IN THIS ISSUE:
• Park student receives People to People International leadership award
• University library receives books on contemporary Japan
• University's Opening Convocation set for Sept. 23
• Hassan participates as consultant at AP Exam
• University to celebrate Talk Like A Pirate Day on Monday
• Limited number of seats left for School of Business lecture
• Democracy Day essay contest open to all Park undergraduate students
• Park In The News
• Green tip of the day
• Upcoming Events
Park student receives People to People International leadership award
Amiran Gelashvili, a senior majoring in both business administration/international business and finance, was honored with People to People International's University Chapter Leadership Award during the organization's Americas Regional Meeting in Las Vegas on Sept. 5. Gelashvili was presented with his award by Mary Jean Eisenhower, president and chief executive officer of PTPI (see adjacent photo), and granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower was bestowed with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by Park University at the December 2008 Commencement.
Prior to the awards ceremony, Gelashvili was appointed to People to People International's Board of Trustees. He joins three Park University Office of International Affairs and Education staff on PTPI's board: Simona Cibotaru, graduate assistant, Olga Ganzen, Ph.D., executive director, and Fabio Garcia, international programs coordinator.
During Gelashvili's four years of involvement with Park University's People to People International student chapter, he has led, managed and organized various programs and events. He served two terms as a president of the chapter. In April, the organization was named "Large Club of the Year" at the Dr. Doris A. Howell Leadership Awards Banquet, an award that goes to the club that makes the greatest contributions to the Park community through organization, innovation and commitment to the club's purpose and activities. This past summer, Gelashvili participated in two People to People International Ambassador Programs. He was a teacher-leader of high school students from around the world at the Future Leaders Business Summit in June in New York and at a leadership skills summit in Los Angeles.
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| (Left to right) Bobbi Shaw, circulation assistant, Nathan Shaw, student, Ann Schultis, director of library systems, Brooke Murphy, library student worker, and Dustin Beard, library student worker. |
University library receives books on contemporary Japan
The best way to understand a country and its society is to live there. But, if you can't make the move, the next best thing is to read books about the country. More and more people are visiting Japan, learning Japanese as a second language and consuming Japanese popular culture. There are many sources of information about the country, but the key is to find reliable insights.
To help deal with the problem of hunting down such authoritative works, the Nippon Foundation, an organization whose fundamental aim is the realization of a peaceful and prosperous global society, recently announced that Park University had received a "100 Books for Understanding Contemporary Japan" 2009-10 grant award. The award provides the University with books on Japan in the areas of politics, government, international relations, economics, business, society, culture, literature, history and the arts. Park's McAfee Memorial Library received 89 of the books earlier this month (the University already had 11 of the books in its collections). Park University is one of 300 libraries, colleges and universities throughout North America to receive the grant.
University's Opening Convocation set for Sept. 23
Park University's Opening Convocation will be held Wednesday, Sept. 23, beginning at 11 a.m. in the Breckon Sports Center. All faculty, staff and students are encouraged to attend. The convocation will feature the President's Address by Michael Droge, Ph.D., interim president. Droge's address will be on "Who is Responsible for Higher Education."
In addition, welcome remarks will be presented by Thimios Zaharopoulos, Ph.D., interim provost and vice president for academic affairs; Eugene Ruiz, chair of the Park University Board of Trustees; Patrizia Pfefferkorn, president of the Park Student Government Association; and Parkville Mayor Gerry Richardson. In addition, Andrew Johnson, Ph.D., professor of psychology, will provide the Faculty Senate president's address.
Also, the tradition of "passing the dean's hat," a symbolic ceremony for when a new provost/academic dean is appointed at Park, will take place during the Opening Convocation between Droge and Zaharopoulos. Read more about this tradition at http://news.park.edu/pub/news_001379.shtml.
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| Dr. Munir Hassan |
Hassan participates as consultant at AP Exam
Munir Hassan, Ph.D., chair and associate professor, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, served as a faculty consultant for the College Board and Education Testing Service, scoring the Advanced Placement in Economics Exam in Lincoln, Neb., this summer.
University to celebrate Talk Like A Pirate Day on Monday
Because International Talk Like A Pirate Day -- celebrated annually on Sept. 19 -- falls on a Saturday this year, the University will celebrate the occasion on Monday, Sept. 21. The Campus Activities Board on the Parkville Campus will have a table of giveaways set up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the main entrance to the Academic Underground.
International Talk Like A Pirate Day was started in 1995 by two Oregon friends who said that they started using pirate slang to encourage each other on the racquetball court. They celebrated this "holiday" on their own until 2002, when nationally syndicated columnist Dave Barry wrote a column about the day founded by Baur and Summers. To find out more about the origins of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, along with pirate terminology, visit http://talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html.
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| Dr. Thomas Hoenig |
Limited number of seats left for School of Business lecture
Thomas M. Hoenig, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, will be the featured speaker at Park University's School of Business 2009 Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series on Monday, September 28. The lecture will begin at 4 p.m. in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel. Admission to Hoenig's lecture is free, but registration is required as space is limited. To register, visit www.park.edu/sb/DistinguishedLectureSeries/.
Hoenig joined the FRB-KC in 1973 as an economist in the banking supervision area. He was named a vice president in 1981 and senior vice president in 1986 before beginning his current role in 1991. He directs Federal Reserve activities in the Tenth Federal Reserve District -- an area that includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, the northern half of New Mexico and the western third of Missouri. He is also a member of the Federal Reserve System's Open Market Committee, the key body with authority over monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is one of 12 regional banks in the Federal Reserve System, with responsibilities that include participating in setting national monetary policy, supervising and regulating commercial banks and bank holding companies, serving as the bank for the U.S. Government and for commercial banks, and providing other payments services to depository institutions.
Democracy Day essay contest open to all Park undergraduate students
All Park University undergraduate students across the nation and Online are invited to enter the University's Democracy Day 2009 Essay Contest. This year's topic is "Should the rules of the U.S. Senate be changed to eliminate the power of the minority to prevent the majority from acting?" The deadline to submit the 250-word maximum essay is 5 p.m. (Central time) on Friday, Oct. 2. This year's grand prize is a Dell Inspiron laptop/netbook and an all-in-one printer, with the winner being announced on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The essays will be judged by distinguished panels of scholars and public officials. Students should submit their essays to Erik Bergrud, senior director of community and government relations, at erik.bergrud@park.edu. For more information about Democracy Day and the essay contest, visit www.park.edu/democracyday.
Park In The News
Kim Orear, '00, was featured in an ABC News "Primetime" special on Sept. 9. The hour-long story, "A New Model for Juvenile Justice," highlighted Missouri's juvenile detention standards. Orear is a group leader at Waverly Regional Youth Center in Fulton. A text version of the story can be found at http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/missouri-sets-standard-juvenile-detention/story?id=8510425, with the video at http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=8533158.
Ashley Maxwell, a sophomore majoring in social work and a member of the women's soccer team, was featured in the Sept. 3 issue of the Platte County (Mo.) Sun Gazette. The story can be found on the Sun Gazette's website.
Green tip of the day
Our homes wouldn't function without appliances -- but our world pays the price when we don't choose appliances designed to protect the environment from harmful waste. Planet-positive appliances and installations include low-flow toilets, water-saving faucets and showerheads, anything with an Energy Star label, efficient refrigerators and solar water heaters. Buying second-hand or getting them via "freecycling" is always preferable. For more information and additional tips to lead a "green life," visit http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife.
Upcoming Events
• William Eickhorst Art Exhibit -- through October 23, Campanella Gallery
• Quartet Accorda Concert -- September 18, 7:30 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• International Talk Like A Pirate Day -- September 19 (the Parkville Campus will celebrate on September 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Academic Underground main entrance)
• International Center for Music Master Classes with pianist William Grant Nabore -- September 21-24, 1-5:30 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• Opening Convocation -- September 23, 11 a.m., Breckon Sports Center
• School of Business Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series with Dr. Thomas Hoenig -- September 28, 4 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• Ethnic Voices Poetry Series with Heid Erdrich -- September 30, 6:30 p.m. (6 p.m. reception), Kansas City Public Library Central Library, 14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, Mo.
• Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City Concert -- October 4, 3 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• CETL Colleague-to-Colleague Series -- October 7, TBA
• Fall I ends (KC area) -- October 11
• Fall Break begins (KC area) -- October 12
• Fall Break ends (KC area) -- October 18
• Fall II begins (KC area) -- October 19
• Coming to America Program (Americas) -- October 21, noon, Herr House Lounge
• Ethnic Voices Poetry Series: Latino Writers Collective -- October 22, 7 p.m. (reception 6:30 p.m.), Herr House Lounge
• Association for Computing Machinery Regional Programming Contest -- October 24, Parkville Campus
• Michael David Wickerson Art Exhibit -- October 26-November 25, Campanella Gallery
• "Experience a College Day" (CLAS event) -- October 28, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Parkville Campus
• Meet, Eat and Greet Career Fair -- October 28, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (employers and students), 1-3 p.m.; (employers and faculty), Breckon Sports Center East Dome
• Toys for Tots Campaign (Phi Alpha Theta/Zeta Omicron) -- October 29-November 25, Parkville Campus
• CETL Colleague-to-Colleague Series -- November 4, TBA
• School of Business Symposium on Public/Private Partnerships -- November 4, 8 a.m., Kansas City Public Library Central Library
• Meyer Music Piano Sale -- November 6-7, TBA, Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• Parkville Community Band Concert -- November 8, 3 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• Veteran's Day (Kansas City area offices closed; no Parkville Campus daytime classes; Fall II classes held) -- November 11
• Park Model United Nations Event -- November 11, TBA, Parkville Campus
• International Center for Music Master Classes with violinist Eric Rosenblith -- November 13, 1-5:30 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• International Center for Music/Youth Conservatory for Music Young Virtuosi Concert -- November 15, 3 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
Note: To view a comprehensive schedule for all events, including athletics, visit www.park.edu/calendar/parkville.html.
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