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1. The School of Technology Leads the Way with Articulation Agreements |
By John Gagnon, promotional writer
The School of Technology is quietly and assuredly fashioning articulation agreements with community colleges to facilitate students transferring from two-year associate programs to Tech's four-year bachelor's programs.
The effort is designed to bolster Tech's enrollment, which is typically comprised of 15 to 20 percent transfer students, although some of those are from four-year institutions.
As the agreements develop, the school is developing a model arrangement that can support an even broader outreach.
So far, the collaboration involves Macomb Community College, Mott Community College, Bay de Noc Community College, Northwestern Michigan College, Fox Valley Technical College in Wisconsin, and the College of Lake County in Illinois.
Assistant Professor Nasser Alaraje has just fashioned agreements with Macomb and Lake County for the electrical engineering technology program, which he oversees.
And Associate Professor John Irwin has developed a similar agreement for students to transfer from Macomb's manufacturing engineering technology program to Tech’s industrial technology program, which he oversees.
"It’s a great advantage to have a smooth transition for students to join our bachelor’s program," Alaraje said. "We envision a great effort to expand this opportunity."
His message to prospective students is, "If you want to go further, there’s a plan—and a fit—for you."
For students coming into the School of Technology, the agreement is particularly useful, according to Mark Provoast, associate director of admissions.
For some academic programs, there’s generally a standard, unchanging regimen, he said. With the School of Technology, on the other hand, "the curriculum and the technology are constantly changing as the needs of industry change." Therefore, the agreements are "a good connection," Provoast says. "They can only help."
He says they are especially attractive in the ailing economy as students find themselves staying close to home to minimize the cost of their education for two years.
Interim Dean Jim Frendewey says that community colleges are "another source of good students. It's a good thing to serve them and make that link," he said. "We want to attract them early and get them interested in pursuing a terminal degree."
Macomb College has more than 23,000 students on three campuses, and roughly half of them will transfer to bachelor’s programs, says William Headley, director of articulation and transfer.
The collaboration with Tech "is a good fit," he said. "It affords students in our applied programs an opportunity to round out their training and education." |
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2. Provost Search Committee Named |
A 16-member committee has been named to search for a new provost and vice president for academic affairs for Michigan Tech.
Committee members include representatives of the University Senate, faculty, professional staff, deans, department chairs, staff and graduate and undergraduate students. There are also three at-large representatives. The director of human resources serves in an ex-officio capacity.
Members are Martha Sloan, Senate president; Mari Buche, David Flaspohler, Nancy Grimm and Alex Mayer, faculty; Erik Nordberg, professional staff; Ravi Pandey, department chair; Tim Schulz, dean; Amy Hughes and Theresa Jacques, staff; Jill Witt, graduate student; Sarah Anderton, undergraduate; Jackie Huntoon, Darrell Radson and Dave Reed, at-large; and Anita Quinn, director of human resources.
Committee members' names are posted on the Provost's website, www.mtu.edu/provost .
A consulting firm, Academic Search Inc., will assist the committee in its search.
The committee's first meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 26. |
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3. Michigan Tech Scientist Wins Google Earth Competition |
By Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations
Tyler Erickson, a research scientist at the Michigan Tech Research Institute in Ann Arbor, has been named one of five scientists worldwide who created winning entries in a Google Earth Education competition. The contest sought innovative ways to use the KML computer programming language in research.
Erickson is also an adjunct assistant professor in Michigan Tech's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
KML is a programming language for describing geospatial objects and their locations relative to the earth's surface. Interactive 3-D earth browser applications such as Google Earth can be used to display KML data in intuitive and engaging ways.
"Dr. Erickson's entry was selected because it is a novel and compelling representation of science using Google Earth and the KML language," said Ryan Falor of the Google Earth Education Team. "As KML continues to evolve, we hope to enable more work like his by providing teaching resources, tutorials and examples to guide new developers and students."
Using KML, Erickson formatted several large carbon-cycle datasets created by his collaborators at the University of Michigan and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"Researchers in Anna Michalak's group at the University of Michigan are developing methods that help determine where plants and oceans are taking up and releasing carbon, so that carbon-cycle scientists can better predict how these important carbon sinks will change in the future," Erickson explained. "To understand the carbon cycle, scientists must work with large volumes of data that vary in space and time. KML is a descriptive language for geospatial data, so that the data can be explored using Google Earth, a user-friendly interface for viewing spatial and temporal data."
Erickson's project can help scientists, teachers, students and the general public make sense of the wealth of data collected on atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other factors, such as wind and weather patterns, all of which contribute to our understanding of climate change.
The five award-winning scientists represent three US universities, one in the United Kingdom and a private, nonprofit Norwegian geospatial research website.
For more information about Google Earth's KML in Research winners,
click here .
Also,
click here . |
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4. Women's Week Coming, Schedule Announced |
Women's Week 2009 at Michigan Tech will be celebrated Monday to Friday, March 23 to March 27. The theme is "Overcoming Barriers to Success: Women Helping Women."
The events, sponsored by Educational Opportunity, are free and open to the public.
Sessions are scheduled for noontimes and for evenings. Noontime events, which will be in the Memorial Union, are geared to faculty and staff; evening events, coordinated by student Elsa Roberts, are geared toward students.
The schedule follows:
Monday, March 23--"Technology Careers: Panel Discussion with Female IT Professionals," coordinated by Chelley Vician and Mari Buche, SBE--noon, Memorial Union Ballroom.
Tuesday March 24--"The Importance of Social Support for Women," presented by Crystal Primeau, Counseling Services--noon, Memorial Union Ballroom.
Tuesday, March 24--"Women and Sexuality," sponsored by Keweenaw Pride--7 p.m., Fisher 135
Wednesday, March 25--"Fashion Cents," a fashion show modeling outfits created on a limited budget by students Victoria Peters and Tolou Shokuhfar--noon, Memorial Union Ballroom.
Wednesday, March 25--"Friendship Matters: Women's Friendships at Michigan Tech," a discussion facilitated by student Jess Turuc and Associate Professor Patricia Sotirin, Humanities--6 p.m., Memorial Union Ballroom B.
Thursday March 26--"Women and Menopause," Geri Merkey, RN, Community Health, Portage Health--noon, Memorial Union Red Metal Room.
Thursday, March 26--"Gaming: How-to and Women in the Gaming World," presented by instructor Wendy Anderson, Humanities--6 p.m., Walker 134.
Friday, March 27--"Planning for Your Financial Future," presented by Kelly Jepsen, State Farm Insurance, sponsored by University Women's Connection--noon, Memorial Union Red Metal Room.
Documentary: "As We Forgive" (2008)--about two Rwandan women who come face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide, sponsored by Northern Lights Film Festival--noon, McArdle Theatre.
Documentary: "Lioness" (2008)--the story of a group of female army support soldiers who were part of the first program in American history to send women into ground combat, sponsored by Northern Lights Film Festival--4 p.m., McArdle Theatre.
Other related Women's Week events will be the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home's "Music Night & Silent Auction" from 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday, March 19, in the Forestry Building Atrium.
The Society of Intellectual Sisters "Bra Show" will be held at 7 p.m.,, Friday, March 20, in the Memorial Union Ballroom A.
Light refreshments will be served at Women's Week noon events at the Union; feel free to bring your own lunch. For more information, contact Maryann Wilcox at 487-2262 or mawilcox@mtu.edu . |
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5. Hockey Huskies Honored |
Nine Tech players have been named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Academic Team.
Seniors Ryan Angelow, Alex Gagne, Derek Kitti and John Schwarz were named to the team for the third time in their careers; juniors Mike VanWagner and Eli Vlaisavljevich for a second time; and junior John Kivisto, sophomore Jordan Baker and sophomore Bennett Royer for the first time.
"I am real proud of the job these men do in the classroom," said head coach Jamie Russell. "They put a lot of focus and hard work into their studies, and this honor rewards the effort."
To be named to the academic team, student-athletes must have completed one year of residency at the present institution, prior to the current academic year, and have a grade point average of at least 3.00 for the previous two semesters. They may also qualify if the overall GPA is at least 3.00 for all terms at the present institution. |
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6. Reminder: Women's Connection Scholarship Deadline Approaching |
The deadline to apply for University Women's Connection Scholarships is Monday, March 23.
The group will award two $800 scholarships this spring. Winners will be recognized at the organization's spring event in April.
Applicants must be full-time students (a minimum of 12 credits), have a GPA of at least 2.75 and be currently in their freshman, sophomore or junior year. As well, they must have demonstrated leadership or contributed to extracurricular student activities or community service within the past three years. Financial need will be a consideration.
Applications are available online at the Financial Aid website, http://finaid.mtu.edu/finschoa.php . Hard copies are available at the Financial Aid Office.
For additional information, contact Marie Ryding at 487-2622 and Kathy Pintar at either 487-1633 or at kapintar@mtu.edu .
The University Women's Connection provides opportunities for women from throughout the campus community to meet in fun and friendship, to develop interests and to use their talents in service to the community. See www.admin.mtu.edu/uwc/ . |
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7. Reminder: Help Name the UPPCO Building |
Michigan Tech needs your help in finding a new name for the UPPCO Building, which Tech has purchased and is remodeling for administrative offices.
Send your suggestions for a name that reflects Michigan Tech and its community, and receive a coupon for a free beverage at any food service location on campus.
The building's name should not be that of a person.
Submit suggestions to Becky Christianson, rwchrist@mtu.edu , by Wednesday, March 25.
President Glenn Mroz will review submissions and make a recommendation to the Board of Control. |
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8. Poster Competition Deadline Nears |
The Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society (CWS) is sponsoring the World Water Day Poster Competition from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Monday, March 23, in the Dow lobbies. Posters can be viewed on Tuesday, March 24.
Prizes will be awarded in two categories: original research and course work/informational.
For registration forms, see http://www.mtcws.mtu.edu/ .
Entries will be accepted through Thursday, March 19, when emailed to mtcws@mtu.edu .
For more information, contact Carol Asiala at 487-2033 or at cjasiala@mtu.edu , or Alex Mayer at 487-3372 or at asmayer@mtu.edu . |
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9. Compensation Statement Now Available Through ESS |
Employees can now access their compensation statement on Michigan Tech's Employee Self Service.
The statement will be available beginning with calendar year 2007 and will provide employees the opportunity to view their salary and benefits for 2007 and 2008. Annually, your compensation statement will be available for the preceding year.
Once logged into ESS, you can view this information at Benefits and Deductions under the Employee Services tab.
One way to reach ESS is to go to www.mtu.edu/facultystaff/ . Click on Employee Self Service in the left-hand column.
For more information, contact Renee Hiller at 487-2517 or at rlhiller@mtu.edu .
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10. On the menu |
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The Campus Cafe's Monday luncheon special is the Husky Bowl for $3.95: popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and shredded cheddar cheese. |
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11. Reminder: Biological Sciences Candidate Seminar Tomorrow |
Postdoctoral associate Christopher A. Binckley, from the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at Rutgers University, will give a one-hour seminar, "Behavioral Assembly of Aquatic Metacommunities," tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17,at 10 a.m. in Chem Sci 101.
Binckley is a candidate for an ecology position in the Department of Biological Sciences. |
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12. Retirement Seminar Scheduled for March 23 |
Given the economic downturn, are you wondering what to do about your retirement?
A seminar for Tech employees on that subject will be held at 12:15 p.m., Monday, March 23, in Memorial Union Alumni Lounge A.
Carissa D. Hagen, regional vice president of RiverSource Annuities, will give a presentation titled "Take Charge of Your Retirement."
She will address how to assess your retirement income needs, reduce market risk, and realize a steady stream of income.
The seminar is hosted by Debbie Stouffer, senior financial advisor, and Ted Simonsen, associate financial advisor, both of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc., in L’Anse.
The presentation will take less than an hour and lunch will be served.
RSPVs are requested. Call 1-800-353-7599.
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. offers financial advice, investments, insurance and annuity products. |
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13. CEE Seminars Set |
Two seminars are scheduled for candidates as part of their on-campus interview for a faculty position in infrastructure engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Avinash Unnikrishnan, from the University of Texas at Austin, will give a talk, "Transportation Network Planning, Evaluation and Optimization under Uncertainty and Information Provision," at 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 17, in Dow 642.
R. Andrew Swartz, from the University of Michigan, will give a talk, "Adaptive Wireless Smart Senors for Civil Infrastructure," at 4 p.m., Thursday, March 19, in Dow 642.
Interested faculty members and others from the campus community are welcome. |
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