COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS NEWSLETTER

Missouri State University

VOLUME 7-2   Spring 2005

Dean's Corner: Dean Lorene Stone

Hello from the College of Humanities and Public Affairs at Missouri State!

The spring semester is quickly drawing to a close, so we need to get this newsletter to press.  What a memorable semester it has been for the College.  As you will see in this newsletter, we have been busy.  To begin with, the University's Centennial Celebration is in full swing, and we have participated in a number of events and activities to highlight Missouri State's past 100 years – the CHPA-sponsored Bioethics Symposium, the successful Public Affairs Conference, and the unveiling of the Citizen-Scholar Statue outside Strong Hall, just to name a few.  Second, on Founders' Day (March 17), Governor Matt Blunt was on campus to sign legislation to officially change the University's name to Missouri State University.  This change takes effect on August 28.  And third, after conducting a nationwide search, the University announced its next President – Dr. Michael Nietzel – to replace Dr. John Keiser on July 1.  As you
can imagine, we will have plenty of change and transition on campus over the next several months as we position the University to begin its second century of producing educated persons.

Dean's List Photo in Strong Hall Atrium

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Bioethics Conference: CHPA Centennial Event

Women's History Month Contributes to Diversity and Health Awareness

Among the goals each year of African American Heritage Month and Women's History Month is to develop a greater awareness of diversity in American society.  This year this goal was highlighted in a presentation by Dr. Wilma King, who holds the Strickland Professorship in African American History and Culture at the University of Missouri-Columbia, who spoke on the topic "Free Black Women during the Civil War Era."  Her presentation at Missouri State focused on the social and economic aspects of free women across regions in the slave era. Additionally, the presentation incorporated discussion about the sources available, including "slave diaries," to determine the interactions that existed between enslaved and emancipated women and the role of free women in the struggle to liberate all African Americans.

With the support of a Public Affairs Grant and contributions from several Colleges and Departments throughout the University, the Women's History Month Committee was able to bring nationally known author and clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Pipher to campus on March 16, 2005. A crowd of over 300 faculty, students, and community members heard her speak on "Ophelia's Family," a synthesis of her New York Times best selling books that deal with what she describes as the effects of our "toxic society" on the structure and value system of the American family.  Drawing on her own experiences of small town life in Sparta, Missouri, and elsewhere, she pointed to the effect of advertising on young children, the isolating affect of over-busy schedules, video game addiction, and, in general, the disconnect between parents and children.  Each of these points and others during her presentation fit into the university's Public Affairs mission and into the general theme for Women's History Month that "Women change America."

With the assistance of Drs. Denise Dutton and Stacy Ulbig (PLS),the Women's History Month celebration sponsored a panel of women who have been involved for many years in various aspects of public life. Members of the panel included: Roseann Bentley, Greene County Commissioner for the Eastern District and former State Senator; Nancy Brown Dornan, President of the Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust; Ellen Brantley, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church;  Cindy Rushefsky, Greene County Assistant Prosecutor; and Mary Collette, member of the Springfield City Council.  The panelists shared their experiences in public life, including how they became involved in their various fields and some of the surprising obstacles they faced. They pointed to key moments, people, and events that shaped their careers and personal paths and encouraged the audience members to think about the people and times most pivotal to them. The panel wrapped up with several thought-provoking questions from audience members on topics ranging from policy concerns over abortion to the impact the conservative trends in American politics have on women in public life to be potential role models for today's young women.

Annual History Day Contest

The Missouri State History Department once again hosted the Region 7, 2005 History Day Contest.  Co-chairs for this event were Dr. John Chuchiak and Dr. David Gutzke.  History Day is a national contest designed to give students in grades 6 through 12 the opportunity to research, prepare, and present projects in competition with their peers. All entries must relate in some way to a central theme, which changes yearly.  Each year roughly 500,000 students from across the United States compete in History Day. Participants are divided into a Junior Division (grades 6-8) and Senior Division (grades 9-12). There are seven categories in each division. Categories are grouped by presentation type. Students may create either individual or group (2 to 5 students per group) performances, documentary, or exhibits, or, they may submit an individual historical paper. The top three winners in each category at the regional are invited to enter the state contest, which will be held on the campus of the University of Missouri at Columbia on April 16.

The theme for this year's competition was "Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.  Over 90 performances, video presentations, and poster displays created by area high school and middle school students were judged by the faculty. 

Tree Planting Symbolizes Continuity as Missouri State enters a New Century

As part of the Founders' Day events, the History Department sponsored a tree planting ceremony outside Pummill Hall.  Dr. Wayne Bartee had rescued seedlings from one of the campus's ancient catalpa trees and nurtured them over a period of several years. He then donated two ten foot trees to the campus in order to insure that these beautiful flowering trees would continue to be a part of campus life.  The ceremony featured remarks by Dr. Michael Sheng, Head of the History Department; University President, Dr. John Keiser; and CHPA Dean, Dr. Lorene Stone.

Joshua Trampier,  a fall 1999 Missouri State graduate with a degree in History, is now a graduate student in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago.  As part of his graduate studies, he has been assisting in the excavation of an Egyptian New Kingdom settlement connected to the cult of King Ahmose, the first king of the 18th Dynasty.  Trampier reports that Ahmose built a limestone-clad pyramid for himself together with a series of temples and attached workshops in Abydos.  The settlement portion is where the priests, farmers, and artisans would have worked and worshipped.  From a previous season's surface survey, he notes that he already has found evidence of cultic activity, worshipping the deified pharaoh long after his death.  He says that "ceramic evidence suggests that the cultic activity lasted over 300 years, and that Ahmose was revered as a forefather of pharaohs like Sety I and Ramses II."

The accompanying picture is actually from excavations of the Tetisheri pyramid, another pyramid built by Ahmose in honor of his grandmother.  Trampier explains that he is working on the southern face with his Qufti assistant, Mahmoud Farid.  Egyptologists have drawn upon the Qufti men for years as a skilled labor pool.  Joshua explains, " When I want to excavate multiple contexts simultaneously, he and I spend a couple of minutes talking about our goals, then we put it into action.  He then directs the men to carry out our plan for the day."

Faculty/Staff Achievements and Departmental Activities

International Exchange Programs Initiated

On January 4, 2005, a signing ceremony took place between the Graduate Institute of Political Science at  the National Sun Yat-sen University and the Missouri State Department of Political Science on the campus of National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  NSYSU has been named by the Ministry of Education as one of Taiwan's seven major research-intensive universities.  With a population of over two million, Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan. Their PLS department only has exchange agreements with a small number of other institutions--including the two best universities in the People's Republic of China (Beijing University and Fudan University). The above image shows all the participants at the signing ceremony. To Dr. Dennis Hickey's right is Dr. Chung-Cheng Chang, President of NSYSU and to his left is Dr. Da-chi Liao, Director of the Graduate Institute of Political Science.  The others pictured here are various deans and professors and Dr. Hickey's wife, Cheng-May. The poster behind the participants was made by  students and it includes both the Missouri State logo and the Missouri State bear.

 The exchange program between Missouri State University and the University of Bern in Switzerland was initiated by Dr. Beat Kernen, head of the Political Science Department. Dr. Kernen is an alumnus of the University of Bern which he attended between 1971 and 1974 before coming to the United States as a graduate exchange student at the University of Kansas. According to the terms of this agreement, Missouri State students can apply to attend the University of Bern either for a full academic year or during the spring semester. The instructional language at the University of Bern is German.  If students wish to improve their German, classes can be booked at the university.  However, there are no classes for beginners.  During winter (spring) term, students have the opportunity to attend courses in Bernese dialect (Swiss German). The University of Bern is linked to two universities in French-speaking Switzerland, the University of Fribourg and the University of Neuchâtel. Students wishing to attend classes in French at these two universities can commute by train between Bern and Fribourg and Neuchâtel, respectively.

Political Science Professor Honored

Dr. Jim Kaatz, who directs the Missouri Local Government Program in the Political Science Department and serves as Education Director for the Missouri City Clerks and Finance Directors Association, has been awarded the 12^th Annual Institute Directors Award of Excellence by the International Association of Municipal Clerks. The award will be presented to Dr. Kaatz at the IAMC annual conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, in May. This award acknowledges unique and exceptional contributions of current or retired Institute Directors over time in promoting quality education for Municipal Clerks. The award is presented annually to an Institute Director who has contributed in a particularly significant way to the educational needs of Municipal Clerks and the advancement of the profession.

Dr. John Wilson: Origins of the Religious Studies Dept

During this Centennial Year for Missouri State, many of the academic departments are doing retrospectives about faculty in the past who have had an impact of their formation and development.  With this in mind, the Religious Studies Department invited Dr. John F. Wilson, who left Missouri State in 1983 to become Dean of Seaver College at Pepperdine University and now serves as the director of the Institute for the Study of Archaeology and Religion, to return to Springfield and talk about the earliest history of the department at Missouri State.  Wilson was hired as the first full-time faculty member of the department in 1973, although Religious Studies courses had been taught for many years by campus ministers and the local rabbi.  After Dr. Gerrit tenZytoff was hired to head the program in 1969, an effort was made, with the assistance of then Dean of Faculty Dr. Duane Meyer,  to develop a more traditional academic department.

History Secretary Recognized for Service to the Community

Jean Thomas, secretary in the History Department, was a 2004-2005 recipient of the Excellence in Community Service Award.  Although she has been involved in many service organizations since the 1960s, her most recent passion has been the American Red Cross, which started in 2001, just after 9/11.  Since that time, she has volunteered over 1,230 hours of her time in training and service!  So what has she done with all this time?  She has: 

·        Over 100 hours of classroom training in Mass Care, Family Services, Local Disaster Volunteering, CPR and First Aid.

·        Provided clerical assistance on a weekly basis to enter data on local disasters.

·        Participated in Red Cross informational and promotional activities.

·        As a member of the Disaster Action Team, she provided round the clock service to the 15 county area Red Cross services, providing clothing, food and shelter for those in immediate need and canteening first responders after a local fire, flood, tornado, etc.

·        As a member of the Disaster Services Human Resources, she responded to larger disasters throughout the state and nation.  This has taken her to New York for three weeks to assist in the 9/11 recovery and events within our state, like the May 4^th tornadoes that hit the southwest Missouri area, the Rolla/St. James Power Outage in 2003, and the tornados that hit Rosco and Clinton, MO in 2004. 

In order to be able to provide helpful assistance in a real disaster situation, much training and participation in drills is required, so the amount of time spent in preparation of response is tremendous. 

One other handy little item she has picked up along the way is an Amateur Radio license in Feb. 2003.  Since that time, she's been involved in supporting the communication needs as a weather spotter and helping out with both Kids-in-the-Park and the MS 150 Bike Tour.  Through her own efforts and those of two organizations she belongs to (ARES and RACES, with the Greene County Emergency Management Office), she is ready to assist as a communication link in major disasters. 

Most recently, she has become a trained member of a Community Emergency Response Team for natural and man-made disasters that might happen in our local neighborhoods, aiding fire departments and other first responders.  In fact, she's prepared to help out on the Missouri State campus if the need should arise.  She is an excellent example of the university's Public Affairs Mission in action.

Student Activities and Achievements

Strader Payton, a graduate student at Missouri State University, has been selected by the Japan Local Government Center for an internship in Japan this summer. Payton has a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Japanese and International Affairs from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.  Prior to attending Missouri State, Payton spent two years teaching English in Japan through a program sponsored by the Springfield-Isesaki Sister Cities Association.  While in Japan, Payton's responsibilities will include teaching English to city employees and supporting international exchange programs in Yokosuka, the city of his internship. During his internship, Payton plans to research Japanese emergency management, focusing on how it works and how it has changed or been reformed in the past 10 years. He will also focus on how local governments and the national government share responsibilities, coordinate response efforts, work together and communicate during disasters.

In November of 2004, members of the Missouri State World Affairs Council attended the American Model United Nations conference in Chicago where Matthew Stublefield and Jenn Davis won the Outstanding Delegation award in the 6th Committee to the General Assembly: Legal Committee for the delegation of Spain, which is the highest award at AMUN. The group also just recently returned from the University of California-Berkeley Model United Nations in San Francisco in February where Simon Mahan won Honorable Delegation in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee while representing Nicaragua.  The Missouri State student group typically attends two Model United Nations competitions a year and has been awarded at every competition in recent years. For further information, visit their website at http://studentorganizations.missouristate.edu/wac/.

Political Science major Christine Biondo has spent the past two semesters studying in Europe, most recently on the Mediterranean island of Malta.   In describing her experience she notes that, "As a political science major and an international relations minor I felt that studying abroad would provide experience in my field that would go beyond what I could pick up in the classroom. "  She goes on to say that, "The whole process of leaving my country and place of comfort wasn't easy, but it has been worth it and I am confident that the lessons I have learned and the knowledge of other cultures that I have obtained will pay off both with my major/minor and especially afterwards in the career I choose." She was able to do an Advanced Political Science program last semester while in Sweden and this semester in Malta is working more on her minor, taking a variety of International Relations classes.  She endorses this type of educational experience saying, "I truly believe that the knowledge and new perspectives that I have obtained from being immersed in these other cultures are extremely important and will give me a competitive edge for my future."   

Transitions

Dr. Dale Wasson (ECO) will retire at the end of the spring 2005 semester. He has been a member of the Department of Economics since 1969 (a 36 year tenure of service to the university), and for the past four years has served as Department Head.  Dale also had an impact on the university as a member of the University Roles and Rewards Committee and as a resource on budgeting.  A past recipient of the Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award, Dale has always put his students first and has had a real impact on their lives.  His wife, Lynn, retired from the Department of Management in December.

College Development Report

As a result of the generosity of alumni and faculty in the College of Humanities and Public Affairs, there are three new scholarships available to CHPA Students.

J.C. and Sarah Edna Young Scholarship

Missouri State alumnus Richard F. Young has created the J.C. and Sarah Edna Young Endowed Scholarship, in honor of his parents, with a gift of $1,000,000.  The scholarship will be available beginning this Fall 2005 to students graduating from Mountain Grove or Cabool High Schools who will be majoring in any discipline within the College of Humanities and Public Affairs.  J.C. was a graduate of Mountain Grove High School where he lettered in football and basketball.  He was a long-time Mountain Gove businessman and civic leader.  J.C. owned Young's Furniture and served as mayor of Mountain Grove and chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.  Sarah Edna was a graduate of Cabool High School and was also very active in civic leadership. Rich and his wife, Doris, currently reside in Boston, Mass.   He is the president of Welch and Forbes, LLC, a financial investment firm.

Al and Margaret Hemphill Scholarship

The Al and Margaret Hemphill Scholarship was created by Lorene Stone, Dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs, in honor of her parents.  The scholarship will be awarded for the first time during the Fall 2005 semester to a student majoring in any discipline within the College of Humanities and Public Affairs.  Preference will be given to a student from Iowa, the Hemphills' home state.  The student must have a stellar academic record with a minimum grade point average of 3.50.

Through generous contributions of graduates and friends of the University, a scholarship will be awarded from the CHPA general scholarship fund within the Missouri State Foundation.  Graduates of the College are called each year during the CHPA phonathon and are asked to support their department or the college in general.  Many choose to support the general scholarship fund of the College.  The scholarship will be available to a student majoring in any discipline in the College and must be of sophomore or junior standing.  The student must have a minimum 3.25 overall grade point average and exhibit a record of service, leadership and qualities consistent with the goal of the public affairs mission.

For more information on how you can give to an existing scholarship in any department of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs or how you can create a named scholarship of your own, please contact Bob Beumer at 417/836-4547 or by e-mail at rfb131t@missouristate.edu

Graduates and friends can make gifts online through the Missouri State Foundation website located at https://ws.missouristate.edu/giving/pledge2.asp?major=CHPA, or if you prefer, we can send you information through the mail.  For more information contact Bob Beumer, Director of Development, at 417/836-4547 or rfb131t@missouristate.edu

Please contact Dr. Victor H. Matthews by phone (417-836-5529) or email: vhm970f@missouristate.edu if you have comments or questions about this newsletter.