November 9, 2009
Anatomy of a Senate Hearing:
Patty Cahill Goes to Washington
Patty Cahill, General Manager of KCUR Radio and an Assistant Professor of Communications Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, was recently nominated as a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting [CPB]. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 7th.
This is her confirmation story.
[The story includes photographs of Cahill in Washington, her opening statement before the Senate committee and a video of her confirmation hearing.]
Faculty Matters
Featured Faculty:
Dr. Brian Geisbrecht
CV Overview and Q&A
Dr. Brian Geisbrecht, who has been at UMKC since 2004, is an associate professor at the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics.
Dr. Geisbrecht's research interests are bioinformatics and structural biochemistry of bacterial immune evasion, virulence, pathogenesis, and toxicity; applications of x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and solution scattering in structural analysis of proteins and protein-protein interactions; biochemical analysis of protein-protein interactions; biotechnology products and applications related to infectious diseases. Dr. Geisbrecht did postdoctoral research in structure/function studies of Staphylococcal virulence factor proteins, 2000-2004, in the Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Staff Matters
Featured Staff: Kristen Hellstrom
Background and Q&A
Kristen Hellstrom is Executive Staff Assistant I in UMKC’s Public Relations [PR] Department, which is part of the Chancellor’s Office. In addition to being PR’s photographer, Hellstrom is the coordinator for the articles, images and videos that appear as the rotating feature stories on the main page of the University’s Web site.
“As an assistant to the Public Relations department,” says Hellstrom, who has been at UMKC for seven and a half years, “my role is varied and challenging. One minute, I may be fielding a media call and the next, I’m off photographing something for the UMKC Web site. I also work on special projects as needed and do a variety of administrative tasks -- from the daily news clips to scheduling meetings.”
Out of the Past, Into the Future
UMKC - A History
Part 3 of 8
[Part 2 of UMKC’s History: After many false starts, Kansas Citians launched a private university, the University of Kansas City. The final impetus for its establishment came from a wealthy local philanthropist, William Volker. Although the humanities dominated UKC’s curriculum in its early history, several area professional schools merged with the university during pre-World War II years, including the Schools of Law and Pharmacy and the Western Dental College.]
UKC – The Years of World War
World War II abruptly altered the course of the university. Enrollment growth, mergers and capital improvements ceased. During the second semester of AY1941-42, enrollment dropped 22 percent as a result of students enlisting in the military after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Along with the entire nation, Kansas City and UKC geared up for war. Swinney Gymnasium became barracks for the Army Air Force, and Epperson House, at that time home of the School of Dentistry, served as the education center for the Army’s Specialized Training Unit and the Navy’s V12 program, which allowed students to finish baccalaureate degrees. Of the 900 UKC students who joined the military, 29 lost their lives by the end of the war in 1945.
Science Magazine features UMKC Professor's article
The October 9, 2009, issue of Science Magazine, a premier international journal, includes UMKC Chemistry Professor Zhonghua Peng's article, "Mapping Excited-State Dynamics by Coherent Control of a Dendrimer’s Photoemission Efficiency." For more information visit the Science Web site.
Accreditation Site Visit Complete ~ Report To Follow Soon
UMKC's HLC site visit for re-accreditation is complete (Oct. 12-14). When available, UMatters will publish the final report, which will be based on the team members' meetings with UMKC faculty, staff, students, administrators and community representatives. The report will also be published on our HLC Accreditation Web site.
To see an update of campus events and to submit your department or division events, view the university calendar.
Campus Construction
To see updates about campus construction projects and to learn more about UMKC's masterplan, click on the construction logo at the left and visit UMKC's Masterplan homepage.