Around the Quad - Alumni - Truman State University

Office of Admission Relocates
The Office of Admission,
previously located in McClain
Hall, has moved to the multipurpose
facility on the northeast
corner of Franklin and Normal Streets
(see map page 48). The facility, which
at one time housed the Kirksville Fire
Department, was renovated and
expanded to create space for the Office
of Admission as well as the new Ruth
W. Towne Museum and Visitors
Center. The museum will open later
this year.
The 8,600-square-foot complex
includes individual office space, access
to a conference room and general work
space for Admissions, as well as a
museum area that occupies approximately
4,000 square feet of the facility.
The Admissions staff moved into their
new offices over the mid-term break in
March, and work continues on the
museum. The museum area will be
filled with exhibits that depict the
history of Truman and the northeast
Missouri region as well as contemporary
to New Visitors Center
information about the University.
The new facility was financed
through a combination of private gifts
and University funds. The naming gift
was received from the late Ruth Warner
Towne, professor emerita of history
and dean emerita of graduate studies,
who made a $1 million bequest to
Truman in 1999. A ribbon-cutting
ceremony to celebrate the opening of
the facility is planned for Homecoming
this fall.
2 Truman Review

Chemistry Program Ranked
Among Top Producers of
Accredited Degrees
When it comes to
generating degrees
accredited by the
American Chemical Society (ACS),
the world’s largest scientific society,
Truman awards more than any Ivy
League school, as well as a number
of other highly regarded and more
expensive liberal arts schools.
According to the number of
accredited degrees given in 2006-
2007, the latest year for which the
data is available, the ACS rankings
have Truman’s chemistry program
tied for 15th place nationally.
With 32 degrees, Truman’s
program awarded five more
accredited degrees than the rest of
the MIAA conference, which
totaled 27. Truman’s number of
graduates even exceeded the total
number of degrees awarded,
accredited and non-accredited, by
three of the four University of
Missouri campuses.
Since Truman’s chemistry
program is listed alongside larger
schools, a comparison based on the
ratio of the number of accredited
degrees awarded to the total
undergraduate enrollment for each
of the top 25 schools places
Truman’s program seventh among
the ranked schools.
The Chemistry Department at
Truman offers the bachelor of
science degree in chemistry with
programs in professional chemistry,
pre-allopathic and pre-osteopathic
medicine, and pre-pharmacy.
Spring 2009 3

An Adventurous Learning Experience
For one group of students, classtime
meant waking up on another
continent and spending the day
relocating giraffes from one “game” farm
overcrowded with the tallest land animals
to another area where there were none.
The study-abroad course in South Africa was offered by
Peter Goldman, professor emeritus of biology, and Scott
Burt, a former member of the Biology Department, in
conjunction with Andre Pinaar of Parawild Safari, who
specializes in capturing and relocating large mammals. The
course not only provided an opportunity for the students to
learn about capture techniques, such as tranquilizers,
antidotes, and driving creatures into corrals, it also allowed
for participation in these activities.
“Students in the course started out with several days of
reading and discussion on the Truman campus prior to
heading to South Africa, and each student had to become
an expert and consultant on the biology and conservation
status of a particular species we would be encountering,”
said Goldman. “Then we spent about two weeks there,
during which we visited the world-famous Kruger National
Park, a vast ecosystem that still contains the full array of
large African mammals.” The students had the opportunity
to work with a number of other animals including baby
hippos. Several students stayed on after the course had
As part of a study-abroad experience in South Africa, Truman
students Alex Miller (on far left) and Maggie Catalano (on far
right) helped relocate giraffes. The team shown in this photo is in
the process of leading a partly sedated giraffe to a special
transport vehicle.
ended to spend more time in Kruger or tour elsewhere.
Goldman says many of the students who participated in
the course plan to pursue careers in veterinary medicine or
wildlife biology and have entered vet schools or graduate
schools both in Missouri and throughout the country. “We
plan to offer the course again in the near future,” says
Goldman.
4 Truman Review

University Library Establishes Collection
for Alumni Publications
The Special Collections
Department and University
Archives housed in Pickler
Memorial Library recently created a new
category to acknowledge the scholarship
and creativity of Truman alumni.
Approximately 50 volumes
previously catalogued to the Library’s
Missouriana and Rare Books collections
were brought together to form
the core of the new collection titled
“Alumni Publications” with more
books, recordings and scores to be
added as the staff identifies the
authors, publishers or producers as
Truman alumni.
Many of the volumes in
the “Alumni Publications”
collection, especially those
published in recent years,
are signed copies of books
written by alumni that
were donated to the
University by the authors.
The oldest title in the
collection is Columbian
Historical Novels, a 13-volume set by
John Roy Musick, originally published
by Funk and Wagnalls in 1892.
Musick graduated from the University
in 1874 and was a successful author of
newspaper articles, poetry and
historical short stories.
Donations Welcome for
Library’s Annual Book Sale
If spring cleaning has left you with
stacks of old books lying around,
you might consider donating them
to a good cause. As Pickler Memorial
Library prepares for its annual Book
Sale that takes place in the fall, the
Library staff is collecting used books,
as well as CDs, DVDs, tapes, videos,
records, sheet music, puzzles, games,
art prints, and other items. This year’s
Book Sale will be held on campus
Sept. 30-Oct. 1, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
in the Activities Room located on the
upper level of the Student Union
Building, and it is open to the public.
Proceeds from the fundraising event
support materials and programs for the
University library, and last year, 8,600
items were sold raising a grand total of
$3,287. A portion of the proceeds
were designated for the Spring 2009
Children’s Literature Festival, another
activity held on the Truman campus
that promotes reading among young
children. Students in grades 4-6 from
around northeast Missouri came to
campus on April 17 to attend the
Children’s Literature Festival which
featured authors Suzanne Beaky, Joan
Carris, J. B. Cheaney, Shane Evans,
Cheryl Harness, David Harrison,
Amy MacDonald, David Patneaude,
Barbara Robinson, and Mike Thaler.
Donations for the Book Sale may
be dropped off on campus at Pickler
Memorial Library or mailed to Pickler
Memorial Library, Attn: Book Sale,
Truman State University, 100 East
Normal, Kirksville, Mo. 63501. For
more information call
(660) 785-4038, e-mail
booksale@truman.edu, or visit
http://library.truman.edu/booksale.htm.
Retiring Faculty Members
Victor Hoffman
Professor of Chemistry
May 31
Jeff Romine
Professor of Accounting
May 31
TW Sorrell
Assistant Professor of Physics
June 30
Judi Misale
Professor of Psychology
Aug. 31
Donna Bailey
Instructor in Mathematics
Dec. 31
Mike Davis
Professor of Anthropology
Dec. 31
John Perrachione
Associate Professor of Business
Administration
Dec. 31
James Turner
Associate Professor of Accounting
Dec. 31
Spring 2009 5

James Guffey, a professor of mathematics, has been a member
of the Truman faculty since 1988. He received a B.S from
Centre College of Kentucky and his M.S. and Ph.D. from
Missouri University of Science and Technology.
What led you to teaching:
A bad economy in 1983 sent me to graduate school after I was
unable to find a job that utilized my degree. Graduate study
became my best option. Once there, I discovered what had been
within me all along—teaching. As a graduate teaching assistant, I
was able to do what I love. During an unseasonably warm
February day in the last semester of my master’s program, I had
an epiphany as I looked into the rich blue sky: “This is where I
belong. Stay to get my Ph.D.” That significant moment revealed
to me that I had already been led directly to myself, a teacher. I
then came to Truman immediately after completing my Ph.D.
What do you like best about teaching:
The thing I love most about teaching is being an agent of the
mystery. That is, why is a teacher more effective for one student
than for another? What makes it work? There are many theories
about teaching and learning, but there are intangible elements that
are difficult to describe but fairly easy to recognize. These elements
make the difference to those we are able to touch through our
teaching. So many times “the moment” rests on the cusp of a
connection, a particular way of expressing ideas so that they get
through in a new and meaningful way. I love it when someone tells
me, “I never thought about it quite that way.” That moment is the
mystery at work.
What has been the high point of your career so far:
Being named Educator of the Year in 2008 was an incredible
moment in my career. The announcement came a little more quickly
than expected that night, and it took several seconds for it to actually
sink in. My students who were sharing the table that night were
looking right at me and exclaiming, “It’s you! It’s you!” After being at
Truman for 20 years and having eight nominations spanning across
most of those years, it was much like a lifetime achievement award.
In fact, one particular colleague, whom I admire and respect very
much, said that very thing to me. I have been deeply blessed to have
that kind of affirmation throughout my career.
6 Truman Review

What is something about you that would surprise
most people:
I have a bit of a romantic side. When I asked my wife to marry me,
I had thought a lot about how I wanted to ask her. As a gift on our
15th wedding anniversary, I wrote a song for her about that night.
A local country artist helped me, and he has recorded it on one of
his albums. A few years later, one of my students included the song
in her wedding.
You have a day off, and you are caught up on grading.
What do you do with your free day:
I have developed a couple of hobbies that people now associate
strongly with me. I enjoy tinkering on my 1950 Ford F-1
pickup truck. I bought it about six years ago, and it has been
fun and satisfying to see my work improve the truck over that
time. Also, I greatly enjoy digital photography. I am constantly
learning about the art of making, not simply taking, photographs.
It is rewarding to have a vision for a shot and be able to make it
happen. And I love the reactions I get when I deliver prints. I am
deeply indebted to Tim Barcus for his help and support.
What is the nicest thing someone has said to you:
You kept your promise.
What is your best advice to college students:
Do what you love, and you will always be rich.
What is the last thing that made you laugh:
I am blessed to laugh every day. But one that comes to mind
distinctly was a really stupid joke that I told this week to two of my
students while they talked about their classes and graduate school
searches. I know that my current and former students will have
no problem imagining that happening.
How would you describe your teaching philosophy:
In every way that I possibly can, I seek to lead my students to have a
personal encounter with statistics. Especially in my lower level courses,
I ask for a few bits of information about them that can then be used
for many of the examples and discussions that we have in class. As a
result, my course is about my class. They see that what I teach is real
and applies to their lives. As a result, I am able to lead them to create
their own images and connections that can help them understand
what I am teaching them. I intend for my students to know what I
teach them because they experience it.
If you weren’t teaching what would you be doing:
I turned down an opportunity in industry to accept my position
here at Truman. Had I survived the ups and downs of the economy
since then, I suppose I would be still working there. Otherwise, I
may have gone back to my roots on the family farm in Kentucky. I
have never regretted my choice to be here.
Online exclusive
View a sampling of James Guffey’s digital photography at
http://alumni.truman.edu/GuffeyPhotos.asp
Spring 2009 7