UNIVERSITY NEWS
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| Thomas H. Holcom Jr. |
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| Robert P. Dunn |
Dunn, Holcom elected to Park's Board of Trustees
Robert P. Dunn, vice president-community affairs at JE Dunn Co., and Thomas H. Holcom Jr., president of the military banking division of MidCountry Bank, were elected to Park University's Board of Trustees.
As vice president-community affairs, Dunn is responsible for building and promoting JE Dunn's goodwill by serving on civic and charitable boards, as well as reviewing and funding hundreds of civic and charitable requests. He also oversees the financial and insurance monitoring of subcontractors and suppliers for bonding purposes and provides oversight on Dunn Realty Properties.
Holcom's professional career started in 1966 at First National Bank of Kansas City, where he worked until 1985, serving as executive vice president. He then joined MidCountry Bank, a company focused on improving the quality of military life and encouraging military families to reach financial independence.
McCormack selected to lead University Advancement
Laurie McCormack has been tabbed as the new vice president for University Advancement at Park University. McCormack began her duties on January 14. The Office of University Advancement focuses on cultivating the University's relationship with the external community, alumni and donor constituents.
McCormack joins Park after spending 16 years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she most recently served as assistant vice chancellor of advancement for development and was the lead advancement staff member for its recently completed capital campaign.
"McCormack brings to Park her extensive experience in successful advancement work," said Park President Beverley Byers-Pevitts. "Her proven leadership skills will provide effective interaction to the Kansas City business community and to the other communities Park University serves."
Construction on Copley Quad student housing continues
The new Copley Quad residence hall under construction at Park University, which got under way in the fall of 2007, is on schedule to be completed for occupancy this August.
Copley Quad will accommodate 250 students in four-person suites. Each suite will include about 840 square feet of furnished living space, with two bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a shared living area with an efficiency kitchen. The residence hall will also boast 2,500 square feet of common space with a conference/classroom, staff offices, 24-hour reception desk, laundry facilities, recreational space, a full-service kitchen, computer labs and study rooms.
Photos showing progress of the construction can be viewed at www.park.edu/copleyquad/photos.html.
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| Park University President Beverley Byers-Pevitts hands a new graduate his diploma during the December Commencement. |
Park University holds December commencement exercises
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| Peter J. deSilva |
Braving a snowstorm that hit the Kansas City area, 185 Park University graduates, along with countless family and friends, attended Park's December commencement exercises on Dec. 15, 2007, in Independence, Mo. More than 375 students earned their degree from Park following the Fall 2007 semester, including 34 students who graduated Summa Cum Laude (grade point average of 3.9 to 4.0).
The commencement also featured an address by Peter J. deSilva, president and chief operating officer, UMB Financial Corp. deSilva is a member of the Park University Board of Trustees, as well as chairman and chief executive officer of UMB Bank, n.a., and chairman of UMB Fund Services.
Model United Nations team wins prestigious award
Park University's Model United Nations team was named the outstanding delegation in the Security Council, one of the most prominent awards given at the annual American Model United Nations (AMUN) conference in November 2007 in Chicago.
Student representatives Simona Cibotaru, a senior majoring in political science and international business, and Salam Lazkani, a graduate student working on his master's degree in business administration, won the award for their representation of Indonesia. The two were among 18 Park University Model UN participants at the conference.
Park's Model UN team will represent Peru at the National Model United Nations conference in April in New York City.
Park hosts annual Model United Nations event for KC-area high schools
More than 200 high school students from 14 Kansas City-area high schools converged on the Parkville Campus Nov. 12, 2007, as Park University conducted its 5th annual Model United Nations conference.
The Model United Nations event provided the students an opportunity to participate in a simulation of U.N. decision-making. Student delegates addressed issues such as accelerating the implementation of nuclear disarmament commitments, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and international cooperation against the world's drug problem. Students representing members of the U.N. Security Council addressed such current topics as the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and nuclear weapons proliferation in Iran.
Fisk Jubilee Singers to present concert celebrating Black History Month
Park University's Access to the Arts and the Spencer Cave Black History Lecture Series will present the Fisk Jubilee Singers on Sunday, Feb. 3, in the Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, beginning at 3 p.m. The concert is also sponsored by the International Center for Music and the Zeta Omicron Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta.
The Fisk Jubilee Singers are young men and women, vocal artists and students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., who sing and travel worldwide. The original group introduced "slave songs" to the world in 1871 and was instrumental in preserving this unique American musical tradition known today as Negro spirituals. The Fisk Jubilee Singers broke racial barriers in the U.S. and abroad in the late 19th century and have entertained royalty throughout Europe, all the while raising money in support of their school. In 1999, the Singers were featured in "The American Experience," a PBS award-winning television documentary series, in the program "Singers: Sacrifice and Glory."
The concert is free and open to the public, however reservations are required. To reserve your seat, visit www.park.edu/fisk. For more information on the Spencer Cave Black History Lecture Series, visit www.park.edu/blackhistory, and for more information on the Fisk Jubilee Singers, visit www.fiskjubileesingers.org.
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| Jim Crum, business affairs director (left), and Camille Lloyd, Copy Center supervisor, write personalized notes on holiday cards to Park students deployed overseas. |
Military students receive greetings via holiday service project
Instead of getting together for a traditional office party, staff under the guidance of Vice President for Finance and Administration Dorla Watkins participated in a holiday service project on Dec. 3, 2007, to help lift the spirits of Park University military students deployed overseas.
Armed with pens and Park University holiday postcards, staff members wrote short, personalized notes on 350 cards to let these men and women know that the Park community is thinking of them while they are away from home.
Bergrud elected to position with International Relations Council
Erik Bergrud, director of the International Center for Civic Engagement and special assistant to the president, has been elected second vice president for the International Relations Council. He will ascend to the IRC presidency in January 2010.
Bergrud has served on the IRC board since 2006. In that same year, Park became the first Kansas City area institution designated as an IRC Educational Organization Member. In addition to his position with the IRC, Bergrud has also accepted a nomination to serve as vice chair for the American Society for Public Administration-s Section for Certified Public Management.
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| Henry Hodes |
Democracy Day High School Essay Contest winners announced
Henry Hodes, Rockhurst High School, Kansas City, Mo., was selected as the grand prize winner of the Park University 2007 Democracy Day High School Essay Contest. He receives a $2,000 Park University scholarship, or a $1,000 scholarship to the college/university of his choice. Hodes' winning essay, as well as the first place essays, can be read at www.park.edu/democracyday/essaywinners.aspx.
Park University hosts "Big Read" events
A number of "The Big Read" events in the Kansas City area, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to restore reading to the center of American culture -- encouraging reading for pleasure and enlightenment -- were held on the Park University Parkville Campus throughout November 2007.
In partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Park, Arts Midwest, the Kansas City Public Library and the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, "The Big Read" program was developed in part by a grant from the NEA. Jane Wood, Ph.D., Park University associate professor of English and chair of the department, coordinated Park's "Big Read" efforts and was instrumental in scheduling "Big Read" events on the Parkville Campus.
This year-s "Big Read" event celebrated the life of Ernest Hemingway and his book, A Farewell to Arms. Park University hosted a panel discussion and three movie adaptations of the book. The objective of the Kansas City event was to encourage area residents to read and discuss Hemingway's landmark novel of love and war on the Italian Front during World War I. Kansas City's program coincided with the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Caporetto, a devastating Italian defeat that served as a climatic moment in the book.
Park, Dell collaborate to improve education in Pacific Rim
Dell Inc. joined Park University's ongoing efforts to help improve and provide teacher education in two nations located in the Pacific Rim.
Park has been working with government entities in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia since 2006 to provide educational services to teachers. Dell partnered with the University in the fall of 2007 when the company donated computer equipment to the program.
Because of its large infrastructure and expertise in online/distance education, Park and Dell combined to donate computers worth an estimated $30,000, and a server. In addition, a new Park University track for international educators was developed within the current education studies degree program to address the unique needs of classroom teachers and educators throughout the Pacific Rim.
ALUMNI NEWS
Photographs selected for Park University calendar
The 2008 Park University calendar was recently completed and photographs by Park alumni are featured throughout. In voting held in November, the photo with the highest number of votes was selected to appear on the cover of the calendar. The winning photographer was Traci Pickering '07, DSCC Campus. Her winning photo was of a misty spring morning along the waters of Roaring Fork, a cascading stream in Tennessee-s Great Smoky Mountains.
Little Rock area alumni invited to attend basketball game
The Park University men's and women's basketball teams will be in Little Rock, Ark., home to Park's campus center at Little Rock Air Force Base, on Tuesday, Jan. 29, to take on Philander Smith College in a pair of games starting at 5 p.m. All Park alumni, students, faculty and staff in the Little Rock area are invited to attend.
Alumni Association plans trip to Austria, Switzerland
The Park University Alumni Association is making plans for its annual trip, open to all alumni, faculty, staff, family and friends. This year's trip, to Austria and Switzerland, is scheduled for Sept. 26 through Oct. 4. For more information about the trip, visit www.parkalumni.org or call the Office of Alumni Relations at (816) 584-6206.
Keep in touch through Park's alumni web site
Graduates of Park University programs are automatically members of the Alumni Association. Alumni are encouraged to participate in the many programs and committees that are available to Alumni Association members.
To get involved with the Alumni Association, see a list of alumni events in your area, find out how to make a donation to the University or read the most recent issue of Alumniad magazine, visit the Alumni Association's web site, www.parkalumni.org.
ATHLETICS
Fall teams rewarded for successes during season
Highlighted by the men's soccer team advancing to the NAIA national tournament, Park University athletic teams and individuals earned a number of honors for their efforts during the fall season.
Although the men's soccer team came up short in its bid for an NAIA national championship, losing in the second round of the national tournament to finish with a 13-6 record, the squad won the NAIA Region IV title and placed four players on NAIA All-America teams, led by MCAC Offensive Player of the Year James Katajwa's second team selection.
Led by NAIA All-America honorable mention selection Maria Ruiz, the women's soccer team finished the year with a runner-up finish at the NAIA Region IV tournament and a 12-5-2 record.
The women's volleyball team, paced by Aigline Yoke, the NAIA's third-most prolific hitter in 2007 and an NAIA All-America honorable mention selection, ended the season with an 18-14 record.
To read more about fall sports teams accomplishments, as well as information on the men's and women's basketball teams and the upcoming spring sports squads, visit www.parkathletics.com.
IN THE NEWS
Park University, Parkville on cover of magazine
In the January/February 2008 issue of Road magazine, Park University and the town of Parkville, Mo., are shown on the cover during the Tour of Missouri cycling race that was held in September 2007. Mackay Hall is also featured in the centerfold as a photo shows racers speeding past the University. Visit http://roadmagazine.net/road_home/index.html for more information, or visit www.photoshelter.com/c/epicimages/gallery-show/G0000rG0cG01Kutw to view images from the race.
Storey, Tessman recital featured in newspaper review
In his arts and entertainment review on Dec. 3, 2007, The Kansas City Star's Paul Horsley featured a Dec. 2 cello concert by Martin Storey, assistant professor of music. Storey was accompanied by graduate student Tatiana Tessman on the piano during a portion of the performance.
In the review, Horsley said that the performance was "one of the best concerts so far this season," adding that he would rather listen to Storey than the acclaimed Yo-Yo Ma. In addition, Horsley said that Tessman equaled Storey's performance, playing with a combination of "velvet and fire."
Center for Leadership highlighted in Kansas City business paper
Park University's Center for Leadership, led by Park Distinguished Professor for Public Leadership Kay Barnes, was featured in a "business showcase supplement" in the December 2007 issue of Kansas City Small Business Monthly.
Ogbuehi leading tax increment financing study
Alphonso O. Ogbuehi, D.B.A., dean of the School of Business and Management at Park, was mentioned in a Nov. 22, 2007, Clay County Press Dispatch article about leading a study on tax increment financing in the Northland area of Kansas City, Mo.
