Friday Memo: October 19, 2018

Inauguration Day
Next week's blog will contain pictures and highlights from today's momentous Inauguration of our 7th president, Dr. Keith Ross. It was truly a blessing to be a part of this very special occasion. We look forward to Dr. Ross's leadership.

Faculty & Staff In-Service Day
Wednesday, October 10 was the faculty and staff in-service day. We all gathered for breakfast, a devotion, and message from President Ross and then had a choice of several workshops.
Debbie Dumey gave the devotion on suffering and how Christ is always with us and helping us through trials. She was very open about dealing with the death of her daughter Erica.

Jordan Cox presented Spirituality in Education: Developing Connection based on his doctoral dissertation research. This session examined spirituality in the context of education, ways to cultivate a spiritual atmosphere, and the implications for a Christian University.

Tim Jackson, Information Systems, Application Developer, from our IT Department presented Reclaiming Your Workday – Surviving and Thriving in Your Work. Tim did a great job talking about
productivity and self-care in the workplace.

Google Summit
Diana Dell attended the Google Summit and ran into two of our MET students, Danielle and Rachel. Also in attendance were Mike McCann and Greg Lawrence, MBU adjuncts.

Danielle Ellis, Diana, and Rachel Lowe 

Missouri's Google Certified Innovators who coordinate the Summit each year.
Back row: Diana, Mike McCann
Front row: Greg Lawrence (in yellow)

MBU Tailgate Master
At every home football game, you can find David Collum tailgating with his BBQ pits and delicious food. Go Spartans! They won the game too!

Adjuncts Collaborating
Janet Black, (adjunct at Arnold and Hillsboro) and Kathleen Bauer (adjunct on Main Campus) met at the Arnold site to collaborate and share ideas for the Language Acquisition course. Kathleen says, "It is a blessing to come together and connect to better our practice of teaching these MBU pre-service teachers! Praying to continue leading by example!!"

Nancy Baker's Class
Mrs. Baker's class took advantage of the nice weather. She says, "I have been blessed again this semester to have students who are going to be outstanding teachers." Shine On Spartans!

Watermark Meeting
On Monday, October 8 several faculty and staff gathered to listen to a presentation from Watermark. They have a product that the School of Education will be utilizing next year for our initial teacher certification students. The students will purchase a code from the bookstore that allows them access to their suite of programs (think Campus Labs, but centered around Education). This product will be used for a disposition assessment, portfolio, and clinical field assessments.

ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) Conference
The ACSI Conference was held on Friday, October 12. Tammy Cox, Colleen Hulcer, and I presented. Katie Meyer from Graduate Admissions was there to inform attendees about our graduate programs.

MBU Rates 16th for Most Affordable Online Colleges for School Counseling Degree
SR Education Group, an education research publisher founded in 2004, ranked Missouri Baptist University 16th in the 2019 Most Affordable Online Colleges for School Counseling for the Master of Arts in School Counseling program! See article here.

These rankings represent online schools across the nation that are making an effort to provide economical options for students. They manually researched the tuition of every college offering fully online degrees to determine and rank the most affordable choices.

Student Professional Development Meeting at MBU – Troy/Wentzville Regional Learning Center 
Dr. Amy Porter is the Director of Elementary Curriculum & Instruction, Director of Assessment, and Coordinator of Buddy Bags and Bright Futures for the Lincoln County R-III School District in Troy, Missouri. Dr. Porter presented on the topic of working with students and families who live in poverty. Twenty-four education students were able to attend. After the presentation the student chapter sponsor, Dr. Mark Engelhardt presented Dr. Porter with a certificate of appreciation and the book Leading Change in Your School by Douglas Reeves.

MBU Inaugural Service Day - Tuesday, October 16
To kick-off inauguration week, a tree was planted and dedicated to President Ross and family. Everyone was invited to gather on the Quad for the festivities and enjoy live music, grill-out lunch, iced coffee samples served by the First Family, and lawn games. Students, faculty, and staff could also help package meals for those in need and prepare stuffed animals to be given to kids in a local children’s hospital. Partner organizations: Kids Against Hunger and Sharing Smiles.

Teacher Education Council
The Teacher Education Council met on Wednesday, October 17. The group heard updates from Field Experience by Dr. Susan Hladky, First Year Teacher Survey Report and CAEP Visit updates from Dr. Alicia Noddings; and Teacher Education updates from Dr. Tammy Cox. There were several community members present for good discussion and collaboration.

Upcoming Meetings
October 30: Directors' Meeting at 10:15 am in FLD 115

Closing Thoughts
"The way we treat each other matters." - Dr. Keith Ross
Just one of many inspirational phrases uttered during today's Presidential Inauguration. Dr. Ross, thank you for inspiring and leading us forward. May we never forget that the way we treat each other matters.