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The UMKC Bookstore’s textbook buyback has now begun! Get a guaranteed $5 back for all of your textbooks! Plus be entered to win an iPad 2 with every book you sell.
The buyback will take place from 8am-6pm Mon-Fri now through December 16. December 19-20, it will take place from 8am-5pm. For more information, visit the bookstore’s website.
Take note of special parking arrangements for mid-year commencement ceremonies
The University of Missouri-Kansas City will celebrate its 2011 mid-year commencement with two separate ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 16, at Swinney Recreation Center, 5030 Holmes St. The first ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. and will honor UMKC’s College of Arts and Sciences graduates. At 4 p.m., Commencement will be held for graduating students from the Conservatory of Music and Dance, Henry W. Bloch School of Management, School of Biological Sciences, School of Computing and Engineering, School of Education, School of Law, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy and the School of Graduate Studies.
Due to ongoing construction of UMKC’s new Cherry Street parking structure, parking arrangements will be different than past Commencement ceremonies. Handicapped parking and a very limited amount of public parking will be available in the surface lot in front of the University Center at 50th Street and Rockhill Road. There also will be a guest drop-off area off of Bixby Lane (the street running in front of the Performing Arts Center) next to the University Center.
Students and guests attending the ceremonies are encouraged to park in the UMKC Rockhill parking structure at 52nd Street and Rockhill Road. The university will provide shuttle bus service to transport guests from the Rockhill parking structure to Swinney for the ceremonies. Click here for a printable commencement parking map.
The School of Graduate Studies announces that Kristin Griffeath has won the 2012 UMKC Outstanding Thesis Award for her work: “War sirens: how the sheet music industry sold World War I”. The award is given annually for the School of Graduate Studies.
Kristen’s study was done in partial fulfillment of the Master of Music in Musicology degree. Her award was based on the approach to her research as well as the novel findings. Griffeath studied how the sheet music industry contributed to the US Committee on Public Information in an informal manner. This committee was responsible for producing posters, speeches and films that in essence produced a national culture of war. The sheet music industry complemented this culture often using images of women to gain appeal to the public. Lyrics, sheet music covers, and musical cues provided prototypical cues for women during the war (for example, angelic nurses to flirtatious tomboy recruits). When consumers purchased such sheet music, they were bringing home a type of war propaganda so that more Americans would invest both materially and emotionally in the war effort.
Kristen’s thesis was directed by Dr. Sarah Tyrrell along with committee members Drs. S. Andre Grande and William Everett, Griffeath also received her Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance from UMKC’s Conservatory. She utilized resources both at the UMKC Miller Nichols Library and the National World War I museum.
As cold weather sets in and we think about traveling home for the holidays, there are some important steps we can take to ensure safe travel back and forth. Midwest weather is always surprising!
If you are driving, make sure your car is winter-ready. Check the fluid levels (especially the anti-freeze) and tire pressure. Make sure your wipers are in good condition. Also, have an emergency roadside kit. Autorized.com provides a list that will give you a great start to your own kit!
When you get your car all ready to brave the winter roads, make sure you get yourself prepared as well. Tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to arrive. This ensures that someone knows where you should be, and can call for help if something happens to you. Charge your cell phone in case you need it. If you are driving far, it is best to check road conditions for your entire trip before you leave. Road conditions can be found on each state’s Department of Transportation website. Missouri road conditions can be found here, and Kansas road conditions can be found here. If you find that road conditions are not good, make sure you only drive when absolutely necessary. Be sure to leave plenty of time for travel. Don’t get in a hurry- that’s when accidents happen. And always wear your seatbelt!
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