Vol. 16, No. 27 - April 3, 2012

Michael Beschloss, the award-winning historian and author, will speak at 8 p.m. April 14 in Baldwin Auditorium as part of the Holman Family Distinguished Speaker Series.

Beschloss serves as the NBC News Presidential historian and he appears regularly on “Meet The Press,” the “Today” program and “PBS NewsHour.” The award-winning historian and author of nine books has been described by Newsweek as “the nation’s leading Presidential historian.”

Beschloss will speak about his best-selling book “Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989.” He describes crucial times when courageous presidents took risks and overcame obstacles to dramatically change the future of the United States.

A natural storyteller, Beschloss details the outstanding traits of past presidents and then compares them to the current crop of presidential candidates for an insightful glance into America’s political future. He also uses what he has discovered about presidential courage to provide leadership lessons for all of us.


This will be the first installment of the Holman Family Distinguished Speaker Series, named in honor of Squire Paul and Meeda (Daniel) Holman by their children to honor their parents’ long association with Truman. It is funded through an endowment with the Truman State University Foundation.

Free tickets may be picked up at the Student Union Building Information Desk or the Public Relations Office in McClain Hall 202. Tickets may also be picked up at Edna Campbells gift shop in downtown Kirksville or the Kirksville High School. For more information on how to obtain tickets, email pr@truman.edu or call 785.4016.

Faculty, staff and students can also request Beschloss' book through MOBIUS if the library's copies are checked out. Visit MOBIUS at searchmobius.org. Call the Circulation Desk, 785.4533 with questions.

Connor Stangler, a junior English and history double major from Columbia, Mo., was recently awarded a national competitive scholarship of up to $30,000 from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.

This year, the Foundation received 587 applications from 272 colleges. Only about 65 scholarships are awarded annually. Stangler is the only student from a Missouri university to receive the award.

Stangler, who will graduate from Truman in May 2013, tentatively plans to pursue a joint juris doctorate/master’s in public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison followed by a Ph.D. in politics and social policy at Princeton University. He credits Truman’s broad curriculum and focus on personal education, as well as service-learning experiences, with helping him secure this scholarship.

“Had I gone to a larger university, or one that placed less of an emphasis on civic commitment, I would not have had the same opportunities,” Stangler said. “The faculty, staff and administrators devote so much of their time to developing leaders and broadening the intellectual capabilities and, especially, the bold imagination of their students. Truman is interested in more than producing efficient professionals; they are interested in producing honest citizens, ones that have the chance to effect change.”


The Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., provides funding to students pursuing graduate degrees in public service fields. The Foundation also provides assistance with career counseling, internship placement, graduate school admissions and professional development. Scholars are invited to participate in a number of programs, including Truman Scholar Leadership Week, The Summer Institute and The Truman-Albright Fellows Program. A complete list of all of this year's scholarship recipients can be found at truman.gov/meet-our-scholars.

Master percussionist and five-time Grammy award-winning artist Glen Velez will present an evening concert at 8 p.m. April 3 in Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall.

He will also give a performance and history master class, open to all interested students and faculty, at 2:30 p.m. April 3 in the Student Union Building Alumni Room.

Velez is the founding father of the modern frame drum movement and is regarded as a legendary figure among musicians and audiences worldwide. Although the frame drum is one of the most ancient types of musical instruments, Velez’s new style has opened new possibilities for musicians around the globe.

Velez is the first percussionist to gain international recognition as a successful solo artist using frame drums. His plethora of sounds has inspired collaborations with a long and eclectic list. His signature sound can be heard on numerous films, television commercials, modern dance scores and hundreds of albums.

For more than 35 years, Velez has researched and cataloged frame drum history from the most ancient times to the present. He began to present highlights from the catalog in 2010.

Velez’s appearance is sponsored by the Center for Multi-Cultural Affairs, School of Arts and Letters and the Truman Percussion Society. For more information, contact Michael Bump at 785.4052 or at mbump@truman.edu.

In conjunction with Facebook’s changes, Truman’s main Facebook page has a new look.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the University can stay connected any time of day through Truman’s main Facebook page. A link to the site can be found on the Truman homepage. The page is updated regularly with Truman news, events, photos and important reminders. Truman departments and organizations are encouraged to make posts to update the University community on events taking place on campus. Prospective students and their families can visit the page for better insight on what life at Truman is really like.

The Facebook site also serves as a portal to Truman YouTube videos for an additional dimension of the University.

In addition to the main Facebook page, Truman friends can check out the popular Facebook pages for Truman Athletics, Truman Alumni and Friends and the Career Center. Links to all of the University’s social media resources, including Truman’s official Twitter feed and various department Facebook pages, can be found at social.truman.edu.  

Ed Schneider and Walter H. Ryle have been selected to be inducted into the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Hall of Fame in June.

Schneider was the 1964 national champion in cross country and long-time coach of the Bulldogs while Ryle served as faculty athletic representative and was the director of athletics at Truman.

Schneider ran cross country and track for Coach Ken Gardner and was a three-time cross country all-American and won the 1964 NCAA national championship. The 1964 team finished second in the NCAA college division that season. Schneider is just one of three individuals to still have won three straight MIAA cross country championships. He placed second in the mile run at the 1964 NCAA outdoor championships and still holds the Truman indoor record in the mile and outdoor record in the 1,500 meter run.

Schneider returned to Kirksville in 1974 to coach the cross country team and assist Gardner as track coach. He took over the entire men’s program in 1982 and won four conference cross country titles in 1983, 1992, 1994 and 2001 to go along with three regional titles during his 31-year tenure as coach. He had either a team or an individual at the Division II National Cross Country Championships 15 times with back-to-back third place team finishes in 1994 and 1995. He was a four-time MIAA Cross Country Coach of the Year and twice named MIAA Track & Field Coach of the Year.

Schneider is also a member of the Truman Athletics Hall of Fame, the Division II Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Missouri Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Ryle chaired Truman’s athletic committee starting in 1973 and held various offices in the MIAA over the course of his 26 years in college athletics. He was president of the MIAA during the league’s first expansion period as he served from 1988-1991 and was vice-president from 1985-88. He was a member of the long-range planning, chair of the eligibility and member of the infractions and finance committees during his tenure. Ryle served as chair of the search and screen committee that hired the MIAA’s first full-time commissioner, Ken Jones.

A history professor on campus since 1955, Ryle became Truman’s director of athletics in 1994 and oversaw the department until his retirement in 1999. One of his major accomplishments as athletic director was to bring an all-weather track to the Kirksville community at Stokes Stadium.

The MIAA Hall of Fame induction will take place June 7 as part of the league banquet in Kansas City, Mo.

The 53rd Annual Missouri Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership Conference took place March 23 in Osage Beach, Mo.

Members and the advisor from Truman participated at the conference, which featured competitive events for individuals and teams, leadership training and election of officers for the next year.

 
The Truman  chapter received the award for 1st largest chapter in the state. The chapter received the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit and 2nd in the Local Chapter Annual Business Report.

Twenty Truman students were recognized at the awards program and are eligible to represent Truman at the National Leadership Conference taking place in June in San Antonio, Texas.

Phi Beta Lambda is an educational association of post-secondary student members preparing for careers in business. There are more than 11,000 active members in the United States and Missouri has more than 400 members in 22 chapters.

In remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, the Student Recreation Center will be the site of the Escape the Titanic Party.

The party is scheduled for April 14 and participants can begin boarding the Titanic, represented by the Rec, at 11 p.m. Activities will start at 11:40 p.m., when the Titanic hits the iceberg. Participants’ goal will be to escape the ship by 2:20 a.m., the exact time the Titanic sank 100 years ago.

To escape the “Wreck” on a lifeboat, passengers must complete or pass different activities like badminton, basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, Pictionary, shuffleboard, speed dating, karaoke and more. The number of tasks required for a lifeboat differs depending if a passenger is issued a first, second or third class ticket.

Of the 2,240 passengers on the actual Titanic voyage, only 705 survived. The number of Truman “Wreck” participants saved will be proportional to this historical figure. Even if a passenger completes all the tasks, a lifeboat is not assured.

The event is sponsored by Ekklesia Campus Ministry and co-hosted by Table Tennis Club, Alpha Theta Omega Christian Sorority, Toastmasters International and the National Communication Association Student Club.

Other clubs are welcome to join in the planning sessions at 4:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Barnett Hall Atrium. For more information, contact Barry Poyner at bpoyner@truman.edu.

The Truman speech and debate team traveled to Kansas City the weekend of March 24-25 to compete against 68 other universities in the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament.

Senior Andrew Grojean, a communication major from Blue Springs, Mo., brought home five individual awards, including seventh place overall out of approximately 400 competitors.

Pi Kappa Delta is the speech and debate fraternal organization to which Truman belongs and includes teams from all over the nation.

Besides taking home the seventh place overall trophy, Grojean placed fourth in informative speaking out of 86 competitors and sixth in impromptu speaking out of 198 competitors. Grojean advanced to the quarterfinal round of duo interpretation with his partner, sophomore A.J. Taula, a communication and pre-education/secondary double major from Independence, Mo. Grojean also made it to quarterfinals in dramatic interpretation.

Sophomore Kristen Wright, an English major from Liberty, Mo., made the national final round of extemporaneous speaking, placing fifth out of 126 competitors.

Taula had a second duo with sophomore partner Arielle Long-Seabra, a business administration and accounting double major from Blue Springs, Mo., that made it to the quarterfinal round, while Long-Seabra also quarterfinaled her dramatic interpretation.

Freshmen Alex Eichstadt, an economics major from Blue Springs, Mo., and Kate Pillen, a communication major from Rochelle, Ill., were given excellent awards—meaning they placed in the top 30 percent of the field in an event. Pillen earned excellent awards in both prose interpretation and poetry interpretation while Eichstadt earned his in extemporaneous speaking.

The team also had success in open Lincoln-Douglas debate. Wright made the semifinal round of debate while also taking home a sixth place speaker award. Sophomore Myra Milam, a communication disorders major from Elkland, Mo., advanced to the quarterfinal round and earned a fifth place speaker award. Sophomore Nick Gorman, an economics and mathematics double major from Kansas City, Mo., made it to the octofinal round and was the ninth-place speaker. Freshman Maddie Ebert, a political science major from Omaha, Neb., also advanced to the octofinal round.

“This was a tough tournament in itself, and a great warm up for the upcoming National Forensics Association National Championship Tournament in April,” commented director of forensics Kristi Scholten.

This tournament brought the team’s regular season to a close.

The National Championship Tournament will take place at Ohio University, April 19-23. The team has qualified 22 individual events entries and six debate entries for the tournament.

For more information about the team, visit forensics.truman.edu.

April 4
Free Supplemental Learning Resources
Learn about a variety of free resources to engage students, such as TED Lectures, Merlot, Connexions, Ning, MIT OpenCourseWare and more.

April 11
Films On Demand
Learn more about Films on Demand, a service offered by the Library. Discover the list of resources with digital streaming rights already approved to select films that meet your needs with little to no additional copyright costs.

April 18
Social Media in the Classroom
The use of social media in the classroom is a hot topic these days. Learn more about how schools are addressing social media in the classroom, recent laws related to social media and students, and more. Learn more about how others are effectively using social media to create learning opportunities “where they live.”

April 25
Fun, Free Tools for Use in Education
The final workshop in the series will focus on sharing additional free tools such as Prezi, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon and much more. Join us for a fun-filled hour of sharing our favorite “freebies.”

To register to attend any of these sessions, go to eventmanager.truman.edu.

Truman counselor Joe Hamilton will offer communication advice at 7:30 p.m. April 3 in the Student Union Building Activities Room. The talk will focus on how communication can strengthen relationships with friends and others. The event is sponsored by Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority.

Marine flights will be available at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. April 5. Students will get the chance to sit at the controls and fly the plane. Sign up in the Career Center.

The Office of Citizenship and Community Standards (OCCS) is seeking an intern for the 2012-2013 school year. The OCCS is an extension of the Office of Student Affairs charged with administering the Student Conduct Code by resolving allegations of student or student organization misconduct while also promoting a healthy living and learning community at Truman. The OCCS intern may act as an assistant to the University conduct officer, assist with the maintenance of conduct files, co-advise the University Conduct Board, and assist with campus programing on topics such as risk management and community values.

This is an excellent opportunity for students with an interest in public relations, student affairs or higher education administration. Scholarship hours and institutional pay are also available for this internship. A full job description and applications are available online at conduct.truman.edu. Applications are due by 5 p.m. April 6 in the Office of Student Affairs, Student Union Building 1100. Qualified applicants will be contacted for an interview during the week of April 9. Contact Pernita Kapila, OCCS intern, at pdk1884@truman.edu, or Beth Kral, assistant dean, at bkral@truman.edu, with any questions.

Truman students can nominate an outstanding full-time faculty advisor for the
William O’Donnell Lee Advising Award.

To nominate a faculty member, complete the online nomination form at
 newstudents.truman.edu/web/form_builder2/form_builder.asp?testId=356.

Nominations are due by 5 p.m. April 8. Academic Advisors are not eligible for the award.

Contact Marty Eisenberg at martye@truman.edu with questions.

The National Communication Association Student Club is hosting the event “TSU One Day Without Shoes” in conjunction with the worldwide TOMS event April 10. On this day, the club will spread awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life by asking the Truman community to take off their own. Millions of children live without proper footwear, exposing them to injury and disease everyday.

“Shoeless” t-shirts will be available to purchase for $6. Contact btw5342@truman.edu or visit the Facebook event TSU ONE DAY WITHOUT SHOES for more information.

Going Global information day will be from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 11 in the Student Union Building. It will offer information about studying and working abroad.

Lambda Pi Eta invites all Truman students to compete in the 2012 Chandler Monroe Oratorical Contest. The contest is named for former Truman Communication professor and the 1990 Educator of the Year, Dr. Chandler Monroe. Monroe passed away from cancer. This event celebrates Monroe’s love of rhetoric. Students may compete for cash prizes with ceremonial, informative or persuasive speeches. The event will take place April 21. Registration is open now through April 13. For more information and to register online, visit  communication.truman.edu/chandlermonroe2011.asp.

The Students Supporting the Exceptional Community is looking for volunteers to be buddies for the athletes at the Special Olympics, 12-5 p.m. April 21. Buddies will remain with an assigned athlete all day, cheering them on and helping them enter their events. Volunteers can sign up to be a buddy anytime by contacting Kristen Little at knl7714@truman.edu.

FAC (Funds Allotment Council) is having open enrollment through the end of the semester. Applications can be found at fac.truman.edu and outside the FAC office in the Student Union Building 1109A.

Activity: Co-Rec Ultimate Frisbee
Division: Open
Deadline: April 2
Captains’ Meeting: N/A
Play Begins: April 14-15

Activity: Golf Scramble
Division: Open/Greek/Org
Deadline: April 16
Captains’ Meeting: N/A
Play Begins: April 17

Activity: Punt, Pass & Kick
Division: Open/Greek/Org
Deadline: April 14
Captains’ Meeting: N/A
Play Begins: April 17

Activity: Track Meet
Division: Open/Greek/Org
Deadline: April 12
Captains’ Meeting: N/A
Play Begins: April 19

All information, rules and registration requirements are online at 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.

The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis is a non-profit organization that provides access to higher education to St. Louis area students through interest-free loans. The program assists students with financial need. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average, demonstrate good character and must be a permanent resident of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles or Warren, or the Illinois counties of Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe or St. Clair. Applications are due April 15. For more information, call 314.725.7990 or email info@sfstl.org.

SellUsedBooks.com is currently accepting applications for their Spring 2012, 500-word essay, “Why I Deserve to Win this Scholarship” contest. More information may be found at sellusedbooks.com/sell-used-books-college-essay.htm. Deadline for the $1,000 scholarship application is April 15.

Charter One is taking applications for their 40 TruFit Good Citizen Scholarships to be awarded to students who demonstrate the difference they have made in their communities through volunteering. There will be one $5,000 grand prize, four $2,500 second prizes, and 35 $1,000 third prizes. Entries must be received between April 1–30. For more information go to charterone.com/scholarship.

The William M. Reiss Foundation is offering scholarships to graduates of publicly supported high schools located within the city limits of Belleville, Ill. Official college transcripts are required and a copy of the Student Aid Report from the FASFA is recommended. For more information, or to apply for this scholarship, visit the Financial Aid Office at McClain Hall 103. Deadline to apply is May 1.

The Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis is inviting eligible media communication and journalism students to apply for scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year. Students of journalism or related fields who are residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area (City of St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis and Warren counties in Missouri; and Bond, Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties in Illinois) are eligible to receive these scholarships. Applications are available online at stlpressclub.org/scholarships.html. Deadline for applications is May 4.

The Jack J. Isgur Foundation awards scholarships to students studying at colleges and universities who indicate an interest in teaching courses in the humanities, such as literature, fine arts, music, art, poetry and dance in Missouri schools, preferably in rural school districts. It is available to those at the junior and senior levels of undergraduate college, as well as graduate students. For more information, please stop by the Financial Aid Office, McClain Hall 103. Applications must be submitted by May 15.

The creators of the “Student Award Search Aid” website are offering a $1,000 scholarship for 2012. To learn more, visit studentawardsearch.com/scholarships.htm. Deadline for application is May 28.

The BigSun Organization is offering a $500 scholarship. All student-athletes are eligible for this award, regardless of sport. Deadline for submission is June 22. To learn how to apply, visit bigsunathletics.com.

The GP LSAT Prep Scholarship is available to students interested in applying to law school. One or more grants of $1,000 are awarded twice yearly (Jan. 30 and June 30). To apply, use the “contact us” form at getprepped.com/net to request the application packet.

The James “Rhio” O’Connor Memorial Scholarship Fund is offering its scholarship again this year to all college students. The scholarship awards are based on an essay contest with the subject concerning cancer. The scholarships amounts are $5,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place. Students can receive more information and request an application packet at cancermonthly.com/scholarship.asp.

AES Engineers will continue to provide $500 scholarships to high school seniors or college students, regardless of courses being studied, who meet certain criteria. Scholarships are intended for future leaders across a wide spectrum of fields of study. Students must submit an essay in answer to one of the two questions that are posted online at aesengineers.com/scholarships.htm. Deadline for entry is Oct. 5.

Currently enrolled undergraduate college students are eligible to apply for the Foreclosure.com 2012 Scholarship Program. Students may go to foreclosure.com/scholarship to find out how to be entered to win one of five scholarships by writing an essay on stimulating the US housing market. Top prize is $5,000, second through fifth place will receive $1,000 each.
Deadline to enter is Dec. 1.

Wells Fargo is offering 40 $1,000 scholarships. Twenty will be awarded to high school students and 20 to college students through a random drawing throughout the year. Apply on line at wellsfargo.com/collegesteps for chance to win.

Milk & Honey Publishing, CollegeGreekBooks.org and Big Walt Anderson will offer up to seven $700 cash awards for the current fall/spring academic year. Students may apply each month to be eligible for one of these scholarships. Students must be a member of a social Greek organization and have a minimum 2.0 GPA. For more information and application go to collegegreekbooks.org/cashaward.html.

Jerrold Hirsch, professor of history, participated in a workshop “Writing Democracy 2012: Envisioning a Federal Writers’ Project for the 21st Century” at the 2012 annual convention on College Composition and Communication in March in St. Louis, Mo., and presented a paper at another session entitled “Learning From the FWP.”

The undergraduate research teams of Diane Janick-Buckner, professor of biology, and Brent Buckner, professor of biology, traveled to Portland, Ore., to attend the Maize Genetics Conference in mid-March. Sophomore Lauren Choate presented a poster entitled “Copy Number Variation (CNV) of Genes involved in Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Maize.” Senior Anna Zahner and recent Truman graduates Prabhakar Bastola and Gaurab K.C. collaborated on the presentation of two posters entitled “Characterization of a new Developmental Mutant of Maize: raggedseedling-378” and “Histological and Molecular Characterization of Maize Mutant rld*5409.” Junior Kevin Bodker and recent Truman graduate Eric Butler were also co-authors on the posters. Also in attendance representing Truman was Ashley Lough, a 2006 graduate and postdoctoral research/teaching scholar at Truman. Truman alumni Charles Dietrich, David Skibbe and Ryan Douglas were also participants at the conference.

Elaine McDuff, associate professor of sociology, has published an article, “Collaborative Learning in an Undergraduate Theory Course: An Assessment of Goals and Outcomes,” in the April edition of Teaching Sociology, an academic journal of the American Sociological Association, which focuses on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

David Partenheimer, professor of English, was recognized by Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority as March’s professor of the month. Alpha Sigma Alpha’s program “Professor Payday” acknowledges one of Truman’s outstanding professors every month.

The Faculty Lunch-n-Learn series continues from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. April 4 in Pickler Memorial Library 103. The focus of this presentation is free supplemental digital learning resources.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) will conduct its monthly meeting at 12 p.m. April 5 in the Student Union Building 3201. Contact Marc Becker at marc@truman.edu or call 785.6036 for more information.

Spring Awakening will run at 8 p.m. April 11-14 in the James G. Severns Theatre. Tickets are free and are now available at the Ophelia Parrish Box Office. Patrons can reserve tickets in person or by calling 785.4515.

The next Physics Colloquium, “Photorefractive Polymers: Amalgamation of Organic Chemistry, Solid State Physics and Optics” will take place from 4:30-5:30 p.m. April 11 in Magruder Hall 1096.

The Women’s Resource Center is accepting applications now through April 16 in the Women’s Resource Center in the Student Union Building 1109 B. Applications may be submitted in paper and on TruPositions. They are accepting work-study, volunteer and scholarship workers.