Punya Mishra, an educational technology professor, was named among Tech & Learning Magazine’s 10 Most Influential People in Educational Technology. Tech & Learning Magazine asked readers and editorial advisers to nominate an influential leader for the top 10 via an online poll and Mishra was nominated by several people.
Graduate students navigating the world of higher education now have a forum for discussing their experiences, following the launch of an MSU-created website. Gradhacker.org — a site created by five MSU graduate students — was unveiled this past weekend at The Humanities And Technology, or THAT, Camp at George Mason University. The site hosts a blog that allows graduate students to both post and comment on the challenges of graduate school and their various experiences pursuing their degrees, said Katy Meyers, an anthropology graduate student who helped start the site. “The purpose of it is to kind of act as a digital roundtable for graduate students,” Meyers said.
Officials with MSU Extension held an online seminar this past week in an effort to assist farmers affected by the state’s recent severe weather. Last Friday, farmers across the state could tune into an online webinar hosted by MSU Extension officials that explored options for farmers dealing with this spring’s heavy rains, said David Schweikhardt, a professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics.
The summer semester serves as an opportunity for students to accelerate their progress toward their degree, but with the semester divided into six-week sessions, the accelerated pace can make grasping course material especially difficult.
For the past 42 years, motorcyclists in Michigan have been required to wear a helmet when riding. That may soon change, as separate bills have been introduced to the Michigan Senate and the Michigan House of Representatives to repeal that requirement.
MSU retailing professor Patricia Huddleston co-wrote a new book that analyzes the shopping habits of women.
A Michigan corporation is sponsoring a competition that will give college students real-world legislative experience while providing the real world with a solution to a political problem. The Students Reinventing Michigan Corporation is asking undergraduate college students to submit proposals detailing how the state Legislature can best improve Michigan’s infrastructure with public support during the current tough economic times.
People in the market to purchase a house in Greater Lansing are in luck as prices for homes have dropped significantly over the past few years. A CNN Money report recently listed Lansing at number two on their list of 10 “dirt-cheap” housing markets in the U.S.
Though few people are aware of it, Lansing sits atop a legend. Nearly two decades ago, a foreigner allegedly stepped off a plane in Lansing, hailed a cab and asked what there was to do in the area. The cab driver, a longtime Lansing resident, replied that there was nothing to do, and the visitor should turn around and go home.
In celebration of Earth Month, MSU’s Office of Campus Sustainability hosted the fourth annual Dim Down this past April. Lauren Olson, project coordinator in the Office of Campus Sustainability, said Dim Down is designed to bring about awareness of the amount of electronics people have on during the day, especially those they might not need.
On Saturday, Lansing will kick off the 2011 summer tourism season with the Be a Tourist in Your Own Town annual event. Tracy Padot, vice president of marketing for Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she expects more than 12,000 people will tour Greater Lansing on Saturday, when local business open their doors to people from around the area. For a $1 passport, visitors will have access to more than 60 venues in the Lansing area, including pontoon boat rides on the Grand River, an instrument petting zoo at the MSU Community Music School and even the opportunity to rappel down the 23-story Boji Tower in downtown Lansing. “We really hope that we’re educating (people) about all the great offerings we have,” Padot said.
Visitors to MSU’s campus soon might find quicker ways to navigate campus thanks to a new website created by an MSU student. Electrical engineering sophomore Nick Hess has teamed up with four other college students — including a fellow Spartan — to start campusroutes.com, a website that uses GPS features to help students and visitors find the fastest walking routes between buildings using campus sidewalks. Hess and Chris Ostrowski — a computer science junior at Western Michigan University — first came up with the idea during Lansing’s Startup Weekend, an event held in April, which showcases innovative business ideas and provides monetary prizes to the best idea as selected by a panel of judges.
The Board of Water and Light, or BWL, Chili Cook-off has become a Greater Lansing tradition, and this Saturday will mark the 16th year of the charitable event. The cook-off began as a way to offset the costs of the BWL’s Adopt A River program, before ultimately becoming a benefit for local nonprofit organizations, BWL communications director Mark Nixon said. Last year’s event was hampered by rain, but Nixon expects 12,000-14,000 people to attend this year, based on previous years’ turnouts and pre-event ticket sales. “The whole idea was to celebrate the riverfront,” Nixon said.
Anyone interested in stargazing can attend the free open house at the MSU Observatory next weekend. Open to the public, the events will be on June 10 and 11, and they run from 9:30-11:00 p.m.
With temperatures nearing 90 degrees, the timing couldn’t be better for the seasonal opening of the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center. The water park, located at 6400 Abbot Road, will open its doors at 11 a.m on Friday.
A new program by the Fair Food Network will help offset the high price of fresh fruits and vegetables, allowing bridge card holders to “double up” their purchases.
MSU has been ranked the fourth-most economically diverse college in the country, according to data collected by the Department of Education and analyzed by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The department’s study looked at the 50 wealthiest colleges and universities across the country and ranked them according to the percentage of undergraduate students who received Pell Grants for the 2008-09 academic year.
MSU’s Model United Nations team, the International Relations Organization, or IRO, was ranked among the top 10 college teams in the world. The ranking was compiled by bestdelegate.com, a website operated by a group of Model U.N.
With record-setting rainfall hitting Lansing this spring, flooding has been an ongoing problem for Lansing residents. Following Sunday’s thunderstorms, the rain accumulation since March has totaled 14.96 inches, making this the rainiest spring in Lansing’s history, National Weather Service meteorological intern Kimberly Hoogewind said.
East Lansing residents might see an increase in their monthly natural gas bill because of a rate increase by Consumers Energy, said Debra Dodd, a spokeswoman for the company.