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Applause

Optometry Professor Jim Saladin displays the Saladin Near Point Balance Card, which reduces the time it takes to assess the aim and focus of the eyes.

Saladin Obtains University’s First-Ever Patent
    The Saladin Near Point Balance Card, developed by Optometry Professor Jim Saladin, dramatically reduces the time it takes for vision professionals to assess patient problems in the aiming and focusing of the eyes. By doing so Saladin obtained a patent, which is the first-ever assigned to the University.
    Presently used tests for near-point eye function can take more than 10 minutes. With the Saladin Card, assessments are completed in about a minute.
    “Taking advantage of procedures I developed, the card was designed so technicians can do quite a bit of the testing,” Saladin said. “We can’t afford inefficiencies these days.”
    Vision professionals use the 6” x 8” laminate card to assess the near-point eye function of patients.
    “The card checks for fixation disparity and heterophoria,” explained Saladin, who has done extensive research on these problems.
Fixation disparity is a minor misalignment of the eyes, while heterophoria is a more serious misalignment. Saladin’s research has shown that fixation disparity and heterophoria should have a known relationship to each other if the vision system is operating efficiently. He noted that some fixation disparity is expected, and the card helps determine if there’s an abnormality.
    “A problem in binocular function can occur when the eyes are not precisely aiming and focusing at the same distance and on the same object,” Saladin said. “Such problems often lead to headaches, sleepiness and other forms of discomfort.”
    Ferris State University has entered into an agreement with Bernell Corporation in Mishawaka, Ind., to manufacture and market the device. Saladin said his card sells as a kit for about $95 to vision professionals.
    Patenting the Saladin Card took more than two years, although the system has been selling for more than a year with a patent pending. Ray Dickinson, government document specialist and trademark depository library coordinator for Ferris, said many Ferris professors hold patents, but Saladin’s is the first one assigned to the University. Dickinson helped Saladin do a patent search on the U.S. Patent & Trademark office Web site to facilitate final work by a patent attorney.
    Saladin, a professor of Optometry at Ferris since 1978, earned his O.D. in Optometry from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in Physiological Optics from the University of California - Berkeley. He also taught at Ohio State University and was a Defense Department consultant on stereoscopic mapping for almost 20 years.

Professor of Social Sciences and Jim Crow Museum Curator David Pilgrim received Ferris State’s Distinguished Teacher Award.

Pilgrim Named Ferris’ Distinguished Teacher
    David Pilgrim, professor of Social Sciences, received Ferris State’s Distinguished Teacher Award for 2003-04.  Pilgrim was chosen from a group of 10 nominees for the honor.
    “David consistently maintains an open, student-centered classroom environment, is thoughtful and reflective regarding his well-organized lessons and is expert at immersing his students in the class content,” said Karen Norman, chair of the award.  “He is committed to the success of his students, to continually improve his teaching skills and to Ferris State University.”
    The selection was the result of the award committee’s year-long efforts, which included classroom visits, administration and evaluation of hundreds of student surveys, and evaluating nominees’ essays and curriculum vitaes.
    “I am honored and humbled because Ferris State University has many top-flight teachers who care deeply about their students,” Pilgrim said.
    Pilgrim is the primary donor and curator of the University’s Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. He has been widely quoted by such national media outlets as the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times and National Public Radio concerning issues of race and culture. Also, he is beginning work on the Sarah Baartman Room, which will be devoted to understanding historical and contemporary sexism.
    In addition to his teaching duties, Pilgrim also is a consultant to Public Museum of Grand Rapids’ Ethnic History Exhibit and has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Michigan Museums Association.  Pilgrim holds a B.A. in Sociology from Jarvis Christian College, and a master’s and Ph.D. in Sociology from The Ohio State University.  He has taught at Ferris since 1990.

FPW Woman of the Year Donna Smith (L) receives her award from last year’s recipient, Lee Ann Westman.

Smith Named FPW Woman of the Year
    The Ferris Professional Women named Professor of Communication Donna Smith its Woman of the Year at its annual luncheon last April at the Rankin Center on the Big Rapids campus.
    The award was given “To honor her work to foster women’s participation in all areas of academe, her forward-thinking professionalism, and the seamless integration of academic expertise into teaching, service, and scholarship at the University.”
    Smith has been a faculty member at Ferris since 1990. Prior to joining the University she was a federal grants writer for the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University, and a producer and talk show host for TV 9&10 of Cadillac and Traverse City.
    In addition to her teaching responsibilities at Ferris State, she has acted as a mentor to new Communication faculty members, produced videos of campus services for incoming students and done consulting work through the University’s Center for Professional and Corporate Development on such topics as conflict resolution, leadership and mentoring.
    She also has conducted other communication seminars on team building, public speaking and related topics for a number of organizations including the State of Michigan, the Cooperative Extension Service of Michigan State University and the Michigan Education Association.
    Smith gave a speech entitled “The Lowering of the Hurdles” at the FPW annual graduation breakfast honoring graduating senior women.
    “The hurdles that women have to face have been lowered but not eliminated,” said Smith. “My hope is that the young women graduating now will face even fewer obstacles in the future.”

Rhonda Bowman brings a smile to the face of one of the many dental patients Ferris students treated during their spring break.

Students Serve Guyana Over Spring Break
    Senior Dental Hygiene students took part in a dental mission trip to Guyana, South America, over spring break.
    Ferris students Rhonda Bowman, Melissa Hodges, Angela Drews and Jenna Werra participated along with four dentists, including part-time clinic faculty member Don French, D.D.S.. Melissa’s father, Scott Hodges, D.D.S., was one of the other dentists who took part in the mission.
    The trip was a far cry from the stereotypical spring break images of students partying on popular tourist beaches.
    “There were times I was almost crying between patients,” recalled Melissa. “People from six villages came to us when they heard we were there.”
    South America’s third smallest country after Suriname and Uruguay, Guyana is populated with slightly more than 700,000 people, many of whom are ancestors of slaves and indentured servants.
    Although today the country suffers from poverty, the roots of its colonization lay in the quest by explorers from several countries in the latter half of the century to discover the fabled “Golden City” of El Dorado.
    Natives told stories of great riches up the Orinoco river, a country of people powered in gold dust, “And farre beyond them a great towne called El Dorado.” The quest led to centuries of colonial rule—first by the Dutch and then the British—with independence being achieved only in 1966.
    A total of 14 team members provided preventive, repair and support services to more than 350 patients during the course of the week. The team received high praise from the Ministry of Health and the people of the town of Crabwood Creek for their contribution to the oral health of the community. The trip was sponsored by Trinity Fellowship Evangelical Free Church of Big Rapids.