Truman State University tmn.truman.edu
GIVEAWAY INSIDE State budget TRUMAN UPDATES more than CURRICULUM anticipated
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018 tmn.truman.edu
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BY NICOLAS TELEP Managing Editor
Truman State University voted to change the liberal studies curriculum, adopting a more standardized core curriculum and allowing for easier transfer. Truman Days has also been eliminated in favor of a semester-long seminar and weekly lecture centered around preparing students for college courses and critical thinking. Photo by Daniel Degenhardt
The Dialogues will replace Truman’s current LSP in fall 2019 BY DANA BARTCH Digital Director Truman State University has undergone a curricular reform initiative and reformatted freshman week activities in an effort to update the curriculum, simplify the transferring process for currents students and ensure new students are welcomed. This fall, 200 students from Ryle Hall will be part of a pilot test for the series. The alterations made to the Liberal Studies Program and Truman Days will officially go into effect in fall 2019, and the title will be formally changed to The Dialogues. Statistics professor Scott Alberts said The Dialogues is composed of two parts called Disciplinary Perspectives and Interconnecting Perspectives. The Disciplinary Perspectives replace the Essential Skills and Modes of Inquiry element of the current LSP and consist of five core perspectives: humanities, social sciences and history, science and math, communication, and mission specific. The Interconnecting Perspectives will remain the same as they are in the current LSP but with a slight modifica-
tion to the health and wellness course approach. Alberts said faculty and staff are hoping to allow students to log their fitness hours instead of having to sign up for a traditional physical education course. These curriculum changes are designed to align more with the Missouri State Board of Education’s standards, specifically the Core Curriculum Transfer or CORE 42 curriculum. CORE 42 is intended to make transferring between schools easier for students by creating a 42-credit common course load to be adopted between universities and colleges across Missouri. Economics professor Justin Jarvis said Truman wants transferring, whether in or out, to be as smooth as possible for its students, so it is embracing the CORE 42 approach. Along with the changes to the current LSP, Truman is revamping its freshman experience to better welcome and include incoming Truman students. In the past, the University greeted new students with the mandatory one-credithour Truman Week course at the beginning of the semester, but in the future the freshman experience will be four credits and last the entire fall semester.
Three of the four credits of the new freshman experience will come from the Self and Society Seminar, a course designed to equip students with the skills necessary for a successful college career, such as time management, basic communication and class preparation. The last credit will be earned over the course of the fall semester through a weekly lecture series called the Truman Symposium. Professors from across campus will lead the hour-long lectures at 7 p.m. every Tuesday night. The lectures raise big picture questions, requiring the students to think critically and come in contact with a wide range of students and professors, said Alberts. “One of the ways I think [the Truman Symposium] might be useful is in increasing the sense of community and camaraderie among students,” said Chad Mohler, professor of philosophy and religion. “They are all going to be discussing the same sorts of questions, so I think it will help develop a spirit of unity among students coming in.”
During the spring semester, Truman State University officials were bracing for the worst-case scenario as another budget crisis loomed, but a shake-up in the governor’s office resulted in restoration of University funding to last year’s level. In January 2018, former Gov. Eric Greitens proposed cutting Truman’s core state funding by 7.7 percent — or about $3 million — for fiscal year 2019, which began July 1. However, after Greitens left office in June, the Missouri General Assembly and Gov. Mike Parson passed a budget restoring Truman’s appropriation to the same level of fiscal year 2018, about $39.5 million. A large portion of the restored funding will go toward raises for faculty and staff. Dave Rector, vice president for administration, finance and planning, said even though state funding was restored to last year’s levels, department cutbacks made in preparation for the large funding reduction will remain in effect. However, faculty and staff across the board will get a 3 percent raise after no University personnel were given raises last year. Rector said the rest of the extra state money will go toward key areas where it is needed most, including maintenance and repair, which took a large cut in fiscal year 2018. The University will keep some of the money in reserve in case the state unexpectedly withholds money throughout the year, but Rector said it’s hard to predict whether that will happen. Rector also said the University will raise starting salaries for office staff and custodians by about 20 cents per hour in an effort to attract more workers. He said the University is working toward paying all employees starting salaries of at least $10 per hour. “All of the office staff … they’re above that, but custodial is still lower,” Rector said. “But that’s the goal, which I hope we can hit next year.” Rector said despite the restoration in state funding, the Greenwood Autism Center project is still stalled because the governor withheld one-third of the budget for refurbishing the building. He said this funding might be restored when the General Assembly meets for its veto session in September, but until then the University is waiting to move forward with the project.
See Dialogues page 4
City of Kirksville continues road construction projects BY ELISABETH SHIRK Staff Writer The City of Kirksville began work on two major transportation projects this summer: a reconstruction of Illinois Street and the implementation of a new box culvert water flow system — allowing water and drainage to flow under city streets — at the corner of North Cottage Grove Avenue and East Harrison Street. Kirksville is also filling potholes around the city as part of continual transportation maintenance and repair. Work on Illinois Street started in early May, and the box culvert project began in early July. The projects are funded by the City’s $1.2 million annual street rehabilitation and maintenance budget, and additional funding comes from a half-cent transportation sales tax renewed by Kirksville voters in 2014. Assistant city manager Ashley Young said starting next year, seventy-five percent of the revenue from that sales tax will go towards street and infrastructure repair. City engineer Len Kollars said the budget for the box culvert project was $180,000, but the actual construction will be about $162,000. He expects the box culvert project to be finished by Oct. 1. The City has organized a detour over to Manor Road for traffic, including city school buses, and one of the project objectives is to open the street by the middle of August. Kollars said the culvert, which is currently under construction, will be 8 feet wide, 5 feet tall and 35 feet long. He said it will be made out of concrete and reinforced with steel for added strength. The main purpose of the new box culvert is to help mitigate flooding in the area. Kollars said the reduced flooding should also improve home values and aesthetics in the neighborhood. Public Works Director Glenn Balliew said every few years the City does a big reconstruction project, and this year’s was Illinois Street. He said the reconstruction of Illinois Street is the largest project the City has ever tried to do in-house. “The engineering estimate was over $2.5 million for a contractor to do,” Balliew said.
VOLUME 110 ISSUE 1 © 2018
The City of Kirksville is building a box culvert along North Cottage Grove Avenue. Kirksville has also been working on the reconstruction of Illinois Street throughout the summer months. Photo by Elisabeth Shirk
“We’re doing it in-house for $800,000.” Balliew said the old Illinois Street was made from concrete that had been there for many years, and over time it had become rotten and weak. He said as long as the weather holds up, they are expecting the project to be completed before the end of this year. Balliew said next year the City will begin a paving project, focusing on roads with a lot of potholes. He said once those roads are paved, they should hold for 10-15 years or more. Balliew said the City uses a DuraPatcher to fill the potholes. “The key thing with potholes is to get the grade right and get the water off the roads,” Balliew said. Young said the City would like to encourage people to go to the City’s website and use the citizen service request tool if they see a pothole they feel isn’t being addressed.