Faculty Senate

Celebrating the vibrancy and creativity of our campus

stuxbury — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 15:04:24 +0000

Celebrating the vibrancy and creativity of our campus stuxbury Wed, 08/30/2023 - 11:04

You don’t need to travel much farther than 51��Ƶ-Dearborn’s classrooms to meet people who have incredible stories of resilience and strength. They’ve lived through events that make news headlines: changing governments, economic crises, war and more. They’ve traveled the world, navigated new languages and cultures, and have feelings of home in places both old and new.

Class of 2018 graduate Hanan Ali Nasser penned a letter reflecting on the journey her parents took when fleeing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s regime when Nasser was a small child. Yasmin Mohamed, whose family left Yemen when she was an infant, writes about the changes her family experienced starting with North Yemen’s Civil War — and how that’s shaped the College of Education, Health, and Human Services alum’s identity as an Arab American today.

“I remember Dad always expecting me to do more. He used to hold my hands when I was little, kiss them and say, ‘these hands are going to write,’” wrote Mohamed, a Dearborn Wolverine who earned her graduate degree in 2009 and is a teacher for Dearborn Public Schools. “These hands that he kissed are writing…he will forever be my hero.”

These are two of the 14 authors who contributed to the book “Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging” (Wayne State University Press, 2022). The book is 51��Ƶ-Dearborn’s 2023-24 Community Read.

Community Read is a campuswide program where students, faculty and staff learn together and develop a clearer picture of the university community and what it means to be a part of it. “Hadha Baladuna,” which means “this is our country” in Arabic, is a collection of creative nonfiction exploring the diversity of Arab American voices and experiences in the southeastern Michigan region. The book, which has been named a Michigan Notable Book and received the Arab American Book Awards’ Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award, is the first work of creative nonfiction in the field of Arab American literature that focuses entirely on the Arab diaspora in Metro Detroit.

“When discussing which book to choose for the Community Read, ‘Hadha Baladuna’ emerged as the unanimous favorite. It allows us to celebrate the creativity and vibrancy of our campus and the city we live, learn and work in,” said Associate Professor of History Kristin Poling, who is this year’s Community Read co-chair. “It also shows current students the power of storytelling and voice.”

The 237-page book — which can be downloaded for free by 51��Ƶ-Dearborn community members — is edited by History Professor Sally Howell, former 51��Ƶ-Dearborn English Assistant Professor Ghassan Abou-Zeineddine, and anthropologist Nabeel Abraham.

“I hope that ‘Hadha Baladuna’ will help the campus community understand a bit more about the diversity of experiences and worldviews found among Arab Americans, and also to see what is universal in these stories,” Howell said. “We have so much in common with one another, regardless of where our families come from.”

Throughout the academic year, Poling said there will be several opportunities to engage with the book, learn more about the diversity in the Arab American community, and think about themes featured within “Hadha Baladuna.” University events will include book readings, workshops and community projects. More information will be shared this fall.

Until then, here are five ways to get involved:

Read the book. To keep “Hadha Baladuna” easily accessible, the e-book version — is free for Dearborn Wolverines.

Apply for grants. Want to take your students on a field trip? Bring in a guest speaker? Or get supplies for a hands-on activity? The Faculty Senate First-Year Experience Committee is providing small grants to support curricular and co-curricular efforts related to the Community Read. Apply. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all funds are distributed. Questions? Reach out to Poling.

Check out the library resource page. The Mardigian Library’s subject guide on “Hadha Baladuna” shares more information regarding southeast Michigan’s Arab American community, immigrant experiences and Dearborn’s history. There are companion readings, podcasts and online exhibits. Questions or suggestions about the guide? Contact librarian Anne Dempsey.

Get teaching ideas. Here are a few ideas for how to adopt the book into your classes. It includes writing and discussion prompts, activities and field trips. If you need a hard copy of the book to facilitate teaching, reach out to Poling or Dempsey.

Visit the Arab American National Museum. By showing your 51��Ƶ-Dearborn ID, 51��Ƶ-Dearborn students receive annual membership to the Arab American National Museum, which includes unlimited admission to the museum, discounts on public programs, workshops and events. It also includes check-out privileges at the Russell J. Ebeid Library & Resource Center, the largest collection of books by and about Arab Americans.

Howell said learning and teaching opportunities are everywhere — and can even be found within our homes. She hopes people, after reading the stories and poetry in the book, will consider writing down their own reflections and experiences.

“We have four alumni included in the book and I am hoping that a future volume might be inspired by this one,” Howell said. “For all the writers out there: keep at it.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Campus Life

Faculty Research

University-wide

College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters

Faculty Senate

Off

Wed, 08/30/2023 - 15:03

Learn more about 51��Ƶ-Dearborn’s 2023-24 Community Read, “Hadha Baladuna,” and five ways you can get involved.

Community Read graphic by Jeff Knudsen/Michigan Creative

Campus Colleagues: Rudra Mehta

tinahu — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 19:07:56 +0000

Campus Colleagues: Rudra Mehta tinahu Mon, 02/28/2022 - 14:07

Rudra Mehta hails from Mumbai, the New York City of India and a world away from suburban Detroit. But studying at 51��Ƶ-Dearborn was a natural choice. He has a bachelor’s in automotive engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, and when he was looking for a master’s program, it seemed like a great fit to relocate to one of America’s hubs for mobility research. “I wanted to be a pilot when I was little, and I started diving into all sorts of aircraft and their engines,” he says. “From there, I got interested in automobiles and their engines, and that sparked something in me. Like, these things, they are incredible. I just wanted to study more about them.”

He loves anything and everything related to soccer and has pledged his allegiance to FC Barcelona. In his free time, he likes to game on his PC, compose music, and play the guitar and the keyboard. He loves rock music and is an avid Linkin Park fan, his favorite song being “What I’ve Done.” He also reads books, only hardcover, and is a huge Potterhead. The last book he read was “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Learning French.” Mehta attributes his inquisitive nature to reading a lot of encyclopedias growing up and is super curious about the working principles behind almost everything. This has also made him quite detail oriented.

Since moving to Dearborn, he has already made many friends, though this being his first international trip, he misses his family. It helps that he has enough things on his Google Calendar to keep him occupied for 30 hours a day. Mehta loves walking to get places — “this cold snowy weather adds to the fun of walking,” he says — and he enjoys taking in the scenes along downtown Dearborn’s stretches of Michigan Ave. He is not much of a foodie but loves to get ice cream at La Gelati. When he wants to get away from the concrete landscape, his favorite places are the Rouge River trail and the Henry Ford Estate.

As anyone who meets Mehta will figure out in a minute, he stands for kindness and inclusivity. “Diversity is obviously required but inclusivity is more important to me, as you can be as diverse as you want but it doesn't matter unless everyone is accepted,” he says. He can speak nine languages and has recently started learning American Sign Language.

He is quite excited about this new job as the editorial assistant at the Department of External Relations, where he writes about anything and everything that happens around the campus. He also looks forward to being part of the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi, the 51��Ƶ-Dearborn Racing-Electric team, and the Michigan Journal.

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Story by Ruthvik Sankar

Faculty and Staff

External Relations

Faculty Senate

Off

Mon, 02/28/2022 - 19:07

Meet our newest editorial assistant on the campus’ External Relations team.

51��Ƶ-Dearborn graduate student Rudra Mehta at one of his favorite new places in Dearborn, Avenue Brunch House on Michigan Avenue.

Campus Colleagues: Ruthvik Sankar

tinahu — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 20:13:15 +0000

Campus Colleagues: Ruthvik Sankar tinahu Mon, 01/31/2022 - 15:13

In school, Ruthvik Sankar is an international student pursuing a Master of Science in Robotics Engineering.

Out of the classroom, Ruthvik is an aspiring musician who recently began relearning the guitar. He’s an information consumer, preferring to scroll through research articles more than his social feeds. And he’s a curious explorer. Ruthvik loves to travel, especially when he’s behind the wheel of a car, in his quest to learn more about the people and places on the planet.

When he has time, he ventures out on weekend trips. He’s been checking out the Great Lakes. He visited Lake Huron on a recent trip to Port Huron and went to Chicago and viewed Lake Michigan.

This curiosity about the world has led to his role as a new student editorial assistant for the 51��Ƶ-Dearborn’s External Relations department. He’ll be writing about campus life and student experiences.

Ruthvik knows a few things about college life. A native to Bangalore, Ruthvik graduated with a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering while in India.

Now in graduate school in the U.S. — his first international experience — he’s learning what it’s like to live away from family and childhood friends and navigate new aspects of student life. While on campus, he has observed immense diversity around him with different cultures and people forming a welcoming environment for everyone. “(Coming to a new place) was more fear than worry, but the people here are very sweet and loving. I felt at ease right away.”

But there are still a few areas left to navigate, like his kitchen. When it comes to cooking, Ruthvik said he’s still working on that life skill. “I am a strict vegetarian and thanks to my nonexistent cooking skills, food was a huge concern.”

Another area he’s working on? Making friends with the Michigan winter. “It is super cold and a little frustrating. Although, I did get to experience snowfall for the first time. I had romanticised it in my head. But now that I have felt it, it’s good to look at it from afar,” Ruthvik said. However, winter sports do interest him. Ice skating and skiing are on his to-do list.

Keeping focused on his studies is also on his to-do list. After all, he chose 51��Ƶ-Dearborn to connect with the faculty experts and industry leaders.

“51��Ƶ-Dearborn has an excellent student-to-teacher ratio with more industry exposure compared to other universities. The teaching is more practical and hands-on, something more than just textbook lectures. The projects and collaboration of the robotics department with various companies were a huge draw for me.”

Article by Rudra Mehta. Rudra is also a new student editorial assistant in the campus’ External Relations department who will be writing about student life and campus experiences. Have a story idea? Feel free to reach out to him. For next month’s Campus Colleagues in Reporter, we’ll highlight Rudra.

Faculty and Staff

International

Student Success

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Faculty Senate

Graduate Studies

Off

Mon, 01/31/2022 - 20:13

Ruthvik Sankar is an international student who’s pursuing a Master of Science in Robotics Engineering. He’s a curious explorer who enjoys traveling, meeting new people and seeing new places.

Although he is not a fan of the cold, Ruthvik Sankar braves the snowy weather for a photo outside of the University Center. Photo by Rudra Mehta

Faculty recognize university leadership for coronavirus response

lblouin — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 14:28:10 +0000

Faculty recognize university leadership for coronavirus response lblouin Mon, 12/07/2020 - 09:28

A student completes a temperature check with a security officer at a building access checkpoint on the 51��Ƶ-Dearborn campus.

When 51��Ƶ-Dearborn leadership decided to take a remote-first approach to instruction to help control the pandemic on and off-campus, Faculty Senate Chair Natalia Czap says there was understandably disappointment among some faculty. “I think, at first, there were definitely people who thought we were being too cautious,” Czap says. “As faculty, we really love teaching and love having our students in the classroom. And I think some faculty were concerned about the impact that would have on students and their desire for in-person instruction and interaction.”

Now 10 months into the pandemic, however, Czap says there is wide consensus that the clear, aggressive, science-informed response to the pandemic was the right one. Most importantly, new cases in the 51��Ƶ-Dearborn community have remained extremely low, even as cases have surged across Michigan and the country as a whole. And Czap points out the early decision also gave faculty and students time to make adjustments to their academic and personal lives. In particular, she says faculty have felt extremely supported by the non-stop effort of instructional designers at The Hub; and by the Provost’s office, which has taken extra steps to address increased workloads and family care demands through the Care and Equity Task Force.

In recognition of this, the Faculty Senate recently unanimously passed a motion commending Chancellor Domenico Grasso, Provost Sue Alcock and the rest of the leadership team for “their efforts to assure the safety and security of our campus community during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Czap added that “everyone should be proud that our campus’ sacrifices ensured that Wayne and the surrounding counties had fewer coronavirus cases than we would have probably seen otherwise.”

Grasso says it’s “generous and kind” of the faculty to acknowledge senior leadership but that 51��Ƶ-Dearborn’s COVID-19 response has been a real team effort. “To the faculty, I would say: Right back at you. No matter what the leadership did, if the faculty and staff were not a part of the team joining us, this could have gone in a very different direction. So they should be equally commended for their efforts.”

Grasso attributes the success of the university’s response thus far to several factors. He says Director for Emergency Management Laura Drabczyk’s contributions on the Emergency Operations Center team, and the entire team’s efforts, have been pivotal; as have Provost Alcock’s efforts to help faculty transition to a mostly remote learning environment. In addition, clear, frequent communications from leadership helped keep everyone in the 51��Ƶ-Dearborn community on the same page during a quickly evolving situation.

Grasso says it’s also important to recognize that 51��Ƶ-Dearborn was “dealt a very good hand” compared to other colleges and universities, many of which are now struggling with higher case counts.

“We are extraordinarily fortunate to be a 100 percent commuter campus, and to not have residence halls, large dining facilities, or a large medical center,” Grasso says. “But we’ve played that good hand well, and I think we can all be proud of that."

Off

Mon, 12/07/2020 - 14:06

The Faculty Senate recently passed a resolution commending the Chancellor, Provost and leadership team for their foresight in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.