Congratulations To New Mommy Terrie Sue Wilkerson

A big Honors Meta-Blog welcome to the world to Anna, the baby girl that our own Terrie Sue Wilkerson just gave birth to on May 12th at 7:17 PM.

Mother and daughter are doing fine. Check Terrie's Facebook page for more pictures. You can leave her your congratulations and best wishes there or in the comments here.

Congratulations Terrie Sue!

Al Gore Has Apparently Taken MIDS 101 and MIDS 102

Click here to read some excerpts from a recent Q&A with former Vice President Al Gore. Those who have taken MIDS 101 will probably recognize the "Media Ecology" ideas of Neil Postman and those who have taken MIDS 102 will recognize the "Social Capital" ideas of Robert Putnam. Looks like the stuff we've got our Honors scholars reading is more relevant to today's world than we imagined.

"My Floating World"

We've just posted the video for an Honors senior thesis that everyone should see. Art major Elisabeth Humphreys studied the classical Japanese art of "Ukiyo-e" printmaking and set out on an epic quest to create her own prints based on incredibly precise and labor-intensive techniques adapted from Japanese masters. The story of how Elisabeth researched the techniques and experimented with and adapted them in order to create her own very personal prints is one of the most informative, well-organized, and entertaining senior thesis presentations we've ever seen. We urge all current Honors students to view it here. Congratulations Elisabeth!

Iashia Castle and Jessica Selby Take Top Student Athlete Awards

[Jessica Selby (left) and Iashia Castle (right)]

Congratulations to Honors senior Iashia Castle, who is the 2006 winner of the E.O. & Virginia Humphrey Award for top student athlete at MSSU and to Honors Sophomore Jessica Selby who was named MSSU Female Athlete of the year.

The full story is available online here.

Two Honors Students and a Robot

One of the most fascinating and entertaining Honors senior thesis videos we've ever shot is now available here. Watch senior CIS major Stefan Iaru and his "lovely assistant" (and fellow Honors student) Alex Vassilev take Stefan's self-programmed robot through a toilet-paper maze constructed in Taylor Hall. It was all part of Stefan's Senior CIS thesis, entitled "Maze Navigation by an Autonomous Robot."

Stefan, by the way, has been accepted by Columbia University in New York for its Master's program in Computer Science. Congratulations Stefan---and take a bow Alex!

Jim Spena and Jessica Selby Video Now Online

Honors students Jim Spena and Jessica Selby recently too first place in the group competition in the MoSo Talent Show. Now the video for their winning rendition of "The Prayer" is available online here.

Caleb Gallemore's Honors Convocation Speech

We are proud to offer streaming video of Caleb Gallemore's Honors Convocation speech from May 2nd. Caleb was named outstanding graduate of MSSU for 2006 and no one who heard his speech will likely forget it. If you weren't able to attend and want to know what everyone's talking about, click on the link above.

The text of the speech is also available online here.

The MSSU Honors Online Shop is Open!

We are delighted to announce the opening of the official MSSU Honors online shop, where you can buy loads of official Honors apparel and other cool stuff.

Tell you family, tell your friends. Be the first one to own an official MSSU Honors thong! Think we're kidding? Have look-see for yourself!

MSSU Honors 2006 Signing Ceremony

Thanks to everyone who made the 2006 Honors Signing Ceremony a great success! Special Thanks to Nate Billings and T.J. Gerlach for snapping the following pictures for us.
















[Vice President for Academic Affairs Richard McCallum welcomes the new Honors Students]















[Dr. Kluthe and Math Major Scott Thuong]





















[Maurice and Sabine Cramer pose with Dr. Richard McCallum]
















[Caleb Gallemore make a point while while Anthony Shipman and Hayley Whitehead look on]
















[New Honors scholar William Lynch gets some advice from Sophomore Abbie Cooper]

Honors End-Of-Year Picnic at Doc Martinek's Backyard

All member of the Honors Program are invited to a year-end picnic at the bucolic new backyard of your blog-tastic Assistant Director on the last day of classes, Wednesday, May 1oth. We'll kick things off at 4:30.

We'll need volunteers to bring chips and drinks as well as folding chairs and tables. Contact Ursula for more specific details

The address is 319 E. 34th St. in Joplin. Take Main St. Joplin south, just past 32nd Street. Make a sharp left at the Capri Motel (you'll see a big 50's-ish sign for it). Go up the hill for half a block and you'll see 319 on the left. It's a beige house with a tree and lamp post on the front lawn and a white garage door.

In case of inclimate weather, contact the Honors office for alternate plans.

EMS T-Shirts Now Available

The new MSSU Honors EMS shirts are available on line from the Cafe Press website here. Prices range from $9.99 to $15.99, depending on the type of shirt ordered. We expect to be offering lots of new MSSU Honors products in the near future, so bookmark the link!

Thanks to EMS President Conrad Kelly for taking the lead in this.

Congratulations Honors Seniors!

The Special Honors Convocation was held on Tuesday, May 2nd and it was a banner day for the Honors seniors. Seniors graduating for Fall of 2005, Spring 2006, and Summer 2006 were acknowledged. Congratulations to you all!















[Honors Seniors T.J. Gerlach, Caleb Gallemore, and Nate Billings]















[Honors Senior Elisabeth Humphries]















[Honors Senior Christen Jones]


The following Seniors were presented with additional awards:

Sara Salsbury - Outstanding Student, Biology
Aimee Morey - Outstanding Student, Chemistry
Jenny Peters - Outstanding Student, Mathematics
Susana Branum - Outstanding Student, Public Relations
Iashia Castle - Outstanding Student, Accounting
Jennifer Rogers - Outstanding Student, International Business
Caleb Gallemore - Outstanding Student, International Relations
Cortney Tate - Outstanding Student, Kinesiology
Amber Blankenship - Oustanding Student, Elementary Education
Bobby Clarkson - Outstanding Student, CIS
Stephan Iaru - Outstanding Student, CIS
Jenna Edwards, Outstanding Student, Radiologic Technology

Take a bow, all of you! You demonstrate to everyone that the Honors Program is truly "The College Within"---- a special place that fosters excellence, scholarship, and good citizenship.

Iashia Castle and Caleb Gallemore shared the Melanie Cox Memorial Award for the Outstanding Honors Student. Congratulations to both of you: you represent the best that the Honors Program stands for.














[Spencer-Bartlett Respect Award Winner Cortney Tate]

Cortney Tate was the female winner of the Spencer-Bartlett Respect Award. Could anymore be more deserving than our own Courtney? Those of us who worked with her in the Honors Office are convinced that she's the nicest and most thoughtful person we've ever met.

















[Outstanding CIS Student Stefan Iaru]

And finally, Caleb Gallemore was named Outstanding Graduate of MSSU for 2006. Poor Caleb was forced to stand on stage and endure quote after quote from professors praising his brilliance, leadership, maturity, and scholarship. But when his turn to speak came, he made such praise seem somehow inadequate as he delivered one of the most inspiring and erudite graduation speeches any of us have ever heard.

Congratulations Caleb. Your legend is secure.

New Honors Senior Thesis Videos Online

We've got a fresh batch of Honors senior thesis videos available online. You can find the links next to the student's entry on the Honors webpage, or you can click on the links below.

Communications major Nate Billings talks about blogging here.

Radiology Tech major Jenna Edwards introduces us to the new world of digital radiology here.

International Studies major Caleb Gallemore discusses the European Union here.

Communications major T.J. Gerlach asks why womens sports aren't covered like men's sports here.

Health Promotion and Wellness major Casey Lansdown looks at the campaign for smoke-free workplaces here.

Health Promotion and Wellness major Cortney Tate introduces us to new strategies for effective dieting and weight management here.

CIS major/Spanish minor Bobby Clarkson demonstrates the Spanish language teaching software she developed for MSSU's Dr. Pedro Talavera here.

Chemistry major Aimee Morey discusses "Synthetic and Computational Studies of Coordination Compounds" here.

Finance major Garrett Taylor presents his findings on "The Effect of Option Expirations on Stock Prices" here.

Biology major Sara Salsbury examines "The Effects of Flavored Toothpastes on Cavity-Causing Bacteria" here.

Nursing major Heather Hilton shares her finding about "The Competency Levels of Health Care Professionals and Drug Dose Calculations" here.

Nursing major Tara Lopez discusses "Nurses' Knowledge of Pulse Oximetry" here.

Congratulations to all our seniors who have succesfully carried out and presented their senior thesis projects.