Northwest Missouri State University

It’s a beautiful fall at Northwest, and I hope you’ve marked your calendar for Oct. 29-30 for yet another fun-filled Homecoming in Maryville. I look forward to seeing you and quite possibly meeting our next generation of Bearcats!

As you know, at Northwest we talk a great deal about engagement, and it’s certainly a differentiator in terms of our culture and outstanding results. In the last several weeks, we’ve set some impressive marks, and they are tributes to an engaged Bearcat Nation – which includes our alumni and friends – focused on success.

Northwest students, employees, alumni and friends will celebrate Homecoming Oct. 24-30 with a “Blast From the Past.”

The week’s worth of Homecoming events are highlighted Saturday, Oct. 30, with the annual parade and the Bearcat football game against Fort Hays State. Kickoff for the game is 2 p.m. at Bearcat Stadium, and pregame activities begin at noon at the Bearcat Zone in College Park.

The parade begins at 9 a.m. at the corner of Ray and College avenues. The route will proceed east to Market and Fourth streets. A “family friendly” viewing area will be set up on campus near the intersection of University Drive and Fourth Street where bleachers will be provided.

Northwest's 1975 MIAA championship women's cross country team is joined by five former student-athletes and one coach to make up the 2010 M-Club Hall of Fame Class.

Don Neil '50 (track and field), Brad Ortmeier '87 (cross country/track and field), Lindsey Borgstadt Clinton '99 (cross country/track and field), Tucker Woolsey '01 (football/track and field) and Seth Wand '03 along with former baseball coach Jim Wasem have been selected for enshrinement.

Students, employees, alumni and visitors to Northwest are being greeted by a new digital marquee at the campus’s main entrance thanks to gifts from five senior classes.

The senior classes at Northwest from 2005 to 2009 raised funds for the marquee, which was recently completed at the entrance on Fourth Street and University Drive.

Northwest will dedicate the new sign with representatives of the senior classes during a brief ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, prior to the University’s Homecoming Parade.

All Northwest fans are invited to a Bearcat pep rally from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, the evening prior to the annual Fall Classic at Arrowhead where the Bearcats take on conference rival Pittsburg State. The free event, sponsored by the Northwest Alumni Association, will be in the KC Live outdoor courtyard of Kansas City’s Power and Light District.

The family-friendly event will have plenty of Northwest giveaways, including a drawing for four tickets and a parking pass to the Nov. 13 Fall Classic at Arrowhead, and is open to fans of all ages. (It is KC Live’s policy that after 9 p.m. anyone under 21 must leave the venue.)

Bobby Bearcat, the Northwest Steppers and cheerleaders as well as the pep band will be in attendance. The program on the KC Live stage, which begins at 8 p.m., will include performances by these groups and remarks from Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski and football head coach Mel Tjeerdsma. Northwest alum and Kansas City radio host Chris Stigall will serve as the pep rally’s emcee.

For more information about Northwest Night at Power and Light, contact the Northwest Alumni Association at 660.562.1248.

For more information about the Fall Classic at Arrowhead, click here.

New Director of Bands Dr. Doug Overmier had his first taste of Northwest years ago, but this trimester he is officially part of Bearcat Nation.

He comes to Northwest with experience from the University of West Georgia and a genuine passion for students, music and football games.

“Everybody was trying to impress upon me the quality of students at Northwest,” Overmier said. “Oh my gosh. They don’t have to do any impressing anymore – the people at Northwest speak for themselves. They really do. Northwest not only has good people, but they’re bright academically, talented, and they’ve got abilities.”

The Wilmes Family, of Maryville, was recognized as Northwest’s Family of the Year Saturday, Oct. 2, during halftime of the Northwest football game.

Sponsored by Campus Dining-Aramark, the Family of the Year award is bestowed each fall during the University’s three-day Family Weekend festivities. The recognition comes with a $750 scholarship and other prizes.

Students, employees, alumni and residents gathered the morning of Oct. 7 in front of Northwest’s Administration Building to reflect on 100 years of the structure and its recent addition to the National Register of Historic Places.

The 10 a.m. ceremony was scheduled exactly 100 years from the moment Maryville and Nodaway County residents were welcomed through the building’s front doors for the first time on Oct. 7, 1910. At that time, the University was known as the Fifth District Normal School, and the Administration Building was the only academic building on the campus.

Northwest's Office of Enrollment Management has released record-breaking enrollment figures for the fall 2010 trimester.

Northwest’s total student headcount is 7,142, which is 66 more students than last year’s fall enrollment. The figure represents a 1 percent increase over last year in total headcount and a 1 percent increase in full-time equivalencies, a ratio used to represent a theoretical student enrolled in courses totaling 12 credit hours. In addition, 6,193 undergraduates are enrolled at Northwest, which represents a 2.3 percent increase, or 142 students, from last year.

Any student who has applied for a summer internship knows how stiff the competition can be, but Northwest senior Devin Aaron had a summer she won’t soon forget, working two internships and rubbing elbows with first lady Michelle Obama.

Aaron, a public relations major from Kansas City, spent her summer working with public relations firm Parris Communications Inc. and the Kansas City T-Bones minor league baseball team.

While the day-to-day experiences at each internship were valuable, a visit from Obama easily took the prize as Aaron’s favorite experience of the summer.