June 7, 2011 | Volume 108 | Edition 3B
Campus Updates pg. 2
Campus Achievements pg. 3
Campus Life pg. 6 Entertainment pg. 7
Dr. Helena Wisniewski
Dr. Robert McMahan
by Rebeccah MacKinnon, staff
On May 31, Dr. Helena Wisniewski, spoke to the audience in McKinnon Theater about her vision for Kettering University. She was the first presidential candidate to visit Kettering’s campus this past week. She said that it would be presumptuous to have a firm plan before knowing the University, and therefore her first act as president would be to get to know everyone. “I like to walk the halls and get to know people,” she said, citing it as the reason for her success. “I love to work with the students, because you all are the reason we’re here.” Working together could make it easier to get Kettering national and international recognition, one of Dr. Wisniewski’s main goals if she was to become president. With her contacts across industry, the federal government, and academia, she may very well make it possible. She sees three potential key points for improvement over the next three years: increasing enrollment, increasing research revenue, and defining a niche of expertise for the University. Increasing enrollment will fill out the University’s student population, as well as bring in revenue. Research revenue is another important part of the financial health of the University that can be increased by gearing research effort towards the key areas of technological growth outlined earlier in her presentation. Finally, defining a specific area in which Kettering has the best program in the country would increase our national recognition and help recruit students in that field. Dr. Wisniewski’s leadership style has some key characteristics: being a guiding force rather than a micromanager, getting to know people, developing team spirit and a climate of innovation, and, above all, transparency.
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by Matt Gessler, Editor-in-Chief
by Désirée White, Copy Editor
Presidential candidate Dr. Helena Wisniewski Photo courtesy of Dawn Hibbard
Presidential candidate Dr.Robert McMahan Photo courtesy of Dawn Hibbard
Interview with Karen Full
Technician: How are the enrollment numbers looking for the upcoming freshman class? Are they better or worse than expected? Karen Full: Numbers are higher than last year and are about what we would expect. Growth takes some time. The admissions cycle runs through the January term, so we still have 7 months to go. Potential first-time freshmen are still applying for admission, transfer students will begin applying in larger numbers, as well as international students. The admissions counselors are following up with many students every day. Technician: Can you provide the actual numbers for the incoming freshman class?
Kettering Identity pgs. 4-5
Karen Full: It is still too soon to predict the final number, because so many students in the pool are still deciding. Freshmen deposits are running at about 10% ahead of last year, but the total counts will also take new transfer and international students into consideration. We are feeling very positive about growth. Technician: What is the university currently doing to increase enrollment? Karen Full: I can only speak for what the enrollment office is accomplishing, but here are just a few of the things on which we have been working: Working steadily with co-op employers, since so many new jobs have become available. Getting the word out to potential students that the co-op jobs are back.
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Dr. Robert McMahan was the second presidential candidate to visit campus. Educated in astrophysics at Duke, Dartmouth, and a postdoctoral appointment at Harvard, he has a “career anchored in the university.” He currently serves as the Dean for the Kimmel School within Western Carolina University. Before that, he was a faculty member at both the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. His research projects have been funded by various organizations, such as the CIA, NSF, and NASA. He also owned an applied physics company with strong ties in both industry and academia. He explained that he first learned the “power of hands-on infused learning” in his company. He explained that new employees would have a large theoretical knowledge, but lacked the essential skills for a business setting. Therefore, he became a proponent of co-op learning and a curriculum with industrybased ties. Rather than discussing a plan on how to approach the university’s challenges, he laid out a process. First, he explained, “Higher education is going through a profound change,” that is “more than a marketing and advertising game.” Therefore, the university needs to “understand the landscape of science and engineering education practices” and be “in tune with the public’s advanced learning needs.” In order to start the process, he wants to “create a framework where we all get on the bus together,” but it “doesn’t matter where we are, as long as we all get on together.” In other words, the university will “need a shared vision and values.” He strongly advocated transparency within the university, which “sets a culture to create trust.”
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Goodbye Lunch For Dr. and Mrs. Liberty
Students, staff, and faculty are invited to come to the Great Court on Wednesday June 8th from noon to 2 p.m. to say good-bye to President Stan Liberty and his wife, Angie. Please enjoy cake and punch with them, and offer a fond farewell to the Libertys.