The Call for CASL Research Stipend Applications for 2014–2015
is now Open
The Citizenship and Service-Learning office invites proposals for research stipends that will be of direct service to the community, including community-based research involving students. The stipend is a vehicle to accomplish the goals of a metropolitan university. Applications are due no later than Friday, October 17, 2014. For questions, please contact Kathy Nordyke at 836-5774.
Download CASL Research Stipend Guidelines and Proposal Form
Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate College Candidate Interviews
Join the Office of the Provost in welcoming the candidates interviewing for the position of Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate College. Each candidate will be presenting an open forum followed by a question and answer session. Visit the Provost website for candidate information and open forum schedules.
Academic Integrity Faculty Brown Bag Luncheon
“Practical Tips for Online Integrity”
Date: Monday, October 13
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: PSU 308
Presenter: Nancy Gordon, FCTL Assistant Director
Technology is making it easier to detect academic dishonesty in the online environment. But how can we effectively design online assignments and assessments that will support academic integrity and the ethical behavior of students?
This session will provide an overview of detection software available as well as tips for the design of sound pedagogical assignments and assessments that will effectively guide academic integrity and stimulate deeper student learning.
Drinks and cookies provided.
Academic Advisor Forums
General Education or General Confusion?
Date: Friday, October 24
Time: 12:15–1:15 p.m.
Location: Plaster Student Union 313
Presenter: Amy Marie Aufdembrink
Case studies will be presented to clarify the potential pitfalls of transitioning between the two general education programs. If you have experienced confusion as you worked with a student trying to figure out:
- …whether switching general education programs is a good idea,
- …how old transfer work fits into the new general education program,
- …how new transfer work fits into the old general education program,
- …whether old general education science courses will work in the new general education program,
- …how military credit works into the new or old general education programs,
- …and many other issues,
then please attend this Academic Advisor Forum for answers and guidelines.
A Panel Discussion: Academic Advisors and the Office of Admissions Working Together for Student Success
Date: Thursday, October 30
Time: 12:30–1:30 p.m.
Location: Plaster Student Union 313
Panelists: Dixie Williams, Ben Metzger, Amy Keene, Judy Pickering, and Kim Stagner.
Moderator: Ross Hawkins
Career Advising Workshop
Date: Thursday, October 30
Time: 1:00–4:00 p.m.
Location: Plaster Student Union 315
Presenters: Susan Martindale, Jamie Schweiger, Margie Stewart, SuzAnn Ferguson, Tracy Dalton, and Alex Johnson
This workshop is designed to equip advisors to help their students begin to see themselves as professionals. In addition to small group discussion and interactive activities, a panel of employers will discuss skills they are seeking and what they see lacking in many new applicants. Discover helpful campus resources to assist students in preparation for employment or the transition to graduate school.
Space is limited and registration is required through the Academic Advisement Center website.
What Are 5 FAQ’s About Faculty Roles in the Flipped Class?
A new program begins Monday, October 13
If you’re thinking about flipping your class, you probably have questions. If you’re not going to lecture, what should you do instead? Should you flip everything? Or is that too much? Sarah Egan Warren and Barbi Honeycutt from NC State University discuss the five most common questions about why, how, and when to flip.
What Do First-Year Students in 2014 Know and Expect: An Advising Profile of New Students at Missouri State
New Advising Reports Available: Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE)
A new advising report is available based on 2,030 first-year students who took the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) during SOAR in summer 2014. The Student Advising Report is an individualized report designed to help understand your advisee’s background and expectations about their first-year of college. This one-page report sheds light on students’ high school experiences and expectations for their first year.
Accessing the Reports
The individual reports of the 2,030 students who took the survey are available to advisors through Advising Notes. “BCSSE Survey Results” will appear on Transcripts and Test scores.
Utilizing the Reports
BCSSE Advising Report Guide—The guide describes and explains the importance of seven critical areas focusing on expectations, commitment, engagement and preparation.
Conversation Catalysts—Advisors have compiled and shared a list of questions they asked as they looked through students’ BCSSE Advising Reports.
Check out Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) on the Assessment webpage for additional resources and information. Contact the Office of Assessment or 417-836-6300 with questions.
MSU Diversity Book Club
Date: Thursday, October 16
Time: 4:30–6:00 p.m.
Location: FCTL, Meyer Library Room 204
A Diversity Book Club is being organized by Dr. Steve Willis, Diversity Fellow. This book club will be a fun way to share a love of reading and open dialogues on societal issues and concerns related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Please join Dr. Willis and Dr. Sarah Nixon for initial discussion on the first book selection, Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario. This is an astonishing story that puts a human face on the ongoing debate about immigration reform in the United States. Enrique’s Journey recounts the unforgettable quest of a Honduran boy looking for his mother, eleven years after she is forced to leave her starving family to find work in the United States.
Future meeting dates will be determined at this first meeting. Copies of the book will be provided free of charge to book club members.
Please RSVP to receive copy of the book by contacting the FCTL at 836-3059 or fctl@missourstate.edu.
Computer Services Presents
Blackboard Black Belt Tip: Subscriptions
This week’s Blackboard Black Belt Tip comes from John Bourhis, a professor of communication and a 2014 Blackboard Black Belt. He’s got some great advice for making the most of your Discussion Board.
“Promptly responding to online discussion can be challenging; especially if you are teaching a large online course or multiple online courses. I have found that some of my discussions are more important and time sensitive than others and require me to be particularly attentive to what is being posted. In those special cases I like to “subscribe” to the discussion forum so that I receive email notification every time something gets posted to the discussion. That way I am immediately alerted to a posting that may require my prompt attention. One example of this type of discussion is my Course Questions Discussion Forum. I want to respond as quickly as possible when students post a thread asking a question about a particular assignment or course policy. Use this tip sparingly or you will be overwhelmed with too many notifications!”
For information on using Subscriptions (and other settings) in your Discussion Board, visit this page in Experts. Be sure to visit the Blackboard Blog to learn more about the great features in Blackboard. Don’t forget about all the opportunities for Blackboard training from Computer Services at the Help Desk website, and learn how you can become a Blackboard Black Belt while you’re there! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter too!
Nominations for a Common Reader
The First-Year Programs office is currently accepting recommendations of books suitable to use as a common reader in fall 2015. All sections of GEP 101 and some sections of UHC 110 will use the book. The book is also used in collaborative community programs with the Springfield-Greene County Library system and Ozarks Technical Community College.
We need your help in identifying books that relate to the university’s Public Affairs mission and next year’s Public Affairs theme: Building Healthy Communities: Body, Mind, and Spirit.
An ideal common reader will contain themes and content allowing students to explore multiple pillars of the public affairs mission: cultural competence, community engagement, and ethical leadership. Because the book will be used in GEP101 and UHC110, courses that serve students from all majors on campus, the book should be written in ways that appeal to students from a variety of disciplines and interests. The book you nominate needs to be written for a general audience, requiring little or no expertise with the topic in order to understand the book.
The selection committee will consider both fiction and nonfiction. The common reader will be chosen based on the book’s relationship to the public affairs mission, the quality of the book itself, and the book’s suitability for first-year students.
Please send nominations to FirstYearPrograms@missouristate.edu. Include the following information: the title of the book, the author of the book, and a brief explanation about why you are recommending the book. Nominations must be received by Tuesday, October 21.
“How to Defeat ISIS via the Kurdish Road”
Date: Friday, October 17
Time: 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Location: LIBR 101
Presenter: Michael M. Gunter, Professor of Political Science, Tennessee Technological University
The Kurds are famously the largest nation on earth without their own independent state, constituting large minorities in Iraq and Syria as well as Turkey and Iran. They are also for the most part very pro-American, secular, moderate Muslims, possessed with a proven ability to fight. In other words the Kurds are the best possible ally for the United States to work with in trying to deal successfully with ISIS in Iraq and Syria where the U.S. has no other natural allies to provide”boots on the ground” to complement the U.S. air campaign against ISIS.
This presentation is sponsored by the Strong Chair for Middle East Studies and the Department of Political Science. For more information contact, Dr. David Romano at 836-6957.
“Tribes, States, and Landscapes: An Archaeological Perspective on Human-environment Interactions”
Date: Thursday, October 16
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Strong Hall 350
Presenter: Dr. F. Scott Worman, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Dr. F. Scott Worman will present the results of a landscape-scale geoarchaeological study of land use and ecological change in southern Portugal during the millennium following the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
“And That’s Why No One Takes the Humanities Seriously”
Date: Tuesday, October 14
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Strong Hall 203
Dr. Russell T. McCutcheon will give a free public lecture on “And That’s Why No One Takes the Humanities Seriously.” Everyone is invited to attend!
Dr. McCutcheon is a Professor and Department Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Alabama and previously taught in the Department of Religious Studies at Missouri State University. His areas of interest include the Sociology of Religion, Theories of Myth and Ritual, Secularism, and the History of the Study of Religion and the Category of “Religion.”
Most recently he edited a new monograph series with Equinox Publishing, “Religion in Culture: Studies in Social Contest and Construction.”
For more information, download the event flyer or contact Jane Terry in the Religious Studies department.
Outstanding Service Award Presented to Faculty Member
On September 20, during the celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month, the Hispanic Christian Church “Casa de Oración,” presented Judith Martinez, an MSU instructor in the Modern and Classical Languages department, with the Outstanding Service Award in recognition for her commitment and dedication to the development and enhancement of the Latino community in Springfield and the greater Ozarks through Missouri State University.
Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning
Student success is a primary goal of Missouri State University and particularly the Student Development and Public Affairs office. The SDPA will be providing a series of spotlights in the coming weeks, highlighting Student Success programs in the colleges and departments across campus. If you have a Student Success program or story and would like to be included in this series, please contact Dr. Rachelle Darabi so we can share your story with the campus community.
Read this issue featuring the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning.
Staff Excellence in Community Service Awards Nominations Now Being Accepted
Submission deadline is Friday, October 24
The University community is encouraged to nominate Missouri State University staff members for the Staff Excellence in Community Service Award. Each year, up to two staff members are recognized for their excellence in the area of volunteer work with charitable, nonprofit, church or similar organizations either locally or globally and earn a $1,000 award. Awardees will be acknowledged during the Staff Awards Recognition Luncheon, Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 11:30 am. For more information and to view the nomination form, visit the Excellence in Community Service Awards webpage or contact Stacey Trewatha-Bach at 836-8832.
Association of Missouri Mediators President’s Award Presented to MSU Faculty Member
Dr. Char Berquist, Director of the Center for Dispute Resolution (CDR)-Professor of Communication, will be awarded the Association of Missouri Mediators President’s Award. The award recognizes those who have made substantial contributions to the field of mediation in the State of Missouri. Dr. Berquist was nominated because of her great work building the dispute resolution program at Missouri State University. The award will be announced and presented at the Association’s fall conference.
College of Arts & Letters’ 2014 Homecoming Celebration
The College of Arts and Letters will host a series of signature events during Homecoming 2014. Check out the following activities and see which ones you want to attend.
- Four Master Classes (bringing successful alumni back to campus to share and interact with our current students), one of which is with composer Susan LaBarr
- Maroon and White basketball preseason scrimmage with the $5 ticket proceeds supporting the COAL Master Class series
Download COAL Homecoming event schedule
Golden Key Honor International Society
Golden Key is an international honor society based on the three pillars of academics, leadership, and service. In addition to being its own entity that gives out over $1 million annually, the organization has many local chapters throughout the world, including here at Missouri State University, that give out $500 local scholarships! Here at Missouri State, the chapter works to exemplify the three pillars and help its members grow as professionals through guest speakers, networking, and getting involved on and off campus. The membership drive will begin shortly with all undergraduate students who are in the top 15% of their class and graduate students with a 3.7 or higher GPA receiving emails about their eligibility. It is very important to note that a major spamming website (HonorSociety.org) has been emailing students all across the country about their “eligibility” and is in no way affiliated with Golden Key International Honour Society. Golden Key is present on campus and is currently led by two of our very own wonderful professors: Dr. Shurita Thomas-Tate (Primary Advisor) and Malikah Marrus (Co-Advisor). Golden Key can be contacted through email at GoldenKey@missouristate.edu and would love to answer questions or partner with any organizations/projects on campus.
Fall Noncredit Programs
How to Live on a Budget
Dates: Thursdays, October 16 and 23
Times: 6:00–8:00 p.m.
Location: Meyer Alumni Center 4th Floor
Cost: $49
The specific goal of this course is to help ANYONE at ANY financial threshold achieve IMPROVED financial well-being. It is a known fact people spend more time on planning their vacations these days than their personal finances. The better you plan your finances, the better and longer vacations you can have.
- Day 1 – Getting started on a budget, How to budget
- Day 2 – Credit Cards and what to do with new found money, Resetting a budget due to a new job, raise, etc.
Visit the how to live on a budget website for registration and more detailed course information.
Introduction to Photography
Dates: Tuesdays and Thursdays, October 21 and 23; October 28 and 30
Times: 6:30–8:30pm
Location: Meyer Alumni Center 2nd Floor
Cost: $49
This course will help the student learn the functions of their cameras (film or digital) and how to make better use of composition, lenses, lighting, software, flash units, and other equipment including tips and techniques for capturing photographs that stand out from the everyday snapshot image. In addition, this course is recommended to hobbyists, budding journalists that need to shoot their own stories, artists, and anyone else looking at improving their photographic imagery.
- Day 1 – Fundamentals of Photography
- Day 2 – Fundamentals of Photography Continued
- Day 3 – Studio Visit & Studio Techniques
- Day 4 – Critique of Photographs
Visit the introduction to photography website for registration and more detailed course information.
Grant Writing from Good to Great
Date: Friday, October 24
Location: Alumni 2nd Floor Board Room
Time: 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Cost: $125
This course will allow seasoned grant writers and newcomers the chance to understand and practice the essentials of writing grant proposals in an interactive and creative workshop! This course will help you with researching, learning how to locate funding sources, and provide grant writing tips and tutorials that have taken years of our expertise to cultivate. In addition, you will learn how to pursue grant funds. This is a course not to be missed.
Visit the Grant writing website for registration and more detailed course information.
Advanced Grant Writing
Date: Friday, November 14
Location: Alumni 2nd Floor Board Room
Time: 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Cost: $125
The advanced grant writing workshop is perfectly suited for those that have a basic understanding of the grant writing process and format. The workshop will cover establishing a grant strategy for an organization or project, cover in depth various federal grant writing concepts and strategies, and discuss advanced program development and evaluation techniques. Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of a proposal constructed to obtain feedback from the speaker as well as others in the course.
Visit the advanced grant writing website for registration and more detailed course information.
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