BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS TO LAST A LIFETIME 4NorthwestNorthwestMARCH 2009 • VoluMe 16 • NuMbeR 2 FAMILYFAMILY Missouri Academy students from Northwest and area elementary schools talk with NASA astronauts via satellite downlink. (see page 3) 4Student takes over as "President for a Day" 4 INSIDE 4E-text pilot program expanded Division of Enrollment Management Non Profit U.S. POSTAGE PAID 800 University Drive Maryville, MO Maryville, MO 64468-6001 Permit 215 4 FACULTY/STAFF FOCUS CEHS honors faculty for teaching, research and services our Northwest faculty members past two years. The conference showcases who teach in Northwest’s College research by college and university students Fof Education and Human Services from across the state as well as drawing Rachel Sneed recently received Dean’s Faculty Awards participants from Iowa and Nebraska. for teaching, research and service. The Francis and Hendrix frequently Student selected to awards were presented by Dr. Max Ruhl, travel with students to conferences, where dean of the college. Northwest student research is often recog- perform at master The winners and their areas of nized in academic competitions. In 2010, achievement were: Francis and Hendrix will serve as hosts class with English Dr. Margaret Drew – Teaching for the Great Plains Student Psychology Dr. Margaret Drew, associate profes- Conference to be held at Northwest. classical music sor of curriculum and instruction, has Francis holds a Ph.D. from St. Louis achel Sneed, an instrumental established a reputation for excellence as University, and Hendrix completed her music education major from a teacher and an academic advisor. She Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska- Smithville, has been chosen to consistently receives outstanding student Lincoln. R perform during a Kansas City Sym- evaluations, has served as a leader in the Dr. Matthew Symonds – Service phony trumpet master class with EMI creation of online courses in education Dr. Matthew Symonds, assistant pro- Classics recording artist Alison Balsom. and coordinates Northwest’s graduate fessor of health, physical education, recre- Sneed, who was selected follow- program for reading specialists. She holds ation and dance, has filled many leader- ing a competitive audition process, is a a Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University- ship roles at Northwest and serves as chair junior at Northwest and was named to Carbondale. of the Be Well program. He is a member the President’s Honor Roll (4.0 grade- Drs. Alisha Francis and Rebecca of numerous Professional Education Unit point average) following the fall 2008 Hendrix – Research accreditation and assessment teams and trimester. Dr. Alisha Francis and Dr. Rebecca serves as the unit’s coordinator for second- She studies trumpet under Hendrix, both assistant professors of ary education. He is also co-coordinator Dr. William Richardson, assistant psychology, sociology and counseling, for HPERD graduate programs. professor of music, and will perform are noted for sponsoring student projects Symonds has written or co-written a “Legende” by Georges Enescu as her and publishing or presenting their own number of grants, one of which resulted master class selection. research both alone and collaboratively. in $150,000 in funding used to expand Raised and educated in England, Each has made major contributions to facilities at the Mozingo Outdoor Educa- Balsom is one of the most acclaimed the Department of Psychology, Sociology tion and Recreation Area. He is president- young trumpet virtuosos on the inter- and Counseling’s growing reputation as a elect of the Missouri Association of national music scene. She released her center for undergraduate research. Health, Physical Education, Recreation first EMI Classics recording in 2002 and Both serve as co-sponsors of the and Dance and assists Northwest HPERD recently completed her fourth solo CD University’s Social Sciences Research majors with collaborative research and for the iconic label. Group and spearheaded efforts to bring service efforts. Balsom is currently a member of the Missouri Undergraduate Research Symonds holds an Ed.D. from the BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists n Conference to Northwest in each of the University of Missouri-Columbia. scheme, under whose auspices she has given concerts with the BBC Symphony and Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. n MARCH 2009 SSTUDENT SPOTLIGHT 4 Alex Heath takes over as “President for a Day” at Northwest. Northwest student, president change places for a day orthwest student Alex Heath, a freshman agronomy Appointments on “President” Heath’s calendar included major who grew up on his family’s Andrew County a brief meeting and photo session with Hubbard followed by Nfarm southeast of Maryville, experienced what it was sessions with senior University officials who discussed North- like to be a university president on Wednesday, Jan. 28, after west’s e-text initiative, plans for a new residence hall and MIAA winning the Mortar Board honor society’s annual President intercollegiate athletics. for a Day drawing. Both Heath and Hubbard were to attend an afternoon recep- Heath, who graduated from Savannah High School in 2008, tion hosted by the Northwest Mortar Board chapter for freshmen spent the day meeting with University administrators and attend- named to the President’s Honor Roll during their first trimester ing to other presidential tasks. He is the son of Tom and Diane of college. Heath of rural Helena. The Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society As Heath settled in behind the carved desk in the president’s is an organization for upper-level students who demonstrate office, Northwest President Dean L. Hubbard, wearing a Bearcat outstanding scholarship, leadership and service. To be considered baseball cap and lined windbreaker, attended Heath’s classes for membership, students must have completed their junior year in earth science, plant science, American history and English and have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0. n composition. MARCH 2009 44 NORTHWEST NEWS Northwest expands e-text pilot program resident Dean L. Hubbard used a portion Pof his trimester-opening speech to faculty and staff to address an expanded University pilot program that is replac- ing traditional textbooks with e-texts for a growing number of Northwest students. Hubbard noted that interest in e-texts among higher education professionals is “growing at an unbeliev- able rate,” and reports about the Northwest pilot program have recently appeared in the state and national news media, including a front-page article in the Sunday, Jan. 11 edition of the “Kansas City Star” and online stories posted by the “Chronicle of Higher Education” and “Inside Higher Education.” The Sony eReader, pictured above, is part of the pilot. About a dozen academic departments are participat- was part of the fall 2008 e-text trial. “We have always, going back to 1905, ing in the pilot, which began last fall, when Feedback from last year, Hubbard said, been involved as an institution in making about 250 students used e-texts in four indicates that laptops, at least for now, pro- sure that our students have a textbook,” separate courses. This trimester, the program vide a better platform for taking advantage of Hubbard said, citing survey data showing has been expanded to include about 500 features like graphics, faculty-added material, that at colleges and universities where un- students, plus another 3,000 who have the quizzes and interactive learning exercises, dergraduates purchase books, as many as 40 option of using either an e-text or traditional though the slim, pocket-sized eReader is an percent take courses without acquiring a text. textbook if they are enrolled in a course using excellent device “for simply reading a book “Because of our history of guaranteeing a text published by McGraw-Hill, a major from front to back.” that students have that resource, and because producer of traditional and electronic learn- “We seem to be the unique institution we give every full-time student a notebook ing materials. in the nation to have this kind of pilot,” said computer, that makes us unique,” Hubbard Most pilot participants are accessing e- Hubbard, who added that Northwest is espe- said. “Apparently no other institution in the texts via laptop computers that are provided cially well positioned to adopt e-texts because country that the major publishers have been to all full-time Northwest students. A smaller of its longstanding textbook rental program able to identify can match us on that.” n group will be using an upgraded version of and its commitment to providing laptop the Sony eReader, an earlier model of which computers to full-time students. MARCH 2009 3 SSTUDENT SPOTLIGHT 4 Area students speak via satellite with space station astronauts rea elementary students looked on as while traveling through space at more than 17,000 miles per NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and hour. ASandy Magnus spoke via a satellite “A race car goes about 200 miles an hour, so you downlink from the International Space Sta- can see that we’re faster than anything in tion, which, at the time, was speeding above NASCAR or Formula I,” Fincke Africa at 17,000 miles per hour. quipped. More than 400 area school children, col- Students asked a wide lege students and local residents gasped and range of questions during the then cheered from their seats in the Perform- downlink, inquiring about every- ing Arts Center on the Northwest campus thing from the sort of experiments Tuesday, Jan. 27, as a live video image of the astronauts are conducting to two astronauts aboard the International how they deal with being away Space Station broke across a giant projection from their families for up to six screen. months. The students were there to witness a Magnus said one experiment satellite downlink from the station made deals with the long-term effects of possible through the NASA Explorer School space and weightlessness on the hu- project, which promotes learning in science, man body.