Sue McDaniel, Tech Topics editorial assistant, 906-487-2343

You can reach us via e-mail at ttopics@mtu.edu The deadline for submitting information for Tech Topics is 5:00 p.m. the Friday before anticipated publication.

Subscribe to e-TechTopics: majordomo@mtu.edu
message: [UN]SUBSCRIBE TECH-TOPICS-L

FORUM FOCUSES ON TUITION, PROGRAMS

Debate at Michigan Tech’s Budget Reduction Advisory Committee open forum May 7 revolved primarily around tuition and academic programs.

The committee is recommending that MTU replace its current flat tuition rates with a per-credit charge of $230 or $241. Based on the state formula for reporting tuition increases, the $241 rate equates to a 19.5 percent increase, while the $230 rate appears as a 15 percent increase. In addition, undergraduates in engineering and computer science degree programs would see an additional surcharge of $400 per semester.

A student at the forum said that the percentage increase would actually be considerably higher for engineering majors taking 16 to 18 credits per semester. Dean of Engineering Robert Warrington agreed, noting that the tuition hike for engineering students would effectively be in the neighborhood of 40 percent.

"The size of the tuition increase is a concern to us"” said Pamela Eveland, director of planning and budgeting. "It's something we've struggled with." However, she said, the higher cost, particularly in engineering and computer science, reflects the cost of providing that education.

Associate Professor Tom Snyder (Biological Sciences) was critical of the new tuition structure, calling it a "junior college model." Eveland said Michigan State University assesses tuition by the credit hour.

Professor Janice Glime (Biological Sciences) asked if an engineering graduate staying an extra year to get an additional major in a nonengineering field would be assessed the $400 surcharge. Eveland said that issue hadn’t been addressed. "Thanks for pointing that out," she said.

Associate professor of fine arts Debra Bruch noted that Michigan Tech has fewer programs than other Michigan universities, suggesting that adding more programs could increase enrollment. Dean of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences Glenn Mroz said programs are generally conceived by the faculty and then approved by the administration and Board of Control.

Dean of Business and Economics Keith Lantz said that adding viable programs was one way to increase revenue. Bruch asked why the mining engineering program was slated to be cut.

Warrington said the program has very low enrollment and is the highest-cost program at the University. "We want new programs that attract students," he said.

Humanities professor Jennifer Slack said that it was the administration's intent not to develop new programs.

Provost Kent Wray noted that a number of graduate and undergraduate programs have been added over the last few years years. Dean of Sciences and Arts Max Seel noted that the University Senate, which votes on new programs, has been cautious about adding new degrees that cost additional funds.

Seel said it would be healthier for the University to have lower engineering enrollment and higher enrollment elsewhere.

On the plus side, Wray said that applications and acceptances are up about 5 percent this year, with greater increases in graduate enrollment and enrollment among international students.

One visitor at the forum asked why budget cuts were being made in departments in "unfair, unstrategic ways." The cuts have not been random, Seel said. All units have been asked to reduce expenses by 10 percent in accordance with their strategic plans. In the College of Sciences and Arts, SS&E and staff have been cut to the bone, and the only other area left is faculty.

At the end of the forum, a student from the local area said he doubted that a school with 6,000 undergraduates could support a high number of programs. And he expressed dismay at the tone of the forum, saying that he had come to MTU because it was a "prestigious university."

"Watching this, I don't see that," he said.

President Curt Tompkins responded that this was the price of shared governance. "You get to see the sausage being made," he said.

________

TOMPKINS NAMED NSPE FELLOW

The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has named President Curt Tompkins to its 2003 class of Fellow Members.

The Fellow membership grade recognizes those active NSPE members who have demonstrated exemplary service to the profession, NSPE and the community. SIxty-eight of the society's 60,000 members are receiving the Fellow designation this year.

Tompkins came to Michigan Tech in 1991 after serving as dean of the College of Engineering at West Virginia University for 11 years. He was a faculty member at the University of Virginia and the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned his PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1971.

Tompkins is a member of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Higher Education Assistance Authority. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan and is vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

At the national level, Tompkins is one of 30 members of the Association of Governing Boards Council of Presidents and a member of the Council on Competitiveness. He is a Fellow and past president of both the American Society for Engineering Education and the Institute of Industrial Engineers and a Fellow of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers. He chaired the Michigan Universities Presidents Council from 1996 to 1998.

Tompkins received the Frank and Lillian Gilbreth Distinguished Industrial Engineering Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers in 1998.

He is also a charter member of both the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Committee of 100 at Virginia Tech and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. He is an honorary member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the Department of Industrial Engineering at West Virginia University.

________

JAMIE RUSSELL IS NEW MTU HOCKEY COACH

Jamie Russell, who has spent the last four seasons helping build the Cornell University Big Red into a national powerhouse, is Michigan Tech's new head men's ice hockey coach at a 3:30 p.m. news conference in the Begg Conference Center of the Grant Hockey Educational Center.

Russell, who played defense for Michigan Tech from 1987 to 1989, will officially begin his duties on June 1. He replaces Mike Sertich, who retired following the 2002-03 campaign.

"Needless to say I'm very excited to be returning to my alma mater," said Russell. "I know people are anxious for Michigan Tech to get back to its winning way, and I can assure all those with a vested interest in the program that we will do exactly that."

Russell has been the lead assistant at Cornell since his arrival there in 1999-2000. During his tenure, CU amassed an 87-39-10 record and won two Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season titles as well as an ECAC playoff championship.

Russell has been an instructor at multiple hockey schools, including Michigan Tech's Hockey Development Center.

The 36-year-old Russell is married to the former Linda Frankovich of Laurium, and the couple has a four-year-old son, Ben.

________

MICHIGAN TECH WOMEN'S BASKETBALL YEARBOOK #1

Michigan Tech's women's basketball yearbook has been judged number one in the nation among NCAA Division II schools by the College Sports Information Directors of America. A total of 276 schools participate in NCAA II women's basketball.

In addition, the women's basketball yearbook cover was also honored as tops in the country.

"Certainly it's an honor to be recognized nationally," said Dave Fischer, assistant athletic director for communications and marketing. "We're truly blessed with so many talented folks on our campus that contribute to the success of our publications, not just in athletics, but across the board."

The 48-page publication, produced by the Athletic Communications and Marketing division of University Relations, was written and edited by Wes Frahm, assistant director of athletic communications and marketing, and Fischer.

Bill Tembreull, director of design and publications, designed the cover of the yearbook, while Joe Pyykkonen of the photography staff provided the pictures for the publication.

________

MPSERS RETIREMENT GUIDELINES AVAILABLE ON-LINE

If you are a member of the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS), you can obtain a copy of the most recent retirement guidelines on-line on the Michigan Tech Benefits Office web page. Go http://www.mtu.edu and under "Departments A2Z" click on Benefits Office. Scroll down to MPSERS under the WebPage Reference section, and click on "Public School Employees Retirement Guidelines."

If you have any questions, call MPSERS directly at 1-800-381-5111, or the Benefits Office at 487-2517.

________

ON-LINE LODE TO BE PUBLISHED OVER SUMMER

The Michigan Tech Lode will be publishing limited, significant news information on the Online Lode at http://www.mtulode.com/ over the course of the summer.

"Given the climate of the University as we prepare to depart for the summer and the importance of the decisions that will be made in the coming months to all students, we feel this information is crucial to our readers," said Andrew Dobos, editor in chief.

The Lode invites all students, staff, faculty and community members may check their web site.

________

SHIFT TO SUMMER HOURS MAY 11

Beginning Sunday, May 11, the University shifts to its summer schedule. The general hours of operation will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and all offices must be staffed during those hours.

Employees are expected to fulfill their usual full-time or part-time obligations. Regular office hours resume Monday, August 18.

________

PIT CLASSIFICATION UPDATE FINALIZED

submitted by Becky Christianson

Following completion of the public forums, the PIT group received comments on the classification matrix. A few changes were incorporated and the matrix has been finalized. The final version can be viewed at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/forms/pitgroup.pdf. You can view the PowerPoint presentation at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/classcomp/index.shtml.

The position migration tool that will aid in moving IT positions from the Hay methodology to the new system has been completed. The process of migrating positions to the new classification system will begin in October.

Questions about the process can be directed to Becky Christianson at rwchrist@mtu.edu.

________

MEMORIAL UNION OPERATING HOURS FOR FINALS WEEK

Memorial Union has announced its operating hours for the week of May 10-18.

The Memorial Union Building will be open Saturday, May 10, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Sunday, May 11 (Mother's Day); open Monday, May 12-Friday, May 16, 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; and closed Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18. The building will be open for special events.

The Manager's Office will be open Monday, May 12-Friday, May 16, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Food Mall will be closed Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11; open Monday, May 12-Friday, May 16, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; and closed Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18.

The C-Store will be closed Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11; open Monday, May 12-Friday, May 16, 7:30 a.m.- 4 p.m.; and closed

Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18.

The Campus Store will be open Saturday, May 10, Noon-4 p.m.; closed Sunday, May 11; open Monday, May 12-Friday, May 16, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; and closed Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18.

Tech Express/Box Office will be open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Bowling Alley and Game Room will be closed for the summer.

________

ART EXHIBIT CANCELLED

The Copper Country Gallery Exhibition, originally scheduled to be held May 9-16 at Michigan Tech, has been cancelled.

The exhibit had been underwritten by a grant which has been depleted, said Michigan Tech humanities instructor Evelyn Johnson. The sponsoring organization, the Copper Country Community Arts Council, hopes to reinstate the popular event next year.

________

TEACHING AT TECH: TIME FOR A NEW PARADIGM? (PART FIVE)

by William Kennedy, Director

Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development

Parker Palmer wrote in his 1998 book, "The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life," "…in lecture halls, seminar rooms, field settings, labs and even electronic classrooms--the places where most people receive their formal education--teachers possess the power to create conditions that can help students learn a great deal--or keep them from learning much at all."*

Palmer recalls an experience, common to many of us, of attempting to teach the very same material to two different sections of students. The first group remained stoically silent and listless despite his best efforts while the second group, to his amazement, spontaneously and consistently engaged in animated discussion of the course ideas and learned a great deal more about the subject and about themselves. Experiences like this should clue us into the notion that teaching is more of an art than a science. In fact, the foundational premise of Palmer's book is "good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher."*

Yeats had it, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." In modern pedagogical lingo we might say, "teaching is much more than covering the material in an organized way." Palmer argues that a teacher's capacity to successfully connect with students has less to do with techniques and more to do with genuine engagement in the teaching event. In this line of thinking, as teaching becomes second nature, it becomes second rate.

Palmer argues that good teaching is an act of the heart as well as of the head. Aristotle contended, as well, that effective teachers must be masters of pathos, ethos and logos; they must be people who can inflame passion and curiosity and gain the trust of the learner, as well as "know their stuff." Talk of techniques is clearly secondary to this primary consideration. "A good teacher weaves the fabric that joins them with students and subjects. The heart is the loom on which the threads are tied, the tension is held, the shuttle flies and the fabric is stretched tight. Small wonder, then, that teaching tugs at the heart, opens the heart, even breaks the heart--and the more that one loves teaching, the more heartbreaking it can be."

Parker suggests that many of us become teachers primarily for reasons of the heart. He observes, as well, that many teachers lose heart over the years of teaching. We lose heart because teaching is risky and sometimes hurtful and frustrating. We lose heart because sometimes, despite our best efforts, we fail to connect with our students. We lose heart because connecting ourselves, our students and our disciplines is very challenging work. We lose heart when we allow ourselves to fall into the dreary belief that teaching is only about information transfer.

We surely live in a time when facts and figures have achieved full ascendancy over feelings and dreams. It is a time when even first-year students wax cynical with questions like, "will I actually need this in the real world?" Students have been taught to believe that reality and power are to be found primarily in the province of the pragmatic. If Parker is right, perhaps the only agent that can truly pry open their hearts and reignite the flames of hopes and dreams is a teacher exposing her own heart and dreams; sharing vulnerability and passion.

Palmer's voice is joined by a rising chorus of others who believe that reconnecting with our students goes well beyond experimenting with teaching techniques.

*Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1998

LOCAL HISTORY MEETING TO HIGHLIGHT STUDENT ACTIVITIES

submitted by Erik Nordberg

The Spring 2003 meeting of the Northland Historical Consortium is scheduled for Saturday, May 17, in the Memorial Union.

The morning program will highlight the work of Keweenaw Krayons Traditions Alive, a grant-funded initiative in the Copper Country that gives students the opportunity to learn about history, create and portray historical characters, dress in period costume and interact with the public at historic sites and events. A second presentation will detail the High School Local History Smackdown, a local history contest held in Lake Linden in February that attracted more than 60 student competitors.

Following lunch, historical organizations will have an opportunity to report on their own recent activities. Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour the MTU Archives and see architectural drawings of the impending expansion of the Van Pelt Library, which will include new archives space.

The Northland Consortium is an informal association of local historical societies, archives and historians in northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan's central and western Upper Peninsula. A $12 event registration fee will include refreshments and the luncheon.

For further information or to register, contact Erik Nordberg at the MTU Archives at 487-2505 or copper@mtu.edu.

IN THE NEWS

Michigan Tech's American Indian Workshop (AIW) was highlighted in the May 1 edition of the Detroit Free Press Summer Dreams insert.

This is an awareness and fundraising campaign funded by Free Press readers and matched by the Skillman Foundation in Detroit, to

help enhance the funding of summer programs for Michigan's youth.

The student highlighted in the article refers to rocket launches organized and taught by MTU's Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.

The article can be found at http://www.freep.com/news/childrenfirst/sd2003/mtu1_20030501.htm

________

IN PRINT

Professor Christa Walck (SBE) published "Using the Concept of Land to Ground the Teaching of Organizations and the Natural Environment" in a special issue of the "Journal of Management Education," Vol. 27 (2) April 2003.

Professor Elizabeth A. Flynn (Humanities) recently published "Contextualizing 'Composing as a Woman'" in Feminism and Composition: A Critical Sourcebook. Flynn's previously published essays "Composing as a Woman" and "Composing 'Composing as a Woman'" were also reprinted in the collection.

________

ON THE ROAD

Becky Christianson (Center for Professional Development and Quality Improvement) presented at the Midwest Regional Conference and Expo sponsored by the Midwest College and University Personnel Association for Human Resources in Cleveland, April 27-29. The session was titled "Through Oz and Beyond--Developing a Classification/Compensation Framework for IT Professionals".

________

CALENDAR: MAY

8          Thursday

            Noon-1 p.m.--Weight Watchers meeting--Memorial Union Red Metal Room 105B

9          Friday

            9 a.m.--Board of Control meeting--Memorial Union Ballroom

10        Saturday

            10:30 a.m.--Spring Commencement--SDC

11        Sunday

            Mother's Day

            Shift to Summer schedule

__________

NO NEW POSITIONS THIS WEEK

No new positions are posted this week at Michigan Tech. 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 or visiting http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/index.shtml. Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

News  |  Entertainment and Enrichment  |   Seminars and Workshops  |  Regular Features  |  Calendar  |  Top

Tech Topics Home

[Top]

[Top]

[Top]