MSU SLIR Alumni Updates - December 2008

We are very excited to bring to you the first edition of SLIR’s Alumni Updates. To keep alumni updated on the latest happenings at The School of Labor and Industrial Relations, and what’s happening with fellow alum in the industry, we will be emailing an update to you monthly with links to view the rest at www.lir.msu.edu. We hope that you will enjoy being updated on the latest news and that you stay connected and visit our newly redesigned website on a regular basis. As we carry forth the goal for the New Year to connect and create new regional alumni groups around the country, our commitment is to help grow connections. We want to hear from you! Please let us know what’s happening with you so that we can share this with the other alumni. We welcome any feedback as well. Please contact Mary Meyer at meyerma8@msu.edu for comments and information.

As we say goodbye to 2008, we wish all of you a very healthy, prosperous Happy New Year in 2009!

(left to right, Laura DePetro, James Williams, Amy Nie, Alex Teodosic, Brian Rambo, Amanda Kurec, Kevin Godbold, Chuck Astleford)

Professor Emeritus Edward Welch was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the State Bar of Michigan, Workers' Compensation Section. While at SLIR, Ed created a Workers' Compensation Center and a Certificate Program for Workers' Compensation Professionals, and wrote a treatise that became the standard resource on workers' compensation law in Michigan. Learn more...

Doctoral Student Shaun Pichler to Join Faculty at California State University - Fullerton

SLIR doctoral student, Shaun Pichler, will be joining the Department of Management at California State University-Fullerton (CSUF) in the fall of 2009 as an Assistant Professor of Management. The Steven G. Mihaylo College of Business and Economics at CSUF is the largest of its kind in the West, the fourth largest in the country, and has been included in the 2009 edition of the Princeton Review's best business schools. Learn more...

Assistant Professor Janice Molloy Shares Her Research at a Number of Conferences

In October, Janice Molloy shared a paper clarifying the conditions in which human capital may underlie competitive advantage at Cornell University. This research is a continuation of her dissertation. In early December, Janice attended the Society of Entrepreneurship Scholars Conference sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation and the University of Utah. Learn more...

Labor Education Program to Develop Business Solutions Professional Certification for the State of Michigan

Labor Education Program faculty and staff, John Beck, Julie Brockman, Terry Hughes, Mike Polzin, Kristi White and Donna Winthrop, are engaged in a partnership with South Central Michigan Works! to develop and provide certification training for individuals within the state of Michigan working within the areas of workforce development, economic development and education. Learn more...

Professor Dale Belman Receives Two Grants

Professor Dale Belman recently returned from a one-year sabbatical as a visiting scholar at the Center for Construction Research and Training in Washington D.C. and currently holds a grant to develop a national questionnaire for the construction labor force. Professor Belman also received a second grant from the W.E. Upjohn Institute entitled "What Does the Minimum Wage Do?".

Assistant Professor Stacy Hickox Receives Grant from Michigan State Bar Foundation

Stacy Hickox, Assistant Professor, recently received a grant from the Michigan State Bar Foundation to develop materials and provide training for counselors with Michigan Rehabilitation Services, Michigan Works and others interested in assisting persons with disabilities. Learn more...

Associate Professor Mark Roehling's Study Published in Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal

Associate Professor Mark Roehling's study of employees' subjective beliefs regarding employers and employees respective obligation was reported in the most recent issue of the Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, Vol. 20(4), pp.261-290. Learn more...

Professor Ellen Ernst Kossek's National Speaking Engagements at the Center for Creative Leadership, Boston University, MIT and the Conference Board

In November 2008, Professor Ellen Ernst Kossek presented a webinar on her book, CEO of Me: Creating a Life that Works in the Flexible Job Age for over 500 people distributed nationally for the Center of Creative Leadership as well as Accenture. Learn more...

Associate Professor Roehling Interviewed about Attracting and Retaining Top Talent

Associate Professor Mark Roehling was recently interviewed for an article examining what successful employers are doing to attract and retain top talent. The article, which quotes Roehling at length, is titled "Brighter that Ever: How Some of the Region's Top Firms Happen," and appears in the most recent issue of the business publication Corp!, November/December 2008, pp. 25-37.

Professor Kossek Published in November Issue of the Harvard Business Review

Professor Ellen Kossek, with co-author Leslie Hammer, published "Work/Life Training for Supervisors Gets Big Results" in the November 2008 issue of the Harvard Business Review.

Student Leadership Awards Announced

The following students were recognized for their outstanding leadership and important contributions to the School and were presented with awards on November 15th at the GSA 'Informal Semi-Formal.'

Student	Name of Award
Stephanie Bozung	The Jack Stieber Award
Jeremiah Burkhardt	The Michael L. Moore Award
Hsiang-yu Cheng	The Exxon Corporation Award
Alexander Fox	The SLIR Student Leadership Award
Emily Jones	The Daniel H. Kruger Award
Sneha Patel	The Eaton Corporation Award
Mary Pichini	The General Motors Corporation Award
Radhika Arora	The Barry C. Brock Award
Brian Rambo	The Alumni Student Leadership Award
Catherine Scussel	The Einar & Patricia Hardin Award
James Williams	The Chevron Corporation Award
Muzi Yu	The Marathon Oil Company Award

Dean and SLIR Professor, Marietta L. Baba, Honored with Prestigious Anthropology Award

Marietta L. Baba, Dean of the College of Social Science and Professor of Anthropology and Labor and Industrial Relations, has been awarded the Conrad Arensberg Award for her influential ethnographic and collaborative approaches to research in the anthropology of work—especially in business and industry—that have expanded the scope of our anthropological understandings. Learn more...