A Hall of Fame Kind of Day

We couldn’t have packed anymore into one day. A recent Saturday found my family and I first at the local pancake breakfast, where we sat among friends and neighbors. Much food and laughter ensued.

Actually, we ate too much, because my son and I next did our fourth straight Muck Run, which is put on by the Tech cross-country teams. There were a few Halloween costumes among the 115 or so runners who braved cold, windy, and slippery conditions. My son and I went as Mickey Mantles, and he won, again. We had our own fan club waiting for us at the end.

The chilly wind didn’t keep us from the football game, as we were able to see the Huskies hammer Gannon 56-7. It was great to see Coach Kearly and the guys get an easy victory after some close ones and heartbreakers.

That evening, we were honored to be at the Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, where we heard great story after great story.

Milan Baic '82, Nordic skiing, talked about helping establish the program here, and he continues to return to the Keweenaw often. John Groves '63, football (left), cracked up the audience with tales of the good old days, including getting off the bus in Houghton Lake, instead of Houghton.

Fred Guenther '75, football , talked about helping to rebuild the football program and improving Sherman Field in the current campaign. Bruce Horsch '80 was the first of a couple of hockey goalies who spoke and talked about living in the Keweenaw and the Michigan Tech family, especially fond memories of the late coach John MacInnes.

D’Andra Poyfair Walter '89, basketball (left), was proud of being on the team that helped turn the basketball program around, and Kristen Schuster '95, volleyball, is still coaching the Hancock girls team and getting help from the current Tech team.

Finally, Jim Warden '83 talked about his father’s influence on him and one of his proudest mementos: a letter from John MacInnes thanking him for the job he did coaching back in the 1980s.

I wish I could say the evening ended with a great win, but the hockey team lost to North Dakota (then number one in the nation) after beating them 3-1 the night before. (There's a moving story on Head Hockey Coach Jamie Russell '89 here. They did split at Wisconsin this weekend and should remain ranked in the top 15 in the nation.)

The family and friend theme carried the weekend, both Tech’s and mine, and I was honored to be a part of it all.

Colorologist: Last Report

Since the colors are gone, I asked him what he's got planned for the winter. "Cross-country skiing," he said, "which I haven't done for years. I've got to work off the middle-age spread." Anything else? "Yes," he said with a glint in his eye, "Huskies hockey and hoops."

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Get involved! Serve on the Alumni Association Board of Directors

The Michigan Tech Alumni Association is calling for nominations for exceptional individuals to serve on its Board of Directors, one of three governing boards at Michigan Tech.

As the policy-making body for the Michigan Tech Alumni Association, the Board of Directors establish programs, set priorities for the Association, and work with the Director of Alumni Relations.

The Alumni Association works to engage alumni with the University in many ways, including increasing participation in chapter events, recruitment of prospective students, enhancing networking with HuskyLink, (Michigan Tech’s online community), promotion of Michigan Tech in areas where alumni live and assisting the Michigan Tech Fund with increasing annual unrestricted gifts.

The deadline for nominations is December 1. More information about the Alumni Association Board as well as the nomination form can be found at: www.alumni.mtu.edu/board/ or by contacting the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@mtu.edu 906-487-2400.

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Looking for Outstanding Michigan Tech Alumni and Friends!

The Michigan Tech Alumni Association supports a wide range of award programs to recognize the many outstanding achievements of alumni and friends. Consider nominating a deserving individual for one of the following awards:

Outstanding Service Award: presented to alumni and friends making significant contributions to the success of the Alumni Association and/or the University

Outstanding Young Alumni Award: presented to alumni under the age of 35 who have distinguished themselves in their careers. The award recognizes the achievement of a position or some distinction noteworthy for one so recently graduated.

Distinguished Alumni Award: presented to alumni who have made outstanding contributions both in their careers and to Michigan Tech over a number of years.

Honorary Alumni Award: honors individuals who have provided service and support of the University characteristic of a dedicated alum. The Association reserves this award to recognize the strongest non-alumni supporters of Michigan Tech.

Help us recognize the many outstanding accomplishments and contributions of our alumni and friends! The deadline for nominations is December 1. Award-winners are selected at the Association’s Winter Carnival meeting each year, with awards presented at the August Alumni Reunion.

For more information on the awards, past recipients and the nominating process, see www.alumni.mtu.edu/awards or by contacting the Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@mtu.edu 906-487-2400.

At Tech

Dow Corning VP and CTO Gregg Zank

DOW CORNING MAKES MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO SUPPORT CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: Michigan Tech's Unit Operations Lab, a chemical processing facility located right on campus, will remain among the nation's best, thanks to a significant donation from Dow Corning Corporation. The lab provides chemical engineering students the latest industrial technology, giving them skills and experience that enable them to move seamlessly from the classroom to the workplace.
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YES! EXPO 2007—ROBOTS, SPACE TRAVEL, MOVIE SPECIAL EFFECTS PROMISE A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR DETROIT AREA STUDENTS: Thousands of Detroit area middle- and high-school students will travel to the future—their future—at the fourth annual Youth Engineering & Science (YES!) Expo at Ford Field on November 8. More than 20,000 middle and high-school students have registered already for the free event, hosted by Michigan Technological University.
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D80 CENTER COMBINES SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, SOCIAL AWARENESS: Michigan Tech's D80 Center—a newly formed collaboration of Engineers Without Borders, International Senior Design, AquaTerraTech Enterprise, Master's International Peace Corps Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering, International Sustainable Development Engineering Certificate, and International Research Experiences Program—held its first conference Saturday.
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STATE LEGISLATURE PASSES HIGHER ED BILL—TECH RECEIVES 1 PERCENT INCREASE
by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director
Michigan Tech will receive $49,028,200 from the state under the Higher Education Bill that just passed the Michigan House and Senate. That is approximately $200,000 less than the state appropriated to the University at the start of the past fiscal year, but 1.1 percent more than Michigan Tech actually received after the Governor was forced last June to make executive-order cuts and delay an August payment to balance the state budget. The University recently received that delayed payment of $4.5 million.
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TECH'S ITUNESU MAKES DETROIT NEWS: Marisa Schultz of the Detroit News wrote this great Oct. 29 story on Michigan Tech and iTunes U. It features Patty Lins (IT), Professor Robert Nemiroff (Physics), and Lecturer Christopher Cischke (ECE).

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ASC TEAM WINS REGION: A team of six Michigan Tech Pavement Enterprise students won first place in the Heavy Civil Division at the Associated School of Construction (ASC) Region III student competition held in suburban Chicago last week. The team members (all Civil Engineering students) were Jacob Barden (team leader), Kyle Ellis, Breandan Karas, Kristen Roth, Aaron Snyder, and Chris Warren. The competition consists of the students developing a bid proposal for a Heavy Civil project in sixteen hours using only what they brought with them. The project this year was a bridge with the focus on the superstructure. The Michigan Tech team beat a team from the University of Cincinnati (second place) that had won the Heavy Civil Competition the last nine years and was the defending national champion. The team now advances to the National Championship in Las Vegas in March.

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ARMY ROTC WINS RANGER CHALLENGE MIDWEST REGIONAL: The Michigan Tech Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team finished first in the Midwest Regional held Oct. 13-14 at Fort McCoy, Wis. This finish represents the highest for the Arctic Warrior Battalion in five years and only the second time the team has finished first in the last decade.
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Tech Sports

TICKETS ON SALE FOR GLI: Tickets are now on sale for the 43rd Great Lakes Invitational hosted by Michigan Tech at Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit. Several great ticket options are available for both students and families. Tickets are priced at $30, $24, $22, $15 and $10 and are available at the Joe Louis Arena Box Office and all Ticketmaster retail locations, including Hockeytown Cafe in Detroit and Hockeytown Authentics in Troy. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.collegehockeyatthejoe.com or charged by phone at 248-645-6666. The Joe Louis Arena Box Office is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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AXFORD NAMED GLIAC WOMEN'S TENNIS COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Axford, Michigan Tech women’s head tennis coach, was selected as the 2007 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and four other members of the team were honored as the league announced its postseason awards yesterday.

Amy Palmgren and Silvia Oliveros were named to the All-GLIAC Second Team, while Nicole Kirch and Samantha Jang-Stewart were All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.
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MICHIGAN TECH TO HOST US CROSS COUNTRY SKIING CHAMPIONSIPS: For the second year in a row, the US Cross Country Championship will be held at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center Jan. 1-6. Members of the US Ski Team—including Olympians Kris Freeman, Andy Newell and Kikkan Randall—will be among the 400 skiers competing in the four-race, week-long extravaganza. Racing will commence Monday, Jan. 1, with the freestyle discipline, then continue Wednesday, Jan. 3, with competitors using the classic style. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6, will feature sprint formats?crowd-pleasing short races on a tight course.
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HUSKIES FINISH WEEKEND WITH SPLIT AT WISCONSIN: Same score, different outcome. Michigan Tech (5-3-0, 4-2-0) failed to complete the sweep of Wisconsin (4-2-0, 1-1-0) losing 4-2, Saturday. After a scoreless first period, the Huskies drew first blood after Jordan Foote scored just 24 seconds into the second period as he tapped in a rebound from a shot by Jimmy Kerr. Eric Kattelus also picked up an assist on the goal.
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MEN 14TH AT NCAA CROSS COUNTRY REGIONAL: The Michigan Tech men's cross country team finished 14th of 22 teams at today's NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Grand Valley State won the meet with a score of 20. Tech posted a team total of 397 and defeated two teams (Northwood and Ferris State) it had lost to at the Great Lakes Intercolleigate Athletic Championships.
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WOMEN'S CC TEAM 17TH AT NCAA REGIONAL: The Michigan Tech women’s cross country team finished 17th of 22 teams at today’s NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Grand Valley State won the meet with a score of 40. Tech posted a team total of 394.
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VOLLEYBALL PICKS UP 3-0 WIN OVER LAKE SUPERIOR STATE: Mchigan Tech won its final home match of the 2007 season as it defeated Lake Superior State, 3-0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-28), Friday. The Huskies improve to 9-16 overall and 7-11 in the GLIAC and the Lakers fall to 8-21 overall and 3-14 in the GLIAC.

The Huskies, who dominated nearly every statistical category, finished with a 14-4 advantage in blocks. The Black and Gold also hit .202 for the match compared to .043 for the Lakers.
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Upcoming Athletic Events

Tuesday, November 6
- TBA, Women's Volleyball at Grand Valley State, GLIAC Quarterfinal

Wednesay, November 7
- 7:00 p.m., Men's Basketball at Michigan State (preseason) Big Ten Television Network!

Friday, November 9
- 7:07 p.m., Hockey vs St. Cloud State
- TBA: Women's Volleyball at GLIAC Championships

Saturday, November 10
- 1:00 p.m.Football vs Findlay
- 7:07 p.m.Hockey vs St. Cloud State

Friday, November 16
- 6:30/8:30 p.m., Women's and Men's Basketball at Wisconsin-Parkside GLVC/GLIAC Challenge
- 8:07 p.m., Hockey at Minnesota-Duluth

Saturday, November 17
- 10 a.m. Women's and Men's Cross Country at NCAA II Championships
- 2:00/4:00 p.m., Women's and Men's Basketball at Lewis GLVC/GLIAC Challenge
- 8:07 p.m., Hockey at Minnesota-Duluth

Around the Keweenaw

Adapted from the Daily Mining Gazette

LOCAL TRAIL SYSTEM BIGGER, BETTER CONNECTED: The orange lines loop around the Houghton School Forest. They run through the Tech Trails south of Michigan Technological University, making shapes that defy geometry but have names like “Outer Limits Loop” and “Inner Peace Loop.” They wind through the woods from the Tech Trails to the Nara Nature Park. The problem with these orange lines, according to local philanthropists Bob and Ruth Nara, is not enough people know they exist.
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RENOVATIONS ONGOING AT POWERHOUSE: Renovations and alterations of the Powerhouse Building in Houghton are proceeding on schedule, Michigan Tech Enterprise Corp. SmartZone Chief Executive Officer Carlton Crothers said Thursday. The work, which includes the creation of a third floor and renovations on the second floor, is being financed in part through a $1 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
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RISING LAKE LEVELS EVIDENT: September was not only the wettest September on record as measured at the Houghton County Memorial Airport north of Hancock, it was the wettest month on record. Sept. 4 was the wettest day on record, also. All that September rain and the rain so far in October have combined to raise the level of Lake Superior about 8 inches from the end of August to Oct. 21, according to Kevin Crupi, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Marquette office in Negaunee Township.
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KEWEENAW NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY: Fifteen years ago, a Carl Levin with fewer years and more hair told residents of the Keweenaw “we’ll do everything in our power to make this proposed park a reality ... it’s going to be real. It’s going to be you.” The Keweenaw National Historical Park has made good on that promise, the latter-day U.S. Senator said Saturday afternoon.
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From the Emailbag

OFFER EXTENDED! For a limited time only, you can order your "Official Athletic Gear" online and support your Huskies! And, for Canadian alums, contact Steve Nordstrom, director of athletic development.

http://www.alumni.mtu.edu/techalum/2007-08/leanne's.pdf

Check it out!

Athletic Department

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Article on SafeLane in Indianapolis Star Newspaper:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/LOCAL/710290392

Jeremy Nitka, P.E.

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Editor's Note: I received this great piece on Tech football that I wanted to share as the season winds down, and I'd love to hear your memories:

What do you remember about Tech football?

Driving to games in cars? All night returns on the bus? Stuck in snow? Apples for snacks on the bus?

What seasons do you remember?

* The undefeated ’48 or ’74 teams?
* Or, ’43-’45, when there were no teams?
* The ’69 and ’70 NIC Championships?
* The ’70,’71 and ’72 teams that lost only one game each season?
* A season of struggles? Or years of struggles?
* Or, the ’04 season: Best season in school history. Period.

Do you remember Sports Illustrated’s 1976 article: “A ramblin’ wreck from another Tech”?

What teammates do you remember? What were their nicknames? Were some ‘Bandits’? Do you remember “scramble blocks”, “blue chips”, “head hunters”, or other terms that seemed unique to Tech Football?

What coaches do you remember? Some of you can name and remember 10, 11 or 12 of the 15 head coaches in Tech’s history. How many of you remember, or knew, that legendary hockey coach John MacInnes served a stint as an assistant football coach?

Do you remember Bob Olson, longtime voice of the Huskies?

What stadiums do you remember? Hubbell Field? Michigan Tech Stadium? Sherman Field? The renovated Sherman Field? Or what away stadiums: The Metrodome? The Superior Dome? The Silverdome? Or how about “The Bash at the Bighouse”: Did you play in that memorable event? Or were you in the stands?

To be continued. . .

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Featured Alumni Benefit

A Great Way to Support Your Alumni Association PLUS hundreds of deals at places you shop the most…

Your Michigan Tech Alumni Association has created a FREE shopping mall for all alumni and friends.
Members of our shopping mall will receive cash back on purchases made in any of the nearly 1,000 different stores associated with the shopping mall. Cash back ranges from 1% to more than 20%. In addition:

• You'll find great coupon codes at many of our partner stores.
• We post new deals and sales every single day so you find up-to-date shopping information.
• Your Alumni Association also earns cash back on any purchases you make through your shopping mall. These funds support programming for Michigan Tech alumni and students.

Start earning cash back today and also support your Michigan Tech Alumni Association. Just visit www.alumnimall.mtu.edu

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More Alumni Benefits & Services information <http://www.admin.mtu.edu/alumni/products/>

Class Rings
Diploma Frames
License Plates
University Images Michigan Tech Clothing & Giftware

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Job Opportunities This Week

ON CAMPUS: Complete job descriptions are available by e-mailing jobs at mtu.edu

Coordinator, Benefits, Human Resources

Youth Programs Associate Coordinator, Educational Opportunity/Youth Programs
Position duration dependent upon external funding

Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate Professor, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
Biological Sciences

Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate Professor, Ecology or Health Sciences
Biological Sciences

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OFF CAMPUS:

For off-campus jobs, go to the alumni section of the Career Center website for alumni jobs.

Also, there is a new local job board.

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Michigan Tech is on the web at <http://www.mtu.edu>. For the alumni pages, click on "Alumni/Friends" at the top of the home page.

Dennis Walikainen
dkwalika@mtu.edu
University Marketing and Communications
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
(906) 487-3510