Student Activities and Achievements
Michelle Mercado (a Sociology/Psychology double major) represented UMKC and the Sociology Department at the Undergraduate Day in Jefferson City in March (through the SEARCH program). Her project was entitled “The Impact of Funding Cuts on Kansas City HIV/AIDS Organizations and Possible Implications for Treatment Adherence.” She is one of only two students who were slated to represent UMKC at the event. She will also be presenting her project to the SEARCH Symposium in April. Her faculty advisor is Ann Wood (Teaching Assistant Professor of Sociology).
The Psychology Department reports that six Clinical Psychology doctoral students were placed at top psychology internship sites across the country. The internship is a one-year, intensive clinical training capstone required for graduation and licensure as a Clinical Psychologist. The students and their placements are: Jessica Hamilton: University of Kansas Medical School (Kansas City, KS); Laura Hancock: Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL); Starlyn Hawes: University of Washington (Seattle, WA); Amber Hinton-Dampf: Veterans Administration Eastern Kansas Healthcare System (Leavenworth, KS) Heather Kruse: Center for Behavioral Medicine (Kansas City, MO) and David Martinez: Veterans Administration Palo Alto Healthcare System (Palo Alto, CA).
They also noted that one of their Interdisciplinary Ph.D. students, Erin Moore published an article in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of American College Health titled: “F.O.R.E.play: The Utility of Brief Sexual Health Interventions Among College Students,” See:
She was also interviewed in their author spotlight on Facebook:
Communications Studies reports that two of their former film students premiered works in the Kansas City area recently: Nick Everhart’s “Dorothy and the Witches of Oz” and Emiel Cleaver’s “Freedom is Now” which is a documentary about Freedom Inc., Kansas City’s pioneering African-American political organization. For more see:
- http://unews.com/2012/02/14/alumnus-lives-out-his-dream-in-film/ and
- http://unews.com/2012/02/28/congressmans-son-makes-documentary/.
The senior studio in the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning + Design is working on Troost Ave. Spring Semester, 2012 in conjunction with Mid America Regional Council’s “Creating Sustainable Places” initiative. In late February, it was announced that the Chamber of Commerce has selected Troost Ave. as its target for its initiative to improve an east side community as one of its BIG 5 Ideas Initiative.
The senior, urban planning + design studio is working with The Troost Corridor Group to effect change in the corridor. The Troost Corridor (the longest of the six corridors) is one of six corridors in the metro area MARC has chosen to target for federal funding through the Creating Sustainable Places initiative.
The senior studio’s focus has been to provide a baseline overview of current conditions for the group to build on when formulating a plan to address the area’s issues. The Troost Corridor Group will tackle these issues through three aims: creating a viable corridor, promoting the local economy, and place making. The students have provided a basic corridor-wide examination of the demographics, transportation, business mix, public facilities, and environmental domain as well as an analysis of existing city plans and projects that affect the area. For more:
AUP+D Students help UMKC Win Award
UMKC has been named to the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction by the Corporation for National Community Service. Among the three UMKC activities evaluated to gain this award was The Kansas City Missouri School District Repurposing Project of the College of Arts & Sciences Department of AUP+D. The description of the award winning activity is below.
Development of a Strategic Plan and Implementation Guidebook to reconnect Kansas City, Missouri School District schools and repurposed facilities to the community they serve.
In the spring of 2010, the Kansas City, Missouri School board voted to close 24 schools in an unprecedented attempt to meet a projected $40 million budget shortfall and consolidate a dwindling student population in fewer buildings to maximize the capacity of existing facilities. All the remaining middle schools were closed and grades 6, 7 and 8 redistributed to elementary or high schools; historic Westport High School was closed, 17 elementary schools were closed and several hundred more teachers and building staff were recently terminated. Patrons, neighborhood residents, and parents have expressed great concern about the sweeping changes being attempted in a 6 month period and concern about vacant buildings being left to deteriorate in neighborhoods already challenged by poverty, crime and inadequate housing. At least fifteen of the district’s buildings were closed in previous years, leaving almost 40 vacant buildings in the community.
The studio examined a comprehensive and strategic approach to the challenge of repurposing the closed facilities and solutions for reconnecting all the KCMSD facilities, both open and closed to the neighborhoods they serve. By studying the history of the District, its relationship to the central core of the city, and relevant data and analysis, the studio produced a Guidebook, including a community engagement process to assist the District in strategic decision-making about the future of its facilities and their impact on the community.
See:
Asheka Jackson, Jennifer Goodwin, Michael Davis and Scott Finley (graduate students in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology) individually presented original research at the annual meetings of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in New York City March 15 and 16, 2012. For more information see:
Eight A&S Students to Receive Campus Awards
The selection committee has chosen eight students from the College of Arts and Sciences – Candace Brown, Jay Devineni, Angela Fitle, Asheka Jackson, Bethany Mullinex, Lola Oduyeru, Chelsia Potts and Melanie Somogie – as Spring, 2012, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Honor Recipients. The committee was impressed with their academic achievements, leadership roles, and service to the University and community. They were nominated by their departmental faculty and department chairs.
English Department GTA’s Play Wins Award Nicholas Sawin’s play “Unnamed Lands” was named a National Semi-Finalist at the 2012 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region V Ten-Minute Play Festival. KCACTF was held in Ames, Iowa, January 15-20, 2012 and ended with a concert reading of his play. The sixteen Semi-Finalist plays from across the nation will be read by a new group of respondents, who will pick four to have concert readings at the Kennedy Center.
The History Department Student Exhibit, “BBQ, Baseball and Jazz” will be installed in the Lincoln Building on the corner of 18th & Vine next month. It was previously displayed at Miller Nichols Library. See:
