Thank you all for everything you do in pursuit of “Keeping Learning at the Center.”
Notable Accomplishments provided by Faculty and Staff
This section recognizes the good work being done and linkages to the Strategic Directions (SD) and Institutional Effectiveness Criteria (IE) are provided where possible.
- Congrats to NMC’s unmanned aerial systems program for being named one of the top 15 training colleges! We ranked 10th this year. (SD1)
- Thanks to the efforts of Auditorium Manager and Technical Director Jack Conners, the support of the Begonia Foundation and the co-operation of Grammy award winning performer Bob James, the concert Bob James performed with his quartet on May 3, 2014, has become a live CD from Milliken Auditorium. The CD was released in Japan in February 2015 and in the USA in March 2015. Jack Conners recorded, engineered and mastered the CD, and NMC’s own Dave Dalquist took the concert photos that were used for the CD cover and liner notes. (IE2, IE3, IE4)
- Jason Dake, Curator of Education at the Dennos Museum Center, will have a case study published in an upcoming issue of MuseumsEtc. currently scheduled for December 2015 – January 2016. The case study outlines the development and implementation of the exhibition, Sideways: Exploring Skateboard Art & Culture, which included skateboarders and graphic designers from the community. MuseumsEtc is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh and Boston creating books and magazines that share museum best practices around the globe. (IE2, IE3)
- The goal of the GLMA Business Plan is to have 60 cadets arrive each fall. On August 16 we welcomed 67 cadets. (IE1)
- In order to facilitate cadets that were transitioning from the GLMA associate’s degree to BSMT, a spring license prep class was held in order for six cadets to graduate and license early. All six passed their merchant marine exams. All 40+ GLMA graduates have passed their exams, and all are now sailing on their license. (IE1)
- NMC’s Visual Communications Area (VCA) updated all the Mac software in both labs, and are now running the new Mac OS, and the newest versions of all software and this is the first full academic year that we will roll our Apple and Adobe Certification for all VCA students integrated into the core VCA program.
- Institutionally enacted the Choice Act tuition benefit for VA students; and certified enrollments for 63 veterans. (IE3, IE5)
- Creative Writing and Poetry adjunct faculty member, Teresa Scollon, has been named this year’s Writer-in-Residence by Traverse City’s Front Street Writers. In her role, Teresa will join TCAPS educator, Kerrey Woughter, in co-teaching the Front Street Writers workshop, a year-long course for highly motivated and talented high school students from the local area. (IE1, IE2)
- Kristen Salathiel and Nancy Gray attended a summer seminar, entitled “Leadership Community of Practice (Reading Apprenticeship Train the Trainer) in Oakland, California, that is part of a year-long study of Reading Apprenticeship practices. Kristen and Nancy will become certified trainers upon completion of the study and will share their experience and expertise with colleagues across the disciplinary areas of the college. (IE1, IE3, IE5)
Important Updates from Tim
- Vice President Stephen Siciliano and I participated in a conference call with other community college leaders and officials from the White House Office of Public Engagement and Domestic Policy Council to discuss efforts to make community college free for responsible students through the American’s College Promise Proposal shared as part of President Obama’s State of the Union. The call was to share ideas, best practices, and work towards a common path forward that will support community college students, and how colleges and communities can get involved.
- Our consultant Kathy Cole, West Wind Consulting, has completed her feasibility study to inform the planning process for a potential comprehensive campaign and she will be presenting her report to the Foundation Board at a special meeting on September 16.
- The new Coast Guard Commander Gregory Matyas visited our Great Lakes Maritime Academy and we had lunch with the Cadets aboard the ship.
- I participated in the Munson Healthcare Board retreat, as a member of the Munson Medical Center Board. The beneficial relationship between NMC and Munson is continually reaffirmed for me with the coordinated legislative efforts to gain an NMC BSN offering, the Health Education Institute and the potential shared healthcare simulation labs.
- Stephen Siciliano has been appointed to the MCCA Block Transfer Committee due to his knowledge and experience with these issues. The committee was established to build upon the success of the Michigan Transfer Agreement
- In response to legislative language that creates a committee to review the current performance funding process for community colleges, the first meeting of the MCCA performance funding taskforce, of which I am a member, met to begin preliminary discussions on the issues and metrics that need to be reviewed in order to make recommendations for change to the existing performance funding formula used to allocate annual increases in community college funding. The committee will be reviewing data trends over the past 10 years which will help inform discussions on what changes, if any, need to be made to the existing formula.
Miscellaneous
- MCCA has hired Dr. Erica Orians as the new Executive Director for the Center for Student Success, replacing Chris Baldwin who recently accepted a position with Jobs for the Future to help establish Student Success Centers in several states across the country.