Truman State University - Echo Yearbook (Kirksville, MO)

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A world wise education Traveling overseas during the summer may be a dream for many, but for 10 faculty members it became a reality. A spe- cial grant program awarded up to $1,500 for each faculty member to travel to benefit them and accomplish the Uni- versity's mission. In its third year, the grant program was fund- ed through state appro- priations and school tu- ition, and then approved by Dean of Instruction, Darrell Krueger. We wanted a faculty with more international experience that would be able to speak with more authority on foreign af- fairs, Krueger said. Through the grant pro- gram, Associate Profes- sor of German, Dr. Greg- ory Richter, traveled to Finland last summer. The language was differ- ent than he expected. ”1 discovered that young people in Finland speak a type of slang, Richter said. It is com- prised of about 50 per- cent English and 50 per- cent Finnish. It is consid- ered cool' to speak Eng- lish — you are a citizen of the world. Eric Binnie, instructor of Fine Arts, went to northern Ireland. He re- searched theater troupes and spoke with them about their intentions and public response to their works. He was spe- cifically involved in politi- cal theater. He brought his learning experience with recent Irish plays home with him. He di- rected that knowledge to- ward the teaching of his acting classes. Dr. Gary Sells, selec- tion committee chair- man, said the university hoped to extend the lib- eral arts mission beyond the walls of the universi- ty- As a part of the grant program, faculty mem- bers were required to write a summary of their experience. Many faculty members have dreamt of trips overseas, and the University made those dreams a reality for some instructors.! 26 Academics Followup correspon- dence for his summer re- search gram occupies time in the office for Dr. Roger Cody. Cody trav- eled through rural China to learn about the native music and dress. The computer provides easier access to advi- sees, as Dr. Albert Cop- ley, Assistant Professor of Earth Science, brings up records. Faculty grants helped Copley ex- pand his research.

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 University gets bytes The computer network implemented in the Lan- guage and Literature Di- vision brought promi- nence to both the depart- ment, its instructors and students. The potential of this system is phe- nomenal,” Edwin Car- penter, language and lit- erature division head, said. Dr. Carpenter said the system will allow both students and faculty more flexibility than self- standing computers. The network allows faculty members to access data bases across campus. Faculty are able to ac- cess students' files, cor- rect assignments and as- sign grades. There will be a time when no papers actually have to change hands,” Carpenter said. The fac- ulty will also be able to send electronic mail to each other.” Faculty will soon be able to type in, edit and read the mail off the computer. According to Heinz Woehlk, associate pro- fessor of English, the net- work has advantages for students as well as facul- ty. Woehlk said that the computer center is more efficient. A reason for this is with the network, all of the computers will have access to a printer. In the past, only certain com- puters could access printers. The network offers flexibility by allowing more than one word pro- cessing program to be used. The division offi- cially supports Horton's Textra word processing program; although PC- Write is accessible as well. According to Rick Watson, student man- ager of the computer center, Textra work- shops will be offered at the beginning of the year. An additional advan- tage is the new reflex spread sheet program that allows the ability to record students' grades on computer. The network also per- mits writing in foreign languages. One good thing about the network is that I can now use ac- cents,” Ruth Bradshaw, instructor of French said. According to Carpen- ter, network completion was anticipated before the start of the academic year, but unforseen prob- lems kept the network from functioning at its full capacity. Most of the problems have stemmed from try- ing to implement pro- grams that individual fac- ulty members have re- quested. Integrating new programs takes time,” Woehlk said. Approximately 81 IBM system 2 (model 25) computers were pur- chased for the depart- ment. They replaced IBM PC jrs and Zenith com- puters. Some faculty kept the Zenith comput- ers. The old computers were re-distributed by computer services. I Val Mocpiwtcc Students prepare papers in the computer room in Violette Hall. The computers in Violette did not offer the same opportunities as the computers in the Division of Language and Literature.

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An apparatus obtained through research grants al- lows Dr. Gary Sells, Professor of Physiology, to study Mito- chondria. The University awarded JO research grants to faculty for traveling overseas during the summer. Professor assists Chinese musicians Roger Cody, professor of music, spent August 1988 trav- eling through rural China learning about the native mu- sic and dress. Cody flew to Chi- na with other music educators at the invitation of the Chinese government and returned with a new view of the Tar East. While in China, Cody assist- ed the Chinese efforts to pre- serve the music of the coun- try's 55 minority groups. The Chinese folk music we heard was nothing like what we hear on television, Cody said. I was unprepared for it.” The trip had an effect on Cody and changed the way he taught and related to people at the University, especially for- eign exchange students. Cody also became more open-mind- ed about styles of music since he has been exposed to those of the Chinese culture. Definitely one of the most memorable times was our arri- val into Beijing, Cody said. “Upon landing, our first en- counter was with a man dressed in a uniform carrying a machine gun and yelling at us. We looked at each other and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. The more he traveled, the more Cody realized that the government's invitation was a cry for help to preserve the au- thentic folk music that re- vealed much of the culture's qualities. The Chinese use their voices as well as their instruments to produce various constructions of the musical scales. Cody said his trip changed his outlook and helped him see another culture. “I would go back tomorrow if I had the chance, he said. A parallel perspective