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By USucceed, August 25, 2015 9:12 am

The UMKC Black Studies Program and the newly formed Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce are expanding the UMKC internship program.

Students enrolled in the Black Studies program with an interest in entrepreneurship or business ownership are strongly encouraged to apply. The internship will include lessons on starting and growing a new business, as well as understanding business struggles. An additional topic will cover the resources available to a minority business owner and the opportunities and challenges that exist.

The newly merged Heartland Chamber – formerly the Kansas Black Chamber of Commerce – has entered into an agreement with Black Studies to grow its existing Internship in Black Studies courses, by providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to integrate community engagement into their Black Studies course experience.

The courses are open to students seeking a minor in Black Studies and in the Graduate Certificate in Black Studies, and the internships are available to all qualifying students.

“The partnership with the Black Studies Program and the Heartland Chamber, in association with Marvin Carolina, Jr., chairman of the board for the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce, will provide our students an opportunity to expand their education beyond the classroom into community engagement,” said Adrienne Walker Hoard, Ed.D., professor and director of the Black Studies Program.

“It dually provides exposure to corporate America that our students may not otherwise experience and it provides exposure for corporate America to our students’ contemporary ways of knowing and navigating the local and global marketplaces,” said Hoard.

The courses will open in the 2015-16 academic year, beginning in the Fall 2015 semester.

Undergraduate and graduate students will integrate their academic studies in the Black Studies discipline with community service and onsite learning. During the first two weeks of the semester, students will undergo work-life training and a review of their contract with the selected company. Following, they will spend their class time at the assigned company.

As students intern in either a business or professional organization, they will gain essential information about the business’ processes and workplace procedures as they relate to the African American community.

In order to qualify for the internship course, a student must have a minimum of 90 credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree; overall GPA of 3.0 or higher; completed six hours of Black Studies courses; have a designated on-site supervisor and a Black Studies professor as an academic supervising instructor; and be approved by the director of the Black Studies Program prior to enrollment in the course.

Academic credits for a one-semester internship may range from one to three credit hours.

For additional information, contact the UMKC Black Studies office at 816-235-2636.

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By USucceed, June 9, 2015 2:41 pm

If you are an undergraduate and plan to enroll for Fall 2015 in a Writing Intensive course or any class that lists the RooWriter Writing Assessment as a prerequisite, be sure to take the assessment as soon as possible so that you are not blocked by Pathway.

If you plan to graduate this summer and have not already taken the Written English Proficiency Test (WEPT), you need to take the RooWriter Writing Assessment by June 19.

For complete information, see the RooWriter web site at https://www.umkc.edu/roowriter/

As you may have heard, the RooWriter replaced the WEPT for all undergraduates at UMKC.  Unlike the WEPT, the RooWriter is not a pass/fail essay on one topic that must be written in three hours and in person during a scheduled time.  Rather, the RooWriter allows you to write a 750-1,500 word essay on your choice of six topics in a 72-hour-period anytime and anywhere you have access to a computer and the Internet.  After you submit your essay, it will be assessed by two trained evaluators and you will receive a report of their responses and a copy of your essay through the online system.

Everything that you need to know and do is located at the RooWriter web site, including the essay guidelines and expectations.  You can also preview the six Reading Packets to decide which one you want to write about.  The current Reading Packets address topics ranging from women and sports to Kansas City’s Troost Wall to urban sprawl.  When you choose your Reading Packet you will be assigned a prompt or question to respond to.  You then have 72 hours to complete your essay, which means you can work on it, return to it, and get help from the Writing Studio.  After you submit your essay, two evaluators will assess it in six areas, including “Point-Purpose-Idea,” “Clarity and Cohesion,” and “Support-Evidence-Citations.”  Evaluators will also provide comments about the strengths of your essay and any aspects of your writing that you should concentrate on in the future.  To see a sample evaluator report, please click here.

To help you develop your writing and reading skills, you are encouraged to take the RooWriter Writing Assessment more than once during your UMKC undergraduate career.  The RooWriter is a requirement for graduation, and to fulfill that requirement, you should take the RooWriter after you have completed Discourse II or its equivalent and before you have earned 90 hours of undergraduate credit.  It also is required for Writing-Intensive classes and may be required for other classes.

Undergraduate students who already have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution are exempt from the RooWriter requirement.  The first time that you use the RooWriter Writing Assessment, your student account will be billed $15, but you will not be charged for subsequent assessments.  For more information, contact the Coordinator of Writing Assessment at roowriter@umkc.edu.

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By USucceed, May 5, 2015 12:10 pm

Think getting ready for finals is all work and no play?  A little stress is good, but taking a break is better–check out the events designed to help you Stress Less!

The Fest kicks off on Thursday with free Roasterie Coffee for Sporting KC, cuddling up with Therapy Dogs, and Late Night Breakfast!

Click on the posters for more details!

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By USucceed, April 28, 2015 8:59 am

Members of the UMKC and Kansas City communities are invited to get a first look at potential design concepts for UMKC’s Free Enterprise Center on Friday, May 6, courtesy of students and faculty from the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design.

Students in the Architectural Design Studio II class, led by professors John Eck, RA, and Ted Seligson, FAIA, developed concepts for the center as their final project for the semester. Their drawings and models will be juried from 1:30 to 5 p.m. May 6 in Room 101 of Katz Hall. The student presentations will include 3-D models, location plans, floor plans and building sections illustrating double-height spaces, overlooks and daylighting strategies.

UMKC’s Free Enterprise Center, a new building planned for the corner of Brookside and Volker boulevards, will be designed to be the new gateway to the UMKC Volker Campus. According to the faculty assignment to the students, “At the nexus of these two boulevards and in clear view of the historic Country Club Plaza District, the architecture of the building must react to and leverage the historic integrity of the existing site and surroundings. The opportunity presented by the visibility of the site allows the activity within the facility to be put on display, to be a showcase for UMKC, and to be a visible hub of entrepreneurial creativity.”

The Free Enterprise Center will house programs associated with UMKC’s School of Computing and Engineering, the Henry W. Bloch School of Management and the UMKC Innovation Center. It will be a resource for K-12 outreach, higher education institutions, prototype manufacturing, start-up and technology transfer, advising, and student team collaboration, specifically becoming the home of the student organization ENACTUS.