Seventeen graduates from an MSU political training program will compete in the Michigan November general elections to become legislators in the state House of Representatives. Since the Michigan Political Leadership Program, or MPLP, began at MSU in 1992, 10 graduates have served in the House and six currently serve.
Friday was the annual Garden Day at MSU, led and organized by the MSU Horticulture Gardens, and with a dozen workshops and two keynote speakers, including the director of the MSU Horticulture Gardens, Art Cameron. The day is an opportunity for the public to learn how to be successful gardeners.
A decade after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the day has come to symbolize supporting America through service. To commemorate the anniversary, MSU will collaborate with Habitat for Humanity and Whirlpool Corp. for its 2010 Whirlpool Building Blocks program. The nation-wide program has targeted seven different communities in which to build a house, and MSU is the first college campus to be involved in the project.
MSU received $1 million from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation last week to help students at MSU’s College of Human Medicine get life-like experience as pediatric doctors. The grant will fund a pediatric simulation center containing high-tech mannequins used to simulate actual humans for pediatric students to practice on.
A new trait in soybean crops developed by MSU could help farmers be more efficient while reducing the amount of chemicals sprayed on the plants. Dechun Wang, an associate professor of crop and soil sciences, has developed two genes in soybean plants that render the plants resistant to soybean aphids, which are insects that feed off the plant.
Two ballot proposals crucial to the funding of the Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, were approved by voters during Tuesday’s primary election. One proposal — which passed with 63 percent of the vote — was to renew and conjoin two millages for CATA, allowing the buses to continue operating without cutbacks.
As polls closed Tuesday evening, Susan McGillicuddy felt the support of Michigan’s 69th district with 65 percent of the vote in the Republican primary election for a seat in the state House of Representatives. McGillicuddy, an MSU alumna and 10-year Meridian Township supervisor, had 4,123 votes to beat opposing Republican candidate and General Motors Corp. lineworker Frank Lambert’s 2,237.
Following a close finish, Clinton Canady and Billie Jo O’Berry were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary for 30th Circuit Court Judge, allowing them to move on to a November general election face-off. Canady, the founder of Canady Law Offices and an attorney with 37 years of experience, earned nearly 30 percent of the vote. In second, O’Berry, an assistant city attorney for the city of Lansing, gained 27 percent support.
Employees at the Capital Area District Library, or CADL, knew even in a slowing economy, area residents still would be there to support their services. Voters approved a CADL proposal to renew 1.56 mills, or $156 for a house worth $100,000, for the next four years during Tuesday’s primary election.
Breast-feeding mothers face unique challenges when returning to work, and MSU’s Breastfeeding Initiative, or BFI, is hoping to create solutions. The organization held its second annual Breastfeeding Awareness Walk on Wednesday along the Red Cedar River to inform the MSU community of obstacles faced by working, breast-feeding mothers.
With a variety of makes, models and pricing points, owning a new vehicle might be one of the first expensive and confusing purchases a college student can make. Jason Fisher, the regional director of the investment company StraightLine, said that as a college student, it is necessary to think about the most important aspects of buying a vehicle — especially cost.
There was a representation of 15 different African languages Wednesday evening at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, marking the end of the 18th annual Summer Cooperative African Language Institute, or SCALI, at MSU. SCALI is an eight-week educational course in African languages, combining four hours of class time with additional extracurricular activities and homework for students.
MSU’s annual Garden Day will take place Friday. The day will feature a variety of 12 garden workshops, lunch, speakers and self-guided tours of the gardens.
Fifteen teachers are attending the Physics of Atomic Nuclei Program, or PAN, from Monday through Friday at the Cyclotron at MSU to learn about nuclear physics, research and classroom applications. PAN — the Cyclotron’s biggest outreach program — also offers nearly the same camp for high school students next week, Aug. 9-13.
Steve Lacy, the associate dean for graduate studies in the MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences, is expected to receive one of the most prestigious awards in the field of journalism Friday. The 2010 Paul J. Deutschmann Award for Excellence in Research, which is awarded by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, or AEJMC, is as an award that recognizes significant contributions to scholarly research throughout the course of an individual’s career.
MSU researchers in women’s health will use a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, to create a mentoring program that will connect junior faculty with experienced researchers. The Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health, or BIRCWH, program will be housed in the College of Human Medicine, said Mary Nettleman, a grant recipient and chairperson of the MSU Department of Medicine. MSU also has contributed funds for the program.
Sarah Willis, a creative writing sophomore at Grand Valley State University, directs this summer’s production of Peter Pan at All-of-us-Express Children’s Theatre at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road., which premiered Friday night. The All-of-us-Express Children’s Theatre is a local nonprofit organization that produces plays throughout the year.
In line with a growing trend of businesses offering mobile access, Biggby Coffee customers can access a calorie counter, find nearby locations and other information using the company’s new mobile website. The site, launched in July, converted the original Biggby website into a mobile-friendly version for use on cell phones.
Endangered giant pandas in China could see significant change in their habitats due to research partially supported and conducted by MSU’s Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. There are large areas of natural habitat for giant pandas outside current captivities, which leaves much of the panda population vulnerable, according to research conducted by international and MSU scientists.
It is rare that a single paper changes the horizon of science. Instead, Wolfgang Bauer said scientists — including MSU researchers — publish countless papers and results that slowly push science toward a different direction. One such paper, examining protein folding, was published last week in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, which showed proteins fold into their structures more slowly than previously thought.