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UNIVERSITY:
Ray Christie appointed as interim VP of Global Campus » PAGE 3
MOUNT PLEASANT:
Benefit gala raises funds, awareness for Starry Night, Max’s Place for Autism » PAGE 3
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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Student teaching stint lands grad full-time job » PAGE 3
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Man arrested at Deerfield dumpster fires Friday
Police officer, witnesses testify in murder trial
Unknown if related to 32 dumpster, couch fires at end of school year
Jurors expected to deliberate starting today By Neil Rosan Staff Reporter
By Amanda Brancecum Staff Reporter
A male suspect was arrested Friday after a call to 911 reported two dumpster fires. The Michigan State Police in Mount Pleasant responded to a call from a witness at the Deerfield Village apartment complex, 3400 E. Deerfield Rd., about a dumpster fire, according to Michigan State Police Sergeant Lance Cook. Central Michigan University Police and the Mount Pleasant Fire Department assisted at the scene. Another fire was lit in a dumpster at Lexington Ridge Apartments, 3700 E. Deerfield Rd., before the dumpster at Deerfield Village Apartment Complex. The release listed the man as a Rochester Hills native, though police told Central Michigan Life they are unsure if that is where he is actually from and whether he is a CMU student. State police are also pursuing drug charges against the man. The Michigan State Police are leading the investigation and trying to confirm whether or not there is a connection to these recent dumpster fires to the dumpster fires from the end of exam week at CMU that occurred between April 28th and May 5th. As previously reported by Central Michigan Life, the Michigan Arson Prevention Committee offered an up-to $5,000 reward for information for the “rash” of fires in Mount Pleasant between April 28 and May 5. Mount Pleasant police said 21 dumpster fires and 11 outdoor fires, including furniture fires, were responded to during that period. A FIRE ARREST | 2
FILE PHOTO BY MELISSA BLOEM
On April 24, newly-named Provost Michael Gealt speaks on his experiences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as dean of the College of Science and Mathematics during an open forum at the Bovee University Center’s Ausable Room.
The new guy in town
Michael Gealt named next provost, will take over for Shapiro Aug. 1 By John Irwin | Editor-in-Chief
The soon-to-be-opened College of Medicine might have found its man in recently-picked Provost Michael Gealt. Central Michigan University announced Monday Gealt, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, will succeed Gary Shapiro as its next provost. He has spent most of his professional career in and around the field of biology and biosciences, earning degrees from Temple University and Rutgers University in biology and microbiology,
respectively. Gealt, who has served as dean and as a professor of biology at UALR since 2006, will take over for Shapiro on Aug. 1. He will receive an annual salary of $264,000, compared to Shapiro’s $254,000 salary. “Dr. Gealt is a champion of excellent teaching, strong connectivity with students and cross-campus research endeavors,” President George Ross said in a news
release. “I am confident he will continue to advance CMU’s academic agenda, supporting a world-class learning and teaching environment for our students and faculty.” As provost, Gealt is charged with overseeing academics at CMU. He will be the university’s secondhighest ranking official in the administration following Ross. “I am extremely happy to be joining Central Michigan University at this exciting time in its history,” Gealt said in the release. “I will work with members of the university community to make CMU a place where student learning and success continue to be the highest priorities while also improving opportunities for faculty and student scholarship.” Gealt has more than 40 years of academic experience and has taught and held top positions at Purdue
University Calumet and Drexel University. He graduated from Temple University in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and received his Ph.D. in microbiology from Rutgers University in 1974. At an open forum in April, Gealt stressed the need for open communication and a new focus on retention and recruitment at CMU. “We’ve had problems bringing students in,” Gealt said last month. “It needs to be on a university level. Growing the university is everyone’s concern. But once students are on board, we need to be able to retain them.” Shapiro announced his retirement last September and said he will return to teaching in 2014 after taking a year off. Gealt was unavailable for further comment in time for publication. university@cm-life.com
Crystal Bradford named to 2013 USA World University Games team By Mark Cavitt Staff Reporter
FILE PHOTO BY ADAM NIEMI
On March 22, sophomore guard Crystal Bradford dribbles toward the hoop during the NCAA tournament game against University of Oklahoma in Columbus, Ohio.
Central Michigan sophomore guard Crystal Bradford has been selected as one of 12 members on the 2013 USA World University Games team. She will travel to Russia July 8-15 to represent USA Basketball, as announced by the organization on Sunday. She joins four other first time members of USA basketball and seven USA gold medalists. Bradford said when she received word she made the team she was thrilled. “They called out the names of who made the team in alphabetical order, and, with my last name being Bradford, before I could even brace myself for the worst or the best, they said Crystal Bradford as the first name,” she said. “I was pumped, I was stoked. I went into shock until they read the last name.” Team tryouts at the U.S. Olympic Training Center concluded last weekend. University of Oklahoma
“I was being a leader, I was talking. I think the biggest thing was I made mistakes, but I played through them.” Crystal Bradford, sophomore guard head coach Sherri Coale will coach the USA squad. She has already seen Bradford play live when the Sooners played the Chippewas in the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament. Bradford scored 36 points in that game. Coale said Bradford is part of an intriguing USA team in a news release. “Fun ... that’s the first word that comes to my mind (when describing the team),” Coale said. “I think they will be a really interesting bunch to coach. They can do a lot of different things. There were a lot of shooters at the trials in general and a lot of shooters on
the team. A lot of versatility, post guys who can step out and score, and then we also have guys who can break you down off the dribble. Good pieces. Really good pieces and really good parts.” The World University Games are held every other year and is organized by the International University Sports Federation. It is a multi-sport competition open to both men and women between the ages of 17 and 24. Participants have to be U.S. citizens and enrolled in college with eligibility remaining. After hearing the news of making the team, Bradford said she automatically thought of her family and everyone that has helped her to get to where she is today. “I had a lot of different emotions,” Bradford said. “I thought of my mom first, my coaches and everybody that’s helped me. People came up hugging and congratulating me. It was just a rewarding experience. It just feels good.” A BRADFORD| 2
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations today in Isabella County Trial Court, in the murder trial of Curtis Leachman. Leachman, 25, is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Mount Pleasant resident Tyrone Stanley, 20, on Nov. 24 in his S. Main Street apartment. In testimony Monday, Officer David VanDyke testified told jurors Curtis Leachman did not have any wounds that indicated he acted in defense in his altercation with Curtis Leachman Stanley. VanDyke was involved in photographing Leachman following his arrest and took many photos from different angles. On May 14, Brandon Harner told jurors he was a close friend of Stanley’s, even though he had been rooming with Leachman in November. Harner said Leachman was getting upset because he would not take sides after a verbal altercation with Stanley and that he still doesn’t know what caused the fatal argument between the two. He also said Leachman was directing some harsh words toward Stanley, who responded by asking someone for a belt. Though Harner did not see the stabbing, he said he looked toward Stanley after some women began to scream and saw Leachman was carrying a bloody knife. Harner also testified there was no expression on Leachman’s face immediately after the stabbing. McLaren-Central Michigan emergency physician Greg Hicks testified on May 15 and said the knife wound that killed Stanley could have punctured his lung, heart, liver and spleen. Hicks said the knife wound under the victim’s armpit seemed to go through his lung and into his heart. Though Hicks did not perform the autopsy of Stanley, he did say Stanley was dead when he arrived at the hospital. Hicks also said paramedics indicated Stanley had been on the “down” and not moving for almost 10 minutes by the time they reached the hospital. That same day, Karena Tucker testified that the fight between the two men was less than a minute long and said Leachman threatened to stab the people who saw what happened to Stanley. Tucker told jurors she did not see Stanley get stabbed but saw the aftermath, including when Stanley fell down next to a chair after splitting up blood. David Start, a forensic pathologist and the official that conducted Stanley’s autopsy, testified on May 17. Start told the jury the stab wound Stanley suffered would have likely been fatal, even if he received immediate medical help. metro@cm-life.com