Fast Fact
April 23rd, 2012Enrollment in A&S Student credit hours for Spring 2012 dropped by more than 6% over Spring 2011 but remained among the higher Spring SCH enrollments in the past 10 years at 68,837.
Student Activities and Achievements
April 23rd, 2012Michelle 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:
Fast Fact
April 23rd, 2012Total A&S Enrollment Headcount for Spring Semester 2012 was 5,605. 88% were enrolled in undergraduate programs and 12% were in graduate programs.
Staff Corner
April 23rd, 2012At the 2012 Cross-Examination Debate Association National Tournament held at the University of Oklahoma the weekend of March 23-25, Gabe Cook (Communications Studies) Project Director for DEBATE-Kansas City was awarded the Public Advocate of the Year Award by the Association. The Public Advocate of the Year award acknowledges the contribution of an individual during the past year that made a positive contribution to public discourse on matters of social import. The award recipient need not have a direct relationship to intercollegiate debate, but must be someone who has made a significant difference in local, regional, national or international affairs. This is the first time that someone from UMKC has won this award. For more see:
LaDonna McCullough (Administrative Assistant, Black Studies) was elected as the first President of UMKC’s Association for Women of Color organization in December 2011. The mission of the organization is to 1) advance professional growth and development for women of color at UMKC; 2) address issues unique to women of color at UMKC; 3) take an active leadership role in encouraging, mentoring and developing women of color; and 4) create and award financial assistance to individuals for scholarship and professional development. The organization can be reached at umkc-awoc@umkc.edu.
New Letters on the Air Goes International
April 23rd, 2012We have learned from Annie Walsh, the Assistant Producer, of a new audience for New Letters on the Air. A recent press release tells us that “In Warwickshire, England, Keith Phillimore found an unfamiliar radio broadcast in the static on his portable receiver: a male voice reading poetry. By way of Hamburger Lokalradio, a radio station based in Hamburg, Germany, which reaches listeners beyond the city’s borders via a high-powered shortwave radio service, Mr. Phillimore enjoyed a half-hour literary program on Nov. 22, 2011, recorded partway around the world in Kansas City, Missouri—a New Letters on the Air broadcast, featuring host Angela Elam interviewing poet Wayne Miller.”… “Hamburger Lokalradio began airing the program last October as part of its weekly Tuesday broadcast to English-speaking audiences. “The fantastic show…adds nicely to a couple other literature and culture-minded programs on the regular schedule,” said producer Thomas Völkner in Germany.” See:
BkMk Press
April 23rd, 2012BkMk Press has announced that Stephanie Powell Watts of Lehigh University has been nominated for the 2012 Chautauqua Prize for her collection of short fiction, We Are Taking Only What We Need published by BkMk Press in 2011. Watts is eligible to receive a $7,500 cash prize and paid expenses for a one-week residency at Chautauqua Institution in western New York. In its first year offering a national prize, the Chautauqua Institution will reward an author for his or her significant contribution to the literary arts. For more about the collection see:
Theatre Department to Present Shakespeare
April 23rd, 2012UMKC Theatre presents its final production of the season. Directed by Barry Kyle, “The Winter’s Tale” will preview April 20 and open April 24 in the Spencer Theatre, Olson,PAC. Tickets will be on sale at the Central Ticket Office (816) 235-6222. See:
AUP+D Gets Major Gift
April 3rd, 2012UMKC officials announced a $300,000 planned gift from Theodore Seligson, Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and visiting professor in the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning + Design on March 21, 2012. The gift will supplement The Seligson Fund that was established in 2010 in Seligson’s honor by his friends and colleagues. The purpose of the fund is to enhance the education of the design disciplines in the department and to provide financial assistance for projects that support its mission, including lectures, colloquiums and visiting design teachers. For more see:
2012 A&S and PSI CHI BLOOD DRIVE IS A SUCCESS!
February 22nd, 2012Although it took a while to get all of the logistics in place (A&S began to plan for this in February 2011) since it requires appropriate space, a number of workers and the availability of a Community Blood Center collection crew that numbered eight technicians, we did it and we did well! We will let Melanie Somogie, President of UMKC Psi Chi tell you about it as well as express our collective thanks to all who turned out to donate. Here is the thank you message she composed for the students who were there.
“Every day the Community Blood Center (CBC) needs 580* donors to meet the local needs of hospitals. This number seems huge and overwhelming, but on January 23rd the A&S community came together to provide the CBC with 7.5% of that need. This success was because of students like you who were willing to give a little to save the life of a person they don’t know, and will never meet… that’s incredible!
Over 55 students, faculty and staff came to the 5-hour blood drive ready to give the gift of life. That’s 11 potential donors per hour! The turnout was so great that some opted to return for future drives, or donate at the CBC’s location at 4040 Main Street, because the line was so long! We obtained 42 units of blood from those who were able to donate. And we had 29 first-time donors which I hope will translate into regular donors in the future.
It was a fantastic experience to assist in this project and see the outpouring of support from our academic community. I would like to thank everyone who assisted in this project: those who coordinated the event, created promotional materials, posted flyers and table toppers, announced the event to their classes, signed-up potential donors, volunteered to help at the event, and especially those who were able and willing to donate! Every person’s contribution, even if they were unable to donate, made this event a success.
I’m excited to hear of plans to continue and grow these efforts in the future. I encourage all students, student organizations, faculty and staff to consider what role they can play to help in future drives. A relatively small effort gives people in our city, in your neighborhood, a chance at life. Those in need of blood donations are our family members, friends, classmates and co-workers. 1 in 55 Americans need a blood transfusion every year, how many people that you know will likely be that person?”
The College would also like to express its thanks to the faculty and staff who donated; to UMKC Parking Services for its assistance in finding parking for the CBC truck and staff vehicles; to the UMKC Bookstore for donating a $25 gift card as one of the raffle prizes and to the staff of the Student Union for working to make this event go smoothly in their space. We especially want to thank Melanie Somogie and Psi Chi (the International Psychology Honor Society) for their assistance. And last, but not least, we thank Jane Vogl, Assistant to the Dean of the School of Computing and Engineering, who invited us to observe their drive last year, created much of the publicity for this year; managed our donor sign-up site and came early to place signage in strategic places to generate walk-in donors. It was a team effort and we won! (Photos courtesy of Melanie Somogie.)
*Numbers came from the CBC’s website and www.redcrossblood.org
Fast Fact
February 21st, 2012Editor’s Note: Several of this issues “Fast Facts” refer to pageviews as measured by Google Analytics where a pageview is defined as a view of a page on your site that is being tracked by the Analytics tracking code. Data provided by Alia Herrman, University Communications.
The percentage of new visits to A&S sites was 54% during the period August through December 2011. 57% of all visits came from outside Kansas City, MO. 8% of all visits came from outside the United States.
In Memoriam
February 21st, 2012We again have the sad task of reporting the passing of two member of the A&S faculty community. They are: Carol Koehler who was Chair, Department of Communications Studies and Pierre Rener, retired Lecturer in Communications Studies who also served in a staff role in the A&S Dean’s Office a number of years ago.
Koehler’s remembrance can be found at:
Rener’s remembrance can be found at:
. www.legacy.com/obituaries/theoaklandpress/obituary.aspx?n=pierre-james-rener&pid=155225579.
Faculty Activities
February 21st, 2012Jennifer Phegley (English) gave a talk at the Kansas City Public Library downtown on Thursday, February 9, 2012 on her new book, Courtship and Marriage in Victorian England. For more see:
. www.kclibrary.org/event/jennifer-phegley-courtship-and-marriage-victorian-england.
Beth Miller (Political Science) appeared on KCTV-5 on November 10, 2011 discussing lobbying by the city of Kansas City, See:
. www.kctv5.com/story/16012947/kctv5-news-investigates-the-l-word.
She also was on Fox 4 News January 11, 2012 discussing the New Hampshire primary. See:
Max Skidmore (Political Science) had two articles published in The Journal of American Culture: “The Mothering of the President: Rocking the Cradle to a Different Drummer,” See:
. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1542-734X.2011.00789.x/abstract
and “Restless Americans: The Significance of Movement in American History (with a Nod to F. J. Turner).”
. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1542-734X.2011.00772.x/abstract.
His “The Old, the Young, and Medicare,” was part of “Sunday Dialogue,” in The New York Times. See:
Randall Wray, Fred Lee, Jim Sturgeon, Stephanie Kelton and Bob Brazelton (Economics) were quoted or noted in the front page story in The Kansas City Star on the UMKC Economics Department, January 17, 2012. The story dealt with its central role in the field of “heterodox economics”. For the full story see:
. www.kansascity.com/2012/01/17/3374675/umkc-teaches-unorthodox-economics.html.
Alice Reckley-Vallejos and Kelley Young (Foreign Languages and Literatures) with Lynne Clawson-Day (Continuing Education) hosted the Latinos of Tomorrow Scholarship Fest at the College on Saturday, November 19, 2011. This all-day event is designed to help plan for college with workshops that help with practice for the ACT, building portfolios, writing essays and other essentials of the college application process. For more see:
. www.hccgkc.com/images/stories/pdf/2011%20fall%20scholarship%20fest%20facts%20sheet.pdf.
Jennifer Lundgren (Psychology) gave a public lecture on body image, gender, and psychological wellbeing at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. The talk was part of the Kemper’s Double Vision Series entitled “Masks and Mirrors.”
Ian Besse and Rebecca Roberts (Mathematics and Statistics) have redesigned Mathematics 110: College Algebra in response to the Missouri Course Redesign Initiative. This course redesign proposal was selected by the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) in summer 2011, and the redesign effort has been supported by the course redesign team that includes other members from the entire university: Jie Chen, Rita Barger, Molly Mead, Cindy Amyot, Andy Goodenow, and Cindy Pemberton. The redesigned course is being offered in SP2012 by Roberts as a pilot course and the full implementation of the redesigned Math 110 will be offered by Besse in FS2012. For more information about Course Redesign at UMKC, please visit:
. info.umkc.edu/courseredesign/
Frances Connelly (Art and Art History) published an article titled “Authentic Irony: Primitivism and Its Aftermath” in Critical Interventions: Journal of African Art History and Visual Culture, Vol. 7, 2011, pp.16-27. For more on this publication series see:
. www.aachron.com/editions/critical_interventions/
Greg Vonnahme (Political Science) presented a paper entitled “A Preferential Attachment Model of State Legislative Campaign Finance” at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association in September. He also had an article published in Political Behavior called “Registration Deadlines and Turnout in Context.” For more see:
. www.springerlink.com/content/2752q184pk610224/
Linwood Tauheed, John Henry, Stephanie Kelton and Mathew Forstater (Economics) presented a panel program at the UMKC Student Union on January 19, 2012 titled: “Jobs Now: MLK’s Dream and FDR’s Vision”.
The English Department’s most recent newsletter reports (among many things) its recent partnership with Miller-Nichols Library’s Stuart Hinds and Diane Hunter to create a more interactive experience for showcasing teaching in English during campus visit days for prospective students. Faculty in Fall 2011 highlighted courses in their Manuscript, Print Culture, and Editing track, and Stuart Hinds created exhibits in Special Collections used in these courses, such as manuscripts, from medieval to contemporary (girls’ diaries), periodicals, and Shakespeare memorabilia. Faculty who participated included Lorna Condit, Laurie Ellinghausen, Jennifer Phegley, Virginia Blanton, Steve Dilks, and Jane Greer. For more on the publications, other activities and achievements of the Department’s faculty, students and alumni see:
. cas.umkc.edu/english/documents/Newsletter–Fall%202011%20Issue%202.pdf.
The Theatre Department’s Spring 2012 “Training News” has gained a wide audience. For more see:
. www.umkctheatre.org/pdfs/UMKC-Theatre-Training-News-2012.pdf.
For more on the department see:
Delwyn Catley, (Psychology) in response to the American Lung Association’s grade of F on its report card for Missouri’s tobacco control effort, was interviewed by reporters from KBMC Channel 9 News about Missouri’s tobacco control efforts and KC QUEST, a $1.5 million NIH funded research study about motivating unmotivated smokers to quit. For more see:
. www.kmbc.com/health/30264219/detail.html.
Clovis Semmes (Director of Black Studies) recently published the article, “Entrepreneur of Health: Dick Gregory, Black Consciousness, and the Human Potential Movement,” in the Journal of African American Studies. For more see:
. www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s12111-011-9208-8.
A&S Staff Corner
February 21st, 2012New Employees:
Megan Ruplinger, Administrative Assistant – Academic Advising
Ashley Webb, Administrative Assistant – High School/College Partnership
Years of Service Awards:
Betsy Beasley, Administrative Assoc. I – NewLetters, 10 years of service
Susan Schurman, Editorial Assistant I – NewLetters/BkMk Press, 10 years of service
Deborah Bopp, Academic Advisor – Academic Advising, 5 years of service
