The Crow’s Nest — October 9, 2025
Pirates, Buccaneers Athletic Teams Earn NAIA Recognition
Pirates, Buccaneers Athletic Teams Earn NAIA RecognitionPark University athletic teams at the Parkville (Mo.) and Gilbert (Ariz.) campuses from the 2024-25 academic year qualified for recognition from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in September. Twenty-two Park University athletic programs — 14 from the Parkville Campus and eight from the Gilbert Campus — qualified for NAIA Scholar Team Awards. The honor recognizes teams that achieve a minimum 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as defined by the nominating institution. Leading the way for the Parkville Campus was the women’s softball team with a combined grade point average of 3.68. Other Parkville teams above a 3.5 combined GPA was men’s golf (3.61), women’s cross country (3.61), women’s soccer (3.57) and women’s golf (3.54). Leading the Gilbert Campus was the women’s soccer program (3.58), with men’s golf at 3.52.
Annual International Festival Set for Oct. 17
Park University’s Office of International Education will host its annual International Festival on Friday, Oct. 17, from 5 to 9 p.m. on the University Front Lawn and inside Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the flagship Parkville (Mo.) Campus. Admission to the festival is free and open to the public. Traditionally held indoors in November as part of International Education Week, this year’s International Festival has been moved up a month to take advantage of fall weather. The event includes information booths, performances, cultural activities and fashion shows featuring countries around the globe, with Park international students representing their native countries and sharing the unique and diverse characteristics of their homeland. In all, the University boasts approximately 500 students from 66 countries.
Coinciding with the information booths and various activities held from 5-7 p.m., an international buffet featuring food from every continent will also be served. The price for the buffet is $18 for the public; Park students and employees on a meal plan can eat free with their Park ID (rain location is Thompson Commons). Cultural performances and fashion shows featuring students from at least 15 countries will begin at 7 p.m. in the Chapel. In addition, Grupo Folklorico Alma Tapatia, a passionate dance group based in Kansas City dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of Mexico will perform. For more information about the event, contact Catherine Geehan, associate director for international education, at catherine.geehan@park.edu / (816) 584-6857.
International Center for Music to Hold Side-by-Side Concert with Members of the Kansas City Symphony
Three members of the Park University International Center for Music faculty will perform with a trio of string members from the Kansas City Symphony in a side-by-side concert on Thursday, Oct. 23, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the 1900 Building in Mission Woods, Kan. This concert replaces the originally scheduled performance on the same date by violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi, who was forced to cancel his appearance due to health reasons. The concert will feature Park ICM cellist Daniel Veis, pianist Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich and violist Christine Grossman, alongside the Kansas City Symphony’s concertmaster and first violinist Jun Iwasaki, principal cellist Mark Gibb, and double bassist and acting associate principal bass Richard Ryan. Tickets for the concert are $30 for the general public and $10 for students (not including fees), and are available to purchase in advance through Eventbrite. For more information about the concert, as well as biographies on the performers, visit icm.park.edu/1900-side-by-side-october-2025.
The next performance in the International Center for Music’s 2025-26 season will be on Thursday, Nov. 13, as students of world-renowned pianist and ICM founder/artistic director Stanislav Ioudenitch will hold a concert at the 1900 Building starting at 7:30 p.m. For more information about the concert and a link to tickets, visit icm.park.edu/1900-ioudenitch-piano-studio-november-2025.
Park University’s Annual Fright Night Event Set for Oct. 30
Fright Night, Park University’s annual Halloween celebration, will be held Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Copley Quad residence hall on the University’s flagship Parkville (Mo.) Campus, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission to the event is free and open to the public, and children of all ages are encouraged to dress in their favorite Halloween costume. Fright Night will include trick-or-treating for children throughout the residence hall and booths will be set up for face painting, crafts and carnival-style games. Numerous Park University student organizations, academic departments and offices will sponsor booths with activities, contests and events for everyone in attendance. Parking for the event will be available in Lot N adjacent to the University’s Sixth Street entrance next to Julian Field (soccer field). For more information, contact Alyssa Acuna, associate director of student engagement and inclusion, at alyssa.acuna@park.edu / (816) 584-6520.
Banneker School Foundation to Host Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony, Dedication
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication to commemorate the conclusion of a 40-year restoration project of the Banneker School, a historic one-room structure built in 1885 in Parkville, Mo., to educate children of color, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25, starting at 10 a.m. at the school, located at 31 W. 8th St. (Rain location — Jenkin and Barbara David Theater within Alumni Hall on the Park University Parkville Campus). The ceremony, hosted by the Banneker School Foundation, will also include a dedication of the building’s North Star Wall in honor of Timothy Westcott, Ph.D., professor of history, chair of the Department of Culture and Society, associate university archivist and director of the George S. Robb Center for the Study of the Great War at Park University, who is a longtime member of the Foundation’s board of directors and an integral contributor to the “Brick by Brick: Building a Legacy” capital campaign.
The Banneker School was named for Benjamin Banneker, born in 1731 in Maryland to a free African-American mother and a father who had been formerly enslaved. Banneker, who was not formally educated, but mostly self-taught, was a landowner who worked as a surveyor and farmer. He became known for assisting Maj. Andrew Ellicott in the survey that established the original borders of the District of Columbia.
Post-Civil War African American children in the Parkville area were initially educated in the basement of Park University co-founder and Parkville’s namesake George S. Park’s Missouri Valley Hotel, then in the University’s Bergen Hall. Dr. John A. McAfee, Park University’s first president, determined that the students needed their own facility, and land previously purchased by the University was allocated for the construction of a one-room school for the specific purpose of educating African American children. Construction for the Banneker School commenced in the fall of 1885 when Park University students fired the bricks in the University kilns and assisted with construction. Read more about the event and the history of the Banneker School at park.edu/news/banneker-school-ribbon-cutting-dedication.
Artist Bryce Holt Exhibiting Paintings in Campanella Gallery
An exhibit featuring the work of Bryce Holt, a Kansas City artist and co-founder of The Patrons, is being held through Friday, Dec. 19, in the Campanella Gallery located inside Norrington Center on the University’s flagship Parkville (Mo.) Campus. Admission to the Gallery is free and open to the public. A reception for the artist will be held on Friday, Oct. 17, from 5-7 p.m. in the Gallery.
In the exhibit, titled “What a Pretty Story,” Holt invite viewers of the exhibit to enter the role of storyteller for each vibrant painting. “Like our lives, none of these are simple, straightforward tales,” Holt said. “The scene is set and you have a fragment of a narrative; like a line pulled at random from a book whose pages are now yours to fill. The figures on the canvas are frozen in a moment of pause waiting for your mind to begin telling you a story.” Read more about the exhibit and the Campanella Gallery’s operating hours at park.edu/news/bryce-holt-exhibit.
Park University’s Clery Report Available
Every year, Park University publishes its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Safety Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Report). This document provides local crime statistics, details the University’s regulations and procedures for emergency response, and lists on- and off- campus resources for safety assistance. All colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs are required to share this data with the public. Park University provides this information beyond simply obeying the rules and regulations, and hopes that doing so demonstrates Park’s commitment to the wellbeing of students, faculty, staff, business tenants and visitors.
The Clery Report for the 2024 calendar year has been posted at park.edu/about-park/campus-safety/clery-reports and includes reports for every Park campus across the country. The report is also available in printed form upon request by contacting the Office of Campus Safety at campussafety@park.edu / (816) 584-6444.
Faculty, Staff, Student News
Tim Westcott, Ph.D., professor of history, chair of the Department of Culture and Society, and director of the George S. Robb Center for the Study of the Great War, represented Park University at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for the 369th Infantry Regiment (commonly known as the “Harlem Hellfighters”), a unit of more than 4,000 African American soldiers from New York who fought in World War I, on Sept. 3, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. George S. Robb, a 1912 Park University graduate, was a White officer in the unit and was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1919. Westcott also attended a reception that evening at the Embassy of France. A story about the event also appeared on the U.S. Department of War’s (formerly Department of Defense) website.
Yangrui Cai, graduate student in the International Center for Music, advanced to the final 12 competitors of the 65th Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition that took place in Bolzano, Italy. During the awards ceremony on Sept. 7, Cai was announced as the winner of the Special Prize for the Best Interpretation of a Piece by Busoni, earning 3000 EUR (approximately $3,526).
Park University Parkville (Mo.) Campus men’s soccer goalkeeper Felipe Ramos was selected as the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance the week of Sept. 7. The senior had a six-save effort in a 0-0 draw against No. 3 MidAmerica Nazarene University, and helped keep Culver-Stockton College scoreless in a 1-0 win for the Pirates.
Brandi Handley, assistant professor of English, authored an essay, “Church Windows,” that was published Sept. 8 on Psaltery & Lyre, a website that shares works that pushes the borders of sacred and secular. The essay is part profile on a stained glass artist and part personal narrative reflecting on Handley’s experience with religion.
Andrew Johnson, Ph.D., professor of psychology, was a guest speaker at the “Responsible and Ethical Use of Generative AI” forum in Kansas City, Kan., on Sept. 18. Johnson presented two sessions on “Utilizing AI Programs to Expand Your Teaching: An AI Utility Belt that Would Make Batman Envious” and “Student Responsible Use of AI.” In addition, Johnson was a panelist for a session on “AI and Workplace Readiness” at the “Show Me” Teaching of Psychology conference in Columbia, Mo., on Sept. 13.
Hank Roehrich, Ph.D., professor of management and marketing, participated in the Marketing Management Association of Educators fall conference in Las Vegas, Sept. 17-19. Roehrich, who is serving his 10th year on the MMA board of directors, presented a peer-reviewed refereed paper he co-authored, “Supporting Faculty Facing the Challenges of Fatigue and Burnout” (page 13 of PDF). This qualitative research study aims to determine what professional development opportunities and support in higher education are available for marketing faculty. In addition, Roehrich was a panelist for a session on “Time Management Strategies for Faculty with Heavy Course Loads.”
Joseph Maina, graduate student pursing a Master of Information Systems and Business Analytics degree, presented a paper “Forecasting U.S. Home Vacancy Rate Using ARIMA Model” at the Southeast SAS Users Group Conference, Sept. 24 in Cary, N.C. The paper employs an autoregressive integrated moving average model to provide comprehensive forecasting and creates actionable insights for policymakers and economists. The findings enable real estate investors, developers, policymakers and industry professionals to make data-driven decisions.
Park in the News
Matt Harris, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, was interviewed for stories that aired on KCTV in Kansas City on Sept. 1 related to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe announcing a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts.
Harris was interviewed for stories that aired on KSHB-TV and KMBC-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 2 related to Missouri lawmakers preparing to redistrict the congressional map and take up ballot measure reforms.
Harris provided comments for a story published in the Kansas City Star on Sept. 4 related to Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s democracy limits potentially killing most ballot measures in the state.
Harris provided comments for an in-depth story that aired on KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 8 related to Missouri’s redistricting process and how it could impact the Kansas City region.
Harris was interviewed for stories related to the deadly shooting of Charlie Kirk that aired on KCTV and KSMO-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 10 and 11.
Harris provided comments for a story that aired on KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 11 related to members of Congress pausing public events following the death of Charlie Kirk.
Harris participated in a live interview with KCTV on Sept. 12 (starts approximately at 15:00) to talk about reactions to the Missouri Senate passing a redistricting plan.
Harris provided soundbites for stories that aired on KMBZ-FM in Kansas City on Sept. 17 related to Missouri legislators passing legislation making it more difficult for voters to change the state constitution.
Also on Sept. 17, Harris was interviewed for stories that aired on KCTV in Kansas City related to a lawsuit that claimed one voting precinct in Kansas City, Mo., was drawn in to two congressional districts following the Missouri legislature passing a new redistricting plan.
On Sept. 24, Harris was interviewed for stories that aired on KMBC-TV in Kansas City related to a then-potential federal government shutdown on Oct. 1.
Harris provided comments for a story that appeared in the Kansas City Star on Sept. 25 related to Kansas City, Mo., mayor Quinton Lucas and Democrats having a shot at winning a seat in Congress following the gerrymandering of Missouri’s congressional map.
Harris was interviewed for stories that aired on KCTV in Kansas City on Sept. 28 related to pending litigation following new congressional maps being signed by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Harris provided comments for stories that aired on KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 30 following a special election in Jackson County, Mo., that recalled Frank White Jr. as the county executive.
Crystal Ellison, ’12, was featured on the VoyageKC website on Sept. 8. Ellison is a senior litigation attorney with Allstate insurance and a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, as well as founder/chief executive officer of Serenity Infinity Books.
Kevin Curran, Ph.D., adjunct instructor of communication arts, authored an article that was published on the RadioWorld website on Sept. 15. The story focused on the Electro-Voice 635A, a microphone that stopped being manufactured in spring 2024, but will likely be in service for years to come because of its durability.
Daniel Nexon, Ph.D., who spoke at Park University’s annual Dr. Jerzy Hauptmann Distinguished Guest Lecture Series event on Sept. 18, participated in a 22-minute live interview related to his talk, “The Great Unravelling: American Decline and the Crisis of Liberal Order,” that aired on Sept. 16 on KCUR-FM’s “Up To Date” in Kansas City.
Lane Hensley, ’21, and his wife, Leah, were the focus of a story related to Latinos getting home mortgages and local programs designed to increase Latino homeownership that was published in Kansas City’s The Beacon on Sept. 24.
Maria Ioudenitch, a former violin student in Park University’s Youth Conservatory for Music and daughter of Stanislav Ioudenich, Park’s International Center for Music founder and artistic director, was featured in The Strad on Sept. 25 after receiving a long-term loan of a 1790 Lorenzo Storioni violin.
A story about Tim Byers, ’97, being appointed as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s track and field programs at Emporia (Kan.) State University appeared in the Emporia Gazette on Sept. 26.
Washington Chapel CME Church in Parkville, Mo., which is named in honor of Angeline Washington, a 9-year-old slave purchased by George S. Park in 1844, and her husband William, was the focus of a story that aired on KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 27 as the historic church, built in 1907, nears completion of a renovation project that saved it from a potential closure.
Tameka Rushing, ’12, who was a U.S. Air Force senior master sergeant before retiring eight years ago and now serves as an independent consultant in leadership development, was featured in the Arlington/Fort Worth (Texas) Report on Sept. 29.
Zhiyuan (Peter) Li, Ph.D., assistant professor of computer science, was interviewed for stories that aired on KMBC-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 30 related to the “artificial intelligence slop” that clogs social media feeds with fake posts.
U.S. News & World Report announced its 2026 Best Colleges rankings on Sept. 23. Park rankings included: Best Regional Universities – Midwest, No. 145 (tie); Most International Students – Midwest, No. 46 (tie); Graduates with the Least Debt – Midwest, No. 60; Economic Diversity – Midwest, No. 66 (tie) and Top Performers on Social Mobility – Midwest, No. 158.
Upcoming Events
(All events are Central time and on the flagship Parkville [Mo.] Campus unless noted)
• Through October 12 — Fall Recess (all University offices open regular business hours; no classes held nationwide)
• Through Dec. 19 — Bryce Holt Art Exhibit, Campanella Gallery (Norrington Center); Artist Reception: Oct. 17, 5-7 p.m., Campanella Gallery
• October 9 — Blood Drive, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Breckon Sports Center (East Dome)
• October 13 — Fall II Term Classes Begin
• October 17 — International Festival, 5-9 p.m., University Front Lawn (rain location: Thompson Commons) and Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
• October 23 — International Center for Music Concert: Side-by-Side with Principals of the Kansas City Symphony, 7:30 p.m., 1900 Building, Mission Woods, Kan.
• October 24 — Austin (Texas) Campus Commencement Ceremony, 7:30 p.m., Austin Stone Community Church Northwest Campus Auditorium
• October 25 — Banneker School Foundation Ribbon-Cutting/Dedication, 10 a.m., 31 W. 8th St., Parkville, Mo.
• October 30 — Fright Night, 6-8 p.m., Copley Quad
• November 8 — Columbus (Ohio) Campus / Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio) Campus Commencement Ceremony, 9 a.m., Ohio History Connection, Columbus
• November 11 — Veterans Day Holiday (Parkville and Gilbert daytime classes cancelled; all Park University offices nationwide closed; Fall II classes held as scheduled)
• November 13 — International Center for Music Concert: Stanislav Ioudenitch Piano Studio Students, 7:30 p.m., 1900 Building, Mission Woods, Kan.
• November 27-30 — Thanksgiving Holiday (Parkville and Gilbert daytime classes cancelled; all Park University offices nationwide closed; Fall II classes held as scheduled)
To view a comprehensive schedule for all events, including athletics and student life, visit park.edu/calendars/park-events-calendar.