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| Friday, April 27, 2012

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Ross hires firm for strategic planning

Gay Sacred Heart alum uninvited as speaker at graduation Bishop found out he’s open, will not allow him to talk at commencement

By Catey Traylor Senior Reporter

Central Michigan University President George Ross has hired a consulting firm to offer advice on the implementation of the strategic planning process. Penson Associates, a national higher education professional consulting firm based in Palm Desert, Calif., works with colleges, universities and state systems of higher education. Penson has served clients such as Indiana University, Lincoln College, Youngstown State University and Northern Michigan University. “I really wanted Penson to help the strategic planning team engage key stakeholders so that the hopes and dreams of our faculty, students, staff, alumni and community members are reflected in this plan,” Ross said via email to Central Michigan Life. To date, CMU has paid Penson a total of $21,419. Ross said Penson will continue to be utilized by the strategic planning team until an effective plan is developed. The Strategic Planning Committee was formed about a year ago and is co-chaired by Claudia Douglass, interim vice provost for Academic Affairs, and Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president and controller. “Working with senior leadership and the university community, the team will develop the institutional vision statement, determine broad strategic initiatives, identify priorities and recommend action plans and measurable outcomes,” Ross said in a message released to the university in April 2011. A ROSS | 2a

By Hailee Sattavara Senior Reporter

Victoria Zegler/Staff Photographer

Clinton Township senior Stephanie Jaczkowski was awarded the Fulbright fellowship, a grant which offers students the opportunity to teach and conduct research for U.S. citizens to go abroad, on March 30, 2012.

Home away from home CMU senior Stephanie Jaczkowski first undergrad to win Fulbright fellowship, continues teaching in Poland By Ben Harris | Staff reporter

The first thing Stephanie Jaczkowski said she will do when she gets to Poland is buy a lamb kebob. The Clinton Township senior has been awarded a Fulbright fellowship in Poland to work at the University of Gdansk for about nine months. “I’m super excited just to be back. I spent five months there and loved it,” she said. “I’m looking forward to making new friends and being a teacher, but I’m also really excited to hang out with the people I met the last time I was there.”

She found out she won the fellowship on her way back from a tour of the public affairs program at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. Jaczkowski said she had called her mother and said she would be going to IU. But then she returned to her friend’s apartment. It was 1:30 a.m., and she had not checked her email all day. After checking it, she found an email in her inbox from Phame Camarena, director of the Honors Program and the National Scholarship Program Di-

rector at Central Michigan University, congratulating her for winning the fellowship. Camarena said he and his department became confident when they saw the quality of Jaczkowski’s application. “We were cautiously optimistic,” he said. It will be essential for students to explore the program earlier, he said, but having an award winner will give younger students something to aspire to.

Sacred Heart Academy graduate Dominic SheahanStahl cannot speak at commencement after officials found out he was gay, he said. He was not told by Sacred Heart but informed by his mother, he said in a video posted on YouTube yesterday. “I was very taken aback and shocked by this,” he said. A Facebook page called “Let Dominic Speak” has received more than 1,500 likes since its creation last night. Sheahan-Stahl said the reason he cannot speak is because he is openly gay on Facebook, and the bishop wouldn’t allow him to make a speech. Sacred Heart officials did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. Former Spectrum President and current Student Government Association President Justin Gawronski disagrees with the decision and said he doesn’t think anyone should be discriminated against.

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[C M L I F E ] w This is the last regular edition of Central Michigan Life. The first summer edition will be published on May 16.

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Lori Hella named associate VP of Human Resources department By David Oltean Senior Reporter

Lori Hella was appointed Central Michigan University’s Vice President of Human Resources Wednesday. Hella, former director of benefits and wellness at CMU, has held the interim associate vice president of Human Resources position since June 1, 2010. A national search was held for the position before Hella edged out finalist Mark Ankenbauer, former associate Vice President

for Human Resources at Wayne State University. According to an email from University Communications, Hella started the permanent position on April 25 and will receive an annual salary of $126,500. Hella has worked in CMU’s human resources departments since 1996 and previously worked human resources roles with Saint Mary’s Health Services and marketing firm Talent Tree Personnel. Along with serving as the former director of benefits and wellness, she has also served

as personnel generalist, compensation and benefit analyst and assistant director of compensation and benefits. Hella said she is excited to have been appointed for the position, and it will help the future of the department’s organization to no longer have an interim vice president. “I think it’s nice for the department, because I’ve had the interim position for almost two years, and when you’re in that interim status, there’s just a little bit of uncertainty of whether there will be

additional organization changes to the department,” Hella said. Hella said her experience with human resources since 1996 will help, should the department run into problems they have seen in years past. “I think (prior experience) is going to be very helpful, because familiarity with the history of CMU gives me a solid foundation of why we’ve done things the way we have in the past,” Hella said. “If situations come up with something we’ve dealt with in the past, it will certainly help for

those similar situations in the future.” Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette said the search committee for the position, which consisted of six university employees, received more than 40 applications for the job before narrowing the search down to three candidates, who were invited to campus. “The search committee received 40 applications, screened those, and of those 40, we invited five potential candidates to a

Skype interview,” Burdette said. “Of those five, we invited three to visit campus. Of the two finalists, Lori was by far the most superior.” Burdette said Hella’s background experience in CMU’s human resources department made her a qualified candidate for the position. “She’s a great team player, and she cares deeply about CMU and the university’s employees,” Burdette said. university@cm-life.com

Students, faculty demonstrate to oppose rising student loan debt By Adam Niemi Staff Reporter

Students and faculty at Central Michigan University showed opposition against rising student loan debt on campus Thursday. The demonstration took place outside the main entrance of the Bovee University Center against a scheduled rise in interest rates on federally subsidized student loans. On July 1, the rate is set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, according to CNN. “This isn’t just inflation. This isn’t just higher cost of living,” said demonstration organizer Andy Blom, a philosophy and religion faculty member. “This is a result of the decisions made

by public officials at the state and federal level and also the effect on university administrators who continue to let budgets grow because they know it’s funded by debt.” Blom said he invited students in his classes to join the demonstration, wearing white shirts with their personal student debt written on them. The debt written on Blom’s shirt was just under $30,000. “I’ve encouraged students to come down and show their student debt and raise awareness,” Blom said. Some demonstrators also stood near Preston Street to catch the attention of people driving by. Some honked. Blom also organized the 99 percent Central movement, as

part of a national opposition against the one percent of people in the US who hold much of the nation’s wealth. A flyer he distributed said students begin paying student debt after graduating, and monthly payments average to about $338 a month for the first 10 years. Blom said the national student debt is about to reach $1 trillion. “It could be the next debt bubble that could drive the economy further into recession,” Blom said. “It affects the overall economy. There’s all this money not being spent in the economy, because it’s being paid back to student loan debt.” Blom said the issue has been on his mind for a long time. “Personally, I’ve been con-

cerned about rising student debt for many years,” Blom said. “I didn’t need to carry as much debt when I was going through undergrad.” Allie Young, a senior from Utica, was one of the students in Blom’s class invited and encouraged to join the demonstration. She said students now might not realize how student loan debt will affect their lives. “I don’t think (students) realize our lives are going to be on hold, because we won’t be able to afford starting a family and having a house and a car,” Young said. “They won’t be able to get married and have a house, because they’ll be paying student loans.” studentlife@cm-life.com

Adam Niemi/staff photographer

Petoskey freshman Traven Michaels fills in the letters on his sign during the student loan debt demonstration in front of the Bovee University Center on Thursday.

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