Alexa Barton and Stephen Spence

The Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration presented its Stanley Fisher Memorial Award at its 2008 Awards Luncheon on May 21 to Stephen Spence, a 2008 M.P.A. graduate of Park University's Hauptmann School for Public Affairs. Spence is an archives technician at the Central Plains Region branch of the National Archives and Records Administration in Kansas City, Mo.

The Fisher Award is given annually to outstanding graduate and undergraduate students in public administration attending academic institutions in the Kansas City area. Award winners show an interest in public administration beyond their classroom work, have performed exceptionally well in public administration courses and have applied insights of public administration to their campus activities.

For several years, Park University has maintained a tradition of inviting the immediate past recipient of the award to serve as award presenter, ensuring that alumni pass the torch of excellence throughout the years. Spence's award was presented to him by 2007 recipient Alexa Barton, a 2007 Park M.P.A. graduate and current county administrator for Clay County, Mo.


CETL hosts symposium on teaching and learning

Park University's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning welcomed faculty from a number of Kansas City area higher education institutions on April 26 for the Greater Kansas City Symposium on Teaching and Learning. The event included interactive presentations and work groups on the scholarship of teaching and learning, poster presentations from faculty and graduate students, and a keynote speech by David Pace, Ph.D., professor of history at Indiana University, Bloomington.

A number of Park faculty participated in the event: Josephine Agnew-Tally, Ed.D., dean of the School for Education; Betty Bennett, professor of education; Lora Cohn, Ph.D., assistant professor of communication arts; Barbara Fields, Ph.D., assistant professor of education; Denise Lowe, assistant professor of education; Deborah Osborne, Ph.D., associate professor of English and linguistics; Carol Sanders, Ph.D., associate professor of biology; and Linda Seybert, Ph.D., associate professor of education. Amber Dailey-Hebert, Ph.D., CETL director and associate professor of education, and Emily Donnelli-Sallee, Ph.D., CETL assistant director and assistant professor of English, served as facilitators for one of the Symposium’s work groups. For more information about the event, including copies of the Symposium materials, visit

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Kisthardt presents social work session at conference

Walter E. Kisthardt, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Social Work, presented a one-day institute at the North Carolina Mental Health, Substance Abuse and HIV Conference at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on May 5.

During his session titled "Strengths-Based, Person-Centered Community Care," Kisthardt addressed issues around access to community resources, collaboratively developing assessments and individualized plans of care, and challenges in shifting the paradigm from the "medical" model to a more comprehensive social care model that emphasizes each person's unique culture, attributes, talents and aspirations as the ultimate goal of treatment.


Fontaine has article published in peer-reviewed journal

Sherry Fontaine, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Master of Healthcare Leadership program, had her article, "Arts-Based Learning in Healthcare," published in the spring issue of Academic Exchange Quarterly, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to instruction and learning. The article, published in a special section on interdisciplinary pedagogy to foster health initiatives, explores the use of arts-based learning in healthcare management education.

Dr. Jo Agnew-Tally, Halima Ramsey and Michael Otto

School for Education awards scholarship to high school student

Park University recently selected Halima Ramsey as the winner of the School for Education Endowment Scholarship for Diverse Teaching Candidates. Ramsey, a 2008 graduate of Lincoln College Prep High School in Kansas City, Mo., has also signed a letter-of-intent to play women's basketball at Park under head coach Joe C. Meriweather. The scholarship is worth $5,000 ($1,250 per year for four years). In addition, Ramsey is receiving a Trustee Academic Scholarship that pays 100 percent of her tuition.

The School for Education Endowment Scholarship for Diverse Teaching Candidates is for students who are economically disadvantaged and/or are a member of a shortage group within the teaching profession (i.e. males, minorities, etc.).


Park In The News

Park University was mentioned in a KSHB-TV (Ch. 41) report on May 27 in regard to Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Mark Funkhouser's light rail plan. According to the report, the new regional plan would include express bus service between Parkville, Mo., and Downtown Kansas City.


Green tip of the week

If one quart of leftover paint was recycled from every renovation project in America this year (10 percent of all the house paint purchased in the U.S. is typically thrown out), it would reclaim 2.5 million gallons -- enough to paint the outside of the White House every year for the next 43 centuries, or to paint San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge 250 times. For more information and additional tips to lead a "green life," visit http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife.


Upcoming Events

• Pearl Chamberlin senior art exhibit -- through June 21, Northland Neighborhood, Inc., 3015 NE Vivion Rd., Kansas City, Mo.
• Jessica Wohl art exhibition â€" through July 11, Campanella Gallery
• Pirate Academic Camps -- June 8-13, Parkville Campus
• Park Alumni Weekend -- June 19-22, Parkville Campus
• Alumni Association Annual Meeting -- June 21
• Junemester ends -- June 27
• Julymester begins -- July 7
• Masoom Khawaja photography exhibit -- July 14-August 28, Campanella Gallery
• Summer Session ends -- July 27
• Julymester ends -- August 1