 |
| Greetings from Dean Budikova
Dear CASL Alumni and Friends,
As we closed the chapter on another eventful year, I wanted to extend our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones. May this New Year bring you peace, good health, and prosperity.
We are excited to present this edition of our newsletter, where we showcase the remarkable achievements of our faculty, staff, and students over the past few months. I invite you to dive in and explore the inspiring stories and accomplishments that are a testament to the dedication and talent within our community. I'm confident you will be impressed by our continued success and innovation.
You may have heard that CASL began addressing its longstanding financial challenges this past Fall. I want to emphasize that confronting these issues is essential for safeguarding the college’s long-term health and fulfilling our commitment to offering the high-quality educational experiences that our students expect from a University of Michigan degree. We are dedicated to this work and are grateful for your continued support.
Thank you for being a valued part of our community. We hope you enjoy catching up on all the exciting developments at CASL.
Warm regards,
Dean Dagmar Budikova
| |
|
| CASL faculty, students and alumni are involved in a variety of classes, research, activities and philanthropy, and are making an impact locally, regionally and nationally.
Please enjoy the following highlights.
| |
|
- Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry, Christos Constantinides, Ph.D, has received a three-year, $600,000 Department of Energy (DOE) award for his project "Leveraging Radical Dynamics to Generate Nuclear Spin Hyperpolarization."
- Teaching Professor of Professional Writing and Rhetoric and faculty advisor for the Sikh Student Association, Kristian Stewart, Ed.D, was selected by the The U.S. Department of State for an English Language Specialist project in Peru at the Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana. This is Kristian’s third consecutive year receiving a prestigious award. Read more
- Associate Professor of Communication, Nick Iannarino had his research published in the Journal of Communication in Healthcare. Iannarino asked adolescent and young adult cancer patients what advice they had for others facing a similar diagnosis at the same age. The article describes how the patients from ages 12-25, receiving care at UM Mott Children’s Hospital and the Rogel Cancer Center, had great ideas about accepting others’ help and blocking the unhelpful support toward a better understanding of coping mechanisms. See more
- Check out our newest programs:
| |
- Thank you to all of our wonderful donors and Alumni for the continued support and your contributions to support CASL. The CASL Annual Fund changes the lives of our students by providing direct support to CASL students participating in high-impact practices such as student research and Practice-Based Learning initiatives.
- Stop in and see us anytime in the Dean's office, 2002 CB - we have a new look...
| |
- Announcing "Best Kept Secret” - An exhibit at the Stamelos Gallery Center showcasing student & alumni art work through the Applied Arts program. The displayed work encompasses a variety of media from traditional to digital and embodies the unique and diverse perspectives of UM-Dearborn’s community. Beginning January 23rd - April 16th, 2025. For more information.
- Students recently competed in the 3rd campus-wide Policy Pitch Competition, which invites participants to promote a specific national, state, local, or university policy. Undergraduate student participants identify a current policy problem and offer key improvements in front of a panel of judges, including public policy experts and practitioners. Topics ranged from AI to implementation of protocols for acute TTP patients in the ER, and even a contribution to a campus-wide problem.
🥇1st place – Nadia Khan, "Environmental and Ethical Amendments to the Minamata Convention Regarding Artisanal Small-scale Gold Mining"
🥈2nd place – Brian Meci, “Lowering the 2 Week Bar for Student Involvement”
🥉3rd place – Ahmed Alshemmam, “Addressing Foreign Influence on US Governance”
| |
Internship Impact
Meet Aaron Vensko, a Journalism and Media Production major with a minor in Film Studies who is currently interning at the City of Dearborn Television. Vensko says his experience through the CASL internship office has helped him on his career path, "The fellowship at City Of Dearborn Television allowed me to be creative with my skills as a videographer, storyteller, and editor. There are set expectations for my performance within the fellowship but my colleagues also made it clear that there’s no shame in making a mistake or asking for help which I greatly appreciated. I'm so blessed to have found an opportunity to help sharpen my skills in the professional field!"
| |
| Academic Departments and Programs
| |
|
Join us in welcoming new Associate Dean, Matthew Heinicke! Matthew is a Professor of Biology in the Department of Natural Sciences here in CASL. He received a B.S. from the University of Minnesota in 2003, a Ph.D. in Biology from Pennsylvania State University in 2009, completed a postdoc at Villanova University, and joined the faculty of UM-Dearborn in 2012. His areas of scholarly interest are evolutionary biology and genetics. Heinicke’s research applies evolutionary genetics methods to understand processes involved in generation of biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles in Africa and other tropical regions.
Since joining the faculty at UM-Dearborn, Heinicke’s activities have provided him with
experiences and perspectives that align with the role of Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and Student Success in CASL. He has taught biology courses in diverse formats ranging from large introductory lectures to labs, seminars, and project-based capstone courses. His National Science Foundation-funded research has engaged numerous UM-Dearborn undergraduates, including eight who have co-authored publications. His service roles have included terms as chair of the Biology discipline and Environmental Science program, providing background in matters related to curriculum offerings and course scheduling. In Biology, this service coincided with redesign of the curriculum and major requirements to align with the 4-credit transition.
Matt has also engaged in a range of other service roles at the college and university levels including as a member of the UCDC Dearborn Discovery Core subcommittee, reviewer of curriculum proposals originating from MASU, a member of the Chancellor’s/Dean’s Medallion committee, and a CASL representative on the campuswide Faculty Research, Research Administration Advisory, and Faculty Advisory Councils. Heinicke regularly contributes to campus open house and other outreach and recruitment events.
| |
Social Media
We feature student, faculty, staff, alumni and program news on all of our CASL social media channels.
Please follow along to see things like Feature Fridays that highlight our breadth of programming, along with events for the college, and a bit of fun!
| |
| "A View from the CASL" is an e-newsletter for CASL alumni and donors.
Have a story,feature, or question?
Contact us
CASL Administration
2002 CB
UM-Dearborn
| |
|
|
|
University of Michigan-Dearborn
4901 Evergreen Road | Dearborn, Michigan 48128
313-593-5000 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | University of Michigan-Flint | Privacy Policy
|
|
