The Alden and Vada Dow Creativity Foundation, in conjunction with the Saginaw Bay Writing Project, is hosting the Michigan Authors' Series.
Four well-known Michigan authors will read their work Tuesday, July 24 and Wednesday, July 25 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Saints and Sinners Lounge at the Midland Center for the Arts. The series is free and open to the public.
“These four authors represent some of the best writers in the state of Michigan today, and their work – which includes poetry, memoir and fiction – is worth reading and hearing,” said Helen Raica-Klotz, director of Saginaw Valley State University's Writing Center and the director of the Saginaw Bay Writing Project.
Tuesday night, authors Linda Nemec Foster and Anne-Marie Oomen will read from their co-authored book, “The Lake Michigan Mermaid.”
Nemec Foster has authored 11 collections of poetry and is the first Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work from the Dyer-Ives Foundation.
Oomen has authored several books of memoir and poetry, including “Uncoded Woman” and “Pulling Down the Barn.” She currently teaches at conferences around the country as well as The Solstice MFA at Pine Manor College in Massachusetts and Interlochen's College of Creative Arts.
Authors Zilka Joseph and John Mauk will read from their work on Wednesday night.
Joseph has published two chapbooks, and her first book of poems, “Sharp Blue Search of Flame,” was a Foreword Indie Prize Finalist.
Mauk currently teaches at Miami University and co-directs the Ohio Writing Project. He has written four college textbooks and is the author of a collection of short fiction, “Field Notes for the Earthbound.”
“We are very fortunate to have Oomen, Mauk, Joseph and Nemec Foster as part of our Authors' Series this year, thanks to the generous support of the Alden and Vada Dow Creativity Foundation,” Raica-Klotz said.
The Michigan Author's Series is part of the 2018 Vada B. Dow Writer's Workshop for Area Teachers, funded by the Alden and Vada Dow Creativity Foundation, to support the professional growth of writing teachers in the Great Lakes Bay Region.
The Saginaw Bay Writing Project is an SVSU organization that supports teachers throughout Mid-Michigan through professional development and workshops.
Saginaw Valley State University will display the works of a 20th century Saginaw artist whose legacy resonates with her creative successors in the University Art Gallery this summer.
The exhibition featuring the work of Julia Roecker will be shown from July 2 to Aug. 10.
Art pieces shown in the exhibition will include traditional work in the area of linocut and woodblock prints, as well as silkscreen and impressionist pastel drawings. In addition to these pieces, there will be examples of her sketchbooks displayed.
Roecker shared her skills of art and teaching with the people she inspired during her lifetime.
Born in Saginaw in 1887, she received her art training at the Arts Institute of Chicago. After receiving her education, she returned to her hometown – with her husband Henry – to teach art classes at Saginaw High School.
Roecker then continued to instruct others at Alma College as a professor of art. After retiring from Alma, she finished her career in Saginaw as the director of the Saginaw Art Museum, a title she held for 10 years until her retirement.
The couple's accomplished life is detailed in the book “A Century on Canvas: The Lives and Work of Julia Roberts and Henry Leon Roecker” by Jean Beach.
Julia Roecker was a dynamic artist, as SVSU's studio art technician Sara Clark described.
“There wasn't much in art that she wasn't in charge of at Alma College, so she was constantly working in different media and taking different approaches to her favorite subject matter which consisted largely of flora and fauna,” she said.
Even after her death at the age of 101 in 1988, Clark said that her legacy remains in the region through others.
“She was quite prolific as an artist, and this passion and discipline surely rubbed off on her students and admirers.”
The exhibition is free and open to the public. The art gallery is open daily Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information on SVSU's University Art Gallery, visit www.svsu.edu/artgallery/.
Saginaw Valley State University student Valerie Klein's passion for marketing and her creative spirit paid off recently when she received a scholarship from the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce.
A marketing major from New Lothrop, Klein is one of three students in the region to receive the $1,500 scholarship. High school and college students were eligible. She currently works as the marketing and events coordinator for the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. Greater Michigan Chapter and the Greater Michigan Construction Academy, where she is implementing her marketing skills learned at SVSU.
Although she was not sure what her future career plans were when arriving at SVSU for the first time, Klein soon found her career path.
“As a freshman, I wasn't sure what I wanted to study, but I learned of marketing and fell in love. It really is the creative side to the business world where I can showcase the interesting ideas that pop in my head,” Klein said.
Bill Stec, assistant director of SVSU Career Services, has served as a mentor to Klein. He said her success is a result of her committed efforts in both the classroom and on the job.
“Valerie is such a dedicated marketing student that thinks critically, is open to ideas and perspectives, and is proactive. And it shows, as she has completed three internships with Tri-City Motor Speedway as the operations and marketing intern, Nexteer Automotive as the global supply management resource group co-op and Vector Tech Group as a marketing co-op,” he said. “It has been a joy advising her.”
Klein credits her family, mentors and SVSU for shaping and preparing her for life after her planned graduation in 2019.
“After graduation, I plan to get a full-time job in marketing and stay within the Great Lakes Bay Region. I have really grown within this region and plan to better my skills and help companies and individuals along the way.”
For more information on internship opportunities at SVSU, visit www.svsu.edu/careers.
Saginaw Valley State University's Danielle Slonac continued her accomplished undergraduate career by presenting her research on the geography of innovation in the autonomous vehicle industry at Oxford University in England during The Institute for Global Business Research conference in May.
Growing up only 60 miles from the Motor City of Detroit in St. Clair, Michigan, she said her interest in the auto industry led to researching how the industry will continue to evolve.
“The research I conducted looks at national competitiveness and intellectual property in the autonomous vehicles industry,” Slonac said. “I focused on how various factors influence autonomous vehicle patents by nation and how this impacts which nations will likely become the leaders in this emerging market as it continues to develop.”
George Puia, the Dow Chemical Company Chair in Global Business at SVSU, served as Slonac’s research adviser and traveled with her to Oxford.
“When I found out that I would get to present my research at Oxford University I was incredibly humbled, honored and excited,” Slonac said. “Oxford is such a prestigious and influential university, and to be able to present my research there was an incredible opportunity. I was really grateful for everyone who helped me get there and proud of the hard work it took to make it happen.”
Slonac, a triple major in management, finance and supply chain management, recently completed her four-year career on the SVSU women’s tennis team. Throughout all of these responsibilities, she has maintained a 4.0 grade point average.
Slonac expects to graduate in December; she plans to attend graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. in order to become a business professor.
The Saginaw Valley State University Board of Control approved a contract with the SVSU Support Staff Association (MEA/NEA) during its regular session Monday, June 18.
The three-year agreement covers the period from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2021. Terms call for wage increases of 2 percent in the first year, 1.05 percent in the second year and 1 percent in the third year.
“We appreciate the fine work our dedicated support staff employees provide on a daily basis,” said SVSU President Donald Bachand. “Making a good first impression is so important, and these are the people who keep our campus looking its best, who greet students and families and help them when they have questions, and who do important work behind the scenes to ensure campus operations run smoothly.”
The deal also provides increased flexibility in health care coverage options. As part of the contract, members will be offered a new health insurance option that features a health savings account and lower premiums, in addition to the medical plans previously offered. The agreement includes modest increases in the capped contributions the university makes to employees’ health care coverage under existing plans.
“Overall, we think this is a fair contract,” said Tish Yaros, administrative secretary for Information Technology Services and president of the Support Staff Association. “The new health plan option will take some education to make sure our members understand it, but at the level the university is backing it, that could be a valuable benefit for our employees.”
Yaros said the union is pleased to have the new contract in place.
“We’re here to support the students, and we want them to be served well. We love working here.”
The Support Staff Association represents 168 employees, including secretaries, clerks, and campus facilities personnel. Union membership ratified the contract Tuesday, June 12.
The Saginaw Valley State University Board of control approved a tuition increase of $489 for in-state undergraduate students as part of the 2018-19 general fund operating budget adopted during the Board's regular meeting Monday, June 18.
A Michigan undergraduate student taking 30 credits will pay $10,308 for the upcoming academic year. SVSU students were charged $9,819 during the 2017-18 academic year.
“All budget decisions are made with students and families in mind, and this budget maintains our priorities of providing outstanding opportunities for our students and ensuring access to a high quality education,” said Donald Bachand, SVSU president. “We have significantly expanded our scholarship and financial aid offerings to support students and families, and we continue to work hard to sustain our longstanding commitment to affordability.”
SVSU will continue to have the lowest tuition among the 15 Michigan public universities for 2018-19, even after the increase of 4.98 percent takes effect.
In other action, the Board:
Saginaw Valley State University police officer Matthew Meissner was selected as a 2018 Police Officer of the Year by the Police Officers Association of Michigan.
Meissner formally received the award during the association’s annual convention Thursday, May 24 at noon at the Amway Grand Hotel in Grand Rapids.
Meissner completed a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from SVSU. He has served as an officer for University Police since 2012.
At a time when Michigan is seeing a growing demand for teachers, Saginaw Valley State University will hold a job fair for positions in the education industry Tuesday, June 19 from noon to 2 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall banquet rooms.
The 2018 Education Employment Fair, sponsored by Meemic Insurance-Thomson Agency, is organized by SVSU's Career Services. School districts and other agencies are looking for K-12 teachers, substitutes, principals, assistant principals, teachers for special needs students and other positions.
“I’m hearing from superintendents and principals with openings nearly every day,” said Craig Douglas, dean of the College of Education at SVSU. “We are sharing those opportunities with our students and alumni, but this fair also is a great chance to meet with people face to face and make a connection that could lead to an opportunity now or in the future.”
The employment fair is open to the public.
Mike Major, director of SVSU's Career Services, recommends those who attend be prepared prior to attending the fair. By visiting www.svsu.edu/careers, candidates can view the registration list to research the various districts that the candidate is interested in.
“Candidates who demonstrate specific knowledge of the district to recruiters are well received; it means they are genuinely interested in the position,” Major said.
More than 30 school districts and organizations – nearly all of them in Michigan – have registered in advance for the fair. Some districts already registered include Bay City Public Schools, Detroit Public Schools, Millington Public Schools, Port Huron Area Public Schools, and Saginaw Public Schools.
SVSU alumni and students can pre-register online at the Cardinal Career Network at www.svsu.edu/careers.
For more information about the event, contact SVSU Career Services at (989) 964-4954 or careers@svsu.edu.
University Center, MICHIGAN – The Michigan Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE) has elected Anne Tapp, Ph.D. as president of the Board. She begins her term in June 2018. Tapp, who has served on the MACTE executive board, has worked in education for 27 years. She is currently the assistant dean and professor of Saginaw Valley State University’s College of Education.
“I am honored to be elected president of the MACTE Board during this critically important time for education and educators. We promote the learning of all P-20 students through the promotion of high quality teacher preparation, and Michigan needs outstanding teachers if we are going to be the prosperous state we want to be. We have a great team, and we are ready to roll up our sleeves and put in the work necessary to help teachers and students succeed,” Tapp said.
Betty Kirby, Ph.D., senior associate dean at Central Michigan University states, “The MACTE organization is where educator preparation institutions throughout the state come together as collaborators (not competitors) and advocate for policy and best practices in teacher education. We value the uniqueness of each institution and partner around common concerns and needs that impact us all. Most importantly, we are committed to high quality and rigorous preparation for the next generation of teachers in Michigan.”
MACTE is the state chapter association of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the leading voice on educator preparation. AACTE represents more than 800 postsecondary institutions with educator preparation programs dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are ready to teach all learners.
MACTE represents all institutions of higher education that prepare educators within the state of Michigan. Chapters provide a vehicle for teacher educators to take a unified position on state-specific issues and to meet as partners or as responsible adversaries with the state departments, teachers' organizations, and other stakeholder groups. Chapters can also provide networking, service, and professional learning opportunities for teacher educators across the state.
The presidents from these chapters are members of AACTE's Advisory Council of State Representatives (ACSR). The primary purpose of ACSR is to serve as a collaborative network for chapter leaders across the states and to bring state-level perspectives to all AACTE activities.