Greetings!

March is Women’s History Month – a time that we should pause to recognize all the great leadership efforts of women on campus and in our community as well as beyond our borders.

I’d like to give a special “thank you” to all who contribute, in ways both large and small, especially to our UM-Flint campus. One such important contributor has been our former Vice Chancellor for Development, Joanne Sullenger. I am especially reminded of Joanne’s role in advancing our campus as we approach our first Critical Issues session of the 2011 year, as Joanne was instrumental in developing and promoting this signature event on our campus. Over her years as Vice Chancellor, Joanne played a major role in so many campus developments that are now a part of our campus fabric: Critical Issues Forum, the Thompson Library, the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching, Winegarden Visiting Professorship, the William S. White Building, and the mosaics in that building, to name but a few.

In addition, she worked diligently to establish numerous scholarships, endowments, and bequests, including the Freeman Scholarships, the Fran Frazier Student Travel Fund, and the Dorothea Wyatt gift. I am exhausted just listing all of these contributions, and I know there are numerous others. This kind of tireless work on behalf of our campus resulted in enormous benefits for all – but especially for our students. Joanne, we salute you as an outstanding representative of Women’s History Month!

Ruth J. Person
Chancellor

 

Joanne shakes hands with President Coleman at the ECDC dedication.

Compete

In February, music student Francesca Chiejina took first place at the Classical Singers Collegiate Competition held in Ann Arbor. Francesca is a student of Julie Anne Carr and a sophomore in our music program. Francesca will be travelling to Los Angeles in May for the finals.

Our campus has been selected to partner with Tillman Military Scholars program – one of only twelve universities in the country to receive this honor. The program will provide scholarships for student veteran and active service members.

Our great hockey club finished the season with a 25-8-3 record. Congratulations to all the players, coaches, staff, families, and others who made this happen. It’s truly a team effort. And special thanks to our great friend Bill Golling for his support!

Joyce ElHayek, a recent UM-Flint graduate, won the city’s contest to design a new logo for Flint. The new logo was unveiled at the Mayor’s recent State-of-the-City address.
 

Convene

Over Spring Break, many students, faculty and staff engage in “out-of-classroom” learning experiences. Some travel to faraway places, some remain right here in Michigan. This year, for the first time, a group of 30 students were selected to participate in a very special activity, the Intercultural Leadership Seminar. Sponsored by the offices of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and the Director of the International Center, with additional financial support from my office, this week-long seminar allowed a highly diverse group of our students to learn more about leadership (and about one another!) from a global perspective. Held at the Butzel Conference Center in rural (and I do mean rural… someone forgot to tell me to drive the Jeep so I could navigate those “washboard” unpaved roads!) Oakland County, the seminar was a resounding success, and I am hopeful that we can secure funding for the years to come so that we can offer this program to future students as a permanent part of our leadership programming!
 

Connect

Later this month, several of us will travel to Washington for the annual UM Congressional Breakfast.  This event is always a great opportunity to connect with area alumni and friends who support UM-Flint.  Each year we learn of more and more of our graduates who are leading successful lives in and around the Washington area, and we always return with great stories.

On My Calendar