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State University Title IX Directors Convene
Title IX Directors and other staff members from the state universities were convened for the first time on September 13
th
in Lansing. The robust discussion agenda was focused on issues pertaining to campus sexual assault education, prevention, and adjudication. Institutional, state and federal frameworks pertaining to campus sexual assault prevention were discussed, and several peer-to-peer queries were shared and deliberated among meeting participants. Serving as guest speaker at the meeting was Debi Cain, Executive Director of the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Treatment Board within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She provided information on training opportunities and other resources pertinent to university Title IX offices.
The results of a post-meeting survey revealed many additional topics for discussion at future meetings. Peer-to-peer training will also be a feature of future meetings, which can help Title IX Coordinators fulfill their federal annual continuing education requirements. Future meetings of the Title IX Coordinators Committee will likely be held approximately twice annually and will be held at the MASU offices in Lansing and at host campuses. Melody Werner, Title IX Coordinator at EMU will serve as committee chair. The
MASU Title IX Directors Committee
marks the 15
th
committee convened under the auspices of the Association.
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Pictured: Title IX Coordinators and associated staff at the state universities hear from Debi Cain, Executive Director of the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Treatment Board, at a meeting held Sept. 13 in Lansing.
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First Lady Sue Snyder Holds Summit on Campus Sexual Assault Prevention
Ending campus sexual assault on the state's college campuses was the focus of a summit convened by First Lady Sue Snyder, held September 30 at the University of Michigan. Joining her in facilitating the second such convening in two years were Gov. Rick Snyder and their daughter Kelsey Snyder, a UM student who emceed the day's proceedings. With a mantra to "
Inform, Empower and Prevent," the summit featured a number of state and national speakers who addressed challenges and opportunities associated with campus sexual assault from an array of institutional and student perspectives. Sexual assault prevention was examined through the lens of athletics, Greek life, and bystander intervention, among others.
Community college and university representatives also used the forum to showcase the campus-based sexual assault prevention programs and outcomes that were carried out as part of the $500,000 state grant program championed by Gov. Snyder. A second round of campus sexual assault prevention grant applications recently closed. All of Michigan's public universities were deeply engaged in the conference, having collectively sent hundreds of professionals to participate in the convening, as well as providing sponsorship support. The First Lady's Summit provided added energy to an issue that the state universities are working vigorously to address.
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Pictured: an Athletics Panel at the First Lady's Summit, featuring L to R: Ron Bellamy, Head Football Coach at West Bloomfield High School; Chris Creighton, Head Football Coach at EMU; Heather Lyke, Athletic Director at EMU; First Lady Sue Snyder; UM Student and summit emcee Kelsey Snyder; Gov. Rick Snyder; Carol Hutchins, Head Coach of UM Softball; Mary Wilfert, Associate Director of the NCAA's Sport Science Institute; and Warde Manuel, Athletic Director at UM.
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MSU President Simon Inducted into Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
President Lou Anna K. Simon, the twentieth and first woman president of Michigan State University was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame on October 19, as one of five contemporary honorees.
The Lansing-based Michigan Women's Historical Center & Hall of Fame said in its announcement, "Simon leads the university's work to advance the common good in Michigan and around the world. She has expanded MSU's reach by focusing the university's strengths on solutions that protect and enhance quality of life, including clean water, safe and plentiful food, sustainable energy and health care." President Simon has served the university since earning her doctorate degree in higher education there in 1974.
"It's humbling to be selected for induction into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame," Simon said. "I appreciate it deeply, but I have to say that it really is a tribute to the work of Team MSU."
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Presidents Mroz, Eisler Mark Transition in MASU Board Leadership
The MASU Board of Directors meeting in June marked the last in which MTU President Glenn Mroz served as chair of the state universities' coordinating board. The meeting capped off a six year tenure during which President Mroz's leadership contributed to the board's and the Association's ability to serve instrumental roles in stewarding the state's public higher education agenda. Assuming the chairmanship of the board is long-serving FSU President David Eisler. Joining Dr. Eisler for two year terms on the rest of the MASU board executive committee are MSU President Lou Anna Simon (Vice Chair); WMU President John Dunn (Secretary-Treasurer); WSU President Roy Wilson (At-Large); and MTU President Glenn Mroz (Immediate Past Chair).
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Pictured: At the June 22 MASU Board of Directors meeting, FSU President and incoming MASU Board of Directors Chair David Eisler (L), receives the board gavel from outgoing Board Chair and MTU President Glenn Mroz. At the meeting, the full board commended President Mroz on his six consecutive years of leadership in serving as board chair. Also shown: MASU CEO Daniel Hurley.
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MASU Launches Michigan-Centric Higher Education Blog
MASU is pleased to have just introduced a new online commentary series,
Optimizing Education, or
OP ED
for short. The blog will feature an assortment of commentary on issues spanning the entire secondary and postsecondary education spectrum in Michigan and beyond. Blog posts, to be published on a regular basis, will provide critical analysis on issues affecting all aspects of higher education, especially those which pertain most directly to the missions of the 15 state universities of Michigan. Commentaries will initially be written primarily by MASU staff members Dan Hurley and Bob Murphy. Contributors will subsequently expand to include voices from Michigan's broader higher education community as well as from opinion leaders representing the private, governmental and non-profit sectors. Writing styles will range from succinct synopsis of reports to therapeutic writing exercises in the ceaseless debate on how to best optimize education at the nation's public universities.
Blog topics will often stem from news stories and reports included in
This Week in Michigan Public Higher Education News, published every Friday, as well stories on the outreach being performed by the state universities, compiled monthly in
Stewardship: The State Universities of Michigan and the Public Good.
OP ED
commentaries will be listed at the top of the
This Week
e-newsletter. They will also be distributed via social media (Twitter:
@MASUmichigan
; Facebook:
Michigan Association of State Universities
). It is our expectation that in time, published posts included in
OP ED
will serve as a valuable source for information and insight for all stakeholders who are a part of the higher education landscape in Michigan, and hopefully many whose calling lies beyond the state's borders. We hope you will join us in our quest to maximize the collective value state universities provide in serving the greater public interest. Have ideas for discussion topics? Please pass them along to Dan Hurley at [email protected].
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New State Metric Affirms High Rates of Student Success at Michigan Public Universities
The Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI), the Michigan education data reporting agency, in July released a
report showing an increase in the six-year Michigan public university sector graduation rate to 66.6 percent, meaning two of every three students at a public university is graduating within six years. This new "Success Rate" metric by CEPI includes part-time and transfer students, depicting a more accurate graduation rate than the federal government's rate as reported by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), which does not include part-time and transfer students. IPEDS' six-year Michigan public university sector graduation rate is reported at 58.2 percent, above the national average of 54.4 percent. Further, the data reported by CEPI also shows that the statewide four-year success rate for universities has increased in each of the last three years. CEPI's new system for quantifying the completion of degrees and other credentials places Michigan as a national leader in reporting success rates at public institutions.
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Michigan Joins State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
The Michigan Association of State
Universities has become a full member of the Colorado-based State Higher Education Executive Officers association (
SHEEO
).
While MASU staff h
ave lon
g been involved in SHEEO policy, advocacy and professional development activities, the association had never been an official
member of the SHEEO organization. Michigan is the 50th state to join SHEEO. MASU's entry as a full member of SHEEO required a vote of the organization's membership, which took place at its Annual Meeting held
in
Baltimore in July. SHEEO is the national association of chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education. Founded in 1954, SHEEO serves its members as an advocate for state policy leadership, as a liaison between states and the federal government, as a vehicle for learning and collaborating with peers, and a source of information and analysis on educational and public policy issues.
At the SHEEO Annual Meeting, MASU CEO Dan Hurley was appointed co-chair of the association's Federal Relations Committee. Given the transition in U.S. presidential administrations and new dynamics in Congress, the committee's policy and advocacy work will be marked with added emphasis in the year ahead. Bob Murphy also attended the SHEEO Policy Conference in Pittsburgh in August to gain a better understanding of national trends in higher education policy and data.
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MASU Staff Tour U.P. Universities
Participation in comprehensive tours and meetings with administrators, faculty and students served as the backdrop of a week-long visit in July to LSSU, NMU and MTU by MASU CEO Dan Hurley and Director of University Relations and Policy Bob Murphy. The campus visits allowed the MASU staff to become better acquainted with the missions, academic programs, strategic priorities and regional impact of the three institutions. Hurley and Murphy, during their visit, were also able to learn about each university's state capital outlay priorities. Since returning to lead the Association in July, 2015, Dan Hurley has been able to visit 14 of the state's 15 public university campuses.
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Pictured (L to R): Dan Hurley and Bob Murphy of MASU on the NMU campus with Robert Winn, co-founder of the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center; John Lawrence, Lab Director of the Center; and Aaron Mellesmoen, NMU Graduate Student.
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LEAP Workgroup Continues to Advance Liberal Education
MASU recently hosted a meeting of the state's Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) workgroup. The committee is in the process of drafting a master plan on how to support the LEAP initiative, dedicated to enhancing liberal education and student learning outcomes. They will be expanding the initiative's web presence soon, including the creation of a repository of documents for faculty to review. This is particularly important as the committee turns its attention next to supporting faculty collaboration and engagement.
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Art in the House
The reception for the 12
th
annual Art in the House program took place October 19
th
at the Anderson House Office Building, located adjacent to the state Capitol Building. Students were joined by university and House of Representatives staff, and family members at the reception to showcase the unveiling of 21 pieces of art. Artwork from students representing 12 of the state universities will be on display this month through next September. The program serves as a great opportunity to showcase the creative talents and artistic expression of university students. The Art in the House program is a collaboration between MASU, the state universities, and the Michigan House of Representatives. A brochure featuring the pieces of art and artist information can be viewed here.
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The selected students, House of Representatives staff, and MASU staff celebrate the students' art at a reception in the Anderson House Office Building October 19th.
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Transfer Steering Committee Set to Meet
Included in last year's appropriations act was a mandate to investigate the feasibility of transferring the entire associate's degree into state universities without requiring more than 60 credits post-transfer. A workgroup of community college, state university, and independent college leaders quickly came to the conclusion that this was not a feasible policy solution. However, the workgroup did recommend the creation of a Transfer Steering Committee to bring all transfer initiatives under one guiding body. That committee is meeting for the first time on October 27 and will prioritize statewide transfer initiatives; one of which will include an examination of student pathways by discipline, with the goal of creating smoother transfer pathways in high-enrollment programs. Each university will be represented on the committee, which includes provosts, associate provosts, registrars, and other transfer policy experts.
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Math Pathways Under Development
The state's public universities and community colleges have teamed up to improve mathematics education, thanks to a grant from the Dana Center at the University of Texas-Austin. The grant is funding convenings and research dedicated to establishing strong math pathways for students to follow, so that those transferring from community colleges to universities are on track for success in math courses. Students should typically find themselves on one of three pathways, depending on their program: college algebra (leading to calculus), statistics, or quantitative reasoning. The workgroup is currently collecting data on the most common introductory course in each of these three pathways at each university and has worked with the state's Center for Educational Performance and Information to look at success rates for students placed in remedial math courses in both sectors.
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MASU Committee Meetings
Shown below are the committee meetings that have taken place since Labor Day, as well as those currently scheduled through December.
Title IX Coordinators-September 13, Dykema Offices,
Lansing
State Relations Officers-Bi-Weekly, September-December,
MASU Offices
LEAP Committee-October 10, MASU Offices
Academic Affairs Officers-October 15, MASU Offices
Council of Extended Education and Professional
Development-October 21, MASU Offices
Michigan Transfer Steering Committee-October 27, 2016,
Lansing CC West
Student Affairs Officers Committee-October 28, Eastern
Michigan University
Analytical Studies Committee-November 1, MASU Offices
MASU Board of Directors-November 2, MASU Offices
Legal Affairs Officers-November 3, MASU Offices
Financial Aid Officers-November 7, University of Michigan
Business Affairs Officers-November 10, MASU Offices
Communications Officers-December 1, MASU Offices
Career Services Directors-December 5, MASU Offices
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