Lately, the coffee machine in Spiva Library has had several breakdowns and Missouri Southern officials are concerned. "Sometimes we've gone as much as a day without the espresso machine," said Michael Wonderly, food service director for Sodexo. University officials say the constant breakdowns have been both frustrating and costly.
During the Feb. 1 Faculty Senate meeting, University President Bruce Speck answered many questions from the faculty in the meeting's opening minutes. Before taking any questions, though, he addressed concerns over the $250,000 borrowed from the foundation for the medical school partnership with Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.
Carrie Staudt didn't have a chance. Staudt, senior public relations major, was text messaging while driving down Seventh Street in Joplin when her car became the third vehicle in a wreck that had already happened. "I was trying to edit the contact's phone number, which is hard through text," she said.
The CAB's got its ticket to the Super Bowl. The group's agenda this week was to set up a last-minute Super Bowl party for 5 p.m. Sunday in the Mayes Student Life Center. The CAB will provide snacks such as pizza. Posters will be posted on bulletin boards around campus to provide more information.
As Missouri Southern faces several much-needed capital improvement projects, one thing is certain: money is at a premium. Elevators, fire-alarm systems and plumbing need to be upgraded or replaced in several buildings across campus, but Southern can't afford the cost of all the repairs in one year, so the projects have been spread out.
The Interim President of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences said a proposed branch campus at Missouri Southern looks exciting "on paper," but cautioned that his school's Board of Trustees has yet to consider the partnership. Danny Weaver serves as chairman of the Board and took on the role of university president after the firing of former president and CEO Karen Pletz last year.
The Get Up, Stand Up for Gay Rights Symposium will be smaller than expected. While the event was initially supposed to have several parts, it has become a presentation of the Equality Alliance's hard labored safe guide. "It's more of a presentation than a symposium," said Hillary Fogerty, Assistant Professor of English.
This year's Healthy Relationships Week may seem a bit selfish, but there is method behind Natalie Bruce's madness. "The theme this year is I Love Me, which sounds like a strange theme for healthy relationships but it's difficult to have healthy relationships with others if you don't have a strong healthy relationship with yourself," said Bruce, counselor for Advising, Counseling & Testing Services.
Missouri Southern has changed one way it informs students of campus emergencies. MSSU Alert now runs through the alert broadcast system Rave Alert. The system is designed to keep students, staff and faculty informed during an immediate emergency. "I don't think Southern informs its students well about any situation, let alone an emergency," said Colleen Brigman, senior public relations major.
An economic impact study delivered good news for proponents of a plan to bring a medical school branch to Missouri Southern's campus. The study, conducted by the National Community Development Services at the request of the Joseph Newman Innovation Center in Joplin, predicts the osteopathic school could create at least 450 new jobs in the region by 2017.
Just like other University departments, the athletics department is feeling the effects of budget cuts. In order to operate on a smaller institutional budget, the department is hoping to make up for the loss through the revision of the Lionbackers Booster Club.
