http://www.egr.msu.edu/mcce/
Spring 2002
Message from the Chair
As the summer fast approaches, many of us are eagerly anticipating vacations, outdoor activities
and spending time with family and friends. For most of us in education, an academic year is
ending and summer offers a time for catch-up and implementation of new initiatives. Our
employers, while not experiencing the same change in work type, will look to benefit from
warmer weather and longer days as well.
Looking forward is healthy and provides us with the motivation to tackle new challenges and the
hope for growth and progress within ourselves and the organizations for which we work. It is,
however, good to also look back at where we are coming from and learn from our past
experiences and apply that knowledge to our future endeavors.
The past year has presented all of us with various personal and social events/experiences that
have affected us in unique ways. From a common, professional standpoint, one area that has
touched us all has been the sluggish economy. Our common bond is our work with cooperative
education programs, and they have been greatly affected by the changes in business activity
within the state of Michigan and throughout the country.
For many of us, the past year has provided struggles of trying to assist students in locating
suitable co-op sites, or of having to reduce/”freeze” our co-op programs. We all have stories of
colleagues we have worked with for many years who recently have been forced into lay-offs and
elimination of their current co-op activities. I think many of us became spoiled with the
economic vibrancy of our country and took for granted the numerous opportunities for students
to work and learn simultaneously. Certainly, many organizations have been able to maintain
their co-op programs, or begin new ones, and actually use this time to grow their programs for
the future of the organization. Others have not been as fortunate and have not had that option.
Reflecting on the past couple of years, seeing the highs and the occasional struggles, the essence
of co-op has been re-crystallized for me. Some of you may agree that when opportunities have
been plentiful and the number of students limited, work has sometimes focused more on
placements or filling spots. With the ratio more balanced or even swung to the side of more
students than sites, the challenge becomes much greater. However, my experience has been that
the focus on the student and their interests and needs has been much greater than the recent past.
Likewise, work with employers has focused more on program development and student
development (not just student retention). From an educator’s standpoint, these are rewarding
experiences. From a student (personal) development standpoint and for the long-term health of a
co-op program, these are ideals that should be the focus for us all.
The importance of co-op programs is even more evident today, in a weaker economic setting,
than it was a couple of years ago. Students with co-op experience is many times more focused
academically than their counterparts and have considerable advantages when it comes to
employment after graduation. Often, a co-op student is more confident, decisive and able to hit
the ground running either in the classroom or in the workplace.
Now more than ever, as an organization, we have an obligation to promote the benefits of co-op.
MCCE members have worked hard over the past several months to accomplish this goal by
promoting cooperative education to high school students throughout part of Michigan at college
recruiting events and by holding workshops for co-op professionals on how to successfully build
partnerships between educational institutions and employers. In the next couple of months we
will be holding our annual conference in Port Huron (June 6-7) where co-op professionals will
be able to network and learn from each other. Also, MCCE will be hosting the 3rd Annual
Michigan Co-op Challenge (August 9) at Kettering University where co-op students from
throughout Michigan can come together for a day of fun and social interaction. Finally, the
www.coopjobs.org position opening/listing website is now functional and available for
employers to share their needs with the greater co-op community in an easy and efficient
manner.
Regardless of the economic climate, I hope we all continue to strive to develop strong
educational- and student development-based programs. MCCE has been, and will continue to
be, a strong organization that works to achieve common goals. Even though work demands
more of our time each passing day, the many volunteers who make up this organization continue
to amaze me with the time and effort they put forth to make it successful. The continued
dedication of our membership will make for even more successes in the future. From these
efforts, all of our students, member institutions and organizations will benefit.
Hope to see all of you at our summer events this year!
Chris Plouff
2001-2002 MCCE Chair
Michigan Co-op Challenge 2002
Michigan Council for Cooperative Education
Dear Co-op Supporter:
Greetings from the Michigan Council for Cooperative Education (MCCE)! MCCE is a nonprofit Michigan corporation composed of organizational members from two- and four-year
Michigan colleges and universities, Michigan business and industry, Michigan labor
organizations, Michigan school districts and educational associations, and State of Michigan
departments and agencies that are dedicated to working together for the advancement of
cooperative education.
MCCE would like to invite your organization and your co-op/intern students to participate in the
third annual Michigan Co-op Challenge. The Michigan Co-op Challenge is a fun-filled day of
various contests (some athletic, some intellectual, some artistic and some just plain goofy!)
among company or university-sponsored teams in a friendly competition for a traveling trophy.
The purpose of the event is to provide a forum for co-op/intern students from throughout the
State of Michigan to meet, network, have fun and promote the benefits of co-op/internship
programs. The winner of last year's event was a team sponsored by the University of Detroit
Mercy and the inaugural champion was a team from Wayne State University.
The event will be held on Friday, August 9, 2002 on the campus of Kettering University in Flint,
Michigan. Teams will consist of six (6) members each with at least two (2) participants of each
gender on each team (e.g. at least 2 men and 2 women on each team). Participants must
currently be students and be working in a co-op/internship role at the time of the event, or have
done so within the past year. Each team is also required to have a company/school
"representative" present at the event who is a full-time employee of the organization they are
representing. Team registration fees are $50 per team and can be company/organization or
university/college sponsored. More than one team per organization is welcomed and
encouraged!
Events that are planned include a company/school skit, volleyball, basketball shootout, darts,
trivia challenge and several more. Each event will be co-ed and each team will be required to
have members of each gender participating in each event. Points will be awarded in each event,
and the team with the highest score at the end of the competition will be awarded a traveling
trophy/plaque. T-shirts and lunch will be provided for all participants.
If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact me at (616) 895-3311 or
plouffc@gvsu.edu. We hope that you will decide to participate in the Michigan Co-op
Challenge. Last year's event was a blast and we anticipate another fun-filled, eventful day for
all!
Chris Plouff
The List Serve (A Continuing, Continuing Appeal)
We need to make sure that everyone is on the list serve. If you receive messages –
Good. If you never receive anything on email from mcce @egr.msu.edu then
please send me your email at gunn@egr.msu.edu to get yourself added to the
service.
(www.ceainc.org)
REGION 5 OF MI-ACCES IS PROUD TO PRESENT A JUNE DRIVE-IN MEEETING
WHEN:
10:00 AM - Noon
Thursday, June 20
WHERE:
Oakland University, Rochester, MI
Oakland Center, Lake Superior Room B, Lower Level
Map & directions available at http://www.Oakland.edu/map
Building marked "OC", Park in Lots 1 or 2
WHAT:
Legal Issues Workshop: Ethics & Technology in Career Services
Karen Simpkins, Assistant Vice-President for Student Affairs
Eastern Michigan University
Networking Lunch from Noon - 1:00 pm, BD's Mongolian Bar-B-Que
COST:
Workshop is free! Lunch is on your own.
RSVP:
By Monday, June 17 if you plan to attend the meeting, lunch or both
Paula Pollander
The University of Michigan-Flint
Career Development Center
810.766.6609 or papoll@umflint.edu
or
Judy Robinson
Oakland University
Placement & Career Services
248.370.3211 or j2robins@oakland.edu
w teams are sponsored by your school/company
w 6 members per team
w require minimum of 2 men and 2 women per team
For more information, contact:
Michigan Co-op Challenge 2001
Michigan Council for Cooperative Education
(Just so you don’t forget the results from last year! Here they are.
Let the competition for 2002 begin!)
Review and Final Results
On August 10, the Michigan Council for Cooperative Education (MCCE) held the second annual Michigan Co-op
Challenge, hosted by Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. We had a gorgeous day for the event and a lot of fun
was had by all. There were eight teams that participated: Grand Valley State University, Henry Ford Community
College, Ford Motor Company/Kettering, Oakland University, University of Detroit Mercy, University of MichiganDearborn, University of Windsor and Wayne State University,. Teams consisted of at least six participants (a
minimum of two participants of each gender) from the sponsoring school/company. Over 70 students participated in
the event this year. Teams competed in events such as volleyball, basketball hotshot, punt/pass/kick, darts, Frisbee
toss, golf ball run, trivia challenge, problem solving and team skits.
The winner of the Phillips Cup this year was the University of Detroit Mercy (last year’s winner was Wayne State
University). It was a fun, hard-fought competition this year, and congratulations go out to the Titans and their team
captain, Kelly Counsellor. Final results for all teams are posted below, along with a breakdown of top finishers in
each event.
The day was a success because of the help of many volunteers from the MCCE family, too numerous to list here,
who helped with scoring of events and set-up/clean-up. Thank you to Kettering University for hosting the event
again this year, particularly Dave Stewart, Director of Recreation Services, and his staff. A very special thanks you
to the committee who helped pull this event together, especially Lisa Phillips from Kettering who was responsible
for arranging the food, T-shirts and awards (and whom the traveling team trophy is named for). And last, but not
least, thank you to all the students who participated and the sponsoring institutions for making this a memorable day.
We look forward to more good times at the 3 rd annual Michigan Co-op Challenge next summer!
The Co-op Challenge Committee:
Chris Plouff
Grand Valley State University
Bernadette Friedrich
Michigan State University
Lisa Phillips
Rick Korkizko
Kettering University
Wayne State University
Final Results:
University of Detroit Mercy
Ford Motor Company/Kettering
Grand Valley State University
Wayne State University
Oakland University
Henry Ford Community College
University of Windsor
University of Michigan-Dearborn
889 points
872 points
837 points
783 points
764 points
750 points
673 points
594 points
Volleyball
1st (150 points)
3rd (125 points)
Basketball Hotshot
1st (107 points)
2nd (75 points)
3rd (69 points)
University of Detroit Mercy (tie)
Ford Motor Company/Kettering (tie)
Grand Valley State University
Wayne State University
University of Detroit Mercy
Ford Motor Company/Kettering
Punt, Pass & Kick
1st (116 points) University of Detroit Mercy
2nd (115 points) Grand Valley State University
3rd (109 points) Wayne State University
Darts
1st (101 points)
2nd (89 points)
3rd (86 points)
Wayne State University
Ford Motor Company/Kettering
Oakland University
1st (80 points)
2nd (75 points)
3rd (65 points)
Ford Motor Company/Kettering
Henry Ford Community College
University of Detroit Mercy
Frisbee Toss
Problem Solving Event
1st (90 points)
Oakland University (tie)
University of Detroit Mercy (tie)
Wayne State University (tie)
Trivia Challenge
1st (85 points)
Grand Valley State University (tie)
Oakland University (tie)
University of Michigan-Dearborn (tie)
1st (95 points)
2nd (90 points)
3rd (85 points)
University of Detroit Mercy
Grand Valley State University
Oakland University
Golf Ball Run
Skits
1st (188 points) University of Windsor
2nd (187 points) Ford Motor Company/Kettering (tie)
University of Detroit Mercy (tie)
Thomas Edison Inn
Port Huron, Michigan
POST IT ONLY ONCE
Post Your Co-op, Internship, or Summer Position on the Michigan Council for
Cooperative Education Website, and it will reach over 60 College and University Sites and
thousands of eligible students. Join MCCE now to take advantage of this website. It is free
to MCCE members.
MCCE members go directly to:
www.coopjobs.org You will receive login information on the
site. This service is provided free to MCCE members.
If you are not a member we urge you to join the Michigan Council for Cooperative Education. Please email
Bernadette Friedrich at Michigan State University at
friedric@msu.edu or phone her at 517-355-
5163. Employer membership dues start at $100 per year and access to the website will be immediate. There are
many additional benefits to becoming a member. These are outlined in the Michigan Council brochure, which is
available upon request.
You will receive login information on
the site. This service is provided free to
MCCE giveaways that are available for members to distribute at career nights and other MCCE
events include:
For students: Hot Neon Memo Pads and Rainbow Erasers. There are a limited number of
Neon Rulers left.
For employers: Gray Note Jotters and Gray/Navy Bic Clic Pens
We also have MCCE Gray/Blue Plastic Drawstring Bags for students or employers.
INVOICE
2002-2003 Membership Dues
A Non-Profit Michigan Corporation (#735-009) licensed to solicit and receive contributions and memberships for
the charitable purpose of promoting Cooperative Education in Michigan. (Mich. License #MICS 12522-1289). The
MICHIGAN –COUNCIL I is exempt from Federal Income Tax under sections 50l (a), 501 (c) (3) and 509(a) and
(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. (U.S. E.I.D.#38-2809003).
______Distinguished Member
(Organizations contributing $500 or more a year.) Recognizes superior level of support to advocate and
promote the cooperative education philosophy among employers and schools in the state of Michigan.
$_________
______Sponsoring Member
(Organizations contributing $250 minimum-a year.) Recognizes responsible level of support to sustain
professionalism in cooperative education across the state of Michigan.
$_________
______Organizational Member
(Organizations contributing $100 yearly.) Minimum annual dues required for MCCE membership.
$_________
Make check payable to:
Michigan Council for Cooperative Education
There is no limit to the number of representatives from each organization. To
Ensure listing in the MCCE Membership Directory, please return the
Membership Directory Information form no later than July 1, 2002 to:
Bernadette J. Friedrich
College of Engineering
Michigan State University.
1410 Engineering Building
East Lansing, MI 48824-1356
Sunday October 6 – Tuesday October 8
Kings Island Inn
King’s Island, Ohio
http://www.mceia.org
Executive Officers:
Chris Plouff – Chair
Nancy Stupsker – Treasurer
Diane Grimord – Corresponding Secretary
Jessica Miller – Recording Secretary
Regional Representation
Baker College – Lexi Welch
Davenport University – Jim Jones
DuPont Automotive – Walt Zahn
Ford Motor Company – Theresa Tallenger
Grand Valley State University - Chris Plouff
Henry Ford Community College – Nancy
Stupsker
Kettering University – Lisa Phillips
Lansing Community College – Alandis Baker
Lawrence Technological University –
Jessica Miller
Macomb Community College - Bob Penkala
Michigan Department of Transportation Betty Eaton
Michigan State University – Bernadette
Friedrich
Oakland University – Joyce Esterberg
Southwestern Michigan College – Cheryl Tom
University of Detroit Mercy – Kelly
Counsellor
MCEA Michigan State Director – Janie Mouser