Celebrate OERs at Tech and Beyond

Celebrate Open Education Week with the Van Pelt and Opie Library by participating in our weeklong discussion. Today is your last chance to post your thoughts, but don’t worry — the Library is here to listen all year long! Today, the Library wants to know: What’s one thing you wish the Library knew about selecting course materials? Tell us your thoughts, share the discussion and follow along in the OE Week discussion section of the Library’s Open Educational Resources (OER) page.

Mike Meyer, director of the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and lecturer in the Department of Physics, recently chatted with the Library about his use of the open textbook "College Physics" in his introductory college physics courses. In his opinion, it’s comparable to other intro-to-physics texts available from traditional publishers, making the decision to choose this particular OER an easy one.

For Meyer, a huge benefit to using an open textbook is that it provides students with regular, convenient access to course materials. Lowering costs for students is certainly a factor, but another huge concern is student learning, which is hindered if students don’t have the materials they need regardless of the reason. He notes that while students are able to purchase a physical version of the textbook, few have in the six years he’s been teaching with it. They simply don’t need to. In that time, the textbook has seen regular updates. Meyer is quick to point out these have been incremental, another benefit of using OER. Traditional textbooks publishers may push out significant updates in an effort to drive purchases of the newest version, increasing costs for students and creating more work for instructors.

Curious about a broader use case for OERs than a single instructor? Meyer suggests we look no further than Bay de Noc Community College. Bay, a public two-year college in Escanaba, launched a degree pathway using all OERs in 2017. Their OER Degree Initiative is “working to create a library of high-quality, digital, open courses available to other institutions and the public at large.” Bay hopes that by making all resources easily available, the program will encourage OER adoption at other institutions. Read more and view the list of courses using OERs on their Open Education page.

The Library and CTL realize that adopting a single OER for just one class may seem daunting, much less for an entire degree program. Meyer has some great advice for all instructors concerned about the work involved: When you’re updating any textbooks or other materials in your course, investigate OERs. If you’re already making a change, OERs won’t be any more difficult to implement than content available from a traditional publisher.

Thank you for celebrating Open Education Week 2022 with the Van Pelt and Opie Library! Please send us additional comments, questions and ideas at library@mtu.edu. We would love to keep this conversation going all year.

Film Board Presenting 'Ocean's Eleven'

This week, the Film Board presents "Ocean's Eleven," rated PG-13 for some language and sexual content.

Showings:

  • Friday, March 18 — 5:30 p.m.*, 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 19 — 5:30 p.m.*, 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.

* 5:30 p.m. showtimes will be shown with subtitles! 

Located on Michigan Tech's campus in Fisher 135.

Tickets are $3 and concessions are $1. We hope to see you at the movie this weekend — and have a great day.

Film Board And Bad Info Presenting 'Feels Good Man'

Wednesday (March 23), the Film Board and Bad Info present "Feels Good Man," an unrated film.

According to PBS.org: "'Feels Good Man' is the story of how artist Matt Furie, creator of a trippy, once-benign comic character named Pepe the Frog, fought an uphill battle to reclaim his iconic creation from those who turned it into a symbol of hate. An exploration of the power of online imagery and the fascinating spin cycle of memes in a culture where ownership and meaning can be wrested away from creators, Feels Good Man is a thought-provoking, wild ride through an Internet that transformed an unlucky cartoon frog, and then the rest of the world."

Showing:

  • Wednesday, March 23 — 6:30 p.m.

Located on Michigan Tech's campus in Fisher 135.

Admission is free for students and community members, and concessions are $1. We hope to see you at the movie on Wednesday — and have a great day.

ADVANCE Weekly Roundup: Research Confirms Salaries for Women Are Lower

We recently acknowledged March 15 as Equal Pay Day, the date when women’s pay for the prior year finally equals what men earned. In other words, women must work 2.5 months longer to make the same amount — and Black, Hispanic and Indigenous women have to work even longer. Why?

A popular explanation is that women are attracted to lower-paying fields. This is a logical fallacy. Research in 2016 found that “when women moved into occupations in large numbers, those jobs began paying less even after controlling for education, work experience, skills, race, and geography.” These include STEM fields, such as biology. Conversely, as fields attract more men, pay increases and the field gains prestige (e.g., computer programming) as noted in this and another extensive analysis.

In academia, as women increased from 14% to 42% of faculty, the average salaries of new assistant professors fell by 8% in that field according to England et al. 2007. Additional research has tracked attitudes, showing that as the number of women increases in a field, that field becomes labeled as “soft” (Summary, Light 2022) and “men become markedly less interested in pursuing a career in that field of study” (England 2007). This research culminates in “substantial evidence that employers placed a lower value on work done by women.”

At Tech, we can counter this pervasive societal gender bias by directly examining how we value (with communication, recognition and compensation) the work of our talented women faculty.

Today’s feature was shared with us by the ADVANCE PI team. If you have an article you think we should feature, please email it to advance-mtu@mtu.edu and we will consider adding it to the ADVANCE Weekly Roundup.

The ADVANCE Weekly Roundup is brought to you by ADVANCE at Michigan Tech, an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to improving faculty career success, retention, diversity, equity and inclusion. Past articles are available on the ADVANCE Newsblog.

To learn more about our featured topic, our mission, programming efforts, and to check out our growing collection of resources, contact us or visit our website.

Presentation: 'Conservation is Conservative'

Gabriella Hoffman from the Leadership Institute will present "Conservation is Conservative" at 7 p.m. Thursday (March 24) in M&M U115.

The presentation is organized and sponsored by Young Americans for Freedom and Huskies for America.

Hoffman is a freelance media strategist, award-winning writer and Townhall.com political columnist with areas of interest in energy and environment, gun rights, and taxes and regulations. She hosts the "District of Conservation" podcast and CFACT original video series “Conservation Nation” and has published columns and articles in Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Hill, Washington Times, Field & Stream, Sporting Classics, Outdoor Life, The Virginia Sportsman and more.

Additionally, Hoffman has been quoted/featured in notable publications including The Washington Post, Fox News, NPR, Marie Claire and Time Magazine’s Guns in America cover. In May 2021, she was elected to the Professional Outdoor Media Association’s Board of Directors. She is the 2019 POMA Pinnacle Conservation Award recipient for her reporting work on grizzly bear conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Christopher Middlebrook Selected for Deans' Teaching Showcase

College of Engineering Dean Janet Callahan has selected Christopher Middlebrook, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), as our ninth Deans' Teaching Showcase member of spring 2022.

Middlebrook will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members, and is also a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Middlebrook was selected for growing his work with printed circuit board (PCB) design into something extraordinary. He recognized a training need for electronic design engineers and put all the pieces in place to address a national security problem and offer employment opportunities for Michigan Tech students.

Like most great things, it started small. Middlebrook had an idea that if students like building electronic circuits, they might enjoy designing the printed circuit boards as well. His involvement with the Institute for Printed Circuits (IPC), a trade association founded to standardize assembly and production of electronic equipment, led to an IPC student chapter being formed in ECE. He gathered free materials and used equipment from local and national suppliers and launched an undergraduate course in PCB design. It was a huge hit. Local PCB manufacturer Calumet Electronics Corporation worked closely with him to offer the students an in-depth view of the design process from schematic capture to tested and accepted final product. Calumet Electronics Director of Engineering Services Rob Cooke describes Middlebrook as a “key strategic partner.” Cooke says: “Chris continually pushes to get feedback from our company about what students need to learn to be successful. He believes, as do we, that being able to see, touch and work with materials and processes is a key to being able to design and build.”

The industry connection did not stop there. Plexus Corporation, a dominant force in the electronics manufacturing industry, has a strong interest in the strength of the electronic system design education. Christina Jufliak, Michigan Tech alumna and a manager at Plexus, learned of Middlebrook’s efforts through the department’s External Advisory Committee. She saw a benefit to both her employer and the University. In her words: “As a Michigan Tech student, I saw firsthand the school’s efforts to provide relevant and hands-on experiences for students to prepare them for their careers.”

Middlebrook worked with Jufliak, the Michigan Tech Office of Advancement and the Plexus Corporation Charitable Foundation to secure $150,000 to create the Plexus Innovation Center on the sixth floor of the Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC). Jufliak summarizes: “I am very excited that the Plexus Innovation Lab will continue supporting these efforts, preparing students to take on internships and full-time positions within their respective fields.”

This professional-grade makerspace has become a lighthouse for the design, fabrication and testing of electronic systems for researchers, Senior Design and Enterprise projects across the campus. Dean Callahan comments: "Middlebrook's educational leadership has made a difference to what students are able to design and build, right here in the EERC."

Reminders

Annual Power Outage

Michigan Tech's annual power outage will be conducted in two stages across three days: May 4, 5 and 6. Times and buildings affected are listed below.

Facilities Management has developed a five-year rotating plan to service the 12,470-volt switchgear and associated breakers on campus. Our campus electrical distribution system depends on this gear being in good working condition. 

This work requires a two-night power outage that affects the least number of buildings possible. Please note that in most cases, elevators, fume hoods, exhaust fans, ventilation equipment, normal lighting, plug-in appliances and plug-in equipment will not operate during the outage.

Only items connected to the building emergency generator will have power during the outage; the building emergency generators and battery systems that supply power to emergency/egress lighting and special equipment should function as normal.

If you are unsure if your equipment connects to the building emergency generator, please contact the Facilities Management building mechanic for your building.

Information Technology will be turning off all network equipment in the affected buildings for these outages starting at 5 p.m. You should plan to save any work, shut down your computer systems and exit the buildings before the outages. Additionally, some buildings with power will be without phone or internet service.

Only the buildings listed will have their power shut off during the scheduled outages.

There will be two power outages:

  • Power Outage One — 
    • Begins: Wednesday, May 4, at 6 p.m.
    • Ends: Thursday, May 5, at 6 a.m.

  • Power Outage Two —
    • Begins: Thursday, May 5, at 6 p.m.
    • Ends: Friday, May 6, at 6 a.m.

Buildings affected:
Academic Office Building
Alumni House
Annex
Center for Diversity and Inclusion (Hamar House)
Dillman
Fisher
Forestry
M&M
M&M - Undergrad
ME-EM
Rekhi
ROTC

Buildings with power but no phone or internet:
EMS/SLS Garage
Gates Tennis Center
Little Huskies
U.S. Forest Service Labs

You can find more details and updates on the Facilities Management website. If you have questions or concerns with this plan, contact Energy Management or Facilities Management at 7-2303.

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2022 Campus and Community Maps Available

New 2022 campus and community maps are available from University Marketing and Communications (UMC).

To request copies, email umc@mtu.edu with the quantity needed.

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Desi Beats - An Indian Holi Night

Following the tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the Indian Students' Association (ISA) at Michigan Tech heartily invites you to the celebration of the festival of colors, Holi. We will be hosting "Desi Beats - An Indian Holi Night" from 5:30-9:30 p.m. tomorrow (March 19) at the MUB Commons and MUB Ballroom. The event comprises enthralling cultural performances and a sumptuous Indian dinner buffet.

Get ready to taste delicious Indian food and feel the essence of our Indian culture again. We would like you to be a part of this event, to celebrate and enjoy our most well-known festival, and revel in the festivities at our home away from home. The venues for the festivities are the MUB Commons and MUB Ballroom for the food and performances, respectively.

We hereby proudly invite you to join us and enjoy a grand seven-course dinner buffet at the MUB filled with a mouthwatering list of Indian special delicacies, and of course, a complete evening of stage shows with engaging performances from music and dance teams.

Desi Beats - An Indian Holi Night
Saturday, March 19, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

EVENT OUTLINE:
5:30 to 7 p.m. — Food in the MUB Commons
7:30 to 9:30 p.m. — Festival in the MUB Ballroom

TICKETS:
Tickets are available online, by phone at 906-487-2073, at the SDC Ticketing Office and on the spot at the MUB on the evening of the event (while supply lasts).

PRICES:
Tickets cost $10 for students and $12 for Michigan Tech staff and community members.

As we surely know, your presence elevates the charisma of the event. We are awaiting your gracious presence. Hope to see you all there.

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Chemistry Seminar Series Presentation

Judith Perlinger (CEGE) will present as part of the Chemistry Seminar Series at 3 p.m. today (March 18) in Chem Sci 101 and via Zoom.

Perlinger's seminar is titled "What Gets Measured Gets Managed: Analytical Chemistry Developments and the Recovery of Lake Superior from Historical PCB Contamination."

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HU Faculty Candidate Presentation Today

Song Shi, candidate for an assistant professor of digital media position in the Department of Humanities (HU), will present a research talk on campus today (March 18) from 1-2:30 p.m. in Walker 120C. Virtual attendance is also invited via Zoom.

Shi's talk is titled “Using Digital Media for Social Change and Social Justice.”

Drawing on cases from his book, "China and the Internet: Using New Media for Development and Social Change," Shi’s talk will reveal how Chinese activists, NGOs and government offices have used digital media and information technologies to fight rural malnutrition, the digital divide, the COVID-19 pandemic and other urgent problems affecting millions of people. Specifically, drawing on his firsthand experiences working with activists in new media actions against COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, Shi’s talk will explore how activists conducted their actions with the assistance of social media and information technologies in a city under lockdown. It will investigate the efficacy of information technologies in grassroots actions against COVID-19. 

Shi is a visiting assistant professor in the School of Computing and Information and the Department of Communication at the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Shi specializes in digital media, information and communication technologies, and social activism and social justice. Broadly, his research focuses on the increasing role of digital media in social change, social activism and the promotion of social justice with a geographical focus on China and the USA.

Today's Campus Events

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"Nonlinear Surrogate Models for Computational Fluid Dynamics"

Abstract: High-fidelity models are expensive for numerical simulations, especially in multi-query scenarios, thus reduced-order modeling has been introduced to provide...

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CS Dept. Lecture: Dr. Lan (Emily) Zhang, Michigan Tech, March 18

This event has been canceled. it will be rescheduled at a later date. Dr. Lan (Emily) Zhang, Michigan Tech, an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering...

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Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Hi folks, This mail serves to notify us that we will be having our monthly general meeting on the last Wednesday of the month 6 - 7 PM at Chem Sci. 211 or via Zoom. Feel...

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Musical Minds

Want to test your musical knowledge? Join us for a fun night of music-based trivia. There will be several different categories throughout the night like "Name that tune!". You...

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Don Keranen Memorial Jazz Festival

This year's Don Keranen Memorial Jazz Festival is an incredible two-day mixtape of jazz that celebrates the legacy of Michigan Tech Jazz founder, Don Keranen. Friday night's...

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Spring 2022 William Gleason Shihan Aikido Seminar

Our March seminar is a rare opportunity to train with a world-class Aikido instructor in a small intimate setting. Gleason Shihan will focus on the internal applications of...

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Cricket Tournament Spring 2022

Cricket Club MTU in partnership with Indian Students Association (ISA) has organized Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament for boys. DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: Sunday January 30,...