FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                    September 25, 2007

ALUMNI TAPPED TO LEAD SYMPOSIUM AT NORTHWESTERN IN APRIL

A need to explore regional and community revitalization and encourage innovation within the regional economy in northwest Oklahoma, southern Kansas and the Texas panhandle is the motivation behind asking university alumni to share their knowledge at a new event coming to Northwestern Oklahoma State University on Friday, April 25, 2008, the day before the annual Alumni Spring Reunion.

The Northwestern Centennial Symposium has been created to bring new ways of thinking and new ideas to the people of northwest Oklahoma as the state celebrates its 100^th anniversary and the university recognizes 110 years of service.

Titled “Visions and Crossroads: Northwest Oklahoma – Our Next 100 Years,” the symposium will help to connect leadership, experience and education with the people in the region to allow ideas to be shared that will be beneficial to the future of the area.

Dr. Kay Decker, chair of the department of social sciences, heads the committee planning the symposium, which is sponsored by the School of Arts and Sciences and the Northwestern Foundation.

Northwestern alumni will share their knowledge and experiences during the day-long event, which will feature three interactive and engaging break-out sessions, and Northwestern faculty will serve as discussants.

A luncheon featuring a keynote address on the topic “Community Change in the Rural Great Plains: How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going?” also is planned. Decker said seating is limited for the luncheon, so pre-registration is required and will be granted on a first-respond basis.

Brett Zollinger, Ph.D., who graduated from Northwestern in 1992, will serve as the keynote speaker during the luncheon. He is the director of the Docking Institute of Public Affairs and the Institute's Center for Survey Research at Fort Hays (Kan.) State University. He also is an associate professor of sociology there.

Zollinger is active in strategic planning and community development efforts in the region. He has facilitated strategic planning for more than 25 governmental and nonprofit entities, including the Kansas Governor’s Prosperity Summits in all regions of the state in 2005. His work has been nationally recognized and received the Rural Sociological Society's Dissertation Award in 1997. He also co-authored a report on labor force dynamics in northwest Missouri that won Best of Class awards from the National Rural Economic Development Association and the American Economic Development Council.

The three break-out sessions being presented in the morning from 10:30 a.m. to noon and again in the afternoon from 1:30 to 3 p.m. will provide information on the opportunities that exist for the region’s natural and human resources, cultural heritage and the role of the university as it provides the academic and civic leadership for regional sustainability.

Leading the session titled “Grab the Bull by the Horns – Implementing Service Learning and Civic Engagement for Historic Community Revitalization, The Downtown Fort Hays Model” is Northwestern alumna Christie (Patterson) Brungardt, Class of 1984. Originally from the Kiowa/Anthony, Kan., area, Brungardt currently is an instructor of leadership studies at Fort Hays State University. She earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Fort Hays in 2001 and is completing a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction at Kansas State University. Her research interests are in the areas of leadership, service-learning and civic engagement.

The “Science and Technology as a Future Force for Jobs and Business Development” session will be headed by Duane Pierson, Ph.D., Class of 1966. Pierson, a 2005 Northwestern Outstanding Graduate, is the senior microbiologist for NASA. He has been actively involved in microbiological and biochemical research for more than 30 years at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

As NASA’s senior microbiologist, Pierson serves as the agency’s expert on the many microbiological aspects of space flight. He is responsible for formulating, developing and implementing NASA’s microbiology program for current and future human exploration of space. He performs operational and research activities to ensure the health, safety and optimum performance of the astronauts, and participates in activities ranging from planetary protection and astrobiology to environmental health.

Rounding out the sessions will be “Doing Business in a Global Economy – Bricks and Clicks Working Together.” This session is led by Rob Reeg, Class of 1978, who is chief technology officer at MasterCard International. In this role, he is responsible for all computer operations, network engineering, technology architecture, database management, program management, testing/software quality and information security. He was a Northwestern Outstanding Graduate in 2004.

“Participants in these sessions will be provided with an opportunity to see what our graduates have accomplished in their professional lives and will be encouraged to think outside the box as they creatively examine different ways of looking at the natural and human resources found right here in northwest Oklahoma,” Decker said.

Northwestern students and employees, business owners, residents, alumni and friends, as well as those from municipal and county governments, tourism professionals, and the staffs of chambers of commerce and state and federal agencies are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion. Those attending both in the morning and afternoon will be able to take part in two of the three presentations available that day.

          The symposium is slated to be held every third year.

          Decker encourages anyone wishing to attend the symposium luncheon and/or the morning and afternoon sessions to contact her about registration or with any questions. She can be reached at (580) 327-8521 or kldecker@nwosu.edu.

-NW-

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