
The Crow’s Nest — December 6, 2022
Former 海角乱伦社区 President Byers-Pevitts Passes Away
Beverley Byers-Pevitts, Ph.D., who served as 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 14th (and first female) president from 2001-09, passed away in Sarasota, Fla., on Nov. 4.
During her tenure at Park, Byers-Pevitts enhanced initiatives that secured the University greater visibility in local, national and international circles. She helped develop education study exchange agreements on four continents and worked to expand relationships with government and military constituencies important to Park鈥檚 future. Byers-Pevitts also extended Park鈥檚 participation with the armed services through the development of the Park Global Warrior Center. She also helped establish the University鈥檚 (currently celebrating its 20th anniversary) and the International Center for Civic Engagement. Read more about Byers-Pevitts, her legacy and an obituary provided by her family at park.edu/news/byers-pevitts.
Kansas City Area Commencement Will Move to New Location
海角乱伦社区, which earlier this year announced it would move from holding two Kansas City area commencement ceremonies to a single event, revealed on
Nov. 10 that the May 6, 2023, ceremony will take place at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Mo. The home to the Kansas City Comets and Kansas City Mavericks (both teams that the University has partnerships), will provided graduates and other attendees a modern venue with great lighting and sight lines. Located at the southeast corner of I-70 and I-470, the new location will provide a designated student parking area and wide selection of nearby restaurants for post-commencement celebrations. .
Park ICM Graduate Students Place at International Piano Competitions
Sergey Belyavsky and Michael Davidman, graduate students in 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 seeking , recently placed in separate international piano competitions.
Belyavsky won the second prize at the Concours de Gen猫ve International Music Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, on Nov. 3. Belyavsky, who (his performance begins approximately 2:21:20 into the video), won 12,000 Swiss francs (just more than $11,800). In addition, he was named the winner of five special prizes, garnering 15,500 Swiss francs (just more than $15,000), including:
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ Audience Prize, awarded by the spectators of the final rounds.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ Students鈥 Prize, awarded by music students at the University of Geneva.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ Rose-Marie Huguenin Prize, awarded to all four finalists to contribute toward the realization of artistic projects.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ Paderewski Prize, awarded to the pianist who demonstrates particularly expressive playing in a romantic tradition. The prize also comes with the opportunity to perform two concerts in Poland and Switzerland.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ Steinway Prizewinner Concerts Prize, which provides the opportunity to perform
several concerts within the Steinway network.
Davidman placed third at the Long-Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris on Nov. 13. Davidman, who performed Pyotr Tchaikovsky鈥檚 鈥淐oncerto No. 1鈥 with the Republican Guard Orchestra in the finals, won 12,000 Euros (approximately $12,375).
Park Student-Athletes Earn Conference Honors
海角乱伦社区 Parkville (Mo.) Campus senior outside hitter Malaina Hensley was named as the . In addition, sophomore setter Jullia Alvarez was named the HAAC Setter of the Year. Hensley and Alvarez were joined as all-conference first team honorees by teammate Debora Bernardi, sophomore opposite hitter.
海角乱伦社区 鈥 Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus junior outside hitter Amanda Jonovich was selected as the , while Caleb Christner, a freshman forward, was named as the .
Seniors to Exhibit Art in Campanella Gallery

A pair of 海角乱伦社区 seniors are exhibiting their works of art as part of an art exhibit in the University鈥檚 Campanella Gallery (located inside Norrington Center on the flagship Parkville [Mo.] Campus) through Wednesday, Dec. 21. The art of Pamella Guillaume, senior fine art major, and Riley Peak, senior fine art and graphic design major, will be featured. Guillaume will be exhibiting mixed media paintings of various musical artists, while Peak will be showing a combination of digital prints and traditional paintings of buildings and cityscapes. A reception for the artists will be held on Friday, Dec. 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Gallery. The Campanella Gallery is open during Norrington Center鈥檚 regular hours.
Judges Needed for Speech and Debate Tournament
海角乱伦社区 students, faculty and staff are invited to be volunteer judges for a Next Gen Speech and Debate Tournament that will be held on the University鈥檚 flagship Parkville (Mo.) Campus, Thursday, Jan. 5, through Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The event, sponsored by Park鈥檚 Speech and Debate team, will feature elementary through high school students competing over three days giving a variety of speeches and debating on resolutions including 鈥淐riminal justice ought to prioritize rehabilitation over retribution, restitution or deterrence,鈥 鈥淭he U.S. federal government should substantially reform its policy toward one or more countries in Europe,鈥 and 鈥淏ooks are better than movies.鈥
Judges are needed for one or more time commitments of 2陆 hours each, which includes training and complimentary refreshments/meals. Community service hours and extra credit for classes are also possible. Start times for rounds begin between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Thursday; between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Friday; and between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. For more information or to sign up for time slots, visit . Questions? Contact Janine Wilkins at janine.wilkins@park.edu.
Faculty, Staff, Student News

A trio of faculty from 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 College of Management were among panelists at the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs鈥 Region 5 Conference in Springfield, Mo., Nov. 3-4. Alla Adams, Ph.D., associate professor of healthcare administration, and Robert Kao, associate professor of economics, were panelists on the session 鈥淐elebrating Collaborative Alliances 鈥 Stronger Together, and James Baird, Ph.D., adjunct instructor of healthcare administration, was a panelist on the session 鈥淐onfessions of Adjunct Faculty: Challenges, Opportunities and Secrets of Happy Adjunct.鈥 Adams is chair of the region and Kao is the region secretary.
Brad Kleindl, Ph.D., professor of marketing, co-authored textbooks and teaching materials for Saudi Arabian high school courses. A book he co-authored, Principles of Business (9th edition) was used as a basis for two Introduction to Business textbooks for the students. In addition, Kleindl authored a chapter on 鈥淪ocial Responsibility of Business鈥 for the second semester textbook; he also co-authored a Business Finance textbook and the teachers鈥 manual for the textbooks.
Camille Abdel-Jawad, assistant professor of library instruction and outreach, presented a session on 鈥淐apitalizing on Your Students鈥 Talents for the Betterment of Your Library: Creating a Student Internship鈥 at the Brick and Click academic library conference in Maryville, Mo., on Nov. 4. The presentation detailed research on effective work-based learning experiences for students and how Abdel-Jawad leveraged this to create additional support for the 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 鈥檚 social media marketing and communications.
Kristen Whiteley, assistant professor of accounting, was a panelist at the Missouri Association of Accounting Educators Conference on Nov. 4 in Osage Beach, Mo. Whiteley presented an accounting educator panel discussion on 鈥淎lternatives to PowerPoint for Class Lectures.鈥
海角乱伦社区鈥檚 speech and debate team competed at the I-65 Swing tournament in Sedalia, Mo., Nov. 11-12. Martin Roberson, freshman history major, won first place in the novice international public debate category.
Park in the News
Matt Harris, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for related to big midterm election races and constitutional amendment questions in Kansas and Missouri.
Harris was also interviewed by KMBZ-FM in Kansas City on Nov. 3 related to voting in Kansas to retain the state鈥檚 Supreme Court justices.
On Nov. 9, Harris appeared on KCTV in Kansas City for live interview segments to discuss election results in Kansas and Missouri, as well as some races of national interest. In addition, he related to the election results in Missouri (starts at approximately 31:00).
海角乱伦社区 graduate student Ilya Shmukler, piano, and Ilkhom Mukhiddinov, junior music performance/viola major, in advance of their appearance with the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra鈥檚 concert on Nov. 4.
Behzod Abduraimov, artist-in-residence, was in advance of his performance with the Kansas City Symphony Nov. 25-27.
Shawn Moore, 鈥18, MSW 鈥20, was as part of the station鈥檚 Community Days initiative. Moore, founder and executive director of Caregivers on the Homefront, discussed supporting the mental health of veterans and their caregivers.
Jimmie Keller, 鈥79, authored a look back at his military service and support to the White House in a .
Jeff Fore, director of athletics and head coach at 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus, appeared on the 鈥淩oc and Manuch with Jimmy B.鈥 show on Nov. 11 on KGME-AM in Phoenix (starts approximately 1:10:20).
Zach Sellers, 鈥14, who serves as the director of KesherKC pantry operations with Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City, to discuss how inflation and supply chain issues are impacting food pantries.
海角乱伦社区 was highlighted in stories that aired on KSHB-TV in Kansas City on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 related to esports making an impact in the region. Mia McCoy, student-athlete, was , while McCoy, Adam Farm, head coach, and Mia鈥檚 mother, Monica McCoy, 鈥20, were all interviewed for a Nov. 18 story.
Bob Kendrick, 鈥85, was the honoree to . KMBC-TV aired the event. Kendrick is the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
Janie Kluempers, assistant athletic trainer for 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 flagship , who served as the assistant athletic trainer for the USA Women鈥檚 Eagles Rugby team during the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, .
Nada Meawad, 鈥21, was the . Meawad was a three-time NAIA Player of the Year and a five-time first team All-American for 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Parkville (Mo.) Campus team.
Stories focused on the 海角乱伦社区 Parkville (Mo.) Campus team as they headed to the NAIA national tournament aired on KMBC-TV/KCWE-TV in Kansas City on Nov. 27 and Nov. 28.
Edna Martinson, 鈥12, was . Martinson, who was recipient of the 海角乱伦社区 Alumni Association鈥檚 Park Promising Young Professional Award in 2021, started Boddle Learning, an education technology organization with a mission to help kids grow their love for learning so that they can build a brighter future, in 2018 with her husband. Forbes evaluated more than 12,000 candidates on factors including funding, revenue, social impact, inventiveness and potential. The publication said that the 600 who made the cut (30 individuals in 20 categories) are both an inspiration and a challenge to conventional wisdom, and that they provide plenty of reason to believe that tomorrow will be brighter than today.
A discussion event hosted by 海角乱伦社区 on 鈥淭he United States and Iran: A Rivalry Decades in the Making鈥 on . Jack MacLennan, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for the story.
Adrian James, Ph.D., associate dean of 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 College of Management and associate professor of management, was . James lived in Qatar for four years as the country was making preparations to host this year鈥檚 FIFA World Cup.
James also to talk about her experiences in Qatar.
Upcoming Events
(All events are Central time and on the flagship Parkville [Mo.] Campus unless noted)
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ Through December 21 鈥 Senior Art Exhibit (Pamella Guillaume and Riley Peak), Campanella Gallery (Norrington Center) (Reception: December 9, 2-4 p.m.)
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ December 9 鈥 Ellen Finley Earhart Department of Nursing Pinning Ceremony, 1 p.m., Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ December 11 鈥 Fall II Term / Fall Semester Ends
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ December 23-26 鈥 Christmas Holiday Observed (all University offices closed nationwide)
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ January 2 鈥 New Year鈥檚 Day Holiday Observed (all University offices closed nationwide)
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ January 9 鈥 Spring Semester / Spring I Term Begins
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ January 16 鈥 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday (all University offices closed nationwide; Parkville [Mo.] and Gilbert [Ariz.] daytime classes canceled; Spring I classes held as scheduled)
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙ January 19 鈥 Concert: ICM Strings Studios, 7:30 p.m., 1900 Building, Mission Woods, Kan.
To view a comprehensive schedule for all events, including athletics and student life, visit park.edu/calendars/park-events-calendar.
Former 海角乱伦社区 President Byers-Pevitts Passes Away
Kansas City Area Commencement Will Move to New Location