1. CLARK, RICHARDSON APPOINTED TO BOARD OF CONTROL

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has reappointed Kathryn I. Clark and appointed Martha K. Richardson to the Board of Control. Both will serve terms ending Dec. 31, 2012.

"We look forward to working with these dynamic, energetic and successful leaders," said President Glenn Mroz. "They will help us advance Michigan Tech as an institution of exceptional quality where students, faculty and staff create the future."

Originally appointed to the Board of Control in 2001, Clark filled a term that expired in 2004. She is president of Docere, LLC, in Ann Arbor, has been a senior scientist at NASA and continues working in the field of human exploration and development of space enterprise.

Clark earned master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan and has served as NASA's chief scientist for the International Space Station program. Her scientific interests are focused on neuromuscular development and adaptation to altered environments. She lives in Ann Arbor.

Marty Richardson earned an MS in Business Administration from Michigan Tech and is president of Services Marketing Specialists, Inc., a Detroit-based consulting firm that specializes in marketing for professional service firms and business-to-business markets.

She serves on a number of boards of directors, including the Detroit Medical Center, the Lutheran Social Services of Michigan Foundation, Leadership Detroit and the Greater Detroit Foreign Trade Zone, and is an advisory board member of the Detroit Historical Society. She is a past president of the Women's Economic Club of Detroit and is an active member of the National Association of Women Business Owners. She lives in Grosse Pointe Park.

The Board of Control includes eight members appointed by the governor. The board normally meets six times a year.

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2. NEW DEGREE PROGRAMS ON TAP IN FINE ARTS, CHEMISTRY

The Presidential Advisory Council is considering eight new degree programs, minors and certificates, including four bachelor’s degrees from the Department of Fine Arts.

The proposals introduced Jan. 24 were a BS in Theatre and Entertainment Technology, a BS in Audio Production and Technology, a BA in Theatre and Entertainment Technology, and a BA in Sound Design. If adopted, they will be the first degrees to be offered by the fine arts department. Estimates are that about 20 students would enroll in the programs and that no new faculty would be needed.

Graduates would be employed primarily in technical positions within the entertainment industry.

The Department of Chemistry is proposing two new degrees, a BS in Cheminformatics and a BS in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. The first program combines chemistry and information technology and is a response to the increased role of computers in the field.

The second addresses the needs of students entering the pharmaceutical industry, which employs many chemistry graduates.

The PAC is also considering an interdisciplinary minor in nanoscale science and engineering (nanotechnology) and a certificate in actuarial science through the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

In other business, the PAC
* approved Proposal 9-05, which amends sabbatical leave procedures, and Proposal 10-05, allowing faculty to work full-time elsewhere while on sabbatical with the permission of the university president.

* approved changing the name of the pre-law concentration in social sciences to the law and society concentration.

* discussed Proposal 20-05, Transfer of Tenure and Rank between Academic Units.

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3. UWC SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE

A $1,000 University Women's Club Endowed Scholarship will be awarded at the University Women's Club's spring meeting. The scholarship will be available for the 2005-06 academic year.

Applicants must be female students at Michigan Tech with a minimum GPA of 2.75; currently in their freshman, sophomore or junior year; carrying a minimum of 12 credits. The applicant will have demonstrated leadership, contributed to extracurricular student activities or performed community service within the past three years. Financial need will be considered.

Applications may be picked up at the Financial Aid Office. All completed applications must be submitted by March 1. For additional information, contact Marie Ryding, 487-2622.

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4. TEACHING AT TECH: MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES
by William Kennedy, director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development

Most human beings have emotional, as well as intellectual, needs and goals. Before the emergence of public schools, vocational training programs and colleges and universities, novices apprenticed themselves to journeymen artisans to not only master the skills but to also gain self-assurance to practice a trade or profession.

Within the academy, a winnowing design that serves much the same purpose has taken the place of the apprenticeship process. In many colleges and universities, first-year students tend to be herded into huge introductory sections while seniors enjoy more personalized contact with faculty in smaller sections. On to graduate school, students are often paired up with individual faculty members to formulate and develop their research activities and to pursue their studies in small seminars with significant contact and interaction with skilled practitioners.

Many of us can fondly recall the positive and lasting effects of a personalized comment or an individual chat with a particular faculty member when we were undergraduate students. Many can remember how valuable it was when a faculty member actually knew our name or said something about the quality of our work or our contribution in a class. For many students, there is no substitute for human contact and affirmation. College can be a very lonely place and affirmation from a faculty member can be a very big deal.

Not all people feel the need for individual recognition that goes beyond the achievement of the desired course grade. Perhaps the supposed "objective" nature of the sciences, mathematics and engineering fosters a kind of stoicism that denies the need of feeling needed or of belonging to a community of practice. But many budding scientists, mathematicians and engineers do crave such encouragement. Providing opportunities for personal affirmation is part of what mentoring is really all about.

In my view, one of the greatest challenges facing the American academy in the scientific and technical disciplines is encouraging women and people from underrepresented groups who are inclined to pursue careers in the sciences, mathematics and engineering to encounter genuine affirmation and encouragement from working professionals with whom they can relate.

I remember when an American student in my College Teaching class challenged a Chinese graduate student, saying, "Why do you guys always sit together in the cafeteria? Why don't you try to mix in?" The Chinese student answered, "Perhaps a better question might be, 'Why do you American guys always choose to sit together?'"

A program that provides mentoring opportunities for women in science, mathematics and engineering is Mentornet. Mentornet founder Carol Muller wrote, "Until women are fully represented in the fields of science and engineering, society is losing out on the talents of a vast number of potential contributors. Academic institutions are losing out. Corporations are losing out. Individuals are losing out. We all lose out." Michigan Tech is one of nearly a hundred colleges and universities that support the activities of Mentornet.

Mentornet provides an online community where male and female professional practitioners and educators can spend as little as 20 minutes per week providing guidance and encouragement to female students involved or interested in becoming involved in science, mathematics and engineering.

Mentoring is often just as rewarding for the mentor as for the person being mentored. One mentor wrote of her experience with Mentornet, "Watching/helping others allows me to see where I have been. It helps me to reflect on my past to better design my future." Another observed, "I'm finding this a very interesting experience. I hope my student is getting as much out of this as I am. I like to hear what it's like to be a college student again, unsure about what the future will be."

In my view, there is no more critical challenge than diversifying the American academy, particular in science, math and engineering. Mentornet may be a relatively painless way for those similarly inclined to do our part. You can check Mentornet out at http://www.mentornet.net/

 

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5. MEEM SEMINAR THURSDAY

Professor Spandan Maiti of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will present a graduate seminar, "Cohesive Modeling of Material Failure at Different Time and Length Scales," Thursday, Feb. 3, from 3 to 4 p.m., in MEEM 112. The seminar is sponsored by the MEEM department.

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6. PHYSICS COLLOQUIM THURSDAY

Graduate students James Chye and Vijaya Kumar Kayastha (Physics) will each present a physics colloquim on Thursday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m., in Fisher 139. Chye will talk on “Determining Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Primaries” and Kayastha will talk on “Effective Growth of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Their Applications.”

For more information, contact Yoke Khin Yap (ykyap@mtu.edu, 487-2900) or Ranjit Pati (patir@mtu.edu, 487-3193).

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7. WELLNESS LUNCH AND LEARN FEB. 10

The Benefits Office will roll out the new 2005 TechFit benefit plan at a lunch and learn on Thursday, Feb. 10, from noon to 1 p.m., in Memorial Union Ballroom B. Ingrid Cheney, assistant director for benefits and wellness, and Maryann Wilcox, senior staff assistant, will host the event. All MTU emplyees, spouses and retirees are welcome. Representatives from area fitness centers will give short presentations about their facility and will be available for questions afterward. Bring your lunch; water and beverages will be provided. Show your BCBSM ID card, Group 55248, and be eligible to win some great prizes.