Fall Ploghoft lecture to feature POAC Succeed founder

Jamie Grayson – the founder of a Kansas City-based organization devoted to making sure all students are seen, heard and valued – will present “Teaching Beyond the Desk” when he visits Northwest Missouri State University as the guest for its fall Ploghoft Diversity Lecture.

Grayson founded People of All Communities Succeed, or POAC Succeed, in 2019. Through the nonprofit organization, he invites educators to step into their influence by embracing the “90% principle” – the part of education not found in textbooks or test scores but in mutual support and allyship.

The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom. It is free and open to the public.

“In classrooms, students carry more than backpacks,” Dr. David Kiene, an associate professor in Northwest’s School of Education, said. “They carry trauma, pressure, and the effects of being misunderstood. This keynote recenters educators on their purpose — not just to teach, but to reach. Jamie brings authenticity, passion and real-world strategies that encourage educators to leave behind burnout and rediscover the joy of teaching beyond the desk.”

For more information about POAC Succeed, visit www.poacsucceed.com.

About the Ploghoft Diversity Lecture series

Northwest’s Ploghoft Diversity Lecture series is funded through the lasting generosity of the late Dr. Milton Ploghoft and his wife, Zella. The series features speakers and activities that broaden the educational perspectives of Northwest teacher candidates and inform all students about the issues facing the education of students from diverse environments.

Dr. Ploghoft, a 1949 Northwest alumnus, authored a number of textbooks in the social studies and lived abroad for many years, founding the College of Education in Kano, Nigeria, lecturing at Saigon University and leading its international programs in such places as Chile, Cameroun, Botswana, the Yucatan, Swaziland and in what was then South Vietnam. In 1992, he became the founding editor of the African Education Research Network. He was professor emeritus at Ohio University at the time of his death in 2018.

Zella, who passed away in 2010, completed her elementary and secondary education at Horace Mann Laboratory School at Northwest.

For more information about the Ploghoft Diversity Lecture series, contact Kiene at 660.562.1774 or dkiene@nwmissouri.edu.