Jason Vaughn, director of institutional effectiveness at Southwest Baptist University, was appointed to the Missouri Department of Higher Education Data Council. He is one of two individuals representing the research and data interests of Missouri private higher education institutions.
Sharina Smith, senior director of marketing and communications at Southwest Baptist University, earned the professional certified marketer designation from the American Marketing Association.
Ozarks Technical Community College announced the winners of its 19th annual Excellence in Education Awards. Each honoree is presented with a plaque and a monetary award, made possible by yearly donations from the Turner Family Foundation. Categories and award recipients are: full-time instructor, Cindy Hinds, psychology; adjunct instructor, Dianne Juby, humanities; administrative professional/support staff, Randy Humphrey, who retired in the spring from his post as vice president of academic affairs; clerical support staff, Norma Hedgpeth, secretary to the assistant dean of sciences; and technical/general institutional support staff, Eric Ogan, facilities maintenance technician.
The Foundation for Springfield Public Schools announced its 2010–11 officers and added two members to the board of directors. The officers are: Joseph Reid, of Lathrop & Gage LLP, president; Tracy Barnas, of UMB Bank, president-elect; Beau Barrett, of Kirkpatrick, Phillips & Miller CPAs PC, treasurer; Jana Bachus, community volunteer and former teacher, secretary; and Allen Kunkel, of Jordan Valley Innovation Center, past-president. New board members are Jeff Shore, of Bush, Ramlow and Shore PC; and Steve Nurnberg, of Bevinco.
The finance and general business department in Missouri State University’s College of Business Administration was accepted for registration with Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. Students who complete MSU’s financial planning program are now eligible to sit for the national CFP certification exam.
U.S. News & World Report named College of the Ozarks the No. 7 best regional college in the Midwest. The school has been ranked among U.S. News’ best colleges since 1989. Forbes ranked College of the Ozarks as the No. 235 best college in the U.S. and No. 6 best college buy in the nation.
The Nixa Board of Education received the Education Leadership Team Program of Excellence Award for 2010 from the Missouri School Boards’ Association. The Nixa board has received this honor five times in the last decade and is among the eight boards statewide to earn it this year.
Southwest Baptist, Drury and Evangel universities are among the member schools that will benefit from a $43,200 contribution to The Missouri Colleges Fund. The funds underwrite the UPS Scholars Program, providing each of the 16 member schools with a $2,700 scholarship to be awarded based on financial need to qualified students. The schools also are benefiting from a $16,000 donation to the fund from Novus International Inc., providing a $1,000 scholarship at each school through the Novus International Scholars Program.
Thomas E. Russo, art history professor at Drury University, attended a Sept. 8 reception at the House of Lords – the upper house of the United Kingdom’s parliament, in London, where he was honored for his support of the Lincoln Cathedral. The cathedral, consecrated in 1092, is about 150 miles north of London. Russo was a consultant for the restoration of the cathedral’s 12th-century façade in 1995 and 1996. In the fall of 2000, he presented the cathedral’s annual Bishop Grosseteste Lecture, a fundraiser for its library.
Nixa Public Schools’ early childhood program was named one of the Top 3 in Missouri by the Missouri School Boards’ Association, based on support of child development, innovation, commitment and leadership in the field, and involvement with parents, families and the community. One program from the three finalists will be named Early Childhood Education Program of the Year at the fall MSBA conference.
Alexander Schaeffer, hospitality and restaurant administration major at MSU, received a $3,000 Arthur J. Packard Memorial Scholarship, one of three awarded, from the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation.
Springfield Public Schools met 12 of 14 indicators in the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s preliminary annual performance reports, which are used to determine a school district’s accreditation. Half of the 14 indicators are related to Missouri Assessment Program, or MAP, testing, and the district achieved an additional point for Bonus Map Achievement.
Drury University ranked No. 11 on U.S. News Media Group’s list of best regional universities in the Midwest. Regional universities are defined as those that provide a full range of undergraduate and graduate degrees but few – if any – doctoral programs.
Springfield Public Schools is one of four U.S. school districts named a Scholastic Success Story based on its special education department’s use of Scholastic materials. Using Read 180, a reading intervention program, and System 44, a foundational program, for readers in grades three through 12, the district noted dramatic increases in reading levels. At 14 SPS sites using the programs, all showed improvement, with 48 percent of students gaining one year of reading growth and 30 percent gained two or more years of growth.
Chestnut Labs of Springfield donated 29 microscopes and AC adapters, valued at $1,479, to Springfield’s Bingham Elementary School. Each classroom at the school received a microscope.
Meghan Musy, a 2009 Evangel University graduate and licensed Assemblies of God minister, had an article, “Recitals of the Acts of Got: Israelite and American Pentecostal Testimonies,” published in the summer edition of Encounter: Journal for Pentecostal Ministry.[[In-content Ad]]
A food truck that launched last year rebranded and moved to Metro Eats; automotive repair business Mitchem Tire Co. expanded its Christian County presence; and O’Reilly Build LLC was acquired.
