In This Issue:

• Staff Excellence in University Service Awards
• Inside Missouri State
• Adopt-a-Street Street Clean
• Senator Spotlight – Teresa Steele

The Staff Excellence in University Service Awards (SEUSA) recognize excellence in service to the University among staff employees. Nominations are now being accepted for the Staff Excellence in University Service Awards.

• Six full-time staff employees will receive a one-time $1,500 award.
• The general intent of the awards is to serve all staff classifications, but the Review Committee will be looking at exceptional service to the University.

The University wishes to recognize those staff employees who strive to do their jobs well on a daily basis, those who go above and beyond the call of duty in a special situation, and those who have contributed in a significant way to the success of the University.

Do you know a coworker who has proven superior service to the University?

Currently enrolled students, employed staff, faculty, administrators or groups are encouraged to nominate full-time staff employees for the Excellence in University Service Awards.

Better hurry! Nomination deadline is November 15.

Need more information? Nomination forms and information may be found at www.missouristate.edu/seusa.

Do you wonder what’s happening on campus? Check the faculty/staff homepage – click the Faculty/Staff link from the university homepage. You’ll find information about upcoming events for faculty and staff, recent pictures taken around campus, news just for faculty and staff, and profiles of some of your colleagues. New content is available every Monday. Don’t forget to check!

Date: Saturday, October 30th
Time: 9:00a.m. – 10:00a.m.
Location:Meet in the Glo Cleaners parking lot
Street: Cherry Street (between National and Glenstone)

If you would like to participate, please send an email to StaffSenate@MissouriState.edu.

Teresa is currently a Budget Officer with the College of Education, a position she has held since January, 2008.  She moved to Springfield with her husband and son in 1993 from Shawnee, Kansas, and loves the Ozarks.  She has been with Missouri State University in different capacities since 2004.   She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems in 2003 and a Master’s Business Administration in 2007, both f rom Missouri State University.  She has one son, Joey, who is serving in the Army and is currently stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Seattle, Washington. He recently completed a tour in Afghanistan, and came back safely. Her husband, Ken, is the Property Control Specialist in Missouri State’s Property Control Office.  She enjoys reading, working crossword and other puzzles, playing with her 3 cats and one dog (which she also considers her children), and going to movies. She is active in Staff Senate, serving on several committees, and also serves on several committees in her college.

In This Issue:

• Staff Senate Cookbook Fundraiser
• Denim Day Breast Cancer Awareness Events
• Public Affairs Week Clothing Drive
  
• Public Affairs Grant Program
• MSU Blood Drive

Do you make a chocolate cake that is to die for? Is your great-grandmother’s apple pie recipe the talk of the town?

Missouri State Staff Senate is publishing a dessert cookbook compiled by the Missouri State Community to raise money for the Staff Senate Scholarship Fund!

Be a part of this one-of-a-kind cookbook and submit your recipes today!

On your recipe submission please include:

• Type of recipe (cookies, candy, cake, pie, etc.)
• Your name and department
• List ingredients in order of use in ingredients and directions
• Keep directions in paragraph form

Recipes need to be submitted by September 25th

• If duplicate item recipes are submitted, the first received will be accepted
• No more than three (3) recipes per person to give everyone the opportunity to contribute

Email your recipe (or copy and send through campus mail) to konyaknackstedt@missouristate.edu, terryplank@missouristate.edu or dixiewilliams@missouristate.edu.

When you submit your recipes, please let us know if you would like to purchase a Staff Senate Cookbook and how many. The selling price for these one-of-a-kind cookbooks will be $10 and all proceeds go to the Staff Senate Scholarship Fund. These make great Christmas gifts!

If you have any questions, please contact Konya Knackstedt at 6-4699 or konyaknackstedt@missouristate.edu.

Denim Day 5K Run/Walk
September 25, 2010 @ 8:00am
Nathaniel Greene Park
(see Denim Day website for registration form)

Denim Day Luncheon
September 29, 2010 @ 11:00-1:00
Plaster Student Union Ballroom
Cost: $6.00 with half of the proceeds going to breast cancer awareness)

Mammogram Bus – 2010

Thursday, October 21
Tuesday, October 26
Tuesday, November 2

Call 888-8888 to schedule your mammogram!
Women with a history of concerns on previous mammograms or women with dense breast tissue should have their mammograms done at the St. John’s Breast Center rather than on the bus.
Visit http://health.missouristate.edu/74187.htm for more details call Jerilyn for questions 6-4045.

The Public Affairs Week Committee at Missouri State is hosting a clothing drive for Rainbow Network, a non profit organization that assists those struggling with poverty in rural Nicaragua. We are asking individuals to fill a Bearline with winter clothes for children and young adults! The fill the Bearline event will be outside Blair Shannon at 2 PM Wednesday, September 15th. At this event there will also be popcorn and more information on the Rainbow Network. We will then deliver the Bearline to the Rainbow Network and drop off the donated items. If you can’t make it to the event please email Elise Sommer at Elise006@live.missouristate.edu and drop off items with her, or drop off your items to the PSU front desk. Thank you so much and look forward to seeing you there!

Public Affairs Grant Program

The Office of Public Affairs Support is now accepting applications for the Public Affairs Grant Program.   Applications are being requested for programs that will occur during the Spring 2011 semester.  Deadline for applications is Friday, October 22, 2010.  The Public Affairs Grant Program provides financial support to faculty, staff, and student organizations and groups to sponsor events for the campus community that are consistent with Missouri State University’s public affairs mission. These are events that provide opportunities for dialogue that encourage faculty, staff, and students to explore topics of public concern.  Interdisciplinary and collaborative proposals are especially encouraged.  The primary audience for these events is the campus community, but community participation with faculty, staff and students is welcome.

Application and proposal guidelines can be found at http://publicaffairs.missouristate.edu/grant/.  For questions, contact Mary Ann Wood, Director of Public Affairs Support.

September 14-16
11:00am – 6:00pm
PSU Ballroom

Every participant receives a free t-shirt, a Skinny Improv coupon, and free pizza from Domino’s.

In This Issue:

• Welcome President and Mrs. Cofer
• New Tobacco Free Campus Policy
• Tobacco Free Ambassadors Training
  
• Senator Spotlight
• Denim Day 5k
  
• Did you know…

Staff Senate would like to welcome President and Mrs. Cofer to Missouri State University! At our August meeting, President Cofer was presented with a basket full of local tastes and treats to help and Mrs. Cofer become acclimated to the Ozarks.

Missouri State University strives to ensure a healthy learning and working environment by promoting a culture of health and wellness. As of August 15, 2010 Missouri State began its first step toward becoming a tobacco free campus. To learn more about the policy, designated smoking areas and programs to help you become tobacco free, go to www.missouristate.edu/tobaccofree.

This interactive workshop will prepare you to support the University’s new Tobacco Use/Smoking policy as a “smoke free ambassador.” This workshop will provide information on the new tobacco policy, which takes effect on August 15^th and disallows smoking on campus except in designated areas, and will prepare you to take an active role in promoting a healthy campus environment by helping to spread the word about the new policy in a respectful way.  Click on the link below to register for one of several training sessions being offered.

https://www.secure.missouristate.edu/idp/courses/IDP5100.asp?Code=THWC500&who=THWC

I worked in the Career Center working with the students helping them get ready for that big real job interview for the career opportunity they have worked so hard for for 4 years.  I have been here at the University for 7+ years now: 2 years in the Bursar’s Office and 4 1/2 years in the Career Center, and now 9 months in the Honors College.

My undergraduate studies were completed in Santa Cruz, CA, at Bethany College and I earned a degree in Office Administration. I worked for corporate America as Executive Secretary for many years, but got burned out on that.  So, I decided to work somewhere where I could make a difference.  I love working in the school environment and cycle of the school calendar because of the variety of the job. Watching the students develop over the 7+ years here has been a very rewarding experience.

I have been working on my degree in Horticulture here for a few years now and have made the Dean’s List each semester with my 4.0 GPA.  I was awarded the ASHS Collegiate Scholars Award in 2005, which was my first year as a student, again. My focus is on Natural Landscape Designing that specializes in MO Native horticulture.  I have been the Treasurer for the MSU Horticulture Club for 6 years now and love it.

I have a son, Andy Eaton, who has completed his Master’s Degree in Creative Writing at the St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, and he graduated November 30, 2009. Andy graduated from MSU May 2008 with his degree in English with Creative Writing emphasis.  He is now teaching English at OTC (Ozark Campus) and at the ELI (English Language Institute) for MSU.

I am married to a Union Carpenter (retired) who gave 34 years of his life to that vocation.  We live in Marshfield, MO and he is my partner in my landscape business named Naturally Scaped. It’s great because I design it and he builds it!

The Staff Senate Philanthropy, Lee National Denim Day for Breast Cancer Awareness, is the first Friday of October and will be here before you know it! The Annual Denim Day 5K Run/Walk will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 8:00am at Nathaniel Greene Park. All proceeds from the 5K go toward breast cancer awareness with 75% of those proceeds staying in the local area! For more information or an entry form, email us at StaffSenate@MissouriState.edu.

Check the Staff Senate Denim Day website for additional Denim Day Week activities to be posted soon!

• The Library Archives hold historical information about Staff Senate. If you are interested in learning more about how Staff Senate came to be and the work it has done over the years, stop by the Archives department and take a look.
• The tuition waiver for credit classes was increased from 12 credit hours to 15 credit hours per academic year
• Taylor Health and Wellness offers tobacco cessation assistance for those interested in kicking the habit. Contact THWC at 836-4000 for information.

Join us for our next Staff Senate meeting on September 2, 2010 at 1:30pm in Plaster Student Union, 313.

Welcome to the first Staff Senate newsletter! This will be a monthly newsletter aimed at keeping you up-to-date on Staff Senate happenings, as well as events and news from around campus.

In This Issue:

• Tabitha Haynes, Chair

• Michael Frizell, Chair-Elect

• Janelle Melton, Secretary

• Marian Green, Parliamentarian

Join us in welcoming our new senators!

• Sandra Johnson (Faculty Senate)

• Matthew Stublefield (Computer Services)

• Holly Robison (Psychology)

• Sandra Arthur (Provost’s Office)

• Andrea Weber (Student Engagement)

The Missouri State University Staff and Faculty Appreciation Night Cardinals game has been rescheduled for August 29th at 2:10PM. There will be free ice cream for the kids and they will get to run bases after the game.

If you purchased tickets for the June game and want to exchange them for the August 29th game, please take your tickets to Konya Knackstedt in Glass 238 or Tabitha Haynes in PSU 405 by July 29th. After those tickets have been returned to the Springfield Cardinals office, the new tickets will be issued and you will be contacted for pick-up. You must have your original tickets to exchange.

If you purchased tickets for the June game but are unable to attend the August 29th game, you can exchange your tickets for another game of your choice by returning your tickets to the Springfield Cardinals Ticket Office.

If you would like to purchase tickets for the August 29th game, please bring a check to Konya or Tabitha by July 29th. Tickets are $6 and checks should be made payable to the Springfield Cardinals.

Do you like/love to sing? Can you “carry a tune in a bucket?” Have you been told by more than ten people (non relatives) that you have a great singing voice? (This is VERY important! If you are not sure, just turn to a co-worker and start singing right now.) Are you comfortable singing in front of large groups? Ar you willing and able to attend rehearsals a few times a year?

If you answered “yes” to ALL of these questions, please contact Peggy Preston at 6-4645 or peggypreston@missouristate.edu to join the Super Singers. The Super Singers are a group of approximately 17 faculty and staff who will perform at various University events throughout the year. They may even throw in a little holiday caroling!

Time to meet the neighbors! The Residence Hall House Calls program is designed to reach out to resident students and give them an opportunity to interact with faculty members and administrators on a more personal level. Volunteer faculty and staff members visit each room in the residence halls and provide information about additional resources at the university, help students feel welcome on campus, and create connections with students.

When: September 1, 2010
Where: Plaster Student Union, Ballroom East
Time: 5:15pm-6:00pm (hors d’oeuvres provided) and 6:00pm-8:00pm Head to Residence Halls

The House Calls program is in its fifth year and relies on the support of faculty and staff volunteers to continue to make the program successful. For more information or to volunteer your time to the program call (417) 836-4987 or e-mail House Calls.

Missouri State University strives to ensure a healthy learning and working environment by promoting a culture of health and wellness. Beginning August 15, 2010, Missouri State University will take the first step toward becoming a tobacco free campus. To learn more about the policy, designated smoking areas and programs to help you become tobacco free, go to www.missouristate.edu/tobaccofree.

Introducing….Michael Frizell

Michael currently serves as the Director of the Writing Center, located in the Bear CLAW Center for Learning and Writing. Now in his fifth year as director of the Writing Center, Michael provides programming for classes, departments, and organizations on all aspects of writing and study skills. See the Writing Center’s website (http://writingcenter.missouristate.edu) for more information.

He is also the Director of the Supplemental Instruction Program. SI is designed to assist students in classes where the D, F, or Withdrawal rate is at or around 30%. The program started small, supporting ten courses in the spring of 2009, but has ballooned into a potential seventy courses for fall 2010. For a full list, visit the SI website (http://si.missouristate.edu).

In addition, he is Director of the In-School Players. In-School Players are a small cast of Missouri State University students who travel the local elementary school and Springfield Public Library circuit to bring live theater performances to children. Created in the fall of 1984, the cast consists of six to eight members who present 40 to 60 performances of stories, poems, and music per school year. It is estimated that the In-School Players Touring Group has entertained over 500,000 children since it was formed. The group claims to be able to perform anywhere such as classrooms, libraries, and playgrounds, and offers Tuesday and Thursday performances.

Michael received his bachelor’s degree in 1991 from The College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. While there, he performed in over forty productions as well as working in Branson, Missouri, as an actor in The Shepherd of the Hills, Silver Dollar City and Ride the Ducks. He completed his master’s degree in theatre from Southwest Missouri State University in 1996 and his master’s degree in English and Creative Writing in 2001 from Missouri State University. He was hired as a lecturer in the Collegiate Reading and Learning department in 2000 and also taught courses in the Public Affairs department. In 2005, he became a staff member when he was named Director of the Writing Center at Missouri State University.

In his spare time, he is a frequent performer at the Lander’s Theatre, the main stage at Springfield Little Theatre, and has appeared in local commercials. He also dabbles in publishing creative non-fiction. He and his son, Tristan, a student at Missouri State University, reside in Springfield, Missouri.

Staff Senate committees are currently working on the following initiatives:

• Sick Day Leave Bank – Lenord McGownd, Chair
  
• Recreation Center Staff/Faculty Fee – Erin Parrish, Chair
  

If you would like to serve on one of these committees, please contact the committee chairperson for more information.

As an advocacy group for staff, we are at our best when people like you contribute your knowledge and expertise to the mission of our group. All University staff are invited to attend Staff Senate meetings and serve on committees.Staff Senate meetings are on the first Thursday of the month in PSU 313 at 1:30pm. Be sure to check out the Staff Senate website for meeting agendas and minutes, committee information, and other helpful resources. If you have questions or would like more information about Staff Senate, any of our senators would be happy to help!

• The August 5th Staff Senate meeting has been moved to 11:00am.