Annual Report 2009-2010
Content
AU GU ST 2010
AnnuAl RepoRt
2009-2010 Academic Year
MEMBERS OF THE GRIZZLY Cheer Team hold up signs showing the final enrollment tally of 2,162 students for the 2009 Fall Semester at Missouri State University-West Plains during an enrollment celebration on Sept. 24 in front of the Smith-London Centennial Bell Tower on Franklin Avenue. Holding up the signs are cheer team members, from left, Jake Rieken, Ava, and Breanna Watson, West Plains; Dustin Brannam, Plato, and Andi Schartz, West Plains; Jason Harrill, West Plains, and Madyson Jackson, Koshkonong; and Aaron Sheldon, West Plains, and Meghan Seery, Marshfield.
enrollment records set in fall, spring semesters, summer session
Missouri State University-West Plains set three new enrollment records during the 2009-10 academic year. The campus surpassed 2,000 students for the first time during the 2009 fall semester when 2,162 enrolled for classes, an 18 percent increase over the previous year’s recordbreaking tally of 1,834. University officials announced the milestone Sept. 24 at an enrollment celebration near the Smith-London Centennial Bell Tower. Enrollment for the 2010 spring semester was up 20 percent over the previous year, making it the largest spring enrollment increase in 34 years. Another record-breaking enrollment was set in the 2010 summer semester with 620 students enrolled, surpassing the old record of 564 students set during the 2003 summer session. The 2010 summer record marked the 11th consecutive semester increase; seven of those increases, including this summer, were all-time records.
www.wp.missouristate.edu
For the past 14 years, Missouri State-West Plains graduates have scored at or above the national mean on the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) in all five areas.
whAt’s new?
new literary journal established
Campus officials unveiled a new literary journal, Elder Mountain: A Journal of Ozarks Studies in July. Elder Mountain seeks to explore the complex cultural substance of the Ozark region through fine literature (poetry, short fiction and creative fiction), the visual arts, and multi-disciplinary scholarship. This peer-reviewed periodical will be published annually by the campus’ English department.
Many attend ozark studies symposium
Approximately 145 people attended the third annual Ozark Studies Symposium. Participants came from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. Students from the West Plains and Springfield campuses also were in attendance. The symposium celebrates the unique culture of the Ozarks by providing presentations and performances by representatives of the academic world and the public sector that address various aspects of life in the Ozarks.
students travel and study abroad
• • •
Sixteen students experienced life in a developing country when they participated in a study abroad trip to Belize during the 2010 summer intersession. Ten students traveled to Spain, France and Italy at the end of the 2010 spring semester for an Honors Abroad study tour. Five students attended classes and served as student interns in the fall and spring semesters at the China branch campus in Dalian.
Record enrollment in honors program
Ninety-six students were enrolled in the William & Virginia Darr Honors Program for fall 2009. This is the largest class since the program started in 1998.
Fostering the Arts
Highlights from Missouri State-W Plains’ University/Community Programs department 2009-2010 schedule of events include the following: est
• • More than 370 people enjoyed a performance by Tullintrain West Pipe Band and Drums of Kansas City March 12 in the West Plains Civic Center theater. The 14-member group, featuring award-winning artists, performed traditional bagpipe tunes. Missouri State-West Plains partnered with the West Plains Council on the Arts, the cities of West Plains, Mountain View and Willow Springs, public libraries and schools throughout Howell County to present “The Big Read” featuring Tim O’Brien’s novel “The Things They Carried.” The program included film, live theater performances, a concert by Brewer & Shipley, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition about the VietnameseAmerican experience, gallery talks led by faculty and community members, and a visit from the author, Tim O’Brien. Eleven area elementary schools participated in the 2010 Art Around Town exhibit in April. The event, in its 10th year, featured two- and threedimensional pieces by children in grades kindergarten through eighth from the Bakersfield, Dora, Fairview, Gainesville, Glenwood, Howell Valley, Junction Hill, Koshkonong, Mountain View, Thayer and West Plains school districts. More than 360 people attended the opening reception and awards ceremony on April 18 in the civic center theater. All artwork was juried by art instructors from the region.
•
www.wp.missouristate.edu
GivinG BAck
Many community events held
Missouri State-West Plains prides itself on being “the community’s college” and hosts many events and programs to enhance community life. Below is a sampling of the year’s activities. • More than 4,300 elementary students from 19 area schools attended the annual Literacy Awareness Campaign event in October at the West Plains Civic Center. The event touted the importance of reading and writing, and featured presentations by two children’s book authors. • Campus Caravans were held at Eminence and Mountain Grove in the fall semester to showcase information about higher education opportunities. Approximately 130 people attended the Eminence event, and 75 residents were at the Mountain Grove caravan. • Approximately 500 high school students from 12 area school districts, as well as 75 to 100 university students and area residents, attended the Career/Job Fair in October at the West Plains Civic Center. The event included 40 exhibits ranging from employers to degree programs and emergency personnel demonstrations. • On Feb. 10, middle school students had the opportunity to take part in the Middle School Math Contest on campus. A total of 141 students in grades five through eight from nine different area schools participated.
project threshold grant renewed
Officials with the Missouri Department of Higher Education renewed a College Access Challenge Grant for Missouri State-West Plains to continue funding its “Project Threshold” program designed to help students, prospective students and their families learn about, prepare for and finance a postsecondary education. The $99,941 grant has been approved for one more year. Project Threshold embraces the premise that postsecondary education is the “threshold” to opportunities in the lives and careers of south-central Missouri citizens. The project incorporates multiple activities designed to effectively increase the postsecondary education participation of under-served populations in the university’s official service region – Howell, Oregon, Shannon, Texas, Wright, Douglas and Ozark Counties.
project RewARD established to assist single parents
Project REWARD, the Single Parent Resource Center of Missouri State-West Plains, opened in the spring semester at 105 South Curry St. It provides supportive assistance for single parents currently enrolled at Missouri State-West Plains and those who may be interested in attending by serving as a “clearinghouse” of university and community information and resources designed to specifically meet the their needs. The center also offers places to study and an online computer lab. A $40,000 grant through United Thank Offering (UTO), a foundation of the Episcopal Church of the USA (ECUSA), helped campus officials establish the center.
employees donate generously to the united way employees give back to university
Faculty and staff donated more than $6,500 to the Heart of the Ozarks United Way this year, surpassing the campus’ goal of $6,200. Seventy percent of Missouri State-West Plains employees gave cash donations to different university programs this year. Employee contributions increased to 92 percent when you include in-kind donations for the annual auction.
Toll Free 888-466-7897
BuilDinG foR the futuRe
$1.3 million grant and student fee to fund recreation center
Students approved a $25 student recreation center fee in a campuswide vote during the spring semester to help fund a Multipurpose Student Recreation Center/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency shelter on the campus. This initiative takes advantage of a $1.3 million dollar FEMA grant. The center/shelter will cost approximately $2,221,114. FEMA has already approved $1,320,149 for the facility, leaving $900,965 as the university’s responsibility, which will be funded through an auxiliary bond (loan). The new student fee will be used to pay back the 25year bond. Any additional income generated from the fee above the bond payment will be used for student employees, custodial staff, utilities, operating expenses, equipment, and other needs of the facility. The center/shelter will be at the corner of Garfield Avenue and West Trish Knight Street, just west of the basketball court near the Grizzly House residence hall. Preliminary plans call for completion of the facility in August 2012.
several buildings renovated
The V. H. Drago College Store and the Putnam Student Center received extensive interior renovations this year. One student commented that the Putnam Student Center looked like a “completely new building” when he walked inside after the renovations. In addition, exterior and interior renovations started this summer on M.O. Looney Hall. Starting in spring 2011, Looney Hall will become a classroom building and house the nursing and respiratory therapy departments. To make room for the renovations, the former social security building on Cass Avenue is being leased by the University to become a one-stop shop for student services this fall. Admissions, career services, financial aid, registration and records, procurement/human resources, business office, and the director of business and support services have moved into that facility. The chancellor’s office and university communications office have moved to Kellett Hall and the dean of student services to the Lybyer Technology Center.
Drago college store
putnam student center
cass hall
An a ard-winning year... w
Missouri State-West Plains recognized by “The Great Colleges to Work For” program
Missouri State-West Plains is one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to a new survey by the academic publication The Chronicle of Higher Education. This is the second consecutive year Missouri State-West Plains has been recognized by the program. Missouri State-West Plains was one of only 20 two-year colleges receiving the recognition this year. Missouri State-West Plains received recognition in the Supervisor/Department-Chair Relationship. The results were based on the Chronicle’s online survey that was sent to faculty and staff at the end of the spring semester.
Awards and recognition
• • • • • • • • Dr. Craig Albin, professor of English, Greater West Plains Area Chamber of Commerce “Educator of the Year” Brenda Malkowski, director of the University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department, Missouri State University Staff Excellence in Community Service Award Cheryl Caldwell, director of University Communications, Missouri State University Staff Excellence in University Service Award Martha Tuttle, purchasing/human resources assistant, Missouri State University Staff Excellence in University Service Award Russell Wyrick, Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Center “Top Consultant” Award David White, assistant professor of business, Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education Damon Francis, assistant basketball coach, Springboro (Ohio) High School Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Janice Johnson, coordinator of the Student Advisement and Academic Support Center, 2010 Ann Ferguson Award for Professional Development from the National Association for Developmental Education
128 Garfield Ave. • West Plains, MO 65775 • 417-255-7255 • Toll Free 1-888-466-7897
AnnuAl RepoRt
2009-2010 Academic Year
MEMBERS OF THE GRIZZLY Cheer Team hold up signs showing the final enrollment tally of 2,162 students for the 2009 Fall Semester at Missouri State University-West Plains during an enrollment celebration on Sept. 24 in front of the Smith-London Centennial Bell Tower on Franklin Avenue. Holding up the signs are cheer team members, from left, Jake Rieken, Ava, and Breanna Watson, West Plains; Dustin Brannam, Plato, and Andi Schartz, West Plains; Jason Harrill, West Plains, and Madyson Jackson, Koshkonong; and Aaron Sheldon, West Plains, and Meghan Seery, Marshfield.
enrollment records set in fall, spring semesters, summer session
Missouri State University-West Plains set three new enrollment records during the 2009-10 academic year. The campus surpassed 2,000 students for the first time during the 2009 fall semester when 2,162 enrolled for classes, an 18 percent increase over the previous year’s recordbreaking tally of 1,834. University officials announced the milestone Sept. 24 at an enrollment celebration near the Smith-London Centennial Bell Tower. Enrollment for the 2010 spring semester was up 20 percent over the previous year, making it the largest spring enrollment increase in 34 years. Another record-breaking enrollment was set in the 2010 summer semester with 620 students enrolled, surpassing the old record of 564 students set during the 2003 summer session. The 2010 summer record marked the 11th consecutive semester increase; seven of those increases, including this summer, were all-time records.
www.wp.missouristate.edu
For the past 14 years, Missouri State-West Plains graduates have scored at or above the national mean on the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) in all five areas.
whAt’s new?
new literary journal established
Campus officials unveiled a new literary journal, Elder Mountain: A Journal of Ozarks Studies in July. Elder Mountain seeks to explore the complex cultural substance of the Ozark region through fine literature (poetry, short fiction and creative fiction), the visual arts, and multi-disciplinary scholarship. This peer-reviewed periodical will be published annually by the campus’ English department.
Many attend ozark studies symposium
Approximately 145 people attended the third annual Ozark Studies Symposium. Participants came from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. Students from the West Plains and Springfield campuses also were in attendance. The symposium celebrates the unique culture of the Ozarks by providing presentations and performances by representatives of the academic world and the public sector that address various aspects of life in the Ozarks.
students travel and study abroad
• • •
Sixteen students experienced life in a developing country when they participated in a study abroad trip to Belize during the 2010 summer intersession. Ten students traveled to Spain, France and Italy at the end of the 2010 spring semester for an Honors Abroad study tour. Five students attended classes and served as student interns in the fall and spring semesters at the China branch campus in Dalian.
Record enrollment in honors program
Ninety-six students were enrolled in the William & Virginia Darr Honors Program for fall 2009. This is the largest class since the program started in 1998.
Fostering the Arts
Highlights from Missouri State-W Plains’ University/Community Programs department 2009-2010 schedule of events include the following: est
• • More than 370 people enjoyed a performance by Tullintrain West Pipe Band and Drums of Kansas City March 12 in the West Plains Civic Center theater. The 14-member group, featuring award-winning artists, performed traditional bagpipe tunes. Missouri State-West Plains partnered with the West Plains Council on the Arts, the cities of West Plains, Mountain View and Willow Springs, public libraries and schools throughout Howell County to present “The Big Read” featuring Tim O’Brien’s novel “The Things They Carried.” The program included film, live theater performances, a concert by Brewer & Shipley, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition about the VietnameseAmerican experience, gallery talks led by faculty and community members, and a visit from the author, Tim O’Brien. Eleven area elementary schools participated in the 2010 Art Around Town exhibit in April. The event, in its 10th year, featured two- and threedimensional pieces by children in grades kindergarten through eighth from the Bakersfield, Dora, Fairview, Gainesville, Glenwood, Howell Valley, Junction Hill, Koshkonong, Mountain View, Thayer and West Plains school districts. More than 360 people attended the opening reception and awards ceremony on April 18 in the civic center theater. All artwork was juried by art instructors from the region.
•
www.wp.missouristate.edu
GivinG BAck
Many community events held
Missouri State-West Plains prides itself on being “the community’s college” and hosts many events and programs to enhance community life. Below is a sampling of the year’s activities. • More than 4,300 elementary students from 19 area schools attended the annual Literacy Awareness Campaign event in October at the West Plains Civic Center. The event touted the importance of reading and writing, and featured presentations by two children’s book authors. • Campus Caravans were held at Eminence and Mountain Grove in the fall semester to showcase information about higher education opportunities. Approximately 130 people attended the Eminence event, and 75 residents were at the Mountain Grove caravan. • Approximately 500 high school students from 12 area school districts, as well as 75 to 100 university students and area residents, attended the Career/Job Fair in October at the West Plains Civic Center. The event included 40 exhibits ranging from employers to degree programs and emergency personnel demonstrations. • On Feb. 10, middle school students had the opportunity to take part in the Middle School Math Contest on campus. A total of 141 students in grades five through eight from nine different area schools participated.
project threshold grant renewed
Officials with the Missouri Department of Higher Education renewed a College Access Challenge Grant for Missouri State-West Plains to continue funding its “Project Threshold” program designed to help students, prospective students and their families learn about, prepare for and finance a postsecondary education. The $99,941 grant has been approved for one more year. Project Threshold embraces the premise that postsecondary education is the “threshold” to opportunities in the lives and careers of south-central Missouri citizens. The project incorporates multiple activities designed to effectively increase the postsecondary education participation of under-served populations in the university’s official service region – Howell, Oregon, Shannon, Texas, Wright, Douglas and Ozark Counties.
project RewARD established to assist single parents
Project REWARD, the Single Parent Resource Center of Missouri State-West Plains, opened in the spring semester at 105 South Curry St. It provides supportive assistance for single parents currently enrolled at Missouri State-West Plains and those who may be interested in attending by serving as a “clearinghouse” of university and community information and resources designed to specifically meet the their needs. The center also offers places to study and an online computer lab. A $40,000 grant through United Thank Offering (UTO), a foundation of the Episcopal Church of the USA (ECUSA), helped campus officials establish the center.
employees donate generously to the united way employees give back to university
Faculty and staff donated more than $6,500 to the Heart of the Ozarks United Way this year, surpassing the campus’ goal of $6,200. Seventy percent of Missouri State-West Plains employees gave cash donations to different university programs this year. Employee contributions increased to 92 percent when you include in-kind donations for the annual auction.
Toll Free 888-466-7897
BuilDinG foR the futuRe
$1.3 million grant and student fee to fund recreation center
Students approved a $25 student recreation center fee in a campuswide vote during the spring semester to help fund a Multipurpose Student Recreation Center/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emergency shelter on the campus. This initiative takes advantage of a $1.3 million dollar FEMA grant. The center/shelter will cost approximately $2,221,114. FEMA has already approved $1,320,149 for the facility, leaving $900,965 as the university’s responsibility, which will be funded through an auxiliary bond (loan). The new student fee will be used to pay back the 25year bond. Any additional income generated from the fee above the bond payment will be used for student employees, custodial staff, utilities, operating expenses, equipment, and other needs of the facility. The center/shelter will be at the corner of Garfield Avenue and West Trish Knight Street, just west of the basketball court near the Grizzly House residence hall. Preliminary plans call for completion of the facility in August 2012.
several buildings renovated
The V. H. Drago College Store and the Putnam Student Center received extensive interior renovations this year. One student commented that the Putnam Student Center looked like a “completely new building” when he walked inside after the renovations. In addition, exterior and interior renovations started this summer on M.O. Looney Hall. Starting in spring 2011, Looney Hall will become a classroom building and house the nursing and respiratory therapy departments. To make room for the renovations, the former social security building on Cass Avenue is being leased by the University to become a one-stop shop for student services this fall. Admissions, career services, financial aid, registration and records, procurement/human resources, business office, and the director of business and support services have moved into that facility. The chancellor’s office and university communications office have moved to Kellett Hall and the dean of student services to the Lybyer Technology Center.
Drago college store
putnam student center
cass hall
An a ard-winning year... w
Missouri State-West Plains recognized by “The Great Colleges to Work For” program
Missouri State-West Plains is one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to a new survey by the academic publication The Chronicle of Higher Education. This is the second consecutive year Missouri State-West Plains has been recognized by the program. Missouri State-West Plains was one of only 20 two-year colleges receiving the recognition this year. Missouri State-West Plains received recognition in the Supervisor/Department-Chair Relationship. The results were based on the Chronicle’s online survey that was sent to faculty and staff at the end of the spring semester.
Awards and recognition
• • • • • • • • Dr. Craig Albin, professor of English, Greater West Plains Area Chamber of Commerce “Educator of the Year” Brenda Malkowski, director of the University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department, Missouri State University Staff Excellence in Community Service Award Cheryl Caldwell, director of University Communications, Missouri State University Staff Excellence in University Service Award Martha Tuttle, purchasing/human resources assistant, Missouri State University Staff Excellence in University Service Award Russell Wyrick, Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Center “Top Consultant” Award David White, assistant professor of business, Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education Damon Francis, assistant basketball coach, Springboro (Ohio) High School Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Janice Johnson, coordinator of the Student Advisement and Academic Support Center, 2010 Ann Ferguson Award for Professional Development from the National Association for Developmental Education
128 Garfield Ave. • West Plains, MO 65775 • 417-255-7255 • Toll Free 1-888-466-7897
