Spring Break
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius made a short stop at UMKC Friday to energize Barack Obama campaigners and express support for Obama. Even though the location of the conference changed twice to accommodate the size of the attendance, several people came to hear what McCaskill and Sebelius had to say.
With the presidential elections quickly approaching and the environment remaining a hot political topic, UMKC teamed up with the Kansas City Public Library to host a public dialogue last Friday about climate change. John M. R. Stone, researcher for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), spoke in the Truman Forum at the Plaza Library branch about the environmental situation.
Area residents took time out of their schedules last Monday to sit down at a Kansas City Public Library forum and discuss American energy policies. The discussion, entitled "The Energy Problem: Choices for an Uncertain Future," was organized by the library, the community action group Consensus and the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI).
Among other issues, Kansas City residents will vote this November on whether to build a light rail transportation system for the city. The proposition reads, "shall the City of Kansas City impose a sales tax of one-fourth percent for the purpose of funding capital improvements, and a sales tax of one eighth percent, both for a period not to exceed 25 years, beginning April 1, 2009 .
As the commencement date for construction on the expansion to the Miller Nichols Library nears, the building has again become the center of attention on campus. Phase one of the library's $70 million three-phase update, the installment of a high-density automated storage/retrieval system on the building's south side, begins after final exams end in December.
Harvard Law School professor Lani Guinier is no stranger to being involved. As one of the leading American civil rights scholars in the United States, she was a member of social movements long before serving as special assistant to the assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Division under the Carter Administration.
Professors aren't the only ones with knowledge and experience on this campus. Recently retired administrator Leo Sweeney has seen UMKC through 51 years of invaluable service (not to mention his years as a student) and provides an example of the variety of assets our university offers its students.
A road trip to Arizona State University (ASU) allowed a large group from UMKC to examine more in-depth Interim Chancellor Leo Morton's proposal at the beginning of the semester to build a "Decision Theater" (DT) on campus. (See "Morton's vision for UMKC," 8/25/08.
For those getting stressed out with the end of the semester fast approaching, the UMKC Counseling Center wants to help. The Counseling Center is holding a series of mood screenings for depression and a range of common mental health concerns. The screenings are free, anonymous and confidential, requiring just the completion of a short questionnaire.
The fight against violence became hands-on last week thanks to the UMKC Women's Center's collaboration with the UMKC Violence Prevention and Response Project. Throughout the week, the center set up tables around campus for the 2008 These Hands Don't Hurt and the White Ribbon Campaign.
UMKC names a vice provost After completing a search process, UMKC named Cynthia Pemberton the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.
Oct. 17 3:09 p.m. Larceny - A student left his property in the Performing Arts Center and returned to find it missing.
