October Accomplishments

Presentations

Kaye Adkins, Professor of English, presented a paper, "Technical Communication Tools: Practice and the Technical Communication Classroom” at the annual international conference of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Adkins is Treasurer for the organization.

Robert Bergland, professor of journalism, Rachele Kanigel and MWSU students David Hon and Heather Heater presented the paper “Size Matters: The Impact of Frequency and Enrollment on College Newpaper Websites” at the national College Media Convention in New Orleans, LA.

Eduardo Castilla-Ortiz, Assistant Professor of Spanish, presented a paper, "Authentic and Natural Identity and the Gay Subject, humor in the novel Contra Natura”  at the Annual Conference of the International Society for Luso-Hispanic Humor Studies (ISLHHS). 

Michael Charlton, Assistant Professor of English, presented "Teaching Technical Communication Tools Without Letting Them Take Over the Classroom" at the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication in Cincinnati, OH. 

Mary Dockery, Instructor of English, read her poetry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Week Without Violence event: Women Write Resistances: Poets Resist Gender Violence.

Susie Hennessy, Professor of French, presented "The Point of No Return: Consumption and Identity in Nana and La Curée at the Nineteenth-Century French Studies Colloquium in Richmond, VA.

Publications

Kaye Adkins, Professor of English, has published a guest editorial, "Technical Communication and the Common Core: Explanatory and Informational Texts for College and Career Readiness" in the Autumn 2013 issue of Programmatic Perspectives, the journal of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication.  

Mary Dockery, Instructor of English, published two poems (“Faithful” and “It’s Only 10 AM” in Counterexample Poetics, two poems ("Woman Discovers Creepy Ex Living in Attic" and "Bury") in The Poetic Pinup Revue, and two poems (“The Widow” and “Alone Before His Birth”) in I-70 Review.

Susie Hennessy, Professor of French, published a review of the book "La Pyramide des Souffrances dans La Joie de vivre d'Emile Zola" appeared in the fall issue of Nineteenth- Century French Studies.

Susan Martens, Assistant Professor of English, has published "Dear New Orleans" in the current issue of Louisiana Literature (vol. 30, issue 1).

Miguel Rivera-Taupier, Assistant Professor of Spanish, has published and encyclopedia entry: "Alan Pauls." The Contemporary Spanish-American Novel. Bolaño and After. Ed. Will H. Corral, Juan E. De Castro and Nicholas Birns. New York: Bloomsbury, 2003. 380-384.

Prairie Lands Activities

Prairie Lands Writing Project, with support from the Missouri Western Foundation, hosted 200 high school students and twenty teachers from fourteen area schools for High School Writing Day on October 23, 2013. This year’s theme, Going for the Gold, urged student writers to submit works to the Missouri Writing Region of the Scholastic Writing Awards Contest. Prairie Lands Writing Project serves as the regional coordinator for the contest.

Missouri Western faculty members presenting workshops included:  Mary Dockery, Michael Charlton, Bill Church, Mike Cadden, Susan Martens, Cynthia Bartels, Dana Andrews, and Tom Pankiewicz.  The following areas secondary teachers and Prairie Lands Teacher Consultants also offered workshops:  Vickey Meyer, Central High School, Janet Jelavich, Maryville High School (retired), Dasha Davis, Savannah High School, and Tia Frahm, Bode Middle School. 

Dr. Jane Frick, Tom Pankiewicz, both of Missouri Western, Kathy Miller of West Platte High School and Lynn Tushaus, Savannah Middle School (retired) presented a several professional development workshops at the Breckenridge, Braymer and Hamilton School Districts as part of the i3 College Ready Writers Program.  These workshops included district-wide presentations on using mentor texts and argumentative writing, model lessons in English and Science classrooms, and book-study conversations.

Dr. Maridella Carter, Blue Springs School District, led an Essential Questions workshop at Penney High School, Hamilton for i3 College Ready Writer Program teacher-teams from Braymer, Breckenridge, and Hamilton School Districts on October 12 and 26. Each team created and published an Essential Questions Inquiry Unit.  Dr. Jane Frick, Tom Pankiewicz, Susan Martens, all of Missouri Western, and Kathy Miller of West Platte also participated in the weekend professional development.

Tom Pankiewicz, Missouri Western English instructor and Prairie Lands Writing Project co-director, led a pair of Flash Fiction writing workshop at the Penney High School Writing Day on October 4 in Hamilton, Missouri. Young Adult author Chris Crutcher delivered the keynote address.

Terri McAvoy, Prairie Lands teacher consultant and retired elementary teacher, presented two-days of model lessons in grades 3, 4 and 5 at Pickett Elementary School in St. Joseph on October 17 and 18 as part of Prairie Lands SEED 2 Professional Development in a High-Need Elementary School Grant.