Special Teams Player of the Year. Other GLVC first-team players include Jordan Salima, Nick Verbeck, Sam Reeves and Jordan Siegel. Jacob Morris, Jake Floyd, Bryan Edwards and Travis Myerson were voted as second-team choices. Honorable mentions include C.J. Brown, Zach Nadle, Brock Rohler, Andy Satulla, Josh Scheiderer and Jacob VanDoren. Jaden Barr was Truman’s nominee for the GLVC Spaulding Sportsmanship award for the fourth-straight season. Truman received the team Sportsmanship Award from the league. For full bios of the players, click here.

Truman was named the top public in Missouri according to WalletHub. Among both public and private universities, Truman was second overall. To determine the top-performing schools at the lowest possible costs to undergraduates, WalletHub compared nearly 1,000 higher-education institutions in the U.S. across 30 key measures. The data set is grouped into seven categories, such as student selectivity, cost and financing and career outcomes. The metrics range from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.

Truman has been ranked at No. 1 in Value Colleges ranking of the Top 25 Affirmative Consent Schools: Preventing Sexual Assault on College Campuses. The list highlights institutions that have put consent in a central place in their culture, whether through student organizations, service and research centers, and/or official policy.

The 2019 Study Abroad Foundation Scholarship applications are now open until Jan. 31.

The available scholarships are for students studying abroad through a Truman State University-sponsored program in 2019 or the spring of 2020. Click here to apply in TruView or log in to TruView, go to the Student Tab, Student Finances, Foundation Scholarship Application. Scholarships will be applied just prior to study abroad trip.

These scholarships are established by generous alumni and friends of Truman State University.