Sue McDaniel, Tech Topics student writer, 906-487-2343

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PRESIDENT TOMPKINS ATTENDS NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

University President Curt Tompkins has been named to attend the National Symposium on Competitiveness and Security by the Council on Competitiveness.

Located in Washington, DC, the council is a nonpartisan, nonprofit forum of chief executive officers, university presidents and labor leaders working together to boost U.S. economic competitiveness and raise the standard of living for all Americans.

Tompkins, the only university president from Michigan in the organization, attended the symposium, Oct. 8-9.

"Our goals are two-fold," he said. "To identify solutions that have the potential to enhance both security and economic growth, and to galvanize the private sector to share leadership for homeland security with the public sector."

He also said that Michigan Tech will see a direct benefit from this participation. "We need to increase our research involvement in issues related to homeland security and economic growth," he said.

The council is supported by The Business Roundtable, the National Academies of Science and Engineering, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Governors Association.

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BOARD OF CONTROL APPROVES TWO NEW DEGREE PROGRAMS

FORESTRY NAME CHANGE ALSO APPROVED

The Board of Control approved two new degree programs Oct. 3 that are designed to prepare graduates for key roles in the Information Age.

The Board also approved changing the name of the School of Forestry and Wood Products to the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science.

The proposed BS degree program in Computer Systems Science, based in the Department of Computer Science, will give students a foundation for careers in system and network administration, computing environment engineering and network technology management.

"Students in this program will receive a solid foundation in the field of computing systems," said Linda Ott, chair of the computer science department. Most students in this area end up receiving most of their education on the job. "With this degree, they'll be able to start in higher--level positions and have a much broader perspective on computer systems," she added.

The BS program in Computer Network and System Administration, proposed by the School of Technology, will provide a practical education in maintaining computer systems, including installing hardware and operating systems on networked computers. Graduates will be well-prepared for employment as systems administrators.

"What excites me is the number of contacts I've had from interested students for a program that doesn't even exist," said Tim Collins, dean of technology.

Potential employers have also expressed an interest.

"I've talked to representatives from the computer industry, and they felt these programs would be a very good match for them," said James Turnquist, director of the University Career Center.

If approved by the State Board of Academic Officers, which includes the academic officers of Michigan's 15 public universities, the programs would be subject to a final vote by the Board of Control. Both degree programs could then begin in fall 2003.

Forestry dean Glenn Mroz said the new name, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, better describes the School's focus. The school offers undergraduate degrees in forestry, as well as applied ecology and environmental sciences; and graduate programs in forest molecular genetics and biotechnology, forest science, and forestry.

"Environmental impact statements and forest management based on scientific research are the industry standard," Mroz said. "Employers want professionals with diverse skills--at home both in the woods or in front of a computer analyzing satellite images. We have been teaching these skills--our name now better reflects our focus."

In other business, the Board

* changed Bruce Rafert's title to reflect his current responsibilities as dean of distance learning and dean of the Graduate School. Rafert is no longer serving as vice provost for instruction.

* approved a measure to extend MTU's education benefits to ROTC staff, allowing them to take classes without paying tuition and to participate in the TRIP program.

* passed a resolution opposing the ballot proposal designed to regulate how Michigan will spend revenues from the tobacco settlement.

* heard from Vice President for Research David Reed that research brings $30 million to the University and nets revenues of $2.6 million for the general fund.

* removed the "interim" from Dan Greenlee's title, making him the chief financial officer.

* heard from Greenlee that expenses for fiscal year 2001-02 were $3.6 million under budget, which was instrumental in reducing the University's operating loss from a projected $4.1 million to $2.3 million. "Faculty, staff and students are to be commended for your efforts in this area," Board Chair David Brule said. "You deserve our heartfelt thanks and appreciation."

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SEND IN YOUR VISION INITIATIVE BY OCT. 15

If you have an idea that could help make Michigan Tech a national university of choice, now is the time to tell someone about it.

The deadline for submitting proposals for the Vision Initiative program is Tuesday, Oct. 15.

You may submit two kinds of proposals. Focused Initiatives are narrow in scope and impact only a few units. University Initiatives are broad-based and involve many segments of the MTU community.

"I hope you will take this opportunity to participate in this important process," Provost Kent Wray said.

Last year, proposals selected for support from the Michigan Tech Fund ranged from upgrading the MTU Ski Trails to instituting campus recycling to enhancing the civil and environmental engineering graduate program.

Proposals should tie into the Strategic Plan (see http://www.mtu.edu/stratplan/implement.html#uap for more information).

For information on developing a proposal, visit http://www.mtu.edu/stratplan/vision-initiatives.html .

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OCT. 18 LAST DAY TO DROP CLASSES

Student Records and Registration, in conjunction with the Office of Student Affairs, is asking all faculty and staff to announce to their classes that Friday, Oct. 18, is the last day to drop classes.

Please encourage students to make their final decisions based on a realistic assessment of their performance during the first half of the course, not on wishful thinking that they'll be able to catch on during the second half of the semester.

After Oct. 18, students may request a late drop from the Office of Student Affairs. However, late drops will only be considered in cases that involve circumstances beyond the student's control, such as a prolonged illness, serious accident or the death of an immediate family member. Late drops are not granted to avoid a bad grade.

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FACULTY AND STAFF RECEIVE FUNDING

William Sproule (Civil and Environmental Engineering) has received $59,996 from MDOT for his project, "5 County Pro-Test 2000-2001."

Rolf Peterson (School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science) has received $38,000 from the National Park Service for a two-year project, "Occurrence and Relative Abundance of Bats in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, and Grand Portage National Monument."

Eric Blough (Biological Sciences) has received $72,361 from the US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, National Institute of Aging for his project, "Mechanosensory Signal Transduction of Aging Muscle."

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TEACHING AT TECH: BRAVE NEW WORLD? ENRICHED LEARNING OBJECTS

by William Kennedy, Director

Center for Teaching , Learning and Faculty Development

The lecture remains the predominant mode of university instruction. While many instructors still engage in the time-honored tradition of supporting their lectures with chalkboard illustrations and notations, many have shifted to using pre-prepared overhead transparencies. Increasingly, instructors in classrooms equipped with computer projection gear are supporting their lectures with computer-display images, application displays or computer simulations.

Early adopters of PowerPoint-type lecture enhancements anticipated high student acceptance. Rather, some students complained that lecturers using computerized images tended to put too many words in each frame and then to move too quickly through the frames. Some instructors responded by redoing their materials and even providing paper copies of the computerized images to students before the lecture. Fearing that students might simply stop by the lecture hall to pick up copies of the handouts and not sit through the lecture, a subset of instructors decided to leave out important bits of information from the handouts so that students would be forced to stay to fill in the blanks. Their hopeful thinking was that the handouts would largely relieve students of the burden of trying to write furiously during the lecture and, instead, thoughtfully consider what was being said. Students who feel that they learn best by taking notes in a class properly paced to support note taking still prefer that the instructor write on the chalkboard. This automatically slows down the flow and limits the amount of information transferred to the notebook. In fact, they say an important part of their learning is turning what they are hearing into writing.

Now, a host of computerized teaching enhancements may change the role of the lecture. More and more college lectures, particularly those delivered to large sections, are being videotaped. The videotapes are then used to deliver instruction to distance learning students and are often made available to students who might have missed a lecture or two.

More and more of these videotaped lectures are being converted into computer files that can be easily "streamed" to distance learning sites or mailed to learners on cds or DVDs.

Now, we are finding that the instructional value of these digitized lecture files can be enriched through the addition of summaries, definitions, links to other resources, alternative explanations, the output from electronic whiteboards, animations, references, problem sets, quizzes, examinations and assignments. These can be "indexed" (synchronized) to the original lecture so that students can quickly review specific topics without having to fast-forward and play their way through an entire videotape. In effect, an enriched lecture disk has a built-in, course-specific encyclopedia, textbook, syllabus, seat in the lecture hall and tutor all synchronized to the lecture.

Students who learn well from lectures might view the entire lecture and then review difficult concepts by hopping to the sections requiring further attention. Students who don't do well listening to an extended lecture might view one section, or read one part of the "text" at a time, and then take one of several available quizzes to test themselves. Miss a few items on the multiple-guess quiz? No problem, the program on the disk will automatically replay relevant parts of the lecture or the text, or even provide the information in a different format such as visual representations, videos of tutor or coach review sessions, or explanations from other students in the class.

Early returns have it that even facilitated group viewings of these indexed, multi-modal learning disks, being termed "enriched learning objects," are yielding learning comparable to face-to-face lectures.* Whether individuals can actually learn to use all the "bells and whistles" is still questionable. Stay tuned!

*Richard Reis, #427 The Evolution of the Lecture, Tomorrow's Professor Listserv, The Stanford University Center for Teaching and Learning.

LIVE IN THE LOBBY BACK AT THE ROZSA

Back by popular demand, the Live in the Lobby Series returns to the Rozsa during the week of Oct. 15-18, noon-1:15 p.m. each day. This year's series features some of the best musical talent in the area--Finn Street, White Water, carp, and Johnny Perona and the Finn Woods Ramblers, with one group performing at noon each day in the Rozsa lobby. Now in its third season, the series has become so popular that it promises to become a regular event on the fall schedule. The mini-concerts are very informal, friendly affairs with some light refreshments provided. There's always enjoyable interaction between artists and the audience, which includes members of both campus and local communities. The series is free and is open to all.

Finn Street kicks off the series on Tuesday, Oct. 15. "The name of the group came about by default when we met each week in a house on Finn Street in Hancock," says Sue Ellen Kingsley, who sings and plays guitar. "Although two of us are of Finnish heritage, we don't perform Finnish music." Other group members include Kris Kyro, well known for her beautiful voice, Norm Kendall, who contributes a fabulous tenor voice and rhythm guitar, and Floyd Henderson, who also sings and plays lead guitar. Randy Seppala, a recent addition to the group, completes the mix with a percussion section. Their repertoire consists of old standards and classic jazz and blues tunes from the beginning of the 20th century to today's hits. They sing in three- and four-part harmony, in styles ranging from old-time to folk to country to light rock to classic jazz and blues.

Regulars on the UP circuit, White Water brings music with a northwoods flavor on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Dean and Bette Premo and their extraordinarily talented children, Evan and Laurel, make up this delightful family band, which drew a large audience to the Rozsa lobby last year. Bette plays the hammer dulcimer, nicknamed the "lumberjack's piano," one of 60 that Dean has crafted from Upper Peninsula hardwoods. She also sings and plays fiddle, mandolin and tenor banjo. Dean introduces the songs, plays guitar and sings. Evan and Laurel joined the group as very young children and now, at 17 and 14 respectively, are an integral part of White Water. Evan sings and plays acoustic and electric bass, while Laurel contributes an amazing versatility on fiddle, mandolin, resonator guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele and a variety of percussion instruments.

Carp, performing on Thursday, Oct. 17, draws on the influences of traditional bluegrass, progressive rock, jazz, metal and classical, with an occasional nod to the klezmer sound, and a great sense of humor. They are as much fun to watch as they are to listen to. Banjoist Taylor Klipp, guitarist Ken Thiemann, bassist Dave Falls and mandolin player Jeff Ahrens are all students at Michigan Tech and have rapidly become one of the most sought after groups around town. They're flattered and surprised by their success, but it's well earned and supported by a growing number of fans. Catch them while you can (no pun intended); Tech students tend to graduate, and they won't be around for long.

Johnny Perona and the Finn Woods Ramblers provide the series with a splendid finale on Friday, Oct. 18. This is a group of folk musicians dedicated to playing the ethnic music of the immigrant groups who settled in Upper Michigan. Their repertoire includes Finnish, Italian, Swedish, Irish, German and Polish dance tunes, and they sing in various languages. Members of the band say that their goal is to sound like "an old-time U.P. wedding band." The group consists of Michigan Heritage Award-winner Johnny Perona on bones, spoons and concertina; Eleanor Mantila Taylor on accordion; Toni Tikkanen on guitar and vocals; Randy Seppala on bones and percussion; and Oren Tikkanen on mandolin, banjo, guitar and flute.

The Live in the Lobby series is made possible with funding from the Friends of the Rozsa, an annual membership program that helps support programming and operations at the Rozsa Center. This year Class Acts, the school outreach program at the Rozsa, was also funded by the Friends organization. For further information, please contact the MTU Great Events Series Office (487-2844).

CELEBRATE “BEAUTIFUL MEXICO” IN FOOD AND MUSIC

“Mejico Lindo,” or “Beautiful Mexico,” celebrates Mexican American culture on Friday, Oct. 18, in the Memorial Union, and everyone is invited.

The event, set for 6:30–9 p.m.,  features a Mexican buffet catered by the Memorial Union and performances by Vincente Vaaquez and David Chantaca. Their music ranges from traditional Mexican (Pedro Infante) to songs by Santana.

Tickets for Mejico Lindo are $10 for adults, $5 for children.

The event is sponsored by Educational Opportunity’s Outreach and Multiethnic Programs. For more information, call 487-2920.

CHINESE COPPER MINE SEMINAR OCT. 14

Zhengyao Jin, professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a Research Fellow in the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., will present a seminar, "The Discovery of a Large Native Copper Mine in Southwestern China: Its Significance for Provenance Study of Shang Bronzes," on Monday, Oct. 14, at 4 p.m. in M&M 309.

Jin is the first in China to study the civilization of ancient Chinese bronzes with the lead isotope method. He and his co-workers from the United States and Japan have discovered that a large number of Shang bronze objects contain high radiogenic lead, which is similar to the lead of the Mississippi Valley type. These high radiogenic lead ore deposits exist only in the Northeastern Yunnan Province, China. He will describe the discovery of this large native copper mine and the relationship between it and the provenance study of Chinese Shang bronzes. The new native copper mine is only a few miles away from the Lemachang lead-zinc mine, which is also similar to the Mississippi-type lead. This suggests that the same deposits which comprise this new mine could have been a source of the Shang bronzes.

The seminar is part of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences 2002 Seminar Series.

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WEIGHT WATCHERS MEETING OCT. 14

Weight Watchers will hold their regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 14, noon-1 p.m. in Memorial Union Alumni Lounge B.

New members are always welcome.

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MICHIGAN TECH TO HOST EGYPTIAN GEOLOGY EXPERT

Michigan Tech will host Egyptian geology expert James Harrell on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. in Dow 642. Harrell will present a seminar, "Archaeological Geology in Egypt: Ancient Oil Wells and Mummy Bitumen, Earliest Geological Map, First Paved Road, Pyramid Temple Pavements, and the Sphinx Age Controversy."

The seminar will feature selected aspects of Harrell's research and will provide an introduction to the practice of geology in Egypt.

Harrell will discuss the use of basalt for pavements in ancient Egypt; the earliest geological maps drawn on papyrus scrolls in Egypt, in about 1150 BC; the use of Dead Sea bitumen as a preservative in some ancient Egyptian mummies; and the controversy surrounding the age of the Great Sphinx.

Harrell, a professor in the Department of Earth, Ecological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toledo, is an internationally recognized expert on the geological aspects of the ancient Egyptian civilization.

He received a bachelor's degree in earth science from California State University at Fullerton in 1971 and  a master's degree in geology from the University of Oklahoma in 1976. He is currently in his 23rd year at the University of Toledo. Harrell was originally trained in sediment geology for the oil and gas industry, but changed the focus of his research to the archaeological geology of ancient Egypt in 1988.

Harrell has made 21 trips to Egypt and two to Sudan. He is especially well known for his extensive published work on the petrology of the stones used for sculptures, monuments and other applications, and also the geoarchaeology of the quarries from which these stones were obtained.

NEW STAFF

Susanne Kilpela has joined Design and Publications as a secretary. She was previously employed at Isle Royale Ferry lines where she assisted in operations of the ferry service in Copper Harbor. Prior to that she was employed in the Department of Alumni Relations and Development at the University of Michigan Business School.

Kilpela received a BFA degree from Northern Michigan University and an MFA from the University of Michigan. She lives in Hancock with her children, Kyle, Sean and Sam Eberhard. She enjoys anything that has to do with art (art history, artists, looking at art and making art) and being an uneducated (in sports) fan for her kids' sports teams.

Pete Pelissero has joined the Office of Student Affairs as an office assistant 5. He was previously employed as superintendent with AFROTC Detachment 400 MTU.

Pelissero lives in Dodgeville with his wife, Kim, and their children, Lindsay and Lacey.

Katie Vadnais has joined Institutional Analysis as a planning analyst. She was formerly employed with Sedgwick Communications as as administrative assistant/JURIS coordinator. Prior to that, she was employed at Northern Michigan University in Planning and Analytical Studies and Administrative Information Technology.

Vadnais received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Computer Information Systems from Northern Michigan University. She lives in Hancock.

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IN THE NEWS

Michigan Tech is featured in a story on the Citrix web site. The University implemented Citrix MetaFrame for Windows and Citrix MetaFrame for the Solaris Operating Environment, allowing more than 5,000 users to access both Windows and UNIX academic and administrative applications easily from Sun Ray devices. Users connect from virtually anywhere, even over slow connections.

"Citrix solutions have enabled us to better manage and deploy educational applications at our institution. Today, a student can access the most robust Windows and UNIX applications from a single device located anywhere. In addition, faculty and staff seeking instructional information can easily access Banner, our administrative application, across any connection," said Chris Williams, IT manager, College of Engineering.

You can read more at http://www.citrix.com/press/news/profiles/michigan_tech.htm

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CALENDAR—OCTOBER

National Disability Awareness Month

10        Thursday

            3-4 p.m.--Lecture, Farhad Bolourchi, "Unified Chassis Control Systems,

            with Emphasis on Yaw Plane Dynamics"--MEEM 112

            7 p.m.--Talk, Paul Angeli, "Streamlining the Product Commercialization Process"--Minerals and Materials Engineering U115

            8 p.m.--A Texas Romance--McArdle Theatre

11        Friday

            3 p.m.--Women's Tennis, Lake Superior State at MTU--Gates Tennis Center

            3 p.m.--National Groundwater Association Distinguished Henry Darcy Lecture--Dow 642

            7 p.m.--Women's Volleyball, Wayne State at MTU--SDC

            8 p.m.--A Texas Romance--McArdle Theatre

12        Saturday

            1 p.m.--Women's Volleyball, Hillsdale at MTU--SDC

            8 p.m.--Shangri--La Chinese acrobats--Rozsa Center

            8 p.m.--A Texas Romance--McArdle Theatre

14        Monday

            Noon-1 p.m.--Weight Watchers Meeting--Memorial Union Alumni Lounge B

            4 p.m.--Seminar, Zhengyao Jin, "The Discovery of a Large Native Copper                                                    Mine in Southwestern China"--M&M 309

15        Tuesday

            Noon--Live in the Lobby, Finn Street--Rozsa Center

            7 p.m.--Women's Volleyball, NMU at MTU--SDC

16        Wednesday

            Noon--Live in the Lobby, White Water--Rozsa Center

17        Thursday

            Noon--Live in the Lobby, Carp--Rozsa Center

            7 p.m.--Seminar, James Harrell, "Archaeological Geology in Egypt"--Dow 642

            8 p.m.--A Texas Romance--McArdle Theatre

18        Friday

            Noon--Live in the Lobby, Johnny Perona and the Finn WoodsRamblers--Rozsa Center

            6/7:15 p.m.--Club Indigo dinner/movie--Calumet Theatre

            8 p.m.--A Texas Romance--McArdle Theatre

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MICHIGAN TECH POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Job descriptions will be available at 1 p.m. on Friday, or by e-mail at jobs@mtu.edu.

The following positions will be posted Friday, October 11, 2002, at 1 p.m. through noon, Friday, October 18, 2002, in the Human Resources Office.

Custodian--Residential Services-Facilities (AFSCME internal posting only)

Food Service Helper--Residential Services-Dining (Regular, part--time position; AFSCME internal and external posting)

Director, Residence Life--Residential Services

Assistant Professor/Associate Professor/Professor--Geological & Mining Engineering and Sciences

Staff Assistant (N6)--Office of Student Records and Registration (UAW internal posting only)

University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Friday, October 18, 2002, to be considered as internal candidates for bargaining unit positions only. Applicants from the recall pool will be given first consideration for non-bargaining-unit positions only. Vacancy announcements are normally posted every Friday at 1 p.m. in the Human Resources Office. Complete job descriptions are available in the Human Resources Office or by calling 487-2280. More information regarding employment opportunities is available by calling the Job Line at 487-2895. Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

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