October 14, 2015

Links between leadership and mental illness explored in SVSU lecture

An academic psychiatrist who specializes in mood illnesses, especially bipolar disorder, will discuss the findings of his book, “A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness.” Nassir Ghaemi will deliver the 12th annual James E. O'Neill Memorial Lecture at Saginaw Valley State University Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts.

A New York Times bestseller, the book explores the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership, citing historic figures likely suffering from such illnesses, including Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill and Hitler.

The text offers a controversial, compelling thesis that an Amazon review explains: “The very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of Lincoln's depressive realism to the lackluster leadership of exceedingly sane men as Neville Chamberlain, 'A First-Rate Madness' overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind.”

Ghaemi is a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where he directs the mood disorders program. He is also a clinical lecturer at Harvard Medical School, and teaches at the Cambridge Health Alliance. Ghaemi's clinical work and research has focused on depression and manic-depressive illness. He has published over 100 scientific articles and over 30 scientific book chapters.

The James E. O’Neill Jr. Memorial Lecture Series was established in 2003 to honor the late Saginaw educator, legislator and community servant. Co-sponsored by SVSU and the Field Neurosciences Institute of Saginaw, the series is intended to dynamically reflect O’Neill’s passion for excellence in government, education and the neurosciences, and to provide opportunities for people to learn about public service from individuals who have unselfishly contributed to the betterment of the human condition.

Ghaemi’s appearance is part of SVSU’s Fall Focus Lecture Series. All talks in the series are open to the public; admission is free of charge.  For more information, visit www.svsu.edu/fallfocus‌.

October 13, 2015

SVSU program to offer free writing tutelage at Butman-Fish Branch Library

Saginaw Valley State University writing tutors will offer their expertise for free to members of the community beginning this month.

Those services will be offered monthly - and eventually twice a month - beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Butman-Fish Branch Library, 1716 Hancock in Saginaw.

One-on-one tutoring will be available from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A creative writing workshop will be offered for students in grades 6 to 12 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

SVSU organizers say they believe the Saginaw Community Writing Center is the first university-sponsored community writing center offered in the state. The tutors are the same student-tutors who offer services in SVSU's Writing Center, which helps students with essays, resumès and other writing-based work.

“Spider-Man says, ‘With great power comes great responsibility,’ and it's our responsibility to share our talent with the community at large," said Helen Raica-Klotz, the Writing Center director. "Our tutors are very gifted students and teachers of writing.”

The genesis for the Saginaw Community Writing Center began after Chris Giroux, Writing Center assistant director and assistant professor of English, attended the International Writing Center Association's annual conference in October 2014. There, he listened to a presentation from Tiffany Rousculp, who established one of the first higher education-sponsored community writing center through Salt Lake Community College in 1998.

“What she had to say was very impressive, and I came back completely energized,” Giroux said. “We're a university that's about community engagement, and this fits perfectly into that initiative.”

Giroux and Raica-Klotz said the Writing Center's student-tutors are excited for the opportunity.

“This project would not have been possible if the tutors were not as responsive to the idea,” Raica-Klotz said. “This is an important initiative to them, and they've embraced it.”

The Dow Corning Foundation, Saginaw Community Foundation and the Public Libraries of Saginaw are sponsors of the Saginaw Community Writing Center.

For now, the program has enough funds to keep the center operational for two years, organizers say.

The center's services also will be available Tuesday, Nov. 10, and Tuesday, Dec. 8, at Butman-Fish Branch Library. The Nov. 10 workshop, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. will focus on writing effective resumes; the Dec. 8 workshop will focus on writing personal letters.
One-on-one writing tutoring will be available from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. both dates.  

Beginning in January 2016, these services will be available twice a month throughout the academic year.

There is no need to register in advance for the workshops or tutoring services.
For more information, visit the Saginaw Community Writing Center website at www.svsu.edu/communitywriting.

October 13, 2015

SVSU Board approves major investment to campus WiFi

The Saginaw Valley State University Board of Control approved spending up to $2.7 million to upgrade the university’s wireless network during the Board’s regular meeting Monday, Oct. 12.

This investment will improve wireless connectivity in academic and administrative spaces across campus. Work will begin immediately and should conclude next summer.  

“We have an aging WiFi infrastructure,” said James Muladore, SVSU executive vice president for administration and business affairs.  “This will directly affect WiFi performance in classrooms.”

The action follows $770,000 approved by the Board in February to improve WiFi service in SVSU’s residence halls. The SVSU Student Association previously shared that the residential upgrades have resulted in far fewer complaints from students.

The Board also authorized an extension of SVSU’s agreement with Wolverine Power Marketing Cooperative to supply natural gas. The new deal will run through Dec. 31, 2021 and is expected to result in $350,000 in annual utility savings, starting in the year 2018.

In other action, the Board:
•    Passed a resolution of appreciation for Jeff T. Martin, who recently completed a term on the SVSU Board of Control.
•    Passed a resolution of appreciation for Jerome L. Yantz, who recently completed a term on the SVSU Board of Control.
•    Approved faculty tenure for Jason Kahler, assistant professor of English.
•    Granted emerita status to Mary Graiver, who recently retired after serving on the SVSU nursing faculty for 36 years.
•    Accepted the Annual Financial Audit and the Federal Awards Audit for the 2014-15 fiscal year, as presented by the accounting firm Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC.
•    Approved SVSU’s annual capital outlay request to the State of Michigan.
•    Approved an extension of an existing agreement with Ming Chuan University to lease space on SVSU’s campus. A sister school of SVSU, Ming Chuan is based in Taiwan and became the first Asian university to be accredited in the United States.

October 2, 2015

Saginaw Valley State University’s leadership development program for local high school students kicks off its 10th year

The Great Lakes Bay Youth Leadership Institute will welcome 96 new high school participants during the program’s 2015-16 orientation session Friday, Oct. 2, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on SVSU’s campus.

Organizers also plan to introduce an emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields during this year’s program by inviting guest speakers from the region’s STEM-based employers.

Mamie T. Thorns, the program’s coordinator, said the regional — and nation-wide — need for STEM employees prompted the new initiative.

“Because that’s a great concern in the region, we wanted to make sure we’re in line with those regional goals,” said Thorns, SVSU’s special assistant to the president for Diversity Programs.

This year’s participants will work with several regional nonprofit organizations as part of the Great Lakes Bay Youth Leadership Institute. 

As part of a service learning project, students will team up with Saginaw-based Hidden Harvest, an organization that supplies food to soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters. Great Lakes Bay Youth Leadership Institute participants will help collect food for Hidden Harvest.

The program also will partner with Saginaw-based First Ward Community Center, which offers various services to the Saginaw community; Tri-City Links Inc., a volunteerservice organization for women; and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, a Dow Chemical Co.-sponsored organization that works with local school officials to create engaging STEM opportunities for youths.

This group of Great Lakes Bay Youth Leadership Institute participants will receive leadership development throughout the fall and winter. A recognition dinner and celebration will cap off the program in April. 

Thorns has served as The Great Lakes Bay Youth Leadership Institute coordinator since its inaugural year.

“I knew the program would have lasting power,” Thorns said. 

“What I didn’t realize was the impact it would have on our region. There are students — whether they were high school students or undergraduates — who feel very proud and continue to be proud that they were part of this institute. We have community members asking how they can volunteer for the program.”

In total, 663 high school students have graduated from the program since its inception.

October 1, 2015

SVSU partners with Healthway Compounding Pharmacy in research to improve lab safety

Saginaw Valley State University students and faculty will spend the next year helping a local pharmacist create a cleaner environment for the medicine formulated at his Saginaw Township-based compounding pharmacy laboratory. 

The community partnership was formed when pharmacist Michael Collins asked James L. McEvoy, SVSU assistant professor of biology, to examine and identify the few bacteria found in the formulation lab at Collins' Healthway Compounding Pharmacy. The results will help Collins create an even more sanitary environment for producing customized medicines. 

“Healthway is locally owned and has been supported by the community for 30 years,” Collins said. “Doing business locally is important to me. The science departments at SVSU have an outstanding reputation.”

McEvoy recommended conducting the research using a microbial identification system known as Biolog. Collins agreed to purchase the equipment; he has loaned the Biolog system to SVSU with the intent of donating the system to the university once the microbial identification research concludes next year.

“It's a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said McEvoy, a former United States Department of Agriculture food safety lab researcher.

“Michael wants to find ways to improve his pharmacy. SVSU is working with a community partner and receiving state-of-the-art equipment. And one of my main goals is to introduce students to research.”

Collins said he is excited about the partnership too.

“I want to give back to our community and this is a great opportunity for Healthway to do that,” he said. “The SVSU biology department and the students will have an opportunity to use a state-of-the-art microbial identification system and Healthway will be able to keep their business needs local.”

In 2007, Healthway Compounding Pharmacy earned the distinction of being the first compounding pharmacy in Michigan to become accredited by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB). PCAB-accredited compounding pharmacies must undergo inspections and meet strict standards for quality control and quality improvement. The pharmacy is committed to providing high quality, safe medications to patients, thus they conduct periodic environmental testing of the lab.

SVSU's research will involve testing microbes captured from air samples collected during those environmental tests. In the university's laboratories, McEvoy and his students will isolate pure cultures of the microbes found in those samples and them run them through the Biolog metabolic fingerprinting system to identify.

The Biolog system includes equipment that analyzes the metabolic characteristics of the bacteria as well as computer software that cross-references those characteristics with a database of approximately 2,000 types of aerobic bacteria. The results indicate the most likely identities of the bacteria found.

Identifying the bacteria will help Collins understand how it entered the lab, and thus, how to prevent similar bacteria from entering in the future. McEvoy said a previously identified bacterium is typically found on human eyebrows, suggesting a pharmacy staff member scratching their eyebrow may have been the source of the microscopic intruder.

McEvoy expects to identify about 20 bacteria within the year.

Once the Healthway Compounding Pharmacy research is finished, McEvoy said he expects SVSU will use the Biolog system for teaching and faculty research while also offering research services to Healthway Compounding Pharmacy and other companies.

In 2015, SVSU received the Community Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, a distinction achieved by only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities. For more on SVSU's community engagement, visit svsu.edu/communityengagement/.

October 1, 2015

U.S. Civil War the focus of upcoming Rush Lecture at SVSU

Saginaw Valley State University professor Paul Teed will present “Contesting Freedom: The Civil War After Appomattox” as the 18th annual Thomas and Hilda Rush Distinguished Lecture Thursday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. in SVSU’s Founders Hall. His talk is part of the 2015 Fall Focus Lecture Series at SVSU.

Teed will argue that the central issues of the Civil War remained unresolved despite the formal surrender of Confederate armies in 1865. He will show that the war continued in the South through protracted and violent struggles over African American freedom and equality. Teed’s lecture will focus on the dramatic attempts by former slaves and their allies to construct a biracial democracy in the former Confederacy in face of a well-organized white supremacist insurgency. 

A professor of history at SVSU, Teed has taught courses on 19th century American history since 1997. He is the author of multiple books, including “John Quincy Adams: Yankee Nationalist,” published in 2006, and “A Revolutionary Conscience: Theodore Parker and Antebellum America,” published in 2012. He also is a co-author, with Melissa Ladd Teed, of “Reconstruction,” published in 2015.

Teed has received SVSU’s two highest faculty honors, the Franc A. Landee Award for Teaching Excellence in 2000 and the Earl L. Warrick Award for Excellence in Research in 2015. He also was recognized as the 2012 Distinguished Professor of the Year by the Presidents Council of the State Universities of Michigan. Teed completed his Ph.D. in history from the University of Connecticut.

The Rush Lectureship recognizes and rewards SVSU faculty and staff who, by their creation or development of significant scholarly or artistic work, have distinguished themselves and brought recognition to the University.

Thomas and Hilda Rush of Midland created the Rush Endowment as part of SVSU's Campaign for Distinction.  Thomas Rush served on the Board of Control from 1991 to 2000.  A retired orthopedic surgeon who served in several leadership roles as a physician in Midland, he also was a member of the SVSU Foundation Board of Directors.

Hilda Rush has had a long and distinguished career as a professional office and business manager in the health care field.  She was a founding member of the Midland Practice Managers' Association and the Michigan Orthopaedic Group Management Association.

All lectures in SVSU’s Fall Focus series are open to the public; admission is free of charge. For more information on the series, visit svsu.edu/fallfocus.

September 28, 2015

Political philosopher to discuss Declaration of Independence at SVSU Fall Focus speaker series

Danielle Allen is a renowned political philosopher with the ability to connect audiences to complex ideas about democracy, citizenship and justice. In her book, “Our Declaration,” she explores the United States’ founding document and its relevance today. A bold, incisive speaker, Allen challenges audiences to look beyond what they think they already know.

Allen will share her story and her work as the second speaker in the 2015 Fall Focus Lecture Series at Saginaw Valley State University. She will give her presentation Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall; her talk is titled “Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality.”

This year’s series has the theme of “Discovery!,” and features seven speakers who will talk about topics that both test historical narratives and illuminate issues that may shape the future. Eman Mohammed, the only female photographer in the Gaza Strip, was the first speaker in the series on Tuesday‌, Sept. 22.

In her Fall Focus presentation, Allen will delve into the history of democracy through the framework of the Declaration. She presents the text as a coherent and riveting argument about equality. Challenging so much of our conventional political wisdom, she makes the case that citizens can’t have freedom as individuals without equality among people. With cogent analysis and passionate advocacy, this talk examines the enduring significance of America’s founding text, attempting to reveal what democracy means and what it asks of its practitioners.

Allen was named the director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University and is a professor with the university's government department. She is a contributor to the United Kingdom’s Labour party policy review, is on the board of the Pulitzer Prize, and serves as a trustee at Princeton University. She worked on President Barack Obama's first presidential campaign.

All lectures in the Fall Focus series are open to the public; admission is free of charge. For more information on the series, visit svsu.edu/fallfocus.

September 16, 2015

SVSU Foundation raises $28 million in record fundraising campaign

More than 200 new scholarships created

By J.J. Boehm

The Saginaw Valley State University Foundation announced it exceeded its $25 million goal and raised more than $28 million during the “Talent. Opportunity. Promise” campaign, making it the largest fundraising effort in university history.

The campaign resulted in a $5 million gift from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation to create the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow STEM Scholars Network. It provides funding to support SVSU student and faculty research, as well as outreach efforts to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) learning among K-12 schools in the Great Lakes Bay Region. The gift is the largest single donation in SVSU history.

“We are deeply grateful to our generous donors, who are committed to providing more scholarships for students, supporting our faculty, and advancing the Great Lakes Bay Region, which has been so supportive of SVSU throughout our history,” said SVSU President Donald Bachand.

At a celebration event with donors Wednesday, Sept. 16, Bachand reiterated the importance of “every gift counts” to demonstrate the impact of all gifts.

The campaign raised more than $8 million for STEM-related initiatives, as SVSU also received a total of $2.7 million from The Dow Chemical Company Foundation to establish the Dow Science and Sustainability Education Center. The center works to enhance STEM education at SVSU and regional K-12 schools.

An estimated 11,000 K-12 students returned to Great Lakes Bay Region classrooms this year to be taught by teachers who participated in STEM professional development experiences offered at SVSU this summer. In addition, SVSU students and faculty are engaged in a number of STEM-based research projects supported through endowments established during this campaign

Donors made major gifts to provide additional opportunities for SVSU students in a variety of other areas, too, including:

• A $2 million commitment from Bob and Bobbi Vitito to fund the Vitito Global Leadership Institute for SVSU business students.
• A $1.5 million gift from the Harvey Randall Wickes Foundation to fund the Harvey Randall Wickes Endowed Chair in Nursing.
• A $1,183,500 gift from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation to fund the Gerstacker Fellowship II and name the Gerstacker Regional Aquatics Center.
• A $1 million gift from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation to fund the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation Student Research and Creativity Institute.

Scholarships

Creating additional scholarships was a key campaign priority, as state support for Michigan’s public universities has declined considerably over the years, placing a greater financial burden on students and their families. SVSU benefactors responded by creating more than 200 new scholarships for SVSU students to help defray the cost of their education.

“It was incredibly rewarding to see how donors responded to the call to increase funding for private scholarships,” said Jenee Velasquez, one of the campaign chairs, vice-chair of SVSU’s Board of Control, and executive director of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation.  “While SVSU has an outstanding track record of maintaining affordability, we know that paying for college can be difficult for students and their families. Scholarship support sometimes can make all the difference in allowing a student to complete a degree and become a more productive member of society.”

Alumni

The campaign attracted unprecedented levels of alumni giving. More than 2,000 SVSU alumni contributed to the campaign, including two who share the honor of the largest single alumni gifts received. Jan Botz, a 1974 graduate, made a $1 million commitment to establish the Botz Liberal Arts Fellowship, which pairs students in the liberal arts with corporate partners for internships. Scott Carmona, a 1981 graduate and current chair of SVSU’s Board of Control, pledged $1 million to fund scholarships in business and engineering.

“As the youngest of Michigan’s public universities, many of our graduates are now reaching a stage in their lives and careers where they are in a position to give back to their alma mater, and we greatly appreciate their support,” said Andy Bethune, executive director of the SVSU Foundation. “Alumni giving was strong throughout the campaign, and we finished on a high note thanks to the Carmona Family Challenge.”

Included in the Carmona family gift was a challenge grant, where the family pledged to match all alumni gifts received between May 1 and August 15, and 484 alumni made gifts or pledges totaling more than $300,000 during that period.

Campaign Leadership and History

The “Talent. Opportunity. Promise” campaign began in 2011. It was chaired by:

• John Decker of Bay City, previously an attorney with Braun Kendrick before being hired as SVSU’s general counsel in 2013
• Brian Law of Bay City, chairman and CEO of Magline
• Herb Spence III of Saginaw, president of Spence Brothers
• Jenee Velasquez of Midland, executive director of the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation

The $28 million raised during the “Talent. Opportunity. Promise.” campaign eclipses the $23 million generated during the “Promise for Tomorrow” campaign from 2005 to 2010. SVSU's “Campaign for Distinction” raised more than $13 million from 1997-99, and the “Creating the Future” campaign from 2000-02 exceeded $9.5 million.

September 15, 2015

Photographer Eman Mohammed opens 2015 Fall Focus Lecture Series at SVSU

Eman Mohammed was only 19 when she began capturing photos for a local news agency. Then the Gaza War broke out. As the only female photographer in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed overcame cultural bias, sexual abuse and physical danger to become a powerful journalistic voice documenting the conflict between Israel and Palestine. 

Mohammed will share her story and her work as the first speaker in the 2015 Fall Focus Lecture Series at Saginaw Valley State University. She will give her presentation Tuesday‌, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts; her talk is titled “Breaking Taboos and Documenting Devastation: A Woman's Journey.”

This year’s series has the theme of “Discovery!,” and features seven speakers who will talk about topics that both test historical narratives and illuminate issues that may shape the future.

In her Fall Focus presentation, Mohammed will discuss her nomadic childhood with her single mother, her start as a young journalist, and her career – and future – as an internationally-recognized photographer and storyteller. 

Mohammed’s work has been featured by media outlets including the Guardian, Washington Post and CNN, as well as organizations such as UNESCO; it also has been exhibited in New York, Montreal, Dublin and The Hague. In 2013, the British Museum of London acquired some of her work. Mohammed also has been featured as a speaker on the popular TED Talks series. 

Mohammed has expanded her scope to include other Middle Eastern nations. One of her latest projects, "iWar," includes portraits that show the long-term aftermath of survivors and victims of war. The series was photographed over the course of a few days, with each family or person intended to represent the pain and sadness violence can leave behind.

All lectures in the Fall Focus series are open to the public; admission is free of charge. For more information on the series, visit svsu.edu/fallfocus.

August 28, 2015

SVSU welcomes expert on climate change effect on small islands

Saginaw Valley State University will welcome a recognized authority on the effect of climate change on small island states. Lorna Veronica Inniss, acting director of the Coastal Zone Management Unit in Barbados, will speak Monday‌, Sept. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in SVSU’s Rhea Miller Recital Hall.

Climate change can be linked to a number of problems unique to small islands, such as rising sea levels that can result in decreased land area, warming sea surface temperatures, human health effects and natural environmental disasters. These are a few examples of the issues that impact the sociological, economic, and cultural futures of these small, independent nations. 

Through her work with the Caribbean island nation of Barbados, Inniss has taken a leadership role in addressing this challenge. She serves as the island’s primary contact to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and played a key role in developing the Barbados Program of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. The program was adopted as a way to understand and address these special challenges; it was implemented within the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development.

Inniss also served as the elected chair of the U.N. Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Caribbean Tsunamis and Coastal Hazards Warning System from 2008-2012. She is the joint coordinator of a group of experts established by the United Nations General Assembly to deliver the first ever Integrated Global Marine Assessment.  Later this year, Inniss will be taking a position as head of the Caribbean Environment Programme, United Nations Environment Programme. She completed a Ph.D. in oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University.

In addition to her public talk, Inniss also will meet with SVSU faculty, staff and students during her visit.