COEHS Good News
April 25, 2012
COEHS
- On April 21, 2012, the College of Education and Human Services awarded forty scholarships
during its 38th Annual Awards Banquet.
Criminal Justice (CJ)
- Tim Murphy, a 1983 Ferris State University Criminal Justice graduate, who retired
in September 2011 as the Deputy Director of the FBI, came to campus on April 19, 2012
to give a presentation to the CJ students. Mr. Murphy maintains the title of Special
Assistant to the Director of the FBI and continues serving the FBI even after his
retirement. He now works as an executive for a private holding company.
Recreation, Leisure Services & Wellness (RLSW)
- Mr. Kevin Smith, finance director for the Battle Creek Parks and Recreation, was honored
as the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus by the department of Recreation, Leisure Services,
and Wellness. Mr. Smith is an active member of the RLSW advisory panel, works closely
with the Michigan Recreation and Park Association, and provides continued guidance
and financial support for the students.
- Ferris State University Academic Service Learning (ASL) honored Dr. Susan Hastings-Bishop
as the Outstanding ASL Faculty Member on April 23, 2012.
School of Education (SOE)
- Lisa Besemer and Heather Hockin represented the School of Education at the Annual
Career and Technical Education Conference on February 5, 2012.
- On March 10, 2012, Monica Frees attended the 2012 Michigan Reading Conference.
- Dr. Hikaru Murata attended the National American Alliance for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance Convention and Expo on March 13, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts.
- On April 23, 2012. Dr. Jim Powell attended the 2012 Governor’s Education Summit in
Lansing.
School of Digital Media (DM)
- The TDMP program produced a series of videos and slides for the WISE Mystery Dinner
Theatre, a Big Rapids community event, on Friday, April 13, 2012 and raised funds
for the organization.
- The 12th Annual Ferris Video Festival was held on Friday, April 20, 2012. It was a
great success with engaging speakers on a variety of topics including audio, camera
operation, dolly grip, freelancing, budgeting and networking. A highlight of the day
was a workshop which featured the documenting of a scene shot in film style. A dolly,
track, professional camera, audio and theater students came together to capture the
scene. Students and guests (high school students and area professionals alike) attended
and enjoyed the day.
ROTC
- Eighteen FSU ROTC students participated in a field training exercise with six other
universities at Fort Custer, located in the Battle Creek area, in March 2012 to help
prepare the juniors for their four-week evaluation this summer.
March 28, 2012
Criminal Justice (CJ)
- Mr. Timothy Murphy, a 1983 Ferris CJ graduate, recently retired as Deputy of the Federal
Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Mr. Murphy will be visiting Ferris State University
on April 19, 2012 to discuss his distinguished career with the Criminal Justice students.
His presentation will be held at 11 a.m. in Business 111.
Recreation, Leisure Services & Wellness (RLSW)
- Dr. Susan Hastings-Bishop will be retiring at the end of spring semester after 24
years of dedicated service to the department of Recreation, Leisure Services, and
Wellness.
- Dr. Matt Wagenheim and his students in RMLS 350, Marketing Recreation and Leisure
Services, are working with the Mecosta County Parks on a marketing plan.
School of Education (SOE)
- Deondre Taylor, a 2011 Mathematics Education graduate, has obtained a full-time teaching
position with the Grand Rapids Public School Systems.
School of Digital Media (DM)
- Angela Mensah, a 1996 graduate of the Television Production Program, returned to campus
on March 14, 2012 to lead discussions among Ferris employees on issues of hiring a
more diverse workforce based on her research. She currently teaches Communications
at a community college in Ohio and has earned both a Masters degree in that field
from Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University.
Angela is featured in the March 19, 2012 issue of Ferris in Focus as the subject of
the My Bulldog Story segment.
- Nick Kuiper presented his documentary, "Preemies: A Father's Perspective" at the Missaukee/Wexford
Career Tech Center in Cadillac on March 16, 2012. The presentation contained two different
sessions with their Allied Health Professions and Digital Media Production students,
and they discussed caring for Preemies and also Documentary production.
- TDMP students, Marketia Bady and Mark Davis, were featured in the Pioneer newspaper
on Thursday, March 15, 2012 for their work on a feature they did about the Big Rapids
Downtown Business Association. The segment was produced under the direction of Glen
Okonoski as part of TDMP's Advanced Producing and Directing course.
- TDMP students returned from spring break early to volunteer as crew for Ferris State's
second round home hockey series against Bowling Green State University. Students worked
with Steve Cox and Glen Okonoski to provide coverage of the games on March 9-11, 2012.
The games were streamed to record audiences throughout the United States and around
the world.
ROTC
- Twelve FSU cadets had a safe and rewarding trip to Fort Custer from March 16-18, 2012
where they joined with twenty-five CMU cadets to hone their Squad Leader skills.
- Cadet Josh Wolletz has been selected for Northern Mountain Warfare Training in Alaska
this coming summer. He was the only cadet selected out of the five state region.
February 29, 2012
COEHS
- At the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Meeting in Chicago
on February 19, Dr. Michelle Johnston, President of the Michigan Association of Colleges
for Teacher Education, facilitated a meeting on advocacy.
Criminal Justice (CJ)
- To work on student success and retention, the Law Enforcement Academy collaborated
with the Justice Learning Center (JLC) by connecting seniors already in the Academy
with the freshmen to provide tours and explain daily expectations. The group participated
in a PRISM simulation shooting scenario after which the seniors debriefed the freshmen.
Furthermore, academy staff explained expectations as well as pitfalls to the students
who had difficulty completing the program.
Recreation, Leisure Services & Wellness (RLSW)
- Drs. Susan Hastings-Bishop and Matt Wagenheim took students to the annual Michigan
Recreation and Parks Association Conference where the students volunteered as facilitators
and hosts.
- Dr. Matt Wagenheim attended the American Association of Colleges and Universities
Conference on general education in New Orleans as part of his work on the General
Education Task Force.
School of Education (SOE)
- The article, “Effects of Quality Improvement System on Child Care Centers,” was selected
as an Honorable Mention in the Journal of Research in Childhood Education Distinguished Education Research Article Award Program. The article was co-authored by Dr. Amy Kavanaugh.
- Dr. Mike Ennis was elected President of the Michigan Association for Community College
Educator Programs for 2011-2013. He also presented at the Michigan Career Education
Conference 2011 - Presentation Titles: What's New Online to Support CTE and Reaching Out to Support CTE Instructors: ProMoTEd and the University of Michigan Conference on Community College Articulation - Presentation
Title: Does Pre-service Educator Training/Education in Community Colleges Help Michigan?
- Nancy Abeare, a Master of Education Curriculum and Instruction student, had her capstone
grant project, which requested 40 iPads for her elementary education class, funded
for $24,000.
- The autism cohort started with 22 students without any advertising.
School of Digital Media (DM)
- The Ferris State University Big Rapids-based faculty in Television and Digital Media
Production hosted an event for the Grand Rapids-based faculty on February 21, 2012.
- Nick Kuiper presented his documentary, "Preemie", for Festival of the Arts at Artworks
on Friday, February 10. Additionally, "Preemie" won Third Place in the Documentary
Feature at the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts.
- Glen Okonoski was elected to serve as Chair of the Board for the West Michigan Film
and Video Alliance. The mission of the organization is to promote a thriving film
and video production community in West Michigan. Glen has been a member of the board
for four years and for the past two years has served as Vice-Chair.
ROTC
- Three more FSU ROTC cadets were able to contract, bringing the total to a record high
of 24 officially contracted cadets.
- With last minute registrations, ROTC has 62 students registered for a combined 170
credits for Spring 2012.
