July 2026 News at UCM

Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity Receives National Awards

Members of the Delta Lambda Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (TKE) at UCM, along with the Delta Lambda Alumni Association, traveled to New Orleans for the fraternity's biennial Conclave on July 30-Aug. 1. During the event, both the chapter and its alumni association received multiple national awards recognizing their accomplishments over the past two years.

The Delta Lambda Alumni Association was honored as the National Alumni Association of the Year, recognizing its commitment to community service, support for the UCM chapter, and dedication to the TKE Foundation. The association also leads all TKE chapters nationwide in the number of alumni who contribute to the foundation. 

Ed Wirthwein, longtime chapter advisor for the Delta Lambda Chapter, received the prestigious Order of the North Medallion, one of Tau Kappa Epsilon's highest individual honors. The award recognizes his outstanding service to the fraternity, unwavering commitment to strengthening the chapter, and dedication to developing student leaders. Wirthwein has served as the chapter advisor at UCM for more than 17 years, mentoring generations of TKE members and helping the chapter achieve continued success.

The Delta Lambda Chapter also earned national recognition with awards for Academic Achievement, Alumni Relations, Community Service, and Risk, Health, and Safety. These honors reflect the chapter's continued commitment to academic excellence, leadership development, community engagement, and creating a safe and positive fraternity experience.

Together, the awards highlight the strong partnership between the active chapter and its alumni, demonstrating the lasting impact of Tau Kappa Epsilon's mission to build better men for a better world. 

Pictured are, from left, Mike McEvilly of the TKE Grand Council; UCM alumnus and staff member Wirthwein; UCM alumnus and TKE national staff member Luis Benavides; UCM alumnus Jake Mahin; and UCM alumnus and TKE national staff member Drew Frizzell.

Biology Department Hosts Nature Detectives Middle School Camp

Area middle school students became Nature Detectives during two camps offered by the Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences in June and July. 

Led by two UCM graduate students and an undergraduate student, the campers learned about amphibians and reptiles, birds, fish, insects, mammals, and plants through activities related to UCM’s six natural history collections. They also spent time outside learning basic ecological methods. 

The camp was full of engaging experiences that fostered exploration and interest in biology. The UCM collections have tens of thousands of specimens that provided the middle school students with a closer look at the diversity of species found in the region. 

A team of UCM faculty led by Daniel Marschalek, Ph.D., associate professor and graduate program coordinator of Biology, designed the sessions and secured the equipment and funds necessary to make the event free for all involved.

Social Studies Program Coordinator Travels to Germany on TOP Study Tour

Tina Ellsworth, assistant professor and program coordinator of Social Studies Education, traveled to Germany from June 13-24 on a Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) study tour. The goal of these study tours is to provide educators with first-hand experience abroad that they can use to enhance their students’ global competency.

In total, 42 educators from across the United States and Canada will travel to Germany with TOP this summer, visiting schools, government offices, businesses, nonprofits, subject matter experts, museums, historical sites, cultural venues and more during their 10-day trips. TOP study tour programs provide immersive insights into the social, political, economic and cultural landscape of contemporary Germany and the European Union. This learning experience equips educators with new knowledge, strategies and resources to enrich their classroom instruction with global perspectives and spark students’ interest in the world around them.

The Transatlantic Outreach Program is a public-private partnership between the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Goethe-Institut, and Deutsche Bank. TOP has funded, organized and implemented study tours to Germany for North American social studies and STEM educators, as well as workforce development leaders, since 2002. 

The tour group, with Ellsworth fourth from the right, is seen in front of the European Central Bank.

Associate Professor of Theatre Serves in Leadership Roles at ATHE Conference

Aaron Scully, Ph.D., associate professor of Theatre, served in multiple key roles at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) conference on July 22-26 in Baltimore, Maryland.

He served as the Playwrights and Creative Teams (PACT) Focus Group Conference Planner and chaired a panel on Artificial Intelligence and Playwriting. In addition to his leadership duties, Scully presented research titled "Romeo and Juliet for Contemporary Audiences and Artists" as part of the Shakespearean production panel “Imagination to give them shape.” He also directed a reading for the New Play Development Workshop featuring the selected play “Brosef Learns to Dance.”

UCM Audio Students Help With Poetry in the Parks

UCM’s student chapter of the Audio Engineering Society worked with the Warrensburg Arts Commission and Warrensburg Parks and Recreation on the city’s Poetry in the Parks project, which was installed this summer.

The collaboration resulted in a public art project that displays short, original poetry by local and regional writers in Warrensburg’s city parks. A total of 10 poems can be found at Marr Park, Cave Hollow, Lions Lake, Culp Park, Hawthorne Park and Shepard Park. 

Visitors can read poems as they experience the parks, or listen to the poets read their poems. Each sign has a QR code that will pull up a recording on your phone.