The Crow’s Nest — July 8, 2025
Park University’s Board of Trustees Elect New Chair, Add Four New Members
The governing body of Park University — its Board of Trustees — has elected a new chair for the 2025-26 fiscal year, as well as elected four individuals to serve three-year terms on the board. Elected as chair was Scott Jackman, while Brian Mertz, Lewis Nerman, Sam Stahnke and Levi Young, ’01, M.D., were elected to the board, all effective on July 1.
Jackman (right) is the president of the U.S. division and vice president of sales and marketing for Deveron, an agriculture technology company based in Toronto, Canada. He replaces Terry Calaway, Ed.D., whose term as chair expired, but will continue to serve as a trustee as immediate past chair of the board. Profiles Jackman and the new board members can be read at park.edu/news/new-trustees-2025.
The BOT also granted professor emeritus status to Jeff Ehrlich, Ed.D., associate professor of healthcare administration (Ehrlich also served the University as interim president from July 2015 to January 2016), and Mark Noe, Ph.D., professor of communication arts and director of the Master of Arts in Communication and Leadership degree program. Furthermore, the board elected Mara Cohara, J.D., as vice chair of the board, Sarah Moe as board secretary and Jeff Anthony as the board treasurer.
Parkville Athletics Announces Wall of Honor Class of 2025
The Park University Parkville (Mo.) Campus Department of Athletics has announced its Wall of Honor Class of 2025. Three individuals will be officially recognized during a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 26, at 3 p.m. in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel. The unveiling of the Wall of Honor plaques will follow the ceremony at the 6th Street entrance to the Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground. Honorees are:
• Sherry (Faulconer) Bowmar, ’05, softball
• Bob Kendrick, ’85, meritorious service
• Erik Bergrud, MPA ’94, meritorious service
Read about the honorees and their accomplishments at parkathletics.com/news/2025/6/12/park61225.aspx.
Parkville, Gilbert Athletics Spring News
Parkville, Gilbert Athletics Spring NewsThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced its 2025 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes for spring sports. A total of 75 Park University student-athletes were named to the list — 50 from the Parkville (Mo.) Campus and 25 from the Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus. The Parkville baseball team led all Park squads with 11 individuals earning honors. Parkville Campus softball and women’s track and field had nine each and women’s beach volleyball had eight. Pacing the Gilbert list was baseball with seven and softball with six. The complete list can be found at naia.org/sports/ScholarAthleteAwards/2024-25/springs_sa.
In the days following the NAIA Women’s Beach Volleyball National Invitational in late April, in which the Parkville Campus squad advanced to the national semifinals, two pairs earned second team All-America status. Those honored were the 2s pair of sophomore Grecia Ung and freshman Aly Anderson, and the 3s pair of senior Mafalda Bras and junior Luna Martins.
The 1s pair of sophomore Izabella Ceratti freshman Maria Pim, Parkville Campus women’s beach volleyball, were named 2025 American Volleyball Coaches Association NAIA Beach All-Americans, while Nicolas Tenius, Parkville Campus men’s volleyball senior, was an honorable mention selection on the 2025 AVCA NAIA Men’s All-American list.
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association tabbed Parkville Campus softball freshman P Hanna Vaught, senior 2B Shelby Sanders and senior SS Halle Magee to its NAIA Region V second team.
At the conclusion of the Central States Conference beach volleyball tournament, members of the Parkville Campus women’s beach volleyball team were recognized. Ung and Anderson were selected as the conference Pair of the Year and were joined by Bras and Martins on the conference first team. In addition, assistant coach Malaina Hensley was named as the conference Assistant Coach of the Year.
The Heart of America Athletic Conference, of which the Parkville Campus is a member, announced its various all-conference teams at the conclusion of the spring season.
• Men’s volleyball — Tenius and teammate Mihailo Ivanovic, junior, were announced as first team selections.
• Men’s golf — Senior Santiago Valdes and freshman Charlie Santonsson earned spots on the HAAC All-Conference team, based on their results at the conference tournament — fourth and tied for seventh, respectively.
• Women’s golf — Freshman Anna Korsen (second) and sophomore Micaela Suhl (T-6) earned all-conference honors. Korsen was named the conference Freshman of the Year, while head coach Martha Linscott was selected as the conference Co-Coach of the Year.
• Softball — Vaught was named the conference Freshman of the Year and selected to the HAAC Gold Glove Team. She was joined on the conference first team by Magee.
• Baseball — Senior OF Gilberto Torres earned first team honors. In addition, senior 1B Zayne Morrow was named to the HAAC Gold Glove Team.
The Great Southwest Athletic Conference honored two Gilbert Campus student-athletes — Digeo Bejarano, a graduate student first baseman on the baseball team, and Kayla Schroeder, a senior guard on the women’s basketball team — with a 2025 Cliff Hamlow Champion of Character Award. The award is given to one male and one female student-athlete on each GSAC campus who demonstrates outstanding athletic achievement, campus and community leadership, future ambition and embraces the five core character values of the NAIA Champions of Character program (respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and servant leadership). Student-athletes must be at least a junior academically and carry a 3.0 overall grade point average.
The GSAC also announced its 2025 softball awards. Gilbert Campus DP Alejandra Castro, INF Noelle Gumm and INF Ileana Rivera, all seniors, earned all-conference honors, while senior CF Ledezma Romero was named to the GSAC Gold Glove Team. In addition, head coach T.J. Stower was named the conference Coach of the Year.
The Parkville Campus athletics programs finished second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference’s Commissioner’s Cup for the 2024-25 academic year, missing out on the top spot by five-one hundredths of a point to MidAmerica Nazarene University. The Pirates were in sixth place at the conclusion of the fall 2024 season, but strong finishes by winter and spring teams pushed Park to the runner-up finish. Schools earn points in the Commissioner’s Cup based on their conference finish in Heart sponsored sports.
The Gilbert Campus announced that the Buccaneers’ competitive cheer program will participate in STUNT beginning with the 2025-26 season. Created by USA Cheer, STUNT focuses on the technical and athletic components of cheer. The elements are put together in short routines that teams must perform in head-to-head competition on the floor at the same time. The team that executes the skills best wins the round and the point. The competition includes four quarters of play — partner stunts, pyramids and tosses, jumps and tumbling, and team routine.
Faculty Center of Innovation Announces Awards
Park University’s Faculty Center of Innovation has announced its Faculty Mentor of the Year awards for the 2024-25 academic year. Those awarded:
• Dmitry Gimon, Ph.D., associate professor of information systems and business analytics (full-time faculty)
• Martha Gonzalez, adjunct instructor of criminal justice administration and Camp Pendleton (Calif) Marine Corps Base Campus academic director (adjunct faculty)
• William “Kit” Nast, Ed.D., adjunct instructor of psychology (online adjunct faculty)
• Justina Or, adjunct instructor of psychology and first-year experience (online adjunct faculty)
• Amanda St. George, adjunct instructor of sociology and peer review of teaching coordinator (Gilbert [Ariz.] Campus and online adjunct faculty)
• Diane Simpson, assistant professor of education (full-time faculty)
For more information about the online instructor mentoring program, visit innovatepark.org/online-instructor-mentors.
Faculty, Staff, Student News
Martha Linscott, Parkville (Mo.) Campus men’s and women’s golf head coach, has qualified for her fourth consecutive U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship, which will be played Aug. 21-24 at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif. At a qualifying event on June 18 at the Nelson Golf and Sports Club’s TPC course in Irving, Texas, Linscott shot a 9-over par 79 to tie for third. However, just three spots were available to advance, forcing Linscott to a playoff with another player, which Linscott won on the first hole.
Adrian James, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Management and associate professor of management, presented a session on “Boost Morale for Faculty Engagement” at the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs conference in Las Vegas on June 21.
Tim Westcott, Ph.D., professor of history, associate university archivist and director of the George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War, provided a presentation about the City of Parkville, Mo., to members of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Centurions Leadership Program on June 10 in Parkville.
Park in the News
Matt Harris, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, was interviewed for stories that aired on KMBC-TV in Kansas City on June 4 related to Jackson County, Mo. legislator Manny Abarca being charged with domestic battery. The stories also aired on KMBZ-AM in Kansas City on June 5.
Harris was interviewed for stories that aired on KMBZ-FM in Kansas City on June 13 about Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s political identity.
Harris provided soundbites for stories on KMBC-TV in Kansas City on June 16 related to President Donald Trump ordering U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand in cities led by Democrats.
On June 21, Harris was interviewed for stories that aired on KMBC-TV following the U.S. air strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran. The following afternoon, Harris did a live 12-minute interview with KCTV in Kansas City and provided soundbites for stories on KSHB-TV in Kansas City.
Harris participated in a live interview on the “Midday with Jayme and Wier” program on KMBZ-FM in Kansas City on June 24 (click “Part 13”), talking about the current situation in Iran.
A story about Shawn Dulohery, ’88, being appointed as the head coach of the shooting sports program at Missouri Valley College, appeared on the KMMO-AM/FM website in Marshall, Mo., on June 5. Dulohery was a member of the 2004 U.S. Summer Olympics team in Athens, Greece, where he placed fifth in men’s skeet shooting.
Shane Smeed, past Park University president, appeared on “Latter-day Profiles,” a program featuring in-depth interviews with noteworthy members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on June 8. The interview, which also aired on BYUtv, was conducted in October 2024, seven months prior to Smeed’s departure from Park.
Mallory Brown, ’24 MPA, was featured in the Excelsior (Springs, Mo.) Citizen on June 8. Brown was appointed as the community development director in Excelsior Springs in February.
Barry Wilcox, adjunct instructor of sport and exercise science, was featured in a story that appeared on the U.S. Paralympics Cycling website on June 9. Wilcox won four gold medals during the spring Union Cycliste Internationale Paracycling Road World Cup events in Belgium and Italy. Wilcox, who won both time trials and both road races in his MH1 classification, will compete in the UCI Paracyling Road World Championships, Aug. 28-31 in Ronse, Belgium.
David Radzynski, ’14, has been appointed as the first coordinated concertmaster of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg, Germany, effective Aug. 1. Stories about Radzynski’s appointment appeared in various publications throughout Germany.
Benny Lee, a member of Park University’s Board of Trustees, was featured in the Kansas City Star on May 31 as part of a series of stories highlighting members of the Kansas City region from historically underrepresented communities and their impact on the area.
Siabhan May-Washington, ’06, Ed.D., president at St. Teresa’s Academy in Kansas City, Mo., was announced as a member of the Kansas City Business Journal’s 2025 class of Women of Influence in late May. May-Washington will be honored in late August.
Catrina Lloyd, ’13, MPA ’17, was appointed as the executive director of Asheville (N.C.) Watchdog, a nonprofit news organization. A story about Lloyd appeared in the publication in late May.
A story about Xavielle Brown, ’16, MBA ’20, and Cooper Bayiha, ’12, MA ’16, being appointed as the girls and boys basketball head coaches, respectively, at Park Hill (Mo.) High School, appeared in the Platte County (Mo.) Citizen on June 11.
Laurel Gagnon, ’17, MM ’19, was announced as the winner of the Dallas International Violin Competition on June 17. A story about Gagnon’s victory appeared in the Dallas Morning News the following day. Gagnon received $2,500 and an engagement to perform in concert with the Dallas Chamber Symphony during its 2025-26 season. Watch Gagnon’s finals performance of a solo concerto with the DCS and the announcement at youtube.com/live/UxK-0Kl8ZP8.
Kristin Gillette, Park University Parkville (Mo.) Campus director of athletics, appeared on the Playing with a Purpose podcast on June 20, discussing what it means to be a positive influencer in the world of sports, on and off the field. Gillette shared insights on her work mentoring student-athletes, her thoughts on the evolving role of influence in sports culture, and how coaches, players and organizations can use their platforms to inspire change among those they have the opportunity to influence.
A 5-minute story related to 12 Native Americans from Oklahoma being eligible for the Valor Medals Review Project being conducted by Park University’s George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War aired on KQCW-TV in Tulsa, Okla., on June 23.
Zonovia Crier, ’03, was featured in a story that appeared in the Odessa (Texas) American on June 24. As part of Women Veterans Day on June 12, Crier was honored by VFW Post 4372 in Odessa for her military service. Crier, a legal services specialist while in the U.S. Marine Corps, now serves as an elementary school principal in the Ector County (Texas) Independent School District.
Jack MacLennan, Ph.D., senior director for strategic initiatives and communications, and special assistant to the president for governance (also holds the title of associate professor of political science), participated in a live, in-studio interview with KMBC-TV on June 26 to discuss the conflict between Iran and Israel and if peace is possible for the region.
Upcoming Events
(All events are Central time and on the flagship Parkville [Mo.] Campus unless noted)
• July 10 — American Red Cross Blood Drive, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Breckon Sports Center (East Dome)
• July 18-20 — Bell Road Barn Players: “Fools” by Neil Simon, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. on Sunday), David Theater (Alumni Hall)
• July 24 — Barstow (Calif.) Community College Campus Commencement Ceremony, 7:30 p.m., BCC Performing Arts Center
• July 25-27 — Bell Road Barn Players: “Fools” by Neil Simon, 7:30 p.m. (2 p.m. on Sunday), David Theater (Alumni Hall)
• August 3 — Summer Session / Julymester Classes End
• August 11 — Fall Semester / Fall I Term Begins
• August 15 — Opening Convocation, 11 a.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel and Virtual
• August 23 — El Paso (Texas) Campus / Fort Bliss (Texas) Campus / Holloman Air Force Base (N.M.) Campus Commencement Ceremony, 2 p.m., Starlight Event Center, El Paso, Texas
• September 1 — Labor Day Holiday (all University offices nationwide closed; Parkville [Mo.] Campus and Gilbert [Ariz.] Campus daytime classes cancelled; Fall I classes held as scheduled)
To view a comprehensive schedule for all events, including athletics and student life, visit park.edu/calendars/park-events-calendar.