Central Michigan University

CMU anticipates more than 3,600 students to graduate during the spring commencement ceremonies on May 3 in Rose Arena.  Three ceremonies will be held and divided by degrees.  Dr. Robert Froehlich, Vice Chairman and leading investment spokesman for DWS Scudder, will speak at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony, with James Fabiano Sr., President and CEO of Fabiano Brothers, Inc. receiving an honorary degree.  Charles Leavell, author, speaker, and musician for the Rolling Stones, will speak at the 1:30 p.m. ceremony; and, David Baker Lewis, Chairman and CEO of the Detroit-based legal firm Lewis & Munday, will speak at the 5:00 p.m. ceremony, with Sandra Bell Croll, member of CMU’s Clarke Historical Library Board of Governors and community and civic organization leader and advocate, receiving an honorary degree.

CMU 2010 Update

Key Performance Indicators are tracking progress toward strategic priorities. More than halfway through the strategic plan, these measures are highlighting successes and areas requiring more focused efforts. Since 2005, CMU has been advancing toward our targets of decreasing the student-to-faculty ratio and increasing the percentage of faculty from underrepresented groups.  Both of these measures are accomplishments that exemplify CMU’s dedication to Teaching & Learning and Diversity & Global Perspectives, two of the university’s highest priorities.

CMU is making progress on nine of its 18 KPIs.  While doctoral student enrollments are growing relatively rapidly, CMU needs to examine seriously enrollments in master’s degree programs. We all need to work more toward recruiting and retaining more diverse staff and faculty members in addition to students. While the latter will at least partly be addressed in the strategic plan for achieving diversity, all members of the university will need to work diligently toward helping CMU achieve this goal.

Many thanks to the CMU community for the success that we have seen thus far. For additional information, please visit the strategic planning web site.

Update on Diversity Strategic Plan: Blueprint for the 21st Century & Beyond

Good progress has been made in addressing the 22 charges regarding campus diversity. Associate Vice President Denise Green has coordinated efforts to address the final directive of updating and implementing the university's Strategic Plan for Achieving Diversity. For an overview of the updated plan, please go to the link http://www.cmich.edu/wevaluediversity/strategicplan/SPAD_Overview.pdf. If you wish to download a copy of the entire revised strategic plan for diversity, please go to the link http://cmich.edu/wevaluediversity/strategicplan/SPAD_Draft.pdf.

Please invest time to review this important document and submit comments to divplan1@cmich.edu quickly. Your feedback and suggestions are important to this process and will aid in refining the plan. The final plan will launch this coming fall 2008.

CONDOR: CMU’s Institutional Repository

Digital technologies have made it possible to gather electronic versions of research, instructional material and records of the university in one place, an institutional repository, where they can be organized and easily discovered on the Internet. CMU’s institutional repository, CONDOR, became operational in March. In development since last summer by a cross-departmental team led by the Libraries and IT, the repository now houses an initial collection of research, teaching, and institutional materials in digital format. Faculty and staff can add any of their intellectual works created to support the research and instructional priorities of the university as well as departmental or institutional records. This institutional repository will considerably raise the profile of CMU research and teaching by gathering the university’s intellectual works in one place and making them searchable by controlled keywords on search engines such as Google. Through it, we can showcase the work of faculty, staff, and students, which in turn will attract the attention of scholars worldwide who will want to collaborate with us and help us to continue to recruit faculty and students of high caliber to CMU. I encourage faculty and staff to add their intellectual works to the institutional repository. For more information on CONDOR, please contact Ruth Helwig, Systems Librarian, helwi1rm@cmich.edu or Greg Dumont, Associate Director of Academic Computing, dumon1gl@cmich.edu.

State Budget Update

The Michigan Senate proposed an across-the-board 3% increase for higher education. CMU understands that this rate reflects the state’s challenging economic times and is pleased that all universities were included in one bill. CMU will continue to advocate for a more equitable per-student funding model in Michigan, particularly for in-state undergraduate students. The budget process continues with hearings by the House Higher Education Subcommittee, at which I testified on April 28. Thank you for your continued advocacy of equity in funding for Michigan’s universities. For additional information, please visit the CMU Government Relations web site.

Distinguished Professor of the Year Susan Steffel

CMU English Professor Susan Steffel has been named the Presidents Council for State Universities in Michigan's Distinguished Professor of the Year. She is one of only three state professors to receive this prestigious award in Michigan higher education. Each of Michigan's 15 public universities nominated one faculty member who has shown a special commitment to undergraduate education and has had an exceptional impact on student learning. This is the second year in a row that a CMU professor has been chosen for this award. Congratulations, Sue!

Student Research and Creative Endeavors Celebrated at CMU

Congratulations and thanks to our students and my faculty colleagues who participated in the fifteenth annual Student Research and Creative Endeavors Exhibition in Finch Fieldhouse on April 23. The quality of the work and creativity displayed at this event was again very impressive.

Posters in the Capitol

On April 16, CMU undergraduate students presented “Posters in the Capitol” in the State Capitol Rotunda featuring their work on a wide range of significant problems, issues, and interests. This is another well-received event that showcases student research to state legislators and reflects well on CMU and its students.

Take Care

CMU has had the Take Care initiative in place since 2005, the goal of which is to prevent negative situations from occurring by encouraging members of the CMU community to observe what is going on around them and act to diffuse dangers before they are immediate. For more information, please visit the web site.

Phase III - "Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts"

Please attend the latest diversity education workshop developed by the staff training diversity committee: Phase III - "Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts" focuses on (a) becoming aware of the stereotypes we all have and (b) skills for interrupting inappropriate comments.   The 2-hour "Skill Building for Results" program will provide staff with hands-on practice in speaking up when hearing derogatory comments or seeing other inappropriate behaviors.  Staff will learn six practical, specific skills that can be immediately applied at CMU and will provide a better understanding of the ladder of prejudice. Attendance will be taken and supervisors may count participation toward individual or departmental diversity goals as evidence of supporting one of the university’s core values – diversity and global perspectives.  For workshop dates, times and locations, please see http://www.hrs.cmich.edu/train/open-programs.html, and call 774-6447 or email StratOD@cmich.edu to register.

Annual Lem Tucker Speaker Series and Scholarship Dinner

CMU is pleased to sponsor the 12th Annual Lem Tucker Speaker Series and Scholarship Dinner this week in Detroit, which is attended by business and community leaders, alumni, editors, and reporters from the metro Detroit area. The keynote speaker will be Ed Gordon, an Emmy Award-winning broadcaster.  I thank the organizations that help sponsor this event, the many people who make the event and sponsorships possible, and those who attend.

Faculty/Staff Survey on Racial/Ethnic Diversity Findings Available

In addition to the updated diversity strategic plan, results of the Faculty/Staff Survey on Racial/Ethnic Diversity are available at http://www.hrs.cmich.edu/train/diversity.html. Scroll to the reports section to view the executive summary or the full report using your global ID and password. Findings from this report, as well as other institutional reports (i.e. CMU Vision 2010), informed the revised diversity strategic plan. Thank you to all faculty and staff who participated in this important survey. If you have questions regarding the results, please contact Professor Mary Senter of CARRS at 774-2572 or mary.senter@cmich.edu.

Welcome to CMU and CMU Research Corporation

Renee Walker, a CMU alumna, will join CMU on May 12 as the Associate Vice President for Public Relations and Marketing. Renee has been manager of corporate public relations for Kelly Services Inc. in Troy since 2004 and was the company’s manager of government affairs from 2002 to 2004. She also has been president of her own marketing and communications consulting company since 2002, an adjunct faculty member for an institution in the Detroit area, and executive assistant to former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer. Welcome, Renee, and thank you to Steve Smith for his leadership of the public relations and marketing team since December.

Ian Davison will join CMU on June 1 as the Dean of the College of Science and Technology. Ian is an independent researcher and an adjunct curator for the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. He held a number of leadership posts with the academy, including vice president for strategic initiatives, chief operating officer and acting president, vice president for exhibits and education, and senior adviser to the president. He taught marine sciences, botany and marine biology for 16 years at the University of Maine. Welcome, Ian, and my thanks to interim dean Rich St. Andre.

Welcome also to Ken Van Der Wende as President/CEO of the CMU Research Corporation effective April 1. Ken comes to CMU-RC with more than three decades of experience with The Dow Chemical Company, most recently having served as the global commercial director for indirect sales. His tenure with Dow included work in finance, investor relations, sales, marketing, business development, business management and various commercial roles such as market research and communications. Van Der Wende also is a seasoned entrepreneur. Many thanks to Toby Roth, CMU’s director of federal programs, who served as interim president of CMU-RC.

The search continues for a permanent dean of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions. The provost and I offer our gratitude to Tom Masterson for his service as interim dean.

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