Vol. 15, No. 20 -Feb. 8, 2011

The Truman Institute, in cooperation with the School of Business, will soon offer a new professional development opportunity to working professionals.

The first two courses in the Managerial Foundations Certificate (MFC) give candidates key practical management knowledge. Faculty will offer the courses­­­­—BUS 620G Financial Management and BUS 625G Organizational Behavior and Management—in a condensed eight-week session in April and May to give students a taste of the planned program.

The planned certificate has been proposed for inclusion in Truman’s accreditation relationship with the Higher Learning Commission. This proposal will be reviewed during the spring, with formal action expected by Summer 2011.

Completion of the Managerial Foundations Certificate prepares participants to deal with increased global competitiveness while they manage resources and people more efficiently and effectively. The certificate provides participants with a working knowledge of proven management and leadership techniques combined with sound financial analysis.

Additionally, participants learn foundations of human resource management, conflict management, negotiations, project management and international management by selecting further coursework depending on their current or future career path needs.

Completion of the certificate means participants will have achieved a number of the prerequisites needed to succeed in any master’s of business administration program.

Faculty at Truman designed the certificate for practicing managers who want to update and enhance their managerial skills, or for working professionals who want a management career path within a complex business environment.

The certificate is also appropriate for those who are contemplating enrolling in an MBA program and want to begin by taking some of the graduate prerequisite courses.

The special session represents a major step for the Institute and its offerings.

“Whenever an institution initiates its first fully online program—even if it’s a certificate—the regional accrediting bodies conduct a site visit to make certain the right support services are being provided,” said Kevin Minch, director of the Truman Institute. “The timing of the visit is great because it gives us a chance to let potential students sample some outstanding courses while giving the folks at the Higher Learning Commission a chance to observe what we’re doing with select online learning programs.”

Formal action in Truman’s favor would mean the full certificate program could be available as early as this summer, followed shortly by three other planned certificates.

Truman faculty are currently putting the final touches on the following additional certificates: Sustainability and Environmental Studies, Computer Security and Ada Programming. The University would include these certificates under the accreditation relationship with the Higher Learning Commission.

“If HLC gives us the green light, we’ll be offering all four certificates by Fall 2011 and students will be able to complete any one of them in a calendar year,” Minch said.

Anyone interested in enrolling in Managerial Foundations coursework may contact the Truman Institute at 785.5384, visit the Truman Institute website at http://institute.truman.edu or e-mail the Institute at jmorton@truman.edu.

Interested candidates should submit their application for enrollment in the April special session no later than March 28.

Students who participate in free “FAFSA Frenzy” events have a chance to win one of four $1,000 scholarships.

The FAFSA is a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the first step all students must take to obtain financial assistance to attend college.

FAFSA Frenzy events help students and their parents submit accurate financial information that is used to determine student eligibility for need-based student aid. State and federal governments and all colleges and universities consider the FAFSA when awarding need-based student financial aid.

Missouri students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA as early as possible, but no later than April 1 for timely consideration for financial aid. Students and families do not need to have filed their federal income taxes for 2010 in order to participate in a FAFSA Frenzy event or to complete the FAFSA.

FAFSA Frenzy will take place at 33 sites Feb. 13 and 22 sites on various dates and times during February and March.

The FAFSA Frenzy in Kirksville will take from place 2-4 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Kirksville Higher Education Center at 2105 E. Normal.

For information on other FAFSA Frenzy events, go to http://dhe.mo.gov/documents/FF_Sitelist_Update_2011.pdf. The Missouri Association of Student Financial Aid Personnel’s Show-Me to College events calendar at http://masfap.org/Safari/ allows people to search for events by county, city, date or other criteria. Sites will also be published in the February and March issues of the MDHE’s electronic newsletter, the Monthly Student Reminder.

Participants are asked to bring: 2010 W-2 forms; copies of 2010 tax forms, or any year-end pay stubs; statements of interest earned in 2010; 2009 tax forms; 1099 forms; any other forms required to complete taxes; and student PIN and parent PIN which can be obtained at http://www.pin.ed.gov.

Students who attend an event will be entered into a drawing to win one of four $1,000 scholarships. All students receive gift bags with information for planning and paying for college.

In honor of Howard Worcester’s retirement after 11 years of service to the University, the first “Worcester Environmental Activist Award” will be awarded this year through the Truman State University Foundation's Environment Fund.

Worcester worked as the recycling/surplus coordinator and was instrumental in the creation of the Recycling Center on campus.  
The new award will be presented annually during Earth Week to a Truman student or students chosen by the Sustainability Action Committee (SAC). Students will be considered for the award if they actively promote environmental practices on campus and in the community.

The SAC was created in Spring 2009 to identify and evaluate ways to modify University practices to create a more ecologically sound, socially just and economically viable campus and community.

Worcester was hired in February 2000 as a custodian and was transferred to the recycling/surplus coordinator position in June 2001. He received the Hat’s Off Award in 2000 and the Points of Excellence Award in 2007.

The Environmental Fund is one of more than 170 new funds established through the Truman State University Foundation during the Bright Minds Bright Futures Campaign. Its purpose is to support environmental responsibility and sustainability on campus.

Gifts can be made to the Environmental Fund through payroll deduction or an outright gift.

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 100 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 Argentina, Australia, England, Japan, the United States and Thailand.

The 2012 Academic term deadline is July 1. Applications are available at http://www.rotary.org/rotarycenters. Applicants should pay close attention to the language and academic test requirements for each center.

All Rotary Peace Fellowship applications need the endorsement of a local Rotary district. Local Rotary Clubs can be found by using the Club Locator tool on the Rotary International website at http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/SiteTools/ClubLocator/Pages/ridefault.aspx.

For additional questions, contact Niki Fritz at 847.866.3307 or Niki.Fritz@Rotary.org.

The Greek Community Relations Board will sponsor Greeks Give Back Week Feb. 14-18 to demonstrate the Greek Community’s appreciation for various groups on Truman’s campus.

 

Each day of the event will honor a different segment of Truman’s population. On Feb. 14, the Greek Community will raise awareness to their cause and advertise the week’s events. Feb. 15 will feature a brunch for the President and his staff. Truman’s faculty will receive treats Feb. 16 and the staff will get treats Feb. 17.

 

On Feb. 18, the Greek Community will join forces with Fireside Friday hosted by the Student Union Building. The Greek Community Relations Board will provide a Wii to enhance enjoyment for the student body and it will have a student drawing for $25 Kirksville Dollars.

Missouri Campus Compact (MoCC) is offering $300 micro-grants for faculty members to conduct course-based service-learning or research during 2011-2012. View the Request for Proposals and download an application at http://missouricompact.missouristate.edu/75746.htm. Applications are due March 1. Contact Baillie Cloyd (bcloyd@truman.edu) with questions, to discuss project ideas or for assistance with the grant application. More information is also available at http://servicelearning.truman.edu.

Feb. 14
10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Student Union Building
Safe Sex is Great Sex: Wrap it With Love

Feb. 15
6:30 p.m.-8 p.m.
CSI Complex Room
Student Union Building 112
Check yourself while you speck your self: Art workshop

Feb. 16
7 p.m.
Magruder Hall Planetarium
Shh...breaking the female masturbation taboo

Feb. 17
7:30 p.m.
Baldwin Hall 231
Knape: Haiti one year later

Feb. 18
7:30 p.m.
Baldwin Hall Theatre
Vagina Monologues

Feb. 19
1-3 p.m.
Student Union Building Alumni Room
Women’s Leadership Conference

Feb. 19
7:30 p.m.
Baldwin Hall Theatre
Vagina Monologues

Dan Cook, an agricultural science major, was recently selected as one of 24 university students nationwide to attend the USDA’s 2011 Agricultural Outlook Forum, taking place Feb. 24-25 in Arlington, Va. The juniors and seniors were selected based on their essays, “Agriculture as a Career,” and recommendations from their deans.

Sarah (Spader) Stein, a 2002 graduate of Truman, was awarded a doctoral fellowship in accounting for 2011 from the Deloitte Foundation. Each grantee will receive $25,000 during their final year of coursework and subsequent year as they complete their doctoral dissertation. Stein will join more than 1,000 accounting Ph.D. candidates who have received this prestigious award during the last 50 years.

Truman Students for Life won the Community Outreach Award during the annual Students for Life of America Conference and March for Life in Washington, D.C., during the weekend of Jan. 22. The $250 prize was one of seven awarded at the event. The conference recognized Truman Students for Life for multiple fundraising drives and events to benefit the Lifeline Pregnancy Help Clinic, including LifeFest, a concert and barbeque that raised more than $700. This March, the organization plans to paint the outside of Genesis House, a new maternity home in Edina, Mo.

The Society for Sino-American Studies will be taking orders for fresh red or colored roses and bouquets Feb. 7-11 in the Student Union Building. Orders can also be placed online at http://ssas.truman.edu.

The Spring Showcase for the Mostly Live Composers Society will take place from 3:30-4:20 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall. This event is an opportunity for student composers to see performances of their music and demonstrates contemporary styles of music and current trends in composition.

The Student Activities Board will host 90s Trivia from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Student Union Building Spanish Room. This event will include free food and prizes.

The Hispanic American Leadership Organization (H.A.L.O.) will sponsor the documentary “Papers” at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 in Baldwin Hall Little Theatre. Speakers from the Kansas-Missouri D.R.E.A.M. Alliance will also be present to speak about their work. Refreshments will be provided.

Eating Disorders Awareness Week, sponsored by Alpha Sigma Gamma, continues Feb. 8-9. Shannon Cutts will present “Beauty Undressed” at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 in Baldwin Auditorium. “Coffee and Consciousness” with University Counseling Services will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Student Union Building Down Under. The organization will also sponsor a vigil at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 in Violette Hall 1000.

The University Observatory will host an open house from 7-9 p.m. Feb. 9. The observatory is located at the University farm. For more details, go to http://observatory.truman.edu.

All presenters for Truman’s 24th annual Student Research Conference (SRC) are required to submit abstracts online at http://src.truman.edu by Feb. 11. For inquiries about the SRC, contact the Office of Student Research at 785.4455 or osr@truman.edu.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) will meet at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the University Club House, located at 516 E. Patterson. Contact Marc Becker at marc@truman.edu or call 785.6036 for more information.

The Quincy Symphony Orchestra concert,“Virtuosic Vision,” will take place at 3 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Quincy Jr. High School Morrison Theater in Quincy, Ill. Admission is free for faculty, staff and students with a Truman ID.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) will host a Faculty Brownbag Lunch  from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Student Union Building Spanish Room. For more information, see http://aaup.truman.edu or contact Marc Becker at marc@truman.edu.

The Physics Colloquium continues at 4:30 Feb. 16 in Magruder 1096 with “Quantum mechanics in non-inertial reference frames: implications for equivalence principle and gravity.”

The SERVE Center will host a Volunteer Fair from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Feb. 17. This event is meant to educate students about local organizations and to recruit volunteers. The SERVE Center, along with the Spring 2011 Structured Inequalities class in the Sociology/Anthropology Department, has organized this event.

A faculty forum entitled “Blake’s Bounding Lines and the Art of Interdisciplinarity” will take place from 7-9 p.m. Feb 17 in Ophelia Parrish 2210. A reception will follow.

“4 Real 4 Faux—Animating the Vernacular” will be on display in Ophelia Parrish’s main art gallery through Feb. 18. The display features artwork influenced by outsider art and was curated by the Truman Curatorial Fellow Nancy Mizuno Elliot. The closing reception for this display will take place at 6 p.m. Feb. 18.

The Truman Art Gallery is now featuring Renaissance prints through Feb. 18. This exhibit, “The Workshop and the World,” contains 15th and 16th century prints from various collections and was curated by Julia DeLancey, professor of art and art history, with student assistance.

The National History Day Competition will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 19 in Violette Hall. This event is sponsored by the Department of History.

Amtrak is now seeking train travel-themed videos from college students to compete for more than $3,000 in prizes. For more information, contest rules, prize details and to enter the second annual Amtrak TRAINsportation video contest, visit http://amtraktrainsportationvideocontest.com. Entries must be submitted by Feb. 28.