College of Arts and Letters

Centers for Research and Service

Center for Dispute Resolution

The Center for Dispute Resolution is a community resource whose mission is to provide training and education in the field of alternative dispute resolution and mediation services to students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. The center offers materials and information about conflict management and alternative dispute resolution, a speakers bureau, and customized training, workshops, and technical assistance in mediation and conflict management for individuals, schools, government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The CDR has pioneered a number of unique programs including victim-offender mediation programs in southwest Missouri, the Dispute Resolution Network of the Ozarks, intensive mediation trainings each year in collaboration with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program at the Washington University School of Law, educational programs and resources for high-conflict parents and their children, programs on school conflict and bullying, and programs to address mother/daughter and parent/child conflicts. 

Missouri Fine Arts Academy

The Missouri Fine Arts Academy is a three-week residential program for about 150 of Missouri's artistically talented students who are ready to begin their junior or senior year in high school. The Academy has three primary purposes: To help artistically gifted students achieve their full potential and motivate them to use their abilities in attaining higher goals; to encourage local schools to establish and/or improve programs for artistically gifted youth; and to provide leadership in curriculum development, teacher training, and the development of special materials and teaching strategies that employ interdisciplinary arts instruction to improve education within artistic disciplines and the wider curriculum. The Academy's curriculum is designed to give participants an opportunity to pursue studies that differ from traditional approaches to arts education. Guest lectures, forums, films, and other events during the Academy reinforce and extend the curriculum. 

Ozarks Studies Institute

The Ozarks Studies Institute seeks to preserve the heritage of the Ozarks, its culture, environment, and history by fostering a comprehensive knowledge of Ozarks' peoples, places, characteristics and dynamics. The Institute promotes a sense of place for residents and visitors alike and serves as an educational resource by collecting existing and discovering new knowledge about the Ozarks and by providing access to that knowledge. The Institute enables the university to focus its programs relating to the Ozarks, serve as a clearinghouse for knowledge of and about the Ozarks, and promote scholarly activities that increase our understanding of the Ozarks. The Institute publishes OzarksWatch magazine; supports the Ozarks Studies Program and academic minor; and sponsors a major annual festival, the Ozarks Celebration, as well as speakers, professional conferences, and workshops. 

School of Communication Studies

The School of Communication Studies encompasses the Department of Communication and Department of Media, Journalism & Film. The heads of these departments serve as co-directors of the school to facilitate a number of joint ventures and activities in which both departments participate.