Jim Ferguson to receive the Bronze Bear Award Thursday, December 9, 2010 Missouri State University will confer 1,460 degrees during the fall commencement ceremonies Dec. 17 at JQH Arena. Graduates from the colleges of Business Administration and Education will receive their degrees at 12:30 p.m. Graduates from the colleges of Arts and Letters, Health and Human Services, Humanities and Public Affairs, and Natural and Applied Sciences will receive their degrees at 4 p.m. During the 12:30 p.m. ceremony, Jim Ferguson of Springfield will speak and receive the 2010 Bronze Bear Award in recognition of his long-standing support of Missouri State and the Greenwood Laboratory School. Ferguson, who is the president of the Heart of America Beverage Company, is a past member and president of the Missouri State University Board of Governors, a past member of the Missouri State University Foundation Board of Trustees, and a member of The Founders Club. He has been active in supporting Missouri State’s legislative agenda and established the Jim Ferguson African-American Scholarship. Ferguson will be the 12th recipient of the award since its inception in 1998, which is presented to those who have exhibited “extraordinary achievement and/or outstanding support” for Missouri State. Scott Huff, a 1995 graduate of Missouri State with a degree in marketing management, will speak at the 4 p.m. commencement. He is a senior vice president at Wal-Mart responsible for all company-wide consumables including pets, household chemicals, paper goods, beauty, personal care and infants. A total of 1,011 bachelor’s degrees, 444 master’s degrees and five specialist degrees will be conferred. Beyond the standard expectations, 43 students will be recognized for their work with a more rigorous curriculum in Missouri State’s Honors College. Scholastic honors will be given to 34 students who will graduate summa cum laude (with a grade point average of 3.9-4.0 on a 4.0 scale), 54 who will graduate magna cum laude (with a GPA of 3.75-3.89) and 120 who will graduate cum laude (with a GPA of 3.5-3.74). Luis Hernandez, a physician assistant student, will receive his Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. Hernandez, who was born in Venezuela, immigrated to the United States in 1998 to live with his brother and to escape some of the political issues facing his home country. In Venezuela, Hernandez was a practicing medical professional, and he desired to continue that work in America. “I went to medical school and completed an internship and residency in Venezuela,” said Hernandez. “Therefore, when I came here, I wanted to find the fastest way to practice medicine again. A physician assistant career fit my expectations. Also, it is considered one the best careers in the country.” Hernandez, who is married with three children, was able to continue living near his family in Oklahoma while completing his physician assistant program. The program at Missouri State was particularly appealing due to its proximity to home and reputation for excellence. He attributes his success in the program to the friendly faculty members, who he considers a “blessing” to the program. “I am a foreign medical doctor who came to this country with no English, but with the conviction that if I were positive and determined, I would be able to practice medicine again,” said Hernandez. “There is no doubt that the U.S. is the best place on earth, a country that opens doors to people who want to succeed. Now, I am a very proud American citizen, who feels extremely blessed and grateful to this beautiful land, my country.” Upon graduation, Hernandez plans to work in Tulsa, Okla., in either surgery or cardiology

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported this week that Missouri State University’s website was selected as the most accessible for blind students among a study of 183 university websites. The study, conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, looked at factors like design, headings, tables and pictures.

The transfer orientation is up and running.  Transfer students with 24 or more hours will be required to complete an online transfer orientation in order to enroll in classes.  This is a 15 minute flash production that is very informative about Missouri State.  The student will have a TO hold on thier account but once they complete the orientation it will be removed.  This is just another great resource provided to the hundreds of transfer students coming to MSU. 

Soon it will be available for viewing by advisors and others.  I will blog about it when it is ready.  We are also designing a new Advisor Resource page.  Look for that soon.

Today is the last day of regular class on campus.  Tomorrow students will enjoy the freedom of Study Day.,  A day in between classes and finals to assist student in preparing for their finals.  SO another semester has come and gone in the wink of an eye.  How quickly this happens each fall, spring, summer.

I enjoyed many travels around the state for the past semester meeting with hundreds of students, advisors and faculty.  I look forward to the new students transferring to MSU this spring.  IT IS NOT TOO LATE!  Help your student by encouraging them to apply and have thier transcripts sent to us before December 20th to avoid a $25 late fee.  Remember 24 transferrable hours with a 2.0 gpa will get them admitted to MSU.

I put this on my facebook status the other day after attending a Road Rally for another thing that I do when I realized that it applied to my life in transfer recruitment and admissions.  During the fall semester and early spring my life is an awesome road rally.  It is marked by thousands of miles, many hours of satellite radion, a lot of gas stations, and hundreds of students and staff.  That being the most important.  At each of my awesome campuses I meet qualified students who are interested in business, education, wildlife biology, political science, dance, and the list goes on and on.  I meet them briefly and impart small pieces of advice that will assist them on make a very important decision to transfer and continue thier education.  I am but a small small blip on thier radar as they grad a book from my table or ask a question about financial aid.  But it is an important blip.  What are the important blips you have in your everyday life with a student?

Well I am still on the road today.  I am sitting in the lobby of St. Louis Community College – Wildwood while students file by on their way to class.  The occasional student asks a question or catches my eye and debates on asking a question.  It is a wonderful thing.

The places I have been this year include: Northwest Arkansas College, Crowder College, St. Louis Community College – Meramec, St. Charles Community College, Johnson County Community College, Cottey College, Metropolitan Community College – Penn Valley, Ozarks Technical Community College, Mineral Area College, Jefferson College, Southwestern Illinois College, East Central College and I am sure I am missing somewhere.  The places I have left to visit this fall are St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley, Crowder College again, Missouri State University – West Plains, State Fair Community College.  I will also be at MCCA in STL and MACROA at the Lake.

Do you have students asking about us and I am not visiting your campus this fall?  Email me dixiewilliams@missouristate.edu  Or what would work better at your campus?  Are campus visits beneficial to your students?  Would short appointments with an advisor on your campus be more beneficial?  Help me help your students.

Fall is a wonderful time of year for an Office of Admissions on any campus.  We just made it through the fall start, the freshman numbers are up slightly and well for Missouri State the transfer numbers are up 11% from last year.  At our census time we had 1740 transfer students enrolled at Missouri State.  That is due largely in part to the role that the advisors on our community college campuses play.  I appreciate the support from advisors for students who stumble into thier offices each day not 100% sure of what they are doing.  I marvel in the success our transfer students have coming from our community colleges.  These are top functioning students who will go on to complete bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees, etc.  They will serve our communities proudly and it all started with you.  SO THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education funds Professional Development Center Monday, October 11, 2010 Dr. Suzanne Cutbirth, director of the Southwest Regional Professional Development Center (SWRPDC), received a $1,144,848 grant from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to fund the SWRPDC. The SWRPDC is one of 11 regional professional development centers in Missouri, funded by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and serving teachers, administrators and school districts. The mission is to build the capacity of educators and schools to maximize student performance through high quality professional development. Working in collaboration with southwest Missouri school districts, the SWRPDC provides facilitation and support services, through a network of individuals with content area and practical expertise.

Record number of transfer students enrolled

Firefighter received top honors