Thursday, November 19th at 3:30PM in Temple 001 Dr. Gerise Herndon will speak on women’s leadership in rebuilding Rwanda. Dr. Gerise Herndon grew up in Springfield, MO and graduated from Drury University, majoring in English and French.  She is now a Professor of Comparative Literature and the Director of the Program in Gender Studies at Nebraska Wesleyan University where she teaches courses such as “ The US Image Abroad,” “Postcolonial and Global Literatures” (especially the Francophone literature of Africa and the Caribbean), and “Women and Social Change in Mexico.”

Earlier this year, she and a student traveled to Rwanda to study Rwanda’s development since the horrors of the 1994 genocide, focusing on the role of women in rebuilding the country’s social and political structure.   Today, women hold more than half the seats in the Rwandan Parliament and are active in social reconciliation efforts, the fight against AIDS, and progress toward economic self-sufficiency.  Dr. Herndon points out that the women’s “openness and joy is all the more remarkable when we consider that they had been abandoned and isolated after the genocide, because they were survivors of sexual assault whose entire families and homes had been stripped from them.”

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An endowed Public Affairs Professorship position has been established at Missouri State University to recognize faculty who have excelled at enabling the University to carry out its Public Affairs mission.  The Public Affairs Professor will receive a stipend from the Missouri State University Foundation in the amount of $5,000 over and above his/her base salary with an additional $1,000 for expenses to carry out the work of this position.  The parameters of this position will be outlined for the recipient in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from the Provost’s Office.  Applications should be submitted to Rachelle L. Darabi, Associate Provost for Student Development and Public Affairs, University Hall, Room 115, by February 15, 2010.  > Learn more about eligibility criteria and qualifications.

Tomorrow you have the unique opportunity to discuss sustainability with Missouri State University faculty, staff, and students, as well as the Springfield community. Topics include the Bull Shoals Field Station, the new University Rec Center, Sodexho initiatives, and much more. From 8AM to 7PM you can walk through exhibits featuring sustainability initiatives, faculty research, student projects, and community groups. Do not miss this opportunity to get involved in sustainability on YOUR campus.

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2009 NAMMY Award-winning Native American Artist

Tonight from 7PM to 8:30PM JJ Kent will be playing in the PSU Theater. JJ Kent is a NAMMY Award-winning Native American recording artist, a gifted cultural speaker, and an educator in schools and at University campuses across America.

JJ Kent just won “Flutist of the Year” at the 2009 NAMMY Awards in Niagara Falls, New York. He is presently in the running for a Grammy award.

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The international Banquet, put on by the Association of International Students (AIS) is the premier event in the Springfield community that offers a showcase of the diverse cultures represented in the Missouri State student body. The evening starts in the PSU Ballroom with a banquet of dishes  from eight different countries;  this year’s menu includes different countries than last year’s.  After the banquet, guests go downstairs to the PSU THeatre for a spectacular show of dances, skits, music and more from every corner of the globe.

Saturday, November 14, 2009, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM.  General Admission- $20, Students- $15. From Nov. 2 to Nov. 13, at two locations: PSU 141, Multicultural Resource Center, 8am – 5pm; and at the AIS table, PSU 2nd floor, 10am – 2pm.

Contact Minnie Njoki, Vice president at Njoki205@MissouriState.edu or (417) 229 – 3324 for more information.

Tonight at 9pm in the PSU Theater, you have the chance to watch Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee in honor of Native American Heritage Month. The movie is a powerful exploration of the tragic impact that the United States’ westward expansion had on American Indian culture, and the economic, political and social pressures that motivated it.

The film is sponsored by Student Activities Council.

Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race

Lively discussions on Frances E. Kendall’s book from The Teaching/Learning Social Justice Series

Facilitator: Angela Leslie Anderson, Associate Professor, CLSE, Chair, President’s Commission on Diversity

In preparation for this meeting, registered participants may pick up a copy of the book to read and prepare for discussion. Books are available in Meyer Library Room 204. Please register for all sessions that you would like to attend. Everyone is welcome.

Dates/Times: Nov 11, 9-10:30; Dec 3, 11:30-1:00.

Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning – Meyer Library Room 204

Thursday, Dec 3 will be brown bag sessions, so please feel free to bring your lunch! Light refreshments will be served.

Are you interested in sustainability at Missouri State? Have ideas for your campus? Bring your lunch and come join the discussion tomorrow in the PSU from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.

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How did it come about? Where are we today? Where are we headed??

Come to a discussion of the issues by a panel of Missouri State Economists to learn the answers to the above. Panel members include Drs. Tom Wyrick, Terrel Gallaway, Mahua Mitra, and John Hoftyzer. Question and answer period to follow.

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Friday November 6, 2009 from 6 PM to 8 PM in PSU 313, Victoria Fortner will discuss and demonstrate beadwork, quilling and cornhusk dolls.

Victoria Fortner  travels nationally presenting information and workshops on Native American history, culture, and tradition as well as on all phases of herbal medicine. Ms. Fortner derives her knowledge from both Native and non-native traditions of herbology, and with her strong medical background, offers presentations that speak to all levels of interest. She is an indigenous dancer, storyteller, counselor, award-winning artist, and craft-person. Among her many accomplishments is the addition of two of her cornhusk dolls into the Smithsonian Institute: The National Museum of the American Indian. Victoria has published both nationally and internationally with numerous articles addressing both alternative health and Native American traditional issues.

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