A Master of Music

In the two years that Nick Enz has been at Tech, he has taught a pep band to march, procured new uniforms, secured a corporate sponsorship, and won the confidence of students and faculty alike. Officially, he directs the Huskies Pep Band and the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony.

And he's only twenty-six years old.

Oddly enough, he came to Houghton because of Tech's math department—but not for himself. Enz and his wife, Lisa Thimm, agreed to take turns earning their graduate degrees. Thimm chose Michigan Tech for her master's in discrete mathematics, bringing the couple from Kansas to the Keweenaw.

When the Department of Fine Arts found itself without a Pep Band director just a few months before the Bash at the Big House (the football game between Michigan Tech and Grand Valley State at Michigan Stadium in 2004), Director of Jazz Studies Mike Irish suggested Enz who, in less than a year, had founded and developed a very successful, independent, high school jazz program.

In an unprecedented move, the fine arts department hired him—fresh out of school with just a bachelor's degree in music education. "He came in green, but with lots of musical chops," said Department Chair Milt Olsson.

After executing the wildly entertaining Bash at the Big House halftime show, he rode the wave of school spirit to lead the campaign to purchase new uniforms for the band.

Through a sponsorship deal with Kelly Mouthpieces, Enz has increased visibility for the band and the University. Kelly's brochures, with photos of the Pep Band, are in music stores worldwide.

If harmless pranks measure the students' affection, Enz is well-liked. From the jersey emblazoned with his nickname to the suitcase full of air fresheners, all signs indicate they're pleased.

As for departmental support, with Thimm nearing completion of her PhD, Olsson says, "Now our question is, 'What do we have to do to keep him?'"

Childcare Center to Open in 2007

Plans for the Michigan Tech Little Huskies Child Development Center are officially underway.

The center will address a longstanding need at the University, according to Michigan Tech President Glenn Mroz. "For years, our faculty and staff have discussed establishing affordable, quality childcare on campus," he said. "In particular, this is a matter of critical importance in attracting and retaining new faculty, many of whom have young children."

One of the University's main strategic goals is to support a world-class and diverse faculty, staff, and student population. "To do this, we need to provide an outstanding work environment, and part of that is providing access to childcare," Mroz said. "This will allow us to be more competitive with other universities offering such facilities."

Scheduled to open in late spring or early summer 2007, the facility will provide a nurturing environment for exploration and discovery for approximately forty children preschool age and younger. A provider has been selected—Gretchen's House Childcare Centers—and the University is sending bid proposals for construction.

Located between the SDC and the US Forest Service, the center will offer close communication with parents and outstanding safety features in a bright and cozy setting.

See www.mtu.edu/childcare for more information.

Forestry Ranked Among Top Schools in North America

Michigan Tech has a long tradition of important forest resources research, such as Rolf Peterson's work with wolves and moose on Isle Royale and Dave Karnosky's analysis of air pollution's impact on ecosystems. And now others are taking notice.

A new study published in the Journal of Forestry puts the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science among the top forestry research programs in North America.

Measuring quality in academia can be an exercise in fuzzy logic, as the study's authors note. David N. Laband and Daowei Zhang, of Auburn University, were inspired to undertake their analysis while watching a college football game. During a break in the action, they saw a promotional clip from a university touting its forestry program as second best in the nation. ". . .[W]e found this eye-opening because we are aware of little-to-no basis for it," they wrote in their introduction.

So they shouldered the task of ranking university forestry research programs throughout the US and Canada based on something real: the measurable performance of their research faculty. In particular, they looked at publications in five prestigious scientific journals and at citations, specifically the number of times a faculty member's work is cited by other authors. Citations can reflect the impact the faculty member's research has on the science community.

When they finished counting, Michigan Tech's forestry faculty had generated a whopping 526 citations each on average, enough to rank first in this category. Plus, they were ninth in the total number of citations.

"It shows that, for our small number of faculty, relative to places like Oregon State, Virginia Tech, and the University of Minnesota, we really have a very large influence on the scientific community," said Margaret Gale, dean of forest resources and environmental science.

The school also ranked seventeenth in the number of publications per faculty member. When the study authors completed their analysis, Michigan Tech finished eighteenth based on the strength of its forestry research.

But when the study authors asked forestry deans and department heads to rank programs, Michigan Tech did not make the top twenty-five.

"Perception isn't always reality," Gale noted. "The quality of our degree programs is outstanding, and I think this study will help make our peers more aware of Michigan Tech's contribution to forest science."

World Records Confirmed (and One Will be Challenged)

It's official!

As of May 16, 2006, Michigan Tech's three world-record attempts are recognized by Guinness World Records.

On February 10, 2006, Michigan Tech students, staff, and faculty; school kids from all over the Copper Country; and many other community members came together at Sherman Field to break snowy records. They launched snowballs during the world's largest snowball fight and flapped their arms and legs to make the most snow angels ever in one place. And they did all this in the presence of the world's largest snowball, rolled up earlier that day by some of the largest people at Michigan Tech.

According to Guinness's final numbers, Michigan Tech waxed the record previously set by Bismarck, North Dakota, in the category "most people making snow angels simultaneously in a single venue." The University's total, 3,784, more than doubled Bismarck's record of 1,791.

But, this just in! Bismarck will attempt to set a new angel record the day after Christmas! Tech students are not fazed. "I hope they understand that in order to break the snow angel record, they're going to have to have snow," jabbed Paul Judge, a leader of the Tech event.

The University also trumped Wauconda, Illinois' snowball-fight record, 3,745 to 3,084. And it rolled over Benton Harbor with a snowball measuring twenty-one feet, three inches around, compared to the earlier record of approximately sixteen feet, nine inches.

The world-record attempts were spearheaded by student groups, primarily the Wadsworth Hall Student Association, with support from the Blue Key Honor Society.

"We're bona fide," said Judge. "This was a very appropriate finish for all the work that was done. It's nice to receive the recognition. And it was so amazing the way it all came together, with everybody pulling in the same direction."

On The Secret Trail of Trash

Before first-year Michigan Tech students moved into their room and kissed mom goodbye, they have already completed their first assignment.

Under the three-year-old Reading as Inquiry program, students read a selected book during the summer to prepare them for college-level course work and discussion.

For this year's class, that book was Garbageland: On the Secret Trail of Trash, "an exploration of both the author's own trash and what happens to it when it joins the stream of waste out of New York City." Author Elizabeth Royte traveled with sanitation workers—and her trash—to see just where our nation's garbage goes.

Students were encouraged to use the summer assignment as an icebreaker with future roommates before they even got to campus. When they arrived at Tech, both they and their parents participated in separate discussions about the book. This year, the experience culminated in a public address by Royte in the Rozsa Center.

The program was conceived collaboratively by the Department of Humanities and the First-Year Programs Office. Now, it is supported by departments across campus. "Tech is leading the way among technological and scientific universities in preparing students, from the very beginning of their college experience, to seriously engage with reading and thinking in ways that expand their knowledge of themselves and the world," says Humanities Chair Robert Johnson. "We are very happy with this initiative, which is quickly becoming an important part of every Tech student's learning experience."

       © 2006, Michigan Tech Magazine

       Michigan Tech Magazine | Fall 2006 | http://www.mtu.edu/