Vol. 30 No. 10 - October 20, 2025

As part of Homecoming activities, students raised more than $17,000 in support of the Kirksville R-III School District and Community Action Partnership of Northeast Missouri (CAPNEMO). 
 
The Kirksville R-III School District serves more than 2,500 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade across six buildings. The Homecoming donation will go to support the District’s Free and Reduced Lunch program. 
 
Since 1965, the CAPNEMO has worked to help low-income individuals in Adair, Clark, Knox, Schuyler and Scotland counties. Its efforts provide support, resources and opportunities that strengthen families and improve well-being in the community through programs such as Head Start, weatherization and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Support from the Homecoming donation will go to CAPNEMO’s “First Day, Fresh Start” program to help children get new clothes for the first day of school. More information is available at capnemo.org. 
 
At halftime of the Bulldog football game, Oct. 18, representatives from the Homecoming Committee awarded checks for $8,628.73 to both Kirksville R-III and CAPNEMO. 
 
For years, students and organizations have used Homecoming as an opportunity to support philanthropic causes. Previous local organizations supported during Homecoming include the Special Olympics of Northeast Missouri, the Pantry for Adair County, the Kirksville FLATS project, the Adair County Humane Society, the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, the Kirksville Child Development Center and the I Think I Can Foundation.
 
Truman will celebrate Homecoming next year the weekend of Oct. 24.

 
Prospective students interested in attending Truman now have another visit option. 
 
The first Purple Friday Preview will take place Nov. 7. In this half-day visit, students will get to explore campus while classes are in session, meet current students, talk with faculty and see firsthand what makes Truman a vibrant, welcoming community. 
 
Purple Friday Preview includes welcome and information sessions, campus and residence hall tours, and programming to learn about organizations, resources and opportunities available to students. Lunch is also provided. 
 
“Purple Friday Preview is a mix between the larger Truman Experience Weekends and a regular weekday campus visit,” said Allison Schweizer, director of admission. “This will allow prospective students to see what campus is like during a normal school day, while at the same time providing an easy way to learn about all the facets of Truman that may be of interest to them.”
 
Prospective students and their families interested in participating in Purple Friday Preview can register online at connect.truman.edu/portal/purplefridaypreview.
 
In addition to Purple Friday Preview, the University conducts Truman Experience Weekend each semester, as well as regular daily visits and tours. Group visits for teachers, counselors or college-prep leaders interested in bringing students to campus can also be arranged. Graduate program visits are an option for students seeking an advanced degree. More information about visiting campus can be found at truman.edu/admission-cost/visit-truman or by calling the Admission Office at 660.785.4114.

Students interested in living on campus during the 2026-27 school year can make arrangements to do so now.

Living on campus provides students with a built-in community of peers, in addition to offering a variety of amenities. All campus residence halls feature furnished rooms, access to laundry facilities and a meal plan. On-campus residents also have all of their utility costs included in the price of their room. More information about applying to live on campus for the 2025-2026 academic year can be found online here.

There are many on-campus living options to choose from, including single-, double- and triple-occupancy residence hall rooms and single- and double-occupancy apartments available in Campbell. Upperclass students can select deluxe double residence hall rooms or a deluxe double apartment in Campbell. Deluxe double residence hall rooms offer more living space at the same price as a standard double room. Deluxe double apartments allow each roommate to have their own private bedroom in a shared apartment. Deluxe double spaces are limited and upperclass students who apply for housing and follow the room self-selection timeline outlined on the website will have priority in being able to select deluxe accommodations while supplies last.

Housing renewal applications are currently open on TruView. Under the “Student” tab, click on “Student Housing/Residence Life.” Room selection will take place in the spring semester. Questions about the housing process can be directed to Residence Life at 660.785.4227 or reslife@truman.edu.

Zink is a co-author of the international best-selling anthology “Discovering Your Purpose in Today’s World: Finding Hope While Navigating Career Disruption” where her chapter, “Words of Faith,” shares her story of leaving corporate America to pursue purpose-driven work.

Truman residence halls will be open for trick-or-treating from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 31. Community members are invited and encouraged to bring their families into the residence halls to receive candy from campus residents.

Candy distribution will take place in the West Campus Suites multipurpose room, the Missouri Hall lounges, the Blanton-Nason-Brewer Hall first floor lounges and the Ryle Hall main lounge. For a map of Truman’s campus, click here.

Blanton-Nason-Brewer Hall is designated as the allergy-conscious residence hall for this event. Students in that hall will only be providing small toys or candy that does not contain peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, gluten or soy. 

This event is sponsored by Truman’s Office of Residence Life in coordination with the Residence Hall Association. For more information, call 660.785.4227 or email reslife@truman.edu.

Further information about Triplett and his work can be found at steffantriplett.com.

The Wienermobile will also be on display when Bolognafest kicks off at 3 p.m. in downtown Kirksville. In addition to free bologna and fried bologna sandwiches, there will be booths featuring games and prizes. There is also a trunk-or-treat component during this year’s event. T-shirt sales will support the Kirksville Cancer Center. 
 
Kirksville’s Oscar Mayer plant has been part of the community for nearly 40 years and employs more than 750 people in northeast Missouri.
 
Rain location for this event is the Rieger Armory. 
 
National Bologna Day is recognized each year on Oct. 24.

An information session focused on Truman’s online Master of Science in Data Science and Analytic Storytelling will take place at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in Violette Hall 1220 and via Zoom.

Students in this graduate program will gain knowledge of efficient data collection and interpretation techniques. They will also develop the skills needed to communicate the data through evocative and easy to understand visuals. A tech-related undergraduate degree is not required to pursue this program, all majors are welcome.

Students interested in attending can register here. Snacks will be available for those that attend in person.

The annual Sigma Alpha Haunted Corn Maze will take place at the University Farm on the following dates. Tickets are $7 at the gate or $5 with a student ID. Co-sponsors include Beta Theta Pi, BBB and Horror Club.

Oct. 23
7-10 p.m.

Oct. 24
8 p.m.-12 a.m.

Oct. 25

The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program helps first-generation and Pell-eligible students interested in graduate study learn about, apply for and get accepted into graduate school – usually with funding.  

The program organizes seminars describing graduate school, how to pay for it and how to apply. Students also receive paid summer research internships opportunities, funds for graduate school visits and conferences, and general academic counseling. These are just a few of the many benefits McNair has to offer. 

Applications are open now with reviews beginning in early November. Check eligibility here. For more information, visit mcnair.truman.edu or email Charlotte Klimovich at charlottek@truman.edu. 

Starting in late September, the McNair program will have open house events in the Adair Building located at 210 E. Patterson Street. Students can learn more about the program or get help filling out an application. 

Upcoming Open Houses
Oct. 22
2-5 p.m.

Oct. 23
1-4 p.m.

Nov. 5
2-5 p.m.

Nov. 6
1-4 p.m.

Dane Winterboer (middle) accepts the prize for first place in the 2024 Bulldog B.I.T.E. competition from University President Sue Thomas and Charles Hunsaker, associate vice president for University advancement.Students with an affinity for business can now submit their ideas for the annual Bulldog B.I.T.E. elevator pitch contest.

An elevator pitch outlines the concept or idea for a product, service or project in a short period of time, typically from 30 seconds to three minutes. The length of the pitch mirrors the time spent waiting for and riding an elevator in a high-rise building. The purpose of the pitch is to spur the interest of a potential investor or financial backer.

Bulldog B.I.T.E., which stands for Business Innovation by Truman Entrepreneurs, is open to any Truman student, or team of students up to three members, enrolled during the fall semester. Additionally, students enrolled in the fall semester at Moberly Area Community College are eligible to participate. Six teams will be selected to attend a live pitch competition Nov. 13 to present their concept to a panel of alumni judges. Submissions can be made here until 10 p.m. Oct. 24.

In conjunction with Bulldog B.I.T.E., an elevator pitch contest for area high school students will take place the same day. Bulldog Pitch Day is open to any high school student or team of students up to three members. The first round is scheduled for the morning of Nov. 13, with the finals taking place later in the day in the Student Union Building.

The top three finalists for Bulldog B.I.T.E. will receive financial awards: first place will receive $3,000, second place will receive $2,000 and third place will receive $1,000. The top three finalists for Bulldog Pitch Day will also receive financial awards: first place will receive $500, second place will receive $300 and third place will receive $200. More information about the competition can be found here.

The next installment of the Chuck and Sherri Woods TRU-Biz Forum will take place at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 29 in Violette Hall 1000.

The upcoming forum focuses on artificial intelligence with renowned experts in the area, including Brian Moore (’92), senior director at Microsoft Corporation; Madison Nguyun (’22,’24), GenAI delivery manager at Lumen Technologies; April Swagman (’09), product data science, Google; and Mike Terry (’93, ’96), software engineering manager at CARFAX. The event moderator will be Truman student Rahul Chaudhari, computer science major.

Moore is a senior director at Microsoft, responsible for Microsoft Azure AI in the Americas Enterprise Partner Solutions (AEPS) organization. He leads a team of solution architects that work with Microsoft partners to help them explore cloud strategies and Microsoft Azure, focusing on AI, application innovation, data modernization, cloud scale analytics and digital transformation. Moore has more than 30 years of industry experience, both as a corporate developer for The Principal Financial Group and as a senior consultant for Perot Systems Corporation. With eight years of enterprise consulting experience at Perot Systems, Moore worked with numerous customers in a variety of roles as a Microsoft solution architect and SQL Server database specialist consulting with telecommunications, travel and leisure, and health care businesses.

Nguyen graduated with a degree in statistics in 2022 and a degree in data science and analytical storytelling in 2024. She went on to begin her career as a data scientist, and recently moved into a GenAI delivery manager role at Lumen Technologies. She is immersed in the world of AI through owning AI Agent projects and driving AI innovation in the world of telecom.

Swagman graduated in 2009 with a Bachelors of Arts in psychology and a computer science minor. She earned a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Missouri in 2016, then moved to Palo Alto, California, to join the Insight Data Science Fellowship. She has spent the last four years as a product data scientist at Google.

Terry has spent his career standing between IT and business, helping them understand one another. He has been a data analyst for most of that time and has led data transformation and enablement efforts at two companies. He currently manages three teams of software engineers at CARFAX.

Chaudhari is a senior at Truman with a strong focus on computer science and business administration, and he is passionate about building technological solutions for real-world problems. He has authored academic papers published with IEEE, and has demonstrated his commitment to the community by reviving and leading the Google Developer Student Club on campus. He also started Boeing Hackathon, an intercollegiate hackathon at Truman, and has successfully run it for the past two years. He is also involved in Truman Media Network as digital director and Student Government as IT director.

Sessions will take place biweekly throughout the rest of the fall semester at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and last 60 to 90 minutes depending on the group size. Cost for group counseling is less than individual counseling. A sliding scale can be applied to help reduce the cost.

The Office of Student Research will be accepting Grants-In-Aid of Scholarship and Research (GIASR) applicants, as well as Conference Travel Scholarship applications, for spring 2026. 

Students who plan to present the results of their research or creative scholarship at a conference taking place between December 2025 and March 2026 may be eligible to receive up to $500 to cover conference expenses. To be eligible for the Conference Presentation Scholarship, students must have completed or be currently involved in a faculty-mentored research experience and plan on presenting at the conference. The application deadline is Dec. 1.

The GIASR program offers the chance to conduct faculty-mentored research and creative scholarship. Through this program, students can receive up to $750 in funding to cover student stipends, supplies and travel to conduct research. The application deadline is Nov. 7.

Complete guidelines for the Conference Travel Scholarship and GIASR applications can be found at the Office of Student Research website. Questions regarding the applications can be directed to osr@truman.edu.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be filed for the 2026-2027 school year at studentaid.gov.

All students in need of financial assistance are encouraged to complete the FAFSA. Federal Student Aid is the largest provider of financial aid for college students in the United States.

Even though a student may not qualify for grants or work-study, all students are considered for the Federal Direct Loan (no co-signer required). Filing the FAFSA does not commit students to taking a loan, but it does allow for more options.

The 2026-2027 FAFSA will use 2024 tax year information with a priority deadline of Feb. 1, 2026 for Missouri residents. It is strongly recommended to apply or renew before Feb. 1 Details about the FAFSA can be found online at studentaid.gov.

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office at 660.785.4130 or finaid@truman.edu. The Financial Aid Office website also has a variety of helpful resources for students and their families.

Students, faculty and staff will receive an invitation to complete a short campus climate survey Oct. 21. This survey is designed to briefly assess perceptions of the University as part of the 2020-2025 University Strategic Plan. Topics covered in the survey include some demographics, campus experiences and culture. Feedback is essential to improving the Truman experience. Responses are recorded anonymously. The survey data cannot be used to personally identify anyone. For questions about this survey, contact Roberta Donahue, strategic plan coordinator.

Students in the newest format of debate, public forum, also had incredible success. Public forum is a team debate format with a resolution rotating each semester. While the first public forum tournament did not calculate sweepstakes, Truman still had one team make the semifinals, and three students received speaker awards.