STARS Wraps, New Sculpture: 5 Things to Know About UMSL

Another successful STARS program wrapped up its six-week session at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Participants included 82 students from 33 high schools in the St. Louis metro area, as well as California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa and Greece. And, despite the triple-digit heat, sculptor Arny Nadler completed installation of a 50-foot-long outdoor sculpture near Gallery 210.

Here are five highlights of things happening at UMSL.

• At 15, with college right around the corner, MICDS student Preethi UmaShanker has been pondering the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Fortunately, thanks to the STARS program at UMSL, she has as jump on the answer. “Science is definitely a path I want to take,” said the resident of St. Charles, Mo.
  
  

• UMSL education professor Mark Pope, a resident of University City, Mo., has worked tirelessly to promote multicultural awareness and social justice for all individuals. So it’s no surprise he has received the inaugural Diversity Initiative Award from the National Career Development Association.
  
  

• Undeterred by scorching temperatures, sculptor Arny Nadler worked all last week to complete a new sculpture outside of Gallery 210 on UMSL’s North Campus. The 50-foot-long outdoor, sculpture called “Whelm,” is made up of more than two miles of rebar.
  
  

• Fusing the relationship between the arts and social-emotional growth has been a passion of Alena Tunprasert for many years. It’s that same passion that has earned the education doctoral student the fourth annual Victor A. Battistich Memorial Graduate Award from the Center for Character Education and Citizenship in the College of Education at UMSL.
  
  

• As dance styles go, tap won’t be confused for contemporary. But it certainly isn’t dead yet. Need proof? Exhibit A: The St. Louis Tap Festival, now in its 21st year. It features a week of classes, workshops and tap jams that culminates in a public performance July 28 at the Touhill.  “All That Tap XXI” will include performances that run the gamut of tap styles, from smooth jazz to hard-hitting funk. Admission is $35. Visit touhill.org or call 314-516-4949 to order tickets.

For more comprehensive coverage of the happenings at the University of Missouri–St. Louis visit UMSL Daily.

UMSL is the largest university in the region. More than 16,000 students from 48 states and 62 countries are enrolled with 50,000 additional students enrolled in non-credit continuing education programs. It employs more than 1,400 full-time and part-time teaching and research faculty members. While its graduates have taken leadership roles nationally and internationally, their influence remains centered in the St. Louis region. More than 75 percent of UMSL’s 80,000 graduates still live and work in the region.