Crimson & Gold
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Applause |
 Pharmacy Dean Ian Mathison (right) became a fellow of the RBS during a ceremony with Dr. Hemant Patel. |
Dr. Ian Mathison, dean of Ferris’ College of Pharmacy, has been selected as a fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
Fellowship is conferred on those Society members who have made outstanding original contributions to the advancement of pharmaceutical knowledge or attained distinction in the science, practice, profession or history of pharmacy. The formal award ceremony was held at the Royal Society Headquarters at Lambeth Palace Road in London where Dr. Hemant Patel, president of the Royal Society, presented Mathison with a certificate recognizing his designation as a Fellow.
Mathison earned his B.Pharm., Ph.D. and D.Sc. from the University of London, England. His career has been hallmarked by numerous academic and professional awards and recognitions. His research endeavors on novel chemical structures for anti-arrhythmic and anti-hypertensive activities have garnered significant grant support and numerous patents.
He is professionally active on a national and international level serving as a member of a number of national advisory committees, as a consultant relating to the education of pharmacists, as a World Health Organization consultant to the Malaysian Ministry of Health and as an external examiner of the University of Sains Pharmacy School in Penang, Malaysia.
To share his global understanding of the pharmacy profession with Ferris students, Mathison developed a student exchange program for senior pharmacy students that enables reciprocal exchanges between Ferris and the University of Bath (England) and the University of Angers (France).
In honor of Mathison’s recognition, the College of Pharmacy Alumni Association has endowed a $50,000 student scholarship in his name.
Ferris Athletes Embrace Community Engagement
 Accessibility Awareness is just one of the causes Ferris student-athletes help advance. |
Bulldog student-athletes and teams, in partnership with General Mills Community Action, have taken part in a wide variety of local community service-related projects over the past several months. Ferris student-athletes and coaches spend countless hours in local schools and contribute to a wide array of organizations in the local area and surrounding communities.
These community engagement projects have ranged from the men’s and women’s basketball teams’ Accessibility Awareness Day wheelchair game to the soccer team’s Alzheimer’s Walk; from the hockey team’s “Have Fun, Play Hockey” clinic to the football team’s cancer patient visits. These efforts and many others like them help Ferris realize the NCAA philosophy of developing students and communities through shared experiences.
General Mills’ Community Action partnership with Ferris Athletics is a part of their mission to enrich the vitality of neighborhoods and cities across the country. Their strategic objective is to support innovative organizations and programs that improve their manufacturing communities, with a focus on youth nutrition and fitness, education, arts and culture, and social services. General Mills is a corporate leader for the United Way. Nationwide, General Mills employees donated more than $11 million in 2007. This generosity is exemplified on a local level in Big Rapids. Yoplait’s employees donated more than $135,000 to the Mecosta-Osceola United Way in 2007.
Ferris Foundation Event Benefits Excellence
 Best-selling author Mitch Albom addressed the 10th annual Ferris Foundation for Excellence Benefit. |
The Ferris Foundation hosted its 10th annual Foundation for Excellence Benefit on Friday, Nov. 7, at the historic Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids.
After an elegant dinner in the Ambassador Ballroom, The Ferris Foundation bestowed its first-ever Humanitarian Award on Dr. Ronald Mahoney (see the article “Heart of Gold”).
Then it was time for the featured guest of the evening, best-selling author and journalist, radio host and sports writer, Mitch Albom, to make remarks. Albom has authored 10 books, including the phenomenal best-sellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie.
Hosted this year by Grand Rapids magazine editor Carole Valade, the event raised a record $100,000 for the Foundation. Proceeds promote excellence among Ferris State University students, faculty and staff through the Foundation for Excellence Scholarship program, Exceptional Merit Grants Award program and other University endowments.
The University and the Foundation express their gratitude to the following businesses and individuals for their support:
Platinum Sponsors:
Barnes and Noble College Bookstores; Dell; Rockford Construction Company, Inc.; Wolverine Power Marketing Cooperative.
Gold Sponsors:
AT&T; Charter Business; The Christman Company; Clark Construction Company; Coca-Cola; The Leona Group; Nortel Networks; St. Ives and the Villages at Tullymore.
Silver Sponsors:
Drs. John and Linda Byington; DiClemente Siegel Design Inc.; David and Carol Drake; Patsy and Dave Eisler; Gary Trimarco Automotive; Meijer; Peak Positions; Siemens Building Technologies; Triangle Associates, Inc.; Warner, Norcross & Judd, LLP.
Table Sponsors:
Fifth Third Bank; Granger Construction Company; The Granger Group; Linkfield and Cross Agency, Inc.; Dr. Ronald and Mrs. Donna Mahoney; Neumann/Smith Architecture; Randy Phelps; St. Ives and The Villages at Tullymore; Wolverine Power Marketing Cooperative.
Bronze Sponsors:
Aon; Big Rapids Products; Armstrong International, Inc.; Blue Cross/Blue Shield; Chemical Bank; Community Counseling Service Co., LLC; Edward Jones Investments; Essilor Lenses; FSU Catering; Fund Evaluation Group; Gordon Food Service; Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc.; Huntington Bank; Independent Bank; Intelligent Connections; Isabella Bank and Trust; Lerner, Csernai & Fath Financial Group, Inc.; Mercantile Bank; Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones; Pace and Partners, Inc.; Plante & Moran, PLLC; Quiznos; Rogers Printing, Inc.; Seating Concepts; Starbucks.
MRWA Receives Great Lakes Stewardship Award
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Last fall, Muskegon River Watershed Association Executive Director Gary Noble received a “Michigan Keeper of the Great Lakes Award” in appreciation of efforts to protect, restore and enhance wetlands and uplands critical to the Great Lakes. In partnership with Ferris State University, MRWA’s mission is “to preserve, protect and enhance the natural, historic and cultural resources of the Muskegon River Watershed through educational and scientific initiatives, while supporting positive economic development, agricultural and quality of life initiatives of organizations working in the river watershed.”
Presented by Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who co-sponsored the award along with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Office of the Great Lakes and Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the award recognized the number and variety of MRWA’s projects and the exceptional collaboration MRWA fostered with its partners.
“The entire MRWA staff, volunteer Executive Board and committees are dedicated to preserving, protecting and restoring the Muskegon River. Of course, none of this would be possible without the initial and on-going funding support we’ve received from various funders, most notably the Wege Foundation,” said Noble.
The award was presented during a “Stakeholder Outreach” meeting in Muskegon, one of eight meetings around the state, to gather regional input for the Michigan Great Lakes Protection and Restoration Initiative launched by Lt. Gov. Cherry in partnership with the OGL and MUCC. The initiative recognizes the importance of looking to our rivers and near-shore areas as the vital link between the state’s watersheds and the health of the Great Lakes. One objective of the initiative is to recognize and celebrate the efforts of state and local watershed groups that are protecting and restoring watersheds in Michigan.
“We appreciate the award as another way to inform the community of the important work in our watershed,” said MRWA Executive Board Chairman Wayne Groesbeck.
More information about the MRWA is available from their Web site at www.mrwa.org.