Addressing The Community President Eisler gave a Powerpoint presentation to students and faculty last Thursday about the progress of the University. Photo By Ben Kramer, Photo Editor

The meeting was held at 11 AM in the Rankin student center Dome room and was followed by a picnic lunch held on the Quad.

He began speaking about challenges of the university’s past and present and the plans recently set into place to secure the growth, prosperity, and safety of Ferris for years to come.

A picture slideshow gave attendees a glimpse into Ferris’s past. President Eisler highlighted a photo taken September 1st 1884, of the first class at the Big Rapids Industrial School. This class consisted of a mere fifteen people, ten men and five women.

Eisler went on to discuss the progress Ferris has made by viewing photographs of some of the campus structures during the University’s infancy and comparing them to the facilities available today. He noted the new IRC building, touting it as “…an extraordinary opportunity to help support teaching and learning on our campus.”

He also indicated the success of the classroom renovation project, responsible for the restoration of 47 classrooms, which began in the summer of 2005.

Contrasting these recent successes, Eisler then noted some of the challenges Ferris has faced in the past and those it continues to face today.

He referenced the immolation of the Old Main building in 1950 and how, in 1929, the lack of funding during the construction of the Alumni Building resulted in the selling of metal springs from residence mattresses.

The president then addressed continuing troubles with funding citing the struggle to keep tuition costs low in spite of a decrease in the support from the state as well as the poor health of Michigan’s economy. Eisler cited how, despite these trials, tuition has remained affordable and that Ferris students rank fifth highest in the state for amount of financial aid received.

He hopes to further lower tuition subsequent to the successful dispensation of a deferred payment by the state.

The topics of safety and security were also discussed at length. President Eisler stressed the importance of emergency preparedness and exhibited the response plans created throughout the course of a year long project in 2003.

He stated that other universities have modeled their new response plans after Ferris’ comprehensive model. Eisler also emphasized the importance of personal preparedness by Ferris employees, citing the tragedy at Virginia Tech last April as an example of the catastrophic cost of being unprepared.

A recently created emergency response key distributed to every Ferris employee outlines current emergency protocol and is one of many new tools being used to heighten safety awareness. He stressed that Ferris is on the forefront of campus safety and that the majority of changes in policy being implemented by universities in wake of the Virginia Tech shootings are procedures that are already implemented here at Ferris State.

The president then stated plans to review the newly released external review of the shootings and perhaps make further changes to Ferris’ security preparation, improvements in communication of information, and plans for dealing with at risk students.

Eisler also touched on the subjects of diversity and academics on campus. He announced the creation of a new leadership structure via the institution of an academic provost that will emphasize the importance of academics here at Ferris as well as a university-wide diversity program set to begin some time next year.

The conference concluded with the showcasing of some of the structural improvements made on the campus within the past ten years. Such achievements include the erection of the FLITE Library and the Arts and Sciences Commons as well as the establishment of the Art Walk and the renovation of the main Quad.

When asked what students should take away from Thursday’s presentation, Eisler stated, “What I would like to do is to encourage all students to get involved in our future planning efforts because it influences what they are going to receive as a student, what’s going to be impacting their whole lives as students, and the lives of the students that are going to follow them.”

Fun & Games Students and the Ferris Community were treated to a day of fun and games in celebration of the annual Founder's Day event. Photo By Kristyn Sonnenberg, Photographer

Booths were set up in the very center of Ferris’ quad for all types of businesses, promotions and RSO’s. Among the businesses was the Animal Shack, a new pet shop that will be opening in October, and Quinn’s Music with a flyer that got customers 10% off anything in the store.

Among the clubs at Ferris there was Student Government and the International Student Organization. Student Government was interested in hearing what concerns the students had toward the university and any of its policies.

“We are looking for student voices,” explained Tracie Carr.

The International Student Organization was interested in convincing some students to join their program called the Cultural Connection or possibly attending the International Student Workshops that will be held by the group this year.

“It’s a good way to promote interaction between Ferris students and international students,” said Ahmed Laftah.

All the while everyone was wandering around the quad, passing out flyers and getting useful information on campus activities.

The music group called Freewheelin’ was playing bluegrass for the enjoyment of everyone during the Founders Day event. The band has been playing together for close to 30 years. It features Marc Conley on banjo, Buck Robinson on bass, Dave Seabolt on guitar, and Dan Seabolt playing the fiddle.

This year brought with it a myriad of inflatable diversions. Students had their choice of an obstacle course that was themed as the jail “Alcatraz,” pneumatic human hamster balls, or an arcade-style basketball shot game.

For the more adventurous types there was even a bungee run that had the possibility of snapping you back hard enough to land you on your head.

Along the same line was a mechanical surfboard that tried to throw you off like a kid’s version of the mechanical bull. Just because it was smaller didn’t make it any easier to stay on, however.

The celebration even attracted an informal hookah ring and some Frisbee players on the outskirts.

If those weren’t exactly exciting enough there were a few more passive entertainments. Caricature artists, a booth that took photos and turned the pictures into puzzles, and even an air brush tattoo artist was in attendance.

After the fun, the Ferris State Catering service was there with some freshly grilled, tasty food. Diners had the choice of hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, hamburgers, or for the vegetarians they even provided veggie burgers. Chips and pop were also served to compliment the meal.

“We probably had close to 1300 customers between the students and the community,” Ferris State Catering Manager Stan Vallier said.

After dinner, participants could head over to the Ice Cream Social that was held next to the dinner tent to pick up some tasty dessert and possibly a prize. Door prizes were offered raffle style at 6:45 pm and 7pm drawings. Prizes included an afghan depicting Big Rapids historical locations, an ipod, Quiznos coupons and Ferris merchandise.

Whether students arrived there simply because they were starving or because they had actually made plans to attend there was more than enough to keep them busy for the afternoon. Founder’s Day is a celebration of the founders of our university. The festivities are designed to introduce the community to the students and vice versa as well as to provide information and fun for all participants.

For information on any upcoming events check the campus calendar on Ferris’ homepage.

Viviano, a business administration and legal studies student, has worked hard in student Government to accomplish some of his goals over the past year. Viviano’s latest focus has been on bringing legal services to the students of Ferris to help them on any questions they have about the legal system or their rights.

“We’ve hired a local attorney to consult and advise students on all legal matters each week,” said Viviano. “We’re dedicating a lot of resources to make it happen, and are launching a huge advertisement campaign that includes a television commercial.” Student Government viewed the commercial during their meeting, which features common problems college students face. The commercial was arranged by Kyle Webster and the _____group.

Multiple members spoke up during the meeting with ideas and goals for Student Government to accomplish over the 2007-2008 school year. Some things that were mentioned included a 9/11 tribute, more Greek involvement, and increased recruitment. Also, there’s a possibility Student Government will look into creating an “RSO of the Month” which would spotlight the outstanding student organizations on campus.

Other students expressed their feelings about the tension between the faculty and administration over the past year, and how it has influenced them. “Their bickering is affecting our education,” said Webster. “I think students should have a voice in this.”

Some other students expressed that they felt as if many students were having difficulties communicating with Housing and Financial Aid. Student Government hopes to find a way to compromise to make things easier for both the students to ask for help and Ferris staff provide students with information.

“Additionally, we’ll be bringing back two of our most popular programs: the Readership Program and TextbookUnion.com,” said Viviano. TextbookUnion.com and was designed to help students get the lowest prices on their textbooks. The website compares the prices of multiple online sites with one search. It grew in popularity last year as more students discovered the opportunity to save money.

Viviano and the members of Student Government are beginning to plan the semester’s activities and are continuing to strive to meet the students’ needs.

In a memorandum released Aug. 20 by the Office of President Eisler, stakeholder meetings were announced in order to “develop a plan to guide [Ferris’] future.”

“This is an opportunity to discuss and debate, to agree and disagree, and most importantly, grow together as a university,” President Eisler said about the initiative that plans to include a more diverse group of people than ever before in strategic planning methods.

“Ferris State University, like any institution, has to engage in strategic planning. What that means is determining the direction of the institution for the next five to ten years, what are goals, and how are we going to accomplish those goals. To do that, you need to find out a lot of things. You have to figure out what type of conditions you face,” Languages and Literature Professor Robert von der Osten says.

Dr. Von der Osten, the facilitator of the stakeholder conferences and leader of Ferris’ Strategic Planning and Resource Council, elaborated on possible concerns saying, “A Michigan economy is a very powerful force you have to deal with.

“Our geographic location is something else that needs to be addressed. For some people, it is a great location. For others, it is not ideal in terms of job availability. We have to look at what we value as an institution. We have to look at what is distinctive about Ferris.”

Dr. Von der Osten described the stakeholder conferences as “opportunities for members of the community to come and provide their input as we go through the strategic planning process.”

“There are a lot of pieces to [the stakeholder conferences],” Dr. Von der Osten said. One of these main pieces he specified was reviewing the university’s Mission Statement.

“We have to look at what our Mission Statement is and how we view it. We need to figure out what we need to be down the road,” Dr. Von der Osten said.

“Ferris State University will be a national leader in providing opportunities for innovative teaching and learning in career-oriented, technological and professional education” is the present Mission Statement. This and other key university tenets are going to be put under the microscope at the stakeholder meetings.

“For these stakeholder conferences to be effective, you can’t have a small group of people doing it. So you need to have the university community as a whole: faculty, staff, students, members of the Big Rapids community, lots of different people,” Von der Osten said. “The students made a decision to come here so they would be very well-informed as to the core values and the distinctiveness that drew them here.”

“One of the things I have not scheduled a date for, but we will [later this month] is a couple of hour long stakeholder conferences just for students,” Von der Osten said. “It would be exclusively for students. We will work with Student Government to work out times for that and get information across campus about that so they can have input in the process.

“The same will happen when we do the Mission Statement. We will set aside some opportunities for students to have a separate forum. Because sometimes when you have the President, Vice President, deans, professors and so forth, students are sitting there thinking ‘Do I really want to say anything?’

Students unable to make stakeholder meetings can still give input through the MyFSU Portal located at http://myfsu.ferris.edu. After logging in, students can click on the "Groups" icon in the top right corner of the page. Once there, students can click on “Group Index” followed by “Planning/Assessment.” Students would then be able to join the “FSU strategic planning” group.

There are currently open discussions occurring on the message board there about core values, distinctiveness and driving forces. Files are also available explaining discussion topics and strategic planning.

Wrapping up the description of his plan, President Eisler said, “Taken together, our individual insights will help the University chart a proactive path to the future.”

The seminar will be held at the Science Building room 102 from 11 to 11:50 a.m. The seminar will be conducted by Marcia Schuberg, a paraprofessional for the Academic Support Center.

According to Schuberg this particular seminar is to help incoming students be aware of how to manage their time.

In charge of the academic seminars for the Fall Semester is Arlene Krellwitz. She is the Co-supervisor for the Academic Support Center.

“Students will get time management tips to give them a good start for the semester. They will be informed of the importance of 'To Do' lists, scheduling etc.,” Krellwitz said.

The seminar will help benefit students in teaching them how to use their time wisely as well as prepare them for future employment. “If a student is aware of how much actual time that they have in a day, and where that time is available, they will be less apt to waste it. It’s all about organization,” Schuberg said.

The seminar will include tips on how to use a planner, having a daily list, efficiently organizing use of time between classes, and offering help on adjusting to college life.

Many students feel overwhelmed or under prepared. "The first semester can be an adjustment phase, however, they have to realize that grade points are cumulative and they follow you everywhere,” Schuberg said.

According to Krellwitz, there will be 10 more seminars throughout the semester. Each seminar is conducted solely on volunteering from the speakers. Usually the seminars can include from 30 to 100 attendees.

Schuberg stesses, “Students are also reminded that they are making a financial investment and time truly is money.”

The speaker Schuberg is a Ferris Alumni from 1979. She graduated in the Paralegal program. “I have been teaching study skills for six years and have given numerous seminars on a variety of topics including: time management, note taking, test-taking and preparation, reading and memory.” Schuberg said.

Schuberg has previously worked in the public schools as well as a director of the Humanities Council of West Central Michigan.

“I feel that it’s our job to be available to the students as they adjust to college life and to be available as a resource for them. Some students start out doing well, or were excellent students in high school and are suddenly confronted with a difficult class,” Schuberg said.

The academic support center is located in the Arts and Science Commons room 1017. They have tutoring available for most subjects and all services are free. The fall hours are Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Then on Friday. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“The Academic Support center is here to help students learn or to improve their study skills,” Schuberg said.

The previous vice president of Academic Affairs was Dr. Michael Harris who left in May 2007. He has since assumed the same role along with the role of Provost at Kettering University. President Eisler appointed Thomas Oldfield to serve as interim V.P. until the search was completed.

“After [Dr. Harris‘ departure], President Eisler formulated a search committee to find a Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs,” Haneline said.

The committee includes Haneline, who serves as co-chair along with humanities professor Robert Loesch. New Chief Diversity Officer David Pilgrim and Dean of Student Life Leroy Wright are also on the committee along with 14 other people.

“It is very traditional. When there is an opening on the faculty, a search committee is made to find a replacement. Groups of people are formed in order to make a recommendation on who to hire. It is the same process that is used on all levels, it is not a special thing at all,” Haneline said.

“There are faculty, a couple of students, administrators, support staff people. It represents the academic side of the university. Nobody was selected because they are who they are; it was just representative of the whole division,” Haneline said.

“We are working currently to identify the students that will be on the committee. We don’t know for sure at this moment who will get the positions. Hopefully this week we'll know who they are,” Haneline said.

On the website, ferris.edu/htmls/administration/academicaffairs/, the qualities that are being looked for in the new Provost are: leadership, administration, stewardship, relationships and entrepreneurship.

The required qualifications are: an earned terminal degree, credentials consistent with appointment as a tenured full professor and progressively significant academic leadership experience with responsibility as a dean or above. Dozens of other potential qualities were also listed on the website.

“We aren’t to the candidate finding stage yet,” Haneline said. “We have just begun. We have just formulated the position description that has not yet been posted. That was accomplished last week. The committee has been formed and met once. And we are currently in the process of bringing in a search firm to aid in finding available candidates.”

Haneline continued saying, “We‘re not far enough along to be even accepting applications. This is still in its baby stations. In the first meeting, we looked at the qualifications we wanted in the new Provost. We talked about the process in which things would happen. The meeting was in May.”

The academic affairs mission statement is “to create, support, and enhance the learner-centered environment that is central to the University vision of growth, excellence, and national leadership,” according to their official website.