Archive for March, 2010

Arts and Sciences Commencement

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Readings by Robert Stewart and Thomas E. Kennedy

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Robert Stewart, editor of New Letters journal, will read his poems in a program with novelist, essayist, and short-fiction award winner Thomas E. Kennedy, who lives in Copenhagen.

Date Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Time 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm CDT
Where Johnson County Library, 9875 W. 87th St, Overland Park, Kan.
Event Type Arts & Culture
Event Sponsor New Letters & The Writers Place
Event Contact Ashley Kaine 235-1168  See also http://www.newletters.org/eventsReading.asp

Honors Program Celebrates 30 Years

Monday, March 15th, 2010
Gayle Levy, director,  Honors Program

Gayle Levy, director, Honors Program

The UMKC Honors Program just completed its 30th year of activities. Established in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1979 with 12 students by its first director, Bruce Bubacz (Philosophy), the program now serves almost 90 students campus-wide. Forty-four percent are A&S students; 16 percent are in Biological Sciences; 11 percent in Education; 9 percent in the Bloch School; 9 percent in Pharmacy; 5 percent in Medicine and the rest in other schools with undergraduate enrollees.

Several A&S faculty have served as Honors Directors or Co-Directors: Joan Dean (English), Harris Mirkin (Political Science), and Dick Murphy (Physics). The current director is Gayle Levy (Foreign Languages and Literatures) and the associate director is John Herron (History).

John Herron, associate director, Honors Program

John Herron, associate director, Honors Program

Honors students come to UMKC with high expectations, high ACT scores (the average for those entering in 2009 was 30), and have the opportunity to be part of a living-learning community in Oak Street Hall. They leave with high achievements, often with double or triple majors. They have been active in the Southwest Early College Campus math and science program and publish their own journal of undergraduate research, LUCERNA.

For more, go to: http://cas.umkc.edu/honors

Fast Fact

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Fall 2010 applications for admission in A&S are up by 11.7 percent.

Comparable Data on Admitted Applicants in A&S

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Fall Semester 2009 and Fall Semester 2010

Type Fall 2009 Fall 2010
First-time College 880 1064
Graduate 33 62
Transfer 159 228
Other 26 20
Total 1098 1374
(Applications) (1766) (1973)
Admitted Rate 62.2% 69.6%

Recognitions

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Bob Stewart of BkMK Press has written to tell us of the good word that a BkMk Press book of stories, Homicide Survivors Picnic, by Lorraine M. Lopez, is a finalist for the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The PEN/Faulkner Award is the largest peer-juried fiction prize in the country. The winner of this award — the “winner among equals” — will be announced on March 23. The other four finalist books were published by Grove Press, Harper, Knopf and Doubleday.

Beth Miller (Political Science) has been interviewed by media from several continents about the results of the research she and Jennifer Lundgren (Psychology) recently published on obesity and political candidate evaluations. For two of these interviews see:

Randy Wray (Economics), at the invitation of the President of the Dominican Republic, participated in program hosted by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development in San Domingo during the week of January 19, 2010.

A&S Staff News

Monday, March 15th, 2010

New Staff

  • Alicen Lundberg — Administrative Assistant
    (Art and Art History)
  • Rheneashion Atkinson — Office Support Staff II
    (Continuing Education)

Years of Service Awards

  • 10 years: Sarah Ballew — Program Analyst Expert
    (Economics/CEI)
  • 15 years: Linda Smitka — I-Net Administrator
    (A&S Dean’s Office)

Fast Facts

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Spring 2010 enrollment by student credit hour (SCH) in A&S is 71,851. In Spring 2009, the number was 64,842.

Special Accomplishments Issue Delayed

Monday, March 15th, 2010

It is taking more time to compile the information for this special issue than we had been anticipated. As a result, the publication of the “special” issue on faculty and departmental accomplishment highlights in 2009 has been delayed. The Editor appreciates the efforts of faculty and others who will help make the issue as complete as possible. Thanks for your patience.
– Dale Neuman, Editor, A&S E-Zine

Research Grants

Monday, March 15th, 2010

ORS has now made available all of the grant data for 2009 so we can again take note of the awards by faculty in A&S. Since we were reporting partial information as it came to us between August and now, these lists may include items that have been previously noted in earlier issues of the E-Zine. But to make sure we do not miss any, the complete listings from ORS are included in this issue.

A&S Grants and Awards Update

Monday, March 15th, 2010

September 2009

Total: $383,568
Buszek, Keith Center of Excellence in Chemical … Univ of Ks Ctr For Research Inc Chemistry $110,521
Stewart, Robert New Letters Mo Arts Council New Letters $29,700
Stewart, Robert BkMk Press: Enhancing Literary Book Publishing in Missouri… Mo Arts Council New Letters $18,142
Wrobel, Jerzy Teacher Enhancement for Active Middle School Science in… Mo Dept Of Higher Educ Physics $144,063
Murdock, Tamera KC-AERC: Transition to Post-Sec … Ks Univ Endowment Foundation Psychology $51,142
Lovelace, Christopher Efficient, unobtrusive measurement … Univ of Arizona Psychology $30,000

October 2009

Total: $466,625
Mutti-Burke, Diane Crossroads of Conflict: Contested Visions of Freedom … Natl Endowment For the Humanities History $160,000
Delaware, Richard Southwest Early College Campus Peer- Tutoring Project … Prep-Kc Mathematics $18,000
Wrobel, Jerzy MRI: Development of High Pressure … NSF Div Materials Research Physics $260,511
Catley, Delwyn Telemedicine For Smoking Cessation … Univ of Ks Med Ctr Research Psychology $28,114

November 2009

Total: $563,076
Greer, Jane Inquiry-based Learning in Comm. Arts: English II-Honors PREP-KC English Language & Literature $24,462
Catley,Delwyn Can Motivational Interviewing Be Effective For Smoking … NIH Natl Cancer Inst Psychology $538,614
Lovelace, Christopher Efficient, unobtrusive measurement … Univ of Az Psychology $30,000

December 2009

Total: $15,000
Caruso, Anthony Cm-244 Thermoelectric Demonstration Research Triangle Inst Physics $15,000

January 2010

Total $123,727
Jean, Yanching Free-Volume, Surface, and Interfacial … Ohio State Univ Chemistry $50,000
Chen, Jie Discovering the Etiology of Tetralogy … Childrens Mercy Hosp Mathematics $13,728
Kruger, Michael Non-Destructive Bridge Testing Study Honeywell Fed Mfg and Tech Physics $59,999

February 2010

Total $543,722
Jean, Yanching Free-volume and Glass Transition … Ohio State Univ Chemistry $50,000
Eaton, Peter GIZMO Project Mid America Reg Council (MARC) Economics $185,000
Caruso, Anthony High Efficiency Solid State Neutron … Office of Naval Research Physics $293,722
Wagner,Jacob Green Impact Zone in Kansas City, MO Urban Design Studio Mid America Reg Council (MARC) AUP+D $15,000

Celebrating Excellence: A&S Faculty and Staff Win Campus Awards

Monday, March 15th, 2010

A&S faculty and staff were among those honored on February 15, 2010 during UMKC’s “Celebrating Excellence” ceremony. They are:

jara-stewart todor-gounev
Jara Stewart (A&S Continuing Education)
Staff Council Governing Board Award for 2010
Todor Gounev (Chemistry)
Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
jerzy-wrobel james-falls
Jerzy Wrobel (Physics) and James Falls (History)
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
tamera-murdoch pellom-mcdaniel
Tamera Murdock (Psychology)
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in
Graduate Mentoring
Pellom McDaniels (History)
Chancellor’s Award for
Excellence in Diversity

Fast Fact

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Since fiscal year 2010 began on July 1, 2009, faculty in A&S have been awarded $2,834,671 in external grants and contracts.

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