Karen Adams, former dean of the College of Education and Human Services, spearheaded the project and had an undying excitement to see its completion.

She died April 7, just days before her office would move to its new home.

“If I walk around this building as I’ve done earlier this week, I see the bamboo and I think of Karen because I remember a story she told us,” said Janosky, vice provost of Research and Sponsored Programs. “I think of the slate, and I remember the stories she told us about the slate and how slate was a resemblance to a blackboard and what that meant to a college of EHS. Everything has an essence, every essence is Karen. It’s who she was and what she was about.”

Adams’ colleagues and friends gathered Thursday in the new EHS Building’s auditorium to celebrate her life and reflect on the persistence and joy she had that many said will leave a lasting mark at CMU.

What she brought to CMU, Janosky said, was a unique world view that caught the attention of those with whom she shared stories. Adams visited 103 countries during her lifetime.

“Can you imagine the vision she must have had, the understanding of the world she must have had?” Janosky said. “The interconnectedness is how she viewed all of us.”

Provost Julia Wallace remembers first walking into Adams’ office and seeing pieces of unique memorabilia from around the world.

“When she started talking about how important international travel meant to her and how she was so committed to providing international experiences to teacher education students, I just said, ‘Wow,’” Wallace said. “You can internationalize the whole state of Michigan by allowing teachers in international programs into elementary and secondary school systems through their teachers who have had real, global experiences.”

Wallace also recalled Adams’ joy when celebrating the successes of those with whom she worked.

“Karen’s excitement when faculty and staff in her college received awards and honors, especially for teaching, was just infectious,” Wallace said. “She wanted to tell the entire campus of how great her faculty were and make sure that every single one knew these honors from the people that she served. She just loved everyone in the college and across the university.”

Gary Shapiro, former interim provost and dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, chaired the search committee that hired Adams in 2003.

“She had the courage to make some difficult decisions and to implement change which is not always easy to do,” he said.

Shapiro recalled such projects as the alternative route to teacher certification, issues pertaining to charter schools and revising the education curriculum.

“She was a very strong dean when she came, but every year she became more productive and much more successful as a dean,” he said. “Every dean should believe their college is the best, and she believed that.”

Sue Ann Martin, former dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, said Adams shared her love for children’s literature.

“Karen was keenly aware of how books could open news words and ideas to young minds,” she said. “Karen was the real thing.”

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Wallace was announced as one of three finalists for provost at the University of
Wisconsin-Green Bay and was on its campus Monday for a series of interviews with faculty, staff and students.

Scott Hildebrand, senior executive assistant to the chancellor at UW-Green Bay, said a search committee for the position formed in early February and position profiles were advertised beginning in March. UW-Green Bay recently completed a search for a new chancellor, who will begin this summer, he said.

“The search committee plans to forward its final report to the incoming chancellor, Thomas Harden, by May 15,” Hildebrand said. “We certainly hope to have someone on board here as early as July 1.”

UW Green-Bay has a student body of approximately 6,200 and an operating budget of $83 million, according to the university’s Web site.

The institution offers degrees in more than 36 fields of study with more than 50 areas of emphasis.

Sue Hammersmith, the university’s previous provost, left in June 2008 to become president of Metropolitan State University in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., area. An interim person has served in the position since.

Hildebrand said Wallace’s open forum spanned a variety of topics, but focused largely on the university’s interdisciplinary programs.

Wallace could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Wallace also interviewed April 27-28 for a provost position at the St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.

Judith Simonoe, special adviser to the president, said each of four finalists for

the position have held on-campus forums. To her knowledge, no further interviews are set.

Simonoe said the university’s current provost is leaving July 1 and the goal is to find a replacement soon.

“Normally our expectation is to have someone in place by then,” she said.

Check cm-life.com for further updates.

“In the end, we are not going to be able to balance the 2009-10 budget with keeping community colleges, universities and K-12 whole; I just don’t see how the numbers are going to work,” the director of the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency said at a presentation in the Charles V. Park Library. “How big the cut is just depends on what other cuts we make.”

Olson said lawmakers will look at other options such as eliminating the Michigan Promise Grant to help lessen the direct impact to universities.

“When we put the forecast together in January 2009, we thought we had a conservative forecast of both the U.S. and the Michigan economy. While it was conservative, it certainly wasn’t conservative enough,” Olson said.

According to a report he provided, the state lost 2.7 million jobs in the last four months, the second-largest four-month decline in history. Though lawmakers originally predicted a 4.6 percent decline in payroll jobs for 2009, Olson said, a revised budget by the Senate Fiscal Agency next week will predict an 8.8 percent decline for the same year.

Olson said the job losses, combined with a depressed auto industry and a downtrodden housing market, have lawmakers in a fix.

Before general fund and general fund appropriation reductions were made Tuesday, Olson said, the state budget was in deficit between $900 million and $1 billion.

“Absent the federal stimulus money, I’m not quite sure what we would have done,” he said.

He said stipulations from the federal government require the state to at least attempt keeping appropriation money for higher education the same through 2010-11.

“That money we have to do that is not going to be enough in that we have to use that for K-12 as well and community colleges. We are going to run out of that money,” Olson said. “We are going to run out of this federal money much quicker than we thought, and we will be forced-it’s clear to me- to reduce funding to higher education below the current level.”

This, Olson said, is assuming Governor Jennifer Granholm does not implement tax increases, which she and other state officials have said they do not want to do.

“Major, major challenges for the government and the legislature,” Olson said. “If you have a billion dollars out of $8 billion in general fund spending in 2009-10 supported by one-time federal funds that are not there the next year, you’ve got a recipe for disaster in 2010-11.”

Other options

The 40 percent film tax credit that is designed to lure directors of big-picture productions to Michigan is one issue in need of attention, Olson said. Although it generates positive attention on the state and helps the hospitality industry, it will take $130 million out of the general fund revenue base in 2009-10.

“That’s 130 million of net revenue loss after we factor in the state taxes that are going to be collected from the films that are made in Michigan,” he said. “It will never pay for itself. It will be a drain on the state budget as long as the film credit exists, or until we get rid of it.”

Mary Graham, a CMU editorial specialist in the Park Library, said after the presentation, the negative impact of the tax credit was surprising, given all the positives she has heard about it.

“It was an eye-opener to me, I was frankly apalled,” Graham said. “I’m so disappointed.”

Rick Kurtz, chairman of the political science department, questioned cost savings available by consolidating state agencies that have been restructured.

Olson said Granholm has asked Lt. Gov. John Cherry to come back with a recommendation to reduce the number of state departments from 18 to eight. He said he wasn’t sure how significant the impact would be.

“The way you are really going to save money is by eliminating programs,” he said. “The only thing we can say for certain is the budget will be balanced. That’s a constitutional requirement.”

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Board of Trustees Chairwoman Gail Torreano said she has not completely formulated a vision yet, as the presidential search Web site and forums will offer insight in coming weeks of what the campus community hopes to see. She said the Board can not understand every aspect of the university, so faculty, community and student opinions are important in coming weeks.

“We are a community. It’s not top-down, it’s bottom-up,” she said. “I don’t want it even to be a passive thing where there is this internet site and you can go on there, I want us to go seek information from these various stakeholder groups and bring that down.”

She said a common topic brought up at an open forum Wednesday and in meetings with others on campus related to the search was transparency and involvement.

“People want to have the opportunity not just today in this process but that they want to in the future … they want to have an opportunity to bring value to the table.”

Added community support on the screening committee versus added at-large faculty members

Torreano said she chose to include added community members on the screening committee because these people are positioned to interact with faculty and students who are in the community, but also with those who are Mount Pleasant residents.

Tim Brockman, the owner of Max & Emily’s Bakery Cafe, she said, was chosen for the committee because he is routinely in conversation at his restaurant with people from all three groups. Brockman graduated from CMU and is married to Elizabeth Brockman, professor of English language and literature, Torreano said.

“He has the historical perspective,” she said. “He understands (CMU) from living and being married to a faculty member. He has perspective that I wouldn’t have.”

Torreano said she sees screening committee members as “gatherers” to draw feedback from the campus community. Aside from the opinions members have, she said, the people they reach out to are more important.

“If I thought this was a very sequential process and that the screening committee was a finite group of people that were going to provide information among one another, I would be concerned,” she said. “This process is much bigger than them.”

Torreano said Jason Nichol, a Mount Pleasant senior and president of the Student Government Association, will seek input from students in ways that are flexible for them.

Should Nichol hold his own open forums, she said, screening committee members may attend, but only if he sees it as an added benefit.

“That’s our mission to educate students and they need to understand that we want to hear what they have to say,” Torreano said. “They look at this from a totally different angle than I do.”

What position do you see the interim president having especially with the hotel project and several interim positions open?

In order for the university to move forward, Torreano said, the interim president must have freedom to take action as she sees fit, in whatever areas need attention.

“They have authority to act. You really need that,” she said. “I believe that Kathy Wilbur, she’s been around here at this university … and I think she has worked very closely with Mike Rao. I trust her.”

Torreano said while the search process for a permanent president is on-going, the interim must have freedom to continue to make decisions and move forward.

“I don’t plan on micromanaging,” she said. “I’m not that kind of Board member.”

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Academic Senate members closed the book Tuesday on amendments to CMU’s general education curriculum, which now will focus more heavily on writing intensive courses.

Students currently are required only to write in two English courses; there are no requirements for how much a student must write in those courses. With the new changes the total writing throughout a semester must total to at least 12 typed pages.

“As a group, we went through the first section, we went through the second section and today we completed the third section,” said A-Senate Chairman Ray Francis about the university program. “We’re done.”

Among changes approved Tuesday, students must take at least four writing intensive courses to graduate from CMU. At least one of these courses must be in groups I, III and IV of the UP selections.

A writing intensive course, according to criteria established by A-Senate, is one that meets several criteria. The course must have enrollment capped at no more than 30 students. Students must complete several writing assignments while enrolled in the class, including essays, essay exams, reflective writing, journals and reports.

Francis, an associate teacher education and professional development professor, said the overall general education changes were a long time coming.

Initially, A-Senate members opened discussion on general education requirements in the 2006-07 academic year, he said, and continued until this year, focusing most recently on incorporating writing into class requirements.

“You have to be able to write in this day and age, not just text,” Francis said. “If you don’t put students in a situation where they can learn, they can’t get better.”

Tim Hartshorne, a psychology professor, and last year’s A-senate chairman, said while many of the university program’s changes are small, many details are more concise. He said changes reflect necessary skill sets students must now have.

“It’ll take away some of the uncertainty over what general education will become,” Hartshorne said.

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At a meeting of the Michigan Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education Tuesday in the Charles V. Park Library, University President Michael Rao used the success stories of eight students to show how CMU graduates are poised to make an impact.

He said CMU is continually grateful for the support it gets from the state.

“These are just some of your returns on the investments of people’s resources,” Rao told senators.

Biomedical and neuroscience major James Reinecke spoke of how his lab work at CMU prepared him for internships at two major medical institutions: Washington University and the Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

“Even though we are a smaller state university, undergraduates get a lot of independence,” the Grand Haven senior said.

East China senior Amber Demara, an apparel merchandising major who will graduate in May with job prospects already in mind, told of her decision to attend CMU over other private institutions focused solely on design.

She has since had the opportunity to dig into her future career field working overseas in London through a program sponsored by the American InterContinental University.

“Fashion is a global industry, so what better opportunity to go and study abroad?” she asked the senators.

Broadcast and cinematic arts major Waldo “Glen” Bronson had the chance to spend a semester filming a documentary series in Sydney, Australia.

“This was my first opportunity to really feel like I was a producer,” the Flint senior said.

In response to the vast array of CMU programs presented by student representatives, Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland, expressed appreciation for one that was not mentioned.

CMU’s capital internships program, new this spring, allows students to work in legislative and other state government offices twice a week to gain experience with the role government plays in the community.

Anderson asked for CMU’s continued support of the program.

“I would ask that the university take a look at any resources that could be used to take care of that,” he said.

Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, expressed interest in a developing CMU project-the proposed medical school.

“I think that could be a tremendous benefit to the state,” he said.

John Dunn, president of Western Michigan University, which also is engaged in conversations about developing a medical school, said he thinks the outcropping of several such programs around the state will be more a benefit than a means of competition.

“If we were to all materialize, we still would not meet the current demand or the demand as it relates to the United States as a whole,” he said.

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Several Central Michigan University students and Mount Pleasant community members gathered at Sacred Heart Academy, 302 S. Kinney Ave. for the live filming of “Good Morning America.”

“I called to wake up our drivers to make sure we were good to go, but we all made it here,” said Lakeview sophomore Ally Padden as she and a group of friends stood inside the school’s nearly-empty gymnasium around 6:15 a.m.

At that point, only stage workers were inside, setting up props and getting ready for the production ahead.

Outside, stars dotted the sky and a truck equipped with a large satellite and spotlight rested near the door of the school’s gymnasium.

By 6:45 a.m., students and families began trickling in, many carrying cups of coffee, and some, passing out boxes of Tim Horton’s doughnuts.

Sanford freshman Haley Garcia said she decided to come out after hearing the filming was based on the experiences of Keisha Brown, the wife of her former basketball coach, Damon Brown.

“I’m pretty glad we are here; it’s cool,” she said.

Keisha Brown, who has been battling breast cancer since April 2007, sent a letter to “Good Morning America” officials and entered a contest to bring the production to her hometown.

She found out late last week of her top-three standing in the competition and producers spent time throughout the weekend capturing shots from the Browns’ home and around the community.

Several CMU students from His House Christian Church, which the Browns attend, showed up to the filming to share in her excitement.

Michele Reinke, a fourth-grade teacher at Sacred Heart, sat in the bleachers holding a sign that showed support for the Damon and Keisha and also for GMA talk show co-host Chris Cuomo.

“This is history in the making,” she said. “It’s very exciting.”

Reinke said Sacred Heart staff spent the weekend making last-minute calls for permission from students’ parents for the filming.

The majority of those gathered at the school waited over an hour for production to begin, but as Cuomo walked in and cameras began panning the audience, everyone erupted in an ear-piercing shout of “Good Morning America!”

Padden, who was texting her dad throughout the filming, said at one point he sent her a message indicating he saw her on TV.

“It was really exciting watching people behind the scenes; I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said. “Definitely the enthusiasm, just to see the community support was really cool.”

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“It’s basically an opportunity for members of the university community to give input as to what they would like to see in the next president of the university,” said Director of Media Relations Steve Smith.

A computer program will allow those off-campus to watch it online, Smith said, and people also will be able to type in questions for a moderator to ask at the gathering.

At a meeting of the Board of Trustees on Thursday, Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Comai said the presidential screening committee will seek feedback from the campus community.

“This is one of the most important decisions the Board of Trustees makes,” Comai said. “I can’t emphasize enough how seriously I take this.”

A Web site dedicated to the search launched Friday at cmich.edu/presidentialsearch. An e-mail address for the search firm is available for those who want to send questions or comments throughout the process.

“We really, really want to hear from people,” Comai said.

From the open forumsj, committee members will gather information to create a leadership profile for a presidential candidate, Comai said.

The profile then will be given to the search firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, LLC and submitted to several professional publications for review.

The search firm will accept applications for the presidency until Oct. 1, Comai said.

“I am not concerned that we will have a wonderful pool of candidates,” she said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for someone.”

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Kathy Wilbur will become the leader of Michigan’s fourth-largest university with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in political science.

“My academic experience as far as further degrees, I don’t have any,” she told faculty and students at an open forum Tuesday. “I think folks are pretty aware of that. I think that’s been very public.”

Wilbur called the meeting to discuss her upcoming presidency amidst conversations on campus about her qualifications to be president.

Journalism professor John Hartman pressed questions relating to the topic.

“This is an academic institution,” he said. “Why don’t you tell us about your educational background and also if you could tell us your experience teaching at the college level?”

Wilbur, who has been CMU’s vice president of governmental relations and public affairs for seven years, said she has extensive administrative experience, which is why the university’s Board felt she was the best fit for interim president.

Prior to joining CMU’s executive team, Wilbur headed three state departments with combined staffs and budgets larger than those of CMU. As the university’s governmental liaison, she said, her knowledge of higher-education funding and its ties to Lansing are in-depth.

“The budget picture is so sour, so bad, that you need to be there, you need to be part of the process,” she said. “I think it’s very important at this point, that there be a seamless groove into the presidency.”

Phil Squattrito, Academic Senate chairman-elect and chemistry professor, questioned Wilbur on any uncertainties she has about the university.

“Are there any aspects at this moment that you don’t know as much about as you’d like to?” he asked.

Wilbur said she is fortunate to be heading into the experience having worked closely with University President Michael Rao.

Other than that, she said, her questions will be answered in interactions with people on campus.

“I have plenty of relationships with many faculty members and I will reach out to any variety of folks,” she said after the forum. “I have every expectation of being very visible on campus certainly, and in the Mount Pleasant community.”

Timothy Hartshorne, professor of psychology, asked Wilbur how her management style differs from Rao’s.

Wilbur said she is inclusive.

“I will expect to have meetings I think Mike has had too,” she said. “I’m not good at keeping secrets, I don’t know how to keep secrets, and I don’t lie well.”

Another faculty member raised concerns on the make-up of the presidential screening committee, which, he claims, does not have any faculty members on its roster.

Policy holds that the Academic Senate chairman and chairman-elect, which includes psychology professor Ray Francis
and chemistry professor Phil Squattrito. But there are no other faculty members at large.

The screening committee will lead the Board in seeking out and retaining a new president.

Board policy requires one administrator and one student to be on the committee, among various other people. Board Chairwoman Gail Torreano chose community members to fill three positions, which are open to discretion.

“The policy does not have all the community members,” Hartshorne said. “It has just one.”

Wilbur said Torreano’s choice was based on concerns she heard from people around Mount Pleasant.

“I think that was some reaction to comments that had been made by the community at large … that felt the opportunity or need to have a bit more input,” she said.

In addressing concerns about the increasing number of interim leadership positions on campus, Wilbur said after the meeting, that some positions will be in a flux during her tenure, such as the vice president of Outreach and Alumni Relations.

“It is very likely while we have an interim that search would not launch until we have a president,” she said.

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Reporters from the ABC talk show “Good Morning America” spent the weekend in Mount Pleasant filming scenes in several downtown locations, and in the home of Coordinator of Student Activities Damon Brown.

Brown’s wife Keisha, who has battled breast cancer for the past few years, entered a contest during the middle of April aimed at bringing representatives from the show to small towns across the United States. She sent a letter to talk show officials about her passion and appreciation for the Mount Pleasant community.

“My wife talked about how supportive the community of Mount Pleasant has been,” Damon Brown said. “We have several friends in the university community, as well, who have been very, very supportive.”

Around 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday, Keisha Brown was informed she was a finalist in the competition and had until 9:30 p.m. that night to create a video presentation as the second layer for her application.

Damon Brown remembers scrambling to pull something together. Members of CMU’s Program Board, along with University Recreation Director Stan Shingles, his wife Rene Shingles, and several close friends and neighbors showed up at the Browns’ home to help with the challenge.

The end product caught the attention of broadcast officials, Damon Brown said, and Mount Pleasant made it into a short list of the top three finalists.

Filming representatives were at the Browns’ home Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. for a live segment in that morning’s show. Damon Brown said they filmed in various places downtown over the weekend and talked with other people who live in the community.

“They really wanted to get as much footage about Mount Pleasant as possible,” he said.

This morning at 6:30 a.m., members of the community will gather together for a live filming at Sacred Heart Academy, 316 E. Michigan St.

“We’re going to show what the community excitement is all about,” Damon Brown said.

He said the whole weekend was quite a whirlwind experience that caught his family and neighbors by surprise.

Lisa Hadden, president and CEO of the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce, learned about the filming Sunday evening.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she said. “We’re doing everything we can to keep up with the times and be positive.”

Another angle

Steve Smith, director of media relations, said he was contacted over the weekend by representatives from a local ABC affiliate asking for permission to film in Rose Arena at 5 a.m. this morning.

Good Morning America has another on-going contest relating to food drives, he said, and students from an elementary school in Flint won last week’s competition. Approximately 100 to 150 students will be bussed to CMU so the filming of a check presentation to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan can be done in Mount Pleasant, since they will already be here.

“Rose Arena seemed to be big enough,” Smith said. “We wanted to give CMU some involvement in all of this.”

Damon Brown said the winning community will get a block party complete with a concert.

He and his wife said they are excited to bring national attention to the area.

“I think it’s great for our community to be where we are right now in this moment,” Keisha Brown said. “Michigan is going through a lot right now.”

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