"Missouri Innovators: Famous (and Infamous) Missourians Who Led the Way in Their Field presents over seventy-five exceptional Missourians who have made significant contributions from across many walks of life. They include ground breakers across many diverse fields including entertainment and the fine arts, education and literature, business and industry, science and technology, politics and the military, athletics, and more. Several of these innovators are famous and a few are less known, but all achieved greatness in some form" -- From Amazon.com.

From popular TV correspondent and writer Rocca comes a charmingly irreverent and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people who made life worth living.

Walt Disney, Brad Pitt, Jack Dorsey, Payne Stewart. Josephine Baker. Samuel Clemens. George Washington Carver. What do these icons have in common? They were all raised in the Show-Me State. This second edition of Missouri Legends brings renowned politicians, authors, artists, athletes, performers, and historical figures to life. The book profiles more than 200 famous Missourians with dozens of new entries. Each profile includes a brief account of their formative years in Missouri and how they became legendary. With the second edition, readers will learn even more about the historically significant (Jesse James, Gen. John J. Pershing, Laura Ingalls Wilder), major politicians (Harry S Truman, Jack Danforth, Bill Bradley), groundbreaking artists (Scott Joplin, Thomas Hart Benton, T.S. Eliot), business innovators (Dale Carnegie, Sam Walton, J.C. Penney), sports legends (Yogi Berra, Albert Pujols, Grant Wistrom), iconic entertainers (Redd Foxx, Steve McQueen, Sheryl Crow) and world-famous leaders in science, technology, broadcasting, and other fields. From the smallest towns to the big cities, there are legends all around us. This book is a celebration of our Show-Me State heroes who have made an impact on the world... and it all started in Missouri.

Brad Pitt. Payne Stewart. Josephine Baker. Walter Cronkite. Thomas Pendergast. George Washington Carver. What do these icons have in common? They were all born and raised in the Show Me State. In Missouri Legends, a fun yet informative new book by TV and radio broadcaster John Brown, well-known politicians, authors, artists, athletes, performers, and historical figures come to life. The book profiles more than 100 famous Missourians. Each profile includes a brief account of a legend's childhood and rise to fame, not to mention a nugget or two of entertaining trivia. Filled with intrigue and information, this book is ideal for those interested in the state's notable people and the stories behind them.

Professional and educational associations, such as the Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED), create and offer awards that recognize the accomplishments of individuals, programs, and institutions. In this edited book, W. Kyle Ingle and Harriette Thurber Rasmussen focus on CPED’s Program of the Year (POY) Award, examining its history, purpose, submission requirements, its committee structure, activities, and outcomes. Faculty members from CPED’s award-winning institutions have been invited to discuss their innovative programs, how these innovations were developed, how they pursue social justice, and how these innovations have been sustained since winning the award. Furthermore, the award’s role in facilitating the diffusion of innovative and effective practices among CPED member institutions is examined. The book and its chapters are framed through the lens of innovation diffusion theory. Popularized by communication theorist Everett Rogers (1967, 2003), innovation diffusion theory has spread widely across the social sciences. In his seminal work, Diffusion of Innovations, Rogers defines an innovation as “an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption” (2003, p. 12). Innovation diffusion is the process by which an innovation spreads among the members of a social system, in this case the internal and external communities of Ed.D.-granting institutions. The book includes dual components: (1) innovative programs that drive social justice and (2) how these institutional innovations were developed and sustained. The latter component will shed light on three self-study processes related to these award willing programs: The process of creating the featured innovative program; The process of applying for the program of the year award; and The process of writing the journey and considering the impact of the program of the year award on their institution, including any reinvention/adaptations. Taken together, readers will examine and understand “process[es] by which alteration occurs in the structure and function of a social system” (Rogers, 1995, p. 6) in pursuit of social justice goals through programmatic innovation. Perfect for courses such as: Program Development & Assessment in Higher Education; Instructional Planning for Student Learning and Achievement; Performance Improvement; Instructional Design and Development; e-Learning Design and Development; College Teaching; Supervised Experience in Higher Education; Special Problems in Educational Leadership; Professional Projects in Higher Education; Organizational Improvement in Higher Education