November 21, 2017

SVSU students shine at moot court competition, qualify for national tournament

Saginaw Valley State University's nationally-ranked undergraduate moot court program continued its success at the American Moot Court Association regional tournament in Ohio at the University of Akron College of Law November 17-18.

Jrew Brickel, a criminal justice major from Midland, and Lindsey Mead, an English literature major from Saginaw, competed as a team following months of determined study and preparation. They bested tandems from the University of Maryland, the University of Wooster and others, to finish third at the regional and qualify for the national tournament in Dallas January 19-20.

In addition, Mead and Brickel each received awards for their oratory skills. Mead was awarded third place and Brickel finished tenth among the 40 students competing in the oratory contest.

Acting as teams of two attorneys, students in a moot court competition are tasked with arguing a hypothetical case. They are judged based on the clarity of their argument, their public speaking skills, their ability to answer questions, and how well they know the law and the case.

Since being formed in 2009, SVSU's moot court program has seen at least one team of students advance to the national tournament each year. SVSU’s team is currently ranked No. 24 in the nation. (http://www.acmamootcourt.org/top-programs-in-intercollegiate-moot-court) More than 350 colleges and universities currently field undergraduate moot court teams. Julie Keil, assistant professor of political science and a former attorney, serves as SVSU’s moot court advisor.

SVSU also had teams compete the preceding weekend in Chicago, and all SVSU teams advanced to the second day of the competition. The first-year team of McKenzie Stone, a business management major from Prescott and Sara Bedrosian, a criminal justice major from Corunna, advanced to the quarterfinals. The team of Jacquob Littlejohn, a political science major from Auburn, and Nora Lipetzky, a political science major from Palos Heights, Illinois, made it to the top 16. 

For more information about the American Moot Court Association, please visit http://www.acmamootcourt.org/.

November 16, 2017

SVSU student earns best presentation honor at Midwest sports medicine conference

Saginaw Valley State University student Taylor Taraski's study on the mobility of Division II football players won high praise at a recent regional sports medicine conference. 

An exercise science major from Oxford, Michigan, Taraski won the award for Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Presentation for her presentation, "Movement Deficiencies in Division II Male Football Athletes as it Relates to Class and Position." She presented Saturday, Nov. 11 at the Midwest chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine conference in Grand Rapids.

Taraski’s study involved examining 43 student-athletes by measuring their physical performance during a number of exercises. The project concluded that identifying deficiencies in physical performances would allow for the utilization of training protocol aimed at enhancing performance.

Jeremy Knous, SVSU associate professor of kinesiology at SVSU, served as Taraski’s faculty adviser. 

Three other SVSU exercise science students also presented their research projects at the conference.

Kiersten Mead of Saginaw discussed her work, "Care Provider Physical Activity and Nutrition Discussions According To BMI." Anya Odabasic of Midland outlined her research on the "Patterns of Sedentary Behavior in Pregnant Women." Ashlyn Swafford of Tekonsha presented her work, "Examining Relationships Between Pregnancy Symptoms and Gestational Weight Gain."

Faculty mentors for these students were Meghan Baruth, assistant professor of health sciences; Samantha Deere, assistant professor of kinesiology; and Becca Schlaff, associate professor of kinesiology.

November 16, 2017

Cardboard City at SVSU to address homelessness awareness, raise funds for Habitat for Humanity

Saginaw Valley State University students will gather in the SVSU Student Center Thursday, Nov. 16, and build makeshift homes out of cardboard boxes, where they will spend the night during the annual Cardboard City event.

Coinciding with the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, this simulated experience aims to raise SVSU student awareness about the homeless population. Students involved in the event will pay participation fees - including purchasing cardboard - and all proceeds will benefit Saginaw-Shiawassee Habitat for Humanity.

"A world where everyone has a decent place to live" is the vision for the Saginaw-Shiawassee Habitat for Humanity. The SVSU campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity wants to help that vision become a reality.

Registration begins at 4 p.m Thursday, Nov. 16, but continues throughout the night, so students are welcome to sign-up whenever they are available. The night will also include games, a movie, and service-based education. The program concludes at 7 a.m. the next morning, Friday, Nov. 17.

November 15, 2017

National physics group honors SVSU’s Reed

The American Association of Physics Teachers has recognized Laurie Reed, lecturer of physics at Saginaw Valley State University, for her exceptional commitment to undergraduate teaching.

A long-time member of the association, Reed has been named an AAPT Fellow for 2018. Criteria for selection includes "exceptional contribution to AAPT's mission, to enhance the understanding and appreciation of physics through teaching." She will formally accept the fellowship at the group's 2018 winter meeting in San Diego in January.

Reed takes pride in being honored for teaching a discipline that did not always come easily for her.

"For me in my quest to become an astronomer, physics was a very difficult subject," she said. "During my undergraduate years I had qualified faculty, but they did not always explain the material in ways I could best understand. It was when I was in graduate school for astronomy and I began teaching physics for myself that many of the concepts truly became clearer to me and I realized that I really enjoyed the process of teaching physics to others."

"You can help a student learn a tough concept and to then have that person say, 'I understand that,' is very satisfying to me."

Rarely does Reed have a physics major in her classes. Most of her students are pursuing careers in the health professions and over the years, many have thanked Reed for helping to prepare them to tackle the physics portions of the entrance exams for medical and veterinary schools.

"In my teaching, I try to do a lot of examples and demonstrations that have direct application to everyday life and to the human body," Reed explained. "In class recently I described how the elbow joint rotates and how the bones and muscles respond. I want students to understand that physics affects their lives."

"That's why I'm in this business," Reed said. "I love to teach and my simple goal is to help the students learn physics."

Reed started teaching at SVSU in 1992 and has been a full-time lecturer since 1996. She said SVSU has consistently provided resources and many types of support to help her grow professionally.

The American Association of Physics Teachers has around 8,000 members including university and college faculty and high school teachers, and typically chooses about ten Fellows per year.

"To be named a Fellow of the AAPT is a rare distinction,” Reed said.  “I am immensely grateful to my SVSU physics colleagues for nominating me. It's a feather in my cap and a feather in the cap of the university, too. My award is national-level acknowledgement that SVSU has good, dedicated faculty who teach with the best interests of students as the top priority.

November 13, 2017

SVSU selects K-12 educators for Gerstacker leadership program

A new group of K-12 education leaders committed to professional growth will join the Saginaw Valley State University Gerstacker Fellowship program in 2018.

As part of the initiative, 12 teachers, principals, and program administrators from across Michigan will receive concentrated leadership training over a 1-year period. The experience concludes with a capstone international trip to China in June.

Previous overseas trips have included Finland, China, South Korea and Taiwan. Last year's group traveled to Japan.

These trips send participants to educational institutions, where they learn about international educational systems and corporate settings, and they discover how leadership plays out in different cultural and economic settings. Last year's group visited Tokushima, Nara, Kyoto, and Dow Japan & Korea Headquarters in Tokyo.

The program was established in 2005 with a $1.5 million endowment from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation of Midland as part of SVSU’s community-minded commitment to support K-12 educators. Participants are known as Gerstacker Fellows. They meet monthly on weekends.

SVSU faculty from various disciplines instruct the group on subjects such as organizational leadership, ethics, finances, communication, human resources, entrepreneurship and education with a global perspective.

The Michigan educators selected to participate in the program in 2018 are:

• Lisa M. Butts, career and technical education administrator and work-based learning coordinator for Oxford Community Schools
• Kimberly Cairy, a visual arts and design educator in Saginaw Township Community Schools
• Christopher Collins, an elementary school principal for Port Huron Schools
• Nancy Mahoney, an administrator of curriculum instruction and professional learning for  Clarkston Community Schools
• Scott Sawyer, director of human resources for the Saginaw Intermediate School District
• Kurtis Pake, an elementary school principal for Bangor Township Schools
• Jennifer Servoss, the IB Primary Years Programme and STEM Coordinator for Midland Public Schools
• Jennifer Todd, an elementary teacher in the Swan Valley School District
• Jill Verburg, a middle school mathematics teacher in the North Branch School District
• Laura Walsh, assistant director of special education for Rochester Community Schools
• Jill Wrzesinski, an assistant high school principal and director of college prep for Bay City Public Schools
• Zak Zuzula, a middle school teacher for Carrollton Public Schools

The Fellows were nominated by their schools and selected on the basis of their past academic and service accomplishments, and the recommendations of others as to their potential for true excellence in leadership.

November 10, 2017

Pop culture, Dungeons & Dragons serve as backdrop to SVSU play exploring sisterly bond

A play deeply rooted in fantasy, 1990s pop culture references, and sarcasm will test the acting talents of Saginaw Valley State University students Nov. 15-19 in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts.

"She Kills Monsters" follows the life of Agnes Evans, a young teacher whose parents and sister, Tilly, die tragically in a car accident. While packing up Tilly's belongings, Agnes, played by Amber Hadley, an SVSU communication and theatre major from Marine City, stumbles across a notebook filled with the late teen's Dungeons & Dragons homemade quest. Knowing nothing about this fantasy role-playing game, Agnes reaches out to a local comic book store owner for help in completing her sister's quest. Little does Agnes know that she will be thrust into a world full of goblins, ogres, and evil elves.

The production constantly jumps back and forth between Agnes's real life in 1995 and the fantasy D&D world where Tilly is "reincarnated" through the words in her journal. However, Dave Rzeszutek, SVSU associate professor of theatre and director of the show, promises that audience members do not need to be familiar with role-playing games to follow the story line.

"Even if someone is not familiar with, or has never heard of Dungeons & Dragons before, they will understand the show. The D&D game is a backdrop for the main character to learn about her estranged sister," he said.

The set is designed to reflect when Agnes is experiencing her real life and when she is in the game to help the audience better understand the more unfamiliar aspects of the show.

The show involves many combat scenes between Agnes and the other characters in the game.

Hadley explained that learning stage combat has been the hardest but most rewarding part of preparing for the show.

"It's like really, really intense choreography, and when you get it right, it all just flows so perfectly," she said.

Because these violent scenes are coupled with mature language and adult themes, the show is recommended for patrons age 16 and older.

Watch Hadley and the rest of the cast bring this imaginary world to life Wednesday to Saturday, Nov. 15-18 at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $13 for the general public and $10 for students or attendees 60 and older

November 9, 2017

SVSU faculty awards recognize outstanding educators

The Faculty Association at Saginaw Valley State University recognized outstanding faculty members during the 32nd annual SVSUFA Faculty Awards. The awards are presented to those faculty members who have shown initiative in teaching and research as well as providing a supportive environment for their students and colleagues.

Bill Williamson, professor of professional and technical writing, received the Outstanding Mentoring Award for his efforts in assisting his fellow faculty members within the Professional and Technical Writing Department. Colleagues expressed that Williamson's support and willingness to collaborate made him someone they can rely on within the department. He remains engaged in departmental development as well as national discussions on rhetoric and communication by serving as the director of the SVSU Center for Usability Studies and Universal Design, and co-coordinator of the Usability Research Team. He also presents at several regional and national conferences.

The Outstanding Scholarship Award was granted to Jennifer Stinson, an associate professor of history. This award is given to a faculty member who has demonstrated diligence, proficiency and depth in scholarship. Stinson has invested much of her time and efforts into furthering the discussion on race, class and gender in 19thcentury America. Her unique perspective is evident in her approach to these topics, colleagues say. Stinson continues to examine the meaning of slavery and race in specific regions of the U.S. while pursuing the publication of her first book. She continues to present her ideas at conferences around the world. Two of her peer-reviewed articles have already been published in academic journals in her field.  

The Outstanding Service Award went to Blake Johnson, professor of art, for his work both on the campus of SVSU and in the surrounding community. Johnson is the founding member of SVSU's internationally acknowledged Cardinal Solutions, an organization dedicated to solving problems for local organizations. The team has quickly established a name for itself in the community, inspiring a 2-year waiting list for its services. Alongside his work with Cardinal Solutions, Johnson is an active participant in all recruiting activities associated with the Art Department at SVSU. He also volunteers his services in the community by putting on art and design workshops for local schools.

The selected faculty members were presented with their awards at the Faculty Association Banquet on Friday, Oct. 13.

A handful of high-achieving SVSU students were also awarded scholarships at the banquet.

Carmen Randall, a nursing major from Bay City; and Kristi Root, a social work major from Standish, were awarded the Chrysalis Scholarship.

Rebecca Carson, an athletic training major from Roseville; Kaylyn Schiemann, a Petoskey native in the pre-physical therapy program; and Ashley Teets, an athletic training major from Newport, were awarded the Faculty Association Endowed Scholarship.

November 9, 2017

SVSU to host Veterans Day Celebration - Thursday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Curtiss Hall Banquet Rooms at SVSU

Saginaw Valley State University will host its Veterans Day Celebration on Thursday, Nov. 9, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in SVSU Curtiss Hall's banquet rooms. All SVSU students, staff and faculty members are invited to the event.

Douglas Szczepanski, a retired U.S. Army sergeant and 2011 SVSU alumnus, will serve as the event's keynote speaker. The Purple Heart recipient was severely wounded by a suicide car bomb while on patrol in Baghdad in 2005. After a long recovery period, Szczepanski returned to school and founded his own nonprofit organization, Miracle Soldier Inc. Szczepanski now serves as a motivational speaker.

The Veterans Day Celebration also will feature the reading of the winning entry in a recent Veterans Day-themed essay contest as well as a performance by Encore, a registered student organization of singers, musicians and dancers.

For more information, contact SVSU's Military Student Affairs at (989) 964-2462.

November 9, 2017

SVSU students display speaking skills during Sims Public Speaking Competition

Six Saginaw Valley State University students demonstrated their proficiency in public speaking on Friday, Nov. 3 during SVSU's 28th annual Sims Public Speaking Competition. The competition allows students to hone their oral communication skills while presenting on topics of their choosing.  

First place was awarded to Zac Peterson, a first-year marketing major from Midland, for his presentation titled "Male Body Standards." The distinction earned him a $400 cash prize. 

Five other students earned accolades for their presentations during the competition:

• Allison Milke, a communication major from Macomb, was awarded the second place $250 cash prize.
• Jill Castle, a communication major from Standish, was awarded the third place $150 cash prize.
• Abbey Leach, a communication major from Frankenmuth, was awarded the fourth place $100 cash prize.
• Shafayat Alam, a management major from Bangladesh, was a finalist in the competition, earning a $75 cash prize.
• Tiler Jewell, a creative writing major from Essexville, was also a finalist, earning a $75 cash prize.

The competition is endowed by Larry and Linda Sims, long-time supporters of SVSU. Linda currently serves as senior executive assistant to the president/executive director for communications and external affairs at SVSU; she also previously served as chair of SVSU’s Board of Control.

November 9, 2017

SVSU student paper wins first place at Michigan Sociological Association conference

A Saginaw Valley State University student’s determination in her study resulted in high praise for her academic paper. Kellie Rankey, a creative writing major and sociology minor from Saginaw, won the 2017 Student Paper Award from the Michigan Sociological Association.

Rankey presented her paper, “A Framework for Creating Positive Change: Solution for Slum Improvement through Local Empowerment,” at the association’s annual conference in Grand Rapids Saturday, Oct. 28.

Rankey's paper aimed to examine life in the Mumbai slums in order to identify common elements from successful slum redevelopment through community engagement.

“I looked at non-governmental organizations, I looked at statistics, and a history of how the slums developed and then methods that the government has been using and why those don't work," she said.

Rankey devoted many hours of research to the project, including the review of several different case studies that further examined the problem of wealth disparity and slum population increase.

“I found a few case studies of slum improvement processes that had actually worked,” she said. “They used frameworks that started from the bottom up, meaning that they involved the slum dwellers as partners in development.”

For members of the association, Rankey’s approach to addressing community improvement in Mumbai is what set her apart from other students during the conference. In focusing on the needs of the community and several examples of working solutions, Rankey's paper stood out to fellow scholars in her field.