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Three Great Thinkers and the Treatment of Crime
Curtis R. Blakely, assistant professor of justice systems, and Alice Walkley, a senior justice systems major, had their paper examining the country’s prison system published by the Internet Journal of Criminology. With more than two million inmates in the U.S. prison system, contemporary officials have curtailed their use of treatment programs. This has allowed them to focus needed attention and funds on controlling overcrowded facilities. In their paper “A Physicist, a Philosopher and a Politician: What penologists can learn from Einstein, Kant and Churchill,” Blakely and Walkley contend this has created an imbalance within correctional ideology and practice. To restore this balance, the authors propose the use of specialized prisons.
Under this proposal, some prisons would incapacitate hardened and repeat offenders while other prisons would treat young and impressionable offenders. The key is to keep each group from interacting with the other. Interaction of this kind, it is argued, tends to corrupt the young, impressionable inmates. By separating these two populations, amenable inmates might be rehabilitated at greater rates, reducing both recidivism and operating costs.
In determining the feasibility of their proposal, Blakely and Walkley considered the insights and statements of well known figures such as Albert Einstein, Immanuel Kant, and Winston Churchill. For example, Blakely and Walkley noted that “both Einstein and Kant suggested that creative and innovative thinking can produce immensely rewarding results regardless of the field under consideration,” and “Churchill specifically lobbied for the creation of a specialized prison system.”
Blakely and Walkley’s paper was also submitted upon request to California State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod. It was of interest to the senator since it promises to reduce prison overcrowding and remedy budgetary shortfalls.
VIEW THE PAPER ONLINE at
http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/
Blakely_Walkley_Physicist_Philosopher_Politician_Jan_2010.pdf
MLK Challenge Inspires Student Volunteers
 Along with college students across the nation, 100 Truman students used the Martin Luther King Jr. Day break to donate “a day of service to remember a life of service.”
As part of the MLK Challenge on Jan. 18, students volunteered at one of 10 project sites, including several local community-based organizations such as the Adair County Humane Society, Hospice of Northeast Missouri, Victim Support Services and Kirksville Part-Day Head Start among others.
The day concluded with a Reflection Dinner on campus.
The Multicultural Affairs Center, Student Senate, Missouri Campus Compact and the Center for Teaching and Learning all sponsored the MLK Challenge.
PHOTO: At the Field of Dreams Rescue Inc., a local animal adoption agency that takes in unwanted dogs and cats, student volunteers engaged in projects such as building a shelf in a shed the organization uses to store donations and helping construct cots for the animals.
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Unwritten Letters Project
 Senior Alex Boles wanted to leave her mark on Truman before graduating. Inspired by a communication course taught by Diane Johnson, associate professor of communication, Boles created a Web site titled the Unwritten Letters Project, which she has now published in book form.
The Unwritten Letters Project works to empower others by providing a safe, judgment-free outlet encouraging participants to articulate, heal from, and overcome hardships through the art of letter writing.
Boles and her publisher presented her book during a book-signing event at the Truman Bookstore where the President, Provost and Deans of the University were present. Spike the Bulldog even paid a visit to the author to represent the Truman pride circling this project.
Boles, who plans to continue to promote her book and Web site, says we can expect more books in the future. See her blog at
http://unwrittenlettersproject.com/.
PHOTO: Alex Boles shown signing copies of her book, Unwritten Letters Project, a compilation of 100 letters from the letterwriting blog she created.
Board of Governors Elects New Officers
The Truman State University Board of Governors has a slate of new officers for the 2010 calendar year. The board elected Matthew W. Potter (’96) as chair, John W. Siscel III as vice chair, and Kenneth L. Read (’73) as secretary.
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 Matthew Potter, of St. Louis, is the deputy Democratic director for the City of St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners. His previous work experience included service as an associate attorney in the St. Louis law firm of Burroughs, Hepler, Broom, MacDonald, Hebrank and True, LLP, and as an assistant circuit attorney for the Circuit Attorney’s Office for the City of St. Louis. Potter graduated magna cum laude from Truman State University in 1996 with a bachelor of arts degree in English and a minor in Latin. He received his juris doctorate from the University of Missouri Columbia School of Law.
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 John Siscel III, of St. Louis, Mo., recently retired as executive vice president for the Mechanical Contractors Association of Eastern Missouri. Previously, he served 10 years as the executive vice president of the Plumbing Industry Council, the Plumbing Contractors Association, and the Missouri Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors Association. Siscel served 10 years as a superintendent, principal, and teacher in various Missouri public schools, and he has also served as the administrator and CEO of a residential care facility for handicapped children, a consultant for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and assistant to the director of the City of St. Louis Health Division. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, a master’s in education administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and a doctorate in education from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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 Kenneth Read, of Kirksville, Mo., is the owner of Heritage House Realty and has been a real estate broker for 35 years. A Vietnam veteran, he served in the United States Marine Corps from 1969-1971. Read graduated from Truman State University/Northeast Missouri State University in 1973 with a baccalaureate degree in business administration.
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Every Picture tells a Story
When former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan visited campus last winter to address Truman’s December 2009 graduates, former University President Jack Magruder had an opportunity to show her the framed copy of Senate Bill No. 340 that is displayed in the President’s Office at Truman State University. Magruder was serving as president of the University in 1995 when the senator’s husband, then Gov. Mel Carnahan, signed the bill which changed the name from Northeast Missouri State University to Truman State University. A portrait of the University’s namesake, Harry S Truman, is hung nearby.
As part of the winter commencement ceremonies, Jean Carnahan accepted an honorary degree on behalf of her late husband, Mel Carnahan. The honorary degree is one of three, originally announced in spring 2009, awarded to individuals who played pivotal roles in shaping Truman State University into a premier liberal arts and sciences university.
The other two honorary degree recipients are Charles McClain, the long-time University president who envisioned the University’s mission change, and John Ashcroft, the former Missouri governor who signed the legislation designating the University as the state’s only public liberal arts institution.
A Taste of Truman:
Capture (or Recapture!) the College Experience
This summer, Truman State University’s new incubator for innovative and entrepreneurial learning experiences, the Truman Institute, will offer the first “Taste of Truman,” the weekend of June 11-13, 2010. The program invites adult learners to become college students again! Alumni, teachers seeking professional development, and members of the local community are all invited to enroll.
Participants will have the opportunity to enroll in four 90-minute sessions by Truman’s top faculty, along with one extended course offering a deeper learning experience over two days. Lectures and workshops will be punctuated by fun group activities, entertainment, and meals sponsored by University offices.
“We have assembled an outstanding line-up of honored faculty to lead these sessions,” said Kevin Minch, associate professor of communication and director of the Truman Institute.
Special housing rates will be arranged at local hotels, but participants will also have the option of recapturing the full college experience by staying in Truman’s new West Campus Suites for an additional fee.
Lectures will focus on unique topics ranging from current events to lesser-known aspects of the arts and sciences, including such concepts as ancient Egyptian burial customs, issues in environmental studies and sustainability, the chemistry of art, public health policies, and how the celebration of Christmas has shaped our culture and economy. Extended course options will include opportunities for more hands-on exploration and discussion of topics such as great films or the intersection of philosophy and human movement.
Seats are still available at the late enrollment rate of $175. Fees are non-refundable after May 29. For more information, or to register online, visit the Truman Institute Web site at http://institute.truman.edu and select the link for A Taste of Truman. To request a brochure and paper registration form, contact the Truman Institute at (660) 785-5384 or e-mail Jana Morton at jmorton@truman.edu.
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CLASS OPTIONS for A Taste of Truman
Extended Courses
• Balanced Embodiment: An Exploration of Active Human Flourishing
• Film, Form, and Sense Great Lectures: First Period
Great Lectures: First Period
• La Serenissima: Venice and Beauty During the Renaissance
• The New Biology: How Moore’s Law is Revolutionizing the Life Sciences Great Lectures: Second Period
Great Lectures: Second Period
• Becoming Osiris: Preparing the Egyptian Dead for Eternity
• Climate Change: Science, Policy, and Practice Great Lectures: Third Period
Great Lectures: Third Period
• Amazing Maize: Computer Science on a Corn Cob
• Christmas (in June): A Brief History of America's Most Celebrated and Controversial Holiday Great Lectures: Fourth Period
Great Lectures: Fourth Period
• Survivor: Hospital
• The Migrant’s Fair Deal: Harry Truman and the Reshaping of U.S. Immigration Policy
http://institute.truman.edu/taste.asp
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Beyond the Pages of the Book
Despite all the buzz about book clubs, studies have revealed a rapid decline in literacy reading, especially among the young. However, a literacy program called the Big Read is trying to help reverse this trend. Launched as a pilot project in 2006 by the National Endowment for the Arts, the national literacy program encourages citizens within a community to read and discuss a single book.
Sam Minner, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Education and professor of Education, applied for and received a Big Read grant for the Kirksville area, and a group of students, along with assistance from several faculty members, organized the local literacy project. The Kirksville-area Big Read project focused on The Things They Carried, a book by Tim O’Brien that discusses the lives of American soldiers during the Vietnam War.
As part of the Big Read activities, several students from Truman’s Art History Society volunteered to interview local Vietnam War veterans about their experiences. The students also collected mementos from the veterans and curated an exhibition of artifacts and photos that was displayed in the Kirksville Arts Center in February.
“We had the incredible opportunity of interviewing six veterans,” said Matt Carlson, a student from Parkville, Mo. “I was amazed, humbled, and intrigued by the things these men shared about the Vietnam War and their experiences there.”
 After compiling nearly 12 hours of interview tapes, gathering objects and images donated for the exhibit, securing photos from the National Archives, designing the exhibit, and creating publicity, the students spent a day setting up “The Things They Carried: Mementos from Kirksville Vietnam War Veterans” exhibit.
“As a whole, I feel that our group worked well together to create a product that provided impact, was educational, and represented each veteran respectfully,” said Carlson. “I can only hope that those who visited the exhibit were able to gain as much knowledge as I was when we produced the exhibit.”
Through his involvement on the project, Carlson said learning about the Vietnam War and America’s response through direct contact with Vietnam veterans was powerful and thought-provoking.
“It aided me in seeing the cost of war and how it affects individuals—something I think can never be truly captured in a book,” said Carlson, who also enjoyed having a chance to become more involved in the Kirksville community. “Working with local business owners, the Kirksville Arts Association, veterans’ communities, and groups around town provided me with opportunities to work with individuals from backgrounds different than my own and learn essential skills in public communications. I truly enjoyed this experience.”
PHOTO SHOWN ABOVE: Borrowing items from a local theatre group and purchasing an old console television for $3, students designed a living room in the center of the Vietnam War exhibit to represent the role the media had in the war.
Value Added
For the second time this year, Truman has been acknowledged as one of the nation’s best values in higher education. The Princeton Review, teaming up with USA TODAY, included Truman on its list, The Princeton Review’s “Best Value Colleges for 2010.” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine also named Truman as one of the “Best Values in Public Colleges” in its February 2010 issue.
On USA TODAY’s Web site, the editors at The Princeton Review commend Truman for being “thoroughly committed to providing a strong, broad-based, liberal education to its small undergraduate student body,” and they note that as “one of the few publicly funded liberal arts schools in the nation, Truman attracts many of Missouri’s top high school students.”
“There are many first-rate institutions offering outstanding academics at a relatively low cost of attendance and/or generous financial aid,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review SVP/Publisher. “We’re pleased to have again teamed up with USA TODAY to identify and commend the 100 colleges that do just that and do it best in the nation.”
Kiplinger’s ranked Truman 26th on its exclusive survey list of the 100 public four-year schools that the publication describes as combining outstanding education with economic value. Truman was also ranked as the 10th best educational value for out-of-state students.
Total Recall
Enhancements to the classroom experience are helping supplement some of the basic survival skills of college such as effective note-taking. Truman has installed six new SMART classrooms, and these technology-enhanced classrooms allow students to review some class sessions on their computers or iPhones. The SMART classrooms, which are located in Violette Hall, Ophelia Parrish, Barnett Hall and Pickler Memorial Library, are equipped with the latest SMARTBoards, video cameras, document cameras, microphones and classroom-capture technology.
 When it’s time for class to start, students take a seat behind strategically-placed microphones while the professor dons a wireless microphone. At the scheduled time, the system begins recording the class session. Minutes after class lets out, all the sights and sounds from the class can be downloaded to computers or portable media devices. Students can flip through the instructor’s writings on the SMARTBoard like a notebook, listen to the lecture as an audio-only podcast, or watch a split-screen version with all the notes, diagrams, lectures, video and classroom questions and answers.
Having the ability to review a lecture can be especially helpful for some of the more complex subjects. The classrooms are being used to teach a variety of subjects, including economics, foreign language, marketing, linguistics, statistics and more.
Classrooms equipped with lecture-capture technology allow professors to record a class session so that students can play back the lecture using their computers or portable media devices. One of the options for reviewing the session is a split-screen like the one shown above which includes a video recording of the class, notes and diagrams made on the board and navigation options.
IMAGE SHOWN ABOVE: Classrooms equipped with lecture-capture technology allow professors to record a class session so that students can play back the lecture using their computers or portable media devices. One of the options for reviewing the session is a split-screen like the one shown above which includes a video recording of the class, notes and diagrams made on
the board and navigation options.
Student Awarded Prestigious Teaching Fellowship
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Truman Board of Governors Chair Matthew Potter presented Amy Schachner with a resolution recognizing her achievement as the first Truman student to receive the
KSTF Fellowship.
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Amy Schachner, a master of arts in education student from Hillsboro, Mo., is the first Truman student to receive a Knowles Science Teaching Foundation Fellowship. Created to support outstanding beginning teachers, KSTF is designed to cultivate and support exemplary science and mathematics high school teachers and develop the next generation of leaders in education. The teaching fellowship aims to keep exceptional teachers in the profession by providing them with comprehensive professional development, mentoring and a community of peers.
Schachner was among approximately 70 finalists invited to interview for the fellowship in Philadelphia in March, and she is one of only 11 mathematics fellowship recipients this year. Renewable for up to five years, the KSTF Fellowship provides tuition, monthly stipends and financial resources for the classroom, as well as travel and room and board expenses for three conferences a year. Schachner’s advisor, Susan LaGrassa, department chair, professor, and MAE mathematics director, has been encouraging Truman students to apply for the fellowship not only for financial reasons, but also for the opportunities it provides.
“The contacts Amy will make will allow her to do anything she wants to in the field,” said LaGrassa. “I suppose it is a little like winning the Tour de France. Not many people know about it, it is really hard to do, and when you do it, every door you could want to enter is opened for you.”
Women's Resource Center Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Over the March 26th weekend, the
Truman State University Women’s
Resource Center (WRC) celebrated
its 20th Anniversary. Alumni of the center
joined current volunteers to relive past glories
and dream of the future. The co-founders of
the center, Michelle Reichert (’90) and Lynn
Freeman (’91), attended and shared
highlights about the launch of the center that
took place in 1990.
The WRC provides information and
programming about women’s and gender
issues and consists of approximately 45
students, both male and female, who
contribute to the center through scholarship
service hours, work-study or by volunteering.
The historian for the Women’s Resource
Center needs to fill gaps in the recorded
history and is seeking assistance from
alumni. If you volunteered for the center,
please e-mail information such as when you
worked for the center, key events and any
executive board members you can remember.
This information will help complete the
archive of information highlighting the
center’s numerous accomplishments and the
many lives touched over the past 20 years.
The e-mail address for the center is wrc@truman.edu. |
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