Truman Theatre’s production of “Ride the Cyclone” was invited to be performed at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Des Moines, Iowa.

For more than 50 years, KCACTF has supported and celebrated all things theatre at colleges and universities. Truman is in Region 5, which includes schools from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Of the nearly 300 productions taking place in KCACTF Region 5 this year, “Ride the Cyclone” was one of only four to be invited to perform at the festival.

“It was really an amazing experience for our students to have a production invited to the festival,” said Brad Carlson, associate professor of theatre and chair of the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts. “Over 1,300 theatre students, faculty, staff and guest artists attended the festival. There was an amazing outpouring of enthusiasm from the festival audience.”

“Ride the Cyclone” ran on campus in November. This somewhat new production blends comedy, tragedy and enchantment as it tells the story of six teenage chamber choir members who meet their fate on a doomed roller coaster ride.

Prior to finals week, the department learned “Ride the Cyclone” had been invited to perform at the festival. That allowed the cast to host a rehearsal before break, followed by two more full rehearsals at the start of the semester before making the trip to Des Moines in January. This is the first Truman production to be performed at a KCACTF festival. “Ghosts in the Machine” was previously included in a virtual festival.

Carlson knew “Ride the Cyclone” would be in consideration for a performance and factored that into the original stage construction.

“I took that as an opportunity to build the set as a traveling production,” he said. “This isn’t something that we typically do, and it was a great opportunity for our students to build in a different construction method than our typical builds.”

The set was engineered to come apart in manageable pieces and fit into a box truck for transport to the festival. Some elements needed to be reengineered to make them travel more easily, and most of that work was done during the winter break.

“Ride the Cyclone” was not the only Truman production to be honored. “The Rocky Horror Show” earned more accolades than any other production in Region 5. In total, five Truman productions from the past year received recognition at this year’s festival, as did a number of individuals.

Jonathan Wehmeyer, assistant professor of theatre, received the National Alliance of Acting Teachers’ Acting Teacher of Excellence award. Carlson was awarded the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion. It is the most prestigious award given by KCACTF and is considered one of the greatest honors in educational theatre. This award honors individuals or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre and who have significantly dedicated their time, artistry and enthusiasm to the development of KCACTF.

Starting this fall, students from northeast Missouri attending Truman can receive up to $2,000 from a newly created scholarship.

The Northeast Missouri Scholarship will be awarded to new students from Adair, Putnam, Schuyler, Scotland, Knox, Macon, Linn and Sullivan counties this fall. It provides $2,000 for students living on campus. Students from the area not living on campus can still receive $1,000.

“This scholarship was created in celebration of the region we call home,” said Allison Schweizer, director of admission. “Truman is committed to empowering northeast Missouri students and investing in their future success.”

All new admitted Truman students from the eight northeast Missouri counties are automatically eligible for the scholarship, which is renewable each year the student attends. No additional application is required. Transfer students who meet certain criteria and hail from the applicable counties may also be eligible to receive the award. More information about the Northeast Missouri Scholarship can be found at truman.edu/nemos.

Students interested in careers related to the justice and legal systems were able to participate in the first-ever Tru Crime Day on campus in March.

Sponsored by Interdisciplinary Studies and Criminal Justice Studies, Tru Crime Day offered engaging panels, workshops, discussions and activities that allowed attendees to discover the science behind investigations, explore real-life cases and examine the social, legal and psychological dimensions of crime. Events included a mock crime scene, prison-themed escape rooms, virtual autopsies in the Virtual Anatomy Lab and a workshop on true crime podcasting, among others.

Tru Crime Day was open to all current and prospective students, as well as members of the Kirksville community. Participants were also invited to stay on campus for a presentation by Anthony Ray Hinton. Wrongfully convicted of murder in 1985, Hinton spent nearly 30 years on death row in Alabama. Bryan Stevenson at the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit based in Montgomery, Alabama, picked up his case, handling his defense for 16 years. Since Hinton’s conviction was overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 2015, he has become a sought-after speaker and author of the bestselling book “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row.”

To bolster opportunities for students, Truman created the position of director of internships and tapped Kim Sprought for the role.

Sprought has been tasked with enhancing, facilitating and promoting meaningful internships and enriching career-related experiences for Truman students. She will collaborate with students, faculty, employers, alumni and other stakeholders to create and sustain a diverse range of internship programs and external partnerships that support Truman’s mission and the career development of students.

“Internships are an invaluable component of a student’s education because they provide practical experience that can’t always be gained in the classroom,” Sprought said. “They allow students to apply their academic knowledge in real-world settings, develop professional networks and gain clarity about their career paths. Employers increasingly value candidates who have internship experience, so participating in one can make students more competitive in the job market after graduation.”

Much of Sprought’s career has been dedicated to developing systems and programs that enhance student career outcomes. Prior to Truman, she most recently served as director of the Dyson Career Management Center in the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University.

In addition to managing existing internship programs, Sprought will seek to build partnerships in key metro areas including Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, Jefferson City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. This should help strengthen enrollment, retention and post-graduate placement in those markets, as well as develop alumni, governmental and corporate networks.

At the start of the most recent academic year, Truman earned recognition as the No. 1 public university in the Midwest Region by U.S. News & World Report. This marks the 28th consecutive year Truman nabbed the top spot.

In the 2025 Best Colleges rankings, Truman stood out in multiple categories. Among both public and private institutions, Truman was No. 5 overall for the Midwest Region. Notably, Truman was the only Missouri public school to be included in the top 60 spots.

Truman faculty members’ commitment to students helped the University improve in another noteworthy category. Always a fixture in the Undergraduate Teaching Programs list, Truman improved seven spots to tie for the No. 3 position this year. This subcategory, compiled from peer assessment, highlights schools that emphasize providing high-quality instruction to undergraduates. Of the 13 institutions to make this ranking, Truman was the lone public school to be included.

As usual, the University fared well on a number of supplemental tabs. Truman was No. 11 on the list of Best Value Schools for the Midwest Region – the only Missouri public institution to be included in the top 40 spots. U.S. News & World Report also recognized Truman on its list of Top Performers on Social Mobility, and four of the University’s academic programs – business, computer science, nursing and psychology – again earned inclusion on rankings of their respective disciplines. The entire Best Colleges rankings can be found online at usnews.com/best-colleges.

For a list of accolades earned throughout the year, visit truman.edu/about/facts-about-truman/points-of-pride.

Two notable student-led art projects were installed on campus during the previous academic year.

Students from the Show Me Public Art class partnered with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) on a project that ties art to nature and students to the community. For the last several years, Yvette Amerman, resource forester with MDC, has been assisting Truman with the revamping of the small rain garden on the corner of Franklin and Patterson streets. While looking for ways to highlight the importance of water retention and filtration, she came up with the idea of having students create large sculptures of native Missouri animals that may utilize a rain garden.

Amerman reached out to Danielle Yakle, assistant professor of art, to see if students in the Show Me Public Art class would be interested in creating mosaic sculptures that would be placed in the existing rain garden. Amerman visited the classroom to discuss dozens of Missouri native animals and the opportunities/abilities to create such sculptures.

The class split up into groups and created five different sculptures including a tiger salamander, a snapping turtle and three types of frogs – a leopard frog, a bull frog and a crawfish frog. Each sculpture has a plaque with the animal’s name and a QR code next to it. By scanning the code, visitors may find out more about the species and its natural environment.

On the other side of campus, students in Printmaking courses participated in a wheat-pasting project on Ophelia Parrish depicting fauna that is native to Missouri, as well as elements that relate to the food chain of the depicted creatures.

In this style, paper artwork is installed on a surface with a liquid adhesive made from wheat flour and water. Because it is versatile and temporary, the practice used to be a popular way to display posters and other public signage.

Laura Naioti, associate professor of art, had her students experiment with wheat-pasting after using it herself on a smaller scale in some spots around Kirksville. The wheat-paste art on Ophelia Parrish was installed in mid-October.

This year marks a milestone for the University’s premiere summer program.

The Joseph Baldwin Academy for Eminent Young Scholars, a pre-college summer program for highly talented middle and junior high school students, is celebrating its 40th year. Established in 1985, JBA gives participants a glimpse of college life. Students choose one class to take during a three-week stay on campus. They also live in a residence hall with a roommate to simulate a college experience.

“JBA is perfect for students who have an intellectual curiosity and a desire to grow as scholars and young adults,” said Michelle Wilson, dean of summer programs. “The students in this age range are looking for avenues to explore their independence, spend time learning for the sake of learning, and see what possibilities are in store for them in the coming years. JBA provides that opportunity for them.”

JBA is designed for students who have completed grades 7-9. In addition to daily classes, they partake in social events on the nights and weekends.

“JBA is more than academics, it is a way for students to grow socially and emotionally. Many parents will comment that they see a lot of emotional and intellectual growth from the three weeks their students are here,” Wilson said.

After starting with 60 students in 1985, JBA now serves more than 500 young scholars across two separate three-week sessions in June and July. The 2025 sessions are projected to see the largest number of participants in the program’s history. For many students, JBA is their first experience with Truman, and often not their last.

“JBA is more than academics, it is a way for students to grow socially and emotionally. Many parents will comment that they see a lot of emotional and intellectual growth from the three weeks their students are here.”

– Michelle Wilson
dean of summer programs

“We see a lot of correlation between attending JBA and attending Truman,” Wilson said. “JBA sends more students to the University than any single high school. Truman is a very popular college choice among JBA alumni.”

As the number of students interested in summer programming has grown, so too have the options available. In 2019, Truman established JBA Jr., a spinoff program for children in grades 4-6. Intended to inspire enthusiasm for learning in all ability groups, this weeklong day program exposes participating students to the Truman campus, including the planetarium, herpetarium, science labs, University Farm and Pickler Memorial Library.

The University also offers the ATSU-Truman Healthcare Academy, a collaborative summer program with the local medical university. Participating students get a glimpse of careers in the medical field during a weeklong stay on campus. Activities include hands-on learning experiences and stimulating discussions at both schools.

Each summer academy has its own application process. JBA requires a nomination from a teacher, guidance counselor, principal or parent of a home-school student. The nomination process opens in November for sessions the following summer. JBA Jr. and ATSU-Truman Healthcare Academy have open application periods. More information about summer academies at Truman can be found online at institute.truman.edu or by contacting the Institute for Academic Outreach at
institute@truman.edu or 660.785.5384.

The Del and Norma Robison Planetarium recently installed two new Norxe P60 projectors, increasing its resolution to 4K and drastically improving the brightness.

Along with the new projectors, the planetarium added an autoalignment and auto blending system that maintains projector alignment. This provides a clearer image across the entire dome and significantly reduces regular maintenance hours. The projectors were previously aligned annually, which took many hours each time.

The planetarium has an annual attendance of roughly 5,000. During the school year, the planetarium hosts free 30-minute shows at 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, as well as an hour show for $5 on Saturdays. It is also open to reserve for group events, guest speakers, classes, field trips and other special events.

For the most up-to-date schedule of events, visit planetarium.truman.edu.

The Truman campus recently served as the site of the 2025 Special Olympics Missouri State Summer Games.

Between athletes, coaches, family members and spectators, more than 1,000 people came to Kirksville, May 30-June 1, for a weekend full of athletics, fun and community support. This was the first time Kirksville hosted the event. Truman facilities were used for all four athletic contests, including powerlifting, swimming, track and field, and volleyball. Athletes also stayed on campus in University residence halls.

“We were thrilled and honored to host the State Summer Games along with our wonderful Kirksville partners,” said University President Sue Thomas. “It was an amazing and inspiring community effort.”

In addition to the athletic competitions, the State Summer Games included the traditional Opening Ceremony featuring the Parade of Athletes and the lighting of the torch. Health screenings through Special Olympics Missouri’s Healthy Athletes program were also provided on site.

Special Olympics Missouri is a year-round program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Thousands of athletes participate in 13 Olympic-type sports throughout the state. Special Olympics Missouri provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy as they participate in the sharing of gifts and friendship with their fellow athletes, their family and friends, and communities across Missouri.