National Alumni Association Presents: Director of Athletics Signe Coombs
DATE: June 10, 2025
Sponsored by the Truman Alumni Association, this Bulldog Break introduces Truman’s Director of Athletics, Signe Coombs. Listen to hear more about Signe’s background and her goals for Bulldog Athletics.
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National Alumni Association Presents: Sports Journalists
DATE: January 22, 2025
Sponsored by the Truman Alumni Association, this Bulldog Break features two alumni working in sports journalism. Hear from David Brandt (’03) with The Associated Press and Blake Toppmeyer (’10) with USA TODAY Network about their journey from working at Truman’s Index to building successful careers as sports writers.
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Mid-Missouri Alumni Chapter Presents: Women in the Military
DATE: November 13, 2024
Sponsored by the Mid-Missouri Alumni Chapter, this Bulldog Break features a panel of Truman alumnae who have made careers in the military. Hear more about the professional journey of these women serving their country.
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Truman Alumni Association Presents: Bulldog Influencers
DATE: October 9, 2024
The Truman Alumni Association Board of Directors invites you to a virtual event featuring two recent graduates working as social media content creators: Peyton Pratte (’18) and Jordan Smith (’16, ’19) Peyton is the founder of Choosing Balance, a food and lifestyle blog featuring healthy, simple recipes for a balanced lifestyle. Jordan is a food blogger, content creator, and CEO of Jordo’s World, easy healthy recipes for busy people. These Bulldogs utilize their voice on their blogs and social media platforms to connect to over 1 million followers combined.
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Northeast Missouri Alumni Chapter Presents: Truman Online Graduate Programs
DATE: August 28, 2024
This Bulldog Break features Truman faculty talking about exciting new opportunities to access a Truman education wherever you are. While some programs are 100% online, others have a hybrid format that allows you to take classes in the method that suits you best. Whether you are looking to complete a masters or seeking to enhance your credentials with a certificate, Truman’s online programs are designed with you in mind. With a broad variety of disciplines including gifted education, data science, health professions and the humanities, Truman’s online programs can help advance your personal and professional goals. Panelists include:
- Scott Alberts, Professor and Chair, Department of Computer and Data Sciences
- Jeanne Harding, Director of Graduate Studies
- MaryEllen Jensen, Director of Applied Behavior Analysis and Director of Truman’s Greenwood Interprofessional Autism Center
- Sarah Mohler, Assistant Professor of English
- Karl Witt, Chair and Associate Professor of Counseling
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Bulldog Break Online Program Q&A
Questions about Truman’s online graduate programs? Contact Stephanie Wilson, Assistant Director of Graduate Recruitment.
Mid-Atlantic Alumni Chapter Presents: Bulldog Break with Calaneet Balas (’97)
DATE: August 2, 2023
Calaneet Balas became president and CEO of The ALS Association in December 2017. She joined the organization in June 2016 as chief of strategy, overseeing the integration of the Association’s three areas of mission focus: research, care services and advocacy. In addition to her leadership of the Association and its ambitious vision to create a world without ALS, she serves as the chairwoman of the International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations. Ms. Balas also currently serves as the president of the Truman Foundation Board of Directors.
Before joining the fight against ALS, Ms. Balas was the CEO of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. In this role, she successfully collaborated with a partner organization to create the largest global organization dedicated to ovarian cancer research, advocacy and patients. Her extensive experience also includes roles at the Arthritis Foundation, where she was chief strategy officer of the Mid-Atlantic Region and President and CEO of the Foundation’s Metro DC Chapter.
Ms. Balas holds a Master of Business Administration from Herriot-Watt University, a Master of Science in human movement science education from the University of Memphis and a Bachelor of Science in exercise science from Truman State University.
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Kansas City Alumni Chapter Presents: Bulldog Break with Kathy Nelson
DATE: August 2, 2023
The August Bulldog break featured Kathy Nelson, CEO and President of the Kansas City Sports Commission and President of KC. Kathy, who attended Truman in the late 1980’s, is a nationally recognized leader in the sports and tourism industries. She has earned numerous accolades, including Telly, Emmy and cable television awards for her work in broadcast journalism, specifically sports production. Kathy has also received the following honors:
- In 2020, she was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Kansas City Sports History.
- In 2022, Kathy was selected as one of the inaugural Lieutenant Governor’s Women of Achievement for the state of Missouri.
- Earlier in 2023, she was recognized as the Missouri honoree for USA Today’s “Woman of the Year” list.
In addition to a busy spring, which included the Big 12 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship and an NCAA Men’s Midwest Regional, Kathy and her teams at the Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC recently completed work on the largest event in Kansas City history: the 2023 NFL Draft. During this event, attendees got to learn more about Kathy’s impressive career, including her role in bringing the FIFA World Cup to Kansas City.
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St. Louis Alumni Chapter Presents: Bulldog Break with Sam Murphey (’06)
DATE: March 8, 2023
The Alumni Board of Directors, in partnership with the St. Louis Alumni Chapter hosted this Bulldog Break featuring Sam Murphey (’06) who shared his exciting journey from student at Truman State University to Chief Strategy Officer at Greater St. Louis, Inc. Greater St. Louis, Inc. is a network of civic-minded St. Louis leaders who are driving inclusive economic growth with a unified voice for the business community and being one metro area anchored by a vibrant urban core. A couple of the innovative projects Greater St. Louis, Inc. is currently involved with are the Tower Grove Connector and the Brickline Greenway. Both projects aim to connect various areas of St. Louis together using safe, comfortable pathways.
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Navigating Your Future with Gift Planning
DATE: February 24, 2021
In this one-hour webinar, Truman alumni with experience in the field of gift/estate planning help you navigate the subject of gift planning and discuss a variety of giving options which could help you support causes important to you while also ensuring the care of your family.
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BULLDOG BREAK: Meet the Dean of School of Arts and Letters
DATE: September 22, 2020
Meet Dr. Steve Parsons, the new Dean for Truman’s School of Arts and Letters and learn more about his past work experiences, what led him to Truman and plans to work with constituents moving forward. Learn more about Dr. Parsons.
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BULLDOG BREAK: Meet the Dean of School of Business
DATE: August 25, 2020
Meet Dr. Rashmi Prasad, the new Dean for Truman’s School of Business and learn more about his past work experiences, what led him to Truman and plans to work with constituents moving forward. Learn more about Dr. Prasad.
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BULLDOG BREAK: Career Focus
DATE: July 23, 2020
Hear from human resources professionals Phil Hall (’85), Senior Vice President for employee Relations at Wells Fargo; Bernee Long (’81), Director of Organizational Learning at Talent Development at SHRM and Jenni Nuhn (’09), Assistant Director of Truman’s Career Center about the current landscape in the world of work. Learn more about the impact COVID-19 and social unrest are having on employment, building and managing meaningful career-focused networks and what to consider when seeking a career and much more. This session is moderated by Dave Lusk, Associate Vice President for Career Development at Truman.
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BULLDOG BREAK: Dr. Wendy Miner, Chair of Truman’s Education Department
DATE: June 15, 2020
Learn how Truman’s Master of Arts in Education program responded to support interns as they were forced to modify their educational delivery and hear how the interns navigated the choppy waters of delivering meaningful content through online instruction.
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