Overheard

Under the authority of the Higher Learning Commission, Missouri State University can now offer a doctorate in physical therapy degree.

The DPT, a clinical degree, will be the second stand-alone doctorate offered at MSU; the other is in audiology. MSU is one of two public universities in Missouri to offer the DPT, according to an MSU news release.

MSU’s physical therapy program began in 1998 and accepts as many as 30 students annually. It takes about three years to complete.

Current third-year physical therapy students will be required to complete an additional clinical internship and two advanced elective courses beyond the master of physical therapy coursework to graduate with the DPT.

Wish Come True

Make-A-Wish Foundation – with its mission of granting wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions – is asking people to donate unused airline miles.

The nonprofit organization uses airline travel for more than half of the wishes it grants, and that travel adds up to 2.5 billion miles every year, according to a news release.

Most major airlines take part in the donation program, including American, United, Delta, Northwest, US Airways, Continental, AirTran and British Airways, according to the organization. Visit www.wish.org and go to the “Give Wings To A Wish” section for more information.

Collecting Christmas trees

For the 21st straight year, Bass Pro Shops will collect discarded Christmas trees to be used as fish habitat by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Christmas trees, with stands and decorations removed, can be taken to the fenced area at the northwest part of the parking lot at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, 1935 S. Campbell Ave. Collection times are noon–6 p.m. Dec. 26–Jan. 1.

The Ozarks Trail Council Boy Scouts Wa-Sha-She Lodge Order of the Arrow will be manning the collection point. The scouts will collect a mandatory donation of at least $2 for their assistance, and trees can’t be dropped off without making a donation.

Slice of Nice

A team of 10 members and three faculty representatives of Evangel University’s Students in Free Enterprise program will leave Dec. 30 for South Africa, where they’ll teach economic and hygiene principles and help an orphanage install a water purification system.

The group, which will return Jan. 11, will attend business presentations and training and distribute “The Book of Hope” to villages near Rustenburg, South Africa.

Convoy of Hope officials taught five Evangel students how to assemble water purification systems. The students will, in turn, train village representatives to build filtration systems.

Evangel SIFE teams annually participate in international business study trips. The students raised $3,000 apiece for this voyage.[[In-content Ad]]