Events Bring Great Thinkers to Campus

A Nobel Peace Prize winner and a two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient were among the distinguished guests offering diverse perspectives to William Jewell College students and faculty over the course of the fall and spring semesters:

Jody Williams, the internationally recognized crusader against land mines who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, offered the Women and Society lecture as part of the “Perspectives on the Common Good” series. The founding coordinator and campaign ambassador of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Williams addressed the topic “An Individual’s Impact on Social and Political Change.” A tireless crusader against war and the lingering effects that armed conflict has wrought around the world, Williams was the driving force in building an unprecedented open partnership between governments, international agencies and the ICBL that she helped create. Her efforts were rewarded in 1997 when a sweeping international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines was negotiated in Oslo, in September of that year. In December, 122 nations signed the treaty. One week after that historic event, Williams became the tenth woman (and only the third American woman) in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. E.O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Research Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and expert on biodiversity, presented “The Future of Life” as the 2005 Cope Lecture on Science, Technology and the Human Experience. Dr. Wilson is one of the most highly respected scientists in the world today. Hailed as “the new Darwin” by Thomas Wolfe, and as one of “America’s 25 Most Influential People” by TIME Magazine, he has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, (once for The Ants and a second for On Human Nature). His The Diversity of Life (1992), which brought together knowledge of the magnitude of biodiversity and the threats to it, had a major public impact. Today he continues entomological and environmental research at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. His book, The Future of Life (2002), offers a plan for saving Earth’s biological heritage.

“Embryos and Ethics: The Debate Over Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Cloning” was the topic of discussion during a lecture by Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. Dr. George is the author of Making Men Moral: Civil Liberties and Public Morality (1993) and In Defense of Natural Law (1999), and editor of Natural Law Theory: Contemporary Essays (1992); The Autonomy of Law: Essays on Legal Positivism (1996); and Natural Law, Liberalism, and Morality (1996), all published by Oxford University Press. His most recent book is The Clash of Orthodoxies, published by ISI Books. Dr. George’s articles and review essays have appeared in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the Columbia Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Review of Politics, the Review of Metaphysics and the American Journal of Jurisprudence. He has also written for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Review and the Times Literary Supplement.

Dr. Molly T. Marshall, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary, discussed issues relating to Christian theology’s understanding of what it means to be human as the featured speaker for the 2006 Walter Pope Binns Lectures on the Sacred and Secular. Dr. Marshall presented two lectures, “The Dignity of Humanity” and “The Pursuits of Humanity.” Dr. Marshall was named the 10th president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Kan., in November of 2004, becoming the first woman to hold this position at any Baptist-affiliated seminary accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. Dr. Marshall has served in theological education for the past 22 years. Her writings include three monographs: No Salvation Outside the Church; What It Means to be Human; and Joining the Dance: a Theology of the Spirit, as well as numerous chapters in books, dictionary articles and journal articles. Recently, she served as president of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion and as editor of the NABPR Dissertation Series. She is on the Editorial Board of the American Baptist Quarterly.

Area Leaders Honored at Convocation Ceremonies

Civic leaders were honored for public service at fall Opening Convocation ceremonies marking the beginning of a new school year. Addressing students and guests was Lamar Hunt, one of America’s leading sports entrepreneurs for more than four decades. In 1960, Hunt helped make pro football history by founding and organizing the American Football League. Long known for his role in the development of football, Hunt’s more recent contributions to pro soccer have also had a major impact on sports in the U.S. As founder of the Kansas City Chiefs franchise, he helped provide Kansas City with a team that became the winningest in the 10-year history of the AFL, earning spots in two of the first four Super Bowls and winning Super Bowl IV by defeating the Minnesota Vikings. He was one of the founding minority partners of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls in 1966 and today is the only original investor remaining with the Bulls ownership group. He also serves as director of Kansas City’s Hunt Midwest Enterprises and Chairman of the Board of Unity Hunt Resources, the Hunt family’s Dallas-based investment firm. A native of El Dorado, Ark., he received a B.S. in geology from Southern Methodist University.

This year’s recipients of the William F. Yates Trustee Medallion for Distinguished Service are:

Georgia Buchanan. A  native of Memphis, Tenn.,  Buchanan is President and CEO of All Pro Construction, Inc. in Grandview, Mo.  She graduated from Lincoln University in Jefferson City  with a B.S. in elementary education and continued her education at Central Missouri State  University, where  she received an M.S. in elementary administration and a Specialist Degree  in education administration. Her professional career began with the Kansas City, Mo., School District, where she served as elementary  teacher, reading specialist, research analyst, evaluation specialist,  ombudsman and community affairs officer. She assumed the role of President  and CEO of All Pro Construction, a highway and commercial construction  company, in July 1992 following the death of her late husband Junious  “Buck” Buchanan, a Kansas City Chiefs Pro Football Hall of  Famer.

Carol Marinovich. ollowing a successful 10-year tenure as Mayor and CEO of Kansas City,  Kan., and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Marinovich recently  joined the Fleishman-Hillard public relations firm in Kansas City as senior vice president.  The former school teacher has gained national recognition for her  expertise in economic development and her proven skills in forging  partnerships and moving visions to reality. Elected the first female mayor  of Kansas City, Kan., Marinovich led the efforts to  turn around the fortunes of that city. Among her accomplishments was the  creation of the Village West retail and entertainment development, in  addition to serving as a driving force behind the Kansas Speedway.  Marinovich holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College  and a master’s degree from the University of Kansas.

Thomas A. McDonnell. A native of Kansas City, McDonnell received  a B.S./B.A. degree from Rockhurst  University and an M.B.A. in  finance from the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania.  He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of DST  Systems, Inc. He has been employed by DST since March of 1969 and has  served as president since 1973. He is a director of DST Systems, Inc., as  well as Garmin LTD, Commerce Bancshares, Inc., Blue Valley Ban Corp.,  Euronet Worldwide, Inc., and Kansas  City Southern. An active member of the community, McDonnell has served as Chairman of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas  City and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. In addition he has  served as chairman of the Kansas City United Way Campaign; Union Station  Project Consultants; Rockhurst University Board of Trustees; and the Harry  S. Truman Library Institute.

Fred Pryor. The  recipient of three academic degrees with emphasis in psychology, guidance  and counseling, Fred Pryor began a speaking business in 1970 that developed  into “Fred Pryor Seminars,” which later acquired Career Track  and Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics. Well over a million people a year  attended these seminars.  The company was recently sold to Park University. In his career he has  spoken to over 6,000 groups, speaking as many as 230 times per year. These  groups ranged from governmental agencies (such as The World Bank, The  Smithsonian Institute, NASA, and dozens of other agencies) to hundreds  of associations and special groups. He has spoken on the ad hoc faculties  of a dozen universities throughout the United  States and Canada, and to thousands of  companies of all sizes. Fred and his wife, Shirley, endowed the Pryor  Leadership Studies Program at William Jewell to provide hands-on  development of practical skills for Jewell students.

Shirley Pryor. Shirley Pryor received a B.A. in education from William Jewell  College. She has  enjoyed a very significant career as the mother of two daughters and the “stabilizing  force” in the Pryor household.  She served as a sixth-grade  teacher for 20 years and has held numerous positions in the service and  philanthropic communities. Her activities include service as a past  president of the William Jewell College Alumni Association Board and board  memberships on the Metropolitan Organization to Stop Sexual Assault and  the Spelman Foundation, St Luke’s Northland. Her volunteer service  extends to The Assistance League of Kansas City, the Harvest Ball  Committee and the Society of Fellows of the Aspen Institute. In 2001 Fred & Shirley Pryor were named Philanthropists of the Year, a year in  which they also received The Kansas City Spirit Award and The Pinnacle  Award.

Jewell Trustees Set Tuition, Establish Peer Support Network

The William Jewell College Board of Trustees met January 19 and 20 in Liberty, taking action on several measures.

The board approved a tuition increase from $18,500 to $20,150 for the 2006-07 academic year. Room rates will increase from $2,250 to $2,320, while board will increase from $3,100 to $3,190.

The board approved a special trustee group recommendation establishing a support network for potentially marginalized students. Known as P.E.A.C.E. (Providing Everyone A Caring Environment), this new initiative authorizes the administration to establish a network of support for marginalized students of diverse populations including racial and ethnic minorities, as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. The program will include both individual and peer group support elements.

“College students encounter developmental issues which challenge their growth, understanding, personal well-being and ultimate success and satisfaction within a college community,” said Rick Winslow, Dean of Students at William Jewell. “It is this challenge that the college strives to meet in order to successfully integrate students into the campus culture while creating a supportive, compassionate and healthy environment that facilitates success.”

The recommendation to establish the support groups came after a six-month study conducted by a trustee committee in partnership with the college administration. When questioned about the impact of this decision on the college’s standing as one of America’s selective, Christian liberal arts colleges, David Sallee, president of William Jewell, referred to a recent essay he had written about “colleges of the church.”

“Establishing both clarity of function and commitment to broad Christian principles is the on-going challenge for colleges of the church,” Sallee wrote.  “This relationship varies: sometimes faith and learning reside side by side, sometimes intertwined, sometimes separated, but always in relationship. What binds them in relationship is the intellectual and emotional honesty of an institution that emphasizes integrity above appearances.”

According to Sallee, there has been a great deal of thoughtful study and discussion surrounding these issues over the past few years by students, faculty, trustees and the administration leading up to this action by the board.

The board also approved a letter of intent to engage in a local marketing agreement with Educational Media Foundation (EMF) for programming of the college’s radio station, KWJC.  The letter allows EMF and William Jewell to engage in due diligence and negotiation of terms of an agreement.  

“A special trustee group charged with evaluating the best use of the radio station has made this recommendation,” Dr. Sallee said. “As this process moves forward, the appropriate parties will be consulted about the impact of this decision on the communication curriculum and students enrolled for a major in communication with electronic media emphasis. It is the intent of the administration to ensure that students impacted by a change in the operation of the radio station have viable alternatives in order to complete their studies in their areas of interest at Jewell.”

Dr. Sallee noted that there would be no changes in the operation of the radio station for the spring of 2006. Students who are far along in the program should graduate as scheduled. 

Union Renovations Continue

Construction continues on a new 15,000-square-foot addition to the Yates-Gill College Union. In January, crews poured the concrete for the second floor of the addition. Meanwhile, construction of the exterior walls continues.The foundation for the addition was poured just before the Christmas holiday. Contractors began erecting the structural steel between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Completion is expected in August, with dedication ceremonies anticipated at Opening Convocation in September.

NASA Physicist Addresses Jewell Students

Dr. H. Philip Stahl, Senior Optical Physicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, offered a lecture focusing on the James Webb Space Telescope. Scheduled to begin its 10-year mission in 2011, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will search for the first luminous objects of the universe to help answer fundamental questions about how the universe came to look as it does today. Dr. Stahl’s lecture reviewed science objectives for JWST and how they are driving the telescope’s architecture in terms of aperture, wavelength range and operating temperature. Dr. Stahl is a Senior Optical Physicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where he is the James Webb Space Telescope Optical Components Technical Lead. Dr. Stahl is a leading authority in optical metrology, optical engineering and phase-measuring interferometry.  Many of the world’s largest telescopes have been fabricated with the aid of high-speed and infrared phase-measuring Interferometers developed by Dr. Stahl, including the Keck, VLT and Gemini telescopes.

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Welcomes Members with Jewell Ties

The late Norris Patterson, athletic director and football coach at William Jewell College from 1950 to 1968, and Bill Snyder, retiring K-State football coach and member of the William Jewell class of 1962, were inducted February 12 into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the University Plaza Convention Center in Springfield, Mo.

“William Jewell is honored to count these two influential men in the athletic arena among those who have enjoyed a significant and long-term relationship with the college,” said Dr. James Redd, director of athletics at William Jewell. “Norris Patterson was a pioneering advocate of the single wing style of football, and of course Bill Snyder’s achievements at K-State are legendary.”

After spending four years as a high school football coach and posting an overall record of 34-3-1, Norris Patterson moved up to the college ranks to take the reins of the William Jewell College Cardinals in 1950. He spent 18 years at Jewell, amassing an impressive 134-33-10 record. Under his leadership, the Cardinals won 13 conference titles and finished as runner-up five times. The late Dr. Patterson is a member of the NAIA, NACDA Athletic Directors, Missouri Valley College and William Jewell College Halls of Fame. The Cardinal football field, Patterson Field, is named in his honor. Following his retirement from coaching in 1968, Patterson returned to William Jewell in 1975 to assist in the fundraising and construction of the Mabee Center for Physical Education. He died in 2000 at the age of 82.

St. Joseph native Bill Snyder was hired in 1988 to turn around the worst program in major college football history—the only program with 500 losses—the Kansas State University Wildcats. Seventeen years later, Coach Snyder became K-State’s all-time winningest football coach with 136 wins, leading the Wildcats to 11 consecutive bowl game appearances. Snyder’s impressive resume includes being named Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, ESPN and CNN, Big Eight Coach of the Year in 1990, 1991 and 1993, and Big 12 Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2002.

Trustees Elected to Jewell’s Board

The William Jewell College Board of Trustees has elected three new members.

David Burhans is chaplain emeritus and special assistant to the Office of Advancement at the University of Richmond. He served as the Jessie Ball DuPont Chaplain, senior administrative officer and member of the president’s senior staff at the University of Richmond from 1974 to 2004. He also served the university as coordinator and sponsor of campus ministers for 13 denominational and religious groups and provided pastoral care and counseling for students, faculty and staff. A 1961 graduate of William Jewell College, Burhans received his bachelor of divinity, master of theology and doctor of theology degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ken. Burhans served as pastor for Baptist churches in Kentucky and Alabama from 1962 to 1974. He currently serves as chair of the board of directors for the National Conference for Community and Justice in the state of Virginia; as chair of the Volunteer Emergency Families for Children; and as chair of the Charles B. Keesee Educational Foundation Board which provides loans and grants to secondary school students, college students and graduate students in theology. He is the author of numerous articles and professional papers and has served as a guest lecturer at the University of Richmond and Francis Marion College in Florence, South Carolina.

Robert A. Bernstein, founder, president and chief executive officer of Bernstein-Rein Advertising, Inc., founded the agency with his partner Skip Rein in 1964. The full-service advertising and marketing company with more than 300 associates and 2004 billings of approximately $505 million is the largest ad agency in Missouri, and one of the 50 largest in the country. Bernstein’s history-making work in the 1970s included early television advertising efforts for Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and the creation of the McDonald’s Happy Meal, now a worldwide menu item that alone has accounted for billions in sales. He also formed a subsidiary that became the country’s largest Blockbuster Video franchise operation and launched the Beauty Brands chain. Bernstein is committed to giving back to the community. He has played a vital role in nurturing such organizations as The Children’s Place, Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Partnership for Children. He currently serves on the boards of US Bank, the Heart of America United Way, the Kansas City Art Institute and Starlight Theatre, among many others. His numerous awards have included the 2001 Corporate Philanthropist of the Year from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy, the Spirit of Kansas City Award, and the Ernst & Young Regional Retail Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Bernstein is a native Kansas Citian and a communications graduate of the University of Oklahoma.

David Adkins is Vice Chancellor for External Affairs at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Adkins was formerly Of Counsel at Lathrop & Gage L.C. in Overland Park, Kan., and was the founding Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Johnson County, Kan. As Kansas State Senator from 2001 to 2005, he represented District 7 in northeast Johnson County. He served as the Kansas State Representative for District 28 from 1993 to 2001. He also served as special counsel to the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and was a partner in the Bennett, Lytle, Wetzler, Winn & Martin law firm in Prairie Village, Kan. He received his juris doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law and his bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Kansas. His Kansas gubernatorial appointments include the chairmanship of the Kansas Youth Authority and the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention. He was a Kansas delegate to the President’s Summit on America’s Future and was a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education.

Jewell Theater Offers U.S. Premiere

The William Jewell College Department of Theatre presented the United States premiere of “Phone Friends” and “The Glass House” by Icelandic playwright and radio personality Jónas Jónasson. Jónasson was a special guest on the William Jewell campus for the U.S. premieres of his works. His residency was the result of contacts made by Dr. Kim Harris, chair of the William Jewell Department of Theatre, during a 2004 sabbatical in Iceland.

Born in Reykjavík in 1931, Jónasson grew up in a country marked by disputes with the Danish colonial power and economic hardship. Son of the director of Iceland’s public radio station, he has worked in broadcasting for many years. During the extensive transformation of Icelandic society from sleepy agrarian villages and farms into a bustling metropolis nestled in one of the wealthiest societies of the world, public radio has remained a constant, preserving national cultural treasures. Jónasson has been an important part of that history, growing up with broadcasting and to this day a well-known radio personality in his native country. Over the years he has headed a number of popular programs, including one of the highest-rated interview programs on Iceland’s Channel 1.

Website is Honored

The admissions features on the William Jewell College website have been recognized as being among the most highly rated in the country by the National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA) 7th annual Enrollment Power Index (EPI), an analysis of the admissions websites of more than 3,000 post-secondary institutions. The research-based study rates how well the functionality and design of college and university admissions websites provide information to potential students and aids in moving them from prospect to applicant status.  The study graded the sites for each institution on a 100-point scale. William Jewell College was one of only 130 institutions that received an “A.” Additional information on the EPI study is available at www.nrccua.org.

Nursing Department Hosts Symposium

William Jewell College hosted a fall symposium on Intellectual Pursuit in Undergraduate Nursing at Kansas City’s Stowers Institute for Medical Research. The event was co-sponsored by William Jewell College and the Center for Practical Bioethics. Students from undergraduate programs in the Kansas City region were invited to submit abstracts for poster or oral presentations.  In addition, students competed for the opportunity to respond to selected student presenters. Michael C. Brannigan, Vice President of Clinical and Organizational Ethics at the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, was the expert respondent for oral student presentations.