Article Tag Archives: Scholarship

Scholarship Offers Opportunity for Students to Recognize Former Teachers

Truman graduates Nicole Boyer (on left) and Jenna McClanahan (on right) nominated Steve Zuspann (center), a high school teacher from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., to receive special recognition at Truman’s 2013 Spring Commencement.

Truman graduates Nicole Boyer (on left) and Jenna McClanahan (on right) nominated Steve Zuspann (center), a high school teacher from Ste. Genevieve, Mo., to receive special recognition at Truman’s 2013 Spring Commencement.

Through the support of Truman’s education alumni and a generous estate gift, the James and Margaret Mudd Teacher Recognition Scholarship has been endowed and will allow for the ongoing recognition of excellence in education. Thanks to this new scholarship, graduating seniors at Truman have the opportunity to recognize a high school educator or counselor, whom they feel made a positive impact on their academic growth. Each year, the chosen teacher or counselor will receive an invitation to be formally recognized at Truman’s spring Commencement ceremony. To further acknowledge the teacher or counselor being honored, a $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to an incoming Truman student from
the teacher or counselor’s high school.

The first teacher to be honored through the Margaret Mudd Teacher Recognition Scholarship was Steve Zuspann, who received special recognition at Truman’s Spring Commencement ceremonies on May 11, 2013. Zuspann, who teaches chemistry at the high school in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., was nominated by Truman graduates Nicole Boyer and Jenna McClanahan. Brandon Mueller, a student from Ste. Genevieve High School who will be attending Truman
this fall, was awarded the $1,000 scholarship.

Since its origin as a normal school in 1867, Truman has been committed to providing a strong teacher education program. Over the years, more than 8,000 teachers have received preparation from the University, and the program is deeply rooted in the University’s history.

NEMO Named Chapter of the Year

The Northeast Missouri Alumni Chapter was selected by the Executive Committee of the Truman Alumni Board of Directors to receive the 2012 Alumni Chapter of the Year Award. The award recognizes the outstanding achievementsof the chapter in support of the Truman Alumni Association and the University.

The Northeast Missouri Alumni Chapter was recognized for its success in recruiting engaged volunteers who have planned strategies to increase membership and program participation. The chapter’s traditions include annual events such as a golf tournament at the Kirksville Country Club and a fall banquet with an auction held on campus each year; both events raise funds for the chapter’s scholarship, which was established in 2005 to assist Truman students from northeast Missouri.

The Alumni Chapter of the Year Award was presented to Northeast Missouri Alumni Chapter leaders at the Truman Alumni Leadership Conference held on campus Oct. 19, 2012, as part of the Homecoming activities. The Mid-Missouri Alumni Chapter was recognized as runner-up for the Chapter of the Year Award.

Tom Vernon Ritchie, Professor Emeritus of Music

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Tom Vernon Ritchie

Tom Vernon Ritchie, professor emeritus of music at Truman State University, died Feb. 20, 2013, in Bloomington, Ind. He was 90 years old.

He spent the final years doing what he enjoyed most—writing music and attending opera and other musical performances at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Ritchie was a professor of music theory and composition for more than 40 years. He also was a professional concert pipe organist and held associate certification from the American Guild of Organists. Prior to joining the faculty at Truman, he was chairman of the Music Department at Drury College and taught at Wichita State. For nearly three decades, students from south-central Iowa and north-central Missouri who wanted to teach music enrolled in his classes.

In 2008, more than 60 faculty members, former students and friends paid tribute to him during an alumni reunion at Truman where they performed more than a dozen of his works.
In addition to his classroom duties, Ritchie composed the music and wrote the libretto for the opera, “The Children of Hamelin,” based on the Robert Browning poem, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” The opera premiered at Truman in 1981. He also composed numerous works for voice, chorus, piano, woodwinds and brass.

Ritchie was a World War II veteran. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942. After training in amphibious assault at Fort Pierce, Fla., he commanded several landing craft during the invasion of Iwo Jima in 1944, landing Marines of the Fourth Division on the first morning of the battle. He was also present at the landings on Okinawa. Ritchie was deployed to the invasion fleet for Japan before the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

His children have established the Tom V. Ritchie Memorial Scholarship Fund at Truman State University.

University Honors 1957 Alumnus

The late Cal Roebuck

The late Cal Roebuck

The President’s Leadership Award, one of the most prestigious awards presented by Truman State University, honors select Truman alumni and friends for meritorious service through their gifts of volunteerism, expertise and financial resources. Earlier this year, Calvin E. Roebuck, who died in 2011, was honored posthumously with the 2013 President’s Leadership Award.

After graduating from Truman in 1957 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, Cal began his career with Prudential. In 1961, he was employed by State Farm Insurance as an agent in Kirksville. In 1964, he was promoted to agency manager in St. Louis and seven years later was promoted to agency director in the Ohio State Farm Regional Office. Following a brief stint as an executive assistant in Bloomington, Ill., Cal was promoted to deputy regional vice president in the Missouri-Kansas Regional Office in Columbia, Mo. In 1985 he was promoted to vice president of the Ohio Region. Cal retired from State Farm Insurance in 2000, after almost 40 years of service.

In 2003 Cal was honored as Truman’s Alumnus of the Year, and he provided wisdom and guidance to the University while serving as a two-term member of the Truman State University Foundation Board of Directors. He also demonstrated support for his alma mater by serving on committees for the University’s Magruder Hall Campaign and the “Bright Minds Bright Futures” Campaign.

Along with his wife, Lydia, Cal provided generous financial support to Truman. In 2008 the Roebucks established the Calvin E. Roebuck Business Scholarship to commemorate Cal’s distinguished career at State Farm Insurance and to provide opportunity for deserving students to receive a Truman education. The Roebucks created the scholarship fund with an outright commitment of $50,000. The fund, which was fortified with matching gifts from State Farm Insurance, has grown to more than $120,000 through proceeds of a life insurance policy and memorial gifts.

RoebuckFamilyMembers of the Roebuck family accepted the President’s Leadership Award which was presented posthumously to Cal Roebuck (’57) at the Truman State University Foundation Banquet held on campus in April 2013. Shown L-R: Jaynee Roebuck (Cal’s daughter-in-law), Jim Roebuck (Cal’s son), Lydia Roebuck (Cal’s wife) and University President Troy Paino.