August 30, 2016

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THE STANDARD M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

VOLUME 110, ISSUE 2 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports

TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2016

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Hiring spree brings 100 new faculty to campus Cortlynn Stark Staff Reporter @Cortlynn_Stark If it seems like there are a lot of new faces around campus, it’s because 100 new faculty members were hired. To try and keep up with the rocketing enrollment growth, Missouri State University hired 100 new faculty, 80 of them new to campus. This is the biggest hiring spree in several years, according to Provost Assistant Mary Golden. Deputy Provost Christopher Craig interviewed every applicant; he estimated that he interviewed about 300 people. “Usually, a search committee begins working in the fall to bring in people that meet the

criteria for the job, and they usually bring in three or four people,” Craig said. According to Craig, appointed to his position as Deputy Provost on July 1, the entire hiring process can take about a year. The applicants will meet with their departments. Craig said they typically will do a research presentation and teach a lesson before they are hired. Golden said over half of the new hires are tenure-track assistant professors. Tenured professors are permanent and it is difficult to fire someone with a tenured position. All of the new faculty are required to attend the new faculty orientation, which was held on Aug. 15 and 16, just days before classes started. “It was a great group,” Craig said. “We really hit certain topical issues pretty hard with

the folks. One of them was Title IX.” Golden said Title IX Coordinator Jill Patterson spoke with faculty members. According to the MSU Safety and Transportation website, there were seven reported sexual assaults during the last school year. At the new faculty orientation, the Giving Voice acting troupe, dedicated to giving a voice to those without voices, presented sexual assault scenarios and the role of faculty related to those scenarios. Record enrollment levels and an increase in available funds contributed to the hiring spree, as well as a few retirements. However, Craig said that it is mostly attributed to MSU’s increasing profile. “We have great faculty here, we have a great leadership team. Good things are happening at

Missouri State University,” Craig said. “I think our increasing, more visible profile, more than anything, has contributed to more faculty wanting to come to MSU, which in turn has a positive impact on our students.” The high enrollment levels make it difficult to keep a decent proportion of students to faculty. According to Craig, the university is making great strides to close the gap and create a closer proportion. Many of the new faculty already completed some form of post-doctoral work as well, Craig said. “I think that this group of new faculty are really exceptional, just based on their profile and what they’ve accomplished prior to coming to school,” Craig said.

Victims voiced through dance Casey Struble Staff Reporter @Casey_A_Struble

With all 111 seats filled in Craig Hall’s Balcony Theatre, the lights dimmed and seven candles were carried to the stage. The evenings of Aug. 23 and 24 promised an exhibition of love, loss, fear and hope. Upperclassmen of MSU’s Theatre and Dance Department showcased choreography synced to not just music, but the spoken interviews of domestic abuse victims and immigrant, refugee women. The hour-long program, “Women's Stories: A Narrative Through Movement,” is the third student project of the Studio Series. It was the first Studio Series to use research, all original material and pure dance. The project was introduced by Allison Meier, junior in the Theatre and Dance Department. It was conceptualized and rehearsed during summer with minimal intervention from their advisor, Professor Sara Brummel. “I wanted to make a story; I wanted to do something social,” Meier said. According to thehotline.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline

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Performers illustrate domestic violence in the “Women’s Stories: A Narrative Through Movement” exhibition. website, one in four women older than 18 have experienced severe domestic abuse. The story came to be when put in collaboration with six other dance students: senior Sarah Fiedler, senior Brittney Banaei, junior Austin Grigg, senior Molly Haslag, junior Courtney Poppel and sophomore Nadia Stine. The project was a research-based presentation. After going in front of an Institutional Review Board, Meir

and fellow choreographer Fiedler were able to begin their interviews. According to Fiedler, the IRB took 20 hours to narrow down what the project could be and include. “What we were doing is technically human research,” Meier said. The interviews took place with victims from Harmony House in Springfield. Founded in 1976, Harmony House has helped over 14,000 women and children.

Basic questions, such as: “How would you describe yourself?”; “How would others describe you?”; and “If you were a color, what would it be?” started the interviews off. Only the answers were presented in audio. Passionate assertions of their body, societal roles and the reserved intensity of pink were echoed as the seven student dancers leapt and fell. The audio was at times only talking and without music.

The questions became more intense: “What are the barriers you have faced in your life?”; “What do you feel is your role in society?” As the anonymous interviewees cried and laughed, the dancers represented the emotions through their art. Near the end, one interviewee looked at her current situation. After describing physical abuse from her u See WOMEN, page 9

Instructor faces multiple felony charges Cortlynn Stark Staff Reporter @Cortlynn_Stark The Missouri State University instructor charged with second-degree murder of a retired MSU professor won’t be returning to campus anytime soon. The four classes Modern and Classical Languages instructor Edward Gutting was supposed to teach: Elementary Latin 1; Greek Civilization and two sections of Classical Mythology, are covered by current MSU faculty. “People have stepped up to take over classes as part of overload,” deputy provost Chris-

topher Craig said. “They’re kind faculty, ready to step up and make a difference no matter where it was. I’m greatly appreciative.” Gutting, 43, faces five felony charges: second-degree murder; armed criminal action; first-degree assault; armed criminal action and first-degree burglary. According to the felony complaint, Gutting stabbed retired professor Marc Cooper, 66. Cooper’s wife Nancy was also injured in the attack. A man later identified by Nancy Cooper as Gutting entered the Cooper’s home through the back door wielding large knife around 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 17, according to the probable cause statement.

The statement said the man chased Cooper into the living room from the back door, passing through the kitchen, stabbing Cooper the entire time. In the living room, Cooper was knocked to the ground, according to the statement. According to the statement, the man told Nancy Cooper it was between him and Cooper. Nancy Cooper tried to stop the man but was cut several times. The statement said Nancy Cooper ran outside the home to call for help. Gutting was found by police walking in the street outside the home with blood on his clothes and body, the statement said. According to the statement, police took Gutting into custody without incident.

Gutting is being held at the Greene County Jail on a $1 million bond, according to the entry of appearance. The assistant prosecuting attorney, Todd Myers, recommended Gutting be held without bond. According to the prosecuting attorney’s bail/bond recommendation, Gutting is a potential danger to Nancy Cooper and the community because he was so willing to commit an unprovoked attack. Five days after the attack, Gutting pleaded not guilty without an attorney. Currently, he is represented by the Law Offices of Dee Wampler and Joseph Passanise.

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Dr. Michelle D. Smith: Page 2

New skills: Page 3

Study away: Page 4

Women’s soccer: Page 6


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