1. YOU'RE INVITED: CAMPUS FORUM TUESDAY

President Glenn Mroz will address the Michigan Tech community during a campus forum set for Tuesday, Aug. 24, at 3 p.m. in the Rozsa Center.

Release time will be granted to MTU employees who attend.

Mroz is expected to discuss the university's financial situation and an overview of the coming academic year. On Aug. 5, he gave a presentation to the Board of Control touching on these issues and others; his remarks are included below.

"At the last meeting, we presented, and the Board approved, a balanced budget for FY2005, and we are already working on the 2006 budget.

"A great deal of change has occurred at Michigan Tech this summer. In the coming weeks, we will be communicating with  students, faculty, staff, alumni, the community and the people of the state and the region through open sessions at the Rozsa, through the media and probably, most importantly, through conversation. You will hear repeatedly our mission, to prepare students to create the future, and our vision, to be a national university of choice. My remarks today will be a very short synopsis of the progress that we will be explaining in greater detail in the coming weeks.

"Last April 15, we embarked on an aggressive approach to pursuing our strategic plan and implementing our tactical plan through a significant reorganization of the administration of the university. The aim was to get the right people working with each other to solve problems and move forward with new initiatives.

"Since then, the Strategic Planning Working Group and the Executive Team have refined tactics and responsibilities around the following core issues:

* education and research

* enrollment

* marketing

* operations

* resources

"These are among the efforts we are undertaking:

* Enrollment targets stated in our strategic plan will be pursued aggressively with attention to diversity issues.

* Marketing and Recruiting teams have been working over the past two months to develop the strategies and the tactics to pursue these enrollment goals and have already made substantial progress on web site renovation.

* We continue to reorganize the administration, streamlining our efforts so that we can live within our budget for both this year and in the future. You will continue to receive budget updates as the reporting structure changes.

* We are working to implement an e-commerce plan that will work to not only improve our business practices and save money, but also reduce our ecologic footprint.

* We are revisiting the budget reduction committees to discuss the progress we are making on investigating or enacting the suggestions they made last year to make Michigan Tech more efficient.

* We have initiated efforts to team up with Finlandia University, the SmartZone and others in the community to market our entire area to students and parents.

* And we have worked with the Michigan Tech Fund to renew our partnership and have brought candidates to campus to fill the Fund's executive director position.

"As we move forward, a key to change in our university is to understand what should never change. We should never change our core values and what we stand for, but we will change our processes and practices. The Faculty Budget Reduction Committee knew this instinctively when their report stated the following:

* Students and faculty are the core of the institution and the future . . .

* We are student- and faculty-centered.

* Our main emphasis in the short run is to work to stabilize our financial situation, balancing revenues and costs, so that in the long run, we will be able to retain and recruit faculty and students who will achieve our vision for Michigan Tech as a national university of choice.

"In this way, we will fulfill our promise of making Michigan Tech a rigorous, supportive, globally aware learning community for motivated, adventurous students and faculty who will create the future . . . just as generations of alumni have done before us."

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2. MELTON AND GORMAN ASSUME ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES IN STUDENT AFFAIRS

Gloria Melton has been named dean of students, and Bonnie Gorman has moved into the role of assistant vice provost for student life, Vice Provost for Student Affairs Les Cook has announced.

"This is part of our continued efforts to streamline Student Affairs functions and advance the focus of a more holistic approach to serving students at Tech," Cook said.

Both Gorman and Melton have taken on expanded roles in the past few months, and their new titles reflect these responsibilities. "This is something we have been considering for awhile and makes a good deal of sense," Cook said. "Dr. Melton has essentially served in the dean's role for awhile, as she is the individual who works most closely with academic standards and student discipline. Bonnie's expanded role is an effort to bring all of the student life functions together to continue to enhance the student experience and increase retention."

As dean of students, Melton will continue to have responsibility for the areas of undergraduate insurance, Services for Students with Disabilities, Academic Standards and Student Judicial Affairs. In addition, the Career Center and Counseling Services will now report to her directly.

Areas reporting to Gorman include Residence Life, Student Activities, the Office of First-Year Programs, Greek Life and Student Leadership.

"We're all extremely fortunate to have such talented people willing to take on new responsibilities," President Glenn Mroz said.

Gorman and Melton both look forward to their new endeavors, largely because of the people they'll be working with.

"I believe our students, staff and faculty--individually and collectively--are among the best in the country," Melton said. "I look forward to working with students on their challenges, opportunities, and progress toward their goal and our vision, to help them create the future."

"I can't say enough good things about the students and the Student Life staff," Gorman said. "They are just the best, and I'm looking forward to a great year."

Cook will continue to have overall responsibility for all of Student Affairs functions, which include Student Life, Dean of Students, Alumni Relations, Educational Opportunity, University Communications and Enrollment Services.

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3. REMINDER: SUMMER HOURS END NEXT WEEK

We return to our regular hours next week, officially on Sunday, Aug. 22, but for most of us, on Monday, Aug. 23. Most university offices are expected to be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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4. MTU'S NEW PHONE SYSTEM HAS EVERYONE TALKING

By Laura Walikainen, student writer

When MTU Telecommunications was faced with higher rates for renewing their telephone contract with SBC, they took matters into their own hands. Telecom has purchased a phone system which will serve the MTU campus for years to come.

"The projected increase in the cost of telephone service was enough that it warranted seriously considering changing from renting our telephone service to owning it," said Brenda Helminen, director of telecommunication engineering.

So far, approximately 25 percent of campus has been switched over to the new system, and the results have been positive. Overall, the cost to departments has dropped, though some may be paying more, depending on the services they have selected.

"We are actually doing better than expected," said Helminen. "We were just trying to keep the costs contained, but we are really spending less money than we were previously."

The departments converted in 2004 are projected to save a total of over $19,000 on their phone bills in the upcoming fiscal year, she said. "The bottom line is that the university is saving money."

Not only has a net savings appeared, but also the new system has several features the old system didn't have, including integrated voicemail, calling-number display, voice-response directory service, automatic call distribution and multi-party conferencing at no extra charge.

"What's really exciting is that this system is much more functional," said Helminen. "It's more versatile, more powerful, more flexible." It has proven especially useful for those departments that are spread across multiple buildings."The new system allows us to treat any set of phones as a group," she said. "This can bring these people closer together, even though they are physically separated."

While some people have been a bit apprehensive about making the switch, they are finding that the new system is allowing them to be more productive by providing fast call transfers, multiple call handling, integrated voice mail and specific configurations tailored to the needs of their departments.

"No one, as far as I know, has been disappointed with the service and flexibility of the new phone system," said Helminen. "They are able to do things now that they didn't even know they could do."

"I think that it's very smooth," said Pete Pelissero, office assistant for student affairs. "It's nice to see who is calling. Information Technology did a great job getting this new system up and running."

Telcom Engineering is continuing to install the new phone system across the rest of campus.

"Since this is a new system, as we convert areas, we are spending a lot of time talking to phone users to make sure that their needs are being met," said Helminen. "Because of this, it's going to be another year before we will be able to convert all of the academic offices."

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5. RESEARCH EXCELLENCE FUND AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Ten projects have received a total of $348,158 from the Research Excellence Fund, Vice President for Research David Reed has announced.

This year's awards were given in three categories: Infrastructure Enhancement, Seed Awards and Mentoring Grants. The awards are given based on the recommendations of two committees, one dealing with Infrastructure Enhancement and the other evaluating Seed Award and Mentoring Grant proposals.

The Infrastructure Enhancement Awards generally fund equipment, laboratory facilities and the administrative support structure to expand a unit's research capability. Seed Awards provide untenured faculty with resources to develop an externally supported research program.

Mentoring Grants provide new, untenured faculty with resources to work with established off-campus researchers to develop proposals for externally funded research.

Details on Research Excellence Awards, including guidelines and how to apply, are at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/research/vpr/internal/excellence.html

INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENT

* "A Proposal to Enhance the Capability to Evaluate Wood Quality in Standing Timber and Logs"; PI: Margaret Gale, SFRES; CoPIs John Erickson and John Forsman, SFRES; $15,300

* "Nationally Visible Infrastructure: The MTU Machining Education and Research Laboratories (MERL)"; PI: William Predebon, ME-EM; CoPIs: Roshan D'Souza, William Endres, Craig Friedrich, Donna Michalek, Michele Miller, John Sutherland and Michael LaCourt, ME-EM; $34,700

* "Research Associate Industrial Archeology/Industrial Heritage Program"; PI: Bruce Seely, Social Sciences; CoPI: Patrick Martin, Social Sciences; $50,000

SEED AWARDS

* "Role of Micro-RNAs in Woody Plant Development"; PI: Victor Busov, SFRES/PBRC; $49,722

* "Security Framework for Wireless Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks"; PI: Tricia Chigan, ECE; $35,000

* "Novel Ultrasensitive Chemical and Biological Electrochemical Nanosensors Based on Single-Walled Carbon"; PI: Haiying Liu, Chemistry; CoPI: Jian Liu, Chemistry; $30,000

* "Decoding the Molecular Logic of the Histone Code Hypothesis"; PI: Martin Thompson, Chemistry; $40,000

* "Chiral Organofluorine Compounds as Novel Therapeutics for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Protein Misfolding Diseases"; PI: Bela Torok, Chemistry; CoPIs: Marianna Torok and Sarah Green (Chemistry) and Stephen Hackney (Materials Science and Engineering); $33,496

* "Organization and Evolution of Disease Resistance Gene Clusters in Cereal Genomes"; PI: Ramakrishna Wusirika, Biological Sciences; $40,000

MENTORING GRANTS

* "Integrating Nanotechnology and Microengineering for High Power Density Three-dimensional Microbatteries"; PI: Yoke Khin Yap, Physics; $19,940

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6. CORPORATE SERVICES MOVING TO ATDC

Corporate Services is moving from the Meese Center to the Advanced Technology Development Complex, on Sharon Avenue. Because of the move, staff may not always be available Friday, Aug. 20, and Monday, Aug. 23, but they expect to be back in the saddle again on Tuesday.

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7. TEACHING AT TECH: THE FIRST SIX WEEKS

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

Put simply, learning means changing what you know, what you can do and/or what you value. Human beings are always learning. But learning is not the purely rational affair that those who relish immutable educational standards and assessment strategies would presume.

For example, my doctor never seems to tire of saying that I should lose weight. She says that I simply need to focus on moving more and eating less. Physics-wise, I am convinced that she is correct. I can enthusiastically report that I have thought long and hard about heeding her advice and, quite paradoxically, have found the additional stress of thinking about exercising and changing one's diet actually decreases one's desire to move about and increases the desire to eat to excess. So, lately I've been thinking about why I find it so difficult to do something I know that I should. This activity is considerably more pleasurable than actually changing my behavior.

Those who teach classes populated by first-year students will once again have the opportunity to encourage their students to establish patterns of behavior that will enable them to thrive or increase their risk of academic failure. Adjusting successfully to college, like any change in lifestyle, involves making profound attitudinal changes as well as rising to the occasion academically. Based on my troubling experience with my potentially anorexic physician, I ask you to consider the following suggestions:

* Avoid relying on generic palliatives or global generalities such as "college is different from high school. You'll need to suck it up to succeed here!" Remember, most of these students were stars in high school and many will hear such words of caution as advice for their classmates, not themselves.

* Force students to make an initial contact with learning resources. If you want students to come to you with questions during the term, consider requiring them to pick up their first quiz from you personally. If you want them to go to the learning center for help, require them to review an assignment with a coach. Put your email on the board at the beginning of every class for the first few weeks.

* In our first-year focus groups, it's clear that attendance and persistence are highly correlated. Think carefully about your attendance requirements. Don't base the class on reviewing the text, or the students won't come. Use class time to establish concepts, develop a dialogue and bring in more examples. Although you don't want to force students to come to class, you can make it clear that their attendance is your baseline expectation.

* Build a context for the course. Explain why the content is important to the students' future studies, life pursuits and professional endeavors.

* Build in some time for students to interact with one another in class, especially early in the term. Have students solve problems in groups of two or three so that they form some initial social connections. Mini-projects can encourage students to experience studying in groups. Students who flourish make social connections.

* Start the course in earnest with an early and rigorous quiz or assignment rapidly evaluated and returned to the students. Set the course tone and pace early so there are no surprises.  Reach out to students who perform poorly on this initial assignment and see that they get connected with the proper resources. The First-Year Programs Office stands ready to help (487-3558).

Like dieting, making the transition to college involves managing profound attitudinal as well as behavioral issues. Retention experts suggest that behaviors established in the first six weeks of college will largely determine the patterns that students exhibit for the remainder of their undergraduate experience. You can make a real difference here.

Have a great semester. I've got to go. My pizza is getting cold.

 

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