Vol. 16, No. 12 - Nov. 15, 2011

Three Truman alumni and one Truman staff member were honored as Kirksville’s "5 Under 40" at the Kirksville Young Professionals (KVYP) Banquet hosted Oct. 13.

Carolyn (Lumsden) Chrisman (`04) of the Kirksville Public Schools and Kirksville City Council; Heather (Mitchell) Condon (`03) of Century 21 Whitney Agency; Mike LaBeth of Heritage House Reality; Erin Shaw of Truman; and Ashley Young (`07) of American Trust Bank were chosen from 18 individuals nominated.


The award, sponsored by KVYP and KTVO, honored local young professionals nominated for their professional and personal achievement, as well as their service to the community.

The banquet’s keynote speaker, Ralph Cupelli, assistant to the provost and vice president of academic affairs, spoke of the unique professional opportunities available to young professionals in Kirksville. He attributed this, in part, to the opportunities provided by Truman and other high profile employers in the area.

Young wrote in his personal statement that his highest professional achievement to date was having graduated from Truman.

Truman’s student-athletes recorded the highest academic success rate of any institution in the MIAA with 95 percent, according to the 2011 NCAA Graduation Rates report.

This is the highest graduation rate of all active Division II schools in the state of Missouri and well above the NCAA Division II average of 290 institutions of 72 percent.

The report represents data from first-time freshman, as well as transfers and non-scholarship athletes who entered Truman between 2001 and 2004. The NCAA developed the Academic Success Rate (ASR) to more accurately assess the academic rate of success of student-athletes. The ASR has been calculated for the past six years and for all NCAA championship sports.

Every sport at Truman had an ASR above 80 percent and all but two above 90 percent. Seven of the University’s 10 women’s programs had a 100 percent ASR. Men’s basketball and football were top rates among all programs in the MIAA. Men’s basketball had an 83 percent with the Division II average of 60 percent and football an 88 percent with the Division II average of 54 percent.Football’s rate was fifth highest in Division II and first among public institutions.

The NCAA also released Federal Graduation Rates in the report, which does not include transfer students who leave the University. The report showed Truman’s federal graduation rates for student-athletes at 78 percent. Once again, the student-athletes’ rate was best in the MIAA and well above the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent.

Truman is providing funding to support a limited number of pilot projects to examine learning outcomes and transformative experiences in the Higher Learning Commission’s Pathways Demonstration Project.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) can be found at provost.truman.edu and outlines the process of obtaining funding for a pilot project. These proposals can focus upon one or more of the following outcomes: understanding and articulating well-reasoned arguments, demonstrating leadership or living emotionally and physically healthy lives.

Proposals are welcomed from faculty and staff alike. Collaboration with students on project teams relating to any of the learning outcomes is also encouraged. Students (either individually or through an organization) interested in designing a project should discuss their idea with a staff or faculty member or their organization adviser. The staff or faculty member who will serve as the primary participant should submit the proposal.

There will be two submission deadlines: Nov. 30 and March 28.

Questions regarding the RFP, the creation of the proposal, pilot projects or the selection process should be directed to Karen Vittengl at ksmith@truman.edu.

The President’s Sustainability Action Committee (PSAC) is using Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) to measure sustainability performance on campus.

The system provides a framework for understanding sustainability within higher education. STARS allows the University to understand its efforts in measurements that are similar to those of other universities and allows for comparisons across these institutions. According to the STARS website, the program provides information about sustainability practices and efforts that can be used in higher education and creates incentives for improving sustainability on campus. The program provides long-term sustainability goals for institutions committed to sustainability and entry points of recognition for institutions that are in the beginning stages.

The program is apart of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) aimed at empowering higher education to lead sustainability transformations. STARS framework has provided the committee the opportunity to evaluate Truman’s sustainable efforts in four categories: education and research; operations; planning, administration and engagement; and innovation. Committee members have researched a variety of areas within each category and have or will enter the information found to the database.

STARS will help the Committee prepare for their annual report to be given to President Paino.

Residence Life and Ryle Hall Senate will host Ryle Ribbon Cutting from 4-5 p.m. Nov. 17 to celebrate the completion of the Ryle Hall renovation project.

The event will feature three speakers: John Gardener, director of Residence Life; Zac Burden, Missouri Hall director; and Kailey Tyler, Ryle Hall resident. Their presentations will illuminate the history, design and lived experiences of the residence hall. Refreshments will be served following the ceremony.

Guided tour will be offered from 1:30-3:30 p.m. The tours will highlight building additions and historic events in Ryle’s history. Truman students, faculty and staff, as well as the Kirksville community, are encouraged to attend.

The Global Issues Colloquium will feature Marc Rice, associate professor of music, to present “The Revolution will be YouTubed: Global Protest, the New Media and Music” at 7 p.m. Nov. 17 in Magruder Hall 2001.

Rice’s presentation will examine how music videos uploaded via the new media are being used to communicate, organize and give voice to the issues and protests occurring in Iran, Libya, Egypt and elsewhere. Recent political uprisings, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, have been accompanied by the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The new media has allowed the global community to witness these protests, once shielded from the outside world.

For more information about the Global Issues Colloquium and the 2011-2012 schedule, visit globalissues.truman.edu.

The Women and Genders Studies Conference is calling for papers to submit and is set to take place Jan. 19-21.

The theme for the conference is “Feminisms & Intersections,” taking an interdisciplinary look at the ways in which various, multiple “isms,” including but not limited to racism, ageism, classism, ableism and heterosexism, intersect with feminism or feminist thought and theory.

The conference will have a keynote performance by Angelina Llongueras of her one-woman show, “PHOOLAN IS ALL OF US: In Memory of Phoolan Devi.” The show honors Phoolan Devi, an Indian woman of a low caste who was a bandit, a member of Parliament and a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was assassinated outside her residence in New Delhi.

The deadline to submit an abstract is Dec. 5. They may be sent to tsuwgstsubmissions@gmail.com with “WGST Conference Abstract” in the subject line. For more information, contact Alan Vaughn at alv5563@truman.edu.

Once again, Truman ROTC members displayed great skill and represented the University well at a regional contest.

Seven ROTC members participated in a weekend-long competition for the German Armed Forces Military Proficiency Badge at Western Illinois University, vying for the exclusive award alongside students from Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Truman’s seven members in the competition each took home a medal. Six took home gold and one took silver.

Contestants were evaluated in several categories, including a written test on first aid; 25-meter marksmanship with a 9mm handgun; a 200-meter swim; track and field events including sprints, high jump, long jump and shot put; and an 8-mile road march. The events were spread out over the weekend of Nov. 4-6.

The German Armed Forces Military Proficiency Badge is a prized foreign military badge originally authorized for all German troops, but may be awarded to allied soldiers. A German liaison officer presented the cadets with their badges.
 

The Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Library is seeking two summer interns to work at the library in Independence, Mo.
For more information, or an application, contact Jeff Gall, Department of History,
at 785.7747 or jgall@truman.edu.

For information about numerous off-campus events, click on the Kirksville tab in TruView.

For on-campus activities, check out the Master Calendar on the Truman homepage and at calendar.truman.edu.

Truman’s contingent at the Missouri Folklore Society’s meeting taking place Nov. 3-5 in St. Genevieve, Mo., included folklore minors Jamie Bentley and Josh Bentley and professors of English Betsy Delmonico, Barb Price and Adam Davis. Price presented “Dr. Sappington’s Cemeteries: Separate and Unequal” and Davis discussed the history and development of advance-fee scams and scambairer-leagues as folk practices. Next year’s meeting will be hosted by Truman alumnae Meredith Heist Rau and Annie Fuller at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. Talks are underway to bring the convention to Truman in 2014.

Alumnus Joshua Baum (`08) and Jacqueline Collett, professor of music, will perform in an Alumni and Faculty Voice Recital at 8 p.m. Nov. 15 in Ophelia Parrish Recital Hall. Accompanying both will be Truman alumnus Daniel Kubus (`06). They will be performing music by Santoliquido, Turina, Strauss, Donizetti and Verdi. The event is free and open to all.

There will be a physics colloquium at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 16 in Magruder Hall 1000. Esteban D. Araya of the Department of Physics at Western Illinois University will present “Investigating the Earliest Phases of Massive Star Formation.”

The Center for International Education (CIEA) is hosting a video contest for all students who are currently studying abroad or those who studied abroad last spring, summer or fall. Videos should be between one to three minutes and address what the student learned during their experience. The deadline to submit videos is Nov. 16. A prize will be given to the winner.

The Wind Symphony II Concert will take place at 8 p.m. Nov. 16 in Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall.

Phi Sigma Pi will host “The Giving Tree” to help support local children during the holiday season. Ornaments, attached with childrens’ wish lists, will be available for pick-up from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 16-17 in the Student Union Building. Presents will be collected from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in the Student Union Building.

The Center for International Study Abroad is hosting a photo contest for their office. Students may vote for their favorite photograph at studyabroad.truman.edu until Nov. 17 and the winner will be announced Nov. 18.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) will host a discussion of issues of interest to the University at 12 p.m. Nov. 17 in Student Union Building 3201. Contact Marc Becker at marc@truman.edu or call 785.6036 for more information.

Residence Life staff and Ryle Hall Senate will be hosting Ryle Ribbon Cutting from 4-5 p.m. Nov. 17. Students, faculty and staff, as well as the Kirksville community, are encouraged to attend. In addition to the ribbon-cutting event, a guided tour will be offered from 1:30-3:30 p.m. to exhibit the history and new additions to Ryle Hall.

The Quincy Symphony Orchestra Association will perform “Beyond the Score-Whose World?” at 3 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Quincy Junior High School Morrison Theater. Admission is free for all Truman faculty, staff and students.

The Freshman Theatre Seminar class will present their Freshman show, “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” at 8 p.m. Nov. 29 in James G. Severns Theatre.

There will be a Jazz Combo Concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall.

Wind Symphony I will perform a concert at 8 p.m. Dec. 1 in Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall.

The University Board of Governors will meet at 10 a.m. Dec. 3 in the Student Union Building Conference Room.

The Independent Performance and Art Coalition presents “Parabole,” a drama about the Christian love story and the role of humanity, using contemporary music and faces as artistic canvases at 8:15 p.m. Dec. 4 and Dec. 7 in the Student Union Building Down Under. The drama is written, directed and performed by students and is free of admission.