Michigan Technological University
Student Affairs &
Advancement Connection
Fall 2014
FROM THE VP
Message from Les
This fall, I had the pleasure of spending a few days
on Mackinac Island. While there, I sat in on a history
session at the renowned Grand Hotel. This is an
intriguing and worthwhile endeavor. Affectionately
known as the Grand, this hotel has a rich story to
tell, but its people are what make it truly unique;
they create a hospitable environment, and their
positive attitude is infectious. While the hotel provides
accommodations, dining, shopping, and reception and
meeting space, the experience is really much more
than this. While some hotels boast heavenly beds or
freshly cooked chocolate chip cookies, those who
experience the Grand are provided an opportunity and
an experience where they truly feel the heart, soul, and
spirit of the place.
Similarly, Michigan Tech has academic buildings,
technology-rich labs, a variety of residence hall
accommodations, food service, and recreational and
performance space. Visitors to campus are impressed
with our facilities and space, but, like the Grand,
the majority of comments we receive are about the
people who make up the University. From students
and parents attending Open House in the fall, current
students, and the recruiters attending the Career Fair,
the comments are loud and clear: it’s the people who
make Michigan Tech special.
We are in the mid-stages of our strategic planning
review, which will be completed in spring 2015. The
first goal of the plan focuses on people. This edition
of the Student Affairs & Advancement Connection
focuses on some of these people. You’ll meet the new
director of University Marketing and Communications,
Ian Repp; learn about companies recruiting Michigan
Tech students; get a glimpse of where some of our
former student-athletes are now; and witness how
some alums are giving back to Tech.
According to a recent SimpsonScarbough survey
(results inside), the majority of our students indicate
their academic and overall experience is better than
they expected. We know that opportunity, excellence,
and distinction define the Michigan Tech experience,
and this experience is unlike any other because of the
environment and the people of the University.
My thanks and best wishes to all of those who make
this experience a Grand one!
First-to-Second-Year Undergraduate
Retention is Up
Colleges across the country,
including Michigan Tech, use firstto-second-year retention as a
metric of their success. According
to ACT, retention at doctoral, public
universities for 2014 is 77.9 percent;
for selective universities, the rate is
83 percent.* At Michigan Tech this
fall, our retention rate increased
from 83 to 85 percent.
(2010–11, 2011–12, and 2012–13)
show:
Talking about what contributed
to this increase at a recent staff
meeting, we jokingly said hot
chocolate at Winter Carnival and
dry towels at Homecoming’s
Cardboard Boat Races. On a more
serious note, however, seldom can
increases in retention be contributed
to just one thing. Efforts to increase
this number span from placing
students in the right classes at the
start to increasing need-based
financial aid and establishing
processes that make it simple for
students to navigate the systems
of the University. Below are some
efforts that reflect that we are
making a difference.
• The average ACT for the fall 2013
incoming class was 26.7.
Recruitment
A University goal over the last
several years has been to increase
the average ACT score of our
incoming students. As academic
performance of the incoming class
has increased, so has the retention
of these students. Data from the
previous three years of students
• Students with a 26 ACT
composite or greater retain at
87 percent (students with a 29
or higher retain at 89 percent).
Students with a 24–26 retain at 81
percent, and students with a 24 or
less retain at 74 percent.
Academic Outreach and Student
Support
A number of student support
initiatives were integrated into efforts
this past year, including course
work, academic success coaches,
and expanded workshops. Other
long-standing efforts, like first-year
midterm outreach and the ExSEL
program, continued to support
students in their success. In
2013–14, ExSEL retained their firstyear program participants at 83.5
percent versus 79.6 percent for their
non-participating counterparts.
for Student Success coordinated
success classes for 620 first-year
students between fall and spring.
Greek Life has also been working
with students to improve academic
performance. Average cumulative
GPAs have improved from 2.88
in spring 2013 to 2.92 in spring
2014. Finally, additional staff have
been hired in Counseling Services
in the last year. A record number
of students were seen, hopefully
providing more coping strategies
and enabling them to stay in school.
Overall Student Satisfaction
Every two years, Student Affairs and
Advancement conducts a Student
Satisfaction Survey. The last survey
was completed in spring 2014 and
reflects first-year satisfaction at high
levels. For example, 91 percent
strongly or somewhat agree that
faculty are genuinely interested
in serving students; 89 percent
strongly or somewhat agree that
when they have questions, it’s easy
to get information from staff. When it
comes to recommending Michigan
Tech to someone else, 91 percent
say they would do so. Clearly,
everyone contributes to retention—
let’s keep up the good work.
Other offices in Student Affairs and
Advancement have also focused
on supporting students’ academic
success. For example, Athletics has
instituted new advising procedures
—Bonnie B. Gorman
for at-risk students, and the Center
for Diversity and Inclusion is
providing evening tutoring sessions.
Last year, the Wahtera Center
*www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/retain_2014.pdf
2 Student Affairs & Advancement Connection • Fall 2014
Why and How is Corporate America Seeking
Michigan Tech Students?
The Fall 2014 Career Fair
hosted a record 340 recruiting
organizations—the previous
record was 295, set in 2008. The
burning question is why have
they targeted Michigan Tech
students to work for them?
Trista Schieffer, global lead
development engineer at General
Motors, stated, “We know
how difficult Michigan Tech’s
curriculum can be. We are
looking for students who thrive
with each challenge, including
the snow!” Rob Sweet, director
of systems and programming
at Jackson National Life, adds
that Tech’s computer science
curriculum lines up with their
company needs. Rob indicated
that character counts: “They
have an enthusiasm for
programming. Michigan Tech
students are outgoing and eager
to get to work.”
Both companies indicate their
corporate cultures are a good
match for Tech students. GM
offers students the opportunity
to engage in many different
roles within the company and
grow professionally within the
organization. Jackson provides
their employees the opportunity
to work with a wide variety of
technologies—from mobile
applications to web-based
projects to data mining—on
large-scale development
projects. With studies predicting
that millennials will have fifteen to
twenty careers in their lifetime*,
the diversity of career options
these companies offer fits
well with the ambitions of this
generation.
To answer the competitive
challenge of recruiting students,
both companies focus on
developing relationships with
students early. Jackson hires
students part-time on campus
to work at their campus offices
while going to school, assigning
them special developmental
projects. GM engages students
as soon as they arrive on
campus, volunteering to help
with interview and résumé
blitzes, which prepare students
for their job search, while also
conducting formal recruiting
interviews. The goal: connect
early and get them in their talent
pipeline leading to possible
co-ops, internships, and fulltime careers. These companies
are not only helping to develop
our students, but they are
also investing in their future
workforces.
—Steve Patchin
*www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/08/14/job-hopping-is-the-new-normalfor-millennials-three-ways-to-prevent-a-human-resource-nightmare/
Student Affairs & Advancement • www.mtu.edu/student-affairs 3
People Who Make
a Difference
Our culture of philanthropy continues to grow both on campus and
among our alumni. Here are two donor couples who are having a
tremendous impact on the lives of today’s Michigan Tech students.
David and Sharron Paris
Michigan Tech’s mascot, Blizzard, is a very busy dog,
attending not only the many Huskies sporting events
but also other University and community functions. As
a result, there is much wear and tear on his costumes.
Dave and Sharron Paris, loyal supporters of Tech’s
athletics program, made a gift to help provide for
Blizzard’s most recent costume
and then began asking for more
information about the ongoing
costs related to Blizzard. This query
led to Dave and Sharron making
a gift pledge to support Tech’s
costumed mascot for the next ten
years, including a $1,500 annual
scholarship for the lead mascot.
Sharron, a retired Michigan Tech
registrar, and Dave ’68 ’71, a civil
engineering graduate who was
inducted into Tech’s Sports Hall of
Fame (football) in 2006, have a longtime connection
with Blizzard, having spearheaded the campus
competition to name the Husky mascot in 1997. As
Sharron relates, Tech’s mascot almost was named
Howard T. Husky.
Grant and Maureen Nuttall
Grant Nuttall ’59, a business administration graduate,
feels privileged to have had Joseph Romig as a
law professor at Michigan Tech. Grant and his wife,
Maureen, supported the Dean of SBE Recruiting
Scholarship for a number of years, but this year they
started thinking about creating their own scholarship
to ensure that Professor Romig is not forgotten at
Michigan Tech. In August, they
traveled from Toronto, to Houghton
to finalize the documentation
for the new Joseph A. Romig
Memorial Annual Scholarship. Their
first scholarship was awarded to
Jesse Linebarger, a senior who is
double majoring in management
and marketing while minoring
in psychology. Grateful for this
unexpected gift, Jesse asked if
there was a way he could thank
4 Student Affairs & Advancement Connection • Fall 2014
the donors directly. The Financial Aid staff arranged a
conference call, and Jesse and the Nuttalls had a fun
45-minute conversation. Grant shared stories about
his Tech experiences, including his stint as a deputized
Houghton Police officer, while Jesse excitedly told his
supporters about the job he has lined up and will begin
after graduating in December.
SimpsonScarborough Survey Overview
Half the money I spend on
advertising is wasted; the trouble
is I don’t know which half. So goes
an oft-cited quote from nineteenthcentury retailer John Wanamaker.
There is no doubt that measuring
a brand is not a simple process.
However, one reliable method to
gauge brand perception is to survey.
Continuing surveys conducted
in 2003 and again in 2008, this
past spring we surveyed a variety
of populations to gauge how the
Michigan Tech brand resonates with
people.
Using email surveys of prospective
undergraduate and graduate
students, current students,
faculty, staff, and alumni, we
used the market research firm
SimpsonScarbough to help us
conduct our survey and analyze our
data. The following only scratches
the surface of what we’ve learned.
Across all audiences, Michigan
Tech is viewed as having strong
academics, particularly in
engineering. Current students
also highlight the job placement
statistics and reputation of the
University, while alumni, faculty, and
staff note the quality of faculty as
strengths.
• The quality of programs and the
quality of faculty as educators and
mentors are of greatest importance
to graduate prospects as they
select a college or university.
Among our undergraduate
prospective student populations,
overall familiarity has decreased
since 2008; in 2008, more
undergraduate prospects (53
percent) were at least somewhat
familiar with Michigan Tech than in
2014 (44 percent). This could be
due to a larger number of bought
names in our database (as opposed
to students who actively contact
us to be placed on a mailing list).
However, of those who are familiar
with the University, their depth of
knowledge is stronger; in 2008,
14 percent were very familiar with
Michigan Tech, compared to 19
percent in 2014.
• Undergraduate prospects are
most positively impacted by
placement rates and starting
salaries, while graduate prospects
are most attracted to starting
salaries and status as a premier
research university.
Other findings include the following:
• Undergraduate prospects agree
that Tech is known for placing
graduates in good jobs, and the
University prepares students to be
successful.
Benchmarking: Quality of Academic Experience
Current students are slightly more likely to say the academic experience was much better
than expected than in 2008.
24%
21%
2014
Much better than expected
2008
2003
10%
48%
50%
Somewhat better than expected
43%
19%
15%
Somewhat worse than expected
The surveys helped us conclude
that we should continue to
emphasize these three areas:
Michigan Tech as a premier
research institution, the starting
salaries of graduates, and how we
prepare students to understand
and develop solutions to complex
problems.
The majority of current students
indicate that the academic
experience (72 percent
undergraduate, 76 percent
graduate) and the overall
college experience (78 percent
undergraduate, 74 percent
graduate) at Michigan Tech is at
least somewhat better than they
expected. Compared to 2008, there
is an upward trend of students
saying the academic experience is
better than they expected.
Enrollment, Marketing, and
Communications will continue
to analyze this rich data set
to help fine-tune our outreach
to prospective students, our
colleagues, and the public.
—John Lehman
32%
Much worse than expected
3%
3%
5%
6%
Don’t know
11%
11%
Student Affairs & Advancement • www.mtu.edu/student-affairs 5
School of Business
and Economics
26.3%
Female
College of
Engineering
School of Forest
Resources and
Environmental Science
73.7%
Male
College of
Sciences and Arts
120
47
839
School of
Technology
59
new first-year students registered
1,199
Profile of First-Year Students
International students from six countries.
Domestic students from twenty-nine states.
27.0
27.6
26.2
3.69
77.6
ACT Composite
Average
ACT Math
Average
ACT English
Average
Average
High School GPA
High School
Ranking Percentile
Welcome Ian Repp
New Director of University Marketing and Communications
Canoes and
creativity are
two magnets
that drew Ian
Repp from
his marketing
agency job in
Indianapolis to
his new position
as director
of University Marketing and
Communications.
Repp, who started at Michigan
Tech on Sept. 15, and his wife
have canoes that they can’t wait
to launch into the waters of the
Keweenaw.
He was even more excited to join
the team in University Marketing and
Communications. “The creativity
here is awesome,” he says.
Coming from nearly ten years
in marketing, Repp is looking
forward to his new role. “I want to
be involved in something that can
make a long-term difference,” he
explains.
Repp was raised in Muncie, Indiana,
where his father is vice president of
information technology at Ball State
University. He finds the college-town
environment familiar and appealing.
6 Student Affairs & Advancement Connection • Fall 2014
Repp earned a bachelor’s degree at
Ball State, then went to Los Angeles
to study at the UCLA Professional
Program in Screenwriting. He
worked as a screenwriter for Sony
Pictures, then did marketing for a
PBS affiliate at Ball State.
Repp has conducted marketing
campaigns for the Indiana Pacers,
the New York Knicks, the New York
Rangers, and the Indiana Economic
Development Council.
He and his wife, J. R., have two
children, Cale, 4, and Crosby, 1,
and two beagle-spaniels, Goose
and Pepper.
Michigan Tech Student-Athlete Alumni:
Where Are They Now?
Alex Kowalski ’01 starred on the football
field at Tech from 1997 to 2000. He earned
the Jack McAvoy Award as GLIAC football’s
outstanding leader in 2000. The quarterback was
also the GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year that
season. Kowalski is now the owner and CEO
of Performance Manufacturing in Little Chute,
Wisconsin. He’s also the president and owner of
Alta Exchange Group, a real estate investment
firm. The St. Louis, Michigan, native is set to be
inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of
Fame in November.
Aijana Otunchieva ’05 played women’s tennis at Tech
from 2001 to 2005, earning All-GLIAC accolades four
times and finishing as the Midwest Region Singles RunnerUp in 2002. Her husband, Chris Zellner ’05, was also a
four-time All-GLIAC pick for the men’s tennis team from
2001 to 2005. The two married in 2005 and relocated
to Cleveland, Ohio. Aijana currently works as a finance
business partner at Rockwell Automation. Chris has held
several positions in the engineering field since leaving Tech.
He is currently a program manager for Carlisle Brake and
Friction. The two continue to play competitive tennis, even
pairing together to win a mixed doubles tournament.
Mark Malekoff ’08 played defense for
the Michigan Tech hockey team from
2004 to 2008, before graduating with
a degree in finance. He now runs four
oil and gas services companies back
in his hometown of Grande Prairie,
Alberta—as president of Nakoda
Energy Services, business development
manager for Rise Energy Services,
owner of TriTech Safety and Training
Inc., and owner of TriTech Energy
Services Inc.
Eli Vlaisavljevich ’10, former Huskies hockey
student-athlete, was the WCHA Outstanding
Student-Athlete of the Year in 2010 and a
finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award
in 2009–10. He’s currently a doctoral student
in biomedical engineering at the University of
Michigan with plans to finish his PhD in summer
2015. In addition to his research on using
high-pressure ultrasound technology to noninvasively kill cancer cells, Vlaisavljevich has
authored four books—three novels and a selfhelp title—that are available on Amazon.com.
Student Affairs & Advancement • www.mtu.edu/student-affairs 7
Office of Student Affairs and Advancement
Administration Building
906-487-2465
Calendar of Events
Fall Semester
Raeanne Madison Presentation
Midyear Commencement
Friday, November 7
Saturday, December 20
Spring Semester
Daymond Glenn Presentation
Winter Carnival
Preview Day
Mariahadessa Tallie Reads Poetry
Spring Fling
Spring Commencement
Monday, January 19
Wednesday, February 4–Saturday, February 7
Saturday, March 21
Friday, April 3
Friday, April 17
Saturday, May 2
View the full schedule of University events:
www.mtu.edu/calendar
Should Your Department Go Social?
With so much talk about social
media, you might be asking
yourself: should my division or
department have a Facebook or
Twitter account?
A social media presence can be
a great way to communicate and
connect with your audience—if you
go into it with the right expectations
and goals. So, is your team ready to
go social? Here are a few questions
you should ask yourself.
• Do we have the time?
Learning about your audience,
growing fans, maintaining a rich
content calendar, and responding
to messages and tweets takes
more time than most people think.
Plan to spend a minimum of one
hour a day for a Facebook page,
more for an active Twitter account.
• Do we have the content?
Successful social media pages
employ a mix of different
media: photos, videos, links,
announcements, “news you can
use”-style posts, and more. If
you have limited shareable info,
another tool—such as a blog—
might be a better choice.
• What are our goals?
It’s the single most important
factor in creating a social account,
and it’s the piece most often
missed. Having clear goals will
help you build the right audience,
post the best content, and
successfully fill a void in your
communications plan.
Are you thinking about going social?
Email me at kwsokol@mtu.edu for
additional tips, advice, and best
practices.
—Kara Sokol