April 18, 2025–大象传媒 will host its annual Applied Learning Showcase on April 25 and 26 in various locations across campus and in St. Joseph.

The showcase highlights the opportunities 大象传媒 Western students have to learn outside the classroom, celebrating the University鈥檚 statewide mission of applied learning. All events are free and open to the public.

Friday, April 25

• Multi-Disciplinary Research Day, 10:30 a.m. to noon, Fulkerson Center. Students from various disciplines across campus will present their research, collaborations, internships and study abroad experiences. Many of the presentations will include hands-on demonstrations of their work.
• Biology Research Symposium, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Spratt Hall Atrium. Faculty and student researchers will present the results of their projects.
• School of Fine Arts Senior Exhibition, 2 to 3 p.m., Drew Brown Art Gallery in Potter Hall. Senior projects from students in art and journalism programs will be on display from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with students available for questions from 2 to 3 p.m.
• Griffon Esports Arena Open House, 3 to 4 p.m., Blum Union. Esports helps young players build teamwork, leadership and problem-solving skills while engaging in a fun and competitive environment.
• Tenth annual Griffon Film Festival, Day 1, doors open at 6 p.m., program begins at 7 p.m., Trail Theatre, 119 N. 9th Street. Senior cinema students will present their thesis films. After the films there will be an awards ceremony and Q&A session with the filmmakers.

Saturday, April 26

• Tenth annual Griffon Film Festival, Day 2, doors open at 6 p.m., program begins at 7 p.m., Trail Theatre, 119 N. 9th Street. Cinema, animation and journalism students will present film and documentary projects.

At 大象传媒 Western, applied learning refers to any activity in which students use course content, models, theories or skills in real-world or hands-on settings to support career readiness. This includes field trips, field work, internships, leadership, mentored research, performances, clinical practica, service-learning, student teaching and more.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

Feb. 28, 2025–Six more partners have invested in Saint Joseph and its skilled workforce through their support of 大象传媒鈥檚 new Houlne Center for Convergent Technology.

鈥淭he Houlne Center鈥檚 goal is to strengthen the region鈥檚 skilled workforce, and it will take people, programs, and places to make that happen,鈥� said Marc Archambault, vice president of advancement and executive director of the foundation. 鈥淭aken together, these additional gifts cover each of those core areas, supporting the Center鈥檚 general fund, additional facility expansion, instructional excellence and student scholarships.鈥�

Nestle-Purina

A space near the Houlne Center鈥檚 front entrance has been named the Nestle-Purina Gathering Space in recognition of the company鈥檚 six-figure contribution to the project. The Nestle-Purina Gathering Space will be a starting point for tours for K-12 schools, economic development leaders, prospective college students, elected officials and employees of local companies participating in workforce training or mentoring students about future careers in industry or cybersecurity.

Bradley Family

Across the atrium from the Nestle-Purina Gathering Space, the Bradley Family Conference Room honors the generous support of St. Joseph鈥檚 Bradley family. Equipped with videoconferencing capabilities, the space will enable faculty-led student groups to interact virtually with and learn from manufacturing leaders throughout the region, the nation, or even the world. The Conference Room will also host delegations aimed at attracting new industries to the Saint Joseph region.

Thevenot Family

Through a gift-in-kind contribution from the Thevenot family, now operating as TEAM MIRACLE via its local, client-facing business, Veritas Systems Construction, the Center complex will expand with the addition of a 10,000-square-foot equipment storage facility adjacent to the main building. The new structure will be named the Thevenot Family Building in honor of original co-founders Martial Thevenot and his father Edouard Thevenot. The storage facility will initially serve as a space to house industrial vehicles, raw materials for the labs, and larger equipment when not in use. Utilities will be run to the building in the event that one day it might be converted into another industry teaching lab.

Beavers Charitable Trust

The Beavers Charitable Trust, a heavy civil engineering industry organization, has provided funds to establish a Professor of Practice in Construction Engineering Technology at 大象传媒 Western. 大象传媒 Western becomes only the second institution in the state, and one of only a few in the nation, to hold a Beavers professorship. Tiffany Davis will be the first faculty member to hold the new professorship. Professors of practice are specialized faculty members who are seasoned practitioners from business or industry able to draw extensively upon real-world experience. The new Professorship will help ensure the Houlne Center can deliver exceptional instruction in construction engineering technology, including offering students unique, real-world learning experiences like job-site or company field trips or the chance to compete against other college students in regional or national skills challenges.

Anonymous Donor

An anonymous donor has committed $100,000 per year for five years to provide scholarships for any students taking their lab classes in engineering technology or cybersecurity in the Center.

Pete and Paul Gray

Brothers Pete and Paul Gray each contributed $100,000 to establish the Joe Gray Memorial Scholarship for manufacturing students.

All told, nearly 30 partners have so far contributed over $7.2 million in private funding to make the Houlne Center a reality, including $6 million in general support, $500,000 for industry-experienced faculty support, and $700,000 for scholarships for students pursing Engineering Technology or Cybersecurity.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

Feb. 21, 2025–大象传媒 will host the 17th annual Conference on Applied Learning in Higher Education (CALHE) on MWSU鈥檚 campus March 6-7.

The Griffon Office of Applied Learning (GOAL) holds this national conference to highlight student work in hands-on applications and discuss new trends in both teaching and learning.

The 2025 conference theme focuses on assessment tools, strategies and outcomes in applied learning. Participants are invited to share their approaches, successes and lessons learned in their assessment of applied learning.

Keynote speaker, Patrick M. Green, is the Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship (CELTS) and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Loyola University Chicago. He teaches experiential learning courses, including community-based learning, academic internships, global service-learning and undergraduate research, as well as graduate courses in the Higher Education Program. Green believes that applied learning offers students an opportunity to engage more deeply in a topic of study and that reflection strategies enhance such learning.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

Students present their project at the 2023 Applied Learning Showcase.

April 25, 2024–大象传媒 will celebrate its statewide mission of applied learning by hosting the annual Applied Learning Showcase on Friday, April 26.

The Applied Learning Showcase features a series of events highlighting the opportunities 大象传媒 Western students have to learn outside of the classroom.

Public events include:

• Faculty Summer Fellowship Poster Session, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Spratt Hall Atrium. The MWSU Foundation awarded several faculty members grants to support summer research projects to enhance student growth and faculty professional development. Faculty and student researchers will present the results of their projects.
• From Production to Promotion: Media, Film, and Design, 10:30-noon, Spratt Hall Atrium. Students present the results of their applied learning experiences in the areas of media, film and design.
• Multi-Disciplinary Research Day, noon-1:30 p.m., Fulkerson Center. Students from various disciplines across campus will present their research, collaborations, internships and study abroad experiences. Many of the presentations will include hands-on demonstrations of their work.
• Griffon Film Festival, 7-9 p.m., Trail Theatre, 119 N. 9th Street. Senior Cinema students will be presenting their thesis films. After the films there will be an awards ceremony and Q&A session with the filmmakers.

At 大象传媒 Western, applied learning refers to any activity in which students use course content, models, theories or skills in real-world or hands-on settings to support career readiness. This includes field trips, field work, internships, leadership, mentored research, performances, clinical practica, service-learning, student teaching and more.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

Feb. 23, 2024–大象传媒 Western will host the 16th annual Conference on Applied Learning in Higher Education (CAHLE) on March 7-8, 2024.

The Griffon Office of Applied Learning (GOAL) holds this national conference to highlight the current trends in applied learning, activities in which students use course content, models, theories and skills in real-world or hands-on settings to support career readiness.

Dr. Michael Ducey, director of the Griffon Office of Applied Learning, said applied learning is valuable for a number of reasons.

鈥淔or students, it takes the book learning and puts it into practice,鈥� Dr. Ducey said.

The theme for this year鈥檚 conference is barriers to engagement in applied learning and strategies to overcome them. Dr. Ducey hopes that educators will learn how to recognize what barriers exist for student engagement and what strategies educators can use to help reduce or eliminate those barriers.

鈥淚t is valuable for [faculty] to connect with one another and talk about our approaches to engaging students in applied learning,鈥� Dr. Ducey said.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Matt Wolfgram, Associate Researcher and Principal Investigator at the University of Wisconsin, Center for Education Research. Dr. Wolfram鈥檚 research employs ethnography, participatory action research and other qualitative research methods to study factors that impact the educational experiences of minority college students.

On March 7, attendees can browse poster sessions featuring researchers from universities in 大象传媒 and Oklahoma. March 8 will feature oral presentations by researchers from six different universities.

The conference will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, in the Fulkerson Center, and will continue until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 8. The conference cost is $75 for non-MWSU attendees. MWSU faculty and staff should contact the GOAL office for a discount code. CALHE is free for MWSU students. For registration and lodging information, visit the CALHE web page at /appliedlearning/calhe/. There is no deadline for registration.

News release written by Patty Lashbrook, sophomore convergent journalism and public relations major.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

Professor of Philosophy Dr. Jim Okapal will present 鈥�Enhancement and Alienation in ‘Flowers for Algernon鈥欌�� on March 1 at noon in Popplewell 207.

Associate Professor of Cinema Toby Lawrence will present 鈥淛ohn Cassavetes: Independent Cinema under the Influence鈥� on March 29 at 12:30 p.m. in Spratt 205.

Pop Culture Club is an event series sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts, featuring faculty and staff from several disciplines across campus. Organizer Dr. Susan Martens said the events are valuable to everyone.

鈥淲e have literature, we have film, we have all kinds of things,鈥� Dr. Martens said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 fun.鈥�

Following a short lecture about pop culture, attendees have time to talk in small groups. They talk about what they are watching, listening to and playing. Then there is question-and-answer time.

Two additional events will take place later in the semester in conjunction with a new partnership with the Rolling Hills Public Library.

News release written by Patty Lashbrook, sophomore convergent journalism and public relations major.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

This psychology poster was part of the Fall 2021 Multidisciplinary Research Day.

Nov. 30, 2022–More than 180 大象传媒 students will display their work during the Fall 2022 Multidisciplinary Research Day from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2 on the second floor of Blum Student Union. The event is free and open to the public.

Since 1996, 大象传媒 Western has offered all students who have completed research projects (literature reviews or empirical studies) during the last year to participate in a poster session. This poster session provides students with an opportunity to share the results of their research with a varied audience, as well as explore research in a variety of disciplines.

The event will include 66 posters created by 181 students. The posters will be displayed in Blum Union rooms 218-219 and 222-223.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

April 20, 2022–大象传媒 will host its inaugural Applied Learning Showcase Friday, April 22. The all-day event will feature art exhibits and performances, research presentations and more. All events are open to the public.

鈥湸笙蟠� Western has a statewide mission of applied learning, and we want the campus, our alumni and the community to understand the ways we live out that mission,鈥� said Dr. Mike Ducey, professor of chemistry and director of the Griffon Office of Applied Learning. 鈥淭he Applied Learning Showcase will feature many of the ways that our students take learning outside of the classroom.鈥�

The showcase schedule includes:

Senior Art Exhibition, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Potter Hall Gallery

The exhibition features creative projects by senior art students and will be on display in the Potter Hall Gallery through May 8.

From Production to Promotion: Media, Film and Design, 10 a.m. to noon, Enright Community Rooms, Spratt 214-216

Griffon Media and communications students will present their year鈥檚 work.

Virtual Applied Learning University Event (VALUE), 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., link available at missouriwestern.edu/appliedlearning/showcase/

Students who have participated in virtual applied learning events will discuss their projects.

Multidisciplinary Research Day, noon to 1:30 p.m., Fulkerson Center

A decades-old tradition at 大象传媒 Western, Multidisciplinary Research Day features poster presentations of research projects in academic disciplines across campus. Students will be on hand to explain their research and answer questions.

Oral Presentations of Applied Learning, 1 to 2:20 p.m., Fulkerson Center

Students will orally present their research projects.

Vocal Music Performances, 2 to 3 p.m., Kemper Recital Hall, Spratt 101

Vocal music students will perform in solos and ensembles.

Jazz in the Union, 3 to 4 p.m., Blum Union Lobby

Students in the 大象传媒 Western Jazz Program will perform.

Program Open Houses, 4 to 5:30 p.m., various locations

Chemistry (Remington/Agenstein Hall), Engineering Technology (Wilson Hall), Nursing (Murphy Hall) and the School of Fine Arts (Potter Hall) will show visitors their applied learning facilities.

7th annual Griffon Film Festival, 6 to 9 p.m., 大象传媒 Theatre, 715 Edmond Street

The annual showcase for senior film students will be held in Downtown St. Joseph. Admission is free for 大象传媒 Western students with ID; for others, it is $5 at the door. The Griffon Film Festival is sponsored in part by the School of Fine Arts and the Performing Arts Association.

大象传媒 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .

大象传媒 is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. 大象传媒 Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit .