June 29, 2001, Vol. 33, No. 39
Gaff, Matkin, Myllyoja to Receive Employee Excellence Awards
Hensley Named Senior VP for Advancement and Marketing
Watercolor Art on Display in the Library
Ford Gives MTU Gift Toward Business Plan
Got a Good Idea to Make MTU Better? Submit a Proposal
Rozsa Center to Host Operas, Pops for Pine Mountain Music Festival
International Food Festival July 14
Retirement
New Staff
In Print
On the Road
Job Postings
Bill Curnow, director, University Relations
Marcia Goodrich, Tech Topics editor
Gail Sweeting, electronic marketing assistant
Information to be included in Tech Topics should be submitted to the Tech Topics editor in one of the following ways:
By electronic mail--send information to ttopics@mtu.edu
By interdepartmental mail--send double-spaced, typed copies to the attention of Tech Topics editor, University Relations.
Each week, the deadline for submitting information is Friday at 5:00 p.m. for the following Friday distribution.
News (Back to Contents)
Gaff, Matkin, Myllyoja to Receive Employee Excellence Awards
Staff Council has announced this year's Employee Excellence Award recipients. Staff Assistant Betty Gaff (Career Center) was honored in the clerical/secretarial category. Advancement Officer Bill Matkin (Engineering) receives the award in the administrative/professional group, and Storekeeper Mark Myllyoja (Central Stores) was honored in the crafts/maintenance/food service/technical category.
"Betty treats her students and co-workers with respect, and she especially thrives on working with the students," said Administrative Assistant Diane Garrow (Corporate Services), who nominated Gaff for the award. "You can see it on her face. She'll be the first one to say this is her perfect job because she gets to talk. And she carries herself so well; she's always professional."
"When people ask me about my job, I say it's perfect because I get to talk a lot," Gaff laughs. "But what's really satisfying is being able to make a difference in people's lives."
Gaff has held several clerical positions since coming to MTU in 1983, in the ME-EM department, the College of Engineering, and the Career Center. She is the advisor for the Alpha Delta Gamma sorority and volunteers with the American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, and the Relay for Life. Gaff is active in her church and a former member of the Stanton Township Board of Education.
"Betty's fun to be around, and she gets along very well with the students," said her supervisor, Career Center Director Jim Turnquist. "She acts like their mother; she takes special care of them."
"I get to see students at a really exciting time," Gaff said. "They and their parents have sacrificed a lot, and I get to be there when they see the results of those efforts. Every time they come in and say 'I got the job' I get goosebumps."
"Betty loves working with the students and has spent a lot of time helping them with interviews, not only because it's her job but because she genuinely likes what she does," said Administrative Secretary Judy Monticello (Advancement) in nominating Gaff. "I like being around her because she brings sunshine into the world."
"My life has been enriched by knowing Betty," Garrow said. "She's an amazing person."
Julie Bingham (Engineering) calls Bill Matkin "one of the most dedicated employees at Michigan Tech."
"One thing that makes Bill stand out is that he's honestly a friend to all of the alumni he meets," she said. "Because he is sincere, the people he meets want to stay in contact with him, and their ties to Michigan Tech are strengthened. . . . Even when he's on vacation or on reserve duty, he contacts alumni wherever he is and promotes the University."
Matkin, currently on reserve duty in Nebraska, will be getting together with alumni over the next few weeks as well as meeting his Air Force obligations.
"I was getting ready to leave for Nebraska that Friday afternoon, and Julie and Sherry [Saarinen] said no, you can't," he said. "I honestly thought I was being given notice. Then [Staff Council President] Bev Auel called and said I won this Employee Excellence Award. It was a total surprise."
"Probably anyone in my position would qualify," he added. "When alumni or companies have questions, I just try to contact the right person. Everybody else does the work after that."
Matkin's supervisor Dean of Engineering Robert Warrington describes Matkin as "one of the hardest-working employees at Michigan Tech."
"Bill makes calls on alumni during his vacation, and he does not hesitate to take the initiative when something has to be done . . . I've seen him go out of his way on numerous occasions to do things for areas outside of development such as athletics, alumni relations, and academics."
Komar Kawatra, chair of the Department of Mining and Materials Processing Engineering, recalled when Matkin went out of his way to reunite two MTU alumni from the Class of 1942. "Bill does many such things and makes a big difference in people's lives," Kawatra said. "I cannot think of anyone who could do his job better, and we are lucky to have him."
An MTU graduate, Matkin served on the ROTC faculty before becoming a development officer and helping to raise over $1 million for the University. In addition, he is a member of the American Legion, volunteer coach at Houghton High School, and a Santa Claus.
According to Sue Yrjana (Facilities Management), Mark Myllyoja is about the most accessible person on campus.
"The guy doesn't have no in his vocabulary," she says. "No matter what you ask him, there's no question he'll help; he's got that approachable grin. He'll go out of his way for you, even if he's on his lunch break."
"Mark has been referred to as the 'Energizer bunny' of Central Stores," she said. "He has nervous energy that doesn't allow him to be idle." He works through his lunch, comes in after hours, and helps embarrassed employees who've inadvertently locked their keys in motor pool cars. "Their secret is safe," Yrjana said. "He never tells."
Myllyoja worked in the Property office, as a custodian, and for Mail Services before joining the Central Stores staff. Like his father, the late Marty Myllyoja, who also worked in Central Stores, he worked at Swift's Hardware before coming to Michigan Tech. His background in hardware has proved an asset. "Mark orders all electrical and plumbing supplies for Central Stores," Yrjana said. "Mark has been a very thorough investigator in this area, finding out exactly what the customer is doing so that the correct parts are ordered."
"I was shocked," Myllyoja said, upon being told he was receiving an Employee Excellence Award. "But it was nice, and I'd like to thank those who nominated me. Michigan Tech is a good place to work, and I've always enjoyed my work, wherever I've worked on campus."
Terry Collette, the Central Stores business manager, praised Myllyoja's job performance. "His enthusiasm coupled with his superior customer service and genuine, friendly nature has made Mark a valued asset to Central Stores/Central Receiving," Collette said.
Each of the Employee Excellence Award recipients will receive $1,500 and will be honored at President's Convocation in September.
Hensley Named Senior VP for Advancement and Marketing
By Dean Woodbeck
Fred W. Hensley is the new senior vice president for advancement and marketing. The announcement came from President Curt Tompkins and Gary Anderson, president of the Michigan Tech Fund Board of Trustees.
Hensley will assume responsibility for the University's public relations, alumni relations, fundraising, marketing, advertising, publications, and international alumni development programs. He will direct the remainder of Michigan Tech's Leaders for Innovation Campaign, with the goal of raising $140 million by 2003. The campaign has already raised more than $110 million.
"I was impressed by Fred's leadership qualities and style, as well as his record at Western Kentucky," said Claude Verbal, chair of the Board of Control. "I am confident of his ability to move us forward in all of our external relations at Michigan Tech."
Anderson echoed Verbal's comments. "I'm confident Fred's leadership will help us reach our goals for the Michigan Tech Fund's efforts to develop private support for the University, including the remainder of the capital campaign."
Since 1999, Hensley has been the chief public affairs officer at Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green. He started his career at WKU in 1980 as director of public information. In 1989, he was named director of university relations; seven years later, he was promoted to the position of vice president for institutional advancement and director of the WKU Foundation. From 1998 to 1999, he served as executive assistant to the president for public affairs and governmental relations.
Hensley has been responsible for WKU's external relations programs in governmental and legislative relations, media relations, public relations, marketing, advertising, publications, special events, and community relations. He was previously responsible for the Division of Institutional Advancement, which includes alumni affairs, development, university relations, and the WKU Foundation.
"Fred brings a wealth of experience to Michigan Tech," said Tompkins. "I am looking forward to working with him as we continue to meet our enrollment and fund raising challenges."
Among his accomplishments, Hensley developed and implemented WKU's first integrated marketing plan. During his tenure as executive director of the WKU Foundation, total giving and scholarship support increased by 70 percent and he developed the infrastructure for a comprehensive major gifts campaign. He also created WKU's first governmental relations program.
Hensley has a Master of Higher Education with a concentration in administration from Morehead State University, and has undertaken postgraduate work in higher education at the University of Mississippi. He earned an AB in Radio Television with a minor in journalism from Morehead State. He and his wife, Mary Jane, will arrive in Houghton by September 1.
Ford Gives MTU Gift Toward Business Plan
Submitted by the News Bureau
Michigan Tech has received its third installment from the Ford Motor Company Fund toward a five-year, multi-million dollar Business Plan established between the automaker and the University in 1999.
The Ford gift provides funding for several on-campus initiatives ranging from student scholarships and environmentally responsible manufacturing programs to diversity efforts and facilities support. New initiatives this year include creation of the Ford Motor Company Student Enterprise Center, an advanced degree engineering program, and the Capstone Design Project.
The Student Enterprise Center will house Michigan Tech's engineering design and business of technology educational program. This new approach to engineering education will set a new standard for breadth and depth in engineering education, according to University officials, empowering future graduates with both a strong foundation in an engineering discipline and hands-on competence in the business of technology. As a multi-year, multidisciplinary curricular option, the program intends to simulate a real-world business environment by creating companies, or enterprises that are managed by students. Construction on the center is projected to get under way in 2002.
"We believe our company's commitment to the Ford Motor Company Student Enterprise Center will enable this new approach to engineering education and will help expand the scope of undergraduate education to provide the team-based, hands-on experience in the business of technology that industry finds so valuable in its new hires," said Dan Kapp, Ford's director of Core & Advanced Powertrain Engineering.
Ford has also decided to provide additional scholarship funding to MTU to help meet the company's future needs for employees with advanced engineering degrees. The company expects to require as many as 50 percent of its future full-time hires to have advanced degrees. The new advanced degree program is expected to ensure a steady supply of highly talented engineering graduates, with adequate representation of women and minorities to meet Ford's recruiting objectives.
The newly created Capstone Design Project funds automotive-oriented senior design projects that will allow Michigan Tech seniors, typically grouped in teams of five or more, to obtain experience working with Ford engineers on current industry problems in ways that will benefit the automotive world.
"Since April of 2000, the Ford Motor Company has given Michigan Tech both cash gifts and gifts-in-kind in addition to the Business Plan funding, and has also provided us with important research funding," said President Curt Tompkins. "This level of support demonstrates Ford's commitment to our students and enhances our continuing and expanding relationship with the company. We're very grateful for this kind of strong corporate backing that enables Michigan Tech to continue to develop cutting-edge educational programs that benefit our students, industry, and the general economy."
Watercolor Art on Display in the Library
The work of Edith Marshall is on display through July 27 in the Friends Lounge of the J. R. Van Pelt Library. Marshall's five watercolor pieces are provided courtesy of the Copper Country Community Arts Center of Hancock.
The lounge was recently renovated by the Friends of the Van Pelt Library.
Got a Good Idea to Make MTU Better? Submit a Proposal
Provost Kent Wray is inviting all faculty and staff to submit ideas for improving the University.
The process is part of the "Action Agenda" strategic plan, approved by the Board of Control in May. To present your idea, first submit a letter of intent describing a project or action that will help move MTU toward its vision of being a "national university of choice." For more information on the University's vision and mission, visit http://www.mtu.edu/stratplan/
Letters of intent will be posted on the Web, and you are welcome to form partnerships with others who submit similar or complementary ideas. Over the coming months, review teams will narrow the field, first by asking some participants to submit more-detailed preproposals. Then, authors of a selected number of preproposals will be asked to submit full proposals. The new initiatives will be chosen from among the full proposals.
You can start submitting letters of intent immediately; the deadline is September 4. For more information on writing letters of intent, proposals, and the overall process, contact members of the Strategic Working Group: Nancy Seely at nseely@mtu.edu, Max Seel at seel@mtu.edu, or Glenn Mroz at gdmroz@mtu.edu.
Volunteers are needed to serve on review teams to help choose which ideas will be implemented. To volunteer, contact Wray at wkwray@mtu.edu or 487-2440.
Entertainment and Enrichment (Back to Contents)
Rozsa Center to Host Operas, Pops for Pine Mountain Music Festival
Five PMMF events ranging from opera to blues guitar will take place in the Rozsa Center in the coming weeks. Two performances of Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana" and Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" are set for Thursday, June 28, and Saturday, June 30, both at 7:30 p.m. These short, one-act operas will be presented as a double bill.
The first is a three-hanky tragedy, and the second is a rousing, hilarious comedy. Both contain some of the most well-known music of all time. As always, the PMMF will perform in the original language and project the English translation above the stage.
"Cavalleria Rusticana" (a resounding success at its premiere) will involve a huge local chorus, including many Tech faculty and staff playing the roles of villagers in a small Sicilian town in the late eighteenth century. Fr. Tom Poisson of St. Ignatius Loyola Church will lead the Easter Sunday morning procession in full church regalia. "Gianni Schicchi" (Puccini's last opera), a farce through and through, tells the tale of a hilariously dysfunctional family's mad scramble to get their due from the estate of their just-deceased patriarch.
The PMMF Orchestra comes out of the opera pit to present a symphony concert of Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and Beethoven on Friday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m.. The concert will open with Beethoven's Consecration of the House, a fitting beginning for the PMMF symphony debut in the new hall. Bergonzi cellist Ross Harbaugh will solo on the exceptionally challenging Schumann Cello Concerto. (Schumann's choice of cellists backed out of the planned premiere at the last minute, claiming that the piece was too difficult to play, and Schumann died without ever hearing it performed.) The concert will close with the magnificent Fifth Symphony by Tchaikovsky. Charter Communications has made the concert possible.
The renowned husband-wife piano-vocal duo Bolcom and Morris perform at Rozsa on Sunday, July 8, at 7:30 p.m. Honored by Grammy awards and nominations, they have produced several CDs and will perform popular American "golden oldies," music of the greatest early twentieth-century song writers, such as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Eubie Blake, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Rogers and Hart, and others. On the menu are songs such as "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis," "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now," "My Gal Sal," and "After the Ball."
William Bolcom is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer. In addition to two operas and many compositions for piano and voice, he has written a number of songs especially for his wife, including the hilarious "Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise," which she performs like no one else. They have appeared at Alice Tully Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Jordan Hall in Boston, and with the Chamber Music Society of Philadelphia. Their concert tours have taken them around the world to London, Moscow, Lisbon, Istanbul, Cairo, and Florence. The Bolcom/Morris concert is sponsored by Ameritech and receives support from a Michigan Quality of Life Grant.
Eric Erickson, an Iron Mountain native, accomplished pop/blues guitarist, song writer, and recording artist, brings his unique style to the Rozsa on Saturday, July 14, at 7:30 p.m. His second CD has just been released. Most of his selections will be songs he has composed. The concert has major sponsorship from Champion Inc. and Cable Constructors of Iron Mountain.
Tickets are available at Rozsa Center Ticketing Services, by calling 487-3200, or on the Web at http://www.aux.mtu.edu/rozsa/tickets/index.html.
International Food Festival July 14
The third annual International Food Festival will be held Saturday, July 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Daniell Heights.
Everyone is invited to sample authentic foreign dishes prepared by MTU's international students. Local food will also be served.
The festival will be held in front of building 2012, in the middle of the Upper Heights on Woodmar Drive. The Daniell Heights apartments are located behind Wadsworth and McNair halls.
For more information, contact Thushan Yapa at 483-8110 or tmyapa@mtu.edu.
Regular Features (Back to Contents)
After nearly forty years at Michigan Tech, Virginia Gougeon, the assistant registrar for semester conversion, is retiring June 29.
She came to MTU on August 14, 1961, as a clerk/typist, working for the Registrar's Office in the Academic Office Building. After one year, she became a keypunch operator in the office's Scheduling area.
As the University and its technology grew, data processing was centralized in its own department, and Gougeon moved with it to the Administration Building in 1968.
The UNISYS computer was installed in 1978, along with a new, in-house, student information system, and Gougeon moved back to Scheduling. In 1983 came the end of the IBM cards and the beginning of the new MAPPER system, followed in 1993 by the software package BANNER. Web registration became a reality in winter 1999-2000, and Gougeon witnessed the elimination of long lines of students at registration.
Gougeon, with her in-depth knowledge of the system and her historical perspective, was a key player during the semester conversion process. She was named assistant registrar for semester conversion in 1999.
Lynda Koljonen has joined the Public Safety staff as a dispatcher. Before coming to MTU, she was a dispatcher for Mercy Ambulance Services for three-and-one-half years and worked for two years at Baraga Maximum Security Correctional Facility. Koljonen has an associate degree in criminal justice and a corrections certificate from Finlandia University. She is married to Barry Koljonen, has three children, Jeremy, Kassandra, and Barry, and lives in Lake Linden.
Associate Professor John Gierke (Geological Engineering and Sciences) coauthored a paper, "Practical Modeling of SVE Performance at a
Jet-Fuel Spill Site," in the Journal of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 127, No. 7, 2001. Coauthors were former visiting scholar Manar El-Beshry and Philip Bedient (Rice University).
Assistant Professor Sheila Grant (Biomedical Engineering), PhD student Juntao Xu (Materials Science and Engineering), and biomedical engineering graduates Edward Bergeron and Jennifer Mroz published a paper, "Development of Dual Receptor Biosensors: An Analysis of FRET Pairs," in Biosensors & Bioelectronics, Vol. 16, No. 4-5 (2001).
PhD candidate Ke Li (Civil and Environmental Engineering) gave a poster, "A Software Package for Modeling of the H2O2/UV Advanced Oxidation Process (AdOxTM)," at the 2001 Annual Conference of American Water Works Association, held June 17-21 in Washington, DC. Coauthors were Presidential Professor John Crittenden, Associate Professor David W. Hand (CEE), Mihaela I. Stefan, and James R. Bolton (Bolton Photosciences Inc., London, Ontario).
PhD student Amy Hamlin (CEE) and incoming assistant professor Will Cantrell (Physics) were among 25 doctoral students in atmospheric chemistry selected to attend the sixth biennial Atmospheric Chemistry Colloquium for Emerging Senior Scientists (ACCESS), held June 14-17 at Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York. As part of the ACCESS program, Hamlin presented a poster, "A Modeling Study of the Impact of Winter-Spring Arctic Outflow on the NOx and Ozone Budgets of the North Atlantic Troposphere," and Cantrell presented the poster "How Does Salt Deliquesce?" at the Gordon Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry, held June 17-22 in Newport, Rhode Island. Also at the conference, Associate Professor Richard Honrath (CEE) presented "Introduction to Snowpack Photochemistry and the Arctic Boundary Layer" and led an oral session on that topic.
Job descriptions will be available at 1:00 p.m. on Friday or by e-mail from <JOBS@MTU.EDU>. For a complete listing of available jobs, visit http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/index.shtml
The following positions will be posted Friday, June 29, 2001, at 1:00 p.m. through noon, Monday, July 9, 2001, in the Human Resources Office.
Secretary N3--Biological Sciences (UAW internal and external posting)
University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Monday, July 9, 2001, to be considered as internal candidates for bargaining unit positions only. Applicants from the recall pool will be given first consideration for non-bargaining-unit positions only. Vacancy announcements are normally posted every Friday at 1:00 p.m. in the Human Resources Office. Complete job descriptions are available in the Human Resources Office or by calling 487-2280. More information regarding employment opportunities is available by calling the Job Line at 487-2895. Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.