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MSU

MSU: Rep. needed on state budget committee

Amy Davis
June 23, 2005

Members of the state House of Representatives and the Senate will soon meet with Gov. Jennifer Granholm in a conference committee to compromise on three proposed methods to fund the state's 15 public universities. But some MSU officials said past committees have been biased, and universities with members on the committees have received higher portions of the state's budget. For more than 30 years, many public universities in Michigan have been funded in ways that did not reflect their enrollment levels or the costs of academic programs, said Steve Webster, MSU's vice president for governmental affairs. Whoever controls the politics of the committee controls the direction of university funding, he said. As a result, Webster said there is a significant disparity in the per-student funding of universities across the state. MSU is funded at about $1,400 less per student than other research universities in the state.

MSU

Olin offers free HIV testing to community

Lindsey Poisson
June 21, 2005

Olin Health Center and other local clinics will hold free and anonymous walk-in HIV testing for the MSU community for the National HIV Testing Day on Monday. Nicolle Stec, health educator for the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Olin, said it's an opportunity to educate people about HIV and options that are available for testing and counseling. During pre-test consultation, counselors at Olin will determine whether the patient should have a blood or an oral swab test.

MSU

MSU works on robotic arm for breast exams

Daniel Thai
June 21, 2005

A robotic arm might replace doctors' hands in future breast exams. MSU's Department of Surgery and researchers in the College of Engineering are working together to develop a robotic arm that could give women living in remote areas access to breast exams. The technology is called telemedicine because examinations will occur over long distances, but human doctors will still play a significant role in the exam, said Ranjan Mukherjee, associate professor of mechanical engineering, who is leading the team building the arm. "It shouldn't sound like robots are doing it alone because that's not what it is," he said.

MSU

MSU to admit fewer freshmen in fall '05

Jason Worthy
June 20, 2005

This year's incoming freshman class will be slightly smaller than last year, according to admission rates so far, but a smaller class doesn't mean it will be less diverse. Jim Cotter, senior associate director in the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, said they are confident the freshman class will be more diverse than last year. "I feel more students now look to MSU for diversity," he said.

MSU

MSU approves interim budget for 2005-06

Amy Davis
June 20, 2005

An interim budget for the 2005-06 academic school year was approved Friday by the MSU Board of Trustees. The board voted to permit the operation of the university at its 2004-05 budget expenditure levels until next year's budgets have been established. Last year, the 2004-05 budget and tuition rates, which included a 2.4-percent hike for in-state students and a 5-percent increase for out-of-state students, were established at the board's June meeting.

MSU

Student charged with sex crimes

Kris Turner
June 20, 2005

An MSU international graduate student was arrested by Michigan State Police on charges relating to third degree criminal sexual conduct on Wednesday. Luabeya Kapiamba, a 37-year-old male agricultural economics graduate student, was charged with having multiple sexual encounters with a 15-year-old Washtenaw County female, police said. The Congo, Africa, native was arraigned in a Washtenaw County district court on three counts of criminal sexual conduct on Thursday, police said.

MSU

Secretary attends her last Board of Trustees meeting

Amy Davis
June 20, 2005

Sue Carter has worn several hats during her lifetime, but on Friday she fulfilled the last duties of a position she's held for the last two years: secretary to the MSU Board of Trustees. "I've been blessed to occupy a number of positions in life," Carter said.

MSU

Law professor named U.S. Sixth Circuit judge

Daniel Thai
June 20, 2005

MSU Adjunct Professor David McKeague was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a post in the federal Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. McKeague - confirmed on June 9 along with Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Richard Griffin - has been an adjunct professor at the MSU College of Law for seven years, teaching a Federal Jurisdiction class, as well as instructing students on using electronic evidence in court. The East Lansing resident said he wants to keep teaching along with his duties as a federal judge. "Fortunately, there's a degree of flexibility," he said.

MSU

Board behind on setting '05-'06 tuition rates

Amy Davis
June 16, 2005

Pending the state Legislature's adoption of a higher education budget, university officials say tuition rates might not be finalized until the end of the summer. The MSU Board of Trustees will meet on Friday, but tuition rates and the appointment of two administration roles are not on the agenda.

MSU

Beneath the soil

Archaeologists excavating the site of Saint's Rest, MSU's first dorm, aren't leaving anything to the imagination. With a little help from geophysicists, archaeologists hope to reveal the location of the residents' most private refuge - the outhouse. Tom Mann, a geophysical specialist from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, paced the area surrounding the dig site Wednesday morning, carrying a GPS unit and an instrument resembling a long plastic pipe.

MSU

Commission will review melee film

Daniel Thai
June 16, 2005

Video footage collected from students and police will be the focus of the next meeting of the independent commission reviewing the April 2-3 disturbances. The commission will meet at 10 a.m.

MSU

Designers focus on health, comfort in work spaces

Lindsey Poisson
June 14, 2005

It's not what employees can do for their work station, it's what their work stations can do for them. Everyone on campus, from students to staff, is in constant contact with work spaces that might be harmful to their health. Ergonomics is the study of people's relationships with their work environment, which can include computers, keyboards, boxes and furniture.

MSU

Fungi study might benefit farms

Bob Darrow
June 13, 2005

An MSU scientist is finding out the plants he studies rely on organisms too small for the naked eye to see. In the June 9 issue of the scientific journal "Nature," an MSU professor and other researchers explain how the interaction between microscopic fungi and many land plants could play a vital role in some of nature's most basic chemical processes. "We need to understand how these fungi function in helping the plants," said Plant Biology Associate Professor Yair Shachar-Hill, who did the study with researchers at New Mexico State University and the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. That knowledge could help improve overall environmental quality by encouraging the growth of certain fungi, which would reduce the need for harmful fertilizers, he said. The microscopic organisms - called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, or AM fungi - are asexual and rely on a mutual relationship, or symbiosis, with plants to survive.

MSU

McPherson to speak on U.S. panel

Amy Davis
June 7, 2005

Former MSU President M. Peter McPherson will be one of the four national leaders in a roundtable discussion Wednesday morning in Washington to discuss the nation's role in international affairs.

MSU

Banjo 'immersion'

Lindsey Poisson
June 6, 2005

Joe Schelkopf and Linda Garrison sat outside McDonel Hall on Thursday with their banjos in hand. While they played, they took turns providing vocals and discussing technique. Schelkopf is from Nebraska and Garrison is from Missouri; they never met each other until the three-day Midwest Banjo Camp, here at MSU. The camp - which was held Friday through Sunday and attracted people of varying ages and skill levels, who play either old-time or bluegrass - provided "48 hours of banjo immersion." "We got people from all over the country," said Ken Perlman, director and instructor for the banjo camp and professional banjo musician.

MSU

Invention identifies plants, inspires learning

Jason Worthy
June 2, 2005

An invention used by the Michigan 4-H Children's Garden is making learning more exciting with the new Personal Science Assistant, or PSA, a device used to study plants and flowers. Similar to a handheld device, the PSA reads plant labels through a radio frequency and shows pictures and information about each plant. When using the device, kids can easily see what a certain plant looks like now, but also what it will look like in the summer, fall and winter. Also by the click of a button, the PSA can show how each plant will function in nature. Aparna Ramchandran, the MSU graduate student who invented the machine, said she wanted to create something different for her master's thesis. "My adviser came up with an idea about the PSA," she said.