Cadaver lab spotlighted during MSSU Board of Governors meeting

(From Southern News Service)

Ten years after its founding, the cadaver lab at Missouri Southern State University has grown far beyond its original design, becoming a unique and vital resource for students planning to enter the medical field.

Dr. Alla Barry, associate professor of biology and director of the lab, discussed the lab’s anniversary during today’s Board of Governors meeting.

Located in Ummel Technology Building, the initial lab featured an observation gallery, where students could watch as faculty members taught and utilized one of two cadavers. The creation of an advanced dissection course created a more immersive experience for students, while an expansion in 2018 doubled the amount of available space.

Today, the lab houses eight cadavers – with dedicated spaces for students to work on dissection and study prosected bodies. Barry said it’s rare for a school Missouri Southern’s size to house such a resource.

But the lab is more than just a means for undergraduate students to learn about anatomy, she said.

“It’s about the ability to see things, analyze findings and put them together to create a diagnosis,” she said. “It’s like a detective examining footprints to find the guy who did it. Students like this approach because it makes them think, not just memorize.”

In other business:
The board heard a lunchtime presentation by Stephanie Goad, coordinator of international admissions and recruitment, regarding Missouri Southern’s new partnership with the National Collegiate Network (NCN).



Based in Tokyo, the organization has placed nearly 7,200 Japanese students in partner universities around the United States. Missouri Southern has become NCN’s 37th partner university and the only one in the state.



“Beginning in the summer of 2022, NCN will start sending Japanese students to MSSU,” Goad said. “The students will begin their study-abroad experience in the university’s Intensive English Program for a minimum of six weeks before matriculating to their chosen degree program.”


Academic Affairs announced the recipients of the Outstanding Teacher/Advisor awards for 2021.



The Outstanding Teacher honorees were Dr. Otto Borchert, assistant professor of Computer Information Science; and Dr. Cliff Tolliver, professor of English. Jennifer Vieselmeyer, master instructor of Teacher Education, received the Outstanding Advisor recognition.





Students make the nominations for the annual awards, which honor instructors who have made a positive impact in the classroom and in an advising capacity.