Tag Archives: western michigan university

Biological sciences students gain support

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

The Department of Biological Sciences recently honored 19 students and faculty at its spring 2012 Honors and Awards ceremony. Among these award recipients were Elizabeth Warburton, who was awarded the Willis A. Reid Jr. Research Grant, and Rachel Denny, who received the Distinguished Pre-Professional in Biological Sciences award.

Elizabeth Warburton—Willis A. Reid Student Research Grant

Elizabeth Warburton is awarded the Willis A. Reid Jr. Student Research Grant.

Elizabeth Warburton, a Ph.D. candidate in biology, recently was awarded the Willis A. Reid Jr. Student Research Grant from the American Society of Parasitologists (ASP). This is the only graduate student grant ASP gives and this year Elizabeth had the highest-rated proposal in the nation.

“I am very pleased to receive this grant because senior members in my field feel my project is interesting and worthwhile,” said Warburton.

 

Her research focuses on why a minority of parasite hosts carry heavy parasitic infections while the majority of hosts have light infections or none at all. Or, in lay terms, “not all hosts have equal probability of transmitting the infection to another individual…the heavily infected hosts are much more likely to spread disease,” she said.

Warburton notes the importance of this research topic for society as a whole. “My research findings would benefit both conservation and public health by predicting which individuals in the population hold more responsibility for parasite transmission and disease maintenance in threatened wildlife and human populations,” she said.

In addition to receiving this grant, Warburton was awarded a Gwen Frostic Fellowship and a Grant In Aid from the American Society of Mammologists.

Rachel Denny—Distinguished Pre-Professional in Biological Sciences award

Rachel Denny, recipient of the Distinguished Pre-Professional in Biological Sciences award.

Rachel Denny, a biological sciences minor, also received a prestigious award: the Distinguished Pre-Professional in Biological Sciences award, an award based on faculty input to select the outstanding biology or biomedical sciences major in a pre-professional curriculum.

“For me this was a great honor,” said Denny. “I was truly surprised when I received the email saying I had won this award. I was very grateful for my teacher, Dr. David Karowe, for nominating me for this award. He has been one of the best professors I have ever had at Western.”

 

Denny is already using her biological science savvy to help spark her career and is “applying to medical school for the school year of 2013,” she said.

While not having any concrete research planned, Denny will work with Karowe on her Honors College Thesis. “My thesis is a comprehensive review on the literature of the effects of climate change on birds and mammals,” she said.

As a prospective graduate, Denny has experienced the opportunities and provides this advice for students hoping to follow in her footsteps.

“Have an open mind and be open to all possibilities, you never know what will spark your interest,” she said. “Do not be afraid to talk to your professors and get the help you need. The professors love to help students and are a great resource.”

WMU salutes Warburton and Denny and their contributions to the biological sciences research field.

Links:

Department of Biological Sciences

 

 

Posted in Learner Centered, Student Spotlight

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Meet the students, Part II

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

How did senior Presidential Scholar, Tara Bell choose WMU’s Public History program (one of only two available in the country) and what’s she done since?

Links:

Department of History

Public History Program

 

Posted in Learner Centered, Meet the Students, Student Spotlight

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Respected trustee emeritus dies at 89

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Trustee emetrius Charles H. Ludlow dies at 89.

By Katy TerBerg

Charles H. Ludlow, a trustee emeritus of Western Michigan University, died May 8 in Kalamazoo. He was 89.

Ludlow was a member of the WMU Board of Trustees for 20 years, from 1967-87. He serves as board chairman, vice chairman, chaired WMU’s 1985 presidential search committee, and executive director of WMU’s 1997 presidential search.

After 20 years of governing board service, Ludlow was praised for giving “his time and talents to Western in the development of such key areas as financial analysis and data processing, while providing wise counsel and setting fiscal standards of the highest integrity.”

Ludlow and his wife, Marion, funded WMU’s prestigious Medallion Scholarship. He had served as a director of the WMU Foundation and had been a member of the President’s Club as well as the WMU Alumni Association, which presented him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 1964.

He was also highly involved in the Kalamazoo community. He was active in civic affairs and played leadership roles in several organizations including senior services, the Greater Kalamazoo United Way, Girl Scouts, Kalamazoo College and the Kellogg Foundation Trust.

Ludlow received a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from WMU in 1950. After 34 years of serving as vice president and treasurer of the Upjohn Co. he retired in 1984.

Fellow trustee emetrius Maury E. Reed spoke about Ludlow’s committment to WMU and the community as a whole. “The time he devoted to his alma mater was legendary,” he said.

“His superb leadership and professional widsom as a chairman of the board and chairman of the [1985] presidental search committee provded WMU a path to prominence in U.S. higher education. Western Michigan University was indeed fortunate for the light and life of Chuck Ludlow.”

Ludlow was an asset to the school and the community, and he will be missed.

Links:
Langeland Family Funeral Homes
Obituary

 

Posted in Learner Centered

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High schooler nabs scholarship to study geography

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deb| 2 Comments

By Katy TerBerg

A soon-to-be-new addition to WMU’s student body has chosen geography as her field of study, and will get a substantial boost toward her educational costs from a local endowment.

Kaytlyn Witgen will study geography at WMU in the fall.

Kaytlyn Witgen has been awarded a $20,00 scholarship to study geography at WMU this fall. Witgen is a recipient of the Mary Upjohn Meader Scholarship, an  endowment which provides awards each year to three incoming freshmen planning to study geography. Criteria for the scholarship include an ACT score of 26 and a high school GPA of 3.7.

Witgen, who will graduate from Perry High School in Perry, Mich. this spring, has received a Mary Upjohn Meader Scholarship. Named after the late Mary Upjohn Meader, a groundbreaking aviator, photographer and philanthropist, the scholarship is designed to cover the costs of coursework in the fields of geography, community and regional planning, and tourism and travel.

Witdgen has been active in multiple extracurricular activities at Perry High, including symphonic band, pep band, marching band, drumline, student council, drama, and tutoring both math and music.

WMU’s Department of Geography is the second largest department of geography in Michigan, and among the top 5 percent of schools in the nation. It has been part of the WMU science curriculum for more than 100 years and is a leader in geographic information systems, community and regional planning, and environmental and resource management.

 

Posted in Learner Centered, Student Spotlight

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Creative writing alum Sean May writes musical comedy

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deb| 1 Comment

By Katy TerBerg

At the helm of the Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale, Mich. is WMU alum Sean May. May wrote and currently stars in the Theater’s latest project, “ROBOCOP! THE MUSICAL,” which runs June 1 through August 4.

WMU Department of English creative writing alum Sean May presents RoGoCoP! The Musical.

“We have been open for over three years, making Detroit audiences laugh through an abundance of of shows,” said May of Go Comedy! Improv Theater.

“ROBOCOP! The Musical,” originally entitled “RoGoCop! The Musical,” is a parody of the 1987 sci-fi/action film of a similar name. It transfers the story of a robotic policeman on route in a dystopian future.

Reviewer John Quinn of the online magazine “Encore Michigan, says “May’s writing is a smart re-imagination of the original film script. He includes some of the original dialogue which, in this newer context, is ROFLMAO funny. He also manages to skewer the odder aspects of the movie, and the action film genre in general,” said Quinn.

May, who received bachelor’s degrees in media studies and creative writing in 2001, won the undergraduate award in creative writing while attending WMU. He sees the creative writing and media studies experiences as great tools in fostering his playwriting skills, and continues to develop his craft at Go Comedy! Improv Theater.

“Just thought I would reach out and try to get some exposure for my great little theater,” joked May on the WMU College of Arts and Sciences LinkedIn alumni group.

Go Comedy! Improv Theater also holds workshops and classes for interested improv performers and May continues to write tongue-in-cheek musicals and host improv shows. More information is available on the website.

Links:
Department of English
LIKE  Go Comedy! Improv Theater on Facebook
Sean May’s website

 

 

Posted in Alumni Activity

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Undergrad earns fellowship to Columbia College for MFA

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Creative Writing major Samantha Schaefer has been given the Follett Graduate Merit Award to pursue her MFA at Columbia College.

By Katy TerBerg

Samantha Schaefer, a WMU creative writing major who graduated cum laude from the Lee Honors College on April 28, is the recipient of a Follett Graduate Merit Award from Columbia College Chicago.

The award, offered to just four incoming students annually, recognizes outstanding accomplishments and the potential for continued excellence in the college’s Creative Writing-Poetry MFA program. Samantha will receive $12,100 toward tuition and fees each academic year. “It’s basically a merit award given to an applicant whose portfolio is considered of esteemed quality,” said Schaefer.

While a student at WMU, Schaefer was involved in a number of activities, including Gold Company II and Onomatopoeia Writer’s Society, a reading series for undergraduate creative writers that she co-founded. She also served for three years as the peer advisor and assistant of the Department of English’s Prague Summer Program, which she attended as a student in 2009.

“I studied abroad twice, once in Prague, Czech Republic and once in Rome, Italy,” said Schaefer.

Her writing has been published on campus in the “Laureate,” the “Albion Review” and “Asylum Lake Press.” Schaefer is the co-editor of the “Black Tongue Review (a charitable literary arts magazine based out of Chicago).”

“While attending CCC I plan on obtaining my MFA in Poetry as well as hopefully exploring alternative forms of poetry including Erasure poetry and three dimensional poetry. I am planning on taking a teaching pedagogy course this fall so that I can teach as an adjunct professor in the spring of 2013,” said Schaefer of her graduate college goals.

“My advice for any and all creative writing majors would be to find a mentor, said Schaefer. “Having a good relationship with my professors is what has really helped me to explore and develop as a writer. I would also advise students to study abroad if it is at all possible. One’s writing undergoes enormous growth under the pressures and joys of travel.”

Links:
Department of English
Samantha Schaefer’s blog
Follett Graduate Merit Award

Posted in Learner Centered, Meet the Students, Student Spotlight, Study Abroad

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Grad awarded Fulbright for study in Spain

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deb| 6 Comments

Graduate Alicia Acosta is awarded the Fulbright scholarship to study in Spain.

By Katy TerBerg

“To be honest, I feel completely humbled and honored. I hope to be able to share with my Spanish students a little bit about American culture and to be able to bring back to the United States with me a little about theirs,” said Alicia Acosta, a recent Spanish secondary education graduate who has been awarded the Fulbright scholarship to study abroad in Spain.

Acosta learned about the Fulbright program several years ago while accompanying her mother in Romania, where her mother was starting a three year tour of Europe at the U.S. embassy. “When I arrived I was offered a position to work in the political section, which I thought would be a great experience,” she said.

“The Fulbright office in Bucharest worked closely with the U.S. Embassy and I learned about the different programs offered by Fulbright, never dreaming that one day I would be a Fulbright recipient,” said Acosta.

Acosta developed an interest in traveling to Spain at an early age. “My dad is Venezuelan and I spent the first 20 years of my life living in Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.) His side of the family identifies strongly with their Spanish roots, as do I,” she said.

Acosta will travel to Spain as an English teaching assistant. She will start her adventure in northern Spain by walking a section of “The Way of St. James,” an ancient pilgrim path.

“I hope to travel as much as possible throughout the country and to visit a small Basque town that bears my family’s last name, Acosta,” she said.

Links:

Press Release

Department of Spanish

Posted in Globally Engaged, Student Spotlight, Study Abroad

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MSA warrior partners with WMU for research

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Deb| 1 Comment

Frank Cervone (bottom left) and his family listen to Dr. Charles Ide talk about the WMU lab where he conducts research for MSA.

Editor’s note: This story is related to another story on Wetern’s research in MSA from the point of view of a research students and her work with another MSA patient. You may read the story here.
 

When Frank Cervone’s doctors told him they thought he had Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and wouldn’t live through Christmas 2011, he replied, “Well, then I better get busy telling people about it and affecting a change!” And that is exactly what he’s done.

Cervone posts on the blog hollywoodrepublican.net and recounted his diagnosis of the disease there…”You know you’re about to have a bad day when the doctor asks if you can wait a few minutes until they see their last patient because they need to talk to you.  Your mind is racing to every disease you’ve ever heard of and trying to remember the symptoms to see if they fit what you feel.  Then the door opens and the doctor walks in.

“There must be a class in medical school titled:  ‘How to Tell a Patient They are Going to Die.’

It goes like this.  Pull your stool up real close, lean forward, and speak in four word sentences.

“It’s Multiple System Atrophy.”

“I am so sorry.”

“Frank, you have MSA.”

“There is no treatment.”

Long pause….  “There is no cure.”

“I am so sorry.”

“Wait!!  Back up.  What did you say?  Multiple System Atrophy?  MSA?  What the hell is MSA?  Dying?  From something I’ve never even heard of?  Dying?  I’m 48 years old!  There must be a mistake.”

“I am so sorry.”

Cervone suffers from a primarily autonomic version of the disease, which causes the slow and paralyzing shutdown of the body’s major autonomic systems like breathing, organ functions, brain functions and more. He searched far and wide for partners in his quest to learn more about possible treatments and developments in active research, and chose WMU when a personal response from Professor Charles Ide of the Department of Biological Sciences at WMU explained his team’s newest findings. Ide is Gwen Frostic professor of biological sciences and director of the Great Lakes Environmental and Molecular Sciences Center.

Once Cervone heard of Ide’s work, he chose WMU as the recipient of funds raised by a 5-mile run in Dayton, Ohio to benefit MSA research.

“It all started with the smell of meatballs,” recounts Cervone on the impetus for the run. “We were campaigning door-to-door when I smelled a fabulous smell…(Cervone (R) was Councilman for the City of Fairborn, Ohio), and I had to find out where it was coming from. We headed straight for that house, I can tell you, and once there, we met a lady who knew someone, who knew someone, who knew a run organizer, who might be interested in helping organize a run for MSA.”

Enter Doug Brandt of the Dayton Barefoot Runners. Brandt heard of Cervone’s plight and volunteered to hold the race in March. Thus began the annual MSA Run/Walk. Cervone humbly explains, “Our gift of $3,350 from the run to the University was made possible by over 200 participants. It’s not a lot of money, but maybe it’s enough to fund a graduate student or a trip to a professional conference on MSA research.”

Cervone who worked at one time as a landscaper, discussed with Ide his exposure to pesticides as a potential cause of MSA.

Ide and his team have shown that changes at the molecular and cellular level in MSA brain cells are equivalent to those caused by exposure to certain pesticides. “We’ve been able to take cells from MSA or control tissues, remove the ‘messenger’ RNA (Ribonucleic acid) which turns into proteins, and show that RNAs and proteins that make energy and get rid of misfolded proteins are way down in MSA cells, like in pesticide treated cells.  Conversely, mRNAs and proteins that turn on an immune response are way up in MSA, including those that are sometimes involved in autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis,” said Ide.

While Cervone’s visit to WMU with Brandt, wife Susan, and daughter Angelina boosted everyone’s spirits—Cervone appeared hale and hearty to the casual viewer—Susan pointed out the toll daily activities and travel take on her husband’s life. “Today he looks and sounds and acts great,” she said. “Once we get home, it’s very likely he’ll be in a coma-like state for anywhere from a few days to a week. The disease takes that much out of him.”

Research on MSA is moving along steadily, and there are definitely high points with each new discovery…hopefully some of those discoveries will be made by WMU and will benefit Cervone and those sufferers of MSA who come after him.

Links:

More on Dr. Ide’s research
Department of Biological Sciences
Multiple System Atrophy awareness

 

 

Posted in Discovery Driven, Learner Centered

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Alumnus pens novel with Kalamazoo memories

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

Alumnus Willie Lane (B.S. Communication Arts and Sciences ’75) enjoys his job as a certified executive chauffeur in the greater Los Angeles area, but his true passion is the novel he’s just completed with a Kalamazoo focus which recalls his time at Western as well as the AIDS epidemic in the early ’70s and its effects on loved ones. “A Greater Good” recalls Lane’s time at WMU and as a DJ on the campus radio station, WIDR, and expounds on how the experience has affected his life since.

Alumnus Willie Lane recalls WIDR and WMU.

“In my new novel I mention WMU, and the fact that Tim Allen and Luther Vandross attended school there in Kalamazoo. One of my characters was from K’zoo and so was one of them I knew at Western who died of AIDS.”

When asked what inspired the novel he says, “In my freshman year, I met two men, one from Kalamazoo and one from Battle Creek. I became good friends with- Michael McKinley who was a senior when I was a Freshman and helped me secure jobs at WIDR and WKZO.”

While attending WMU, Lane became very involved in Project ’73, a program designed to help 1,500-2,000 African-American students graduate from Western Michigan University. Lane said, “I am very proud to have been one of those students. The Project ’73 program recruited 2,000 high school students, and 15 hundred of us graduated.”

Upon learning of the deaths of two Project ’73 friends (Lafayette Davis from Kalamazoo and Robert Cummings from Battle Creek) from AIDS, Lane began researching the spread of AIDS in the black community. He learned that African-Americans comprise less than 13 percent of the US population, but comprise 50 percent of all new AIDS cases in America.

Kalamazoo-area residents may remember Lane from his time as a director at WKZO TV3 (now WWMT) in 1970-72. He directed newscasters, children’s morning shows, live band performances, and more.

Lane tells us a last-minute character addition to the novel identifies a  WMU campus DJ  heard on Kalamazoo’s west side. As a freshman the DJ character gets the dreaded 4-7 a.m. Sunday morning spot at WIDR, the campus radio station, but becomes so popular with listeners that, in his second semester at WIDR, the station manager moves him to the 7-9 p.m. slot on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Find out who this mysterious DJ (and WMU alum) is by reading the book!

Links:
WIDR
School of Communication
“How Aids Invaded the Hood“
“A Greater Good”

Posted in Alumni Activity, Learner Centered

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Jaimy Gordon’s “Lord of Misrule” in the spotlight again

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Deb| Leave a comment

By Katy TerBerg

Prize-winning author and WMU Professor of English Jaimy Gordon.

WMU has been fortunate enough to have great authors in its faculty and  students, and Professor of English, Jaimy Gordon, is setting the bar a little higher. Gordon published her third novel, “Lord of Misrule,” in 2010 to critical acclaim. Gordon’s novel won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2010 and was voted one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month in November of 2010.

Most recently, Gordon has been selected as one of the longlist finalists for The Orange Prize for Fiction, the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman. According to the official website for the award, The Orange Prize, which is celebrating its 17th year, celebrates “excellence, originality, and accessibility in women’s writing throughout the world.”

The announcement coincides with International Women’s Day. The Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist will be announced on April 17, with readings occuring on May 29 and an awards ceremony on May 30.

“Lord of Misrule” is about “trying to figure out what the shape of your luck on Earth is and, one way or another, come to terms with that. It’s very much about courting that message from the gods that you were destined for something special, and most of the characters of the book have to settle for what they get,” said Gordon in an interview.

It is difficult to determine whether Gordon was destined for the award or if her hard work and dedication led her to the achievement, but it is clear that Gordon’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. As Gordon herself said, “You certainly expect your family, the future generations, to remember you or have some impression of you.”

We believe Gordon will continue to leave a lasting impression.

Links:

Department of English
About Jaimy Gordon
The Orange Prize for Fiction

 

Posted in Faculty News, Learner Centered

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