Michigan Tech: Tech Topics Online

The University Senate has sent policies to regulate wireless usage back to committee for a second time.

Objections hinged on a requirement that wireless devices be registered with Telcom, with the exception of cell phones, cordless phones, CBs, PCS devices (which bring wireless capability to laptop and handheld computers) and FRS radios (handheld radios similar to walkie-talkies).

Senate President Robert Keen asked if, under this policy, he would have to register a radio-controlled toy car if he brought it to show off to his department. Telcom Director Brenda Helminen said yes.

Assistant Professor Robert Froese (SFRES), a senate visitor, asked why a "bureaucratic process" was necessary when no problems were yet demonstrated. He also noted that wireless devices operating off campus can affect on-campus networks.

"We are running into problems today," Helminen said. "We see them ahead of most departments. My hope is to create a policy before it's widespread." When wireless networks are sufficiently disrupted, "they fall apart," she said.

"We've seen video cameras completely obliterate a wireless point."

The policy is actually more liberal than that of most universities, she said. Others simply ban the use of any device that interferes with the network. Both the National Science Foundation and USA Today have contacted Telcom as part of nationwide surveys asking if MTU has a wireless network. "It's being viewed as an asset," Helminen said.

The senate sent both proposals, 40-04 Wireless Spectrum Usage Policy and 41-04, Wireless LAN Usage Policy, back to committee, with the suggestions that registration of wireless devices be voluntary and that student input be sought.

The senate heard an update on the progress of its Task Force on Intellectual Properties and E-Learning from Pauline Moore (Library). The task force is working on copyright issues. Moore noted that almost all members of the MTU community could conceivably hold copyrights, so the policy should support everyone, including faculty, staff and students.

A primary consideration is the balance of rights between the university and the creative person. While most "works for hire" created by employees on the job are legally considered to be the property of the employer, faculty writings are exempt. The task force is looking at how student and staff writings should be addressed in the policy.

The task force has developed the following statement to guide its work: "We affirm the right of creative faculty members and others to retain primary control over their new works. We also recognize that sharing knowledge is central to the success of academic institutions."

In other business, the senate

* approved streamlined evaluation procedures for the university president. Senator Marilyn Cooper (Humanities) said that no other Michigan universities evaluate their president, so there was a shortage of existing policies to consult.

* passed Proposal 39-04, Review and Reappointment of Deans of Colleges.

* approved a new fish biology concentration for the BS in Biological Sciences

* received proposals for several new degree programs: MS degrees in Forest Ecology and Management, Applied Ecology, and Forest Molecular Genetics and Biology; a Master of Forestry degree; and a BA in Communication and Culture Studies with concentrations in communication in contemporary culture, human interactions and global contexts, and communications media.

* approved a proposal setting the format for proposing new academic programs.

For more information on the senate proposals, visit http://www.sas.it.mtu.edu/usenate/propose/2003-04.html

2. THE BUDGET: WHAT'S HAPPENING

The administration is hastening to build next year's budget, even as it plans for a long-term, systemic review of the university's finances as part of preparing for 2005-06.

The Budget Team, comprised of university officers and budget staff, expects to have hard numbers by the end of this week on the projected deficit for the upcoming fiscal year if the university doesn't cut expenditures. "The team's charge is to crunch the numbers, so we know exactly where we are financially," Interim President Glenn Mroz said.

In the meantime, each vice president is reviewing and prioritizing budget requests from their direct reports. In particular, the deans and directors have been asked to identify "must fund" activities, which the university is under contract to support.

The Budget Team is not charged with making budget decisions, Mroz stressed. "Those decisions will be made by the Executive Council in consultation with the Senate Finance Committee and the Deans' Council with input from the chairs," Mroz said. In mid-June, the university community will have an opportunity for input.

Because of the short time frame, the administration plans to rely on a combination of base-budget reductions and limited, one-time cuts and fund transfers to address the general fund structural deficit for 2004-05 (FY05). A preliminary proposal will be presented to the Board of Control for review on May 7, and the board is expected to vote on the proposed draft budget on June 25.

This summer, the administration will create a process for developing the budget for future fiscal years. The process will include an in-depth review of the Budget Reduction Planning Committee reports, which are posted at http://www.mtu.edu/planbudget/ Members of the university community will be able to e-mail comments and suggestions to the Budget Team from the site. Departments are also invited to e-mail relevant reports or documents to Interim Budget Director Amy Hughes at alhughes at mtu.edu for possible inclusion on the site.

"Some of these committee reports recommend significant changes, and we don't have time to evaluate all of them and implement them in next year's budget," Mroz said. "A systematic review starting this summer will allow us to take a more-disciplined approach, matching budget priorities with with the Strategic Plan."

The administration expects to present the process for building future budgets to the Board of Control early in the next fiscal year.

3. FUND NAMES GAIL MROZ INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Michigan Tech Fund Board of Trustees has named Gail Mroz as interim executive director. She is currently the Fund's chief financial officer and executive director for operations.

As interim executive director, Mroz will report to Ross Roeder, president of the Michigan Tech Fund Board of Trustees. The Fund is a separate corporate entity from the university, whose sole purpose is to benefit Michigan Tech.

Mroz, who has been with the Fund for more than five years, filled a similar role for the Fund three years ago.

"We have complete confidence in Gail's ability to lead the Fund through this transition," said Roeder, "and we are very pleased she has accepted this additional responsibility."

The Michigan Tech Fund has begun a search for a vice president for development and executive director.

"I hope the search moves quickly," Mroz said. "I am not a candidate for the permanent position. While I welcome this challenge, I also look forward to returning full-time to my duties as chief financial officer and executive director of operations."

4. MICHIGAN TECH TO HONOR DEAN OF COPPER COUNTRY AIRWAVES FOR SERVICE

Richard Tuisku, better known as Dick Storm to his many listeners, will receive Michigan Tech's Distinguished Service Award at spring commencement ceremonies May 8.

A native of Toivola, he has been broadcasting in the Keweenaw since 1964. He has received numerous awards for news, public affairs and public service. In 1994, he co-founded Tu-Mar Broadcasting, which owns radio stations WOLV-FM, WCCY-AM and WHKB-FM.

Tuisku attended the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing through grade 6 and then returned home to attend Houghton High School, graduating with honors in 1960. He attended the Brown Institute of Broadcasting and Electronics in Minneapolis before landing his first job in radio, at WSWW in Platteville, Wis. He returned to the U.P. in 1964 to work at WMPL-AM until 1980, when WHUH-FM, the precursor to WOLV, went on the air.

Meanwhile, he continued his education, graduating from Suomi College (now Finlandia University). Tuisku enrolled at Michigan Tech, where he earned a BS in Business Administration in 1968.

He has been in the news business since 1968, when the WMPL news director quit and Tuisku stepped into his position. "He was making more money than me," he says, explaining his decision to change careers from announcing to news. Over time, he says, "I learned the business by the seat of my pants and have developed my own rules and codes of ethics by trial and error."

In addition to gathering and presenting the daily news, he produces the weekly public affairs program "Copper Country Today" and a regular education program. In 2002 he was elected to the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and was named U.P. Person of the Year in 1991.

Along with promoting civic activities on his stations, Tuisku has served on a number of local committees. He currently is vice chair of the Tri-County Community Corrections Board.

Tuisku is also a noted local country musician and singer and, for many years, was a band leader. He also hosts a popular two-hour country oldies program each weekend called "The K-Bear Hall of Fame."

He and his wife, Mary, live in Hancock, and are the parents of two daughters and a son and have three grandchildren.

5. TWO SENIORS NAMED MERIT AWARD WINNERS

Milan Lathia and Sara Mantila have received the 2004 Michigan Tech Fund Merit Award. An additional six Michigan Tech students were named "nominees of distinction" by the selection committee.

Each year, the Michigan Tech Fund recognizes two seniors--a man and a woman--for their academic and service achievements.

Lathia has a double major in computer engineering and computer science. He has volunteered as an orientation team leader for three years, co-founded the Homeland Security Enterprise, served as a math tutor and has developed web sites and done system administration for university departments. The West Bengal, India, native is also a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity and writes a weekly e-mail newsletter to Michigan Tech parents.

Mantila, an Ishpeming native, has a 3.94 grade point average in biomedical engineering. Last summer, she held an undergraduate research grant to complete a biomedical imaging project at the Mayo Clinic. She also spent three semesters on co-op with Kimberly-Clark and received the 2003 MTU Outstanding Student Leader Award. She will begin working on a PhD in Biomedical Engineering next fall at the University of Michigan.

Nominees of distinction include Christine Gentili, Benjamin Almquist, James Jastifer, Danielle Jones, Elizabeth Kaminsky and Alexis Troschinetz.

Interim President Glenn Mroz will present the awards on May 6. Each Merit Award recipient will receive a framed photo of the campus and awards of $1,000 each. The nominees of distinction receive awards of $250 each.

The Michigan Tech Fund operates the university's giving program and raised more than $17 million during 2002-03.

6. MTU GRADUATES HONORED AT GM TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM COMMENCEMENT

Fifteen Michigan Tech students are among the 676 graduates being honored April 22 at General Motors Technical Education Program (TEP) commencement. Five students are receiving an Engineering Design Certificate. Another 10 are receiving their BS in Engineering and will also be inducted into MTU's Order of the Engineer.

Of the 364 GM employees currently enrolled in Michigan Tech programs, about 85 percent are pursuing the Engineering Design Certificate. The others are enrolled in the BS in Engineering or the Associate of Applied Science in Engineering Technology programs.

The TEP allows GM employees to complete 16 customized degree and certificate programs that are designed to increase GM's technical knowledge base. In addition to Michigan Tech, programs are offered by Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Stanford University, the University of Michigan, Kettering University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

The program is more than just book learning; projects by TEP students have saved GM more than $130 million since 1999. The savings are across the board--from increased positive cash flow to efficiency, reliability and quality improvements.

"This is a huge competitive advantage for General Motors as we seek to become more efficient in everything we do and everywhere we do it,'' said GM North America President Gary Cowger, who was the founding champion of the GM TEP in 1984.

"The TEP students are some of the best and the brightest throughout GM and their contributions to the business have been outstanding," Cowger said.

More than 5,400 GM employees have earned bachelor, master, post-graduate and Ph.D. degrees, certificates and Academic Achievement Awards in engineering and manufacturing-related fields since the program began two decades ago.

7. VARSITY AWARDS BANQUET SET FOR SATURDAY, MAY 1

Michigan Tech's annual Varsity Awards Banquet, which will honor student athletes in all 13 varsity programs, is set for Saturday, May 1, at the Memorial Union Ballroom.

The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Raymond L. Smith Awards, bestowed upon the top male and female senior student athletes at Michigan Tech.

In addition, the Terry Wilson Awards will be presented to the top freshman female and male student athlete at MTU.

"The Varsity Awards Banquet gives us a chance to celebrate the successes of our student athletes," said athletic director Rick Yeo. "It's a night we look forward to each year, and we invite all of our fans to join us for a very festive evening."

8. SUMMER HOURS BEGIN MAY 9

Starting Sunday, May 9, the university shifts to its summer schedule. The general hours of operation will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m. All offices must be staffed during those hours.

Employees are expected to fulfill their usual full-time or part-time obligations. Your actual work schedule must be approved by your supervisor. Regular office hours resume on Monday, Aug. 24.

9. REGISTER NOW FOR LESSONS AND LEAGUES AT THE PORTAGE LAKE GOLF COURSE

The spring organizational meeting for the Tuesday evening women's golf group will be held Tuesday, May 4, at 7 p.m. at the MTU Portage Lake Club House. Everyone who is planning to participate or thinking about participating should attend. New members must attend. If you are not sure you can make a weekly commitment, the group is always looking for people interested in being on the substitute list. Substitutes are encouraged to attend the organizational meeting but are welcome to join at any time. Please pass the word to anyone you think might be interested in joining. If you have questions, contact Andrea Longhini (aelonghi at mtu.edu) or Lois Blau (lablau at mtu.edu).

Individual lessons are available by appointment only. Junior lessons (ages 5 and over) will be given Tuesday and Thursday from June 15 through Aug. 12. The cost is $50 for PLGC members or $60 for non-members. Please contact the Pro Shop for details at 487-2641.

Junior League is open to all kids ages 13-16 and will be held on Tuesday mornings from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The league runs from June 15 through Aug. 10. The cost is $30 for PLGC members or $30 plus greens fees for non-members. Please register in the club house by Friday, June 11.

The Two-Person Best Ball is scheduled for May 29-30. The entry deadline is May 25 (limit 80 teams). The entry fee is $120 per team. Entry forms and tee times are available at the Pro Shop.

10. RETIREMENT PARTY FOR DICK PRINCE APRIL 26

Party, Party, Party! Everyone likes a party! Dick Prince, assistant manager of the Campus Store, is retiring after 25 years. Everyone is invited to a party Monday, April 26, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge. Come to wish Dick your best! Partake of some mouth-watering refreshments from the fabulous chefs at the MUB. You won't be disappointed!

11. TEACHING AT TECH: WHAT THE BEST COLLEGE TEACHERS DO

by William Kennedy, director, Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development

For the last 15 years, historian Ken Bain, formerly director of the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence at Northwestern and now director of the teaching center at New York University, wondered how and why certain instructors seem to have such profound and lasting effects on the lives and learning of their students. In a new book, "What the Best College Teachers Do," Bain and his colleagues have systematically examined the practices of some of 60-70 teachers who were widely acknowledged as consummate teachers on their campuses by students and colleagues.* The criterion for inclusion in this review was that the "professor profoundly helped and encouraged students to learn deeply and remarkably." Patterns of evidence varied from person to person, but always included evidence of student learning such as test performance, increased interest and enthusiasm for future learning and preparedness for future course work. Bain and his colleagues rooted out professors who clearly reached a large percentage of their students in their hearts as well as their minds.

In the end, the researchers found several common principles at work in the teaching of these faculty members. First and foremost, all of these teachers created what the researchers described as a "natural critical" learning environment that presented students with relevant and intriguing challenges that required them to employ reasoning and evidence in a recursive process. Some instructors created such an environment with occasional lectures while others most often employed discussions, case studies, fieldwork or other active learning techniques. At the core of each session, though, was an intriguing question or problem that effectively piqued the curiosity of a large percentage of the students.

The second common thread was that the teacher worked diligently with the students to come to understand the significance of that intriguing question. Many of these instructors did this by raising questions rather than providing answers. The researchers noted that engaging teachers seem to be able to tie their smaller questions into broader questions that often cross disciplinary lines.

Third, these teachers tended to focus their efforts on higher-order learning outcomes. They encouraged students to compare, apply, evaluate, analyze and synthesize ideas rather to than memorize others' findings in order to pass the exam. UC Irvine math professor Donald Saari explained, "I want the students to feel like they have invented calculus and that only some accident of birth kept them from beating Newton to the punch."** In these classes, students were encouraged to defend their answers and frequently posed a new round of questions.

These teachers also tended to rely on multiple instructional methods, selecting the best method for the task at hand. In all cases, students encountered a safe yet challenging learning environment in which they could try, fail, get feedback, and then try again; all without facing ridicule or the summative judgment of their professor.

The researchers concluded that our challenge is to 1) get students' attention and keep it, 2) begin where students are and bring our disciplines to them rather than imposing a discipline upon them, 3) seek student commitment clearly while repeatedly telegraphing our high expectations for their learning, 4) help students to learn out of class by crafting experiences that encourage individual study and reflection, 5) use precious class time to model the best of disciplinary thinking and 6) create a diverse and changing learning environment filled with variety and employing various modes of teaching.

12. PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY COMES TO THE ROZSA

The Paul Taylor Dance Company, one of the very best modern dance companies in the U.S., comes to the Rozsa Center on Friday, April 23, for a single performance at 7:30 p.m. The Rozsa is one stop in their 50th Anniversary Tour, which will travel to 50 states, celebrating five decades of dancemaking for Paul Taylor, the award-winning founder, choreographer and artistic director of the company. Founded in 1957, the company has now circled the globe many times, and a number of Taylor's dance works are performed by companies in other countries. Tickets are on sale at the Rozsa Center Box Office (487-3200, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.) or online at http://www.tickets.mtu.edu.

The program will include three works--Le Grand Puppetier, Piazzolla Caldera and Airs. Premiering this anniversary season, the story of Le Grand Puppetier, danced to the music of Stravinsky, is about a puppet that comes to life and a power-hungry emperor. This somewhat scruffy Napoleon-like figure tries to force his daughter into marrying a totally unsuitable courtier and transforms all his subjects into puppets with his black scepter. The "hero" puppet steals the scepter from the emperor, who is then at the mercy of the people. The dance has an unexpected and very dramatic ending. Specific events and attitudes move Taylor to anger or to deep feeling; the characters in Le Grand Puppetier are not meant to represent our current leaders, but you can draw your own conclusions. Even after 50 years of choreographing, Paul Taylor has always had plenty to say and a distinctive way of saying it.

Taylor's 1997 tribute to Argentina's great contribution to the world of dance, Piazzola Caldera, is performed to a score by tango maestro Astor Piazzolla. It's a sizzling piece set against a blood-red background that evokes the Buenos Aires waterfront. The dancers express the flames of passion and the depths of despair, the very essence of the tango.

Airs premiered in 1978. This plotless piece is nevertheless very moving and is danced to the music of G. F. Handel. Airs is characterized by gorgeous lighting and very sculptural choreography. The dancers trace intricate stage patterns that break into trios and jigs, leaps and spins. Taylor's dancers are described by the San Diego Tribune as "radiant beings . . . moving with impossible stealth, and sometimes seeming to float through the air" while at other times displaying an "arcing dynamism . . . [with] energy and momentum that seems to propel them in two directions at once."

Extraordinarily prolific and critically acclaimed, Taylor is an amazing pioneer of American modern dance and, along with Merce Cunningham (whose work is very different), is one of the sole survivors of the universally recognized great 20th century choreographers. "Taylor is arguably the most inventive and the most versatile choreographer alive today," writes critic Clive Barnes in Dance Magazine. His dances are often based on American themes or popular music of various periods in the past, and encompass the light and dark sides of the human experience, at times ravishing and provocative, or funny and sad, all highlighting the body's amazing abilities. Winner of the National Medal of Arts, an Emmy, Kennedy Center honors, named one of 50 prominent Americans honored in recognition of their outstanding work by the Library of Congress, elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and awarded France's highest honor, the Legion d'Honneur, for exceptional contributions to French culture, Taylor (age 74) is what the Japanese would call a national treasure.

The event is made possible by funding from the James and Margaret Black Endowment and is coordinated by the MTU Great Events Series (487-2844). This presentation is supported by the Heartland Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from General Mills Foundation, Land O'Lakes Foundation, Sprint Corporation and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

13. YEAR-END JAZZ CELEBRATION

The Department of Fine Arts showcases its award-winning jazz bands and outstanding student musicians in a year-end concert Sunday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rozsa Center. Mike Irish will direct the Jazz Lab Band with the R&D Big Band in this musical celebration, the third annual Don Keranen Memorial Concert, which honors the founder of MTU's jazz studies program.

Each year, the spring jazz showcase combines the best of many jazz styles, from the Caribbean rhythms Keranen loved to the music of Coltrane, Mingus and Mantooth. The concert also spotlights the work of student composer-arrangers who are completing minors in jazz studies, this year Jeff Sandoval, Andy Wynn, Brian Barr and Paul Johnson. Irish promises a lively, entertaining evening, with MTU's bands at the peak of their form.

The recipient of the 2004 Don Keranen Award will be announced during the concert. The award, given in memory of Keranen, honors the student selected as the most improved in the MTU jazz groups.

Tickets for the concert are available from Rozsa Center Ticketing Services (487-3200), on the web at http://tickets.mtu.edu , and at the door for $8 general, $4 students.

14. CHINESE DRAMA FEATURED AT CLUB INDIGO APRIL 23

"Raise the Red Lantern," a Chinese drama, will be featured at Mu Beta Psi music fraternity's Club Indigo at the Calumet Theatre on Friday, April 23.

The move is by Zhang Yimou, one of China's great film makers, and stars the beautiful Gong Li.

"Raise the Red Lantern" tells the story of a bright young girl forced to become the fourth concubine in a feudal nobleman's palatial mansion. We are witness to the symbolic rituals engaged in by all Chinese girls in similar situations, from the washing and eating initiations to various arrangements for the "first night."

Made in 1991, the film is a striking look at the life of concubines in 1920s China. The relationship between the new girl and her predecessors--all of whom live in their own little mansions on the premises--and the interaction among the women, the servants and their master are brilliantly played out. This is an extraordinary view of loyalty, sex, intrigue and female bonding. The film is well worth watching if only for the emotional changes on Gong Li's face alone.

"Raise the Red Lantern" will be shown at 7:15 p.m., preceded by an authentic buffet provided by chef Bill Capute, noted for his Chinese food at the Keweenaw Co-op deli. The buffet begins at 6 p.m.

Cost for both buffet and movie is $15, the movie alone is $3.50. Reservations should be made for the buffet a day in advance by calling the theater at 337-2610. The movie is cosponsored by Tercha & Daavettila, attorneys, Houghton.

15. MEEM GRADUATE SEMINAR THURSDAY

Victor Birman of the University of Missouri-Rolla will present a MEEM graduate seminar, "Wrinkling in Sandwich Composite Structures Subject to Multiaxial, Dynamic and Thermal Loads," Thursday, April 22, 3-4 p.m. in Fisher 139.

16. MSE SEMINAR FRIDAY

Kee-Chul Chang of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, will present a seminar, "Controlling Atomic Steps on Si(111) Surface through Annealing of Micro-Fabricated Structures," Friday, April 23, at 3 p.m. in M&M 610. This seminar is sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

MTU NOTABLES

Professor Karol Pelc (SBE) received the Excellence in Research Award from the International Association for Management of Technology at its 13th International Conference held in Washington, DC, April 3-7. Pelc presented a paper, "On Adam Smith and a Theory of Technology."

NEW FUNDING

Assistant Professor Seth Donahue (Biomedical Engineering) has received a $72,950 award from the National Institutes of Health for his project, "Black Bear Bone Mechanics."

Professor Robert Nemiroff (Physics) has received a $10,000 award from NASA for "Supporting Astronomy Picture of the Day 2003."

John Lehman, Youth Programs coordinator, has received a $52,433 award from DAPCEP for "Engineering Intensive Workshop/DAPCEP 2004."

IN PRINT

Assistant Professor Chandrashekhar Joshi (SFRES) coauthored a paper with his former graduate student Anita Samuga (SFRES) in the journal Physiologia Plantarum, Vol. 120, entitled "Cloning and Characterization of Cellulose Synthase-Like Gene, PtrCSLD2 from Developing Xylem of Aspen Trees."

CALENDAR: April

7:15 p.m.--Club Indigo movie "Raise the Red Lantern," Dinner at 6 p.m.--Calumet Theatre

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, April 23, 2004, at 1 p.m. through noon, Friday, April 30, 2004, in the Human Resources Office or at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/

Secretary 3--Army ROTC (UAW internal and external posting; Regular, part-time, 30 hours per week)

University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Friday, April 30, 2004, 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.

1. SENATE POSTPONES ACTION ON WIRELESS POLICY