Community Engagement Archives - Page 2 of 31

Spring semester keeps Paws to the Polls busy

May 22, 2025 by Lynn M. Lansdown

The fall election season may be over, but that doesn’t mean Paws to the Polls (PTTP) slows down. Missouri State University’s student civics organization continued its education and outreach activities throughout the Spring 2025 semester.

After enjoying a team building activity of “Kahoot” trivia in late January, the group got back to work in February, said Dr. Suzanne Walker-Pacheco, professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology and PTTP’s faculty advisor.

First, PTTP members attended a Grupo Latinoamericano information meeting on Feb. 15, where they provided voter information. Later that month, seven members visited four local high schools to continue their voter registration drive. PTTP partners on this event every semester with the League of Women Voters.

Also in February, the group updated its five-year report and sponsored its first Paws to the Polls sticker contest. Students submitted artwork for stickers that Paws members could give away during events.

“The sticker contest was designed to engage students and to encourage voting by giving away stickers at our events,” Walker-Pacheco said.

Missouri State University professors deliver second conference on poverty

May 21, 2025 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Missouri State University and the Center for Ozarks Poverty Research (COPR) hosted the second annual Community Conference on Poverty April 11, 2025, on the Springfield campus.

Anthropology professor Dr. Marnie Watson and sociology instructor Christina Ryder founded COPR. They currently serve as co-directors for the organization. They also teach in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology (SAG), part of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) at Missouri State.

Journalist and anthropologist Dr. Brian Goldstone was the conference’s keynote speaker. In addition to discussing his latest book, “There is No Place For Us: Homeless and Working in America,” Goldstone participated in a panel discussion and signed copies of his new book afterward.

Watson and Ryder saw an opportunity to build the second conference around the theme of housing and employment with the release of Goldstone’s book. Conference topics and themes differ each year, they said.

“Each year we choose a different angle to look at poverty from,” Watson said. “The first year we focused on housing and homelessness. This second year the focus was on housing and employment, specifically individuals who are unhoused and working.”

Art and design students create new Reynolds College marketing materials

May 20, 2025 by Lynn M. Lansdown

This spring, seniors Chloe Gramelspacher and Olivia Michaelson were selected by the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) to create a marketing and branding project for its Center for Student Success.

Both are BFA graphic design students within the Department of Art and Design.

RCASH’s Director of Marketing, Communications and External Relations, Bryce Bewley, commissioned the project. It involved creating 12 posters to represent each department and school within the college. These poster images will be used by the student success center.

“The project was an opportunity for design students to engage in hands-on pedagogy to showcase university and college specific brand-work,” said RCASH Associate Dean Dr. Jake Simmons.

Fourth annual Judy Awards celebrate Reynolds College excellence

May 14, 2025 by Lynn M. Lansdown

Missouri State University’s Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) held its fourth annual Judy Awards May 2, 2025, at The Old Glass Place.

Two women standing at podium during ceremony. — Jennifer Murvin and Dr. Judith Martinez hosted the 2025 ceremony.

The event honors the legacy of Judith Enyeart Reynolds by celebrating the achievements of faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends within the RCASH community.

RCASH Associate Dean Dr. Jake Simmons opened the ceremony, followed by hosts Dr. Judith Martinez and Jennifer Murvin, who announced the 2025 winners. RCASH Dean Dr. Shawn Wahl then presented the Dean’s Awards.

Mock Trial students recognized

For the first time, the Judy Awards recognized a student organization for its achievements. Missouri State’s Mock Trial Team, from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, received the Dean’s Champion Award.

“The Mock Trial Team is the first student group being recognized with a Judy Award,” Wahl said, adding that the team competes at regional and national levels.

“I am especially proud of our students who compete against larger public and private universities,” he said.

Two staff members merit recognition

Another first this year was to recognize two Staff Impact Award recipients instead of one. The awards went to Christy Titus of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and James Chang from the Department of English.

“The Staff Impact Awards recognize outstanding Reynolds College staff who focus on building and maintaining conditions of excellence for students and faculty,” Wahl said. “Christy and James are both deserving of this special recognition.”

English department wins award of distinction

The awards ceremony concluded with the Department of English receiving the Dean’s Award of Distinction for excellent performance as an academic unit over the past year.

“The English Department continues to raise the bar with high quality research and teaching innovation, including graduate program expansion,” Wahl said. “In addition, the department maintains robust dual credit offerings.”

Awards commemorate Reynolds’ legacy

Named in honor of Reynolds, a dedicated staff member and role model for many years in the English department, the Judy Awards cover a variety of contributions to the college, ranging from traditional awards in teaching, research and service to those that recognize collaboration and other efforts that highlight the pillars of the University’s public affairs mission.

Except for the Dean’s awards categories, winners were nominated either by their peers or self-nominated, then selected by representatives from each academic department serving on the Judy Awards selection committee.

Chris Rodgers joins art and design faculty

May 13, 2025 by Reynolds College

The Department of Art and Design has a new face in the ceramics studio, and he’s already making waves with his thoughtful teaching and grounded artistic practice.

Originally from Charleston, West Virginia, Chris Rodgers comes to Missouri State University with a passion for clay, community and creative risk-taking.

Rodgers’ work spans clay, steel and cast concrete, often shaped by self-imposed project parameters. “The problem-solving of working with ceramics is a huge part of what continues to draw me to this material,” he said.

Roundabout path leads to passion for ceramics

Rodgers didn’t always know he’d end up working with ceramics. Like many students, he shifted majors a few times during college before discovering a spark in an unexpected place — a hand-building class.

“I was completely fascinated by the material possibilities and uncertainties of working with glaze,” he said. That curiosity stuck. Since then, ceramics has become both his medium and his way of thinking. A turning point for him came during graduate school with a series of six sculptures titled “Leaning from the Steep Slope.”

“That was also the first time I made something and thought, ‘I’d be excited to see this if it wasn’t mine,’” he recalled.

« Previous Page