Welcome to Marygrove Minute -- the e-newsletter with the latest information on Marygrove College. We hope you enjoyed the updates from last month and we look to you for feedback. Your input is essential to the success of this effort to stay connected with our friends. We look forward to hearing from you at dpuhl@marygrove.edu.

MARYGROVE COLLEGE APPOINTS WILLIAM L. JOHNSON AS VP FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Marygrove College President David Fike, Ph.D., announces the appointment of William L. Johnson as vice president for Finance and Administration, effective January 1, 2008.  Johnson serves as the College’s chief financial officer.  He had been a member of the Marygrove Board of Trustees since 2006.

Johnson comes to Marygrove from DTE Energy where had most recently been director of Strategic Development. His other positions included director and controller for Detroit Edison from January through September 2007 and director and controller for DTE Energy subsidiary Michigan Consolidated Gas Company from April 2005 to December 2006.  Prior to joining DTE, he spent a year as vice president for Business & Finance at the University of Detroit Mercy.  His professional experience also includes Focus: Hope as chief financial officer; ANR Pipeline Company as senior vice president, financial administration; and Great Lakes Gas Transmission Company as controller.

Dr. Fike said, “Bill Johnson’s financial knowledge and management experience will certainly benefit Marygrove College as we continue to grow.  I am confident that he will begin making immediate and substantial impact for us because of his strong sense of the College’s mission and values and because of his intimate awareness and support of Marygrove’s strategic vision of fostering Urban Leadership.”

Johnson holds a BA in accounting from Michigan State University and a Master of Science in Finance from Walsh College.  He is a former certified public accountant with the State of Michigan.

In addition to his service as a member of the Marygrove Board of Trustees, he is a member of the board and treasurer of Lighthouse Emergency Service and a member of the Education Technology Committee of the Archdiocese of Detroit.

MARYGROVE COLLEGE APPOINTS NEW DEAN OF EDUCATION
Dr. David Fike, president of Marygrove College, announced the appointment of Dr. Chris Koenig Seguin as the dean of Education, effective January 2008.  Dr. Seguin most recently served as founding chairperson of the Art Education Department at the College for Creative Studies.  

Dr. Seguin earned her doctorate degree in Curriculum and Instruction, Multicultural Education, and Political Science and a Master’s in Art Education from Wayne State University.  She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Detroit where she earned the Bachelor of Arts degree and a Michigan Provisional Teaching Certificate.   Dr. Seguin received additional education in Art History Studies at Oxford University, England, and in Art, Art History and American Indian Studies at Arizona State University.

As founding chairperson of the CCS Art Education Department, Dr. Seguin created the program’s curriculum design, developed learning experiences that meet state standards for Art teachers, promoted research-based best practices and established effective relationships with the Michigan Department of Education.  Dr. Seguin is a native Detroiter who has forged close ties with hundreds of teachers in schools across the metropolitan area.  She brings several years’ teaching experience at the K-12 level in the Detroit Public and parochial school systems and higher education teaching experience at Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University and Henry Ford Community College.

Dr. Seguin’s published works and research focus on brain development, school reform, the relationship between economic equity and educational quality, and multiculturalism.  These include the article and presentation “Learning, Teaching and Advocating from a Research Base: Promoting Brain Development with the Dynamics of Creativity” in November 2007 at the Michigan Department of Education School Improvement Conference and the conference publication.  She also delivered “How Art Teachers Promote Brain Development with the Dynamics of Creativity” at the 2007 Michigan Art Education Association Annual Conference in Grand Rapids.  She has provided testimony on educational issues before the Michigan House of Representatives and other organizations.  Dr. Seguin’s affiliation with Marygrove College began as a teacher in Kid’s College.

COLLEGE STAGES THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES FEBRUARY 24, TO COMMEMORATE V-DAY UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS
On Sunday, February 24, 2008, at 2 p.m., the Marygrove College Theatre will be the site of the 2008 V-Day performance of The Vagina Monologues, a recitation of collected stories of women’s experiences by author Eve Ensler.  V-Day Until the Violence Stops is in its 10th year.  Marygrove College joins other U.S. college campuses in raising awareness of and remediation of violence against women and girls. 

This production occurs annually at this time on college and university campuses around the country to decry injustice to women and girls.  All ticket sales for the Marygrove production this year will go to support Looking for My Sister, Inc., a local non-profit organization that helps abused women, and National V-Day, a national charitable organization. Since the play began its Detroit performances, over $30,000 have been donated to local charities that help women.  Nationwide, the amount is over $3 million.

Leslie Love, Marygrove Theatre director and performance director, said, “Several Marygrove students and members of the community at large have joined the cast to make their voices heard on the subject of violence against women and girls.  It is one of the critical social justice issues of our time and must stop."  The cast includes Coco, WJLB radio morning drive personality; Judge Denise Page Hood; State Representative Shanelle Jackson; Detroit Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel; WXYZ anchorwoman Carolyn Clifford; radio/TV host Karen Dumas; local business owner Jeanne Wardford and Marygrove students Erica Cole; Sarah Conlin; Antoinette Cartwright; Brandi Christmas; Angelina DeAngelo; Ziana Taliaferro; Marva Jackson; and Jacqueline Streeter.

General admission tickets are $25 each; students and seniors 65+ tickets are $12.50.  For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Leslie Love at (313) 927-1522 or llove@marygrove.edu.  Sponsorships and advertising opportunities are available by contacting Dr. Karen F. Davis at (313) 927-1352 or kdavis@marygrove.edu.

MARYGROVE IS LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD TEACHERS
The Education Division is seeking candidates for three full-time tenure-track faculty positions in Reading, Special Education and Early Childhood Education.  If you know of exemplary educators with a doctorate degree who may be interested in furthering the teaching profession and sharing their talents, please have this teacher contact us!

Responsibilities for all positions include teaching, advising, and supervising undergraduate and graduate students; participating in College governance; pursuing scholarship activities; utilizing to a high degree technology in instruction including on-line and hybrid e-learning; and developing field-based course components.

Qualifications for all positions include an earned doctorate in the appropriate field, a record of successful teaching/administration in K-12 school settings, evidence of potential for scholarship, experience working with persons from diverse cultural backgrounds, and the ability to collaborate with colleagues on the development of teacher education programs.   All of these positions are posted on the Marygrove web site, please reference for details.

Letters of application along with curriculum vitae should be sent to Dr. Chukwunyere Okezie, Chair, Department of Education, Marygrove College, 8425 W. McNichols Road, Detroit MI 48221-2599.  On-line submissions are encouraged and should be addressed to cokezie@marygrove.edu.

UPCOMING ALUMNI EVENTS
Saturday, February 9

Dinner/Theatre: And Neither Have I Wings to Fly
Dinner at 6:30 p.m. in Madame Cadillac Hall. Stage Play at 8:00 p.m. in the Marygrove Theatre

The Marygrove College Alumni Association Program Committee cordially invites you to join us for the UDM production of And Neither Have I Wings to Fly written by Ann Noble Massey and directed by Yolanda Fleischer.  The story, set in a town on the east coast of Ireland in the late 1950s, swirls around the Donnelly sisters, the responsible, devoted Eveline and her younger, more glamorous and more selfish 18-year-old sister, Kathleen. The two are mourning the death of their mother after a long illness. In their very different ways, they are trying to break free of their depressed father, Peter. Wings is a fiercely lovely meditation on the high price paid in the quest for personal freedom and the equally high price exacted for remaining true to others. It is as soaring, and as rueful as its richly poetic title. $30 per person which includes dinner and theater ticket. Space is limited and reservations must be received no later than February 1, 2008.          

Saturday, February 22

Book Discussion: Straight, No Chaser: How I Became a Grown-up Black Woman by Jill Nelson
Dr. Loretta Woodard, associate professor of English, will lead another
engaging and enlightening book discussion on journalist Jill Nelson’s Straight,
No Chaser. We welcome all to join us to discuss Nelson’s highly praised and insightful work. The discussion will take place on Friday, February 22, 2008, in the Faculty
Lounge located in the lower level of the Liberal Arts Building from
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Enjoy light refreshments while we share our views.

Book summary:  Full of candor, courage, wit, and passion, Nelson uses a blend
of autobiography, political analysis, and self-help, to examine the roles and status
of black women in their communities. As she unveils the “secrets, silence, and invisibility,” which defines their lives, Nelson challenges black women, and by extension, all women, especially young women, to “speak up and out,” as a
collective voice, about the ills of their communities, and the larger culture.

If you plan to attend, please mark your calendar now and contact Alumni Program Committee member Druel Outley at (313) 342-3208 or drueloutley@ameritech.net.     

Friday, March 14

Beer Tasting, Tour and Dinner
6:00 p.m.; Traffic Jam & Snug Restaurant, Detroit

Enjoy a buffet dinner and beer tasting at The Traffic Jam & Snug Restaurant, a very popular and well known Detroit establishment.  Family, friends and alumni are welcome.  Nominal price of $20.00 per person includes buffet dinner, beer sampling, brewery tour, tax and gratuity.  The restaurant is located at 511 W. Canfield, Detroit, MI, 48201 and has free parking.  Please register by February 22, 2008

March 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24

Ballroom Dance Classes
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Ballroom dancing is making a comeback and here is your chance to learn this elegant and graceful art form. The Marygrove College Alumni Program Committee is offering six 1 ½ hour lessons followed by a dance where you can show off your newly acquired or finely honed skills. Wear leather healed shoes.

Reuben Collier and Margo Lee ’00, both experienced instructors who love to dance will guide you through the lessons and have you dancing like Fred or Ginger in no time. In addition to being fun, ballroom dancing is also very healthy, a s it has physical, mental and social benefits.

Lessons, which are $5 for alumni and $3 for students, will be held in the gym the following Thursdays: March 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24. The dance will be held in the Main Dining room in Madame Cadillac Hall on Friday, May 2, 2008. Tickets are $10 and should be purchased in advanced. To register for the lessons, purchase tickets for the dance or for more information, contact Margo Lee ’00 at (313) 538-8611 or margolee2000@sbcglobal.net. Let’s show those “Dancing With the Stars” celebrities they have nothing on Marygrove Alumni!

ALUMNI TRAVEL TO CHINA AND EGYPT
Collette Vacations and Smithsonian Journeys Partner on Egypt Trip!

Beijing City Stay
October 14 - 22, 2008
9 Days - 15 Meals
$2,029 - Includes roundtrip air from Detroit, hotel transfers and departure taxes.
Experience the best of Beijing, home of the 2008 Summer Olympics, while spending each night of our tour in one of the city’s finest hotels.  We’ll visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and The Great Wall.  We’ll also experience ancient Beijing on a rickshaw tour, have a tradition Chinese dinner with a local family in their home and attend the Peking Opera.

Splendors of the Nile
March 11 - 22, 2009
12 Days - 22 Meals
$3,449 - Includes roundtrip air from Detroit, hotel transfers and departure taxes.
Step back in time and explore thousands of years of history, legend, and lore as we view the timeless wonders of Egypt.  Discover the world of the ancient Egyptians as we visit the incomparable sites of the pharaohs – Memphis and Sakkara, the Pyramids of Giza, Luxor and Karnak temples, and the tombs on the West Bank and ancient Thebes.  Cruise along the legendary Nile River, pass colonnaded temples, and stop at the temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo, situated at the crossroads of ancient caravan routes.  We’ll learn about ancient Egyptian history during lectures in Cairo and on board the cruise from our Egyptologist/National Guide who will accompany us throughout your journey.

Alumni-sponsored travel is open to all alumni, family and friends of Marygrove College.  To view the full itinerary for these trips, please visit www.marygrove.edu/alumni/travel.  Special accommodations can be made for people who need a departure city other than Detroit.  If you have questions or need more information, contact Diane Puhl, director of Alumni Relations, at (313) 927-1443 or dpuhl@marygrove.edu.

HELP RECRUIT STUDENTS TO MARYGROVE AND THEY RECEIVE SPECIAL BENEFITS!
Alumni who care about the future of their alma mater can help the Marygrove Alumni Recruiting Students (MARS) committee and the Office of Admissions by identifying potential Marygrove students for the Winter 2007 class. If you refer a student to Marygrove, he or she will have the $25 application fee waived and, if admitted and enrolled, a $250 gift card for books will be awarded to be used at the College Bookstore.

You can become a very important member of our staff as a volunteer alumni admissions representative by telling others of your experiences at Marygrove College. Do not discount the value of your experience as an opportunity to help people choose wisely about the future of their education.

Please use the Alumni-Referred Admission Application and feel free to make copies. If you know someone who would make a good addition to the Marygrove student community, give him or her an application to fill out and send in. If you have questions, email info@marygrove.edu or call the Office of Admissions at (313) 927-1240. Thank you in advance for your continued support and commitment to Marygrove College.