Friends, alumni give generously to PSU

Pittsburg State University's many friends and alumni helped the PSU Foundation raise more than $9 million in the fiscal year that just ended, according to Dr. Brad Hodson, director of the Office of University Development. The $8.9 million the university received in cash and in-kind gifts was a record, Hodson said.

"Pittsburg State University continues to benefit from the incredible generosity of our alumni and friends," Hodson said. "This enabled the PSU Foundation to award more than $1.9 million in scholarships this past year."

Hodson prepared his report for the PSU Foundation annual meeting on the Pittsburg State campus on Aug. 25.

Among the highlights of the report, Hodson pointed to 12,398 total donors and 1,865 new donors. Total gifts for the year were $9,356,820. Included in that total was $402,197 in planned gifts and $8,954,623 in cash and in-kind gifts.

The university is in the midst of a $120 million capital campaign. This year's success puts the university at the half-way mark, Hodson said, with a total raised to date of nearly $59.5 million.

"We have great hope for the future and we believe the university's friends and alumni will continue to be generous and supportive," Hodson said.

Hodson said private giving is the foundation for much of the university's success over the years.

"Scholarships that make education accessible, new facilities, new classroom technology – all have been affected by private giving," Hodson said.

The Pittsburg State University Foundation traces its roots to the Endowment Association founded in 1951. The current organization is the result of the merger of the Endowment Association and the Alumni Foundation in 1985. Today, the PSU Foundation has assets in excess of $50 million.

For more information, call the PSU Office of Development at 620-235-4768 or visit the Development Web site at www.pittstate.edu/devel.

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PSU Bass Fishing team prepares for national competition

PSU Bass Fishing Team: Will Skucius, left, and Adam Bennett.

While the higher profile athletic teams such as football and volleyball are tuning up for their fall seasons, another PSU team is heading off for national competition. Two young men will represent Pittsburg State University this weekend in college bass fishing's national championship in Pine Bluff, Ark. The PSU team will be one of dozens of university teams competing in the second annual College Smash-Mouth Bass Fishing Championship Aug. 26-29 on the Arkansas River at Pine Bluff. They are currently ranked 17th among the teams in the competition.

Will Skucius, a sophomore from Sterling, Kan., and Adam Bennett, a junior from Osceola, Mo., are members of the fledgling PSU Bass Fishing Club. Skucius is a business management and marketing major. Bennett is a math education major.

The young men will leave Thursday afternoon, towing a boat borrowed from Bennett's uncle. They are clearly excited and have high hopes for the competition. An added bonus, they said, will be an opportunity to visit the national professional bass fishing competition that will be taking place nearby.

Skucius and Bennett aren't concerned about their sport's low profile, although Bennett admitted that at least one professor seemed skeptical when he offered that he needed to miss class on Friday to go fishing.

For more on the College Smash-Mouth Bass Fishing Championship, visit www.collegebass.com/stories/PineBluff.tpl. The competition will also be broadcast on ESPN-U.

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Princeton Review again picks Pitt State one of the 'Best in the Midwest'

Pittsburg State University remains one of the "Best in the Midwest," according to the recently released Princeton Review’s annual rankings of American colleges and universities. The Princeton Review’s annual ranking lists are online and in the new 2007 edition of its book "The Best 361 Colleges" (Random House / Princeton Review, $21.95). PSU was selected for the same honor in the 2006 issue of the book.

The Review based its rankings on student surveys, which asked students to rate their schools on several topics and report on their personal experiences. Topics include: academics/administration, life at the school, their fellow students, and themselves.

Pitt State students surveyed praised the close, caring relationships they have with faculty and gave high marks for the quality of the academic programs on campus.

"Most of us take a lot of pride in our school, and that makes for a wonderfully unified student body," one student told the Review. Another wrote that professors create a "classroom environment that resembles a family atmosphere."

The Review noted that nearly everyone they surveyed believed his or her academic department deserved special recognition.

Students who choose Pittsburg State get a good value, according to the Review.

"Small classes and an 'easy-to-navigate' campus usually come with a much higher price," the Review wrote.

Pittsburg State University President Tom Bryant said that the Review's survey results are in line with what he hears from students on campus.

"The students I talk to are very appreciative of the attention and support they receive from faculty and staff," Bryant said. "They also appreciate the great small-college atmosphere and the high quality academic programs Pittsburg State offers."

For more information, visit the Princeton Review Web site.

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PSU President welcomes faculty with a message of history and change

Pittsburg State University President Tom Bryant welcomed new and returning staff today with a nod to the university's history and tradition and a message about coming change. The president spoke at the traditional opening faculty meeting at which new faculty are introduced.

"Anticipating and managing change is vitally important for the university if it hopes to carry out its mission in the challenging times ahead," Bryant said.

For that reason, the president told the faculty, updating the university's five-year plan will be a priority this year.

The president said that planning for change should begin by "remembering our roots and remaining true to the core values that have served this university so well since its founding more than a century ago."

Bryant singled out four of those core values: a personal connection with students; a commitment to excellence in teaching; respect for all individuals and a high regard for diversity in both culture and thought; and a belief in the inherent value of service to the community and the wider world.

"We will use those values as our touchstone as we plan for the years ahead," Bryant said.

The president outlined three of the many issues that he expected to be in the forefront in the coming year. Bryant mentioned the recruitment and hiring of new faculty and staff, deferred maintenance on the campus infrastructure, and the responsible management of energy and other resources.

"These three issues and many others will test our creativity and our energy over the coming year," Bryant said, "but I am confident we are up to the challenge. This is a great opportunity for each of you to contribute to building a better university and I hope you are eager to share your thoughts, time and energy when the opportunity arises."

The president also reminisced about his first opening faculty meeting at PSU in 1970.

"I was 30 years old, a brand new Ph.D., and I was so proud to be a member of the university faculty," Bryant recalled. "Whether you are a long-time member of the PSU faculty or staff, or brand new to the campus, I hope you are just as proud as I was on that day in 1970 and still am today to be part of the Pittsburg State University family."

Included in the introductions at today's meeting were approximately 40 new members of the PSU faculty and unclassified staff.

Open enrollment for the fall term at PSU will be held tomorrow, Aug. 18. Move-In Day for approximately 1,000 students living in the university’s residence halls will be Saturday, Aug. 19. On Sunday, Aug. 19, a variety of activities known as the Gorilla Warm-Up are scheduled for all new freshmen. Classes begin on Monday, Aug. 20.

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PSU student broadcasters are national finalists again

Some promising student broadcasters at Pittsburg State University are in the running for national honors. PSU's cable access station, CAPS 13, is a finalist in two categories for the 2006 National Student Production Awards, which will be presented on Oct. 27 in St. Louis. The awards, sponsored by Collegiate Broadcasters, Inc., recognize the best in student electronic media production from across the U.S.

Troy Comeau, director of broadcasting at PSU, said more than 100 student radio and television stations had the opportunity to compete in 24 categories in this year’s student awards.

CAPS 13 is a finalist for "Best Sports Play-By-Play" and "Best Special Broadcast."

The entry in the "Best Sports Play-By-Play" category is the production of the Northwest Missouri vs. Pittsburg State football regional playoff final with Trent Kling, a junior Communication major from Wichita. The entry in the "Best Special Broadcast" category is "Grave," written and produced by Kevin Pickman, a senior Communication major from Atchison.

Other students involved in the sports production were Angelo Fears, a sophomore from Atchison; Lori Wadhams, a senior from Stilwell, Kan.; Christina Brown, a senior from Joplin, Mo.; Kabrey Miller, a senior from Oswego; Zach Howard, a senior from Pittsburg; Gabe Mader, a junior from Garnett; Alicia Mason, a graduate student from Pittsburg; Donovan Reidel, a senior from Rocky Comfort, Mo.; and Anthony Moreno, a senior from Lee's Summit, Mo.

Students working with Pickman on "Grave" included Daniel Shepard, a senior from Independence, Mo.; Josh Ames, a senior from Winfield, Kan.; Jacob Schreiner, a senior from Sharon, Kan.; Kristen Livingston, a senior from Neodesha, Kan.; and Scott Sims, a senior from Pittsburg.

This is the second out of three years that Pittsburg State has been recognized nationally in sports play-by-play. CAPS 13 was a finalist in 2004. The category was eliminated in 2005 because of a postal error.

"It is wonderful to be recognized nationally for what we do." Comeau said. "I've always felt that students can get involved early at Pittsburg State and that experience pays off. To be honored with some of the big name schools from around the country shows how good our students are."

Broadcast advisers are Comeau and Vic Miller.

For more information on the National Student Production Awards go to www.askcbi.org.

--Pitt State--

On-line search helps visitors locate memorial pavers

Visitors to the PSU Veterans Memorial now have a much more convenient way to find the location of the pavers honoring their loved ones.

As of this week, pavers can now be located on a map on the Veterans Memorial Web site. Persons wishing to locate a specific paver may go to www.psuvetmemorial.org and click on the "Pavers" link to search for individual names in the database.

More than 2,571 engraved granite pavers have been purchased at the PSU Veterans Memorial to honor individual veterans or veterans' organizations since the memorial opened in 2004. In the past, the only way for visitors to find specific pavers was to follow maps that were printed in brochures and handed out at events.

Later this year, a kiosk planned for the memorial will allow this same type of search at the site. The Office of Information Services at PSU is developing the software for the kiosk, which is scheduled to be installed in time for the Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11. The kiosk will serve as an on-site search tool for visitors looking for specific pavers, and will also include locations for names listed on the Vietnam Wall replica that lines the back of the memorial.

Work is continuing this week on the expansion of the Guy and Claire Sutherland Entrance Plaza at the memorial. Pavers purchased by Oct. 2 will be installed in the plaza and dedicated on Veteran's Day. An eight-square-inch paver is $150; a 12-square-inch paver is $300.

For more information, call the PSU Office of University Development at (620) 235-4768 or email lmetro@pittstate.edu.

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