Vol. 28 No. 3 - September 5, 2023

From 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sept. 16 there will be a welcome tent set up on the quad where families can receive a free gift. Younger siblings can get free Future Bulldog t-shirts and tie-dye them at a booth from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on the quad. From 12-2 p.m. temporary tattoos and face painting will be available. Football will face Saginaw Valley State at 2 p.m. at Stokes Stadium. Tickets are required and can be purchased at the gate or online here.

Men’s soccer will face Upper Iowa University at 12 p.m. Sept. 17 at Stokes Stadium. At the same time, the softball team will play against Southeastern Iowa Community College at the softball park. The weekend will end with a women’s soccer game versus Upper Iowa University at 2:30 p.m. at Stokes Stadium.

The schedule will continue to be updated. Visit truman.edu/parents-families/family-day for more information.

As completion of the Greenwood Interprofessional Autism Center moves closer, Truman will celebrate the community service project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony during Homecoming festivities, Oct. 21.

Since 2015, Truman has been working to convert the former elementary school into an interprofessional center designed to provide in-depth, interdisciplinary assessment and intervention for children with autism or suspected autism, as well as other neurodevelopmental disorders.

All members of the community are invited to attend the ceremony, hear remarks from key contributors to the project and tour portions of the building. The ribbon-cutting will take place at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 21 at 606 S. Halliburton Street in Kirksville.

With in-person services set to begin later this fall, the Greenwood Interprofessional Autism Center is currently pre-certifying potential clients. An online form for individuals, family members or guardians of those who may benefit from the center’s services is available at greenwood.truman.edu.

For the second year in a row, Truman has been recognized as the No. 7 master’s institution in the nation by Washington Monthly.

Truman has finished in the top 10 of the Washington Monthly rankings for 10 of the last 11 years. Among Show-Me-State schools Truman performed the best by far, as it was the only institution to crack the top 85 of the master’s list. For public colleges and universities in Missouri, Truman was the only state school to be included in the top 300.

The Washington Monthly rankings are unique in that they place an importance on social mobility, research and community or national service. Along with traditional benchmarks such as graduation rates and costs, schools are rewarded for criteria including the number of first-generation students enrolled and the percentage of students receiving Pell Grants or participating in ROTC.

Truman also earned a spot in Washington Monthly’s “2023 Best Bang for the Buck” rankings for the Midwest region. This particular grouping highlights schools for their ability to help students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices. Coming in at No. 35 overall, Truman was the highest rated Missouri public school on the list.

In the coming weeks visitors to campus will see noticeable signs of progress on the Kirk Building renovation project.

Interior demolition is slated to begin soon. Starting the week of Sept. 11, temporary fencing will be placed around the building to keep passersby at a safe distance. A construction dumpster will be located to the east side, and portions of the brick walkway near the residence halls will be temporarily removed.

While the sidewalk east of the building will be unavailable, a temporary pathway will be constructed so students living in the residence halls will have full walking access to the entirety of campus.

The parking lot behind Dobson Hall will be used as a staging area. It will be fenced off and unavailable. There will also be some construction-related traffic from the Dobson Hall parking lot down the sidewalk that runs south of and in front of Blanton-Nason-Brewer Hall.

Work on the renovation is scheduled for 10-hour shifts Monday through Thursday, with personnel arriving on site as early as 7 a.m. to avoid interfering with normal on-campus foot traffic. Throughout this phase of the renovation all attempts to be respectful and accommodating of surrounding on-campus residents will be made. In the event of any particular days when excess noise may be unavoidable outside of normal work hours, on-campus residents who may be affected will be notified in advance.

With financial assistance from the state of Missouri, Truman is renovating the Kirk Building to house a new Student Success Center. The center will employ a collaborative service model in which individual student service departments do not simply co-locate and deliver their services nearby to one another, but rather, work in coordination to meet students’ needs from entry to exit. The Student Success Center will be comprised of: the Career Center; Tutoring Services; the Student Health Center; Counseling Services; Student Access and Disability Services; the Center for Academic Excellence; the Communication Lab; and the Writing Center.

Initial phases of the renovation began in August 2022. The project is scheduled for completion by December 2024.

These committees ultimately decide how the fees students pay are spent. AFAC focuses on the athletic fee which includes varsity and club athletics as well as the recreation center. ESFAC focuses on the Environmental Sustainability Fee and OAF focuses on how fee-based groups such as SAB, StuGov, FAC, AFAC and ESFAC spend money.

There are student-at-large positions open on every committee, as well as more niche roles. Applications close Oct. 15 with interviews taking place the week of Oct. 15 and 22. To apply, visit senate.truman.edu/application.

The Truman Food Pantry, in conjunction with the Pantry for Adair County, will host pop-up pantry events from 1-4 p.m. Sept. 14, Oct. 5, Nov. 9 and Dec. 7 in the Student Union Building Down Under. Students are encouraged to check out the food available, as well as select personal hygiene items, at no cost.

There are no income eligibility requirements for use. The food pantry is organized based on consumer choice and allows students to make their own pack or have one prepared for pick up. The Truman Food Pantry is available to all Truman students.

The University Art Gallery is located in Ophelia Parrish 1114. Reception and events are free and open to the public. For more information visit gallery.arttruman.com.

Foundation loans can come in the form of short-term loans, long-term loans, access loans and cultural loans. Applications go through the Financial Aid Office and are repaid directly to the University. Banks and outside lenders are not involved in the process.

To be eligible for a Foundation loan students must be enrolled on a full-time basis and be in good academic standing. Students also need to demonstrate an ability to repay the loan in a timely manner. Deferments of up to five years are available for cultural and long-term loans, provided the student is enrolled on a full-time basis.

In addition to scholarship assistance, the loan program is an example of the immediate impact of donations to the Truman State University Foundation. Gifts from alumni and friends allow Truman to provide assistance directly to students as they pursue their education.

For more information on the Foundation Loan Program, contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@truman.edu, at 660.785.4130 or in person at McClain Hall 103.

Students can access THSS by using the app, available at the App Store or Google Play Store.

The New York Times membership is free and can be activated online. This membership includes access to archives dating back to 1851, daily 360 content, podcasts, newsletters and nytimes.com/edu which is an education resource website.