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[Mike Rowley] Hello and welcome to Dateline Delta, I'm Mike Rowley, a member of the Delta College Board of Trustees.

On today's show, we will learn about a captivating student art exhibit and share college updates from President Gavin.

We will highlight a local filmmaker and discuss his award winning documentary and speak with two Delta College instructors who have been navigating a controversial topic on our campus, Artificial Intelligence.

To conclude today's show, we will feature our honors program and learn how to safely participate in next month's unforgettable event.

The Great American Solar Eclipse.

The Saginaw Art Museum is hosting a student art exhibition where 70 pieces were on public display.

The students art pieces filled a section of the museum and a large crowd visited for the premiere.

To learn more about this annual tradition, we talked to Andrew Rieder, associate Professor of Art.

Today is our annual Delta Student Art exhibition.

This happens once a year, and this year we are back in Saginaw at the Saginaw Art Museum.

Roughly 70 students works were selected out of all the art classes that are taught at Delta throughout the year.

In this exhibition, we have student work in ceramic media, in metal sculpture, we have work in painting, drawing media, photography and digital imaging and illustration as well.

[Kathy Erndt] I do have two art pieces here today in the Saginaw Art Museum.

This is a big thrill.

Always been to the museum.

It's been a great place to come and to have exhibited artwork here is a real treat.

My two pieces one is an oil and it's created with palette knife.

It's the first time I've done that.

My instructor, Andrew Rieder, said, go for it, and it's a blast.

It's a picture of Lake Michigan sunset, one that we had seen on vacation last year.

So it means a lot.

The other one is from Randal Crawford's class 3D class.

It's kind of a found object.

It's a metal kind of sculpture made out of candlesticks and saw blades and a lot of fun stuff that just happened to fit together in the sculpture.

And the whole thing about the art is you have to have fun while you're doing it.

To have your professors accept your work as good enough to be in an art show is a real honor.

I feel very honored.

[Andrew] Well, we're grateful for to the Saginaw Art Museum for this opportunity to for our students to have their work displayed out in public.

And we're also grateful for this lasting partnership with the Saginaw Art Museum.

President Galvin recently addressed staff and faculty to share the college's successes, challenges and goals.

Let's listen in on excerpts from his energizing presentation.

[Dr. Gavin] Hope you all are doing well.

Thank you for attending our Winter Learning Days 2024.

I wanted to get really intentional about communicating some of the things that we're doing on campus that are that you might need to know Whats up here are partnerships that we've created in the last year and a half or so with our nonprofit sectors that are serving the same exact people that we're serving.

To the point where housing is not the only thing that United Way is doing for us, but they've actually agreed to put a staff member on campus very soon.

We have a new approach to our food pantry as well as new...thanks to Christina and Lance.

And they are working also with new partners who have fresh food for students.

We still do our transportation line with stars so that students have a 20 minute roundtrip bus trip from Saginaw to here.

We have a 24 seven mental health service that allows online mental health expertise for students called U Will.

And we also have on campus every once a week now mobile medical unit where students can get free medical care as well as Ten16 recovery network for students who are suffering from addiction is on campus.

And finally, this summer, we will have our first toe in the water, if you will, with our approach to helping adult students or actually any students who have children.

We are looking at in terms of equity as well as potential opportunities for serving our county.

Our nursing department turned on a dime and came up with a way to create a new part time cohort in nursing starting in fall.

Mentor Collective, keep your eyes out for that.

We have many students signing up to have mentors on campus and many faculty and staff volunteering.

We're getting really good feedback from the students in the meetings on what students need, and really the students are expressing happiness with their being mentored.

I want to make sure that I express gratitude to those who are in charge of staffing and scheduling coordinators, aides, deans, faculty who are taking sections on an H.R.

department who created a new kind of contract, and we have 12 lecturers as needed.

Finally, our SES staffing specifically in advising, has gone up, so we've reduced the advising to student ratio by almost 150 for each advisor.

As a result of increasing advising, as a result.

Our enrollment, you can see here is way up.

It was about 9% up from target for winter.

Fall to fall retention is up.

The work that we have collectively done in the last three years has led to three major national recognitions.

The first is a Eduardo Padron Award for Institutional Transformation focused on equity.

We show them our student success data and then we get the award.

This is an award.... we're the only community college to get that.

Achieving the dream, many of us were down in Florida where we achieved leader status, which is again, we submit data on our enrollment, retention and completion.

That is equity based and they offer us a that recognition.

So where do we go from here?

We focus on workforce and transfer.

In work, we continue to do the work with our partners.

We are looking at career credentials in a way that hopefully will help us to ensure that students can get to where they need to go quickly but soundly academically.

What we want to start to do is make the path really clear to students if they're going to transfer, not how you get the associate's degree, how do you get a bachelor's degree and on the way get the associate's degree?

That's not crystal clear yet to students.

And it's mainly because Michigan doesn't have a statewide policy that associate leads to bachelor's.

But what I'd like us to try to think about is being a leader in Michigan of how to do that.

That's a big question.

I think the answer is we can do it.

It's going to take some time.

But that's sort of the path we're on.

The Delta College Humanities Learning Center hosted a film screening of the award winning documentary Bad Axe.

We had opportunities to speak with the film's director, David Siev, and with Michael Evans, assistant professor of history.

For more insight.

And the Humanities Learning Center works to connect the humanities with the community and with Delta College faculty and students.

We work to encourage an interest in humanities subjects in the community.

And we're happy to welcome David Siev to our campus to talk about his documentary movie Bad Axe.

So in the documentary, Bad Axe, it's a very personal story.

It's it's my family's story and it's essentially a chronicle of the year 2020 through the lens of, you know, my my Cambodian Mexican family trying to keep our restaurant and american dream alive during the year 2020.

There's a lot of themes and threads in the film that I want the audience to walk away with.

I think one of the key things is just the power and the resilience of family and community, because that's what so much of this film is about.

Yes, it's looking at America from a bird's eye view as far as what's happening in our country.

But you're seeing it through the most personal lens of this family, just like so many other families during the pandemic that were just trying to survive and be able to live together and not only cohabitate, but to thrive with one another.

So you're seeing that happen under the roof of the Siev household and you're seeing this happen through our family, working together for one common goal.

But then you're also seeing this through the sense of community of we're trying to do what's best for our community and trying to be an advocate and a voice for positive change, but also trying to do that within our own family as well.

So I think that the sense of family and sense of community and that resilience is something I really hope sticks with an audience for many years to come.

The reason why I want to tell a story, it's my family's story, you know, it's the story of of the American dream in so many ways for me, you know, to keep part of my family's legacy alive.

I think that was such a driving factor behind telling this story.

I wanted to share our history and to have something that my children and my children's children and for generations have had to preserve that sense of legacy.

As far as you know, this is where our family came from.

You know, it all started with my grandma, a Cambodian refugee who was a single mother who came here with nothing but the shirt on her back with her six children.

And then to see that that's sort of progress and that resilience grow from one generation to the next.

You know, it's it's really important to me to keep those stories alive.

And and yeah, I think that's is such a big theme in the film is sort of this this turning of the leaf as far as you know, how do we make a better life for the next generation?

Because that's what my grandmother did for my dad.

That's what my dad did for me.

And that's what I'm hoping, you know, my siblings and I, by using our voices and being advocates for change, we're doing that with with our, you know, the next generation, with our children.

Bad Axe is available now to watch on pretty much all streaming websites, you know, Apple, Amazon, I do believe it's exclusively streaming on Hulu if you have the subscription.

So it's out there, you should be able to watch it anywhere at this point.

[Michael } We're happy to have David coming to talk about his movie with us.

We're looking forward to putting together a series of events next semester.

Artificial Intelligence is a relatively new and controversial topic that has made a profound impact on college campuses across the globe.

How do we ethically integrate A.I.

and the college learning environment?

We sat down with two Delta College professors leading the charge.

Welcome to Dateline Delta.

Can you tell us a little background information to start?

What is artificial intelligence?

So the kind of artificial intelligence that we've been working with is called generative A.I., and it's basically kind of autocorrect on steroids in that it has its machine learning language.

It's a machine learning program which uses a large learning model where you dump all sorts of text into it and it draws connections and it kind of learns how things come together so that when you ask it to do something, it kind of makes the next best guess for what it should be saying.

So you ask it to produce a poem in the style of William Shakespeare about waterfowl, and it will do its best to take everything it's learned about Shakespeare and ducks and put together a reasonable poem.

So it seems creative, but it's really just imitating all the stuff that it's internalized through its machine learning.

And when did A.I.

present itself you as like, this is going to change the classroom or how we teach?

Well, Ray and I are both English professors, so speaking from a personal standpoint, for me, the big shift came in November of ‘22 where, you know, very well-regarded publication called The Atlantic had actually a cover story that said the essay is dead and we teach a lot of essay writing in the English discipline, as most colleges do, right.

It's not the only kind of writing that we teach, but it's a very good model for critical thinking for students.

You know, introduce a point, make a point, support that point, and then reinforce the idea, the point.

So when I saw that cover story, Leanne, I was like, well, that's just, you know, that's my job.

That's what I do.

And now they're saying that it's, you know, totally nonexistent.

So I thought I had to investigate this and sort of explore the different ways that teaching college writing are going to change, you know?

And that was my goal with that.

[Leanne] And let's say in your English courses, what are some of the ways that you are changing your assignments that you know account for A.I.?

[Ray] Well, I would say the more specific an assignment can be in a literature class, for example, the more I direct them towards certain conversations we've had about criticism, for example, or certain works that we've read.

It's very difficult, generative A.I.

is, like I said, making the best guess.

It's not actually reading things, it's not doing the research.

It hasn't been in the conversations in the classroom.

So I think being nimble enough to design assessments that are authentic and specific, which is basically good assessment design.

If you're using the same stuff over and over again, or if you've got very generic, let's say, discussion questions or essay prompts, you're going to get bad writing period.

And that is when it's easier to use chat GPT.

I mean, we both encountered it in our classes and typically you can identify it because it's not consistent with the students writing.

It's not really suitable for the prompt most of the time.

And a lot of the times I can mention to a student that we think, I think this might be A.I.

generated, but even if it's not, it hasn't met the criteria for the assignment.

So, I think that's one of the most important things we can help students to grapple with is not just what's appropriate ethically, but really what's going to be most useful and meaningful for their education.

And in terms of learning to use the tools as tools, but being really aware of what it can't do.

[Leanne] So you've sort of mentioned that A.I.

is not going away, so how can we prepare students to be able to use it in their future work lives?

[Trisha] Again, I think it depends on context.

So, I say we as faculty need to definitely be prepared for how A.I.

is working in the different fields.

You know that that we are, you know, trying to pull our students into.

So I think education about how that works.

But generally speaking, because Ray and I teach, we don't teach like a a trade or, you know, a licensure type of education.

So we do more general education.

So in terms of teaching English courses, you know, what we talk about a lot is prompt generation designing the right way to phrase a question so that A.I.

can produce something beneficial to give you the writer, you, the student ideas and not just heres the canned script that you should submit for your paper.

[Leanne] And then in the workforce you see it as a tool.

[Ray] I think more and more it's going to be we talk about employability skills, especially in English, because it justifies so many of our classes like critical thinking, writing, communication.

These are the skills that you bring to the workplace that help you get the job and help you progress in the job on top of the base skills that you need for that profession.

And I think A.I.

is going to be one of those I just don't see.

I mean, so many tools already integrated like word now integrates copilot, which is the that Microsoft A.I.

tool, which is based on chat GPT.

It's going to be unavoidable.

And I think if our students aren't using it and other people are, then they're not going to be competitive in the workplace.

[Trisha] And I was just going to add to that that Ray and I ofter say that we didn't come up with the idea.

So the guideline we use is ok, A.I.

is not going to take your job, but a person who knows how to use a A.I.

could take your job.

So that's going to be a marketable skill for, you know, our student population and we want them to have that advantage.

[Leanne] Thank you both so much for coming on Dateline Delta and helping us understand this topic a little bit more.

Thank you, so much.

Thank you, Leanne.

Delta College's Honors program has been designed for exceptionally motivated, high achieving students who crave a more in-depth and robust learning experience compared to that of a traditional curriculum.

To learn more, we spoke with Mark Brown, director of Delta's honors program.

[Mark Brown] The Honors program at Delta Colleges.

is a couple of different things.

First of all, it's a track of specific classes that students can take.

They're designated with an H at the end of the course number.

And those those are courses.

Anyone can take them.

But if anyone who does take them, it shows up specially designated on their transcript as honors courses.

And these are classes that are specially designed to give students an additional depth to their learning, more opportunities for collaboration, more opportunities for sort of self-starting and hopefully a chance to learn and engage in the topic in kind of deeper, more inventive ways.

But in addition to that, it's also a student organization.

It's a club here on campus that hopefully provides opportunities for Delta students to meet and make interpersonal connections to serve in leadership positions, to sometimes travel, to volunteer, to serve, and to hopefully have students leave Delta at the end, not only with good high grades in these specific honors courses, but also with friendships and academic and professional and service opportunities.

Our enrollment in the Honors program fluctuates with enrollment at the college in general, and so it can be anywhere from 300 students in a semester to over 500 students in a semester, It just sort of depends.

To be eligible.In the honors program, more people qualify to belong to the Honors program than think they do if they graduated from high school with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, they are qualified to join Delta's honors program right now.

If they've taken 12 credits or more at Delta and have a 3.25 or higher, they're qualified to join right now.

If they took the SAT and got a 1200 or higher, they're qualified to join right now.

And it has to be any one of those, not all three.

And so that's our sort of ongoing mission, is to make more and more students aware of what the honors program is.

A member of the Honors program would participate in a variety of experiences, both on campus and off campus.

One of the very first things we do the week before classes start is we have what's called picnic with the President.

President Gavin attends every year and every member of the honors program and their family are invited to come and have food and meet the president and meet the honors leaders for that year and meet each other.

We collaborate with other honors programs from neighboring schools.

We have volunteered with soup kitchens and food pantries.

We have volunteered at nursing homes and rest homes.

We regularly help with a project called Safety Town, where we go into schools around the Saginaw area and teach grade schoolers about fire safety, traffic safety, gun safety to help them have healthier, happier, more injury free lives.

And so there are so many different kinds of things, both just kind of fun and social and frivolous and, you know, really socially meaningful and impactful in our community.

That a student who wants to get involved with the honors program has kind of their choice of all the different kinds of activities that they could potentially benefit from.

Because we are so busy, because it does entail so much, there's certainly no way I could do it by myself if for nothing else.

Not only am I running the honors program, but I still teach here at Delta regularly.

The real heart and soul of the Honors program is my administrative assistant, Lisa McNeal.

Without whom she's essential, the program would not be even close to what it is without her.

The one thing I would want to get across about the honors program here at Delta College is that there are no downsides to belonging and there are no downsides to participating.

It is designed to provide more opportunities and broaden the horizons of anyone who is a part of it.

And the more students invest, the more they get out of it.

They leave...

Honors Program students leave Delta College, more prepared, more able, more experienced and ready for the workforce or four year school.

Whatever they're going into, they're going to be better at it and happier at it because they've been in honors.

Anyone who's interested more information can simply write to honors at Delta Dot Edu and we will get back to them as quickly as we can and do everything we can to bring them into the program and help them take advantage of everything that's available to them.

This April, a rare total solar eclipse will pass through North America, bringing about a memorable once in a generation experience.

We heard from astronomer and Delta College planetarium manager Mike Murray, who shared a central tips to make the most of this event.

We're coming up on one of the most wondrous sites in nature.

This is a chance to get into the shadow of a total eclipse of the sun and to be in totality is what you really need to experience.

You want to get into the shadow of totality, which means that the sun will be completely blocked out by the moon.

And that creates all kind of environmental effects.

It's more than just what you don't see.

It's what you will feel, what you'll hear.

All kinds of environmental things will change around you.

On Monday, April 8th., you want to mark your calendars and you want to take that day off work.

Because the path of totality does not run through Michigan, but it comes really close.

Imagine the closest the path being between about Indianapolis and Cleveland.

That's only about a four, four and a half hour drive.

Now, that might seem like kind of a hassle to some people, but you won't get another chance to see a total eclipse of the sun in the United States until 2045.

And it really is a once in a lifetime experience.

The challenge is it's springtime and especially in this part of the country, that usually means clouds.

Totality takes place in the afternoon, which makes it even more complicated because clouds usually bubble up in the afternoon.

However, you can keep an eye on the cloud forecasts, the weather forecasts, and if you need to be prepared to drive a little bit, if you see that the weather might be clearer, say only 50, 70 miles away.

Of course, there'll be a lot of other people trying to do the same thing, so you want to be prepared.

Any phase of the eclipse other than total, you have to have eye protection.

Youll need the solar eclipse viewers, which the planetarium does have on sale, only a dollar, but they are certified safe to look at the sun.

If you're unlucky enough and you cannot make it down to totality, there are resources available.

We have information on handouts here at the planetarium and on our website so that you can tune in to some of the live streams that will be going on.

There'll be live stream locations that NASA's setting up and other museums are setting up all along the path of totality.

And you can tune in to those online.

Now, if you want to be prepared for going to the eclipse, we do have a public show every Saturday afternoon at 3:30 called Eclipse: The Sun Revealed.

Once again.

If you need more information, go to the planetariums website at Delta dot edu slash planetarium.

There are shows and resources there.

[Mike] Thank you, Mike, for getting the word out on this spectacular event.

Now, let's see what's on the Dateline Delta calendar of events.

The Delta College Planetarium is hosting a series of shows during the month of April.

For more information about these shows and events happening at the planetarium, visit their website at Delta dot edu slash planetarium.

Everyone is invited to see what summer events are being offered by many of Bay City's organizations representing art, music, theater, reading, science, wellness, history and more.

From summer camps and workshops to family events.

These Bay City organizations have much to keep you busy this summer.

The event is at the Delta College Planetarium on Saturday, April 27th, from noon to 2 p.m. and is open to the public.

For further information on these events and other campus activities, contact the office of Marketing and Public Information at 989-686-9490 or visit our website at www dot delta dot edu.

[Mike] Well, that wraps up our show.

Please join us again on April 21st when we highlight what's happening here at Delta College.

One of America's leading community colleges.

Now, I leave you with the sights and sounds of Delta College for Dateline Delta.

I'm Mike Rowley.

Thank you for watching.

Local production scene on Delta College Public Media are made possible with support from viewers like you.

Thank you.