CMU trustees vote for new athletic training graduate degree

Central Michigan University continues four decades of leadership in preparing sports medicine professionals with a new Master of Science in athletic training degree, approved today by the Board of Trustees. The program gives students a quicker way to complete their degree.

CMU created the first undergraduate major in sports medicine in the United States more than 40 years ago and is well-respected across the country for producing highly qualified athletic trainers.

Students entering CMU as first-year or transfer students now may pursue a 3+2 program, which combines a Bachelor of Science in athletic training with the master's degree. After meeting specific requirements, students apply to the master's program in their third year. Once accepted, they begin the accelerated program that summer, graduating with their master's in two years.

>>Learn more about athletic training at CMU

In other matters, trustees approved a list of more than 3,100 May graduates. This includes nearly 2,300 bachelor's degrees, 700 master's degrees, 100 doctoral degrees and 60 specialist degrees, and graduate certificates. They also approved:

• Emeritus rank for 16 faculty and staff members.
• Tuition and room and board rates for 2019-2020.
• Honorary degrees for the five spring commencement speakers.
• The refinancing of $16.6 million in outstanding bonds and issuance of $13 million in general revenue bonds to finance phase I of the residence life infrastructure improvement project.
• Reauthorization of the Detroit Innovation Academy, a public school academy.

Board Chair Tricia Keith and CMU President Bob Davies also recognized Vice President for Advancement Bob Martin, who will retire June 30.

"Vice President Martin launched CMU's culture of philanthropy and showed us all how to make it happen," Davies said.

President's report

In his opening report to the board, President Davies:

• Thanked nearly 60 faculty who called prospective students to give them a sense of what it's like to attend CMU and to answer their questions. He mentioned several individuals, including Faculty Association President Anthony Feig, who initiated the effort. Feig's calls included a one-hour conversation and follow-up emails with a student from Detroit, who asked him what course titles mean, how to get around on campus and what life in Mount Pleasant might be like for a black woman. About 60 students made their enrollments official during and just after the faculty calls.
• Noted budget planning is underway to align with projected enrollment, although final numbers will not be known for several months and the state appropriation is not expected to be approved in Lansing until September. He predicted a 5% revenue decline for the coming fiscal year and said the colleges are managing their budgets through actions such as aligning the number of course sections to the number of students. Service centers are examining their budgets for efforts that are less essential to student learning and curtailing expenses where it makes the most sense to do so.
• Recognized several students and faculty accomplishments, including:
  • The College of Medicine's third residency Match Day for future physicians, where 71% of the class matched specifically into primary care residencies, and 45% matched to programs in Michigan.
  • Faculty, staff and students from the colleges of the Arts and Media, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and Science and Engineering, who recently combined to develop an interactive escape room based on Emily St. John Mandel's award-winning novel "Station Eleven."
  • Management faculty member Misty Bennett, CMU's nominee for the Michigan American Council on Education Distinguished Woman in Higher Education award.
  • The nearly 200 students and faculty, primarily from the College of Education and Human Services, who put on Threads Fashion April 6.
  • Two Fulbright scholars — seniors Grace Pawluszka and Joshua Briscoe — and a Newman Civic Fellow, senior Megan Lawrence.
  • Faculty members awarded this year's President's and Provost's Awards for Research and Creative Activity and Excellence in Teaching awards.
  • Seniors Reyna Frost and Presley Hudson, leaders in the most successful four-year run in the history of CMU women's basketball.