June 9, 2022

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX — a critical piece of legislation that guarantees equal access and treatment for all sexes in education, kindergarten through college.

Title IX guidance has recently focused on sexual misconduct, but the history of Title IX has far greater breadth. For example, what is the significance of the number 29,977? That was the number of college female athletes in 1971-1972. In 2020-21, 215,486 women competed on teams sponsored by the NCAA.

Title IX was intended to ensure all women and girls had equitable opportunities to participate and thrive — and in addition to athletics, Title IX also affected college admissions, academic majors, vocational programs, teaching and coaching, and the prevention of and process for sexual misconduct.

We have provided a small collection of resources that tell the story — past, present and future — of the significant 37 words below in ensuring equality for all sexes within an educational setting. Please visit the Title IX homepage to access these resources. Scroll down to find the list in the “Highlights” sidebar on the left side of the page.

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Beginning Monday (June 13), Michigan Tech will have a contractor on-site performing parking lot reconstruction on Houghton Avenue, Cliff Drive and Parking Lots 1 and 2.

Additional information, including a map showing the proposed areas of work, can be found on the MTU Facilities Administration and Planning website.

The construction is expected to be complete by the end of June. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

During Bridgefest, we are proud to honor the memory of Thatcher Markham with a 5K run/walk event from Hancock to Houghton on June 17 at 7 p.m. The race supports the Copper Country Junior Hockey Association (CCJHA) and Pigs 'N Heat (the Copper Country Police and Fire Relief Fund) in their missions to promote youth sports and support local fire/crime victims.

Thatcher's family and our community tragically lost Thatcher at 12 years old in the 2018 Father's Day flood in northern Houghton County. His memory has lived on through many local events and remembrances, and this race is another way to make sure he is never forgotten in the Copper Country. It is also fitting that remembering Thatcher will help us with assisting local youth sports — Thatcher himself was a longtime CCJHA player — and local first-responders in their charitable work.

If you’d like to register to run or walk, please see details at the Thatcher Markham Memorial Run website.

It takes many great volunteers to have a great event. If you can’t run/walk or aren’t up to it, but still want to help out a great cause, please email us to express your interest in assisting with the race at thatchermarkhammemorialrun@gmail.com. 

We need volunteer help with tasks including:

• Organization prior to race day
• Race-day and day-before registration and check-in
• Organizing the start and finish areas
• Transporting racers' gear
• Helping with timing (splits)
• Helping at the aid station
• Leading and sweeping the race
• Controlling traffic
• Setting up the course  

Even if you’re participating in the event, we still need your help. And with most volunteer positions, you can still catch the parade in Houghton. Let us know what position preference you may have when emailing. Volunteers will need to sign a release form.

Bridgefest Needs Volunteers!
Many volunteers are needed each year to make Bridgefest possible. Please consider signing up for a shift helping to supervise kids' bounce houses, obstacle courses and games June 18 from noon to 7 p.m. at the Kestner Waterfront Park, aka Chutes ‘N Ladders (10 a.m. setup). Please email Ryan Towles at ratowles@mtu.edu to volunteer if you can.

Bridgefest is a Michigan Tech sponsored event.

The North Coast Grill and Deli will feature a hot wings basket special today (June 9) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

We will be serving six hot wings with your choice of barbecue, sweet chili, buffalo or honey garlic sauce, served with French fries, coleslaw and a fountain beverage for $12.95.

Located in the Memorial Union Building, the North Coast serves breakfast items and lunch featuring salads, stir fry and grill items. We are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

M.S. in Geology candidate Nel Rodriguez Sepulveda will present their master's defense tomorrow (June 10) at 9 a.m. in Dow 610. Virtual attendance is also invited via Zoom.

Rodriguez Sepulveda's defense is titled “A Global Survey of Volcanic SO2 Emissions and Heat Flux Measured From Space.”

Michigan Tech is hosting the 2022 Great Lakes Invitational at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Dec. 27-28.

GLI mainstay Michigan State will join the Huskies, along with Western Michigan and Ferris State, as the teams compete for the MacInnes Cup in a two-day, single-elimination tournament.

"It's been a pleasure to work with Van Andel Arena and the Grand Rapids Griffins, along with the administrators and coaches at Michigan State, Western Michigan and Ferris State, to continue the illustrious history of this premier college hockey tournament,” Michigan Tech Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret said. “We look forward to adding to the great traditions of the tournament and creating exciting memories for the student-athletes, coaches and fans."

The 57th GLI starts Dec. 27 with a doubleheader matchup between Michigan Tech (CCHA) and Western Michigan (NCHC) at 3:30 p.m., followed by Michigan State (Big Ten) against Ferris State (CCHA) at 7 p.m. The winners of those contests will advance to the GLI championship game Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., while the puck drops on the third-place game at 3:30 p.m. on the same day.

Ticket packages will go on sale in early August.

Read more about the tournament and teams at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Steven Techtmann (BioSci) contributed to a story by Bridge Michigan about efforts to track tick expansion across Michigan.

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98.3 WRUP-FM ran information on a puppet-making workshop being led by Patricia Helsel (VPA) at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette on Wednesday (June 15).

Statistical Consulting Service Continuing for Summer 2022

The Center for Applied Mathematics and Statistics (CAMS) will continue to provide free statistical consulting to the Michigan Tech research community for summer 2022.

Please contact the following Department of Mathematical Sciences (Math) faculty:

• Fan Di at fand@mtu.edu 
• Byung-Jun Kim at bkim1@mtu.edu 
• Ray Molzon at remolzon@mtu.edu 
• Kui Zhang at kuiz@mtu.edu 
• Xiao Zhang at xzhang35@mtu.edu 

Their research areas can be found on the department's Faculty and Staff Directory webpage.

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'Dancing with the Bacteria'

Satya Sivaraman, a health communications advisor with ReAct, a global network of universities and organizations that seeks to initiate public and policy action on antibiotic resistance, will be presenting at an upcoming Physics Colloquium. Please join the in-person presentation at 11 a.m. today (June 9) in Fisher Hall 101.

Read Sivaraman's abstract and bio on the University Events Calendar.

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

Junior League Begins

Thursday, June 9, 8 a.m. | Portage Lake Golf Course

Junior League Begins *Some events and times may change

Physics Colloquium - Satya Sivaraman

Thursday, June 9, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 101

Satya Sivaraman is currently a health communications advisor with ReAct, a global network of universities and organizations that seeks to initiate public and policy action on...