Briefly Mentioned

SBS associate professor joins WFCC Executive Board

UMKC’s School of Biological Sciences (SBS) Research Associate Professor Kevin McCluskey, Ph.D., was recently chosen to join the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) Executive Board.

McCluskey is also the curator of UMKC’s Fungal Genetics Stock Center (FGSC).

The FGSC, a compilation of research materials, was founded in 1960 at Dartmouth University.

FGSC materials are distributed around the world.

The WFCC is associated with the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) and also a multidisciplinary commission of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS).

The WFCC includes the most prominent scientists from countries all over the globe, including China, Germany and Russia.

Currently, McCluskey is the only member to represent the United States.

The WFCC is involved with the gathering, authentication, care and the allotment of cultured cells and cultures of microorganisms.

Its purpose is to endorse and support the creation of culture collections and related services, assure the continuance of long-term collections and provide information and help between the collections and people who are using them.

AUP+D plans to re-use vacant school buildings

The UMKC’s College of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Architecture, Urban Planning + Design (AUP+D) fourth-year Urban Planning and Design Studio will introduce an idea to the public at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 16 in Katz Hall room 101.

In response to the Kansas City Missouri School District’s (KCMSD) decision to close 26 of its 61 schools in March 2010, the AUP+D is attempting to restore and put the vacant buildings to use.

The Urban Planning and Design students have spent 20 to 30 hours a week performing data analysis and review, designing a community engagement process, reviewing the history and context and existing conditions and refining the KCMSD’s guidebook for repurposing strategy.

According to a UMKC press release, every wall in the AUP+D’s new studio is peppered with sketches, maps and statistics.

bibanez@unews.com