Classes will be held on Aug. 30 as sched­uled as cur­rent nego­ti­a­tions between the Ferris Faculty Association (FFA) and rep­re­sen­ta­tives for the admin­is­tra­tion continue.

Faculty and admin­is­tra­tors held a meet­ing on Sunday to con­tinue dis­cussing con­tract nego­ti­a­tions. They did not reach an agree­ment nor did they choose to strike. The next nego­ti­a­tion meet­ings are sched­uled for Sept. 1 and Sept. 15. (more…)

When I’m hav­ing a con­ver­sa­tion with some­one, I find it a bit rude when I notice they are glanc­ing at their phone every few minutes.

I under­stand that text mes­sag­ing, Facebook, Twitter, etc. has improved our lives in numer­ous ways, but when I’m in the com­pany of some­one else and notice their fin­gers are glued to their QWERTY key­board. It seems as if they’ve never made eye con­tact with another human being, I can’t help but become annoyed. (more…)

As Michigan’s bud­get con­tin­ues to be reduced in var­i­ous areas, tuition will be increas­ing for the 2010–2011 aca­d­e­mic year at Ferris.

The Ferris Board of Trustees held a meet­ing July 14 to approve the deci­sion for the increase. The added costs of com­pen­sa­tion for Ferris employ­ees, unfunded man­dates from the state or fed­eral gov­ern­ments, util­i­ties and finan­cial aid are some of the prime fac­tors for the increase.

President Eisler said the uni­ver­sity increases tuition to cover a por­tion of these annual costs as state fund­ing decreases. (more…)

For the upcom­ing fall semes­ter, Ferris insti­tuted a new pro­gram known as the Ferris Orphan and Foster Youth Initiative (FOFYI).

The program’s goal is to pro­vide oppor­tu­ni­ties for stu­dents who are orphans or who have aged out of fos­ter care. Aging out of fos­ter care myself, I am grate­ful for this oppor­tu­nity that will help other stu­dents in my posi­tion to have a pos­i­tive col­lege expe­ri­ence. (more…)

The Michigan College of Optometry build­ing will be fin­ished on Jan. 3, 2011 and Ferris fac­ulty are look­ing for­ward to its completion.

Dr. Mark Swan, a pro­fes­sor in the College of Optometry, said the new facil­i­ties would be able to serve patients more effi­ciently as well as teach students.

“We’ve designed the build­ing to teach our stu­dents and help our patients,” said Swan.

The newly cus­tomized rooms and equip­ments are suited to bet­ter serve patients who visit the eye care clinic.

In the old optom­e­try build­ing, Swan said there were a num­ber of prob­lems with the heat­ing and cool­ing sys­tems, as well as ade­quate space to teach stu­dents and serve patients. In the new build­ing, the heat­ing and cool­ing sys­tems are new and there is more space.

Dr. Sarah Hinkley, an assis­tant pro­fes­sor in the Optometry pro­gram, said, “The new build­ing will allow fac­ulty to teach in a beau­ti­ful, cut­ting edge facil­ity. We know we have an excel­lent, nation­ally respected pro­gram. Now we will have the facil­ity to match the qual­ity of education.”

Hinkley said the new build­ing will con­tain com­put­er­ized visual acu­ity charts in every exam room and have the lat­est diag­nos­tic equip­ment and smart classrooms. “

“In the vision reha­bil­i­ta­tion clin­i­cal area, the build­ing will con­tain a home envi­ron­ment room to teach patients new ways to accom­plish tasks of daily liv­ing despite visual impair­ment,” she said.

Hinkley also said stu­dents will have a large amount of space for relax­ing and study­ing, includ­ing their own mod­ern lounge.

“We’re hop­ing the new facil­ity will bring recog­ni­tion to the com­mu­nity and West Michigan,” said Swan. n

When I first arrived to col­lege, I was eager to get out and explore the cam­pus and meet new peo­ple. After you get set­tled into your room and get acquainted with your room­mate, if you have one, get out of your room for awhile and go check out the Ferris cam­pus and meet other stu­dents. Remember, you’re in col­lege and it’s a whole new experience.

Get to know other peo­ple in your res­i­dence halls and attend events that are put on in your hall. It will give you a chance to make new friends. (more…)

There are a num­ber of things you will need upon arriv­ing to col­lege that will come in handy and make you feel more at home.

Of course, you are going to need essen­tials such as bed­ding, tow­els, a lap­top, microwave, and fridge. However, there are a few extra items that will help your dorm room feel like your own. (more…)

The Pedestrian Safety Task Force recently released their com­pre­hen­sive report as a part of Ferris’ mas­ter plan to improve pedes­trian safety.

The Pedestrian Safety Task Force was appointed by President Eisler in November 2009 to look at cur­rent con­di­tions regard­ing pedes­trian safety on cam­pus and iden­ti­fy­ing ways to improve it. (more…)

Sadie Wise believes when a per­son reaches age 18, they reach adulthood.

Wise, a fresh­man in com­mu­ni­ca­tions, is frus­trated that she is not able to live in the on-campus apart­ments at the age of 18. (more…)

Three deans at Ferris are set to retire after the spring 2010 semes­ter comes to an end.

Dean Matthew Klein, College of Arts and Sciences, Dean Ian Mathison, College of Pharmacy and Dean Thomas Oldfield, College of Engineering and Technology, are retir­ing from the uni­ver­sity. (more…)