June 11, 2024

This week, Michigan Tech’s Department of Social Sciences (SS) is pleased to host the annual conference of the Vernacular Architecture Forum, North America’s leading professional organization for the study of everyday buildings and landscapes. Throughout the week, 200 academics and heritage professionals will board buses to visit sites throughout the Keweenaw that tell stories about the copper mining boom and bust, immigration, urban growth and industrial labor, as well as postindustrial patterns of recovery, reinvention and reinterpretation.

Conference Chair Sarah Fayen Scarlett (SS), associate professor of history, and the conference planning team of colleagues from the Keweenaw National Historical Park and formerly of Finlandia University have been working with property owners, municipalities, heritage sites and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community to produce a heavily illustrated three-volume set of guidebooks providing new research and perspectives on buildings and sites in the Keweenaw.

The guidebooks, co-edited with Michigan Tech Professor Emerita Alison K. Hoagland (SS), will be shared throughout the community and are available for download now on Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech. The guidebooks’ essays and site histories highlight important contributions made over 30 years by graduate students and faculty in Michigan Tech’s industrial heritage and archaeology program.

On Saturday (June 15), the VAF conference will end with a day of over 40 research papers presented at the MUB, and the VAF’s President’s Plenary, with roundtable participants presenting on the first three years of community engaged architectural field schools, co-sponsored by the VAF and the Mellon Foundation, at sites of significance for African American built heritage.

For more information, visit the VAF 2024 Conference webpage or contact Scarlett at sfscarle@mtu.edu or 989-487-2110.

Are you interested in making changes to one of your fall courses? (Examples include designing new assignments, redesigning activities, restructuring the course, and incorporating multiple forms of assessment of student learning.) Do you lack the time, resources or motivation to innovate?

IDEAhub can help. We have eight mini grants available in Track B to invest in your ideas. Participants will receive $1,500 upon completion of the program. Please take five minutes to apply using the IDEAhub Course Innovation Grant Application. Applications are due June 24.

Mini grants are open to instructors in any discipline, any department. We are particularly interested in projects that focus on incorporating active learning, group activities, new ways of assessing student learning and/or changing classroom culture.

This four-week summer program will provide you with resources, community, deadlines and funding to help you move forward on your project. For those who know that you want to change an aspect of your course, but don’t know how to change it, we will provide an ideation session to help you come up with possibilities. You can participate in person or remotely. We will provide community support for your project via weekly office hours (in person and virtually) where you can check in, get help or co-work.

Tentative Schedule:

• Week 1 —
  • Kickoff: Tuesday, July 9, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Ideation Session: Thursday, July 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Weeks 2-3 — Office hours to check in, get help or co-work. Participants should plan to attend one check-in per week, but may attend both. All sessions are held in person and via Zoom.
  
  • Office Hours:
    • Mondays, July 15 and 22, from 10-10:50 a.m.
    • Thursdays, July 18 and 25, from 10-10:50 a.m.
• Week 4 — 
  
  • Final Check-In/Work Session: Monday, July 29, from 10-10:50 a.m. 
  • Debrief: Thursday, Aug. 1, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Deliverables:

• Copy of new assignment/syllabus/demo/etc.
• Implementation in a course in fall 2024.
• Written reflection on the outcomes at the end of the fall semester.
• Collaborate with other participants to share your project and lessons learned at a Lunch and Learn.
• Participants will be encouraged to also share their project at next year’s UP Teaching and Learning Conference.

Tech Today will not publish on Friday (June 14) due to a planned professional development retreat being attended by the University Marketing and Communications news and media relations team.

Submissions for the Monday (June 17) issue of Tech Today are due by noon on Thursday (June 13).

Don’t forget, registration is now open for summer Huskies Aquatics programs! We are excited to offer programs for both youth and adults, from beginners to advanced participants, with an extended variety of times. (Additional classes have been added!)

• New! Huskies Diving Clinic (ages 6-17 years) — A second session has been added for younger ages. Private and semi-private springboard diving lessons are also now available. Contact Aquatics Manager Annie Bengry at ambengry@mtu.edu or 906-487-2995 for more information.
• Adult Huskies Swim Lessons (ages 18 years and older)
• Adult Huskies Swim Training (ages 18 years and older)
• Parent & Child Aquatics (ages 6 months to 3 years) — Morning and evening classes.
• Preschool Aquatics (ages 4-5 years) — Morning and evening classes.
• Learn to Swim Levels 1-5 (ages 6-17 years) — Morning and evening classes, additional classes added.
• Huskies Swim Training (advanced participants ages 6-17 years)

If the class or level you are looking for is currently full, please contact Aquatics Manager Annie Bengry at ambengry@mtu.edu or 906-487-2995. You can also fill out a waitlist request. We will try to add additional classes based on level demand!

Registration for Session 1 youth aquatics closes Thursday (June 13) and adult aquatics registration closes Friday (June 14)! Don't wait, sign up today!

Christopher Pinnow (GLRC) presented at the most recent Radiowave Oceanographers Working Group meeting, held May 21-24 at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Pinnow's presentation was titled "Fresh Water High Frequency Radar at the Straits of Mackinac and Importance of its Data."

Ambrook Research referenced a 2017 study at Michigan Tech in a story about damaging ecosystem changes caused by the introduction and spread of non-native earthworms in North America. The study found a high correlation between damage from non-native earthworms and crown dieback in sugar maples in the Upper Midwest.

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech’s Student Development Complex in a story about this year’s Houghton County VetFest, held June 5 at the SDC.

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Wisconsin’s NBC 26 WGBA mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Olympian Deedra Irwin ’15 (B.S. Exercise Science) taking part in the 2024 Bellin Run, a 10K race held annually in Green Bay. A Q&A with Irwin, who finished seventh in biathlon in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, was featured in 2023’s Michigan Tech Magazine.

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The Mining Journal mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the departure of Alex Tiseo ’08 (B.S. Business Administration) as Marquette Senior High School’s athletic director.

UCS Inventory Closure

University Chemical Stores (UCS) will be closed June 26-28 for our annual inventory. Except for liquid nitrogen or other critical needs, no transactions will be made during this time. Any noncritical orders will be held for processing until the following week.

Please plan accordingly to make your purchases ahead of time and have all your items picked up by June 25.

Please contact us at chemstores@mtu.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

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Seeking YAF Advisors

The Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) registered student organization at Michigan Tech is looking for faculty and staff members who are interested in advising the chapter on campus in the coming years.

The purpose of YAF at Michigan Tech is to advocate for public policies in line with the Sharon Statement. This includes promoting social welfare, individual freedom (including freedom of expression), studying legislation from governmental bodies, supporting the preservation and enhancement of individual freedom for all Americans, providing aid and information to students and young adults to help them realize the beliefs in the Sharon Statement, and maintaining and operating the chapter with national, regional, and local networks throughout the United States.

The student membership ranges from 20 to 60, depending on the academic year. YAF organizes speaking events and activism events, and provides a platform for free speech to achieve its mission.

YAF has hosted nationally recognized speakers such as Scott Atlas, Riley Gaines, Yeonmi Park and many others over the past three years, and organizes annual events in observance of Memorial Day and Freedom Week. Last year, YAF organized its first-ever Military Care Package Drive, collecting over 400 pounds of Christmas gifts and around 400 letters that were shipped to service members overseas.

YAF at MTU is supported by national organizations like Young America's Foundation and the Leadership Institute, and locally by Huskies for America.

If you are passionate about liberty and freedom, have a positive attitude, can be a positive role model and have a genuine interest in supporting YAF students, please contact Jarek Drelich at jwdrelic@mtu.edu.

To have your event automatically appear, please submit them to the University Events Calendar.

Tracks to the Future 2024 Session I

Tuesday, June 11, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

Railroad Transportation and Engineering 2024 Hybrid Delivery Program: Virtual, Hands-on, and Field Trips June 10–14, 2024 Open to high school students who will be enrolled...

Boys' Basketball Summer 2024 Middle School Development Camp

Tuesday, June 11, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Varsity Gym

This camp is for players entering grades 6 - 8 as of Fall 2024. What could be better than three days spent learning basketball moves from head coaches at Michigan Tech? Our...

Pride Celebration: Poster Making

Tuesday, June 11, 7–8 p.m. | Wadsworth Hall G42

Join us for an afternoon of creativity, community, and colorful expression as we prepare for the Pride Parade being held on June 12th! This event is open to everyone –...