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Dyane Smokorowski

Andover Middle School eighth grade advanced language arts teacher Dyane Smokorowski (MET ’07), is the 2013 Kansas Teacher of the Year. Nominated by her former principal Brett White, Smokorowski was honored by Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Diane DeBacker during a ceremony in Wichita Nov. 17.

“It is truly a pleasure to present this award to Dyane Smokorowski,” said DeBacker. “When Dyane talks about teaching, her entire face lights up. She gets carried away with her enthusiasm for her profession and for her students, and it is impossible not to be carried away with her. I am grateful to have teachers like Dyane in Kansas.”

Smokorowski completed a Master of Educational Technology degree at MNU in 2007. The outstanding teacher and role model, known to her students as “Mrs. Smoke,” runs a student-centered classroom where she incorporates a variety of technology strategies to help students build stronger communication skills.

Recently, Smokorowski’s 8th grade students researched issues surrounding digital piracy, plagiarism, and copyright laws. Throughout the project, they used Skype to connect with and interview a wide variety of intellectual property experts. Throughout the course of the project, students talked to FBI cyber crime agents and the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America.  

“Through this experience and others like it, I have successfully connected my small town Kansas students to classrooms on all seven continents, and with more than 30 experts in areas ranging from the entertainment industry to the American Revolution,” said Smokorowski.

Smokorowski is the second Kansas Teacher of the Year in the past three years to have earned a master's degree in education at MNU. Karen Tritt, a foreign language teacher in the Shawnee Mission School District, won the award in 2010. Tritt completed a master’s degree in Teaching and Learning at MNU in 2001. For more information on MNU’s master of education program, visit
www.mnu.edu/med.

Dr. Jeff DeGraffenreid (’96, MEd ’99)

The Olathe Fire Department, headed by Fire Chief Dr. Jeff DeGraffenreid (’96, MEd ’99), was awarded Accredited Agency Status by the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE). CPSE’s accreditation recognizes departments whose services and performance levels demonstrate excellence in the field. The status distinguishes the Olathe Fire Department as one of only three accredited fire departments in the Kansas City metro, and one of approximately 160 in the world.

Additional News

Rob McDonald (’77) was selected to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Southern Nazarene University. McDonald has served in pastoral ministry in the Church of the Nazarene for the past 34 years.

Steve Cecil (’81) has been elected to serve as the senior pastor at Westside Church of the Nazarene in Decatur, Ill. Cecil and his wife, Peggy (Denny ’84) have served in full-time pastoral ministry in the Church of the Nazarene since 1981.

Jerry Storz (’82) was inducted into Sigma Beta Delta (the International Honor Society for Business, Management and Administration) on January 19, 2013. Storz also successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “Faith-Based Boards: What Are the Challenges?” at Argosy University-Denver, Colo., in December.

C.B. Glidden (’84) was selected to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Southern Nazarene University. He currently serves as senior pastor at Fort Worth First Church of the Nazarene, and on the SNU Board of Trustees.

Gerald Smith (’85) was selected to receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Southern Nazarene University. Smith currently serves as president of Nazarene Publishing House.

Kyle Miller (’01) was promoted to senior project manager at Axway, a leading international software company.

New York actress and musician Larissa Klinger (’04) performed with the USO Liberty Bells in Times Square for the 2013 New Year’s Eve Ball Drop.

Michael Scrivani ('05) was named senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Leavenworth, Kan. Scrivani completed a Master of Divinity at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2012, and was ordained February 3, 2013.

Stephen Netherton (’09) and his fellow members of the Baylor University Law School team won both the overall championship and the Professionalism Award at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy’s Tournament of Champions. Netherton, who is in his third year of law school at Baylor, was also recognized as Best Advocate in the Final Round.

Josh Transmeier ('12) is now a quality control chemist in the animal health division at Elanco Kansas City, a subsidiary of the international pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly.

Dean Wessels (’12) and Stephen Wessels (’12) are now accountants at Black & Veatch, a leading global engineering, consulting, and construction company.

2012 Annual Report Online

It’s all waiting for you at www.mnu.edu/annualreport.

• Student Success
• Year in Photos
• Greeting from President Spittal
• Honor Roll of Donors

Office of University Advancement
913.971.3280
foundation@mnu.edu.

Adventure Opportunities

Pioneer Adventures, MNU’s new destination travel series, begins this year with travel opportunities for alumni and friends across the country, and around the world.

Our travels kick off in April 2013 with a weekend in Branson, Mo., hosted by Pioneer faculty members Barth and Kathy Smith and Ron and Karen McClellan. 

Additional opportunities include:

• Israel (May 22—31, 2013)—Hosted by MNU religion department faculty
• Durango/Southwest Colorado (August 1—3, 2013)—Hosted by Kevin and Shawna Garber and Greg and Peggy Hephner
• Caribbean Cruise (January 3—9, 2014)—Hosted by MNU President David and Donna Spittal and Brian and Elizabeth Diddle
• Scottsdale, Arizona (Spring 2014)—Hosted by Rocky and Jo Lamar and Chuck and Kathy Nunamaker

Future destinations may include Gatlinburg, Tenn., Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H., Büsingen, Germany, and Honolulu, Hawaii. I invite you to share your favorite travel destination. The sky is the limit on where we’ll venture next.

Destination travel is becoming a way of life.  Almost everyone enjoys spending time with close friends.  Why not take the trip of a lifetime with your college roommate and spouse, or that old gang you used to double date with on the Plaza?

We’ve done our best to create a travel opportunity for everyone—north or south, warm or cold, near or far. We hope you’ll find a trip that’s right for you. Pack your bags and invite a friend or better yet, a group.  We look forward to seeing you on a Pioneer Adventure soon!

Sincerely,

Kevin Garber
Director of Alumni Relations

Check out all our exciting adventures at: www.mnu.edu/alumni-events/adventure.

One Couple’s Giving Benefits Many

Dr. Ron and Bonnie Albright make the support of Christian education a priority. The longtime Nazarenes from Pittsburg, Kan., have served in a number of volunteer positions at Pittsburg First Church of the Nazarene, where Ron directs the senior adult ministry and teaches Sunday school. 

Recently the Albrights made a substantial gift to the MNU endowment they established in 1995 for the support of ministerial students.  What makes this couple so passionate about providing the means to train young people for ministry? 

“When you see the product that the school is turning out, it makes you want to do everything you can to support it,” said Ron. “We need to encourage young people to enroll in Christian universities and take that opportunity seriously.” 

The Albrights met their first MNU students in the 1970s, when the university sent a singing group to Ron and Bonnie’s church. Ron, an orthodontist who graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City’s dental school in 1966, was already a strong believer in higher education. The Albrights' children were headed to college as well—one of them would go on to graduate from Asbury Theological Seminary and enter the ministry. As a father and a professional, Ron felt stewardship prompted him to support higher education, and he and Bonnie found MNU’s philosophy of education resonated with their beliefs.  

The Albrights' learned more about MNU through Dr. Larry and Doris Fine. Fine, professor of practical theology at MNU, spoke at the Albrights' church where he and Ron struck up a friendship that has spanned more than 30 years. Because of their shared love for fishing and the outdoors, the Albrights invited the Fines to enjoy their vacation home in the Ozarks. Since then, Ron and Bonnie have made the cabin available to not only the Fines, but to many MNU professors. Ron views it not only as a demonstration of friendship, but as a way to support those who dedicate their lives to such an important vocation.

“What he is exposing the students to is so valuable to them as future leaders of our country,” said Ron. 

The Albrights' pastor, Rev. Jim Sukraw (’74), called the Albrights “true stewards.” 

“They are very remarkable people,” said Sukraw. “Bonnie has a heart for the underdog. People who come to church struggling are the ones she makes sure to befriend. They both have lived their lives for others.” 

Ron understands that some people think they don’t have the means to support Christian education. In that case, Ron recommends thinking beyond cash gifts. Recently, he and Bonnie chose to transfer stock in order to build their endowment. From a tax standpoint, the move helps them while also helping the university.

“We had accumulated this stock during our working years,” said Ron. “We would just be taxed on it, and I felt it was better used as a monetary gift to the university.” 

For more information about non-cash giving, such as stocks or property, contact Roger Alexander, director of development at (877) 496-8668 or rcalexander@mnu.edu.