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President's Letter |
Donations Document University History
Slips certifying credits earned in various subjects filled out by hand and signed by W.N. Ferris; a program guide for the 1922 Ferris Institute Commencement; a cast photo of the play Much Ado About Betty, performed at FI April 8, 1922; a program for the 1951 homecoming; and a memorial edition of the Mecosta County News from March 29, 1928, mourning the passing of Woodbridge N. Ferris ("Ferris' departure leaves a vacancy in the hearts of many that can never be filled.") These are just a few of the items recently gifted to the University by Ruth and Ed Jameson (EHS '70 and AS'70, respectively). Ed met President Eisler in Boyne Falls and started talking about a box of material related to Ferris that was given to Ruth by her aunt, Alice Bond. "My aunt told us the material belonged to another one of our relatives, Elizabeth Caroline Keating," says Ruth. "President Eisler was very interested in the material." Keating was one of the earliest graduates of Ferris' College of Business. She earned her degree in 1922. Keating retired as executive assistant to all the partners of the accounting firm Ernst & Ernst in Detroit. She was originally hired personally by company founder A.C. Ernst and had a warm relationship with the Ernst family. The Jamesons brought the material to Big Rapids, where University Archivist Melinda McMartin cataloged the material to make it accessible for future use. The University's History Task Force is always looking to increase the number of artifacts that preserve the story of the school's founding and growth. "Documents like these help the University maintain a sense of continuity with its past," says task force member Mary Kay MacIver. "Especially because of the fire that destroyed the Old Main building in 1951, we're eager to receive papers and material objects that help us shore up the historical record." If you have anything appropriate that relates to Ferris history and would like to make a gift to the History Task Force, please contact MacIver at (231) 591-3739. Rankin Art Gallery Continues Full Schedule
Ferris' Rankin Art Gallery is in the middle of one of its busiest exhibition schedules. The 2006-07 year has a special emphasis on women's art, finishing the season with a show featuring prints from female artists on loan from Ferris Humanities professor Kimn Carlton-Smith, and a show by Kendall College of Art and Design graduate Shelley Newman-Stevens. The 2007 portion of the gallery's season begins with an exhibition of "Ephiphany Glass" by April Wagner and Jason Ruff, Jan. 8-26, with a reception on Jan. 11. The two Detroit-area artists collaboratively produce works in glass blown in free form by a method termed "fazzoletto." The pair take this traditional method and give it a uniquely contemporary feel. The effect of many of their pieces is almost of underwater life captured in its natural environment. Sculptures and paintings by William Allen will be on display at the gallery Feb. 6-23, with a reception on Feb. 8. "These sculptures are stories that evoke subconscious images and fragments of memory," says Allen, whose sometimes Dali-esque figures are both compelling and disquieting. Allen's work draws from sources as disparate as Inuit culture and the contemporary New York art scene.
"I started collecting these works while in graduate school," says Carlton-Smith. "My dissertation research while attending Rutgers afforded me the opportunity to meet several of these women while they were still alive. I am delighted to have the opportunity to share my collection with the greater campus community." The Rankin Art Gallery finishes the 2007 season with work from Kendall College of Art and Design graduate Newman-Stevens from April 8 - May 2, with a reception on April 12. Newman-Stevens says that her representational paintings are concerned with "how we wish to be perceived in accordance with society's ever-changing standards and expectations." Many of her paintings use masked figures as metaphors to explore the relationship between the personal and the social. For more information, visit www.ferris.edu/gallery. Photography 101, "Keep it Simple"
In the movie Contact, the character played by Jodie Foster is informed that her explanation of strange events can't be right because there are simpler solutions. She's told it's an example of Occam's Razor - a 14th-century philosophical concept that can be boiled down, more or less, to "keep it simple." The same applies to photography. Late last summer a pair of goldfinches regularly visited a sunflower that grew right outside the window of our office on campus. As photographers, we saw it as a great opportunity to make an image. We set up a camera complete with reflective umbrella and remote shutter near the sunflower - which, predictably, scared away the birds. After that, we just kept a camera close at hand and shot through the open window. So keep your camera close at hand, keep your eyes open and keep it simple. Bill Bitzinger and Matt Yeoman, University Photography Ferris Supports "Troops to Teachers" Ferris' Office of Academic Affairs is supporting the School of Education's participation in the Troops to Teachers program, whose primary goal is recruiting and placing quality retiring active duty and reserve personnel into Michigan classrooms. Specifically, the Troops to Teachers program at Ferris will concentrate on developing science, mathematics, special needs, and career and technical teachers for high-schools in rural school districts. To implement this program, Ferris is partnering with the Michigan Department of Education, American Council of Education, Western States Certification Consortium, (comprised of 10 states with reciprocal certification guidelines) and local and intermediate school districts. Because the focus of the program is on high school needs in rural school districts, superintendents and principals who belong to the Michigan Small and Rural Schools Association recently pledged to assist the School of Education in placing participants in their school districts for student teaching, and hiring them once they finish the program. According to evaluation studies completed by Old Dominion University and the National Center for Education Information, the teachers who complete this program • Have a high retention rate Currently, 40,000 Troops to Teachers participants work in public school systems across the country, particularly in the south and west. Michigan is in the early phases of the program, having begun in 2002. |
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