MIZZOU Fall 2023 College of Education and Human Development edition

A legendary music journalist recalls the trinity of KCOU, the Blue Note and indie record stores in early ’80s Columbia.

FIRST LOOK

SHOOTING STARS “Project Mercury today may seem like distant history, reflected by an era of magazine covers, newspaper clippings, and black-and-white newsreels, but from 1959 to 1963 it captured the imagination, pride, and hope of the American people,” writes John Bisney, BJ ’76, in the introduction to Photographing America’s First Astronauts, a new book highlighting the work of Bill Taub, NASA’s first photographer. Co-authored by J.L. Pickering, the 312-page book (Purdue University Press) is dense with hundreds of photographs that document the Mercury missions to the moon and the astronauts who crammed into rockets designed to withstand the fury of fiery fuel propelling them into outer space. The photograph here features Shepard and Glenn in the suit room at Hangar S in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Now retired, after graduating from the Missouri School of Journalism, Bisney covered the U.S. space program for more than three decades. He did so for outlets including CNN Radio, the Discovery Science Channel and Sirius XM. This is Bisney’s fifth space-photography book with Pickering.

M I ZZOU

Editorial and Advertising

Mizzou Alumni Association

123 Reynolds Alumni Center

704 Conley Avenue

Columbia, MO 65211

phone: 573-882-6611

mizzou@missouri.edu

Executive Editor

Ashley Burden

Editor

Randall Roberts

Art Director

Blake Dinsdale

Class Notes Editor

Jennifer Manning

Editors Emeriti

Karen Worley and Dale Smith

Advertising Scott Dahl: 573-882-2374

Mizzou Alumni Association

123 Reynolds Alumni Center Columbia, MO 65211 phone: 573-882-6611, fax: 573-882-5145

Executive Director, Publisher

Todd A. McCubbin, M Ed ’95

Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position  of the University of Missouri or the Mizzou Alumni Association. ©2023

Statements of Purpose

A Synergetic Education

While helping the lauded music journalist Chuck Eddy, BJ ’82, research his time spent at Mizzou in the early 1980s (“Mizzou Scene Report,” Page 16), I came upon the above photo, which seemed to jump from the book when a page turn revealed it in an old Savitar. It’s from 1965 and features a band called the Renegades playing an old event called Barnwarming.

Although silent, the shot exudes a musicianly cool: the way the tippy-toed bass guitarist looks to be delivering a particularly expressive note; the singer, lost in song, caressing the microphone as she conveys a seemingly pitch-perfect vocal melody. It serves as a reminder that some of the most vivid images from our time at Mizzou occurred after classes ended — at film series, readings, plays, talks, concerts or Homecoming celebrations (“2023 Homecoming Events,” Pages 40–43).

As rose the University of Missouri, so rose Columbia as a cultural hub. The city and university synergize; faculty, staff and students arrive here armed with, and searching for, new ideas. The smartest, most well-rounded ones understand that generating those innovations, whether scientific or artistic, requires fuel. You can’t power new ideas without communal, creative energy, and the

best way to procure it is by absorbing the expressive kind.

Just because you’re a researcher, for example, at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources studying regenerative agriculture to advance sustainable farming practices (“Growing Green for the Future,” Page 26) doesn’t mean you’re not also a show-tunes obsessive or an expert on the films of A.J. Schnack, BJ ’90. While earning her education degree, Sheryl Crow, BS ’84, spent off-hours learning how to write songs. She was just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Around the Columns, Page 6). Writer John Williams, PhD ’54, absorbed MU’s essence and turned it into a brilliant, if oft-grim, Columbia-based novel called Stoner (“A Quiet Classic,” Page 34). More than 50 years after its publication, it’s a recurrent presence on bestseller lists.

We hope you enjoy this magazine-length snapshot of expressive energy at work.

RANDALL ROBERTS, BA ’88 Editor

The Mizzou Alumni Association proudly supports the best interests and traditions of Missouri’s flagship university and its alumni worldwide. Lifelong relationships are the foundation of our support. These relationships are enhanced through advocacy, communication and volunteerism.

MIZZOU magazine reports credible and engaging news about the University of Missouri community to a global audience.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President Mindy Mazur, BA ’99

President-elect Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, BS HES ’89; BS Ed 90; M Ed ’91

Immediate Past President Jeff Vogel, BS Acc ’90

Treasurer John Gamble, BS ’00

Secretary Todd McCubbin, M Ed ’95

Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Chair Vanessa Vaughn West, BA ’99

Directors Clarissa Cauthorn, BS ’15; Morgan Corder, BA ’18; Renita Duncan, BS Acc, M Acc ’08; Kevin Gibbens, BS BA ’81; Christine Holmes, BS BA ’10, MBA ’17; Matt Jenne, BS CiE ’97, MBA ’15; Cheryl Jordan, BA ’84; Emily Kueker, BS ’02; Stephen Neuman, BA ’98; Daniel Pierce, BA, BJ ’99; Amber Rowson, BS ME ’99; Martin Rucker, BS ’07; Mark Russell, BJ ’84; Nick Ruthmann, BS ’05, MD ’13; David Townsend, JD ’00; Kim Utlaut, BS ’89; Janet Wheatley, BS HE ’77

Student Representative Ben Henschel

MIZZOU magazine

Fall 2023, Volume 112, Number 1

Published triannually by the Mizzou Alumni Association

MORE MIZZOU ONLINE

Departments

1 First Look

A new photo book gathers images from NASA’s early manned space flights.

6 Around the Columns

A bench for Harlan; a party for a scuba legend; the new Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands and Aquatic Systems; a researcher studying microplastic remediation; a celebration of a legendary Cardinals sportswriter and more

Talking Trees For the Mark Twain National Forest Project, MU researchers at the Center for Tree-Ring Science are using dendrochronology — the method of dating the annual growth rings in trees to inform a variety of disciplines and problems — to better understand the earth’s climate and wildfire history. Such research is crucial to understanding the long-term health of Missouri’s natural resources. mizzou.us/TreeRings

CONTRIBUTORS

Writer, editor and music programmer Chuck Eddy, BJ ’82, is the author of four books, including Rock and Roll Always Forgets, Terminated for Reasons of Taste and Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe. His cover story explores Mizzou’s early ’80s musical ecosystem. Page 16.

Tony Rehagen, BA, BJ ’01, has written for GQ, The Columbia Journalism Review and Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists. For this issue, he dives into Stoner, the acclaimed Mizzoucentered 1965 novel, and he previews the football Tigers 2023–2024 season and roster. Page 34 and Page 38.

Blaire Leible Garwitz, MA ’06, is a St. Louis-based feature writer who specializes in storytelling for magazines, annual reports, newspapers and other publications. Her work has appeared in publications including Washington, Script and the Webster-Kirkwood Times. She highlighted the ‘Blood, Sweat and Cheers’ of Homecoming. Page 42.

About the cover

Want to check out some amazing vintage concert photography?

Old Savitar yearbooks have you covered. This photo of Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen playing a quintuple-neck guitar at Stephens College was shot by Robert Rogers in 1981.

Illustration by Blake Dinsdale.

“Mizzou Scene Report,” Page 16.

46 Mizzou Alumni News

Meet an engineering graduate working on innovations in electric vehicle charging stations, a J-Schooler who published a fascinating book on “K-beauty” and the recipients of the first-ever Mizzou R.A.H. Awards for young alumni.

47 Class Notes

Our alumni have been productive (of course), and they’ve shared news of their successes, anniversaries, weddings and babies.

55 Alumni Bookshelf

Physical manifestations of the MU knowledge base, anyone? Read what alumni, scholars and Mizzou affiliates have recently published.

64

Semper Mizzou

Think you know your MU trivia and factoids? Our crossword puzzle will be the ultimate decider.

Council for Advancement & Support of Education Awards

2022: Bronze, Periodical/Magazine Design

2021: Gold, Feature Writing

facebook.com/mizzou

twitter.com/mizzou

instagram.com/mizzou threads.net/@mizzou

(“Who Was I in College?,” Winter 2020)

2020: Bronze, Feature Writing (“Forever Young,” Spring 2019)

2019: Bronze, General Interest Magazine

Society for Publication Designers Awards

2023 medal finalist

“A LIFE in Focus,” Spring 2022

2022 merit awards

“The Long Quiet,” Winter 2021; “International Reach,” Spring 2021; Spring 2021 cover

2021 merit awards

“Eli’s Calling,” Fall 2020; “A Third Act,” Spring 2020

Features

Chuck Eddy’s Columbia Scene Report

KCOU, the Maneater and the Blue Note created an early ’80s community that schooled future music industry insiders (but somehow missed Sheryl Crow). story by chuck eddy, bj ’82

Driving Change — One Fanbulance at a Time

It’s been a Missouri ambulance, a mobile dental laboratory and a Mizzou “Fanbulance.” Now it’s in Conakry, Guinea, awaiting deployment as a mobile health clinic. story by kelsey allen, ba, bj ’10

Growing Green for the Future

The Missouri Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project is investing millions to nudge Missouri farmers into adopting climate-smart practices. MU researchers are working to protect land from environmental and economic threats.

story by dale smith, bj ’88

A Quiet Classic

Nearly two decades after a new edition of the Mizzou-set novel Stoner sparked acclaim as a rediscovered masterpiece, alumnus John Williams’ 1965 work is in Amazon’s Top 100. story by tony rehagen, ba, bj ’01

Clawed and Dangerous

Last year they went 6–7 — but 4–1 at home! Exploring the Football Tigers’ potential for the 2023–2024 season.

story by tony rehagen, ba, bj ’01

Homecoming is Back!

The Tigers tackle South Carolina in the 2023 Homecoming game. That weekend Mizzou will host its annual blood drive, among the biggest in the nation. Learn about it and other Homecoming festivities. Page 40.

Rob Myers, director of Mizzou’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture, studies soil, that priceless, yet erodible, ground zero of food production. Part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, he and colleagues including Kelly Wilson are researching strategies to fight climate change. Page 26.

His Influence Runs Deep

As a boy, Bill Busch’s ideal summer day involved tagging along with an uncle to float down Otter Creek near his hometown of Jerseyville, Illinois, looking for catfish lurking in the depths.

“We’d float under these willows, and he’d say, ‘Stay low, Bill, there’s water moccasins hanging right above your head.’ So I’d stay low,” Busch recalls. “That started me on a real journey as far as love for water.”

As a college student, he received a gift of scuba gear from the Jerseyville VFW after recovering the bodies of two people who drowned in local lakes. That ignited a lifelong passion that Busch, 85, passed on to generations of Mizzou students through the scuba class he created in 1964 and taught until 2020. His attention to detail was legendary — he prepared for his first year by recording himself reading the U.S. Navy Diving Manual aloud and then listening to the recording on long drives — and his level of commitment never waned as the decades passed.

“I talk to people from other universities who say, ‘Yeah, I took scuba when I was in college,’ but they can’t remember the details,” says Laura Vie, BS Ed ’84, a former student and Busch’s longtime teaching assistant before taking over for him three years ago. “People who have taken this class, they can’t forget it.”

Busch gave lectures on physics, physiology and oceanography. Students had to master the 19 skills he deemed necessary. They had to complete the infamous “do or die” test, which required diving into the pool wearing a blackout mask and calm-

ly dealing with the alarming equipment failures that teaching assistants doled out.

Students completed their semester of training with an open water dive, either in the Cayman Islands or at Bull Shoals Lake in south Missouri. Those who made it all the way through and received their certification often emerged with a lifelong love for scuba and an appreciation for the teacher who challenged them.

“He changed my life,” says Keith Holloway, BS ’76, who is currently a member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. “Since 1974, I’ve done over 2,000 dives. Most of the international travel I’ve done in my life has to do with scuba diving. I’ve been to Palau, Indonesia, the Caribbean. It’s because of Coach Busch.” He adds, “It’s amazing how one little decision to take a course can have such a large effect on your life.”

On June 3, Busch’s former students held a reunion at the Reynolds Alumni Center to honor their coach. More than 300 showed up, including University of Missouri President Mun Choi and alums from as far away as Australia, Guam and Japan. Busch received a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Underwater Instructors, and Choi presented him with the Chancellor’s Recognition and Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Like I tell the good Lord, the ride has been tremendous,” Busch says. “It’s really quite gratifying. I can’t believe it happened to me. From the time where I learned to swim in Otter Creek to here, what a ride.” —

Joe Walljasper, BJ ’92

FROM THE PRESIDENT Mizzou’s Mighty Microbes

In 1948, former University of Missouri Professor Benjamin Duggar discovered a powerful new antibiotic.

Using a soil sample from MU’s Sanborn Field, he uncovered a fungus that led to the development of Aureomycin, the first tetracycline antibiotic. Tetracyclines, known as “wonder drugs,” saved millions of lives from the plague, tuberculosis and oral cancer. Aureomycin also revolutionized agriculture, curing scours and respiratory diseases in livestock and poultry.

A GRAND THRONE FOR A GREAT PYRENEES

Harlan, the late (unofficial) MU canine mascot, has earned an official bench at Peace Park.

More than just a pleasant place to sit and reminisce, a new white bench in Peace Park serves as an official memorial to Mizzou’s unofficial mascot, a Great Pyrenees named Harlan, who died this past February. For about a decade, Harlan and his owner, Cris Wood, frequently hung out at Speakers Circle, where Harlan became an instant friend, beloved companion and 170 pounds of tail-wagging comfort to anyone who petted him. “He had this way of looking at people with a ‘Don’t you just want to come over and pet me?’ expression in his eyes,” Wood says.

Two married MU teachers, Jason Furrer, PhD ’06, and Jennifer Furrer, MSN ’18, are continuing Harlan’s legacy by offering comfort from an heir. This past spring, they started bringing their own 2-year-old Great Pyrenees, Luna, to Speakers Circle for weekly visits with students. Dressed in a new vest that sports student organization pins, Luna immediately endeared herself to campus friends. That stands to reason. By coincidence (or fate?), she’s Harlan’s dog niece. Looking for Luna? Check her Instagram account @ms.luna.at.mizzou for her schedule. Want to sit on Harlan’s new throne? It’s on the north side of Peace Park. — Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, MS ’76, MA ’87

ROOTS SPROUTS TREELINE

One of the highlights of the Missouri outdoor music season has been the Roots N Blues Festival. Since its birth in 2007, the three-day event has featured musical luminaries Mavis Staples, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Wilco, Brandi Carlile, Chaka Khan and others. This year it will occur Sept. 29–Oct. 1 amid the majestic oaks and elms in Columbia’s Stephens Lake Park — but will do so under a new name.

Now called the Treeline Music Fest, the 2023 roster includes two dozen acts including veteran bluesman Robert Cray, indie pop singer Japanese Breakfast and influential rap duo SaltN-Pepa. The event is produced by the Columbiabased Trio Presents, which boasts that Treeline is “the only American music festival independently owned by women in 2023.”

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Duggar’s achievement, and Mizzou continues to grow our legacy of research excellence, from Aureomycin to nuclear science and comparative medicine. Our faculty are at the forefront of innovation and ready to deliver more for Missouri.

At Mizzou, groundbreaking research continues to thrive:

• The MU Research Reactor developed a new active pharmaceutical ingredient, submitted to the FDA in May 2023, to expand cancer therapy production for patient treatments.

• New investments in ag facilities, such as the National Swine Resource & Research Center and Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, will drive agricultural innovation and economic opportunity.

• MU Health Care is progressing in building the new Children’s Hospital, offering worldclass care to young patients.

• The Clinical Translational Science Unit, recently opened in the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, supplies the equipment and expertise needed to streamline clinical trials, safely bringing new treatments to patients faster than ever before.

These resources align with the land-grant mission, empowering students with hands-on experiences and preparing them for in-demand careers. Our placement rate for recent graduates is a record 95.4%, which is one of the highest in the nation.

As alumni, you know the drive at MU to transform lives and communities through teaching, research and service. The anniversary of Aureomycin reminds us that discovery is in our values, our history — and even our soil.

MUN Y. CHOI, PHD President, University of Missouri

Hidden in Plain Sight

Artificial intelligence is everywhere. It’s operating when you open your phone with face ID, when you scroll through your Facebook feed and when you watch something recommended for you by Netflix. Yet a new study from researchers at the Missouri School of Journalism finds that nearly half of Americans (48%) are unaware of the role AI plays in their everyday lives. Even fewer understand how the technology is becoming increasingly integrated into newsrooms.

Using an online survey, Chad S. Owsley, a doctoral student at the journalism school, and co-author Associate Professor Keith Greenwood found that only 29% of respondents were aware of AI use in journalism and 25% thought AI capable of writing or reporting news equal to or better than human journalists. But news organizations including AP, Reuters, Forbes and the Washington Post are not only using AI algorithms to analyze data and identify trends and patterns that then inform news stories but also using AI to write basic news articles, such as sports results or weather updates, allowing journalists to concentrate on more intricate and investigative reporting.

Their survey results are similar to an earlier European study that found only 47% of respondents were aware of artificial intelligence operating. “It’s a bit surprising,” Owsley says. “If numbers don’t change as the technology progresses, then either there’s regression — we know less than we did prior to that — or we’re staying at the same awareness level even though technology is advancing.”

This lack of awareness raises important questions about the accountability and transparency

#MizzouBuzz

@RandDWorld

Microscopic materials made of clay designed by #researchers at @Mizzou could be key to the future of synthetic materials chemistry.

@ZouUnleashed

Mizzou has never lost a wrestling match to another SEC school.

#ItJustMeansMore

@ChaseDaniel

Had no clue #Mizzou Twitter was like this… y’all run deep

of the use of AI in the production and publishing of news media. In a time when public trust in the media has declined to historically low levels, Greenwood says the findings should spark new questions about how these tools get implemented in newsrooms: “A lot of organizations will jump on this new technology without stopping to think about the audience. Research like this can prompt someone to say, ‘Let’s think about what our current audiences’ level of understanding is. What do they expect of us? What should we be thinking about as we implement this?’”

— Kelsey Allen, BA, BJ ’10

@SoyResearchInfo

#SoySnippets: Soybeans in Mizzou @cafnr plots under a 3-year crop rotation with cover crops experienced up to a 10-bushel yield boost, according to @tim_reinbott, who is leading research funded by @missourisoybean.

#USSoy

@PowerMizzoucom

A HEALTHY CHANGE The

School of Health Professions (SHP) announced a name change to the College of Health Sciences effective with the 2023–24 academic year. This change reflects the expansion and diversification of the school’s mission and programs. Established as a unit within the MU School of Medicine in 1978, SHP has become the fastest-growing academic unit at MU and is home to Mizzou’s most popular undergraduate major: health science. The name change positions the college for future growth and acknowledges its comprehensive and interdisciplinary nature. Furthermore, a $5 million renovation of Clark Hall will provide enhanced facilities for increased student enrollment, the attraction of top-tier research faculty, and improved accessibility. These developments align with the college’s commitment to preparing the health care workforce of the future while also addressing the evolving needs of Missouri and the broader health care industry. K.A.

D'Moi Hodge was welcomed back to the British Virgin Islands with a parade. He's the first BVI native to sign an NBA contract

@BioNexusKC

Funded by a $3M grant from @NIH, Kiho Lee, uses gene editing to investigate the building blocks of disease to discover explanations for human diseases like #Alzheimers, #cancer & #infertility, while working on solutions to #foodinsecurity.

@MizzouResearch

&

Briefly

Mizzou Boosts Rural Education

Rural Missouri school districts face significant challenges with teacher shortages, leading to empty classrooms, overcrowding and a lack of qualified educators, particularly in math and science.

To address this, Mizzou’s College of Education and Human Development launched the Missouri Rural Initiative, aiming to enhance programming and outreach. One highlight is expanding online offerings to improve access for those unable to relocate.

The traditional route to teacher certification in Missouri involves a four-year course of study involving student teaching, assessment tests and earning an education degree, but this is impractical for rural individuals without nearby colleges offering such degrees. As an alternative, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education offers a route to certification, allowing noncertified teachers to teach while completing required coursework.

“Expanding Mizzou’s online offerings in education can make a big difference in rural areas,

positively impacting students and schools,” says Sam Otten, chair of the Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum. Currently, the state has 3,579 vacant teaching positions or positions filled by non-accredited individuals, representing over 5% of full-time teaching roles. Rural districts, constituting nearly 60% of Missouri’s 519 school districts, are the hardest hit.

Chris Riley-Tillman, Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, says that the initiative is part of an amplified effort to better understand and improve education in Missouri’s farm communities and small towns.

“The field of education has moved away from researching rural schools,” he says. “As a land grant institution and a university located in the middle of Missouri, we have the historic goal of impacting and bettering lives in rural communities. This college is expanding our research and impact in a world-class manner, and I’m excited to see the difference we will make.”

LIFE AQUATIC

Every Missourian holds a water story, woven by the state’s lakes, rivers and streams. These aquatic havens forge connections that run as deep as the currents themselves. But these waters are more than just a backdrop for stories — they are fragile ecosystems that demand stewardship.

The University of Missouri, in collaboration with the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), has established an Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands and Aquatic Systems within the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) to train the next generation of environ -

mental scientists, researchers and conservationists and serve as a national center of research, knowledge and best management practices impacting fisheries, wildlife, wetlands and aquatic systems.

“Through this valuable partnership, our students will have access to real-world educational opportunities that will greatly enhance their learning and overall experience,” says Christopher Daubert, vice chancellor and CAFNR dean.

The institute is made possible through a $1.7 million gift from an anticipated $30 million endowment held by MCHF. — K.A.

• For the second time in a decade, University of Missouri School of Law alumna Mary Rhodes Russell, JD ’83, is leading the Missouri Supreme Court. In July, she began her two-year term as chief justice, a role she previously held from July 2013 to June 2015.

• Mizzou’s monthly student newspaper, the Maneater, which has covered campus news since its 1955 founding, has moved to a digital-only publication. In a late-semester note to readers, student Editorin-Chief Anna Colletto announced that its May edition would be the final regular print version. Colletto stressed that the Maneater’s digital presence — including newsletters, social media posts and multimedia content — would expand.

• Reflecting the commitment to ensure affordable higher education for all, MU recently increased the number of merit-based scholarships awarded to undergraduate students. Awarded automatically to MU students, funding for the scholarships increased from $78.2 million in fall 2021 to $92.3 million in fall 2022.

• Opened in the early 1990s and shuttered three years ago after budget cuts, the Family Violence Clinic at the University of Missouri School of Law is poised to return in 2024 after the Missouri legislature recently approved new funding.

RURAL MISSOURI PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Microplastics, Macro-solutions

They’re tiny, they’re increasing in number and they’re everywhere: in the soil where we grow our food, in the air we breathe and in the water we drink. These particles, known as microplastics, occur when sunlight, wind, water and other natural processes break down plastics, wreaking havoc on the environment.

A new Mizzou engineer is investigating the effects of these plastic pollutants in stormwater runoff. “I’m looking at the fate of plastics as they’re exposed to sunlight and become degraded and brittle, leading to more fragments being released into our water system,” says Maryam Salehi, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a National Science Foundation Early CAREER awardee. “Heavy metals such as lead, copper and zinc can cling to plastic particles, making water more toxic.”

Our water supply isn’t the only thing affected by plastic pollutants. Salehi is also working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the fate of plastic mulch and plastic-coated fertilizers on our soil system. “These plastics accumulate year after year and can be transported to deep soil, potentially polluting groundwater,” she says. “The additives they carry could also leach into the soil and be transported into the crops being grown.”

Salehi arrived in fall 2022 as part of the $1.5 billion MizzouForward initiative to elevate and promote the University of Missouri as one of the best research universities in the

nation. The decade-long investment strategy includes capital for up to 150 new world-class faculty hires.

Her overall research goals? To better understand how plastics are polluting our water and food and to inform policymakers on ways to mitigate the risks of such pollutants within the environment. “There are no monitoring practices for plastics being released into stormwater, which can end up as our drinking water,” Salehi says. “We need mitigation strategies to control plastic pollution, and I want to encourage policymakers to take action to reduce the consumption of plastics.”

In the meantime, the researcher encourages people to reduce the volume of plastics they buy, reuse grocery bags and recycle what they don’t need. “I find it very fulfilling to be able to educate others, especially students, about plastic pollution,” she says. To this end, she held a workshop in May for undergraduate students on plastic pollution in agriculture; it included lectures, field sampling and laboratory analysis. Salehi also conducted a weeklong summer camp in June for middle and high school students that focused on environmental engineering and pollution.

“Mizzou is giving me so many opportunities to expand and share my research,” Salehi says. “There are so many avenues here I can explore.”

— Blaire Leible Garwitz, MA ’06

As it breaks down, plastic becomes degraded and brittle. With support from MizzouForward, engineer Maryam Salehi is fighting to keep it away from our water systems.

SHERYL CROW ENTERS THE ROCK HALL

A Mizzou alumna has become the first Tiger to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Music education major (and Grammy-winning singersongwriter) Sheryl Crow, BS Ed ’84, was among seven members of the 2023 class to be awarded the honor. Crow, best known for her songs “All I Wanna Do” and “Everyday Is a Winding Road,” will join fellow performer inductees Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine and the Spinners during the 38th annual ceremony, which will take place Nov. 3. Her Mizzou legacy was assured (as if it hadn’t already been) in 2022 when the new Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield Music Center’s choral performance and rehearsal space was christened Sheryl Crow Hall.

WHO’S WHO OF MU

Activist, scholar and educator Hazel McDaniel Teabeau was the first African American woman to enter the University of Missouri as a student. Frederick B. Mumford, a crucial figure in the ascent of Mizzou’s early farm programs, once declared that “Princes and lords may flourish and fade, but agriculture goes on forever.” Painter George Caleb Bingham became the first professor of art at MU. These factoids and more can be found amid a recent expansion of the Historical Missourians website. Devoted to prominent Missourians who have, in the words of the Historical Society, “intersected with the University of Missouri in meaningful ways,” this “Historic Mizzourians” addition was made possible through a gift from Carolyn P. and Robin R. Wenneker. It offers a fount of crucial information on Mizzou alumni and is rich with stories about Tigers who helped build the university and the state it occupies.

Smooth Skies Ahead?

An MU researcher in the Trulaske College of Business is using artificial intelligence to determine ways to make air travel less frustrating and more pleasant — if airline industry officials will listen. Sharan Srinivas, a marketing assistant professor with a joint appointment in the industrial and systems engineering department, recently published a study in the Annals of Operation Research that relied on AI to analyze nearly 400,000 online reviews of six airlines posted by passengers on popular travel websites.

AI reduced the time and cost required to compile and analyze the study’s data while automatically identifying key topics and detecting how people felt about them. In addition to finding underlying causes for customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction, AI revealed the top three gripes from miffed flyers: lost luggage, uncomfortable seating and flight cancellations. Satisfied customers lauded the in-flight entertainment as well as ground and cabin staff service. Those travelers who paid top dollar relished the service in first- and business-class seats.

“It’s impossible to hear every customer’s voice, especially for bigger airlines, but our software and recommendations will significantly assist the airlines in thinking about things from a consumer perspective,” Srinivas says. “Although some of these insights are intuitive, the model also uncovered themes and root causes that were not obvious.”

After relying on AI for the study results, Srinivas further analyzed the data using his own human intelligence, experience and knowledge. He put together a list of 11 recommendations for the industry to consider. Among his proposals: the use of biometrics and blockchain technology to eliminate the need to show various identification documents at several checkpoints before boarding. And, of course, he, too, looks forward to the day when people can cancel or change flights without being penalized by the airlines with additional fees. — Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, HES ’76, MA ’87

Blue Ribbon for Black and Gold

For most of the year, Mizzou’s cheerleaders play a supporting role. For one weekend in April, they are the main attraction. In 2023, the Tigers made the most of their moment in the sun … and then in the water.

Missouri’s 20-member coed team took first place in the National Cheerleading Association’s Collegiate National Championship April 8 in Daytona Beach, Florida. It marked the squad’s first national title at the event, which it’s attended since 2001.

The Tigers were in second place entering the final round of competition and had needed a near-flawless performance to win. They drew upon a year of experience cheering together from the sidelines at MU sporting events — not to mention a week of two-aday practices while their classmates were on spring break — to produce a clean 2 minutes and 15 seconds of synchronized tumbling, jumps and stunts.

When the judges announced the final scores, and Missouri had edged East Carolina by less than threetenths of a point, it was time for a celebratory dip.

“A tradition, because it’s in Daytona Beach, is the winning team runs into the ocean with their uniforms on,” says Coach Cynthia Metz, BS Ed ’04, MS Ed ’05. “It was thrilling to do after watching so many teams take part in the tradition over the years.”

— Joe Walljasper, BJ ’92

Fresh Start for MU Baseball

Since Missouri moved from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, its baseball program hasn’t qualified for an NCAA Regional. To new Coach Kerrick Jackson, just because it hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

“From day one, I wanted our guys to understand there are no excuses,” says Jackson, who was an assistant coach at Mizzou from 2011 to 2015 before becoming a head coach at Southern University and Memphis.

Jackson is living proof that how things were aren’t the way they’ll always be. He is the first Black head baseball coach in SEC history.

“I do understand the magnitude of it, specifically in the landscape we’re in, where we’re talking about the lack of Black players in the game at the Major League level down to the youth level,” Jackson says. “Hopefully this helps show what is possible when you go about your business the right way.” — J.W.

The Scribe of St. Louis

Just as Jack Buck and Mike Shannon provided the soundtrack of hot summer nights in St. Louis, Rick Hummel, BJ ’68, wrote the scripts the city read over morning coffee. Hummel (above), who covered the Cardinals and Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for five decades, died May 20 at 77.

As a reporter, the congenial Hummel played the long game, earning the trust of the people he covered with his fairness and genuine curiosity about the nuances of the sport. Hummel was so universally respected in baseball circles that he was referred to by his nickname, “The Commish,” by actual MLB commissioners.

“Because he was such a good conversationalist and cared so much about the game, that informed his knowledge, and his knowledge of the game made those conversations with managers, players and umpires that much richer,” says Derrick Goold, BA, BJ ’97, a longtime Post-Dispatch colleague.

In 2006, Hummel was inducted into the writer’s wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York — the highest honor for a baseball writer — but he was hardly ready to coast into retirement. Hummel continued to treat each game with reverence, as evidenced by his personal dress code: He always wore a tie if he was writing the game story and the temperature was 80 degrees or less.

“Above all, he loved the game,” Goold says. “That’s what people are paying to see. That’s not

the entirety of our job — we write about things other than the game — but he had such a fascination for the game itself and what was going to happen and the chance he might see something he never had before in the tens of thousands of baseball games he went to. I loved that about him.” — J.W.

ROUNDBALL ROUND-UP

Mizzou basketball standout Kobe Brown was selected by the LA Clippers in the 2023 NBA draft. Brown was drafted in the first round after averaging 15.8 points and drastically raising his 3-point shooting accuracy to 45.5% as a senior.  Brown was Missouri’s first NBA draft pick since Michael Porter Jr. in 2018. Porter also had an eventful summer, helping the Denver Nuggets win their first NBA title. Porter scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the deciding Game 5 victory over the Miami Heat. — J.W.

2 — Consecutive national titles won by the MU women’s disc golf team. Alexis Kerman and Renae Beasley shot a 1-under-par 227 to win by two strokes.

4 — Mizzou baseball players picked in the 2023 MLB draft. Pitchers Austin Troesser (fourth round, Mets), Zach Franklin (10th round, White Sox) and Chandler Murphy (12th round, Rays) and third baseman Luke Mann (14th round, A’s) were selected.

6 — New members of the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. The class of 2023 includes Nick Adcock (track), Justin Gage (football/basketball), Drake Houdashelt (wrestling), Tim Jamieson (baseball), Karissa Schweizer (track) and Fabian Schwingenschlogl (swimming).

7-4.25 — Height in feet and inches cleared by Roberto Vilches in the high jump at the NCAA Championships. That leap was good for third place and earned Vilches first-team All-American honors.

50 — Consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance for the Arizona Cardinals before coach Vince Tobin guided the team to the postseason in 1998. Tobin, who died July 3 at age 79, was a standout defensive back at Mizzou from 1962 to 1964 and was an assistant coach for the Tigers from 1965 to 1976 before he began his professional coaching career.

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Richman, best known in pop culture for his musical commentary in There’s Something About Mary, assured him it was not. That same day Richard King, co-owner of the new club, drove Richman to KCOU, the campus radio station run entirely by University of Missouri students.

“We were always promoting shows,” Trish Merelo, BA ’84, KCOU’s music director at the time, recalled to me this spring. “We worked hand in glove.” So she interviewed Richman over the air.

The previous summer, on a record-hot August day, the Blue Note had taken over gritty 500-capacity biker hangout Brief Encounter on Business Loop 70 at the north end of Eighth Street — 2 miles north of KCOU’s broadcasting studio, then in Pershing Hall. The music scene in early ’80s Columbia — which, as a Mizzou journalism student writing about music for the Maneater and Missourian, I operated somewhat on the periphery of — amounted to an ecosystem.

DuPre, for instance, also worked the

counter at on-campus used-vinyl store Whizz Records. The shop, recalls former employee and KCOU program director Brian Long, BA ’86, was “just a little ramshackle” shanty founded by an Armenian ex-pat who’d previously helped start a commune while studying geology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Part of a Jesse Hall-adjacent strip of storefronts on Conley, including storied initialscarved-in-booths dive the Shack, Whizz drew an intriguing clientele of students and outcasts. I spent so much time there myself that at least two people I talked to for this article assumed I had worked there.

Truth is, when I arrived in Columbia on a full-tuition Army ROTC scholarship in 1979, I didn’t own many records. But that didn’t stop me from diving right in at the Maneater — first with the two-years-late U.S. edition of the Clash’s first album. Before long, I was reviewing funk, country, even jazz as well as new wave (including four consecutive Elvis Costello) albums and critiquing concerts I had no business weighing in on — B.B. King and Dizzy Gillespie, not to mention a 1980 REO Speedwagon date at Hearnes Center that I hilariously dismissed as “Midwestern, metallic and cruddy,” thus inspiring an abundance of deservedly angered response.

I was also a regular customer at Streetside Records, Columbia’s biggest vinyl retailer, a few blocks northwest of campus. The store provided KCOU with a monthly stack of free LPs, recalls news-guy-turned-DJ-turned-general-manager

A young Michael Stipe of R.E.M. hanging out at the old Blue Note in 1982. Opposite page: A flyer for Sheryl Crow’s MU band Cashmere.

hen Chris DuPre showed up at recently opened music venue the Blue Note one afternoon in May 1981 to interview singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman for the Missourian, the 30-year-old bard of leprechauns and little dinosaurs was practicing cartwheels in front of the stage. DuPre, BJ ’82, wondered, “Is this childish thing a put-on?”

Jeff Propst, aka George Blowfish, BA ’81. “Blue Notes,” a weekly Maneater advertorial, hyped imminent gigs, KCOU shows and Streetside product. Everything was interconnected.

These connections ran deep. The Blue Note’s origin story qualifies as local legend: Richard King coming into town to visit his friend Kevin Walsh, A&S ’77, in October 1975; Walsh getting King, then King getting Phil Costello, jobs at the Heidelberg; Costello and King reinventing Brief Encounter as the Blue Note, after which King stayed on as owner until selling it in 2015. Walsh, for his part, wound up managing Streetside for a good quarter century. Plenty of people worked at both, and plenty used both — not to mention KCOU — as stepping stones to the greater music industry.

The Blue Note’s next-door neighbor was the Pow Wow Lounge: “A rough, rough bar,” Costello says, whose rowdiness “would spill over.” To discourage boozed-up bikers, the Blue Note would triple their cover charge.

On Wednesday nights, when two bucks could get you a Long Island iced tea or a pitcher of Old Style, Costello would spin the Smiths, early hip-hop and “cool dubby Clash stuff” starting at 8 p.m., eventually closing with UB40’s “Red Red Wine” at 1 in the morning. The event was called, simply, “Dance Party.” “After three months,” King boasts, “we were packed.”

The Blue Note started booking up-and-coming indie rock and post-punk bands early on; the Embarrassment, Get Smart!, Pylon and Elvis Brothers from fellow college towns like Lawrence, Kansas; Athens, Georgia; and Champaign, Illinois, scored gigs by the end of 1982, as did dark L.A. blues punks the Gun Club and bright Illinois pop-rockers the Shoes. Jonathan Richman was backed by Springfield’s Route 66-ready Americana progenitors the Morells. In February 1982, Boston’s snarky Human Sexual Response slinked in.

That November it was R.E.M.’s turn. “Twenty-eight people paid to see them,” Costello remembers. DuPre, who’d already heard the band’s then-new debut EP Chronic Town, yelled to hear “Gardening at Night” a second time. Lead singer Michael Stipe “swore at me from the stage,” DuPre laughs. “He told me to ‘Go home and play the record.’” Despite the meager draw, R.E.M. opened the Blue Note’s floodgates — that show “was kind of when the lid came off,” Costello says.

Blurb here about selected performances in Columbia also call to action send us your favorite concerts/music scene memories!

Though Columbia is hardly a major hub, its location along major east-west thoroughfare I-70 has made it a perfect stop for artists looking to build their fanbases and established others eager to play for diehards. Here are some notable concerts of the past 50 years, both on the MU campus and around town.

The band that really kept the club afloat early on, though, was homegrown. “Good-looking dudes with perfect teeth,” Costello says of Fool’s Face, a skinny-tied Springfield powerpop quintet, that “would draw everyone — frat people more than the hipsters who really liked Devo.” In late ’82, Fool’s Face even played the Phi Kappa Theta’s house lawn, while 6,000 students reportedly emptied 91 kegs: “The most blatant alcohol offense that has ever occurred,” Director of Residential Life Tom Ramey scolded at the time. But when Fool’s Face headed west to L.A. in search of gold in 1984, a big-label deal never materialized.

Same can’t be said for Sheryl Crow, who received her Mizzou bachelor’s in music education in 1984, eventually serving as Grand Marshal of the 2003 Homecoming parade and having a performance space, the Sheryl Crow Auditorium, named for her at the Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield Music Center — and on top of all that, she was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Despite Crow’s cover band Cashmere interpreting the Go-Go’s and Nena (“99 Luftballoons”) regularly at frat parties and Bullwinkle’s, they never set foot on the Blue Note stage. “I’ve told her it was all Phil’s fault,” King laughs.

Costello likewise blames King. Of course, Crow wasn’t a superstar yet. In September 1980, the Missourian quoted her in a mundane piece about new students moving in: “One freshman, Sheryl Crow of Lathrop Hall, says ‘We tried moving the furniture three different ways before we could make everything fit.’”

Crow and her Kappa Alpha Theta sisters were regulars at downtown mainstay Harpo’s — where “normal, traditional Preppies go,” according to a 1981 nightlife overview in the Missourian. “The borderline, not quite sure what they’re doing, go to Bullwinkle’s, and the extremists or radicals go to By George.” Young Sigma Chi member Brad Pitt was a prep — and a member of the student-run pop concerts committee.

This was the era of the cheeky bestselling style guide The Official Preppy Handbook, whose editor Lisa Birnbach spoke at the university in 1980–’81 — same school year the Savitar yearbook included a two-page spread recommending conservative plaid skirts and “the fresh-scrubbed look that’s any frat boy’s dream” rather than fishnet stockings and too much Maybelline. My favorite Savitar photo of the time has two severely angled young women and two incongruously ’70s-mustached young men dressed up totally weekend-newwave in cheap sunglasses in front of a wall plastered with Rockpile, Talking Heads and David Bowie posters — clues that it’s 1980. Maybe it was taken at one of the “New Wave Nights” hosted by venues such as Studio 16 or T.W. Chumley’s. It may have even been the night DuPre swears I won a dance contest to Ian Dury’s “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick.”

Alternately, it might stem from the evening when magazine major and Missouri Student Association film committee member Maggie Hupp (now Fahey), BJ ’83, says that she, KCOU DJ and operations director Lisa Orf (Sher), BJ ’82, our friend Don McCoy (wearing a yellow Devo suit) and I went to By George on East Broadway. “It was a weeknight and nearly empty,” she remembers, and “when they showed [the video for] Talking Heads’ ‘Once in a Lifetime’ we got up and danced. Other patrons in the bar threw pennies at us. Which may be why we more often went to the Blue Note.” She insists I even “did the chop-on-the-arm David Byrne” move.

On Thursday afternoons through college, I traded my skinny ties for Army fatigues to receive instruction in first aid, land navigation,

Fresh fashions for Mid-Missouri: A photo from the 1981 Savitar shows a quartet of "New Wave rockers" at a local dance club.

PHOTO BY JOHN CURLEY, 1981 SAVITAR

patrolling, firing M16s, and rappelling off the Crowder Hall roof or down a local rock quarry. Hey, at least my hair was already short — new wavers weren’t hippies, after all.

But I took covert circuitous routes from the dorm to Crowder, or maybe changed in the latrine, because ROTC wasn’t particularly the image I wanted to convey. A couple times a year we’d muster for weekendlong field exercises in Ozarks training base Fort Leonard Wood (aka Fort Lost in the Woods). Occasionally, I’d weasel out. But after completing courses in Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Gordon, Georgia, I was soon reporting for Signal Corps platoonleader duty in Bad Kreuznach, West Germany. When I completed my four-year obligation, I was a captain.

Still, ROTC’s definitely not where I made my name at Mizzou. Once I hit J-School, I chronicled a wide-enough scope of phenomena for the Missourian — Christmas trees, cassettes, Missouri’s first rapper Jerry Hand, Deadheads, Muzak, myths about gender and math skills, a management professor praising newfangled “computer algorithms” — to win an annual feature-writing award. My most controversial piece in Columbia, though, involved KCOU.

DJs at KCOU-FM displaying their musical tastes in a group photo from the early 1980s. They had free reign in the control room — within reason.

Tupelo,

Black Flag singer Henry Rollins visits Streetside Records for an early ’80s reading. Longtime store manager Kevin Walsh, right, helped make the shop a goto spot for in-store appearances.

SAVITAR ; BLACK FLAG: COURTESY KEVIN WALSH

Want to survey some of the music mentioned in this story? Use this QR code.

So let’s back up. Funded by money from each dorm resident’s activity fee, KCOU is among the oldest student-supported, -owned and -operated radio stations in the country. “Aside from our location, we had no oversight or affiliation with the university,” explains Tom Harper, BJ ’81, then a DJ for both KCOU and the mobile Discotron service. “We treated our license like it was gold. It protected us from any interference other than the FCC.”

Begun on closed circuit through phone lines to dorms in 1961, the station broadcast at 430 watts to a 10-mile radius by the ’80s. “KCOU was our sorority, our fraternity,” Merelo remembers. “It was kind of the college version of WKRP in Cincinnati,” in Propst’s estimation. “Most fun I ever had.”

The station broke several artists — Dire Straits, U2, Tom Petty — before more commercial outlets added them. In the pre-internet ’80s, college radio stations across the country were just starting to gain influence. “Our role was to expose the students to music they weren’t going to hear in their hometowns,” Merelo wrote via email. “I remember writing a scathing memo to the staff at one time, saying how too many of the shifts were sounding like [St. Louis rock station] KSHE and that our job was to open minds.”

Not always easy when, as Propst jokes, so many dorm residents in KCOU’s target audience “had four albums and three of them were by Van Halen,” and the station, by contrast, boasted of having “the largest vinyl library in the state of Missouri.” But they persevered.

Harper, now a production director for radio and podcast giant iHeartMedia, remembers eyeing a red translucent promo of the first album by British band Squeeze that somebody had slid into a ceiling light to make the hallway look cool. He’d never heard of them, but he tracked through the LP anyway, wondering: “‘Why aren’t we playing this? It’s great.’ That started the debate that we weren’t playing new music and we shouldn’t be a pale imitation of KSHE. Lots of jocks left in disgust.”

Harper’s across-the-hall Tiger Towers neighbor Brad Markowitz, BJ ’80, a DJ at KCOU, had convinced him to join the station. “The first time I put on the headphones and opened the mic, I knew I had found my future,” Harper says. “Within the year, I was the chief announcer and, with Bob Kuhlman, [BGS ’80], started ‘Rockit 88.’”

This is where I come in. “Rockit 88” aired two nights a week and was devoted to new music not accessible enough for regular broadcast hours. At one point, I ended up as a guest DJ. The actual host hadn’t shown, leaving me alone in the studio with an engineer. I proceeded to play “punk funk” and early rap that KCOU otherwise avoided by artists including Rick James, Grace Jones, Funkadelic, Kurtis Blow and, especially, Prince.

This was 1981, before his Royal Purplosity had crossed over to a mass rock audience, not to mention the year he was booed off stage opening for the Rolling Stones; two summers earlier, Midwestern baseball and rock fans had set disco records ablaze in Chicago. Some months after my DJ gig, I published an editorial in the Maneater titled “KCOU Ignores Black Artists,” arguing that “the station’s just a little backward, that’s all.”

General manager Marc Chechik, BJ ’80, in a subsequent letter to the Maneater, explained how my night on the air had ended: “After a rather tumultuous evening when Chuck was guesthosting and playing hefty portions of progressive Black music, I immediately ‘rescue’ the station by proceeding to throw him off the air. I called the music ‘disco,’ ‘trash’ and a variety of other colorful terms.” Chechik went on, though, to offer a mea culpa: “I was wrong. Dead wrong. Chuck may have radically outraged an entire listening audience, but his motives were exactly what KCOU is attempting to strive for. That, of course, is introducing new forms of music to our listeners.”

Propst claims to remember me once “coming to the station with a Prince album and saying, ‘YOU GUYS MUST PLAY THIS NOW!’” I suspect that brash demand is what got me invited on in the first place. “The controversy around your on-air gig,” Harper wrote to me, “was great. Disturbing the status quo was what KCOU was all about, but once we got popular, we sort of forgot it.”

William “Bubba” Singleton, BA ’81, one of only a couple Black DJs at the station then — not to mention, he says, the first Black member of Mizzou’s chapter of the Acacia fraternity — grew up a “radio geek” in St. Louis, to the extent that the Missourian ran a 1980 feature about his amazing knack for winning albums from radio call-in contests, on a rotary phone no less. But he says that when listening to rock frequencies in his youth, “It was rare to hear anyone of color, even Sly and the Family Stone.”

Despite such limitations, I was a loyal KCOU listener. Tuning in was educational fun. For 40 years now, in scores of mix cassettes I made for friends and bar-DJ engagements in New York, hundreds of playlists I’ve been paid to construct for streaming services, and thousands of articles of I’ve written for publication, I’ve made the sorts of connections between music that I subliminally absorbed from KCOU.

Largely thanks to the journalism school, the DJs came from across the country. This made for a wide variety of sensibilities, Propst figures; New Jerseyite Merelo, for instance, “knew all about Springsteen,” and other DJs “had been in the service — all of that came to bear.”

“We lived to impress each other with our awesome segues,” Harper remembers.

Merelo adds: “When we’d nail one, we’d squeal with delight. This was vinyl. Each song was manually ‘slip-cued’ into the next.” DJs would occasionally play the game “Follow the Leader,” Propst reports, taking turns spinning songs and trying to trip each other up. Sometimes, Harper confesses, they’d miss class because of it.

What’s that Bruce Springsteen line about learning more from a 3-minute record than you ever learned in school? The university was the magnet, but the education so many of us accrued even outside of classrooms has served us well.

Even in the 21st century, ripples from early ’80s Columbia continue to reverberate. At iHeart, Harper has engineered live radio sessions with plenty of artists he used to play on KCOU — and a few with Sheryl Crow. Costello helped break Radiohead as senior VP of radio promotion at Capitol Records; he’s since worked as an exec at music biz powerhouse Red Light Management. After selling the club eight years ago, King bought Cooper’s Landing, a marina, campground and live music venue south of Columbia on the Missouri River. (In 2018, concert behemoth Live Nation bought a majority stake in the Blue Note.)

Whizz clerk and KCOU program director Long did radio promotions at hugely influential indie rock label SST, founded groundbreaking techno label Astralwerks and worked in A&R at a couple major labels before becoming president of New York-based music agency Knitting Factory Management. Singleton has parlayed what Propst calls his “one-of-a-kind deep bass James Earl Jones voice” into a decades-long career as an audiobook narrator, voiceover actor and host

Want to share your most vivid Columbia concert memory? Go to mizzou.us/concerts to enter details and we may include it in an upcoming issue of MIZZOU.

of Metromedia’s Bill Quinn Radio Hour.

Meanwhile, after R.E.M.’s late ’82 show, the Blue Note became a key stop on the indie-label rock touring circuit, hosting Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Replacements — the era’s entire growing gamut of American van dogs. Ultimately, everyone from Johnny Cash to Megadeth played there. Columbia was a music crossroads, in the middle of its state in the middle of the map. It hit the bullseye.

And heck, even if I didn’t stick around the Army long enough to be promoted to brigadier general like my ROTC cadet classmate Mark Spindler, I did manage to accumulate a file cabinet full of bylines and edit the Village Voice music section for seven years. Kinda wish I had that cushy military retirement pension. But has the general written four books? M

About the author: Chuck Eddy’s writing has appeared in outlets including Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and Rhapsody. A former editor at Billboard and the Village Voice, he’s the author of several books including Terminated for Reasons of Taste: Other Ways to Hear Essential and Inessential Music.

Author and music critic Chuck Eddy as an MU student. In addition to writing four books, he’s been an editor at publications including Billboard and the Village Voice.

Driving Change — One

Fanbulance at a Time

In 2009, Prophetstown, Illinois, bought a new ambulance and posted its old one on eBay for auction. It’s since been a mobile dental laboratory and a Mizzou “Fanbulance.” Now it’s in Conakry, Guinea, awaiting deployment as a mobile health clinic.

If you tailgated in what is now the outfield of the MU softball team from 2009 to 2015, you might have seen the Mizzou Fanbulance, a decommissioned ambulance Jay Stewart bought off eBay from the city of Prophetstown, Illinois. The owner of Stewart Dental Laboratories in Columbia, Stewart transformed the ambulance into a mobile dental laboratory and drove it around to Missouri communities offering same-day crowns for about a year.

“It was not a good business plan,” he says with a laugh. It was, however, the perfect vehicle for tailgating. Stewart had it painted black and gold, outfitted it with a satellite dish and generators and often showed up on game day at 3:30 in the morning to secure a spot with a tree for shade and grass to stand in.

After eight seasons, Stewart retired the Fanbulance and parked it in his laboratory’s lot. That’s when Ablo Bah, MS ’87, PhD ’93 and his wife, Carolle Silney, BS ’91, MD ’97, came knocking. A family medicine doctor, Silney operates her practice out of a clinic in the same commercial development as the dental lab. The couple had seen the Fanbulance parked there for some time, and they had an idea: convert it into a mobile health clinic and ship it to Guinea.

“The country is at a standstill,” says Bah, who grew up in Guinea and returns with Silney every year to visit family and friends. “People are in need. When you are there, it is striking.”

One of the poorest nations in the world, Guinea’s health care spending averaged $43 per person in 2019 (The U.S. spent $11,582 per person the same year.), and the country is still recovering from the effects of the 2013–16 Ebola outbreak. Guinea has particularly worrying maternal and child health indicators: Between 2006 and 2012, an average of 724 mothers passed away per every 100,000 live births and almost 120 children under the age of 5 passed away per every 1,000 births.

Bah and Silney met at Mizzou as international students in 1988. Bah studied rural sociology and ended up working at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he helped develop a computer-driven program to identify

STORY BY KELSEY ALLEN, BA, BJ ’10

post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide prevention training and behavioral health screening tools used by the U.S. Army. Silney, who was born in Haiti, completed medical school and established her practice as a private physician.

“My wife and I have been extremely blessed,” Bah says. “We are in a position where we can do something to make a difference for some other people. Somebody did that for us.” Silney’s elementary school principal helped her secure a U.S. Agency for International Development scholarship to come study in the states. Bah’s mother was determined to help him succeed in school, and in Columbia, a local family welcomed him into their community. “We are people who have received. We are people who give back,” Silney says.

When Stewart learned that Bah and Silney wanted to buy the Fanbulance and turn it into a mobile health clinic, he donated the vehicle to the effort. The couple spent more than $7,000 to turn the ambulance into a functioning clinic — “MIZ-ZOU” is still emblazoned on the back windows — and another $8,000 to transport it to Guinea. Now, it’s parked in Guinea’s capital, Conakry. The goal is to staff the clinic with volunteer medical professionals and travel from community to community offering physicals and eye, ear and dental exams.

In May, the couple returned to Guinea to forge partnerships with the minister of health and the local community. Silney offered consultations and is encouraging her connections in the health care community to make medical mission trips to support the clinic as well. For Bah and Silney, the clinic isn’t a business — it’s a labor of love. “We are doing this on our own with our own resources,” Bah says. “Hopefully, our community will step up to help with this project.” M

Ablo Bah and his wife, Carolle Silney, shipped a decommissioned ambulance from Columbia to Guinea.

The Missouri ClimateResilient Crop and Livestock Project has secured $35 million in federal grants, igniting a regenerative awakening across the state's agricultural community. The aim: revolutionizing Missouri farming. MIZZOU

GROWING GREEN FOR THE FUTURE

STORY BY DALE SMITH, BJ ’88 | PHOTOS BY ABBIE LANKITUS

With $35 million in federal grants, Rob Myers (opposite), director of MU’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture, spearheaded the Missouri ClimateResilient Crop and Livestock Project, empowering farmers for a sustainable, prosperous future. One program gives participating farmers stipends to help them try out climate-smart conservation methods.

“The water coming off my mother’s farmland was perfectly clear,” says Myers, director of Mizzou’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture. “But just a few yards away, drainage from the neighbor’s field was dark with sediment.”

Myers focuses on soil, that priceless, yet erodible, ground zero of food production. He observed that his mother’s farmer tenant had taken the unconventional step of planting cover crops following the harvest of traditional cash crops like corn and soybeans. Cereal rye anchored the otherwise bare soil with its extensive root systems, resulting in several benefits.

The clear and cloudy streams represent just one aspect of how farmers can enhance the resilience of the land — their livelihood and the nation’s breadbasket — against the vagaries of Mother Nature and shifting economic markets.

In 2022 and 2023, Myers won a pair of federal grants totaling $35 million aimed at educating and jumpstarting Missouri farmers in a range of proven regenerative approaches, from cover crops to alley cropping. The larger of the two grants funds the $25 million Missouri Climate-Resilient Crop and Livestock Project (CRCL). About 70% of its funding consists of seed money — some of it literally for seeds — that goes into farmers’ pockets as they acquire the knowledge and techniques to make their operations more resilient, ecologically sound and profitable.

Shibu Jose, associate dean for research in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, calls the grants “phenomenal.” Often, researchers wait many years for farmers to adopt new ideas, he says. “But through the project, we’ll have farmers with all types and sizes of operations putting climate-smart practices to work right away.”

The project aims to engage about 3,000 Missouri farmers working roughly 500,000 acres of crops and raising 100,000 head of beef cattle. Researchers will monitor progress during the five-year project with the aim of understanding the impact by the end. There isn’t a moment to lose, Jose says. “Globally, the agricultural community has been challenged to double food production by 2050.”

Equally important, Myers adds, is the project’s aim of storing 1 million metric tons of carbon in Missouri soil, enough to offset the emissions of more than 200,000 cars.

A More Ecological and Lucrative Cow

In addition to anchoring soil, cover crops can lower cattle producers’ feed expenses by providing forage: Turn the animals out onto the fields after the row crop has been harvested and the cover crop has grown in. It’s part of a remarkable cycle, says Jordan Thomas, assistant professor of animal sciences. “Beef cattle, not to mention sheep and goats, eat such forage, which is unpalatable to people, and turn that energy into an edible product.” Meanwhile, the animals’ waste improves soil fertility.

The project incentivizes participating farmers with payments that help them try out climate-smart conservation methods. For instance, a farmer could receive $50 an acre — $30 to plant the cover crop and $20 more to graze the animals on them. Within a few years, cover crop grazing shows a return of $49 an acre, Thomas says. And even if farmers plant cover crops but don’t graze cows there, in five years the per-acre profit rises by an estimated $17 for corn and $10 for soybean. Currently, about 10% of Missouri’s row-crop acres are seeded with cover crops, Thomas says. “But what if that were 20 or 30 or 40%?”

Thomas will also be teaching farmers how to enter the relatively untapped grass-fed beef market. To date, most Missouri calves have been shipped out of state to feedlots, where food is trucked to them. That setup burns a lot of fossil fuel, with its attendant environmental downsides, he says. “Food prices don’t account for those externalized costs yet,” he says.

As an alternative, he’ll suggest more ecofriendly ways producers can keep some cattle in Missouri and feed them on pasture with perennial grasses. Managing the acreage to avoid ecological pitfalls involves moving the animals every few days so they graze grasses just low enough to stimulate regrowth while maintaining a hospitable environment for other valuable plants, such as those friendly to pollinators.

After a rainstorm at his mother’s farm, agricultural researcher Rob Myers found himself at the boundary of her land and an adjoining field as a striking sight streamed past his feet.

Cover crops can lower livestock feed expenses. After row crops have been harvested and cover crops have grown in, beef cattle, sheep and goats eat the forage. In addition to saving money, the method can make for a higher quality, grass-fed product.

“When it comes to grass-finished beef, we’re seeing strong growth in popular interest regarding its health and ecological benefits,” Thomas says. “More and more people are also interested in providing animals with highwelfare environments where they can express their instinctive behavior.” And they are willing to pay for it, though relatively few farmers know about this burgeoning opportunity.

Numbers suggest that it’s worth a look. Producers of grass-finished beef are pocketing about $400 a head above feedlot prices. And Thomas is working on verification systems so consumers can know for sure they are getting the real thing.

Fungi Magic

The project’s fixation on cover crops is about much more than erosion on the half-million acres it plans to work with.

Forget forests, fens and deserts where plants, animals and climate mix it up. In agriculture, the key ecosystem mostly lies beneath the soil surface. It’s not just moles and earthworms in the subterrain. Certain fungi attach to roots and form a mutually beneficial relationship, Myers says. Roots feed fungi by releasing sugars (Thank you, photosynthesis!), and the fungi’s tendrils transfer moisture and nutrients from the soil to the plant. This arrangement works great if roots live in the soil. But the cycle breaks after row crops are harvested.

Unless, that is, farmers then plant cover crops. The fungi will take up with most living roots, so they’re ready and waiting to help the next row crop when it comes in. Preserving this symbiotic relationship year-round improves soil fertility, and, before long, crop yields rise.

Mulching the Alleys

These strategies are all well and good for large farms, where economies of scale play out. But the project also offers small and underserved

“When it comes to grass-finished beef, we’re seeing strong growth in popular interest regarding its health and ecological benefits,” Thomas says. “More and more people are also interested in providing animals with high-welfare environments where they can express their instinctive behavior.”

RESEARCH

Mycorrhizal fungi form associations with the roots of plants, such as with the corn growing in this illustration. The fungi connect with the root hairs of the corn and extend their hyphae through the soil. This provides an opportunity to transfer carbon and nutrients with the fungi while also improving the health of the soil.

Kelly Wilson, associate director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture, with Meyers.

producers a bite of the apple, says Kelly Wilson, associate director of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture. “Many traditional farming practices have increased productivity but also eroded resources and proved detrimental to people and rural communities as well.”

She is working to reverse those trends by recruiting 100 small farms statewide to create climate-smart fieldscapes — areas that will employ at least three regenerative methods — and invite visitors to observe the result. For instance, in addition to using cover crops, the demonstration farms might also use mulching and alley-cropping practices, Wilson says.

Mulching with hay between rows of vegetables not only smothers weeds but also adds nutrients to the soil and reduces the need for tilling. The soil structure remains intact so it can better gather nutrients and absorb water.

Fans of agroforestry will recognize alley cropping as a scheme of growing agricultural crops in alleyways between woody plants, such as chestnut or hardwood trees. The alternating rows of varied plants can diversify income streams, increase per-acre production and improve habitat for wildlife, including pollinators. Plus, each plant has its own way of sequestering carbon in the soil.

Stasis Isn’t Cheap

Even when offered evidence-based methods, financial incentives and the best of intentions, farmers may hesitate to give novel approaches a try. “To a cattle guy whose profit-per-acre is only $10 or

$15 dollars, trying something new is a big deal. So, the financial assistance from this program really helps,” says Ryan Britt, BS Ag ’00, a fifth-generation Missouri farmer raising cattle and row crops about 50 miles north of Columbia near Clifton Hill. But the resistance goes even deeper.

“The most expensive words in agriculture are, ‘We’ve always done it that way,’” Britt says. “We hold dear to our values. But we also have to ask ourselves if the old reasons still apply today. We need to see that a new way of doing things works and that it’s good for the land and that it’s profitable. That’s a win-win-win.”

Learn more about the project at cra.missouri. edu/mo-crcl. M

CULTIVATING TOMORROW

Josh Payne

Concordia,

Missouri

Rusted Plowshares Farm

After enduring allergic reactions that caused Josh Payne’s throat to contract and could have killed him, a doctor finally determined the culprit: glyphosate in pesticides and herbicides. He either had to leave farming or abandon such chemicals. Payne, who has a certificate in agroforestry from Mizzou and corresponds with the Center for Regenerative Agriculture, has since specialized in lucrative, chemical-free niches. There’s lamb, for instance. Their ability to thrive on pasture grasses appeals to customers wanting meat with low environmental impact. Lamb wholesales well, but Payne also loves interacting with his farmers market customers in Kansas City. They want “clean” food, he says. He can talk them through his chemical-free methods and brag that carbon is increasing in his soil. But the connection is bigger than grass-fed and organic, he says. “People want to know who their farmer is.”

Ryan Britt, BS Ag ’00

Clifton Hill, Missouri

Britt Farms

Farming is a long game — generations long, in the case of Ryan Britt, BS Ag ’00, who with his family won the 2022 Missouri Leopold Conservation Award for how well they managed their land, its water and wildlife habitat. Beyond teaming with his father on their 5,000acre cattle and cash crop operation, he toils at the expansive task of ensuring that climate-smart farmers are rewarded for their efforts. The CRCL project supports development of connections between producers and commodity processors so they can track sustainably grown products. “The goal is a national program that would label the products,” Britt says. Customers would be able to grab an item in a store and see it was produced in ways that are good for the environment. We think they’d say, ‘I’m willing to pay a little more for that.’”

Meet two Missouri farmers who are embracing sustainable methods for a healthier planet.

Seventeen years after a new edition of the Mizzou-set novel Stoner sparked acclaim as a rediscovered masterpiece, alumnus John Williams’ 1965 work is in Amazon’s Top 100.

A QUIET CLASSIC

by tony rehagen ba, bj ’01

In 2013, the New Yorker reviewed John Williams’ Stoner, declaring it the “greatest novel you’ve never heard of,” a book “that sees life whole and as it is, without delusion yet without despair.” Both the Guardian and Waterstones, a British book retailer, soon named it their book of the year.

Alas, Williams, PhD ’54, was not able to relish the success — he died in 1994 — but the author no doubt would have been in equal measures pleased and chagrined by the belated appreciation of his masterpiece, which sold just 2,000 copies when it appeared in 1965. It’s now a recurrent presence on contemporary fiction bestseller lists.

The unearthing of Stoner not only renewed interest in a Mizzou alumnus but also helped introduce the literary world to the University of Missouri. The campus is more than just the setting for Prof. William Stoner’s life — it’s something of a supporting character in the work, beginning with the opening line: “William Stoner entered the University of Missouri as a freshman in the year 1910, at the age of nineteen.”

The narrative follows Stoner as he leaves his family’s farm near Boonville (Williams spells it “Booneville”) to enroll in the College of Agriculture at Mizzou. The young man planned to attend the land-grant university to learn the latest advances in agronomy and take that skill and knowledge back to the field.

During a survey course in English literature, though, Stoner is seduced by Shakespeare’s sonnets. “He held the feeling to him as he hurried

A Stoner Guide to Columbia

Across a novel set in and around Mizzou, Stoner protagonist William Stoner spends the first half of the 20th century — two World Wars, the Roaring ’20s and the Great Depression included — woven into the fabric of the university. As he, his family, students and peers do so, author John Williams, PhD ’54, paints a vivid picture of Columbia and the campus.

Here are a few of the most resonant descriptions.

KKKKK

On the MU Library:

[B]efore William Stoner the future lay

to his next class,” Williams wrote of the moments after Stoner’s awakening to literature, “and he held it through the lecture by his professor in soil chemistry, against the droning voice that recited things to be written in notebooks and remembered by a process of drudgery that even now was becoming unfamiliar to him.” Stoner eventually abandons farming to pursue a career in literary studies.

In the book’s dedication to the author’s former English department colleagues, he says that both people and place have “in effect” been fictionalized beyond recognition. Even so, the mention of Boonville and scenes of Stoner strolling past the Columns en route to his classes and later his office in Jesse Hall are instantly familiar to any Tiger, past or present.

Meanwhile, modern readers gravitate to how the book makes the seemingly insignificant jump from the page. In fact, the first paragraph is essentially Stoner’s obituary, and an unremarkable one at that: “He did not rise above the rank of assistant professor, and few students remembered him with any sharpness after they had taken his courses.” Yet Williams’ careful cadence and easy pacing compel readers to follow for 275 more pages. In the end, after watching any hope of happiness slip away from our protagonist, readers come to see something sacred in an unassuming life quietly lived.

Williams only spent a year in Columbia, dur-

bright and certain and unchanging. He saw it, not as a flux of event and change and potentiality, but as territory ahead that awaited his exploration. He saw it as the great University library, to which new wings might be built, to which new books might be added and from which old ones might be withdrawn, while its true nature remained essentially unchanged.

KKKKK

On the Quad:

Sometimes he stood at the center of the Quad, looking at the five [sic] huge columns in front of Jesse Hall that thrust upward into the night out of the cool

ing which he studied, taught and steeped himself in campus gossip and lore in a literary club of students and professors that met twice a month at Moon Valley Villa, a banquet hall that sat just south of what is now Stephens Lake Park. He then moved on to become a professor at the University of Denver, where he wrote four novels, the third of which was Stoner. In 1972, he penned his final work, Augustus, which won Williams a share of the National Book Award. But even then, wide recognition for Stoner, now considered to be his finest novel, would have to wait another four decades.

How established has it become in the contemporary canon? Stoner — which, despite its title, contains nary a mention of cannabis — has been optioned for film by lauded company Film4 and in 2017 was attached to a project by Blumhouse Productions starring Oscar-winner Casey Affleck, though work hasn’t started. Currently, Stoner is at No. 78 on Amazon’s top-selling contemporary literature and fiction list, where it sits alongside more renowned novels including David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest, Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

Although Professor Stoner finds little joy during his fictional life in Columbia, Mizzou does emerge from the gloom as a champion for knowledge. Early on, Stoner the student searches for reassurance about his decision to abandon the farm in pursuit of higher learning: “Sometimes he stood in the center of the quad, looking at the

five [sic] huge columns in front of Jesse Hall that thrust upward into the night out of the cool grass … . Grayish silver in the moonlight, bare and pure, they seemed to him to represent the way of life he had embraced, as a temple represents a god.”

“The implication,” writes biographer Charles Shields, “is that the University of Missouri, the first university west of the Mississippi, is a kind of Athens on the edge of the wilderness.” M

Author John Williams’ (pictured) book earned a boost in 2010 when actor Tom Hanks called it “simply a novel about a guy who goes to college and becomes a teacher. But it’s one of the most fascinating things that you’ve ever come across.”

grass; he had learned that these columns were the remains of the original main building of the university, destroyed many years ago by fire. Grayish silver in the moonlight, bare and pure, they seemed to him to represent the way of life he had embraced, as a temple represents a god.

KKKKK

Inside (what seem like) the

Niedermeyer Apartments:

About three blocks from the campus, toward town, a cluster of old houses had, some years before, been converted into apartments … The house in which Katherine Driscoll lived stood in the

midst of these. It was a huge three-storied building of gray stone, with a bewildering variety of entrances and exits, with turrets and bay windows and balconies projecting outward and upward on all sides.

KKKKK

Inside Jesse Hall:

He stood at the stairs that led up to the second floor; the steps were marble, and in their precise centers were gentle troughs worn smooth by decades of footsteps going up and down. They had been almost new when — how many years ago? — he had first stood here and looked up, as he looked now, and

wondered where they would lead him.

KKKKK

At the end of World War II:

On November 11th of that year, two months after its last semester began, the Armistice was signed. The news came on a class day, and immediately the classes broke up; students ran aimlessly about the campus and started small parades that gathered, dispersed, and gathered again, winding through halls, classrooms, and offices. Half against his will, Stoner was caught up in one of these which led into Jesse Hall, through corridors, up stairs, and through corridors again.

The 2023 Tigers possess the tools and the potential. Can the team weaponize them?

STORY BY TONY REHEGAN, BA, BJ

’01

li Drinkwitz arrived on campus in 2020 as a highly touted, fastrising young head coach, and in some ways, he’s lived up to the hype. In his first three seasons wearing the Mizzou headset, he has won 17 games, one of only six coaches in school history to win at least that many to start their careers — and he’s one of only two coaches to have been bowl eligible in each of his first three seasons. He was rewarded with a two-year contract extension midway through last season.

At the same time, Drinkwitz has yet to post a winning record. And this year, the media has picked his squad to finish sixth in the seven-team SEC Eastern Division.

But some of those same pundits and reporters also allow that Missouri has the tools (a stout and experienced defense) and potential (a second year of five-star receiver Luther Burden III) to surprise opponents. Will those weapons be enough to overcome an always-stiff Southeastern Conference opposition?

Let’s break down the 2023 Missouri football team trying to return our school to gridiron glory.

The Coach

All eyes will be on the sideline and behind the table at postgame press conferences as “Coach Drink” works to fulfill the promise he brought with him when he was hired.

“We’re not trying to prove we’re individually talented; we know that we’ve had talent on this football team,” he said at a press conference in July. “We’re trying to prove collectively that we belong in our league and can play better than we have and produce better results.”

Drinkwitz’s reputation has centered on being one of the most innovative offensive brains in the college game. It’s the Tiger offense, though, that has failed to gain the necessary yards — and more importantly points on the board — finishing 11th in the SEC in both categories in 2022. Those results, or lack thereof, seem to have been enough for Drinkwitz to call for help. This offseason, he brought in former Fresno State offensive coordinator Kirby Moore to call plays for the Tigers in 2023 — the first year in Drinkwitz’s head-coaching career that he won’t be holding the clipboard.

The Offense

While the scheme might look different with Coach Moore at the helm, the offense could have consistency under center for the first time in Drinkwitz’s tenure. Last year, Brady Cook be-

came the first quarterback under the coach to start every game of the season, and the redshirt junior is the early favorite for first-string QB this year. But don’t rule out four-star recruit and redshirt freshman Sam Horn; former Top 25 overall recruit Jake Garcia, who transferred from Miami; or junior-college transfer Dylan Laible.

Whoever takes the snaps, they’ll be protected by preseason All-SEC second-teamer Javon Foster and a revamped offensive line. It includes 2023 All-American Athletic Conference center Cam’Ron Johnson, a former guard who followed his offensive line coach, Brandon Jones, to Columbia from Houston. He’ll join Eastern Michigan transfer Marcellus Johnson; Bence Polgar, a transfer who sat out last season; and standout sophomore right guard Armand Membou.

Regardless of how the rest of the offense shakes out, fans should be excited to watch the progression of Burden at wide receiver. Last year he outmaneuvered defenses with 45 catches and six touchdowns, showing glimpses of explosiveness — and this year, he’ll move to slot receiver, which should only boost his opportunities.

The Defense

If the Tigers are going to shock anyone, it likely won’t be with 40-point offensive onslaughts. It’ll be by their defense neutralizing opposing playmakers, keeping other teams out of the end zone and winning the battle of field position.

Last year, under first-year defensive coordinator Blake Baker, Mizzou held opponents to a mere 25.2 points per game. They finished fourth in the SEC in total defense, letting up just 5.25 yards per play and only 33 touchdowns.

This year, they return eight starters from that 2022 unit. Linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper and defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine have already been named second-team preseason All-SEC and defensive lineman Darius Robinson was on the third team. Add in defensive backs Jaylon “JC “Carlies and Daylan Carnell, who combined for six interceptions, and there’s plenty of reason to believe in the Tiger D.

The Special Teams

This is often an unsung aspect of the team, but that’s when you don’t have a kicker tied for second in program history with 61 career field goals made. This year, preseason All-SEC second-team kicker Harrison Mevis will look to add to his legacy, which includes a schoolrecord 10 career FGs from 50 yards or more. M

Last year the Tigers were 4–1 at home. From left, linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, wide reciever Luther Burden III, Coach Eli Drinkwitz, defensive back Kris AbramsDraine and kicker Harrison Mevis.

RAISE THE ROOF

In early August, summer thunderstorms prompted the football Tigers to try out the $33 million Stephens Indoor Facility, which covers 86,400 square feet and replaces the Devine Pavilion. The facility boasts a full 100-yard field for team practice and improved training opportunities — and sets the pace for rain-free DayOne exercises. One new ritual? Coach Eli Drinkwitz introduced the “Nick Bolton Drill,” paying tribute to the former Mizzou linebacker and Super Bowl standout.

BUILD THE FOUNDATION

Want to further advance the Mizzou studentathlete experience while positively impacting our communities? The nonprofit Every True Tiger Foundation is the preferred collective of Mizzou Athletics and partners Tiger student-athletes with community nonprofits through the use of students’ name, image and likeness (NIL). Learn more at everytruetiger.org.

ILLUSTRATION: BLAKE DINSDALE, PHOTOS BY MIZZOU ATHLETICS

Triple Players

Jonathan Jain

Junior

Kennett, Missouri

Journalism

Describe yourself in five words. Hardworking, driven, passionate, personable, innovative

What’s the best decision you’ve made as a director (so far)?

Building relationships with community groups that will help us feed more people than ever before during our canned food drive this year

What’s your favorite class? Cases and Controversies in American Law

What’s your favorite thing about Homecoming?

The love for Mizzou. That’s what brings alumni home, energizes students and makes everyone around want to experience the traditions.

Who’s your ultimate dinner companion?

Will Ferrell

What binge-worthy show(s) would you recommend?

Seinfeld or The West Wing

First purchase after winning the lottery?

Well, if I won $20 from a scratch-off and wanted a good laugh, then I’d buy KU season tickets.

Obsession?

The Heidelberg’s chicken quesadilla

What superpower would you like to have?

The ability to talk with animals so Truman and I could hang out

What’s your favorite way to relax?

Golfing (until I add up my score)

Annie Watson

Senior St. Louis

Electrical engineering and economics

Describe yourself in five words. Passionate, thoughtful, protective, analytical, outgoing

What’s the best decision you’ve made as a director (so far)?

The steering committee members we chose are absolutely amazing! They have so much dedication to this organization. I’m so excited to see the results of the hard work they’ve put in.

What’s your favorite class?

Architectural Robotics

What’s your favorite thing about Homecoming?

I love seeing alumni, students and little kids coming together in their black and gold to celebrate our university’s greatest tradition.

Who’s your ultimate dinner companion?

Dolly Parton

What’s the biggest surprise for you of college life? A good PB&J never gets old.

First purchase after winning the lottery?

A trip to Greece — I’ve always wanted to go.

Obsession?

My golden retriever puppy back at home

What superpower would you like to have?

Invisibility

What’s your favorite way to relax? Hanging out at the lake with my family

Adela Keller

Junior

St. Louis

Marketing

Describe yourself in five words. Creative, enthusiastic, easygoing, personable and fun-loving

What’s the best decision you’ve made as a director (so far)? Getting a planner

What’s your favorite class?

Fashion Retail Strategies

What’s your favorite thing about Homecoming?

All the friendships and memories you make along the way

Who’s your ultimate dinner companion?

Julie Andrews

What’s the biggest surprise for you of college life? How much I walk every day to get around

What binge-worthy show(s) would you recommend?

Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Obsession?

Interior design, especially Architectural Digest videos

First purchase after winning the lottery? A beach cottage

What superpower would you like to have? Flying

What’s your favorite way to relax? Sitting outside and being with friends or enjoying live music

Meet your ’23 Homecoming Steering Committee tri-directors.

Blood, Sweat and Cheers

It took a lot of blood, a little bit of sweat and probably a few tears, but Mizzou students potentially saved thousands of lives this past year as part of the Homecoming festivities. Mizzou’s Homecoming — widely considered to be the country’s very first — included a variety of events such as pep rallies, a parade, a bonfire and a football game when it began in 1911.

Wanting to add a community service component to the festivities, decades later the Homecoming committee began partnering with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive. Now in its 38th year, the event has grown to become the largest student-run blood drive in the country. Last year, 800 students volunteered for the drive.

Maddie Dunkmann, BJ ’20, served as a student leader on the Homecoming blood drive committee in 2018. “I loved my experience working on Homecoming and helping lead the blood drive,” she says. So much so, in fact, that she’s now on staff as coordinator of Mizzou’s alumni and student programs.

Every year’s drive goal has exceeded the last. In 2022, they collected 4,055 units of blood — nearly twice that of the previous year. It’s become a competition among different residence halls, campus organizations, Greek chapters and academic units. Mizzou students are, quite literally, out for blood to see which group can donate the most. “Every year, we shatter our goal thanks to these

different student groups trying to beat one another,” says Abbey Overstreet, account manager at the Red Cross, who has worked on the Mizzou drive for the past three years. “It can get pretty competitive.”

A blood drive of this size requires a lot of resources. The Red Cross commits nearly all their teams across the region just to have enough phlebotomists to draw the blood. “We pull in our teams from St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, Cape Girardeau and even southern Illinois to make this happen,” Overstreet says. The drive requires 125 phlebotomists per day.

Donations collected during Homecoming are helping meet the nation’s high demand for blood. According to the Red Cross, someone in the U.S. needs blood every 2 seconds due to accidents, burns, surgeries and cancer treatment. However, only about 3% of age-eligible people donate blood yearly.

This year’s Homecoming Blood Drive will take place Oct. 9–12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hearnes Center. For those interested in donating, appointments can be made by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, calling 1-800RED CROSS or visiting redcrossblood.org and entering sponsor code MIZZOU. Walk-ins are accepted, but appointments are strongly encouraged due to the popularity of the event.

— Blaire Leible Garwitz, MA ’06

Years the Homecoming Blood Drive has been around

student volunteers in 2022

38 800 4,055

units of blood collected last year

125+ 4,055+ 1,300

phlebotomists needed each day of drive potential lives impacted through last year’s donations Approximate appointments each day of drive

Nearly 90%

of student donors represent Greek organizations

The Red Cross’ biggest blood drive occurs during Mizzou Homecoming.

2023 Homecoming Events

Sept. 29

Tiger Food Fight

Reynolds Alumni Center Circle Drive

Each fall, the Mizzou community makes a significant contribution to the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, which benefits Tiger Pantry on campus.

Oct. 9–12

Homecoming

Blood Drive

Hearnes Center

11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Open to all students, faculty, staff and the community. Regional blood drives encourage local donations that are tracked as service in recognition of Homecoming.

Oct. 16–18

Talent Show

Jesse Auditorium

6:30–9 p.m.

Mizzou students are a talented bunch. Watch them sing, dance and joke in person or catch the highlights at mizzou.com.”

Oct. 20

Campus Decorations

Greektown

Bring the whole family out to Greektown for this annual tradition. Participating houses will be decked out with interactive displays, skits and activities for Tiger fans of all ages. Food trucks and other vendors will be posted throughout the area.

Oct. 20

Homecoming Headquarters

Reynolds Alumni Center Circle Drive

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Check in for Homecoming weekend and reconnect with old friendsat Homecoming Headquarters. Pick up information for the weekend’s festivities and enjoy light refreshments provided by the Mizzou Alumni Association.

Oct. 20

Spirit Rally Traditions Plaza

8:30 p.m.

Stop by Traditions Plaza as Marching Mizzou and the Golden Girls help us get excited for the Homecoming football game!

Oct. 20

Step Show

Jesse Hall

6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The National Panhellenic Council will put on this year's Homecoming Step Show. Come watch NPHC organizations compete to see who can stroll and step the best.

Oct. 21

Parade

MU Campus & Downtown Columbia

Time TBA

Strike up the band, alert the mule team, and put on your best black and gold as we celebrate all we love about Mizzou!

Football Game

Faurot Field

Time TBA

Cheer on the Tigers as they take on South Carolina.

Hudson was an MU Health Care patient even before he was born. Ultrasounds showed bilateral limb differences and issues with his heart, kidneys, spine, esophagus and lungs. His first surgery was 24 hours after his birth; over the next two years, he’d require additional surgeries, weekly checkups and complex support. He’s now thriving, thanks to his dedicated team of specialists and caregivers. (And, perhaps, a little encouragement from his hero, Truman the Tiger.)

Our new Children’s Hospital, opening in Summer 2024, brings our world-class pediatric resources under one roof — allowing even more children like Hudson to receive the care they need, while remaining close to home.

“He quickly went from taking just a few steps to squatting, running, and jumping... he’s a typical, rambunctious little boy now. His energy only drops when he’s asleep.”

- Kristen, Mother of Hudson (age 3) , Children’s Miracle Network Champion Child

IT’S GOOD TO BE A MEMBER.

MEMBER CALENDAR

Full-color wall calendar featuring photos of campus

FLAT TRUMAN

Everyone’s favorite tiger, now available in 2D

MIZZOU MAGAZINE

Three issues delivered to your mailbox each year

TIGER SAVINGS PROGRAM

Exclusive discounts at national and local retailers

TIGER TAILGATES

Travel and tailgate offered for select away football games

EXPLORE THESE BENEFITS OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP AND MORE: MIZZOU.COM/BENEFITS

MAA VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB

New book selections every three months

Aiming for New Connections

Incoming Mizzou Alumni Association

President Mindy Mazur’s involvement started as a fan. Attending Tiger watch parties, she was soon mentoring other women in MAA’s Griffiths Leadership Society.

Mindy (Ruff) Mazur makes an immediate and genuine connection with virtually everyone she meets, not a bad trait for an incoming Mizzou Alumni Association president. Gifted with a confident and easy manner, she’s set her sights on a basic goal for her accomplished career. “I’m to the point where I’ve boiled down what success looks like for me, and it’s pretty simple,” she says, describing it as “being able to work with people I like and getting paid to work on issues I care about.”

Her career has been built on a commitment to make Missouri and the country better. After graduating from MU in 1999, Mazur progressed through a multiverse of careers before landing four years ago as managing partner for Lents Mazur & Associates, a St. Louis-based strategic consulting firm with clients throughout the U.S. In 2025, she will transition to become the firm’s sole owner.

With a bio that reads like a case study in public service and business leadership, Mazur founded an initiative 10 years ago that linked, in her words, “do-good people to do-good work.” That endeavor led her to oversee a team at Lents Mazur & Associates that offers consulting services for nonprofits and commercial companies. Her involvement with MAA started as a fan: Attending Tiger

watch parties, she was soon mentoring other women in MAA’s Griffiths Leadership Society. “People and purpose are the threads that connect my interests. It’s a thread with a good bit of black and gold in it,” she says. Outside of her salaried hours, she devotes time and energy to her family — she and her partner, Jeff Mazur, BA ’99, have twin daughters — and unpaid volunteer work.

While an MU undergraduate majoring in communications with a music minor, Mazur flexed her activist muscles by co-founding a program to prevent sexual assault. After graduation, she broadened her focus on social issues as a legislative aide for Congressman Ike Skelton in Washington, D.C., along the way earning a master’s in political management from George Washington University. Mazur went on to manage Robin Carnahan’s successful Missouri race for secretary of state, then became Carnahan’s chief of staff.

Calling herself “fortunate to have meaningful work that makes an impact,” the new MAA president describes similar aims as she furthers the alumni association’s mission: “My goals are to make more alums feel included and welcomed and to leverage technology to keep people connected.” — Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, MS ’76, MA ’87

Mizzou’s Radiant Influence

It’s that time of year when rankings become part of college fans’ weekly discussions. Although we all want to see our Tigers climb the rankings this fall, a very different ranking caught my eye recently on social media. I noticed a graphic that included power rankings for university nuclear reactors — and guess who is easily No. 1?

At 10 megawatts, the MU Research Reactor (MURR) is the most powerful in the country and holds another important distinction: It’s currently the only producer in the U.S. of certain medical isotopes used to treat liver, thyroid, pancreatic and prostate cancers. In fact, more than 1.6 million patients a year are diagnosed or treated using radioisotopes that MURR produces. Now that’s worldwide impact straight from the heart of Missouri!

In the spring, Mizzou announced plans to double down on its ranking by building a second research reactor in the next eight to 10 years. In addition to increasing the capacity to create more cancer-fighting isotopes, the reactor, called NextGen MURR, may be an opportunity for the state of Missouri and Mizzou to become the country’s epicenter for nuclear medicine.

No. 1 rankings are cherished and rare. In this case, it’s vastly underpublicized. As you enjoy watching our Tigers play this fall, savor this pride point from your alma mater.

TODD MCCUBBIN, M ED ’95

Executive Director, Mizzou Alumni Association

Email: mccubbint@missouri.edu

Twitter: @MizzouTodd

Class Notes

1940

Edward Matheny Jr., BA ’44, of Kansas City, Mo., celebrated his 100th birthday July 15, 2023.

1970

HHDonna Vandiver, BJ ’72, of St. Louis is managing partner of the St. Louis office of Lambert Global.

HHDavid Minnick, BS Ag ’78, JD ’81, of Jefferson City, Mo., is a mediator, arbitrator and securities industry consultant at United States Arbitration & Mediation.

1980

Susan Trautman, BS ’80, MPA ’87, of St. Louis received the A-List 2023: Shaping the Region Award from St. Louis Magazine.

HHMary Russell, JD ’83, of Chesterfield, Mo., is chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

HJohn Harris, BA ’84, of Lincoln, Neb., is leadership development coach for ALLO Communications.

HJenny Herner, BJ ’87, of St. Louis is president of the St. Louis Association of Corporate Counsel.

HLesley Solinger Hoffarth, BS CiE ’88, of Kirkwood, Mo., received the A-List 2023: Shaping the Region Award from St. Louis Magazine.

HMichelle Froese, MA ’89, PhD ’96, of Columbia, Mo., is interim dean of students for the University of Missouri.

1990

HHF. Ewell Lawson, BA ’92, MPA ’99, of Columbia, Mo., received the Alan H. Richardson Statesmanship Award from

the American Public Power Association.

Kristen Sorth, BA ’94, MPA ’98, of St. Louis received the A-List 2023: Shaping the Region Award from St. Louis Magazine.

Stacey Kamps, BS Acc ’95, of St. Louis is chief financial officer of Keeley Capital.

HVin Reddy, BS ’97, MD ’01, of Columbus, Ohio, is vice president of operations for Riverside Radiology & Interventional Associations and Lucid Solutions.

HHJennifer Horton, MA ’98, of Columbia, Mo., is director of marketing at William Woods University.

Orvin Kimbrough, BSW ’98, MSW ’00, of St. Louis received the A-List 2023: Shaping the Region Award from St. Louis Magazine.

2000

HHSusan McNay, BGS ’02, of Centertown, Mo., received the President’s Award from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Brendan Shea, BJ ’05, of Chicago launched Sunup, a branding and creative studio.

Daniela Velazquez, BA, BJ ’05, of St. Louis is alderwoman for the 6th Ward in the city of St. Louis.

Ryan Carlie, BS BA ’06, of St. Louis is managing director of investments and development at Summit Real Estate Group.

Heather Hoffman, BA ’07, MA ’16, PhD ’22, of Columbia, Mo., is assistant dean of professional development and leadership at the University of Missouri’s Graduate School.

WELCOME, TRADITIONS CIRCLE MEMBERS

Traditions Circle recognizes alumni and friends for their contributions to the Mizzou Traditions Fund. Their support of the Mizzou Traditions Fund preserves the traditions we love and provides scholarships for students.

Mark Bauer

Catherine & Glenn Blumhorst

Linda & Larry Burton

Julie & David Corley

Reed Dimmitt

Deborah & Robert Dolgin

Cordelia (Dee) Esry

Kate & Robert Fick

Sherri & Randy Gallick

Edwin Gladbach

Karen Grace

Kathy & Steve Hays

Brock Hessing, Sr.

Jan & Jim Jackson

Robert D. Jenkins

Jan & Ron Kessler

Christine Ladd

Cheryl & Craig Lalumandier

Beth & Dudley McCarter

Debbie & Todd McCubbin

Sabrina & Eric McDonnell

Teresa & Bruce McKinney

Mary & Jerome McKinney

Virginia & Bruce McMillan

Richard Miller

Rebecca Morton

Grace & Brad Nowlin

Karl Lee Perrey

Paula and Rodger Riney

Lisa & Frank Rodman

Gema & James Simmons

Carol & Gary Smith

Jean Springer

Nancy Staats

Cheryl & Joseph Stephens

Kate Snider Thrailkill

Kim Utlaut

Julie & Jeff Vogel

Virginia & William Young

Robin Wenneker

Charging Ahead

To reach the federal target of net-zero emissions by 2050, the U.S. is going to need a lot more electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Mizzou architectural studies graduate Jeffrey Lee, BS HES ’12, just gave the charging infrastructure project a jolt of new energy. With Level Studio co-founders Christopher Taurasi and Lexi White, the team’s EV charging station concept, Electric Oasis, won the American Institute of Steel Construction’s 2023 Forge Prize. Embracing steel as the primary building material, the design reimagines existing gas stations as charging hubs for electric vehicles.

With the shift away from gas-powered vehicles — the goal is to have EVs make up at least 50% of new car sales by 2030 — conventional gas stations could be driven out of business. But half of gas stations are on petroleum-contaminated land that requires stringent remediation. “You can’t just demo and rebuild,” Lee says. The studio’s design features “tree-like” steel canopies that integrate into their foundation an innovative remediation aeration system that eliminates ethanol contamination that would typically render such sites unusable.

The concept also addresses the lengthy EV charging process. Filling a tank of gas usually takes around five to 10 minutes, whereas the time required for an EV to reach a full change can take up to 4 1/2 hours. “Our solution was to create more spaces to reimagine the typology from what you know now as the gas station to something that’s more of a destination,” Lee says. “The design is modular, so it can be adapted to different sites.”

For example, an Electric Oasis in a small farming town in California might feature a health care clinic and a day care with canopies designed to provide shade. The canopies at a charging station in Seattle might collect rainwater and ser -

Jeffrey Lee, BS HES ’12, is part of team working on future renewable energy terminals. “It’s not just a charging station,” he says. “What does the community need? Can these spaces also serve them?”

vices might include different entertainment, dining and retail options. “It’s not just a charging station,” Lee says.

“What does the community need? Can these spaces also serve them?”

Lee formed Level Studio in 2021 with Taurasi and White, whom he met in graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis. For now, the studio is a side project. “We’re doing this on nights and weekends,” Lee says. During the day, he’s an architectural designer at Davis Brody Bond in New York City. But the team is pursuing leads and is open to partnering with interested fabricators or development teams to bring their Electric Oasis design to life. — Kelsey Allen, BA, BJ ’10

Events ALMA Unveiled

A new era for Mizzou’s Latino alumni

September 9, 2023 MO Jazz Music Festival, Rose Music Hall

15, CAFNR Tiger Classic golf tournament, Lake of the Woods Golf Course

23, Tiger Tailgate at Ballpark Village before Memphis football game, St. Louis

For Spanish speakers, alma means soul. For Tigers, ALMA is the acronym for the Alliance of Latino Mizzou Alumni, a newly launched MAA affinity group for alumni who identify as Latino, Hispanic, Latin American/Latino, Latinx or having Spanish ancestry, as well as for faculty and any alumni interested in joining or supporting the group.

Because Mizzou’s 7,477 Latino alums are scattered throughout the U.S. and world, a website, mizzou.com/alma, serves as the communications focal point of the group. Visitors to the website can join the group at no cost and sign up for updates about ALMA and its members.

“ALMA’s message to Latinos is that your heritage and culture are appreciated,” says Jacquelinne Mejia, BJ ’11, of Los Angeles, who along with two other MAA leaders — Ruben Valadez, BJ ’01, of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Joe Valenciano, BA ’95, of Lenexa, Kansas — shepherded ALMA from early brainstorming sessions last year to a working project that they hope will become a vital part of the MAA.

The new group aspires to be both a welcoming

Brandy Shy, BS Acc, M Acc ’08, of St. Louis is a partner at Forvis.

2010

Jesse Burns, BS BA ’10, of Stilwell, Kan., is partner and senior financial planner at Keen Wealth Advisors.

Jason Steingraber, EdD ’10, of Springfield, Mo., is executive director of choice programs and summer learning for Springfield Public Schools.

Michelle Flandreau, BJ ’11, of Seattle is senior manager of host communications editorial at Airbnb.

Dani Wexelman, BJ ’11, of New York is an on-air host and reporter for ESPN.

Corey Bryant, BS CiE ’12, of Saint Charles, Mo., is senior associate at SSC Engineering Inc.

Payton Swanegan Asmus, BS ’15, of St. Louis is

home for its members as well as a bridge linking those members to the larger association. Mejia, Valadez and Valenciano are excited to see the group’s website up and running, but they consider it only a first step. “What we hope to do next is to get some feedback from ALMA members to determine what sort of programming they’d be interested in,” Valenciano says.

Valadez looks forward to building a future where ALMA offers Latinos a unified voice within the alumni association while supporting the personal and professional lives of its members. Referring to the Spanish meaning of the acronym he helped coin, he says, “This will be an organization that has some real soul in it — with some real important work to do for individuals and the alumni association.” — Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, MS ’76, MA ’87

manager of member services for St. Louis City SC.

Payton Covert, BS BA ’16, MPA ’21, of Kansas City, Mo., is alumni director at University of MissouriKansas City.

Allison Fitts, BS BA ’16, of Denver is tour production coordinator for Kendrick Lamar.

Kelly Rownd, M Ed ’16, of Raleigh, N.C., is director of career readiness at

NC State University.

Derek Spencer, JD ’16, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., is an associate circuit judge in Cass County, Missouri.

Nicole Carr, MS ’18, of Kansas City, Mo., is vice president of nursing operations at HCA Midwest Health.

Obehi Imarenezor, BJ ’18, of Los Angeles is social media manager at Amazon Music.

29–31, Treeline Music Fest featuring Salt-NPepa, Robert Cray, Amanda Shires and more, Stephens Lake Park

30, CAFNR Showcase at South Farm, South Farm Research Center

October 14, Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival, Hartsburg, Missouri

15, Bobcat Goldthwait, The Blue Note

21, 112th Mizzou Homecoming game vs. the South Carolina Gamecocks, Memorial Stadium

November 2–5, 9–12, Something Rotten, Rhynsburger Theatre

5, Sun Ra Arkestra, The Blue Note

30, Women’s basketball @ Virginia, SEC/ACC Challenge

December

10, Mizzou men’s basketball @ Kansas, Hy-Vee Hoops Border Showdown

Meet the founding leaders of the Alliance of Latino Mizzou Alumni, from left: Ruben Valadez, BJ ’01; Jacquelinne Mejia, BJ ’11; and Joe Valenciano, BA ’95.

Mizzou Rolls in to the Lou

Tiger fans can once again paint St. Louis black and gold when Mizzou takes on University of Memphis Sept. 23 — the first Mizzou football game to take place in the city since 2010.

To celebrate the return to St. Louis, the Mizzou Alumni Association is hosting a familyfriendly Tiger Tailgate in Ballpark Village prior to kickoff. All Mizzou alumni, fans and friends are invited to come cheer on the Tigers and show off their black-and-gold spirit.

The event marks the beginning of the Mizzou to the Lou series, a partnership between Mizzou Athletics and the St. Louis Sports Commission. During the 2023–24 season, multiple Mizzou athletic events will be held in St. Louis.

“The Mizzou Alumni Association is excited for additional opportunities to engage alumni in St. Louis, including our tailgate as part of the Mizzou versus Memphis weekend,” says Morgan Kopitsky, assistant director of alumni engagement.

For more information and to register for the tailgate, visit mizzou.edu/athletics.

A Need to Give Back

At the age of 18, Jim Liu was ready for a new adventure. He and a friend had folded a map in half, catching Missouri in the crease and taking it as a sign. Ten years later, Liu had three Mizzou degrees to his name and a desire to give back.

Today, the Liu Him Memorial Scholarship, named for his grandfather, has supported over 100 MU students as they seek the same educational opportunities that brought Liu to the Show-Me State. The Liu family has contributed more than $2.2 million to the fund to date.

Much of Liu’s giving came in the form of real estate through a “Flip CRUT” — a variation on a Charitable Remainder Unitrust, where assets like cash or property are donated in exchange for a lifetime of annual payments. Contact the Office of Gift Planning at 573-882-0272 or giftplanning@missouri.edu to learn more.

From top: Jim in Columbia in 1971; Jim with his grandfather in 1972; Jim with his wife, Melanie, in 2018

Savannah Walsh, BJ ’19, of New York is a staff writer at Vanity Fair.

2020

Autumn Black, BJ ’20, of

Lee’s Summit, Mo., is Miss Missouri USA 2023.

Shannon Browning, BJ '20, of Arlington, Va., is social media manager

for the Washington Capitals.

Annie Ellzey, BA ’20, of Little Rock, Ark., is associate manager for

General Mills.

Claire Nichols, BJ ’20, of Columbia, Mo., is SEO content researcher for Angi.

Elizabeth Dorssom, PhD ’22, of Jefferson City, Mo., is an assistant professor of political science at Lincoln University of Missouri.

Our newly transplanted white oaks have a natural lifespan of over 200 years, and have been growing on MU’s South Farm for 6 years in preparation for their transplantation to our Francis Quadrangle.

Make a gift today to support the Legacy Oaks project, and ensure our campus remains beautiful for decades to come. MIZZOUGIVEDIRECT.MISSOURI.EDU/SUPPORT-LEGACYOAKS

Our

Pin oaks are one of the most short-lived oak species; with a lifespan of 70-90 years, Mizzou’s original trees were considered end-of-life.

ONE MIZZOU GEAR OR GIFT ITEM

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MU alumni qualify for educational discounts on Apple® , Dell and more. Order online today. FREE SHIPPING on all orders $99+

tigertech.themizzoustore.com

The Mizzou Store is owned and operated by the University of Missouri. Every purchase you make at The Mizzou Store supports students, faculty, staff and campus initiatives.

MySpace, Mysteries and Missouri Folk

This issue’s publications include fiction and nonfiction titles about hunting, fiddling, seeking justice, discovering music, growing up and more. Are you an alum with a forthcoming or recently published book? To be considered for coverage, please send a digital copy to randallroberts@missouri.edu or mail the book to Randall Roberts, MIZZOU magazine, 302 Reynolds Alumni Center, Columbia, Missouri, 65211.

4 The Remarkable Red Crow by Jeffrey Price and Diane Kline, BJ ’76 (Old Mill Press, 2023). A children’s book about embracing and overcoming familial challenges.

Missouri Press, 2023). Analyzing the complicated legacy of a youth group that advocated “playing Indian” as a bonding ritual.

2

3 Top Eight: How

Changed

5 Growing Up in the Ville in St. Louis, Missouri by Pauline Estelle Merry, NURS ’59 (Great Tales Told Well, 2022). Five mostly autobiographical stories from an alumna about growing up in St. Louis during the 1940s and ’50s.

6 Inappropriation: The Contested Legacy of YIndian Guides by Paul Hillmer and Ryan Bean (University of

7 The Book of Charlie: 109 Years in the Pursuit of Happiness by David Von Drehle (Simon & Schuster, 2023). A biography of MU medical school grad Charles White, MED ’27, by Washington Post columnist Von Drehle.

8 Keep It Old-Time: Fiddle Music in Missouri from the 1960s Folk Music Revival to the Present by Howard Wright Marshall (University of Missouri Press, 2023). The third in a tril-

ogy on the history of folk music in Missouri by the professor emeritus and former chair of art history and archeology.

9 Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital by Elise Hu, BJ ’03 (Dutton, 2023). Journalist and podcaster Hu describes Seoul, South Korea, beauty culture. See Page 60.

10 Payback by Nancy Allen, JD ’80 (Grand Central, 2023). The second book in the bestselling author’s Anonymous Justice series on corruption in NYC.

1 Hunting Time by Jeffery Deaver, BJ ’72 (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2022). “Reward seeker Colter Shaw plunges into the woods and races the clock” in this thriller novel.

Photographing America’s First Astronauts by J.L. Pickering and John Bisney, BJ ’76 (Purdue University Press, 2023). Photos from the original NASA space missions. See Page 1.

MySpace

Music by Michael Tedder, BJ ’02 (University of Chicago Press, 2023). An exploration on the influence of the early social media platform.

Roaring Tigers

The Mizzou R.A.H. Award (for Recent Alumni Honorees) sheds light on the incredible things young alumni are doing across the globe. Candidates for this award are 35 years or younger and have shown exceptional professional achievement, along with a demonstrated record of volunteerism, both on campus and in their local communities. Meet the 2023 class of Mizzou R.A.H. Award recipients:

Hanna Battah, BJ ’15

At 26, Battah became the youngest weekday morning anchor in the top 5 U.S. markets; you can occasionally spot her reporting on national outlets like Fox Weather and LiveNOW.

Joe Bradley, BJ ’11, MPA ’18 In 2014, Bradley founded the Day Dreams Foundation, which awards scholarships to children for the activity of their choice — athletics, theater, music lessons, dance, summer camps, swim lessons and more.

Mollie Buckler, BA ’10, M Ed ’12

Buckler started her career working in higher education. In 2021, she took a leap of faith and made a career shift to agriculture — she’s now chief operating officer of the US Rice Producers Association.

Sophie Cunningham, BS ’20

Cunningham is currently a shooting guard on the Phoenix Mercury, which selected her as the 13th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. Last year, she also joined the Phoenix Suns’ broadcast team as a guest analyst.

Alex Demczak, BA ’14

Demczak is a keynote leadership speaker and published author, as well as co-founder and CEO of Streamline Books, a company that helps individuals write, edit and publish their own books.

Alexis Ditaway, BA ’18

Ditaway is an associate executive search consultant with Isaacson, Miller. In her role, she works directly with higher education institutions on executive searches as they recruit their next leaders.

Kate Doetsch, BS ChE ’13

Doetsch recently celebrated her 10-year anniversary with Boeing, where she is a technical integrator working on legacy F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet spares — a job she describes as “incredibly challenging so far but also very rewarding.”

Sean Earl, BS EE ’18

In his current role at Boeing, Earl leads a team of engineers to integrate best practices, functional excellence and advanced tools for the company’s commercial, defense, space and services products.

Diego Galicia, BJ ’21

Videographer/photographer/ editor Galicia currently provides creative services to auto brands, including Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin. He’s also worked as an editor and videographer for the NFL.

Elyse Hartley, BS BA ’10, JD ’14

In 2020, Hartley became a partner at Ozarks Elder Law, an estate planning and elder law firm, where she assists families in navigating the difficult process of placing loved ones in long-term care facilities.

Cara Hartwig, BS BA ’16

Hartwig works in the private equity industry, where she leads fundraising and investor relations for three platforms and has collectively been responsible for the execution of $15 billion in fundraising campaigns.

In 2021, Haynes was tapped to launch and solo-host a show in St. Louis, a top 25 TV market in the country. She also made history as the first in-arena Black female host for the St. Louis Blues.

Jalyn Johnson, BJ ’18

Johnson signed her contract with ESPN as one of the youngest on-air talents ever hired, making her onair debut in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as the sideline reporter for the 2021 SEC Softball Tournament.

Bo Mahr, BS BA ’14

Mahr combined his work in the financial and clean energy space to co-found Ridge, a digital bank that provides sustainable debit, credit and savings accounts to customers across the country.

Ryan Mathewson, BS ME ’17

After graduation, Mathewson joined NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where he’s currently transitioning into his role as solid propulsion subsystem manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Parolin is assistant professor of social policy at Bocconi University and a senior fellow with Columbia University. He recently finished his first book, Poverty in the Pandemic: Policy Lessons from COVID-19.

Angela Pearson, BA, BJ ’15

Pearson has dedicated her career to advocacy, politics and civic engagement and is currently special projects manager in the office of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.

Ricklefs is a resident physician in Seattle and was selected by the American Academy of Family Physicians as an emerging leader through their Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute.

Juana Summers, BJ ’09

Summers is the co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered and previously spent more than a decade covering national politics, most recently as NPR’s political correspondent covering race, justice and politics.

Thomson is a teaching and research academic at the Queensland University of Technology and is one of the top 10 most highly cited researchers in Australia within the areas of media, news and journalism.

Colbey Ricklefs, BA, BS ’12, MD ’20

Chelsea Haynes, BA, BJ ’18

Zachary Parolin, BJ ’12

T.J. Thomson, MA ’15, PhD ’18

MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS

Thomas Masterson, EdD ’22, of Springfield, Mo., is executive director of elementary for Springfield Public Schools.

HHAllie Pigg, BA, BS Ed ’23, of Kansas City, Mo., is a high school science teacher at Turner Unified School District.

Weddings

Nate Jelinek, BJ ’20, and Hallie Ziegler of Madison, Wis., July 7, 2023.

Births

Clayton Voss, BS Acc, M Acc ’19, JD ’22, and Andrea Voss, BSN ’18, of Washington, Mo., announce the birth of Lillian Elizabeth July 25, 2023.

Deaths

HVirgil E. Crowley, BS Ag ’43, MS ’55, PhD ’66, of Williamsburg, Va., March 5, 2023, at 101. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma and served

in the U.S. Army.

HMaryjo Hornaday, BJ ’47, of Kansas City, Mo., May 18, 2023, at 98. She was a member of Delta Gamma.

HChloe Poe, BA ’47, of St. Louis April 21, 2023, at 95.

HRichard Orin, BS BA ’49, LHD ’18, of New York June 9, 2023, at 96. He was a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi and served in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army.

HLeslie Rist, BS BA ’49, of Scottsdale, Ariz., Jan. 17, 2023, at 95.

Donald Burke, BJ ’50, of Columbia, Mo., May 18, 2023, at 98. He was an able-bodied seaman with the U.S. Merchant Marine Service.

HHFaith W. Lucas, BS Ed

MEET COLUMBIA

THROUGH THE EYES OF MO LOUIS

RADIO DJ, 102.3 BXR, DISC GOLF ENTHUSIAST Mo Louis is a man of many scenes — music, disc golf, social, culinary, microbrew — and for him, Columbia checks off all the right boxes. Whether it’s catching a live show at Rose Music Hall or trying to beat the world-renowned disc golf course at Harmony Bends, there’s a good chance you’ll find Mo making the most of his Columbia any day of the week. See his story and others at MeetCOMO.com

’50, of Shelbina, Mo., April 20, 2023, at 94.

HHRobert D. Parman, BA ’50, BS Med ’52, of Topeka, Kan., July 7, 2023, at 96. He served in the U.S. Navy.

Lee Sappington, BS BA ’51, of Hot Springs Village, Ark., Nov. 5, 2022, at 92.

HRobert Lory Skaggs, BS CiE ’52, of Fort Myers, Fla., May 23, 2023, at 93.

HHJoe David Crumpacker, BS Ag ’53, MS ’55, of Nashville Dec. 21, 2022, at 91. He served in the U.S. Air Force.

HHClair K. Bellows, BJ ’54, of St. Louis May 1, 2023, at 90. He was a member of Kappa Sigma and served in the U.S. Air Force.

HRalph Cordell, M Ed ’54, of Kirkwood, Mo., May

12, 2023, at 97. He worked at Ladue Horton Watkins Senior High School for 30 years.

HArlen Schwinke, BS Ag ’54, of Morrison, Mo., Feb. 4, 2023, at 92. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma and served in the U.S. Army.

HHJohn Burleigh Arnold, JD ’55, of San Francisco March 20, 2023, at 91. He was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma and served in the U.S. Army.

HDonald Caldwell, BS BA ’55, of Columbia, May 11, 2023, at 91. He served in the U.S. Army.

HHGertrude Combs, BS Ed ’55, of Columbia, Mo., Jan. 24, 2023, at 90.

HLarry A. Hale, BS Ag ’56, MS ’63, PhD ’68, of Columbia, Mo., Feb. 8, 2023, at 88.

HHVirgil Jurgensmeyer, BS Ed ’56, M Ed ’61, of Oracle, Ariz., May 6, 2023, at 93. He served in the U.S. Army.

HJohn Allen, BS BA ’57, of Jefferson City, Mo., May 6, 2023, at 97. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp.

HHRobert Banning, BS PA ’58, of Tucson, Ariz., April 15, 2023, at 86. He served in the U.S. Army.

HRichard Benkelman, BS Ed ’59, M Ed ’63, of O’Fallon, Mo., July 6, 2023, at 88. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Order.

HHRalph Haake, BS BA ’59, of Columbus, N.C., April 15, 2023, at 84.

HHBrock Lutz, BS Ag ’59, of Kirkwood, Mo., June 2, 2023, at 87. He was a member of Delta Upsilon.

A TIGER OF MANY STRIPES

Tom Schultz, BJ ’56, the only person to have served in the volunteer position of MAA president before becoming the organization’s executive director, died May 15 at 89, having lived a full, fruitful and generous life. And whether as a volunteer or professional, he remained a steadfast Mizzou advocate for more than 50 years.

When describing his way through life, friends and colleagues use words such as genuine, caring and enthusiastic. Schultz’s far-ranging accomplishments started in his youth when he earned a spot on the 1952 U.S. Olympic soccer team. But his enthusiasm and appreciation for all things Mizzou eclipsed his passion for sports. “His love for MU was a part of his character,” says Schultz’s daughter, Dana Carter, BS BA ’81. “Giving back to something that contributed so much to his life was ingrained in his DNA.” Like her father, she received the MAA Tiger Pride Award. “We were a tag team,” she says.

To those who only knew him from afar, Schultz is best known for having started the tradition of lighting Jesse Hall’s dome and

for heading the campaign to preserve the Academic Hall cornerstone. Those who knew him personally say that it was his lively wit and deep concern for others that made a lasting impression.

“Tom was the ultimate relationship builder,” says Todd McCubbin, M Ed ’95, MAA executive director. “He was one of those rare individuals who could create meaningful relationships one on one, or if you if put him in a room full of fellow Tigers, they’d all soon feel they knew him.”

Schultz founded alumni chapters in California, Wisconsin and Missouri before serving as MAA president in 1980–81. From 1981 to 1986, he led the organization as executive director, then moved on to leadership positions in the athletics department and in advancement until his retirement in 2000. Gary Smith, M Ed ’65, EdD ’71, former director of admissions and registrar, became friends with Schultz early in their careers. “He was a pleasure to be around, always enjoyable and upbeat — exactly the right person for his roles at MU,” he says.

— Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, MS ’76, MA ’87

Remembering Tom Schultz, former MAA president and lifelong Mizzou supporter

From J-School to K-Beauty

Elise Hu’s acclaimed new book, Flawless, recounts her experiences in South Korea adapting to its intense commercial beauty industry. It was a long way from toasted ravioli at the Heidelberg.

The writer, journalist and TED Talks Daily host Elise Hu, BJ ’03, didn’t have a sense of what to expect when she moved to Seoul, South Korea, in 2014 and accepted the position as NPR’s Seoul bureau chief. So she writes in Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital, her acclaimed new exploration of South Korea’s intense culture of appearances.

Unaware of the extreme quest for beauty and the society-wide desire for blemish-free living, Hu had to quickly adapt to expectations, rituals and conversations that surprised the St. Louis-born, Texas-raised daughter of Chinese American immigrants.

You write that South Korea “is a place where the dominance of the beauty industry and the dominance of an appearance standard feed off of one another in an endless loop.” How does this aspect of the culture differ from in the U.S.?

Both the beauty industry and the appearance standards are more intense in South Korea, especially for a country its size. The population is about 55 million, and geographically, it can fit in the space between LA and San Francisco. Yet South Korea is the world’s third-largest cosmetics and skin care exporter, the plastic surgery capital of the world and appearances matter so much that passport photos are retouched by default, headshots were required on resumes and it’s not unusual for high school graduates to be gifted cosmetic procedures upon graduation.

Before arriving, how aware were you of the differing

expectations regarding a woman’s appearance in public? Can you recall any specific instances in which you felt out of place because of it?

I wasn’t aware at all, so the experience of feeling like my body was out of place and sometimes even invisible happened to me one revealing interaction at a time. I first confronted feeling excluded when shopping, where boutiques only carry one size of clothing — “free size” — which is a U.S. size 2. I also heard comments from strangers about how my freckles could be easily removed because, as I was told, in South Korea they’re not considered cute.

You write about the notion of “lookism.” Can you describe how that manifests itself in day-to-day life?

Lookism is simply discrimination on the grounds of appearance. It shows up in fatphobia and shaming those whose bodies didn’t “fit” and

“The cultural know-how is immense because consumer beauty matters more in Korea than in any other place on earth,” Hu writes in Flawless.

Published in May by Dutton, the book has earned rave reviews from outlets including Kirkus, the Washington Post and the Globe and Mail — the latter of which called it “a brilliant, deeply researched book that reads like a conversation with your smartest friend.”

Hu took time out of her TED Talks Daily schedule to discuss South Korea, single-sized clothing, plastic surgery culture, eating cake out of the trash can and favorite recollections of her time at Mizzou.

in problematizing your inborn features as cosmetic issues. For example, my freckles. Well-meaning people would often offer names of places that could remove them. Lookism is endemic to the job market, especially for women. People openly talk about their weight and trying to lose weight. My women friends wouldn’t so much as duck down to the convenience store without hair looking presentable and makeup done.

In Flawless, you recount that at Mizzou, at one point you were so underweight that “when I would lie on my back to do sit ups, my spine would grind against the floor” and once stopped starving yourself by eating a chunk of chocolate cake from a garbage can. What would you advise your younger self about this period of your life?

Be kinder to yourself. What a major transition it is not

just to go from high school to college but move so far away from home (my parents were in Texas). I wish I would have known that we are (usually) our own worst critics, and now in my parenting, I really emphasize to the girls how worthy they are, that they were born worthy, and they don’t have to look or do or be anything to earn their place to be here and be their fullest selves.

M-I-Z Q&A

Did you have a posse at Mizzou, and if so, how would you describe them, and where were your hangouts?

My Mizzou squad that really endured through the years were the fellow journalism majors who graduated with me. Besides hanging out at the newspaper or TV station all the time, we ate a lot of lunch slices at Shakespeare’s and toasted ravioli with our beers and cheap cocktails at the Heidelberg. When Buffalo Wild Wings first opened, we went there for karaoke nights every Wednesday for an entire summer. The Pasta House Company for sangria. A lot of frozen custard at the establishment previously known as Shakey’s. Anyway, it’s a delight we all stay in pretty good touch and celebrate both mundanities and milestones together. My friend Tim, also BJ ’03, lives 4 minutes away, and not only do we hang out, our kids hang out, and his wife has become my business partner.

I heard comments from strangers about how my freckles could be easily removed because, as I was told, in South Korea they’re not considered cute.

Elise Hu, BJ ’03

HHRay Speckman, BS Ag ’59, JD ’63, of Stover, Mo., Dec. 31, 2022, at 84. He was the former mayor and city marshal of Bagnell, Mo.

Kenneth Starck, MA ’60, of Iowa City, Iowa, Jan. 8, 2023, at 88.

HJerry Botts, BS Ag ’61, of Atchison, Kan., June 1, 2023, at 86. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp.

HDarrell Corwin Jr., BS Ed ’61, M Ed ’62, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., March 22, 2023, at 84. He was a member of Sigma Chi.

HHGeraldine “Jeri” Davenport, BA ’61, M Ed ’71, of Newport News, Va., April 28, 2023, at 84. She was a member of Alpha Phi.

HHChristine Levi, BS Ed ’63, MA ’71, of Stockton, Mo., April 9, 2023, at 81.

HJan Hannon Thomas, BS Ed ’63, of Hutchison, Kan., Oct. 22, 2022, at 81.

HLawrence “Jerry” Mathis, BS Ed ’64, of Columbia, Mo., March 3, 2023, at 80. He was on the Mizzou track team and served in the U.S. Air Force.

HOwens Lee Hull Jr., BS PA ’65, JD ’68, of Weston, Mo., April 20, 2023, at 79. He served in the U.S. Army.

HRobert E. Metcalf, BS Ag ’65, of Fredericktown, Mo., June 29, 2023, at 86.

HVincent Tobin, BS Ed ’65, M Ed ’66, of Goodyear, Ariz., July 3, 2023, at 79. He was the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals from 1996 to 2000 and a member of Phi Delta Theta.

HElizabeth Harris Hickman, BS Ed ’66, of Kirks-

ville, Mo., June 20, 2023, at 78. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta.

HHJohn Slusher, BS BA ’66, of Marion, Iowa, Feb. 16, 2023, at 78.

HRobert Botkin, BS BA ’67, MA ’69, of Shawnee, Kan., May 12, 2023, at 78. He was a member of Sigma Pi.

HHRonald Hearst, MS ’67, of St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 14, 2023, at 86. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years.

HEarl Krause, BS BA ’67, of Marshall, Mo., May 17, 2023, at 86.

HHJames “Jim” George Mezger, BS Ag ’67, of Turney, Mo., July 1, 2023, at 79.

HHKaren Monsees, BS Ed ’67, of Kansas City, Mo., May 30, 2023, at

78. She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.

HHJoanne Phelps, BS Ed ’67, of Houston May 14, 2023, at 84.

Thomas R. Davis, BS IE ’68, of Kansas City, Mo., Oct. 29, 2022, at 76.

HBurton Schultz, BS EE ’71, of Barrington Hills, Ill., June 11, 2023, at 83. He served in the U.S. Air Force.

Richard Allan Black, M Ed ’72, of Farmington, Mo., May 3, 2023, at 79.

HRobert Cummings, BA ’72, of Delray Beach, Fla., April 6, 2023, at 73.

Don Underwood, BJ ’72, of Springfield, Mo., Jan. 8, 2023, at 72. He worked for the afternoon Springfield Leader & Press for 40 years.

HDavid Dimond, EdD ’73,

of Fayette, Mo., March 26, 2023, at 88. He was the municipal judge for the city of Fayette for 30 years.

HBarbara Ann Morgan, BS Ed ’73, of Clark, Mo., May 21, 2023, at 71.

Cindy Sue Purdy, BS Ed ’73, MM ’76, of Hausmannstatten, Austria, April 17, 2023, at 70. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and performed with the Graz Opera Company.

Earl D. Kocher, EdD ’75, of Warrenton, Va., Aug. 27, 2023, at 82. He served in the U.S. Army.

HPaul Ray Crews, BS Ag ’76, M Ed ’79, EdSp ’89, of Slater, Mo., April 9, 2023, at 68.

HHJoy Jessie Palmer, MA ’76, of Forest City, Iowa, April 22, 2023, at 77.

573-882-6611

HHPeggy Jean Bohnenkamp, BES ’82, M Ed ’85, of Columbia, Mo., June 23, 2023, at 92.

HRonald Lee Whittaker, MS ’83, of Mexico, Mo., May 12, 2023, at 80. He

was a high school science teacher for 30 years.

HHRobert W. Taylor, BS Acc ’84, of Columbia, Mo., March 15, 2023, at 60. He was an employee of the University of Missouri for 33 years.

DEGREE DESIGNATIONS 101 H

Bachelor’s degrees

HHDoris Brown, MS ’86, M Acc ’87, of Moberly, Mo., April 6, 2023, at 69.

Robert E. James, BJ ’90, of Liberty, Mo., May 5, 2023, at 55. He was a basketball coach at Liberty North.

Doctoral degrees:

PhD, doctorate

EdD, education

JD, law

MD, medicine

DVM, veterinary medicine

Did not graduate:

Arts, arts and science

Bus, business

Educ, education

Engr, engineering

Journ, journalism

science

MSW, social work

MPA, public affairs

HFor a more detailed list of current degrees, visit catalog.missouri.edu/ degreesanddegreeprograms.

Mizzou’s Own Mad Max

Test your vocabulary and knowledge of Mizzou in this game constructedH especially for alumni.

Across

1. Alum nicknamed “Mad Max” in the MLB

5. Recent Nobelist, a retired faculty member

8. Arriving soon

10. Rivalry that started the Homecoming tradition

13. Required freshman wear up to World War II

14. Chase Coffman’s position for the Tigers, tight ___

Down

Across

1. Benefit

2. Passed down

1. Alum nicknamed "Mad Max" in the NBA

5. Recent Nobelist alum

3. Tigers crowd sound

4. Former

8. Arriving soon

5. Bench player

10. Rivalry that started the homecoming tradition

15. Graduate who was executive chairman of Comerica Inc. ___ Babb

17. New prefix

19. Dr. Z’s title

6. Alums do at Homecoming

13. Required freshman wear up to World War II

7. Alum who became famous when he wrote The Glass Menagerie

9. Old form of you

14. Chase Coffman's position for the Tigers, tight ___

11. Tolstoy heroine

22. In earlier days, item grabbed when freshmen walked in the Quad

24. Musical scale note

26. Tennis great, Arthur

27. Prosecutor, for short

28. Governor who rebuilt the Quad

31. Family member

33. If you rub it, you should get an A

34. How to speak when passing under the Memorial Union Tower

36. Time period

37. Former MLB player and Mizzou alum, ___ Kinsler

38. Alum who hit the big time starring in A River Runs Through It

40. Engineering symbol in stone

43. Calcium symbol

45. Much heard feature of Switzler Hall

46. Alum who sang “All I Wanna Do”

48. Scarf

49. Couple

52. First name of an iconic American writer who ate at the chancellor’s residence

15. Alum who is the Executive Chairman of Comerica Inc. ___

Babb

12. Goalie stat

16. Spanish greeting

18. 1, 3 or 5

17. New prefix

19. Speaker’s platform

19. Dr. Z's title

20. Expression of relief

21. Mizzou rivals

22. “ … of thy noble ___” : words on the Traditions Plaza steps

22. In earlier days item grabbed when freshman walked in the Quad

23. Language part of a Mizzou classics major

24. Musical scale note

25. Alum, Sally___ Salsano, producer of Jersey Shore

26. Tennis great, Arthur

29. Oboes and bassoons

27. Prosecutor, for short

30. Enduring Mizzou symbols, The ___

32. Oldest classroom building on campus, ___ Hall

28. Governor who rebuilt the Quad

35. Cap, for example

31. Family member

39. Philosopher, William of ___, of “Razor” fame

33. If you rub it, you should get an A

41. Question from a Maneater editor perhaps

42. Beginning

34. How to speak when passing under the Union Tower

44. Pavarotti solo

36. Time period

45. Comic hit

Scan for answers!

47. The Lord of the Rings evil warrior

37. Padres player and Mizzou alum, ___ Kinsler

53. It became known as Peace Park after the Kent State shootings

50. Place, abbr.

51. French for gold

38. Alum who hit the big time starring in "A River Runs Through It"

40. Engineering symbol in stone

43. Calcium symbol

Many clues relate to Mizzou. Others fill in to make the puzzle work. Answer key at QR code

M I ZZOU

Rural Education Expansion

A new MU initiative to address the teacher shortage.

MizzouForward Fuels Faculty Growth

NEW FACULTY FOR 2023

College of Education and Human Development is pleased to announce the addition of more than two dozen new educators and researchers.

Mary Adu-Gyamfi, Assistant Professor, LTC

Aaron Campbell, Assistant Professor, SpEd

Jamie Day, Assistant Professor, SpEd

Eunjin Tracy, Assistant Professor, HDFS

Ayça Fackler, Assistant Professor, LTC

The College of Education and Human Development has been in expansion mode throughout 2023. Founded 156 years ago as the “College of Normal Instruction” and among the first public universities in the country to establish a college specifically for the development of teachers, this year the college has added 25 new faculty members. The range of their expertise illustrate the ways in which “normal instruction” has evolved to embody not just education and human development but focus areas including vocational rehabilitation, identity development, multilingualism and behavioral analysis. This year, three of these new faculty members were hired through MizzouForward, the ambitious decade-long initiative propelling new hires across myriad research areas.

Megan Gilligan

Megan Gilligan is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science. She received a dual-title Ph.D. in sociology and gerontology from Purdue University and is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. Gilligan specializes in studying family relationships — particularly parent-child and sibling relationships in middle and later years — with an emphasis on family caregiving. She is currently examining the impact of sibling relations on caregivers for parents with de-

mentia. Gilligan’s research findings have been featured in more 100 media outlets, including the New York Times, the Boston Globe and the British Broadcasting Company.

Rose Mason

Rose Mason is a behavior analyst focused on helping individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. She works on ensuring interventions are more accessible and effective by developing and implementing new approaches. Collaborating with schools and service organizations, her research helps identify obstacles and create training methods to overcome them. Mason recently used a teacher-as-coach model, for example, to educate participants in applying trial training for students with autism and developmental disabilities.

Amanda Olsen

Amanda Olsen, applied quantitative methodologist, is joining ESCP in Statistics, Measurement & Evaluation in Education as an associate professor (multilevel modeling, multivariate statistics, program evaluation, research design, etc.). Informed by an interdisciplinary lens, Olsen engages in a variety of areas, investigating topics related to school climate and educational equity. Specifically, she uses quantitative research designs and strategies to examine connections among various educational factors.

Naomi Meinertz, Assistant Professor, HDFS

Amanda Olsen, Associate Professor, ESCP

Laura Page, Assistant Teaching Professor, ELPA

Josh Parmenter, Assistant Professor, ESCP

Laura Ridenour, Assistant Professor, SISLT

Aileen Garcia, Assistant Professor, HDFS

Megan Gilligan, Associate Professor, HDFS

Paul Harris, Associate Teaching Professor, ESCP

J. Clay Hurdle, Assistant Professor, HDFS

Christy Hutton, Assistant Teaching Professor, ESCP

Shinyoung Jeon, Assistant Professor, HDFS

Keri Jones, Assistant Teaching Professor, SISLT

Brian Keller, Assistant Professor, ESCP

Angus Kittelman, Assistant Professor, SpEd

Ben Mason, Associate Professor, SpEd

Rose Mason, Professor, SpEd

Kate Sadler, Assistant Teaching Professor, SpEd

Sonja Winter, Assistant Professor, ESCP

Gary Wright, Assistant Professor, LTC

Minseok Yang, Assistant Professor, ELPA

KEY:

LTC: Learning, Teaching and Curriculum

ESCP: Educational, School and Counseling Psychology

HDFS: Human Development and Family Science

ELPA: Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

SISLT: Information Science and Learning Technologies

SpEd: Special Education

MizzouForward funding recipients (from left) Amanda Olsen, Megan Gilligan and Rose Mason

A Life Spanning Development

The College of Education made a transformative move in July 2021 when it became the College of Education and Human Development. The shift incorporated the Department of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS), adding new dimensions to the college’s academic and research endeavors.

“Think of all the development kids go through before they get to school,” says Dean Chris RileyTillman. “Human development has those critical first years. Then we talk a lot about working with families in schools. Working with families and family structure and dynamics is the expertise of human development and family science. You go from having a part of the life span to the entire life span.”

The influx of expertise has fostered an atmosphere of growth and collaboration. In October, for example, the college won a $7.5 million Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education grant to help Mizzou Academy redevelop training videos for childhood care providers and professionals. And the fully online K–12 school will work with HDFS faculty to develop 30 online courses.

The new structure also bolsters the college’s role as a knowledge generator. “It cements the reality that this isn’t a small teacher-ed college,” Riley-Tillman says. “It’s one of the largest researchactive colleges on campus.”

REALITY BYTES

It is not cheap to train people in the production of wafers used in many electronic devices. In addition to the materials, you need chemicals, heavy machinery and a clean lab environment.

The research team of Xinhao Xu, an assistant professor in the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, working with Fang Wang, associate teaching professor in engineering, were able to solve the training problem. They developed an exact replica of a clean lab using immersive virtual reality (VR) technologies. Students could practice every aspect of wafer production, including drawing intricate circuits and light scribing.

The system development follows instructional design principles to provide tutorials, pop quizzes and scaffoldings. The ultimate outcome is that participants pass a qualifications exam in a real clean room.

“The students could do the immersive VR training from anywhere at any time until they feel confident, and a scoring system lets them know if they are on the right track,” Xu says.

Serenity’s Village

A lot of people thought Serenity Washington wouldn’t make it — wouldn’t attend a big college while navigating a learning disability. But she believed in herself. Others did, too. Growing up in Columbia, a middle school social studies teacher lifted her up with encouragement. Her motivation grew during transformational experiences on Mizzou’s campus through a Boys and Girls Club program called Dream Outside the Box. Eventually, she set her sights on attending the University of Missouri and becoming a teacher.

“I had no teacher who looked like me growing up,” Washington, BS Ed ’22, says. “It made me work harder toward my goal — to show kids who look like me or went through a struggle, like a one-income family, that you could do it. It’s possible.”

Through the CoMoEd Experience, she received a full scholarship to Mizzou in return for teaching in Columbia Public Schools for at least four years after graduating. At Mizzou, she joined the Dorsey Leadership Academy, which supports

historically underrepresented students in the College of Education and Human Development.

Parkade Elementary fourth grade teacher Serenity Washington, BS Ed ’22, leads her Columbia students on a walk.

As a Dorsey Scholar, Washington joined a cohort of peers who received mentoring, participated in research, and developed personally and professionally. “Without this, I would have secluded myself,” she says. “It helped to have a group of people I could lean on.”

Washington now teaches fourth grade at Parkade Elementary School, where several of her students are sometimes unhoused or are from low-income families.

“It took a village to raise me. Sometimes other families don’t have the same village or opportunities, so I help any student or family in need if I can,” Washington says. “I want them to know I’m there for them. If I can help by giving them a pair of shoes, my hope is one day they’ll be successful and pour back into other people.”

WORKING FOR RELATIONSHIPS

Finding the right person with whom to build a rewarding relationship may take a bit of luck, but becoming a happy couple takes something more. The MU Department of Human Development and Family Science is helping single adults throughout the state learn about healthy communication, conflict management and relationship warning signs through its Within My Reach program. By partnering with three community agencies and providing free classes — in person and online — the department is offering eight-week sessions for single people not already in a committed relationship or individuals who are seriously considering ending their current relationship. For more info: showmehealthyrelationships.com.

Post-High School Prep

Leaving the familiar routines of high school behind and gaining a foothold in the real world is a big step — especially for students with disabilities. To help ease the transition, the Pre-Employment Transition Service (Pre-ETS) helps such students (some as young as 14) develop skills and experiences to make the most of their interests and abilities. The program’s wide-ranging services include job exploration and counseling, work-based learning experiences, post-secondary counseling, self-advocacy training and help in learning how to get and keep a job. This year, staff worked with nearly 7,600 Missouri high school students across nearly 600 schools. “Parents and students should know this is a free service,” says Kimberly Gee, who directs the College of Education and Human Development program. She advises interested parents to contact their child’s case manager at school about accessing PreETS services. More: education.missouri.

edu/outreach

SOLVING THE EQUATION

Dean Chris Riley-Tillman, the Joanne H. Hook Dean’s Chair in Educational Renewal, recently announced the appointment of two endowed chairs in mathematics education in the Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum (LTC).

Corey Webel, Associate Professor (right), has been named the inaugural recipient of the Lucy Fields-Gallup and Jeffrey Gallup Chair in Mathematics Education, which was established in 2022 by an estate contribution. He will hold the chair for a three-year term.

Webel has been at Mizzou since 2013. He is a prominent scholar on elementary mathematics teaching and teacher leadership, and has published extensive research on elementary mathematics specialists, with nearly 50 publications and approximately $4 million in grant funding.

Sam Otten, LTC Department Chair (left), has been named the Richard G. Miller Chair in Mathematics Education, which is the first faculty endowed chair established in the college. This chair will also be held for a three-year term.

Otten has been at Mizzou since 2012, and he has conducted Influential research on students’ reasoning-and-proving in secondary mathematics, as well as secondary mathematics instruction and teacher professional development. In addition to being the department chair, he has nearly 80 publications and approximately $5 million in grant funding.

The Pre-Employment Transition Service (Pre-ETS) helps students including those pictured above develop skills and experiences to make the most of their interests and abilities. This year, staff worked with nearly 7,600 Missouri high school students across nearly 600 schools.

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Some classrooms sit empty, while others are overcrowded. Some teachers lack much-needed education and training, while others with more experience are just plain burned out from picking up the slack. Some job postings draw qualified applicants. Others draw none.

It’s a challenging time for many school districts, particularly those in rural areas, and students, veteran teachers and school administrators are all feeling the impact of teacher shortages.

“For students to succeed, a school must provide effective teaching by having certified teachers in every classroom,” says Doyle Noe, principal of Sikeston High School in Missouri’s bootheel. “However, we don’t have as many qualified applicants for certain teaching positions — particularly math and science — and we have to rely on

a lot of non-certified teachers who will complete their certifications while teaching.”

To address this issue, Mizzou’s College of Education and Human Development is launching a new rural education initiative designed to enhance programming and further develop outreach in rural parts of the state. Among the highlights: an expansion of the college’s online offerings to increase access for people who are not able to complete the certification program in person.

The traditional route to becoming a certified teacher in Missouri has long involved completing a four-year course of study, doing student teaching, passing an assessment test and graduating with a bachelor’s degree in an education field. But this isn’t always feasible for people living and working in rural areas without a nearby college offering an education degree.

For people unable to take the traditional route, Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) offers an alternate route to certification. Non-certified teachers can lead classes while completing required coursework. Individuals also must pass the assessment test and present a recommendation from their college prior to certification. This route not only makes certification more accessible but also allows non-certified employees to educate without full teacher education and training.

“When I have teachers who aren’t certified, I have to figure out what they’re going to teach because they’re not qualified to teach higher-level courses,” Noe says, adding that he tries “to limit the number of students they have, which results in some veteran teachers having to pick up as many as five or six more students in their classes.”

The shortage affects veteran teachers in other ways, too, says Shannon Holifield, su-

First-grade students at Lee Hunter Elementary School in Sikeston during a recent reading class.

perintendent of the Sikeston R-6 School District: “They’re having to mentor non-certified teachers who lack experience with teaching, preparing for state testing and rewriting curriculum. They are carrying a much heavier load.”

Sikeston isn’t alone when it comes to teacher shortages. According to DESE, 3,579 full-time teaching positions in the state are currently vacant or filled by individuals who are not fully accredited. This represents more than 5% of fulltime teaching positions. The hardest hit districts are in rural areas, which make up nearly 60% of Missouri’s 519 school districts, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Increasing Access to Teacher Certification

For more than a century, Mizzou has been training teachers through a traditional on-campus program. With this new initiative, the university is expanding access for people unable to uproot their lives and move to Columbia.

“We’re going to bring Mizzou teaching methods and support to people across the state, rather than expect them to come to campus and do everything in person,” says Samuel Otten, chair of the Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum.

Since 2020, the university has offered an online senior year option for students pursuing certification in elementary education. This option is expanding to cover options for other areas of certification — including early childhood education and secondary math, science, English and social studies.

Sikeston superintendent Holifield’s prediction? “This amazing opportunity will open many doors.

We have several teacher aides and assistants who want to become certified, but it can be hard to make that happen. This online option will make that route much more accessible.”

Collaborating with Rural Schools on STEM Education

Because one of the state’s biggest educational needs is more science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers, key aspects of Mizzou’s new research projects will support STEM education in rural areas.

One such endeavor involves training middle school teachers to create and use complex informational texts such as graphs, charts, tables and diagrams to engage students in science, math and literacy. Understanding how to interpret these text sets is vital for students wishing to pursue postsecondary education in STEM and STEMrelated careers such as health care.

A team of Mizzou researchers will conduct a needs assessment with rural teachers to understand how they’re currently engaging students in complex texts and what type of additional support they need. Together, researchers and teachers will develop resources and text sets to apply in classrooms.

“The end goal is that teachers are engaging all learners, including students with disabilities, on how to understand and interpret complex informational text,” says Delinda van Garderen, chair of the Department of Special Education. “We want to better prepare and support rural teachers to build sustainable and vibrant STEM and literacy instruction.”

Another project — sure to be popular with

The traditional route to becoming a certified teacher in Missouri isn’t always feasible for people living and working in rural areas without a nearby college offering an education degree. Pictured: Tiffany Ward, senior BS Ed major student teaching in New Franklin, Missouri.

According to DESE, there are 3,579 fulltime teaching positions in the state currently vacant or filled by individuals who are not fully accredited. This represents more than 5% of fulltime teaching positions.

Students at Tiger Prep Academy in Carthage participate in a “cowfolk lunch.” Ten years ago, the Carthage R-9 school district opened Missouri’s first bilingual program in a public school to teach native English speakers and native Spanish speakers in both languages.

teenage gamers — is centered around a science learning game called Mission HydroSci. This video game, developed by the Adroit Studios Gaming Lab at the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies (SISLT), is an immersive experience designed to teach middle school students about the water cycle. In Mission HydroSci, students are tasked with finding natural water resources to sustain life as they inhabit an alien planet. The Adroit team will visit rural schools to get students to test and provide feedback on the game’s structure, its look and feel, and, most important, whether they’re learning.

“By gathering data from rural users, we can make the game more effective for everyone,” says Rose Marra, director of the SISLT. “The game can be especially useful in rural settings, where schools may not have extensive science equipment or as many science teachers. Students can play an engaging game, teachers can learn how to incorporate it into the curriculum and the Adroit team can talk to the students about careers in game development and design.”

Supporting Immigrant Students in Rural Areas

A shortage of STEM teachers isn’t the only thing affecting rural schools. According to DESE, 80%

of Missouri school districts with students who identify as English learners do not have an adequate number of teachers certified in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

To address adolescent immigrants’ needs in rural Missouri, Mizzou researchers will be working on a project with Carthage R-9 School District and Scotland County R-1 School District. Located on opposite sides of the state — Carthage in the southwest and Scotland in the northeast — the two districts seem worlds apart when it comes to immigrant students.

Carthage has experienced increased immigration in the past few decades, and its schools are now 42% Hispanic, according to DESE. In 2013, Carthage opened Missouri’s first bilingual program in a public school to teach native English speakers and native Spanish speakers in both languages. Scotland, on the other hand, has only five immigrant students in the entire district and lacks an English language development program.

“Both districts find it challenging to ensure their teenage English learners can get all their high school credits,” says Lisa Dorner, professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. “By working with these very different districts, we can learn how to best support

adolescent immigrants as they work toward their diplomas given their particular contexts, constraints and concerns.”

In collaboration with high school teachers and administrators, Mizzou researchers will talk to immigrant families about their needs and learn how they may vary across rural areas. The plan, according to Dorner: “To test and enhance professional development in person with our two partner districts and then create an online network for immigrant education across Missouri.”

Meeting Missouri’s Needs

All Missouri students — whether urban, suburban or rural — deserve the best education, and educated citizens are vital for a state to prosper.

An image from a videogame called Mission Hydrosci, developed by the Adroit Studios Gaming Lab at the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies (SISLT). The immersive experience is designed to teach middle school students about the water cycle.

Sam von Gillern, assistant professor from the Department of Learning, Teaching & Curriculum at Research Day 2023.

Mental Health Support

Four years ago in Hill Hall, a dedicated interdisciplinary MU team in the College of Education and Human Development commenced a project aimed at improving mental health support for young Missourians.

Through this rural education initiative, Mizzou is building on its rich history of supporting Missourians throughout the state by helping to increase the number of high-quality certified teachers, providing professional development and support to teachers in the areas they need most and improving the learning experience for all students.

Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum’s chair Otten is optimistic.

“By expanding Mizzou’s online offerings in education and meeting people where they are,” he says, “we can make a big difference in rural areas and positively impact rural students and schools.” M

Visit mizzou.us/Rural_Ed for more information on the Rural Education Initiative.

The Missouri Prevention Science Institute (MPSI) announced the National Center for Rural School Mental Health in 2019. Backed by a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the center drew inspiration from a successful MPSI initiative spanning 54 Boone County schools. Fueled by a team of education, social work and psychology experts, MPSI has established itself as a prolific research hub, logging more than 10,000 citations since its inception. So far, it has begun using evidencebacked interventions in 25 Missouri, Montana and Virginia rural schools. The aim is to expand participation in the groundbreaking project, in the process delivering further supportive resources for Missouri schools and beyond. For more information on the Institute, visit: mizzou.us/EHD_MPSI

“ This amazing opportunity will open many doors. We have several teacher aides and assistants who want to become certified, but it can be hard to make that happen. This online option will make that route much more accessible.”

— Shannon Holifield

Groundbreaking

TWIRLERS SHARE GOLDEN MEMORIES

Ever since she was a little girl, Linda Ware Smith wanted to be two things: a teacher and a majorette. When Smith, Ed HD ’79, wasn’t admiring her instructors or playing pretend teacher at home, her grandfather would take her to downtown Youngstown, Ohio, to watch the parades. Smith marveled at the woman in the garish outfit marching out in front of the band, twirling her baton and tossing it high up in the air, somehow catching it midturn when it came down.

Smith started baton lessons in eighth grade, and when she got to Struthers High School, she began learning from the older twirlers, including Anna Marie Vaughn, two years Smith’s senior. Vaughn, Ed HD ’76, went on to Mizzou, but when she came home for the summer, she worked with Smith. “She told me about the Golden Girls,” Smith says. “I was looking at other schools, but none of them had that.”

It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. By the time Smith was a senior in high school, she knew she wanted to follow her friend to Columbia. First, Vaughn was a student in the College of Education, specializing in special education, and she could vouch for how the school prepared future teachers. But Vaughn was also a member of the nationally recognized group of elite baton twirlers that performed with Marching Mizzou at games, parades and other events. Smith wanted to be a Golden Girl. “She called me one day and told me she’d like to try out for the Golden Girls,” Vaughn says. “I thought she’d do a great job. She’s very personable and a hard worker. I encouraged her to come out. She really impressed the judges.”

Smith became the squad’s first ever Black member, and she says Vaughn was invaluable in helping her make the historic transition. “She made me feel very comfortable,” Smith says. “I was aware that I would be the first black Golden Girl. Anna was a mentor. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to understand Mizzou through her.”

Soon, Vaughn graduated into the next phase of her career

in special education and administration, which eventually led her to her current role as Superintendent of the Columbiana County Education Center back in Youngstown. Meanwhile, Smith blazed her own path through Marching Mizzou and the College of Education, leveraging both resume highlights into a 37-year career in training and training program development for General Motors. She now runs her own Michiganbased diversity consultation business and performs voiceovers for commercials and training videos.

Although Vaughn and Smith now live in different states and work in different industries, they keep in touch, both directly and through fellow College of Education alumni. And they always pay attention to Mizzou sports, scanning the sidelines for their gold-sequined sisters, who today do more dancing than baton twirling. They’ll always be Golden Girls. M

Opposite, Anna Marie Vaughn performing at Faurot Field ca. 1973; Above, Linda Ware Smith, Ed HD '79, was the squad's first Black member. After graduation, she turned her bona fides into a 37-year career in training and training program development for General Motors.

popular culture, teachers trend toward the charismatic — think Robin Williams in the film “Dead Poets’s Society.” Gut instinct takes the lead in show biz, but in real-life classrooms the script must flip, says special education professor and researcher Erica Lembke. Instead, teachers should base decisions on observable facts and best practices. “Relying on intuition and educated guesses — those aren’t satisfactory approaches,” she says. That goes for all students, and especially for those who are struggling.

The benefit of acting on solid educational evidence plays out in various ways. For at-risk students not yet in special education programs, good data are key to whether they’re accurately classified as having a disability or not — essential for receiving appropriate services. “For students with disabilities, teachers have legal and ethical obligations to move them forward based on their Individual Education Plan,” Lembke says. A multidisciplinary team of professionals creates this roadmap for each student’s progress after collecting and analyzing various standardized test scores.

Using data day-in and day-out in special education classrooms also lets teachers build and refine individualized curricula by regularly determining successful approaches throughout the year. For the past decade, Lembke has harnessed federal research funding to develop tools and methods that teach teachers how to use data-based instruction in reading and math.

In practice, it could look something like this: A teacher notes that a third-grade student is faltering in spelling. That is a foundational skill, so the teacher launches a 30-minute, thrice-weekly spelling intervention using evidence-based best practices. To assess progress, the teacher administers a weekly, three-minute writing exercise and graphs the data. “If the student isn’t on track in a month, the teacher implements another change,” Lembke says, calling it “data-based decision making.” She adds, “Rather than simply continuing to do what I’ve done in the past, I can see the child is not prospering, and I think about what I can change. For instance, maybe the student would improve in the more structured environment of group work.”

Lembke has seen strong results in her current studies, and not just in teachers, whom Lembke describes as being hungry for information. “We have good ways of teaching them how to employ data-based decision-making,” she says. Most importantly, she and her colleagues are seeing significant effects for student writing. That’s particularly gratifying, considering the difficulty in training teachers to use a challenging skill they must put into practice during the daily grind of teaching.

Over the past year, Lembke says, the data-based approach has seen a star rise in its ranks. Emily Hanford, a journalist who criticized publishing companies for selling ineffective materials, has used social media to rally fans of the science of reading and math. “After all the years of working on this, suddenly a Facebook group is making a big difference,” Lembke says. Publishers are reacting to the pressure and improving their offerings. And, ever the bearer of data, she notes that a science-of-reading conference she organized for April sold out in just two days. Four-hundred and fifty educators descended on Columbia from all over North America. “They really wanted to hear the speakers in person.” M

Small Towns Get Paris-sized Boost Education students who land a teaching position in rural Missouri may get a boost from a new endowment from the College of Education and Human Development. The Bess Wells Paris Education Endowment, established in 2022, makes it easier and less costly for undergraduates to student teach in small towns.

The endowment addresses two pressing issues: School districts in small towns have a difficult time competing for new teachers against larger districts, and college students who would like to teach in a small town face challenges affording incidental expenses while student teaching (see “Revolutionizing Rural Education,” Page 70). In Missouri, attracting student teachers to rural communities is especially critical, as fully one-third of Missourians live and work in small towns.

“We value our partnership with rural communities and districts and believe these settings provide unique learning opportunities for our students,” says Kim Nuetzmann, director of clinical experiences and partnerships for the college.

Costs associated with qualifying for a teaching certificate can mount up, especially for undergrads who student teach in small towns. Facing higher transportation costs, they also may have a tougher time finding a convenient place to rent than their peers who opted for larger cities. Like all prospective teachers, they also have precertification expenses, such as required background checks, state assessments and fingerprinting. The Paris endowment funds can be used for these associated expenses, providing up to $200 each for eight to 10 students per year, with preference given to students from rural districts.

How Erica Lembke harnesses federal research funding to develop tools and methods that teach teachers to use data-based instruction in reading and math. BLAKE DINSDALE, ADOBE STOCK

Bess Wells Paris

Lab for Growth

For a hundred years, children have played and learned on campus while Mizzou students gained the knowledge and experience to care for them, and faculty researchers have created new knowledge.

Over its century of existence, the Child Development Lab has evolved toward its three-part mission — research, observation and hands-on teaching for college students, as well as caring for and educating young children. The lab sits in the College of Education and Human Development’s Department of Human Development and Family Science. It may look at first glance like a play-place, but the lab has long been the locale of serious academic work.

Research College faculty won more than $10 million in research funding during the past year to study early childhood education, training and development. “Research has always been a primary mission of this land grant institution,” says Brenda Lohman, who chairs the department. She says research helps shape best practices in the field — the kind that students learn and apply in their careers.

Researchers from across campus can collect data at the lab, which includes special rooms for observation and assessment. Recently, investigators have investigated self-regulation; the importance of play as curriculum; factors affecting trust; and topics in occupational and physical therapy. The lab’s convenient location in the heart of campus is a boon to researchers, Lohman adds.

Teaching

The department’s child development practicum courses every fall (preschool) and spring (infant and toddler) offer Mizzou students both classroom and hands-on education. In class,

says lab director Miranda Clines, “They take a deep dive into curriculum, child development theory and classroom management,” among other topics.

Today’s Child Development Laboratory operates year-round, serving up to 68 children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. Classes of 20 Mizzou students gain practical experience caring for children in the lab, and 30 more work part time there.

In the lab, Clines continues, “Students gain experience working with children and try on what it’s like to be a teacher.” They work under the supervision and mentorship of experienced teachers. It’s not only child development and education majors who benefit from chances to try out their knowledge, though. Students from the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, for instance, delivered a presentation to lab children on healthy eating habits and where their food comes from. The kids even practiced milking a pretend cow, a task they then carried out on the real thing during a field trip. And future educators from multiple majors study best teaching practices, as well as children’s learning and development, from the observation booths in each classroom.

Care and Education

Students sometimes start the semester nervously, having scarcely spoken to a young child, but finish it confidently implementing curriculum, helping assess children’s skills and walking parents through their children’s next developmental steps.

The lab is unique because it is not a daycare, Clines says. “It is a learning lab for students, and its byproduct is care for young children.” M

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NEED TO BE ACTED ON QUICKLY.

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Help ensure Mizzou remains nimble enough to compete and thrive as a leading research institution — no matter what the future holds.

Support the Chancellor’s Fund for Excellence today at mizzou.us/cfe or call 573-882-6511.

Chancellor’s Fund scholarships helped recruit Sara Stiens, who began working on research projects the very first day of her college career.

“Mizzou was the place I needed to be, and biochemistry was the path I needed to follow... There have been so many great opportunities and it’s been amazing to build relationships with my professors, who have become mentors to me.”

Sara Stiens Discovery Fellow a program of the Chancellor’s Fund for Excellence