Vol. 10 No. 9 - October 25, 2005

Curiosity is springing up around Truman over a unique addition to campus. Upon their return to school this year many students wondered why a garden, complete with a tall, square pole in its center, now decorated the space on the south side of Magruder Hall. To the surprise of many, the addition of the Gaber Solar Clock Garden has been a labor of love for several of their fellow students and faculty members for years.

The Gaber Solar Clock Garden includes both a sundial and garden constructed by Truman students, faculty and staff and Kirksville community members. The sundial consists of a circular pattern of concrete lines on the ground with a tall wooden pole, called a gnomon, in the center. The sundial’s gnomon was cut from a red cedar tree that once stood in the sundial’s location before being cut down to make room for a gravel parking lot.

Named for the alumni couple that funded its creation, Elsie and Ron Gaber, the sundial projects the time of day with the shadow cast by the gnomon on the ground. As the sun changes position in the sky throughout the day, the square pole’s shadow moves from left to right along the length of the garden. The gnomon’s shadow also helps indicate what time of year it is. Thick horizontal lines of concrete run across the sundial, marking the farthest and closest positions of the sundial on June 21 and Dec. 21. Other straight lines correspond to where the gnomon’s shadow will fall on both the spring and fall equinoxes.

The sundial is complemented by a beautiful assortment of flowers and plants nestled between and around its concrete lines. These plants are more than mere decorations, however. The unique plants make up the clock garden. All of the plants included in the garden were carefully chosen because they flower or smell differently at specific times of day. In fact, the flowering times of each plant correspond to their positions on the sundial. For example, a tropical-looking plant indigenous to southern Missouri called the passionflower blooms quickly at approximately noon but then withers quickly in preparation to repeat the cycle the very next day. While the idea for such a garden dates back as far as the 1700s, such unique blends of science and creativity remain hard to come by.

A dedicated team of students, faculty, staff and community members made the addition of the Gaber Solar Clock Garden to Truman’s campus possible. Planning for the project began about two years ago in a JINS class taught by Matthew Beaky, associate professor of physics. He and his students designed the sundial, including its location and structure. When Steve Carroll, associate professor of biology, learned of the plans for the sundial, he suggested adding the clock garden as a more meaningful complement to the structure than simple beds of roses or plots of grass. He and his students designed the garden, selecting plants that would be both aesthetically pleasing and appropriate.

Once all of the necessary plants had been purchased, grown in the Magruder greenhouse, or a combination of the two, a multitude of volunteers and staff members pitched in to construct the solar garden. Employees of Truman’s Physical Plant took care of most of the concrete construction work. Students involved with the project, football players, and even random passersby all helped in planting the garden and completing other construction tasks.

Katrina Brink, a sophomore agricultural science major from Liberty, Mo., who served on the construction crew, says she hopes to spread awareness of the unique solar garden throughout the Kirksville community. She plans to work with some elementary schools and host some after-school programs for kids in the garden.

Upkeep of the solar clock garden will be a continual process Carroll said. However, all those who have worked, and continue to work, so diligently on the project, are excited about its success. Truman’s Gaber Solar Clock Garden is attracting interest from gardeners and sundial enthusiasts around the world.

Dr. Patricia Potter, RN, PhD, FAAN, a nursing research scientist at Barnes-Jewish Medical Center in St. Louis, is the 2005 Fall Distinguished Speaker in Nursing sponsored by Rho Omega Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International. She will discuss “Evidence-Based Practice: The Foundation for Change,” on Nov. 1, at Patterson’s Restaurant. Dinner will begin at 6 p.m., and Potter’s presentation will commence at approximately 7 p.m. The public is invited. Cost is $20 for the dinner. People may attend the speaker’s presentation for free. Attendance for the dinner and/or presentation requires R.S.V.P. to either the Truman Nursing Program at 785.4557, or to Brenda Geisbuhler at 665.4810 or geis@cableone.net by Oct. 28.

Potter was inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 2003. The American Academy of Nursing is constituted to anticipate national and international trends in health care, and address resulting issues of health care knowledge and policy. The invitation to Fellowship is recognition of one’s accomplishments within the nursing profession. For instance, Potter established the Patricia Potter Quality and Innovation Award at Barnes-Jewish Medical Center to recognize an outstanding nurse annually from the staff at Barnes-Jewish Medical Center. She was a finalist in the Missouri Tribute to Nurses in 1990. Potter participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s national program, Last Acts Coalition, to improve the care of people at the end of life.

Her work as editor and author for numerous texts in nursing knowledge including “Clinical Nursing Skills & Techniques” (2005), “Fundamentals of Nursing” (2005), “Virtual Clinical Excursions with Basic Nursing: A Critical Thinking Approach” (2003), and “Virtual Clinical Excursions for Potter & Perry: Fundamentals of Nursing” (2004).

Rho Omega Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing is sponsoring the Fall Distinguished Speaker in order to promote nursing scholarship. The vision of Sigma Theta Tau International is to create a global community of nurses who lead in using scholarship, knowledge and technology to improve the health of the world’s people. Sigma Theta Tau International is dedicated to improving the health of people worldwide by increasing the scientific base of nursing practice.

The University is offering Scholarship of Assessment Grants for summer 2006. The Grants are directed toward two basic goals: to improve the quality of student learning and development at Truman, and to enhance the culture of assessment through faculty and staff participation in research and scholarship. All competitive grant proposals will focus on the use of assessment data to answer questions of importance to the University community.

Faculty and staff may submit proposals in any number of areas (see guidelines for more specific qualifications). Grant applications are due to the division or supervisor by Nov. 18 and to the Vice President for Academic Affairs Office by Nov. 22. Grants are up to $1,000 for a single investigator, $1,500 for two investigators, and $2,000 for three or more investigators.

For the grant applications and guidelines, visit http://assessment.truman.edu/grants/index.htm. The site also contains samples of past approved grants and reports. The application, guidelines, and previous recipients’ reports are also available through the Vice President for Academic Affairs Office at 785.4107.

USA Today is enlisting support in selecting the nation’s best and brightest college students.

Twenty students will be named to the 17th annual All-USA College Academic First Team. The students will be featured in a two-page color spread in the USA Today in February 2006 and win $2,500 cash awards. Forty more students will be recognized in the newspaper as Second and Third teams.

The criteria are designed to find students who excel not only in scholarship but also in leadership roles on and off campus. A key element given most weight by the judges will be a student’s outstanding original academic or intellectual product. The judges will be influenced by the student’s ability to describe that outstanding endeavor in his or her own words. They will not read an author’s work, see an artist’s painting, or hear a composer’s music. They will rely solely on the student’s ability to describe the effort in writing, supplemented by recommendations from the nominating professor and two other people of the nominee’s choice.

USA Today invites faculty to nominate qualified students. To nominate more than one student, please duplicate the form or download additional forms from their Web site at http://allstars.usatoday.com. Bookmarking the site would be helpful for future use.

Any full-time undergraduate of at least sophomore standing at a four-year institution in the United States or its territories is eligible. U.S. citizenship is not required.

Criteria for the academic team were developed in consultation with the co-sponsors: the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the American Council on Education (ACE).

Winners will be selected by a panel of educators, chosen in cooperation with the co-sponsors of USA Today.

Nominations must be postmarked by Nov. 30. Call Carol Skalski at 703.854.5890 or e-mail allstars@usatoday.com for questions.

If you are a graduate of the Chillicothe R-II School, currently enrolled in school, have completed 60 hours of course work, and have been accepted in the MAE Program you are eligible to apply for a $500 scholarship that is being offered by the Chillicothe CTA.

Other criteria which will be considered for the scholarship include academic ranking, grade point average, SAT or ACT scores, and the written application form.

If you are a Chillicothe R-II graduate and meet the above requirements, please stop by the Financial Aid Office in McClain Hall 103 to obtain an application.

The Financial Aid Office has received notification of The Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship provided by the Drink for Health Online Foundation.

This scholarship is available to 18 year and older college or college-bound students, who qualify by achieving minimum performance requirements within the scholarship program. For more information, go to http://www.drinkforhealthonline.ws on the Web.

Dennis Markeson (right), Sodexho director at Truman, presents Anne Barlow (left), chapter manager of the Adair County Red Cross, with a check for $3,875.42 in Mainstreet Market recently.

In response to the need of Hurricane Katrina victims, Residence Life and Sodexho at Truman teamed together for a fund-raiser on Sept. 7-9.
Students were allowed to donate one or more meals from their meal plan and Sodexho would give the food cost of meals to the Red Cross of Adair County.

Students, faculty and staff donated a total of $3,875.42 during the three-day event.

Flu Clinics will take place at the Student Health Center on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Immunizations are available to the general population at this time, according to guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control. Students will be charged $15 for the immunization. Faculty, staff, and spouses covered on University insurance will not be charged for the flu immunization. Only a portion of the total vaccine order has currently arrived. If current vaccine stock is depleted, clinics may be rescheduled as necessary.

The dates and times currently scheduled are:

Oct. 25     8-11 a.m.
Oct. 26     8-11 a.m.
Oct. 31     1-4 p.m.
Nov. 1     1-4 p.m.
Nov. 2     8-11 a.m.

“Archaeology as Science- Towards an Explanation of Archaeological Patterns of Cultural Variability”

Amber Johnson, presenter
assistant professor of anthropology

8 p.m. • Oct. 27
Violette Hall 1000

Reception to follow in the Violette Hall Commons.

Johnson seeks to explain global patterns of variability and change in human adaptations for roughly the last 30,000 years. In her research during the past few years, she has developed a strategy for comparing archaeological sequences around the world using culture history as the starting point for measuring the durations of a few general types of adaptions.

The public is invited to attend.

Mock Interviews
9 a.m.-5 p.m. • Oct. 25
Larry Frey (Eli Lilly)
Dan Staples (Target)
Deneke Kuschel (Target)
Tina Moss (Steak n’ Shake)
Paul Ledgard (Steak n’ Shake)
Matthew Wideman (May Company)

Sign up for mock interviews today in the Career Center.

The Career Center doesn’t want students going into Expo cold, so they scheduled events titled “Map Out Your Future.”

Backpack to Briefcase
by Maria Rolfes, Edward Jones
5-6 p.m. • Oct. 25
Student Union Building Conference Room

“How to Ace the Interview”
by Larry Frey, Eli Lilly
6:30-8:30 p.m. • Oct. 25
Student Union Building Governors Room

Career Expo
1-5 p.m. • Oct. 26
Student Union Building

Each semester approximately 100 companies come to Truman’s campus to recruit students of all majors.

Career Expo Reception
5-6:30 p.m. • Oct. 26
Career Center

The Career Center will be having a reception for students, faculty, staff and employers.

If you have any questions, call the Career Center at 785.4353.

Midterm grades for all full semester 100 and 200 level classes for the fall 2005 semester are currently available via TruView.

For more information, contact the Registrar’s Office at 785.4143.

Truman’s United Way campaign is currently at $40,353.94, which is 77.6 percent of their goal.

United Way Student Food Fast Week
Oct. 24-28

Students can donate a meal block at the register or through their SA and that money will go toward the United Way fund-raising effort.

The Geek Week Magic Tournament will take place at 5 p.m., Oct. 28, in Violette Hall 1212. Players young and old are encouraged to come compete against their fellow collectors.

The Geek Week One-shot RPG Night will be at 5 p.m., Oct. 29, in the SUB Governors Room. This event, for seasoned veterans or first-time players, is usually referred to as tabletop or pen-and-paper role playing games.

Geek Week Outdoor Games will take place at noon, Oct. 30, on the Quadrangle. This will give geeks and nerds a chance to get a bit of fresh air. Planned games include super dodgeball and calvinball.

Geek Week Haunted Card Games will be played at 5 p.m., Oct. 31, in the SUB Alumni Room. This event is geeky card games that are haunted.

Geek Week Console Gaming Night presented by CGA will begin at 6 p.m., Nov. 2, in the Ryle Hall Main Lounge.
There will be several televisions and countless consoles ranging from
Atari to Xbox set up for free play.

Geek Week Miniatures Night will be at 6 p.m., Nov. 3, in Baldwin Hall 251. This is the night for people who collect miniature figures of all kinds, particularly the variety that can be used to play games.

For more information, check the Geek Week section of the RPG Club forums at http://rpgclub.truman.edu or contact Harry Althoff at 660.349.9001
or hla539@truman.edu.

While the fence surrounding the parking lot west of Magruder Hall has been removed, the lot is not open for parking. The lot is still being used by the Magruder Hall construction crew and will remain closed as it will be used for the SUB construction crew.

The parking lot at the southwest corner of Patterson and Franklin streets will be closed for Career Expo vendors Oct. 26.

Christine Harker, associate professor of English, recently presented her paper, “Purity and Danger: the Sexual Ambiguity of Fat,” at the Midwest American Popular Culture Association’s annual meeting in St. Louis.

Carol Perry, a senior composition emphasis major from Cumberland, Wis., received second place in the 2005 Missouri Music Teachers Association Composition Competition for her original musical work. The four-movement chamber work, “Woodwind Quartet,” was entered in the Collegiate Division of the competition.

Matt Safley, a junior piano performance major from Peterson, Iowa, will be a guest soloist with the Omaha Symphony on Oct. 25 and Oct. 27. He will be performing the final movement of the Mozart “Piano Concerto K. 467 in C Major” in the Omaha Symphony’s “Celebrate Creativity” program. The chamber orchestra will also be playing selected works commemorating Mozart’s 250th birthday. Safley is being featured on these concerts as the first place winner of the Robert M. Spire Competition. Safley is a student of Janice Saffir, professor of music.

A musical composition by Michael Van Bebber, graduate music student, will be performed at the 2005 College Music Society National Conference. Van Bebber’s composition, “Three Miniatures for Bassoon and Piano,” was selected for performance from a juried international call for scores. The composition will be performed by Steve Vacchi, professor of bassoon, and Magdalena Alamek, professor of piano, at the CMS Conference in Quebec on Nov. 4.

There will be a Quick Grants 60-Minute Workshop at 3:30 p.m., Oct. 25, in Pickler Memorial Library 205. This will feature the National Science Foundation’s Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement Grant (CCLI) and Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program. For more information, contact Judy Lundberg at 785.7459.

The Assessment Colloquium will take place from 4:30-6 p.m., Oct. 25, in the SUB Spanish Room. This is a joint project between the Assessment Committee Analysis and Reporting Group and TCTL. Adam Davis, interim director of interdisciplinary studies, will discuss “Assessment of JINS Outcomes: ‘The JINS Effect.’” Contact the Center for Teaching and Learning at 785.4391 for more information.

Project Alpha will take place from 6-8 p.m., Oct. 25, in Baldwin Hall 251 and 252. Students may get tested for HIV and learn more about sexually transmitted infections. This event is sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Contact Biplaw Rai at 660.525.3136 or d3888@truman.edu for more information.

Steven Watts will deliver this year’s Kohlenberg-Towne Lecture at 7 p.m., Oct. 25, in the SUB Activities Room. Watts, a professor of history at the University of Missouri-Columbia, will speak about the role Henry Ford played in shaping twentieth-century America. The lecture is intended for a broad audience and is open to the public. For more information, contact Sally West at 785.7641.

Windfall, the campus literary magazine, is accepting submissions of poetry, art, drama, music, essays, photography, and prose. Submissions are due Oct. 25 in Kirk Memorial 203B, Windfall’s CSI mailbox, or e-mailed to windfall@truman.edu. Go to http://windfall.truman.edu for more information.

Peter Groner from the department of chemistry at the University of Missouri-Kansas City will be presenting “Rotational Spectroscopy of Interstellar Cloud Molecules with Two Internal Rotors” from 4:30-5:30 p.m., Oct. 26, in Barnett Hall 112. This Physics Colloquium is free and open to the public. Call Taner Edis at 785.4583 for more information.

Sierra at Truman will feature ”Lobbying to Protect Missouri’s Clean Air and Water,” a presentation by Carla Klein, chapter director of Missouri Sierra Club. This open meeting will take place at 6 p.m., Oct. 26, in Baldwin Hall 251. Contact Jim Turner at 785.4348 for more information.

The four-lanes of U.S. Highway 63 from Macon, Mo., to Millard, Mo., will open at 2 p.m., Oct. 27.

The Sigma Alpha Haunted Corn Maize at the University Farm will be open 7-10 p.m., Oct. 27 and 8 p.m.-midnight, Oct. 28-29. Kids Day (not scary) will be from 3-6 p.m., Oct. 30. Admission is $3. Concessions will be sold. Contact Kelly Hanley at 660.341.6400 for more information.

The Black and Gold Informational 2005 will take place from 7-8 p.m., Oct. 27, in Violette Hall 1439. This event is sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha. For more information, contact Biplaw Rai at 660.525.3136.

The Graduate English Organization is hosting an English MA informational forum at 7 p.m., Oct. 27, in Baldwin Hall 284. During this time, several English graduate students at Truman will talk about their experiences with the program and answer questions from prospective students.

The Truman New Music Festival will take place at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 27 and 1:30 p.m., Oct. 28, in the Ophelia Parrish Performance Hall. For more information, contact Warren Gooch at 785.4429.

The Equestrian Team Pumpkin and Bake Sale will be from noon until 4 p.m., Oct. 28, on the Quadrangle. Contact Rebekah Kruvand at rlk933@truman.edu for more information.

The Biology Seminar Series will continue with “Tick-borne Rickettsial Diseases in the Southeastern United States” from 12:30-1:20 p.m., Oct. 28, in Magruder Hall 2050. Dr. William Nicholson from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, will be delivering the presentation.

SAB presents CAKE in concert. Doors will open at 7 p.m., Oct. 28, in Pershing Arena. Tickets are $8 for students with a University ID and $15 for the general public. For more information, contact the Student Activities Board at 785.4722.

Members of the University community are invited to participate in the first survey of campus member satisfaction with Physical Plant services. The survey has six to seven questions for each type of service, and a section to provide written comments. All survey responses are anonymous. Physical Plant will use the results of the survey to guide their improvement efforts. Their objective is to provide the best possible service. The survey is available online and must be completed by Oct. 28. To take the survey, go to http://survey.truman.edu/takeSurvey.asp?surveyID=185 and log-in with your network username and password.

Blanton/Nason/Brewer is hosting a Haunted House in their basement from 8:30-10:30 p.m., Oct. 29. There is a small fee of $1. Contact Lindsay Allan at 785.7111 or e-mail lma948@truman.edu.

Sigma Lambda Gamma will be sponsoring winter apparel from Bolivia for sale from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Oct. 31-Nov. 4, on the Quadrangle. All proceeds will go the a Fair Trade Organization. For more information, contact Tamaka Mann at 627.5466 or d2208@truman.edu.

Truman’s Residential Hall Association Annual Community Safe Trick-or-Treating will take place from 6-8 p.m., Oct. 31, in the residence halls.

The Career Center is presenting its Third Annual Haunted House from 6-8 p.m., Oct. 31, at the Career Center. Searching for a career can be scary, but not as scary as this hospital themed haunted house. For more information please call 785.4353.

The Center for Teaching and Learning will continue its Weekly Lunch Series by sponsoring “Extending Your Reach,” a student project to develop annotated bibliographies to guide co-curricular exploration of course content, at 12:30-1:30 p.m., Nov. 2, in the SUB Spanish Room. Call 785.4391 for more information.

The 2005 College Bowl Tournament will take place from 6-10 p.m., Nov. 2, in the third level of the SUB. This competition will decide the varsity team, which will advance to the Regional Championship Tournament in February 2006. For more information, contact Amy Currier at 785.4222.

The Truman Forensics Union public debate series will continue at 8 p.m., Nov. 2, in the Baldwin Hall Little Theatre. The topic will be “The U.S. Should Abide by the UN Declaration of Human Rights.” The format will be in the National Parliamentary Debate Association (NPDA) style. Students, faculty, staff and members of the Kirksville community are encouraged to attend. 

The Truman Child Development Center Seminar Series will continue from 5-6 p.m., Nov. 3, in the SUB Alumni Room. Adam Davis, interim director of interdisciplinary studies, and Jo Agnew-Tally, associate professor of early childhood education, will be presenting, “An Introduction and Overview of the Truman Interdisciplinary Studies Program with an Emphasis on Interdisciplinary Studies within the Field of Early Childhood.”

The Global Issues Colloquium will take place from 7-9 p.m., Nov. 3, in Violette Hall 1000. Call 785.4391 for more information.

The last day to drop a full-term course for the fall 2005 semester is Nov. 3. Courses may be dropped via TruView using a fall 2005 RAC number, or in person in the Registrar’s Office between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. A $50 fee will be assessed, and a W grade will appear on the student’s transcripts for the dropped course. For more information, contact the Registrar’s Office at 785.4143.