Vol. 14, No. 9 - Oct. 27, 2009

The 2009 Truman State University New Music Festival, taking place Oct. 29-30, will include two free public concerts featuring music by three guest composers and eight local composers, performed by more than 200 musicians.

Six world premiere performances will also be included.

Guest composers include: Vivian Fung, winner of the international 2009 Truman State-MACRO Composition Competition; John Mayrose, winner of the international 2009 Percussive Arts Society Competition; and Randy Haldeman, internationally-recognized composer, conductor and clinician of choral music.

Fung teaches at The Juilliard School of Music and has gained a prominent worldwide reputation for her stirring and highly original music, which reflects her interest in world cultures.

Mayrose has taught music and electronic music courses at Duke University. His work is widely performed and has gained international recognition.

Haldeman, director of choral studies at the University or North Carolina-Charlotte, is widely respected as a composer, performer and conductor.

All three composers have extensive performance histories and have been recipients of many awards and prestigious commissions.

Concert I of the New Music Festival will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 29 in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall. The concert will feature music by all three guest composers, including premieres of newly-commissioned works composed by Fung and Mayrose.

Truman ensembles performing that evening will include the Clarinet Choir, Percussion Ensemble I, Wind Symphony I, the President’s String Quartet and two choirs—Cantoria and the Chamber Choir.

Concert II will take place at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 30, also in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall. The concert will feature acoustic and electronic music by Fung and by seven local composers and will be performed by Truman faculty and students.

The festival is sponsored by the Epsilon Pi chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, the Upsilon Phi chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the Mostly Live Composers Society and the Truman Department of Music.

For more information contact Warren Gooch at 785.4429 or wgooch@truman.edu.

Truman students who traveled to Cape Town, South Africa last summer to participate in the Study Abroad program, “Democracy and Human Rights in South Africa,” will share their experiences at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Student Union Building Georgian Room C.

Twelve students from Truman traveled to Cape Town from May 14–June 5. The trip gave them an opportunity to live and work in one of most beautiful cities in the world while studying the multiple concerns facing South Africa as it strives to become a progressive democracy.

Students and faculty at Sivunyile National Baptist Church in Guguletu township. From left: Elaine McDuff, Artesia Willis, Breanne Palmer, Kathrine Olsen Flaate, Cameron Poole (back), Austin Roberts (front), Adam Conway, Megan Turnure, Clint Mohs, Erin Erhardt, Colette Linton, Krista Goodman and Abigail Helmick.

The heart of the program was an internship opportunity that directly involved students with institutions that are wrestling with South Africa’s troubled past and helping create a modern, democratic civil society. Each student worked for 10 days with a non-governmental agency whose mission is to address issues of social injustice and their continuing impact on formerly disenfranchised South Africans, especially women, children, immigrants and AIDS victims.

The other days were spent visiting museums and historical sites, and hearing lectures on contemporary political and economic issues in South Africa.

The public is welcome to attend the presentation, and refreshments will be served.

Applications are now available for the summer internships at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Mo.

The University will place two summer interns at the Truman Library. All juniors and seniors meeting University guidelines for internships are eligible and can earn between five and 10 credit hours. Interns must be self-starters with strong written and verbal communication skills, as well as strong organizational skills, basic computer skills and the ability to work independently on multiple tasks.

After being selected by a University committee and the Truman Library staff, interns can work in a variety of areas at the Museum and Library, including but not limited to: archives, public relations, marketing, educational programming, Museum development or visitor services.

Assignment it based on the interns’ abilities and interests, as well as the Library’s needs. This is an eight-week, 40-hour-a-week internship.

For an application for the internship, contact Jeff Gall, Department of History, at 785.7747 or jgall@truman.edu.

The Truman Library internship is unpaid, but offers a five-hour (in-state) tuition scholarship, which is made possible by a generous endowment set up by the family of Fred and Ethel Schwengel.

Born on an Iowa farm in 1906, Fred Schwengel came to Truman (then Northeast Missouri State Teacher’s College) on a scholarship. He made the most of his education after graduating in 1930, teaching high school history for several years in Kirksville and Shelbina, Mo. He later returned to his native Iowa to pursue business in the Davenport area. In 1944, he entered public service and spent 10 years in the Iowa House of Representatives. In 1954, Schwengel was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for 16 years. His love of history led him to found the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, for which he served as president for 30 years. He passed away in 1993.

C. Ethel (Cassity) Schwengel graduated from the University in 1932. She shared her husband’s love of history, and together they donated an extensive collection of books, artifacts and memorabilia devoted to Abraham Lincoln to the University. They also created and funded an annual Lincoln Contest that challenges students to use art, oratory and essay writing to rediscover the ideals of the nation’s 16th president.

The Schwengel guidelines require selected interns “immerse themselves in the study of President Truman.” At the conclusion of the internship, the intern will prepare a paper on his or her experiences at the Museum and Library and on a specific study of the Truman presidency. The internship schedule will provide time for research for the project.

Since 2000, the first year the University offered the Truman Library internship, 13 students have participated in the program.

Greg A. Gerhardt, one of the nation’s foremost researchers on Parkinson’s disease, continues to make his mark on Truman State University by giving back to his alma mater.

Noting his appreciation for the preparation he received at Truman, Gerhardt recently made a generous gift commitment to boost the undergraduate research experience for Truman students. Gerhardt’s multi-year pledge of $500,000 made through the University’s “Bright Minds Bright Futures” campaign will fund the Greg A. Gerhardt Summer Science Research Fellowship for Excellence.

Truman prides itself on the research opportunities available to its undergraduates, and the fellowship established by Gerhardt will augment summer research projects for undergraduate science students. Designed to perpetuate a tradition of engaged student-faculty undergraduate research, the endowed fund will support investigative, creative and scholarly activities designed to advance the knowledge and understanding of targeted science projects.

A 1979 alumnus, Gerhardt graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He was also recently honored as Truman’s 2009 Alumnus of the Year.

Inspired by the mentoring and encouragement he received from Truman professors such as Kenneth Fountain and Russell Baughman, Gerhardt decided to give back to his alma mater. Last year, he made a major investment in the University with a $1 million gift commitment through his estate to create the Greg A. and Paulette C. Danielle-Gerhardt Endowed Professorship dedicated in memory of his late wife, Paulette.

Gerhardt, who received additional training in chemistry and neuroscience at the University of Kansas where he earned his Ph.D. with honors in 1983, received training as a postdoctoral fellow from 1983-1985 in pharmacology and psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He remained at the University of Colorado from 1985-1999 where he rose through the ranks to professor of psychiatry, pharmacology and The Neuroscience Training Program.

Gerhardt resides in Nicholasville, Ky., and is a professor in the departments of anatomy and neurobiology, neurology, psychiatry and electrical engineering at the University of Kentucky. Since 1999, he has served as director of the Morris K. Udall Parkinson’s Disease Research Center of Excellence at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington, Ky., and he is the director of the Center for Microelectrode Technology.

Although his career path led to a rewarding career as a State Farm Insurance agent, Steve Rose’s affinity for the theatre has never diminished. A staunch supporter of his alma mater, Rose recently made a $200,000 gift commitment to Truman State University’s “Bright Minds Bright Futures” campaign to establish the Steve Rose Endowed Performing Arts Scholarship.

The scholarship, which is designed to expand educational opportunities for Truman students interested in the performing arts, serves as a tribute to James G. Severns, one of Rose’s former professors.

“Dr. James G. Severns is inspiring and remains a lifelong friend,” says Rose, who as a student, appeared in campus performances directed or produced by Severns. Rose also worked with Severns at the University’s Ice House Summer Stock Theater in Hannibal, Mo. Severns retired from the University in 1991, at which time he was granted the title of professor emeritus of dramatics.

A member of the Class of 1969, Rose received a bachelor of science in business administration with minors in psychology and theatre arts from Truman. After graduating, he began his career with State Farm as a claims representative and was appointed as a State Farm agent in 1972. Rose celebrated his 40th year with the company this year.

An actor at heart, Rose is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He resides in Potomac, Md., and has appeared in several motion pictures, television shows, and in commercials shot in the Washington/Baltimore area.

Rose currently serves as chair of the Truman State University Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of the “Bright Minds Bright Futures” Campaign Steering Committee. Previously, he served on Truman’s Alumni Board of Directors, and he is a member of the President’s Circle and the John R. Kirk Society.

In 2006, Rose served as the Commencement speaker, and that same year, he was honored with the President’s Leadership Award, one of the University’s most prestigious awards. In 2003, he was recognized with Truman’s Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Rose also chaired a special fundraising initiative in 2006 that served as another tribute to his former professor and mentor. He made a substantial leadership gift to support the campaign, which raised funds to name the James G. Severns Theater, a performance theater that was added to the University’s Fine Arts facility.

Rose’s most recent gift to Truman includes a $100,000 pledge payable over a period of five years and a $100,000 charitable gift annuity. The Steve Rose Endowed Performing Arts Scholarship fund will also be fortified with matching gifts from State Farm Insurance.

The Missouri Government Internship Program is now accepting applications for the spring 2010 semester. All majors and students with junior or senior status are encouraged to apply.
 
The internship offers a $2,500 stipend, up to 15 hours of college credit and the opportunity to spend a semester in Jefferson City working with a legislator, public official or state agency.

“The Missouri Government Internship Program has been a valuable opportunity for me in my undergraduate career at Truman,” said Makita Abraham, who interned with the Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan’s office in the spring of 2009. “I enjoyed having the chance to become acquainted and work with elected officials and state department employees who impact the direction of Missouri government daily. I gained a great deal of knowledge of the functions of state government and made many connections with individuals throughout the Capitol. My experience will definitely stay with me past my undergraduate years.”

The program provides interested students an inside look at state government and the political process. The experience has special appeal for students anticipating careers in business, law, public relations, government service or public affairs, but is filled with opportunities for a variety of career fields.

“The Missouri Government Internship has been the defining moment of my undergraduate career,” said Phillip Raine, a spring 2009 intern with Representative Bryan Pratt. “I was able to utilize the lessons that I learned in the classrooms of Truman in a real world environment. I walked out of the Capitol with an insider’s understanding of the process of government. I was never bored, and when the last day came, I didn’t want to leave. I made some great friendships and made the connections that will get me places when I graduate from Truman.”

Students wishing to participate in the Missouri Government Internship Program should possess a minimum of 60 semester hours of credit, cumulative GPA of 2.75 and divisional approval. No special coursework is required prior to the internship.

To view internship requirements, go to http://career.truman.edu/Internships/mogovBrochure.asp. Applications are due by Oct. 30. For more information about the internship, contact Heidi Templeton at 785.4016 or Candy Young at 785.4650.

Area grade school children will have the opportunity for interactive learning during the “Science on Saturday” program on campus Oct. 31.

“Science on Saturday” is a free program targeted to children in grades 2-5 with the goal of expanding their knowledge at a young age by providing fun ways to learn.

Students participating in “Science on Saturday” will get the opportunity to interact with Truman students.

The most important objective of this program is to cultivate children’s interest in the environment through interactive learning. Expanding a child’s knowledge at a young age will help them to become more active with various facets of science and provide them with tools to remain active. During the lessons, the teachers will provide interactive activities that allow the children to learn through participation.

Members of Truman’s national biological honor society, Beta Beta Beta, will conduct two sessions in Magruder Hall, one from 9-11:30 a.m. for second and third grade students, followed by another session from 1-4 p.m. for fourth and fifth grade students.

To participate, students must have signed permission slips from their parents. Permission slips have been distributed in local schools. Parents can request additional permission slips by e-mailing cpl4241@truman.edu or kmk8788@truman.edu.

Truman Information Technology Services (ITS) has upgraded network printers in University computer labs to duplex units, which gives students a more eco-friendly and less expensive printing option.

A printer duplexer allows students to be “green” by saving paper and toner. In addition, the student receives a discount on their printing charges if they print in duplex.

Normal black and white prints (non-duplex) are 10 cents per page, while black and white duplex prints are seven cents per page.

In order to receive the discounted printing rate students need to print to the “Duplex Print” queue for their computer lab.

Print duplexers are available in the Pickler Memorial 312 lab, the Violette Hall 2000 lab and the residence hall labs.

More information about the printer accounting system, and the printers available for students, is available on the Truman ITS web pages at http://its.truman.edu/documentation/index.asp?docId=193 and http://its.truman.edu/justforstudents/?page_id=62.

Pickler Memorial Library sold approximately 5,000 items and raised $2,000 to support Library programs and the 2010 Children’s Literature Festival during its 4th Annual Book Sale that took place in September.

The event also featured a special Truman night for faculty, staff and students, with jazz music by a student combo of Kayla Smalley, Drew Williams, Eric Schweizer, Devin Cline, Mike Tripp and Brian Speise, and the creative talents of Todd Kuhns. In addition, two open sale days took place Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

Library staff would like to thank members of the community who donated books and other materials for the sale, as well as all who attended and browsed the offerings, had fun and made purchases.

The Library has exhausted its backlog of books to sell and invites community members to clean their closets, bookshelves and video racks to make donations for next year’s sale.

Donations may be delivered to the Dean’s Office on the first floor of Pickler Memorial Library. Call 785.4038 for more details.

Scholarships are available through Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri, Inc., for the 2010-2011 academic year. Stop by the Financial Aid Office in McClain Hall 103 for more information on eligibility requirements or to obtain an application. One winner from each state may be submitted for the National Garden Club scholarship in the amount of $3,500.

The Missouri Travel Council will offer two $1,000 scholarships to currently enrolled sophomores, juniors or seniors in an accredited college or university in the state of Missouri. Applicants must be pursuing a hospitality related major such as hotel/restaurant management, parks and recreation, etc., must be a current resident of Missouri, and must have a grade point average of at least 3.0. To obtain further information about how to apply for this scholarship, go to http://www.missouritravel.com. The deadline for applications is March 2, 2010.

The next Faculty Forum will take place at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2 in Magruder Hall 1000 and will feature Christine Harker, associate professor of English, on "17th Century Poetic Crossdressing: Mairi NicLeod and the Bardic Masculine."

In sabbatical-supported research, Harker studied the work of the 17th century Scots Gaelic poet Màiri nighean Alasdair Ruaidh (Mary MacLeod, c. 1615–c. 1705). Notable as a largely self-trained woman in a world dominated by career courtly poets, an exclusively male occupation, Màiri served the aristocratic chiefs of Scotland’s Clan MacLeod. 

Not widely known to modern scholarship outside Celtic Studies, her poetic output is noteworthy not only for her unusual personal circumstances but also for her remarkable ability to write in the high-literary style of the exclusively male bards. In this presentation for a non-specialist audience, Harker will examine the subjects of both the collapse of late-medieval/early-modern Celtic culture as illustrated by the last moments of the traditional high literary traditions of the Gaelic Scottish Highlands—and also the role of a woman occupying a traditionally-male dominated place in that traditional society. 

The Truman Faculty Forum presentation will involve brief historic overviews of the status of Gaelic culture at the moment when England was eradicating a politically independent Gaeldom and English was rapidly dominating spheres in which high-culture Gaelic had flourished, as well as a brief introduction to the Gaelic bard tradition. It will also address the place of women in this traditional society in order to consider the degree to which Màiri’s work was so remarkable. Some poems will be read in Gaelic and then translated and explicated in English. 

The Truman Faculty Forum was created in 2003 to give faculty the opportunity to present their research and creative work to the Truman community and to enhance the importance of scholarship and creativity in the culture of the University.

Donna Rhinesmith, professor of education, and Sara Orel, professor of art history, will present at Faculty Forum events in the spring.

 

Activity: Basketball Pentathlon
Division: Open/Org/Greek
Deadline: Oct. 27
Captains’ Meeting: E-mail
Play Begins: Nov. 2

Activity: Texas Hold’em
Division: Open
Deadline: Nov. 3
Captains’ Meeting: E-mail
Play Begins: Nov. 8

Activity: 3 on 3 Basketball
Division: Open/Org/Greek
Deadline: Nov. 3
Captains’ Meeting: Nov. 5
Play Begins: Nov. 9

Activity: Pickelball
Division: Open/Org/Greek
Deadline: Nov. 3
Captains’ Meeting: Nov. 5
Play Begins: Nov. 9

Activity: Pitch
Division: Open
Deadline: Nov. 10
Captains’ Meeting: E-mail
Play Begins: Nov. 14

Activity: Billiards
Division: Open
Deadline: Nov. 10
Captains’ Meeting: E-mail
Play Begins: Nov. 15

Activity: Bench Press
Division: Open/Org/Greek
Deadline: Nov. 10
Captains’ Meeting: E-mail
Play Begins: Nov. 16

Activity: College Bowl Mania
Division: Open
Deadline: Finals Week
Captains’ Meeting: NA
Play Begins: Finals Week

Activity: Wrap Up Meeting
Division: Open/Org/Greek
Deadline: NA
Captains’ Meeting: Dec. 3
Play Begins: NA

All information, rules and registration requirements are online at http://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.

Taner Edis, associate professor of physics, presented the Physics Colloquium at the University of Iowa, Oct. 19.

Jerrold Hirsch, professor of history, chaired a session on “Folklore Research, History, and Scholarship” and also presented a paper, “‘Tell It To The Angel,’ The Performance of Masculinity: B. A. Botkin and Richard Dorson as Friends and Adversaries,” at the annual meeting of the American Folklore Society in Boise, Idaho, Oct. 21-25.

Joaquin Maldonado-Class, associate professor of Spanish, presented a paper titled “Desdoblamiento e historia en Gioconda Belli” at the 19th Congreso Anual de la Asociación Internacional de Literatura y Cultura Femenina Hispánica at the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) in Quito, Ecuador.

The Weekly Lunch Series will continue at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Student Union Building Spanish Room with a presentation titled, “What’s it like to teach in the C-Level Classrooms?”

The next event in the Physics Colloquium will take place at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in Violette Hall 1000. Eric Majzoub from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri-St. Louis will present “Estimating the Enthalpy of Formation of Complex Hydrides using First Principles and Global Optimization Techniques.” For a detailed abstract of the presentation go to http://physics.truman.edu/colloquia/mainstage.asp.

The 2009 Truman State University New Music Festival will take place Oct. 29-30 in Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall. For more information, contact Warren Gooch at 785.4429 or wgooch@truman.edu.

Applications for the Missouri Government Internship at the Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo., are available in the Public Relations Office in McClain Hall 101 or online at http://career.truman.edu/Internships/mogovBrochure.asp. The deadline to apply is Oct. 30.

An extra edition of the Weekly Lunch Series will take place at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 30 in the Student Union Building Spanish Room with an open forum showcasing the electronic portfolio of the instructional designer candidate Javier Leung.

Blue Key will sponsor “Rockin’ for the Troops,” a donation drive for deployed troops, from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 31. For details, contact John Taylor at d1466@truman.edu.

The Department of Music’s Percussion Studio will present its annual “Percussion Fall Sampler” at 8 p.m. Nov. 1 in Baldwin Auditorium. Under the direction of Michael Bump, professor of percussion studies, and the assistance of graduate percussion students, Jason Baskin and Vincent Wallace, the concert will feature the Concert Percussion Ensembles I and II, as well as the Statesmen Marching Percussion Ensemble. All totaled, more than 35 students will perform. Admission to the concert is free. For additional information, contact Bump at 785.4052 or mbump@truman.edu.

Upward Bound is seeking Spring 2010 employees. Application reviews will begin immediately and continue until positions are filled. Application packets and information are available at http://ub.truman.edu or call Donna at 785.4244.

The next event in the Global Issues Colloquium, “Studying Internationally,” will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 in Magruder Hall 2001. During the presentation, a panel of Truman’s international students will give a glimpse into what it is like to study in the United States. They will also share what schooling is like in their home countries and how it compares or contrasts with education in the U.S. Sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning.

The Agriculture Department is selling Bulldog Bistro Cookbooks for $10. Contact Michael Seipel at mseipel@truman.edu.