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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Lawrence Technological University’s civil engineering program is ranked fifth nationally among universities offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees, according to the annual U.S. News & World Report survey of best colleges for 2016.

Ranked ahead of LTU for civil engineering are Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo and Bucknell University.

In addition, for the second year in a row LTU is ranked in the top half, at 23rd nationwide, for all its undergraduate engineering degree programs.

“The strong performance of our engineering programs in this prestigious national survey reflects our ongoing commitment to enhance our engineering curricula,” said LTU President Virinder Moudgil. “It is gratifying that LTU’s efforts are being recognized.”

Enrollment in engineering programs at LTU has surged 22.7 percent this year, reflecting the increased demand in industry for highly educated professionals.

LTU has utilized a multi-year grant from the Kern Family Foundation to develop curriculum modules designed to prepare engineering students to be problem-solvers who can take an entrepreneurial approach to the decision-making process in business. Problem-based learning and active and collaborative learning are two teaching concepts that help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

In the latest U.S. News annual survey of universities, LTU also remains ranked in the top half of the top tier of the 12-state Midwest Regional University category.

Once again Lawrence Tech has made the U.S. News’ Midwest Regional University list of “A-Plus Schools for B Students,” which the news magazine calls “great colleges for non-superstars” who have “a decent shot at being accepted and thriving; where spirit and hard work could make all the difference to admissions offices” and where a “broad and engaged student body” is sought.

LTU is also on the U.S. News list of universities offering the best online college degree programs.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. The Brookings Institution ranks Lawrence Tech fifth nationwide for boosting graduates’ earning power, PayScale lists it among the nation’s top 10 percent of universities for graduates’ salaries, and U.S. News and World Report places it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus in Southfield, Michigan, include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Lawrence Technological University has increased its on-campus housing by 25 percent with the opening of the Lloyd E. Reuss Residence Hall in time for the start of the 2015-16 academic year.

LTU’s third residence hall, which is named in honor of Lloyd Reuss, the longtime chairman of the university’s board of trustees and former president of General Motors, is now the home of 150 freshmen who moved in prior to the start of classes on Aug. 24.

Lawrence Tech’s two older residence halls had a combined capacity of 600. Because of high demand, LTU also leases residential suites for 60 additional students at Arbor Lofts on nearby Civic Center Drive in Southfield.

The 47,545-square-foot, two-story Reuss Hall has five pods with 16 double-occupancy units. The $11.6 million project has been completed except for the landscaping.

Each pod in Reuss Hall has its own common lounge and kitchenette space. Amenities include central laundry facilities on both floors, a bicycle repair shop, a multi-purpose room, a game room, and two conference-type spaces.

“Our new residence hall is designed to encourage students to get out of their rooms and interact and collaborate with other students in the common areas,” said LTU President Virinder Moudgil. “We want to get our new students involved in campus life right away.”

Increased demand for on-campus housing has been created by the expansion of the athletics at LTU, which became a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in 2011. More than 300 students participate on 16 varsity teams and three junior varsity teams, and LTU will add five more teams in the next two years.

A strong athletics program and additional residential housing are major initiatives in LTU’s overall strategy to strengthen campus life so that students will have more positive experiences outside the classroom, develop more personal relationships, and choose to spend more time on campus.

Lawrence Tech has long been known as a commuter school, and most students continue to commute, but the atmosphere on campus has become more welcoming now that more students live there, according to Dean of Students Kevin Finn.

“Developing a strong core of residential students benefits everyone, including commuter students,” Finn said. “It has been proven that students who get connected on campus and have plenty of friends and activities are more likely to be happier and more successful at Lawrence Tech.”

Students from 25 states and 60 countries attend LTU.

Reuss, the namesake for the residence hall, has served on LTU’s Board of Trustees since 1978 and was chairman from 1993 until 2014. He has filled many other community and higher education roles, including executive dean of Focus: HOPE’s Center for Advanced Technologies.

“Dr. Reuss has brought pride and distinction to Lawrence Technological University and strengthened its pursuit of excellence and service to students,” Moudgil said.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. The Brookings Institution ranks Lawrence Tech fifth nationwide for boosting graduates’ earning power, PayScale lists it among the nation’s top 100 universities for graduates’ salaries, and U.S. News and World Report places it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus in Southfield, Michigan, include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Lawrence Technological University completed construction on Lloyd E. Reuss Residence Hall just in time for the start of the new academic year.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – John Fikany, the enterprise executive leader for Microsoft’s Heartland Area headquartered in Southfield, will be the second recipient of the Global Citizen Award to be presented by Lawrence Technological University (LTU) on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the start of the new academic year.

The award presentation will be made at LTU’s annual convocation ceremony for new students and their families at 5 p.m. in the Ridler Field House on LTU’s campus in Southfield. It will also mark the conclusion of the annual President’s Global Village Project for LTU students.

Lawrence Tech President Virinder Moudgil established the Global Citizen Award to recognize individuals who have shown great character and leadership in addressing global issues and promoting international and social understanding. This award is given annually to a person who demonstrates the passion and energy to make a positive impact on humanity through collaborative enterprise and spirit.

Fikany leads a diverse team of sales, technical, marketing and services professionals supporting all of Microsoft’s commercial sector enterprise industry accounts in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. In addition, he is the executive sponsor for multiple global customers and Microsoft national strategic initiatives.

With over 28 years of technology and industry leadership, Fikany has served in multiple assignments in his 11 years at Microsoft, including vice president of Microsoft’s Central Region Enterprise Business covering 18 states. Earlier he was responsible for the U.S. Commercial Industry practice and was the vice president responsible for building out Microsoft’s U.S. Manufacturing Industry Sector. He began his career at Microsoft developing the U.S. Automotive and Industrial Equipment business.

Prior to his career at Microsoft, Fikany spent 10 years in the Unisys marketplace and eight years at Oracle Corporation.

Fikany is a native Detroiter who is dedicated to his hometown and actively engaged in many community organizations, including the Detroit Economic Club, Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, Focus: HOPE, Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan, and the Parade Company. He is a member of Governor Snyder’s Cabinet for the Education Achievement Authority in turning around the Detroit public school system.

He is a graduate of Central Michigan University, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in science and technology in 2014.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. The Brookings Institution ranks Lawrence Tech fifth nationwide for boosting graduates’ earning power, PayScale lists it among the nation’s top 100 universities for graduates’ salaries, and U.S. News and World Report places it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus in Southfield, Michigan, include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)
facebook.com/lawrencetechu
twitter.com/lawrencetechu

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and Lawrence Technological University (LTU) have established an innovative partnership to enhance education in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) for students at the Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy. The program is designed to continue through their high school and college careers.

Informational meetings will start in August and run through October. Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy currently has a limited number of openings in this program for students in grades 6-8. Families interested in enrolling should call (313) 240-4377.

Fifty middle school students will become the first Blue Devil Scholars at Sampson-Webber, and 50 additional students will join every year. These students will continue in the program through 12th grade. They will earn college credits and be eligible to attend LTU with scholarship support if they so choose.

Lawrence Tech is making a $3.5 million scholarship commitment to attract larger numbers of DPS students and prepare them for opportunities in STEAM fields.

More than a dozen LTU faculty members will be involved in this partnership with DPS, and the university together with DPS will provide additional resources and funding throughout the life of the project.

“This is an exciting new chapter in Lawrence Tech’s ongoing involvement in Detroit,” LTU President Virinder Moudgil said. “We want to encourage more students from Detroit to attend Lawrence Tech, and this program is designed to prepare them for success both at the college level and in their professional careers in STEAM-related fields.”

The Blue Devil Scholars program is designed to provide a systematic approach to enhance STEAM education for Sampson-Webber students starting in sixth grade and continuing through high school. In the future, the program will expand to grades 3-5, and eventually the process of preparing students for STEAM education will begin in kindergarten.

“Innovative partnerships such as the one created between DPS and LTU are key to the District creating an educational system that is academically competitive,” said Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Darnell Earley. “As we move forward with the transformation of DPS, we will continue to seek out partnerships/programs that enhance our curriculum and provide our students with a clear pathway to success.”

The partnership will also have a professional development component for the teachers selected to participate in this program, including workshops on project-based learning (PBL) and active-collaborative learning (ACL).

Student preparedness will be assessed in middle school. Once the data is evaluated, modules with STEAM content will be created that can be embedded in existing middle school courses. Tutoring by Lawrence Tech students proficient in science and math will supplement the STEAM modules.

In addition to a strong academic component for each year along the way, the program will include extracurricular activities to support and enhance the educational process.

When the Blue Devil Scholars move to high school, they will choose one of five STEAM tracks – art, design, math/science, technology/management or engineering. The students will earn college credits in embedded and dual-enrollment courses taken at LTU and will graduate with a certificate for 12-15 credit hours that will be transferrable to Lawrence Tech.

The Blue Devil Scholars who choose to attend Lawrence Tech will receive scholarship support as long as academic performance standards are met.

The components of the program include:

• Sampson-Webber students selected as Blue Devil Scholars will continue through 12th grade at DPS’s Detroit Collegiate Prep at Northwestern High School with specific curricular and co-curricular activities that foster knowledge about STEAM subjects, STEAM careers and skill-based learning in STEAM areas;
• Parents will be engaged in the programming from the beginning to ensure their full support;
• Later in the program the Blue Devil Scholars will receive a personal computer and instruction on how to use it;
• During their high school years, the Blue Devil Scholars will also participate in co-curricular experiences at LTU that will lay the groundwork for completing college successfully and then moving into a good-paying, STEAM-related career.

Lawrence Tech already has several programs to encourage high school students to pursue STEAM-related subjects. However, this is the first LTU program that takes a comprehensive approach and starts earlier in the educational process.

“We are confident that students who successfully complete the Blue Devil Scholars program will be well prepared to do well in challenging college courses as soon as they arrive on campus as freshmen,” Moudgil said. “Lawrence Tech is the perfect university for Detroit students to attend for STEAM-related education because we have specialized in those areas for so long.”

For more information about the Blue Devil Scholars program, go to www.ltu.edu/ltu/blue-devil-scholars.asp

Detroit Public Schools offers Neighborhood-Centered, Quality Schools at 97 campuses with a mission to provide a comprehensive, well-rounded, engaging learning experience. Educational advantages include Individualized Learning Maps for all students, research-driven pre-kindergarten classes to prepare the District’s youngest learners, expanded fine and performing arts, music and sports programs at all grade levels, and 21 Community Schools offering extended services to support families. Ongoing advantages include Parent University at the district’s eight Parent Resource Centers, enhanced safety initiatives, and DPS-authorized charter schools led by educators with proven track records of raising achievement. In 2015, DPS graduates earned $164 million in grants and scholarships. To learn more, visit detroitk12.org or call 313-240-4DPS.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. The Brookings Institution ranks Lawrence Tech fifth nationwide for boosting graduates’ earning power, PayScale lists it among the nation’s top 100 universities for graduates’ salaries, and U.S. News and World Report places it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus in Southfield, Michigan, include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)
facebook.com/lawrencetechu
twitter.com/lawrencetechu

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Lawrence Technological University (LTU) has again been named one of the best colleges in the Midwest, according to the Princeton Review (www.PrincetonReview.com). Only 159 colleges in 12 Midwestern states made the list for 2016.

The education services company lists LTU among the “2016 Best Colleges: Region by Region” at www.princetonreview.com/bestMWcolleges.

“We chose Lawrence Tech and the other outstanding institutions on this list primarily for their excellent academics,” said Robert Franek, the Princeton Review’s publisher. “We also gave careful consideration to what students enrolled at the schools reported to us about their campus experiences on our student survey for this project.”

The 80-question student survey included questions that prospective applicants might ask on a campus visit. Colleges had to allow their students to be surveyed in order to be considered.

The Princeton Review survey asks students to rate their colleges on several issues – from the accessibility of their professors to the quality of their science lab facilities – and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students, and their campus life.

Based on its surveys, the Princeton Review noted that Lawrence Tech students are usually “hard at work” preparing for upcoming projects and exams.

One student told the Princeton Review, “We get so involved in our majors and learning about new innovations that we tend to talk about it a lot.”

Many LTU students participate in sports, numerous entertainment events on campus, and community service, the survey showed.

On student said, “Greek life is the ‘heart beat’ on campus. Even if a student decides that a sorority or fraternity is not right for them, many still participate in the assorted events, parties and fundraisers Greek [organizations] put on.”

The Princeton Review’s “regional best” lists constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges. The 159 colleges that the Princeton Review chose for the “Best in the Midwest” list are located in 12 states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The Princeton Review editors made their selections based on data the company collected from its survey of administrators at several hundred colleges in each region, as well as its staff visits to schools over the years, and the perspectives of college counselors and advisors.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. The Brookings Institution ranks Lawrence Tech fifth nationwide for boosting graduates’ earning power, PayScale lists it among the nation’s top 100 universities for graduates’ salaries, and U.S. News and World Report places it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus in Southfield, Michigan, include over 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Eric Pope
Managing Editor, University News Bureau
Lawrence Technological University
(248) 204-2210
(313) 505-6508 (cell)
facebook.com/lawrencetechu
twitter.com/lawrencetechu

Etkin is committed to creating and maintaining a supportive team building culture, and is proud to be recognized this year as one of the 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in Metro Detroit by the Michigan Business and Professional Association.

Etkin has been honored with this distinguished award for the past five years, and is excited to have been recognized for a sixth year. Often referred to as “the Academy Awards of Human Resources,” the Best and Brightest awards are revealed after a cumulative assessment of categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, retention and more. The assessments are comprised of employee and employer surveys.

“We are honored to receive this award, because Etkin team members are a top priority in our day-to-day operations,” said Etkin President Curtis Burstein. “Our employees create value as the foundation of the company, and we plan to continue holding ourselves to the high standards that have allowed us to achieve this recognition.”

“We’re proud that this award highlights Etkin’s truly people-centered culture,” said Rebecca Lorenzetti, Etkin’s Human Resource Manager. “We’re always finding better ways to improve internal communication, employee well-being and overall corporate culture, and it’s great that it shows.”

Etkin, among other winners, will be recognized at a symposium hosted by the Michigan Business and Professional Association on September 17, 2015 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The event will feature ROSSETTI Principal and Director of Creative Design, Kelly Deines, IIDA, LEED AP, as a keynote speaker.

ABOUT ETKIN

Etkin has played a prominent role in southeast Michigan real estate development and acquisition for 30 years. The privately owned company was formed in 1982 and is led by principal, Douglas Etkin, and president, Curtis Burstein. Etching has been involved in over 9.5 million square feet of office, industrial, retail, hotel and mixed-use developments. The company also offers fee-based management and development services to a select number of third-party clients, financial institutions, hospital organizations and physician groups. For additional information visit www.etkinllc.com.