Submitted by
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer
Cape Girardeau, Missouri - The Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents today approved two academic program changes including the addition of the new Bachelor of Science in emergency preparedness.
The need for highly trained and educated emergency management specialists has never been greater, said Dr. Gerald McDougall, interim provost at Southeast Missouri State University. In the wake of natural disasters and ongoing terrorist threats, both government and business officials recognize the need for concerted efforts to prevent emergencies when possible and mitigate the damage when it is not, he said.
“As a result, there is an unusually high demand for emergency management professionals, McDougall said.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2010, emergency management job growth in both the public and private sectors is expected to be much faster than average through 2018 and employment of emergency management specialists is expected to increase by 22 percent during that period as reported by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
The new Bachelor of Science in emergency preparedness program will serve not only the general student population but also those in the new military science program. The emergency preparedness program will provide National Guard members with the necessary academic instruction to become successful emergency responders through an understanding of communication, damage assessment and recovery principles, he said.
McDougall said the new program is expected to begin in January. No new resources are requested. Full-time faculty will teach all courses offered in the program as part of the regular teaching loads for faculty in each of the colleges providing coursework to the major.
The Bachelor of Science in emergency preparedness will be housed in the Environmental Science Program in Southeast’s College of Science, Technology and Agriculture.
In other action, the Regents today deleted a minor in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts. The minor is redundant with the current Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program and the ESOL undergraduate certificate program. There is also a lack of student interest in the minor, McDougall said.
Written by
Dee Loflin SMT Manager/Writer
Dexter, Missouri – The Dexter Lion’s Club sponsored Miss Kendra Stevenson as a delegate to the 57th National Leadership Forum, which was held at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas on June 2nd – 7th.
The Forum is presented by the University’s American Studies Institute. Area Farm Bureaus and civic clubs help with selecting the candidates to attend. The delegates chosen were instructed in the values and qualities of leadership and also learned how our country has developed its leaders.
Students who attended the Forum were also taught comparative economic systems and ways to defend our society and its freedoms. They listened to presentations by leaders such as Dean Sikes, Spirit of America Foundation. He addressed “Discover Your Destiny”. John Foppe, a motivational speaker who discussed “Life is an Attitude”; Dr. Jim Miller gave a lecture on “Social Media for Social Good”; and Pat Socia encouraged the delegates to be leaders in sexual morality.
More than 200 young people from five states attended this year’s National Leadership Forum.
Delegates were divided into six different groups. Kendra is pictured with the Independent Group. She will be a senior at Dexter High School in the fall.
Congratulations Kendra. The Dexter community is proud of your accomplishments.
Written by
Dee Loflin, Manager/Writer SMT
Cape Girardeau, Missouri - Southeast Missouri State University has named 2,496 students to its Dean’s list for academic achievement during the spring 2013 session.
Students named to the list earned at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and completed at least 12 degree credit hours during the spring session. We congratulation all of the students who have worked very hard to earn this recognition.
View the complete spring 2013 Dean’s List here.
Written by
Beth Farrah, SMT Writer
Over the past few days, Beta Club members from all across America travelled to Mobile, Alabama for their annual National Convention. During the state conventions, all eighteen states involved with the club elected a state secretary, vice president, and president who all received an invitation to attend and compete at the national level. Aside from the candidates and their campaigns, there were also many academic competitions along with Quiz Bowl and other art-related competitions.
Three schools from the southeast Missouri area had the chance to represent the state in Mobile. Malden, Bloomfield, and Richland High School all travelled south and were very successful at National Convention. The students got to see the city, visit the beach, and listen to multiple entrepreneurs, inspirational speakers, and perform their campaign skit for their candidate.
Bloomfield ran Kendra Elder, our Missouri State Beta Secretary. Their campaign skin was entitled “Kickin’ It With Kendra” and they also competed in an academic competition.
Richland ran Kannon Qualls, our Missouri State Beta Vice President. Their campaign skit was entitled “Express Yourself with Kannon”. Their skit landed in the top ten out of all thirty-seven skits that competed at the national level. They had two students that participated in the acrylic painting competition along with the spelling test after placing at state level.
Malden High School had a very successful trip to Mobile. Their candidate, Darren Green, our Missouri State Beta President, placed at the national level and is now the National Beta President. Missouri is so proud to have Malden represent us at the national level. Malden’s skit, entitled “The Big Beta Theory”, placed in the top ten skits. Their group talent song mash-up, “Tunapanda – A Celebration of Life” placed third out of fourteen other special talents. They had many competitors in academics and they placed second in the creative writing category.
The Betas had a great opportunity to talk to multiple inspirational and keynote speakers that visited their convention. Although many of the speakers were just teenagers who shared their experiences with leadership, fear, and academics, the audience received a lot of advice from Betas of all ages, including one of the first Beta Club members ever, Mrs. Elizabeth Hines. They also received a great inspirational testimony from Desiree Lynch, a former Beta Club member from Wilson, Oklahoma. Lynch told the Betas all about her first business that she started at the age of twelve, the many decisions she had to make after watching it grow and prosper, life decisions including college and career opportunities, and the roadmap of her inspiring life and story.
With nearly three-thousand students in total attendance, there was a lot of competition for Green, along with the other Missouri schools that were willing to compete. With thirty-seven competitors total, the judges and the voting delegates had a hard time choosing who would represent the Beta Club nationally. Although it was tough to make decisions, Missouri, Texas, and South Carolina were the three lucky states that now hold office.
The Missouri Betas were the second largest state to attend the convention in Alabama, right behind Texas. Our home state was proud to have more than three-hundred-and-sixty members present. Each competitor did a fantastic job on their speech, question, and skit. Missouri was really represented well by the three schools that competed nationally.
The new National President, Darren Green, will be travelling to other Beta conventions throughout the year to support and encourage other Betas all over the country. Next year, the National Convention will be held in Virginia, where Green will be taking part in and leading the convention for the first time.
