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President's Letter |
Carlson Shoots Record-setting Katke Score
The part of campus that is perhaps more visited than any other is Ferris’ Katke Golf Course. The course is home to both the Professional Golf Management program and the men’s and women’s varsity golf teams. Like any other part of campus, it offers students the chance to excel. Last fall, senior Jeff Carlson did just that. Carlson set the Katke course record by shooting a 60 during a qualifying round for the men’s team. In the process Carlson, a PGM major, came tantalizingly close to realizing every golfer’s nearly impossible dream carding a 59. Carlson needed just 32 strokes to conquer Katke’s front nine and blazed through the back nine in 28. Along the way Carlson notched one eagle, 11 birdies and had just one hiccup on the round with his bogey on the par-four fifth hole. “I totally forgot I had three-putted number 5 until someone asked me about my round in the clubhouse,” says Carlson. On the back nine, he one-putted every green. “It was one of those days where the hole looked big as a trashcan.” Carlson credits fellow golf team members Eric Dovre, Kelbe Lee and Eric Lilleboe with keeping him loose. “We were just having a good time,” he says. Last year the three-time letterwinner, along with teammate Kyle Mason, was named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar in recognition of his accomplishments in the classroom as well as on the course. So the next time you’re on campus, feel free to stop by Katke and try to beat Carlson’s 60. Just remember that’s for 18 holes. Groundbreaking Kicks Off IRC Renovation
On Friday, Oct. 13, 2006, members of the Ferris community, along with Rockford Construction Company, Inc. and Neumann Smith and Associates, gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony to highlight the renovation and expansion of the University’s Interdisciplinary Resource Center. “The renovation of the IRC will allow Ferris to remain true to its roots of being a learning-centered institution that is a leader in fostering innovation in the career-oriented, technological and professional education fields,” said Board of Trustees Chair Arthur Tebo. The renovated facility will feature 54,700 square-feet of educational space, with an additional 6,000 square-feet of space included in a connector between the IRC and College of Business buildings. “The overarching mission is for the IRC to become an exceptional facility that will foster innovation in teaching and learning, scholarship and engagement, with the ultimate goal of advancing student success,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Harris. When first constructed in 1969, the “Audiovisual Center of Ferris State College” consisted of 49,000 square feet divided into an instructional wing, and a two-floor service wing of studios, offices and other spaces. It cost approximately $2.1 million dollars, including $340,000 worth of equipment. The Audiovisual Center, along with the adjacent library building, comprised the Ferris Learning Center. By the 1973-74 school year, the building was being called the School of Education Building. In 1987, the School of Education moved into the newly renovated Bishop Hall. The building name changed to the Instructional Resource Center to reflect its revised purpose. The building has never undergone substantial revisions. The building was repaired in 1998 following damages from a freak October tornado. Once completed, the updated facility will feature state-of-the-art teaching spaces, seminar rooms for individual or group study, along with formal and informal gathering spaces. “With state-of-the-art classrooms and the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, the IRC is a wonderful example of the support we provide for our vision of being a learning-centered university,” said President David Eisler. “It also facilitates continued learning outside of class, something we believe is very important.” The $8.5 million project is expected to be complete for the start of the Fall 2007 semester. $1 Million Jim Crow Museum Campaign Continues
“Learning from the Past: Changing Lives” is the theme of the $1 million fundraising campaign for the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. The museum uses Jim Crow-era objects to show that racism was wrong and is wrong. More than 4,000 such artifacts comprise the museum’s collection. Currently the collection is housed in a single room in the Arts and Sciences commons. With expanded physical space, the museum will be a truly unique environment, allowing visitors to experience the many manifestations of racist expression that existed throughout the Jim Crow period and which persist even today. The expanded museum will display selected items with appropriate signage to place the artifacts in their historical and social context. At present the collection is only available to visitors, primarily groups, by previous appointment so that docents may help explain the items’ cultural importance. The museum’s Web site (www.ferris.edu/jimcrow) has a fundraising video for those interested to see how their support can make this resource more widely available. In addition to accessing the JCM fundraising information, visitors to the page can read answers to the “Question of the Month,” read letters to the museum and enter the virtual museum.
Project SEED Helps Nurture Future Chemists
Kate Dykhuis spent four weeks last summer at Ferris State University studying the synthesis of symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted alkyl polyamines as potential anti-cancer agents selective for breast cancer. And she’s not even a college student. Yet. Project SEED, a program designed by the American Chemical Society, gives disadvantaged high school junior and senior students encouragement and opportunities to pursue careers in science. Dykhuis, a 2006 Project SEED student, participated in an eight-week chemistry research project at Calvin College and at Ferris, where she spent four weeks in the laboratory of Pharmacy assistant professor Tracey Boncher. The program consists of Summer I & II sessions, for first-year and second-year participants, respectively. Students are awarded $2,275 for Summer I and $2,600 for Summer II sessions. ACS awarded Dykhuis $1,675 and Ferris’ Office of Minority Student Affairs contributed $600 in matching funds to support Dykhuis’ stipend. “This program was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I thank everyone involved for making such a profound impact on my life,” said Dykhuis. SEED gave her the opportunity to gain experience in the chemistry field an important element in encouraging students to pursue science as a career choice. The program helped Dykhuis, being raised by a single parent, to see college as a real possibility for her future. In addition to working with her in the laboratory, Boncher helped Dykhuis learn how to apply for scholarships and grants that could help to further her education. To learn more about the American Chemical Society’s Project SEED visit www.chemistry.org and use the quick finder, located at the top of the page. |
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