September 26, 2017, Vol. 24, No. 2

Numbers Are Up. More Huskies Attending Michigan Tech

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Tech Marks Fifth Straight Year of Enrollment Increases

By Mark Wilcox

Preliminary enrollment figures required by the state of Michigan have been tabulated by Michigan Technological University. At 7,319 students, Michigan Tech marks a fifth straight year of enrollment growth. With 51 students more than last year, this is the fourth straight year Michigan Tech has recorded its largest student body since 1983.

The number of undergraduates grew by 90 students (1.5 percent). This year Michigan Tech will enroll its second-largest class of new graduate students (428) after graduating a record number of graduate students last year. The 651 graduate degrees (PhD, MS and certificates) awarded last year represented an 11.5 percent increase from the previous year.

There are 1,983 women enrolled at Michigan Tech this fall, the highest number ever recorded. The proportion of women grew again this year, making up 27.1 percent of the student body, at the same time overall enrollment was increasing as well. That’s nearly a three percentage point increase since 2005.  Domestic student diversity comprised of underrepresented ethnic populations increased to 491 students, also an all-time high, making up 8.2 percent of the student body.

Retention improved by approximately one half of one percent to 83.2 percent. The average high school GPA of the entering first-year class is 3.72.

“Michigan Tech is providing an education that pays off, developing the innovative problem-solvers that this state and nation need,” said President Glenn Mroz. “Forbes has ranked us 12th in the nation for mid-career salaries of graduates. That kind of success speaks for itself.”

We look forward to sharing Tech Traditions with the new students: K-Day, Homecoming, Winter Carnival, pasties (with ketchup or gravy) and broomball.

What is your favorite Tech Tradition? And, what did campus enrollment look like when you were a student? Email us.

-Sarah

At Tech

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State Recommends Michigan Tech to Lead Line 5 Risk Analysis

The Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board unanimously recommends Michigan Technological University to organize and lead state universities in an independent risk analysis of the Line 5 Straits Pipelines.

The Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board (PSAB) voted unanimously today to recommend Michigan Tech be placed at the helm of a risk analysis of the Straits pipelines, . . . [ Full Story ]

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Test Strips for Cancer Detection Get Upgraded with Nanoparticle Bling

Detecting cancer could be as easy as a home pregnancy test. Platinum-coated gold nanoparticles could make cheap and simple test strip detection a reality.

The most common test strip people might think of for diagnosis is a home pregnancy test. Pregnant women have steadily increasing levels of the biomarker human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is . . . [ Full Story ]

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Industrial Heritage and Archaeology Program Turns 25

The Industrial Heritage and Archaeology program celebrates its 25th anniversary with a joint celebration with Keweenaw National Historical Park. There are museums and entire academic fields dedicated to the study of the human past. Whether the alabaster stone of Roman ruins or the moveable type of the printing press, humans as a species have memorialized . . . [ Full Story ]
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Michigan Tech Talks Back: Social Mobility, Return on Investment More Important than Arbitrary Rankings

US News & World Report has ranked Michigan Technological University 124th among best national universities and 58th among public national universities.

US News ranked 311 national universities that offer a broad range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees.

In 2018 US News undergraduate rankings released today, Michigan Tech’s undergraduate engineering programs ranked . . . [ Full Story ]

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What is STEM Education?

New research shows that K-12 teachers use eight mental models to teach science, technology, engineering and math—a more complex system than initially apparent.

These models are laid out in a new study published in the Journal of Science Teacher Education (DOI: 10.1080/1046560X.2017.1356671). One of the co-authors, Emily Dare, is an assistant professor of . . . [ Full Story ]

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Detecting Cosmic Rays from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Where do cosmic rays come from? Solving a 50-year old mystery, a collaboration of researchers has discovered it’s much farther than the Milky Way.

In an article published today in the journal Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.aan4338), the Pierre Auger Collaboration has definitively answered the question of whether cosmic particles from outside the Milky Way Galaxy. . . . [ Full Story ]

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Teacher Leadership in Online Classrooms Shapes Communication

Everyone needs a good teacher—including teachers. Providing support for teacher education shifts how participants chat in digital classrooms.

Even if online forums could talk, there would still be a lot of reading between the lines. So much of human communication is nonverbal, but in online classrooms, text and forums are the primary mode of communicating. . . . [ Full Story ]

Alumni Around the World

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Michigan Tech Alumni Input Requested for Presidential Search

Join us for a town hall gathering where Bill Johnson, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and member of the Michigan Tech’s Board of Trustees along with Brenda Ryan, Vice Chair of the search committee and Vice Chair of the board, will share the Presidential profile that was developed after input was gathered from the . . . [ Full Story ]

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Tell Us About Exceptional Alumni and Friends!

What do doctors, business leaders, humanitarians, teachers, researchers, donors and volunteers have in common? As past alumni award recipients, they are shining examples of our exceptional Michigan Tech Huskies.

The Michigan Tech Alumni Board is now accepting nominations for the 2017 awards.  Honor your fellow alumni by nominating them for their achievements! Our five awards . . . [ Full Story ]

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A Message from Liberty Mutual Insurance

Help support the Michigan Tech Traditions of Giving Scholarship Fund and provide much-needed help to students.

Simply get a free quote on Liberty Mutual Auto, Home, or Renters Insurance between September 1st and November 30th and we will donate to the Michigan Tech Traditions . . . [ Full Story ]

Alumni Profile

Dr. Kevin Baker ’04 ’05

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Dr. Kevin Baker ’04 ’05 came to Michigan Tech with his parents, traveling 10 hours to visit his brother Joel Baker ’96, and realized it was the best fit for him, too. Baker is the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. Read his story.

Tech Sports

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Predict the Peak Colors

Red. Yellow. Orange. The leaves are changing in the Keweenaw and on Michigan Tech’s campus. When do you predict the peak colors will arrive? Have great fall photos? Share them.

From the Email Bag

Husky Travels Abroad and Dr. Berry Memories

It was great to see Michigan Tech alums at the Uhuru summit. I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 1980, just two years after graduating from MTU. Frederick and Lou Anne look about as tired as I was. It is a grueling multi-day, high-altitude climb, but an amazing experience. Congratulations to them!

-Rich Lueptow ’78

Thank you . . . [ Full Story ]

Featured Alumni Benefits

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Plan Your Future: Estate Planning Tools

Michigan Tech alumni and friends can take advantage of complimentary educational tools to help you plan to provide for and protect you and your loved ones. If you would like to create a plan for your family or need to make updates to an existing plan, these tools can help you get started.

Guide to Planning your Will and Trust is a booklet you can download and fill out to bring to your estate planning attorney to begin creating or updating your estate plan.

The Online Wills Planner is an easy to use online tool that walks you through a number of questions that an attorney would ask you when crafting your will or trust. The Online Wills Planner is designed to help you create your financial snapshot you can review or update annually. You can also print out your Online Wills Planner or share your information with your attorney. Please know that no one will know you are entering this information aside from yourself and what you share with your attorney.

Both of these tools are free for you to use. If you would like more information on these tools or are interested in attending a complimentary estate planning seminar with a certified financial planner, please contact us at 906-487-3325.

Around the Keweenaw

Job Opportunities

On Campus

Miss the great Keweenaw lifestyle? If you’re looking for a way to get back to this awesome corner of the world, check out these positions available right here at Michigan Tech.

View a listing of our on-campus career opportunities.