The University Professor title recognizes faculty members who have made outstanding scholarly contributions to the University and their discipline over a substantial period of time.

The Distinguished Professor title recognizes outstanding faculty members who have made substantial contributions to the University and their discipline but are not presently recognized through an endowed position or faculty fellowship.

Nominations for both positions must be submitted to your respective dean by Oct. 16. Nomination packets will be reviewed by the Deans Council and an advisory committee organized by President Rick Koubek. Eligibility and nomination requirements, as well as detailed information regarding these titles, can be found on the Academic Affairs Honors & Awards page.

Anderson, 77, passed away peacefully on Aug. 18, the day of her 52nd wedding anniversary, surrounded by the love of her family, friends and caregivers.

Anderson graduated from Michigan State University with her Bachelor of Science degree, Michigan Technological University with her Master of Science in Biological Sciences, and the University of Wisconsin with her Master of Science in Education Administration. She spent over 30 years working at Michigan Tech as the director of Summer Youth Programs and director of the Educational Opportunity department (now the Center for Educational Outreach), and as a special assistant to the president for institutional diversity. She was inducted into Michigan Tech’s Presidential Council of Alumnae in 1999.

During her tenure at Michigan Tech, she was known for unwavering dedication to promoting outreach, recruitment, retention and graduation of minority and marginalized populations. Her work expanded educational access for thousands of students from historically underserved communities.

Anderson married her husband Carl in 1974. They built a life together centered around family and community. She was known for bringing people together. She loved to entertain her family, friends and colleagues at their beautiful home on Portage Lake. Those who knew her will forever remember her generous, giving and kind heart.

The funeral will be held at St. Ignatius Loyola Church at 305 Portage St. in Houghton today, Aug. 21. The visitation service will be held from 10 a.m. to noon with the church service immediately following. The family invites all attendees to share a meal after the church service in the parish hall.

As Chris was a proud member of the Daughters of Italy, please consider donating to the Daughters of Italy Scholarship.

Read Anderson’s full obituary. Condolences for her family can be left on her tribute wall.

Meals can be added to a new or existing Department Meal Card and charged to an MTU index. Please note:

• New Department Meal Cards require a $10 printing fee (charged by IT).
• Please allow 48 business hours for meal additions or new card printing and pickup.
• Meal access is valid at either of our all-you-care-to-eat residential dining halls:
  • The Social House at Wadsworth Hall
  • The Eatery at McNair Hall

Need a Meal for Just a Few People?
Individuals and small groups may purchase a daily meal pass directly at the dining hall ID checker station.

• Cost: $13.50 per person
• Payment: Credit card only (cash not accepted)

Retail Meal Tickets for Groups
If your group would prefer to dine at campus retail locations like the MUB Grill, retail meal tickets are available. To request retail meal tickets, contact huskyeats@mtu.edu and allow at least two weeks for printing and processing.

Faculty and Staff Dining Options
Faculty and staff are always welcome to dine with us. In addition to purchasing a daily meal pass, employees may choose from several meal plan options, including:

• Top Dog Meal Plan
• Limited Time! Campus Dining Preview Plan (available until Sept. 4 and valid for one year from the date of purchase)

For more information about employee dining options, visit the Husky Eats website. For special requests or questions about meal passes, requirements or dining options, contact huskyeats@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1861.

Tom Cirillo, Michigan Tech Research Institute’s DARPA account executive, will lead the session with practical guidance on working with DARPA, pitching ambitious research concepts, and pursuing early-career funding opportunities.

Topics will include:

• Mechanics of the DARPA Young Faculty Award
• Strategies for direct program manager outreach
• Elements that make early-career proposals stand out
• How to frame and pitch high-impact research concepts

The session will be recorded and added to the Research Development Toolkit’s Past Events folder, accessible to Michigan Tech faculty and staff. Artificial intelligence note-takers and meeting bots are not permitted for this session.

More information, including Zoom info, is available on the University Events Calendar at Partnering with DARPA: Unlocking Funding and Elevating Early-Career Researchers.

The article is titled “Gendered ecologies — gendered eponyms: absence, presence, and representation of women within living memorials.”

GeoJournal is ranked by Google Scholar as a top-five geography and cartography journal.

The work reflects an intensive collection, organization and analysis of archival and textual data, uncovering significant gender inequities in the naming of vegetable and fruit varieties.

The article comes out of a much larger research agenda started as an Undergraduate Program for Exploration and Research in Social Sciences (UPERSS) at Michigan Tech and subsequently funded by the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (West), two MTU Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) awards (West and Swier), and the MTU Center for Sustainability and Resilience.

Wisconsin Public Radio mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about a study finding that lake sturgeon in the Great Lakes region may live much longer than previously thought, with some females potentially reaching more than 400 years old.

Lansing’s 97.5 NOW-FM and seven regional outlets mentioned Michigan Tech in stories about the Paulding Light, a mysterious light visible near the Upper Peninsula town of Paulding. The stories highlighted MTU students’ findings that the phenomenon could be explained by vehicle headlights on a distant stretch of highway.

Michigan Tech is excited to offer the CyberHusky Computing Training Program again this year for local middle and high school students. This year’s theme is “Embracing the AI and Cyber Challenges.”

The program will introduce students to networking fundamentals, Windows and Linux basics, artificial intelligence tools, and AI-assisted app development. Students will also have opportunities to participate in national competitions, including CyberPatriot, the nation’s largest cybersecurity competition for K-12 students; the Congressional App Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives; the Presidential AI Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. White House; and the National Cyber League (NCL), a major cybersecurity competition for college students.

CyberHusky students have achieved outstanding results in these competitions. Recent accomplishments include winning the 2026 Presidential AI Challenge Michigan State Championship and the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for Michigan’s First Congressional District, earning top statewide rankings in the Fall 2025 CyberPatriot Competition, and achieving top national rankings in the Spring 2026 National Cyber League competition.

Fall 2026 Schedule and First Session
The CyberHusky program is offered free of charge and is led by faculty and students from Michigan Tech’s College of Computing. The team will meet for 90 minutes on Saturday evenings throughout the fall semester. The first session will be held on Sept. 19 from 7-8:30 p.m. in Room 117 of Kanwal and Ann Rekhi Hall at Michigan Tech.

Eligibility:

• The program is open to local students in Grade 8 and above, including high school students. Grade 7 students with a strong interest in computing may also be considered.

• Students should have completed at least one computer or coding course before joining the program.

• Students are encouraged to bring their own laptops if possible. Computers will also be available for students who need them.

For more information and to submit a CyberHusky Team Application, please visit the CyberHusky website.

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New! Campus Dining Preview Meal Plan Now Available for a Limited Time

Husky Eats is excited to offer faculty, staff and commuter students a new limited-time meal plan: The Campus Dining Preview Plan.

For $200, participants will receive $200 in Dining Dollars, plus 10 dining hall meal swipes, providing a value of $335 and a savings of $135.

Dining Dollars can be used at a variety of campus dining locations, including the MUB Grill, Velodrome Coffee Co. in the Library and SDC, all three campus Markets, the Campus Cafe in Wadsworth Hall, athletic concession stands, the Par & Grill at Portage Lake Golf Course, the Huski Café at Mont Ripley, and campus vending machines.

The 10 dining hall meals can be enjoyed at either of Michigan Tech’s all-you-care-to-eat dining halls: The Social House at Wadsworth Hall or The Eatery at McNair Hall. 

Take advantage of this limited-time opportunity to enjoy convenient dining options across campus while saving on meals and snacks. The offer is available now through Sept. 4, and the meal plan is valid for one year from the date of purchase.

Learn more about available meal plans and purchase yours today at the Husky Eats website.