August 2012

Greetings,

Although there are not as many classes and other activities on campus in the summer months, this time is actually very busy in a different kind of way.  This summer, activities included nineteen student orientation sessions, and six prospective student lunches, keeping our Orientation and Admissions staff extremely occupied.  We also hosted three Governor’s Urban Agenda community meetings on our campus, as well as a number of other community activities.  Our Facilities group schedules major projects during this time, and this year was no exception.  I’m pleased to say that they have completed a major lighting project, and are on to the next big thing, the expansion of our Student Veterans Resource Center.

The Division of Student Affairs annual retreat is always a highlight of the summer.  This year’s retreat was entitled “Creating a Web of Caring:  The Role of Student Affairs in Student Well-Being” and was facilitated by consultants Anne Lundquist and Allan Shakelford.  I had the opportunity to attend the entire retreat with our DSA staff, all of whom are dedicated to addressing the many challenges our students face as they endeavor to succeed in college.  It was an energizing day!  We all learned something new about one another and about “best practices” in student development.

All in all, it has been a productive summer filled with new initiatives, as well as continuing work.
 
Ruth J. Person
Chancellor

Compete

Three University of Michigan-Flint students have been selected by the Pat Tillman Foundation as Tillman Military Scholars for the 2012-2013 academic year.  UM-Flint student veterans Brandon Van Wagoner and Kelli McKinstry were selected in the latest round.  Kyle Cawood will be receiving the scholarship for the second year of a three-year scholarship.  Tiffany Johnson is also continuing as a Tillman Scholar until December.  UM-Flint is one of 14 campuses serving as a Tillman Military Scholar University Partner for the 2012-2013 academic year.  University Partners are selected based on their innovative service member-specific support services and proven culture of community for military families.  As a University Partner, each institution conducts outreach to its veteran and military spouse student population and actively participates in the Tillman Military Scholar selection process.  Upon selection of Tillman Military Scholars on campus, each then supports the building of community among these students, strengthening their academic and personal experience.

                                                                   Celebrating our Tillman Scholars

Eleven chapters were presented with the Howard R. Alter, Jr., Award for Chapter Excellence at Theta Chi’s recently concluded National Convention in Palm Springs, CA.  The Alter Award is Theta Chi Fraternity’s top chapter honor.  Consideration for the Alter Award is by application only.  A committee of former and current Leadership and Education Consultants reviews the applications annually and selects each year’s winners.  Our Zeta Tau Chapter of Theta Chi was one of the eleven chapters honored with this award, a first for them.

Dr. Anthony McGill was recently presented with a very special award that states:

“Richfield Public School Academy and the city of Flint present this 2011-2012 Community Leadership Award to Dr. Anthony McGill from the University of Michigan-Flint.  Congratulations to Dr. Anthony McGill for teaching your college students to engage with their community by having them mentor students at Richfield Public School Academy.  The city of Flint is proud of your efforts to teach the importance of leadership, community service and civic engagement by helping local school children.  On behalf of Flint, I applaud your leadership role and efforts to make the world around you a better place.”

We have been notified by the Michigan Department of Human Services that we have been awarded a $143,636 grant for the program “FOSTERing Success” that will serve our students who have been part of the foster care system.  Kudos to the team, especially Mary Jo Sekelsky, for the hard work in preparing the proposal.  The grant may be renewed for an additional two years, making the total possible award at $431,000.

For the 11^th consecutive year, the University of Michigan-Flint has been selected as one of the best colleges in the Midwest according to the nationally known education services company, The Princeton Review.  It is one of 153 institutions The Princeton Review recommends in its “Best in the Midwest” section of its website feature, “2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region,” that posted August 20, 2012 on PrincetonReview.com.

Convene

Assistant Vice Chancellor Dr. Johnny Young accepted an Associate Vice President position at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and departed our campus in late July.  The newly created Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Enrollment Services position is a senior leadership role providing direction to Counseling, Health Services, Career Management, Women’s Center, Educational Accessibility, and Office of Intercultural Relations.  A small group of family and friends gathered with me to celebrate Johnny’s long career (nearly 25 years) at the University of Michigan, and Johnny received the Chancellor’s Appreciation Award for his outstanding dedication to our campus over these many years.  We will miss him, and wish him every success.

Connect

In July, UM-Flint entered into an agreement with Alpena Community College to offer an RN-to-BSN program to ACC students.  The president of ACC shared this very positive message with me:

“I want to express my admiration for all those involved with the recruiting session Tuesday at Alpena Regional Medical Center for UM-Flint’s RN-to-BSN program offered at Alpena Community College.  Maris, Christine, Sarah, Teresa, Mary, and Melissa worked hard for eight hours without a break to handle 50 prospective students and process 23 admissions, if I’m recalling the figures correctly.  In spite of being 'swamped,' as someone put it, a great spirit of good will and camaraderie prevailed.  It’s quite gratifying to observe the response to our initiative, which evidently is going to meet a real and extensive need.

Yesterday business took me out of town, and driving west on M-32 I noticed the billboard advertisement for the program.  I couldn’t be more pleased with our engagement and want to say thank you very much to all who are making the partnership work so well.”

On My Calendar