February 25, 2003

News from Denver

News from Athletics

News from Sarasota

News from Leiden

News from Ozarks

Featured Faculty

Kampus Kudos

St. Louis Calendar Highlight

Employees of the Month

New Employees

News from Denver

COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY PROVIDES SATELLITE SIMULATION WORKSTATIONS

The Harris Corporation has made a long-term loan of valuable satellite-control hardware and software to the Denver Metro Campus. The state-of-the-art equipment will make it possible for students in the Space Systems Operations Management program to get hands-on flight simulation experience. Using the powerful tools, students will learn to operate satellites and perform a variety of complex commanding operations. The loan has an estimated value of a half million dollars.

The Harris Corporation, an international communications equipment company, based in Melbourne, Fla., has delivered and configured eight workstations loaded with the latest release of its OS/COMET® software to Denver’s Space Systems Lab. The software has been integrated with SL Corporation’s Graphical Modeling System (SL-GMS), which provides high-performance graphic displays of spacecraft subsystems.
William C. Hoffman, director, Space Systems, says the current loan agreement continues Harris’ longstanding commitment to Webster’s Space program. The loan arrangement, he notes, has advantages. "Harris still owns the equipment and when it breaks they have replaced it in a timely manner to minimize disruption to our course schedules."

Bruce Buckley, director of the Harris Technical Services Corporation’s Information Technology and Integration Systems Division, says the company "is proud to be a space industry partner in Webster University’s Space Systems Operations curriculum. HTSC strongly believes that supporting education focused on the space industry strengthens our country and economy."

Trip Carter, the State of Colorado’s space advocate, who is responsible for maintaining and strengthening Colorado’s leadership in space, says, "Webster University’s Space Systems Operations Management curriculum and the willingness of companies like Harris to invest in workforce development serve to further strengthen Colorado’s presence in the satellite command and control marketplace." Carter goes on to say that the partnership "is a cost-effective means of ensuring a supply of qualified aerospace professionals for Colorado’s future."

Barbara Banks, senior director, Denver Metro Campus, gives much credit to Bill Hoffman for raising awareness about Webster's Space program. She says, "Bill has done more to put our name out there than anyone has ever done before. He is an inspiring, creative entrepreneur and always has Webster's best interest first and foremost in any thing he does for us. We are so fortunate to have him at Webster University."

Bill says that with the new, updated software "students will not just study the theory of orbital mechanics, space environment, and the ground and space operations segments, but actually have a chance to get firsthand knowledge of the complexity of managing a constellation of multimillion-dollar satellites." These skills are in demand from a growing commercial space industry and have been attainable only through military technical training or space contractor operations facilities before the Webster University/Harris Corporation collaboration. Through this industry/academia collaboration, Webster now has the tools to prepare its graduates with the knowledge and hands-on experience that are in high demand by defense agencies, government contractors, and private commercial space corporations operating communications and research."

News from Athletics

BASEBALL TEAM'S HOME OPENER AT NEW STADIUM

The Gorlok men’s baseball team begins a new season at a new stadium. This year the team will play at the GMC Stadium, located in Sauget, Ill. Home to the Gateway Grizzlies, a minor league team coached by former Cardinal pitcher Danny Cox, the $6.6 million stadium, which was completed a year ago, seats 5,000. There’ll be plenty of room for Gorlok fans at the home opener against Eureka College on Sunday, March 1, at noon. Admission is free.

Merry Graf, sports information coordinator, says, "Playing at GMC gives the team a great opportunity to play at a top-notch facility." Marty Hunsucker, the Gorlok coach, negotiated the deal. In the past, the team has played at nearby Shrewsbury Park.

Looking ahead to the new season, Marty says, "If we are mentally tough, work hard, and focus on getting better everyday, we should be able to accomplish the goals we have established. If we do that, everything else will take care of itself."

Later in the season the team will travel to Ft. Pierce, Fla., for spring training and the opportunity to compete against other teams from throughout the United States. They will also play a game at T.R. Hughes Ballpark, in St. Charles, on March 30, against Earlham College.

News from Sarasota

FROM DEBRA KILPATRICK, SITE MANAGER

The Sarasota, Fla., Metro Campus has adopted a four-mile stretch of highway as part of the "Keep Sarasota Beautiful" campaign. The faculty and staff will clean up the highway 3–4 times a year. In recognition of the campus’ efforts, the Florida Department of Transportation provided the University with two "Adopt-A-Highway" signs, recognizing Webster University as one of the proud community sponsors.

News from Leiden

MAGAZINE HIGHLY RANKS WEBSTER

Intermediair, a Dutch magazine, ranks Webster eighth in its annual ranking of 20 M.B.A. programs in the Netherlands. In addition, the magazine rated the University first in value.

News from Ozarks

FROM LAURA WARD, DIRECTOR

Webster mounted an attractive display at the sixth biannual meeting of the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership.

More than 85 community, business, and education leaders, representing 10 counties and 60 cities, attended the sixth biannual meeting of the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership in Marshfield, Mo., on October 30, 2002. The theme for the meeting was "Looking to the Future." Webster University and Business Brokers Unlimited co-sponsored the meeting in which participants were given an update on the progress of the partnership, the future of economic development, workforce and transportation issues, and legislative initiatives that will impact the region in 2003.

The Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership is a voluntary organization comprised of cities, counties and chambers of commerce representing local community and business leaders from a 10-county area. The partnership is committed to the region’s economic development, believing it to be critical to the long-term economic and social well being of the Ozarks. This commitment is built on protecting and reinforcing individual identities through regional cooperation. For more information on the partnership and for more information about the meeting, go to www.ozarkspartnership.com.

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Featured Faculty

Prize-winning Pianist Performs

Stephen Porter, adjunct professor of Music and winner of a $750 annual award from the St. Louis’ Artist Presentation Society, performed at Unity Christ Church to an audience of almost 200 earlier this month. The performance, which included works by Schubert, Ravel, Haydn and Bach, was also part of Stephen’s prize package. The review of the performance in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Feb. 11, 2003) said the concert "brought the house to its feet." The reviewer also noted, "Music from three centuries was well-played by a confident artist on a rich-sounding instrument . . . ." The Artist Presentation Society is a nonprofit organization devoted to furthering the careers of talented musicians of professional caliber, living or studying within a 250 mile-radius of St. Louis. Musicians up to and including age 35 are invited to participate in the auditions held each year.

Donald Munday, adjunct professor, Human Resources Development, McConnell AFB, Kan., presented a paper on supporting aircraft workers with partnerships between educational institutions, unions and the business community. Munday made his presentation at the 2002 Connecting Education and Employment conference, which was hosted by the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing. He also discussed the importance of the educational community, business community, unions and state agencies working together on behalf of laid-off aircraft workers at the Mid-America Labor/Management Conference, hosted by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. In addition to his position at Webster, Munday coordinates the Horizons Program at Wichita Area Technical College, for Boeing employees represented by the International Association of Machinists.

Julia Walsh, assistant professor, History, Politics, and Law, delivered a paper, "'No longer a bugaboo to scare white folks’: African Americans in the Urban South Consider Populism in the Jim Crow Era," at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History.

Peter Sargent, dean, Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, was chosen to receive the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Special Citation in Education to recognize his outstanding achievement in the performing arts. The award will be presented at USITT’s Annual Conference and Stage Expo in March.

Eileen Eagan, Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa having tea at Maryhouse, New York City. ©Bill Barrett

Bill Barrett, professor, Electronic and Photographic Media, has had his photograph of Dorothy Day (with Mother Teresa) republished in Dorothy Day: In My Own Words (Liguori Publications). Day was a cofounder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

Frank Powers, faculty coordinator, Fairchild AFB, Wash., published "Second-Career Teachers: Perceptions and Mission in Their New Careers," in International Studies in Sociology of Education (vol. 12, no. 3).

Gerry Tierney, associate professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences, published "Becoming a Participant Observer," in Doing Cultural Anthropology: Projects for Ethnographic Data Collection (Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 2002), and she cowrote "Applied Anthropology," in I’m a People Person: A Guide to Human Service Professions, Michael Richard and William Emener, eds. (Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 2002).

Hong Zhou, assistant professor, Electronic and Photographic Media, wrote and directed the film Night Train, which was presented at the 2002 Saint Louis International Film Festival. Steve Schenkel, professor, Music, composed, performed and recorded the music.

Joseph Dale Fish, adjunct professor, Security Management, Pope AFB, Fayetteville, N.C., has completed his doctorate in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University. Fish is also chief of the Special Security Office, at U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and an Army Reservist teaching leadership and tactics for the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College.

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St. Louis Calendar Highlight

Musical Odyssey

Violet, the latest production from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts, finishes its run at the Emerson Studio Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center this weekend. Catch performances, Feb. 26–March 2, at 7:30 p.m., except Sunday, which will have a 2 p.m. matinee. Set in 1964 during the Civil Rights Movement, Violet is a musical about a young woman who travels from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to Tulsa where she hopes a TV evangelist can heal a scar and make her beautiful. Along the way she gets involved with two handsome soldiers. The show features a toe-tapping score with gospel, rock, country and rhythm and blues music. The show won the New York Drama Critics Award as Best Musical in 1997. Admission is free to Webster faculty and staff. Regular admission is $7 for the general public and $3 for seniors and students. For ticket reservations, call the Fine Arts Hotline at ext. 7128.

For more information on St. Louis events, check the online calendar.

Employees of the Month

February 2003

FROM MARIANNE KIRK, CONTRIBUTOR

Julia Altmann, office manager, Downtown Campus, and Emily Woods, representative, Fort Leavenworth Campus, share the Employee Spotlight Award for February.

According to her nominator, Julia Altmann "has been our rock" at the Downtown Campus during a recent transition when the campus was short staffed for two months. During that period, Julia worked overtime to be sure all office functions were completed. "She has maintained a high standard of operation while attempting to stay upbeat and friendly to our faculty, staff and students," her nominator says.

Julia, who has been with Webster for 10 years, said she was very surprised when she first heard about the award, but "later, it made me feel good that someone cared enough to put in writing that they think I do a good job. … The atmosphere at the Downtown Campus lends itself to a wonderful work environment. The staff and students downtown are terrific. The other staff members even decorated my whole work area to help celebrate this award. It’s nice to work in an environment that appreciates the job I do and me personally."

Julia chose a day off with pay as her prize.

Emily Wood’s nominator describes her as "a very dependable employee and a key contributor to the success of the Fort Leavenworth site." Emily recently processed more than 320 enrollments for the Fall 1 term, resulting in the enrollment of 200 new students. This process involves establishing new student records, processing transcripts, preparing tuition payment transmittals and ordering books for students and faculty. Emily’s nominator also gives her credit for developing a training plan for new staff members.

Emily echoes Julia’s feelings about winning the award, "I was surprised – excited. It’s nice to be recognized for the work that you do. . . . Working for Webster University has been a great experience. It’s been very rewarding knowing that you have helped someone to excel in life." Emily has been with the Fort Leavenworth campus for five years and says she loves wrking there. "Our staff is superb, the faculty members are terrific and the students here are great."

Emily chose the $100 savings bond as her prize.

Employees everywhere are eligible for the monthly Employee Spotlight Award. Using the nomination form is easy!

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New Employees

A warm welcome to the newest members of the Webster family:

Patrick D. Saltarelli, general facilities operation, Facilities Operations, ext. 6904, replaces Kenneth Chambers.

Erin Rivers, department assistant, School of Education, ext. 7097, replaces Joetta Bennett.

Ricky Dannell Walton, general groundskeeper, Facilities Operations, ext. 6904, replaces Timothy Eveker.

Eric Johnson, service clerk, Media Center, ext. 6967, replaces William Duvendack.

Jack Edward Frasure, service clerk, Media Center, ext. 6967, replaces Mark Neighbors.

Raymund Michael Morgan, lab assistant, Ft. Leonard Wood, speed dial #6 014, replaces Cynthia R. Kelley.

To learn more about job opportunities at Webster, go to the Human Resources Jobs site.