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New MSU hire hopes to improve fundraising

Meagan Choi

June 21, 2010

Jody Ackerman, the newly appointed senior director of development and external relations for MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or CANR, is looking forward to connecting with alumni and donors to take CANR and the university to a higher level of fundraising. Ackerman was chosen by Jeff Armstrong, dean of CANR, and Kris Bradley, the senior director of constituency programs for MSU’s University Development, to link the interests and passions of alumni and organizations that want to support CANR through fundraising, Armstrong said.

MSU

Red Cross to host MSU blood drive

Andrew Krietz

June 21, 2010

The American Red Cross will host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Wednesday in the Physical Plant lunchroom. Although Physical Plant employees are encouraged to give, walk-ins from the public are welcome to donate as well.

MSU

Wizards day to be held at MSU Garden

Karen Confer

June 20, 2010

The Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden will sponsor “Wizards Day” from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the gardens. The day will uncover the magic of the gardens, discovering flora and creating willow wands and herbal potions.

MSU

Michigan 4-H Children's Garden hosts tea party for kids

Meagan Choi

June 20, 2010

About 160 children and parents gathered for the annual tea party from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., which marked the first of five summer family events. Guests wore fairy and elf costumes for the three-course tea party and did a variety of crafts in the garden, such as making pixie-dust necklaces, constructing crowns out of vines and building small fairy houses.

MSU

Locals, students gaze at the stars

Anthony Odoardi

June 20, 2010

The Abrams Planetarium, combined with the MSU Physics and Astronomy Department and Capital Area Astronomy Association, invited the public to come and look at the stars, moon and planets through a variety of telescopes Saturday, including one measuring about 24 inches. The 24-inch telescope was built by MSU in 1970 and cost about $125,000, said Horace Smith, a professor of physics and astronomy who said he had the biggest responsibility of the night.

MSU

College of Human Medicine ranks highly for social mission

Emily Wilkins

June 17, 2010

MSU’s College of Human Medicine, or CHM, is one of the top medical schools in the country when it comes to social mission, or producing graduates who work in underserved areas with physician shortages. The list of 141 colleges, released Tuesday and the first of its kind, was created to provide colleges with an idea of how well they performed in various areas.

MSU

Music camp honors local musician

Aseel Machi

June 17, 2010

The annual Eric ‘RicStar’ Winter Music Therapy Summer Camp is a three-day long program that features several age groups, from young children to adults. It began Thursday at the MSU Community Music School. The program caters to special needs children and adults, but it is not a requirement to be part of the camp.

MSU

Musical trio return to MSU

Aseel Machi

June 16, 2010

The Verdehr Trio performed Wednesday evening for a crowd of professors, students and members of the community. After becoming the first violinist ever to receive a doctorate from Juilliard School in New York, Walter Verdehr pursued a career with the MSU College of Music in 1968 and has been with the university ever since. A few years later, in 1972, Verdehr and his wife, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, created The Verdehr Trio. Adding a third musician who was changed periodically, then trio traveled all over the world to Europe, Asia and Australia and have performed in every state in the United States. 38 years later, the trio perform annually in Great Cobb Hall at Wharton Center for the MSU and the greater Lansing community.

MSU

Brody chefs work on new dishes, food

Andrew Krietz

June 16, 2010

Students looking for more variety in food soon will have an additional option this fall with Brody Square in Brody Hall, which is MSU’s next restaurant-inspired experience, similar to The Gallery in Snyder and Phillips halls. MSU’s newest residential cafeteria will feature nine different venues, including a high-tech demonstration kitchen for students to watch and participate in from 7 a.m. to midnight each day.

MSU

MSU networking site to connect communities

Andrew Krietz

June 16, 2010

Incoming freshmen living in MSU’s east neighborhood of Akers, Hubbard and Holmes Halls will have expanded means of communication with each other and their mentors with a new, online network provided by the university. The service, called SpartanConnect, is an online social network space that officials hope complements face-to-face conversation while in a living, learning environment, said Jacob McCarthy, a spokesman for MSU Residential and Hospitality Services.

MSU

MSU professor leads treatment for obesity

Ashley Brown

June 16, 2010

An MSU professor is leading a research study to combat childhood obesity, furthering the advancement of treatment for children struggling to maintain healthy lifestyles. Joe Eisenmann, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, has been analyzing how genetics and environmental factors affect childhood obesity at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Healthy Weight Center, 100 Michigan St., in Grand Rapids, which opened in April.

MSU

MSU faculty receive backing for flu study

Meagan Choi

June 16, 2010

MSU faculty members will receive $2 million from a National Institutes of Health grant in July to research why part of the immune systems of older mice are more susceptible to the flu, which could have implications for the elderly, one of the highest-risk groups for contracting the influenza virus. Elizabeth Gardner, an associate professor of food science and human nutrition, is co-leading the study with Sungjin Kim, an assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics.

MSU

Correlation found between economy, microfinances

Anthony Odoardi

June 16, 2010

A correlation between the growth of a nation’s economy and the performance of microfinance institutions, or MFIs, has been found in a study lead by an MSU researcher. MFIs are banks that offer small loans to small businesses usually with no collateral required. Christian Ahlin, an associate professor of economics at MSU, said the process begins with microcredit, which is extending small loans used to start and upgrade small business. Microfinance expands on microcredit and acts much more similarly to a bank, he said.

MSU

Fairy, elves garden tea party to be held

Pat Evans

June 16, 2010

MSU’s Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden is hosting the Fairy and Elves Tea Party 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday. Participants are asked to wear their fanciest fairy and elf attire for tea in the garden.

MSU

MSU to host tour to control weeds

Emily Wilkins

June 16, 2010

The MSU Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences and Horticulture will host a tour of the latest techniques for dealing with and eliminating persistent weeds from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the MSU Plant Pathology Field Lab. The day will include a breakfast of coffee and doughnuts as well as lunch and a tour of non-genetically modified soybean weed control at the MSU Plant Pathology Field Lab.

MSU

Macomb, St. Clair counties mull MSU agriculture collaboration

Emily Wilkins

June 15, 2010

MSU Extension is working with Macomb and St. Clair counties to create a position for an MSU Extension educator to promote agricultural products in those areas. The Michigan Extension program is part of MSU, and works with federal, state and county governments to apply MSU research with other areas of Michigan. The program, along with the two counties, want to create the MSU Extension educator position to focus on economic development of agribusiness.

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Rare MSU flower blooms for first time in 15 years

Ashley Brown

June 15, 2010

After 15 years of waiting, the amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, finally bloomed in the Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden last Friday, and filled the room with a smell so disgusting it caused headaches. The corpse flower is known as the largest flower in the world, but is actually the largest inflorescence, which is a cluster of flowers. Found only on the edges of Sumatran rainforests, the corpse flower can grow to more than six feet tall and three or four feet in diameter.

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MSU alumna discusses immigration reform

Aseel Machi

June 14, 2010

Sharing her past memories of obstacles growing up as an immigrant in America and her ideas for immigration policies and reform, MSU alumna Iris Gomez, Immigrants’ Protection Project of the Mass. Law Reform Institute director and author of the novel “Try to Remember,” spoke with the East Lansing community Monday evening at the Edgewood United Church. Hosted by the church, the event addressed an overview of policy reforms and unique perspectives of these reforms from local citizens and immigrants, said Barbara Thibeault, who works in the MSU School of Social Work and organized of the event.

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MSU, MDOT partener for road study

Ashley Brown

June 14, 2010

A partnership between MSU and the Michigan Department of Transportation, or MDOT, could bring enhanced awareness of traffic and road conditions to drivers after university research with infrastructure-sensing technology is complete. MSU obtained a three-year grant of $400,000 from the Federal Highway Administration to develop a technology that can track and store data from vehicles by the weight of their loads as they drive over sensors in the roadways.

MSU

Bean grant seeks health gains

Meagan Choi

June 14, 2010

Jim Kelly, a professor in the MSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, is a co-principal director of a $4 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, which involves 10 institutions to discover new nutritional benefits of the common bean and provide the corresponding tools for plant breeders. Kelly, whose specialty is dry bean breeding and genetics, said the Common Bean Coordinated Agricultural Project, or BeanCAP, will be identifying and matching genetic markers from different dry bean varieties — such as navy, black, pinto and kidney — to about 15 nutritional characteristics, including anti-cancer properties, vitamins and minerals.