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Preserving
a Poet’s Legacy
Jim Thomas
Echo Yearbook
The Jim Thomas Scholarship
fund at Truman will receive
100 percent of all royalties
from a new book of poetry entitled
Brief Tracks. Like the scholarship, the
book represents the legacy of Jim
Thomas, a poet and English professor
who passed away in February 2009.
Thomas taught courses in American
literature and creative writing, and the
scholarship was established by his
friends and colleagues when he retired
from Truman in 1994. Teaching at
Truman for more than 30 years,
Thomas was known for his habit of
sharing his poems regularly with his
students and colleagues. His poems
were often published in some of the
leading literary journals.
Joe Benevento, a professor of
English at Truman and longtime
colleague and friend of Thomas’s, put
together the book to provide a final
opportunity for Thomas’s many fans to
enjoy the poetry. Thomas’s widow, Rita,
gave Benevento access to more than
300 of Thomas’s published and
unpublished poems, previously
uncollected in book form. From that
number, a book of 69 poems has been
fashioned to create Brief Tracks.
Recently printed by the Truman State
University Press (TSUP), Brief Tracks is
now available. For more information
visit the TSUP Web site at
http://tsup.truman.edu/.
Fundraising Efforts
Focus on Library Café
Each year, the Truman Parent Project supports a specific fundraising effort
to enhance the learning experience for Truman students, and for the
2009-2010 academic year, the initiative is generating support for a new
café in the University’s library. Cafés have become a popular feature in many
academic libraries, and in response to surveys and suggestions from Truman
students, the University is planning to add a café/coffee shop within Pickler
Memorial Library. The café will provide an attractive area for students to study,
take a break, or gather with other students.
To make room for the new café, the library will be renovating an area just off
the main atrium across from the library entrance. The café will include seating
for individuals and groups, a service counter providing various refreshments, and
an area to be used for special events such as poetry readings, guest
speakers, and readings by authors.
Scholarship Honors Memory of Son
Lawrence T. Kriner was serving in
the military when he was killed
in a rappelling accident in 1993
at the age of 19. His mother, Louise
(Schwaner) Kriner, is using a planned
gift of $100,000 to honor the memory
of her son and to provide scholarships
for students to further their education
at her alma mater.
A 1967 graduate of Truman, Louise
was a nurse until 1989 when she
retired as director of nursing at Twin
Pines Adult Care Center in Kirksville.
As a tribute to the memory of her only
child, Louise created the Louise
(S chwaner) Kriner and PFC Lawrence
T. Kriner Scholarship. The scholarship
will assist nursing students from the
Kirksville area, and as a fitting tribute
to Lawrence, preference will be given
to students interested in the military.
36 Truman Review