Summer hours end Friday

 

KVCC’s observance of “summer hours” will conclude on Friday (Aug. 25).

Beginning the following Monday, the work week will return to its normal 8-to-5 status.

The Digest will return to its weekly-publication format with the edition dated Sept. 4, but distributed on Friday, Sept. 1.  

Student welcomers needed to launch fall semester

 

                Faculty and staff are invited to man welcome-back-students tables on both the Texas Township and Arcadia Commons campuses.

“We're looking for a few good women and men to help staff fall-semester welcome tables on Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 5-6),” Mike McCall said. “Let's get our new students off to a good start and remind our returning students why they came back to the most helpful college in Michigan.”

Those who would like to volunteer for an hour or two can contact Rose Crawford at extension 4347 to sit with a colleague at locations around the Texas Township Campus, answer questions and give directions.

Personnel at the Arcadia Commons Campus can contact Jackie Cantrell at extension 7805 to volunteer.

?Honest Abe? due back in Bronson Park

With Bronson Park taking on the trappings of a time machine, the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's 1856 speech in Kalamazoo during his only visit to Michigan will be celebrated Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 26-27).             The Kalamazoo Valley Museum, the Kalamazoo Area Civil War Roundtable, State. Sen. Tom George (R-Texas Township), the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo Public Library, the city of Kalamazoo, and the Portage Public Library are collaborating on the sesquicentennial, including a Sunday-afternoon (Aug. 27)

re-enactment of the speech that the future 16th president gave in the park about the divisive and inflammatory question of slavery that was slowly ripping asunder the United States.            Scheduled to portray Lincoln, then a 47-year-old attorney, four-term Illinois lawmaker, and a former Whig Party congressman, is Fred Priebe of Belleville, Mich.  His wife, Bonnie, will be impersonating Mary Todd Lincoln. Lincoln came to Kalamazoo by train for an Aug. 27, 1856, political rally that swelled the small village's population to an estimated 20,000 to 25,000.              The Kalamazoo library, however, will kick off the observance’s free events Monday (Aug. 21) at 7 p.m. with a review of James L. Swanson’s book, “Manhunt,” in the VanDeusen Room.            Scheduled to discuss Swanson’s account of the 12-day chase of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth are:  ● Sen. George, who produced a documentary on “Lincoln in Kalamazoo” for the Community Access Center and will serve as moderator.● Dr. Ralph Gordon of Kalamazoo, who has written books about medical practices in the Civil War era and is a member of the Society of Civil War Surgeons.● Margean Gladysz of Kalamazoo, a former librarian and current member of the Kalamazoo Area Civil War Roundtable.● and Thomas Mudd of Saginaw, the great-grandson of Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who treated Booth’s broken leg following his flight from the shooting in Ford’s Theater in Washington.The library will also be hosting the showing of two episodes from the PBS series on the Lincolns, “Abraham and Mary Lincoln – A House Divided," on Tuesday (Aug. 22) at 7 p.m. in the VanDeusen Room.The celebration continues – same time, same place – on Wednesday (Aug. 23) with “Behind Enemy Lines:  The Life of Sara Emma Edmonds – aka Franklin Thompson.”  Sally Redinger, a retired Mattawan teacher and a Civil War re-enactor, will tell the story of Edmonds, who enlisted in a Michigan infantry company as a man, participated in several

major battles, and even served as a spy while “disguised” as a woman.The scene shifts to the Portage Public Library at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Aug. 24) when Sen. George will present an overview of Lincoln’s visit to speak in support of the presidential candidacy of famed explorer and scout, John C. Fremont.  An analysis of the speech lends insight into Lincoln’s own rise to power four years later.            On Saturday, Aug. 26, from 1 to 4 p.m., the museum will be hosting “Kids Day in the Mid-1800s” when youngsters will be able to try their hands at the games and chores that their counterparts engaged in 150 years ago, including spinning wool into yarn, rolling a hoop with a stick, corn husking, apple bobbing, checkers, and a potato-sack race.  The free activities include making the nation’s 31-star flag that was in use during Lincoln’s visit.            At the museum that afternoon, George’s “Lincoln in Kalamazoo” will be shown at 1:30 p.m. in the Stryker Theater, followed by a 2 p.m. presentation by William Anderson on “Lincoln:  A Full Measure of Greatness.”              Anderson is the former president of West Shore Community College in Scottville. His research has focused on the impact Michigan and its residents had on the Civil War.  His "They Died to Make Men Free" is the story of Michigan's 19th Regiment, while another of Anderson's works chronicled the experience of Michigan soldiers who marched with Gen. William Sherman.  Anderson is currently the director of the state’s department of history, arts and libraries.            Lincoln historian Weldon Petz, who has spoken to thousands of groups in 40 years about “Honest Abe” and has a 7,500-item collection of memorabilia, will talk about “The Musical Note in Lincoln’s Life” at 3 p.m.  These are all free events.            The local roundtable has booked Daniel Stowell, director of the Lincoln Legal Papers, to talk about “Lincoln the Lawyer” and the type of work he was doing in 1856 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Ladies Library Association.  Open to the public, advance reservations are required for this Aug. 26 event. 

Tickets are $25.  It includes a reception at 5:30 p.m. with Stowell and other speakers and a 6:30 p.m. dinner.  Call (269) 323-3757 for more information.            Sunday’s sesquicentennial begins at 1:30 p.m. in the museum when “The Lincolns” will be on hand for conversations and photographs.  Members of the Dodworth Saxhorn Band, which will lead a parade to the park, will also be available in period costume.  The Ann Arbor group features the brass wind instrument that resembles a bugle with valves and is played over the shoulder with the notes coming out the back.             People are invited to join the band in escorting the Lincolns to the park.  The parade will start at 2 p.m. near the museum’s front entrance on North Rose Street.  Marchers are also invited to wear 1850s-style clothing, along with re-enactors in the uniform of the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment.            Museum director Pat Norris will open the ceremony at 2:30 p.m. on the Rotary Stage, followed by Sen. George’s account of who Lincoln was at the time, why he was asked to speak in Michigan, and what his political positions were on that summer’s day in 1856 in the months after the passage of the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act.  Priebe, as Lincoln, will then deliver the words that wafted across the park 150 years ago.            After a concert by the saxhorners, the park’s historical marker chronicling the Lincoln visit will be rededicated at 4:15 p.m.  The Ann Arbor band will wrap up the festivities by 5:30.  Rain will move the celebration into the nearby Civic Auditorium.            From 1 to 5 p.m. that day, both the museum and the downtown library will be open to enjoy Lincoln exhibits and memorabilia.  Also on display at the library will be dresses from various walks of life in the 1850s.            In his award-winning documentary, George, a Kalamazoo anesthesiologist, explained how Lincoln, who failed to win the nomination for vice president at the Republican Party's first convention in Philadelphia earlier that year, was invited here to stump for Fremont, the party's initial candidate for

president.            George's research also detailed how Lincoln was one of the lesser political lights invited to speak at the massive rally and the reactions of those who listened to him that day.  Four years later, he would be elected president of the United States and a main reason why southern states seceded starting the Civil War.

Here?s what Lincoln said here 150 years ago

             In his speech in Bronson Park, Abraham Lincoln hammered home the anti-slavery stand of the recently formed Republican Party  and urged the election of its first presidential candidate, explorer and scout John C. Fremont.  The question of slavery at present day,” said the one-term congressman, “should be not only the greatest question, but very nearly the sole question.”  He referred to America’s quandary over the spread of slavery into the new territories as “the naked question.”            “Shall the United States prohibit slavery in the United States?” is the essence of the true question,” Lincoln asked.            Fremont’s party, if successful in its campaign for the White House, would be charged to restrict slavery’s expansion into the new territories, the former rail-splitter said.  It was believed by Republicans, according to Lincoln, that James Buchanan, the Democratic Party’s candidate, would allow the extension of human bondage into the new territories.            Buchanan’s policy on slavery was compared by Lincoln to Great Britain’s hands-off approach, thus allowing individuals to practice slavery in its New World colonies.            The former store clerk also characterized the stance of Millard Fillmore, the American Party’s candidate, as that of a “fence sitter,” one who attempts to appease both sides of the contentious issue.  Fillmore, as a Whig vice president, was elevated to the presidency when Zachary Taylor died in office in July of 1850.            “Well,” Lincoln said, “it brings him (Fillmore) into this position.  He tries to get

both sides, one by denouncing those who opened the door (to slavery) and other by hinting that he doesn’t care a fig for its being open.”            The one-time county surveyor in his adopted home state of Illinois believed Fillmore had no prospects of receiving a single vote on either side of the Mason-Dixon Line because of that wishy-washy stance.  When it comes to slavery, Lincoln said, “there could be no middle way.            “You who hate slavery and love freedom,” asked Lincoln, “why not vote for Fremont” because Fillmore and Buchanan basically occupy “the same ground.”            U. S. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois took a few stinging salvos from Lincoln for recommending the question of slavery in Kansas go before the U. S. Supreme Court.            “Douglas is a great man,” he said, pausing for effect, “at keeping from answering questions he doesn’t want to answer.”  Douglas, an Illinois Democrat, had been a frequent visitor to Kalamazoo in those years.  It was still two years before his famous debates with Douglas.            Familiarity will breed complacency toward slavery, said Lincoln, who saw it in practice in the South while working as a crew member on a Mississippi River flatboat.  This complacency will be bred “if non-slaveholders and slaveholders live together in the new territories.”            To the “Buchanists” who advocated that slavery is none of the federal government’s business, Lincoln argued that it is the cause of inequalities between the North and South when it comes to congressional representation.  He cited the Constitution’s “three-fifths rule” regarding the counting of slaves in terms of population.            “Now one man in South Carolina is the same as two men here (in Michigan),” he said.            The 6-foot-4 attorney called the new territories “an outlet for free white people who move from the fast-growing northern states.”  He believed the doctrine of slavery would drive them away from the maxims of free government when they relocated.  The free state, he contended, allows a man “to make his prosperity himself, giving him an interest in

maintaining the principles of government.”  That sense would be lost in a slave-holding environment.            Lincoln fired a blistering broadside at southern newspapers that claimed “slaves are better off than free laborers in the North.  The man who labored for another last year (in the North) this year labors for himself, and next year he will hire others to labor for him.”            Lincoln, then the father of three sons, downplayed the contention that sectionalism forged by the Republican Party over slavery would be a threat to the Union.  He cited the 1852 election of President Franklin Pierce and his vice president, William King, as Democrats as proof that elected officials who hail from the same region would not lead to the dissolution of the Union.            Only Republicans in the North are strong supporters of keeping the new territories free and devoid of slavery, he said during his 40-minute remarks.  Too many in the United States looked upon slavery “in the light of dollars and cents.”  He predicted that the worth of slaves in the South would increase by 50 percent, to $1.5 billion, if human bondage is allowed in the new territories..            Lincoln denied charges that Fremont was an abolitionist in the strict definition of the word, particularly when “there was nothing to abolish in Kansas when the Nebraska bill was passed.”            Lincoln, who only had one year of formal schooling during his childhood in Kentucky and Indiana and taught himself to be an attorney, urged Kalamazoo’s voters to put the federal government “on a new track” by supporting political candidates who do not favor the spread of slavery.            Lincoln’s Kalamazoo address was one of more than 50 that he gave in support of the Fremont bid for the presidency that fell short of Buchanan’s winning effort.  It is regarded as one of the most completely reported because a journalist from the Detroit Advertiser covered the rally and took the speech down in shorthand.

Fall-semester faculty in place

 

Seventeen new full-time faculty members have been hired to begin teaching in the fall semester, 11 on the Texas Township Campus and the balance at the Arcadia Commons Campus.  Another five come aboard as full-time adjunct faculty.

            Some are familiar faces, such as Carol Roe, the former director of nursing who came out of retirement last academic year to help with the training program based in Allegan.  Another is Joe Brady, who is transferring from his position as manager of KVCC Wellness and Fitness Center to the WPE instructional faculty.   And several have been part-time instructors.

            At the administrative level, James DeHaven has added the title of vice president for economic and business development to his duties as executive director of the KVCC Michigan Technical Education Center.  DeHaven is a former member of the KVCC Board of Trustees.

            Here are the Texas Township Campus additions and their disciplines: Jacob Arndt and Patrick (Pat) Conroy , communications; John (Jack) Bley, biology;  Mary Martin, office information systems; Nicole Popour and Caroline Whiting, English; Michael Raines and Jon Stasiuk, mathematics;  Robert (Bob) Vezeau, wellness and physical education; Katherine (Kate) Ferraro, sociology; and Brady.

            Joining the instructional staff at the downtown campus are: Philipp Jonas, economics; Steven (Steve) Ott, communications; Jeffrey(Jeff) Swigart, mathematics; Isaac Turner, English; Kevin White, graphic arts; and Jeffery (Jeff) Woods, animation and gaming.

            Joining Roe in the ranks of full-time adjunct faculty are Kelley Asta in surgical technology, Catherine Barnard in psychology, Nancy Beers in history, and Steve Ohs in computer information systems.

KVCC part of ?Economic Trends? dialogue

 

                President Marilyn Schlack will represent KVCC when Business Review magazine continues it series of forums on economic trends on Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Michigan Technical Education Center in The Groves.

            She will be among four college/university presidents who will address “Higher Education and Career Training” from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.

            Schlack will be joined in the town-hall style of discussion by Eileen Wilson-Oyelaren of Kalamazoo College, Lou Anna Simon of Michigan State University, and Diether Haenicke of Western Michigan University.

            Tickets are $10 each.  To register, call (800) 644-2846.  Refreshments will be provided.

            In setting the stage for discussion, Business Review has stated:  “Intellectual capital is at the top of all economic-development issues.  Job training, career development and commercialization are a few of the key issues where higher-education institutions connect with business needs.  The question is – how do we do a better job connecting our educational institutions with our business needs?”

   

Be a part of Cougar Connection 2006

KVCC programs, departments and student services that would like to have a table at the upcoming 2006 Cougar Connection, set for Tuesday, Sept. 5, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the Texas Township Campus, should contact Mary Johnson in The Student Commons at extension 4182 or via e-mail.

This year’s Connection” to welcome new and returning students to the fall semester, will feature:

♦ a putting game.

♦ an obstacle course set up by the Marine Corps.

♦ a rock-climbing wall put in place by the Army.

♦ fitness orientations by the KVCC Wellness and Fitness Center.

♦ caricature drawings by portrait artists.

♦ massages by the Kalamazoo Center for the Healing Arts from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m.

♦ door prizes and other give-aways including two lap-top computers donated by Gateway. The drawings for the two computers is set for Thursday, Sept. 7.

♦ food and refreshments.

♦ displays by college organizations.

♦ and promotions by local financial institutions, restaurants, and businesses.. 

All will be free at this fifth Cougar Connection, which will also feature live remotes AM 1560 The Touch and WKFR 103.3 FM.

The food vendors will be Qdoba Mexican Grill, J. R. Saladays, and Little Caesars Pizza.  Among the other vendors scheduled to take part are: Midwest Communications, the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Suites, Old Burdick’s Bar & Grill, Gull Road Cinema 5;Educational Community Credit Union, National City Bank, FedEx Kinko’s, League of Women Voters of the Kalamazoo Area, Oasis Hot Tub Gardens; In-House Hospice Solutions; State Farm Insurance – Troy Weldon;Elite Tae Kwon Do, Kalamazoo Metro Transit, First Community Federal Credit Union, Abundant Health Chiropractic Center, Harold Zeigler Auto Group, Supercuts,  Metro Toyota, Hunan Gardens restaurant, Sweetwater’s Donut Mill, Video Hits Plus;Healthy Family Chiropractic, Downtown Kalamazoo Inc., Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Greater Kalamazoo Inc., Michigan News Agency, Downtown Retail Association, Zeb’s Trading Co. at Texas Corners, Main Street Grille at Texas Corners, Fletcher’s Pub at Texas Corners, Abundant Health Chiropractic Center, First Community Federal Credit Union, J C Penny Styling Salon, Sam’s Club, Great Clips for Hair;Bermo Enterprises’ Mr. B’s, The Pointe at Western, Kalamazoo Metro Transit, Portfolio Hair and Day Spa, Charter One Bank, Kalamazoo Gay and Lesbian Resource Center, University U Tan, The Kalamazoo Gazette, the Milwood Spine Center, and the Great Lakes Peace Jam.  Volunteers for Cougar Connection are needed for staffing tables in the

Commons. 

Prospects can e-mail Johnson at MJohnson@kvcc.edu .

CTA, screening center score major ?hit?

 The Core Technology Alliance (CTA), a collaborative statewide network of advanced technology facilities that includes KVCC’s Michigan High Throughput Screening Center at the M-TEC, has announced its first agreement with a major out-of-state pharmaceutical firm. New Jersey-based Schering-Plough Research Institute, the research and development division of Schering-Plough Corp., will partner with the CTA to support the company’s drug-discovery efforts. Schering-Plough expects to initiate pilot projects with several of the CTA’s nine core facilities and take advantage of Michigan’s unique infrastructure for drug discovery.In addition to the screening center, other facilities include the Structural Biology Center at Michigan State University, the Van Andel Institute (VAI), and the Proteome Consortium at the University of Michigan. Schering-Plough is developing the study designs for these pilot projects.“We are beginning to see the fruits of some of the early work we’ve done to ensure that Michigan is a leader in life sciences,” said VAI Chairman and CEO David Van Andel. “Our research combined with the integrated resources available through the CTA are advancing Michigan to the forefront in drug development. “Schering-Plough’s collaboration with the CTA is a tremendous testament to Michigan’s efforts to grow a biotech industry that can successfully compete in the global marketplace,” Van Andel said.Schering-Plough’s interest in collaborating with the CTA stemmed from a recent project with VAI. In 2005, the company licensed a biologic

software application developed by the institute based in Grand Rapids. Schering-Plough is using the software, called Xenobase, to enhance its drug development process by applying the technology to its work with disease models and clinical patient samples. “As we worked together on the Xenobase agreement, it became clear to us that Schering-Plough could benefit from the type of core services available through the CTA,” said George Vande Woude, Van Andel Research Institute director and CTA co-founder.  “The beauty of the CTA is that it has strong value for both entrepreneurs and global pharmaceutical leaders like Schering-Plough.”The Schering-Plough pilot projects will be used to inform all aspects of early drug development and applied to many therapy areas.

Michigan’s life-science industry has realized significant growth in recent years because of strong private investments and the state’s actions to seed the industry. With the creation of the CTA, Michigan has built a collaborative pipeline for drug development. By making sophisticated core technologies available to biotech and pharmaceutical firms, entrepreneurs and researchers, the CTA serves as a catalyst for biotech research and development of the life-science industry statewide.

 

VIP to be part of monitoring class attendance

 

What is more newsworthy than the streaking Tigers and the new-look Detroit Lions?  

Well, at KVCC, it’s the college moving to Electronic Class Attendance Reports (E-CARS).

Since federal financial-aid regulations prohibit payment of funds to students who are not attending their classes, KVCC introduced an attendance-monitoring system in the fall of 1998.  This system relies on faculty to report whether selected enrolled students (Federal Title IV financial-aid recipients) have demonstrated pursuit of class after

registration (attendance).  The mechanism used to report attendance has been a paper-formatted report called a “Class Attendance Report (CAR).” 

“Has been” are the operative words, because the CAR is being replaced with an E-CAR (Electronic Class Attendance Report), according to Roger Miller.

Beginning with the 2006 summer semester and in place for the fall semester, instead of a snail-mail delivered CARs, faculty will use the Valley Information Portal to access their E-CAR via the Internet. 

“This technological advancement will benefit all involved players,” Miller said.  “The benefits include: more accurate and timely delivery, eliminates the missing-in-action potential, access is a click away, and quicker delivery of completed reports.  These benefits will make for a more efficient monitoring system which in turn will benefit our students.”

All deans and faculty chairs have been briefed on this upgraded system. 

Printed information will be delivered to each faculty mail box prior to the fall semester.  Generic attendance-monitoring procedures and E-CAR instructions are available through VIP under the Faculty Tab in the center column under the Job Aids channel. 

“In addition,” he said, “semester-specific attendance-monitoring procedures and E-CAR instructions will be available as links when you access your E-CAR via the Valley Information Portal.” 

Information sessions will be provided during Faculty Seminar Days prior to the fall semester.  Relevant information will also be part of the orientation held for fall part-time faculty.

Questions regarding the upgraded system can be forwarded to Miller or Brenda VanderRoest in the Financial Aid Office at extensions 4257 or 4342, respectively.

 

Alternative-fuel training, showcase coming

 

A fall-semester course in alternative fuels and advanced-technology vehicles is  signaling  KVCC becoming one of 27 sites in North America aligned with the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium.

            The one-of-its-kind consortium, based at West Virginia University, was established in 1992.  Over the last 14 years, it has fashioned instructional courses focusing on ethanol and flex-fuel vehicles, biodiesel and natural-gas vehicles, propane-powered vehicles, emissions testing, alternative-fuel applications for a variety of machinery, electric and hybrid vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells.

            “Our first class,” said David (Charlie) Fuller, laboratory manager for KVCC’s program in automotive technology and its point man for this new thrust, “will be an overview of alternative fuels and vehicles that utilize advanced technology.

            “The rapid increase in fuel prices, coupled with concerns for the environment and air quality,” Fuller said, “has led many Americans to seek information about alternatives to gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum-based products.

            “This introductory course is designed to provide basic information for the general public, automotive technicians, employers, fleet operators, and instructors,” he said.  “The course will explore the nature and extent of the problems, as well as some viable solutions that are currently available or in development.”

            The two-credit class, which will again be offered winter semester, will explain the advantages, disadvantages, technology, components, infrastructure and availability of vehicles powered by ethanol, synthetic fuels, methanol, natural gas in both compressed and liquefied forms, electricity, hydrogen, propane, fuel cells, biodiesel, and hybrids.

            “We’ll also cover the sources and effects of air pollution caused by transportation vehicles,” Fuller said, “and explain the ramifications of the U. S. dependence on foreign energy resources.”

            As part of KVCC’s connection to the training consortium, the automotive-technology program will be a host site for the National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Odyssey observance on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

            Booked for the Arcadia Commons Campus and the Kalamazoo

Mall, the event will feature workshops and presentations on alternative fuels, environmental impact, the economics of freeing the nation from dependence on foreign oil, and legislation and policy-making that could promote the cause of alternative-energy technologies in transportation. 

Other attractions will be drive-and-ride demonstrations of the next generation of hybrid vehicles, displays of vehicles that use alternative fuels,  and vendors from the alternative-fuel industry.  It will be free and open to the public.

This will be the training consortium’s third national Odyssey, with the first two staged in 2002 and 2004.  The latter day of awareness to showcase alternative technologies in transportation was held at 54 sites in 34 states.

Other consortium-aligned training sites in the Midwest are at Lansing Community College, Ohio Technical College, the University of Northwestern Ohio, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana in Gary, and Morton College in Illinois.

Fuller said the next KVCC offering would be a training course for emergency “first responders” and fire fighters who have to cope with crashes involving vehicles powered by these new forms of fuel.

For more information about KVCC’s entrance into the realm of training in alternative fuels or about the upcoming 2006 Odyssey, contact Fuller at extension 4178.

 

Screening center?s innovation saluted by magazine

 

The Michigan High Throughput Screening Center, housed at the KVCC M-TEC,  was one of eight winners in Business Review magazine’s first year of awards that acknowledge entrepreneurial innovation.

More than 125 companies in Michigan were nominated and 33 were selected as finalists for the awards that were presented as part of an exposition in the DeVos Center on Grand Valley State University’s

Pew Campus.

The screening center, which was established to pay a key early role in the drug-discovery process, was the only Kalamazoo-area winner among the eight recipients. 

On hand to accept the award from James Stephanak, publisher of The Kalamazoo Gazette and Business Review, was the M-TEC’s Kathy Johnson.

The screening center, with its huge and diverse library of chemical/biological compounds, offers affordable services to life-science companies through the rapid evaluation of a large number of those compounds against a single drug target.  Thus, researchers can get an early read of what will not work and what warrants further investigation.One of the factors cited in a start-up pharma company’s decision to locate in the college’s M-TEC was the proximity of the screening center.NanoMed Pharmaceuticals, headed by chief executive officer Stephen Benoit, has established its headquarters in the M-TEC as an advanced, drug-delivery-systems company that develops nano-particle-based therapeutic and diagnostic products to detect and treat diseases.The new enterprise, which is targeting its initial focus on therapeutics and diagnostics that treat acute leukemia and breast cancer, was the first company to receive financial support from Southwest Michigan First’s “Life Science Venture Fund.”

 

Unretire in-house envelopes

 

If you have a batch of in-house envelopes that are crying to get back into action, contact Marlene Samson at extension 4383. 

Her supply of these unheralded KVCC servants has been getting mighty low at her post in the Faculty Reception Office.

 

?Sunday Series? probes local, state history

 

        The impact of two ethnic groups on Michigan, Kalamazoo’s musical heritage, how the city was in the forefront of treating the mentally ill, and the Southwest Michigan version of “The Trail of Tears” are the first four topics in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s “Sunday Series” of programs about state and local history for the fall semester.

            The 1:30 p.m. presentations, free and open to the public, are held in the museum’s Mary Jane Stryker Theater.

            The opening session is set for Sept. 10 with a doubleheader look at African Americans and Latvians in Michigan.

            Authors Lewis Walker and Benjamin Wilson, who have been faculty members at Western Michigan University, will discuss their research into the state’s black heritage.  They have written a book about the famed African-American resort in Michigan, Idlewild.  Silvija Meija will then examine the contributions of the state’s Latvian communities.

            This “Sunday Series” program is co-sponsored by the Michigan Humanities Council, the Michigan Museums Association, and the Michigan State University Press.

            Here’s the rest of the schedule through December:

            ● “And the Bands Played On:  Kalamazoo’s Musical Heritage” on Sept. 17.

● “The History of the Kalamazoo Insane Asylum” on Oct. 1.

● “The Removal of the Potawatomi” on Oct. 8.

● “Kalamazoo Cemeteries” on Oct. 29.

            ● “The Things of History:  Artifacts and Their Stories” on Nov. 12.

            ● “Shopping in Kalamazoo in the 19th Century” on Dec. 3.

            All of these programs will be presented by Tom Dietz, the museum’s curator of history and research.  The second-half of the series will begin On Jan. 14 and run through the first week of May.

 

New Honors Program students

have successful role models

 

                Students admitted into the KVCC Honors Program for the 2006-07 academic year have plenty of sources for wise advice from their immediate predecessors.

            Jessica Buchanan, a May 2006 graduate, has been admitted to the pharmacy program at Ferris State University.  The Portage Northern High School alumna is the niece of Dona Roche, a materials assistant in the college’s physical plant.

            Anthony Norris, an Honors Program degree recipient in the spring of 2005, received a full scholarship to major in social work at Tulane University, but those plans were shelved by the devastation in New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.  With Tulane closed for a semester, arrangements were made for Norris to begin his studies at Kalamazoo College that fall.

            Norris gave Steve Louisell, director of KVCC’s program, a progress report.  “Although New Orleans is still having problems with the recovery process, the city has improved since I came in January. I am getting ready to join Psi Chi (National Psychology Honors Society.)

“My grade-point average as of the spring semester is 3.693,” he said.  “ Hopefully, I can keep it up.  This semester will be very challenging but I feel that I am ready to handle it. Tell the current Honors students in your class that they will definitely benefit from taking the challenging courses that are required.  I have definitely benefited from your guidance.”

Norris, after graduating from Portage Northern, spent 10 years in the Air Force before overcoming several challenges in life and enrolling at KVCC.

            Other recent Honors Program graduates and their college destinations include: Alexandra Bramwell, University of Michigan; Jewel Cummins, Olivet College; Sarah Yarger, Nathan Welling, Stephanie Marker, and Jennifer Irmen, Western Michigan University; Chelsea Acker, Grand Valley State University;  Nathan Batts, U. S. Air Force; Elisa Leighton, Baylor University; and Kaitlin Hicks, Michigan State University.

            New to the program this year are: Melissa Belcher, Vicksburg High School; Aaron Buxser and Matthew Kelly,, Hackett Catholic Central; Ryan Byrne, Lawton High School; Allegra Cole, Elyse Durham and Kylene Leighton, all home-schooled; Ian Cooper, Tabatha Granger and  Craig Tenbusschen, Portage Central High School; Paul Freires, Comstock High School; Kathleen Meier, Plainwell High School; Rachel Rogers, Escanaba High School; and Amanda Taylor, Portage Northern High School.

            They join carryovers Clint Armstrong of Gull Lake High School, Erin Johnson of Portage Northern High School, and Claire Robbins of the Academia Los Pinares in Honduras

Phone directories

 

                De Cochran reports that a supply of the new AT&T telephone directories has  been delivered to KVCC. 

KVCC staffers can stop by Facility Services to pick up a new copy.

?Science in Toyland? nears end of stay

Both film and written biographies chronicle anecdotes of lifetime vocations being forged by childhood play and exploration.            That’s what “Science in Toyland,” the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s nationally touring exhibition, is all about.            Through Sept. 4, “Science in Toyland,” by means of seven interactive stations, is showing how toys and play can introduce children to science. There is no admission charge to this exhibit or to the museum in downtown Kalamazoo.

            Created by the California Science Center in Los Angeles, the 3,000-square-foot exhibition uses toys, fun and games to demonstrate scientific principles that come alive in safe experiments and require some creative problem-solving.  The objective is to foster a positive attitude about the

sciences.Rome might not have been built in a day, but in “Science in Toyland” youngsters can give it a shot. 

At two of the demonstration stations, they can learn about construction techniques, including one that tests their ability to choose the building methods and materials to successfully bridge an eight-foot “valley.”  While at play, they are learning about how to conceive the sturdiest of support trusses and how cranes work.

            Tops teach about inertia, angular momentum, and the concept of “center of gravity.” One of the challenges is to choose the right top and the right configuration to produce the longest spins.

            The advanced technology of a mock roller coaster demonstrates the effect on speeds of moving vehicles when the track is positioned at a variety of inclines and angles.

What better place than the nation's No. 1 auto-making state to learn about the mechanics of motion and the effects that several scientific principles have on the efficiency of a speeding vehicle.

Youthful visitors can apply their thinking caps and manual dexterity at a station full of dominos, teeter-totters, swings, stairs and blocks. 

The experiment involves using these props to create the most interesting chain reaction.

With Michigan being known as “The Water Wonderland,” sailing is one of the state’s most popular recreational activities. 

In a station titled “Catch the Wind,” visitors learn how the principle stated and proven by 18th-century Swiss scientist Daniel Bernoulli comes into play in being able to move a sailboat across the water no

matter what the wind direction is.

The Bernoulli Principle states that, as the velocity of a fluid – be it air or water --  increases, its pressure decreases.  It is the secret of heavier-than-air flight. 

At “Catch the Wind,” youngsters will be able to position a boat’s sails at different angles and watch how the wind causes the craft to move.

This is at the heart of a number of everyday phenomena. Bernoulli's principle is why a shower curtain gets “sucked inward'' when the water is first turned on. In a perfume bottle, squeezing the bulb over the fluid creates a low-pressure area due to the higher speed of the air, which subsequently draws the fluid up.             “Science in Toyland” shows students of all grade levels the practical applications of the basics of science, those connecting them not only to fun and adventure but also to what is being achieved in the working world.

            “This exhibit helps parents appeal to their child’s innate sense of curiosity and shows that science and fun go together,” said Jean Stevens, the museum’s curator of exhibits.   “There is no greater gift a parent can give children than to encourage them to explore the world and think for themselves.“Children at play and the scientists at work use their imaginations,” she said.  “The child pretends and the scientist asks ‘what if?’"This exhibit," Stevens said, "shows that if children are given the opportunity to be their natural, inquisitive, curious, and creative selves, then science doesn't come across as boring and drab.  It becomes something they want to do more of because it's fun, engaging and accessible."“Science in Toyland” encourages children to make science-related toys from common household items, and uses a balloon to highlight the principles involved in static electricity, rocket flight, transportation, sound production, and sound

enhancement.  A balloon is the perfect prop for demonstrating Newton’s Third Law of Motion – for every action or push in one direction, there is an equal reaction in the opposite direction.

 

Those old computers

            Are you wondering what to do with that old computer gathering dust in the back room?

            Consider contacting a Goodwill Industries outlet.

            Goodwill has launched the second phase of its statewide computer-recycling program that began last October.

            In partnership with Dell Inc., Goodwill locations, including the one in Kalamazoo, are providing computer recovery, reuse and recycling to Michigan residents and companies.  Goodwill workers are now involved in the initial “de-manufacturing” of computers deemed to be at the end of their road.

            They disassemble and sort such components as hard drives, memory chips, fans, cables and plastic screws.  Newer units are separated for refurbishing and sale.

            Since the initiative began, “RECONNECT Michigan” has collected more than 1.5 million pounds – some 70,000 units -- of unwanted electronics across the state.  Funds raised through the resale of computers and components are applied to Goodwill workers’ wages.

            Businesses with large donations can arrange for a pickup by Goodwill personnel.  Goodwill officials stress that all information needs to be removed from the hard drive before a computer should be donated.

            The Kalamazoo-area Goodwill Industries is now located at 420 E. Alcott in the former Stryker Corp. headquarters.  Its telephone number is 382-0490.

And finally. . .

       A few thoughts to live by:Always keep your words soft and sweet in case you have to eat them.

Always read stuff that will make you look good if you fall asleep in the middle of it. Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth the lesson. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. Never buy a car you can't push. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time because you won't have a leg to stand on. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.  When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.             Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live. You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.             Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.