Breadcrumb
May 2026 News at UCM
By Nicole Lyons, June 5, 2026
As the 2025-26 academic year came to a close at the University of Central Missouri (UCM), students and employees were showcasing their expertise. Student technical writers completed an extensive handbook revision for the League of Women Voters, while faculty and staff members presented at conferences and published new research.
Check out the May news roundup to read about all the ways UCM employees and students
are redefining what’s possible every day.
The UCM News Bureau publishes the news roundup, a monthly collection of newsworthy
moments from UCM’s two campuses. UCM faculty and staff members can submit items for
consideration at ucmo.edu/news/news-roundup.
Student Technical Writers Revise Handbook for League of Women Voters of KC
As part of the service-learning internship in the Technical Writing program, UCM student technical writers completed a substantial documentation revision for the League of Women Voters of Kansas City/Jackson, Clay, and Platte Counties.
In the Spring 2026 semester, Melanie Busse, president of the League of Women Voters
of KC/JCP, requested assistance from the Technical Writing program to edit and revise
their 49-page Board of Directors Handbook. The handbook consisted of the regional
LWV organization's policies, procedures and bylaws.
Throughout the semester, students researched documentation standards, established
a working template and worked diligently to conduct reviews with the client and subject
matter experts. The clients stated that “the process worked simply and efficiently,
with open communication.” The writers organized and edited existing content and crafted
new verbiage per the client’s request.
The final document was more accessible and the writers reduced the page count to 18
pages, which will save printing costs. At the end of the semester, the client stated
that they were “extremely satisfied with the completed work and are thrilled to have
a working document once again!” The project’s successful outcome has led to another
student writing project with the League of Women Voters of KC/JCP in the Fall 2026
semester.
Student writers who worked on this project include English major Jamie Smith, Civil Engineering Technology major Macy McKinne, English major Emma Rao and Digital Media Production major Riley King. Rebecca Miner, Ph.D., associate professor of Rhetoric and Technical
Writing and program coordinator of Technical Writing, oversaw the project.
Psychology Professor Publishes Monograph on Generational Slang and University Teaching
David Kreiner, Ph.D., professor of Psychological Science, published a monograph in Cambridge University Press’s “Cambridge Elements in Psychology and Culture” series.
The monograph, “Let Them Cook: Generational Slang and University Teaching,” is available
online free of charge until June 12.
As Kreiner states in the summary, “Higher education faculty often differ in age from the students in their courses, and these age differences may relate to social and cultural differences. As an aspect of culture, different social groups adopt different slang vocabularies. For these reasons, an understanding of generational differences in slang is relevant to university-level teaching.”
His work explores the nature and characteristics of slang and the education-related characteristics of recent generations, examines slang associated with Generations Z and Alpha, and considers the implications of generational slang for university-level teaching and learning.
“Generational slang is not just a challenge for university faculty, but also an opportunity,”
Kreiner’s summary concludes.
Career and Life Design Staff Present at Conference
Amber Goreham, director of the Career and Life Design Center, and Jessica Johnson, assistant director of Career and Life Design Integration, attended the Life Design Convening Conference on May 13-15 at Bowling Green State University, hosted by the Geoffrey H. Radbill Center for College and Life Design.
Goreham (right) and Johnson (left) presented a session on Faculty Engagement and Academic
Integration, where they shared how UCM is integrating career and life education throughout
the student journey through both academic and co-curricular experiences. Their session
highlighted the use of career and life design milestones and faculty partnerships
to help students move from exploration to confident next steps through intentional,
scalable programming.
Muleskinner Wins Big at Missouri College Media Association's State Competition
The Muleskinner, UCM’s student newspaper, won 24 awards at the Missouri College Media Convention, including third place in Division 1 Overall Paper.
The Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) hosted its annual convention on Saturday,
April 11 at Missouri State University in Springfield. The event included an awards
ceremony to honor the work of student journalists and advisors across Missouri.
Student journalists from the Muleskinner competed against 19 other publications in
the state competition, which was evaluated by a panel of media professionals from
across the country.
Among the 24 awards were five first-place honors: Feature Writing by Sadie Staker,
Political/Editorial Cartoon by Wyatt Zirkle, Nonpolitical/Entertainment Cartoon by
Zirkle, Story Illustration by Darby Mostaffa, and Editorial/Op-Ed Page by Muleskinner
Staff. The Muleskinner was named the third-best Overall Paper in Division 1 and also
earned five second-place awards, four third-place awards and nine honorable mentions.
“Everyone on our team has worked so hard over the past year and these awards are truly deserved by each and every Muleskinner contributor,” said Staker, Muleskinner editor in chief and MCMA vice president. “I am honored to be part of such a wonderful group of people and I can’t wait to see what they do next year.”
Julie Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor of Career and Technical Education and Muleskinner faculty adviser, was a State Adviser of the Year nominee. She also served as the 2025-26 MCMA faculty adviser and MCMA Conference co-director, partnering with the attendees of the MCMA and the Missouri Broadcasters Educators Association.
Lewis commented on the hard work and commitment of the Muleskinner staff, noting that this year’s staff continued to develop an inclusive atmosphere and established healthy core journalism values.
“These state awards are a testament to the incredible work our Muleskinner student
newsroom has put in all year long,” Lewis said. “It’s an honor to see our UCM students’
passion and dedication shine.”
Pictured in the top photo are Muleskinner staff members, from left, Jess Cooper, Bella
Reno, Staker, Riley Green, Summer Roberts and Anthony Rey at the MCMA Convention.
Pictured in the bottom photo is the full Muleskinner staff in front of the newsroom
in the James C. Kirkpatrick Library.
Middle School Students Host Engaging Discussion with Criminal Justice Professor
On May 6, Gregg Etter, Ph.D., professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, spoke with eighth-graders at Ford Middle School in Allen, Texas, as part of “Ask
a Criminologist,” a learning opportunity for their Humanities class.
Students developed a series of more than 40 questions that the class was curious about.
The insightful questions ranged from criminal cases and law enforcement methods to
criminal justice careers and educational opportunities. It was a back-and-forth Zoom
discussion between approximately 35 students and Etter.
Recent UCM Rankings
UCM is where students find exceptional value, achieve real success and make a tangible impact. Publications consistently recognize UCM among the Midwest's top public universities for academic quality, affordability, social mobility and online innovation. UCM also earns specialized recognitions that showcase distinctive strengths within individual programs and services.
Here are just a few examples of recognition the University of Central Missouri has earned recently:
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Programs.com: #12 most affordable online master’s cybersecurity programs for 2026
