Board of Trustees Celebrates Fall Enrollment Numbers at Michigan Tech

Michigan Technological University’s Board of Trustees heard some good news about this fall’s enrollment at its regular meeting today

John Lehman, associate vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications, presented the fall enrollment figures to the Board.  He said that female enrollment figures are up, brushing 26 percent. In the College of Engineering, there are 906 women students, an all-time high. 

Graduate student numbers also rose for the fifth straight year, making the Graduate School’s enrollment of 1,359 the largest in the University’s history, Lehman noted. 

Freshman ACT scores and high school GPAs are also at an all-time high, and domestic ethnic minority enrollment is just shy of 7 percent, the highest ever, he said. 

Les Cook, vice president for student affairs and advancement, pointed out that this year’s incoming class is the second largest since 2008. “Michigan Tech is continuing to do well despite decreases in numbers of graduating high school seniors and an enrollment downturn across the nation,” he said.

The Board also voted to grant in-state tuition to military veterans who have been honorably discharged from service, regardless of where they live, making official a policy that has been Tech’s practice.

“Michigan Tech has already been recognized as a military friendly school, and this is a logical next step to honor those who have served their country,” said Board Chair Steve Hicks.

In other business, the Board:

• Discussed a five-year capital outlay plan and the 2015 capital project request, required to be submitted to the state this fall.  The capital outlay plan and project request include
• Advanced Energy Research Laboratories, including renovation of Dillman Hall and space in Fisher Hall, the Chemical Sciences Building and the Academic Office Building, at a cost of $19,872,000.
• Human Health Research Center, a new facility to house health-related science, engineering and technologies, as well as medical informatics, at a cost of $35 million.
• A Net-Positive Exergy Microgrid Research Building, an addition to the R.L. Smith Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Building to focus on sustainable processes in both macro- and micro/nano-scale manufacturing, at a cost of $29 million.
• Approved expansion of the Keweenaw Research Center (KRC) at a total cost not to exceed $800,000, to accommodate a new $4 million US Department of Defense contract and growing numbers of industrial contracts. The KRC supports itself on its contracts.
• Heard a report from David Reed, vice president for research, on the sponsored programs awards and contracts and the research expenditures for fiscal year 2013.
  • Total sponsored awards: $48,016,845 (up 11 percent over FY 2012)
  • Total industry awards: $8,186,789 (up 17.8 percent over FY 2012)
  • Total research expenditures: $69,997,311 (2.7 percent less than in FY 2012). Research expenditures lag behind research funding, because funds awarded aren’t always spent in the same fiscal year, Reed explained.
• Approved awarding honorary doctorates to Scott K. Usitalo and Leland D. Melvin. Usitalo will be the speaker at Michigan Tech’s December Commencement. He is vice president of global brands for Kimberly-Clark’s family care business.  Melvin, NASA’s associate administrator for education, will speak at the May 2014 Commencement. 
• Recognized Alice Soldan, a senior lecturer in biological sciences, for 37 years of service to the University.
• Set 2014 Board meeting dates of March 6, May 2, August 7, October 9 and December 19.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.