Higher Education

MU researchers are closely watching the debate in Jefferson City over efforts to restrict embryonic stem cell research on the campus.

It’s almost noon at the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center on the MU campus, and Jack Schultz is standing in line at the Catalyst Cafe to buy a sandwich and some chips. While waiting to have his credit card swiped, he jokes with the cashier, telling her some soup had spilled into the card reader. The cashier looks up to see a playful grin spread across Schultz’s face. She is quickly put at ease and chats a little with Schultz before he sits down to eat.

Phil Harter, MU’s Earl F. Nelson professor of law, resigned his position as chair of MU’s standing committee on research responsibility Thursday. The resignation came on the same day MU announced it had dropped the charges of research misconduct against three scientists.

MU has dropped charges of research misconduct against three scientists, including lead researcher R. Michael Roberts, Curators’ Professor of animal sciences and biochemistry. The scientists had been under investigation for allegedly doctoring photographs that accompanied research published in a prominent scientific journal last February.

The University of Missouri News Bureau released this statement on Feb. 8, 2007:

Charges of academic misconduct have been dropped against three MU scientists, including lead researcher R. Michael Roberts, who had been under investigation for allegedly doctoring photographs that accompanied research published in a prominent scientific journal last year.

James L. Fergason, a pioneer in the development of liquid crystal display technology, has committed a portion of a prestigious national award to the MU Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Lori Hudson lives five minutes away from the MU campus, but in her daily commute to class she allots herself at least 45 minutes to find a parking space. Hudson parks in her assigned lot, the Trowbridge Livestock Center, then takes a shuttle bus to Brady Commons. There are some days, however, when Hudson, an MU student, has to abandon her quest to find a parking space.

Students, faculty and staff using MU’s TigerNet campus network can no longer access peer-to-peer file sharing networks, often used to illegally download copyrighted media.

When Mamadou Badiane walked into his 9 a.m. advanced Spanish conversation class during the first week of class, he expected a full house of students, a bit groggy perhaps, but otherwise ready for the start of the winter semester.

After working to further economic understanding in America’s heartland, MU’s Mark Drabenstott will take his expertise to an international level as chairman of the Territorial Development Policy Committee in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (The OECD uses the British spelling for “organization.”)

The MU Office for Financial Success has become the first university-based program in the United States certified by the U.S. Trustee’s Office to offer financial counseling services to those considering bankruptcy.

Wayne Brekhus is known at MU for his funny anecdotes, his charismatic lecture style and his eclectic interests. Brekhus, an associate professor of sociology, has been known to travel across the United States to scout out snakes in their natural environments. He can hold his own in a game of chess. And he isn’t shy about joining the mosh pit at a heavy metal concert.

As one of the state’s largest employers, the UM System has been a major factor in Missouri’s economy since its flagship campus in Columbia was founded in 1839.

If Dave Roberts has learned one thing in his 32-year career in vocational rehabilitation, it is that disability is a normal part of life.

When it comes to math, what students are learning and when they learn it varies significantly across the country, according to MU’s Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum. According to a recent report by the center, some students learn to add and subtract fractions as early as first grade or as late as sixth grade.

Morgan Hickman has two relationships. They demand attention, cause stress and often frustrate her. They are finite math and economics, two classes that gave Hickman so much trouble that she sought help from MU’s Learning Center.

A four-year study of the nation’s 1,200 schools of education calls teacher colleges “the Dodge City of the education world,” saying they are as chaotic as the fabled Old West town.

Even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the growth of international student enrollment at MU each year was, at best, stagnant. This fall, however, even as foreign students’ interest in attending college in the U.S. appears to be declining, MU saw its first significant rise in international enrollments, from 1,373 to 1,414.

Magda Pride is one of nine children, all of whom were schooled at home. When it came time for her to choose a college, she didn’t intend to stray far from her parents and siblings; her first two choices were schools she could commute to every day.