Crow’s Nest — October 18, 2018

University Opens Pirate Pantry for Students Facing Food Insecurity

Park University has opened Pirate Pantry, the University’s response to the increased awareness of food insecurity among students on college campuses, inside the Intramural and Recreational Fieldhouse (Labor Hall) adjacent to Breckon Sports Center on the University’s Parkville Campus. College students regularly experience high levels of food insecurity — a sample study in 2016 found that 48 percent of respondents reported food insecurity in a 30-day period, including 22 percent that had low levels of food security that qualify them as “hungry.” Hunger is cited by many students as a factor in not being able to concentrate in the classroom and while studying, leading some to not complete their college degree.

The Pirate Pantry is open to any Park University student. It is operated by volunteers, primarily graduate students in Park’s Master of Social Work program. Undergraduate social work students also assist by stocking shelves and taking inventory. The pantry is organized in alignment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ChooseMyPlate.gov, with nonperishable food items organized into proteins, grains, fruits and vegetables. Students who visit the pantry can select a three-day supply of food. Personal hygiene items are also available.

The Pirate Pantry has been funded completely by donations, including a major gift from North Kansas City Hospital, and food drives conducted by the University, the City of Parkville, Mo., and Northland Baptist Church in Kansas City, Mo. Donations of nonperishable food and personal hygiene items are welcome and can be placed in the donation bin outside the Pirate Pantry space in the Fieldhouse, dropped off in the Pirate Pantry on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. or e-mail pantry@park.edu for large volume donations. Financial donations are also accepted. For more information about the Pirate Pantry and donation options, visit park.edu/park-pantry.

Park Athletics Recognizes 2017-18 Achievements

Park University’s Department of Athletics held its annual awards banquet on Sept. 27 in Kansas City, Mo., to recognize achievements from the 2017-18 academic and athletic year, as well as honor individuals with special awards. These included:
          •  Ed Nelson Award, presented to Paul Gault, ’65, ’88, and former longtime Park employee. Named in honor of Nelson who served as director of athletics from 1961-79, the award is given annually to a friend of Park athletics that exemplifies his or high loyalty to Park and possesses a high level of integrity.
          •  Don Breckon Award, presented to Park University President Greg Gunderson, Ph.D. The award, named in honor of Breckon, president emeritus who served Park from 1987-2001, is given annually to an individual that goes above and beyond to support Park athletes, coaches and administrators, and has a true passion to witness the success of Park’s athletes.
          •  Claude English Award, presented to Levi Young, ’01. Named in honor of Park’s current director of athletics, the award is presented to Park alumni who have demonstrated leadership and service to the community and constantly display advocacy to Park University. The award winner is also accomplished in his or her profession.
          •  Female Athlete of the Year, presented to Nada Meawad, women’s volleyball
          •  Male Athlete of the Year, presented to Nicholas Rotich, men’s track and field
          •  Appreciation Award for Service, presented to Steve Wilson, director of athletics and men’s/women’s golf head coach at Park University’s Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus. Wilson previously served as Park’s associate athletic director for media relations and compliance.

In addition, NAIA All-Americans, Google Cloud Academic All-Americans and Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes were honored. View photos from the event.

Park Campus Center Holds Commencement Ceremonies

Park University campus centers across the country continue to hold commencement ceremonies for 2018 graduates. As these ceremonies continue through the year, we’ll include the link to the news releases announcing the list of graduates at each campus.
          •  Fort Leonard Wood (Mo.) Campus

Continuing Education Certificate Courses in Digital Forensics and Intelligence Analysis Available

Park University’s Office of Continuing Education is offering a pair of five-week online certificate courses starting the week of Nov. 5 that will focus on digital forensics and intelligence analysis. The digital forensics certificate course, Identification, Collection and Preservation of Digital Forensic Evidence, introduces techniques and provides practical examples and activities. This course will meet on five consecutive Wednesdays at 6 p.m. (Central time) beginning Nov. 7. The intelligence analysis certificate course, Future Issues and Global Trends in National Security and Intelligence, will discuss issues such as climate change, demographic change, migration patterns, catastrophic events and globalization. This course will meet on five consecutive Mondays at 6 p.m. (Central time) beginning Nov. 5.

Registration for each course is $749. The deadline to register and to complete payment is Thursday, Nov. 1. To register or for more information, visit park.edu/academics/continuing-education/, or contact Wakisha Briggs, director of continuing education, at wakisha.briggs@park.edu / (816) 584-6859.

University Recognizes Employees at Longevity Awards

Park University honored staff and faculty who reached milestone service anniversaries between Aug. 1, 2017, and July 31, 2018, during a ceremony on Sept. 26 on the Parkville Campus. Sixty-five employees were recognized, combining for 695 years of service to Park. Four employees were honored with special recognition — those with 25 or more years of service. View a list of all employees recognized at park.edu/news/longevity-awards-2018/.

Exhibit in University Archives Showcases Copley-Thaw Hall Time Capsule

A special exhibit in the Francis Fishburn Archives and Special Collections on Park University’s Parkville Campus will be on display through the end of May 2019. The exhibit includes artifacts that were pulled from the Copley-Thaw Hall cornerstone/time capsule as part of Park’s recent Homecoming Weekend 2018 festivities, coinciding with the building’s 100th anniversary. The exhibit is located outside the Archives space in the 800 Corridor, adjacent to the 6th Street entrance of the Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground.

University to Host Annual Fright Night Event on Oct. 25

Fright Night, Park University’s annual Halloween celebration, will be held Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Copley Quad residence hall on the University’s Parkville 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. More than 25 Park student organizations, 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. For more information, contact Karie Fields, director of residence life, at karie.fields@park.edu or (816) 584-7401.

Volunteers Requested for Heart of America Stand Down

Park University’s Department of Military and Veteran Student Services, home of the Park Global Warrior Center, is looking for volunteers to support Kansas City’s homeless veterans during the region’s next Heart of America Stand Down event on Friday, Nov. 2, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. Park faculty, staff and students will meet at the Herr House parking lot on the Parkville Campus at 6:15 a.m. to convoy to the event.

The Heart of America Stand Down brings together community service groups and organizations from the Kansas City area to provide assistance and help rid the barriers that prevent homeless veterans from re-entering society as engaged, productive citizens and live more fulfilling lives. Assistance offered includes medical, substance abuse, legal issues, taxes, housing and utility assistance, family counseling, spiritual, mentorships, educational and employment opportunities, and haircuts. Approximately 500 veterans and dependents are planned to participate.

Those interested in volunteering can sign up here or contact Sarah Weygand, assistant director of military and veteran student services, at sweygand@park.edu or (816) 584-6544. In addition, the PGWC is collecting donations of men’s and women’s winter clothing, including hats, coats and gloves, new underwear/undershirts, socks, deodorant and other various toiletries. Donations can be dropped off in the Park Global Warrior Center on the first floor of Thompson Commons on the Parkville Campus at any time before the event. For additional information about the Heart of America Stand Down, visit kcstanddown.org.

Parkville Symphonic Band Concert to Feature Premier of Piece by Park Aluma

On Sunday, Nov. 4, the Parkville (Mo.) Symphonic Band will hold its fall concert at Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on Park University’s Parkville Campus, starting at 3 p.m. Admission is free, but donations for Park’s Pirate Pantry will be accepted. The concert will feature a never-before-performed arrangement written for a Park music class by Kathryn Little in 1960, the same year she graduated from Park. The original (and only) hand-written copy was found last year in a collection of old music that was slated to be recycled. It may have been lost forever, but the exceptional calligraphy of the music caught the attention of PSB music director Steve Berg. The arrangement is a transcription for concert band of the third movement of Francis Poulenc’s piece for piano, “Mouvements Perpètuels,” and is the inspiration for the concert’s theme, Forgotten Gems.

Park to Host Session of KC Peacebuilding Conference

Park University’s Center for Global Peace Journalism will host the second day of the three-day Greater Kansas City Peacebuilding Conference on Friday, Oct. 26, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Park Distance Learning Conference Center on the University’s Parkville Campus. The theme for Park’s portion of the conference will be on “Radio as an Effective Peacebuilding Tool: Achievements from Africa and Americas.” Steve Youngblood, associate professor of communication arts and director of the CGPJ will present a session on “Radio and Peace in East Africa (Uganda and South Sudan).” Youngblood will also present on the final day of the conference, Saturday, Oct. 27, in Overland Park, Kan., including a session on “Peacebuilding Achievement: Measuring the Unmeasurable?” and an introductory/information session on the Greater Kansas City Peacebuilding Consortium. Admission to the conference is free, but registration is requested. For complete information about the conference and to register, visit jccc.edu/conferences/peacebuilding/.

Faculty, Staff, Student News

Amber Dailey-Hebert, Ph.D., professor of adult and organizational learning and director of the Faculty Center for Innovation, co-authored an article that was published in the September issue of the International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. The article, “How Do Virtual Teams Collaborate in Online Learning Tasks in a MOOC?” The study explored how nearly 3,000 participants worked in virtual teams, using a problem-based learning philosophy to collaborate in online learning tasks in the context of a nine-week massive open online course.

A short story written by Glenn Lester, assistant professor of English, was published in the literary journal, Barrelhouse. In “I Was Offered a Kingdom,” a fable-like short story, an autocrat attempts to exert control over a kingdom only a few inches tall, only to find his plans stymied by time, fate, industry, pollution, an ill-considered war, his own avarice and the kingdom’s citizens themselves.

Two Park faculty members presented papers at the Marketing Management Association’s Fall Educators Conference, Sept. 19-21 in Kansas City, Mo. Hank Roehrich, Ph.D., associate professor of management and marketing, and program coordinator of logistics and management, (along with his wife, Julie Grabanski, Ph.D.), presented their paper “Scholastic Voyage: A Study of Active Teaching Techniques Emphasizing Student Engagement” and a paper they co-authored on “Establishing Civility in a Global Classroom that Spans Generations. Lacey Finley, Ph.D., assistant professor of business communication, co-presented the paper “Teaching Techniques and Program Enhancements in Online Business Courses. Both papers can be read here.

Park in the News

Jayme Uden, Ed.D., associate vice president and dean of students, was interviewed for a story that aired on KCTV in Kansas City on Sept. 26 related to a new app, JDoe, that allows users to report sexual assaults anonymously.

Matt Harris, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for a story that aired on WDAF-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 26 related to the differences in how attitudes have evolved/changed over the years in sexual harassment accusations between Christine Blasey Ford today and Anita Hill in 1991.

Harris and Scott McRuer, chair Park University’s Board of Trustees, were interviewed for a story that aired on KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 26 related to a report that Frank White, Jackson County, Mo., executive and his wife haven’t paid federal income taxes in three of the past four years and owe the IRS thousands of dollars.

Harris appeared on KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Sept. 27 for a live, on-set interview following the hearing for now U.S. Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh to discuss the political climate prior to the upcoming mid-term elections.

Harris was also interviewed for a story on KSHB-TV on Sept. 27 related to the announcement that President Donald Trump would be visiting Topeka, Kan., on Oct. 6 for a rally in support of Kris Kobach, Republican candidate for Kansas governor.

On Oct. 3, Harris was interviewed by both KCTV and KSHB-TV in Kansas City for different stories. The KCTV story was related to Kansas City, Mo., mayoral candidate Jason Kander’s announcement that he would be refunding campaign donations after deciding to drop out of the race for health reasons (Rudy Harper, ’12, interviewed Harris for the story). The KSHB-TV story was about the FAA Reauthorization Act, which includes provisions for more leg room on flights.

On Oct. 10, Harris was interviewed by KSHB-TV in Kansas City for a story related to the increase in the number of registered voters and women on the ballot in Missouri.

On Oct. 15, Harris was interviewed by WDAF-TV in Kansas City for a story related to campaign signs being vandalized or stolen from an area suburb.

Sarah Hopkins-Chery, ’07, ’09, who was recognized by the Merced (Calif.) Sun-Star  as a 2018 “20 Under 40” honoree during an event on Oct. 3, was featured in the newspaper on Oct. 4. Hopkins-Chery is the women’s basketball head coach at the University of California, Merced.

Park University was featured in the Kansas City Business Journal’s “Graduate Programs: A Guide to Continuing Education” special section on Oct. 5.

Kay Barnes, senior director for university engagement, was quoted as part of The Kansas City Star’s “Influencer Series” reports on Oct. 8 which focused whether redistricting favors a party and Oct. 15 which focused on medical marijuana.

Steve Bell, Ph.D., J.D., professor of economics, was interviewed for stories that aired on KMBZ-FM in Kansas City on Oct. 8 related to news that some national retailers announced plans to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Park University’s River Read Children’s Literature Festival received media coverage as WDAF-TV did a pair of live shots from the Parkville Campus on Oct. 9. Kathy Howe, Ph.D., assistant professor of literacy education and director of the Watson Literacy Center, and Debra McArthur, director of academic support services and one of the presenting authors at the event, were both interviewed. A story about the Festival also appeared in the Platte County (Mo.) Landmark on Oct. 10, with both Howe and McArthur quoted.

Park University was featured as part of stories posted on Military.com on Oct. 9, the Baltimore Post-Examiner on Oct. 10 and the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette on Oct. 15 related to experts reviewing if racism played a role in World War I troops being denied the Medal of Honor. Tim Westcott, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Education and Health Professions, associate professor of history and associate university archivist, was quoted in the stories.

Park University’s women’s volleyball team was featured in a story on WDAF-TV in Kansas City on Oct. 9. Players Danna Gomes, Nada Meawad and Maren Roper were interviewed, along with head coach Mike Talamantes.

Feature stories about Mark Murdock, ’85, being appointed the director of the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, appeared in the Cincinnati Business Courier on Oct. 15 and The Highland County (Ohio) Press on Oct. 12. Murdock will become chief executive of the hospital on Oct. 28.

John Hamilton, Ph.D., chair and associate professor of criminal justice administration, was interviewed by KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Oct. 17 for a story related to challenges police faced during a manhunt following a shooting.

Park University received the following rankings from SR Education Group: 2019 Best Online Colleges Offering Bachelor’s in Law Enforcement Degrees, No. 1; 2019 Best Online Colleges Offering Bachelor’s in Marketing Degrees, No. 2; 2019 Best Online Colleges Offering Bachelor’s in Communications Degrees, No. 3; 2019 Best Online Colleges for a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, No. 7; 2019 Most Affordable Online Law Enforcement Degrees, No. 7 (tie); 2019 Most Affordable Homeland Security Degrees Online, No. 10; 2019 Best Online Colleges Offering Bachelor’s in Homeland Security Degrees, No. 11; 2019 Most Affordable Online Computer Science Degrees, No. 14; 2019 Best Online Colleges Offering Bachelor’s in Computer Science Degrees, No. 15; 2019 Most Affordable Online Public Administration Degrees, No. 15; 2019 Most Affordable Online Master’s in Human Resources, No. 17; 2019 Most Affordable Online Supply Chain Management Degrees, No. 17; 2019 Most Affordable Online Education Degrees, No. 20; 2019 Best Online Colleges for a Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, No. 24; 2019 Most Affordable Online Master’s in Communications, No. 24; 2019 Most Affordable Online Colleges for MPA Degrees, No. 25

Upcoming Events

(All events are Central time)
          •  October 23 — Pirate Pantry Grand Opening, 10 a.m., Intramural and Recreational Fieldhouse (Labor Hall)
          •  October 25 — Blood Drive, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Intramural and Recreational Fieldhouse (Labor Hall)
          •  October 25 — Fright Night, 6-8 p.m., Copley Quad
          •  October 26 — Greater Kansas City Peacebuilding Conference (Day 2), 1 p.m., Park Distance Learning Conference Center
          •  October 29 — Park University Golf Scramble, 9:30 a.m., The National Golf Club of Kansas City (Rescheduled from Oct. 8)
          •  November 2 — Board of Trustees Meeting, Parkville Campus
          •  November 3 — Defense Supply Center Columbus (Ohio) Campus Commencement, 9 a.m., Ohio History Connection
          •  November 4 — Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio) Campus Commencement, 2 p.m., Hope Hotel and Richard C. Holbrooke Conference Center
          •  November 4 — Parkville Symphonic Band Concert, 3 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
          •  November 8 — Park University Gilbert Grand Opening Celebration, 6 p.m., Gilbert Campus
          •  November 11 — Northland Community Choir Concert, 3 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
          •  November 12 — Veterans Day Holiday (observed; all University offices closed nationwide, Parkville Daytime classes cancelled; Fall II classes held as scheduled)
          •  November 13 — A Conversation with Syed Jamal, 1 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
          •  November 16 — International Festival: The World Underground, 5-7:30 p.m., Park Avenue (Mabee Learning Center/Academic Underground)
          •  November 16 — International Center for Music Concert: ICM Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
          •  November 22-23 — Thanksgiving Holiday (all University offices closed nationwide; Parkville Daytime classes cancelled; Fall II classes held as scheduled)
          •  November 26 — Year of Engagement Documentary Series: “Inventing Tomorrow,” 6 p.m., David Theater (Alumni Hall)
          •  December 7 — Charleston (S.C.) Air Force Base Campus Commencement, noon, Education Center Auditorium
          •  December 7 — International Student Sash Ceremony, 5 p.m., David Theater (Alumni Hall)
          •  December 8 — Kansas City Area December Commencement, 10 a.m., Community of Christ Auditorium, Independence, Mo.
          •  December 9 — Fall Semester / Fall II Classes End
          •  December 24-25 — Christmas Holiday (all University offices closed)

Note: To view a comprehensive schedule for all events, including athletics and student life, visit park.edu/calendars/park-events-calendar.html.

Park University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Park University is a private, non-profit, institution of higher learning since 1875.