A lot of tears and eyes filled with fear were comforted quickly with warm smiles, Bugs Bunny bandages and stickers from a group of Central Michigan University students who helped vaccinate more than 4,000 area children from the H1N1 flu.
The CMU students partnered with the Central Michigan District Health Department to hold flu clinics in a number of schools in areas that included Mount Pleasant, Shepherd, Beal City and Roscommon. The group also donated $400 to the health department to help purchase additional vaccines.
Lauren Miller, a CMU physician assistant student from Coopersville, said being a part of the clinics has been an opportunity to gain practical experience while providing a valuable service.
"This is a very unique time in our community and the nation -- dealing with the H1N1 virus," said Miller. "We wanted to provide assistance to the health department within our own community with its vaccination efforts. This is a very large population, and a very vulnerable population, that needed to be vaccinated."
This experience is one that students will remember and carry with them into their long-term careers, said Dr. Kevin Lee, a CMU physician assistant faculty member.
"This is a historic opportunity for students to respond to a public health epidemic," Lee said. "This is something that you can't predict, and our students stepped right up and did everything they could to help, which is what they'll do when they're out in the field one day."
Health department staff members said the CMU students made a difference at all of the flu clinics.
"In this day and age, collaborative efforts like what we have with CMU are vital," said Mari Pat Terpening, a personal health supervisor for the department. "If we work together we are able to achieve greater outcomes, improve the health of more people and have a greater impact on the health of our community."
To learn more about the physician assistant program at CMU, visit http://www.cmich.edu/chp/x485.xml.
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Below is a listing of public events to be hosted by Central Michigan University from Nov. 30 through Dec. 6. Times, dates, locations and admission details are included for all events. A campus map is available online at http://map.cmich.edu. More information regarding CMU events is available on the university's online calendar at http://events.cmich.edu.
Nov. 30/Central Michigan University's Program Board will present Chuck Klosterman, pop culture author and journalist, at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact cmu_pb@cmich.edu or 989-774-3174.
Dec. 1/Central Michigan University's School of Music will present the Symphony Band, University Band and Campus Band at 8 p.m. Dec. 1 in the Music Building's Staples Family Concert Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Jacobson at jacob3ja@cmich.edu.
Dec. 1 and 3/Central Michigan University's School of Music will present the Honors Recital at 11 a.m. Dec. 1 and 3 in the Music Building's Staples Family Concert Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Jacobson at jacob3ja@cmich.edu.
Dec. 2 through 12/The University Art Gallery at Central Michigan University will host "Revealing Remnants," an exhibition featuring the works of CMU bachelor of fine arts candidates, Dec. 2 through 12 in the Main Gallery. Artists Sarah LeBoeuf, David Nyman and Kelly Pearcy will exhibit works in mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call the University Art Gallery at 989-774-3800.
Dec. 2 through 12/The University Art Gallery at Central Michigan University will host "Domestic Cyclone," an exhibition featuring work by Amy Reckley, Barstow artist-in-residence. This exhibit will be on display in the West Gallery Dec. 2 through 12. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call the University Art Gallery at 989-774-3800.
Dec. 2 through 12/"Space Invaders," an interactive art exhibition featuring art collaborations by students in the art department's fall semester special topics course, will be on display Dec. 2 through Jan. 12 in Park Library's Extended Study Hours Room. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact exhibition coordinator Megan Moreno at 989-774-2165 or brook1mr@cmich.edu.
Dec. 2 through Jan. 14, 2010/Central Michigan University's Multicultural Education Center and art department will present "Drawing in Florence," an exhibit of student art from the summer art program in Florence, Italy. This exhibit will be on display from Dec. 2 through Jan. 14, 2010, in the Multicultural Education Center, located on the lower level of the Bovee University Center, open Mondays through Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact the Multicultural Education Center at 989-774-7318.
Dec. 5/Central Michigan University's School of Music presents "Juletide" at 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 5 in the Music Building's Staples Family Concert Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Jacobson at jacob3ja@cmich.edu.
Dec. 5/Central Michigan University's art department will host an opening reception for December's exhibitions from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5 in the University Art Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call the University Art Gallery at 989-774-3800.
Dec. 6/Central Michigan University's Chi Alpha Christian fellowship presents "All I Want for Christmas is a Trip to Jamaica," a benefit concert supporting a volunteer trip to Jamaica, at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 6 at the Central Assembly of God, 2445 S. Lincoln Rd. in Mount Pleasant. Free cookies, hot chocolate and coffee will be available. Admission is free and open to the public, with donations accepted. For more information, e-mail xachristmas@gmail.com.
Continuing Events
Through Nov. 30/Central Michigan University's Multicultural Education Center and Native American Programs will present "Looking into the Past," a powwow exhibit featuring photos and T-shirts from CMU's annual powwow. This exhibit will be on display in the Multicultural Education Center, located on the lower level of the Bovee University Center, Mondays through Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact the center at 989-774-7318.
Through Nov. 30/"Faiths around the World," a photography exhibition featuring international faith practices and religions by Central Michigan University senior Jillian Pekel, will be on display through Nov. 30 in the Park Library's Extended Study Hours Room. Pekel's photographs examine different religions and faith practices around the world. Pekel has traveled as far as Japan to photograph the Shinto and Buddhist religions, as well as Vatican City to capture images of Catholicism. The goal of this exhibition is to show the differences and similarities in which people around the world commune with their gods. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact exhibition coordinator Megan Moreno at 989-774-2165 or brook1mr@cmich.edu.
Dec. 2/The A-Wall, the indoor climbing wall run by Central Michigan University's recreation, parks and leisure services administration department, is the site of Open Mic Night from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, including Dec. 2, in room 112 of CMU's Finch Fieldhouse. Musical acts will perform, and the rock wall will be open for climbing. For those interested in climbing, admission costs $7, while rentals of harnesses and climbing shoes cost $3 each; shoe rental is not required if tennis shoes are worn. Spectator attendance is free and open to the public. For more information or to register to perform in the open mic portion of the event, call Jordan Bruursema at 616-994-2694 or e-mail bruur1jr@cmich.edu.
Through Dec. 7/"Click!" a photography exhibition by Juanita Baldwin, will be on display through Dec. 7 in CMU's Park Library Baber Room. Originally a geographer from La Serena, Chile, Ms. Baldwin's artwork has been shown in numerous solo and juried exhibitions throughout the state of Michigan and across the United States, where it has won national awards. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information, contact exhibit coordinator Megan Moreno at 989-774-2165 or brook1mr@cmich.edu.
Through Jan. 29, 2010/"Rides and Spangles: Michigan Circuses and Carnivals," an exhibit featuring the history of circuses and carnivals throughout Michigan, will be on display through Jan. 29, 2010, in Central Michigan University's Clarke Historical Library. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call Marian Matyn at 989-774-3990 or e-mail matyn1mj@cmich.edu.
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A Central Michigan University audience will be engaged in discussion about the possibilities of bipartisanship with U.S. Sen. Carl Levin Nov. 22. Sen. Levin will be the inaugural speaker for the CMU Philip A. Hart and William G. Milliken Endowed Speaker Series for Integrity in Politics, which encourages political compromise.
Sen. Levin's speech, "Keeping an Ethical Course In a Political Storm," will take place at 7 p.m. in Moore Hall's Bush Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.
Levin, the choice speaker of former Michigan Gov. Milliken and Sen. Hart's widow, Jane, will encourage interested parties to approach politics in a way that embraces America's diversity of ideas and perspectives, just as Hart and Milliken had.
As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Levin has earned a reputation as a supporter of national defense and as a fighter against wasteful government spending.
Levin has gained respect from both parties for his attention to detail and knowledge of policy, which has resulted in Time magazine naming him as one of "America's 10 best senators."
The endowed speaker series honors the distinguished careers of Hart, a democrat, and Milliken, a republican, and their ability to work together with members of opposing political parties.
"We are incredibly fortunate to be able to house an endowment that will allow students, faculty, staff and community members to benefit for many years to come," said Pamela Gates, interim dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences. "This endowment encourages us to learn from others whose actions in politics emulate the commitments to integrity and ethical standards as demonstrated by Gov. Milliken and Sen. Hart," said Gates.
For additional information on the endowed speaker series, visit http://www.cmich.edu/chsbs.
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Central Michigan University senior Robert Lefief has always been able to piece together ideas for artwork in his mind and turn them into something worthwhile. Most recently, his creativity evolved into a 22-foot-long tyrannosaurus rex, which he welded together using thousands of metal scraps.
"I guess you could say Scrappy is a green dinosaur," said Lefief, an engineering major from Caseville. "He originated from 100 percent recycled scrap metal. I used everything from chains, shovels, sheet metal and plow parts to old oil drums to make him what he is today."
Lefief built the T. rex in about a week-and-a-half to help out a friend from his hometown who was looking for something to add to his dinosaur-themed corn maze. Scrappy quickly grew in popularity, and its food dish became a source for people to donate canned goods and cash to benefit a local food pantry.
Now that the corn maze has wrapped up for the season, Lefief is auctioning off Scrappy on eBay and he plans to donate 50 percent of the proceeds to the bidder's charity of choice. So far, the current bid is listed at $1,000. An artist from Chicago has appraised Scrappy between $20,000 and $30,000. The auction ends at 5:39 a.m. Nov.20.
"That's the greatest part of this," said Lefief. "It was just a bunch of metal that was destined for the scrap yard, and I was able to turn it into something that could really do some good, especially in these hard economic times we're facing today."
Dan Depner, who owns Depner's Corn Maze and Farm in Caseville, said he was amazed by how well Lefief was able to replicate the skeleton down to its teeth.
"You look at it and you see this dinosaur in this position and it looks like it could come to life at any moment," he said. "It really seems to have taken on a personality of its own."
Though it's difficult to let go of the 1,000-pound dinosaur, Depner said in the end, its giving spirit will live on.
"Scrappy brought a lot of joy here, and now it is time for him to move on," he said. "Everybody loves dinosaurs and we know wherever it ends up, its personality will follow."
To bid on Scrappy on eBay visit: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300365640213
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As concerns for the U.S. environment and economy elevate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a strong voice in the creation of a green economy as a solution. Kennedy will bring his knowledge of the issue to Central Michigan University Nov. 19.
Presented by the CMU Speaker Series and co-sponsored by the CMU President's Office and Provost's Office, Kennedy's speech will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium. Admission to this event is free and open to the public, yet tickets are required and are available through the Central Box Office on the lower level of CMU's Bovee University Center or by calling 888-CMU-0111.
Kennedy's presentation, "Green Gold Rush: A Vision For Energy Independence, Jobs and National Wealth," will focus on the creation of a green economy as an increasingly promising solution to multiple challenges. He will highlight the need for a sophisticated, well-crafted energy policy that would sharpen America's competitiveness while reducing energy costs and national debt.
Known as a guiding force in the environmental movement, Kennedy has been named one of Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Agents of Change" and one of Time magazine's "Heroes of the Planet." He has discussed many of his causes in his books, "Crimes Against Nature" and "The RiverKeepers," which both call the Bush administration's environmental policies into question.
Kennedy serves as chief prosecuting attorney for Hudson Riverkeepers, senior attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council, president of Waterkeeper Alliance and partner in Silicon Valley's VantagePoint Venture Partners' cleantech investment team.
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Below is a listing of public events to be hosted by Central Michigan University from Nov. 23 through 29. Times, dates, locations and admission details are included for all events. A campus map is available online at http://map.cmich.edu. More information regarding CMU events is available on the university's online calendar at http://events.cmich.edu.
Nov. 23/Central Michigan University's Multicultural Education Center and Native American Programs will host a showing of the documentary "In Whose Honor" at 5 p.m. Nov. 23 in the Bovee University Center Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Multicultural Education Center at 989-774-7318.
Nov. 23/Central Michigan University's Multicultural Education Center and Native American Programs will host the Native American Music Awards Performers as an installment of the Soup and Substance luncheon series at 11 a.m. Nov. 23 in the Bovee University Center Terrace Rooms, in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Multicultural Education Center at 989-774-7318.
Nov. 23 and 24/Central Michigan University's Volunteer Center will host a Thanksgiving box stuffing from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 23 and a Thanksgiving box distribution from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 24 at the Mount Pleasant Salvation Army, 1308 Burch Street, Mount Pleasant. Volunteers are needed to assist stuffing and distributing the Thanksgiving boxes that will be given to the needy. For more information, contact Erin Herrington at 989-773-4663.
Nov. 24/Central Michigan University's School of Music will present the CMU Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony at 8 p.m. Nov. 24 in the Music Building's Staples Family Concert Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Jacobson at jacob3ja@cmich.edu.
Continuing Events
Through Nov. 30/Central Michigan University's Multicultural Education Center and Native American Programs will present "Looking into the Past," a powwow exhibit featuring photos and T-shirts from CMU's annual powwow. This exhibit will be on display in the Multicultural Education Center, located on the lower level of the Bovee University Center, Mondays through Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact the center at 989-774-7318.
Through Nov. 30/"Faiths around the World," a photography exhibition featuring international faith practices and religions by Central Michigan University senior Jillian Pekel, will be on display through Nov. 30 in the Park Library's Extended Study Hours Room. Pekel's photographs examine different religions and faith practices around the world. Pekel has traveled as far as Japan to photograph the Shinto and Buddhist religions, as well as Vatican City to capture images of Catholicism. The goal of this exhibition is to show the differences and similarities in which people around the world commune with their gods. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact exhibition coordinator Megan Moreno at 989-774-2165 or brook1mr@cmich.edu.
Through Dec. 7/"Click!" a photography exhibition by Juanita Baldwin, will be on display through Dec. 7 in CMU's Park Library Baber Room. Originally a geographer from La Serena, Chile, Ms. Baldwin's artwork has been shown in numerous solo and juried exhibitions throughout the state of Michigan and across the United States, where it has won national awards. The exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information, contact exhibit coordinator Megan Moreno at 989-774-2165 or brook1mr@cmich.edu.
Through Jan. 29, 2010/"Rides and Spangles: Michigan Circuses and Carnivals," an exhibit featuring the history of circuses and carnivals throughout Michigan, will be on display through Jan. 29, 2010, in Central Michigan University's Clarke Historical Library. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call Marian Matyn at 989-774-3990 or e-mail matyn1mj@cmich.edu.
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Central Michigan University celebrated Veterans Day with a Military Appreciation Night Nov. 11 at its football matchup with the University of Toledo.
Veterans and their family members, CMU ROTC cadets, new military enlistees, and many others came together before the game for a tailgate hosted by CMU's ROTC program.
A patriotic demonstration by a professional skydiving team kicked off the football game, and 45 new military enlistees were sworn in at halftime.
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Central Michigan University has been awarded the inaugural Mid-American Conference Cartwright Award for the athletic department's overall excellence during the 2008-09 academic year.
The Cartwright Award is the top institutional award presented annually to the MAC university that most completely demonstrates citizenship, and academic and athletic success.
"Everyone associated with the MAC is proud of the many student-athletes that compete in all of our universities and each of our 23 championship events," said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, commissioner of the MAC. "Central Michigan University continues to excel in each of the areas of academics, athletics and citizenship with the Mount Pleasant community. Michigan should be very proud of CMU and its student-athletes who have earned this prestigious and elite award."
A committee of presidential-appointed representatives from the 12 MAC institutions determines the recipient of the Cartwright Award.
"CMU is very proud to receive this award recognizing the hard work, dedication and character of our student athletes," said Kathleen Wilbur, CMU's interim president. "This accomplishment represents well the spirit and engagement of the entire CMU student body. Being chosen by our peers makes this award even more meaningful."
Academically, the CMU soccer team posted the nation's highest grade point average of 3.70 for the fourth consecutive year while the field hockey team's GPA ranked fifth nationally. The department earned its highest overall student-athlete GPA of 3.12 with 11 teams maintaining a 3.00 or better average. Approximately 52 percent of CMU student-athletes carried above a 3.00 GPA, of which more than 100 maintained a 3.50 GPA or better.
The Chippewas had a total of 26 first-team all-conference performers last year. The program tied for second place in the men's all-sports standings and finished third in the women's standings. A wide variety of educational and leadership ventures for student-athletes were sponsored by the department, while many community service efforts were led by individual teams, including reading at schools, working with the elderly, visiting hospitals, serving meals, and raising money for the awareness of eating disorders.
"This honor clearly illustrates we are doing things right in the classroom, during competition and in the community," said CMU Director of Athletics Dave Heeke. "Our student-athletes, coaches and administrators deserve a lot of credit for not only committing to our championship culture but putting it to work on a daily basis."
The Cartwright Award is named after Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, current president of Bowling Green State University and former President of Kent State University. Cartwright has held prominent leadership roles on higher education's most influential national organizations, such as the NCAA Board of Directors, and has significantly impacted the league's national prominence.
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Skydivers and free admission for veterans will highlight Central Michigan University's Military Appreciation Night at the CMU/University of Toledo football game Nov. 11. Military Appreciation Night will not only honor veterans on Veterans Day, but their family members and new U.S. military enlistees.
The CMU ROTC will sponsor a tailgate and cookout for veterans and their family members prior to the game, and just before kickoff, a skydiving team will parachute into Kelly/Shorts Stadium to present the game ball.
At halftime, the Michigan Army National Guard band will perform with the CMU marching band, and representatives from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will be present to honor veterans. A group of veterans, cadets and new Army enlistees will march onto the field, and Brig. Gen. John Kulhavi, a former member of CMU's Board of Trustees, will swear in the new enlistees.
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After nearly two years and more than 26,000 miles, a Central Michigan University physics professor has pieced together 3,000 individual photographs and transformed them into one panoramic image of the full night sky with the Milky Way galaxy at its center.
Because of the limiting effect of artificial lighting in viewing the night sky, Axel Mellinger traveled to remote areas in South Africa, Texas and the Huron-Manistee National Forest in Michigan to find locations dark enough to capture the images he needed utilizing a specialized camera.
"My hope is that people, especially children, will become more aware of the beauty of the night sky and that it is something that we should protect," said Mellinger, who has been studying the sky since he was 12. "My image allows them to see and appreciate all of this."
After developing and scanning the photographs, Mellinger spent hundreds of hours at his computer using a mathematical model to create an image 60 to 80 times larger than a typical digital picture. The high-resolution image makes it more useful for educational and scientific purposes because it allows viewers to see and zoom in on all elements of the sky at once. It provides a much wider field of view than existing images such as those captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, which only display one element at a time.
"The image shows stars 1,000 times fainter than the human eye can even see, and hundreds of galaxies, star clusters and nebulae together all at once," Mellinger said.
The fact that you can maintain this level of detail as you zoom in and out on the image means everything for study and research purposes, said Bill Wren, an astronomer at the McDonald Observatory located at the University of Texas at Austin.
"The panorama that Axel created is astounding," said Wren, who has followed Mellinger's work for several years. "There is nothing out there right now that is comparable to it, especially with this breadth and depth. It's just really an amazing piece of work."
Mellinger plans to make his panorama available to planetariums around the world. He recently presented it at the Great Lakes Planetarium Association's conference, an event that drew astronomers from 20 states and four different countries to the Delta College Planetarium and Learning Center in Bay City.
"I set out to create this image because I wanted to provide a unique view of the night sky around us," Mellinger said. "Many people unfortunately no longer can see the fainter stars of the night sky because of all of the artificial light pollution."
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