November 2012

Greetings,

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I hope that everyone will pause to reflect on the many reasons we have to give thanks this year.

We here at the university are fortunate that we have the opportunity to be of service to our region and beyond, and that we have support and encouragement from our public officials, community leaders, and donors.  We have the honor of being able to make a real difference in the lives of individuals and to influence the organizations and communities these individuals serve by providing them with a great education.  We could not make this happen without a great deal of support and without the hard work of our dedicated faculty and staff.

This year we have two very special reasons to be thankful.  On October 22, we celebrated the beginning of our Murchie Science Building (MSB) renovation with a public unveiling of architectural plans.  We are grateful for the support of the State of Michigan that will allow us to move forward with this project, and I want to personally thank the many people on campus and beyond who labored diligently for multiple years to make October 22 a reality.  While this building has served us well for many years since 1988, it is clearly time for an upgrade to support the learning of future leaders in the STEM disciplines.

Our other very special reason to be thankful this season is the creation of the Zick Active Learning Classroom in MSB.  We were able to dedicate this wonderful addition which will be used exclusively for the teaching of physics, on October 22 as well.  Alumnus David Zick and his wife Francine have made it a priority to support students at UM-Flint through scholarships and other initiatives.  The Zick Active Learning Classroom is a testament to David and Francine’s philosophy of paying it forward.  David and Francine are truly leaders in our goal to meet the demands of the knowledge economy in the 21st century, and we are forever grateful for their support of this wonderful MSB enhancement.

                                                             Zick Active Learning Classroom Dedication

There has never been a time when education is more important than at the present moment.  Each person who works at UM-Flint and each supporter of our campus plays a pivotal role in preparing students for the future.  As we celebrate Thanksgiving, take a moment to say “thank you” to someone who has made a difference for us.  To all of our employees and supporters, I offer a heartfelt thanks for making educational opportunities a reality for past, current and future students.

Ruth J. Person
Chancellor

Compete

At the annual U of M Faculty Awards Dinner, Dr. Tom Wrobel from CAS was honored with the Jackie Lawson Memorial Faculty Governance Award, and I was so pleased to be able to join him and his family at the ceremony.

Our School of Management was once again recognized by the Princeton Review in their 2013 guide to Best Business Schools.  This recognition highlights the dedication and hard work of our SOM colleagues.

We received official notification that the final accreditation action taken by the Board of Commissioners of CCNE during their October 4-6, 2012 meeting was to accredit the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program for the maximum five-year period allowed for new programs, i.e., accreditation is effective until December 31, 2017.  The next on-site evaluation will be scheduled in Spring 2017.

Convene

Each year, the University hosts a dinner for 30, 40, 45 and 50 year employees in Ann Arbor.  This year Deb Beattie celebrated 30 years of service, while Jo Ann Shabazz and Linda Grimshaw celebrated 40 years each.  That’s a total of 110 years of dedication to our great university—what a record!

Each year a student art project is featured in the Chancellor’s office.  This year “Leaves,” by Brittany Ann Henneberry, was selected.  I had an opportunity to visit with Brittany recently, and am very impressed by her work.


                                                "Leaves" by Brittany Ann Henneberry

On October 26, fifteen Tillman Military Scholars from around the country convened on campus for a weekend workshop.  I was so pleased to host them for a dinner at Ross House on October 27 to celebrate their success.  This is an impressive group of young men and women who have a bright future ahead of them.  We were pleased to host staff members Hunter Riley and Cara Hammer from the Tillman Foundation as well.


                                                        Tillman Military Scholars

Connect

This month I have had an unusually high number of opportunities to connect with neighbors living near the Ross House (or those who walk or run on Woodlawn Park Drive).  They have all been uniformly complimentary about the appearance of the grounds and house.  Facilities group, take a bow!

Our very own Mary Jo Sekelsky (Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs) and Mike Kassel (Tutorial Services Coordinator) are “taking their show on the road” to connect with our region.  Their program “What Parents Can Do to Help Students Achieve College Success” has been offered in Howell and Lapeer with great success.

Recently I received a very positive message about our campus that I wanted to share:

“The Safe & Active Genesee for Everyone (SAGE) coalition would like to congratulate you on the correction to the bicycle lane on Kearsley Street at Chavez.  SAGE coalition members were thrilled to see the bicycle lane repainted to allow bicyclists to remain straight on Kearsley as motorists make a right turn onto Chavez.  It is clear that you and other University of Michigan-Flint leaders understand how community design can impact health and quality of life.  Your recent improvement is helping to make UM-Flint and the city of Flint a more vibrant community.  Creating a bicycle friendly community is a great way to improve the health and safety of UM-Flint students and city of Flint residents.”

On My Calendar