The College of Natural Science now has an acting dean to fill the shoes of George Leroi, who is retiring after leading the college for more than 12 years. During its Friday meeting, the MSU Board of Trustees named Estelle McGroarty to the position.
MSU Professor James W. Lloyd has been appointed second vice president of the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association Board of Directors.
It's not a pleasant sight. When infants are infected with pertussis, they can cough so much they make a whooping sound as they gasp for air. MSU officials want to keep students from contracting the illness commonly known as whooping cough by requiring immunizations for those training to work in health-care settings. The vaccination will be required for all students in the College of Human Medicine, the College of Osteopathic Medicine, the College of Nursing and students in the Medical Technology Program. "Health care professionals have a much higher likelihood of being exposed to infectious diseases," University Physician Beth Alexander said.
Michigan's unemployment rate jumped in December, and analysts predict the rate will continue to rise.
For months, tensions have mounted on the Lansing Community College Board of Trustees — tensions that may have driven the board into an illegal closed session. The internal drama has led some trustees to publicly criticize board leadership and decision-making, even causing one trustee to resign from her position as vice chairwoman. And on Tuesday, a former trustee filed a lawsuit against the board for allegedly violating the state's Open Meetings Act, which requires all publicly elected bodies to conduct meetings open to the public. "It's a great concern to me when the public's business is not conducted in public, and it should be a concern to every taxpayer," said Todd Heywood, who served on the LCC board from 2001-03. Heywood charges in court documents that the board held a meeting in September at which a majority of members were present without adequate public notice. He also alleges that board Chairman Chris Laverty illegally moved the board into closed sessions. The State News was unable to reach Laverty for comment. If found in violation of the act, the board could be fined and ordered not to violate the act again with an injunction, said Herschel Fink, a First Amendment and media lawyer. An injunction would take another legal step in preventing the government body from meeting in secret by formally ordering it not to violate the act again or risk additional penalties such as jail time. "If the government is able to act behind closed doors, there are no checks and balances," Fink said.
The room was typical. A dirty mattress and an old wooden desk were crammed into a space smaller than a prison cell, and stains on a tattered La-Z-Boy chair made the site eerily similar to a standard dorm room or rental home. As East Lansing firefighters dropped a burning flare into a trash can filled with old newspapers, a vivid message was delivered. "If your smoke detector goes off because of a fire, you have 90 seconds to get out of the room," said Gerald Rodabaugh, East Lansing's fire inspector.
Tucked away on the third floor of a Fifth Third Bank in East Lansing is a training center for Beaner's Gourmet Coffee employees. It's there that they learn to work the cash register, make well-known drinks and deal with the hassles of being a barista.
He's got an oversized head and bulging muscles. He swaggers around in a dashing green Greek costume, dropping into one-handed pushups without a second thought and busting out wacky dance routines. Oh, and he wins national collegiate mascot championships. Sparty regained the title of the Universal Cheer Association's No.
One person pulled an elderly man from a burning vehicle, another saved his girlfriend from the clutches of an attacker and another fought off a violent rapist. These former or current MSU students were honored alongside police officers Thursday night at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road, during the East Lansing Police Department's annual awards ceremony. Josh Burda, a physiology senior, was honored for pulling a man in his 70s from a car that exploded no more than 10 seconds after saving him, he said. "I was just driving and saw there was a guy pulled over, an old man, and I swear that there was a little bit of smoke inside the car.
The legions of people fearing post-college debt breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday, when the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a proposal to lower the interest rates of student loans. The legislation, which passed 356-71, could decrease the current 6.8 percent interest rate on Federal Stafford Loans.
Grand Rapids — It was only fitting the MSU Board of Trustees held its meeting Thursday in Grand Rapids across the river from the Gerald R.
MSU was the ninth-largest producer of Peace Corps volunteers in 2006, as 71 alumni currently serve as volunteers. Since 1961 — when the Peace Corps was created — 2,057 MSU alumni have served as volunteers.
Creating high-tech jobs in Lansing will be the focus of Mayor Virg Bernero's second year in office. He will detail his plans during his State of the City address at 7 p.m.
Almost 700 people took to East Lansing's streets Wednesday afternoon — but it wasn't to cause trouble. An army of about 180 residents adorned with Spartan-green raincoats stood stationed on M.A.C.
In Fennville, Mich., three teenagers are learning a language not many high schools offer — Mandarin Chinese. So far, Sam Robinson, Michael Martin and Nicholas VanTil can introduce themselves and their families, and describe their bedrooms in the dialect. Though their traditional high school is in a small city just south of Holland, they take an online course taught by professors from the MSU Confucius Institute through Michigan Virtual High School. The course is designed to be studied five days a week, with four days of self study.
The Old English D took over Breslin Center on Wednesday afternoon, as Tigers fans young and old came to catch a glimpse of their favorite team. While the crowd anxiously waited to hear from the players, MSU President Lou Anna K.
This time last year, gas prices averaged $2.20 a gallon. Now, motorists are gleefully rushing to the pump, in awe of some of the lowest gas prices they've seen in a year. "I like (the prices). It helps my bank account," said Andrew Vaneenenaam, a human biology senior, who filled up at the Marathon gas station on Michigan Avenue in East Lansing on Tuesday. Gas prices dropped under $2 a gallon Monday.
Volunteers are being sought for the East Lansing Prime Time Seniors' Program to help run its Legacy Project, which aims to bridge the gap between young people and seniors.