Thursday, March 3, 2011

39th annual Robison Lecture features former president of Mormon History Association
Culver-Stockton College’s annual Robison Lecture in Religion is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2011. The lecture will feature Dr. Jan Shipps, professor emerita of history and religious studies from Indiana University, Purdue University at Indianapolis. Dr. Shipps, the best-known non-Mormon scholar of Mormonism, will deliver a lecture entitled “Sojourner in the Promised Land: A Methodist’s Astonishing Half-Century among the Mormons.” The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in Merillat Chapel located inside the Robert W. Brown Performing Arts Center on the C-SC campus. Dr. Shipps served as the first non-Mormon and first woman president of the Mormon History Association, program chair for the annual meeting of the Western History Association, president of the John Whitmer Historical Association and president of the American Society of Church History. Shipps also served as an American Studies Association delegate to the Japanese American Studies Association in 2003. Dr. Shipps is the founding co-editor of Religion and American Culture: A Journal of Interpretation and she served as director of the IUPUI Center for American Studies. The Robison Lectureship in Religion was inaugurated in 1972 through an endowment gift by Dr. Henry Robison’s daughter, Dr. Georgia Robison Beale. The lectureship provides for an annual lecture in some area of religious scholarship and for the printing and distribution of the lecture. The lectures have been distributed to friends and surviving relatives of Dr. Robison, to deans and professors of religion in Disciples Institutions of higher education and to Disciples ministers in the tri-states. Henry Barton Robison was a native of Georgia and educated at Transylvania College, College of the Bible (LTS) and the Divinity School of the University of Chicago (Ph.D. in 1907 with a major in New Testament and a minor in Old Testament). After brief pastorates in Texas and Alabama, he served as professor of religion at Culver-Stockton College from 1910 to 1944. This event is part of the Culver-Stockton College Academic and Cultural Affairs program and is free and open to the public.

C-SC celebrates reading and Dr. Seuss
There were no candles or cake, but there were costumes as Culver-Stockton College Associate Professor of Education Dr. Terry Sherer and students celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Wacky hair, mismatched socks and a complete “Thing One” costume were part of the fun as students in Sherer’s “Methods of Teaching” and “Teaching Remedial Reading” classes studied the works of Dr. Seuss. The students, who aspire to one day become teachers, read aloud popular Dr. Seuss books, including Hop on Pop, The Cat in the Hat and If I Ran the Zoo. “This type of exercise helps you get ready to be in front of kids, relate to them and find ways to help them learn,” explains Perry Bonds, junior elementary education major from Griggsville, Ill. Bonds and his classmates were also challenged to develop unique lesson plans, creative writing assignments and other activities for young studentsbased on the beloved author’s works. “I’ve always been amazed that we don’t use Dr. Seuss as textbooks in kindergarten through second grade classes because of the influence he has had on the five key areas we emphasize in student reading,” commented Sherer. Dr. Seuss, whose given name was Theodor Seuss Geisel and who would have been 107 years old today, has long been renowned for his use of rhyming and nonsensical words to captivate young readers. Sherer says books by Dr. Seuss are highly effective in promoting phonological awareness - the sound and structure of the spoken word; phonemic awareness - the ability to hear and manipulate phonemes; reading fluency and comprehension; and vocabulary, which are all skills that are emphasized when teaching beginning readers. But beyond teaching reading skills, C-SC students say Dr. Seuss helps teach young people to enjoy reading. “Kids are excited to read when they pick up a book and it’s bright, colorful and it has these crazy words; that’s what Dr. Seuss does,” says Kathleen MacKenzie, senior elementary education major from Springfield, Mo. Getting kids interested in reading and maintaining that interest can be a major challenge for educators; especially once students reach fourth grade, when Sherer says reading comprehension and frequency begin to decline dramatically. “Teachers face a lot of challenges and variables in the classroom. To be successful as educators, these students have to be prepared. They’re going to have students who are defiant, students with different interests and intelligence levels; they need to recognize and adapt to those variables. I try to teach in a creative way; that’s what Dr. Seuss’ books do, and that’s what I hope these students will do when they reach the classroom,” says Sherer.

Weston qualifies for NAIA Indoor Championships
Culver-Stockton College senior Jessica Weston will be the only Wildcat representative at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend, March 3-5, at the GaREAT Sports Complex in Geneva, Ohio. Weston qualified in the shot put by narrowly reaching the provisional qualifying standard of 12.60 meters. Her throw of 12.61 meters (41 feet, 4 ½ inches) at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Indoor Championships set a school record and was good enough for third place. She is ranked 29th in the field this weekend. The shot put preliminaries and finals are scheduled for Saturday, March 5, at 10 a.m. Weston, who’s personal best and previous school record was 38 feet, 5 ¾ inches entering the season, has surpassed that mark three times this year. She recorded a mark of 39 feet, 10 ¼ inches at the Dr. Jim Green Invitational at Illinois College on Feb. 5, and a mark of 39 feet 10 ¾ inches at Knox College on Feb. 12. Her mark at the HAAC championships was the first time she has thrown 40 or more feet.

Financial Services Office hosts FAFSA assistance night
The Culver-Stockton College Student Financial Services Office will host a FAFSA assistance night Wednesday, March 16 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Herrick Foundation Center computer lab located on the C-SC campus. This community service event is free and open to the public. Parents, current and incoming C-SC students, as well as high school students planning to attend any college are encouraged to attend. Members of the Culver-Stockton Student Financial Services office will be on hand to answer questions and assist in the filing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Those attending should bring the following: 2010 tax and W2 forms; personal identification numbers; current balances of cash, saving and checking accounts; and net worth of investments for both student and parent. Those planning to attend are encouraged, but not required, to RSVP by phone at (573) 288-6307, or by e-mailing financialaid@culver.edu.