Joseph Venuto,
a senior at Eastern Michigan University, has won a Wall
Street Journal 2007 Achievement Award for exceptional students.
Venuto, 24, is majoring in communication with a
minor in entrepreneurship. He received a gold medallion,
a one-year subscription to the Wall Street Journal,
and his name will be on a plaque in the dean's office
at EMU's College of Business.
 |
BUDDING ENTREPRENEUR:
Joseph Venuto, a
senior at EMU,
recently won a Wall Street
Journal
2007 Achievement
Award for exceptional students. |
"Joe is the most outstanding example of a student leader
that has ever received this award," said David Mielke,
dean of the College of Business, who nominated Venuto.
The Farmington Hills native is president of the Collegiate
Entrepreneurs Club and vice president of the dean's
Board of Student Advisers for the business school. He also
is a member of EMU's forensics team, which ranked second
in the nation in 2007.
Mielke nominated Venuto for his outstanding leadership
in the Entrepreneurs Club and the advisory board as
well as his efforts with Ethos Week, a weeklong series
of events at EMU that promotes ethics in business.
Venuto chaired one subcommittee and participated
in two others, including making arrangements for
ticket sales.
"I had no idea I was even nominated until I found out
I won," Venuto said. "I became involved with entrepreneurship
when I began running my own business since age 10. I've
been selling sports memorabilia through my online and wholesale
business, called Good Business, to pay my way through school."
After he graduates in April 2008, his goal is to
find a full-time job to finance his future venture. "I
love being an entrepreneur. You can be one in any
form of life. I want to write my own ticket."
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Fox |
Diane Poretta Fox,
an assistant professor in EMU's School of Nursing in the
College of Health and Human Services, has earned the designation
of Certified Nurse Educator(CNE). Poretta Fox received
the designation after successfully completing a rigorous
certification examination developed and administered by
the New York city-based National League for Nursing (NLN).
"Through the certification program, we have made clear
to the ranks of higher education that the role of nurse
educator is an advanced professional practice discipline
with a defined practice setting and demonstrable standards
of excellence," said Beverly Malone, CEO of the NLN.
The NLN unveiled the CNE program in 2005, with 174 passing
the examination the first year — an 85-percent pass
rate — representing 45 states and the District
of Columbia.
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Sidlow |
Ed Sidlow,
a professor of political science, delivered the keynote
address at the 39th Annual Michigan Conference of Political
Scientists Oct. 11-12 in Kalamazoo. His topic, "What Professors
Can Learn from Politicians," provided an insider's look
at political campaigns gleaned fro his years of following
politicians on the campaign trail.
Victor Okafor,
professor and interim department head of African-American
Studies, had his book, "A Roadmap for Understanding
African Politics: Leadership and Political Integration
in Nigeria,"
received an honorable mention book award at the 19th Annual
Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference in Philadelphia,
Pa., Oct. 12-13. The honorable mention described the book
as "a visionary model for global leadership," which
will definitely be important in the discussions about the
future of Africa."
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Podell |
Ron Podell,
assistant manager, news services, in the Office of Marketing
and Communications, was a recent winner at the It Came
From Lake Michigan Film Festival, which took place in Milwaukee
Oct. 26-28. His script, "Pulp Science Fiction", won best
screenplay at the fest. His script is currently a nominee
for best screenplay at the Queens International Film Festival,
scheduled Nov. 8-11, in Queens, N.Y. His script also was
a finalist in The Writer's Film Desk Project, sponsored
by Little Lip Productions; and placed in the top 20 percent
out of more than 2,500 scripts at the Screenplay Expo 6
in Los Angeles, Calif.
Joanne Grabinski,
a lecturer in EMU's gerontology program, has had some recent
publishing success. Her book, "101 Careers in Gerontology" (Spring
Publishing, 2007), was recently released. She also wrote
a chapter, "Careers in Aging," for the Encyclopedia of
Gerontology, Second Edition (Elsevier, 2007).
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Jayaraj |
Sunila Jayaraj,
a Ph.D. candidate in EMU's College of Technology, participated
in the Blue Planet Run this past summer. Jayaraj
was a part of a group of 20 runners who began running June
1 to complete a 15,200-mile, 95-day run around the world.
The Blue Planet Run Foundation, an organization that raises
awareness and money for water improvement projects, sponsored
the run.
When the run was completed Sept. 4, the runners had covered
15,200 miles cross 16 countries and four continents. During
the run, each runner ran 10 miles per day.
"It's the obligation of every literate and fortunate world
citizen today to act in every possible way to bring hope
to our less fortunate fellow beings by providing the basic
necessities, such as safe drinking water," Jayaraj said.
The Eastern Michigan University softball team made the
top 10 All-Academic teams list as announced by the National
Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The Eagles had a
3.528 team GPA, good for third in the country. This marks
the fourth consecutive year the Eagles have been honored
for their work in the classroom by the NFCA
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Pittman |
Sophomore Alyssa
Pittman was one of five named to the 2007-2008
Preseason All Mid-American Conference West Division women's
basketball team. Pittman is coming off a campaign in
which she garnered the MAC's Freshman of the Year and
All-MAC freshman team accolades. Pittman led the MAC
in three-pointers made per game (2.76) and was third
in three-point field-goal percentage (38.8 percent).
Nationally, she was listed eighth in three pointers,
made per game and 27th in three-point percentage, according
to final NCAA statistics. She averaged 12.3 points per
game.
Junior
point guard Carlos Medlock has been named to the All-MAC
Preseason West Division men's basketball team. Medlock
started 18 of 19 games last season before suffering a broken
foot in a Jan. 28 game against Buffalo, which caused him
to miss the remainder of the season. He led the Eagles
in scoring at 13.2 points per game, leading the team in
scoring in 10 games. He tallied more than 20 points five
times.
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Johnson |
Zach
Johnson, a redshirt
sophomore punter, was recently named to the 2007 Ray Guy
Award Watch List. The award identifies the nation's top
collegiate punter. Statistics used to identify the top
punter include: total yardage punted, the number of times
a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents'
20-yard line, net average, average returned yardage and
percentage of punts not returned. It also is important
for the award winner to display team leadership, self-discipline
and have a positive impact on the team's success. Johnson
was one of 10 semifinalists in 2006. This year's watch
list will be narrowed to 10 seminfinalists in early November.
