Focus EMU Online: People

Three Eastern Michigan University faculty have received Fulbright Scholar grants for 2007-2008. Judith Kullberg, associate professor of political science, is currently lecturing and conducting research on comparative politics at Samara State University in Samara, Russia. Her research is entitled, "The Development of Russian Civil Society: A Comparative Case Study in a Single Region." She started her Fulbright work in September and will remain in Russia until June 2008.

Pilato

Denise Pilato, associate professor in the School of Technology Studies, received a Fulbright for a senior lectureship in American Studies at the University of Catania in Catania, Italy, from January to June 2008.

"This award will provide a unique opportunity to share my passion and interdisciplinary teaching experience in Science and Technology Studies, with a focus on American values through literary and historical sources related to the social impact of technology," Pilato said. "I am interested in the exchange of ideas that explores assumptions, stereotypes and attitudes about how and why technology connects as well as isolates people. I anticipate that this will be as much of a learning experience for me as it will be for my students in the University of Catania.

"One of my professional objectives is to develop and support future opportunities for my EMU colleagues to engage in international teaching and learning experiences," Pilato continued. "While serving the needs of my host institution, the University of Catania, I anticipate a mutual exchange of increased understanding about cultural differences and similarities, and would like to initiate opportunities for future collaborative projects for the benefit of students, faculty and institutions."

Patricia J. Williams, an emerita professor of art, will be in Norway from January to May 2008, where she will lecture and conduct research at Digital Weaving Norway and at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts. Working with Norwegian wools on electronic hand looms at both locations, Williams will investigate topics in Jacquard weaving, including optical color mixing and differential shrinkage effects.

“I am delighted to have this opportunity for collaboration with Norwegian colleagues on this exciting textiles project,” Williams said.

They are three of approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program operates in more than 150 countries worldwide and has provided approximately 279,500 people (105,400 Americans) the opportunity to observe each other's political, economic, educational and cultural institutions; to exchange ideas and embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world's inhabitants.

WITNESS FOR THE
PROSECUTION: Tom Smith was
one of four EMU students who
earned an award at the Mock
Trial Competition at Ohio State
University's tournament Oct.
26-27.

Eastern Michigan University's Mock Trial Team placed fourth out of 132 colleges and universities at the Illinois State University Mock Trial competition Nov. 2-4. EMU posted a team record of 6-2 in various mock trial competitions. Team member Greg Jones received one of 11 witness awards and one of 10 attorney awards that were presented.

Jones and Adam Slingwein received two of the 15 awards for best attorney (out of 132 students competing) at the Ohio State University tournament Oct. 26-27. Jones and Tom Smith received two of the 13 witness awards (again, out of 132 students). As a team, EMU finished third behind the University of Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

Eastern Michigan University's first-ever Computer Programming Team competed in the 2007 Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) International Collegiate Programming Contest at the University of Michigan Nov. 10. EMU placed 34th out of 116 teams in the East Central Regional competition. Team members Hande Kucuk, Byron Heads and Andrew Timson were given eight programming problems and had five hours to complete them. The problems were designed to test the participants' knowledge of algorithms, mathematics and programming.

The team completed only two of the problems, but that was good considering more than half the teams at the regional did not complete a single problem, said William Sverdlik, professor of computer science, who serves as the team's faculty adviser.

"We never competed in this before and our team was formed only three weeks before the competition," Sverdlik said.

Alicia Jaros, an EMU senior majoring in public relations, was crowned Miss Washtenaw County Nov. 10 at Chelsea High School. Jaros, who plans to obtain a master's degree in public relations enroute to a career in public broadcasting, won out over a dozen other competitiors.

She will now compete for the title of Miss Michigan in Muskegon next June.

"It's very exciting. Whoever wins there goes on to compete for Miss America," said Jaros, who was Miss Wayne County last year and placed fourth runner-up in the Miss Michigan title.

Jaros

Her winning Washtenaw County effort included expressing a strong concern for special-needs children. She coaches track and field, as well as snowshoeing, at the Jo Brighton Skills Center in Wyandotte and has been involved with the Special Olympics since 2003.

"It's just a lot of fun. It's very gratifying to see the smiles on their faces when they cross the finish line and win their medals," said Jaros, who plans to use her title to bring more exposure to special-needs children. "I would like to have more people participate and break down the stereotypes of special-needs children. They are good people and have such big hearts."

For the talent portion of the contest, she performed a rendition of Brenda Lee's "Break It To Me Gently."

"My Mom always told me I needed to sing this song. The opportunity came along. The song complements my vocal range," Jaros said.

Her winning prize includes 12 free tuition credit hours from EMU, $2,500 in cash and $4,000 each toward classes, if she so chooses, at Baker College and Cleary College.

Looking ahead, Jaros said her busy schedule of public experiences and some of her courses at EMU will season her for the Miss Michigan competition.

Emily Bowman, an EMU senior from Monroe, ws the third runner-up in the Miss Washtenaw County competition.

FIT FOR LIFE: Heidi Ernst, who
earned her undergraduate
degree in exercise science from
EMU, was featured in the winter
edition of CareerFocus, a
Washtenaw Community College
publication.

Heidi Ernst, who earned her undergraduate degree in exercise science from EMU, was featured on the cover of the winter edition of CareerFocus, put out by Washtenaw Community College. Ernst, who works as a physical therapist technician at the Great Lakes Institute of Manual Therapy, also was profiled in the publication.

Robert Citino, professor of history and philosophy, continues to receive attention for recently being rated the #1 professor in the nation by RateMyProfessor.com. "The Guardian," a newspaper in the United Kingdom, ran an article about Citino in its Nov. 7 edition.

Sara Schiffbauer, a senior, was selected to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine women's soccer Academic All-District IV First Team, while senior Lindsay Hill garnered third-team honors, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Nov. 1. As a first-team selection, Schiffbauer is now eligible for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America ballot.

Schiffbauer, a sports medicine student with a perfect 4.0 GPA, has scored two goals and netted two assists on the season. The Westerville, Ohio, native has played in all 17 games this year and 73 for her career. Schiffbauer was named to the 2004 Mid-American Conference All-Freshman team after a freshman campaign in which she scored five goals and recorded four assists. For her career, the senior has scored eight goals with eight assists.

Hill, an elementary education major with a 3.98 GPA, has started all 17 games for the Eagles this year. She has been solid in the defensive backfield, helping hold opponents to 0.93 goals per game. For her career, Hill has played in 60 games, both at the University of Maine and EMU. She has two career assists, while spending most of her time playing defense.

Hill and Schiffbauer are the first Eagles to be named Academic All-District since Michele Lawrence was named to the first team in 2005.

To be eligible for the Academic All-District team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 GPA. In addition to this, the student-athlete must be an integral part of the team and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests on the year.

Kalli Williams, a senior from Dexter, and junior Melissa Green, of Brecksville, Ohio, were named to the 2007 Academic All-Mid-American Conference Cross Country team announced Nov. 2. A total of 15 athletes were named to the squad as voted upon by the leagues faculty athletic representatives.

SMART RUNNERS: (above, from left) Melissa
Green and Kalli Williams, members of EMU's
women's cross country team, made the
2007 Academic All-Mid-American
Conference cross country team. Williams
carries a 3.9 GPA in special education while
Williams has a 3.35 GPA in chemistry.

Williams carries a 3.90 GPA in special education. She earns the honor for the second time in as many tries. She ran in all six meets this season and was the top runner for the Eagles in five of those meets. She finished in the top 10 in the first five meets and runner-up twice, at the Detroit Run Fit Invitational (Sept. 8) and the Central Collegiate Championship (Sept. 21). Williams ran a season-best 18:06 at the Chicago Loyola Lakefront Invitational (Sept. 29), where she finished eighth against 203 runners. In addition, she finished seventh at the Falcon Invitational (Oct. 13) with a time of 18:07 and was 60th at the MAC Championship with a time of 19:27 (Oct. 27).

Green carries a 3.35 GPA in chemistry. She appears on the list for the first time in her three-year EMU career. She ran in all six meets during the regular season and was the No. 2 runner for the Eagles during the regular season. She was the top runner at the MAC Championships (Oct. 27) where she finished 12th to earn second team All-MAC honors for the first time in her career. She finished the race in a career-best 18:11. Green finished in the top 15 in all six meets.

The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for the particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.

Wade Wines, a sophomore from Pinckney; junior Josh Karanja, of Ottawa, Ontario; and sophomore David Brent, of Monroe, were named to the 2007 Academic All-Mid-American Conference Cross Country team announced Nov 3. A total of 10 athletes were named to the squad as voted upon by the league's faculty athletic representatives.

Wines, Karanja and Brent earned the honor for the first time in their careers. The three honorees helped the 2007 Eagles capture their third consecutive MAC cross country championship.

HEAD OF THE CLASS: (above, from left) Wade
Wines, Josh Karanja and David Brent, members
of EMU's MAC champion cross country team,
were named to the 2007 Academic All-Mid-
American Conference team.

Wines carries a 3.45 GPA in exercise science. He ran in four meets during the fall. His highest finish came at the MAC Championships, where he finished 21st in a time of 25:40. He improved his 8,000-meter time by more than 38 seconds this fall. He ran his fastest 8K in over two years at the Notre Dame Invite, finished eighth at the Western Ontario Invite (Sept. 22; 32:26 for 10,000-meters), 70th at Notre Dame (Sept. 28; 25:09 for 8,000-meters) and 188th at the Pre-National meet (Oct. 13; 25:26 for 8,000-meters).

Karanja carries a 3.20 GPA in political science. He ran in five meets during the fall. He led the Eagles in four meets during the regular season and was the team's No. 2 runner at the MAC Championships (Oct. 27) where he earned first-team All-MAC honors by placing third (24:49). He was named MAC Runner of the Week twice this fall, for Sept. 24 and Oct. 1. He broke the 24-minute mark at Pre-Nationals (Oct. 13) and was one of only two individuals to do so in the MAC. He won the individual title at the Western Ontario Invite (Sept. 22, 31:52 for 10,00 meters), finished second at the Michigan Open (Aug. 31, 31:20 for 10,000 meters), 18th at the prestigious Notre Dame (Sept. 28, 24:20 for 8,000-meters) and 32nd against the nation's best at Pre-Nationals (Oct. 13, 23:56 for 8,000 meters). Karanja improved his 8,000-meter time by 40 seconds this season.

Brent carries a 3.33 GPA in physics and secondary education. He ran in five meets during the season and earned first-team All-MAC honors at the MAC Championships by placing fifth with a time of 25:06 (his second consecutive top-seven performance at the MAC Championships). He finished seventh at the Western Ontario Invite (Sept. 22, 32:25 for 10,000-meters), eighth at the Michigan Open (Aug. 31, 32:21 for 10,000-meters), 92nd at the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational (Sept. 28, 25:29 for 8,000-meters) and 207th at the Pre-NCAA's (Oct. 13, 25:34 for 8,000-meters).

The Eastern Michigan University women’s soccer team had five members named to All-Mid-American Conference teams. Junior Katie Zundel and sophomore Ashley Rodrigues were named to the first team, while sophomore Maggie Christensen picked up second-team honors. Freshmen Stephanie Janssens and Maggie Manville were both selected to the All-Freshman team. It is the first time since 2002 that the Eagles have two players on the first team.

Eastern Michigan University vollyeball players Jill Wolosiansky and Kate Sulewski have been selected to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Volleyball Academic All-District IV teams. Wolosiansky, a junior, was named to the second team while Sulewski, a senior, made the third team. The announcement was made by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Nov. 8.

TWO NET GOOD GRADES: Eastern Michigan University
volleyball players Jill Wolosiansky and Kate Sulewski
were sleected to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine
Volleyball Academic All-District IV teams.

Wolosiansky, a public administration major with a 4.0 GPA, has played in 100 of the team's 104 matches this season. She has already surpassed her career stats in nearly every statistical category this season, racking up 203 kills, 55 total blocks and a .199 attack percentage. Her 203 kills are the fourth most on the squad.

Sulewski, an accounting major with a 3.35 GPA, will finish her career as the all-time leader in assists (currently at 5,235). She currently ranks fifth in MAC history in set assists. At EMU, she ranks sixth in games played, 10th in block assists and 11th in digs. A two-time All-MAC honoree, Sulewski currently ranks third in the conference in set assists at 12.02 per game and is listed 75th nationally. Additionally, she was selected to the All-Tournament squad at the Xavier Invitational and garnered tournament MVP honors at the Charlotte Invitational.

The be eligible for the Academic All-District Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.2 GPA. In addition to this, the student-athlete must be an integral part of the team and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests during the season.