|football CMU’s Top 25 hopes dashed in Saturday loss, 1B
hookah| Local lounge offers different atmosophere, 3A
Monday, Nov. 2, 2009
Central Michigan Life
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
Two math faculty violated research integrity policy CMU reimburses grant money after plagiarism was found in research By Jake Bolitho Senior Reporter
Two members of a math department research project violated Central Michigan University’s research integrity policy, prompting the Board of Trustees on Tuesday to return $619,489 in grant money. The Board voted to reimburse
the National Science Foundation for “CONCEPT: CONnecting Content and Pedagogical Education of Pre-service Teachers,” which began in 2005 and was formed to improve the math department’s secondary education program. Over the course of the project, two of the seven math department project investigators were named in a report which alleged that they copied and pasted uncited information as part of the research, said Steve Smith, director of public relations. CMU hired two outside inves-
tigators to examine the research. They concluded that plagiarism had occurred. “There was evidence of plagiarism in both the grant proposal, and evidence in the materials that were produced as a result of the research,” he said. The names of the team members who violated the policy will not be identified, Smith said, citing CMU’s personnel policy. He said the research money is being reimbursed because university officials determined it was the ethical thing to do.
Trustees said the money was being returned because the project could not be successfully completed with the remaining funds. The Board voted to return the money to ensure future grants from the NSF. However, the Trustees did not disclose the reason for the return of the funds at their special meeting. Central Michigan Life learned of the details when Smith called late Thursday with the information. CMU plans to pay back the grant money through other university
funds, which are still being determined by Interim University President Kathy Wilbur, Interim Provost Gary Shapiro and Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette.
‘Privacy issues involved’ When the Board of Trustees originally approved the grant in summer 2005, the award amount was set at $548,975, according to the 2005 agenda. Smith confirmed Friday that $770,119 is the total amount.
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Promise eliminated from state budget Granholm: Fight ‘not over’ for scholarships By Ryan Czachorski Staff Reporter
The Michigan Promise scholarship program was not included in Michigan’s $44.5 billion state budget signed into law Friday by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. With $128 million cut in total state spending, Granholm approved $31.7 million for need-based grants for 35,000 students at private colleges. The Michigan Promise was not restored despite vetoes of more than 70 other items on the budget. And Central Michigan University will feel the impact. The scholarship delivered $4.2 million to 4,200 students in the 2008-09 school year, said Kirk Yats, associate director of operations for Scholarships and Financial Aid. “We’re very disappointed for our students and to us a university,” he said. “We’d like to see the Promise restored.” The state-sponsored scholarship was signed into law on Dec. 21, 2006, replacing the Michigan Merit Award. It provided $4,000 to students attending a two-year institution or higher. Granholm said the “fight is not over” in a Friday morning conference call with journalists. According to the Detroit Free Press, she wants to restore public university scholarships. “They’ve been talking about this for a while,” said Toby Roth, CMU interim director of government relations. “The writing was on the wall. Didn’t leave many options for the governor.”
photos by ashley miller/photo editor
Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president of Financial Services and Reporting, points to gauges in the Cessna 172 Skyhawk single-engine plane while flying over Alma after his lesson Sunday morning. He will be receiving his pilot’s license in the next few months.
Flying high Associate vice president at CMU working toward his pilot’s license on the side By Sarah Schuch University Editor
Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president of Financial Services and Reporting, has been taking lessons at the Gratiot Community Airport in Alma since September 2008 to receive his pilot’s license.
mount pleasant airport w Wide range of visitors fly into town, 3A
[inside] NEWS w Largest college Thriller dance planned Nov. 13, 3A w City Commission elections Tuesday, 5A
sports w Soccer wins opening round MAC game against Western Michigan, 1B w Both basketball teams win exhibition games Sunday, 3B
CM-LIFE.com w Check the Web site for a video on the ACDA state convention.
weather w Rain showers High 48/ Low 32
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LMA — Barrie Wilkes has his head in the clouds. And those clouds are more than 2,000 feet in the air. Wilkes, associate vice president of Financial Services and Reporting who oversees five different offices at Central Michigan University, is working on getting his pilot’s license while not in the office. “I just like to do new things,” Wilkes
said. “It’s a good stress release.” Wilkes’ father was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, and his brother also has his pilot’s license. With exposure to it growing up and having a place in the Upper Peninsula his family likes to visit, he figured getting his license would be a good idea. A view from above Wilkes, 53, prepared to make a practice run Sunday with instructor Daryl Koch, climbing into a Cessna 172 Skyhawk at the Gratiot Community Airport in Alma. The plane is about 23 feet long with 160 horsepower behind the single engine.
Seeking alternatives State Rep. Bill Caul, R-Mount Pleasant, believes the money is there in the
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Native American Heritage Month Weekend campus cleanup fills November with cultural events
A for complete story, see page 5A
By Sherri Keaton Senior Reporter
Native American Heritage Month creates a chance for students and the community to immerse themselves in a different culture. Sunday’s campus cleanup for Environmental Awareness Day began the month’s events at Central Michigan University that run through Nov. 23. “Native American Heritage Month is a chance for Native and non-Native people to share in the Native American culture, traditions and issues that Native people are faced with
today,” said Native American Programs Director Colleen Green. The 2009 theme is “Indian Boarding Schools,” an idea that spawned from the White Bison Organization that toured the United States and came to Mount Pleasant last summer to bring light to Indian boarding schools, Green said. “I thought it would be fitting to have speakers talk about this topic this fall,” Green said. Green said she hopes students will be open to hear about Native Americans’ A month | 2a
Schedule: w The “Chippewa” Nickname Forum — 3 p.m. Thursday in the Bovee University Center Auditorium. w Native American Month Food Taster — 5 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Bovee University Center Rotunda. w Navajo Code Talkers Keith Little — 7 p.m. Nov. 16 in the Bovee University Center Rotunda. w Native American Music Awards (Tour) — A musical performance: 7 p.m. Nov. 22 in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium. w For the full schedule: diversity.cmich.edu/nativ
jeff smith/staff photographer
Detroit sophomore Elizza LeJenue, left, and Kalamazoo junior Brittany Armstrong talk as Flint sophomore Donnesha Blake picks up garbage Sunday on North Campus during the North American Indigenous Students Organization’s campus cleanup.
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