Missouri State Magazine

Autumn and Kyle Davis opened Buttermilk, an ice cream and dessert spot, just a few blocks from where they both once attended classes.

The pair splits responsibilities.

“We joke about it and say that I’m the CEO and he’s the creative director,” Autumn Davis said.

Kyle is a pastry chef with previous roles at local restaurants like The Order and Progress. He also competed on season one of Food Network’s “Summer Baking Championship.”

Now, he brings his scratch-made pastry expertise to ice creams, sorbets and baked goods — like his signature milk and honey dessert — available in Springfield’s Rountree neighborhood.

Buttermilk rotates the flavors and menu items every few weeks. Kyle estimates that at least one item on every menu features locally grown herbs and seasonal fruit.

“We like to travel a lot and eat when we travel. There are so many good restaurateurs and chefs out there. That’s a main inspiration for Buttermilk,” Kyle Davis said. “We want this to be a place with quality items made by real people who care.”

Autumn earned a bachelor’s in general business in 2021, and now manages the operations side of Buttermilk. That includes the finances, marketing and long-term strategy.

“Sometimes you have the creative passion in a business, but there’s no financial or business side. That can be really difficult,” Autumn said. “Lucky for us, we have both. We have opposite talents we are able to bring together.”

They play to their strengths, Kyle said: “There’s that partnership in almost everything we do.”

Their daughters, Cali and Charlotte, also help out by running the walk-up window.

“When we opened the shop, we honestly couldn’t have done it without them. We want them to feel a sense of ownership in this; this is our family’s business,” Autumn said. “They take a lot of pride in that, and it’s really cool to see.”

So, why Buttermilk? The name comes from their tangy, sweet best-selling flavor.

“Buttermilk was an ice cream flavor I’d made for a few years and would surprise people with,” Kyle said. “People hear ‘buttermilk’ and have bad memories of grandma and grandpa drinking it. It was really fun to make it into an ice cream and have people blown away that they actually liked it.”

Kyle was a Bear as a fine arts major with an emphasis in photography and minor in art history. He enjoys finding ways to apply concepts of fine art to the culinary arts.

“I really fell in love with flavor profiles. With the art history background, being able to study different styles, time periods and countries gave me a good palette for what’s out there,”

Kyle said. “Plating desserts, you get to make art and eat it.”

A cherry on top for them: They still have connections to campus. Buttermilk employs a few students, and it has quickly become a favorite spot to study or hang out.

“Being so close to Missouri State is such a huge part of our business and what we love,” Autumn said. “It’s that neighborhood, community feel.”

What would be their Mo State flavor?

Our Fruit Experiment Station in Mountain Grove is the state’s only licensed commercial winery and distillery that operates within a public university.

The station focuses on developing grape varieties suited for Missouri’s climate. Visitors can attend workshops, tour the facility and sample products, all while learning how science shapes Missouri’s wine industry.

Researchers there explore genetics to create fruit that is more disease-resistant and cold-hardy. Just this year, Dr. Wenping Qiu and his team discovered and patented a new grapevine cultivar.

“We’re over joyful,” he said. “It’s one of the two most significant achievements we’ve made for society. The other being our former discovery of a new grape virus.”

GRADUATE STUDENT’S WORK IS PART OF FEDERAL ELDERBERRY STUDIES

A recent Bear grad contributed this year to a U.S. Department of Agriculture project on the American elderberry, an up-and-coming crop.

Despite increased demand for elderberry fruit, there’s really not much known about its pollination — which is necessary for fruit to be produced.

Biology graduate student Jenny Burrow ’23 & ’26 — whose LinkedIn page includes the title “beesearcher” — was part of the lab of Dr. Avery L. Russell, associate biology professor.

Burrow focused on which insects and other pollinators visited elderberry flowers, and how those visits influenced fruit production.

The research was done as part of the federal Advancing American Elderberry initiative.

Burrow was recently admitted to a PhD program in St. Louis.

Learn about our Mountain Grove winery and view fruit events/workshops open to the public.

What’s your Ebbets story? Did you watch a game, have a burger, meet up with friends? It’s likely you did. After all, many generations of Bears have fond memories of Ebbets Field.

More than 40 years ago, the restaurant and pub opened just steps from Springfield’s campus. It closed in January 2024.

Sydney and Jerrad Davis had plenty of college outings there — but one stands out.

“I came here with my friends before we went on our first date,” Sydney said. “Jerrad picked me up here.”

Sydney graduated in 2019 with a bachelor’s in entertainment management. Jerrad graduated with a master’s in project management in 2021. He also played lacrosse and coached the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams.

In 2025, the same year they were married, the historic house on Walnut Street went up for sale. The Davises knew they had to revive the place that had once been a favorite hangout.

“When we heard it closed, we were really sad. I also worked here in college,” Sydney said. “When we found out it was for sale, we were living in St. Louis and had just gotten married. We had always talked about opening a bar and restaurant. It was like this once-in-a-lifetime moment.”

They reopened Ebbets in March 2026. They’ve brought back long-time menu favorites — including the pizza many patrons missed — and filled the space with Mo State athletics memorabilia.

“We spent a lot of time looking through old photos to see if we could find those items on Facebook Marketplace or at thrift stores,” Jerrad said. “We have a few original items we put back in their old spots.”

The original Ebbets Field was opened by Nick Russo, a fellow Bear. Russo started Ebbets in 1981 where the Bear Park South parking garage now stands.

He eventually moved it to historic Walnut Street in 1994, and it has been there since through different owners.

There was a special connection between the Davises and Russo, too.

“Nick was my high school English teacher,” Sydney said. “A couple months after we got the place, we reached out to him. We spent time listening to his fun stories. He gave us a lot of advice, and we showed him the little details like his original sign from the old location hanging out back.”

The Davises are embracing the history of the restaurant, while looking forward to more memories to come.

“We love hearing all the stories from alumni parents now bringing their students for orientation at Missouri State,” Jerrad said.

And as another school year started this August, Sydney said, “now current students can come in and experience it for themselves.”

How well did you pay attention to Missouri State happenings over the summer? It’s time to find out! Take the news quiz.

Alumnus and his daughters make a gift that will elevate teaching, learning and mentorship.

In February, Missouri State announced a new name in the College of Business: The Pendleton Family School of Accountancy.

“This milestone moment — the university’s first named school — was made possible thanks to a significant seven-figure gift from alumnus Dick Pendleton and his three daughters (Sheri Law, Sally Phillips and Tracy Myrick),” said Missouri State University Foundation President Brent Dunn.

The university announced the gift and naming during a ceremony on campus.

“We’re grateful to Dick and his family for their commitment to advancing accounting education in the College of Business,” said Missouri State University President Richard B. Williams.

“It’s an honor for our School of Accountancy to bear the Pendleton family name and we’re excited to continue a lasting partnership with them.”

Pendleton graduated with a business finance degree in 1966 from what was then Southwest Missouri State College. He began his career at Baird, Kurtz and Dobson in Springfield, a relatively small Certified Public Accountant (CPA) firm with three offices. There, he put his accounting education to work in meaningful ways and became a CPA in 1970 and a tax partner in 1974.

The firm later became known as BKD, growing to 34 offices. After a merger in 2021 and the formation of a global network in 2024, it is now Forvis Mazars, a top 10 global professional services network. Missouri State accounting graduates have played a significant role in the growth of BKD/Forvis Mazars.

“My education at Southwest Missouri State gave me a strong foundation — not just in accounting, but in discipline, ethics and problem-solving,” Pendleton said. “The degree I earned opened doors throughout my career, and I’ve always felt fortunate and proud to be a graduate of the university.”

He said seeing two of his daughters go on to become CPAs has been rewarding, and speaks to their family’s value of the profession. Two of his granddaughters are also on track to become accountants.

“Leaving a family legacy is especially meaningful to me,” he said. “Supporting the accounting program at Missouri State allows me to give back in a way that matters — by investing in future CPAs, supporting the school’s faculty and helping ensure every student who chooses accounting at Missouri State receives a high-quality educational experience.”

THE PENDLETON FAMILY SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY HAS:

Nearly 600 undergraduate and graduate students, 12 faculty members, including its director, Dr. Kimberly Church

Missouri State inducted seven former athletes, an iconic sportswriter and a national championship team as part of its 2025-26 Athletics Hall of Fame class.

Ian Platz has a thriving career in defense and antiterrorism initiatives. He says it wouldn’t have happened without a unique Missouri State school and an internship facilitated by a faculty member.

At 2 a.m. one night in February 2024, Ian Platz was in his hotel room in Ukraine when his phone alerted him to suspected drone and rocket strikes from the Russian military.

Jumping up from his bed in the darkness, he grabbed his two most important items: his American passport and a faded maroon tote, with the letters peeling off and a faint outline of a bear. It was from the Missouri State Bookstore, and once held heavy textbooks.

Now, it had his phone charger, journal and a tactical medicine kit. The tote had been with him at every class on campus, and was now with him in every war zone he entered and border crossing he made.

“I always liked bringing Missouri State with me,” he said.

He scurried to the basement to meet his colleagues. As he waited for the barrage to end, he sent a text to his wife telling her he was OK.

Platz, ’11 & ’13, has been in national security for more than a decade. He has worked in irregular warfare (conflicts in which combatants are not regular military forces), strategic communications, security cooperation and defense governance. His work has taken him to Europe, the Horn of Africa and beyond.

Looking back, Platz sees a life that still feels a little improbable. What began in southwest Missouri became a career engaging in some of the hardest security challenges of the past decade, often at close range. Platz says his Missouri State mentors helped make that life possible.

TWO BEARS MARRY, THEN START THEIR NEXT STEPS IN D.C.

While working part time at a retail store to help pay for school, he met his future wife, Allison Ackland-Coletta ’11. She was pursuing education. Her sense of purpose and commitment to serving others left a deep impression on him.

He decided to earn a bachelor’s degree in education. But as graduation approached, Platz began seriously considering what might come next.

That’s when he learned about Missouri State’s School of Defense and Strategic Studies, or DSS, located near Washington, D.C. It offered something he had not seen before: a direct path from the Ozarks to the heart of national security policy.

He and Allison married and moved to Virginia, where he began his studies and she was an elementary art teacher.

“We made some big sacrifices to get Ian to D.C., but I knew it would be worth it if he was doing something he truly enjoyed,” Ackland-Coletta said. “I was lucky enough to discover my calling in college, and it felt important that Ian would have an opportunity to find his.”

FACULTY CONNECTIONS OPENED DOORS FOR HIS FUTURE

For Platz, that guidance mattered. He had no existing ties to D.C. or the broader U.S. national security enterprise, and the transition felt daunting. At DSS, though, faculty helped bridge that gap. Rose played a key role. After Platz expressed an interest in Africa, Rose personally drove him to the National Defense University

“I met with them, hit it off,” he said. “I ended up doing 10 months there as an intern. That opened me up to a State Department internship. Then, that opened up working in the Secretary of Defense office. It really came about because Rose facilitated the meeting. It’s hard to get into a lot of these places without name recognition.”

HE’S COUNTERED TERRORISM WITH AGENCIES AROUND THE WORLD

He later joined the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, where he worked on military assistance and security cooperation across Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia. Much of the work focused on aviation assistance. It’s an often overlooked but essential element of security in a region where distance and terrain can define what governments are able to do, Platz said. The job meant travel to remote locations and direct engagement with partner forces.

“East Africa sits along one of the world’s most important strategic corridors,” Platz said. “Security there shapes access to the Indian Ocean, the movement of commercial shipping, regional stability and the ability of partners to respond to threats that can spill across borders. At the time, piracy was also a major concern, which only reinforced the importance of maritime and regional security.”

He later moved to the U.S. Bureau of Counterterrorism. Platz helped partner governments investigate terrorist networks, coordinate intelligence, build cases and prosecute terrorists through their own legal systems.

Platz played a role in shaping the State Department’s support for Kenya’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, working with the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, the FBI and the Kenya Anti-Terrorism Police Unit.

The Kenyan-led task force began producing investigations, cases and arrests tied to terrorist activity in Kenya and internationally. His work also extended into detention and prison rehabilitation, reflecting the broader challenge of building durable counterterrorism systems.

MOVING BACK TO D.C. FOR PEACEBUILDING JOB

He joined the United States Institute of Peace, a congressionally established, nonpartisan organization. His work reflected a broader shift in national security itself, from security cooperation and counterterrorism toward questions of resilience, resistance and the strength of partners’ defense industrial bases.

He oversaw a wide range of work across Europe, Asia and Africa, helping translate complex security challenges into research and recommendations for policymakers.

Among the most significant pieces of that work was a sustained research and engagement effort on Ukraine’s defense sector. He led initiatives focused on emerging technology, irregular warfare and the wider question of how the United States and its partners prepare for a new era of conflict.

While working at the institute, Platz was named to the Aspen Security Forum’s Rising Leaders program, a selective year-long initiative. He spent three years as a senior program officer for security sector governance and reform before that chapter was abruptly interrupted in 2025, when the institute was temporarily shuttered amid a legal fight that remains unresolved.

Today, he serves as chief communications officer for the Irregular Warfare Initiative. It is a leading nonprofit focused on irregular warfare and contemporary conflict. He helps shape their voice and strategic messaging. Platz also recently stepped into a full-time role supporting the United States Air Force.

He and his wife live in Arlington, Virginia, with their two children, Malcolm, 4, and Cameron, 18 months. Even now, one of the old Missouri State totes remains in the mix. Ackland-Coletta still laughs about the time one of the many maroon bags went through the wash and turned Ian’s white undershirts pink.

He kept the shirts — and, of course, the tote.

WHY IS A MISSOURI STATE SCHOOL LOCATED IN WASHINGTON, D.C.?

The School of Defense and Strategic Studies, or DSS, was established in 1971 by Dr. William R. Van Cleave, a political scientist and advisor to President Ronald Reagan.

He started it as part of the University of Southern California.

He moved it to Missouri State in 1987 when he was appointed as a professor in the then-SMSU interdisciplinary studies program.

In 2005, DSS relocated classes to Virginia under the leadership of Dr. Keith Payne. It was now part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and could take advantage of resources near the nation’s capital.

Payne started out with roughly 35 students. DSS has grown to more than 300 students from around the world.

DSS offers doctoral and master’s programs. The student body is diverse, with a mix of traditional students, mid-career professionals and active-duty military. All programs are offered 100% online. Students can also take seated classes, or a hybrid of seated/online classes.

Dr. John P. Rose, a retired Army brigadier general, has been the department head since 2020. He is retiring this July.

The new department head will be Dr. Christopher Ford. A Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Harvard (summa cum laude), Oxford and Yale, Ford has been a professor with DSS since 2023.

The new Marideth Sisco Community Education Fund at West Plains is named for an alumna who passed away this May. Sisco ’86 was a radio personality, singer, songwriter, author, retired journalist and expert on this region. The fund will bring in speakers, and her work will be displayed on campus.

Marideth Sisco ’86 had captivated audiences since she was 3.

As a toddler in 1946, she stood on an ice cream freezer at an auction and sang to a crowd for the first time. Sisco grew up to be a well-known journalist, radio personality and singer based in West Plains, Missouri. She was known for her storytelling and ability to capture the flavor of the Ozarks.

The Butterfield, Missouri, native also appeared in the movie “Winter’s Bone” — which was nominated for an Academy Award — and sang on its soundtrack.

Through writing and music, Sisco preserved local history up until her passing this May.

In 2018, Sisco received the Quill Award for lifetime achievement from the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame. In 2025, she received the Living Traditions Fellow Award from the Missouri Folk Arts Program.

Now, her own story is being preserved by Missouri State University-West Plains with the Marideth Sisco Community Education Fund.

HER FRIENDS ESTABLISHED THIS FUND THAT WILL BENEFIT THE OZARKS

“We think she’s a fantastic person and are so glad she’s getting this recognition,” Bischoff said. “We appreciate the work she has done preserving things that would be lost otherwise.”

The endowment will be used primarily for the Ozarks Heritage Research Center’s monthly speaker series.

A display case in the center on the West Plains campus will also house Sisco’s work, including books, news articles, CDs, awards, paintings and “Winter’s Bone” materials. Sisco was honored by the gesture.

“I am very happy with that,” Sisco said. “It surprises me that my name would have an effect but I am glad it does.”

MUSIC WAS AN EARLY LOVE; SHE FOUND JOURNALISM AT MO STATE

“I grew up like that, just singing, not really knowing much about instruments,” she said.

She moved around as a kid. Sisco tells it like it is — a trait she shared with her father. More than once it cost him his job, so they had to move as he changed work.

Roughly around middle school, she lived in California and went to the symphony in San Francisco.

“Had I heard a symphony? No. I hadn’t heard an orchestra. I had no idea. I sat down and that music just came over me and I thought, ‘Oh, my, I have to live in this world. Somehow, I have to find a place in this world,’” she said.

Sisco carved out her own place singing folk music.

In her 20s, she would return to California and eke out a living by singing.

Her father died a year after she moved there, so she moved her mom to California. Soon after, her mom was diagnosed with bone cancer.

She took her mom home so she could pass away in the Ozarks. Her parents died four months apart. Sisco then returned to the West Coast and worked in a factory.

In 1976, she returned to the Ozarks when other family members became ill.

“I didn’t intend to stay, but somehow I did,” she said.

A teenage injury to Sisco’s left hand increasingly limited her ability to do manual work. Surgery a decade prior had failed to help her, and it got to the point that she had to deliver newspapers for a living, but she didn’t know how she’d support herself long-term.

Then she met with a vocational rehab counselor who offered to help send her back to college. Sisco studied design and photography at then-Southwest Missouri State University.

Her last semester in college, she took a journalism class with Dale Freeman. “Ten minutes in the class, I said, ‘This is what I want to do.’”

RETIRING FROM NEWSPAPERS; STARTING A REGULAR RADIO SHOW

She worked at the Quill until her retirement in 2005 after a quadruple bypass the year before.

In 2007, she debuted a new radio program on KSMU called “These Ozarks Hills.”

Originally, the idea was for her to interview people in the Ozarks. However, a few months in Sisco ran out of people to interview — so she just talked and told stories. The format was a hit. The monthly program had run ever since at 7:45 a.m. on the first Friday of the month.

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER LEADS TO HER HOLLYWOOD STORY

Sisco was there singing with people she calls the “right folks.” She sang a sad ballad called “Wind and Rain.”

Two years later, the producer called Sisco.

“She said, ‘We just can’t get that one song out of our heads. Could you do that for the movie?’ I said, ‘God, I’d love to record it for the movie.’ She said, ‘No, no. We have a little part written in the movie.’ I said, ‘No, wait, wait, wait. I’m not an actor,’ and she said, ‘It’s OK. You just have to sing.’ I can do that. So, they signed us up,” Sisco said.

She and the other performers with her named themselves the Blackberry Winter Band for the soundtrack.

After the film, audiences were fascinated with the Ozarks. Sisco and the band performed in New York City, Dallas, Los Angeles and the Torino International Film Festival in Italy.

CENTER CONSIDERED “A PERFECT LOCATION FOR HER MATERIALS”

At first, Bischoff was starstruck: Sisco is a local celebrity. But once Bischoff talked to her, she realized how down-to-earth the artist was. The couple loved hearing her sing and tell stories. They sought out her performances.

“I could sit and listen to her for hours,” Bischoff said. Kaiser added: “You never hear the same story twice. There are so many.”

Their friendship grew over the years.

They have spent a lot of time together, including Thanksgiving dinners. Sisco and Kaiser shared a mutual interest in gardening.

And when Sisco was seriously ill recently before her passing, the couple organized food delivery for her. The storyteller had her share of medical issues, but she faced it with Ozarks grit. Sisco had previously survived car accidents, uterine cancer, failed surgeries, a quadruple bypass and more.

In honor of their friendship, Bischoff and Kaiser wanted to support a fund to acknowledge Sisco’s contributions to the area.

“She was a woman of many talents. Writing. Singing. Storytelling,” Bischoff said. “We loved her and considered ourselves lucky to be in her circle.”

ACT I: THE SCRIPT READ

NARRATOR

LILI HAYES, MFA STUDENT

BRETT JONES ’23 & ’26, MFA student

“My favorite thing about the classes and assignments is they are so hands-on. Our professors are real with you about which scripts have potential, and they genuinely want to see all of us succeed. They want to see us bring these stories to life. I never would have thought I’d have the opportunity to direct a play, let alone direct a feature film.”

Brett Jones, bachelor’s in film studies ’23; Master of Fine Arts ’26

NARRATOR

LaDONNA GOODMAN, MFA STUDENT

ACT II: AND THE AWARD GOES TO…

NARRATOR

DESIGN NOTE

NARRATOR

This screenwriting program has gone from a few classes and an undergraduate minor option to a major, a minor, certificate options at the undergraduate and graduate level and a Master of Fine Arts degree. Quick growth and major recognition are points of pride for faculty. The BEA is the premier international organization for academics in media, and Mo State is one of more than 300 international members. Our number-one ranking was first earned in 2022 when the organization introduced the ranking system for screenwriting programs. We’ve held on to that title every year since.

PROFESSOR RICHARD AMBERG

ACT III: WHAT’S OUR SECRET

NARRATOR

LaDONNA GOODMAN, MFA STUDENT

PROFESSOR RICHARD AMBERG

NARRATOR

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CRISTINA PIPPA

ACT IV: FEEDBACK THAT ENCOURAGES FEATURES

NARRATOR

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR NATHAN PATTON

Nathan Patton, assistant professor in communication, media, journalism and film

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CRISTINA PIPPA

NARRATOR

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR NATHAN PATTON

HAILEY BROWN ’22 & ’24, SCREENWRITING ALUM

NARRATOR

to take the film concept and run with it. At first, she hesitated. Producing can involve a lot of fundraising and fine-tuned scheduling.

HAILEY BROWN ’22 & ’24, SCREENWRITING ALUM

NARRATOR

BRETT JONES ’23 & ’26, MFA STUDENT

NARRATOR

ACT V: FROM SCRIPT TO SET TO SCREEN

Actors are running lines for the film “I’m a Terrible Person.” Laughter and chatter is instantly halted with the magic words: “Quiet on set!” Then, it’s showtime. The silence is quickly filled with an actor stomping up stairs. The scene includes a heated exchange of words. The moment replays with each take. Before the clapperboard clicks, someone says: “‘I’m a Terrible Person,’ take number…”

BRETT JONES ’23 & ’26, MFA STUDENT

NARRATOR

PROFESSOR RICHARD AMBERG

BEARS ARE MAKING CONTENT FOR SCREENS BIG AND SMALL

Your favorite movie or TV show may have ties to our screenwriting alums.

How well did you pay attention to Missouri State happenings this semester? It’s time to find out! Take the news quiz.