SVSU TODAY

Week of June 12, 2023

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In a tribute to the dedication, compassion and expertise of nurses, SVSU’s Department of Nursing hosted the Carleen K. Moore Nursing Excellence Awards Thursday, June 8. The 12th annual celebration luncheon showcased the invaluable impact nurses have on patient care, highlighting exceptional individuals whose tireless efforts improve the lives of those they serve.

“It is an honor to recognize nurses in our community,” said Andrea Frederick, SVSU professor of nursing. “Nurses are vital to the delivery of health care to patients throughout the community. Our honorees represent nursing excellence and embody the qualities that make the nursing profession so important. They deserve to be applauded for their work.”

Fraternity members of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) chapter from Saginaw Valley State University have volunteered at Mid-Michigan Children's Museum many times for quite a few years. Recently they volunteered at Holiday Hooray and Kids at Heart. Museum staff described them as amazing and helpful gentlemen and look forward to continuing to work with them. The men's social fraternity was established on January 10, 1899, focusing on their mission TKE is Better Men for a Better World.

"We truly appreciate the opportunity to be able to give back to our local community, but not just that, knowing that our giving back has been impactful to the kids and surrounding families is humbling as well. Whenever we volunteer it has always been a great experience and we love the relationship that has been built here with the museum. All of the brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon undoubtedly look forward to fostering the relationship we have built." - TKE

Betsy Diegel, MiSTEM Network Director East Central Region, and Dawn Hinton, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, were awarded the Chiara Hensley Outstanding Institutional Representative of the Year Award at the Michigan Women's ACE Conference for their work in empowering, supporting and providing professional development opportunities to SVSU female faculty, staff and students during the 2023 academic year. President Grant attended the conference and was part of a presidents panel discussion focused on empowering women in a new era of higher education during the conference at the Suburban Showcase in Novi, June 12-13.

Pride Month promotes equality, increased visibility and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community while taking a stand against prejudice and discrimination and raising awareness of its continued existence within society. SVSU is committed to creating an inclusive and safe learning environment for all students, faculty and staff.

Pride Month occurs at a time of year outside our typical academic calendar year, so the SVSU community comes together in October with events and awareness initiatives as part of OUToberfest. In addition, SVSU also will have a presence at upcoming local events such as Great Lakes Bay Pride Festival 2023 and the PFLAG Tri-Cities Summer Picnic.

Student leaders from the Office of Residential Life, the Residence Housing Association and the Olivia A. Lake Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary recently attended the National Association of College and University Residence Halls, Inc. annual conference at Ball State University.

The students attended various educational sessions to further develop their leadership skills and to learn more about different programming opportunities to bring back to the residence halls at SVSU.  Student leaders in attendance included: Zakaria Abden, Eric Durette, Morgan Fiedler, Shane Fulcher, Lauren Herek, Jess Inman, Jillian Inman, Faith Loomis and Kalli Quilici. The delegation was advised by Joey Koehn and Michele Renaud, assistant directors of Residential Life.

SVSU Men's Basketball is hosting a pair of summer camps that offer quality instruction in a fun-filled environment. A Youth Camp for boys entering grades K-8 runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 10-13. A Position Camp for boys entering grades 4-12 is scheduled for 9 to 2 p.m. July 24-27. Each camp is $80, which includes lunch each day. An SVSU employee discount is available upon request. For more information email Elizabeth Knowles (emknowle@svsu.edu) or Jalen Dey (jhdey@svsu.edu).

SVSU student and veteran known as "walking miracle" uses tragedy to help others

Otsego Community Foundation awards over $23,000 in scholarships

Two Mid-Michigan Schools Receive MiSTEM Funding

Saginaw Valley State University track & field star Cheyenne Williamson added another award to her resume when the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named her the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Field Athlete of the Year on Wednesday afternoon.

Williamson adds this award to her plethora of accomplishments this season that included being the USTFCCCA Midwest Field Athlete of the Year a few days ago. She had a historical showing at the NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships as she became the first athlete to win three-straight National Championships in the Heptathlon. Her program-record final score of 5,861 was more than 300 points ahead of second place. She added a second National Title in the high jump on day two of the meet after clearing the bar at 1.77m and was an All-American in the long jump and 100m hurdles.

"This was a difficult year for Cheyenne," said SVSU head track & field coach Rod Cowan. "She had to fit training in where she could between her schedule for student teaching. The lack of routine meant that training had to be at a very high quality on the days when she was not exhausted."

Member coaches voted on the regional honors after the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships wrapped in Pueblo, Colorado.

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