Two administrators from Michigan City Area Schools were among the 16 individuals and 15 teams honored last night as new members of the Society of Innovators of Northwest Indiana. Ivy Tech Community College Northwest and The Society of Innovators announced the new members at an induction ceremony held at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.
“We are proud of all of our new members, who exemplify the twin pillars of creativity and innovation,” said O’Merrial Butchee, Director of Ivy Tech Northwest’s Gerald I. Lamkin Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center. Each year, The Society of Innovators seeks nominations of the most innovative people in our region, Butchee said. Nominations come from Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Porter, Newton, Pulaski and Starke Counties.
MCAS Superintendent Dr. Barbara Eason-Watkins was honored for her efforts in establishing an area-wide STEM feeder system to prepare students for jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. She has worked with educators, business, and university partners to create Indiana’s only public STEM magnet school, Lake Hills Elementary. In addition, she has instituted middle schools in STEM and Environmental Science, and developed high school and career/tech STEM pathways across the district. Society officials pointed to Krueger Middle School, which recently received an Indiana Governors Award, the tripling of dual credits awarded to students, and plans to establish an Early College program next year as examples of her commitment to serving the needs of students. Eason-Watkins, who has been MCAS Superintendent since 2010, was nominated for the Society of Innovators by Michigan City Area Chamber of Commerce President Ann Dahm.
MCAS Director of Food and Nutrition Services, Kathleen Kane, SNS, was also among the individuals inducted into the Society. She was honored for her efforts in reducing the environmental footprint of the MCAS food service department through a device called the “StyroGenie.” The StyroGenie, now in operation at two schools, “magically transforms” Styrofoam waste volumes by 95% through thermal densification, a process that removes air from disposable lunch trays and returns them to a liquid resin. The resin is cooled and formed into small paving stones that are used in landscaping and other projects at the schools. The low-temperature process is safe, clean, and does not produce harmful emissions. In the 10 years Kane has served as MCAS’ Food Service Director, Kane has increased participation in school lunch and breakfast programs by more than 25 percent. She has worked to make menu selections more nutritious, with a focus on whole-grains and low-fat choices. She was nominated for the Society of Innovators by Eugenia Sacopulos of Ivy Tech.
In 2012, Lake Hills STEM Elementary School and the MCAS Safe Harbor Robotics program were both inducted as team members of the Northwest Indiana Society of Innovators.
For additional information on the Society of Innovators, visit http://www.ivytech.edu/northwest/Innovation/