UCM Magazine Vol. 18 No. 3 - Spring

UNIVERSIT Y OF CENTRAL MISSOURI MAGAZINE SPRING 2019

ACHIEVING MILESTONES PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION SETS THE STAGE PAGE 14

CONTENTS A Century of Teaching and Learning UCM’s College of Education Celebrates 100 Years PAGE 4

COVER S TO RY

14 ACHIEVING MILESTONES Presidential Inauguration Sets the Stage

DEPA RT M ENT S 1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

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PHILANTHROPY NEWS

20 ATHLETICS

F EATURE S

4 GUEST FACULTY WRITER DR. ROBERT LEE — A CENTURY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING UCM's College of Education Celebrates 100 Years

24 MULENATION NEWS 28 CLASS NOTES 30 IN MEMORIAM 32 PLANNED GIVING 33 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

6 TEACHING THROUGH COLLABORATION School Chair Opens Doors for Student-Driven Research 8 WHY UCM RANKS #1 IN DEGREE COMPLETION Holistic Approach Meets Each Student’s Needs 12 UCM UNDERGRADS GAIN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE THROUGH SCIENCE

On the cover: The UCM presidential medallion, bestowed on Roger J. Best, Ph.D., at his inauguration April 18, 2019.

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P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S AG E

UCM MAGA Z INE

S PRI N G 2 0 1 9 Vo l. 1 8 No . 3

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kathy Strickland ART DIRECTOR

Linda Harris, ‘91 CONTRIBUTORS

Ruth Dickson John Kennedy, ‘92, ‘13 Jacalyn Leake Dr. Robert Lee Laurie Luckritz, ‘18 Jeff Mason, ‘13, ‘15 Joy Mistele, ‘76, ‘83 Jeff Murphy, ‘80, ‘95 An Quigley, ’94 Brittan Williams, ‘15

Published by the UCM Alumni Foundation. © 2019 by University of Central Missouri.

All rights reserved.

Find us online: ucmfoundation.org/magazine.

Contact the editor or submit your address updates by email at alumni@ucmo.edu or by phone at 660-543-8000.

UCM Magazine (ISSN 2375-9909) (USPS 019-888) is published quarterly by the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093. Printed by Spangler Graphics, 2930 S. 44th St., Kansas City, KS 66106.

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MILESTONES: PAST AND FUTURE

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onsidering the significant milestones that have been achieved since the University of Central Missouri’s founding in 1871, it was humbling and an honor to be inaugurated as the university’s 16th president on April 18.

Being president comes with a tremendous sense of responsibility, and I am grateful to serve at such an incredible place. It is also a great privilege that I have the opportunity to work with our faculty, staff, students, alumni and many other stakeholders as we look to the future and what our institution will become.

We know that tomorrow’s successes will be realized only if we carefully plan for them. This will happen only if we stay the course and strive to achieve beyond who we are. Doing so is not a singular effort, so as alumni, your engagement and support are critical for UCM. Together, we will look for opportunities to make a difference in your alma mater — to help transform every day in the lives of students, who, much like you, value their UCM experiences.

As we begin a new chapter in UCM’s history, I am pleased to share this issue of UCM Magazine with you. Within its pages, you’ll learn about important milestones in the history of your university, including the presidential inauguration and the 100th anniversary of UCM’s College of Education. You’ll also learn more about our recent designation as the leader in degree completion among Missouri’s public universities, award-winning track and field coaches Kip Janvrin and Kirk Pedersen, Dr. David Kreiner’s impact on student research, and much more.

We have been entrusted by those who came before us to build upon UCM’s legacy as an outstanding educational institution. I look forward to engaging with you to create new milestones that will continue to make UCM a great university.

Roger J. Best, Ph.D. UCM President

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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Sunderland Foundation Gift to Benefit UCM Aviation

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he Sunderland Foundation has pledged $1 million toward construction of a state-of-the-art terminal and flight education facility at UCM’s Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport.

The gift will position UCM’s nationally known School of Aviation to better meet academic and public aviation needs while contributing to area economic growth.

The Skyhaven airport was donated to the university in the mid-1960s by Max B. Swisher, an aviator credited with inventing the first self-propelled rotary mower and first zero-turning radius mower. When he gifted the 254-acre airport, complete with hangar and 2,800-foot runway, Swisher noted that it would “serve the public and be an excellent aeronautics learning lab.”

From that generous donation grew the UCM School of Aviation, which currently serves nearly 500 students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in one of four undergraduate programs or a master’s degree in aviation safety. Regional pilots

lease hangar space for private or corporate aircraft at Skyhaven airport, and there is currently a waiting list for space.

“After 50 years of continuous operation and the significant growth in the program, there is an acute need for new facilities at the airport,” says Associate Professor Terry Hunt, who serves as chair of the School of Aviation. “We are very excited that the Sunderland Foundation chose to invest in our students and invest in the future of the UCM School of Aviation.”

Established by Lester T. Sunderland in 1945, the Sunderland Foundation is dedicated to funding construction projects in the Kansas City region and areas traditionally served by the Ash Grove Cement Company, where Sunderland was president for 33 years. Leadership of the foundation has passed from generation to generation, and Lester’s great-grandsons, Kent and Charles Sunderland, were named Ingram’s 2018 Philanthropists of the Year for their current stewardship. In 2017 the

foundation awarded more than $10 million to more than 45 educational organizations.

“One of our key funding areas is higher education, and specifically brick-andmortar projects for new or improved facilities,” says Kent Sunderland, president of the Sunderland Foundation. “As a pilot myself, I understand how valuable UCM’s airport is to both the university and the larger community.”

Part of the School of Aviation’s multiphase master plan is construction of a terminal.

When completed, the terminal will house offices and instructional space for the school’s 30 flight instructors and 165 students currently on the flight schedule. It will also include a student lounge, a dispatch office and a flight planning room, as well as accommodations for public use.

To learn more or to donate to the airport renovation project, please visit ucmfoundation.org/airport-renovation

Linda Medaris Quasi-Endowment to Enrich James C. Kirkpatrick Library The UCM Alumni Foundation recently established, through an estate gift, the Linda Medaris Quasi-Endowment for Kirkpatrick Library. Distributions shall be used to provide support for the James C. Kirkpatrick Library, which may include capital improvements, renovations, technology, software, furnishings, materials, faculty/staff seminars and continuing education opportunities. Funds may be utilized at the discretion of the dean or head librarian.

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Linda Medaris graduated from UCM in 1983 with a degree in learning resources from the College of Education. She was a librarian at UCM for more than 35 years and enjoyed sharing memories of the effort that went into mapping collections at the former Ward Edwards Library and planning placement in the new location of James C. Kirkpatrick Library. All items were inventoried, and the book brigade of volunteers lined from the north end of

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campus to the south end, moving one book at a time until the task was completed.

Book Brigade, February 1999

P H I L A N T H RO P Y N E W S

Two Quasi-Endowments Established by Ruth Charlotta Walker Bequest

Dr. J. Lawrence and Lucy Walkup Scholarship to Benefit Education Students

The UCM Alumni Foundation has established two scholarships due to a bequest received from an estate gift from Ruth Charlotta Walker. Walker graduated from College High School in 1949 and received a bachelor’s degree in education from UCM in 1952. As a college student, she founded the CEMOST magazine and served as newspaper and yearbook editor.

She also served on the Central Missouri State College faculty, following in the footsteps of her father, longtime CMSC professor Dr. Marion Schott.

An estate gift has been received to establish the Dr. J. Lawrence and Lucy Walkup Scholarship in Education.

Dr. Walkup was a 1936 UCM alumnus with an undergraduate degree in biology. He served as a teacher, administrator and ultimately superintendent in rural Missouri schools, and it was in this capacity that he met and married Lucy Walkup, who was also an educator.

The Dennis O. and Ruth Charlotta Walker Scholarship and The Doctor and Mrs. Marion S. Schott Scholarship are available to undergraduate and/or graduate students pursuing a career in the field of education. The former will be awarded specifically to a graduate of Warrensburg High School.

Jim Whitfield Estate Gift Provides Benefit of Unrestricted Use An estate gift from Jim Whitfield has established the Virginia Asbury Whitfield and William Henry “Dub” Whitfield Quasi-Endowment for UCM Alumni Foundation, in memory of his parents.

He designated the planned gift for “unrestricted use” rather than for a scholarship or specific program, noting the importance of funds to maintain facilities and daily operations at the university.

Jim Whitfield graduated from UCM in 1950 with a degree in business administration. He was president of the student body and received the George Charno Student Citizenship/Leadership Award during his senior year. He was a veteran, later working with the American Legion Boys State of Missouri for several years, and was honored with the title “Honorary Lifetime Commander” in 2000. He was also an active community member and an engaged UCM alumnus.

The couple moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, when Dr. Walkup secured a position as assistant professor of education and psychology at Arizona State College, now known as Northern Arizona University. He became dean of education and then president of the university for 22 years, coining the now famous school motto: “to be educated is to become more human.”

Ford Motor Company Donates Vehicle for Hands-On Learning Representatives of Ford Motor Company’s corporate offices in Kansas City visited the Warrensburg campus to gift a 2015 Ford Focus to UCM’s Automotive Technology Management program. Among the group of guests were several UCM alumni, who helped make the gift possible through the UCM Alumni Foundation.

“This is a great opportunity to give back to students and to give back to the university,” says Ford Field Service Engineer Robert King, a 1992 graduate of UCM’s Automotive Technology Management program. “I can’t think of a better place than UCM.”

Distributions of the Dr. J. Lawrence and Lucy Walkup Scholarship will be used to provide need-based scholarship support for students pursuing a degree in the College of Education. Financial support will be available for full-time undergraduate students (sophomore, junior, senior) and/or full- or part-time graduate students pursuing a career in education.

The donated car will give students an opportunity to study various automotive systems, including onboard networking, electrical, drive-train, advanced driver assistance features, direct fuel injection and brake systems. It also presents opportunities to advance their understanding of up-to-date automotive technology and prepare them for competitive careers with automotive manufacturers and suppliers.

A quasi-endowment is a fund that functions like an endowment, but without any donor restriction to hold the fund permanently. The difference between a true endowment and a quasi-endowment is that the principal of a quasi-endowment may be spent at some point based on the fund agreement and at the discretion of the assigned administrator. If you have questions about arranging a planned gift, please visit ucmo.giftlegacy.com.

The Automotive Technology Management Program is housed in the School of Technology in the College of Health, Science, and Technology. College Dean Dr. Alice Greife, ’75, ’76, joined her faculty in accepting Ford’s vehicle donation, expressing the university’s appreciation for alumni who have helped make such gifts possible and who share their expertise in helping to advise the university on workforce training needed to better prepare students for automotive industry careers.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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G U E S T FAC U LT Y

A Century of Teaching and Learning

By Dr. Robert Lee

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hroughout our history as a regional, comprehensive university, the College of Education has served Missouri well and continues to lead educator preparation across the state. The college started in 1871 as a Normal School preparing elementary school teachers to work A training classroom in 1920 in rural counties, and in 1919 transitioned from these I recently had an opportunity to catch early beginnings to become up with Dr. Hudson at a Mules Football Central Missouri State Teachers College. game, and earlier this year with Dr. Garten We have made important strides, in Colorado. Both emeriti faculty spoke alongside the communities we serve, of the program’s impact on them as bringing positive change to rural towns, educators, on students as they prepared urban centers like Kansas City, and across to become urban teachers and on the the burgeoning suburban communities children in the schools whose teachers, that grew in between. in turn, celebrated their cultural Long before we started offering graduate diversity. They also reflected proudly on education programs out of the newly the program’s national acclaim through established Missouri Innovation Campus the Distinguished Achievement Award for in Lee’s Summit, College of Education Excellence in Teacher Education, awarded faculty were pushing beyond Warrensburg in 1966 by the American Association of to provide our students with practical, Colleges for Teacher Education. Today, real-world experiences that broadened our programs continue to be externally their thinking and learning outside of the recognized for their exemplary access, traditional classroom. They understood quality and affordability by U.S. News then what research confirms today: & World Report, Best College Review that context-specific, on-site and Top Masters. preparation matters.

Not only is our legacy as a premier Led by Drs. Fred Rietbrock, Robert educator preparation institution wellMarshall, James Hudson and Ted Garten, recognized, but we are also the longest the “Inner City Teacher Education continuously NCATE/CAEP-accredited Program” (1964–1970) was created public institution in Missouri, with alumni after Jim Wade, ’59, a Kansas City Public teaching and leading across the state.

School administrator, asked professor In fact, more than 78 percent of our Rietbrock, “Why don’t we do more to graduates work in Missouri schools, prepare teachers to work with students representing the university in more from different cultures, especially in the than 75 percent of the state’s 567 inner city?” school districts.

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Since my tenure began in 2017, I have worked with faculty, staff and district partners to continue our legacy by developing new initiatives to meet workforce demands in rural, urban and suburban communities. With generous support from the Allen P. and Josephine B. Green Foundation, we have developed “grow your own” teaching pathways for high school students in Clinton, Holden R-III, Johnson County R-VII, Lafayette County C-1 and Leeton R-X districts.

This program introduces the teaching profession to high school students, providing them with opportunities to engage children in their communities and earn college credits while still in high school.

We initiated a new paraprofessional teacher pathway for adult learners in Independence, Raytown, Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs school districts, with nearly 100 potential students expressing interest in pursuing degrees through this program. While working in our partner districts, they’ll earn the certification needed to teach. Such homegrown programs are essential to reducing teacher attrition and combating teacher shortages across the state.

We also recognized that service men, women and other military-connected individuals are eager to join our campus community but encounter hurdles with scheduling. Therefore, partnering with UCM’s Military Veterans Success Center and Extended Studies, we led the way to conceptualize UCM Flex — flexible-format courses redesigned in eight-week blocks

G U E S T FAC U LT Y

UCM’s College of Education Celebrates 100 years and offered in the evening to accommodate a working adult’s schedule. Courses in our early childhood, elementary, middle school and career and technical education programs are available for enrollment.

Finally, building on the legacy of the “Inner City Teacher Education Program,” we are developing a pipeline of urban teachers trained in context through the faculty-led redesign of existing courses. Redesigned undergraduate courses will include an associated clinical experience and service-learning component, offering our teacher candidates invaluable immersive, content- and context-based exposure to Kansas City schools and communities.

At the graduate level, we created the MSE English Language Learners degree to address our district partners’ need for qualified teachers trained to meet the needs of a growing population of culturally and linguistically diverse students.

As I travel the state meeting our alumni, I am constantly reminded how powerful

the Central Missouri connection is for each of us.

Whenever I wear Mules gear, people approach me to ask about my affiliation or to share that they or someone in their family is an alumnus. I often hear, “UCM will always be CMSU to me,” referencing the change to our name. After one such conversation, I reflected on our impressive history and how, despite name changes that may hold different meanings to alumni, the identity of “Central” has not changed.

Our university was established on the foundation of teacher education, and this has remained a constant focus for us throughout our history. Your legacy, as members of our college community, is central to who we are today and strive to be tomorrow.

A teaching brochure from the 1960s In this spirit, I am pleased to announce that we are commemorating the College of Education’s Centennial Anniversary starting July 2019. We lift up and honor this history through the “My Central, My Legacy” campaign, celebrating 100 years of education in Missouri. Whether your affinity is toward Central Missouri State Teachers College (1919), Central Missouri State College (1945), Central Missouri State University (1972) or the University of Central Missouri (2006), we invite you to celebrate your legacy and learn how we plan to build upon the foundation our alumni laid.

Next January, the College of Education will implement VISION 2020, a comprehensive strategic plan currently in development alongside college faculty, staff, students, alumni and university stakeholders.

VISION 2020 will provide a framework to guide us over the next five years.

While some say that hindsight is 20/20, this plan, conceived and envisioned by many voices, will show us the way forward.

Whether you are a graduate of the College of Education, of another academic college at UCM or a friend of the university, I hope you will join us.

Campus before the 1915 fire

Dr. Robert Lee is dean of the College of Education at the University of Central Missouri.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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F E AT U R E

Teaching Through Collaboration School Chair Opens Doors for Student-Driven Research

By Kathy Strickland

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early 30 years ago, when David Kreiner came to the University of Central Missouri fresh out of graduate school at the University of Texas– Austin, he didn’t know what to expect.

Having just defended his dissertation in human experimental psychology the Friday before packing up the U-Haul, he was used to doing research and prepared himself for getting to work on that right away when he arrived in Warrensburg.

“What I found out very quickly was there is no way I’m going to get research done unless I start working with students,” Kreiner recalls. “I found out that’s what I really like to do, and UCM turned out to be a perfect fit for me because I like a place that emphasizes teaching.”

Kreiner quickly departed from the conventional research lab model where the professor is the mastermind directing graduate students to conduct research on a given topic. Instead, he committed to helping students — both graduate and undergraduate — discover what interests them so he could contribute to research they direct themselves. When asked what his research specialty is, Kreiner replies, “I’m a collaborator. UCM is a good fit for me because that type of mentoring and collaboration is really valued here.”

Connecting students with professors for individual academic support and advising is a cornerstone of Learning to a Greater Degree and UCM’s commitment to helping students graduate on time.

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Each semester the university recognizes one student and one faculty member who embodies the core reasons to believe that make Learning to a Greater Degree possible: culture of service, engaged learning, future-focused academics and worldly perspective. Dr. Kreiner received the honor in fall 2018 and was nominated for challenging his students to pursue their own research and teaching in a way that makes even students in other majors want to take his psychology courses.

The experience she gained working with Kreiner helped Gier earn her master’s from UCM and Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Reno. She is now an associate professor of psychology at Mississippi State University and has adopted Kreiner’s approach to helping her own students turn their questions into research.

“I took every class he taught, and everything I did with him was always my original research,” Gier recalls fondly.

“He mentored me through, and I learned firsthand that research can be fun “ Dr. Kreiner sets the environment and can be things where students can feel free to you’re personally interested in. explore their interests and to feel He told us that like they are a part of something if you’re saying, bigger. He always makes you ‘I wonder why,’ find out if it’s feel that you have something been researched.”

These traits were immediately apparent to Vicki Silvers Gier, who had Kreiner as her general psychology professor when she came to UCM as a to contribute.” nontraditional — Kirstie Bash, ’13 Another of student in 1992.

Gier was 38 years Kreiner’s students old when she decided to join her oldest son whose question triggered collaborative in pursuing a bachelor’s degree and admits research is Kirstie Bash, who is now teaching she had no idea what to expect. Kreiner statistics online at UCM while earning her agreed to be her mentor, and in 1994 doctorate in Quantitative, Qualitative and became her research mentor when she Psychometrics Methods from the University was accepted into the McNair Scholars of Nebraska, Lincoln. Bash, a 2013 McNair Program. The program is part of the scholar who received three UCM Alumni federally funded TRIO programs at UCM, Foundation scholarships during her time at which are specifically designed to prepare UCM, wondered how much time students first-generation, low-income students and spend studying versus how much time they those from groups underrepresented in think they spend studying. She and Kreiner graduate education for doctoral study. were surprised by the results, which found

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F E AT U R E

JUST THINK ABOUT IT David Kreiner and Vicki Silvers Gier coauthored a paper as part of Gier’s 1994 McNair Scholars Program summer internship on the effects of existing inappropriately highlighted text on reading comprehension.

David Kreiner that students were actually studying three times longer than they estimated.

Kreiner continues to research people’s perception of time and how that affects time management. In November 2018, Kreiner — who serves as chair of the School of Nutrition, Kinesiology and Psychological Science — presented a session at the Association of Heads of Departments of Psychology conference on how faculty members can apply the psychology of time to their jobs as department chairs.

Although both Gier and Bash went on to graduate school in psychology, Bash says Kreiner’s future-focused approach extends to all students.

“He finds any possible way in his power to support students and prepare them for those next stages, whether it’s grad school or the job market,” says Bash, who, like both Gier and Kreiner himself, was a first-generation student.

“Dr. Kreiner sets the environment where students can feel free to explore their interests and to feel like they are a part of something bigger. He always makes you feel that you have something to contribute.”

Kreiner believes the research experience students gain at UCM is valuable in any career they choose. They might use their skills to write technical reports, work effectively in a team or employ their knowledge of statistical procedures. Kreiner describes learners as going from “average” to “superstars” when they get excited about research that interests them, and that, to him, is a big part of Learning to a Greater Degree.

“It’s all about student engagement,” Kreiner says. “Students have potential they might not even recognize. They might be first-generation students and not even know what they want their career path to be. It’s about helping them see the future, imagine it and realize it. I often think when I work with students about trying to take them one level above where they already are.”

Kreiner says, for example, a student with no former research experience could be paired with a student who is conducting research, while an experienced researcher could be encouraged to do a more sophisticated study with multiple variables, to present work at a conference or to publish a report. Kreiner has coordinated UCM’s Psychology Research Talks, volunteered as a research reviewer for 23 journals and reviewed a variety of books and authored essays. But he believes his most valuable contribution as an educator is working directly with students to identify and explore their interests.

“One of the things I really like about the science of psychology is the ability to answer questions with research,” Kreiner says. “You can use your creativity as a researcher, as a scholar, to find things out about why people think the way they think, why people behave in certain ways.

Think about your own experience, and then think about how research can help you answer your question.”

The research topic arose from a question that popped into Gier’s mind while standing in line at the university bookstore. She was begrudging the fact that the last book on the shelf for a class she needed was saturated with multicolor highlights when she heard students in line behind her remarking how happy they were that their books were already highlighted for them.

Perturbed, she rushed to tell Kreiner about her experience, and he encouraged her to pursue it as a research project. Results showed that inappropriate highlighting was hard to ignore and did, in fact, interfere with reading comprehension. On the flip side, pre-existing appropriate highlighting was no more beneficial than zero highlighting, suggesting learners need to be active in their highlighting. Gier and Kreiner were awarded the light-hearted Ig Nobel Prize at Harvard University in 2002 for “improbable research that first makes people laugh and then makes them think” — something Gier says Kreiner always did in his classes.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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WHY UCM RANKS #1 IN DEGREE COMPLETION Holistic Approach Meets Each Student’s Needs

By Jacalyn Leake

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University of Central Missouri’s commitment to helping students cross the degree finish line is paying off, according to a 2019 Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE) report ranking the university as the state leader in degree completion for full-time equivalent (FTE) students. This achievement demonstrates how UCM’s recent revitalization of student support services is helping learners acclimate to and thrive in all aspects of their academic lives.

Many resources and services impact degree completion, especially when it comes to the nearly two-thirds of UCM students who are first-generation, Pell-eligible or from a historically underrepresented group.

UCM is taking a special interest in nurturing the whole student as an individual, especially in the areas of academic assistance, financial planning and career preparation.

“We aspire to be an institution that supports, not equally but equitably, to make sure students have the right resources they need to be successful,” says Chris Beggs, ’07, ’12, executive director for academic support services.

In fall of 2013, UCM launched the Learning to a Greater Degree Contract, or Contract for Completion, as a way for students to develop a partnership in learning and stay on track to complete

“ We know that students stay in college longer when they feel that they are connected to the institution.”

— Shaunte Montgomery, ’05, Title III project manager and director of first-year programs

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F E AT U R E

UCM is proud to rank first among Missouri’s public universities for FTE degree completion — an accomplishment that would not be possible without the generosity of alumni and friends. To give the Gift of Success or learn more about how you can help students facing financial barriers to degree completion, contact the UCM Alumni Foundation at 660-543-8000 or alumni@ucmo.edu, or visit ucmfoundation.org.

their education in four years. The university direction of Shaunte Montgomery, Title III project manager and director of first-year was beginning to understand that many programs, to not only maintain the university’s students needed more help than they standing as the state’s FTE degree completion were getting, and the Contract for leader but also ensure that even more students Completion marked the beginning of graduate in the future.

UCM’s commitment to being proactive in how services are administered.

Montgomery is herself a UCM alumna, ’05, and has experience as a senior student services “What the university found is the students coordinator, faculty member and who need support the most were the least learning specialist at universities in the likely to seek that help,” Beggs explains.

Kansas City area.

“The shift we’re finding She is responsible for in higher education now allocating grant money is from ‘We’re here if you to resources and services need us’ to ‘We’re here that will ensure more right now because you of UCM students are first generation, students continue to need us right now. We’re Pell-eligible, or from a historically see their academic reaching out to you. underrepresented group careers through to We’re checking in with degree completion. you. We know where the pain points will be in the “What the Title III program is really after is semester, and we’re going to have supports creating coordination at UCM to best help that are there just in time.’” students,” Montgomery explains. “We know that students stay in college longer when they In October 2018, UCM was awarded feel that they are connected to the institution. a $2.7 million Strengthening Institutions So, connecting students with professors, Program grant under the U.S. Department with other students, with resources — that of Education Title III program. The really provides that holistic support we are university is now embarking on a new five-year rollout plan under the looking for.”

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UCM's Success Advising Center opened its doors in fall of 2018.

“ It’s really impactful because everyone needs help, no matter who you are.

It’s really great that there are so many resources available to help students out.”

— Hannah Breedlove, peer educator

Ken Schueller is director of success advising at UCM.

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F E AT U R E

“ What the university found is the students who need support the most were the least likely to seek that help.”

— Chris Beggs, ’07, ’12, executive director for academic support services

Montgomery is excited about using this opportunity to transform the student experience on campus, even before they start their first semester. Central Summer Academy, a summer bridge program running from June 1 to July 3, is designed to reduce barriers that are common for first-generation, low-income and underrepresented freshmen and can lead to dropping out. At-risk students who participated in the Central Summer Academy pilot program in 2018 experienced an 88% persistence rate, bringing them in line with the average for all first-time, full-time freshmen at the university.

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The pilot program last summer was funded by an Opportunity Grant through the UCM Alumni Foundation, and Central Summer Academy officially launches in summer 2019 with continued funding through the Alumni Foundation as well as the Title III grant. The program helps students acclimate to college life, become familiar with the campus and build connections with other students, faculty and advisors before their first semester.

Students also have the ability to earn seven prerequisite/general education credit hours, reducing their first-semester workload and decreasing their risk of dropping out in the first year.

where I needed to go,” says Darius Lark, a Central Summer Academy pilot participant.

“I felt really good about myself the first day of school. I was ready for what was coming.”

Another new initiative designed to proactively increase degree completion is the Success Advising Center. The center opened its doors in fall of 2018, following a pilot study focusing on open options students with undeclared majors. The pilot saw a 7% increase in persistence among first-time freshmen and a 13% increase among transfer students from fall to spring of graduates are of the 2017–2018 EMPLOYED academic year. The or continuing Success Advising their education Center may have also within 6 months contributed to the 7.3% increase in fall 2018 to spring 2019 enrollment over the previous year among students who were conditionally admitted to UCM. Ken Schueller, director of success advising, points out that many learners, including the approximately half of incoming UCM freshmen who identify as first-generation college students, enter UCM not fully understanding how the academic system works. Schueller says making the process less intimidating is an important step toward helping students access the resources available to them.

“It got me really comfortable with the “New students don’t know what they don’t campus, so by the time school started I knew know, so you can’t sit back and wait for

The Learning Commons provides one-on-one tutoring, test preparation, a writing center, study sessions and other free services.

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Amy Knost, right, and Carson Hertzler are certified peer educators working out of the Success Advising Center and Career Services Center, respectively.

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them to ask questions,” Schueller says.

“We know what they should be asking, and when. So we built the success advising model around the idea of designed engagement to provide answers to the questions they should be asking.

This, in turn, develops a relationship between the advisor and the student so that when they do have a question, they know who to ask and have confidence in the answers they get.”

As of February 2019, the university has a team of certified peer educators trained to take a holistic, intentional approach to helping other students work through a variety of issues and obstacles to academic success. Each peer coach is teamed up with a success advisor.

“It’s really impactful because everyone needs help, no matter who you are,” says Hannah Breedlove, a student in the Child and Family Development program who went through the training and is now a peer educator working out of both the Success Advising Center and UCM’s Career Services Center.

“It’s really great that there are so many resources available to help students out.”

Staff from the Success Advising Center, Career Services and Student Housing also participated in the training that peer educators completed in February, along with peer mentors from federally funded TRIO programs on campus and tutors from UCM’s Learning Commons.

Montgomery’s office is situated in the warm, welcoming space of the Learning

Commons, on the third floor of the James C. Kirkpatrick Library, where tutoring, study sessions, test preparation, a writing center and other free academic services are available to everyone from first-year learners to graduate students.

Montgomery recognizes that, in order to give students the best possible experience in higher education, there needs to be a focus on faculty and staff as well. There are plans to support faculty through the Title III grant, involving them in the first-year seminar process, funding professional development opportunities and supporting them in the classroom.

classroom,” Montgomery says. “The Title III grant provides UCM the resources to coordinate this level of support for our diverse student population while strengthening the curricular and cocurricular resources that help students establish successful foundations in college.”

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With the support of the Strengthening Institutions Program grant, UCM is committed to optimizing the student experience and achieving its goal of an 80% retention rate — one student at a time.

%

UCM’s efforts are leveling the playing field so every More than 40 faculty, from of graduates say their UCM degree student has an all four colleges at UCM, contributed to their opportunity to have expressed interest in graduate. The helping redesign the first-year university’s FTE seminar course and redefine its student degree completion rate is double objectives. The grant is also funding the state’s benchmark and 10% above the embedded tutors — professionals who next-highest-rated public four-year will be in the classroom supporting university in Missouri, according to students during class — for many general MDHE. UCM also saw the state’s highest education courses. increase in degree completion rate at 7.6% from fiscal years 2014–2016 to Another initiative that will enhance the fiscal years 2015–2017. These statistics are academic experience is the Active Learning a testament to the university’s dedication Engagement Classroom (ALEC), making to each and every student’s opportunity its debut in fall 2019 in each of the four to build a brighter future. colleges. ALEC spaces provide a modern,

SUCCESS

flexible learning environment with educational technology that interacts directly with learners’ devices.

Help keep UCM #1 in degree completion!

Give the Gift of Success at ucmfoundation.org

“We know that student success depends on intentional academic support in the

From left, Tessa Eldringhoff, Carson Hertzler and Amy Knost became part of the university’s first peer educator team in February 2019.

Shaunte Montgomery, left, visits with peer educators Hannah Breedlove, right, and Meghan Swoboda at the Learning Commons.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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UCM UNDERGRADS GAIN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE THROUGH SCIENCE

By Laurie Luckritz, ‘18

Digging Deep Into Culture Through Archaeology It was a busy day at the souk, a marketplace in Al-Baleed, Oman, a country southeast of Saudi Arabia that served as a port for the trade of frankincense, spices and Arabian horses during medieval times. Audra Whitehurse was browsing items at the market after a long day at the archaeological dig.

The undergraduate research she conducted on ancient Arabian glass prepared her to recognize the bracelets she saw at the market as originating with the Bedouin, a nomadic Arabic people who inhabited this desert region.

program, which offers cultural and biological recognized one anthropology, archaeology, linguistics and of the items applied anthropology. from her tribe and was just The program trains students in cultural happy to relativism, an essential concept of see it,” anthropology that places cultural Whitehurse experiences in context. says. For “This opportunity for me means the world,” another exhibit, she says. “It’s something that I put on my she was putting up the Audra Whitehurse in Oman, grad school applications that set me above Arabic alphabet in a southeast of Saudi Arabia others in a way because this is a very, window display case when a very rare opportunity for undergraduate student from Saudi Arabia walked by students.” She presented her research this and offered to give her lessons in Arabic “I was like a kid in a candy store, just spring at UCM’s Scholars Symposium as in advance of her trip to Oman. pointing out every little thing I’d worked on,” well as the Central States Anthropology Whitehurse recalls, adding that one of the Whitehurse’s excavation experience was funded Society (CSAS) conference — and plans shopkeepers gave her and other members of by grants, including the International Study to attend graduate school at the University the excavation team Bedouin-style bracelets Abroad Grant offered by UCM’s Center for of Tulsa. engraved with their names.

Whitehurse’s work at the McClure Archives Global Education and the Honors College This UCM senior was selected as one of four and University Museum also has contributed Study Abroad Travel Grant. She also earned students from a highly competitive national to her rich experience at UCM. Many of the the Mideast Meets Midwest award from the Department of Education through UCM. pool of candidates to join an excavation field approximately 30,000 items donated or team in Oman in the summer of 2018. on loan at the university’s museum are There are two new scholarships for UCM Her professors in the anthropology program, contributions from alumni. anthropology majors like Whitehurse. including Dr. Jeff Yelton, prepared One African collection, The John Sheets and Joy Stevenson Scholarship her for the field by instilling an the Masquerade Tribal Arts in Anthropology is co-funded by these two understanding of how to, in Exhibition, is brought UCM emeriti, who worked to advance a worldly Yelton’s words, “not only do field to the university and perspective at the university. The Robert F. G. Spier archaeology but also interpret displayed by Brian Nickl, Scholarship is funded by Carolyn Spier in memory things for the public.” ’04, an art alumnus of of her late husband, who taught anthropology UCM, every two years. for more than 40 years and has “Honestly, I blossomed here,” Whitehurse says of UCM’s anthropology

“When we had the African exhibit up, a girl from Nigeria

donated some of his private collections to UCM.

Whitehurse studied Bedouin jewelry (left) in advance of her trip to Oman.

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The University of Central Missouri strives to give students real-world experience and a worldly perspective. These two students cultivated their passion for science at UCM and expanded their career horizons by taking their education to an international level.

Chemistry in Action: Studying Abroad in Science Amie Lanzendorf is a chemistry major at UCM who obtained an internship in Auckland, New Zealand, in fall of 2018.

Lanzendorf explored the country during her 10-week stay at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) through hiking, kayaking and whitewater rafting. Three years of undergraduate research in chemistry prepared her for the laboratory work at AUT. Lanzendorf didn’t start out knowing what direction to take in the sciences. Having a passion for STEM since elementary school, she determined her area of focus while taking chemistry courses at UCM, which are certified by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Dr. Chen Zhou invited Lanzendorf to collaborate on research during her freshman year and invited her to New Orleans for the National ACS convention in March 2018. Their collaborative research involved synthesizing nanoparticles to be used as heavy metal ion sensors. Lanzendorf presented her research with the support of Dr. Jay Steinkruger, who serves as associate dean for UCM’s College of Health, Science, and Technology. She attributes her success to

this one-on-one faculty interaction and the college’s small class sizes.

“When I have questions, I feel comfortable going to my professors and asking for help,” Lanzendorf says. “I think that’s really helped me excel in my education.”

After working with her professors to apply to graduate schools, Lanzendorf was accepted into seven different Ph.D. programs. With guidance, recommendations and essay assistance, she was able to begin the next step in her career.

“It’s been an incredible opportunity to watch Amie grow from a public high school graduate to an accomplished scholar who is being heavily sought after for Ph.D. programs in chemistry,” Steinkruger says.

Between obtaining a full-time internship as a fellow of the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) at Oklahoma State University last summer and studying abroad in New Zealand in the fall, Lanzendorf has had a rich academic experience.

Earning five scholarships through the UCM Alumni Foundation and the International Study Abroad center has been crucial to pursuing these opportunities.

Exploring both science and culture can provide innovative solutions to a spectrum of challenges facing the modern world. With the academic support of faculty and financial support of alumni and friends, UCM strives to provide opportunities that prepare students for successful careers while instilling in them a worldly perspective.

To establish a scholarship or donate to a specific school, program or fund, please visit ucmfoundation.org/give.

Amie Lanzendorf obtained an internship in Auckland, New Zealand, about a two-hour drive from Hobbiton.

The Alumni Legacy Scholarship, the E. R. Foster and Mr. and Mrs. Fred L. Foster Scholarship, the Raymond and Cynthia Burton Scholarship, the Donald R. Kelsey Undergraduate Research Award and the J.M. Hopping Scholarship have all alleviated Lanzendorf’s financial burden.

“I’m so thankful to the alumni who have donated their money because it’s really gone a long way for me,” she says.

Lanzendorf plans to attend graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

She intends to focus on the medicinal impacts of organic chemistry.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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ACHIEVING MILESTONES PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION SETS THE STAGE

By Jeff Murphy, ’80, ‘95

“ To our faculty and staff, will you look at your role as one of great service to our students and each other? Will you recognize the tremendous potential you have to change the course of someone’s or this institution’s history? Are you willing to think anew if our circumstances so demand?”

— President Roger J. Best, Ph.D., in his inauguration speech

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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nauguration day, April 18, brought faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members together for a celebration in the Multipurpose Building. In addition to the new president’s inaugural address, this special event in UCM’s nearly 150-year history included guest remarks by Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Commissioner of Higher Education Zora Mulligan.

A long list of friends, family and colleagues of Roger J. Best, Ph.D., also shared their thoughts about the new UCM leader and extended their well wishes through a video presentation.

In his opening remarks at the gathering, Best spoke candidly about three great honors in his life: his deep faith as a “child of God and recipient of His tremendous grace”; his love and appreciation for his wife, Robin Best, and being a stepfather to “her amazing daughters”; and what an honor it is “to serve as the 16th president of the University of Central Missouri.”

Best, who grew up in Georgia, began his UCM journey in August 1995 as an assistant professor of finance and climbed the faculty ranks to become a professor in 2005. He was named chair of the Department of Economics and Finance in 2003, associate dean of the Harmon College of Business Administration in 2008 and dean of the college in 2010.

First Lady Robin Best with her daughters, Lindsey Keirsey, left, and Amy Burk, ’10, ’13, right.

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Following an extensive restructuring of academic programs, Best began service as dean of the newly formed Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies in 2011. He became interim senior vice president for Finance and Administration in August 2017, and concurrent with a university administrative reorganization, he was appointed as the university’s executive vice president and chief operating officer in January 2018. The Board of Governors named him interim president on Aug. 1, 2018, and president on Nov. 5.

original destination if one travels long enough.”

As a college student, Best had no idea that he would one day provide the caring voice students needed to hear.

His positive engagement and its impact on students was highlighted in a video presentation at the inauguration.

“ To our students, will you strive to fully comprehend the incredible opportunity you have today and commit to completing what you have begun?

Will you offer your support for the great work we do even after you have finished your UCM journey?”

“When I was an incoming freshman and I went to visit the school, Dr. Best was chair “I suppose in moments of finance,” said such as these it is only Kayla Vestal, ’11, natural to consider how a graduate of the we arrived here — what Harmon College words were spoken, of Business and what actions taken, Professional which change the course Studies. “He sat of one’s life,” Best said down with me and in his inauguration my parents and — President Roger J. Best, Ph.D., speech. “Because, as our just went over the in his inauguration speech mathematics faculty and entire major, the their students will affirm, classes I would be only a slight change in degree at the taking and the opportunities UCM would origin will result in a remarkably and provide. … He cares about every single significantly different point than the student who is attending the university.”

Dr. and Mrs. Best with ROTC students at the inauguration reception.

Missouri Commissioner of Higher Education Zora Mulligan spoke of Best‘s “heart for service and demand for excellence.”

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe places the UCM presidential medallion on Dr. Roger J. Best.

During his radio interview with KOKO’s Marion Woods a day earlier, Best spoke about what it meant to have a university leader show an interest in him as a young faculty member. UCM President Emeritus Ed Elliott met Best in a large gathering on his first day at the university as an assistant professor.

While Best may never have anticipated following in Elliott’s footsteps, UCM’s 12th president noticed from day one his potential to listen and lead, and has continued to take an interest in his career.

A brand-new musical score titled “Milestones” was commissioned for the inauguration ceremony.

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The Lighter Side of Becoming President

A

mid the campus updates and occasional banter Dr. Roger Best enjoys during his monthly on-air interviews with KOKO Radio Host Marion Woods, a discussion about the historic event that was about to unfold on campus April 18 took an unexpected turn when Woods held up a composite photo of all 16 university presidents. Pointing out that the seven first presidents and two others since the university’s founding in 1871 boasted beards or mustaches, the local radio personality and longtime university friend couldn’t help but inquire if Best plans to revive the trend.

“I’m just glad they invented the safety razor,” Best laughed, assuring the listening audience his ability to lead the university exceeds his ability to grow facial hair.

E UN IVE RS TS OF TH PR ES ID EN

NT RA L ITY OF CE

nt

James E. Ame 1904–1906

ghead Edwin B. Crai 4 1901–190

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Bobby R. Patto 1999–2005

dricks Eldo L. Hen 1915–1937

Hawkins William J. 1906–1915

Lovinger Warren C. 1956–1979

Diemer George W. 1937–1956

Howe George H. 1898–1901

Osborne George L. 1875–1898

nnot James Joho 1872–1875

Beard George P. 1871–1872

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Podolefsky Aaron M. 2005–2010

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James M. Horn 1979–1985

Ambrose Charles M. 2010–2018

tt Ed M. Ellio 1985–1999

The calm demeanor and sense of humor Best always exhibits during his 15-minute monthly radio talks with Woods are characteristics his family, friends and colleagues know well. Such qualities are a topic of conversation when people describe the university’s new president. Those descriptions are often accompanied with lengthy notes about Best’s leadership, strong business and education background and devotion to and interest in students — attributes many graduates remember long after they leave UCM. Current and past students say Best takes time to get to know people — and always puts students first. Even while preparing for the full-regalia event to officially install him as president, he could be seen walking alongside students and chatting on his way to every meeting and award reception he attended the day before inauguration.

“I love walking with students and asking what they are doing, what they are thinking about. We all have so many commonalities,” he said when spotted engaging with students en route to an Alumni Foundation Board of Directors meeting and a scholarship reception.

That student focus continued to be a topic in the historic day that followed.

Roger J. Best 2018–Present

ucmo.edu/presidents-history

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“So many of us — while the other of the current and next generation of person is talking — are waiting, shaping learners to afford advanced education, our response to what is being said. a societal indifference toward the value Roger Best has always been an excellent of higher education, the perception listener,” said Elliott, who served as that higher education employees are president from underworked and 1985 to 1999. overpaid, increased “He’s a tremendous competition intellect. He analyzes for a declining what has been said, traditional what the options are, student base, a discusses it openly. changing student He’s extremely demographic and transparent and very a world where kind — qualities learning occurs that are really, really in ways not unique for good envisioned a few — President Roger J. Best, Ph.D., years ago — in leadership.” in his inauguration speech which the pace of With the theme change is almost “Milestones,” Best’s too fast to measure. inauguration remarks traced some of the university’s accomplishments “And if we were from its opening on May 10, 1871, to look beyond as the State Normal School for the Second today, what Normal District to a comprehensive will our future university that in 2019 serves students constituencies from across the globe. say about this, our season?”

“Today, we are considered a military he asked. engaged university, we have nationally “Will they say ranked academic programs, we continue we rose to the to win national championships in athletic challenges and academic competitions, and our we face in higher students continue to change the world education? Will they as alumni and while currently enrolled,” Commemorative coin say we were more Best said. given at inauguration than equal to the He stressed the importance of celebrating challenges specific to milestones, and the opportunity to “draw UCM? Will they say we moved this inspiration from where we came from.” institution forward by casting aside no longer relevant constructs and taking “But we must not dwell in the past,” advantage of opportunities we saw before Best cautioned. “We cannot be content us? Or will they say we chose the easy with who we are today, for today is simply path? … So I ask you today, will you join the culmination of who we have been. me on the hard path?”

Instead, we must look to the future

“ To our alumni, will you consider being that difference maker for your alma mater, just as we were for you?”

and consider who we will be, because tomorrow’s successes can be … only if we plan for them.”

Best takes over as president at a time when many challenges face higher education institutions. He spoke about issues facing colleges and universities, including the inadequacy of public funding, the inability

For students, alumni, colleagues and friends who gathered at a reception in Elliott Student Union following the inauguration ceremony, the answer was clear. They would continue to walk alongside UCM’s new president, paving the path with new milestones along the way.

Moving Forward and Giving Back UCM’s Milestones are Laid by Donors Like You As the University of Central Missouri approaches its 150th anniversary, consider how you can be part of this important milestone and help pave the way for future generations.

To ensure that students who demonstrate high academic promise have access to the dynamic learning environment you know and love, the UCM Alumni Foundation has established the first-ever Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

As newly inaugurated President Roger Best emphasizes as he leads the university toward its next milestones, tomorrow’s successes will only be realized if we strategically plan for them.

The Presidential Endowed Scholarship is a permanent fund that preserves your investment by generating scholarship awards each year only from the interest the fund accrues.

The continued success of UCM as a higher education leader in Missouri and the nation is dependent on the collaboration of everyone who cares about the university.

You are part of UCM’s legacy, and your educational journey is one of many important milestones that shape the history of this great institution. Please consider helping a deserving individual create a new milestone through your contribution to the Presidential Endowed Scholarship today.

Make your donation by returning the enclosed envelope or visiting ucmfoundation.org/give/mag.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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Longtime Best Friends, Coaches Enter Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

CEO t and s n e d i s t s, pre induc ndrew l of Fame, 90.

A d l al era n, ’ orts H left, J anvri From issouri Sp , and Kip J M 9 of the dersen, ’8 e Kirk P

By Jeff Murphy, ‘80, ‘95 With its famous Drake Relays, the state of Iowa is a proving ground for some of the greatest track and field athletes in the world, as many competitors at the annual event go on to achieve national and international acclaim. For hundreds of University of Central Missouri athletes who have been mentored by former Iowans and Drake Relay participants Kirk Pedersen and Kip Janvrin, the state also has a reputation for producing exceptional coaches.

Lending credence to this claim is the duo’s approximately six decades of combined success as co-head coaches for UCM’s men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams.

In this time, their professional partnership has produced numerous accolades for individual athletes and teams and for the coaches themselves — most recently their induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Both men traveled to Springfield, Missouri, on Jan. 27 to join members of the 2019 Hall of Fame

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For Janvrin and Pedersen to enter the Hall of Fame on the same day, however, is a special and rare opportunity for two men who have enjoyed a strong connection since college.

They’ve not only competed and coached Mason Janvrin, Jodi Pedersen together but also shared and James Duane (JD) best man responsibilities at Pedersen were all born each other’s on the same day. weddings, and even have children who have the same birthdays.

class of numerous Missouri athletes, coaches and administrators who have defined sports at many different levels of competitiveness and across a wide array of athletic endeavors.

Their enshrinement within this prestigious organization placed them among the ranks of two UCM “It’s obviously a huge members: 2015 honor to go in with my inductee Kathy best friend,” Janvrin says Anderson, ’80, of the induction ceremony. a former Jennies “It’s even better for us to be Basketball Allcelebrated for the amount American and of time we have spent here. current assistant I would say good coaches director of internal are made by good athletes, relations; and Jerry and to be recognized for Kirk Pedersen, left, at his 1994 Hughes, ’71, our body of work is quite wedding with his best man, Kip Janvrin UCM’s current an honor.” athletic director, who “I think it’s a reflection of attained the Hall of a lot of years,” Pedersen adds.

Fame’s Sports Legend title in 2016. All are While at UCM, the coaching tandem has part of a growing list of UCM teams and created a winning atmosphere that has individuals who have brought distinction led to 35 MIAA to the university through their recognition.

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24 years, with 11 straight Top 25 finishes at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. He also coached the Jennies cross country team to a trio of MIAA Championships, and has earned MIAA Cross Country Coach of the Year honors 13 times.

and the 2001 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Additionally, in 2000 he was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in Sydney, Australia.

Pedersen and Janvrin have shared co-head coaching duties for track and field since 1994. Among many different honors, in 2002 and 2015, they were both named United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Indoor Coaches of the Year and 2015 National Outdoor Coaches of the Year.

The acquaintanceship between the two Championships, including 27 men’s college teammates grew into a friendship conference titles and eight women’s titles. that Pedersen never forgot. After graduating They also led the Mules to a combined 25 NCAA Top 10 finishes and 13 for the Jennies. from Simpson in 1985, he lived briefly in Phoenix, Arizona, before heading Both reached the pinnacle of their UCM coaching careers by guiding the women’s track to Warrensburg. team to the NCAA Division II Indoor and “I remember my junior year of college, we Outdoor Championships in 2015. came down here to the indoor relays, and Long before they were helping to grow conference-winning national champions and All-American athletes, Janvrin and Pedersen were getting to know each other as teammates participating in track and field at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Janvrin, the son of a high school teacher, coach and athletic director, was a freshman member of his college team when he met Pedersen, a seasoned senior track star and son of an Iowa farmer who went on to be a five-time NCAA Division III All-American and a national champion in the indoor 800-meter run his senior year.

“He was one of those guys I wanted to be like,” Janvrin says, adding that Pedersen taught him a lot about work ethic and believing in himself. These were all lessons he took to heart to help him mature and become a team leader.

Janvrin’s competitive spark and discipline continued long after college as he developed into a world-class athlete. He compiled a world-record 40 decathlon wins, 15 of them coming at the Drake Relays, as well as decathlon wins at the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival, the 1995 Pan Am Games,

While college coaching is filled with plenty of changes from year to year as students graduate and new team members come onboard, the one thing that remains constant at UCM is Janvrin and Pedersen’s commitment to their work and to their friendship.

I ran a race. It was kind of a neat place,” Pedersen recalls. “So when I graduated I started looking at graduate assistantships, and Central Missouri had one.”

Pedersen arrived at UCM in 1987 and began working as an assistant coach under the tutelage of another Iowan, Les Stevens.

Before he retired, Stevens supported Pedersen’s endorsement of Janvrin to help out with coaching while pursuing a master’s degree.

“At that time he (Janvrin) was looking into going to Mankato, Minnesota, and I said, ‘Why would you want to go up there in that snow? Why don’t you move down here?’

And he did, and so we were both GAs.”

As Janvrin puts it, “We coach different areas, and I can’t really remember an argument we’ve had about anything. We’ve always been about recruiting the best available (students) … we just have a unique friendship and respect for each other, and that allows us to co-exist in a very good way.”

Were you a UCM track and field athlete?

A reunion is being planned for April 2020.

Visit bit.ly/UCMTFreunion or call 660-543-4454.

Pedersen got promoted to head coach of the cross country teams and has served the past 32 seasons in that capacity, an assignment that has included guiding the Mules to 11 MIAA Championships in the past

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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BASEBALL TRADITIONS START THE SEASON

By Jeff Mason, ’13, ’15

© Mel Mercer Photography

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has developed into the unofficial start of a new year for Mules Baseball, UCM IN what Athletics and the UCM Alumni Foundation hosted the third annual First Pitch Banquet on Saturday, January 26. With the support of title sponsors Bob and Melinda Horn, ’77 and ’78, and the First Pitch Banquet committee, Mules Baseball welcomed more than 400 supporters in the Elliott Student Union ballroom.

UCM President Roger J. Best made the opening remarks, and Jim Crane, ’76, a Mules Baseball legend and owner of the Houston Astros, introduced keynote speaker Alex Bregman, All-Star third-basemen for the Houston Astros. Bregman highlighted the event with remarks about the sport’s incredible impact on his life — the challenges he has overcome throughout his journey and the impact he is now able to make on others though AB for AUDS, his nonprofit foundation aimed at raising awareness and money for autism.

At the First Pitch Banquet, four players were inducted into the Mules Baseball Diamond Club: Mark Carey, ’09, Steve Sharpe, ’04, Seth Collins, ’01, and Nate Lipowicz. The Lifetime Mules Baseball Achievement Award went to Bill Turnage for his decades of service in college athletics, including as sports information director for UCM Athletics.

After First Pitch, Mules Baseball turned its attention to Houston, Texas, for the seventh annual Houston Winter Invitational at Minute Maid Park. This time, Crane welcomed President Best and First Lady Robin Best on his home turf. Central Missouri fans were treated to a big league experience highlighted by the Mules’ 11–6 win over Texas A&M–Kingsville. In addition to the games, the UCM Alumni Foundation hosted a MuleNation gathering with the support of Crane and local alumni.

The 2020 First Pitch Banquet is set for Saturday, January 18, on the campus of the University of Central Missouri. Be sure to save the date!

© Mel Mercer Photography

UCM President Roger J. Best

Jim Crane, ’76, and Alex Bregman

2019 Diamond Club Inductees

Fans at Winter Invitational

Mules play at Minute Maid Park

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HOME TOWN Celebrating UCM’s Connection to Kansas City’s Most Spirited Brand

By Ruth Dickson For University of Central Missouri graduates, the Warrensburg campus is one that evokes a sense of nostalgia — a feeling that is especially true for MuleNation’s Home Chapter members.

However, even for people like Chase McAnulty, founder and CEO of Kansas City clothing brand Charlie Hustle, who didn’t attend UCM, the campus is a special place.

Chase McAnulty, founder and CEO of Kansas City clothing brand Charlie Hustle

“I’ve spent some good times in Warrensburg,” McAnulty reminisces when discussing his latest collaboration with the university. “I had some high school friends who played football and soccer there, so we would go visit, and I certainly had a connection there with UCM.” Founded in 2012, Charlie Hustle has become synonymous with college pride and hometown sentimentality and has achieved notoriety thanks to its famous heart T-shirt designs’ explosion into the Kansas City market and the brand’s celebrity following. This excitement and sense of pride is reflected in the designs McAnulty’s team developed for UCM earlier this year — a project many years in the making.

“I started Charlie Hustle to do collegiate and college gear, and Central Missouri has been somewhere that we’ve always been interested in, so we’re certainly excited,” McAnulty says. “UCM has a lot of good history and a lot of good traditions to dive into.”

For UCM, the collaboration with Charlie Hustle could not come at a better time.

With recent successes in athletics and

degree completion, and with the university’s sesquicentennial around the corner, school spirit is at a high point. The partnership with Charlie Hustle exemplifies what UCM graduates have always known — that UCM is a leader in higher education, both regionally and beyond. For McAnulty, this partnership reminds him of his days visiting campus to see his friends. “It was a fun project and a no-brainer for us,” he says.

“It’s an honor to be associated with UCM.” For the global community of UCM alumni, fondly known as MuleNation, this collaboration is particularly meaningful, as it blends together two brands known for their community focus, service-oriented culture and continued growth in their respective fields. So relevant is this partnership that it was featured at the MuleNation Home Chapter event on April 25. The 250-plus attendees who gathered at Milestones Barn in Warrensburg received Charlie Hustle shirts as part of their registration and celebrated their connection to UCM and the local community with an evening of socializing, giving and connecting with friends.

Alumni and fans from out of town won’t have to drive to Warrensburg to get a shirt.

UCM apparel is featured in Charlie Hustle’s flagship store in Kansas City, giving the university long-deserved recognition in the city it has served for nearly 150 years.

The shirts are also available at the UCM Store: www.ucmbookstore.com.

Get involved with your regional MuleNation community!

Visit ucmfoundation.org/MuleNationChapters.

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New UCM Charlie Hustle shirts were unveiled at the MuleNation Home Chapter rally in April.

The crowd of more than 250 at Milestones Barn

Earnest and Iris Carpenter

Tiffany Cochran, ’05

Mendy Kenney, ’08, Joe Clifford, Gina Carlyle

Jake Lotspeich, ’01, Matt Lotspeich, ’05

Amy Burk, ’10, ’13, UCM President Roger J. Best, First Lady Robin Best

John Collier, ’86, Shannon Johnson, ’98, ’00

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New Faces of the Foundation Goddard to Lead UCM Alumni Foundation As the UCM Alumni Foundation celebrates its 40th year of incorporation, it also welcomes Courtney E. Goddard as its leader.

Goddard came to UCM in July 2018 from Park University, where she served as vice president and general counsel.

She began work on the UCM Alumni Foundation staff as associate vice president of advancement and director of advancement services under Dr. Bill Estes, who came to UCM in June 2018 on an interim basis with more than 40 years of higher education fundraising experience at Texas A&M and then the University of West Georgia. What drew Goddard to UCM was the opportunity to learn from Estes and to make fundraising her full-time job.

Courtney E. Goddard

Throughout her 20-year career in law and higher education, Goddard made time to chair events and campaign for worthy causes — from funding the arts to fighting domestic violence. It’s a passion of hers that dawned when she was growing up in Springfield and Kansas City, Missouri.

“My mother and grandmother really provided that road map and a legacy for me to understand that philanthropic engagement is important,” Goddard says.

Her family was out in the community raising money throughout her childhood.

When she started college at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Goddard pledged to the same sorority as her mother and grandmother, Alpha Delta Pi, whose philanthropic partner is the Ronald

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McDonald House. She went on to earn her Juris Doctorate at the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Law.

Bess Truman as a secret service agent, driving from Independence to Warrensburg for classes.

As a young lawyer and mother, Goddard Goddard says higher education is continued to devote resources and time the perfect place for her to put her to philanthropic activity. In her early to fundraising talents to the best possible mid-30s she organized events for Hope use. It combines all the causes she has House, chaired the Kemper Gala, became advocated for throughout her career, one of the youngest members on the board including access to the arts and the of the Kansas City Repertory Theatre life-transforming opportunities that lift up and served on the board for Kansas City’s individuals as well as entire communities.

Harvest Ball Society. She She is proud to be raising says many of her friends funds for UCM, which and colleagues didn’t maintains one of the lowest “ We’re not raising understand how she fit tuition rates in the state money for extras fundraising into and offers more than $110 her busy life. million annually in federal, that would be nice state, institutional and “I watched people for the university private assistance to benefit around me in my age to have; we’re students in need. demographic say, ‘not raising money now because I have small “Intelligence, talent, drive kids’ or ‘not now because and the desire to learn and for programming I just started working,’ grow are distributed equally; and projects and but I felt differently,” what is not distributed scholarships that Goddard says. “If not equally is opportunity,” now, when? Someone Goddard says. “UCM can otherwise will needs to step up and level the playing field for simply not happen.” carry philanthropy individuals who have the forward. I felt like I was – Courtney E. Goddard desire but might not have somebody who could do the opportunity. Once that it, and so I should do it.” one family member goes to college and really gets that transformational It is a value she is passing on to her son and step up, they might then direct others daughter, who are now 12 and 10 years old, in their family and others in their by involving them in philanthropic causes, communities toward higher education.” including community service as pages for the Harvest Ball and working in the food Goddard believes the university should be pantry their school operates. Goddard “a beacon to the community,” providing also serves on the board of her children’s resources and opportunities not only to the school and says education has always been students who attend but to the residents in important in her family. Her mother served surrounding communities. Her new title as a lifetime K-12 educator and guidance at UCM is vice president for advancement counselor, and both of her parents earned and external engagement and executive master’s degrees. Her father earned his director of the UCM Alumni Foundation.

MBA at UCM while guarding First Lady UCM President Roger J. Best, Ph.D.,

Spring 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

M U L E N AT I O N N E W S

Two UCM Alumni Return to Serve

Goddard’s daughter and son are involved in the UCM community and philanthropic causes.

expanded the position to include enhancing engagement with external constituencies and building “the awareness, perception and reputation of UCM and the high-quality academic programs and other capabilities we offer.” It’s a role that fits Goddard perfectly.

“It’s both a challenging time and a very exciting time for me to step into this role and hopefully make a tremendous impact,” she says. “Private fundraising in higher education UCM First Lady Robin Best gave Goddard’s daughter and is more her friend a field pass to see competitive than ever, and dollars the famous mule up close. raised are going to be more impactful now than ever before.

We’re not raising money for extras that would be nice for the university to have; we’re raising money for programming and projects and scholarships that otherwise will simply not happen.”

To learn more about funding academic programs and student scholarships through a financial gift to the UCM Alumni Foundation, please visit ucmfoundation.org/give.

Tiffany Cochran, ’05, grew up on a century farm in the small northwestern Missouri town of Maysville, with a population just over 1,000. She sees her role as the UCM Alumni Foundation’s new Tiffany Cochran, ’05 director of university events as coming full circle and giving back to donors like Jim and Alma Lee Hooker, who funded a scholarship to bring students from Maysville to the university.

Molly Teichman, ’99 and ’16, the UCM Alumni Foundation’s new associate vice president for university advancement, describes her relationship with the Warrensburg community and the Molly Teichman, university as completely ’99, ’16 intertwined. A native of Warrensburg, Teichman graduated from Warrensburg High School and earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from UCM in 1999.

“I am forever grateful for their generosity,” Cochran says, “and now I hope to pay it forward.”

Her career included a senior leadership position with HCA Midwest Health at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Missouri, handling strategic planning and public relations with responsibility for all aspects of community engagement and marketing. In 2013, she and her husband, Brent, decided to move their family back to the community they loved.

After graduating from UCM in just three and a half years with a degree in Fashion: Textiles and Clothing in Business, Cochran accepted a management training position with the Buckle retail chain and quickly progressed to overseeing three stores. She also planned events and served as a district campus recruiter, hiring about 10 UCM students per semester for the past 10 years.

“I always hired more Mules and Jennies for jobs and internships than any other university because the quality of students here at UCM is coachable, ready for real life, not afraid to work, and has a skill set that stands out among candidates,” Cochran says.

During her 13-year career with the Buckle, she frequently returned to UCM, sharing her real-world experience as a guest speaker in classrooms, volunteering to conduct mock interviews with students through Career Services, serving on the UCM Business Advisory Board as a professional student mentor and advising on curriculum and internships as a member of the UCM Fashion Advisory Board. She also serves as one of the chapter advisors for Alpha Sigma Alpha at the university and helped plan the Zeta Zeta chapter’s centennial celebration in April.

Cochran frequently attends events on campus, having lived in Warrensburg for the past seven years with her husband, Casey, ’06, a Warrensburg native, and their two daughters, ages 5 and 1. She is eager to get back to campus full time and lend her talents to organizing many of those events as well as MuleNation gatherings across the country.

“Growing up here, I knew the appreciation that the community saw in having the university here,” Teichman says. “From world-class performers to visiting lecturers, the university enhances all aspects of Warrensburg life. I want to see it succeed and grow, and I know it provides unique educational opportunities to students through the faculty as well as the hands-on learning afforded by our proximity to employers.”

Teichman returned to UCM for graduate study, completing her master’s degree in mass communication in 2016. She worked as a graduate assistant and then as an adjunct instructor, teaching courses in public speaking, argumentation and debate, public relations and not-for-profit leadership. She is excited about her new role and looks forward to the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

“We have an aggressive agenda under the leadership of Courtney Goddard to support President Best and UCM to new heights, even as we know education funds have diminished in recent years,” she says.

Teichman’s 18-year-old son plans to attend UCM this fall. She and Brent are also raising two daughters, ages 16 and 13, in what Teichman describes as a vibrant community that has supported her through all phases of her education and career.

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C L A S S N OT E S

2018 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA SHARES EXPERTISE ON CAMPUS Rebecca Morlando, ’93, visited campus to speak with faculty and students in the American Society for Quality organization and the Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies commercialization class about her experience since graduating from what was then CMSU. The 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient shared insight from her career, including her present position as Lean Six Sigma Manufacturing and Supply Chain director for 3M’s Safety and Graphics Division. She oversees operations in more than 20 countries, with revenues in excess of $4.5 billion.

DONATED SCULPTURE ENHANCES SUCCESS ADVISING CENTER UCM’s Success Advising Center is the new home of a bronze sculpture created

by Sherry Salari Sander titled “Mules at Spotted Bear.” The statue was displayed in a gallery in Jackson, Wyoming, where it was seen and purchased 20 years ago

by UCM alumnus Gary Tompkins, ’67.

Tompkins, who previously established the Anna R. Tompkins Scholarship in Music, donated the statue to the UCM Alumni Foundation in March 2018 to be placed where students could enjoy it.

The statue enhances the university’s public art collection, which includes more than 30 sculptures donated by alumni.

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CASE CLOSED: UCM MOCK TRIAL TEAM PREVAILS Adam Sommer, ’08, (pictured at far left with the UCM Mock Trial team) led the team to victory in the spring 2019 Mock Trial courtroom showcase against UMKC at The Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit. After graduating from law school, Sommer began working with his former Mock Trial coach at Harris, Harris and Gilbert LLC in Warrensburg. He began coaching Mock Trail in fall of 2013, and the team has since made five national appearances, currently ranking in the Top 100 nationally out of approximately 700 teams. A growing national alumni network in the legal community is supporting the 25-year-old program as part of UCM’s tradition of academic intercollegiate competition. An expert panel of judges included alumni Alana Carauso McMullin, ’15, and Andre D. Tinoco Jr., ’14.

Calling all UCM alumni … this is your place to share your news! Keep your fellow alumni informed of your job change or promotion, professional or personal achievement or other life event by submitting a Class Note for possible inclusion in the magazine. We also want to hear how you are giving back, volunteering and getting involved with students and graduates on campus or in your community. Send news and photos to alumni@ucmo.edu or visit ucmfoundation.org/yourstory.

Spring 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

C L A S S N OT E S

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Nicholas R. Standon, ’17, has graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. In the intensive eight-week program that included a variety of military disciplines and studies, Standon engaged in developing core values, physical fitness and basic warfare principles and skills.

Antoine Stewart, ’11, is a senior facilities controls engineer at Intel Corporation and is pursuing his doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from SUNY Binghamton.

In addition to his technological pursuits, Stewart founded a hat-making business in 2018 called Stewart Family Ties (SFT). A native of the Bronx, Stewart is the only member of his family in his generation who moved away from their hometown. “To keep his family with him at all times,” he created a family crest that is featured on his SFT ball caps.

Ashley Gardner ’10, ’12 and ’17, has announced her engagement to Ian Yazbec.

Casey Hutsell, ’99, has been promoted to supervise the U.S. Forest Service law enforcement at three major locations: the Mark Twain National Forest and the Shawnee National Forest of Missouri, along with the

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie of Illinois. Throughout his career Hutsell has worked in parks including the Tonto National Forest near Phoenix, Arizona, and the Plumas National Forest of Northern California.

Geoff Jones, ’98, has been promoted to interim chief of police in Columbia, Missouri. Since joining the Columbia police department in 1998, Jones gained experience as a patrol officer, narcotics investigator, investigative sergeant, commander of training and recruiting, patrol squad commander and FBI Task Force officer prior to leading the community outreach unit as the commander.

Sergeant Collin M. Stosberg, ’96, with the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has been promoted to lieutenant.

He will be assistant director of the Public Information and Education Division for general headquarters in Jefferson City.

Gary Liguori, ’93, (pictured second from right) was recently named chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Board for GoFit Madrid.

GoFit is the largest provider of health and fitness facilities in Spain.

Doug Combs, ’88, has accepted a position as program director and summer camp director at Camp Mitchell Episcopal Camp and Retreat Center in Morrilton, Arkansas.

Scott Ervin, ’88, is celebrating his 25th anniversary as owner of the

South Hamilton Record-News in Jewell, Iowa, and his 20th year as owner of The Stratford Courier in Stratford, Iowa.

He recently won a second place award for Best Photo Story in the Iowa Newspaper Association’s 2019 Better Newspaper Contest and currently serves on the Digital Media Production Advisory Board at UCM. Sharon Cole, ’83 and ’85, became athletic director at Kansas City’s Pembroke Hill School for the 2018-19 school year after spending nearly 29 years with the Blue Springs School District.

At Blue Springs she served as assistant principal/activities director of the Blue Springs Freshman Center from 2001 to 2017 and, prior to that, as a physical education/health teacher, department chair and coach at Blue Springs High School.

Lisa Walters, ’83, has been selected as associate dean for library services at South Texas College in McAllen, Texas.

Larry Dobson, ’70, ’73 and ’80, was honored as a Partner in Education by the Raymore-Peculiar Public School Foundation in recognition of service as a volunteer in the district. Dobson was a member of the inaugural class of Distinguished Alumni of RaymorePeculiar, chosen for his work on behalf of children and the betterment of local communities throughout his nearly 50-year career. He retired from the Blue Springs School District and has continued to work part time, most recently as a psychological examiner for the Belton School District.

John Inglish, ’69 and ’76, UCM director emeritus of public relations, was recently recognized by the Grand Lodge of Missouri for 50 years of freemasonry as a member of California Lodge 183 AF&AM. Inglish joined the fraternity in 1968 while a senior at Central Missouri State College.

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IN MEMORIAM

Eddy Lerma Agueros Jr.

Eddy Lerma Agueros Jr., age 65, was born June 10, 1953, in San Antonio, Texas. Eddy earned his Master of Science in sociology from the University of Central Missouri and worked at University of Central Missouri’s James C. Kirkpatrick Library as the manager of Access Services. He retired from his position at the library in 2018.

Mark Leslie Blumberg

Mark Leslie Blumberg, age 71, was born March 11, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York. He earned degrees in sociology and criminal justice and served as a professor at Central Missouri State University from 1991 to 2004. Blumberg loved to travel, try cuisines from different countries and talk politics.

Weldon Brady

Weldon Brady, age 76, was born April 18, 1942, in Sedalia, Missouri. Brady earned a Bachelor of Science in economics in 1964 from Central Missouri State College and served the university for 10 years as a member of the Board of Governors. He also served many years on the UCM Foundation Board of Directors, including two terms as president.

Brady served for several years on the Johnson County Economic Development Board, where he spent two years as president, and was a founding board member and president of the Whiteman Area Leadership Council. He also served two terms on the board of Johnson County Memorial Hospital.

Anna (White) Cleveland

Anna (White) Cleveland, age 91, was born August 24, 1927, in Conde, South Dakota.

She was active in the University Faculty Wives group and worked for the university textbook department at the beginning and end of each semester. Cleveland, along with her University of Central Missouri emeritus husband, contributed the Wayne L. and Anna M. Cleveland Scholarship Endowment to the University of Central Missouri Alumni Foundation.

Eugenia Ritchie Roberts Crain

Eugenia Ritchie Roberts Crain, age 98, was born March 6, 1921, in Sturgeon, Missouri.

She earned her Bachelor of Science from Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman University) at Kirksville and later received her master’s and specialist degrees from the University of Missouri–Columbia.

Crain taught at New Franklin High School for 13 years and then taught at Kemper Military School and College, Truman University and Central Missouri State University. She retired

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from teaching in 1983, was a member of the UCM Emeriti Association and established the Stanley and Eugenia R. Crain Scholarship Endowment in Accounting at UCM.

Donald Ross Kelsey

Donald Ross Kelsey, age 73, was born Sept.

30, 1945, in Windsor, Missouri. In 1968, he earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and mathematics from Central Missouri State College and went on to earn his doctorate in physical organic chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University, he joined research and development at Union Carbide and later the exploratory research division at Shell Chemicals. A successful inventor, Kelsey was a generous benefactor of UCM through the Donald R. Kelsey Undergraduate Research Award Endowment, the H. Ross Kelsey Scholarship in Music Education, the Lois B. Kelsey Scholarship in Elementary Education and the Computational Chemistry Development Fund.

Marilyn Landers-Lowell

Marilyn Landers-Lowell, age 82, was born Feb. 28, 1937, in rural Ford County near Gibson City, Illinois. Following a career as a high school teacher in Charleston and Spring Hill, Kansas, Landers came to Central Missouri State University in 1987 as director of development and retired in 2000. Her interest in philanthropy and helping students included serving as a member of the national board of directors for Delta Zeta sorority.

Following her retirement, she worked as a development consultant at Missouri Valley College in Marshall.

Marvin J. Max

Marvin J. Max, age 88, was born Oct. 2, 1930, in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from the Central Missouri State College in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration and enjoyed a long career as a CPA that included being president and CEO of Brotherhood Bank and Trust. Max also served as a director and treasurer of the Central Missouri State University Foundation from 1992 to 2000.

Joan Carol Mees

Joan Carol Mees, age 77, was born in 1941.

She was the wife of emeritus John Paul Mees of the Dr. John Paul Mees Scholarship Endowment in Educational Administration and University of Central Missouri’s J. P. Mees Outstanding Professional Staff Award. Mees, who was described as beautiful and selfless by her children and those who knew her, donated

Spring 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

her body to science with the hope that someday a cure for cancer will be found.

Raymond Park

Raymond Park, age 87, was born Aug. 28, 1931, in Victor, Iowa. He earned a master’s degree in music history and literature and a Ph.D. in musicology and taught at Central Missouri State College turned Central Missouri State University for more than three decades from 1964 to 1996. At the University of Central Missouri, Park also served as secretary of Pi Kappa Lambda and worked at cataloging the Essig Collection.

Lt. Col. Martin T. Phillips

Lt. Col. Martin T. Phillips passed away on his 93rd birthday, Oct. 8, 2018. Born in Carbondale, Illinois, he served 33 years as a military officer, including in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In 1963, he was a combat crew member in the inaugural class of the Minuteman Missile program at Whiteman Air Force Base and went on to become a professor of aerospace studies at the University of Puget Sound. Col. Phillips earned an Education Specialist in Human Services/Public Services degree in 1984 and became a finance professor at the University of Central Missouri.

Rebecca “Becky” (Leaton) Schuering

Rebecca “Becky” (Leaton) Schuering, age 58, was born Dec. 23, 1960. She earned degrees in 1983 and 1990 from Central Missouri State University and was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha. She knew she wanted to be a teacher since high school and spent more than three decades in the classroom. Contributions may be made to her grandmother’s teaching endowment, Mildred Fyrne Leaton Scholarship, care of the UCM Alumni Foundation.

Elizabeth “Lisa” Schulte

Elizabeth “Lisa” Schulte, age 63, was born July 1, 1955, in Ludington, Michigan. She earned a Bachelor of Art in education and a Master of Science in student personnel. She briefly taught elementary school before embarking on a lifetime career in college administration, student personnel and housing. Schulte’s career spanned many colleges and universities, including the University of Central Missouri.

David Carl Sundberg

David Carl Sundberg, age 80, was born June 16, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York. A former U.S. Army intelligence officer who served in Germany, Sundberg and his family moved to Warrensburg in 1989 when he became coordinator of the College Student Personnel Administration Master of Science degree

IN MEMORIAM

program at Central Missouri State University, where he served until his retirement in 2004.

He established the Dr. David C. Sundberg CSPA Scholarship with the University of Central Missouri Alumni Foundation.

Richard Tabor

Richard Tabor, age 82, was born Nov. 21, 1936, in Monticello, Illinois. He came to Central Missouri State University in 1973, taught courses in agriculture and science and served as the agriculture department chair for 19 years. He sponsored collegiate clubs and groups and received the Byler Distinguished Faculty Award. Tabor retired in 2000 with an outstanding record of teaching, scholarly research and campus service.

1940-1949 Marjorie M. McDaniel ’40, ’45 Betty J. Carl ’45 Berdy J. Miller ’47 Ruth A. Bergman ’49

1950-1959 Robert F. Boothe ’50 Jerry N. Kuhn ’51 James R. Harte ’52 Dwight M. Ragle ’52 Richard Dahms ’53 James F. Swafford ’53 William H. Kidd ’55 Peggy C. Maggio ’55 James W. Munkirs ’56 Harry Dennis Dierker ’58 William S. Cordonier ’59 Jon S. Long ’59 Morris L. Smith ’59

1960-1969 Charles D. Ballah ’61 Arlene Coyle ’61 David E. Herron ’61 George E. Kirchhofer ’61, ’64 Larry Joseph Kist ’61 Nancy L. Markt ’61 Elsie Eltzroth ’62 Donald R. Stratton ’62 Lana L. Carlson ’63 Jon T. Rickman ’63 Carol L. Taylor ’63 Karin Cobb ’64

Nancy L. Day ’64 Phoebe N. Sill ’64 Helen N. Vaughn ’64 Janet H. Baird ’65 Randall L. McPike ’65, ’75 Wilson A. Spencer ’65, ’71 Dorothy M. Herrick ’66 Alice L. Carlyle ’67, ’79 William R. Matthew ’67 Mary C. Skornia ’67 James T. Brown ’68 Gary L. Claxton ’68 Stephen A. Koeln ’68 Linda Marolf ’68 Samuel J. Bedwell ’69 Conrad N. Trout ’69

Linda Hampton ’80 Jacqueline S. Snider ’80 Melinda L. Hanson ’81 Curtis F. Luekenhoff ’81 Herbert R. Potter ’81 Mary V. Yoder ’81 David I. Craig ’82 Daniel G. Streibig ’83 Michael J. Yaradley ’83 Robin F. Baker ’84 William V. Scribner ’84 Steven R. Carver ’85 Steven G. Schilb ’85, ’05 Laura L. Allen ’86 Angela D. Reed ’89

1970-1979

Laura A. Curnes ’90 Lejuan C. Robinson ’95 Ferren G. Fleming ’96 Matthew R. Silber ’99

Carl W. Cole ’70 Ronald M. Hannon ’70, ’75 Miriam Miller ’70 Ronald L. Morman ’70 Alwin G. Pittman ’70 Ronald M. Duensing ’71 Frances K. Mahon ’71 Linda C. McLean ’71, ’05 John T. Pearl ’71 Marilyn R. Boeschen ’72 David W. Bottomley ’72 Donald J. Pelzel ’72 Randall L. Thomas ’72 Ghasem Abolahrari ’73, ’76 Robert G. Berryman ’73 Gene R. Grainger ’73 Clell R. Stephenson ’73, ’88 Ronald K. Ayres ’74 Judith A. Castle ‘74 Melvin T. Colvin ’74 Melda M. Lingle ’74 Charles A. Booth ’75 Diane M. Hollingsworth ’75 Richard L. LaCroix ’75 Douglas M. Lawrence ’75 George Lewis Baylor ’76 Leesa J. Brockhaus ’76 Chandler M. Bupp ’77 Michael L. Provin ’78 Joseph F. Denker ’79

1980-1989 Diana E. Avery ’80 Karen L. Day ’80

1990-1999

2000-2009 Donna L. Wing ’07

2010-2019 Michael S. Schubach ’12 Maggie J. Jackson ’13 Deborah D. Coulson ’16

Former Students Alia Calvert Frances J. DeBacker Bernard J. Hoffman John C. Huckstep Norman Newkirk Andrew Pierson

Faculty/Staff Donald L. Davis

Friends Donna L. Drees Howard W. Fulweiler Marjorie J. Gardner Jean E. Goldstein Marion L. Hancock Patricia L. Heckenbach Hilda P. Jones Dorothy A. Kyger John R. Meyer Nancy C. Raskin

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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PLANNED GIVING

Create a LEGACY and Make a DIFFERENCE

By Joy Mistele, ’76, ’83 In celebration of their 50th wedding When Rudy, ’66, and Flo Grother anniversary, the Grothers provided a gift to established a scholarship for deserving create the Rudolph and Florentine Grother UCM elementary education majors, Scholarship. Their immediate gift offered they were exemplifying the motto the enjoyment of personally meeting the “Education for Service,” ensuring scholarship recipients each year. They students would have financial also took action to include a assistance to be able to bequest in their estate, knowing follow in their footsteps.

You don’t have to be a their investment in the future Like so many others, the certain age or extremely of education would come to Grothers recognized the wealthy to leave a legacy. fruition with each new recipient significant, lasting impact You just need a plan. of their scholarship. Their gift teachers have on children, touches multiple generations crediting their elementary and creates an important, and high school teachers with nurturing impactful and lasting legacy. a passion for learning. That passion Generous donors help empower the dreams continued into their retirement as they of our students. Through greater support for daily completed at least five crossword student scholarships, additional funding for puzzles and read four newspapers. faculty research and development, expanded They also subscribed to 50 magazines.

H O W TO MAKE A BEQUEST You can become an integral part of the future of the University of Central Missouri by including a charitable gift within your overall estate and financial plans.

With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to be made to the UCM Alumni Foundation.

BEQUEST OPTIONS A bequest may be made in several ways, including: • Gift of a percentage of your estate • Gift of a specific dollar amount or appreciated assets (securities, real estate, tangible personal property) • Gift from the balance or residue of your estate

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cultural arts programs, study abroad opportunities, service learning projects or state-ofthe-art facilities and labs, your bequest will be used to Rudy, ’66, and Flo Grother positively impact UCM’s vibrant academic community.

It’s never too early to think about creating a future gift. You don’t have to be a certain age or extremely wealthy to leave a legacy.

You just need a plan. A charitable bequest is one of the easiest ways you can provide for your loved ones and also impact the lives of countless others by investing in higher education that is affordable, accessible and produces degrees that matter.

BEQUEST LANGUAGE In as little as one sentence, you can complete your gift. This type of donation to the UCM Alumni Foundation in your will or living trust helps ensure that we continue our mission for years to come.

LET US KNOW YOUR PLANS

“I, [Donor Name], of [City, State, ZIP], give, devise and bequeath to the University of Central Missouri Alumni Foundation, Federal Tax ID # 43-1181566, [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for its unrestricted use and purpose.”

Your commitment to make a positive difference in the lives of young adults is most appreciated.

If you have already included a bequest as a part of your estate plan, please let us know. We want to recognize you as a member of the Heritage Society for your generosity and thoughtful action.

If the bequest is for a specific college/school/ program of study/academic area/scholarship or otherwise, please use the following:

The Heritage Society recognizes special benefactors who make a commitment to the future of our university in their estate plan — regardless of the amount. Thank you to our society members for demonstrating a strong commitment to the future and lasting success of the University of Central Missouri.

“I, [Donor Name], of [City, State, ZIP], give, devise and bequeath to the University of Central Missouri Alumni Foundation, Federal Tax ID # 43-1181566, [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for the purpose of funding [name of scholarship endowment, fund endowment or specific area of interest] in the [College/School/ Program, etc.].”

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HERITAGE SOCIET Y

If you have questions or would like more information about charitable giving options, please contact the Office of Planned Giving at 660-543-8000 or email giving@ucmo.edu.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Across MuleNation June 1

MuleNation Dallas/Fort Worth Night at the Ballpark — Frisco RoughRiders vs.

Corpus Christi Hooks, Dr. Pepper Ballpark

June 7

UCM Construction Management Annual Golf Tournament — Stone Canyon Golf Course, Blue Springs, MO

July 26

College of Education Alumni and Friends Golf Tournament — Mules National Golf Course

July 27

MuleNation St. Louis Night at the Ballpark — Astros vs. Cardinals, Busch Stadium

July 29

President’s Lawn Concert and Ice Cream Social — Selmo Park

Aug. 9

Mules Athletics Auction — UCM Multipurpose Building

Aug. 23

Mules Basketball Golf Tournament — Mules National Golf Course

FALL ALUMNI EVENTS PREVIEW* Aug. 29

State of the University Address

Sept.

5

Get the Red Out!

Sept. Family Weekend 28-29 Oct. 3-4

UCM 50-Year Reunion

Oct. 7-12

UCM Homecoming Week • Distinguished Alumni Dinner, Oct. 11 • Alumni Breakfast and Homecoming Parade, Oct. 12

Oct. College of Education 25-26 Centennial Celebration * All fall events will take place on the UCM Warrensburg campus. Follow us on social for details.

Visit ucmfoundation.org/events to learn more.

Connect With Us More events are being planned for alumni across the nation. Find us on social media, call 660-543-8000 or email alumni@ucmo.edu

University of Central Missouri Magazine

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Periodicals Postage PAID at Warrensburg, MO and Additional Mailing Offices P.O. B OX 800 WA R R E NS BURG, M O 6 40 93- 5038

d a e r Sp Keep your fellow alumni and friends informed by sending Class Notes to be featured in UCM Magazine. Submit story ideas or information about a marriage, birth, obituary, job status change, professional award or achievement by emailing alumni@ucmo.edu or visiting ucmfoundation.org/yourstory.

Information will be used at the discretion of the university and may be edited to fit available space.

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Spring 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine