The Quad

(Editor’s Note: This item is based on material that appeared previously in UMatters)

Two A&S faculty awarded 2011 Guggenheim Fellowships

UMKC and the College are very proud to have won two of the 180 Guggenheim awards made this year.

Christe Hodgen (English) is an Assistant Professor who specializes in fiction; creative writing; contemporary literature; and the history of the short story. She is the author of A Jeweler’s Eye for Flaw (UMASS, 2003), winner of the AWP Award in Fiction; and Hello, I Must Be Going (W.W. Norton & Co., 2006), which was featured in Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers series. Her short stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including The Oxford American, Ploughshares, The Georgia Review, The Southern Review, and New Stories from the South. Her awards include a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Pushcart Prize.

Clancy Martin (Philosophy) works on 19th and 20th Century European philosophy after Kant, the intersections of philosophy and literature, and the ethics of advertising and selling. Clancy has authored, coauthored and edited several books in philosophy, including Love, Lies and Marriage (forthcoming, Farrar Straus & Giroux), Honest Work (Oxford University Press, 2006) with Robert Solomon and Joanne Ciulla, and The Philosophy of Deception (forthcoming, Oxford University Press). In addition to his appointment as Professor at UMKC’s College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Martin is also Professor of Business Ethics at the Bloch School of Management.

»  http://www.gf.org/news-events/press-releases/

 UMKC History Professor awarded prestigious Fellowship in Florence, Italy

Shona Kelly Wray (History) has been awarded a prestigious Fellowship at Villa I Tatti in Florence, Italy for the 2011-2012 academic year. The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti is devoted to advanced study of the Italian Renaissance in all its aspects. Shona is among fifteen Fellows chosen world- wide and one of three from a U.S. college or university. For more see:

»  http://www.itatti.it/appointees/Appointees20112012.pdf

Ricky Allman (Art and Art History) has been awarded one of The Charlotte Street Foundation’s Awards for Visual Artists for 2011. The grant is in the amount of $10,000. For more, see:

http://www.charlottestreet.org/2011/04/2011-charlotte-street-visual-artist-awards-fellows-announced/  

Richard Delaware (Mathematics and Statistics) won the 2011 Missouri Section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, awarded on April 1 in Columbia, MO, at the annual section meeting. His nomination packet was also forwarded to the MAA to be entered in the national competition for the 2011 Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics, and he will learn this summer whether he is one of the up to 3 annual winners. See:

http://www.maa-mo.org/teachingaward/teachingaward.html 

William Ashworth (History) organized an exhibition last year for Linda Hall Library: The Grandeur of Life: A Celebration of Charles Darwin. The Library has just learned that the online catalog of the exhibition (which he wrote and designed) has won the national award given by the Association of College and Research Libraries, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division, for best online exhibition of 2009-2010. Linda Hall had only won it once before, for his earlier printed catalog, The Face of the Moon (1991). The award will be presented on June 26, 2011 in New Orleans at the annual meeting of the ACRL; Bruce Bradley, curator of rare books at Linda Hall, will accept it. For the award winning catalog, see:

• http://www.lhl.lib.mo.us/events_exhib/exhibit/exhibits/darwin/2_brunfels.shtml

 James Sturgeon (Economics) was interviewed by NBC Action News about the legislative debate in Jefferson City on a proposed Right to Work Law for Missouri. For more see:

• http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/missouri/right-to-work-debated-in-jefferson-city

Kati Toivanen ( Art & Art History) gave a Visiting Artist Presentation at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art on March 24, 2011. For more see:

• http://www.jccc.edu/press_releases/2011/gen-march-3rd-thurs.html

Monica Mingucci (Applied Language Institute) was interviewed for the Wednesday Sun about ALI and its programs. For more see:

• http://www.kccommunitynews.com/wednesday-sun-news/27361606/detail.html

Maude Wahlman (Art and Art History) was curator for an exhibit of African Art at Northwest Missouri State University that ran April 4 through April 22, 2011. She gave the opening night lecture as well as wrote the catalog. For more see:

• http://www.nwmissouri.edu/dept/art/deluce/2010/african.htm
• http://www.nwmissouri.edu/dept/art/pdf/deluce/AfricanCatalog.pdf

Bill Black (Economics) who had served as the Federal Government’s director of litigation during the savings and loan crisis was again interviewed by the New York Times about the way those who seemed to have precipitated the current financial crisis have been treated. See:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/business/14prosecute.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1

The editorial board of the Pushcart Prizes: Best of the Small Presses has announced that the international literary magazine New Letters has won a rare two awards for work published in 2010. An essay by the famed poet and essayist B. H. Fairchild, called “Logophilia,” will join a short story called “Rockaway,” by the up-and-coming literary talent Lydia Conklin. Both works first appeared in the summer 2010 edition of New Letters and will be reprinted in The Pushcart Prizes: XXXVI (2012).

New Letters received 11 nominations from the Pushcart Prize Board of Contributing editors, for works published in the magazine last year. Works published in New Letters have been frequently nominated in years past and have won Pushcart Prizes several times. This year, New Letters writers have been nominated for poetry, memoir, fiction and essay writing.  However, this is the first year the magazine had two New Letters literary awards-winning writers nominated, Rose Bunch and Siobhán Fallon, and two international writers, Mariko Nagai of Japan and Dorthe Nors of Denmark nominated. Another well-established New Letters writer, Gary Gildner, also received a nomination for the Pushcart Prize in the memoir category.

New Letters Also Gets Glowing Review

Sima Rabinowitz of newpages.com writes: “Here is what I appreciate about New Letters: “a whispery shriek like cracked clarinet reeds.” That’s a characterization, by the first person narrator, of the voice of a character in Abby Frucht’s story “Tamarinds,” and if you know anything about clarinets it will be music to your ears. It’s that precision, and the unique and exacting sensibility of New Letters’ writers, that I anticipate and am perpetually grateful to encounter. The writing is unceasingly original, competent, and always worth my time.”

For more, see:  http://www.newpages.com/literary-magazine-reviews/2011-03-15/#New-Letters-v77-n1-2010-11.

Several news items are of note for this E-Zine.

Department Moving: The Department of Psychology was closed Tuesday, May 10th–Friday, May 13th in order to move to its new ON CAMPUS location: Cherry Street Hall, which is next to the new Student Union. Beginning Monday, May16th you can find the departmental office, faculty offices, undergraduate advising and Psi Chi/Psychology Club all on the third floor of their new building. They are very excited about this move because it will allow them to be more accessible to students and closer to campus activities. Please see them in their new location!

Psi-Chi and Psychology Club Induction Ceremony

On the evening of April 6, 2011, the UMKC chapter of Psi Chi and the Psychology Club had their Spring induction ceremony, welcoming 36 new members. New members in attendance recited the Psi Chi ‘Oath of Membership’ and participated in a candle lighting ceremony. The 2011-2012 Psi Chi and Psych Club officers also were announced during the Spring Induction Ceremony. Finally, the clubs recognized Professor Jared Bruce with the 2010-2011 PSYCH (Psychology Students’ Yearly Choice for Honors) Award.

Psi Chi is the international honor society in Psychology. Membership in Psi Chi is for life and incudes benefits such as scholarship programs, research competitions, reduced dues for professional organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Association for Psychological Science (APS).

For more about this event and other activities, see:  http://umkcpsychology.blogspot.com/

Department Students Win Awards and Fellowships

The Psychology Department has had a great start to the 2011 year with many students being recognized for their achievements and receiving awards for these achievements.

Student Awards: Alisha Adams (Doctoral Student)-Preparing Future Faculty Fellowship and Women’s Council Graduate Assistant Fund; Sofie Champassak (Doctoral Student)-NIH funded R25 fellowship; Elizabeth Duval (Doctoral Student)- Women’s Council Graduate Assistant Fund; Chris Fowler (Doctoral Student)-Graduate Studies Minority Doctoral Fellowship; Laura Hancock (Doctoral Student)-Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowship; Starlyn Hawes (Doctoral Student)-McNair Doctoral Fellowship; Amber Hinton-Dampf (Doctoral Student)-McNair Doctoral Fellowship (renewal); Jessica Hamilton (Doctoral Student)- Preparing Future Faculty Fellowship (renewal).

In Spring 2011, there were 2,975 students in majors in the College or in the BLA degree program. Six departments with the largest numbers of majors enrolled 1,660 and the BLA program added 344.

At the Lavender Graduation ceremony on May 5, 2011 Karen English received this year’s Outstanding Staff Award as given by the LGBTQIA Resource Center. In selecting Karen for the award, the selection committee singled out her longtime service and dedication to the LGBTQIA community both locally and here at UMKC. Her leadership on the fundraising front as it relates to securing the campus’ new endowed scholarship fund and her extraordinary relationship building skills with faculty, students, staff, alumni and the community were also singled out by the committee.

In addition, at the same event, Dean Karen Vorst received the Collaborative Excellence award. Like Karen English, the selection committee wished to honor Dean Vorst for her longstanding commitment to improving resources and services available for LGBTQIA students, faculty, staff and community members.

Environmental Studies Majors on the Mall in D.C.

The device in the photo is the P3 “New Sky” invention that extracts atmospheric moisture for drinking water. Two UMKC students Cheryl Immethun and James Mitchell attended along with Professor Molly Davies as part of the national EPA P3 National Student Design competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet. Their $10,000 grant allowed them to develop their design and present their research results at the National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington DC, April 2011.

Truman Foundation Gives Scholarships to Six A&S Students

Six A&S students have been awarded Hy Vile/Eddie Jacobson/ Sherman & Irene Dreisenzsun Scholarships. These awards from the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation are matched with UMKC monies to allow students to study abroad. The six are: Shannon Adkins (French and English/Creative Writing double major) is going to France. Evan Helmuth (Political Science) is going to Jordan. Matthew Parrish (Computer Science and Spanish double major) is going to Spain. Kate Tankel (Spanish and Secondary Education double major) is going to Argentina. Christina Romero (Political Science major with minor in Spanish) is going to Chile. Lynne Johnson (Communications Studies major with minor in Women and Gender Studies) is going to South Africa.

They were honored at the luncheon on May 5, 2011 celebrating Harry Truman’s 127th birthday at which actor Gary Sinise received the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award and Captain Mollie E. Keith received the Phillip Pistilli Silver Veteran’s Medal. We applaud the award winners and our students for their achievements and congratulate them.

A&S Students among Honorees Announced by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

Each semester, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management calls for nominations of exceptional graduating students who have maintained high academic achievements while providing leadership and service to the University and our community. This year they include: Chad Byle, Christina Munford, Danielle Dwyer, Nacente Seabury, Solumuna Habtu, and Spencer Fenton.

AUP+D student Megan Hohensinner won the BEST in SHOW award at KSU’s / 2011 Delineation Competition. The competition in the College of Architecture , Urban Planning and Design took place in April 2011.  Timothy Sandweg, a UMKC alumnus was awarded the Jurors’ Choice for his free-hand back and white drawing titled “Via Secca” . Congratulations!

Eleven A&S faculty have taken retirement effective this year. These openings, together with a few open positions from previous years, have allowed for the 16 new hires that have been completed and three that are pending. Of these 19, 14 are tenure track; 4 are non-tenure track, and one is tenured.

At the UMKC Alumni Awards ceremonies on April 27, 2011, four A&S alumni received recognition: Cynthia Watson, UMKC Alumna of the Year; Michelle La Pointe, Bill French Alumni Service Award;; Durwin Rice, Alumni Achievement Honoree; Mutuku Mutinga, Defying the Odds Award The Salazar Family received the Legacy Award and had members who had been in A&S.

For more see: http://info.umkc.edu/perspectives/features/2011-alumni-award-winners/

In Spring semester 2011, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the KCMOSD volunteer program, Partners in Education, started an internship program for UMKC foreign language students. The internship program began as a way for Spanish students at the 400 level to practice their oral language skills with bilingual children, but the school district was really excited and they wanted to do more, with French as well, and at different levels of proficiency and according to the needs of their schools. The idea is that the UMKC students would get permission from a professor to enroll in the internship as a class. Then, in order to fulfill the requirements of the internship, they will meet with a class in the KCM district for one hour each week for 15 weeks and write a final assignment detailing their experience. For more details go to our Opportunities page or follow this link:  http://cas.umkc.edu/ForeignLanguages/Opportunities.asp

For more on what is happening in the Department see:
 http://cas.umkc.edu/ForeignLanguages/News.asp

One hundred and eight graduating seniors received departmental honors from the departments in which they majored at the May 2011 A&S Commencement.

The new edition of New Letters discusses the theme of power in relation to the enduring nature of art and its ability to lend us a reprieve from the forward momentum of time. In keeping with the theme of the enduring power of art, this issue features an essay memorializing poet Phil Miller, a teacher and a leader in the Kansas City literary community, alongside one of his poems, a New Letters retrospective. Other highlights include poetry, fiction and an essay by the New Letters Literary Award winners, poetry by Kim Addonizio, an interview with Walter Cummins, and an essay and photo spread of Paris, France’s, legendary George Whitman on his 97th birthday. The cover art for the edition is by Lisa Grossman.

The Department of Art and Art History is hosting the 2011 UMKC Student Art Exhibition in Room 106 of the Fine Arts Building’s Gallery of Art, 5015 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo. The opening reception was on Thursday, May 5 at the Gallery of Art, and the exhibition will run through July 30. UMKC Gallery hours are 1-5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

The exhibition is open to any student enrolled in classes at UMKC and includes painting, photography, sculpture, prints, graphic design, video and motion graphics. Featuring works by 37 artists, this year’s exhibition is juried by Cara Megan Lewis. Lewis is the curator at Cara and Cabezas Contemporary and works independently on curatorial projects in Kansas City and San Francisco. Lewis received her Master’s Degree in June 2007 from the Curatorial Practice Program at the California College of the Arts. Her professional experience includes three years as a registrar at Fraenkel Gallery, registration work on the Diane Arbus Retrospective at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and curatorial assistance for the arts programming at Mamá Art Cafe in San Francisco.

For more see:  http://cas.umkc.edu/art/