1. TECH HOSTS PREVIEW DAY MARCH 19
More than 300 prospective students and members of their families are coming to the Michigan Tech campus Saturday, March 19, for Preview Day.
Preview Day is for students who have been accepted at Michigan Tech but aren't sure yet where they will be attending college, said Beth Wagner, director of first-year programs. "The day is set up so that parents and students can get a taste of what it's like to be on campus."
Literally. Visitors will receive a free lunch in the residence halls, and the first 50 registrants will attend a free Beach Bash BBQ Friday night.
Information sessions are scheduled on topics ranging from paying for college (especially for parents) to "Survivin' and Thrivin': Winter@Tech."
"We'll focus on immediate questions: 'What's it like to live in the halls? How do I register? What advanced placement credit can I get?'" Wagner said. "Plus, they'll be able to talk with representatives from all the academic departments and many student organizations during the Tech Showcase at noon."
Other events include campus tours, a talk by President Glenn Mroz and current students about life at MTU, and a display of sleds entered in the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge. In addition, all visiting students will receive a free MTU T-shirt.
"Our goal is to give prospective students a sense of the strength of our academic programs, the progressive thinking of our students, and the opportunities that are here in abundance," said Les Cook, vice president of student affairs. "After they come to campus and discover what Michigan Tech has to offer, we believe they will say, 'This is where I want to go.'"
More information on Preview Day is available at http://www.mtu.edu/previewday/ . To register, call the Admissions Office at 487-2335 or 1-888-688-1885.
Preview Day is sponsored by Student Affairs with the cooperation of departments and offices throughout the university.
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2. PAC OKs NEW MINOR
The Presidential Advisory Committee approved a minor in bioprocess engineering Feb. 23.
The minor, which would be offered through the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemical Engineering, would focus on the biotechnology of modern manufacturing and current workplace methods. The program would help prepare students for work in bio-related organizations, including chemical and pharmaceutical companies.
Mary Durfee, special assistant to the provost, said that the university has applied to North Central Accreditation to change from the self-study accreditation process to the newer Academic Quality Improvement Program. Under AQIP, universities develop a series of projects to improve processes or help achieve goals. This alternative, while it does involve considerable effort, could save the university over $1 million in committee and resource time over the self-study system.
The PAC will reconvene as the University Senate at its next meeting, on March 16, since the Board of Control approved its new constitution Feb. 25.
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3. COMING TO A BANK ACCOUNT NEAR YOU:
DIRECT DEPOSIT FOR YOUR TRAVEL, HEALTH FLEX, AND MORE
When you get reimbursed by Michigan Tech for almost anything--travel, banquet meals, your health care flexible spending account, etc.--you can now have that money deposited directly in your checking or savings account.
To sign up, print out the form at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/acct/pdf/directdepositform.pdf , fill it out, and bring it along with a voided check or a deposit slip to the Cashiers' Office on the first floor of the Administration Building.
You'll be notified by email when a deposit is made in your account, and you can cancel at any time. Remember to complete a new form if you make any banking changes. Payroll direct deposit and reimbursement direct deposit are two separate entities, so if there is a change in your banking information, change both.
For more information, contact Bobbie Dalquist, rbdalqui@mtu.edu, 487-2239.
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4. MICHIGAN TECH FUND MERIT AWARD NOMINEES SOUGHT
If you know an outstanding senior student at Michigan Tech, consider nominating them for a Michigan Tech Fund Merit Award.
The awards are presented annually to a senior man and woman who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and service to the university. Recipients are given a personal memento and a cash award. Nominees must be full-time seniors in good standing with a minimum 2.5 GPA and graduate no later than December 2005. President Glenn Mroz will present the awards April 28.
The deadline for submitting nominations is Wednesday, March 30.
The 2005 Merit Award nomination form can be submitted at http://www.mtf.mtu.edu/merit_nomination_05.php A paper copy can be printed at http://www.mtf.mtu.edu/merit_nomination_05.pdf
Nomination forms are also available at the J. Robert Van Pelt Library circulation desk, Campus Store, Meese Center, and the Wadsworth Hall office of the coordinator for residential operations. If you have any questions, please contact Dorthey at 487-3324 or dbehrend@mtu.edu.
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5. BIOTECH TRAVEL GRANTS AVAILABLE
The Biotechnology Research Center is accepting applications for graduate student and postdoc travel grants.
The program promotes biotech research and achievement by funding travel for grad students and postdoctoral scientists presenting their research at scientific meetings.
The BRC travel awards are merit based and will be offered twice a year. The spring semester deadline is April 1; the deadline for fall semester is Oct. 1. See the BRC website ( http://www.biotech.mtu.edu ) for the application form and instructions.
For more information, contact Mary Tassava at mltassav@mtu.edu or 487-2959.
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6. TEACHING AT TECH: FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE
by William Kennedy, director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development
At a recent general education meeting, a colleague suggested that there has been a noticeable increase in student expressions of concern regarding issues of faith colliding with course content in some of the general education courses. Similar issues occasionally arise in my College Teaching course, as in the case of a young geologist finding herself unwittingly locking horns with students who believe that the earth's age should be properly understood in units of thousands and not billions of years.
Many contemporary educators across the academy are finding that effectively coming to terms with the beliefs and attitudes that students bring with them to campus is a necessary prerequisite to genuine engagement and authentic learning. Intentional or unintentional expressions of intolerance, ridicule or open dismissals based on stereotypical assumptions invalidate the teaching and learning equation and insure that genuine learning is unlikely to take place.
If the pollsters are correct, the vast majority of our students and even many of our faculty and staff members fervently believe that elements of truth transcend empirical observation and have been made available to them through revelation and the practice of their faith. Some students come to campus primed to believe that there is a hidden secular agenda that underlies their course of studies. Thoughtless expressions of intolerance or groundless dismissal are only likely to reinforce those fears and lend credence to the notion that people who tout the supremacy of human reason automatically deny the validity of knowledge gleaned by other means. Closed-mindedness cuts both ways.
Instead, it may be useful to take the time to more clearly distinguish between the boundaries that divide knowledge or wisdom gleaned through the exercise of faith and that gleaned through methods routinely associated with the sciences. One way to approach this challenge would be for us to create a dialogue with our students discussing the potential strengths and weaknesses of each of these approaches. Empiricists can legitimately infer process but, by their own definitions, should feel that they are on much shakier ground when they drift into inferences about ultimate purpose. Similarly, advocates of revelatory wisdom may assert the veracity and utility of purpose of their understandings and the products of their faith, but could be more circumspect when attempting to square the product of their faith with others' observations of the physical world. The goal of such a dialogue might be to find some areas of common interest and agreement rather than fully reconciling the issue.
I continue to embrace the idea that our real job as educators is to encourage our students to move from being willing consumers hungering for the absolute pronouncements from experts to becoming informed skeptics willing to wrestle with the often conflicting and ambiguous events and challenges that confront us throughout our lives. I believe that this notion would serve us well whether we are considering ethical dilemmas or empirical observations.
At the end of the day, real learning occurs when students are willing to open their minds to other interpretations of human experience. Teaching occurs when educators demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the what and the why that students bring with them to their studies.
Perhaps Aristotle had it right: logos, pathos and ethos. Know your subject, teach with passion and reach for the high road. There. I said it.
7. "FULL MONTY" FRIDAY AT CLUB INDIGO
By Joe Kirkish
Club Indigo begins its 14th season at the Calumet Theatre Friday, March 11, with a slightly risque British comedy.
"The Full Monty," adapted from a long-running play and recently turned into a successful Broadway musical, tells of England's desperate financial straits during the Thatcher era. Set in grimy, blue-collar Sheffield, six recently unemployed steel workers get together to discuss ways to make a living. Inspired when a Chippendale-style show rakes in money, they decide to create a local all-male strip show themselves.
The gradual progression from radical idea to audacious onstage conclusion before an audience of screaming women is one hugely entertaining, yet beguilingly human, comedy as only the Brit filmmakers can do it. Witnessing both the auditions and rehearsals leading up to the big night is worth the price of admission alone.
The movie is about overcoming bad luck and succeeding despite certain shortcomings. The result is a breezy, enjoyable movie, perfect for the start of the Club Indigo season.
"The Full Monty" will be shown at 7:15 p.m., preceded at 6 p.m. by a gourmet buffet made up of British food as only Chef Eric Karvonen of the Fitzgerald restaurant in Eagle River can do. His past dishes from the United Kingdom proved to the partakers' delight that British food can, indeed, be more than meat puddings, tea and crumpets.
The movie is sponsored by MBY music fraternity and Houghton attorney Jeryl Manchester.
Cost for the buffet and movie is still $15; cost of admission to the movie alone is $5. Children in each case are accepted at half price (though it must be advised that due to language and nudity, this is a PG-13 to R-rated film).
Future movies will include an Italian romantic comedy ("Enchanted April"), an African satire ("The Gods Must Be Crazy"), three golden oldies (Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent," "Casablanca" and "Anatomy of a Murder"), a Kurosawa classic ("Yojimbo"), a touching odd-couple Scandinavian drama ("Elling") and an experiment in French haute cuisine ("Babette's Feast"), culminating with one of the finest ballet movies ever made ("The Red Shoes").
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8. THE TROUPE'S ANNUAL COMEDY SHOW MARCH 18-19
Submitted by Fine Arts
Michigan Tech's improvisational theater group, The Troupe, presents its annual Campus Comedy Show on Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, at 7:30 p.m. in McArdle Theatre.
The eight-member ensemble creates its own comedy skits, improvising some of them on the spot using suggestions from the audience. This year's show features new sketches including the hilarious "Inappropriate Music" and "Broomball Wizard," and, by popular demand, the Troupe's take-off on the famous opening train scene from "The Music Man." Skits include spoofs of familiar stories and events, as well as classic comedy routines and theater games.
Tickets for the Campus Comedy Show are available from the Rozsa Center Box Office, 487-3200, other MTU box offices, http://tickets.mtu.edu, and at the door for $8 general, $4 students.
Directed for the past 14 years by Sue Stephens, associate professor of theater, The Troupe has performed regularly both at Michigan Tech and in K-12 school districts here and downstate. In addition to their comedy shows, the group presents workshops and educational programs for K-12 students on acting, improv techniques, and issues such as preventing alcohol and tobacco use and preserving the environment. The Troupe will hold auditions for new members (who must be Michigan Tech students) on March 21 and 23.
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9. INTERNATIONAL NIGHT MARCH 25
The MTU International Club will hold its annual International Night on Friday, March 25, in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. and features cuisines from Thailand, France, India, Trinidad and Turkey. Cultural performances follow at 7:30 p.m. in the Rozsa Center and will include traditional and modern dances, singing, poetry, music and skits.
Tickets are on sale at the Rozsa box office and ticket offices in the Memorial Union and SDC. The price is $3 for the performance and $12 for dinner. For more information, contact Hang Kim Do at hkdo@mtu.edu, 483-8292.
A story on Russ Alger's (KRC) SmartLane anti-icing pavement coating ran on Minnesota Public Radio, was picked up by the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, and was heard by alumnus Richard Passvant Feb. 28 on WNIJ, Northern Illinois Public Radio.
Richard Gertsch (GMES) received a $12,500 award for his proposal, "Total Ore Process Integration and Management," from the University of Missouri-Rolla.
The following positions will be posted Friday, March 11, at 1 p.m. through Friday, March 18, in the Human Resources Office.
Applicants from the recall pool will be given first consideration for non-bargaining-unit positions only. Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.
