Kristy Tucciarone, associate teaching professor of media studies at UMSL, was named the 2012-2013 American Advertising Federation District 9 Faculty Advisor of the Year during an event in Kansas City, Mo., on April 19. (Photo by Myra Lopez)

Kristy Tucciarone, associate teaching professor of media studies at the University of Missouri­–St. Louis, has been recognized for her student leadership efforts.

She was recently named the 2012-2013 American Advertising Federation District 9 Faculty Advisor of the Year. The category included advertising scholars from universities in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.

“It’s a big honor to have your institution recognized, and it’s nice to be acknowledged for my hard work and dedication to my students,” she said.

It was also a special moment for her students.

“All 10 of them levitated off of their seats,” Tucciarone said of the moment her name was called.

Each fall, the American Advertising Federation gives students the opportunity to take part in a case study. They have to develop a campaign for the client. This year the client was Glidden Paint. Tucciarone was given the award for her “consistent communication” and “feedback,” during the process, according to a letter from Kathleen Riessen, AAF District 9 Governor.

“It is obvious in encounters with the UMSL team that (Kristy) is leaving a positive lasting impression on them,” Riessen wrote.

In addition, she described Tucciarone as a wonderful advocate for her students and a great peer to the other professors in her district.

Tucciarone said it’s a thrill to be acknowledged not only at the local level but also at the district level.

“That’s the biggest ‘wow’ for me,” she said.

Tucciarone has been with UMSL since 1999. In addition to teaching, she serves as the advising coordinator of media studies, manages the certificate in advertising, and advises the student organization Ad Core, a student chapter of the American Advertising Federation, which is UMSL’s advertising club.

UMSL alumnus Kenny Truong, BSBA 2007, opened The Rice House two years ago in Florissant, Mo. He’s now working on opening a second location with plans to open up five more restaurants in the next five years. (Florissant Patch photo-Aja J. Junior)

Kenny Truong appears to have cooked up a successful business model with his restaurant, The Rice House. The concept came together after Truong combined the business knowledge he gained from his University of Missouri–St. Louis degree with his parents’ authentic Chinese recipes, according to a recent Florissant (Mo.) Patch article.

“I’m delivering what my mom taught me,” he told the online publication. “The recipes are the same.”

Truong earned a BSBA from UMSL in 2007. He opened The Rice House two years ago in Florissant. Its offerings include traditional Chinese food and unconventional fare like Philly cheesesteak wanton, Jamaican jerk chicken and his take on St. Paul sandwiches, a St. Louis favorite.

Now Truong’s looking to open a second Florissant location in August with hopes, he told Florissant Patch, to open five more Rice House locations in the St. Louis area over the next five years and eventually go national with the concept.

Visit the Florissant Patch website to read the full article.

(via Wikimedia Commons)

The relationship between the U.S. and China continues to thaw, as evidenced by a recent two-day summit between President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, who both vowed to usher in a “new model” of relations.

That positive step has also carried over to Missouri, where a unique cultural exchange has kicked off with the arrival of the first of two groups of Chinese students who will take part in a program designed to foster greater understanding of young people between the two countries.

The visit is a win-win for both American and Chinese youth, Joel Glassman, director of the Office of International Studies and Programs and associate professor of political science at the University of Missouri­–St. Louis, told Don Marsh, host of “St. Louis on the Air” on St. Louis Public Radio | 90.7 KWMU.

“This is a great opportunity for a group of Missouri youth to interact in an ongoing way with this cohort of young boys and girls from China in an American organized activity,” Glassman said. “In fact, we probably stand to benefit more because China has been much more aggressive about sending their young people abroad, particular to the United States to further their education and to learn about how our system works and how our economy works and how they can interact effectively and successfully.”

Listen to the interview on the St. Louis Public Radio website.

John Harner leads his charges through a trumpet master class on the second day of the weeklong UMSL Jazz Camp, which is now part of the Jim Widner Big Band Jazz Camp series. The musicians added an extra level of improvisation that day, moving class to the naturally illuminated J.C. Penney Building/Conference Center lobby due to a power outage that hit North Campus.

Widner‘s band is entering its 26th year of hosting summer jazz camps all over the country. Members of the band serve as the faculty for the camp and teach all of the classes. Harner is a former first-trumpet player of the Stan Kenton Orchestra.

The photograph was taken by UMSL photographer August Jennewein and is the latest to be featured in Eye on UMSL.

A University of Missouri–St. Louis staff member and three alumni are among the young professionals being honored in the St. Louis Business Journal’s 2013 “30 Under 30” class.

The annual list recognizes individuals in the St. Louis area for their accomplishments on the job and their efforts in the community.

The UMSL staff honoree is:

• Karl Guenther, community development specialist at the Public Policy Research Center at UMSL

Guenther, 29, joined the Public Policy Research Center in June 2011 to facilitate and staff a network of community development organizations in the St. Louis region. Guenther co-wrote the report “Creating Whole Communities,” which examined the role of nonprofits in community development.

The UMSL alumni honorees are:

• Brandon Dempsey (BA communication 2006)
• Mohit Patel (BS 2011, MA 2012, biochemistry and biotechnology)
• Alison Zeidler  (BA English 2006 )

Dempsey, 29, is partner and owner at goBRANDgo!, a St. Louis-based full-service marketing agency for entrepreneurs. After helming several companies for nearly a decade, Dempsey joined forces with goBRANDgo! President Derek Weber in 2010 to have some fun with marketing.

Patel, 25, is executive vice president at Genetix Fusion, a biotechnology company that provides superior, nontoxic transfection kits for pharmaceutical and academic researchers. He’s also a research associate in UMSL’s Center for Nanoscience.

Alison Zeidler, 28, is a project manager and analyst for the St. Louis County Economic Council. She is responsible for connecting businesses with the tools needed to grow in St. Louis County, as well as managing Foreign-Trade Zone #102 on behalf of St. Louis County Port Authority.

Visit the St. Louis Business Journal for a complete list of honorees. All 30 recipients will be honored at a cocktail reception July 18.

The June University of Missouri–St. Louis performances by the Ambassadors of Harmony will provide exactly what you’ve come to expect from the ensemble’s shows – outstanding showmanship and award-winning a capella music.

“Ambassadors of Harmony: Voices in Harmony” will begin at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. June 15 at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL.

Now celebrating 50 years of excellent music-making, the Ambassadors of Harmony are among the elite in its class.

In July of 2012, under the direction of Jim Henry, who is also the director of choral studies at UMSL, the Ambassadors of Harmony won the International Chorus Championship, held in Portland, Ore. They had previously won the championship in 2009 and 2004. In July of 2007, The Ambassadors of Harmony came very close to a gold medal in a first place tie with the Westminster Chorus at the Barbershop Harmony Society International Chorus Competition in Denver. Per the Society’s tie-breaking rules, they were awarded the second-place Silver Medal. In 2008, the chorus again took the Silver Medal at the International competition in Nashville, missing a win by three tenths of a percentage point.

The Ambassadors of Harmony Chorus won First Place in the chorus competition for the 5-state Central States District of the Barbershop Harmony Society in 15 consecutive attempts, the most recent win occurring in October 2011.

The chorus has acquired four 4th place, five 3rd place Medals in International chorus competition, as well as the 2009 and 2004 Gold and 2007 and 2008 Silver Medals.

Tickets to the concert are $24-$31 and can be purchased online at touhill.org or by calling 314-516-4949.

UMSL alumna Brighton Ranney is a 2012 Elijah Watt Sells Award recipient.

Brighton Ranney was pleasantly surprised when she found out she was a 2012 Elijah Watt Sells Award recipient. And the University of Missouri–St. Louis alumna quickly realized she had joined an elite class.

Ranney, who earned her master’s degree in accounting from UMSL in 2012, is the third UMSL alumnus to receive the award in the last five years. UMSL is one of only 10 universities in the United States to have at least three winners since 2007.

“Others who have achieved this are some of the largest accounting programs in the country, such as Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, University of Texas in Austin and University of Wisconsin in Madison,” said Mary Beth Mohrman, associate professor of accounting and chair of the Accounting Area at UMSL. “The fact that our much-smaller program has produced three winners is a newsworthy accomplishment. This level of achievement is an indication of the rigor of our accounting program. Our students are bright and hard-working, and many of them are able to achieve excellence on a national and international level.”

Nguyen Ngo, who earned her master’s degree in accounting from UMSL in 2011, received the award in 2012; and Chris Leon, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 2007, received the award in 2008. The national award is presented each year to candidates earning the cumulative highest score on the four-part Uniform Certified Public Accountants examination. More than 90,000 candidates sat for the exam in 2012.

“I think having so many awardees in recent years shows the strength of UMSL’s accounting program,” Ranney said. “I am proud to represent UMSL’s great program. While the professors are not teaching to the exam, they are teaching you all the fundamental information you have to know. One of my most difficult classes, Pamela Stuerke’s (associate professor of accounting) professional writing class taught me to use words precisely and helped prepare me for the written portion of the CPA exam. All the financial reporting classes are obviously important; all those seemingly random things you learn in accounting information systems and everything you have to memorize in auditing will appear in sections of the CPA exam.”

Ranney, a resident of Wildwood, Mo., is an associate at Tax Strategies, a part of Moneta Group in Clayton, Mo.  Tax Strategies provides specialized proactive tax planning solutions, preparation services and year-round tax advice for clients.

She began as an intern during the 2011 tax season after receiving a recommendation from Greg Geisler, professor of accounting at UMSL.

“I’m so thankful to UMSL for preparing me for my current career,” she said. “I received an offer for permanent employment during my final semester at UMSL.”

Charles Nowell, a junior majoring in art at UMSL, designed the logos used for Jubilee Brew, an Irish-style red ale created by Ferguson Brewing to celebrate the university’s 50th anniversary. (Photo by August Jennewein)

Ferguson (Mo.) Brewing Company, the closest brewery to the University of Missouri–St. Louis, wanted to do something special to celebrate UMSL’s 50th anniversary. That led to Jubilee Brew, an Irish-style red ale made to honor a half century of education and excellence at the university. It also led to learning opportunities at UMSL. 

Perhaps no one can appreciate this more than Charles Nowell, who parlayed a celebratory beer into a head start on a graphic design career.

The 24-year-old junior studio art major was one of more than 30 students from two UMSL graphic design courses to submit proposed logos to represent Jubilee Brew. Nowell’s design was selected as the winner and is now emblazoned across shaker pints, growlers, coasters and T-shirts at the brewery. If you order a Jubilee Brew at Ferguson Brewing, it’s Nowell’s specially designed tap handle the bartender pulls for your pint pour.

“The coolest part of this is actually seeing somebody purchase the shirt, glass or growler with my design on it,” said Nowell, who’s interested in pursuing a career in motion graphics, print or web design in the St. Louis area.

The Crestwood, Mo., native originally set his career sites on clothing design and applied to faraway programs like the Fashion Institute of Technology at State College of New York, Parsons the New School for Design in New York and the Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design. Costs to attend those schools kept him in St. Louis where he matriculated at a community college and another university before transferring to UMSL. Nowell said he couldn’t be happier with the graphic design program he’s enrolled in at UMSL, especially the faculty members.

“They have really high standards, which is good because it pushes you harder,” he said.

For the Jubilee Brew logo design competition, Nowell said he had a little over three weeks to create his concept. He worked his way through four or five versions with various typefaces. After scrapping each of them, he ultimately designed his own font.

Nowell is a fan of fonts used in circus posters. It’s a classic style, he said, historic but timeless and not so serious that it feels stuffy. He paid homage to that in his design.

“When you look at old Ringling Brothers posters, they still feel relevant,” he said. “Like the old Coca-Cola typeface – it’s from a specific time period, but it’s still relevant today.”

For Nowell’s Jubilee Brew logo, he tried to instill St. Louis iconography, like a fleur-de-lis as the backdrop. He pointed to green hexagons and said they were to indicate hops.

Jennifer McKnight, associate professor of art at UMSL, oversaw Nowell’s class. She, along with Bruce Sachs, adjunct assistant professor of art, and representatives from Ferguson Brewing Co. and University Marketing and Communications at UMSL, judged the competition.

“Charles’ logotype is reminiscent of old poster broadsides you might find at the World’s Fair,” McKnight said. “We liked that he didn’t rehash UMSL’s logo, but extended our campus’ energy and spirit with active type.” 

Nowell said he’s learned a lot from the project, especially in working directly with printers in order to see his design come to fruition as Ferguson breweriana. He also enjoyed the experience as a craft beer fan who’s fond of the Schlafly brand and frequents Ferguson Brewing Co.

As far as craft beer design aesthetics, he lists St. Louis’ Urban Chestnut Brewing Company and Rogue Ales in Newport, Ore., among his favorites. He also really liked the Jubilee Brew designs concocted by his fellow classmates and said many of them could have easily been chosen as the winning design over his. Nowell remains grateful for the opportunity and experience gained, as well as the additions to his portfolio.

“I know he’s learned a lot from it,” McKnight said. “The design department is also pleased to have our work serving the community we live and work in.”

Nowell and his classmates weren’t the only UMSL students to learn from the Jubilee Brew. Josh Wilson, brewmaster at Ferguson Brewing Co., discussed the science of beer and gave members of the UMSL Chemistry Club a tour of the brewery in the fall. The club president and faculty adviser, Erin Lowry and Mike Nichols, respectively, returned this spring to help Wilson brew a batch of Jubilee Brew. And communication majors wrote about the beer in the quarterly UMSL Jubilee newsletter. 

Visit the UMSL YouTube page to view a video by Alicia Hottle-Sippy of Lowry, Nichols and Wilson’s brew day at Ferguson Brewing Co.

Matthew Diamond, a senior anthropology major at UMSL, sifts through dirt looking for artifacts while excavating the former homestead of Daniel Boone Hays, grandson of the famous frontiersman Daniel Boone. (Photo by Myra Lopez)

Equipped with trowels, brushes and plenty of mosquito spray, a group of University of Missouri–St. Louis students recently worked to unearth St. Louis history.

The students, led by Patti Wright, associate professor of anthropology at UMSL, spent about two weeks excavating a cabin and out building at the former homestead of Daniel Boone Hays, grandson of the famous frontiersman Daniel Boone in rural St. Charles County near Defiance, Mo. The cabin dates back to 1812.

“It’s been really great,” said Matthew Diamond, a senior anthropology student from Lemay, Mo.

He was excited to get his first field-work course under his belt.

“I’m really glad to be out here and learning how things happen in the field,” he said. “It’s really cool to be finding something that no one has seen for so long. That’s really neat.”

The students cordoned off areas in the dirt and meticulously dug straight down 10 centimeters at a time. The dirt they collected was then sifted. Items unearthed by students included animal bones, old nails, ceramic pieces and bottles.

Last year, students excavated remains of the cabin as well as several units placed outside the main house on the property, built in 1830. The 2012 dig yielded nearly a thousand items including a $10 gold piece from 1879.

St. Charles County owns the property and plans on developing the area into a park and converting the main house into a museum. The items recovered by the students will be exhibited in the museum.

The students who took part in the dig were enrolled in ANTHRO 4100, Field Methods in Archaeology, a course offered by the anthropology program through the School of Professional & Continuing Studies at UMSL.

Hannah Perryman is a pitcher on the UMSL softball team. (Photo by Danny Reise)

Freshman pitcher Hannah Perryman of the University of Missouri–St. Louis softball team has been named a 2013 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Softball All-American. Perryman was selected to the third team and is just the fourth player in program history to be named a NCAA Division II All-American. She was also named a Third Team All-American by Daktronics, Inc.

Allyson DeFosset was the last player to earn All-American status, doing so in 2009, while Lisa Houska was tabbed to the second team in 1989 and was a first-team all-American pick in 1991. Laurie Aldy was a second-team all-American in 1987, becoming the program’s first player to earn the honor.

Perryman, who was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and earned NFCA and Daktronics, Inc., First Team All-Midwest Region honors, led NCAA Division II in strikeouts with 352. Her 12.2 strikeouts per seven innings also topped the national rankings. Additionally, Perryman ranks fifth nationally in hits per seven innings, allowing just 3.78 and is eighth with nine shutouts.

The young hurler posted a 24-6 record in the circle with a 1.55 ERA.

Perryman twice recorded a career-best 18 strikeouts in a single game this season, including once in a seven-inning 6-1 win over Drury University (Springfield, Mo.), which ties the third best total in any seven-inning game in NCAA Division II history. Her 12.3 strikeouts per seven innings this season also ranks sixth all-time in NCAA Division II history.

Perryman is a criminology and criminal justice major.