Newsmakers

Lisa Slavens, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks, recently graduated from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Leadership Missouri program. The 2007 class featured 31 current and emerging leaders in Missouri, who completed the program to enhance their leadership skills and deepen their knowledge of challenges and issues facing the state.

State Sen. Norma Champion received the Missouri Court Appointed Special Advocates Association’s 2007 Legislative Award. The award commended Champion’s support of legislation that helps fund CASA programs throughout the state. CASA programs train community volunteers to speak for the best interests of abused and neglected children.

The Missouri Adoption and Foster Care Coalition recognized Attorney General Jay Nixon for the creation of his free consumer publication, “Welcome Home.” The publication describes the legal, financial and emotional aspects of adopting a child in Missouri. “Welcome Home” was published in July by Nixon’s office.

The Doula Foundation of Mid-America received three grants totaling $14,000 in support of its pre- and post-natal programs for at-risk pregnant women. The Ozarks Health Advocacy Foundation gave $12,000, O’Reilly Auto Parts gave $1,000 and the Musgrave Foundation gave $1,000. The Doula Foundation provides support to pregnant women in hopes of reducing the amount of child abuse and neglect in the area.

Education

Evangel University alumni Eloise Thomas and Geoffrey Sutton will have an article published in the Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health. “Religious Leadership Failure: Forgiveness, Apology and Restitution” includes research on forgiveness within church communities. Thomas earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Evangel in 2006 and is a psychology faculty member at Ozarks Technical Community College. Sutton is a 1972 Evangel alumnus. He has a doctorate in psychology from University of Missouri and has taught at Evangel since 2001.

Two Evangel students recently received scholarships for the 2007-08 school year. Senior Jordan Izumi received a $1,000 Enterprise Rent-A-Car Minority Scholarship. He is a business management major from Kaneohe, Hawaii. Freshman Joanna Van Ronk received a $1,500 A.G. Edwards Scholarship. Van Ronk is a business management major from Adna, Wash.

Carol Anne Costabile-Heming, associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Missouri State University, was elected vice president of the American Association of Teachers of German. AATG is a national organization comprised of 5,500 members who teach German at all levels of education. Costabile-Heming will serve two years as vice president followed by two years as president of the organization.

MSU associate biology professor Dr. Alexander Wait received an $8,000 grant from the National Parks Conservation Association for the “Natural Resource Assessment of Wilson Creek National Battlefield and Pea Ridge National Military Park.” The goal of the assessment is to help policy-makers and the National Park Service improve conditions of national parks.

The Southwest Baptist University speech and debate team competed in the Pi Kappa Delta Bi-Province Tournament hosted by John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark. The team won overall first place team sweepstakes by one point. A total of 10 teams from six states were entered in the speech and debate events.[[In-content Ad]]