At age 64, with 73 marathons under his belt, there’s no stopping Steve Coffman. Aside from full-time teaching, he is training for his 35th consecutive Boston Marathon in April 2012. Coffman says his love for running started when he was stationed with the Marines in Hawaii. Officially peaking his interest, he ran in the...
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Greg Pscodna, an ’89 Physical Education and Exercise Science graduate of the MSU College of Education, has just been hired as the new head football coach for Alma College. “I am excited to be here at Alma College as football coach,” Pscodna said. “It is a great academic and athletic institution and I look forward to producing competitive...
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Everything seemed perfectly ordinary to Juleen Jenkins-Whall as she sat with her 10th grade chemistry class during a Traverse City West High School assembly —that is, until State Superintendent Mike Flanagan popped in for a video chat, and announced that Jenkins-Whall had just won the prestigious Milken Educator Award. Dubbed by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching,” the award recognizes outstanding work in...
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August “Jerry” Benson, a former Michigan State University associate professor, advisor and alumnus, passed away on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, 2011. He was 94. Benson’s career at MSU spanned from 1964-83. He earned his master’s degree (’59) and Ph.D. (’69) from the MSU College of Education. According to family, Benson was a proud Spartan fan and a goodwill ambassador for MSU. He...
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When it comes to giving back to the community, Spartans are leaders — and the heartwarming story of John Shinsky and his orphanage in Mexico is no exception. Growing up for Shinsky was far from typical. When he was only seven years old, his father suffered a fatal heart attack, and shortly after that, his mother placed him in an orphanage for a...
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Brian Tass, a 2001 kinesiology graduate from the MSU College of Education, has recently been selected as the new varsity head coach of the Novi High School boys’ basketball team. With six years of success as head coach at Waterford Kettering High School, Tass says he hopes to keep the Novi program running strong. “I think Novi basketball will...
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