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1. Board Sets Budget and Tuition for 2010-11 |
by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director
The Board of Control Friday approved an operating budget of nearly $159 million for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, 2010, a 2.8 percent increase over this year’s operating budget.
The budget includes the following increases in tuition and mandatory fees:
* 5.9 percent ($22.50 per credit hour) for resident undergraduates, a total increase of $338 per semester for a typical full-time course load
* 3.9 percent ($30.50 per credit hour) for nonresident undergraduates, a total increase of $458 per semester
* 4.6 percent ($30 per credit hour) for graduate students, a total increase of $360 per semester
The budget is based on an expected 3.1 percent decline in State of Michigan appropriations from $49.3 million this year to $47.9 million next year. Should the legislature not impose the appropriations cut, Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz is authorized by the Board of Control to reduce tuition and fees.
"State higher education appropriations have decreased nearly 14 percent in the past decade, despite the fact that the University's full-time enrollment has increased nearly 13 percent," said Mroz. “We are committed to providing an absolutely first-rate technological education, but that necessitates raising tuition and fees, though we have kept the increase under 6 percent."
Mroz offered further thoughts on the economic situation. "We realize these are tough times and that tuition increases put students in a bind, especially after the loss of state aid such as the Michigan Promise Grants and Merit Awards. We helped students through those losses by cutting costs and raising scholarship gifts from alumni. Now we are increasing institutional financial aid by $2.5 million because even more students are in need of help.
"The Board has given the go-ahead to lower tuition if state appropriations are not cut as expected," he said. "Regardless of how that turns out, our objective is clear. We want our students to be able to thrive in a competitive world. They depend on Michigan Tech to deliver an education that will provide them with a competitive advantage for many years to come."
Cost-containment measures are reflected in the new budget. "Campus-wide, the University is focusing on new revenue sources and cost savings that will enable us to invest in things that enhance our students' education," said David Reed, vice president for research. "That includes savings found through streamlining business processes while also seeking new revenue sources. We will continue to pursue our strategic goals of hiring the best people, offering distinctive programs and pursuing innovative research. For example, we are growing the faculty and replacing retiring or departing faculty members with hires in key strategic areas such as energy and health care. In these times, this requires realigning our expenditures to invest in such strategic priorities. And, while this budget does not include an across-the board salary increase, we are recognizing the outstanding performance of faculty and staff by providing for salary adjustments for promotion and retention."
In other business, the Board
* Elected Marty Richardson chair of the Board of Control and Steve Hicks as vice chair. Richardson served as vice chair this year.
* Approved submitting proposals for two new PhD degrees to the State Academic Affairs Officers. One is in environmental and energy policy. The other is in geophysics.
* Approved promotions to professor with tenure of associate professors Dana Johnson, School of Business and Economics; David Flaspohler, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science; Patricia Sotorin, Humanities; and Kathleen Halvorsen, Social Sciences; and promotion from assistant professor without tenure to associate professor with tenure of Shiyue Fang, Chemistry; Jason Carter, Exercise Science, Health and Physical Education; Jeremy Goldman, Biomedical Engineering; Yun Hang Hu and Yu Wang, Materials Science and Engineering; and Guy Hembroff, School of Technology.
* Approved appointment of Sean Kirkpatrick as an associate professor with tenure. He is the new chair of biomedical engineering.
* Approved promotion of John Irwin, School of Technology, from an associate professor without tenure to an associate professor with tenure; and Paul Doskey, Civil and Environmental Engineering, from professor without tenure to professor with tenure.
* Approved revising a bond authorization resolution. |
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2. NSF Program Officer on Campus May 17-18 |
On May 17 and 18, Michigan Tech will host a visit by National Science Foundation program officer Michael Gorman, program director for science, technology and society. Gorman, a cognitive psychologist and former Michigan Tech faculty member, will deliver a general presentation about NSF and its research and education programs. He also will deliver presentations for and participate in focused discussions about developing NSF support for on-going activities here at Tech, that are related to nano-scale sciences and engineering (one of Gorman's personal interests), the CAREER program and developments in the social sciences.
This is an important opportunity to learn about the most recent developments across the foundation. The campus community is invited to any of his activities. Time is built into every event to allow one-on-one conversations. Graduate and undergraduate students in particular are urged to attend any meeting that aligns with their interests.
In order to insure proper arrangement of the rooms and refreshments, RSVP to Karen Kangas in the College of Sciences and Arts office at 477-2156 or kjkangas@mtu.edu .
You should address questions to Bruce Seely at bseely@mtu.edu .
Below is the itinerary for Michael Gorman's visit:
* General Presentation on NSF: Plans, Status and Preparing Proposals
10 to 11:30 a.m., Monday, May 17, in Rekhi G009
Audience: entire campus community, with graduate students and junior faculty urged to attend.
Informal discussion follows.
* NSF CAREER program: Discussion of approaches, NSF's expectations, broader impacts
2 to 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 18, in Chem Sci 101
Audience: faculty preparing CAREER proposals, postdocs, etc.
After a short presentation, the bulk of the session can be devoted to group discussion and individual conversations, with times scheduled through Pete Larson's office
* Social Sciences at NSF
9 to 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 18, in Academic Office Building 201
Audience: Faculty and graduate students in Social Sciences, Humanities, Business and others--such as STEM education--interested in programs within the division of social and behavioral sciences.
* Psychology: NSF and Michigan Tech
11 to noon, Tuesday, May 18, in Academic Office Building 201
Audience: Faculty and staff in cognitive and learning sciences, computer science and industrial engineering. Includes a discussion of human factors program
* Lunch with graduate students
noon to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 18, in Memorial Union Ballroom A-1
Audience: All graduate students. Register for event at www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/index.php . For more information, contact Jodi Lehman, jglehman@mtu.edu . Seating is limited to 50.
* Nanoscale science and technology: NSF and Michigan Tech
2 to 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 18, in Rekhi 101
Update on NSF activities and options for support. Session includes time for one-on-one conversations .
Audience: All faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students interested in nanoscale studies. |
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3. Learn about Lean May 12 |
by Bonnie Roth, manager of process improvement
Interested in seeing how your coworkers have been applying Lean thinking and principles in their areas?
The campus community is invited to the monthly Lean report-out session from 2 to 3 p.m., Wednesday, May 12, in Memorial Union Alumni A.
Lean is a process that allows employees to evaluate their practices and processes, identify waste and inefficiencies and use tools and techniques to eliminate those inefficiencies and improve the process.
If you have any questions or would like to become involved in Lean, contact Bonnie Roth, manager of process improvement, at 487-2800 or blroth@mtu.edu . |
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4. Webinar May 11 on How to Address Bullying |
A 90-minute webinar, "Responding to Bullying with Restorative Practices," will be shown Tuesday, May 11, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge.
It will provide techniques for responding effectively and consistently to bullying using restorative practices.
Bullying has become far too common in schools, and its consequences can be tragic. Many programs try to prevent it with varying results. What do you do when it happens anyway? You empower those who have been harmed, by means of supported, face-to-face meetings with those who have harmed them, and you widen the circle to include everyone who has been affected. Prohibiting such face-to-face meetings only ensures that that next time these parties cross paths no responsible adult will be present, and more bullying will result.
The webinar will also address
* how to identify bullying, a very specific power dynamic
* the harm in labeling children as bullies or victims
* bullying fallacies and controversies
The presenters are Bob Costello, director of training and consulting for the International Institute for Restorative Practices, and John Bailie, assistant director of training consulting.
RSVP by email to rmbishop@mtu.edu by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 7. The webinar is not officially sponsored by the Professional Development Day. If you have preregistered for the afternoon Professional Day session during this time and will no longer be attending, please contact Allison Carter at allison@mtu.edu or 487-1888 to cancel your reservation for the afternoon workshops. |
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5. Healthy Tip of the Week |
brought to you by HuskyPAW
May is National Physical Fitness Month. Start a physical activity program today and stay active and fit for life.
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