University of Michigan - Flint

Editorial by Provost Kay, Published November 10, 2008 in The Flint Journal

Energy, participation in presidential contest give nation unique opportunity

Each year the University welcomes new faculty and recognizes faculty/staff who have received achievement awards and those faculty who have been approved by the Board of Regents for promotion and/or tenure.  The Office of the Provost recognizes these accomplishments at the Academic Affairs Convocation which this year will be held on Tuesday, August 26, 2008, at 1:30 p.m., in the University Theatre.  All faculty and staff are invited to attend. Please visit Academic Affairs Convocation page for those individuals who were recognized in 2008.

Faculty and staff members receiving special awards include:  Jan Worth-Nelson - Teaching Excellence Award; Charles Bailey - Distinguished Service Award; Clement Chen - Scholarly or Creative Achievement Award; Steven Myers - Lawrence D. Kugler academic Advisor Excellence Award; Li-hsuan Yang - Alvin D. Loving Junior Faculty Award; Heather Seipke - Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Junior Faculty Award; Sharman Siebenthal Adams - Lois Matz Rosen Junior Faculty Excellence in teaching Award; Jo Ann Shabazz - Dorothea E. Wyatt Award and Martin Kaufman nominated for the Presidents Council sponsored Michigan Distinguished Teacher of the Year award.

UM-Flint Emergency Alert System – In March ITS in conjunction with University Relations, Environmental Health and Safety, Public Safety, and the Ann Arbor campus announced the implementation of the UM-Flint Emergency Alert System for the Flint campus. Students, faculty and staff at the University of Michigan-Flint can now register to receive voice and text messages during major emergencies on campus. Individuals can register two telephone or cell phone numbers and a device to receive text messages for increased notification. The new notification system will generally only be used when it is believed that a life threatening event is about to happen, is currently happening, or has a high potential of happening. You are encouraged to visit the Web site: UM-Flint Campus Emergency Information Center and to register your additional contact information.

Department of History – Professor John Ellis is the recipient of an NEH Teaching Institute award entitled, "Past and Present in the Study of India’s History and Culture." His award includes a residency from July 7 - August 8 of intensive study with expert scholars in India. The invitation comes with a grant that covers most travel and accommodations. Specific information regarding this summer institute can be found at the Bharata Darshan web site.

Department of Psychology – Professor Susan Gano-Phillips has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar grantee to Hong Kong for the 2008-09 academic year. As a member of the first cohort of American scholars in General Education to come to Hong Kong, she will be affiliated with the Hong Kong America Center and a consortium of 8 Hong Kong universities, and is expected to work to strengthen general education in all HK universities in the run-up to the first intake of students in a new four-year curriculum beginning in September, 2012. She will be based at City University in Kowloon and her award includes a 10 month residency for her entire family. Information regarding 2009-2010 Fulbright programs (which have an August 1, 2008 deadline) can be found at: Fulbright Programs for U.S. Scholars

The 16th annual Meeting of Minds will be held at Oakland University on May 16. This conference will showcase the work of undergraduate students from the University of Michigan-Flint, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Oakland University. Over 200 students are expected to participate in the event. For more information, visit the UM-Flint Meeting of Minds page. Also, the fifth annual Michigan Undergraduate Research Forum (MURF) will take place on May 20 at the State Capitol Building in Lansing. MURF involves students from the three University of Michigan campuses, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University. For additional information about MURF, visit the Michigan Undergraduate Research Forum.

Honors Program – Again, the Scholarship Competition Day was a huge success with a total of 53 students and their parents attending the competition. To date, 33 students have definitely committed to UM-Flint including the full ride scholarship winner, Scott McDonald, who will be a biology major. From the remaining 19 undecided students that attended, we anticipate another 5 more will commit.

A record number of 48 students, primarily from the UM-Flint Honors Program, presented refereed papers at the annual meeting of the Michigan Academy of Science Arts and Letters. This is not an undergraduate conference, but undergraduate papers are welcome in the sessions. Students presented from the following disciplines: Health Administration, History, Biology, and Language and Literature. Their abstracts will be published in a forthcoming Michigan Academician, the journal of the Michigan Academy.

The University of Michigan-Flint was recently named to the 2007 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This distinction which comes from the highest levels of government recognizes UM-Flint‟s leadership in helping to build a culture of service and civic engagement on campus and across the nation. UM-Flint will be recognized with other honorees at the annual meeting of the American Council on Education (ACE) in San Diego this month. This is a wonderful recognition of the efforts of our faculty, staff, and students and our collective commitment to engaged citizenship. Please join me in thanking Renee Zientek for her efforts in leading the application process.

New graduate programs - we have a number of new graduate programs in various stages of the approval process including a Doctor of Nursing Practice (recently approved by the Presidents Council), transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy, transitional clinical Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Certificate Programs in Physical Therapy all to be offered on-line; a BS/MS in Chemistry or Biochemistry, and a new MLS track in Theatre and Community. A Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) and a Masters in Arts Management are in the planning stages. A Masters Degree in Mathematics is also in the planning stages.

In preparation for the reaccreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the Self-Study Committee, made up of 65 faculty, staff, students, and community members, has finished writing the second draft of the Self-Study Report and has turned it over to the Steering Committee who will begin their editing process. It is the goal of the Steering Committee to send a first draft of the Self-Study Report out for campus-wide feedback by mid-March. We will be asking everyone on campus to read the full report or at least portions of it. In an effort to support feedback, there will be an electronic form on the Self-Study website for those wishing to use it, as well as other mechanisms for feedback. The Steering Committee would like to thank everyone for their continued hard work and dedication throughout this process.

The Women's Educational Center has been awarded $12,000 as a partner in a grant received by the City of Flint Police Department from the US Department of Justice. Along with the YWCA of Greater Flint, the WEC will offer a drop-in support group for women students that will focus on relationship issues and domestic violence as part of a comprehensive victim assistance program for the City of Flint.