11-04-10

Today's News From Kansas State University

Courtesy of Kansas State Media Release...

FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED TO PHILOSOPHY PROFESSOR TO STUDY IN KYRGYZSTAN

MANHATTAN -- Jon Mahoney, Kansas State University associate professor of philosophy, has received a Fulbright Scholarship, and will head to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in January to begin six months of travel, teaching and research.

"International travel, especially to non-Western countries, is a huge benefit for both teaching and research," Mahoney said. "This is especially true for political philosophers like myself who try to discover objective principles of justice. It is also just plain fun to travel."

Mahoney will be working at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek. His research will focus on democratic equality, with an emphasis on religion and politics.

Kyrgyzstan is in Central Asia and is a former Soviet Republic. Following political and ethnic violence last summer, Kyrgyz voters approved the creation of a parliamentary government. The first elections under the new system took place Oct. 10.

"I am especially excited to spend a semester in Kyrgyzstan in light of current events," he said. "This will be helpful for my research and my well-being. I have never been to Kyrgyzstan, but I have taught abroad in the past. One thing that is unique about teaching abroad is that I learn a lot from students and colleagues whose backgrounds differ from my K-State students and colleagues."

Marcelo Sabates, head of the philosophy department, said Mahoney's achievement enriches the philosophy department's distinguished record in terms of fellowships, which includes, among others, a British Council Scholar, an Agence National de la Recherche Fellow and two Humboldt Scholars.

"Jon's participation in this program will not only have a tremendous impact on his research but will also enhance the experience of his students at K-State, as well as provide new perspectives for his colleagues in the philosophy department," Sabates said.

Mahoney said he is also looking forward to traveling around the region during his time in Central Asia.

"I look forward to hiking the mountains of Central Asia, eating new kinds of food and learning to speak some Russian and Kyrgyz," he said.

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DESIGN FOR UNIVERSITY'S NEW WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL TO BE UNVEILED NOV. 10

MANHATTAN -- After eight years of planning, the design for Kansas State University's World War II Memorial has been chosen.

The design will be unveiled in a ceremony at the eventual site of the memorial, in the center of the circular drive in front of McCain Auditorium, at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10. The ceremony is open to the public.

The memorial design, "Tags of Honor," was created by Tim Chapman, president and CEO of the Fort Hays State University Foundation and a former employee of the KSU Foundation.

"When asked to design a piece that would be symbolic of the branches of the military and represent the men and women who served, images of other wonderful memorials came to mind," Chapman said. "But the committee wanted something unique, something worldly."

Chapman's design encompassed what the K-State World War II Memorial committee was seeking. The memorial will consist of a large pair of dog tags sitting on a pentagonal-shaped base. The design of the tags is historically accurate for World War II.

Surrounding the piece will be three bronze plaques designed by Dan Hunt, sculpture professor at K-State. The plaques will represent the military services by air, by land and by sea.

"Numerous concepts and proposals for the memorial have been considered by the committee since 2002," said Art DeGroat, K-State's director of military affairs. "A significant effort was made to ensure the most acceptable and appropriate memorial was selected to honor the more than 8,500 K-State students who served in World War II. Tim Chapman's design was considered by the committee to be nontraditional, but it made the most compelling impression upon us all.

"I showed this design to current military veteran students and our ROTC cadets for their impression, and they had an overwhelming positive reaction. The 'Tags of Honor' had an enduring appeal to our current generation of military students, while deeply honoring the service and sacrifice of the World War II veterans."

The sculpture will be placed upon sacred soil -- actual soil from the final resting places of K-State World War II veterans.

"We gathered soil from every state veterans' cemetery in Kansas, Arlington National Cemetery and some private family plots," DeGroat said. "With full military honors, performed by our Army and Air Force ROTC cadets, we committed these soils to the ground at the epicenter of the site where the 'Tags of Honor' will rest. A plaque highlighting this feature will be placed upon the memorial.

"The World War II Memorial is an enduring symbol of K-State's commitment, as an institution of higher education, to supporting the men and woman that serve in our nation's military," he said.

The ceremony will conclude with the playing of taps, the traditional bugle call often played at military funerals.

"The World War II Memorial honors the sacrifice and service of many K-State students and faculty," said Fred Cholick, president and CEO of the KSU Foundation. "The sculpture will recognize all branches of the armed forces and create a moving centerpiece for the memorial. We are very grateful to the alumni and friends whose contributions helped build the memorial. It will provide current and future generations of K-Staters with a place for reflection and pride in the sacrifices of those who went before them."

The memorial will be completed in May. A dedication ceremony is planned for Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2011.

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VETERINARY GRADUATE RECEIVES SPECIAL FEDERAL LOAN WAIVER AWARD

MANHATTAN -- Scott Morey, who earned his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Kansas State University in May 2010, is one of five recent veterinary medicine graduates chosen to have $100,000 in federal loans waived.

Morey was selected from more than 100 graduating veterinary medicine doctoral students across the nation who are now practicing in food animal medicine. The recipients were chosen by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation through a program to combat the growing shortage of food animal veterinarians.

"It's an awesome feeling to have more than half of my student loans waived," Morey said. "My repayments were going to take about 30 years, and now it'll be about half that, and it will also cut the interest. I'm very excited about this."

According to Larry Kornegay, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the average debt for new veterinary school graduates is more than $130,000.

"This school loan forgiveness program will help support veterinarians who want to pursue a career in food animal medicine," he said.

The program, called the AVMA/AVMF Food Animal Veterinarian Recruitment and Retention Program, is targeted to those new graduates who are able to commit to working in food animal medicine for four years in an area that's experiencing a shortage of veterinary care.

After graduating Morey joined the Tallgrass Veterinary Hospital in Concordia as one of its two veterinarians. The hospital is a mixed animal practice, although its major focus is on large animals like beef cows and calves.

Morey, who also completed a master's degree in dairy nutrition from K-State over the summer, credits Barry Bradford and the rest of the faculty in K-State's department of animal sciences and industry for being essential in the nomination process. Bradford, assistant professor of dairy cattle nutrition, was Morey's major professor and wrote a letter of recommendation to the selection committee.

"I actually picked K-State over a couple of other schools because they have a better vet med program. I wanted to get a good education, especially in working with large animals," Morey said. "K-State gave me the means and opportunity to excel in many areas of food animal medicine."