Congratulations Class of 2017!
University of Detroit Mercy proudly welcomes 181 School of Dentistry graduates, 158 School of Law graduates and 1,057 bachelor's, master's and doctoral graduates from the McNichols Campus to our alumni family. Congratulations to them all for their years of hard work. We are honored to have been a part of their journey. See the photo galleries for the Detroit Mercy Law, Detroit Mercy Dental and McNichols Campus Commencement ceremonies, held on May 12 & 13. Also, be sure to check out some Titan buzz on our social media stream and continue to share your graduate photos and stories with us! #udmgrad2017
Live6 Speakeasy talk on programming vacant space, May 19
Live6 will host its next installment of the community dialogue series, Speakeasy, on Friday, May 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Detroit Sip, 7420 W. McNichols Road in Detroit. Several upcoming neighborhood initiatives from Live6, the Detroit Collaborative Design Center and Fitz Forward will focus on parks, greenways, farmer's markets and other temporary activations. The Speakeasy will open a discussion on how to effectively program these vacant spaces. For more information, contact Lauren Hood with Live6 at 313-610-6004 or info@live6detroit.org.
NYT in DET
The New York Times recently visited the city of Detroit and highlighted attractions, stores, restaurants and other interesting stops in the article, "36 Hours in Detroit," May 11. The writers and publishers celebrated, in the "city of motors and Motown, a weekend of art, food and exploration, with a side of history."
Free cybersecurity summer camp on campus
The Center for Cyber Security & Intelligence Studies will co-sponsor a new summer camp, AFA CyberCamps, for junior and senior high school students interested in cybersecurity, operating systems and computer networks. Many students that attend AFA CyberCamps go on to join a CyberPatriot National Defense Competition team during the school year. The camp will be held July 31 through Aug. 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Jane & Walter O. Briggs Building on the McNichols Campus. Register online before Saturday, July 15. For more information, contact Center for Cyber Security & Intelligence Studies Director Tamara Shoemaker at shoematl@udmercy.edu.
Important notice on music use for videos and content
Please note that the use of music from artists (e.g., Eminem, Kid Rock, etc.) used in videos and other multimedia content created by various schools, colleges, offices and departments at Detroit Mercy requires formal written permission for use from the specific artist. This is a legal standard with regard to copyright. Providing a line of credit for use does not provide the requisite allowance to use this music and creates an issue of legality with regard to our use of the music overlay. Based on a recent review of our current licensing agreements in place with BMI, ASCAP and SESAC licensing agencies, Detroit Mercy is not permitted to use music with any video created by offices, departments and colleges without expressed written consent/copyright approval directly from the artist. On May 8, Monica Barbour, Detroit Mercy's senior attorney, Information Technology Services (IT) and Marketing & Public Affairs (MPA) engaged in a phone conference call with a contract representative for educational institutions with ASCAP. ASCAP oversees our license agreement to use music.
This legal requirement also holds true for any other video, past or present, that uses any music from an artist without expressed written permission from the artist. As such, it is necessary to expunge music from videos immediately. Failure to do this opens the university to serious legal action, which can prove costly. This also applies to content hosted on University services as well as those hosted remotely and on social media sites presented in the name of University of Detroit Mercy.
MPA will release new guidelines and information on this standard in the coming months via the MPA website. If you have a written form of approval directly from an artist to use music with the content you have posted to public sites, please forward this to erwingj@udmercy.edu. If you do not have this formal approval, please remove any and all videos that currently use the music of artists and strip the music overlay from the video. You can also contact MPA, and we would be happy to work with you on locating potential free music overlays for your content.
MPA, IT and Monica Barbour realize that many Detroit Mercy faculty and staff want to create strong content to help attract students and the community to the university, and we greatly appreciate everyone's help in that regard. However, the law stipulates that we adhere to copyright requirements. In the future, MPA hopes to obtain free music resources that we can all utilize on multimedia content in the near future.
Thumbs Up!
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Joseph Abisaid's paper, titled, "The Influence of Source-Expected and Unexpected Advocacy on Thoughts and Attitude Change in Dual Frames," was accepted by the Political Communication Interest Group and will be presented at the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication Conference in Chicago this August. The paper was blind-reviewed and the AEJMC is one of the major organizations in the university discipline.
Professor of Biology Gerard Albright, S. J., was interviewed by Marie Osborne on News Talk 760 AM WJR, discussing his retirement plans.
University Secretary and Senior Attorney Monica Barbour was recognized as a "Top Corporate Counsel," according to DBusiness.
Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine published the book chapter, "The Underground Railroad and Early Racial Violence," in Detroit 1967: Origins, Impacts Legacies, published by Wayne State University Press. Professor of History Gregory Sumner also included a chapter, "Detroit 1943: 'A Real Race Riot.'" The book was edited by Joel Stone '79 of the Detroit Historical Society and also included a chapter by Kevin Boyle '82.
Special Consultant to the College of Engineering & Science and former Dean Leo Hanifin has worked closely with the city of Detroit to introduce the new QLine downtown. Hanifin wrote the Livingston Daily article, "Hanifin: Get on board for better transportation in Livingston." Hanifin also commented on the QLine in the Crains' Detroit Business article, "QLine expansion needs a champion, money," May 7.
Associate Professor of Religious Studies Justin Kelly, S.J., lectured on "Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Problematic of Modernity" at the New American Lyceum in Farmington Hills, May 12.
Associate Professor of Education and former Deputy Mayor of Detroit Isaiah McKinnon was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation. The Rosa Parks Foundation is dedicated to awarding scholarships to Michigan High School seniors who demonstrate skills, community involvement and economic need.
Professor of English Nicholas Rombes' book Ramones (Bloomsbury) has been translated into Italian and published in Italy by Minimum Fax Press, a publishing company based in Rome.