By VANESSA DIETZ

vdietz@mininggazette.com

HOUGHTON – Michigan Tech Board chairwoman Julie Fream passed the gavel to Terry Woychowski, who chaired the board’s first meeting of the fiscal year.

“I did notice the gavel has some chew marks on it,” Woychowski joked at the board meeting Thursday, before getting serious about Fream’s accomplishments during her tenure at the university.

“From her involvement and activities as a student, her involvement and support of various MTU advisory boards and the Michigan Tech Fund, to her guidance of the Board of Trustees as its chair, Julie’s leadership has served as a light unto our path to become a world renown research university,” Woychowski said.

“I appreciate the opportunity to work with everyone,” Fream said. “As an organization, the relationship between the board and the executive team is very strong.”

The board’s bylaws require the chairmanship change each fiscal year. Linda Kennedy is the new vice chairwoman.

After reviewing a section of the MTU Constitution that says, “The institution shall provide the inhabitants of this state with the means of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the mineral industry … and of the application of science to industry … and shall seek to promote the welfare of the industries of the state,” Woychowski said MTU was doing its job.

“Amid all of the fantastic technological advancements that are being made at a rapid pace, this indeed is a great time to have, as (MTU President) Glenn (Mroz) often says, ‘Technological’ is our middle name,” Woychowski said. “This is a clear mandate we’ve been given. I believe that Michigan Tech will remain a strong, sustainable and vital institution of higher learning for many years to come.”

At its meeting, the board also appointed Umesh Korde as a professor with tenure in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, effective Dec. 27, and granted professor emerita status to Suzanne Stephens, who retired from the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.