Fall Fling Health Fair–free health screenings and immunizations, including meningitis

By , September 16, 2014 1:32 pm

fall flingThe Fall Fling is an interactive health fair with the objectives of educating UMKC faculty, staff and students about physical health needs, the services that are available both on campus and in the community and empowering the UMKC family to make healthy lifestyle choices.  Make plans to stop by Pierson Auditorium between 11am and 2pm on October 1st.

Free health screenings, testing, immunizations (including Meningitis, Flu, Tdap, HPV, Hep A and Hep B), and additional resources will be available at the health fair.

One of the most important vaccinations for college students is for Meningitis. This can be a serious bacterial or viral infection that attacks the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis is a preventable disease that can affect college students and cause serious and even fatal consequences. The Missouri Health and Senior Services brochure is a great informational resource on Meningitis.

Punch cards will be given to all who attend. Submit your completed punch card for a chance to win one of three raffle prizes.

For additional information or questions, contact Student Health and Wellness at 816-235-5250.

Guest Blog: Getting ahead early can be the key to your semester

By , September 9, 2014 10:36 am

Matt Owens[This tip provided by Matt Owens, junior Secondary Education/History major]

For many of us students most of our semesters will start off at a nice and manageable pace, only to hit us like a freight train during the last few weeks of class.  Why does this seem to happen every semester and what can we do, both to alleviate the stress of those final few weeks and to help our grades?  First, let’s be clear—no matter how fantastic a student is at getting ahead and fighting the temptation to procrastinate, the last few weeks are going to be hectic.  The difference, experienced by the overt procrastinator, is felt in the severity of the stress level and often in anxiety over the uncertainty of coming grades.

Let’s forget that “I work better under pressure” mantra we have all heard before.  Study after study shows us that this is little more than wishful thinking used to justify regrettable actions after it is too late to change course.  In particular, one Ohio State study investigated the relationship between GPA and degree of procrastination and established that the grades of students who moderately to severely procrastinate are routinely lower than those who are proactive about getting their work done in a timely manner.  The study also recorded that many of those who were deemed “severe procrastinators” claimed that they worked better under pressure, even though the results showed their grades were significantly lower than their non-procrastinating peers.  Bruce Tuckman, OSU professor and author of this study, says that what they have seen is that students who make this claim consistently prove that they “don’t have any idea how well they might do if they didn’t procrastinate.”  What we do know, from this study and countless others, is that overall those who routinely make this claim and procrastinate just so happen to receive lower grades than their peers.

How can we connect these facts with your semester?  Well, now that we are well into the semester we are certainly all busy.  Those of us who have at least a few college semesters under our belts know that it gets worse toward midterms and the end of the semester, much worse.  For you freshmen or transfer students who have yet to experience this… take our word for it.  The only way to make midterms and finals more manageable (increasing our chances at getting the grades we want) is to go ahead and get started on that research or term paper right now.  All those dates in your syllabus that highlight deadlines and checkpoints that seem so far away should not be put off.  Getting ahead on your long-term assignments now can truly be the key to a successful semester.  These assignments are often worth a huge percentage of your semester grade and are often due towards the end of the semester when you will be needing to focus on those other annoying little things that are worth quite a bit of your grade as well… final exams.  So look ahead and work ahead to make sure you increase your chances of getting the grades you want later by working hard now.  Remember, starting on long-term projects and papers early gives you that much more time to pick your teachers’ brains, use the writing studio, meet with a tutor and explore all of the other resources at your disposal that will assist you in achieving the grade you want and the success you are capable of this semester.

So get started, and good luck!

Dean Searches Announced for new Honors College and for School of Education

By , September 9, 2014 10:34 am

QuadUMKC has announced two search committees that will begin their work vetting candidates and recommending two important academic hires for the University.  One search is for the inaugural dean of the new Honors College, to be co-chaired by Wayne Vaught, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Gayle Levy, Honors Program Director and Associate Professor of Foreign Languages and Literature.

The UMKC Honors College, which was developed as part of UMKC’s Strategic Plan, is designed to create a significant high-impact learning environment that will increase our community of high-achieving student scholars. The UMKC Honors College will allow students who enter UMKC with advanced educational competencies to experience appropriate academic challenges that may include more focused and appropriate courses and/or the opportunity to fast track into graduate/professional programs.

The other search is for the Dean of the School of Education and will be chaired by Ellen Suni, Dean of the School of Law.  The new dean will succeed Wanda Blanchett, Ph.D., who had served as Dean and Ewing Marion Kauffman Endowed Chair in Teacher Education since 2009.

“The School of Education plays a vital role in UMKC’s urban mission to meet the needs of our community,” said UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton. “Our local schools need excellent teachers, counselors and administrators. I have great confidence in the members of this committee. They are both very capable, and very committed, to helping us identify a leader who can deliver on that vital mission.”

Join the MO Challenge–log your miles for UMKC

By , September 9, 2014 10:34 am

MO MilesJoin the Missouri Miles Challenge and log your miles for UMKC!  Get active, stay fit, and do your part to get MO moving!  Governor Nixon has issued a challenge to all MO Colleges and Universities to log as many miles as possible during September.  So far, UMSL is leading our bracket! 

Joining is easy:  register for an account and be sure to select University of Missouri–Kansas City.  After you register an account, log in each day to report your miles (create your password at first log in).

Hashtag your journey! #100MoMiles #umkc #swinneyfit

Whether you walk, run, bike, or swim, your physical activity can be logged and credited to UMKC.  So get out there and get fit!  We are healthy Roos!

 

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