Notes from the Program Co-Directors
Dr. Mary Vielhaber & Dr. Fraya Wagner-Marsh, SPHR
We are at the busiest time in the academic year right now. This newsletter gives us an opportunity to bring
you up to date on some of the activities our students and faculty are involved in and to let you know about
plans for the Fall.
On March 26, a team of students from the Fall MGMT 648 class, Communication and Organizational
Development, represented the College of Business at the Eastern Michigan University Graduate Research
Fair. The team of Jerry Atkins, Tamaria Leverett, Heng-Chuan Nieh, and Liz Simon presented their class
consulting project, “Recommendations for Improving the Communication of the EMU Student
Government.”
On March 27, the HROD program, together with the Student Chapter of SHRM, hosted a Celebration of
Excellence in Human Resources and Organizational Development. Mary L. Horton, the president and
principal consultant for MH Associates, and a graduate of the MSOD program, was the keynote speaker.
Mary has over 15 years of experience in the design and delivery of large-scale change interventions
including strategic planning, leadership development, performance improvement, corporate diversity, and
self-directed teams.
The MGMT 638 (Teams) class presented a seminar for COB students on April 4 to discuss how to create
successful team projects in school and beyond. The students were excited about combining their
experiences and the theory they have studied in class. More important, the COB students benefited from
this learning experience.
On April 29, Eastern Michigan University will have Spring graduation ceremonies. Of the thirteen students
who are enrolled in Practicum this semester, nine will be graduating at the end of April. Congratulations to
Cathy Broadbent, Rocky Ellens, Stevie Hiltz, Debbie Hofesses, Cindy Juckett, Tamaria Levett, Cheryl
Lauzon, Sue Rantz, and Sheri Rowe.
We are continuing our efforts to recruit new students for our graduate programs in the College of Business.
If you know anyone who may be interested, let us know and we will give them a phone call or send them
some
materials.
You
can
also
direct
them
to
our
new
web
site:
http://www.emich.edu/public/cob/management/mshrod/index.html We know that our current students and
alumni are one of the best sources of new students. Please continue to help us recruit new students to our
program and to the HROD field.
As you read through the newsletter, please note that we have added two new electives to the program. This
summer Chris Day will be teaching a class on “e-HR” and next Fall, Jean McEnery will be offering a class
on Management Skills. Descriptions of both classes are in the newsletter.
Beginning Fall 2001, we are pleased to announce that Rick Camp will join Fraya Wagner-Marsh as the CoDirector of the HROD Program. As always, give us a phone call or send us an e-mail. We always enjoy
hearing from you!
Mary Vielhaber
mary.vielhaber@emich.edu
(734) 487-2468
Fraya Wagner-Marsh
fraya.wagner@emich.edu
(734) 487-3240
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Focus on an HROD Student
Poonam Singh
Debbie Hofsess will be graduating this April with her master’s degree in Human Resources and
Organizational Development. Currently, Debbie is the Human Resources Manager with Mid-Michigan
Physicians in Lansing. She has been responsible for setting up the whole HR department of the company.
During a recent interview, I asked Debbie a number of questions about her job and her experiences in the
HROD graduate program.
What do you like most about your present job?
The greatest thing is the opportunity to be involved in the organizational development of the company. I
am also involved in the strategic planning of the company. My work involves typical Human Resources
together with Organization Development.
What motivated you to pursue a career in HROD?
When I was taking a general Organization Behavior course at Washtenaw Community College, my
professor saw my interest in the subject so one day he took me aside and advised me that I should pursue a
career in HROD. According to him, I am a “diamond in the rough.” He gave me Fraya’s contact number so
that I could meet her and talk more about the HROD classes offered at EMU and after meeting Fraya, I
decided to pursue my career in this field as I finally thought that this was the right choice for me.
Which classes here at Eastern have been your favorites?
Training with Dr. Mary Vielhaber was one of my favorite classes as it involved a variety of training from
scratch for an external client. There was always a motivation to learn more and and improve further. My
favorite professors at Eastern have been Dr. Mary Vielhaber and Dr. Rick Camp. Both these professors
have been challenging and I really enjoyed their style of teaching and both have been effective in getting
their message to their students.
Which classes have helped you in framing your career?
Organization Development with Dr. Greg Huszczo, Human Resource Development with Dr. Mary
Vielhaber and Communication and Organization Development with Dr. Mary Vielhaber have been very
helpful in framing my career. I learned a lot in these classes, which I can implement in my work.
What advice would you have for other HROD students?
All the HROD classes relate to practical experience rather than only the conceptual. The group projects in
the classes help a student to learn to organize time and coordinate with the team members, which helps in
the long run. I have had success in classes and I would like to acknowledge my group members: Sheri
Rowe, Stevie Hiltz, Anne Wells and Malathy Dwarknath.
Diversity Workshop
Poonam Singh
The EMU chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) presented “Workplace
Diversity: Beyond Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action” on Feb 16, 2001 at the College
of Business. Human Resources professionals and the students learned about the diversity initiatives
practiced among the progressive companies here in Michigan and also became familiar about the ways to
increase and recognize diversity as a valuable part of a company’s overall business strategy.
The conference was funded by a student grant from the Michigan Council of SHRM. The conference
featured Mary Horton, MH & Associates; Jeff Hustick, Ford Motor Company; Rodney Williams, Recruiter
Academy; Ed Nicolas, Valassis Communications; Carol Lutz, Clark Shuler and Susan Chambers, Ann
Arbor Center for Independent Living. The conference was opened by Mary Horton, who focused on the
key operational distinctions between Diversity, EEO and Affirmative Action and emphasized the role of
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HR in shaping culture that is inclusive, respectful and valuing of difference. Other sessions of the
conference stressed diversity strategies, the role of management, and the challenges faced in today’s world
of visible and invisible similarities and differences in the workplace.
The conference was a great opportunity to network with human resource professionals in the Ann Arbor
area. It was co-sponsored by EMU SHRM and the Greater Ann Arbor SHRM. Thanks to Dr. FrayaWagner Marsh, SPHR, head of department of management, for being an active participant and showing a
keen interest in the conference.
Honoring Best Practices in Human Resources: The 2000/2001 Results of the Arbor
Awards for Excellence
Nicole Beaudoin
On February 1, the 2000/2001 Arbor Awards for Excellence in HR results were announced by The Arbor
Consulting Group, Inc. and Eastern Michigan University, Master of Science in HROD Program. Dr. Fraya
Wagner-Marsh, SPHR, and Joan E. Moore, SPHR, presented Waterford Crystal Arbor Awards to General
Motors University, Guardian Industries Corp., Ann Arbor Ceiling & Partition Co., and Borders Group, Inc.,
during an award ceremony at the Ritz-Carlton, Dearborn. Toyota Technical Center was also recognized
with a Special Tribute Award.
The Arbor Awards and Special Tribute Awards are designed to recognize organizations and HR
practitioners who implement innovative programs and practices while demonstrating professional
excellence in the advancement of effective human resources management. Nominated practices must
represent an outstanding accomplishment, reflect effective human resources management, and produce
significant results in order to be considered for an award.
The following are brief descriptions of the practices recognized in the 2000/2001 Arbor Awards for
Excellence program:
Human Resources College - GM University
Delivery of HR Foundational Curriculum
The HR College established a cost-effective and efficient distance learning training program to promote
certification of its human resources employees. The HR College customized SHRM materials and worked
with faculty from EMU to provide the training live, via satellite to GM’s HR professionals in 58 locations.
Guardian Industries Corp.
ChAMPS - HR Assessment Process
Guardian created an initiative called, Challenge And Make People Successful, or ChAMPS to assess each
location’s human resources strengths and weaknesses and share the best practices among their facilities.
To date, 21 plants have been assessed in 15 countries.
Ann Arbor Ceiling & Partition Co., LLC
Job-Site Safety Orientation Video for Construction Workers
In collaboration with the Architectural Contractors Trade Association, Ann Arbor Ceiling & Partition
produced a safety training video for construction workers. Since implementing the safety program, the
injury rate for new employees at AACP has dropped by 20%.
Borders Group, Inc.
Borders Group Foundation
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Borders created a public, non-profit Foundation in order to provide charitable assistance to the company’s
own employees and their families. Employees at all levels contribute to the Foundation through voluntary
payroll deductions, which are matched by the company. Borders Group employees who have worked more
than 90 days and who are in good standing may apply for a grant to pay for rent or utilities when they are
facing a personal or financial crisis.
In addition to the four Arbor Awards for Excellence recipients, a Special Tribute Award was also presented
to Toyota Technical Center. TTC created an extensive training program, Japan/TMC Travel Training, to
prepare employees for traveling to Japan and the differences in culture, communication and
accommodations they may encounter.
Congratulations to all these organizations on their accomplishments. For more information contact Shelly
Pfister (‘97) with The Arbor Consulting Group at (734) 451-2220.
New MSHROD Website Address
We are very happy to announce that we've recently created a new MSHROD web address that is now
active. Please add this to your "favorites" list:
http://www.emich.edu/public/cob/management/mshrod/index.html
or you can click on the link under the Graduate Programs section of the Management Department
homepage.
Focus on Faculty:
Jean Bush-Bacelis will be on sabbatical leave for the 2001- 2002 academic year. Jean will be helping an
organization to define and develop a strategic communication plan as the organization becomes virtual.
She plans to help the organization address such challenges as creating a sense of belonging or "we-ness" in
the organization, motivation, and simply finding the needed information in a timely manner.
This year, Jean has been conducting training for a relocation organization. She helps to prepare employees
and families for overseas assignments by giving them a realistic preview, discussing the role of culture and
acculturation, and bringing in country-specific experts. She is also working on survey research which is
concerned with how companies prepare and support their employees and employees' families for overseas
assignments.
Jean welcomes input from any newsletter reader who is interested and/or has ideas and experiences to share
about her research projects.
Rick Camp and Mary Vielhaber have completed a book, titled: Strategic Interviewing: How to Hire
Good People. Jack Simonetti is the third author on the book which will be available in May from JosseyBass Publishers.
Rick Camp and Debbie Ettington had an article “Facilitating Transfer of Skills between Group Projects
and Work Teams” accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of The Journal of Management
Education.
Debbie Ettington will complete several projects related to “E-Business Development” during her
sabbatical leave for the 2001-2001 academic year.
Greg Huszczo remains on sabbatical leave until September 1. Greg tells us he is having a blast taking on
OD assignments for a variety of clients but especially Ford. The assignments have included the usual
requests for teambuilding and strategic planning but have also included opportunities to do more one-on-
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one coaching of leaders, behind the scenes attempts at resolving conflicts and capitalizing on diversity.
Greg also has spent time with several non-profits, most notably the National Coalition for Community
Justice, The Michigan Labor-Management Association and the Scanlon Plan Association.
He is finishing up articles on the labor relations implications on the use of lean manufacturing and teams;
biases of OD consultants as a function of personality type; and the 5-A Problem Solving Approach. He also
made progress on a book tentatively titled, The Importance of Small Victories and started writing another
book on OD consulting.
Denise Tanguay has been awarded a Faculty Research Fellowship to study the effectiveness of the Rutgers
faculty merit pay plan. Equity, satisfaction, actual reward basis, and outcomes will be measured in a survey
and a set of focus groups.
Denise recently returned from a trip to Shanghai, China sponsored by General Motors University’s Human
Resource College. Denise was a presenter in a two day HR Symposium to presidents of companies and HR
directors of companies that are members of the SAIC Shanghia Automotive Industry Corporation. Denise
tells us the presentations were made in English and translated as they spoke. Even the PowerPoint slides
were in Chinese characters! The primary topics were key success factors for globalizing the HR function,
HR factors in mergers and acquisitions, the selection and development of high potential global managers, eHR, and OD/change management.
Eric Schulz was awarded a Provost’s Research Award for New Faculty for 2001. Eric will be doing
research on “Signing Bonus Prevalence: Myth or Reality.”
Stu Tubbs was elected Chairman of the Board of Regents at Baker College's Center for Graduate Studies.
Stu also presented a paper (co-authored with Chen Oi Chin-Hsieh and John Gu) titled, "Developing Global
Leadership Competencies," at the International Conference on Comparative Management at National Sun
Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in December. He gathered research data while in Taipei, Hong
Kong and Beijing, China.
Mar y Vielhaber will be on sabbatical leave for the 2001- 2002 academic year. Mary will be working on a
research project, “Executive Coaching and Mentoring: The Effects on the Leadership Development of
Women Managers and Executives.” Recently, Mary also was a guest speaker at the Dexter High School
Leadership Day.
Ray Hill has been awarded a sabbatical leave starting Fall 2001. He will be working on “Career
Redirection: Teaching Management Skills for Asian Cultures using Experiential Methods.”
Stephanie Ne well and Dianna L. Stone ( U of Central Florida) have been notified that their article,
"Punishing Excellence/Rewarding Mediocrity: The Impact of the Dominant Culture on the Creation and
Dissemination of Knowledge", will be published in Organization. Stephanie and Dianna Stone will also be
co-chairs at a Roundtable Symposium accepted for the Academy of Management Meetings in August 2001.
The topic will be "Diminishing the Digital Divide: Women, Minorities and Information Technology."
Debbie Ettington will be one of the participants.
Stephanie was awarded a Faculty Research Leave for next year to complete a study titled "Exploring a
Self-Theory Based Model of Strategic Decision Making. "
Fraya Wagner-Marsh was elected Assistant State Director of the Michigan Council of SHRM for 20012002. In January of 2003, she will become the State Director of the Michigan Council of SHRM for a two
year term. In February Fraya attended the Fifth Annual Operation Able Think Tank on Human Resources
Through the 21st Century sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation and the Detroit Regional Chamber of
Commerce. Fraya was also invited to join the Human Resource Division Subcommittee of the Academy of
Management on Information Technology.
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Schedule of Upcoming Classes
Core Courses: Student must complete 18 hours
Elective Courses: Student must complete 12 hours
MGMT 602-Theory and Techniques of OD
Prerequisite: MGT 605
Offered: Fall
MGMT 615-Organizational Design and Strategy
Prerequisite: MGT 605
Offered: Winter, odd years
MGMT 605-Organizational Theory and Behavior
Offered: Fall, Winter, and Spring
Offered: Fall, Livonia Campus
MGMT 618-Staffing
Offered: Winter, even years
Offered: Spring, Livonia Campus
MGMT 609-Human Resource Management
Offered: Fall and Spring
Offered: Winter, Livonia Campus
MGMT 620-Compensation
Offered: Fall
Offered: Winter, Livonia Campus
MGMT 610-Diagnostic and Quantitative Methods
Prerequisites: MGT 602
Offered: Winter
MGMT- 628-Human Resource Development
Prerequisite: MGT 605
Offered: Fall, Livonia Campus
Offered: Winter
MGMT 625-Management in Unionized Settings
Prerequisite: MGT 609
Offered: Spring
MGMT 638-Continuous Improvement Teams
Prerequisite: MGT 605
Offered: Winter
MGMT 688-Practicum
MGMT 648-Communication and OD
Offered: Winter
Offered: Fall, even years
Prerequisites: All core course and 2 Electives.
MGMT 696-Management Strategy and Policy
Offered: Fall, Winter and Spring
Looking for an HR Elective this Summer?
Work now takes place in a world where human resources and technology are inseparable. In the Summer
2001 course Mgmt. 592 Special Topics: e-HR. This class will be offered by Dr. Chris Day, Summer
semester on Mondays & Wednesdays at 6:30-9:10pm. The section ID is 135505. You will learn: the latest
theories and practices about e-HR how to interpret the managerial context of e-HR initiatives how to
manage, from an HR perspective, the new demands "e" has placed on the entire organization strategies to
partner with organizational leadership to implement and maximize e-HR the business value of e-HR and its
impact on HR services and HR's role in the organization how to enhance your own professional skills by eenabling yourself!
New Graduate Class for Fall 2001
Management Skills (Mgt. 695) will be offered this Fall for the first time on the graduate level by Dr. Jean
McEnery. It will be in compressed format. Classes will be held on Tuesdays from 6:00-9:45 pm from
Sept. 11 through Nov. 6 (including one Saturday, described below). This class will focus on personal and
managerial skills such as stress/time management, career planning and management, dealing positively
with performance issues of subordinates, leadership, the use of power and influence, and training others.
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The focus will be on application; experiential activities will be used such as the role-play, exercises, and
group discussion. A highlight will be the use of a business simulation in which students will role play the
management team of an international food distribution company on Saturday, Oct. 13, from 9 am-4 pm.
Faculty and trained graduate students will provide feedback on participant skill level from this simulation.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Dr. McEnery at (734) 487-0224 or
Jean.McEnery@emich.edu.
Entry from a Consultant’s Journal
Sue Rantz
The satisfaction for a consultant, whether internal or external, comes from knowing their efforts have
resulted in a positive impact for the organization. It may be a small success such as changing how a
process is done (streamlining) or a bigger success such as increasing job satisfaction.
Five Star Consulting (Cathy Broadbent, Diane Dorazio, Debbie Hofsess, Stevie Hiltz, and Sue Rantz) of
the Winter 2000 session of Management 610 has had the joy of experiencing this kind of satisfaction. A
follow-up interview was conducted with our client, ReCellular, Inc. (Jenifer Chambers, Human Resources
Manager) to discuss what had transpired since the completion of our consulting project.
Our consulting project consisted of designing, administering, and analyzing an employee satisfaction
survey. A fair amount of time was spent in the planning stage to learn about the culture of the organization
and to address any management or employee concerns surrounding the survey. The employees were
assured that the identity of their comments would not be revealed and the raw data would not be shared
with the management team.
Once the survey had been administered, Five Star Consulting’s work had just begun. Many hours were
spent analyzing the data and preparing the final consulting report containing several recommendations.
These recommendations included:
Communicate the results of the initial survey to all employees within 7-10 days of our presentation to
management.
Result: Completed
Create a representative group of employees that reflects the general employee population at ReCellular,
Inc.
Result: 2-3 members from the production staff have been added to the Steering Committee on a rotating
basis to represent their peers
Open the communication channels.
Result: The communication within the organization has improved so greatly, that some employees are
now saying – “enough already! “ Communication has been through various means – emails, postings,
informal meetings, and company-wide meetings.
Make the goal setting process more public. Whenever possible, ask for input from all employees.
Result: Plans are underway to have a company meeting to communicate on a broad basis the 2001
company-wide goals. This is quite a different process from last year. Monthly company meetings are
also held to discuss the financials, sales forecast, HR updates, and updates from the various departments.
Along with the consulting report, we provided ReCellular with an electronic version of the survey for them
to administer in the future. In the follow-up conversation with Jenifer, she indicated that the survey has
been administered twice to the organization since April 2000. Each survey has resulted in a 10-20%
improvement in the areas they have been focusing on since the previous survey – job satisfaction and
communication. The results of each survey are posted in the cafeteria including the comments verbatim. In
addition to posting the results, a company meeting is held to review the results and to address any questions
or concerns.
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Employees are also encouraged to bring forth any suggestions they may have to improve work processes or
the work environment in general. The employee provides the suggestion in a proposal outlining the
rationale, the benefit to be derived, and the action steps. If a suggestion cannot be acted upon, the company
will provide the rationale for denial. One suggestion was to provide recognition of birthdays, specific
events (marriages, births, etc.) and performance. A voluntary Activities Committee has been formed to
decide what activities they would like to offer either during or after work hours. Such activities have
included a Thanksgiving lunch, monthly birthday parties, and a Halloween party. The company has been
very supportive of these activities and has often contributed funds.
The company has grown by 10-15 employees since April 2000. The retention problem they had
experienced in the past has been reduced perhaps due to several factors. Their starting wage has been
increased opening up a larger pool of qualified candidates. The increased job satisfaction and overall
morale have contributed to a more enticing work environment.
Employees are also feeling much more empowered these day. Currently all of the technicians are working
together to produce a reference manual that they can refer to while doing their job. This will be a great job
resource as well as their own product!
Since the administration of the initial survey, the morale overall has improved, business is booming, and
people are pulling together to get the work done. By utilizing this employee satisfaction survey, the
management team is now in touch to a greater extent with the pulse of their employees.
At the end of the meeting, Jennifer mentioned that Five Star Consulting had developed a powerful and
useful tool to increase the effectiveness of their organization.
Practicum Projects Provide HR/OD Consulting Skills to the Community
This year’s Practicum students are very busy completing independent projects for local organizations.
Each student completes a consulting project designed to improve organizational effectiveness through
Human Resources and/or Organizational Development strategies. This year’s projects include:
JoJo Beckham is working with a team of managers at ReCellular on performance management issues.
JoJo is completing a “best practices” analysis of performance evaluations and will make recommendations
in a final consulting report for improving the current system. She will assist in creating a new evaluation
form to be used annually and quarterly.
Mark Brennan is conducting a study to determine the gap, if any, between actual and preferred
performance in the areas of zero defects, low cost, and on-time delivery for Wolverine Metal Specialties.
Mark will provide a final consulting report summarizing both his data analysis and his recommendations
for improvement.
Cathy Broadbent is developing a compensation (wages, benefits, work/life) survey instrument for parttime employees for The Conference of Western Wayne – a non-profit consortium of 18 Western Wayne
communities. Cathy also will provide research and recommendations on trends in profit and/or non-profit
recruitment and retention of part-time employees.
Rocky Ellens is assisting the Lear Corporation develop a model and criteria for identifying future leaders
by assessing their current approach to leadership development, identifying “best practices” within the
market place and developing new leadership development strategies.
Stevie Hiltz is assisting the Sales Training Department of Eli Lilly in developing and piloting a mentoring
workshop for new employees.
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Debbie Hofsess is conducting an assessment of the processes used by the Rental Department of AIS
Construction Equipment related to customer satisfaction. Based on her data analysis, Debbie will provide
recommendations for improving customer satisfaction.
Cindy Juckett is conducting a study of best practices in improving the achievement of diversity goals.
Cindy will present her research to both management and the Diversity Council of the NSK Corporation for
review as they set upcoming diversity goals and strategies.
Cheryl Lauzon is collecting data on absenteeism, researching best practices in successful attendance
incentive programs and providing a final report with recommendations for a Visteon plant.
Tamaria Leverett is gathering customer satisfaction data for an office at the University of Michigan.
Based on her analysis of the data, Tamaria will provide recommendations for improving customer
satisfaction.
Michelle Malotke is working with the Girl Scouts of Macomb County Otsikita Council to assess external
customer service and identify new customer service strategies. Michelle will submit a final consulting
report with recommendations for improving customer service.
Sue Rantz is gathering data from employees at the Washtenaw Chapter of the American Red Cross through
one-on-one interviews and focus groups to develop a unified definition of excellent customer service.
Based on this definition, Sue will develop and pilot a Customer Service workshop.
Sam Rosales is conducting a training needs assessment of Skilled Trades and Plant Services for General
Motors Powertrain Romulus Transmission. Based on his analysis, Sam will also develop a training plan to
meet the needs.
Sheri Rowe is facilitating the development of a statement of “corporate values” that support the vision and
strategy of the Programmed Products Corporation. Sheri will also develop and document a process to
continually communicate the values throughout the company.
News from HROD Students and Alums
Stan Clark (1989) recently retired after 30 years with Visteon/Ford. Stan has spent the last 17 years in
human resources primarily in training administration, workgroups and lean manufacturing.
Theresa Dyke (1997) has moved from Cincinnati to North Carolina to be with her husband. Her two girls
ages 2 and 4 keep her busy and she plans to return to work soon.
Rocky Ellens has taken a new job as the Director of the Training and Education Division at Wagner
Engineering Inc.
Scott Fenton (1993) and the Toyota Technical Center were honored during the Arbor Awards for
Excellence for their program for preparing employees to understand differences in culture and
communications when traveling to Japan.
Betty Green (2000) is the Human Resource Manager for Wolverine Metal Specialties in Jackson,
Michigan.
Russ Hornfisher (1985) is a Sales Manager for Becker Orthopedic Supply in Plymouth, Michigan.
Gary Roush (1994) has a new job at General Motors. Gary provides process consulting at the Innovation
Zone, a type of "skunkworks" where teams of people are provided an out-of-the-way worksite and a
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process for addressing problems that they have been unsuccessful in solving in the mainstream of GM's
operations.
Bernie Swartout (1997) is HR Manager-Employer of Choice for the Ford Motor Credit Company.
Tom Wilson (1985) has just accepted a new job as the Associate Director for the San Diego State
University Health Service.
Bonnie Scherwitz (1995) is working as a manager in Compensation and Benefits in Robert Bosch
Corporation, Automotive Group.
National Conference of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)
The 53rd Annual National Conference of SHRM will be held June 24-27, 2001 in San Francisco, California.
Keynote presentations will be by General H. Normal Schwarzkopf, Doris Kearns Goodwin (a Pulitzer
prize-winning author), Gary Hamel (a successful author on corporate strategy), and Nando Parrado
(survivor of the tragic plane crash in the Andes Mountains). This is a wonderful opportunity to network
with HR professionals from around the world. For more information check the SHRM website at
www.shrm.org or you can contact Dr. Fraya Wagner-Marsh, SPHR, at fraya.wagner@emich.edu
Mark your calendars now for the State SHRM Conference in Traverse City this Fall
The annual State SHRM Conference will be held October 3-5, 2001, at the Grand Traverse Resort in
Traverse City. This is a great opportunity to listen to national-level presenters and network with HR
professionals throughout Michigan. For students, there is also a student rate. For more information check
the Michigan Council of SHRM website at www.mishrm.org or you can contact Dr. Fraya Wagner-Marsh,
SPHR, at fraya.wagner@emich.edu
Certification in Human Resources Management
Human Resource Certification is the symbol of professional achievement. Beyond experience and
education, the PHR or SPHR designation signifies that you have mastered the HR body of knowledge. The
Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI®) maintains the nationally recognized standards set by
individuals working in the profession. Certification exams are administered two times per year in major
cities around the United States. There are currently over 40,000 certified HR professionals. For more
details on certification check out the SHRM website: www.shrm.org. Did you know that students could
also take the certification exam? If you are within one year of graduation or if you have graduated within
the last year, you can sit for the HRCI exam as a student for $90. You then will have five years to get the
two years of HR-related exempt experience that you need to become a PHR, Professional in Human
Resources. The MSHROD Development fund has purchased study materials that can be checked out by our
students. If you need more information, contact Fraya Wagner-Marsh,SPHR at fraya.wagner@emich.edu
Congratulations !
Congratulations to Molly Shelton, PHR, President of EMU Student Chapter of SHRM, and a Graduate
Certificate in HR student, Sabreena Konye, SPHR, one of our new adjuncts for this term and alum Bonnie
Scherwitz, SPHR. All three of them successfully passed the December HRCI/SHRM Certification Exam.
Molly is now certified as a PHR, Professional in Human Resources, and Sabreena and Bonnie are now
certified as a SPHR, Senior Professional in Human Resources. To become certified HR professionals need
a minimum of two years exempt-level HR experience and pass a very difficult (ask Denise or Fraya) fourhour long national exam.
Way to go, Molly, Sabreena and Bonnie!
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Welcome to our New MSHROD Students
Kristen VanLente, Kristen currently works for Wayne County as an Airport Operations Assistant.
Stacey Cotton, Stacey is the Assistant Director, Office of Admissions, at EMU, and has her Masters of
Education from the University of South Carolina.
Amy DeFor d, Amy works in HR for Excelda Manufacturing Company and received her undergraduate
degree from MSU.
Carl Ebach, Carl works for EMU in the Recreational/IM facility.
Sue Gerten, Sue is the Coordinator for Guest Services for the Detroit Tigers.
Patricia Jabl onsk, Patricia is a consumer advocate for General Electric.
Jennifer Anastos Johnson, Jennifer works for Suburban Arena Management.
Kate Ryan, Kate is currently working at EMU and was selected as one of EMU's Student Ambassadors.
Wipada Saichamjuntr, Wipada is an international student from Thailand.
Maren Sande, Maren works for GMAC.
Also, the following students have completed their Graduate Certificates in HR and have been accepted into
the MSHROD Program:
Vivienne Outlaw, Vivienne is a manager at the Institute of Survey Research Institute at Uof M.
Ken Szmigiel, PHR, Ken is an Employee Relations Representative for Isuzu Motors.
James Topel, James is with the Ohio Air National Guard and an undergraduate from Bowling Green
University.
**************************************************************************************
MSHROD Newsletter Winter 2001
Editors: Dr. Fraya Wagner-Marsh, SPHR, Dr. Mary Vielhaber and Poonam Singh
If you have any interesting news to share, please email Poonam Singh at psingh30@hotmail.com
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