Dr. Xiaofen Chen, Associate Professor of Economics, has been awarded a Japan Studies Institute (JSI) Fellowship by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.  The Fellowship supports the participation in the JSI at San Diego State University on Incorporating Japanese Studies into the Undergraduate Curriculum in Summer 2012.

The Truman Debate Team won the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Championship for the first time in school history, as well as having two debaters in the top four.  Truman brought down reigning champions, Western Kentucky University, which has won a total of eight consecutive championship titles.

The Speech and Debate Teams competed in the 42nd National Forensices Association National Championship Tournament in Athens, Ohio, from April 19-23, 2012.  Approximately 65 schools from all over the nation had representatives qualify to compete in individual events, and 18 schools competed in debate.  Truman found success in both, advancing four debaters to elinination rounds as well as one individual events competitor.  The Truman team finished sixth in Individual Events.

The Truman Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Delta of Missouri, initiated 42 students as Members in Course on April 15.  Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest liberal arts and sciences honor society.  Truman’s chapter, only the fourth in Missouri, was installed in 2001.

Inductees from the School of Social and Cultural Studies include:

Nicole Lee Boyer, Psychology

Rachel Nelle Cook, Philosophy & Religion

Rachel Anne Dicke, Political Science

Alec Ian Dutcher, Psychology

Harold Brandon Eychaner, Psychology

Daniel Matthew Gilmore, Philosophy & Religion

Nathan Jeffrey Hardy, Philosophy & Religion

Kiera Lauren Hulsey, Society & Environment

Kerry Christine Lee, Psychology

Conner Joseph Stangler, History

Congratulations to all our new inductees!

During 2012-2013, Truman history professor Daniel Mandell will focus on research and writing at the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) in Worchester, Mass., thanks to a long-term fellowship awarded by the AAS and the National Endowment for the Humanities.  He will also spend a week as a visiting scholar at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies.  Mandell’s project, which began with his sabbatical in 2007, is a study of changing concepts of equality in America.

The AAS, founded 200 years ago, is one of the oldest research libraries in the United States, with one of the most complete holdings of materials published in America before 1850.  The NEH provides much of the funding for the Society to give three long-term research fellowships every year to scholars who apply on an international competitive basis.  Mandell will spend most of his time at the Society reading relevant children’s literature, newspapers, pamphlets, and periodicals published between 1790 and 1850,.  He also expects to write large segments of the book manuscript, which will examine questions of class and ideas of equality from 1600 through 1880.

The Princeton Institute for Advanced Studies, founded in 1930, is one of the world’s foremost centers for groundbreaking theoretical science and humanities research, with closely linked Schools of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Historical Studies.  Every year each of the Schools brings together scholars to conduct and share research on aspects of a broad topic; Mandell will be participating in the School of Social Studies, which this coming year will focus on the theme of “Economics and Politics.”

Margaret Edwards has joined the Political Science faculty beginning in Fall 2012.  Professor Edwards is a doctoral candidate at the University of New Mexico with broad expertise in Comparative Politics, International Politics, Methodology, Political Parties, Institutions, and Regime Change, in addition to her in-depth knowledge of Latin America. 

Professor Edwards has previously been awarded a Fulbright Grant to study in Argentina, been an Americas Program Intern at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and has spent 15 months doing field work in Ecuador and Argentina.

Welcome to Truman!

Congratulations to the following students from the School of Social & Cultural Studies who will be recognized on May 4:

• Anthropology – Rudolf Cesaretti
• Communication: Journalism – Paul Bischoff
• Public Communication – Krista Crider
• Communication Studies – Ashley Bracken
• Economics – Michael Dial
• History – Melissa Kapitan
• Justice Systems – Sarah Warner
• Philosophy & Religion — Nathan Hardy
• Political Science – Adam Crews
• Psychology – Jennifer Pearlstein
• Sociology–  Zachary Palmer
• General George C. Marshall ROTC Award – John Heisler

Michael Beschloss, the award-winning historian and author, will speak at 8:00 p.m. on April 14 in Baldwin Auditorium as part of the Holman Family Distinguished Speaker Series.

Beschloss serves as the NBC News Presidential historian and he appears regularly on “Meet the Press”, the “Today” program, and “PBS NewsHour”.  The award-winning historian and author of nine books has been described by Newsweek as “the nation’s leading Presidential historian”.

Beschloss will speak about his best-selling book “Presidential Courage:  Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989″.  He describes crucial times when courageous presidents took risks and overcame obstacles to dramatically change the future of the United States.

A natural storyteller, Beschloss details the outstanding traits of past presidents and then compares them to the current crop of presidential candidates for an insightful glance into America’s political future.  He also uses what he has discovered about presidential courage to provide leadership lessons for all of us.

This will be the first installment of the Holman Family Distinguished Speaker Series, named in honor of Squire Paul and Meeda (Daniel) Holman by their children to honor their parents’ long association with Truman.  It is funded through an endowment with the Truman State University Foundation.

Free tickets may be picked up at the Student Union Information Desk or the Public Relations Office in McClain Hall 202.  Tickets may also be picked up at Edna Campbells in downtown Kirksville or the Kirksville High School.  For more information on how to obtain tickets, e-mail pr@truman.edu or call 785-4016.

The Truman Speech and Debate Team traveled to Kansas City the weekend of March 24-25 to compete against 68 other universities in the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament.  Pi Kappa Delta is the speech and debate fraternal organization to which Truman belongs and includes teams from all over the nation.

Senior Andrew Grojean, a Communication major from Blue Springs, MO, brought home five individual awards, including seventh place overall out of approximately 400 competitors.  Grojean also placed fourth in Informative Speaking out of 86 competitors and sixth in Impromptu Speaking out of 198 competitors.  Grojean advanced to the quarterfinal round of Duo Interpretation with his partner, sophomore A. J. Taula, a Communication and Pre-Education/Secondary Education double major from Independence, MO.  Grojean also made it to quarterfinals in Dramatic Interpretation.

Sophomore Kristen Wright, an English major from Liberty, MO, made the National Final Round of Extemporaneous Speaking, placing fifth out of 126 competitors.

Taula had a second duo with sophomore partner Arielle Long-Seabra, a Business Administration and Accounting double major from Blue Springs, MO, that made it to the quarterfinal round, while Long-Seabra also quarterfinaled her Dramatic Interpretation.

Freshman Alex Eichstadt, an Economics major from Blue Springs, MO, and Kate Pillen, a Communication major from Rochelle, IL, were given Excellent Awards–meaning they placed in the top 30 percent of the field in an event.  Pillen earned Excellent Awards in both Prose Interpretation and Poetry Interpretation while Eichstadt earned his in Extemporaneous Speaking.

The Team also had success in open Lincoln-Douglas debate.  Wright made the semifinal round of debate while also taking home a sixth-place Speaker Award.  Sophomore Myra Milam, a Communication Disorders major from Elkland, MO, advanced to the quarterfinal round and earned a fifth-place Speaker Award.  Sophomore Nick Gorman, an Economics and Mathematics double major from Kansas City, MO, made it to the octofinal round and was the ninth-place speaker.  Freshman Maddie Ebert, a Polticial Science major from Omaha, NE, also advanced to the octofinal round.

“This was a tough tournmanet in intself, and a great warm up for the upcoming National Forensics Association National Championship Tournament in April,” commented Director of Forensics Kristi Scholten.  This tournament brought the Team’s regular season to a close.

The National Championship Tournament will take place at Ohio University, April 19-23.  The Team has qualified 22 individual events entries and six debate entries for the Tournament.  For more information about the team, visit forensics.truman.edu.

Connor Strangler, a junior English and History double major from Columbia, MO, was recently awarded a national competitive scholarship of up to $30,000 from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.  This year, the Foundation received 587 applications from 272 colleges.  Only about 65 scholarships are awarded annually.

Strangler, who will graduate from Truman in May, 2013, tentatively plans to pursue a joint juris doctorate/master’s in Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison followed by a Ph.D. in Politics and Social Policy at Princeton University.  He credits Truman’s broad curriculum and focus on personal education, as well as service-learning experiences, with helping him secure this scholarship.

“Had I gone to a larger university, or one that placed less of an emphasis on civic commitment, I would not have had the same opportunities,” Strangler said.  “The faculty, staff, and administrators devote so much of their time to developing leaders and broadening the intellectual capabilities and, especially, the bold imagination of their students.  Truman is interested in more than producing efficient professionals; they are interested in producing honest citizens, ones that have the chance to effect change.”

The Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., provides funding to students pursuing graduate degrees in public service fields.  The Foundation also provides assistance with career counseling, internship placement, graduate school admissions, and professional development.  Scholars are invited to participate in a number of programs, including Truman Scholar Leadership Week, The Summer Institute, and The Truman-Albright Fellows Program.