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1. Michigan Tech Board Finalizes State Capital Outlay Request |
The second phase of the Center for Integrated Learning and Information Technology tops Michigan Tech's 2009 Capital Outlay Budget Request.
The wish list will be submitted to the state for consideration. As capital outlay funds become available, they are allocated by the state in part to support major construction projects at the 15 public universities.
Michigan Tech's plan, which the Board of Control approved Thursday, Oct. 4, completes the work that began with the construction of Rekhi Hall and the Opie Library in 2004–05. The new $59-million project would involve further renovation of Fisher Hall (adjacent to Rekhi Hall) and construction of bridges connecting those structures to the Memorial Union and to Wadworth Hall.
The renovated and new space would provide 24 classrooms, 14 classroom labs, 25 research labs, 120 offices for faculty and staff, and 44 graduate student offices.
The University is asking for $44.5 million from the state and expects to provide the remaining $14.5 million through gifts from private sources.
The Departments of Mathematical Sciences and Physics will be among the major beneficiaries. Ravindra Pandey, who chairs the physics department, says the improvements are sorely needed.
"We've been in one of the oldest buildings on campus, and this year alone we have received over $2 million in research funding," he said. "Our faculty and students truly need new research laboratories and instructional space for laboratory classes.
"While we are doing wonderful work with state-of-the-art equipment, we are getting by with old facilities; it's critical that a university that emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) provide the best possible space for research and education."
President Glenn Mroz agreed. "The governor and the legislature understand the importance of STEM education and research to the future of Michigan's economy," he said. "Of all universities in Michigan, we graduate the highest percentage of students in these fields. Plus, as one of the state's top research universities, it's vital that we provide the proper lab and classroom facilities for our faculty and students."
Also on the capital outlay priority list is a new $35-million building for the School of Business and Economics, a new Great Lakes Research Center, renovation and expansion of Dillman Hall and a new Manufacturing Center.
In other business, Les Cook, vice president for student affairs, reported that 1,450 new freshmen and transfer students had enrolled this fall, up 63 from 2006. The average ACT composite score for incoming freshmen has also increased from 25.3 to 25.6, and retention among freshmen has risen from 80.7 percent to 82.7 percent. Total University enrollment is 6,738, up 194 from last year. |
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2. Little Huskies Child Development Center Dedicated |
Michigan Tech celebrated its new Little Huskies Child Development Center at a dedication ceremony Thursday, Oct. 4.
The 4,400-square-foot center, located on MacInnes Drive between the Student Development Complex and the U.J. Noblet Building, opened its doors Aug. 14. It is operated by professional childcare provider Gretchen Preston, who has nine Gretchen’s House childcare centers in southern Michigan.
Becky Christianson, project manager for the vice president for administration and a member of the Michigan Tech Childcare Board, sees the center as a dream come true. "It's been a need for more than three decades," she said. "And now, we have a wonderful staff, a fantastic director and great commitment from the administration, particularly President Glenn Mroz and the Board of Control."
"A lot of people have kept the faith," Mroz said at the dedication, crediting the many individuals and organizations that have backed the center over the years. Board of Control members, particularly David Brule and Mike Henricksen, have even been involved in its development; they asked that the facility have in-floor heating.
"That's important when you're little and the heat is all up there," Mroz said.
The demand for quality, affordable childcare has never been greater, Christianson added, as baby-boomer faculty and staff begin to retire and are replaced by younger employees. "We have a campus population that is changing, and we need to consider the needs of families with young children," she said. "In addition, this fits in with our strategic goal of attracting and retaining the best faculty, staff and students."
Mroz agreed. "The center promotes the work-life balance that's important to us all," he said.
The eight teachers in the center all have college degrees in early childhood development or a related field. The center can accommodate eight infants, 16 toddlers ages 1–3 and 24 preschool students ages 3-5. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and provides breakfast, lunch and snacks.
The center features child-sized furniture, playgrounds and an in-house kitchen. The program is based on the High/Scope Curriculum, which emphasizes active, participatory learning. Its philosophy is as follows: "The LHCDC exists to encourage and support each child to grow and develop in a caring and nurturing environment."
While the children of Michigan Tech faculty, students and staff are given preference, children from the community are also welcome to enroll on a space-available basis.
For more information, visit www.mtu.edu/childcare/ . For more on the High/Scope Curriculum, see www.highscope.org . |
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3. SFRES Research Group receives ISO Accreditation |
The Wood Protection Group, under the direction of Peter Laks (SFRES), recently received accreditation as a testing laboratory from the International Accreditation Service (IAS) under ISO 17025:2005.
The accreditation, the culmination of several years of group members' effort, allows the Wood Protection Group’s research and testing data on wood-based building products to be used in the development of building codes.
The Wood Protection Group specializes in researching and testing the biological durability of wood and wood products. The accreditation covers 31 standard test methods, including ASTM, American Wood Protection Association and National Window and Door Association standards, as well as internally developed test methods. |
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4. Board Recognizes Mroz for Exceptional Performance |
Citing exceptional performance across a variety of metrics, the Board of Control has awarded President Glenn Mroz a 4 percent salary increase.
"Michigan Tech has been making extraordinary progress," said Dr. Kathryn Clark, chair of the Board of Control. "Under Glenn's leadership, the University has developed a far-reaching strategic plan and is vigorously pursuing its vision to build Michigan Tech into one of the nation's premier technological universities. We are succeeding by virtually every measure, and it's imperative to recognize Glenn's role in spearheading that effort."
The University has seen significant growth in enrollment—now at 6,738, up 194 from last year. In addition, the ACT scores of entering students, a measure of academic quality, are edging up, and the University reached a milestone last year, topping 5,000 total applicants. The retention rate for freshmen entering their sophomore year is also up from 80.7 percent to 82.7 percent.
On the research front, Michigan Tech attracted $50.0 million in sponsored program awards in 2006–07, up 14.5 percent over the previous year. Federal awards totaled $38.5 million, an increase of 20.4 percent.
The University completed the 2006–07 fiscal year $1.5 million in the black among all its funds, including a balance of $274,000 in the general fund, which serves as the operating budget. Auditor Steve Peacock of the accounting firm Rehmann Robson also announced no findings in his annual report, showing no discrepancies in the University's books.
Mroz thanked the board for its vote of confidence and stressed that the tide of good news was due to the hard work of Michigan Tech faculty and staff. "This is the result of the right people doing the right thing all the time," he said. "Fundamentally, it all goes back to our great students. Without their energy, effort and enthusiasm, none of the University's accomplishments would be possible."
The increase brings Mroz's salary to $260,000, with standard University benefits. His compensation does not include additional items such as a vehicle, housing allowance or deferred compensation. |
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5. Reminder: MOMIX Dance Company’s ReMix at the Rozsa Tonight |
MOMIX, a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, comes to the Rozsa Center for one performance only on Friday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m. For over 25 years, MOMIX has been celebrated for its ability to conjure up a world of surrealistic images using props, light, shadow, humor and the human body.
Tickets are available Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m. from the Rozsa Box Office, 487-3200, or online at www.tickets.mtu.edu . They are $25, $20 and $15 for the general public and $20, $15 and $10 for students.
Out of respect for performers, lecturers and fellow audience members, there will be no late seating at Rozsa Center events. Please plan to arrive and be seated in a timely manner, as the doors will be closed and each performance will begin at its scheduled time. The doors to the performance hall will open one-half hour before each event. When purchasing tickets at the door, please arrive at least 30 minutes before the event is scheduled to begin. If you’re using student tickets, please have your student ID with you. |
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6. Blue Line Club "Meet the Coach" Event Oct. 9 |
Michigan Tech Head Hockey Coach Jamie Russell will discuss the upcoming WCHA season at a special event scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 9, 6:30 p.m. at the Begg Conference Center in the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The event is sponsored by the Michigan Tech Blue Line Club and is open to the general public.
Russell will discuss changes in the team roster, including the departure of last year's graduating seniors and likely sources of leadership in the 2007-08 squad.
"Players, coaches and staff are all excited to make this a very special year for Tech hockey," notes Russell. "We all feel we have the talent, leadership and character to meet and exceed expectations."
Recruiting will also be discussed, with Russell talking about this year's incoming freshmen players as well as long-term recruiting targets for the program.
Following the presentation and a question-and-answer period, the public will have a chance to tour the locker room and other Husky hockey facilities.
This event is free of charge. Free coffee and refreshments will be provided by the Michigan Tech hockey program and the Michigan Tech Blue Line Club. |
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7. RSI Seminar Oct. 8 |
Professor Jim Walker, from Northern Illinois University, will deliver a seminar, "The Hydrothermal System at Santa Maria Volcano, Guatemala," part of the Remote Sensing Institute seminar series, Monday, Oct. 8, 4-5 p.m. in M & M U113.
He will discuss work on the active hydrothermal system at Santa Maria, a volcano located along an orographic barrier in a monsoonal climate. The active system includes many natural springs and an obvious hydrothermal area being exploited for geothermal energy. The interaction between the volcanic and the hydrological systems is the focus of the research.
Walker will be visiting Monday and Tuesday morning. Students and faculty who wish to meet with Walker during his visit should contact Rüdiger Escobar at rpescoba@mtu.edu . |
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8. Reminder: Responding to Troubled Students Webinar Oct. 9 |
Student Affairs will host a professional development webinar, "How to Respond to Troubled and At-Risk Students," on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 1:30-3 p.m. at the Ford Conference Room Suite of the Advanced Technology Development Complex (ATDC).
Paul E. Joffe, University of Illinois-Chicago, and Gary Pavela, University of Maryland-College Park, will highlight innovative practices in responding to potentially troubled and violent students. The webinar will also cover the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign model of Coordinated Community Engagement. Presentations will feature troubled-student profiling, mental health and violence, how to conduct threat assessment, role of campus security, policy guidelines and relevant laws like FERPA and the ADA.
To learn more about this webinar, please visit:
www.naspa.org/events/detail.cfm?id=273%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20 .
To attend, RSVP to Elizabeth Pollins at epollins@mtu.edu . |
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9. Writing Workshop Oct. 9 |
The Copper Country Reading Council has received grants from the Michigan Reading Association (MRA) and the Department of the Humanities to host four writing workshops for area teachers, literacy coaches, teachers in training and others interested in the teaching of writing. The workshops are designed to address the needs of area teachers in any content area but would also be useful to others interested in writing pedagogy.
The first workshop, "Writing in the Content Areas," is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 5 to 8:15 p.m. in Walker 116. Space is limited. To register and receive answers to any questions you may have, contact Evie Johnson, in the Department of the Humanities, at evjohnso@mtu.edu by Oct. 8.
The evening will be divided between two activities: an opening panel discussion chaired by literacy consultant Cynthia Clingman, past president of MRA, and a collaborative writing-assessment protocol led by UP Writing Project consultants. The first half will be a question-and-answer period; the second half is a small-group activity with a follow-up debriefing with the entire group.
The primary goals of this workshop are to gain new insights into our beliefs about student writing and to share best strategies for meeting the needs of evolving writers.
Teachers can earn .3 CEUs by attending this first workshop, and a light dinner will be provided during the break from 6:15-6:30 p.m. |
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10. ECE Seminar Oct. 9 |
Amlan Mukherjee (CEE) will give a presentation, “Studying Decision-Making, Risk and Uncertainty in Complex Dynamic Systems,” Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 1:05 p.m. in EERC 122.
The full abstract is available at www.ece.mtu.edu/faculty/rmkieckh/Abstract.pdf . |
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11. Teaching at Tech: Whad’ya Want from Me? |
by William Kennedy, director, Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development
In the chapter entitled “Student-Faculty Relationships” in the "Education and Identity" volume, Arthur Chickering and Linda Reisser put forth four key components that have been demonstrated to foster productive student-faculty relationships. The components are 1) accessibility, 2) authenticity, 3) knowledge and 4) an ability to communicate with students.
Accessibility, according to Chickering and Reisser, means much more than posting office hours on the syllabus or casually mentioning “come and see me if you need help” from time to time. The authors suggest that contemporary college students are increasingly reluctant to seek out faculty members for a wide variety of cultural and sociological reasons.
Students may feel that the act of seeking out-of-class help from their instructor demonstrates a weakness or a lack of ability on their part, might be seen as a waste of the instructor’s valuable time or might even verify their own lingering inner fear that they really are not up to doing the quality of work required to succeed in college. So, rather than risking encountering one or more of these discouraging possibilities, many students will seek out help in “safer” confines such as learning centers or from a classmate. We can expect that the help they get from the learning center is safe, reliable and encouraging. The quality of help they get from a fellow student, however, clearly depends on the student they select.
Part of growing up and maturing is learning how to access the resources necessary to overcome challenges along the way. First, Chickering and Reisser suggest that if instructional personnel truly desire to be seen as viable learning resources for students, they must consistently and convincingly put out signals that they really are there to help, that they see giving help as central to their role on campus and that any help they give will be likely to come with a healthy dose of affirmation and encouragement. Affirmation doesn’t entail hand-holding or spoon-feeding, nor ignoring or rewarding slothfulness or poor work habits, but is based on the idea that all learners need emotional, as well as intellectual, encouragement along their journey from someone whose judgment they trust.
Second, Chickering and Reisser emphasize the importance of modeling intellectual authenticity to our students. The enigma is that many contemporary college students are not interested in or receptive to being told what or how to think. They are, however, quite interested in and willing to consider what and how we think when we give them an occasional “peek under the hood.” “My way or the highway” doesn’t carry much weight with contemporary students.
Authenticity, in this regard, refers to being open and honest with students about the underlying assumptions that support our own emerging and changing intellectual worldviews. It involves respectfully and patiently listening to students as they tell us what they think and why they think what they think. Authenticity requires listening, giving a fair hearing and tempering our comments in light of what we have been told. Chickering and Reisser suggest that we must provide psychological space and safety in these encounters and be willing to pick up on our students’ ideas and work with them. We need to make an effort to compare and contrast their ideas and our ideas in order for us both to embrace a more informed awareness. Finally, being authentic involves recognizing that some students will be unable or unwilling to jettison dearly held foundational elements of their own thinking on demand, even when confronted with more profound and efficacious understandings of the disciplines that we collectively pursue. Developing this shared vision requires patience, trust and mutual respect. Both seem in short supply in our culture and in our dealings with our students and in their dealings with us.
Chickering and Reisser argue that to forge effective relationships with our students, part of our professional knowledge set should include a familiarity with “the social, cultural and spiritual backgrounds from which the students come, and the attitudes, ideals and developmental problems” that students bring with them to class. The authors call upon instructors to become familiar with the rich and diverse body of philosophical and cognitive research that provides a variety of avenues to connect the material with the individual needs of each of our students.
Finally, Chickering and Reisser say instructors have the obligation and responsibility to constantly improve their ability to communicate effectively with successive generations of incoming students. Students, unfortunately, don’t divide their life experiences into chunks that neatly square with the organizational charts of colleges and universities. After 30 years of teaching I accept that, despite my best efforts, individual students will make of me and what I present in class what they will. Being sensitive to the often greatly conflicted mélange of experiences and thoughts that constitute the emotional and intellectual lives of our students is always an art in progress in my mind. It makes sense to me that failure to understand their worldviews greatly reduces my ability to connect new ideas that I value with the existing conceptions that bring them comfort.
Chickering and Reisser conclude, “Respecting students' thinking precludes certain rewards. We do not receive the satisfaction that comes from giving sage advice or from the lucid exposition of our own point of view. Dogmatic teachers usually alienate students. Those who pontificate will be tuned out.”
Despite our compartmentalized worldviews, all who collaborate in this learning community must acknowledge the privilege we have been given to represent the ideas we value. Ultimately, we might actually convince our students that what we have to teach has substance and lasting purpose. |
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