REFLECTIONS SVSU MAGAZINE FALL 2009
This issue of Reflections is anchored by this student’s welcome letter at the beginning, and a retiring faculty member’s opinion editorial at the end. One shares a look back over a few years, the other over a few decades – but both offer heartfelt reflections on the university and their time here.
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hen I first started at SVSU, I had no idea how “the college experience” would change me. Looking back now, it wasn’t just “the college experience” – it was, in fact, uniquely SVSU. I can now look back and see an evolution of personal growth. Each of the following three experiences served as a catalyst that opened doors to additional amazing opportunities. During my first semester, a Global Cultures sociology class opened my eyes to both the beauty and the complex challenges in the world. That sociology class motivated me to volunteer in Haiti the following summer. It was what I saw in Haiti, as well as the beautiful people I met there, which first inspired me to go into medicine. I’ve since returned to Haiti and have participated in a similar program in Ecuador. Indeed, my international travels have provided me with some of my greatest memories and most essential life lessons. SVSU’s biochemistry degree program placed me in the company of a worldclass staff of chemistry professors, who professionally and personally mentored me in so many important ways. Completing my Honors thesis in that field provided me with a deep sense of personal pride and allowed me to attend an American Chemical Society conference in New Orleans. It was both a professional milestone and a personal reawakening, as New Orleans was a city in need of rebuilding that reinforced my commitment to service. Finally, the Roberts Fellowship Program opened my eyes to ever-lasting memories of an adventure in Asia, brilliant friends, and the comprehension of what makes a genuine leader. The idea that good leaders are so vital to our society today inspired me to explore public service by pursuing an internship in Michigan Governor Granholm’s office. Of course, it was my college experiences that made me such a competitive applicant. These examples, and undoubtedly many more SVSU memories, don’t just fill up a resume; they’ve also shaped who I am today. In addition to incredible friendships and a deep well of knowledge, it is the sum total of my college experiences that I will carry with me to medical school. The best part is that I never have to remember to take them with me; they’ve been incorporated into the core of who I am all along the way.
Megan Fojtik graduated with Honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry in May of 2009 and is attending Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. She was a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society, Alpha Mu Gamma Foreign Language Society, and a 2008-09 Roberts Fellow.
REFLECTIONS MAGAZINE Volume 4, Number 2 • Fall 2009
STAFF EDITORS Tim Inman Jan Poppe
SVSU Mourns the
Julia Edwards
Loss Hero Singh
It has become an iconic symbol for Saginaw Valley State University – our bell tower. William and Julia Edwards gifted SVSU with the Julia Stacey Edwards Bell Tower in 1997. Mr. Edwards, who was among those who worked to establish SVSU, proposed to Julia under the bell tower of his alma mater; and, because of his close connection with this university, felt that a bell tower was a necessary campus landmark. Its toll keeps time with campus life; the changing of classes, beginning of events, and all the times in between.
Kanpur, India native and a founding faculty member of SVSU Hero Singh passed away on September 5.
SVSU mourns the loss of Julia Edwards, who passed away May 4, at the age of 91. She is survived by her two daughters, J. Beverly Edwards and Linda Riley, four granddaughters, and four great-granddaughters.
Singh was married to retired Professor Emerita of Psychology Merlyn Mondol.
Singh was hired by Saginaw Valley College in 1964 and taught psychology and sociology; he served as chair of both departments. He left the university in 1969 to head a clinical practice. Professor Singh continued to teach as an adjunct faculty member until 1989, when the University granted him emeritus status.
WRITERS J.J. Boehm Alan Dore Andy Hoag Tim Inman Jan Poppe Carlos Ramet ART DIRECTOR Jill Allardyce PHOTOGRAPHERS Adam Baudoux Tim Inman ALUMNI EDITOR Pamela Clifford CONTRIBUTORS Andy Bethune Emmie Busch Pamela Clifford Joseph Vogl ADVISORY BOARD Jill Allardyce, M.A., ’06 Andy Bethune, B.B.A., ’87 J.J. Boehm, M.A., ’06 Pamela Clifford, B.B.A., ’92 Tim Inman, B.A., ’89, M.Ed., ’96 Jan Poppe, M.A., ’01 Carlos Ramet Kevin Schultz, B.A., ’92 REFLECTIONS Magazine is published twice a year. Comments, suggestions and inquiries contact: Alumni Relations at Saginaw Valley State University 7400 Bay Road • University Center, MI 48710 Phone: (989) 964-4196
CONTACTING THE UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS admissions@svsu.edu; P: 964-4200 ALUMNI RELATIONS alumni@svsu.edu; P: 964-4196
Table Of
CONTENTS 9 13 19 31 38 42
23 Cover Story: Collaborating to Grow the Regional Economy
Enrollment Record Fall Events Student Workforce Foundation News Alumni Class Notes In Their Own Words
SVSU FOUNDATION foundation@svsu.edu; P: 964-4052 CAREER PLANNING & PLACEMENT careers@svsu.edu; P: 964-4954 CENTER FOR BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT lhaas@svsu.edu; P: 964-7015 CONFERENCE & EVENTS CENTER (Box Office) BoxOffice@svsu.edu; P: 964-4261 DIVERSITY PROGRAMS: mtthorns@svsu.edu; P: 964-4068 GRADUATE PROGRAMS: blasch@svsu.edu; P: 964-6096 MARSHALL M. FREDERICKS SCULPTURE MUSEUM mfsm@svsu.edu; P: 964-7125 OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE jap@svsu.edu; P: 964-4310 SVSU Alumni Web Site: www.svsu.edu/alumni SVSU Web Site: www.svsu.edu SVSU Foundation Web Site: www.svsu.edu/foundation
NEWS BRIEFS
Vacant lot transformed into vegetable garden
More than 50 local high school students who participated in the 2008-09 Saginaw County Youth Leadership Institute were joined by their SVSU mentors to construct a community garden on a vacant lot located on Tuscola Street southwest of the Houghton-Jones Neighborhood Resource Center in Saginaw. The lot, which is owned by the Saginaw County Land Bank, was used in 2008 as part of the Saginaw County Youth Farm Stand Initiative. SVSU’s Green Cardinal Initiative, in collaboration with the Saginaw Community Foundation, the Saginaw County Youth Leadership Institute, the Saginaw Urban Food Initiative, and the Houghton-Jones Center, constructed and decorated a series of raised beds
and trellises. Volunteers built 30 raised boxes and, in May, filled them with topsoil and compost to grow vegetables for neighborhood residents as part of the Saginaw Urban Food Initiative. The Houghton-Jones Neighborhood Association is responsible for managing the garden; in 2009, it anticipates using the garden for the Saginaw County Youth Farm Stand Program. The Green Cardinal Initiative is a group of SVSU students, faculty and staff who are interested in creating a more sustainable future; for more information, visit svsu.edu/greencard. The Youth Leadership Institute is a joint venture of SVSU and the Bridge Center for Racial Harmony providing leadership, diversity, and service training for Saginaw County high school students.
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
SVSU students install handicap-accessible merry-go-round at Millet Learning Center Three mechanical engineering students made final preparations for the July 29 installation of a merrygo-round for special needs students, created as part of their last required course before graduation. The Millet Learning Center project was funded by a grant from the Student Research and Creativity Institute and business donations. Of the experience, Ashley Schumaker noted that the project was extra meaningful to the three, who have worked together on numerous projects throughout their academic careers. Pictured left to right: Saginaw native Jason Kopka, 32; Kinde native Ashley Schumacher, 24; and Bay City native David Bosco, 26.
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NEWS BRIEFS
Cardinal athletes earn All American honors Two athletes were named All Americans for outstanding performances in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 23 in San Angelo, Texas. Eltaro Hooper cleared a height of 2.10 meters in the high jump, good for a fourth place finish and an All-American nod. Josh Koglin’s eighth place finish in the hammer throw, with a toss of 58.62 meters, also earned an All-American honor. Senior outfielder Marsha Beaubien was named 2009 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Second Team All-American, becoming the first Cardinal softball player since 1992 to be named an All-American; Beaubien also was named to the Daktronics Inc. Honorable Mention All-American Team. Beaubien was a major catalyst in the success of the SVSU softball team that captured the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship and was one win away from a berth to the 2009 NCAA Division II World Series. She led the GLIAC in batting average (.396), runs scored (45), slugging
percentage (.649), on-base percentage (.483), tied for third with nine home runs and fifth in RBI with 36. She also was the league leader with 40 stolen bases, a number that out ranked the other nine GLIAC teams; Beaubien also stole second and third on consecutive plays five times. Beaubien also was named GLIAC Player of the Year, an honor she received at the 2009 conference tournament. In a matchup of the two most storied men’s programs in the history of the United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships, Wichita State defeated SVSU 2-1 in the best-of-three championship match at The Cherry Bowl in Rockford, Ill., April 19 to win the national title. The Shockers won their second consecutive title and ninth overall, defeating the Cardinals in the deciding game 180-156 to earn the Kerm Helmer Cup and deny Saginaw Valley State its fifth championship. Senior Dan MacLelland was named most valuable player by the
National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association for the second straight year. The award was announced in April 2009 before competition started at the Intercollegiate Team Championships. He also was named Bowling Writers Association of America college player of the year. “This year was all for my father, who passed away before the start of the season,” said MacLelland, whose father, Len, lost his battle with cancer last fall.
For the first time ever, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference presented one of its 12 member schools with a “Community Engagement Award.” SVSU was selected as the award’s first recipient for its 2009 Community Youth Days. The program’s director, Angela Pohl, assistant athletic director/ senior women’s administrator, and Mike Watson, director of athletics, accepted the plaque that the GLIAC presented to SVSU’s athletic department in early June. Community Youth Days provide opportunities for local youth to visit the SVSU campus and participate in free sports clinics put on by coaches and student athletes.
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SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Community Engagement Award
NEWS BRIEFS
Student awarded Clinton Scholarship to study in Dubai SVSU student Lisa Maroni has been awarded the prestigious William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship to study in the United Arab Emirates at the American University in Dubai. An international studies major from Royal Oak, Maroni is one of only 10 students nationally selected to receive the award for the fall 2009 semester. The scholarship includes free housing and a full tuition waiver for the entire semester. Maroni plans to use it to take an Arabic language course as well as business courses toward the completion of her SVSU degree. More international travel is in Maroni’s immediate future. In May, she will spend three weeks in Asia to culminate her experience as a member of SVSU’s Roberts Fellows program, a two-semester program of both academic course
work and extracurricular activities designed to further develop students’ potential as future political, economic and civic leaders. Started by the former president, the William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship seeks to broaden students’ educational and cultural horizons by allowing them to study in the Arab world. To qualify, students must be enrolled in a U.S. four-year accredited institution and demonstrate academic achievement as well as show an interest in Middle Eastern and Islamic culture. Maroni is the second SVSU student awarded a Clinton Scholarship. Crystal Dillard, an international business and political science major from Swartz Creek, received the honor for the winter 2008 semester.
SVSU in Orbit
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
A piece of SVSU has traveled to places few have gone before: outer space. The lead flight director for the mission was Tony Ceccacci, (B.S. Mechanical Engineering Technology), 1979, and he arranged for a Cardinal pennant to travel on board space shuttle Atlantis as astronauts spent 13 days in orbit last May repairing and upgrading the Hubble Space Telescope.
n The crew of NASA mission STS-125 poses with the SVSU pennant that spent 13 days in outer space. Front row, from left: Greg Johnson, pilot; Scott Altman, commander; Megan McArthur, mission specialist 2; Back row, from left: Mike Good, mission specialist 1; Mike Massimino, mission specialist 4; John Grunsfeld, mission specialist; Drew Feustel, mission specialist 5.
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NEWS BRIEFS
n Josh Ode demonstrating software to students
n David Karpovich
Every spring, SVSU highlights outstanding staff and faculty at the annual All University Awards Banquet for their impact as mentors, researchers and teachers. Among those recognized in April 2009 were two junior faculty who have come “full circle” — not only are David Karpovich and Joshua Ode connected to the university as faculty, both also earned their undergraduate degrees from SVSU. Karpovich, an associate professor of chemistry, joined the faculty in 1998 and last spring was named recipient of the Earl L. Warrick Award for Excellence in Research. Karpovich specializes in analytical and environmental chemistry. He has five pending patents and also has been a named researcher on
18 separate grants, totaling more than $700,000 in external funding support. Much of Karpovich’s research is focused on Michigan’s agriculture industry, including two current projects that involve finding profitable uses for agricultural byproducts. In one, he is studying how to create biodegradable plastics from waste materials generated through the harvest of corn and other crops. The other entails the study of how to heat buildings using glycerin, a byproduct of producing biodiesel fuel from soybeans. Karpovich also has worked with a Midland company to analyze a natural pesticide generated by the neem plant native to Africa.
An assistant professor of kinesiology, Ode must be pinching himself. As an undergraduate student at SVSU, his dream was to someday “teach at the place that taught me so well.” Armed with his Ph.D., Ode returned to SVSU in 2006, working alongside the very faculty who mentored him. At the awards banquet, Ode was presented the 2009 House Family Award for Teacher Impact, which recognizes faculty in the colleges of Arts & Behavioral Sciences, Business & Management, and Education who have a profound positive impact on the lives of their students (nominations are accepted only from graduating seniors). A former Cardinal basketball player, Ode is an active advisor for his students, helping them achieve their goals of graduate school, coveted internships and successfully entering the work force. He works closely with students on research and Honors theses as well as academic presentations for national conferences, including the American College of Sports Medicine. Ode also served as the faculty adviser for a team of exercise science students who received nearly $10,000 from SVSU’s Student Research and Creativity Institute to implement an exercise and wellness program at Francis Reh Academy, an inner city Saginaw charter school. Ode notes that students are treated like graduate students: “We set high expectations, and invest a lot of time and effort into them. Our goal is to see that they get to do what they want to do, and do it well.” One student who nominated Ode for this award wrote: “I believe a professor/teacher is only as successful as his/her students are, and I have seen more students succeed under his supervision than under any other educator. He instills mountains of confidence and taught me everything I need to know to face graduate school and the real world with heart and boldness.” 7
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Junior faculty make mark in academe
NEWS BRIEFS
SVSU Welcomes New Faculty and Staff for Fall 2009 Department
Name
College of Arts & Behavioral Sciences Art Communication History Modern Foreign Languages Philosophy Political Science Sociology Theatre
Emily Kelley Jennifer McCullough John Baesler Julie Foss James Hitt Julie Keil Yanmei Xu David Rzeszutek
College of Business & Management Accounting Management Marketing
College of Education
Teacher Education, Middle & Secondary
University of the West Indies Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Louisiana State University
Jonathon Gould
SVSU
Dorothy Lee Edward Jones
College of Science, Engineering & Technology Biology Chemistry Electrical Engineering Mathematics Physics
Staff
Academic Affairs College of Education Residential Life Student Counseling Center Human Resources Student Life Business Services College of Business & Management Campus Facilities Admissions Minority Student Services College of Education
Cornell University Purdue University Indiana University Michigan State University Kaplan University SVSU Kent State University Buffalo State College
Anthony Bowrin Yu Liu Mazen Jaber
Crystal M. Lange College of Health & Human Services Nursing Social Work
Came From
Henry Ford Hospital Wolverine Human Services
Holly Little Edward Meisel Kassiani Kotsidou Oliver Heubo-Kwegna Matthew Vannette
SVSU/Delta College adjunct SVSU Lafayette College New Mexico State University Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University
Sheri Beatti David Callejo Patrick Clark Robert Cooper Michele Hoffman Eltaro Hooper Joel Kiss Mark Potts Matthew Quintano Brooke Sonntag Marcia Thomas Carolyn Wierda
Online Course Director Gerstacker Endowed Chair in Education Resident Director Director Administrative Assistant Assistant Director Buyer Assistant Dean Custodial Specialist Cass City Student Recruiter/Office Manager Director Executive-in-Residence
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
2009 All University Award Recipients FRANC A. LANDEE TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD: Kenneth Jolly EARL L. WARRICK AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH: David Karpovich HOUSE FAMILY AWARD FOR TEACHER IMPACT: Joshua Ode MARY H. ANDERSON ADJUNCT FACULTY AWARD: Paula Mantei RUBEN DANIELS COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Helen Raica-Klotz TERRY ISHIHARA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CO-CURRICULAR INVOLVEMENT: John Kaczynski • Kathy Lopez ROOSEVELT RUFFIN DIVERSITY AWARD: Sharon Robinson • Marwan Wafa • Sahar Al-Masri OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE AWARD: Susan Brasseur DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD: Robert & Susan Pumford 8
NEWS BRIEFS
If the number of students is a sign of a university’s health, SVSU’s check up this fall shows we’re not getting older, we’re getting better. Enrollment topped out at 10,498 students, and the number of incoming freshmen reached 1,740 — healthy numbers that are all-time highs. “This year, we have seen a record number of students qualify for high academic scholarships and who are taking full advantage of the multiple opportunities that SVSU can provide them,” said Jennifer Pahl, 2000, B.B.A.; 2002, M.B.A., director of admissions. “While the student population from our local core counties remains solid, we continue to see growth in student interest from
outside our region, especially in areas such as southeastern Michigan.” Taking a closer look at the student body, the number of undergraduates returning to SVSU increased by more than 9 percent, a clear indication current students are pleased with their educational experience. Enrollment gains were also seen among international and minority students, while the slumping economy has had a negative effect on the number of teacher certification students taking classes. Demand for housing continues to increase, as well. With the opening of Living Center Southwest this fall, some 2,700 students are living on campus, including more than 70 percent of the freshman class.
TOTAL ENROLLMENT 2005
9,569
2006
9,543
2007
9,662
2008
9,837
2009
10,498
INCOMING FRESHMEN 2005
1,263
2006
1,450
2007
1,558
2008
1,661
2009
1,740
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SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
SVSU Enrollment Reaches Record
NEWS BRIEFS
Health & Human Services home taking shape Construction crews are making visible progress on SVSU’s new Health & Human Services building. The $28 million facility will have nearly 90,000 square feet of floor space when it opens in August 2010. “This new building will provide our faculty and staff with upgrades that will enhance the teaching and learning process,” said Janalou Blecke, dean of the Crystal M. Lange College of Health & Human Services. “The physical space and state-of-theart technology the building offers will provide opportunities to expand and enhance laboratory simulation activities, which are very valuable to students, and prepare them for health careers.” The building will contain 13 labs, 12 classrooms and office space. It will also have some interesting environmentally-friendly features, including some that are unseen, such as an aquathermal heating
and cooling system that will run an underground pipeline loop to a nearby retention pond, resulting in significant energy savings. “During heating season, we will use about half the energy of a traditional system,” said Steve Hocquard, assistant vice president for campus facilities. “Water is a very efficient energy absorber.” While other buildings utilize aquathermal technology, Hocquard says the use of a retention pond will “likely make the system unique for the state.” In addition, Hocquard says solar panels will probably be included and tied into the building’s electrical grid. SVSU received a silver rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for its renovation and expansion of Pioneer Hall, and he says the new Health and Human Services building will be designed to meet the same standard. Blecke says the new building
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
n Topping off ceremony: To appease the tree-dwelling spirits of their ancestors that had been displaced, ancient Scandinavian tradesmen started a tradition of placing a tree on the top of a new building to symbolize growth and bring luck. The practice of “topping out” migrated to England with Scandinavian invaders. In August, ironworkers commemorated this milestone for SVSU’s new Health & Human Services building by hoisting the final piece of steel into place on the building; although the project is not completed, it has reached its maximum height.
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will also provide a common home for her College, which added the departments of kinesiology and social work to health leadership, health science, medical technology, nursing and occupational therapy, as part of an academic reconfiguration in July 2008. “It’s an opportunity to bring us together and to do more work in an interdisciplinary and collaborative way,” she said. “That is a huge benefit to students because they will be working together with professionals in these fields when they graduate.” TMP Architecture of Bloomfield Hills has been selected as the architect for the project, and Spence Brothers of Saginaw will serve as the contractor. The State of Michigan provided 75 percent of the funding ($21 million) for the building; SVSU is supplying the remaining 25 percent ($7 million).
NEWS BRIEFS
Saginaw Valley State University has secured a competitive federal grant of $855,000 to enhance diversity among its nursing students. The Nursing Diversity Workforce Grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is designed to increase opportunities for economically and educationally disadvantaged students. Starting n Margaret Flatt this fall, the three-year grant will focus on groups that are underrepresented among Michigan’s nurses. “We have a shortage of nurses from ethnic and racial minorities, and as we know, our population is changing,” said Margaret Flatt, SVSU professor of nursing and the principal investigator for the project. “Anything we can do to increase the number of minority graduates is going to help our community facilities meet the needs of our culturally diverse society.” Starting this fall, SVSU will use the funds to support 30 university students and 15 in Saginaw city high schools. SVSU chose to partner with Saginaw Public Schools because minority students represent 62.5 percent of the district’s student population. Students in the program will receive scholarships and stipends, along with several unique educational opportunities, including enrichment activities for students and their families, licensing examination preparation programs and membership in professional nursing organizations. “When we have students from a variety of backgrounds, it brings a richness to the dialogue in the class,” Flatt said. “It really helps all of us to learn and to be better at working together as people.” Increasing diversity among nurses in U.S. hospitals is a goal of Healthy People 2010, a nationwide health initiative. Programs are selected for funding based on their ability to address a local need. The program bases its models on success and retention research from nursing literature, including a multilayered mentoring system where current nursing students will mentor pre-nursing university students who will, in turn, meet with high school hopefuls. Participants will also receive guidance from faculty mentors, several of whom were supported by SVSU diversity programs during their time as students. Students will have access to special support through resources at SVSU. They will have nursing student tutors at the writing center, and attend special workshops at SVSU’s math resource center to gain skills needed to excel in the nursing curriculum. Grant activities were developed in coordination with Saginaw Public Schools and Health Delivery Inc., a Saginawbased health care provider that operates clinics at Arthur Hill High School and Saginaw High School.
New To View
n University Health Care Center, a health care partnership between SVSU and Covenant Health Care.
n Arbury Fine Arts Center’s new art classrooms and faculty offices.
n Living Center SW houses some of the record number of freshman residents.
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SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
SVSU lands major grant to improve diversity among nurses
NEWS BRIEFS
Students and teachers from India learn about American education system
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Two teachers and four students from India got a taste of American culture thanks to a formalized partnership and exchange program between SVSU, Carrollton Public Schools and Kittur Rana Chanamma Residential School for Girls. Uma Math and Meena Patil, teachers from the Indian school, stayed at Saginaw Valley State University and split their time between classrooms at Carrollton High School and the university for four weeks this past spring. Math teaches English and Patil physics. Eighth-graders Tejashree Padhye, 13, and Roshni Channal, 12, and 10th graders Neeharika Shivashankara, and Soumya Patil, both 14, attended Carrollton Middle
School during the same period. Kittur Rana Chanamma Residential School for Girls is an all-girls school with grades 6-12, founded in 1969, delivering a curriculum that includes traditional courses in math, science and English, plus non-traditional ones such as horseback riding. The residential boarding school in Kittur, which has about 190,000 residents, is located in the district of Belgaum in Karnataka, India. Carrollton Schools superintendent Craig C. Douglas and his wife, Joan, who opened their home to the students, said they were an absolute joy. “This (exchange) benefits all partners and goes far to enhance mutual understanding,” Douglas
said. “The partnership will work because it is basic. Indian educators work with SVSU professors to improve instruction. Carrollton teachers will open their classrooms to Kittur teachers, and they will work together to practice methods and to determine what works best. Students in Kittur will meet and communicate with students in Carrollton, via the Internet at first and in person later.” SVSU has commemorated its friendship with Kittur Rana Chanamma by hosting a dedication ceremony in December 2008 for a “Friendship Room” in the Regional Education Center. The formal tripartite agreement among the schools was established in June 2008.
n Dr. Bala Srinivasan (third from left) and his wife, Chander Srinivasan (far right), represented the region’s Indian community at a May 7 luncheon at the Montague Inn in Saginaw. Students and teachers from Kittur, India, who participated in an exchange program with Carrollton Schools and SVSU include (from left): Uma Math (English teacher), Tejashree Padhye, Roshni Channal, Neeharika Shivashankara, Soumya Patil and Meena Patil physics teacher.
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NEWS BRIEFS
Leadership in times of crisis
The spotlight of SVSU’s 2009 Fall Focus Lecture Series is on leadership in times of crisis. The series includes the 2009 O’Neill Lecture — featuring renowned presidential historian H. W.
Brands — and the Dow Visiting Scholars and Artists lectures and the SVSU history department’s Hoffman/Willertz Lecture. The six-part series continues with the sixth annual James E. O’Neill Jr. Memorial Lecture. H. W. Brands will present, “Crisis Presidencies: From FDR to Barack Obama,” Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m., in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts. One of today’s foremost presidential historians, Brands has written books on Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The lecture is cosponsored by SVSU and the Field Neurosciences Institute of Saginaw. The series will conclude with the seventh annual Hoffman/Willertz Lecture. Nameeta Mathur, SVSU associate professor of history, will present “Elephants, Mangoes, and Spies: Foreign Relations
between Non-Aligned India and Communist Poland, 1947-1989,” Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 4 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall. On Oct. 14, veteran The New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald presented “Welcome to the Apocalypse: The Long Road to America’s Worst Financial Crisis and What it Means for Governments, Companies, and the Country.” Eichenwald’s best-selling book Conspiracy of Fools, became the definitive account of the fall of Enron and is the basis for a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, slated for release in 2011. His book The Informant, about the Archer Daniels Midland price-fixing scandal, is currently in release as a movie starring Matt Damon. All lectures are open to the public; admission is free of charge. For more information, contact the SVSU box office at (989) 964-4261.
2009-2010 Duo Diorama
MingHuan Xu and Winston Choi Duo Diorama is a partnership with a startlingly fresh and powerful approach to music for violin and piano. Chinese violinist MingHuan Xu and Canadian pianist Winston Choi are compelling and versatile artists who perform together in an eclectic mix of musical styles ranging from standard works to the avantgarde. Duo Diorama has toured extensively throughout Europe and North and South America. Their recent performances at the Festival Musica Nova in Brazil and the Festival Encuentros in Argentina were met with critical and audience acclaim. In 2006, Duo Diorama gave its successful New York debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as winners of Artists International Presentations’ “Special Chamber Music Award.” In 2005 they were the inaugural recipients of The Banff Centre’s Rolston Fellowship in Music.
“Both players were terrific. Xu’s fiddling featured spotless finger and bow technique, a keen feel for dramatic flair, and a big, sturdy tone free of forcing. Choi was a more than equal partner at the keyboard. His sound was lively and lucid, his digital work was immaculate, and his shaping of material showed insightful articulation of phrase and voicing.” — New Music Connoisseur
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SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Nov. 21, 2009
2009-2010
...continued
Peter Soave
Bandoneón and concert accordion Jan. 16, 2010
The hallmark of Peter Soave’s performances is the excitement of his execution and the sensitivity of his touch. A native of Detroit, Soave began playing the accordion at age 5. At 16, he was sweeping international competitions and is the only player in history to win the gold medal in all four major world championship accordion competitions. Soave’s professional career includes performances as a soloist and with orchestras and chamber ensembles throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico, the Zagreb Philharmonic, The Zagreb Soloists, the Belgrade Philharmonic, and San Salvador Philharmonic. For the only North American appearance in 1999 of the “Three Tenors” (Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras), Soave performed as the featured bandoneónist. “No contest: Peter Soave is the greatest accordionist in United States history. Period.” Solo CD Pride and Passion, Vol. I, review by Henry Doktorski
MR. B (Mark Lincoln Braun) Blues and Boogie Woogie Piano Apr. 24, 2010
Blues and boogie-woogie pianist Mark Lincoln Braun has become one of the premiere purveyors of a vanishing art. Having learned his craft first-hand from the early masters, he is a rare living link to the first generation of blues and boogie pianists. Steeped in the rich legacy of this tremendously exciting music, Mr. B learned directly from blues and boogie legends like Little Brother Montgomery, Boogie Woogie Red, and Blind John Davis. In demand for both educational programs and concert performances, he has performed coast to coast and throughout Europe, Canada, Mexico, and South America. “(Mr. B) had the audience from the moment he started playing…” Jeff Daniels and Friends, 2008
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
“Mr. B knows the complete legacy of blues piano. Not many pianists in this style play with more conviction.” — Downbeat
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ACapitol experience
n Kasey Bey
student. That has little to do with his age – 28 – or how long after high school it will take him to earn his degree – expected in December 2009. Instead, it’s the fact that Dietrich decided after one year at Delta College that he wanted to see the world, and did so by enlisting in the U.S. Air Force and serving as an airplane mechanic for four years. It’s the fact that Dietrich didn’t fall into the trap of not knowing whom to contact to obtain an internship in the political
n Greg Dietrich
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SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Greg Dietrich needs less than 30 seconds to explain why record numbers of SVSU students were involved in civic engagement during the 2008-2009 academic year. “Three things,” the political science major says. “The war, the economy, and the presidential election.” Dietrich has experienced all three in one form or another since he graduated in 1999 from Valley Lutheran High School in Saginaw Township. Dietrich is not the typical college
n Justin Alexander with Jeff Mayes, state representative
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
realm, and so simply walked into the Saginaw office of U.S. Senator Carl Levin and asked for a job. It’s the fact that Dietrich wanted to contribute to the Saginaw County Democratic Party, young age notwithstanding, and did so by earning a seat on the Buena Vista Township Board of Trustees in last November’s election and subsequently gaining enough votes to become the county party’s chairman. So Dietrich’s answers come fast as to why 2,362 of SVSU’s 9,837 students – more than 24 percent – involved themselves in some sort of civic engagement through the Student Life Office in academic year 2008-2009. The current events noted earlier “made students more aware politically,” says Dietrich, a Dow Corning Public Service Scholarship recipient. “Politics and news events and things like that are received faster than ever before, through avenues like Facebook and Twitter.” The number of SVSU students engaged in “civic engagement” is a figure representative of official Student Life events – political events like speakers on campus
and service events like Alternative Breaks and Habitat for Humanity’s Collegiate Challenge; the figure does not include programs through Residential Life, the Student Association, Athletics, or the Department of Political Science, where Dietrich is involved. Nonetheless, the Student Life number is so high that Dean of Student Affairs Merry Jo Brandimore decided to make it the benchmark: “I wouldn’t even compare it to the past—the difference is unbelievable,” she says. According to the Higher Education Research Institute, a research and policy organization at the University of California-Los Angeles, “college freshmen are more politically engaged today than at any point in the last 40 years.” In a survey administered by the institute, 89.5 percent of freshmen reported that they “frequently or occasionally” discussed politics in the last year. The percentage that reported it “frequently” discussed politics rose to 35.6, also a 40-year high. It far surpassed other recent presidential election years, including in 1992 when Bill Clinton was elected and,
n Glynis Talley 16
— Nathan Jerry
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“The SVSU political science faculty are very dedicated — they push you to become more than you are.”
as the institute reported, only 29.7 percent of freshmen “frequently discussed politics.” It’s those students, Brandimore says, who are fueling the rise in interest and action at SVSU. “The demand is coming from the students,” she says. “While the university is doing some parallel efforts (to offer opportunities and encourage involvement), students created the focus on the presidential election. They created the activities.” Brandimore thinks there are a number of reasons why current students are so much more involved than in previous generations. She points to the constant media coverage Dietrich refers to and an educational movement that has further developed their “grasp of the machines that run our country” and adds that “students’ wiring has changed over time.” Brandimore also points to Michigan’s high school graduation requirements that now include community service. “These students are being asked to be a part of their community earlier, to act as citizens of their own community,” she says. Of course, for those who want both to act as citizens of their own community and to earn a job in the civil sector, it’s more difficult than simply signing up to volunteer. Dietrich points out that students who expect to have a job waiting for them as soon as they graduate are likely to be
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n Kirsten Whitlock
disappointed. That’s why he’s worked three internships during the summers since he enrolled at SVSU in 2006, including an internship in Senator Carl Levin’s office that involved handling constituent calls and researching laws and policies as background information for Levin. “I really enjoyed it,” Dietrich says. “I got to see why people want to come in and talk to their politician.” Dietrich’s experience is exactly what first-time political interns need to see, says John Kaczynski, an instructor of political science at SVSU and director of SVSU’s Center for Public Policy and Service, which, among other things, coordinates internships for students. “We want them to walk away with a landscape of what the political process looks like,” he says of first-timers. “What is state government about, what does it do, what do legislators do, and how do lobbyists affect legislation. It’s the dynamics of the job.” As Dietrich and Kaczysnki point out, much of the thinking behind the first internship is to show students the realities of political work so they can decide whether it’s the career they want to pursue. Those decisions varied, even within a “live-in” internship program set up by Kaczynski and the Center. From May to August 2009, 20 students served as interns for state politicians in Lansing, with many of the students actually residing together while 18
there. Those arrangements allowed for the program’s and Kaczynski’s vision, where the students are the learners and the teachers. By hanging out with each other and sharing their experiences at meals, Kaczynski says “they’re deciding how far the internship goes. The living and learning takes place outside the internship. No faculty member can dedicate that much time to teaching.” While the students agree the experience was beneficial, not everyone concluded it by wanting to be the state’s newest politician. Political science junior Nathan Jerry enjoyed working for state Senator Roger Kahn, a Republican from Saginaw Township, but says he does not ultimately see himself “in politics.” That said, the 20-year-old from St. Louis, Mich., does not mean the internship wasn’t valuable. Jerry says his level of political involvement before he arrived at SVSU was “none whatsoever” and that his experiences in Lansing and with the political science department have led him to help create and serve as president of the SVSU Law Club and become a member of the College Republicans group at SVSU – a group that, along with the College Democrats, has grown tremendously in recent years. “The (SVSU political science) faculty are very dedicated,” he says. “They push you to become more than you are.” Dietrich started in Lansing several months before his fellow Cardinals arrived for their internships. His third internship – he served his second under U.S. Representative Dale Kildee, a Democrat from Flint, in Washington D.C. – was coordinated through Kaczynski, who arranged for Dietrich to work for the state Democratic House Finance and Speaker of the House Andy Dillon. In that internship, which he served from January to June of this year, Dietrich helped fundraise for state House members and candidates. Serving in the background like Dietrich did is what Kirsten Whitlock enjoyed about her Lansing internship under state Senator Tony Stamas, a Midland Republican. Whitlock, a political science junior, said her internship under Stamas and her previous one under Representative John Moolenaar were “great experiences. I would like to become a staffer. I learned a lot more about state government, more so than last year.” Whereas last year she drove to and from Lansing daily, she spent more time in the capital this year. “I’m more familiar with the senators and representatives now,” she says. “I’ve definitely learned more about the nooks and crannies of Lansing.” While the UCLA institute points to the rise in activism, it is also quick to point out that this isn’t the highest ever; just the highest since the 1960s. While the percentages of involvement are similar, that doesn’t mean the motivations of today’s generation are similar to those from the ’60s. “Baby Boomers (born just after World War II) were interested, but didn’t have trust in the government,” Kaczynski says, adding that Generation Y, or the ‘Millennials’ (born between 1982 and 1991), will have more trust in the government than in the private sector. Kaczynski notes that today’s generation is more comparable to the GI Generation of the ’40s and ’50s, a generation that saw World War II as necessary, unlike the ’60s generation, which rebelled against the Vietnam War. “The Millennials is the first since the GI Generation that is highly engaged and involved not only in the political part, but the community service part, too,” Kaczynski says. “I would love to take credit as an educator, but that’s not the case; it’s just the generation.”
Student Employees —
Making it Happen
W
e asked our alumni who worked as students on campus in the ’60s, ’70s and on through today to tell us about their experiences on the job at SVSU. Many wrote back about the friendships they’d forged while working – or the fun they’d had on the job forming those friendships. Kurt Troutman, for example, who worked as a cafeteria dishwasher in the “dish pit” from 1977 to 1981, commented that he “met and kept wonderful friends, learned to work with others in a less than glamorous position and was able to help finance my education.” Kurt, who graduated in 1981 with a B.A. in political science and today is an instructor at Muskegon Community College, concluded that “working in the dishpit evolved into a rite of passage over time and a legacy of honor.”
For Jessica Duncan, who majored in creative writing and double-minored in youth services and sociology, working in the Zahnow Library taught her the importance of balance. “The work environment was professional,” she pointed out, “but we definitely knew how to have fun while working hard.” Shelving books taught her the importance of accuracy, but Jessica also recalled preparations for one senior librarian’s “over the hill celebration” (her 50th birthday). “A few of us student workers decided to go above and beyond to surprise her” by decorating her office with black balloons and streamers, hiding under her desk with cans of silly string and, of course ... well, you know the rest. Today, the August 2008 graduate is a substitute teacher through Professional Contract Management Inc., a Michigan
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at SVSU
educational contracting company, and reflected that at SVSU she learned “the importance of having fun on the job and connecting with supervisors and co-workers on another level. Now, as a substitute teacher, I understand the importance of setting a relaxed tone in the classroom by allowing for a little fun.” Several alumni described the growing sense of responsibility they acquired while on the job, in particular in positions that were directly related to their chosen career fields. Don VanDaele, for example, who today is a business development executive with Hewlett Packard, discussed his job as an SVSU Independent Testing Lab Technician that he held while completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. “I completed weekly quality control tests per ASTM standards on products for Dow, Gougeon Brothers, and others; I ran a viscosity and ash content test on lubricants and also gathered soil samples for environmental clean-up projects.” Above all, the 1992 graduate reflected, “The job gave me a sense of responsibility in my field of study. This job entailed dealing with companies outside of SVSU, so it gave me a picture of what a job after college may look like and a chance to develop customer interaction skills.” Don credits Bruce Hart, manager of the Independent Testing Lab, for mentoring him and for exerting a shaping influence. Almost all our alumni who wrote back to us told us about the changes in their lives as a result of working while studying, and of learning life’s values while journeying towards a degree. Betty Wineland “was a great boss and included me in much of the decision-
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n Ashley Roggenbuck Graphic Design Major holding a graphic of a cardinal icon she designed for the study abroad program.
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making for the campus bookstore,” wrote Charlene Dykman, who worked on campus from 1967 to 1969. “I think it is simply the best job on a college campus. You get to work with faculty, students, alumni, and parents – it really helps to develop your personality and ability to deal with service issues that might arise. You feel like you are a very integral part of the ‘system’ of education.” Dykman, who graduated from SVSU in 1969 with a major in economic history and went on to graduate school and a Ph.D., is today a professor of management and information systems at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. “As I walk through my campus bookstore where I now teach, I often think about how blessed the student workers are to have a job there.” Today, the same tradition of learning by doing continues as more than 600 students hold jobs on campus, ranging from public safety dispatchers to second shift custodians to student managers in Dining Services. Student employment hours peak during the academic year at approximately 110,000 hours each fall and winter semester, then drop off significantly during the summer months to an average of 35,000 hours each spring and summer term. Not surprisingly, many of our student employees are off doing interesting things when the weather turns warmer. We recently caught up with Tiffany Frost, a current work-study and co-recipient of SVSU’s 2009 “Student Employee of the Year Award.” She spends her summers traveling with an elite basketball camp, a coaching gig that takes her to several East Coast and Midwest states. We asked Tiffany what she had learned working at SVSU. “The experience of working in the Admissions Office has taught me so much about working with other people. This is important for me because I’m pursuing a career in elementary education where effective communication and working with people is vital.” The native of Saginaw is starting her fourth year at SVSU and added that “the high expectations held by the Admissions Office are important to me and have continued to shape me as a person. I’m sure that everything I’ve learned there will be tools I’ll use in the future.” When asked how she felt about receiving the award, she noted that it had inspired her to do more. “With this kind of support and
Facts about the SVSU Student Workforce Some 600 students each year are employed at SVSU More than 3,000 candidates apply for those 600 student positions Today, student applicants can customize their search on-line through the “Cardinal Job Network�
Students also work as certified lifeguards, public safety dispatchers, and peer health educators Students express a high degree of satisfaction with on-campus jobs 21
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Dining Services, Campus Facilities, and Zahnow Library are the largest providers of jobs
encouragement, I feel confident of the path I’m on and that it will lead to a promising future,” she said. No doubt the future is bright and the summer even warmer for her co-recipient, Ashley Roggenbuck, who was traveling and studying in Italy when we reached her. Ashley, a senior from Harbor Beach who is completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts as her second degree, has become an advocate for both travel and work experiences made possible by SVSU. “I feel strongly that each and every SVSU student should have the opportunity and experiences available abroad,” she told us. Working in the Office of International Programs has allowed her to “spread the word about the many, many options SVSU
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“With both on- and off-campus jobs, we try to teach students to behave professionally, to learn the professional mind-set. It’s still an educational process.” — Michael Major, Interim Director of Career Planning & Placement, SVSU
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has made available,” a part of her job she said she really loves. Like Tiffany, she credits the SVSU work experience for putting her years ahead of the game and notes that “working at OIP has sculpted me into a professional with confidence and skills that otherwise I may not have developed until years into my professional career.” SVSU also coordinates off-campus internships and co-ops for its students. Some 300 students each year are in short-term internships or longer-term co-ops. The Dow Chemical Company and Dow Corning Corporation are the largest providers. Jobs range from loss prevention security specialists to lab assistants to computer programmers.
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By Alan Dore
Alan Dore is a senior from Kawkawlin majoring in professional and technical writing. He currently works as an intern in University Communications.
n Bill Henderson, Aircraft Precision Prductions, Inc. president and CEO., received the Michgian Manufacturer’s Association 2007 “Manufacturer of the Year” Finalist award. He received a similar honor in 2004.
L
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ocal CEO Bill Henderson discovered six years ago something that could destroy his company. For years, Aircraft Precision Products Inc., in Ithaca, Mich., had taken 80 percent of its business contracting with one client. But in 2003, calls began coming in demanding sudden halts in production. Regular orders were downsized or canceled without warning. After 57 years in business, APPI’s numbers were plummeting, and its breadand-butter customer was sending half its orders to China. From the fallout, potential casualties included a staff of 60 and a 36,000-square-foot facility. Then, fast forward six years: Even in a region where many businesses feel the worst pain of an economic recession, in 2009 APPI added 22,000 square feet of space, its staff is up to 70, and Henderson says, “We’re more stable than ever.” What triggered the sudden upturn? Henderson and his colleagues had gone back to school — specifically, to SVSU and its Center for Business & Economic Development.
n Aircraft Precision Products Inc.
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In 2003, the university unveiled a new umbrella organization designed to foster and facilitate the region’s economic development. Called CBED (pronounced “seabed”), the six-part center connects the needs of midMichigan’s economy with SVSU’s resources, including access to staff, faculty, facilities and students (see box, Page 28). JoAnn Crary, president of Saginaw Future Inc., calls CBED “a door to the university for the businesses, community and organizations to access programs, services and assistance.” As CBED executive director Harry Leaver likes to say: “We’re all about leveraging the resources of the university.” In its six years, CBED has helped many businesses, offering connections to much-needed resources —workforce training, management mentoring, business model revamping, testing, even assisting in finding startup funding. In the case of APPI, CBED assessed their bookkeeping and saved the company $3,000 a month. After adopting its principles in lean manufacturing, APPI reduced its monthly overhead by 30 percent. Henderson says that CBED’s advice in bolstering their marketing helped them to build their customer base and compete in a market gone global. A well-known entrepreneur, Henderson serves on an industry roundtable group in Gratiot County,
’ Michigan has a rich history of brave souls risking a dollar on the wildest of ideas, and there is no better example
of this entrepreneurship than Michigan’s early automotive industry. According to Clevey, it will be leaders inviting the same risk and innovation that will drive a 21st century upswing. What the Great Lakes Bay Region needs most, in Clevey’s eyes, is a means of rekindling that entrepreneurial culture — the open-mindedness that embraced the changes that revolutionized our area more than a hundred years ago. Academically, SVSU is doing its part to rekindle the furnace of Michigan innovation. This year, the College of Business & Management amended its mission to include a philosophy of encouraging on-the-job learning. It created an entrepreneurship minor for undergraduate students to explore. In 2007, the College hired Ken Kousky as the Dow Entrepreneur-in-Residence, where he teaches and encourages experiential learning. Alongside Kousky, George Puia, SVSU’s Dow Chemical Chair in Global Business, works to ensure that students gain a global perspective, whether through his classroom interaction or one of the 10-day study abroad trips he leads each year. Having worked with Kousky and Puia, recent M.B.A. graduate Rollin Johnson has hands-on experience with entrepreneurial projects. With Kousky, Johnson helped launch a speakers’ series and produce a YouTube marketing contest to promote the local region online; with Puia, he studied abroad in the Czech Republic, an exposure to the global economy Johnson says will serve him well in his future. But Rollin’s experience isn’t one of a kind. From 2007 to 2008, more than 620 students engaged with regional businesses as a part of their academic program. According to the CBM, students gave more than 21,000 hours of support to local business, the equivalent of more than $868,000 in consultancy fees. This recent surge in out-of-classroom activity results largely from the faculty, who invite more “real-world” application into their curricula. Aiding the process is Danilo Sirias, associate professor of marketing and management, who serves as the faculty coordinator for many of these projects. “Experiential learning not only allows students to apply what they learn in the classroom — which enhances understanding of the content — but also has a positive impact on the local economy,” says Sirias. “It is certainly a win-win-win scenario!” Leaver says SVSU’s unique organizational structure supports collaboration and an entrepreneurial culture. While many universities’ colleges function in isolation,
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Mich., where businesspeople offer their experience to one another. “We’re actually conducting plant tours for each other and getting together our people responsible for lean systems so we can share best practices and ideas,” he says. The approach runs against traditions like cutthroat MAR competition and company K CLEVEY secrecy. “CBED supports this kind of collaboration and views it as critical to the region’s success,” adds Leaver. Fulcrum Composites Inc. is a technology-based spin-off business from the Dow Chemical Company. It partnered with CBED to improve new products at SVSU’s Independent Testing Lab. Fulcrum also sought advice from the Center for Entrepreneurship & Commercialization on acquiring grants through the federal Small Business Innovation Research program. Fulcrum also worked with Chris Schilling, the Charles J. Strosacker Endowed Chair in SVSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, on SBIR grants related to biobased composites. At Huron Tool & Engineering, employees took on CBED’s services—lean methodologies, management training, activity-based costing, succession planning, and marketing and product diversification. In January 2009, the company reported that over the previous 15 months, they’d hired 25 new employees and increased their sales by 50 percent. Something is working. The need for an organization like CBED isn’t merely the result of a recession. Everything that goes into the center’s operation — applied research, student projects, networking opportunities, industry collaboration — further defines ways that SVSU works to support and sustain the region’s economy, in its sickness and its health. According to Mark Clevey, the CEC’s director, one of the most important functions — perhaps the CEC’s defining role in economic development — is economic development through the fostering of a culture of entrepreneurship.
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George Puia, Dow Chemical Chair in Global Buisness, addresses the participants at a symposium on alternative energy.
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The Center for Entrepreneurship & Commercialization concentrates on businesses that “combine innovation with intent and capacity for growth,” director Clevey says. In that process, students are vital. “Ultimately, we are not just graduating employees,” adds Clevey. “We’re graduating people who will help businesses and organizations grow.” Clevey cites three types of entrepreneurship that must exist for a community to flourish: intrapreneurship, social entrepreneurship and small business entrepreneurship. “Intrapreneurship,” simply defined, is helping existing businesses diversify and adapt to a new economy. In May 2009, the CEC and CBED’s Center for Manufacturing Improvement hosted a symposium for more than 300 businesses interested in emerging alternative energy industries, including solar, wind and biofuel power, as well as advanced energy storage. Already set for this fall, a follow-up workshop will allow these businesses to cluster and explore innovative possibilities in collaboration. Social entrepreneurship — another recovery tool the CEC also provides training in — uses entrepreneurial methods to effect social change. Nearly a quarter of Saginaw County’s 600 nonprofit organizations deal with human services. Through CBED and its continuing education programs, Clevey and Puia are working with these nonprofits to teach them social entrepreneurship as a way to address the root causes of social problems. CBED has also formed a partnership with Saginaw County United Way to provide that training to directors and staff at regional and, ultimately, statewide levels. Clevey and Puia have also won a grant from the National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance to develop this material into a new social entrepreneurship program offered by CBED’s Office of Continuing Education & Professional Development. Entrepreneurial small businesses also benefit from the CEC and the experience of Clevey, who is a member of 27
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SVSU’s often overlap, bringing diverse resources together to address an issue — in particular between the colleges of Business & Management and Science, Engineering & Technology. Leaver adds, “This synergy makes our partnerships with businesses and communities both unique and effective.”
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both the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovative Research Advisory Council and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Emerging Technology Fund. Clevey partners regional businesses with SVSU to secure grants for research and to develop and commercialize new breakthrough technologies. If a proposal is accepted, CBED will also help the organization manage the funds, and even commercialize the results if research and development prove successful. In June 2009 alone, more than 20 of these grant applications were written. Their goal by 2012 is to help 50 companies receive $5 to $7 million annually; to date, they’ve succeeded in supporting 10 grants. Even more funding for local startups has come from BlueWater Angels, a Midlandbased investment group co-founded by SVSU’s Ken Kousky. To further help entrepreneurship flourish, this year CBED launched its Economic Gardening Institute. “Economic Gardening” is a means to growing from within — to preparing a community to nurture entrepreneurial seedlings, whether they’re just starting or merely adapting. So far, CBED has helped secure more than $120,000 to launch programs in Huron, Tuscola and Gladwin counties and its Office of Continuing Education & Professional Development has added Economic Gardening to its course offerings for local governments. Clevey, director of the new institute, says it’s all part of SVSU’s regional strategy: “Our plan is to link these and other community members and form a regional hotbed for innovative entrepreneurship.” Marv Pichla, executive director for Thumb area Michigan Works!, understands the economic challenges the entire region faces today and the importance of SVSU in addressing them. “No one goes it alone in this time of change and challenges,” Pichla says. “Fortunately, ThumbWorks! and Saginaw Valley State University have embraced this strategy and have attempted to maximize our crossregional resources to offer development opportunities to residents and businesses.” At the end of the business day, no one knows better than the experts at CBED: In this region, no effort can succeed on its own. 28
According to the university’s 2008-11 strategic plan, CBED “engages in and promotes community partnerships and relationships that are responsive to critical regional workforce, economic and educational needs.” As an umbrella organization, CBED comprises six centers: Center for Manufacturing Improvement (CMI): Assisting area manufacturers to achieve sustained profitability through training and support. Office of Continuing Education & Professional Development (OCEPD): Providing professional workforce development, corporate training and certification programs. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI): Offering educational, travel and social opportunities for adults over 50 who never stop experiencing life. Independent Testing Laboratory (ITL): Improving existing products and bringing new products to market through quality analytical services and technical support. Center for Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (CEC): Fostering regional economic growth through collaborative initiatives and entrepreneurship. Saginaw Valley Research & Development Corporation (SVRDC): Taking new technology to commercial viability. For more information, visit CBED at www.svsu.edu/cbed/.
ALUMNI ATHLETES
C ardinals reach out to the next generation
Career Competitors
You can remove an athlete from
competition, but you can’t take the competitor out of the athlete. While McAnelly and Trice entered other fields, Goestenkors remained in a realm where she is measured by wins and losses. The head women’s basketball coach at the University of Texas, her accomplishments on the bench include more than 400 career victories and multiple national coach-of-the-year awards in 2007, her final year at Duke. “A lot of the things I say and teach today come from the lessons I learned while I was at Saginaw Valley,” she said. Goestenkors instructs her players to have vision and have a plan, to be willing to work hard to bring it to fruition, and to “trust yourself because others will doubt you.” She speaks from experience. She had always planned on a college basketball scholarship, but didn’t get one. Still, she enrolled at SVSU, earned a grant-in-aid after a fine freshman season, and eventually become an NAIA AllAmerican. Trice faced his share of skeptics when he announced plans to become a certified sports agent. The attorney for the Saginaw law firm of Braun Kendrick Finkbeiner knew the road would be difficult, so he did all he could to prepare himself for the “cutthroat” industry. “For the first several years (of an eight-year legal career), my primary
practice was litigation, and through litigation, I’ve learned to become a very tough negotiator,” said Trice, whose clients include Saginaw native and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Charleston Hughes. Trice is determined to defy the greedy agent stereotype. “I feel like if I can’t build my practice on honesty, integrity, and, of course, competence, then it’s not going to be a very successful business.” During McAnelly’s workday, there is little time for sports for the managing principal of the Saginaw office of Rehmann, one of the 40 largest accounting firms in the country with nearly 600 employees; but his nights and weekends are spent at area baseball diamonds where the players are much smaller than the 6-foot-4 former offensive lineman. “I look forward every spring to being involved in little league,” said the seven-year volunteer coach and current vice president of Saginaw Township North Little League.
Servant Leaders
While all three have impressive professional credentials and a shared alma mater, what makes them stand out is their common dedication to improving others’ lives through community service. Beyond his work in youth sports, McAnelly also is vice president for Saginaw Township Community 29
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A
“walk-on” who turned All-American and two-time Olympic gold medalist. An undersized football player who worked himself onto the field and into a community leader. And a basketball player who turned attorney, sports agent and mentor but stayed close to home. Three Cardinals, three tales of extraordinary professional success and exceptional devotion to making a difference in the lives of young people in their respective communities. Gail Goestenkors, 1985, B.A.; Don McAnelly, 1991, B.B.A.; and Manvel Trice, 1998, B.A., continue to include athletics in their lives and point to SVSU playing a pivotal role in imparting principles that laid a foundation for leadership. The trio shared the familiar demands placed on student-athletes – practice and travel commitments, the pressure of performing in front of crowds, the need to learn the importance of focus and the value of teamwork, and the struggle to overcome nagging to severe injuries. Additionally, all three came away from SVSU with an understanding that service to others is part of what defines their success.
ALUMNI ATHLETES Schools school board, on which he has served for a total of five years. “It’s one of the things that’s kept me in this community,” he said of the work he describes as “insightful yet challenging” and requiring “a thick skin.” He and his wife Danise, née Duckert, 1989, B.B.A., management, have three children, which initially served as his motivation for being active in his community; yet McAnelly knows that his actions extend beyond this. “The reason I do it is to have a good impact not only on our own
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n Don McAnelly
children, but other children, as well. I look at myself as a servant leader.” Goestenkors and Trice reach out to youth, also, but in very different ways. Through “Coach G’s reading program,” Goestenkors uses the prominence of her position to advance literacy efforts. “Kids that get involved in reading tend to do so much better throughout their life,” she said, adding that she pushes her players to get involved, as well. During the academic year, the team visits a local children’s hospital once a week. “I want to teach the players about giving back now. I don’t want them to wait ’til they’re 30, 40 or 50 years old. I want that to be part of who they are every day.” Trice engages in service of a public nature, working with the United Way and other non-profit groups. “A lot of the things that I do in the community, I don’t even share with people, because I’m not looking to get that proverbial pat on the back,” he said, explaining why it’s a topic he rarely discusses. “It’s the things I do behind 30
the scenes, one-on-one with troubled youth in the city of Saginaw, taking those individuals aside and saying, ‘You can defy those stereotypes out there; you can be something more than you think you can be.’ That’s very important to me.”
Pride and Principles
Although each arrived on campus at different times and with varying aspirations, all agree that their time wearing the Cardinal red and white had a profound influence on them and their desire to help others. A Waterford native, Goestenkors went to college knowing that she wanted “to do something with the game of basketball,” and McAnelly fulfilled his childhood dreams growing up in Troy of becoming a CPA. Trice made the short trip from Bridgeport but was unsure of his career path; his legal career may never have started had it not been for someone at SVSU who took a personal interest in him: his constitutional law instructor, president Eric Gilbertson. Trice – who recalls Gilbertson as “a very intimidating presence” when students presented their oral arguments – was asked by the president to stop by his office after one such class. The nervous student complied and was encouraged to consider practicing law. “It didn’t take very much convincing on his part,” said Trice, who also credits former criminal justice professor and current vice president for academic affairs Donald Bachand, and former basketball coach and current associate professor of teacher education Bob Pratt, as role models who taught him to give back. “I feel like it’s not something that is optional – it’s obligatory. It’s something that I have to do.” Like Trice, McAnelly is “as active as I can be in giving back” after deciding to remain in SVSU’s backyard. “What I’m most proud of is when I bump into someone after all these years and they say, ‘I never met anyone who worked as hard as you did.’” Goestenkors’ crowning
n Gail Goestenkors
achievements were winning two gold medals as an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic team, but her ultimate satisfaction comes from seeing her players fulfill their personal potential. “I feel the most pride when I see former players and who they become,” she said. Working in intercollegiate athletics since her days as a student in SVSU’s sports information office, Goestenkors’ “greatest memories are of the people,” especially those in the athletic department. “I’m very thankful for my time at Saginaw Valley. It was a place where I felt at home.” She has sought similar environments when making career decisions and works to replicate in her program the camaraderie that she experienced, from events such as spending four extra days with teammates and coaches from the men’s and women’s teams in the Upper Peninsula after winter weather closed the Mackinac Bridge. It produced one never-ending Euchre tournament. “We had a blast,” she said. The same lessons that McAnelly learned from football and study he shares with colleagues, little leaguers and others: “Be accountable. Be committed. Be enthusiastic.” These three Cardinals embrace and embody those principles every day and, in the process, make a meaningful difference on young lives in their respective corners of the world.
Examples of Cardinals contributing to their communities abound. Pat Cavanaugh, 2003, B.A., was featured in an August article in “The Royal Oak Daily Tribune” for running a free football clinic that features several former teammates as volunteer instructors. Have a story about others giving back? E-mail us at alumni@svsu.edu
Since our last issue, several new scholarships have been
FOUNDATION
created. We thank these university supporters and know that our students who will benefit from this support are equally as appreciative. Criteria and details are available at the Foundation Web site, www.svsu.edu/foundation. New Endowed Scholarships • The Ida Mae Anderson Endowed Scholarship – established by Stephen Anderson (’73) • The Robert Castro Jaime Endowed Scholarship – established by James Jaime (’84)
New Annual Scholarships • Fabiano Brothers Business Scholarship – established by Fabiano Brothers, Inc. • Tim Inman Scholarship for Aspiring Photographers – established by Tim Inman, 1989, B.A.; 1996, M.Ed. • Audrey M. Sager Memorial Scholarship in Education – established by Dr. Cynthia Sager • Margaret A. Warner Memorial Scholarship in Healthcare Education – established by Clay and Mary Jo Warner • Russell C. Will Memorial Scholarship – established by friends and colleagues at Dow Corning Corportation
Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Museum:
With generous support from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the artists themselves, the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum recently celebrated Michigan artists, Russell and Nancy Thayer by exhibiting Thayer + Thayer, Paintings + Sculpture from February through May. Most recently, an exhibition of 29 iron sculptures titled The Softness of Iron: Welded Sculpture by Orna BenAmi was launched with a lecture by the Israeli artist. The museum thanks Consumers Energy, Saginaw Community Foundation, The Herbert and Junia Doan Foundation, and
Elaine Hirschfield for their donations to help make the exhibition possible. Thirty-eight campers, ages 8-13, enjoyed three two-week summer art camps at the museum, designed and taught by SVSU art education majors. Scholarships were awarded to some camp participants with support from an SVSU Foundation Resource Grant. Participants created color wheel tints and shades painting, Batik t-shirts, line drawing made into sculpture, and more! Museum and sculpture garden tours were a part of every class. The fifth annual Saints, Sinners gala was hosted Oct. 2. This year’s theme was Frank Sinatra, with great Italian cuisine, martinis, wine and live music. The Saints, Sinners & Sinatra event raised funds for new exhibitions and museum education programs. A special thank you to the following major sponsors: The Dow Chemical Company, Bill and Sue Vititoe, and the Hausbeck Pickle Company.
Museum Awarded Prestigious Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services
Thanks to a $33,325 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum will begin creating an online digital library for the Marshall Fredericks Museum’s archives collection. “This is a defining moment for the museum for several reasons,” said Marilyn Wheaton, director of the museum. “This is the first federal agency grant the museum has received; it’s the first grant we have received to begin digitizing the Marshall Fredericks archives; and it signals the beginning of the Marshall Fredericks archives – the personal and professional papers of one of America’s great sculptors, becoming available to scholars, students and researchers around the world.” 31
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From World Class Exhibits to A Popular Annual Fundraising Event to Experiences for Local School children
FOUNDATION
New Gifts to Endow SVSU Center for Family Business
n Stevens family
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tevens Worldwide Van Lines and Glastender, Inc. have provided the lead gifts to endow the SVSU Center For Family Business. Offering a successful series of informational seminars as well as networking and collaboration opportunities, the Center has served the regional business community for over a decade. “The SVSU Center For Family Business is a valued resource for family businesses,” remarked Julie Stevens, shareholder and wife of Morrie Stevens Sr., Chairman and CEO of Stevens Group. “Family businesses are challenging to operate,” continued Julie, “and SVSU has done an excellent job to offer solutions and help families understand they are not alone and that other family businesses have similar challenges.” The endowment fund, with a fundraising goal of
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n Hall family
$750,000, will help ensure the future of the Center and enrich the quality and quantity of its programs. “Any family that is serious about the success of their business and about seeing it last beyond the current generation will learn a lot from the SVSU Center For Family Business,” said siblings Todd Hall, Glastender president, and Kimberly Norris, vice president of administration. They are the children of Jon D. Hall, CEO of Glastender. The gift commitments to the SVSU Center For Family Business add to a total of more than $160,000 in new endowment gifts since the last issue of “Reflections.” This brings the total amount of gifts to the “Promise for Tomorrow” campaign to more than $20 million, making it the most successful endowment fund-raising campaign in SVSU’s history.
ANNUAL GIVING Dear SVSU Alumni: A lot of things go into making a university great – high quality programs, a talented and dedicated faculty, state-of-the-art facilities – but the true test of a university’s greatness is each one of you, our alumni. You are a distinguished, diverse, successful group of people in an ever-growing community, with new graduates entering the ranks every year. In its short history, SVSU has seen rapid growth and development, and our alumni have a fascinating variety of memories, from those who remember a little college among farm fields with just a couple of buildings, to those who stepped over and around the buzz of construction as the physical campus grew, to those who helped build our growing residential student community, to those who only recently graduated. All of you have stories to tell, and memories to share. Through all the changes, one thing has remained the same – our students are always our priority, our greatest asset, and when they go out into the world armed with an SVSU degree, they are our greatest source of pride and inspiration – inspiration to keep growing, keep achieving, do more, and do it better. As your alma mater grows, your continued support is even more critical. We need your help to attract the best and brightest students – to live up to their faith in us. We want to reach out to hard-working students with financial need, young people with the promise and the drive to achieve great things. I’m asking you to take the opportunity to help your future fellow alumni, and to invest in the value and meaning of the degree you worked so hard to earn. Please consider placing a gift in the enclosed envelope and sending it to your alma mater. Your gift will allow us to direct your funds to student scholarships. If you’d like to help a particular academic department or program, or you’d like to give Cardinal Athletics a boost, please designate your gift to the area of your choice. Sincerely,
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Joe Vogl ’76, ’82 Director of Annual and Planned Giving
A legacy for aspiring students in engineering
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any students and alumni – engineering and others alike – recognize the name “Tom Kullgren.” For 25 years, he has been a central figure in the history of SVSU. Thomas Kullgren – teacher, mentor, dean, and now, the benefactor for The Thomas E. Kullgren Engineering Scholarship. Arriving at SVSU in 1984, Kullgren served as dean of the College of Science, Engineering & Technology for 19 years, longer than any other dean in SVSU’s history. In 1984, the physical facilities for the science departments were located in Wickes Hall (nearly everything was back then, including the library!). In 1986, under Kullgren’s supervision, the departments migrated to the new Science Building. Fourteen years later, he would also oversee the expansion and relocation of departments in another major new instructional facility, the Herbert Dow Doan Science Building. Kullgren’s contribution to SVSU has involved much more than guiding the physical growth of the College. He led the effort to achieve national accreditation for SVSU’s science programs by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Of the approximately 3,000 colleges and universities in the nation, only about 350 institutions have accredited engineering schools. Before coming to SVSU, Kullgren served in the military for 20 years, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel in 1984.
A Vietnam veteran with 3,700 hours of flight time in helicopters, transports, trainers, and executive jets, he also taught for 12 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Recent alumni will probably best remember Kullgren from the classroom. He has been professor of mechanical engineering since retiring from his role as dean in 2003. It is his love of students and teaching that led him to include SVSU in his estate plans, with the goal of establishing The Thomas E. Kullgren Engineering Scholarship – recognizing serious students with a strong work ethic, who are dedicated to pursuing an engineering degree. Kullgren was drawn to SVSU’s planned giving program as the best option for creating his scholarship program. “A planned gift makes certain that my wishes will be honored even in the face of changing personal circumstances. I have wanted to do this for a long time, and since I was reviewing my estate planning, this was a good time.” Kullgren dedicated himself to helping SVSU’s science departments grow and develop into the cutting-edge, accredited programs they are today. His priority has always been making SVSU, and the College of Science, Engineering & Technology, better places for students, with more and richer opportunities. Now, through his planned gift, he has created a permanent way for future generations of engineering students to reach their fullest potential.
PLANNED GIFTS Planned giving is often the way people are able to make gifts that they never thought imaginable, while still realizing financial benefits in the present. Options include charitable trusts, gift annuities, life insurance and bequests, to name a few. 34
ALUMNI NEWS Several alumni groups have gathered together this year to support SVSU, share memories, network, and socialize with fellow Cardinals. Join us at an alumni gathering! Upcoming alumni events are listed at www.svsu.edu/alumni. Support SVSU students and alumni programs by becoming a member of the Alumni Association at www.svsu.edu/alumni.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
We Can Help You!
Women’s Basketball Alumni and Coaches Reunite
Track Alumni Gather with Current Field and Track Students
• Make career/job connections with SVSU alumni already in the field • Stay connected to SVSU friends after graduation • Enjoy new experiences to maintain your connection with your alma mater
Detroit Area Alumni
Lansing Area Alumni
• Learn about exciting events exclusively for SVSU alumni • Support student scholarships, alumni programs, and your alma mater • Save on continuing education classes, car rental, insurance, entertainment, and much more
Alumni Tailgate and Baseball Game at the Great Lakes Loons
• Receive discounts on Ryder Center memberships, campus facility rentals, and SVSU camps
Annual Soccer Alumni and Current Players Game
Baseball Alumni and Coach Walt Head Gather for Golf
13th Annual Alumni Association Golf Outing
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Join the Alumni Association today and show your RED PRIDE. Call (989) 964-4196, or sign-up online at www.svsu.edu/alumni/.
Alumni Profile: Drs. Bradi and Brent Boyce
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VSU alumni Dr. Bradi (Kretzchmen) Boyce, D.D.S., and Dr. Brent Boyce, M.D., practice in Sebewaing, Mich. The 1994 graduates met at SVSU, married, and house their successful dental and dermatology practices in the same building. Caring, compassionate, and family-focused, Bradi and Brent have four “little Cardinals” – 4-year-old triplet daughters, Kendal, Reagan and Tatum, and a 2-year-old son, Beckett. Bradi and Brent are fond of telling the story of how they met at SVSU in Walter Rathkamp’s biology class. Brent later saw Bradi in the Zahnow Library one day and borrowed her notes. Fast forward a few years, and they were back on campus, having wedding photographs taken at the Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Museum. Not only did these two biology majors share a love for science, they also worked at laboratories as co-op students for four years at The Dow Chemical Company. “The opportunity to work at Dow Chemical as a co-op was one of the primary reasons why I stayed at SVSU,” Bradi says. The couple recalls working at Dow Chemical with alumni Raymond Dean, B.S. 1994, Christopher Tobias, B.S. 1995, and Eric Eby, B.S. 1994 (see Class Notes, Page 38), who are all now in the medical field. “Go to SVSU and you will stand out at graduate schools,” the Boyces agree. “You can do very well at a smaller school like SVSU. We were well prepared.” Both Brent and Bradi have always had a passion for science and an interest in medicine. “Since the age of four, I always knew I would be a doctor,” says Bradi. Brent adds, “I always enjoyed science, and while at SVSU decided to take the Medical College Admission Test.”
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Bradi graduated from the University of Michigan Dental School in 1998, while Brent went to Michigan State University prior to graduating from Wayne State in 1999. The couple like to reminisce about the fun times on campus, too, including Brent’s experiences as an unofficial “substitute” Cardinal mascot for a few football games and as a Resident Assistant at the “Zoo.” They have found it beneficial to have their separate practices in the same building. “There is a cross-over of practices and it is handy to have another physician’s opinion right next door,” Brent says. Bradi emphasizes the need for healthy living habits: “It is an important time for people to take care of themselves, with all of the stress factors these days.” Brent agrees, noting, “We could write a book on it; there are so many different ways the busy on-the-go lifestyle and stress can impact dental and dermatology health.” So how do they balance their busy practices, triplets and a 2-year-old? “Lots of help and organization!” says Bradi. “We have a babysitting team that coordinates with our office managers, which allows everyone to be on the same page. Brent has an office staff of 20, and I have a staff of 14. We have five core sitters who rotate staying at home with the children. You have to maintain a sense of humor; can’t plan every detail to the minute; must take things as they come; and need to let things go. Family support is key.” The Boyces – who are self-described “Parrot Heads” – live on the water in Caseville and enjoy water sports, the beach, golf and reading.
ALUMNI PROFILE
A Moment with... Vincent Lin, MBA, 1993
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, YUANTA Mr. Lin’s previous positions include executive vice president of Yuanta Financial Holdings, chairman of Yuanta Venture Capital, executive vice president of Yuanta Core Pacific Securities, chairman of YaoChien Co. (now Syspower), president of Yuanta Construction Company, chairman of Grand Asia Asset Management, and director of Grand Asia Capital Services and Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Hong Kong.
Please tell us a bit about your student experience at SVSU. A: In the period of studying at SVSU, Dr. Eric Gilbertson, president, Dr. Robert S.P. Yien, vice president emeritus for academic affairs, and Dr. Wayne Mackie, professor of finance, took care of Taiwan students very well and helped us adapt to the campus life. Actually, the experience of working and studying on the beautiful SVSU campus has become the greatest memory of my life, and the new concepts and knowledge I learned at SVSU have helped me to be a creative leader in my career.
Why has the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association been so successful? First, the enduring support of Dr. Yien and Amy. They are truly the most precious foundation stones in the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association.
Who were your favorite professors at SVSU? A: Dr. Shyamalendu (Sam) Sarkar, professor of economics, and Dr. Gail Sype, associate professor of management, are my favorite professors. I was impressed by their earnestness, sense of humor, enthusiasm and creative concepts. I cherished their wonderful classes and what they taught me in those classes.
Third, many Taiwanese alumni have been doing well in terms of their professional careers and businesses, and they have become consultants for other alumni. For example, Wen-ke Yang, an M.B.A. alumnus in 1993, has been the director-general of the Central Taiwan Science Park Administration (equivalent to the deputy minister of the National Science Council). Michael Hsu is very successful in his own business in China and acts as the president of the Nantong Taiwan Compatriots Investment Enterprises Association.
Tell us about the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association. A: The number of members of the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association is about 250. As the president of the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association, I organize activities to allow everyone to catch up and network. For example, we have held several family tours to visit central and southern Taiwan. We also attended the most memorable and touching farewell party held in honor of Dr. Yien in 2006 and then the opening ceremony at SVSU for the Yien International Gardens in 2008. In May 2009, more than 100 Taiwanese alumni and their families attended the welcome party for President Gilbertson and the Roberts Fellows when they visited Taiwan.
The most memorable event of the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association was when our two current vice presidents, Cynthia Lee (M.B.A. graduate) and Bruce Huang (C.M. graduate), were married June 7 this year. Dr. Yien and many alumni attended their wedding party on that day. I believe you can imagine that the members of the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association are not just alumni, but families.
Leadership of the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association • Vincent Lin, President • Cynthia Lee & Bruce Huang, Vice Presidents • Jimmy Yang, Past President
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Describe your experiences interacting with other Taiwan students while attending SVSU. A: There is an old Chinese saying: “You could rely on parents if you are home, then friends will be your only back-up if you are abroad.” Therefore, we interacted with other Taiwan students closely and frequently to cheer up each other. I developed profound friendships with many Taiwan students during the period of studying at SVSU.
Second, I would like to attribute the success of the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association to Jimmy Yang, Cynthia Lee and Bruce Huang, who have devoted their time and money to this association. Of course, all the members of the Taiwan SVSU Alumni Association have given us solid support and positive feedback.
SVSU’s Community Youth Days
CLASSNOTES NEWS FROM ALUMNI
Email your alumni news to pacliffo@svsu.edu; Mail to SVSU, Alumni Relations, 7400 Bay Road, University Center, MI 48710; Submit Online at www.svsu.edu/alumni
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GUIDE TO DEGREES
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) Bachelor of Professional Accountancy (B.P.A.) Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (B.S.E.E.) Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.) Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) Education Specialist (Ed.S.) Master of Arts (M.A.) Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) Master of Education (M.Ed.)
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CLASS NOTES
Keith Jenkins, 1973, B.B.A., 1987, M.B.A., is an associate professor of business and information technology and interim director of technical services at Judson University. David D. Green, 1976, B.A., was named Citizens Bank’s Bay City Community President. He serves on boards for the Bay City Downtown Development Authority, Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, and Bay Future. Sharon (Reinke) Metaxas, 1979, B.A., works as a family therapist in a group private practice in Newark, Del.
1980s Michael G. Rehm, 1980, B.A., is a U.S. customs officer and resides in Colorado. Ned Kleinke, 1981, B.B.A., is a CPA who operates as a sole proprietor with offices located in Saginaw and Bay City, Mich. Jeffrey G. Eagle, 1982, B.A., currently works with the state of Michigan as a veteran employment representative. He is married to Vickey and has five grandchildren. Rev. Mary J. Shortt, 1983, B.A., 1997, B.S.W., is a chaplain and volunteer coordinator for Heartland Hospice in West Branch, Mich. Raymond Wightman, 1983, B.A., is serving as pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Hudson, Mich. Kurt A. David, 1986, B.A., produces and hosts the From Glory Days TV Show, which features former Detroit Pistons, Tigers, Red Wings, and Lions, and focuses on their lives after
their pro sports careers. His book, From Glory Days – Successful Transitions of Professional Detroit Athletes, has become a bestseller.
1990s Ann (Conrad) Doyle, 1990, B.B.A., and her husband, Steve, recently purchased State Lanes Bowling Center in Saginaw, Mich. Janelle L. Wilson, 1990, B.A., is in her second term as department chair of the Department of Sociology/ Anthropology at the University of Minnesota – Duluth. Joseph D. Pichla, 1991, B.B.A., 2001, M.B.A., commercial banker, was hired by Chase to manage relationships with businesses and municipalities in the Great Lakes Bay Region, as well as Arenac, Tuscola, and Gratiot counties. Carmine Prinzo, 1992, B.A., was promoted by the Midland, Mich. Police Department to coordinate the department’s patrol and investigations divisions and manage the records functions.
Trisha (Miner) Moore, 1995, B.A., has been employed for 12 years by General Motors as a wholesale district parts manager for New England. She resides in Concord, N.H. Candace A. (Urban) Champagne, 1997, B.S.W., has a private practice providing individual and family therapy, and runs 12 groups weekly for courtordered issues. She is a national certified tobacco addiction specialist, an adjunct instructor at Delta College, and nationally certified aquatic fitness specialist and water safety instructor. Randy Ott, 1997, B.A., is the director of the Center for Academic Success Programs at Western Michigan University. Deanna (Hayes) Knox, 1998, M.A.T., was the recipient of an Excellence in Education Award from Rochester Community Schools. She is the media specialist at Reuther Middle School. Lori A. Kelley, 1999, B.A., received her Master of Social Work from Michigan State University in May 2009.
Eric L. Buschlen, 1994, B.A., earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Central Michigan University in May 2009. He is an assistant professor at CMU, teaching leadership studies.
2000s Patrick Dilloway, 2000, B.B.A., an accountant by trade, published his book, Where You Belong, in 2009. He also sold the electronic publishing rights to his novel, Forever Young, to Public Bookshelf. Emma M. Campbell Morrison, 2000, M.A.T., was named Zeta of the Year by the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. She is a special education teacher for Saginaw Public Schools. Richard B. Roberts Jr., 2000, B.A., was promoted to associate professor of theatre at SVSU and granted tenure. He is involved in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, which will return to SVSU in 2010. Audra (Forsberg) Kovalchuk, 2001, B.B.A., 2003, M.B.A., has been promoted to associate director of housing and residential life at Wayne State University. She resides in Shelby Township with her husband. Jeffrey Bennett, 2002, M.A., received the Faculty Excellence Award from Northwood University, where he is an associate professor. Anna A. Filipova, M.A., has 2002, M.A. accepted a tenuretrack faculty assistant professor position in the Department of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.
Eric L. Eby, 1994, B.S.,, became a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry during a convocation ceremony in Baltimore, Md. He was accompanied by his wife, Christine, and their children, Alexa, Katrina and Adrian.
Michael G. Wagner III, B.A., is a high 2002, B.A. school history teacher at Flat Rock Community Schools in Flat Rock, Mich. He is married to Cassandra (Booms), 2005, B.A., and resides in Wyandotte, Mich.
Er ic L . Eb y, ’9 4, an d fa
mi ly
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1970s
CLASS NOTES Suzanne Kart, 2003, M.A., writer and presenter, is director of marketing for the Learning Resources Network. She is one of the nation’s leading experts on Twitter, social networks and generational communication for lifelong learning. Billie S. Raden, 2003, B.A., 2007, M.A.T., is teaching elementary special education in Lake City, Mich. Emily (Logan) Learman, 2004, B.A., is a high school English teacher in Lafayette, Ind. Jason Learman, 2004, B.A., is pursuing a master’s degree in school counseling at Purdue University; he is married to Emily (Logan), 2004, B.A.
education teacher and is the varsity girls’ basketball coach at Pahrump Valley High School in Pahrump, Nev. Jacob Sopczynski, 2005, B.P.A., has joined the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants Manufacturing Task Force. He is a senior accountant with Yeo & Yeo, P.C., CPAs.
weddings & engagements
Cassandra (Booms) Wagner, 2005, B.A., graduated with her Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University and works for a general practice firm in Riverview, Mich. She is married to Michael Wagner III, 2002, B.A. and resides in Wyandotte, Mich. Estee M. Clarey, 2006, B.P.A., has earned CPA certification and was promoted to senior accountant at Andrews Hooper & Pavlik P.L.C. in Bay City, Mich. She is a member of the United Way of Bay County’s Allocations Committee.
Tim O’Malley, ’04 Michael L. Bennion, 2004, B.A., 2007, M.A.T., announces his marriage to Tina Tacey. He is a high school social studies teacher in Rochester, Mich. Tim O’Malley, 2004, B.S., announces his commitment ceremony on May 23, to Shane McElyea. He is employed at Ball State University. Krista St. Aubin, 2005, B.A., and Ryan Trevithick, 2009, B.B.A., announce their marriage Sept. 18. The couple resides in Minnesota.
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De mik a Y. Dy les , ’05 Demika Y. Dyles, 2005, B.A., is the assistant director of the Beecher scholarship incentive program in the Beecher Community School District, Mich. She volunteers as a Big Sister and is head coach of the “Buc Xplosion” dance team. Jennifer Hagstrom, 2005, B.A., graduated with a M.Ed. in school counseling from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas in May 2009. She is in her fifth year as a physical 40
Kali Briggs, 2008, B.A., and Kevin Kelch, 2008, B.A., are engaged to be married August 2010. Kali is employed as a middle and high school health teacher.
Estee M. Clarey, ’06 Nicole M. Kramer, 2006, B.S., is a certified athletic trainer and works for Bay Regional Medical Center as Bay City Western High School’s athletic trainer.
Kali Briggs, ’08, and Kevin Kelch, ’08
CLASS NOTES Jayna (Arnold) Marrinan, 2006, B.F.A., transferred to the University of Illinois – Springfield campus police department as the office administrator. Patricia J. Scott, 2006, B.A., graduated second in her class from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She works for Foster Swift Collins & Smith in Lansing, Mich.
Jason Wildey, 2007, B.A., is a third grade teacher at North Elementary School in Ithaca, Mich. Gary A. Wood, 2007, Ed.S., has been named superintendent of Mio AuSable Schools, effective January 2010.
NEW CARDINALS
Brady Hecht, 2008, B.A., earned his associate in insurance services designation from the Insurance Institute of America. Aaron P. Heintzelman, 2008, B.A., is the senior Internet producer at KSHB – NBC Action News in Kansas City, Mo. He will begin his first year as D2Football.com’s columnist, covering the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Patrick S. Herald, 2008, B.A., has accepted a teaching assistantship at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., and is pursuing an M.A. in literature.
Melissa (Zinnecker) Newland, 1996, B.A., 2000, M.A.T., and her husband, Gregory, 1995, B.A., 2002, M.Ed., announce the birth of their daughter, Lacey Rose, who joins the couple’s two other daughters, Abby and Haley. The family resides in Bad Axe, Mich., where Greg serves as the junior high principal. Jamie (Bruske) Bain, 2001, B.A., 2007, M.A.T., and her husband, Brian, announce the birth of their first child, Ryleigh Ava. Allison (Detgen) Beck, 2002, B.A., and her husband, David, welcomed a new baby boy, Keegan Kole, who joins older brother Colin. John J. Busch, 2006, M.A., and his wife, Hilary, announce the birth of their first child, Drue Mereideth.
Christo pher Brown, ’07 Christopher S. Brown, 2007, B.P.A., has earned CPA certification and is a staff accountant at Andrews Hooper & Pavlik P.L.C. in Saginaw. He resides in his hometown of Merrill, Mich.
Stephanie A. (Skaggs) McKernan, 2007, B.S.W., graduated with a M.S.W. from Michigan State University. She works at CEI Community Mental Health in Lansing as a case manager for people with developmental disabilities. She is expecting her first child January 2010.
Maria D. (Coss ) Jezierski, ’07
Kee gan Kol e Be ck
IN MEMORIAM Joan M. (Hoefling) Hoover, 1969, B.A., 1974, M.A.T., March 10, 2009 Preston E. Odette, 1969, B.A., June 13, 2009 Marguery Allen, 1974, B.S., March 31, 2009 Jacquelyn B. Matuszewski, 1974, B.A., 1980, M.A.T., May 13, 2009 Ila R. Vanconett, 1978, M.A.T., April 8, 2009 Florence I. Reagh, 1981, M.A.T., May 24, 2009 Willie M. Harvey, 1982, B.A., July 14, 2009
Natalene J. Nitoski, 1988, M.A.T., March 23, 2009 John L. Klomp, 1996, M.B.A., April 19, 2009 Karen L. Frost, 1996, B.S.N., April 22, 2009 Jason F. Frisch, 1997, B.B.A., May 12, 2009 William C. Antell, 1997, B.S.N., April 24, 2009 Sharron A. Riffert, 1999, B.A., May 19, 2009 Pete L. Lazaroff, 1999, Ed.S., June 3, 2009
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Maria D. (Coss) Jezierski, 2007, B.P.A., is involved with Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and is a staff accountant at Andrews Hooper & Pavlik P.L.C. She resides in Essexville, Mich.
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IN THEIR OWN WORDS
French Professor David Barker’s remarks to graduates at the May 2009 Commencement ceremony Arriving at a place where you know few people is frightening. I would imagine, however, that because of all of the SVSU staff and students whose job it is to make newcomers feel “at home,” the process was relatively painless. With the advent of papers to write, exams to take, football games, Homecoming, more exams to take and papers to write, you began to feel like you were part of the SVSU culture, or “family;” and that’s a good thing. Before you knew it, a semester had passed and you had your first grade point average to boast about, or perhaps to keep to yourself ! Then a year had passed, then another, then another. Along your journey here in Cardinal Country, you most likely joined one or more student interest groups to engage in service projects, social events, and just plain old fun – because these things, too, are an important part of being a university student. You were able to spend part of a summer, (or maybe longer) in Australia, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Senegal, or dozens of other far-flung places around the globe. And I hope that you were able to become acquainted with some of our international students who come to SVSU from all over the world. And during your SVSU journey, you may indeed have met the person who has become your “significant other.” Most of you have had outside jobs during your time at Saginaw Valley. It was not easy juggling all your personal and professional activities, but you have succeeded. I congratulate you for that achievement. Today at around 3:30 p.m. SVSU becomes the “alma mater” of every single graduate here this afternoon. And so as we continue this “family” tradition, please keep in mind that your own mother (and father and family members and other loved ones) – and your continuously “nourishing” university mother – are proud of you, and always will be. After all, it’s a family thing.
David Barker, professor emeritus of modern foreign languages (French), joined the faculty in 1971 when only 2,124 students were enrolled at SVSU; he retired at the conclusion of the 2008-09 academic year. Barker long has been the Commencement marshal, leading the ceremonial processional at each graduation, and has agreed to continue in this role in the years to come. He received SVSU’s Franc A. Landee Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1998; the following year, the Michigan Association of Governing Boards of State Universities honored him with its Distinguished Faculty Member award.
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SAGINAW VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
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hen President Gilbertson asked if I would deliver the spring 2009 commencement address, I was indeed honored and touched. He told me that he wanted to make this occasion a “Saginaw Valley family thing.” In reflecting on the long tradition of commencement addresses, there are some that have become sources of oft-quoted ideas. Consider a 1995 address by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Russell Baker, who said: “The best advice I can give anybody about going out into the world is this: Don’t do it! I have been out there. It is a mess.” It is an inescapable fact that this is a rather scary time to graduate and begin one’s career. Unemployment numbers are far too high, but at least it is somewhat comforting to note that those with university degrees still have a great advantage over their non-degree fellow applicants for jobs. A few days ago I was at a bookstore where I ran across some books for graduates. Among the titles were: What Next and Look Before You Leap! (believe it or not, the “author” was Kermit the Frog). My favorite was: Can I Wear My Nose Ring to a Job Interview? By the way, the author’s answer is “Yes, if your nose ring identifies the real you, you should let your future boss know exactly who you are!” Setting aside the advice contained in these books, let’s think back about the academic journey that today’s baccalaureate graduates have made during the past few years. As a typical freshman you were likely already a Michigan resident and if you were going to live on campus, you were probably from metro Detroit or perhaps from the Thumb. Others of you lived in the Saginaw/Midland/Bay area and commuted to campus. You likely participated in orientation and heard lots of information about your soon-to-be university, and you registered for classes. The latter can be an intimidating process since it involves getting advice from strangers about courses taught by other strangers!
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Alumni Celebration Plan to attend the 2009 Alumni Celebration featuring an evening of fabulous food, prestigious alumni awards, and entertainment by the high energy captivating vocal group‌ Saturday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. Curtiss Hall, SVSU For ticket information, contact Alumni Relations at (989) 964-4196 or alumni@svsu.edu; purchase tickets online at the alumni Web site: www.svsu.edu/alumni/.