UCM Magazine Vol. 18 No. 4 - Fall 2019

UNIVERSIT Y OF CENTRAL MISSOURI MAGAZINE FALL 2019

A SALUTE TO THE NEWEST

MULE IN SCHOOL UCM WELCOMES INCOMING MASCOT, RIDERS PAGE 6

INSIDE

2019 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 10

CONTENTS 50 YEARS OF WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL AND BASKETBALL Legendary Coaches Led the Way PAGE 28

COVER S TO RY

6 A SALUTE TO THE NEWEST MULE IN SCHOOL UCM Welcomes Incoming Mascots and Mule Riders

DEPA RT M ENT S 1

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

2

PHILANTHROPY NEWS

26 MULENATION NEWS

FEATURE S

4 SCHOOL OF NURSING CELEBRATES A TRADITION OF INNOVATION

By Guest Faculty Writer Julie Clawson, Ph.D.

28 ATHLETICS 32 CLASS NOTES 34 IN MEMORIAM 36 PLANNED GIVING 37 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

10 FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT UCM Alumni Foundation Thanks All Who Contributed to the University’s Success 18 UCM STUDENTS TO PERFORM WITH CELEBRITY ALUMNUS DAVID COOK AT 2020 PRESIDENT’S GALA Musician, Actor and Artist Embodies All Aspects of UCM’s School of Visual and Performing Arts 22 UCM’S 2019 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI Meet This Year’s Award Recipients

FIND US ONLINE AT UCMFOUNDATION.ORG/MAGAZINE

@

EMAIL US AT ALUMNI@UCMO.EDU @UCMALUMNIFOUNDATION @UCM_ALUM @UCM_ALUM

On the cover: UCM welcomes Molly as the newest mascot in a long line of mule tradition.

P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S AG E

UCM MAGA Z INE FA L L 2 0 1 9 Vo l. 1 8 No . 4

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kathy Strickland ART DIRECTOR

Linda Harris, ’91 CONTRIBUTORS

Kelsie Baldus Julie Clawson, Ph.D., ’78, ’83 Ruth Dickson Britni Hume, ’15, ’18 Jackie Jackson, ’09, ’12 Jamie Jennings, ’03, ’16 John Kennedy, ’92, ’13 Fernando Munoz Jeff Murphy, ’80, ’95 Flip Piontek, ’88 An Quigley, ’94 Judith Raub, ’05 Mary Jo Sandberg, ’81 Peggy Shaul, ’91 Molly Teichman, ’99, ’16 Brittan Williams, ’15

© 2019 by University of Central Missouri.

All rights reserved. Views and submitted content do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of UCM Magazine, the UCM Alumni Foundation or the University of Central Missouri.

Find us online: ucmfoundation.org/magazine.

Contact the editor at ucmmagazine@ucmo.edu.

Submit address updates at ucmfoundation.org/ update, by email at alumni@ucmo.edu or by phone at 660-543-8000.

UCM Magazine is published biannually by the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093.

Printed by Neal/Settle Printing, Inc. 14004 Norby Road, Grandview, MO 64030.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

UCM Magazine, Smiser Alumni Center, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093.

To view the University of Central Missouri’s Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity Statement, visit ucmo.edu/nondiscrimination.

COMMITMENT TO SERVICE TRANSCENDS TIME FOR UCM

A

s the University of Central Missouri approaches its sesquicentennial in 2021, we look forward to publicly celebrating the progress we have made, but we also want to recognize important UCM traits that have remained constant throughout our history. These traits contribute immensely to our success and reputation as a quality university. While these attributes may sometimes fly under the public radar, or be taken for granted, they are an essential part of who we are in our quest to produce graduates who are better prepared to make valuable contributions to their employers and to the communities, states and nations where they reside.

One example of such an attribute is UCM’s attention to servant leadership. Considering our rich history, it seems fitting that the school motto, “Education for Service,” still adorns the stone entryway of the Humphreys Building, which was once a key facility for training educators. While thousands of UCM graduates have served Missouri students since the institution’s founding as a state normal school for teacher preparation, this message has been a permanent reminder that our commitment to service has transcended time as UCM has grown into the major comprehensive university we are today. While much transformation has taken place since 1871, UCM today remains committed to preparing service-minded graduates who are not only highly skilled and career ready, but are well prepared to lead and take on the challenges that come from lives dedicated to service.

As you read this edition of UCM Magazine, you will learn more about how our Distinguished Alumni are serving others and making a difference in their jobs and communities, while also finding out how UCM has served our communities by preparing highly skilled nurses for the past 60 years.

You will have an opportunity to view the UCM Alumni Foundation’s FY2019 Annual Report and learn what alumni and donor support and engagement mean in our efforts to better serve students. You will also learn about the spring 2020 President’s Gala, the mules behind MuleNation, and the history of womens’ basketball and volleyball at UCM. By sharing these stories, we hope to keep you updated on important happenings at UCM. We also hope you will be encouraged and inspired to stay engaged with your alma mater.

Roger J. Best, Ph.D. UCM President University of Central Missouri Magazine

1

P H I L A N T H RO P Y N E W S

Presidential Endowed Scholarship to Benefit First-Time Students When Roger J. Best, Ph.D., was inaugurated as the 16th president of the University of Central Missouri, one of his first acts was to gather donations to establish the first-ever Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

“My vision for the future of UCM as a higher education leader in our state and nation depends on the collaboration of everyone who cares about our university,” President Best said. “We know that tomorrow’s successes will only be realized if we strategically plan for them.”

More than 300 alumni and friends have so far contributed $100,000 in gifts and commitments, with strong support from

members of the UCM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors. The scholarship will be awarded annually President Roger Best and First Lady Robin Best signing papers to enact the to an incoming Presidential Endowed Scholarship freshman who demonstrates high academic performance — fund accrues. The university seeks a high school GPA of 3.7 or higher — with additional contributions to reach its goal preference to first-generation students or of securing $125,000. Thank you to all those with demonstrated financial need. who have responded!

The scholarship is a permanent fund that Visit ucmfoundation.org/president to make preserves donors’ investment by generating a one-time gift or monthly donation. awards each year only from the interest the

MOHELA Offers Ongoing Support for Students With Disabilities The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) has been contributing to the THRIVE Student Success Fund since December 2012. Since their first gift of $10,000 they have given a total of $295,000 to the fund, including a recent contribution of $100,000.

The THRIVE program at UCM expands opportunities THRIVE student for students with Lydia Damron disabilities so they can transition to independent living and find employment that is a good fit with their individual interests, strengths and

The Mules Baseball team took third in the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship.

2

Fall Fall 2019 2019 || ucmfoundation.org/magazine ucmfoundation.org/magazine

goals. THRIVE students live on campus and build their communication and job skills as well as their personal portfolios, graduating with a certificate of success after two years. Some students go on to earn a UCM degree.

One of the biggest barriers for prospective THRIVE students is a lack of financial support. Few are eligible for federal student aid, and often parents do not realize that such programs are an option for their child and, therefore, have not saved for the expense. Contributions like MOHELA’s generous gift help families fill the gap.

In addition, MOHELA has given $150,000 to the Marvin E. Bunky Wright Scholarship Endowment, which also benefits THRIVE, and $25,000 to Generation Study Abroad.

To contribute to the THRIVE Student Success Fund, visit ucmfoundation.org/give/thrive.

The Sunderland Foundation gifted $250,000 for capital improvements to the Crane Stadium Expansion Project. The foundation, which has a key focus on funding brick-andmortar projects in higher education, previously donated $150,000 for a total contribution of $400,000.

To learn more about the project, see page 10.

Senior Class Gift committee, donors and guest speaker Natalie Halpin

Senior Class Gift Benefits Campus Child Care Center After years of not having a Senior Class Gift, the University of Central Missouri saw its Class of 2019 step up to the plate. The student committee, led by Arlanda Brown, ’19, focused throughout the year on raising money for emergency scholarships through the UCM Alumni Foundation’s Fund for Student Success.

Seniors also raised funds for a different kind of emergency — a defibrillator at Foster Knox, UCM’s child care center for students and staff.

The Senior Class Gift committee nurtured the spirit of philanthropy and “Alum From Day 1” by presenting graduating seniors who donated any amount with a philanthropy cord to wear at commencement. Those who donated were also inducted into the UCM Cap and Gown Society. Natalie Halpin, donor of the Prussing Research Farm and a member of UCM’s 1871 Society and Heritage Society, spoke at the ceremony.

To learn more about UCM Alumni Foundation giving societies, visit ucmfoundation.org/giving-societies.

WATCH VIDEO

P H I L A N T H RO P Y N E W S

Major Gift Helps Meet Need for New Marching Mules Uniforms An anonymous donor generously gifted $50,000 toward the purchase of new Marching Mules band uniforms. In a note to the UCM Alumni Foundation, the donor wrote: “The Marching Mules bring students together from across UCM’s campus to make music and to put on a show for the university and the town of Warrensburg.

In representing our community, our athletic teams, and our alumni, they need to sound great but also look great. That’s why we chose to support the marching band’s new uniforms. They will give the crowd watching the Marching Mules on game day at Walton Stadium something extra to cheer for.”

UCM’s new Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Phillip Bridgmon

announced that Academic Affairs, in partnership with the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, will match this anonymous gift and up to another $50,000 in new donations from the community.

“These new uniforms are an investment in the growth and success of our band as it continually represents the academic strength and quality of UCM,” Bridgmon said in announcing the match.

The total cost of new uniforms runs over $200,000, with a single uniform, made of high-tech, heat-resistant fabric, costing $600.

To sponsor a personalized uniform, visit ucmfoundation.org/marchingmules.

Conan Castle Honored With Naming of Choral Room An anonymous donor provided the catalyst for naming the choral rehearsal room in the Utt Music Building as the Conan Castle Choral Room.

Castle, who is 92 years old, is a choral emeriti whose career at UCM spanned three decades from 1959, when he was recruited by Hart Recital Hall namesake Ralph Hart as a second choral director, to his retirement in 1989. During his tenure Castle taught music appreciation and started a madrigal ensemble.

“Having the room named after me is the culmination of my association with UCM,” Castle wrote. “The most meaningful part of my long career at UCM was spent working with students in that space. … It was my privilege to be a member of the music faculty and to work with fine colleagues and talented and eager students. I look back on those years as the best of my life.”

Castle visited campus during Homecoming 2019 to guest-conduct a UCM Concert Choir performance in his honor.

Conan Castle, Ph.D.

Couple Establishes Scholarship to Support Agricultural Sustainability

Scholarship Endowment to Benefit Student in Education

Family Establishes Scholarship to Honor Beloved Educator

Steve Swigert, ’89 and ’90, and Vicki Swigert, ’80, of Kingston, Oklahoma, have created the Swigert Family International Agriculture Scholarship Fund.

This scholarship is for a student who is studying agriculture and has an interest in sound agricultural practices globally.

The couple travels overseas regularly, including to locations in Africa, through Field of Hope, an organization that develops agricultural knowledge and enthusiasm among youths and small farms to sustain nutritionally food-secure and economically empowered communities.

Patsy Prugh, ’57, of Saint Clair, Missouri, has established a $50,000 scholarship endowment to benefit a UCM student in the field of education. The Dr. Patsy E. Kettinger-Prugh Secondary Education Business Teacher Education Scholarship Endowment is for a full-time undergraduate student in good academic standing pursuing a degree in secondary education with preference to business teacher education and an emphasis in accountancy.

Prugh earned her Bachelor of Science in business education with a physical education minor. She completed her student teaching requirement at College High School and then taught shorthand, bookkeeping, typing and secretarial procedures in her hometown of Salem, Missouri.

The late Terry G. Michael, ’70, earned his Bachelor of Education from UCM and was a Delta Sigma member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter. He continued his education to earn a master’s and a specialist degree from Northwest Missouri State University and University of Missouri–Kansas City, respectively. He enjoyed a lifetime of teaching, coaching and serving as an administrator in Missouri public school districts until retiring in 1999.

The Terry G. Michael Scholarship was established through the UCM Alumni Foundation by family members to benefit UCM students coming from Platte County R–3 as they pursue a degree in education.

To learn about setting up your own scholarship, visit ucmfoundation.org/scholarships.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

3

G U E S T FAC U LT Y

SCHOOL OF NURSING CELEBRATES A TRADITION OF

B

ack in 1959, a vision came about for a baccalaureate degree program in nursing at Central Missouri State College (CMSC). Now, 60 years later, the University of Central Missouri (UCM) School of Nursing continues to be a leading innovator in the caring science of nursing education.

I had the privilege of being a student at CMSC, and later serving on the faculty and as a school chair over a span of 34 years.

My story is not unique; I am one of many individuals who learned the profession at our university, gained experience in the field and then came back to serve on the faculty alongside our former teachers. One of my greatest teachers, Kathy Robinson, ’71, became my colleague when I joined the faculty in 1985. She had taken over as school chair in January 1978, following interim chair Edith DeMott, one of the first faculty members at the school and one of Robinson’s most influential teachers.

Always ahead of the trends in nursing education, CMSC’s nursing program was conceived to serve the region as one of the early four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs in an era of mostly private, hospital-based three-year diploma programs. Ethel Henderson, the first school

Kathy Robinson, Edith DeMott and Dean T. Raleigh Gaines 4

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

INNOVATION

chair, was hired to do a feasibility study for the program in 1959, and three students were admitted in 1960, launching a nursing program designed to prepare professionals for meeting the needs of rural and urban residents.

On the Warrensburg campus, the Grinstead building housed the first nursing classes and lab. Clinical experiences, known as practicums, gave students hands-on application of their nursing knowledge at the rural setting of Bothwell Hospital in Sedalia. In their junior and senior years, nursing students were required to live in Kansas City in order to learn and practice in the urban setting of Menorah Medical Center.

The nursing student organization Tri-Kaps formed in 1965, the same year a position paper on nursing education was published by the American Nurses Association in the American Journal of Nursing. This influential paper positioned nursing as a profession and emphasized the need for nurses to complete a Bachelor of Science. With a Missouri State Board of Nursing-approved four-year degree already in place, CMSC was once again ahead of the curve.

Nursing students’ first clinical experiences were at Bothwell Hospital in Sedalia.

Fast-forward to 1978 when the program became nationally accredited by the National League for Nursing under Robinson’s leadership, just months before I completed my BSN — one of only 13 graduates from an initial class of 30. We went to school year-round, and nursing was, and still is, a rigorous program. In addition to a strong faculty and a wide variety of learning experiences, UCM’s School of Nursing has a carefully designed curriculum that emphasizes a caring relationship between the nurse and patient — the art or heart behind the science. Learning how to use therapeutic communication is a special strength of UCM’s nursing graduates.

After gaining valuable experience in the field and earning my master’s degree, I returned to the university in 1985 to begin my teaching career. I witnessed many advancements in teaching methodology and technology, with UCM’s School of Nursing always at the forefront.

In 2004, UCM’s College of Health, Science, and Technology awarded $15,000 to the School of Nursing to update our nursing skills lab in Warrensburg, and a faculty grant funded a technology skills video room, enabling the streaming of video between

The student nursing organization Tri-Kaps in the 1967 UCM Homecoming parade

G U E S T FAC U LT Y

UCM Ahead of the Curve for 60 Years students in Warrensburg and those doing their clinical experience at North Kansas City Hospital. In 2006 the lab on the lower level of the Student Health Center was redesigned, and IV therapy-type simulators were introduced. A promising graduate student named Sara Hoffmann, ’08, came to UCM at this time and two years later, as a new member of our faculty, helped develop a second lab location at Central Summit Center in Lee’s Summit. Another student-turned-teacher success story, Hoffmann is now assistant chair of the School of Nursing at UCM. Under a Caring for Missourians grant, UCM welcomed our first SimMan 3G, a high-fidelity patient simulator the students named TRACEE (Technology Regulated and Computer Enhanced Education) in 2009. Faculty were able to simulate negative and positive responses to treatment using a computer in a control room while students inserted trach tubes, gave IV medications and more.

The School of Nursing now has three highfidelity manikin patients that respond directly to treatment, speaking, breathing, bleeding, urinating, crying and even going into seizures.

A fourth manikin, named Victoria, even tracks students with her eyes as they move around the room and delivers a breech baby via C-section. We also have lower-fidelity infant, pediatric and adult manikins on which students can practice head-to-toe assessments and insert IVs or urinary catheters.

By Julie Clawson, Ph.D., ’78, ’83

In 2016 the School of Nursing was fully re-accredited, and in 2017 UCM invested in the state-of-the-art simulation lab at The Missouri Innovation Campus (The MIC) in Lee’s Summit. Through a partnership with Summit Technology Academy, operated at The MIC by the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, high school students throughout the metropolitan area can learn from the latest technology and from UCM student mentors, overseen

by UCM faculty, during a two-year pre-professional nursing program. These secondary students potentially move on to earn a nursing degree.

UCM’s School of Nursing serves students from all walks of life with a variety of degree options, including a fully online RN to BSN program for registered nurses who have an associate degree and seek to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The RN to BSN program, which moved to an online curriculum in 2007, graduates approximately 90 students each year and was ranked among the Top 5 in Missouri

by TopRNtoBSN.com in 2019. Also this year, UCM’s online master’s program, with emphasis options of family nurse practitioner or nurse educator, was ranked fifth on a list of the nation’s 10 Most Affordable Online MSN Degrees by BestHealthDegrees.com. This part-time program is primarily geared toward working adults, with nearly 200 currently enrolled.

WATCH VIDEO

UCM’s nursing program has always rested on the strength of outstanding faculty, students and curriculum, along with the support of our alumni. Prepared as nurse leaders, alumni have long made lasting advances for the nursing profession and health care industry. As our School of Nursing celebrates 60 years, we are proud to look back on our legacy of collaborative learning and innovative teaching.

To learn more and support UCM nursing students, visit ucmfoundation.org/give/school-of-nursing.

Julie Clawson, Ph.D., ’78, ’83, was chair of UCM’s School of Nursing from 2002 until her retirement in June 2019. She served on the university’s faculty for 34 years.

In the early years, students were excited to have a special admission ceremony, called Nursing Convocation, where they wore their nursing student uniforms and received their nursing caps, pins and a glass lamp with a candle to light, symbolizing when Florence Nightingale walked through the wards of wounded soldiers with a candle to care for them at night.

The cap’s front stand-up band was made of sailcloth and represented the scientific foundational knowledge and critical thinking acquired in an accredited nursing program. The gathered organdy back of the cap represented the softer, caring side of nursing, including the listening skills and compassion required in a good nurse.

The School of Nursing purchased its second SimMan manikin in 2011.

In 2017, UCM invested in a stateof-the-art lab at the Missouri Innovation Campus in Lee’s Summit.

As time progressed, students moved away from wearing caps, pin-stripe dresses and aprons to more professional attire, in alignment with the notion of nursing as a profession. In 2017, with funding from a Gold Foundation grant, UCM faculty members designed and embroidered a stole to be used at induction ceremonies and commencement to symbolize formal entry into the profession.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

5

C OV E R S TO RY

A SALUTE TO THE NEWEST MULE IN SCHOOL

UCM WELCOMES INCOMING MASCOT, RIDERS

F

or the past 150 years, the rolling fields of Central Missouri and the classic stone buildings of the Warrensburg campus have welcomed thousands of students — each adding a unique footprint to the path of those who came before.

As impossible as it seems on the very first day — and as fleeting as it feels on the very last — the college experience at UCM is something that leaves a lasting mark in the memory of every student as they become alumni, and every faculty and staff member as they become emeriti.

The juxtaposition of the impermanence but also permanence of the college experience is melded together by

By Ruth Dickson

the common values that UCM graduates and rising students share: loyalty, strength, bravery and tenacity. These mutual qualities unite MuleNation forever — once you have set foot on campus you are forever a Mule, and there is no symbol that better evokes this sentiment than that of the mules lovingly cared for by agriculture science students at the UCM Prussing Research Farm.

have raised many mules, with the first living mascot, a feisty miniature mule named Gismo, joining campus after World War II. In the following years, UCM has been home to Little Mo, Roscoe and Abbedale — each one featured strongly in the recollections of alumni.

The presence of these incredible animals — often referred to as living mascots — is a manifestation of what UCM stands for: academic excellence, caregiving, tradition and pride. Throughout the university’s history, students and staff

Samantha Yehle riding Tammy, left, and Gabby Beckham riding new recruit Molly, UCM’s tallest-ever mascot at approximately 16 hands 6

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

C OV E R S TO RY

“ I love educating people about the mules because not everyone gets the opportunity to come close to these types of animals and get to touch them and talk about them.” — Gabby Beckham, UCM Mule Rider The Prussing farm is currently the stomping ground of Molly and Tammy (who also goes by the name Mancow after Matthew Erich “Mancow” Muller, the well-known 1988 alumnus who donated funds to bring her to the university).

For the students who care for them, learn from them and share the privilege of riding them, the opportunity to work so closely with the mules is both moving and purposeful. Gabby Beckham, an animal biology major who has experience training mules, is a Mule Rider for the 2019–20 academic year and says working with Tammy and Molly brings her closer to the community.

Samantha and Tammy at Get the Red Out

“I love educating people about the mules because not everyone gets the opportunity to come close to these types of animals and get to touch them and talk about them,” Beckham says. “They are extraordinary, and I love working with them. I love being able to explain exactly what a mule is, especially with little kids, seeing their excitement when they see this big, huge animal.”

The presence of the living mascots at UCM is one that connects students and alumni to the identity of campus. Many alumni can recall seeing UCM mules throughout the years, walking in the

Dalton Dull and Molly

Homecoming parade or standing on the sidelines of the football games at Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field — a proud, reassuring symbol of their college years. Recently, alumni have met the mules, ridden by Mule Riders in full UCM regalia, at Get the Red Out, MuleNation alumni events and the Missouri State Fair.

This year UCM welcomes new faces — and snouts — with the debut of Molly, who will succeed Tammy as the official living mascot when Tammy takes up her well-earned retirement in the next few years. The university’s Mule Riders are also

Jane Haun and Tammy at Get the Red Out

University of Central Missouri Magazine

7

C OV E R S TO RY

MEET UCM’S MULE RIDERS

ehle Y a h t n a m a S

new, with Beckham and Samantha Yehle, a speech pathology major, taking the reins.

Being selected as a Mule Rider comes with a $500 scholarship and the opportunity to become a recognized face in the university community.

i olden, Missour Hometown: H y og ol th Pa Major: Speech

“There are lots of reasons why I wanted to be a mule rider,” says Yehle, who grew up barrel racing. “I love being in the saddle; it’s basically home. Any time I can do that for something that I love — like UCM — it’s even more extraordinary.”

As UCM welcomed a new freshman class in August, connecting them to all the resources and organizations they need to navigate their time here, Molly was also learning the ropes from a more senior member of the pack.

NG A HOW HAS BEI ?

HELPED YOU rson, MULE RIDER e of a people pe

to before. e never spoken e become mor I’v m at ed th lp le ith he op t’s pe “I k to face-to-face w me able to spea cause you are be r d sie fin ea and it’s made be em ill lping th to my career w going to be he re u’ yo d I know going in an , re never met befo the long run.” people you’ve help me a lot in to g in go s it’ their voice. So

“Molly and Tammy love to be together; they’re buddies,” Beckham explains.

“It’s really nice to be able to take Molly to new events and have Tammy next to her, who is calm and collected and knows what she’s doing, to keep her mind off all of the action. She can focus on her friend being with her.”

Gabby Bec kham Hometown: St

rasburg, Misso uri Major: Anim al Biology

DID YOU KNOW?

As Beckham and Yehle represent UCM as Mule Riders, they are moving forward secure in the lessons they have learned from their predecessors, May 2019 graduates Dalton Dull and Jane Haun.

The mule is Missouri’s state animal.

IS THE MULE AN APPROPRIA TE MASCOT FOR

U

CM? “I think so! I’ m a Missour i girl, and w and have ou e’re pretty st r own ideas ubborn about w then you have a lifelong frie hat we want to do. But if nd. I think it you convince ’s really fitting us, .”

8

In true UCM form, just as Tammy stands reassuringly by the side of Molly, the community of alumni, faculty, staff and donors stands together to ensure that each new student is able to be successful in their journey and embrace the fullness of their college experience.

Fall Fall 2019 2019 || ucmfoundation.org/magazine ucmfoundation.org/magazine

“Dalton and Jane showed me it’s OK to get out of your shell and be talkative,” Yehle says of becoming a face of UCM. “They helped me learn to enjoy it.”

C OV E R S TO RY

THE STORY OF PRUSSING FARM Dalton, whose grandfather used mules for farming long after tractors were available, offers words of reassurance to the rising Mule Riders and an important message for all incoming UCM students to hear. It is advice sure to ring true for all members of MuleNation as they reflect on the fleeting years but lifelong commitment that define their relationship with their alma mater: “Live in the moment; don’t get too carried away in trying to be a perfectionist; just have fun; meet new people; just enjoy your time … because it’s a great experience, and it’s a lot of fun to be a part of something like this.”

WHO IS MANCOW? Tammy the Mule is publicly referred to by her stage name, “Mancow.” Who is her namesake?

Matthew Erich “Mancow” Muller is a radio and TV personality, born and raised in the Kansas City area. Muller attended UCM, then known as Central Missouri State University, and graduated in 1988 with degrees in public relations and theatre.

Muller donated the funds for Tammy in 2003, and she has been publicly called Mancow in his honor since her first days on UCM’s campus — signifying the continued impact that alumni have on the university’s identity and history!

Natalie Halpin

Natalie Halpin, a College High School alumna, ’56, donated a century-old 260-acre farm owned by her father, Max Prussing, to UCM’s agriculture program in 2002. It has been the happy home of the university’s live mascots ever since.

The 100-by-65-foot barn, built by Max’s father, George, in 1902 of solid walnut, was central to George’s primary business. George selected and purchased matching pairs of mules around 2 years of age, trained them to work together and sold them for agricultural use.

When Max saw action in World War I as part of the same unit where Harry Truman was a commanding officer, some of his family’s mules went with him. Known for their strength and stability, mules pulled cannons through mud and kept their composure in battle. More than 300,000 mules were sent from the United States for the war effort, and Missouri – specifically Warrensburg – was a major supplier.

Matthew Erich “Mancow” Muller

University of Central Missouri Magazine

9

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Thank You for Supporting UCM’s Key Initiatives In the following pages you will learn about the impact of your generosity over the past fiscal year. Through your generous donations, the UCM Alumni Foundation is able to support the university in three key ways: 1. Helping to fund capital projects, such as the Crane Baseball Stadium and School of Aviation airport facilities 2. Assisting students through scholarships, endowments and annual funds 3. Supporting academic programs and initiatives, particularly through Opportunity Grants to faculty and staff We value your continued contribution to student success — in academics and beyond. Thank you for making a difference!

Crane Baseball Stadium Expansion Project

Design by Gould Evans The Crane Stadium Expansion Project is being approached from two angles: one that improves the student-athlete experience and a second that improves the UCM fan experience. The $3 million upgrade will include improved seating along the third-base line and permanent seating on the first-base side with a premier viewing area for Mules fans.

For Mules Baseball student-athletes and coaches, the expansion will upgrade and expand the team clubhouse. In addition to an expanded players’ locker room and new lounge, there will be three new coaches’ offices. The existing clubhouse will see a renovation to create a team meeting room with video capabilities. Finally, the

expansion will feature a reception lobby with the Mules Baseball Wall of Fame to honor those who have built the program’s winning legacy.

The Mules Baseball team played its first games at Pertle Springs Park, starting in 1894. More than a hundred years later, in the spring of 1998, the James R. Crane Stadium at Robert N. Tompkins Field was completed. A $1.2 million construction undertaking funded primarily by 1976 UCM alumnus and Houston Astros owner Jim Crane, the project added a locker room and coaches’ offices for the Mules, an umpires’ dressing room, new dugouts, permanent seats, a concession stand, a press box and lights to the playing field that

1010 FFall I S C A2019 L Y E A |R ucmfoundation.org/magazine 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

existed at the stadium’s current location.

Since then Crane has made a series of capital improvements, including indoor batting cages and bullpens, a weight room, a storage facility, permanent seatback chairs and, most recently, a synthetic turf playing surface.

Crane’s contributions – both on and off the field – have been legendary, but the team needs your support too.

Mules Baseball is one of the top programs in the country because of generous donors who continue to invest where funds are needed most.

Donate to the Crane Stadium Expansion Project at ucmfoundation.org/give/baseball.

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Thank you to the Sunderland Foundation for generous support of the School of Aviation and Mules Baseball!

Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport UCM is the only public university in Missouri, and one of only a few in the nation, to own and operate a general aviation airport. From humble beginnings, with tireless persistence, the UCM School of Aviation has grown into the high-quality educational system it is today.

The excellence of aviation education; highly qualified and engaged faculty; an intimate, personalized university experience; and industry demand have been key in effectively recruiting students and growing the UCM School of Aviation.

However, the challenge lies in the lack of adequate facilities and associated infrastructure to support this growing demand for flight education and to enhance economic development for the region.

Design by Jviation

UCM takes great pride in its aviation program and understands that facilities at Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport are in need of improvement and expansion.

Your generous support will make possible a visionary, state-of-the-art regional airport that will integrate all facets of airport operations, flight education and outreach to the community. With contemporary operational space, a new terminal, additional hangars, a flight education center and an upgraded, safe ingress/egress from Highway 50, UCM’s School of Aviation will be empowered to move forward with an aviation center that matches the quality and caliber of the aviation education currently offered to its students.

Show your support for UCM aviation by donating at ucmfoundation.org/airport-renovation.

Planning Your Gift The UCM Alumni Foundation makes gift planning opportunities available to facilitate, enhance and encourage gifts to the University of Central Missouri. The UCM Alumni Foundation is here to assist you in meeting your gift-planning needs and can offer a customized proposal that looks at which planned gift best meets your philanthropic and financial goals.

Gift-planning opportunities include: 1. P ermanent gifts that provide lifetime income 2. Revocable gifts 3. Miscellaneous gift-planning tools The UCM Alumni Foundation is committed to being a wise steward of each and every gift entrusted to its care. Donors can be assured that the UCM Alumni Foundation has the fiscal strength and institutional will to manage gifts in a prudent and productive manner.

See page 36 to learn more about Planned Giving.

University F I S C A L Yof E ACentral R 2 0 1 9Missouri A N N U A L Magazine R E P O R T 1111

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Scholarships Make the Difference for Students The University of Central Missouri’s retention rate for freshmen is at an all-time high at 73.8% this fall, up 4% compared with last year.

The university thanks you for supporting students with the financial assistance they need, when they need it. With support from scholarship endowments and annual funds, UCM is on its way to reaching its goal of an 80% university-wide retention rate.

The following students received just-in-time assistance from the Fund for Student Success or other scholarships in fiscal year 2019.

Thank you to donors who supported them with scholarships and contributions to the UCM Alumni Foundation’s Gift of Success initiative!

To learn more about setting up a scholarship endowment, visit ucmfoundation.org/scholarships.

Donayah Fisher

Karlee Metcalf

Jordan Davenport

Matthew Briggs

Hometown: Florissant, MO

Hometown: Hume, MO

Hometown: Lee’s Summit, MO

Hometown: Smithville, MO

Major: Business Administration

Major: Elementary Education

Major: Open Options

Major: Secondary Education

Involved in 4-H Youth Futures, Coding Club, Media Club, President’s Task Force, Spirit Squad, Student Ambassadors, STRIVE; Fund for Student Success recipient

Recipient of Charles N. Hagan Scholarship; Mary E., Clara and Mabel Falke Memorial Scholarship

Fund for Student Success recipient

Recipient of Department of Theatre and Dance Scholarship, James L. Highlander Theatre Scholarship, Margaret Winn Hayes Memorial Scholarship, Oliver and Ruth G. Seaton Memorial Scholarship, Red and Black Scholarship, Sandra Harlan Cockriel Scholarship, Susan and Steven Beebe Debate Scholarship, Virgil E. See Theatre Scholarship

“ Receiving my letter from the Fund for Student Success with the first sentence beginning with ‘congratulations’ filled my heart with joy, allowing me to realize I am being noticed and have finally been chosen.”

“ I have found a home here because of the kind and welcoming people that I have met. I found my place in the University of Central Missouri community. … I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for this assistance.”

1212 FFall I S C A2019 L Y E A R| ucmfoundation.org/magazine 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

“ Thank you for recognizing me and helping fund my success in college. Because I come from a single-parent household with three other siblings, this scholarship will help me tremendously.”

“ These awards offer me the motivation to press forward and achieve future academic goals as I discover what it means to be a valuable, supportive, caring and knowledgeable educator for future generations. I hope that someday I will inspire others with the same generosity.”

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Ignite Opportunity Student Recruitment Scholarship New this year, the Ignite Opportunity Scholarship is focused on creating access to the University of Central Missouri for incoming students with financial need. Too often, low-income students are unable to afford college, as scholarships and government aid aren’t enough to pay for tuition. The gap in student financial packages at UCM is anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 among Pell-eligible students. The Ignite Opportunity Scholarship is designed to cover these costs and remove financial barriers for incoming students who have the desire and drive to learn. With the help of generous donors, UCM will provide low-income freshmen access to a quality education and the resources they need to succeed.

Make a difference for incoming students in need by donating to the Ignite Opportunity Scholarship at ucmfoundation.org/give/ignite-opportunity.

J’Ayaja’Kel Thompson

Lance Smith

Lindsey Fisher

Arlanda Brown

WATCH VIDEO Hometown: Blue Springs, MO

Hometown: Houston, MO

Hometown: Lincoln, MO

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

Major: Biology, Pre-Med

Major: Open Options

Major: Sociology (May 2019 grad)

Involved in National Society of Leadership and Success; Fund for Student Success recipient

Fund for Student Success recipient

Major: Music Education/ Instrumental

“ It means the world to me that you have decided to help me “ Ever since I can remember I’ve further my education and always wanted to be in the medical have placed my goals closer field where I can directly help to becoming a reality.” people to the best of my ability.

I have this heart that yearns to serve and interact with people, so I knew I wanted to be in a hospital setting. … I was actually thinking about taking time off or changing my career path based on the hard truth that I simply cannot afford my education on my own. …

This donation means so much to me.”

Involved in Concert Band and Marching Mules; recipient of William Jasper and Martha Ann Breshears Scholarship and the Fund for Student Success “ This scholarship has allowed me to come back to college, and I cannot be more grateful. …

My end goal is to just be happy with where I’m at and accepting what life has in store for me, but working hard to better every aspect of my life. This scholarship is helping that goal and dream come true.”

Africana Studies minor; Class of 2019 Senior Class Gift chair; two-time Freedom Scholarship recipient “ I believe that donation is the most selfless form of giving. … Without your support, many students like myself would not be able to continue our education.

You are greatly appreciated.”

University F I S C A L Yof E ACentral R 2 0 1 9 Missouri A N N U A L Magazine R E P O R T 1313

C OV E R S TO RY

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Opportunity Grants Boost Research, Learning Opportunities Nearly a dozen projects ranging from mental health education to music livestreaming and a digital newsroom received funding in fiscal year 2019 through UCM Alumni Foundation Opportunity Grants. This program, made possible by gifts to the Central Annual Fund, supports innovative ideas faculty and staff submit to advance teaching, learning and student life at UCM. Since 2013, Opportunity Grants have funded $157,949 in programmatic support. Last year’s Opportunity Grants awarded $40,000 to select initiatives, a sampling of which is presented here.

Self-Checkout Boosts Efficiency at James C. Kirkpatrick Library

Initiative Enables Livestreaming and Recording at Hart Recital Hall

The James C. Kirkpatrick Library was awarded an Opportunity Grant enabling the acquisition of a self-checkout station, which became fully operational in October 2018. In addition to increasing resource accessibility, this compact station allows the library to redirect a significant amount of space for the expansion of study and work areas for students.

In addition to the Opportunity Grant, the James C. Kirkpatrick

KMOS-TV, in collaboration with UCM’s music program, was awarded an Opportunity Grant for the development of streaming and recording capabilities at Hart Recital Hall.

This project has directly impacted and benefited more than 250 students in the music program and more than 100 additional student performers by enabling them to effectively share and review their performances.

Library, in collaboration with Trails Regional Library, was awarded a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant this spring in the amount of $26,246 from the Missouri State Library. In advance of the university’s 150th anniversary in 2021, this grant will support the creation of a regional digitization center for scanning, cataloging and hosting collections of newspapers, art, books and historical documents.

Recorded sessions are used as a learning resource for students, providing them with valuable insight for practice and improvement. A number of graduate Katie Kim, ’19, (pictured below with Suzy Latare performances have been made of Campus Community Health) distributed the baskets through the “From My World to Yours” household item exchange With the help of two program for international Opportunity Grants, UCM’s students. The Office of Graduate Career Services is better and International Student positioned to advance its Services and the Center for mission of preparing students Global Education coordinated for the job market. the distribution of coldCareer Services hosts several weather gear. career expos throughout the academic year, providing students and alumni the opportunity to connect with potential employers and employees. Funds from these grants made the purchase of three laptop computers possible

International Students Get Warm Welcome Campus Community Health was awarded an Opportunity Grant for a program aimed at welcoming and supporting new international students at UCM. More than 400 students were provided welcome baskets and cold-weather gear. Welcome baskets (assembled in laundry baskets) contained supplies to ease students’ transition to a new home. UCM international studies

1414 FFall I S C A2019 L Y E A R| ucmfoundation.org/magazine 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

available online for the enjoyment of alumni and friends, as well as prospective UCM students, through the Facebook profile for the UCM Center for Music Technology and UCM Music’s YouTube channel.

A previous Opportunity Grant supported KMOS-TV in connecting the campus community through the development of Red Digital Studios, a student collaborative workspace designed for media editing. Since the studio’s opening in February 2018, students conceived and created Lowdown, a magazine-style video production featuring highlights of campus life.

Technology Helps Students Prepare for Careers for an enhanced experience at these events in the form of kiosks for students to effectively navigate and interact with employers targeting their field of interest.

Grant funds also enabled the renewal of the Big Interview software for the 2019-2020 academic year. This software allows students to practice, record and watch their own job interviews. During the 2017–2018 academic year, more than 1,800 mock interview videos were created using this software at the Career Services Center.

C OV E R S TO RY

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

WATCH VIDEO

Digital Newsroom Studio Supports Future-Focused Learning

Summer Program Gives Freshmen a Head Start in College Life

An Opportunity Grant has helped fund the creation of UCM’s Digital Newsroom Studio, a space within the Muleskinner headquarters designed for video media production. This studio became operational in July 2018 and has directly benefited a combined audience of several thousand among the Muleskinner campus newspaper, The Beat radio station and Central TV — all of which make up DigitalBurg.com.

An Opportunity Grant complemented funds from a Title III Strengthening Institutions Program federal grant in support of Central Summer Academy, a program designed to prepare historically underrepresented incoming freshmen for college life. Students awarded the opportunity to participate in this program were recognized as first-generation, Pell-eligible or members of a historically underrepresented group.

support provided by the Learning Commons, explore other resources at UCM, experience on-campus living and dining, as well as enjoy social activities and field trips with peers and staff. In addition, students participated in weekly service learning projects with organizations such as the Missouri Veterans Home, the UCM Campus Cupboard and Warrensburg Parks and Recreation.

The summer 2019 program welcomed 13 incoming college freshmen. Participants enrolled in seven credit hours designed for college academic preparedness, including Public Speaking, Introduction to Literacy or Intermediate Algebra. Students were given the opportunity to access regularly scheduled academic

A pilot program of Central Summer Academy, launched in July 2018, saw initial success.

The eight participants of this pilot attained an 88% persistence rate from fall to spring semester in their freshman year, and 75% of participants decided to further their education at UCM as sophomores.

are able to adjust different features of LED lighting, display images through a high-definition video monitor and record video using a 4K high-definition digital camera with teleprompter.

Since completion of the Digital Newsroom Studio, staff have had the opportunity to interview UCM President Roger J. Best, Ph.D., both as interim president and following his inauguration as the 16th leader of the university. Recently, DMP student Katlin Younts In the studio space, student interviewed UCM’s new journalists conduct interviews Provost and Vice President and produce videos for the digital for Academic Affairs Phillip version of the newspaper. Digital B. Bridgmon, Ph.D., (shown Media Production (DMP) stuabove). Additionally, students dents operate state-of-the-art in the Introduction to Digital technology at the studio, helping Journalism and Writing Across them prepare for an increasingly the Media classes use the studio competitive multimedia job for class projects published in the Muleskinner. market. Student staff members

Training Expands Mental Health Care and Awareness on Campus An Opportunity Grant enabled two faculty members from the social work program in UCM’s School of Human Services to become certified instructors of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA). Following certification, assistant professors Ashley Gage and Juanice Williams, ’02, have shared their

expertise through multiple training sessions for UCM students and staff.

Ten undergraduates and one graduate student attended the first on-campus MHFA training session in November 2018, and subsequent training sessions have been offered for a total of 100 trainees to date. In May

2019 a training session was offered free of charge to members of the Missouri Valley Community Action Agency and Adventure Club, a beforeand after-school program for children in the Warrensburg R-VI School District.

Starting this fall semester, all social work students will have

the opportunity to receive training during their junior year.

Make your gift to the UCM Alumni Foundation’s Central Annual Fund at ucmfoundation.org/give to help support future Opportunity Grants.

University F I S C A L Yof E ACentral R 2 0 1 9 Missouri A N N U A L Magazine R E P O R T 1515

C OV E R S TO RY

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Thank You for Your Support!

$6.2M+ GIFTS AND PLEDGES 2,000+ SCHOLARSHIPS Undergraduate Retention

In fiscal year 2019, the UCM Alumni Foundation received $6,285,834 in gifts and pledges. Alumni continue to be the nonprofit’s largest group of supporters, stepping up to give more than $1 million more than in FY18. Other strong funding came from increased corporate and foundation support with a more than $1.3 million combined increase year over year.

FRIENDS $1,233,147 19%

INCREASED RETENTION RATES

3.9%

First-Time, Full-Time Students’ Retention Rate

5.6%

First-Generation Students’ Retention Rate

7.3%

Pell-Eligible Students’ Retention Rate

CORPORATIONS $1,112,100 18% FOUNDATIONS $1,184,868 19%

ALUMNI $2,124,221 34%

4.5%

Underrepresented Students’ Retention Rate

ESTATES AND TRUSTS $631,498 10%

Total Assets First-Time, Full-Time Students

First-Time, Full-Time, Pell-Eligible Students

First-Time, Full-Time Students

First-Time, Full-Time, Pell-Eligible Students

Your generosity in fiscal year 2019 continued unabated, as did the hard work of UCM Alumni Foundation staff members who support your philanthropic endeavors. As of June 30, 2019, total assets under management stood at more than $63 million, which reflects a growth of 24% over the past five years. This is a record-breaking number for the UCM Total Assets Alumni Foundation in assets managed!

80mil

1616 FFall I S C A2019 L Y E A |R ucmfoundation.org/magazine 2019 ANNUAL REPORT

0

$63,873,482

20mil

$58,760,045

1,002

Total Alumni Foundation of Alumni Foundation scholarship scholarship recipients in the recipients either earned a 2018-19 academic year UCM degree or were still enrolled for fall 2019

$55,949,840

40mil

$51,968,638

60mil

$51,377,527

The impact of your generosity is evident in UCM students’ retention and success rates. The retention rate for first-time, full-time students is 73.8% this fall, up 4% compared with 2018. This is the highest freshman retention rate in university history!

First-time Pell-eligible students experienced an even higher increase of 7.3% with a retention rate of 70.4%.

The retention rate for all-new transfer students also increased to 75.2%.

The biggest accolades, however, go to students who received financial assistance through the UCM Alumni Foundation’s assets, with a retention rate of 86% for those first-time freshmen and 88% for students in that group who are Pell-eligible. This is only possible because of your support!

• Th e university’s four-year graduation rate experienced its highest increase ever: a 3.4% increase.

• 1,002 students received Foundation aid for 2018-19 with $1,369,584 provided.

• The success rate (students who either graduated or were still enrolled in fall 2019) for students who received UCM Alumni Foundation aid is 93%.

Sources of Gifts

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL REPORT Endowment Payout

Rate of Return

Managing endowment spending, a critical factor in maintaining value over time, is a responsibility vested in the UCM Alumni Foundation’s Finance Committee.

Each year, the committee approves a level of spending based on a rolling 12-quarter average market, cushioning the payout from volatility in the financial markets. The committee exercises prudence in achieving a healthy balance between preserving long-term assets and spending for current operations.

An endowment is accounted for using a unitized pool. Each individual endowment The fundamental purpose of our fund owns units in the pool, revalued at the CASH VALUE 6.2% endowment is to support the university’s end of each month. New endowments may $2,891,136 ALTERNATIVE 7.7% core academic mission by supplying a enter the pool at month-end periods, using a $3,567,234 growing source of scholarship and month-end value of a unit. New endowments programmatic funding. Maintaining INTERNATIONAL “buy into” and receive a certain number of and growing the value of the EQUITIES 12.1% units in the pool based on the amount invested DOMESTIC endowment over time is critical to $5,636,248 and the value of a unit on the buy-in date.

EQUITIES ensuring that a steady source of income $22,624,165 The UCM Alumni Foundation receives from the endowment will continue to FIXED INCOME 48.6% statements every month from its investment provide the same benefit to students in the $11,791,484 managers and uses this information to calculate future as it does today. Over the past 25.4% the current market value per share by dividing five years, the market value of the Endowment Market Value the total market value of the investment endowments has seen a growth of 25%. pool by the total number of shares. Every 50mil endowment in the pool owns shares, and once Asset classes comprising the endowment an endowment has been in the pool for a portfolio are essential for generating 40mil minimum of six months, it receives an annual sustainable returns while managing risk. payout. Using the spending rate approved by Active long-term investment returns 30mil the UCM Alumni Foundation Board of are best produced by maintaining a Directors, the payout is calculated and consistent investment philosophy and allocated based on the shares owned.

20mil process. The need to provide resources The distribution is made to a corresponding for current operations and preserve expendable account used for the purpose 10mil the purchasing power of assets dictates specified by the donor. For FY19, investment for high returns, causing the Endowment Payout $1.42 million was approved for the payout. endowment to be biased toward equity. In 0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 addition, vulnerability to inflation further 1,500,000 directs the endowment away from fixed There are 540 endowment funds managed income and toward equity investments. by the Alumni Foundation, with a variety Over the long term, the UCM Alumni of designated purposes and restrictions.

1,000,000 Approximately 93% of funds constitute true Foundation’s absolute objective is to achieve a total return that meets or exceeds endowments or gifts restricted by donors to the university’s tuition inflation rate provide long-term funding for designated plus the total spending rate. The relative purposes. The remaining 7% represents 500,000 objective is to achieve a total return that monies or quasi-endowments the UCM meets or exceeds a combined benchmark Alumni Foundation Board of Directors 0 of appropriate capital market indices. chooses to invest and treat as endowments.

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Although the investment return of 7.3% for FY19 was below the year’s benchmark of 7.68%, the average annualized returns since inception is 7.16%, outperforming the overall benchmark of 7.09%.

The UCM Alumni Foundation’s goal is to manage endowment funds in a manner satisfying current needs while ensuring the same level of support is available for future generations. Preserving this intergenerational equity requires generating a rate of return sufficient to maintain the purchasing power of the endowment after taking into consideration annual distributions and the effects of inflation.

Endowment Investment Allocation

$1,424,522

$1,401,843

$1,300,240

$1,165,315

$891,007

$46,510,267

$42,590,183

$40,125,195

$36,309,475

$37,190,481

Endowment Market Value

University F I S C A L Yof E ACentral R 2 0 1 9Missouri A N N U A L Magazine R E P O R T 1717

F E AT U R E

UCM Students to Perform With Celebrity Alumnus David Cook at

2020 PRESIDENT’S GALA Musician, actor and artist embodies all aspects of UCM’s School of Visual and Performing Arts David Cook, ’06, has a way of getting noticed — from the

moment he “got cornered into singing a solo” at a Christmas pageant in elementary school to the time an “American Idol” producer spotted him in the audition line supporting his younger brother, Andrew, ’09, and persuaded him to try out too.

Somewhere in between, a Blue Springs South High School performance of “Singing in the Rain” caught the attention of Richard “Buzz” Herman, then a UCM theatre professor and department chair, and led to a scholarship for Cook.

It wasn’t until last year, a decade after the unforgettable Season 7 “American Idol” win launched his musical career, that Cook returned to theatre as the lead role in the Broadway production of “Kinky Boots.”

While developing his characterization of Charlie Parker for the musical — based on a book by Tony winner Harvey Fierstein, featuring a Tony-winning score by Cyndi

18

SAVE THE DATE March 30, 2020

Lauper and with direction and choreography

by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell — Cook remembered the acting class he took with John Wilson, now chair of UCM’s School of Visual and Performing Arts.

comprising three areas: Art and Design, Music, and Theatre and Dance. Cook’s creative life exemplifies the relationships among all of these art forms. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in graphic arts technology. Although he can’t say he regrets “There was a moment in each class where passing up a coveted design job at an arts you’d lie down and focus on breathing, and entertainment magazine to take a chance and I loved it as a freshman because I was at “American Idol,” he has found a way to exhausted,” Cook recalls. “The class opened merge the two passions, creating his own my eyes to elevating the art form a little album covers and merchandise and being more, which was extremely helpful, “involved to a fault” in the visual aspects especially last year. I feel like I’ve kind of been known as David Cook, pop rock singer, of his musical career. for 10 years. To get to expand on that and The upcoming President’s Gala will likewise try something different and step outside my blur the boundaries between the visual and comfort zone was a welcome challenge.” performing arts, incorporating music, dance When Cook was a student at UCM, then called Central Missouri State University, theatre, dance, music and art were not part of the same school. Last year, just as Cook was making his debut on Broadway, the programs intertwined to become the UCM School of Visual and Performing Arts,

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

and many forms of art, including sculpture, painting and even animation. UCM’s 16th president, Roger J. Best, Ph.D., is reviving the event as an avenue to celebrate student, faculty and alumni collaboration while raising needed funds to extend the educational benefits of the School of Visual and Performing Arts.

F E AT U R E

By Kathy Strickland

“Collaboration strengthens every strain of the arts,” says Jackson Thomas, UCM’s opera director, assistant director of choral activities and event coordinator for the President’s Gala, which will take place at the Kauffman Center’s Helzberg Hall on March 30, 2020.

“The arts bring us all together.

They teach us about the human experience, how to be empathetic and how to find our purpose through creativity.”

Cook says he is looking forward to reuniting with his alma mater to share something special with student performers in the spirit of the gala’s theme, “The Arts Are the Future.”

“Each performance is its own thing that’s never going to happen again,” he says. “I do feel like I figured a lot of things out about myself while

University of Central Missouri Magazine

19

F E AT U R E

I was at UCM — things that helped get me to where I am now.”

David Cook with John Wilson’s sons, Noah and Harry, at the “American Idols Live” tour in 2008

WATCH VIDEO This summer Cook was at the Kauffman Center with a host of other celebrities, including Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, to raise money for Children’s Mercy through the Big Slick, an annual fundraiser hosted by Shawnee Mission School District alumni actors Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis.

20

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

Alumni Foundation’s Outstanding Recent Alumni Award after a sold-out show in Hendricks Hall. When he accepted the Cook grew up watching his father play award, Cook asked his fans to donate guitar but couldn’t pick it up himself one dollar to the Race for Hope he was because he was left-handed. As a young running in Washington, teen he got a guitar of D.C., the following month. his own for Christmas, The night before that race, “ I do feel like I wrote his first song at his older brother, Adam, age 15 and started a figured a lot of lost his decade-long battle band called Axium, with brain cancer, and Cook things out about playing their first has been honoring him by “gig” in the drummer’s myself while I was running the race annually driveway one ever since. at UCM — things Halloween. Axium gained popularity that helped get “Everybody has someone when Cook went to they’d consider a hero, and me to where college, was voted Adam is certainly that to best band in Kansas I am now.” me,” says Cook. “If I were City in 2004 and – David Cook to walk away from all this performed as one of tomorrow, that would be the opening acts for the feather in my cap, to be Smashmouth in the able to say I was a part of Pre-Cram Jam battle of the bands held something that helped raise seven figures at UCM’s Multipurpose Building. for brain tumor and brain cancer awareness After staking his claim to fame with and research. That’s more a testament to the “American Idol” win in 2008, my fans who have supported that cause — Cook returned to campus on a college because it’s important to me, and therefore tour in April 2009 and received the it becomes important to them.”

F E AT U R E

At a July 2008 stop in St. Louis on Cook’s first tour as the new “American Idol,” Cook got backstage passes for his UCM theatre professor’s family. Wilson remembers being uncharacteristically “star-struck” when watching his former student.

“You could tell there was something special about David right away, and it wasn’t only talent,” Wilson recalls. “There was just this strong confidence that exuded from him.

Nothing arrogant, but just a confidence that belonged on stage. He had a quirky energy and a real presence in scene work; he made the scene come alive.”

Looking forward to performing on stage with current theatre, music and art students and reflecting on his run on Broadway, Cook says the chance to revisit acting in the past year has been a blast.

“To go from lying on the floor in Professor Wilson’s class to standing on the stage on Broadway is pretty surreal,” he quips.

The way different art forms have intertwined in his career make him the perfect guest performer for an event that showcases the best work from students studying in all of these areas within UCM’s School of Visual and Performing Arts.

“Our students will be a part of designing the future,” says Rahila Weed, assistant school chair and head of Art and Design.

“They will be the creative force for change, the creatives in the workforce of the future.”

The University of Central Missouri President’s Gala is free and open to the public, with seat reservations becoming available in spring 2020. Bryan Busby, chief meteorologist for KMBC-TV 9

News, will be master of ceremonies for the evening. Busby has a musical background of his own and is currently the principal timpanist for the Kansas City Civic Orchestra and the principal guest conductor for the Kansas City Youth Symphony.

To learn more and support the UCM School of Visual and Performing Arts by sponsoring this event, please visit ucmo.edu/gala.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

21

DA

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

D E B B Y B A L L A R D, ’ 7 4 2019 UCM Distinguished Alumni Award WATCH VIDEO Debby Ballard is director of community affairs at Sprint, leading the Overland Park, Kansas-based company’s local and national outreach programs. She also serves as president and executive director of the Sprint Foundation. The story of how she got her first position with the company back in 1985 exemplifies Ballard’s fearless spirit and drive to succeed.

and volunteering, as well as charitable and corporate giving. She heads the Sprint Foundation, which donates millions annually to hundreds of organizations and causes. Sprint’s 1Million Project Foundation aims to close the digital divide by donating mobile devices and high-speed internet to 1 million high school students who lack reliable access at home.

After graduating from UCM, then Central Missouri State University, with a home economics degree in 1974, she worked at Xerox Corp. and Procter & Gamble before moving to Nashville, Tennessee. There she applied for a position at Sprint and was told she was overqualified. But Ballard didn’t take “no” for an answer; when she saw the same listing in the newspaper again, she overnighted a letter to the company stating that if they had hired her, they wouldn’t still be looking to fill the position. Sprint called her the next day and offered her the job.

In determining where to donate her personal time, Ballard looks to local organizations that advance opportunity for women and urban youths. She has served as chair of the board of both the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey and the Kansas City Zoo, which named a sea lion “Little Debby” in her honor. Her husband, Gary, retired president and chief operating officer at Kansas City-based YourTel America, is also dedicated to serving the urban community, recently volunteering to help turn around DeLaSalle, an alternative high school.

“You’re accountable for your career,” Ballard says. “You own that, and you have to ask for what you want.”

In 2016, Ballard received the Athena Leadership Award from the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce for “actively assisting women in their attainment of professional excellence and leadership skills.”

Today Ballard is living her “dream job,” overseeing employee engagement, giving 22

“

I ALWAYS KNEW I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING THAT W O U L D I M PA C T T H E C O M M U N I T Y. …

POTENTIAL IS EVERYWHERE, BUT O P P O R T U N I T Y I S N O T. I WANT TO MAKE SURE STUDENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. IN THE ROLE I’M IN [AT SPRINT] I CAN DO THAT AND SEE THAT HAPPEN E V E R Y D A Y.

Fall Fall 2019 2019 || ucmfoundation.org/magazine ucmfoundation.org/magazine

“

As a member and past president of the Jackson County chapter of The Links Incorporated, an international not-forprofit corporation composed of nearly 14,000 women of color, she mentors young African American women.

“Having a mentor who believes in you, especially as a woman, is crucial,” she says.

“We have to be each other’s cheerleaders and never, ever give up.”

Tammy Edwards, Ballard’s longtime friend and former coworker at Sprint, says Ballard is a true role model and the epitome of philanthropy.

“She’s not just involved to have her name involved; she’s not going to be involved in an organization unless she devotes her time, her talents and her treasures,” says Edwards, who is senior vice president for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. “She is one who is going to lift others up as she is recognized and continues to advance; she lifts as she climbs.”

To watch videos about Debby Ballard and other UCM Distinguished Alumni, visit ucmfoundation.org/awards.

DA

“

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

ENJOY WHATEVER IT IS YOU’RE DOING – YOU HAVE TO HAVE FUN AT I T. … G O A F T E R T H E HARD JOBS – THAT’S WHERE YOU LEARN THE MOST AND WHERE IT’S G O I N G TO PAY O F F I N THE LONG RUN. … DO THE RIGHT THINGS FOR THE RIGHT REASONS – DON’T WORRY ABOUT A N Y O F T H E R E S T O F I T.

“

When retired Maj. Gen. Pat Cavanaugh was a boy, he spent his weekends playing the typical youth sport. Only instead of Little League, in Norway that was ski jumping.

Cavanaugh grew up in a military family and lived in Norway during his formative childhood years from age 7 to 12. He was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, with his mother’s hometown just outside the post.

He always knew he wanted to be a soldier.

During his freshman year at a community college in Kentucky, his parents moved to Warrensburg. Cavanaugh visited them and fell in love with UCM, then Central Missouri State College, transferring soon after and enrolling in the newly formed Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

While a student, Cavanaugh met and married Kay Matthews of Knob Noster.

Growing up as a local farmer’s daughter, Kay saw military families come and go from Whiteman Air Force Base. She admired their multicultural experiences, but at the same time felt fortunate she didn’t have to move every year.

“Every year new boys and girls came from places I only dreamed about ever getting to

M A J . G E N . ( R E T. ) PAT C AVA N A U G H , ’ 7 0 2019 UCM Distinguished Alumni Award WATCH VIDEO go,” Kay recalls. “I loved to go to their homes because their homes were full of things from other countries.”

Little did she know, she would become one of those families. She and Cavanaugh met in the summer of 1967 and wed the following year.

“I took the two best things away from Central Missouri: a college degree and my wife,” Cavanaugh says.

Upon graduating in 1970 with a degree in political science, Cavanaugh was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps through the ROTC. His first assignment was in Germany, and he returned 18 years later with his two teenage daughters.

Cavanaugh was stationed domestically at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Norfolk, Virginia; and Fort Gordon, Georgia.

Cavanaugh finished his military career as the commanding general of both Fort Gordon and the U.S. Army Signal Center. He retired from active duty in 2002 with numerous military decorations and awards. He then moved to the private sector, working as a consultant and project manager until fully retiring in 2013.

Having now settled in Houston, Cavanaugh has re-engaged with ROTC at UCM, giving back to the organization of which he was a charter member.

“Although I may not have wanted to move every time, I knew that was what the Army wanted me to do,” Cavanaugh says about relocating more then 30 times throughout his career. “You go, and you do the best you can to help your soldiers do the best they can do.”

“I enjoy being around the ROTC cadets,” he says. “I’m trying to impart some of my experiences and some of my knowledge to these young people getting ready to be commissioned and go off and do the work for our great nation.”

He served a total of 11 years in Germany, three years in Korea and several war-zone assignments in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo.

To watch videos about Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Pat Cavanaugh and other UCM Distinguished Alumni, visit ucmfoundation.org/awards.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

23

DA

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

“

MY MOTHER GAVE ME A SENSE OF SELFCONFIDENCE AND MADE ME A BETTER ENTREPRENEUR BECAUSE I AM WILLING TO TAKE THE CALCULATED RISKS. … UCM GAVE ME A NECESSARY TOOL AND FAITH AND COURAGE

BY PROVIDING ME THE TRAINING AND THE DEGREE. I USED THOSE THINGS TO DEVELOP MY OWN AMERICAN DREAM.

PA U L H S U, P h . D. , ’ 7 8 2019 UCM Distinguished International Alumni Award

“

WATCH VIDEO Paul Hsu, Ph.D., was 27 years old when a letter of acceptance from UCM, then Central Missouri State University, arrived at his home in Taiwan.

“I looked at the map, and CMSU was right in the darn center of the United States,” Hsu recalls. “So I said to myself, ‘Well, I wanted to start something in this great new country; I think this is probably a good place to start.”

Hsu arrived in Warrensburg on a Sunday, when campus was closed, and spent his first night in this new country in a janitorial closet. It was a humble beginning, but it wasn’t long before doors started to open for this first-generation immigrant.

On another Sunday, when the campus cafeteria was closed, Hsu gathered up his spare change and walked to a restaurant downtown. Handing over all his coins, he ordered a hamburger and water. Much to his surprise, his order came up with the burger, french fries and fried chicken. It was the first of many meals he would share with restaurant owners David and Mary Miller, who became his host family. David gave him valuable business advice, and when 24

Hsu flew home to marry his sweetheart, Maggie, in Taiwan one summer and bring her back with him to Warrensburg, Mary brought furniture, pots, pans, bedding and other household necessities to the newlyweds’ 12-by-40-foot trailer.

After graduating in 1978 with an industrial management degree and a minor in systems engineering, Hsu got a job as a chemical engineer in Jefferson City and then moved to Florida to work as a senior processing engineer. In 1984 he started his first business, Manufacturing Technology Inc., a supplier of electronics to the U.S. military. Hsu built three successful companies following MTI, beginning with Total Parts Plus Inc., an internet-based data content company providing electronic component obsolescence management and engineering services. He also created ActiGraph LLC, an electronic medical device manufacturer of a product that collects biometric data, and Crestview Technology Air Park, an airport development providing infrastructure for aerospace and technology-driven solutions at Bob Sikes Airport.

Fall Fall 2019 2019 || ucmfoundation.org/magazine ucmfoundation.org/magazine

Adding jobs to the local economy is just one way Hsu gives back to his community. When he gave a talk at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), fewer than 20% of students in the audience were born in the United States. He set out to get more American youths interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), starting with the rural population in northern Okaloosa County.

Education has always been important to Hsu, who earned his Ph.D. from LaSalle University in 1992 and completed Harvard Business School’s Executive Educational Program in 1995. He established the HSU Educational Foundation in 2015, a nonprofit dedicated to preparing K-20 students for high-demand STEM career fields by encouraging excellence in teaching and innovation in the classroom.

Hsu has served in presidential appointments for each U.S. administration since President George W. Bush and was recently named by President Donald Trump as chairman of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

To watch videos about Paul Hsu, Ph.D., and other UCM Distinguished Alumni, visit ucmfoundation.org/awards.

DA

“

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

SAFETY AND TRAINING A R E PA R A M O U N T I N T H I S I N D U S T R Y. …

OUR FOCUS FOR MANY YEARS HAS BEEN TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC, EDUCATE OUR PERSONNEL, REVIEW OUR SAFETY PROCESSES AND SEE WHERE WE’RE AT AND WHAT WE NEED TO IMPROVE. … THE MAIN IDEA IN FIRE SERVICE IS THAT EVERYBODY RETURNS HOME FROM EVERY CALL.

“

The youngest of four children, Jennings and his siblings “put millions of miles on the bicycles” growing up two and a half blocks from the UCM campus. In high school he developed a passion for videography, recording the school’s basketball games.

This led him to pursue a degree from UCM, then Central Missouri State University, in broadcast media.

When Jennings had completed all the degree requirements for his major, he started taking classes for a minor in safety. Having already served as a volunteer firefighter since high school, he began dispatching for the county communications center. This led to his involvement in UCM’s Department of Public Safety (DPS), which “completely derailed” his initial career path.

“I didn’t walk for my diploma, but I did stand outside and direct traffic,” he recalls.

Jennings “fell madly in love” with Sharon just before graduation, and they got married that summer. One of his early jobs was as a fire scene investigator for Missouri’s Division of Fire Safety. It was the perfect mix of fire protection and law enforcement — the two

LARRY JENNINGS, ’81 2019 UCM Distinguished Alumni Award for Service WATCH VIDEO fields that the couple’s two sons work in today. Their younger son, Joe, is a volunteer fire captain and police sergeant with UCM’s DPS, and their older son, Ken, is head of Johnson County Fire Protection District’s Training and Safety Division, which Jennings was instrumental in creating.

During his more than four decades with the district, Jennings also partnered with the Rotary Club to invest in a trailer that simulates for the community what it’s like to be in a house fire or severe weather.

He has served full time as Johnson County’s fire chief since 2007 but started in that position on a volunteer basis more than a decade earlier. In 2009, the Fire Fighter’s Association of Missouri named him Chief of the Year.

Jennings gives back to the university that he and his family attended by guest lecturing and conducting fire extinguisher training for UCM’s Housing Services and the campus DPS. He sees many students come and go as volunteers at the fire district and appreciates the opportunity to make a global impact through a collaboration with UCM’s crisis and disaster management program.

“We have international students that come here and go through the recruit training program and are better prepared when they return to their home country to work in this industry,” he says.

Jennings educates younger students by volunteering at Missouri Boys State, a weeklong immersive program that brings around 1,000 high school juniors to campus every summer to build their own model government, complete with city fire departments and a state fire marshal’s office.

Jennings participated in the program in 1976, the same year he started volunteering as a firefighter.

The son of a teacher and an MU Extension agent, Jennings has always placed a high value on education.

“I am a firm believer in education, and I don’t think that education ever stops,” he says.

If you get out of bed one day and you don’t learn something, it really wasn’t a good day.”

To watch videos about Larry Jennings and other UCM Distinguished Alumni, visit ucmfoundation.org/awards.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

25

M U L E N AT I O N N E W S

Summer of Spirit

July

Alumni Turn Out for MuleNation Events

June

showed Chapter s they th r o W t rs a For Dallas– isco RoughRide r n o ti a N r The Mule cheer on the F oks at Dr. Peppe 1 to ds Ho up June Corpus Christi lumni and frien e a th took on lose to 100 UCM UCM tents. .C the Ballpark r a tailgate by fo d gathere

26

Fall Fall 2019 2019 || ucmfoundation.org/magazine ucmfoundation.org/magazine

its first Mule pter hosted a h C e , where m o H tion Warrensburg ome in ’s y e The MuleNa rn a H 18 at Old B wledge. The 25, Mixer on July M trivia kno C pt.

U e S ir e n o th s st e te ero alumni got to nother Mule Mixer at H ament. ed a Chapter host rock-paper- scissors tourn a h complete wit

Constructio nM tournamen anagement alumni h t June 7 at ad a success Ston ful raising just under $50,0 e Canyon Golf Cours fourth annual golf e in Blue S 00 for the Foundation prings, prog is contact eve currently accepting sp ram. The UCM Alumn o i nts@ucm o.edu if in nsors for the 2020 tou terested. rnament;

M U L E N AT I O N N E W S

August nd d alumni a apter hoste h inals C rd is a u C o L tch the on St. a ti w a N to le u m M iu The Stad ros 27 at Busch at honor to have Ast nce. re friends July g a e s tt a a in nda ros. It w Crane, ’76, m Ji play the Ast s u n m UCM alu owner and

Forty alumni and friends ga thered at the of Education’s College golf tournamen t July 26 at M National Golf ules Club. This even t kicked off th college’s Cent e ennial Celebr ation, which cu with the ribbon lminated cutting of a Le gacy Suite in Lovinger Build the ing education alum and a dinner honoring lega cy ni at the end of October.

Alumn iA back to mbassadors we c Welcom ampus during lcomed stude nts e. The UCM’s U W introdu ced the CM Alumni Fo eek of Alum F as part undati on ro o and wi f the MuleNa m Day 1 pro gram tion St ll conti ude nu that pa irs alum e to offer pro nt Chapter gramm ni with ing studen ts. month of August City Chapter kicked off the s nsa Ka on ati leN Mu e Th Points Event the city ’s skyline at Three of w vie ing az am an h wit ftop” Aug. 1 om Access “rocked the roo nd Ra nd ba cal Lo . ace Sp music. with a full night of live

September

ds back d frien Red n a i n Get the ng alum elcomi the annual ame of the w f o n ith eg itio ept. 5 w M trad rst hom The UC s continued S s Football’s fi le pu to cam t fair and Mu ort Hays. e e r over F Out st ig win b a , n seaso

On Sept. 19 alumni and friends gath the Millwood ered Golf and Ra cquet Countr at Springfield y Club in for d President Ro inner and conversation with ger Best and First Lady R obin Best.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

27

AT H L E T I C S

JENNIES BASKETBALL THE FIRST DECADE

By Mary Jo Sandberg, ’81

I

t’s hard to imagine a time when women didn’t play basketball.

James Naismith invented the sport in 1891 as an “athletic distraction” for rowdy students confined to the indoors during a harsh winter in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The following year Senda Berenson Abbott, considered the Mother of Women’s Basketball, introduced the sport to her students at Smith College, also in Massachusetts. The first women’s intercollegiate game was played in 1896 between Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, but both schools and several others were then banned from team play because it was deemed too competitive and a bad influence.

The University of Central Missouri (then known as State Normal School No. 2) experienced the same obstacles establishing women’s basketball, dating back to 1906.

This changed decades later when the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971, the year Coach Millie Barnes took the helm of women’s basketball after Jane Markert, also the head field hockey coach, ushered in the inaugural season in the fall of 1970. Barnes, who earned her doctorate from Boston University and came to Warrensburg from the University of Iowa to teach physical education, could rightfully be called the Mother of Women’s Basketball at UCM. In June 1972, due to a growing interest in women’s sports, Title IX was enacted, prohibiting schools that received federal funding from gender discrimination. This opened the door for increased budgets for women’s sports and leveled the playing field for funds to travel, buy uniforms and maintain practice time and facilities. Coach Barnes remembers that when Title IX passed — the same year the university changed its name from Central Missouri State College to Central Missouri State University —

28

transformation was slow. The budget needed to improve. Women needed inclusion in access to equipment and gyms for practice and games. With gymnastics equipment in the Morrow gym, Barnes had to coordinate a practice schedule with the Mules for time in the Garrison and Lovinger gyms.

Finding opponents was no easy task.

“I continued to call schools to find teams to schedule games,” Barnes recalls.

“Since the women were governed by AIAW, we were all in one division.

We found that larger schools from the Big 10 and Big 8 conferences had teams, so that’s who we played.”

As for the team, Barnes was a proven winner.

The Jennies dominated many of their opponents, most of which would now be considered Division I schools. In nine seasons, only once did her team finish outside of the Top 3 teams in Missouri. The Jennies won the state tournament twice, and in the 1979–80 season they took first in regionals and received an at-large bid to the national tournament.

In the beginning the university offered no scholarships to women athletes.

Uniforms were donated by an athletic apparel company. The school provided cars for transportation to away games Former Jennies basketball players gather with their former coach, and a box lunch for each player.

Millie Barnes, in summer 2019.

It wasn’t much, but Debbie Brown, who graduated in 1974, the year women athletes became known as “Jennies,” was Barnes’ reputation and success led to more grateful for the chance to play basketball. players from across the country seeking to play at UCM. It was common to see players from “Since we didn’t stay in hotels, we drove outside Missouri, and the 1979–80 team had five hours to a game in Claremont, only three players from in state. Players came Oklahoma, played the game, and drove from Washington, Kansas, South Carolina, back to campus,” Brown recalls. “We missed Iowa, Indiana and Nevada. Why? They came the curfew and bed check that was set up for to play for Millie Barnes. women students. Luckily, the housemother knew we were basketball players.”

In her last season, Barnes realized the most success as she found the perfect complement After the passage of Title IX, the team began of players. In 1979, a team led by Kathy to travel predominantly by a university bus Anderson, Margie Nielsen and a host of rather than school cars. Marilyn Carlson, experienced players went to the AIAW ’77, who in 1973 played on the first postNational Tournament and finished with a Title IX team, recalls that pregame meals national ranking and an all-time best 26–5 were often in drugstore cafeterias, and record. Barnes retired at the end of the 1980 after-game meals were often at McDonald’s season with a 156–63 career record. with each player given $3 to spend. In the One of the biggest achievements for Coach 1975–76 season, the team started to travel Barnes was her participation with USA more and stay in hotels instead of “old Women’s Basketball. As the coordinator for dormitories provided by the home team.”

Fall Fall 2019 2019 || ucmfoundation.org/magazine ucmfoundation.org/magazine

AT H L E T I C S

Coach Millie Barnes Launched the Legacy the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1976, she helped select and train the first-ever Women’s Olympic Basketball Team in Warrensburg, putting this small college town on the sports map. In 1978, Coach Barnes brought the Republic of China and Czechoslovakia national teams to Warrensburg to play the Jennies in games using international basketball rules. Barnes herself authored three books on girls’ and women’s basketball and served as the Rules Interpreter for the Division for Girls and Women’s Sports. She helped set the stage for women to play a full-court, five-player game, proving they could indeed run the full court and did not require an extra player.

The Jennies had their share of representation on USA basketball teams. In 1977 Kathy Anderson was a member of the USA Junior Basketball Team and traveled to Taiwan.

In 1978 and 1979 she was a member of the USA Senior Basketball Team that played in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Russia. She was an alternate on Team USA for the Pan-American games.

“Playing on the U.S. team exposed my weaknesses,” Anderson says of the experience, “and when I returned to UCM, I knew exactly what I needed to work on to help the team.” Being on her own in a foreign country at a young age helped her mature not only as a player but as a person.

UCM basketball players still enjoy the experience of traveling for the sport, with Jennies and Mules joining players from other Division II teams across the country to represent the USA in Brazil each summer.

As UCM celebrates 50 years of women’s basketball, the legacy of Coach Barnes is clear with the Jennies’ continued success on the court. Since Barnes retired at the end of the 1980 season, the Jennies have won 819 games against only 338 losses for a 71% winning record. This includes two national championships, a second-place and third-place finish. Barnes herself has been inducted into seven Halls of Fame and will always be remembered as a driving force in overcoming adversity and shaping women’s basketball into the game it is today.

It was common to see players from outside Missouri, and the 1979–80 team had only three players from in state.

Players came from Washington, Kansas, South Carolina, Iowa, Indiana and Nevada.

Why? They came to play for Millie Barnes.

Elnora Anderson, Pattie Agnew Compton, Joan Paris and Marilyn Norwood listen to Barnes’ instructions during a timeout.

Mary Jo Sandberg, ’81, played Jennies basketball from 1977 to 1981.

Jennies Basketball is celebrating its 50th anniversary during the 2019-2020 season. Support the team by making your donation at ucmfoundation.org/give/basketball-jennies.

Kathy Anderson was a star on the team from 1976 to 1980.

Coach Millie Barnes, early 1970s (background), and at a summer 2019 reunionUniversity (above) of Central Missouri Magazine

29

Net Result: Jennies Volleyball’s Winning History Coach Peggy Martin Set the Standard and the Record

A

t the same time women’s basketball was becoming established as a competitive team sport at UCM, women’s volleyball also experienced a renaissance.

Coach Peggy Martin was hired in the summer of 1975 to be a physical education teacher and to coach volleyball in the fall and softball in the spring. From 1970–74, volleyball coaches changed nearly every year, as did the players, preventing the development of a real sense of team.

Furthermore, the teams in this era only played about 15 matches per year.

When Martin arrived, her multiyear commitment to the team was a significant change. Her identity, drive and expectations Coach Peggy Martin of excellence provided a continuity that had not previously existed and standards that remain today as the 2019 team played the most challenging schedule of any of the 298 Division II volleyball teams in the country.

Martin essentially doubled the quantity of matches the teams played. While this might seem insignificant, it required a much larger commitment from the university to provide resources for the team, which in turn gave players a greater sense of importance to Central Missouri athletics. The university even invested in Martin’s continued education, sending her on a year’s sabbatical back to her alma mater, Indiana University, to complete her doctorate work in 1979.

30

The years from 1980 to 1985 were the capstone to this defining decade of volleyball history. The team’s incorporation into the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1982 provided a recognizable umbrella organization for the sponsorship of women’s athletics beyond Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Martin’s early 1980s teams played a demanding schedule of at least 50 matches, with increased travel to establish the strength of the volleyball program on a national rather than regional scale.

The key factor in this rise to national prominence for the team was the increased commitment to recruiting players who would stay for more than one or two years. Players from 1980-85 whose four-year tenure on the team created a culture of commitment and excellence included All-Americans Karen Seitter, Beth Cook, Lisa Kissee, Lori Hackett, Pat Stazak and Sue Walker. This national prominence continues today, with the selection of UCM’s most recent All-American players from 2018: Kylie Hohlen and Audrey Fisher.

While Martin continued to teach and coach from 1975 through 1985, her determination resulted in her transition to coaching one sport, volleyball, as her full-time occupation in the fall of 1987. Not only did she help the team grow and flourish, but she was also influential in the growth of coaching as a recognized, reputable profession.

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

By Flip Piontek, ’88

The all-time record for victories by a volleyball coach at any level, gender or division is 1348.

After retiring from UCM following the 2008 season, Martin returned home to Mobile, Alabama, to help her mother rebuild her family home after its destruction in Hurricane Katrina. Her home is about 5 miles from Spring Hill College, and her retirement didn’t

The 1984 CMSU Jennies volleyball team last long! She has coached at Spring Hill College since 2009 and in September of 2019 broke the record to become the winningest coach in national collegiate volleyball history!

Flip Piontek, ’88, enters his 11th season as head coach of Jennies Volleyball and his 34th year with the program in 2019.

Celebrate 50 years of Jennies Volleyball and help keep the team going strong by making your donation at ucmfoundation.org/give/ volleyball.

CELEBRATE 150 YEARS The University of Central Missouri will be celebrating its sesquicentennial in 2021. Since its founding as State Normal School No. 2 in 1871, UCM has prepared thousands of students for a successful future. As one of those former students, we hope you will join us in the 2021 festivities!

In honor of this special occasion, which also happens to be Missouri’s bicentennial, the university is publishing a commemorative book in limited quantity.

If you would like to get an alert when the book is available for presale and hear about events as they are announced, please update your email address at ucmfoundation.org/update/mag.

IS THERE A STUDENT IN YOUR LIFE WHO IS READY FOR COLLEGE? The University of Central Missouri still adheres to the same standards of excellence as when you attended.

A

UC

TS

E

G

ER

M STUDE

N

CO

T

AN

FIN

STU

MILLION ANNUALLY

EGE CAM

P S

AL AV

21+

$

LL

U

ON

L AID A W

ED

TI

IA

RD

A

C

A

R AT I O

THE S TA

TO

S

AN

LOWER TUITION

N

OGRAM

18:1

H

&

PR

T-T O - F A C

TY

150+

EN

UL

D

ADEMIC

TE

AC

SAFEST IN

MISSOUR

I*

UCM students and alumni have a lot to be proud of in the 2020 Best Colleges rankings

by U.S. News & World Report. Ranked as a Top Public School in the Midwest, UCM was also listed among the best public universities in a new “social mobility” category focused on helping students in financial need. We are proud to support quality, affordable education for all.

Visit ucmo.edu to learn more.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

31

*per the organization Your Local Security

CLASS NOTES Regis McDonald, ’66, was selected to be a member of the board of directors for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, where he previously served as a consultant. He has also served as senior vice president for programs at the nonprofit Children’s Village and as a peer reviewer for the Child Welfare Journal. McDonald currently lives in Geneva, New York, where he shares his knowledge through community involvement and informal student mentoring.

Linda Krueger, ’75, received the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society Lifetime Membership Award this year in recognition of her service to the Clarinda, Iowa, community and to music education. She will also celebrate her 25th anniversary of conducting a community choir as a fundraiser for the Clarinda Foundation.

Krueger is retired from teaching K-12 vocal music after more than 20 years and has been a resident accompanist for Glenn Miller Scholarship contestants for 30 years.

Dorothy Schowe, ’79, was chosen as the East Central College 2019 Outstanding Alumni. This award is given to individuals who provided an outstanding service to the community and set an example for current students. She retired in 2016 as director of public relations of East Central College.

Sgt. David Walker, ’81, was honored by the St. Louis Cardinals for his 36-year career with the Tulsa, Oklahoma, police force. Sgt. Walker’s accomplishments include earning the Medal of Valor, two

Chiefs Awards for leading the violent crimes task force and appearing on “The First 48.” Walker’s friends, family and fellow Class of 1981 alumni came together for a baseball game in which he delivered field passes and received an inscribed Cardinals jersey in recognition of his service.

Ron Walker, ’81 and ’84, produced six art pieces that are featured in the latest edition of the Mud Magazine art journal.

He has been featured on “Who’s Who in American Art” and has had numerous solo and joint art exhibitions.

Walker has shared his expertise through teaching at the elementary school level for 25 years.

Tracy Kinsey, ’86, was awarded the 2019 Distinguished Marketing Executive award

by UCM’s chapter of the American Marketing Association. He visited campus Sept. 5 to accept the award on Distinguished Marketing Executive Day, sponsored by the university’s AMA chapter, as well as the economics, finance and marketing programs. Kinsey, who is vice president of sales and marketing at Bishop-McCann, gave a presentation to students and faculty from the Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies.

John Donovan, ’91, was selected as one of Broward College’s 2018-19 Professors of the Year. This award recognizes professors with an extraordinary commitment to education. He currently teaches American and world history courses at Broward College.

32

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

Brigadier General Charles “Charlie” Hausman, ’91 and ’93, returned to campus as the keynote speaker at the 2019 Patriot Day ceremony. Hausman earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation technology and a master’s in aviation safety from UCM. He is the director of the Joint Staff of the Missouri National Guard.

Kyle Mack, ’93, was named Shelter Insurance’s 2018 East Missouri Agent of the Year. Mack began working with this organization in 2006 and has earned multiple other recognitions since.

Marie Guest, ’01, was honored with the 2019 Professional Educator Leadership Award by North Florida Community College. Guest is currently an instructor in the Business and Social Sciences Department at NFCC. Sean Segers, ’01 and ’05, was featured as one of the “Next Gen 40 Under 40” professionals

by Aircraft Maintenance Technology Magazine.

This recognition is reserved for emerging leaders who have excelled in the field of aircraft maintenance technology. During his time at UCM, Segers served as a graduate assistant in the aviation program and as a community advisor for three terms.

Sarah Osborne, ’02, was featured in the Kansas City Business Journal as one of the “Women Who Mean Business.” Osborne currently works at GEHA (Government Employees Health Association), where she is chief actuary and analytics officer and oversees the Analytic Center of Excellence.

The UCM Alumni Foundation board member’s determination was recognized by the magazine as a factor that sets her apart.

C L A S S N OT E S

Marie, ’10, and Clayton Newell welcomed their second daughter, Sawyer, in June 2019.

Megan (Coakley) Cook, ’13, married Bradley Cook on Aug. 3, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Blake Little, ’12, was named 2019 Teacher of the Year in Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, where he has been teaching for 17 years.

He was also selected as one of six Kansas City Regional Teachers of the Year. In addition to his commitment to education in the classroom, Little has extensive experience as an athletics coach.

Brandon Banks, ’15, Carrie Krupke Photography is the new co-owner of Modern Media Concepts (MMC), a marketing and advertising company based in Columbia, Missouri. He had been a manager for Modern Media Concepts since 2016 before acquiring the company, which is primarily known for the Add Sheet and other local brands.

Marjorie (ZehnderWampler) Moore, ’12, married Lucas Moore on June 15, 2019.

1st Lt. Jesslyn Clark, ’16, co-founded the first-ever All-Army Women’s Rugby team, which went on to win the first-ever Women’s All-Armed Forces Rugby 7s

Brigid (Cepauskas) Niemeyer, ’12 and ’16, started a new position as research physical science technician with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She is part of the Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit in Columbia, Missouri.

Darin A. Buford, ’13, is the new college unit director for Northwestern Mutual in Chicago. In this new position he leads a team of college financial advisors taking part in the company’s internship programs, which have been ranked in the Top 10 nationwide for more than 20 years. During his time at UCM, Buford served as a student coach for Mules Football before joining Northwestern Mutual in 2015.

Tournament. Her team’s motto, “For Those Who Can’t,’’ is dedicated to fallen veterans.

She graduated summa cum laude from UCM before commissioning into the Army and is currently an aviator for the Medevac service at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Eva Carpenter Williamson, ’17, was named Hickman Mills School District Teacher of the Year for 2019. In addition to the district honor, she was selected as one of this year’s Outstanding Beginning Teachers by the Missouri Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Williamson earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from UCM and is currently a third grade teacher at Ervin Elementary School. While at UCM, Williamson was a member of the Mulekickers and started this season as the group’s new head coach.

Dylan Albertson, ’18 and ’19, completed his debut season in professional American football this year with the Dolphins of Ancona, Italy. He was selected for the First Team Offense of Italy and played seven games, averaging 36.8 yards in punt returns and standing second in the league.

Kyla Welch, ’19, started a new role as Office Professional III at the Foster Knox Child Care Center on the UCM campus after earning her Bachelor of Science in sociology.

Calling all UCM alumni … this is your place to share your news! Keep your fellow alumni informed of your job change or promotion, professional or personal achievement or other life event by submitting a Class Note for possible inclusion in the magazine. We also want to hear how you are giving back, volunteering and getting involved with students and graduates on campus or in your community. Send news and photos to alumni@ucmo.edu or visit ucmfoundation.org/update/mag.

Submissions to UCM Magazine’s Class Notes are used at the discretion of the editorial staff and may be edited for space.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

33

IN MEMORIAM Albert “Al” E. Blankenship

Albert E. Blankenship, age 88, was born Aug. 28, 1930, in Lexington, Tennessee. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, retiring as a senior master sergeant and a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Following his military service, he taught at East Central Junior College in Union, Missouri. In 1975 he joined the faculty in UCM’s former Department of Power and Transportation, where his expertise in aviation was highly utilized for 17 years. Blankenship was known as an avid gardener and for his interest in radiocontrolled airplanes. He generously supported education at UCM with the establishment of the Beverly Wilson Nursing Scholarship.

Merl E. Case

Merl E. Case, age 93, was born Aug. 5, 1925, in Yetter, Iowa.

He earned a B.S. in education from Central Missouri State College in 1950 and later completed his master’s and doctoral education at the University of Northern Colorado. Following graduation from Stover High School, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. Case worked in the Engineering Department at Westinghouse AGT Division for 10 years and was a professor at UCM for 25 years. He was also active in community service, including Kiwanis, scouting and as a youth baseball coach.

Elinor “Ann” (Corn) Grace

Elinor Annabelle (Corn) Grace, age 83, was born April 12, 1936, near Grain Valley, Missouri. She graduated with honors from Central Missouri State College in 1955 and was a recipient of the Charno Award. Grace taught choral music at Center South Junior High in the Center School

District, developed a vibrant preschool music curriculum and was a professional pianist and organist for more than 60 years. She also formed a collegiate a cappella ensemble named The Collegiates, performing contemporary music that she arranged.

Robert “Bob” C. Harpster

Robert C. Harpster, age 90, was born April 18, 1928, near Kidder, Missouri. He earned a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Missouri in 1951, as well as a degree in accounting from Central Missouri State University in 1976. Following graduation in 1951, he joined the U.S. Air Force, from which he retired with the rank of major in 1970 after serving in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

After his service he moved to Warrensburg, where he worked with the Army Corps of Engineers, the maintenance department at UCM and as a real estate agent.

Harpster, a generous benefactor of education at UCM, established the Julie A. Harpster Memorial Scholarship in memory of his daughter and in support of students of medical technology.

Mary (Lamb) Hill

Mary L. Hill, age 87, was born Oct. 1, 1931, in Cerro Gordo, Illinois. She was a professor of home economics, teaching at several schools, and retired from Central Missouri State University in 1991. After retirement, Hill and her husband, Harold, enjoyed traveling. She also enjoyed crafting, painting, sewing and quilting.

Neal J. Holmes

Neal J. Holmes, age 88, was born Aug. 2, 1931, in Mercer County, Missouri. He earned a B.S. in education from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College in 1957, an M.A. from Washington

University in 1962 and an Ed.D. from Oklahoma State University in 1967. Following his service in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1956, Holmes taught science and mathematics at the high school level in Washington, Missouri.

While at UCM, he served as a chemistry professor until his retirement in 1996. His book, “Gateways to Science,” published with the McGraw Hill Elementary Science series, was revised on five occasions and translated into Spanish. Holmes was also the recipient of several National Science Foundation grants and was recognized in the publication “American Men of Science.”

James “Jack” M. Horner

James M. Horner, age 84, passed away May 26, 2019, in St. Louis.

He was a triple graduate of the University of Alabama, where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Horner joined Central Missouri State University as its 11th president in 1979. His leadership as president through 1985 was vital during a time of transformation for the university.

Prior to joining CMSU, he served as vice president and provost at Illinois State University and dean of the faculty and professor of mathematics at the University of Alabama. Following his presidency, he returned to his passion for teaching mathematics and assumed a civilian post in the U.S. Army before retiring in 2001.

Rebecca “Becky” L. Lannom Rebecca L. Lannom passed away May 16, 2019, at her home in Guthrie, Kentucky. She was a graduate of the University of Kentucky and held a master’s degree from the University of Dayton. Lannom retired from UCM in 2000 after a long career

as a professor of English.

She was an outdoor enthusiast who enjoyed whitewater rafting and sailing.

Robert “Bob” L. Marshall

Robert L. Marshall, age 94, was born June 2, 1925, in El Dorado, Kansas. He participated in the U.S. Navy V-12 Officer program and earned an M.S. in education at Central Missouri State College.

He also earned a doctoral degree from Kansas University. Marshall retired from the U.S. Navy as a captain and was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. During his career in education and safety, he worked for the National Education Association and served on President John F. Kennedy’s council on safety. In 1967, Marshall joined UCM as dean of public safety and education and helped establish the Missouri Safety Center. A structure at that facility was formally named in his honor in 2005.

Robert W. Payne

Robert W. Payne, age 89, was born Oct. 4, 1929, in Appleton City, Missouri. He earned a B.S. in accounting from Central Missouri State College in 1951 and an MBA from the University of Denver in 1957. Following his service in the U.S. Air Force, he joined Arthur Andersen and Co. as a CPA in 1955 and stayed with the company for more than 30 years. He also served as interim vice chancellor for administration and finance at the University of Houston System.

Payne and his wife generously established the Kathryn Eydt Payne and R. Wayne Payne scholarships at UCM in support of students of biology and accounting, respectively, as well as the Payne Endowment Fund for international understanding.

On behalf of the University of Central Missouri, the UCM Alumni Foundation would like to express its gratitude to all alumni, emeriti and friends who have honored the university’s mission through scholarships and planned gifts.

To learn more about making a gift in a loved one’s memory, visit ucmfoundation.org/give/in-memory.

34

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

IN MEMORIAM

James R. Pullen

James R. Pullen, age 83, was born Feb. 16, 1936, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from the University of Missouri and an Ed.D. in counseling and school psychology from the University of South Dakota. He was a licensed psychologist and a U.S. Navy veteran. In 1971, Pullen joined the psychology department at UCM, where he taught for 22 years and retired as chair of the Department of Psychology and Counselor Education in 1993.

Prior to joining UCM, he served as a teacher, counselor and school psychologist at the high school level in Missouri, Germany, Puerto Rico, Wyoming and Iowa.

1940-1949 Mildred F. Weldon ’42 Mary Beth Jones ’44 Iris L. Sturgis ’44 Gwendolyn B. Miller ’45 Jean F. McGrath ’46 Anna L. Zambacca ’46 Mabel R. Campbell ’49

1950-1959 Donald J. McIntyre ’51 Peggy L. Curran ’53 Robert E. Diehl ’53 Barbara Fletcher ’53 Edwin J. Marlowe ’53 Wayne L. Pounds ’53 Marvin J. Ferguson ’54 Helen G. Wahl ’54 Tom D. Martin ’55 William S. Harlan ’57 Ernest E. Simmermon ’57 Jerrel L. Swingle ’57 Robert W. Browning ’59 James E. Norris ’59 Hubert F. Manthe ’59 Etta F. Porter ’59 Martin L. Scofield ’59 Patricia S. Vandiver ’59

1960-1969 Robert J. Crede ’60 Delbert L. Dace ’60 Berlene M. Herrick ’60 Shirley M. Leslie ’60

Kyung H. Yu ’60 Edward J. Burgoyne ’61 Larry M. Ford ’61 Ronald C. Frederick ’61 Russell G. MacLean ’61 James E. Reagin ’62 Stevan Yovanovich ’63 William D. Burnett ’64 Corwin A. Elliott ’64 Ralph T. Oldham ’64 Janice K. Driver ’65 Leacy Pierce ’65 Carol J. Allen ’66 Nile E. Brown ’66 Richard E. Cooper ’66 Lois F. Coulter ’66 Carol A. Jacquinot ’66 Roy W. True ’66 Anna K. Finley ’67 Fred P. Hallier ’67 Stephen R. Sharp ’67 Lloyd D. Coffman ’68 Henry D. Gower ’68, ’73, ’78 Norma L. Hacker ’68 Judith O. McGuire ’68 Larry W. Armer ’69 Michael B. Klaus ’69 Rosemary McIntosh ’69 Richard A. Smith ’69 David M. Stouffer ’69 Albert J. Taylor ’69 Janet S. Vanwinkle ’69

1970-1979 James W. Bargfrede ’70 Mary A. Couch ’70 Imagene L. Dieckmann ’70 David M. Grunspan ’70 Betty J. Stucker ’70 Franklin J. Burcham ’71 John E. DeLozier ’71 David H. Edwards ’71 Bary D. Hartman ’71 Brenda J. King ’71 Glenn E. Metheny ’71 Philip M. Parks ’71 Lawrence E. Freemyer ’72 William F. Heer ’72 Maudean F. Lee ’72 Dennis M. McGrath ’72 Gary H. Helgerson ’73 Mary E. Minton ’73 Manuel A. Rangel ’73 Russell D. Whyte ’73 John K. Gibbs ’74

Melissa J. Hayes ’74 Stephen D. Knight ’74 Michael E. Lear ’75 Patricia L. Means ’75 Robert M. Stockton ’75 William L. Ward ’75 Pamela S. Fisher ’76 Harold E. Howser ’76 Henry T. Jewell ’76 Deborah M. Jones ’76 Sandra M. Switzer ’76 Mark D. Fulks ’77 Larry D. Stewart ’78 Donette I. Thomas ’78 Jeffrey A. Campbell ’79 Julie R. Clark ’79 Mitchel J. Irlenborn ’79 Mary K. Mintun ’79 Jay M. Ricketts ’79 Billie R. Sullivan ’79 Harvey R. Wildt ’79

1980-1989 Delores L. Bilyeu ’81, ’83 Jack L. Brumley ’81 Jeffrey K. Woods ’81 Hildegard R. Johnson ’82 Barbara J. Prichard ’83 Steven G. Saults ’84 Dorothy S. Audsley ’85 Janet N. Getz ’85 Carla J. Witte ’85 Paul V. Anderson ’86 Robert J. Rapp ’86 Sonny L. Holmes ’87 David H. Smith ’87

1990-1999 Matthew W. Heerdegen ’92 James K. Swofford ’92 Allesia I. Conroy ’93 Kris R. Cornell ’93 Judith A. Light ’98

2000-2009 Prescott O. Stoner ’00 James S. Wall ’05 Sarah R. Schmoll ’06 John C. Reetzke ’08

2010-2019 Terry L. Steiner ’11

Former Students Michael E. Coleman

Barbara E. Cooney Dorothy A. Cox Donna M. Cromley Elizabeth M. Gower Mary A. Hannaman Rosemary S. Hickman Lee H. Leslie Gene M. Lewis Waunita M. Lovercamp David R. Mudd Doris M. Scott David R. Spencer Gordon G. Strain Thelma L. Swigert Timothy S. Tarry John C. Vaughn Larry D. Walter

Faculty/Staff Charles W. Bolton Herbert L. Nelson Anna F. Riska

Friends Virginia M. Behlmann Clarence B. Bonham Doris H. Davis Susanna DeVane Everett L. Garver Leona G. Gradel Lavera S. Harms Marlyn D. Hawley Vera J. Henegar James H. Henley Virginia M. Higgins Robert J. Hoopingarner Thomas E. Howe John W. Kitterman Bernice L. Langkrahr Gregory A. Leeper Joyce Mitchell Georgia Robinson Joanne C. Rodgers Richard F. Seubert James R. Shockley James A. Smith Lawrence N. Stauffer Judy A. Sweeney Elizabeth J. Washburn Thomas L. Yancey

College High Alumni Larry W. Arwood Naomi E. Lane

University of Central Missouri Magazine

35

PLANNED GIFTS

LEAVE YOUR LEGACY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME

THE PLANNED GIVING LEGACY 2020 CAMPAIGN is designed to inform friends of UCM about gift options that preserve your family’s wealth by offering tax advantages or long-term payouts, while simultaneously establishing your footprint and legacy at the university.

YEAR-END IS A GREAT TIME TO CONSIDER THE OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD OF YOU.

You may be thinking about your IRA and be required to take a minimum distribution. An IRA rollover allows you to transfer money from your IRA to a qualified charity. You won’t get a tax deduction, but you also pay no income tax on the transfer.

Here’s how it works:

• You have to be 70.5 years of age or older.

• Transfer up to $100,000 directly from your IRA to a charity like the UCM Alumni Foundation.

• The transfer satisfies your required minimum distribution up to $100,000.

• Because you never paid income tax on it, you do not receive an income tax deduction.

A couple can take advantage of this as well. As long as each person has their own IRA, each can make an IRA rollover gift.

The rollover only works with IRAs. Even so, other retirement accounts can be transferred to an IRA, and then the IRA rollover can be used.

Other Planned Giving Options

Perhaps you are not ready to transfer from your IRA but are interested in starting something new in 2020.

Why not add income to your new year’s vision? See if any of these fit your outlook for greater income and fewer taxes.

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY

CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUST

CHARITABLE REMAINDER ANNUITY TRUST

Fixed payments to you for life at rates as high as 9.5%

Payments to you at a rate you choose that varies with the trust’s investments

Payments to you at a fixed amount you choose for the life of the trust

As a bonus, these gifts can provide tax savings this year. In addition, if you fund any gifts by transferring (never selling) an appreciated asset like stock, you lower or eliminate your capital gains taxes.

Just like the joy of seeing clearly with new eyeglasses, there are many eye-opening opportunities available to you with a little end-of-year planning. Be sure to consult your tax professional.

Call Vicki Voskovitch, director of fundraising and planned giving for the UCM Alumni Foundation, at 660-543-4057 or email voskovitch@ucmo.edu to learn all the ways you can increase your income, save on taxes and benefit the people and causes important to you.

36

For more information, visit ucmo.giftlegacy.com.

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Across MuleNation Dec. 11

MuleNation Takes On the Capitol Missouri Capitol, Jefferson City, and reception at BarVino

Jan. 18

2020 First Pitch Banquet Sandra Temple Elliott Ballroom, Warrensburg, MO

Feb. 1

Mules Baseball Winter Invitational Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

Feb. 15

UCM Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Sandra Temple Elliott Ballroom, Warrensburg, MO

Feb. 20

MuleNation Gathering The Hampton Social, Naples, FL

March UCM President’s Gala Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center, 30 Kansas City, MO

Visit ucmfoundation.org/events for details.

UNIV

ST

E NEWE TE TO TH

SCHOOL

A SALU

MULE IN UCM WEL

COMES INCO

MING MAS

PAGE 6

COT, RIDE

RS

ERSIT

CENT Y OF

ISS RAL M

OURI FALL

MAGA

2019

ZINE

LOVE UCM MAGAZINE? Make an annual gift of any size to get the print magazine delivered to your mailbox. Donate at ucmfoundation.org/give/mag. Or update your email to get the digital version.

Visit ucmfoundation.org/update/mag.

INSIDE

2019 ANNU

AL REPO

RT

PAGE 10

Connect With Us

More events are being planned for alumni across the nation. Find us on social media, call 660-543-8000 or email alumni@ucmo.edu.

@UCMAlumniFoundation UCM_Alum UCM_Alum

#MuleNation #AlwaysAMule

University of Central Missouri Magazine

37

P.O. B OX 800 WA R R E N SBURG, M O 6 40 93- 5038

p i r T a n i W HOMECOMING WATCH VIDEO

2020

We want to see you at Homecoming next year!

A lucky alum and guest will get airfare, transportation, hotel accommodations and Friday and Saturday meals paid for when they come back to UCM on Oct. 24–25, 2020.

Simply update your contact information at ucmfoundation.org/update/mag to enter to win this trip. Doing so will also ensure you receive the digital magazine and all relevant alumni communications from UCM. Thank you for being a part of MuleNation!

38

Fall 2019 | ucmfoundation.org/magazine