The Crow’s Nest — June 4, 2021
Meawad Named NAIA Women鈥檚 Volleyball Player of the Year
For the second time in her career, 海角乱伦社区 Parkville Campus outside hitter Nada Meawad was selected as the 2020 NAIA Women鈥檚 Volleyball Player of the Year and the 2020 American Volleyball Coaches Association NAIA Player of the Year. The NAIA made the announcement on May 4, while the . Meawad, a senior who was also the NAIA Player of the Year for the 2018 season, recorded 390 kills during the 2020-21 season and led the nation averaging 5.57 kills per set this year. She was selected to the NAIA Women鈥檚 Volleyball first team all four years as a member of the Pirates. In addition, Meawad鈥檚 twin sister, Noura, a senior right-side hitter, was selected as an honorable mention NAIA All-America selection, while senior setter Amanda Mendes was named to the NAIA All-America second team. Read more at .
In addition, Parkville Campus players Luciano Bucci, a junior setter, and Felipe Guirau, a junior outside hitter, were both named to the NAIA Men鈥檚 Volleyball All-America second team. Read more at .
Broberg is Finalist in American Pianists Awards Competition
Kenny Broberg, a graduate student in 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 and one of the most highly decorated pianists in the world under the age of 30, is one of five finalists in the upcoming American Pianists Association鈥檚 . The event was originally slated to be a unique 13-month long competition held between March 2020 and April 2021 with a series of concerts, but the coronavirus pandemic forced organizers to change plans. The revised event began Sunday, May 23, with five weeks of recorded solo recitals streamed on the APA鈥檚 website, Facebook and YouTube. Broberg鈥檚 on Sunday, June 20, at 2:30 p.m. The finals are slated to be held in Indianapolis, Friday-Sunday, June 25-27. Read more at park.edu/news/broberg-american-pianists-awards-finalist and for links to the final performances.
海角乱伦社区 Again Offers Early College Online Program for High School Students
High school students can get a head start on earning college credits by enrolling in 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Early College Online program. The program, in its second year, begins on Monday, June 7, in conjunction with Park鈥檚 eight-week Summer term. High school students who will complete their sophomore or junior year this spring and have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher are eligible to participate, earning college credit at a fraction of the University鈥檚 regular tuition rate and within a shorter timeframe than through dual-credit or Advanced Placement coursework. Students earn college credit and learn how to effectively participate in college courses online 鈥� an increasingly important skill to possess.
Park Holds Virtual All University Commencement
海角乱伦社区 held the May 2021 All University Commencement Ceremony virtually on May 8. Vince Clark, vice-chair of Park鈥檚 Board of Trustees and vice president of business development and chief corporate affairs officer at Creative Planning LLC, an independent financial advisory firm in Overland Park, Kan., presented the keynote address. The ceremony can be viewed at .
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� PDF version of the commencement program
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NOTE: The program only includes the names of graduates who selected to participate in the virtual commencement program.
Faculty, Staff, Student News
Steve Youngblood, director of 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Center for Global Peace Journalism and associate professor of communication arts, was presented with the Luxembourg Peace Prize for Outstanding Peace Journalism by the Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum on May 28 during an event held virtually. Youngblood was to have received the award last May, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event last year was cancelled. View the announcement from last May. View (approximately 4:15:30 into the video) and his question-and-answer session on peace journalism (approximately 5:02:35 into the video).
Katie Ervin, Ed.D., associate vice president of strategic alliances, was accepted into the Forbes Human Resources Council, an organization for senior HR executives and leaders. Criteria for the FHRC include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.
Three members of the 海角乱伦社区 community presented at the Kansas City Professional Development Council鈥檚 Professional Development Conference, held virtually on May 12. Tony Marolt, a member of Park’s Civic Advisory Council, was the keynote speaker and discussed leadership techniques and lessons from his book, The Leadership Quotient. Jillian Wenberg. Ph.D., instructional designer, presented a session on 鈥淩etrain Your Brain: Use of Mindfulness Tools for Improved Health.鈥� Roger Dusing, Ph.D., chief human resources officer, presented a session on 鈥淏usiness as Unusual.鈥�
Jack MacLennan, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, co-authored the article that was recently published in the Special Operations Journal. The article proposes the idea that scholars looking to study special operations should extend their focus beyond the mainstream Anglo-American lens.
Nikki Pauls DeSimone, visiting assistant professor of social work, was a panelist for a virtual 鈥淐ommunity Conversation: Multigenerational Perspectives鈥� on May 18 as part of the University of Kansas Medical Center鈥檚 Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month series of events. The spoke about amplifying voices within the community to build stronger advocacy and allyship systems in the fight for racial equity and liberation.
Park in the News
Natasha Tolentino, 鈥�12, was . She is the lead program manager for Agility Prime, within the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center鈥檚 Mobility and Training Aircraft Directorate.
A story about Rob Harrington, recent Master of Public Administration program graduate, being appointed as the Bourbon County (Kan.) economic development director, .
Nicole Tinker, 鈥�11, was the focus of a and on May 6. Tinker, a Texas National Guard soldier, has claimed that she was sexually harassed by a superior, but the military is dismissing her claims.
Kendra Snowden, 鈥�16, was . Snowden, who followed in her mother鈥檚 footsteps, is in her third year in the Tulare County (Calif.) Sheriff鈥檚 Office youth development unit.
Interim President Shane Smeed provided comments for a story related to Kansas City area colleges grappling with the politics of COVID-19 vaccine requirements that .
海角乱伦社区 was related to Kansas City鈥檚 surprising connection to Japanese internment camps during World War II. Tim Westcott, Ph.D., associate professor of history and associate university archivist, provided comments about Park鈥檚 Nisei students.
A highlighted the strong ties that are developing between 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus and the Maricopa High School track and field programs.
Rebecca Hermosillo, 鈥�19, was . Hermosillo is the senior district director for California 5th District Rep. Mike Thompson.
A story about Ben Foshee signing a letter-of-intent to play for 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Parkville Campus .
Marcus Gladdis, MBA 鈥�11, MHA 鈥�18, and the recipient of 海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Promising Young Professional Award in 2019, was honored by the Kansas City Royals at start of the third inning of the May 19 game by sitting in the Buck O鈥橬eil Legacy Seat. The honor was televised on Bally Sports Kansas City.
海角乱伦社区鈥檚 project being conducted by staff in the , was featured on . Tim Westcott, Ph.D., associate professor of history and director of the Robb Centre, and Ashlyn Weber, associate director of the Robb Centre, were interviewed for the story.
The 海角乱伦社区 Parkville (Mo.) Campus team was as the squad prepared to play in the NAIA national championship tournament May 25-28 in Oklahoma City. Head coach Martha Linscott and players Kayla Kimbley, Keirceten Nelson and Laetitia Solombrino were interviewed for the story.
海角乱伦社区鈥檚 Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus was highlighted in a story that appeared in the Gilbert Community Impact on May 20. The story was related to how area colleges fared in enrollment during the coronavirus pandemic. Sue Wilcox, Gilbert Campus vice president, and Ben Zibers, Gilbert Campus associate vice president, were interviewed for the story.
Greg Plumb, J.D., professor of criminal justice administration, was interviewed for stories that aired on KCTV in Kansas City on and . The first story was related to the Kansas City, Mo., City Council taking partial control of the Kansas City Police Department budget; the second story was related to how the community engagement funds would be spent.
Plumb was also interviewed for a , providing comments on breaking down a lawsuit by the Kansas City (Mo.) Board of Police Commissioners to get back control of a portion of the Kansas City Police Department budget.
Matt Harris, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for stories that aired on KMBZ-FM in Kansas City and KMOX-AM in St. Louis on May 26 related to Missouri residents voting on a raise in the state gas tax.
Shawn Dulohery, 鈥�88, was (Kansas City) 鈥�100 Days of Kansas City-area Olympians鈥� on May 31. Dulohery competed in men鈥檚 skeet shooting at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, narrowly missing a medal.
Terry Lovelace, 鈥�79, was in late May related to an extraterrestrial experience he disclosed in a book, Incident at Devil鈥檚 Den.
海角乱伦社区 received the following rankings in recent weeks:
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� Intelligent.com ranked Park on the following lists:
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽o聽 Best Online Master鈥檚 in Reading and Literacy Degree Programs, ranked No. 3, and listed as having the best Master of Education degree.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽o聽 Best Online MBA in Information Technology Degree Programs, ranked No. 18, and listed as having the best blended program.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽o聽 Best Online Construction Management Degree Programs, ranked No. 37, and listed as having the most diverse curriculums.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� StartSkool.com ranked Park No. 27 on its 鈥淭op 30 Cheapest Out-of-State Tuition Universities鈥� list.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� UniversityHQ.org ranked Park No. 71 on its 鈥淭op 100 Hybrid Online MBA School Programs list.
Upcoming Events
(All events are Central time)
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� Through June 3-30 鈥� Senior Art Students Art Exhibit 鈥� Session Two, Campanella Gallery
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� June 7 鈥� Junemester / Summer Session Begin
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� July 4 鈥� Junemester Ends
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� July 5 鈥� Julymester Begins
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� July 5 鈥� 4th of July Holiday Observed (all University offices closed nationwide; Julymester classes held as scheduled)
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� August 1 鈥� Summer Session / Julymester Ends
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥⒙� August 16 鈥� Fall Semester / Fall I Classes Begin
To view a comprehensive schedule for all events, including athletics and student life, visit park.edu/calendars/park-events-calendar.