Approximately 1,000 University of Missouri-Kansas City graduates, friends and families filled Swinney Auditorium to celebrate the culmination of years of late nights and hard work as graduates claimed their diplomas. The university held three ceremonies on Saturday, Dec. 16 and presented two honorary doctorate degrees. Continue reading
Behavioral and Social Sciences
365 students named to College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s List for Spring 2018 Semester
A total of 365 students in UMKC’s College of Arts and Sciences were named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2018 semester. The CAS Dean’s List recognizes excellent academic performance among full-time undergraduate students with a grade point average of 3.85 or higher for the term.
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Addressing the Cost of Higher Education: Open Educational Resources reduce costs for students, enhance learning
The cost of higher education is an issue, and one the University of Missouri-Kansas City is addressing.
As part of the four-campus University of Missouri System, UMKC has had one of the lowest rates of tuition increase in the U.S. during the past decade. And despite this year’s tuition increase of 1 percent, efforts to keep the overall cost of education are continuing, and are working.
For example, in June 2017, the University of Missouri-Kansas City joined UM System in the Affordable & Open Educational Resources (A&OER) program to save students money on textbooks and other course materials. Continue reading
As birth rates decrease, baby boomers wait longer to be grandparents
Prof. Deborah Smith, quoted in the June 5, 2015 article in the Kansas City Star “As birth rates decrease, baby boomers wait longer to be grandparents”
Based On Nazi Love Letters, A UMKC Professor’s Play Shows Life During Wartime
Did Nazis fall in love?
Of course they did, though it may be hard to associate the idea of that emotion with a society that committed human atrocities. But as the Third Reich was rising, individuals in Germany fell in love with each other just like people all over the world fall in love every day.
Kansas Citians have a chance to hear what that felt like when actors stage a script-in-hand reading on Sunday, June 4, 2017, thanks to a trove of letters between two wartime lovers. Continue reading
CAS Alumnus and Kauffman School Founder/CEO to receive UMKC Bill French Alumni Service Award
Hannah Lofthus, who received Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and Political Science from UMKC in 2007, has been selected as the 2018 recipient of the UMKC Bill French Alumni Award. Each year, the UMKC Alumni Association recognizes individual alumni and one family with top honors.
UMKC will honor Lofthus and other outstanding alumni at the 2018 Alumni Awards event on Friday, June 15. The reception is one of UMKC’s largest events, with proceeds going to support student scholarships. In the last decade, the Alumni Awards event has garnered more than $1 million in scholarships and immediate aid for students. Continue reading
CAS Associate Dean Publishes Book About the Wartime Deeds of Henry Bloch
Once upon a time, America’s Tax Man was America’s airman.
Henry Bloch, founder of H&R Block, enlisted in the Army Air Corps shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack and was trained as a navigator for bomber missions. He flew 32 missions over Europe as a navigator on a B-17 Flying Fortress. His first mission was the third-ever raid over Berlin by the Allies.
Bloch’s wartime experiences, and the impact those experiences had on shaping his postwar business career, is the topic of a new book from BkMk Press at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Continue reading
CAS presents inaugural Royall Professorships
The UMKC College of Arts and Sciences presented the inaugural Norman Royall Professorships to four faculty members during the College’s 2017 Fall Reception and Awards Ceremony. The Royall Professorship is the highest honor bestowed by the College.
“As the highest recognition in the College, the Royall Professorship will reward faculty committed to research and/or teaching excellence, creativity and interdisciplinarity,” said Dean Wayne Vaught during the presentation.
CAS Professors Receive 2016 UMKC Online Awards
Two UMKC College of Arts and Sciences professors recently received 2016 UMKC Online Awards for their online teaching.
Dr. Kymberly Bennett, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Undergraduate Psychology Program, was honored with the 2016 Accessible Course Content Award for the course Psychology 312 – Social Psychology. This award recognizes the individual who supports and promotes accessibility through the incorporation of accessible design/universal design standards into the online course. Continue reading
Denmark doesn’t treat its prisoners like prisoners…
Prisoners prepare their own meals, wear their own clothes and leave each day. It’s led to lower recidivism.
The most interesting thing about Scandinavian prisons? Many are barely prisons at all.
Our research team spent six weeks conducting intensive research in Danish prisons. We were struck by the sight of prisoners wearing their own clothes, cooking their own meals and having private family visits as often as once a week. At these “open” prisons, there are no barbed wire fences, solid walls with gun towers or secure perimeters.
Ms. Annie Derrell (UMKC iPhD candidate) becomes Fellow in the SREB’s Doctoral Scholars Program
Congratulations to iPhD candidate Annie Derrell for being selected as a fellow in the Doctoral Scholars Program (DSP). According to the sponsoring Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), “the goal of the DSP is to increase the number of minority students who earn doctorates and choose to become faculty at colleges and universities.”
Since its founding in 1993, the DSP has supported over a 1000 scholars at numerous institutes across the country. It offers direct services for doctoral students such as academic, personal, and motivational support, career counseling, networking, job recruitment, and continued advocacy into their early careers as faculty members. Derrell will be a part of the inaugural cohort of scholars from the University of Missouri System.
One of the most exciting aspects of DSP is the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, an annual meeting which serves as the largest gathering of minority Ph.D. scholars in the country. The Institute provides workshops as well as recruitment and networking opportunities to give new scholars the tools to successfully complete their doctorates and enter into a faculty career in higher education.
Derrell is “extremely honored and very excited for this opportunity to meet and collaborate with other minority scholars.”
The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is a nonprofit organization that works to improve education and provide policymakers with reliable data to make sound educational policy decisions. There website is: www.sreb.org.
Economics’ Dr. Eaton represents UMKC in the Federal Reserve Research Center
Three universities, Kauffman Foundation gain access to secure Census data
The University of Missouri-Kansas City is joining with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, two other universities and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to establish a new research data center (RDC) that will provide area researchers with access to some of the nation’s highest-quality data for analysis of the U.S. economy and public policy issues. Read more.
Dr. Linda Mitchell Interviewed by Washington Post on Introduction of Queen to Medieval Times
Medieval Times, a dinner theater experience loosely based on the 11th century Spanish court, featured a female ruler for the first time this year. Since its debut in the United States in 1983, the show, which includes a banquet, jousting, swordfights, and stunts on horseback, has been presided over by a king. This year, however, Doña Maria Isabella reigned.
Professor of History Linda Mitchell, who also serves as affiliate faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and as President of the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship, weighed in on this change in a recent Washington Post article. Check out her comments on women in the medieval world and the historical accuracy of Medieval Times here.
Dr. Miguel Carranza awarded NACCS Scholar 2015
Dr. Miguel Carranza, Latina/o Studies director and professor of sociology awarded the 2015 NACCS Scholar.
Driven to Make a Difference in the Lives of Others
Kathryn Webster (B.A. ’75, M.A. ’79) to be honored with the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Achievement Award. Webster is a life-long heart disease survivor. She was diagnosed with congenital heart disease at the age of four, underwent open heart surgery as a teenager and had her second open heart surgery 11 years ago. It was after her second surgery that she learned about WomenHeart, the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease.
Continue reading
Dynamic Duos: Lyne and Webb
Reaching for Lofty Goals
Meet Mona Lyne and Parker Webb
Mona Lyne, associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, joined the UMKC faculty in 2008 and has received multiple awards for her writing. She specializes in comparative politics and international relations, and speaks Spanish and Portuguese fluently. She is a member of the American Political Science Association, the Latin American Studies Association and the Midwestern Political Science Association. Continue reading
Dr. Rebecca Egli (UMKC History BA ’08) receives Postdoctoral Fellowship at Linda Hall Library
Congratulations to Dr. Rebecca (Mowry) Egli on receiving a post-doctoral Residential Fellowship at Linda Hall Library. During her two-month stay, she will conduct research for her current project, “Seeds of Misfortune: Food, Crop Diversity, and the Simplification of American Nature,” a history of America’s plant explorers that examines the impact of plant introduction and breeding on agricultural biodiversity and innovation.
Rebecca grew up in Kansas City and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UMKC’s History Department in 2008. She earned a Master of Arts degree in history from King’s College London in 2010 and a doctorate in history from the University of California, Davis in 2018.
Exploring intersections between agriculture, science, and the environment, her dissertation, “The World of Our Dreams: Agricultural Explorers and the Promise of American Science,” looks at federal scientists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, exploring developments in plant biology and the ecological consequences of importing non-native plants into the United States.
We are so proud to have Dr. Egli conducting research again in Kansas City!
Dr. Sandra Enriquez lands Two Grants from the Texas State Historical Society
The History Department is proud to announce that Dr. Sandra Enriquez, who is also the Director of the Public History Emphasis, has been awarded two competitive fellowships from the Texas State Historical Association. Continue reading
Erik K. Olsen’s “Unproductive Activity and Endogenous …
Erik K. Olsen’s “Unproductive Activity and Endogenous Technological Change in a Marxian Model of Economic Reproduction and Growth” receives the Review of Radical Political Economics best paper award.
Abstract: This paper integrates unproductive activity into a Marxist growth model based on Marx’s reproduction schemes. Labor extraction and technological change are related to the production and distribution of surplus and thus are endogenous. Continue reading
Over 360 students named to College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s List for Fall 2019 semester
Congratulations to the 361 students in UMKC’s College of Arts and Sciences named to the Dean’s List for the fall 2019 semester. The CAS Dean’s List recognizes excellent academic performance among full-time undergraduate students with a grade point average of 3.85 or higher for the term.
Joseph Adams – Earth and Environmental Science BS
Maggie Agee – Psychology BA
Chaehyun Ahn – Pre-Pharm
Jennifer Aktar – Pre-Law, A&S
Kamariah Al-Amin – Languages and Literatures BA: French
Adin Alem – Political Science BA
Nida Ali – Psychology & Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Ahmed Al-Makhazoom – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Naomie Alnatas – Liberal Arts BLA
Mahreen Ansari – Political Science BA
Kathryn Antrainer – History BA
Melissa Appelquist – Psychology BA
Cemile Arabaci – Physics BS
Bosten Arcand – English BA: Language and Rhetoric
Liam Arciga – History BA
Cristian Arechiga – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Brent Arnold – Psychology BA
Yusof Asefi – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Lucy Bahner – Communication Studies BA: Film and Media Studies
Hayden Baker – English BA: Creative Writing
Alex Barbour – History BA
Reagan Barr – Environmental Science BS
Mahryn Barron – English: Creative Writing & Communication Studies BA: Film and Media Studies
Brayden Basch – English & Philosophy BA
Brianna Bauer – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Kennedy Bauer – Pre-Dentistry, A&S
Abigail Bavuso – Pre-Pharm
Alexander Bearden – Geology BS
Bailey Beauchamp – Psychology BA
Catherine Belcher – Psychology BA
Jillian Bell – Psychology BA
Michelle Bell – English BA
Samuel Bellefy – English: Creative Writing & Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
J’aime Bellingham – Psychology BA
Jerrah Biggerstaff – Physics BS: Astronomy
Abigail Birkner – Psychology & Chemistry BA
Margaret Boggs – Criminal Justice and Criminology & Psychology BA
Christopher Bown – Studio Art BA
Jane Boyd – Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Thomas Branson – Architectural Studies
Jeb Brantner – Communication Studies BA: Film and Media Studies
Grace Brewer – History BA
Kyle Broley – Earth and Environmental Science BS: Physical Geography
Jameson Brown – Economics BA
April Brown – English BA: Creative Writing
Renee Bruch – Communication Studies BA
Camrin Buchholz – Political Science & Economics BA
Alexus Buckert – Political Science BA
Mason Bur – Psychology BA
Hayden Burnett – Psychology BA
Kayla Burns – English BA
William Burrus – Economics & Languages and Literatures BA: French
Isabella Burton – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Joel Busch – Mathematics and Statistics BS
Austin Butler – Art History BA
Kevin Buzzie – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Bailey Cairns – English BA: Language and Rhetoric
Beulah Calixte – Criminal Justice and Criminology & Sociology BA
Tessa Campbell – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Crystyn Campbell – Psychology BA
Samantha Capkovic – Political Science & Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Marin Carey – Environmental Studies BA
Cody Carmack – Psychology BA
Rebecca Caro – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Abigail Castle – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Brianna Catching – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Adam Chanliongco – Pre-Pharm
Sarah Chapman – English BA: Classical, Medieval, and Early Literature
Gabrielle Chappelle – Psychology BA
Hunyee Choi – Psychology BA
Lacey Clark – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Jordan Clarkin – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Sarah Clough – English BA
Cassandra Coffey-Murray – English BA: Creative Writing
Jacob Cooley – Psychology BA
Cameron Cooper – Pre-Pharm
Matthew Corcoran – Liberal Arts BLA
Brooklyn Cornett – Psychology BA
Emily Costelow – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Lindsay Cox – Art History BA
Kyra Crabtree – English BA: Creative Writing
Haley Crawford – Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Rachel Crazybear – Psychology BA
J Robert Crowley – Mathematics and Statistics BS
Skylar Crowley – Psychology BA
Lucas Cuni-Mertz – Communication Studies: Journalism and Mass Communication & Political Science BA
Madisen Curtin – Pre-Medicine, A&S
Emily Daggett – Liberal Arts BLA
Victoria Davidson – History & Languages and Literatures BA: German
Kyler Davis – Economics BA
Hallie Dawson – English BA
Katie Denny – Physics BS: Astronomy
Devon Dewey – Art History BA
Sarah Dirks – Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Shaleana Disorbo – History BA
Abigail Doss – Psychology BA
Mairaed Dunda – Environmental Science BS
Rachel Dwyer – Liberal Arts BLA
Gina Dwyer – Psychology BA
Jacob Eisenhauer – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Audra Elford – English BA: Creative Writing
Elizabeth Elmendorf – Physics BS: Astronomy
Tomas Escarpita – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Gretchen Fiebig – Psychology BA
Matia Finley – Psychology & Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Shannon Finneran – Liberal Arts BLA
Ashlee Fish – Architectural Studies
Lauren Fitzpatrick – Environmental Studies BA
Jade Flanders – Psychology BA
Madison Flynn – Psychology BA
Victor Folk – Economics & Mathematics and Statistics BA
Alexandra Foster – Communication Studies BA: Film and Media Studies
Kayla Fox – Psychology BA
Cori Fricke – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Makayla Friedrich – Economics BA
Rachael Fritz – Psychology BA
Miranda Fritz – Psychology & Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Sarah Fuentes – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Olivia Gallo – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Prae Gamel – Pre-Medicine, A&S
Daisy Garcia Montoya – Communication Studies: Journalism and Mass Communication & Political Science BA
Daniel Garcia-Roman – Studio Art BA
Shea Geran – Environmental Science BS
Alexander Gleason – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Kylee Gomez – Criminal Justice and Criminology & Political Science BA
Allanis Gordon – Liberal Arts BLA
Bethany Graham – English BA: Creative Writing
Hannah Green – Psychology BA
Hillary Green – Political Science BA
Emera Greenwood – Psychology BA
Brittany Grindle – Political Science BA
Kyle Grogan – Psychology BA
Dominic Guillen – Mathematics and Statistics BS
Garrett Gunderson – Film and Media Arts
Hannah Haake – Urban Planning and Design BA
Sadho Habib – Economics BA
Madelene Hajer – English BA
Andrew Hall – Sociology BA: Cultural Anthropology
Ashton Hall – Psychology & Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Garam Han – Mathematics and Statistics BS
Katherine Hanners – History BA
Estelle Hansen – Film and Media Arts
Alicia Harrington – Psychology BA
Jonathan Hawley – Psychology & Philosophy BA
Naomi Henry – Geology BS
Griselda Hernandez – Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Jonathan Hernandez – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Amelia Hess – Psychology & Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Lauren Higgins – Physics BS: Astronomy
Valeczia Hooks – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Marika Houser – Political Science BA
Madeline Houx – Psychology BA
Cierra Howe – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Colton Hrabe – Film and Media Arts
Seth Hudson – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Ali Hufft – Political Science & Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Aleister Hughes – History BA
Tasneem Huq – English BA
Nursyuhada Huq – Pre-Dentistry, A&S
Alyx Hutchins – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Marissa Iden – Political Science BA
Jared Islas – Urban Planning & Design- BA
Michael Jenkins – Political Science & Philosophy BA
Cheryse Johnson – Psychology BA
Kate Johnston – English BA
Nikita Joshi – History & English BA: Creative Writing
Natalie Juno – Psychology & Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Medina Kajtazovic – English BA
Franck Kamgain – Communication Studies BA
Kara Kanatzar – English BA: Creative Writing
Brandon Kanoy – Political Science BA
Alexander Keith – Psychology BA
Hannah Kempker – Pre-Pharm
Lukas Kenney – English BA: Creative Writing
Zaal Khazraeinazmpour – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Tracy Khiew – Studio Art BA
Brenna Killen – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Brittni Kilton – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
David Kirk – Studio Art BA
Daniel Kirk – Studio Art BA
Brenna Kiu – Urban Planning & Design- BA
Makenzie Kleist – Sociology & Psychology BA
Melissa Klotz – Psychology BA
Luke Knapp – Political Science BA
Kaitlyn Korah – Pre-Pharm
Molly Kordonowy – History BA
Michaela Koval – History BA
Carolyn Kovar – History BA
Rhyan Kubik – Psychology BA
Anabeth Laaker – History BA
Gabriella Lavenbarg – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Shairry Lene – Pre-Dental Hygiene, A&S
Maria Leno – Film and Media Arts
Emma Leonard – History BA
Lia Lombardini – Liberal Arts BLA
Tyler Lott – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Vincent Lowry – Studio Art BA
Mia Lukic – Philosophy BA
Jennifer Lyons – Liberal Arts BLA
Leah Maass – Psychology BA
Christina Mackenzie – Architectural Studies
Jackson MacLellan – Political Science BA
Brett Madsen – Studio Art BA
Reyna Mallory – Communication Studies: Film and Media Studies & Studio Art BA
Abbie Malm – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Julio Mares – Psychology BA
Caroline Matz – Psychology BA
Emily Maupin – Psychology BA
Caleb McCain – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Keegan McCarthy – Communication Studies BA: Film and Media Studies
Olivia McCune – Psychology BA
Michael Mead – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
William Meeds – Psychology BA
Samuel Menner – Pre-Pharm
Amelia Milldyke Gifford – Film and Media Arts
Kesi Milligan – Urban Studies BA: Community Development and Housing
Caroline Moriarty – Political Science BA
Madison Murphy – Sociology BA
Lauren Myers – Studio Art BA
Jason Nalley – History BA
Alex Niner – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Ryley Nolin – Pre-Dental Hygiene, A&S
Slater Oden – Physics BS: Astronomy
Jacob O’Neill – Psychology BA
Odindo Opole – Film and Media Arts
Silvestre Ortiz-Romo – Environmental Science BS
Kenechukwu Osude – Pre-Medicine, A&S
Abbey Outain – English BA: Creative Writing
Randi Owens – Earth and Environmental Science BS
Saketh Pachalla – History BA
Christine Park – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Shivani Patel – Psychology BA
Ahmad Pazhoohi – Pre-Pharm
Riley Peek – English BA
Josie Pennington – History BA
Enrique Perez – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Cailyn Persinger – Pre-Pharm
Kenny Phan – Earth and Environmental Science BS
Kacper Piekarek – Economics BA
Josilinia Plyman – Political Science BA
Maggie Pool – Film and Media Arts
Philip Potter – History BA
Kaitlyn Powell – Film and Media Arts
Lydia Powers – Languages and Literatures BA: French
Aaron Price – Urban Studies BA: Urban Policy and Management
Noah Price – Psychology BA
Bayleigh Priddy – Psychology BA
Bethany Pritchard – History BA
Halena Procopio Ross – Environmental Science BS
Monica Propst – Urban Studies BA
Stephen Quackenbush – Architectural Studies
Jordan Railsback – Film and Media Arts
Angela Ramirez – Art History BA
Carson Rau – Sociology BA
Isabel Recker – Languages and Literatures: Spanish & Psychology BA
Grace Reesman – Physics & Mathematics and Statistics BS
Mary Reust – Studio Art BA
Zoe Rickman – Film and Media Arts
Jayla Riggins – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Karla Rincon – Psychology BA
Erin Roth – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Ryan Rowland – History BA
Michaela Roxas – Psychology & English BA: Creative Writing
Guillermo Rubio – Philosophy BA
Sagi Rudnick – Political Science & Communication Studies BA
Anna Ryan – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Jacob Salas – Mathematics and Statistics BS
Jared Schild – Psychology & Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Jessica Scott – Criminal Justice and Criminology & Philosophy BA
Audrey Seider – Art History BA
Teah Sensenich – Psychology BA
Alexandra Serafin – History BA
Sydney Serrano – Psychology BA
Gary Sharp – History BA
Destinee Shehan – Psychology BA
Mariah Shipley – Psychology BA
Madison Sieger – Communication Studies BA: Film and Media Studies
Sophie Simes – English BA
Dawson Sims – Environmental Studies BA
Kimberly Sims – Studio Art BA
Adam Sisk – Communication Studies: Film and Media Studies & Languages and Literatures BA: Spanish
Helene Slinker – Political Science BA
Regan Smith – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Katrena Smith – Psychology BA
Justin Smith – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Hunter Smith – Psychology BA
Joshua Sola – Geography BS
Grace Solomon – Political Science BA
Paul Sorensen – English: Language and Rhetoric
Annie Spencer – English: Classical, Medieval, and Early Literature & History BA
Carrine Spinks – Psychology BA
Samantha Sprouse – Psychology BA
Nichole Stahly – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Mollie Stanek – Studio Art BA
Gabrielle Stansell – Political Science BA
Shea Staples – Liberal Arts BLA
Maria Starns – History BA
Kyleigh Steenrod – Pre-Dental Hygiene, A&S
Lanisha Stevens – Psychology BA
Ronnea Stiles – English BA
McKenna Still – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Sophia Straight – English BA
Abby Strawn – Political Science BA
Robyn Sullins – Psychology BA
Erica Sullivan – Psychology BA
Julianna Swickard – Film and Media Arts
Chandler Tarrant – Physics BS
Ezekiel Taylor – Studio Art BA
Lillian Taylor – Psychology BA
Lauren Textor – English BA
Myo Thai – Mathematics and Statistics BS
Jasmine Thai – Pre-Pharm
Maeghan Thomas – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Scott Thompson – Physics BS: Astronomy
Kristina Thomson – Earth and Environmental Science BS
Aleena Tofanelli – Psychology BA
Fatima Towakoli – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Jessica Tran – Pre-Pharm
Uyen Tran – Studio Art BA
Lucy Trask – Pre-Pharm
Chloe Tremain – English BA
Gregory Troiani – Physics BS: Astronomy
Dashiell Tucker – Political Science BA
Nathan Underwood – Mathematics and Statistics BS
Kelsey Van Buskirk – Communication Studies BA: Film and Media Studies
Cheeia Vang – Pre-Dental Hygiene, A&S
Eisa Vasquez – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Cozette Viles – Liberal Arts BLA
Ashley Vogel – English BA
Sierra Voorhies – Psychology BA
John Waggoner – Psychology BA
Kara Walters – English BA: Creative Writing
Jack Walton – English BA
Jasmine Walton – Political Science BA
Julia Weber – Psychology BA
Madison Wellman – Studio Art BA
Brayan Westergaard – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Samuel Westlake – Psychology BA
Emily White – Art History BA
Madison White – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Alexandra Whitlow – Philosophy BA
Rowan Wiley – Political Science BA
Jermeha Williams – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Kelly Williams – Psychology BA
Alexa Williams – Pre-Dental Hygiene, A&S
Abby Williams – Sociology BA
Candace Williamson – Criminal Justice and Criminology BA
Justin Wills – Environmental Science BS
Jacob Wingert – Mathematics and Statistics BA
Sophie Woycheese – Psychology BA
Abdulrehman Yousaf – Pre-Medicine, A&S
Ayat Youssef – Psychology BA
Taylor Yuhas – Pre-Pharm
Mariya-Tereza Zelenchuk – Communication Studies BA: Interpersonal and Public Communication
Zackary Zeller – Communication Studies BA: Journalism and Mass Communication
Samantha Zoellner – Pre-Pharm
4th Floor Cherry Hall (CJC and Philosophy)
Fourth Floor Cherry Hall Now Open For Business
Honors College, Criminal Justice, Philosophy Host Grand Opening of New Space
UMKC faculty, staff and students filed into Cherry Hall Nov. 2 and headed toward the fourth floor, not sure what to expect.
Upon arrival, they found a beautifully renovated, wide-open new space that had been vacant for nearly seven years. The top floor of the former dormitory, constructed in 1955, is now home to the Honors College, the Department of Philosophy and the department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. Continue reading
UMKC History iPhD K. David Hanzlick publishes book with U. MO Press
Congratulations to K. David Hanzlick, alumnus of the History iPhD program, on the publication of his book, Benevolence, Moral Reform, Equality: Women’s Activism in Kansas City, 1870-1940, with the University of Missouri Press.
Hanzlick traces the rise and evolution of women’s activism in a rapidly growing, Midwestern border city, one deeply scarred by the Civil War and struggling to determine its meaning. Over the course of 70 years, women in Kansas City emerged from the domestic sphere by forming and working in female-led organizations to provide charitable relief, reform society’s ills, and ultimately claim space for themselves as full participants in the American polity. Focusing on the social construction of gender, class, and race, and the influence of political philosophy in shaping responses to poverty, Hanzlick also considers the ways in which city politics shaped the interactions of local activist women with national women’s groups and male-led organizations.
K. David Hanzlick is Director of Program and Development for Sheffield Place, a treatment and transitional living program for homeless mothers and children. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Nonprofit Leadership Program at Rockhurst University and the Hauptmann School of Public Affairs at Park University.
History Department Wins Chancellor’s Community Engagement Award
The Department of History has been named the 2019 recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Community Engagement in recognition of its efforts to make engagement with the community a central aspect of its approach to student learning and scholarship. In his award letter, Chancellor Agrawal commended the department for “exemplifying the very best of UMKC’s values.”
The department has worked to establish relationships with cultural institutions and communities locally, regionally, and internationally and to produce and share historical knowledge. The department’s community outreach initiatives include, but are not limited to, partnering with local institutions on public programming for a variety of audiences; helping to disseminate the history of African American, German, Latinx, and LGBTQ communities among many others both in Kansas City and Missouri and more broadly; and generating new historical research about the region through public symposia and edited volumes.
History Department students and faculty will be honored at the Leaders in Learning Faculty Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. More information about the department’s work is available on its public engagement and community partners pages.
Inscribing Yourself into a Nazi Future: Love Letters in the Third Reich
Since 2011, Andrew Stuart Bergerson, Professor of History & Public Humanities, has been one of the lead researchers for a project called Trug&Schein. It uses the correspondence of an ordinary German couple, Hilde Laube and Roland Nordhoff, to facilitate public engagement with everyday life over the course of the Second World War. Continue reading
Kansas City Philanthropist and Children’s Health Advocate Receives Honorary Doctorate, Gives Commencement Address
Unhindered by juvenile glaucoma that took his sight at age 17, David Westbrook (B.A. ’71) has proven that vision has nothing to do with one’s ability to see. He founded Corporate Communications Group, a communications and public relations firm he sold before taking his talent and dedication to longtime client Children’s Mercy.
Westbrook attributes his lifetime of success to his parents and to the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His alma mater awarded him with an honorary doctorate at the 2018 College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony, and he gave the address to the graduating class at Swinney Recreation Center on campus.
“This is not a defining moment, this is a moment of celebration,” said Westbrook, who holds bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology from UMKC. “Defining moments are with your professors and your friends.” Continue reading
KC anti-violence campaign aims to plug hole by looking at parolees
The Kansas City No Violence Alliance recently started meeting with inmates about to go on parole in an effort to help them get what they need in order to keep them away from crime while also delivering them a warning. KC NoVa rounded up people deemed by police as being key to violent crime in the area in January 2013. File photo by ALLISON LONG The Kansas City Star . The conversations go like this:
An inmate nearing the end of his or her prison sentence is called to a meeting. A Kansas City police detective, a parole officer and an advocate for the inmate pull up chairs. Continue reading
Leaders in Learning: a celebration of faculty achievement
University of Missouri-Kansas City faculty who received endowed professorships, promotions, tenure and other awards of distinction were recognized in 2017 with the Leaders in Learning celebration, an evening of dinner and jazz at Pierson Auditorium.
A video tribute included praise for UMKC faculty from students as well as Kansas City Mayor Sly James.
LGBTQ-Themed Student Exhibit Receives National Council on Public History Award
A University of Missouri-Kansas City student-produced LGBTQ-themed exhibit, currently being displayed at the UMKC Miller Nichols Library, has received a Student Project Award from the National Council on Public History. The exhibit can be viewed on the third floor of UMKC Miller Nichols Library through April 8, and is available online.
The Student Project Award is given to an outstanding public history student venture initiated as academic coursework and implemented and recognized beyond the classroom for its contribution to the field of public history. “Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights” was submitted by UMKC students Taylor C. Bye, Kathryn B. Carpenter, Samantha Hollingsworth, Leah Palmer (now an alumna), Kevin Ploth and Jennifer Tufts. Continue reading
Light in the Darkness: Q&A with Shannon Barry
Shannon Barry, who is double-majoring in Sociology and Criminal Justice and Criminology, wants to help Kansas City youth.
Get to know our students, and you’ll know what UMKC is all about.
Lundgren named Associate Dean of the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences
The UMKC College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer Lundgren, Ph.D., as the new Associate Dean, effective September 1, 2017.
Dr. Lundgren is taking over the Associate Dean position previously held by Michael Kruger, Ph.D., who has accepted a new position as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Dakota. Continue reading
Mentors Researching Mentorship
Dynamic duo in psychology deeply understands the benefits
With a student-to-faculty ratio resembling a small private college, UMKC makes mentorship a central part of the student experience. Though more than 16,000 students are enrolled, the 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio is unusually small for such a large university.
The result: UMKC has many mentorship success stories.
Meet Jennifer Lundgren, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor in the Department of Psychology; and Frances Bozsik, who is working to complete a Clinical Health Psychology PhD in 2020. Continue reading
Missouri Reports Wide Racial Disparity in Traffic Stops
The New York Times’ John Eligon interviews CJC’s Ken Novak.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police officers in Missouri were 75 percent more likely to stop black drivers than white drivers last year, and 73 percent more likely to search black drivers, according to a report released Monday by Chris Koster, the state’s attorney general.
The data also showed that although blacks were more likely to be stopped and searched than whites, they were less likely to be found with contraband than whites, the report said. Continue reading
Nine People Who Saw the Greek Crisis Coming Years Before Everyone Else Did
Professor’s Forstater, Kelton and Wray are among the Nine People Who Saw the Greek Crisis Coming Years Before Everyone Else Did.
Although the problems in Greece didn’t begin making big headlines until 2009, a number of economists, politicians and professors spotted cracks in the European currency union as early as the 1990s. Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note that the country had a tough time making it into the single currency in the first place. Continue reading
Drs. Matt Osborn & Makini King interviewed on Fox4 & KCTV5 in Blackface Debate
Blackface refers to the cultural practice of covering the face of a white (or black) performer to create a caricature of a black person. Although usually associated with nineteenth-century minstrel shows, blackface can still be found today both in theatrical performances and sometimes also in Halloween costumes.
The debate about the racist implications of blackface continues today. In national news, the NBC “Today” host Megyn Kelly’s show was cancelled following her on-air remarks expressing acceptance of blackface. In local news, a registered nurse at St. Luke’s was fired after she posted pictures of herself and a friend on facebook in blackface.
UMKC Professor Matthew W. Osborn and UMKC Diversity Director Makini King were interviewed on 30 October 2018 for local television about the history, politics, and ethics of blackface. Their comments aired at 5 PM on KCTV5 and Fox4.
Over 360 students named to CAS Dean’s List for Fall 2017
A total of 369 students in the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2017 semester. The CAS Dean’s List recognizes excellent academic performance among full-time undergraduate students with a grade point average of 3.85 or higher for the term. Continue reading
Philosophy Professor Awarded Faculty Fellowship from Colby College
Adrian Switzer, Ph.D., associate teaching professor in the UMKC Department of Philosophy, has received a one-year Faculty Fellowship in Modern Philosophy at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The fellowship is a teaching and research position. Continue reading
Police are crunching data to stop murders before they happen
Kansas City’s smart policing push users computers to find likely criminals and their associates. Civil rights groups say that tactic raises serious privacy questions.
Kansas City had a murder problem. For the past decade it’s violent crime rate had made it one of the top ten dangerous cities in America.
Read the full Fortune article.
Political Science Professor Featured in Short Documentary
Eric Hurst recently interviewed UMKC Political Science Professor Dr. Max Skidmore for “It’s Too Late,” a short documentary exploring the the Electoral College including its origin, how it is intended to function and how one 2016 Elector now views his role.
Radical economic ideas grab attention…
Our economic guardians at Federal Treasury and the Reserve Bank sound increasingly uneasy about some policy choices being made offshore.
Since the global financial crisis, quantitative easing has pumped trillions of dollars into major economies with limited success. More recently central banks in Europe and Japan have opted for negative interest rates in a bid to kick-start growth.
On Tuesday the Treasury Secretary, John Fraser, pointed out that we’ve now been in an “experimental stage” with monetary policy for more than seven years…
Social Work Students Involved in KC Tenants Victory
KC Tenants is an organization led by a multiracial, multigenerational base of poor and working class tenants in Kansas City. KC Tenants are organizing to ensure that everyone in KC has a safe, accessible and affordable home. KC Tenants created a Tenant Bill of Rights package aimed to address the housing issues tenants face. On December 13, 2019 the KCMO City Council passed a KC Tenants Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights consist of resolution and ordinance. The ordinance bars landlords from discriminating against and denying rent to a tenant solely on the basis of prior arrests, convictions, evictions, source of income or because of a protected trait which includes race, color, religion, national origin, sex, mental or physical disability, marital status, familial status, age, sexual orientation or gender identity, gender expression, ethnic background, and being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. It requires landlords to disclose any past issues with the unit; provide resources for a tenant to get an estimate of utilities; and requires the provision of at least 24 hours notice to a tenant before entering their unit.
MSW students Candace Ladd, Kevin Jean Paul and Shanice Taylor have been heavily involved in the process by providing testimonies, deliberating on the Tenants Bill of Right Package, attending several meetings and providing general support to help strengthen the needs of the organization.
Read a summary of the Tenants Bill of Rights Package here: https://kctenants.org/img/uploads/kc-tenants-bill-of-rights-executive-summary-final-.pdf
Read the final resolution and ordinance here: http://cityclerk.kcmo.org/LiveWeb/Documents/Document.aspx?q=4jwojq7vlHdp0h1oX7W8vZWUCjBcEakq8jiz4dh1uRonWleua/q46VvUDs54eVme
Stephanie Kelton is named chief Democratic economist
UMKC’s Stephanie Kelton is named chief Democratic economist on the Senate Budget Committee
Stephanie Kelton has been an economics professor at UMKC since 1999. She is a self-described “deficit owl” who supported larger budget deficits to counteract the recent recession. Each party has its own chief economist on the budget panel, which among other things oversees the Congressional Budget Office.
The Most Interested Man in Kansas City
Science, art, technology, history, space. Bill Ashworth wants to know about everything.
If you’re curious, there are many things that Bill Ashworth wants you to know.
But here’s the main thing: Learning is fun.
That optimistic aphorism is more than a casual one to Ashworth and his devoted admirers, who delight in the local educator’s indefatigable interest in not only his chosen academic field—the history of science—but anything else that might tickle his circuitously inquisitive mind.
Ashworth is a longtime associate professor of history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and consultant on rare books for the privately-funded Linda Hall Library, an independent research library of science, engineering and technology across the street from the UMKC campus. Continue reading
The New Yorker’s “The Case Against Cash Bail”
It’s obvious that jail isn’t good for the jailed. It may be particularly bad for people accused of minor crimes, who are confined not because they are likely to be dangerous but because, under our cash-bail system, they can’t afford to get out. Think of the appalling case of Kalief Browder, the Bronx teenager who was profiled by my colleague Jennifer Gonnerman, in 2014. He was charged with stealing a backpack and spent three years at Rikers Island awaiting trial. Two years after the trial was dismissed and he was released, Browder killed himself.
Thin is In? Think Again: UMKC doctoral student’s research is gaining international attention
A UMKC doctoral student’s research on what constitutes the ideal female figure is earning media coverage around the globe.
“It’s really exciting,” said Frances Bozsik, who is on track to complete a Clinical Health Psychology Ph.D. in 2020. “The study reflects the trend people are noticing that fitness and nutrition – vs. thinness – is the ideal.” Continue reading
UMKC/UMSL offer first Transnational Student Research Course with U. of Hamburg in FS18
During the nineteenth century, large numbers of German migrants settled in the state of Missouri. In this three-credit online course in public history (HIST 400B/5500B), students from the universities of Missouri in Kansas City and St. Louis will collaborate with German peers from the University of Hamburg in researching and writing short interpretive essays on the everyday lives of German migrants before, during, and after their migration.
Continue reading
History Professor quoted in the New York Times
Prof. Diane Mutti-Burke, Chair of the History Department, was quoted in an article in the New York Times on 6. August 2018 entitled “On a Civil Rights Trail” because of her research into the history of slavery in Missouri.
Two CAS Alumni Receive Fulbright Awards
Two College of Arts and Sciences alumni have been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Award to continue their research and scholarship. Sydney Harvey, who received her Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and Film from UMKC in 2016, will study in the United Kingdom; and Marc Reyes, who received his Master of Arts in History from UMKC in 2014, will study in India.
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has given more than 380,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, professionals and scientists the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Continue reading
Two College Faculty Receive President’s Awards
The College is proud to congratulate two of our outstanding faculty members on their recent awards from the President of the University of Missouri System.
Dr. Richard Delaware, Teaching Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, received the President’s Award for Innovative Teaching. This honor “recognizes faculty who are outstanding teachers and who employ novel and innovative teaching methods to achieve success in student learning” (UM System). Dr. Delaware has been teaching at UMKC since 1984, and the Innovative Teaching Award is the latest addition to the many honors he has received during his time here. Students praise his techniques which foster collaboration and communication, enabling students to do hands-on work in class and communicate their approach with peers. Dr. Delaware’s writing intensive course, History of Mathematics, has generated award-winning student research papers and publications since 2004. You can read more about this innovative course here. In addition to the courses he teaches at UMKC, Dr. Delaware has also recorded and uploaded full course videos for College Algebra and Calculus I to YouTube, which have reached thousands of students world-wide.
Dr. Sarah Pilgrim was awarded the President’s Award for Intercampus Collaboration, which “recognizes faculty who engage in activities that foster collaboration across two or more campuses of the University of Missouri System” (UM System). The collaborative project, Fostering Well Being, was established by Dr. Pilgrim and Dr. Virginia Ramseyer-Winter at the University of Missouri in Columbia, with contributions from faculty in Columbia’s School of Engineering and other faculty across both campuses. Drs. Pilgrim and Ramseyer-Winter also work with organizations such as Kansas City-based Youth Ambassadors and with graduate students serving as research associates at UMKC and MU. With the goal of supporting underserved youth in Missouri, the project aims to develop a phone-based app to provide critical public health information to foster families and vulnerable youth. Dr. Pilgrim joined the School of Social Work as an Assistant Professor in 2016. Her work with the Fostering Well Being project closely aligns with her research interests in adolescent trauma especially as related to foster placement.
Congratulations to these two professors for this remarkable recognition of their important work with our students and our community.
UMKC Anthropology Professor’s Research Wins International Award
Shannon Jackson, Ph.D., associate professor of Anthropology, has received an International Award for Excellence for Volume 13 of The International Journal of Technology, Knowledge, and Society.
Jackson’s article, “Cyber-infrastructure and the Right to the City,” was selected for the award from among the highest-ranked articles emerging from the peer-review process and according to the selection criteria outlined in the peer-review guidelines. Continue reading
UMKC-FBI Student Academy Classes
UMKC students are learning about the FBI through a unique program called the UMKC Student Academy.
Students of all majors can attend the non-credit professional development academy at no charge. It consists of eight seminars led by FBI personnel. Students are encouraged to participate in as many sessions as possible and may pick and choose which sessions to attend. Those who attend six or more sessions will receive a certificate of participation from the FBI. Continue reading
UMKC History Professor Reconstructs the History of Surgery before Anesthesia
Lynda Payne publishes new book about “the best surgeon” in 18th century England.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s History Department is proud to announce the publication Professor Lynda Payne’s new book, The Best Surgeon in England: Percivall Pott, 1713-88, about the influential English surgeon Percivall Pott, whose practice of surgery was praised for being methodical, skilled and measured.
Payne, a specialist in the history of science and medicine, challenges the belief that the practice of surgery prior to the invention of general anesthesia was “a realm of screaming patients and larger than life eccentric medical men whose primary aims were to operate as fast as possible.” The goal of her new book is to humanize and historicize medical practices by looking at the biography of this landmark teacher and practitioner. Continue reading
UMKC Humanities Consortium Receives Grant for Performance of Letters from Nazi Germany
Group seeks to spark community conversations with special project and performance
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Humanities Consortium – a discipline in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program – is the recipient of a 2017 Missouri Humanities Grant totaling $2,500. Continue reading
UMKC professor among handful of economist to predict Eurozone fiscal downturn
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It’s not something Dr. Randall Wray wanted to be right about.
“When you have your own currency, you have sovereign power,” said Wray, a professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City.
But when it came to predicting Europe’s financial downturn, the economics professor was spot on. Continue reading
UMKC to Present Honorary Doctorates to Outstanding Kansas City-Based Authors
Celebrated Kansas City-based non-fiction authors David Von Drehle and Candice Millard will be honored with honorary doctorates at mid-year commencement ceremonies Dec. 16 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Continue reading
Unified front is needed to steer area youths from violent crimes
Kansas City police have identified almost 200 young people who are connected to groups associated with crimes such as shootings, armed assaults, robberies and weapons trafficking. About half of the teenagers are 16 and younger, and a few are as young as 13.
Young suspects have been charged in two of the Kansas City region’s most violent and high-profile crimes so far this year.
The four men accused of killing Shawnee gun shop owner Jon Bieker Jan. 9 in a robbery gone bad range in age from 18 to 20. Continue reading
Using Research to Reduce Violent Crime
Direct involvement by UMKC faculty aids No-Violence Alliance
An ongoing law enforcement effort to rethink strategies to reduce violent crime in the Kansas City area has its own secret weapon: UMKC.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, part of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, is intimately involved in the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (NoVA). NoVA is a 2-year-old multi-agency effort to reduce gun-related violence.
Chancellor Leo E. Morton serves on NoVA’s governing board, and UMKC faculty members and graduate students are embedded in NoVA’s effort to implement a crime-prevention approach known as “focused deterrence,” which helps police look beyond individual criminals to the criminals’ entire social networks.
Read the UMKC Today article.
VFW puts more “ease” into UMKC’s At Ease Zone
The National Headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars has put a little more “ease” into the UMKC At Ease Zone. The VFW recently presented student veterans with a much-desired couch for the space, along with a new coffee maker and a networked printer.
The UMKC At Ease Zone, located on the second floor of Cherry Hall on UMKC’s Volker Campus, supports UMKC student veterans as they transition into community and campus life. The At Ease Zone is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences’ School of Social Work and the UMKC Dean of Students.
Who Has the Candidate’s Ear?
What does a presidential candidate’s choice of advisers tell us about the candidate?
A deep bench of experienced advisers is essential for any president — to provide policy guidance, a sounding board, intellectual ballast and, eventually, help in translating ideas into action. But the people selected say much about the candidates themselves — their intellectual rigor, their willingness to entertain fresh views, the value they place on experience.
Hillary Clinton’s roster is a who’s who of the astute and ambitious accumulated by both Clintons in four decades in Democratic politics. It includes Alan Blinder, former Fed vice chairman, and John Podesta, campaign chairman and a top adviser in the Clinton and Obama administrations. Continue reading
Zippia ranks CAS’s Economics Department as #1
Zippia ranks CAS’s Economics Department as #1 in their “These are the 10 best Colleges for Economics Majors in Missouri” article.
You know there are a ton of great reasons to major in economics — the job prospects, the intellectual challenge, and the chance to follow in the footsteps of some of the greatest thinkers of all time.
But what program in Missouri offers the most to would be economics majors?