Chinese lion dancers recently entertained diners at a multicultural festival at UMSL. Sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Relations, the event attracted nearly 500 people and featured performers and food from all over the world.

Gospel choirs, an Afro-Cuban ensemble and dancing from Latin America, Hawaii and the Middle East lent a festive air May 2 to the University of Missouri–St. Louis. About 500 students, faculty, staff and community members were on hand to participate in a celebration of the many cultures found at UMSL.

“Last year we piloted this multicultural festival and were overjoyed by the positive response of appreciation expressed by everyone,” said Natissia Small, assistant dean of students at UMSL. “Again this year, the program was extremely lively and engaging with performances, music, food and vendors that brought the audience together to celebrate the rich cultures here at the university.”

The event was one of many sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Relations during the year.

“We find it key to deliver cultural enrichment opportunities that help raise awareness and appreciation of our unique differences,” Small said.

Sodexo at UMSL offered up an international lunch with Chinese pot stickers, Brazilian rice and beans, African sweet potatoes and dishes from other parts of the world.

Performers from UMSL and the community included: La Morena, Latin historical dance; Chinese lion dancers from 9 Dragon Academy; Camille Malaena and belly dancers from Egypt, Morocco and Turkey; UMSL’s Gospel Choir; Hawaiian Polynesian Revue; UMSL’s Afro-Cuban Ensemble and Mama Lisa with her West African storytelling, drumming and dance. 

UMSL Chancellor Tom George gives his annual report to the community on May 10 at America’s Center in downtown St. Louis. (Photo by August Jennewein)

The University of Missouri–St. Louis looks pretty good from where UMSL Chancellor Tom George stands. Fifty years ago, the university’s founders crammed 672 students and 32 faculty members into what was the clubhouse of the former Bellerive Country Club. Today, UMSL has nearly 17,000 students, more than 85,000 alumni and an outstanding reputation regionally and nationally. The university is also celebrating its Jubilee with events throughout 2013.

“During the last 50 years, hundreds of thousands of people helped build the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and despite the challenges and its youth, UMSL has become a most highly regarded and essential community asset,” George said May 10 at the annual Chancellor’s Report to the Community.

Nearly 800 business and community leaders, alumni, faculty, students and staff attended the annual event at America’s Center in downtown St. Louis. The CRC is a tradition that began in 1976 with Arnold Grobman, UMSL’s fourth chancellor.

Among the report’s highlights:

• The seven-year Gateway for Greatness Campaign raised a record $154 million.

• For the 10th year in a row, U.S. News & World Report ranked UMSL’s Undergraduate International Business 15th. The publication also ranked the doctoral program in criminology and criminal justice fourth.

• Forbes Magazine ranked UMSL one of “America’s Best Colleges.”

George also announced several university enrollment records:

• The university achieved its largest incoming class of new students since 1999 – nearly 2,000 transfer students and 535 freshmen.

• The average ACT score has risen to 24, a campus record.

• The Pierre Laclede Honors College now enrolls 600 students.

• Undergraduate  enrollment in the College of Nursing rose 20 percent over last year.

• The UMSL/WUSTL Joint Undergraduate Engineering Program has grown to 426 students from 326 students since 2008.

The building and renovation report included:

• The $30 million renovation of the Benton-Stadler science complex is scheduled for completion in 2015.

• The $36 million recreation and wellness center is also scheduled to open in 2015.

• Funding for the new College of Business Administration building, Anheuser-Busch Hall, has reached $15 million.

• The $20 million MODOT/East-West Gateway “Great Streets” project will transform Natural Bridge Road between Hanley and Lucas and Hunt roads into a vibrant destination site. It is scheduled for completion in December 2014.

A 2.6 MB Adobe PDF copy of the report is available to download.

Media coverage:
St. Louis Beacon

University of Missouri–St. Louis students walk along the ponds to the south of the Millennium Student Center on May 7. The temperature reached 80 degrees that afternoon.

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

On April 20, more than 150 alumni, faculty and friends attended “50 Years of Great Chemistry,” a Jubilee event celebrating the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Chemistry alumni included (from left) Joseph Bono, BS 1969; Michael Finkes, BS 1973 and MS 1978; Yanina Levchinsky-Grimmond, BS 1997 and MS 1999; Jim Grib, BS 1976 and MS 1982; and Ken Henderson, BS 1972. (Photo by Dan Younger)

Joseph Bono graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He shares many of the same memories that others have of UMSL’s early years. So, when he traveled from his home in Virginia last week to attend the reunion “50 Years of Great Chemistry,” Bono recalled the old clubhouse, classes in the laundromat and the opening of Benton Hall.

“After this visit, I realized my fondest UMSL memory is the camaraderie,” Bono said. “You were never just a number. The advanced chemistry students were all pretty tight. The faculty cared, not only about those students at the top of the class, but everyone. We all cared about each other. And that’s what we’re remembering – how much fun it was back then.”

UMSL’s Great Chemistry event was held as part of the UMSL Jubilee, a yearlong celebration of UMSL’s founding in 1963.

Bono also earned a master’s degree in political science in 1979. He recently retired from a long and distinguished career, most of it spent as a forensic scientist with the federal government. He was director of the forensic science laboratories for the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Naval Criminal Investigative Services in Washington, D.C., and the St. Louis County Police Department. He also taught in the Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

Lawrence Barton, professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry, arrived at UMSL in 1966. He served as chair of the department from 1980 to 1998 and as director of the Center for Molecular Electronics until 2006. As the unofficial historian of the department, he served as one of the organizers of the event, which attracted more than 150 people.

“It actually exceeded my expectations,” Barton said. “Alumni came from all over the country.”

With his history collection, Barton provided materials for slide shows and posters. He had a display of departmental milestones, a timeline of chemistry faculty and staff over 50 years, memorabilia and listings of alumni who had received Distinguished Alumni Awards.

For the record: From 1971 to present day, 48 major awards were presented to faculty for research and teaching, some of them multiple times. Eight chemistry alumni received Distinguished Alumni Awards, and delivered 25 Distinguished Alumni Lectures.

“I dug out lots of old stuff, things nobody else wants,” he said. “It all added to the camaraderie.”

Barton recalled the earliest days of the university when he was brought in by Charles Armbruster, the division director, to help build the science program. It was top-notch, right from the start, he said.

“Chemistry was there from the beginning, followed quickly by biology and physics,” he said. “UMSL’s first graduating class in 1967 had 10 chemistry majors, and all but one of them went on to graduate school.”

Chemistry alumni came from all over the country to celebrate – Oregon, New York, and the mountains of northern Georgia. Most alumni have remained in the St. Louis region developing careers in chemistry with companies such as Mallinckrodt, Sigma, Pfizer and Steris. Some went on to medical and dental school. Others are teaching.

Michael Finkes, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1973 and returned to get his master’s degree in chemistry in 1978, was one of those alumni. He recently retired from Monsanto after 35 years, a job he got, thanks to UMSL.

“I came back to UMSL because I needed to learn more lab skills,” Finkes said. “I worked with David Garin in chemistry doing some research, honed my skills and when I interviewed, they wanted to know all about that research.”

Finkes has remained very active with the chemistry department and has served on the executive committee of the Alumni Association for many years. Among alumni groups, chemistry stands out as a very active one. They recently developed a LinkedIn group page that numbers more than 300. Finkes says there’s a formula for their success.

“It doesn’t happen by itself,” he said. “The faculty respected us, showed a lot of interest in us and they developed that culture. And once we left, they kept up with us. It takes the existence of that culture and work of several key faculty like Lol Barton.”

The St. Louis Surge, a women’s semiprofessional basketball team, will play its home games at UMSL in 2013. (RTS Sport Photography/Insight2Incite Magazine photo-Derrick Jackson)

For the St. Louis Surge’s 2013 season, the women’s semiprofessional basketball team will call the University of Missouri–St. Louis home. The Surge will kick off its season with a home opener, taking on the Atlanta Tarheels. The game will begin at 7:05 p.m. May 4 in the Mark Twain Athletic & Fitness Center at UMSL.

Kristin Folkl, Neil Ivy and Jackie Joyner-Kersee – all pioneers in women’s sports – will be honored during half time. The honorees will receive the St. Louis Surge Power House Legend Award.

The St. Louis Surge is a member of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League, a semiprofesisonal woman’s league that consists of 50 member teams from major cities across the U.S. The team will serve as mentors and foster a culture of sportsmanship, teamwork, excellence service and community involvement. The team’s goal is to develop leaders and prepare the players for possible transition to the Women’s National Basketball Association.

“The St. Louis Surge will set the standard for women’s basketball not only at a competitive level, but as role models in the community,” said Khalia Collier, the team’s owner and general manager. “The Surge will make our mark in St. Louis and grown women’s sports in St. Louis.”

Doors for the May 4 game will open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5-$8 and can be purchased at the door. Tickets are free for children 5 and under and for those who attend in a team uniform or jersey. Season tickets are available for $49.99.

Visit the St. Louis Surge website to learn more about the team and its upcoming games.

STARS student Preethi UmaShanker works in a lab last summer with with her mentor, James Bashkin, professor of chemistry at UMSL. (Photo by August Jennewein)

It’s a dream come true for aspiring teenage scientists – the chance to work side-by-side with top scientists and gain hands-on experience within a laboratory research setting.

Academically-talented high school juniors and seniors will get an opportunity to do just that during the 2013 Students and Teachers as Research Scientists program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. This year nearly 90 high school students from the St. Louis metro area, as well as Connecticut, Florida, Illinois and even Greece will take part in the program, which will run from June 10 to July 19.

“The university is thrilled to once again open its doors to some of the brightest science students in the St. Louis area,” UMSL Chancellor Tom George said. “High school students interested in a science career get a big head start with their participation in the STARS program.”

The prestigious six-week summer science program will pair students with top research mentors from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis and the host institution UMSL. Experts from the four institutions will take on student apprentices in laboratories and direct students in research projects. Also, students will attend lectures by nationally known scientists from the St. Louis science community, learn information concerning the higher education admission process, and enjoy social events such as bowling, a movie, an ice cream social, the St. Louis Symphony and a St. Louis Cardinals game.

Elaine Krul, a lead researcher at Solae who serves as an adviser to STARS students is a big fan of the program, which she notes allows students to expand their education far beyond the classroom into the real world.

“Our country needs to cultivate these great minds, and the STARS program allows the students to experience things they did not know about at the start of the summer and come away with a sense of accomplishing something that, in the long run, will benefit humanity,” she said.

STARS is funded partially through LMI Aerospace/D3 Technologies, the Office of the Chancellor at UMSL, SLU, WUSTL and Solae.

STARS will conclude its six week program with a confirmation ceremony at 3 p.m. July 19 at the E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Theater in the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL. The event is free and open to the public.

The students for the 2013 STARS program are:

American Heritage School: Harshath Gupta
Anatolia College: Alexandra Koulousi, Maria-Angi Lalioti, Aliki Stogiannou
Centralia High School: Sruti Suresh
Chaminade College Preparatory School: Jack Yungbluth
Clayton High School: Momoko Oyama, Maxwell Sorensen, Shiori Tomatsu
Crossroads College Preparatory School: Benton Birch, Andrew Witherspoon
Eureka High School: Jessica Knobbe, Edgar Loaiza, Chester Montefering
Ft. Zumwalt East High School: Zachary Walters
Ft. Zumwalt South High School: Sathwik Katragadda, Tarun Vittal
Ft. Zumwalt West High School: Vinootna Sompalli
Francis Howell High School: Sachith Gamlath, Derek Koo, Varun Mohan
John Burroughs School: Emily Butka, Amanda Cao, Soomin Cho, Joanne Hsueh, Elizabeth Jackson, Zane Norton, Addison Ogonoski, Victoria Williams, Yueyi Zhao
Ladue Horton Watkins High School: Jacob Jacob, Sarah Jacob, Christine Yan, Yu Ze Zhu
Lafayette High School: Katherine Huang, Jeffrey Lu, Katriella Lumbantobing, Olivia Neumann, Anjana Renganathan, Kelly Storrs
Lindbergh High School: Claire Dang, Joshua Luthy
Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School: Brandon Moseley
Marquette High School: Suhas Bobba, Brian Ji, Susie Wang
Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School: Tilman Bartelsmeyer, Max Bernstein, Paul Dalton, Daniel Kaganov, John Li, Aimun Malik, Thomas Ristevski, Madison Wrobley
Missouri Academy: HaRim Kim
Notre Dame High School: Lucy Freitag
Parkway Central High School: Zhaochen Ji, Minki Kim, Greg Kosinski, Alexander Mesnier, Michael Wang, Haochen Xu
Parkway North High School: Valerie Irwin, Ellen Wang
Parkway South High School: Zhengjie Hu, Sumrah Khan
Parkway West High School: Sarah Breland, Neil Maitra, Benjamin Ratliff, Rigel Robinson
Pattonville High School: Denish Jaswal
Prospect High School: Apurva Belsare
St. Joseph’s Academy: Ashley Taylor
St. Louis Priory: Andrew Cammon, Christopher Chivetta, Matthew Kovac
St. Louis University High School: Robert Braddock
Timberland High School: Ellen Gruebbeling
Villa Duchesne High School: Katelyn Billings, Anna Coyle, Taylor Harris, Victoria Ip, Kayla Simon
Visitation Academy: Lilac Khojasteh, Jordan Small
Webster Groves High School: Darby Turner
Westminster Christian Academy: Ciarra Peters
Wilton High School: Evaline Xie

For more information contact Ken Mares at 314-516-6155 or maresk@umsl.edu.

This George Caleb Bingham 1854 print, titled “The County Election,” represents the type of art buyers will discover at the seventh annual St. Louis Mercantile Library Fine Print, Rare Book and Paper Arts Fair at UMSL. The fair will be held May 3, 4 and 5 at the J.C. Penney Building/Conference Center on UMSL’s north campus.

Organizers are expecting up to 1,000 art and rare-book collectors to pack this year’s St. Louis Mercantile Library Fine Print, Rare Book and Paper Arts Fair at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The number of dealers has increased to 25 this year and includes a fine-art gallery in Chesterfield, Mo.

“We’ve added two new dealers to the fair, in addition to welcoming back the dealers who’ve helped us build the fair these past seven years,” said Julie Dunn-Morton, curator of fine art collections at the Mercantile Library. “And we’re excited to add contemporary photography to the list of artwork being offered.”

Twenty-five local and national print and rare book dealers will display their art, books and ephemera from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 4 and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 5 in the J.C. Penney Building and Conference Center at UMSL. Admission is $5 for members and $7 for nonmembers per day and $2 for students and UMSL Alumni Association members with an ID.

An opening night benefit preview of the print fair will be held from 6 to 9 p.m., May 3. Preview tickets are $40 each or two for $70 for members; $50 each or two for $90 for nonmembers and $25 for young collectors 35 years of age and younger. The preview will offer a first look at the dealers’ booths and a benefit silent auction. The ticket price includes wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres at the party and admission all weekend.

One of the Mercantile’s returning dealers, Stevens Fine Art from Phoenix handles American and European art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries (1850-1950) and includes Depression-era art; New York urban and city subjects as well as Works Progress Administration and California impressionists. New this year are Stephen Ryan Fine Arts featuring rare art books and fine prints, and Photography Past & Present with works by contemporary American photographers.

Also returning this year will be Kiechel Fine Art, specialists in the work of Thomas Hart Benton; Anthony Garnett with his antiquarian, first-edition and international book titles; New York’s Susan Teller Gallery featuring American art of the 1930s and 40s, especially industrial realism and modernism; and Judith Haudrich Antique Prints specializing in 17th–19th century botanical and historical subjects.

Three local artists will be on hand on May 5 to offer lively demonstrations: The Firecracker Press, a graphic design and letterpress print shop; water colorist Daven Anderson; and Joanne Kluba from Paper Birds, book design, binding and artwork.

Proceeds from the preview and fair will benefit the Mercantile Library collections acquisition and conservation funds. Visit the print fair website or call 314-516-6740 for more information.

The St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri–St. Louis is the oldest cultural institution in Missouri and the oldest library in continuous existence west of the Mississippi River. Founded by philanthropic businessmen in the 1840s as a subscription library, the Mercantile is a library of American history and culture whose collections include manuscripts, books, maps and art. It contains the largest research collection in North America on railroad history and inland waterways heritage, as well as one of the largest collections of rare and documentary photographs, historic newspapers and archives in the state of Missouri. 

Read more about the print fair in The Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer.

A delegation of higher education officials from Zimbabwe visited UMSL on April 18 to learn about higher ed in the U.S. The trip coincided with Zimbabwe’s independence day from the United Kingdom, which prompted Joshua Chandauka, dean of students at Harare Institute of Technology, to enthusiastically wave around a small Zimbabwe flag to the amusement of his colleagues. (Photo by August Jennewein)

A delegation of higher education officials from Zimbabwe visited the University of Missouri–St. Louis on April 18 to learn about higher ed in the U.S.

The nine participants were shown around campus by David West, assistant director of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at UMSL. They were given a tour of UMSL’s various student services such as student life, career services, financial aid and study abroad. The group visited a handful of universities across the U.S. including several here in the St. Louis area.

The participants will take the knowledge they acquired back to Zimbabwe to share with their universities.

The visit coincided with Zimbawe’s independence day from the United Kingdom, which promoted a member of the group, Joshua Chandauka, dean of students at Harare Institute of Technology, to enthusiastically wave around a small Zimbabwe flag he pulled from his jacket pocket. The move brought smiles and laughter to his traveling companions.

The group was invited to the U.S by the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Their program was arranged by Graduate School USA.

Students, faculty, staff and other volunteers stayed busy for 12 hours at this year’s Relay for Life at UMSL April 12 and 13. Cold weather moved the event indoors to the Mark Twain Athletic and Fitness Center. Groups of participants walked relays for 12 hours to raise more than $17,000 for the American Cancer Society.

More than 350 people on 33 teams raised more than $17,000 to fight cancer last Friday at Relay for Life at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

“It all went very smooth and we actually made it to 6 a.m.,” said Brandi Greishaber, a senior majoring in business at UMSL.

As president of UMSL’s chapter of Colleges Against Cancer, Grieshaber was in charge of making sure people stayed awake and raised money from 6 p.m. April 12 to 6 a.m. April 13.

With super heroes as their theme, this year’s UMSL relayers for life donned capes and masks to symbolize their efforts to “fight back, fight the disease,” Grieshaber said.

The group honored cancer survivors with a special dinner in their honor and lit luminaria candles in memory or honor of a friend or loved one affected by cancer. Food was provided by the Department of Athletics and disc jockeys from The U student radio station provided the music.

Among some of the more enthusiastic participants to the Relay for Life was UMSL Chancellor Tom George. He welcomed everyone at the beginning of the event and then returned hours later to be taped to the wall.

According to Grieshaber, a dollar donation got you one piece of duct tape to stick the chancellor to the wall. Lots of dollar bills and duct tape later, there was enough tape to hold him to the wall momentarily. Not to worry, Grieshaber said, he was only about an inch off the floor.

The UMSL group was part of a global effort of more than four million people in over 20 countries. Money raised during Relay for Life goes to the American Cancer Society and the fight against cancer.

(Photo by Danny Reise)

Neon Trees (pictured), an alternative rock band from Provo, Utah, and Grouplove a Los Angeles-based indie band attracted nearly 900 fans April 17 to the annual Mirthday concert at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The concert was held in the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. The Capital Kings, a Washington, D.C., Christian pop band, opened for the headliners.

Abby Wood, a junior majoring in business administration at UMSL and a country music fan, said she attended the concert with friends.

“They listen to alternative rock, so I listened to their music recently, and I decided to go,” Wood said. “The concert was fun, and I had a really good time.”

Visit the Riverfront Times website to see more photos from the concert.