• Warren Gooch, professor of music, was given the Governor’s Award for Excellence. Each year, the Governor’s Award is presented to one faculty member at each institution of higher education in Missouri. The award is based on effective teaching, innovating course design and delivery, effective advising, service to the university community, commitment to high standards of excellence and success in nurturing student achievement.

• Brent Buckner, geneticist and professor of biology, was recognized with Truman State University’s Educator of the Year award.

• Fredric Shaffer, professor of psychology, was honored as Truman’s Most Outstanding Research Mentor of the Year.

• Scott Alberts, professor of mathematics, is serving as the director of Interdisciplinary Studies.

• The Accounting Department received Truman’s Department of the Year Award. The Accounting Department’s faculty includes Alan Davis, Keith Harrison, Darla Honn, Kristen Irwin, Kathy Otero and Cathy Poyner. Retired faculty teaching part-time includes Sandra Fleak, Scott Fouch and Sandy Weber. The Accounting Department is part of the School of Business AACSB accreditation, one of 178 institutions worldwide holding this designation.

• Truman students were among the most successful in the country on the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) examination according to the most recent statistics released by the National Association of States Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). The Truman candidates taking the exam passed 78.9 percent of sections taken with an average score of 80.4, placing Truman fourth in the nation among large programs. Among all institutions with 10 or more reported candidates, Truman ranked ninth in the nation.

• Gov. Jay Nixon was on campus last September to announce a $150,000 grant award for Truman’s Department of Nursing to expand instructional and course offerings. The grant, which is funded by the Caring for Missourians initiative, provides Truman with the resources necessary to graduate at least 10-15 additional nursing students.

• Connor Stangler, a history and English double major from Columbia, Mo., who graduated from Truman this May, was awarded a national competitive scholarship of up to $30,000 from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. The Foundation received 587 applications from 272 colleges. Approximately 65 scholarships are awarded annually, and Stangler was the only student from a Missouri university to receive the award.

• Wyatt Hoffman, a political science major from Kansas City, Mo., who graduated from Truman this May, was selected for the Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellows Program. Hoffman, as the first Truman student to be accepted into the program, will be participating in research related to nuclear policy.

• After competing in Zone 7 Championships, three members from the Truman Equestrian Team advanced to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships. The Zone 7 Championships took place in April at West Texas A&M where Caitlin Shaefer, Danielle Witt and Elizabeth Miller all qualified for nationals. Schaefer placed second in the walk-trot equitation, Witt was awarded second place in the novice equitation on the flat and Miller placed second in the open equitation on the flat.

• The Truman Forensic Union earned top debate honors at the National Forensic Association’s national championship tournament hosted by Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., in April. Myra Milam, a communication disorders major, was awarded the first place speaker award in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Division. Maddie Ebert, a political science major, reached the octafinal or “sweet sixteen” round of the tournament. Nick Gorman, an economics major, reached the double-octafinal round. Gorman was also ranked the 10th best speaker in the tournament. The team placed third overall in the nation in sweepstakes competition, a cumulative measure of performance among all Lincoln-Douglas competitors. Qualifiers for the national tournament contributing to these team awards, in addition to Milam, Ebert and Gorman, include: Mackenzie Barnes, Alex Bisges, Blake Bixler, Codi Caton, David Cook, Alex Gregor, Max Highsmith, Dillon Laaker, Arielle Long-Seabra and Sarah Muir.

• Elizabeth Clark will serve as the interim dean of the School of Social and Cultural Studies. Clark’s appointment officially began on July 1, 2013, and ends June 30, 2014. She has served as the Communications Department chair for six years.