Please encourage your students to attend NMC’s sixth annual Career and Employment Fair, March 7 from 3pm-5pm at the Hagerty Center on NMC’s Great Lakes Campus. Employers from professional and occupational fields will be recruiting for career-track positions, seasonal and entry-level opportunities, as well as internships, service learning and networking opportunities.
During the month of March all NMC faculty and staff will receive 15% off their lunch bill when you dine with us. Just present your NMC ID or business card and we will apply your discount.
Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling 995-3120.
If you provide us with a business card when you dine with us you will be entered into a drawing. Weekly a winner will be chosen to receive a dozen cookies from our pastry case, and at the end of the month we will draw from all of the entries (including our weekly winners) a grand prize winner. That person will receive two tickets to our Garde Manger Grand Reception on April 26, 2013. Items for the event are prepared and served by our second year culinary students and includes items such as carved meats, cheese and fruit displays, pates and terrines, house made ice cream, and much more.
NMC was recently given the chance to participate in a unique opportunity teaching English to high school students in Salvador, Brazil. As a partner in US-Brazil Connect (us-brazil.org ) NMC will be choosing seven qualified students to spend the month of July in Brazil with students from three other community colleges from across the US. Students chosen for this program must commit to an 8 week pre and post online learning engagement with a partner school in Brazil. Qualified students have all been notified and will be submitting applications next week. If you have someone who is curious to know more, please have them contact Outreach Services at 995-2524.
One of our favorite events is on the calendar and will be here soon! Invitations will be sent in March, so watch your mailbox for party details. Here is the list of employees who will be receiving a Service Award at this year’s event. Please call Human Resources at 995-1026 if you have any additions or corrections to the list.
Staff and Faculty Service Awards 2013
| 5 Years | 10 Years | 15 Years | 20 Years | 25 Years |
| Lisa Dohm | Mary Beeker | Anna Bachman | Marjory Smith | Dori Creighton |
| Tom Dunn | Fred Cook | Jenny Barnes | Sue DeCamillis | |
| Robin Fitzgerald | Patty Cron-Huhta | Cindy Duby | Doug Domine | |
| Bill Hardy | Sandy Harrand | Margaret Fox | Keith Kelly | |
| Constanza Hazelwood | Lori Hodek | Jan Neumann | John Pflughoeft | |
| Jo Hendrix | Georgenia Hromada | Deb Pharo | ||
| Mela McCormick | Amy Klei | Jan Root | ||
| Craig Shattuck | ||||
| 35 Years | 40 Years | |||
| Rita Kucera | Frank Snyder | |||
| Steve Westphal | ||||
Adjunct Faculty Service Awards 2013
| 5 Years | 10 Years | 15 Years | 20 Years |
| Kim Anderson | Gary Howe | Teri Brady | Mark Smith |
| Joan Buchanan | Rebecca Jones | Bob Keller | Philip Tarczon |
| Todd Casperson | Mark Lyon | Dee Morrison | |
| Kathy Connor | Brian McCall | Patty Olson | |
| Michael Davis | Joan Richmond | Keith Tampa | |
| Mary Lou Deutsch | Julia Sheerin | ||
| Jane Ditri | Frank Simkins | ||
| Tim Dunn | Ethel Vandenberg | ||
| Lee ElstonRobin Fisher
Robert George Robert J. Hall |
Rob Weiler
25 Years |
35 Years |
|
| Conrad Heins | Mike Cochran | Sheila Stafford | |
| Richard Hoadley | Susan Odgers | ||
| David Hosler | |||
| Anita Hunt | |||
| Jill Markoski | |||
| Sharon Mayer | |||
| Karen Miller | |||
| Troy Robertson | |||
| Larissa VanderZee | |||
| Duane Wright |
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
Pat Coy Custodian 2 years
Lindsey Dickinson International Recruiter/Advisor 2 years
Rochelle Hammontree Paraprofessional – Library 29 years
Scott Herzberg Assistant Director of Outreach Services 17 years
Dan Yeider Maintenance Mechanic 7 years
Any items you wish to have posted in the Intercom and Student News can be sent to publicrelations@nmc.edu.
For information on positions currently open at NMC, please visit NMC’s web page at https://jobs.nmc.edu/ Information on internal postings has been emailed.
Kudos to Paul Perry! The heat in Tanis Building has been wonderful! Thank you for updating our old system and making it a workable environment again. We have seen Paul checking rooms and making sure everyone is comfortable on a daily basis. Thank you, Paul, for taking the time and effort to reach everyone in the building on an individual level.
Big Kudos to Emily Magner for organizing the One Billion Rising event at the Grand Traverse Mall. At least 200 people showed up to dance and show their support for women around the world who have suffered abuse. The only downside was that it was over in minutes. I think we all wanted it to go on for hours. Student Life is so lucky to have her as an employee.
MPSERS RETIREMENT REFORM – NEW DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS
During the recent Retirement Reform Election, eligible employees were given the opportunity to change from their current MPSERS pension plan to a Defined Contribution (DC) plan, and also from the subsidized Retiree Healthcare Fund to the Personal Healthcare Fund. These changes became effective on your 2/22/13 paycheck.
If you elected either or both of these new plans, this information will be communicated to ING, the company administering the plans. ING will contact you directly through mail with a personal PIN. This PIN will give you access to your ING account online, where you will be able to choose your investment plan as well as change your contributions to either of these plans. Contact ING at (800) 748-6128 or visit https://stateofmi.ingplans.com to learn about investment options.
Defined Contribution Plan contributions.
As a Defined Contribution (DC) plan participant, you receive a 4% employer contribution to your 401(k) account. In addition, you are able to make contributions to a 457 account.
If you choose to make contributions under the DC plan, you are immediately vested in your contributions and related earnings to your savings in your 457 account. You are 50% in your employer’s matching contributions after the equivalent of 2 years of full time service, 75% percent after 3 years of service, and 100 percent after 4 years of service. Your vesting for your employer’s contributions begins with your first day of work, so all of your Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System service counts towards your vesting in the Defined Contribution plan.
If you switched to the DC plan, your retirement benefits will be made up of two things:
Personal Healthcare Fund contributions.
The Personal Healthcare Fund is a portable, tax-deferred fund that you can use for paying healthcare and other expenses in retirement. As a member of the Personal Healthcare Fund, you voluntarily opted out of the premium healthcare subsidy. You no longer contribute 3% of compensation to the Retiree Healthcare Fund and any contributions you have made to that fund will be deposited into a tax-deferred, 401(k) account. In addition, you are automatically enrolled in a 2% employee contribution into a 457 account, earning you a 2 percent employer match into a 401(k) account.
You are immediately vested in your contributions and related earnings to your healthcare savings in your 457 account. You are 50% in your employer’s matching contributions after the equivalent of 2 years of full time service, 75% percent after 3 years of service, and 100 percent after 4 years of service. Your vesting for your employer’s contributions begins with your first day of work, so all of your Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System service counts towards your vesting in the Personal Healthcare Fund.
MPSERS encourages employees to continue to refer to the Reform Tools Overview website for questions on the recent reform: http://www.michigan.gov/orsschools/0,4653,7-206-61921—,00.html. If you have questions about your retirement, feel free to contact Human Resources at 231-995-1362.
A high demand for those with associate’s degrees is setting a new trend in the workforce of today and a new strategy for college hopefuls of the future. Studies show that in some states, on average, community college graduates straight out of school are making more than graduates of four-year universities. As the perception changes that a bachelor’s degree is the default, community colleges continue to prove to be the best value in education.
Click Here to Read More:
http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/
Zack Light was named the Spring 2013 Employee of the Semester. He was presented his award from Aaron Beach, Director of Human Resources and introduced by Carol Evans, Director of Extended Education Services who lauded Zack for his years of service in the NMC Fitness Center and as an adjunct faculty member, his exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills, his work ethic and his “can do spirit.”
Spring employee of the semester Zack Light (center) receives his award at February’s board meeting from Carol Evans, Director of Extended Educational Services and Doug Bishop, Board Chair.
The Michigan Community College Association is working with Interact Communications, a National Marketing Firm, to create a statewide brand and messaging campaign that allows our community colleges to compete strongly with our local, regional and national competitors. While their brand research will involve focus groups, interviews and a statewide survey, Interact wants to start first with all of you, our internal stakeholders. They are asking every faculty, staff, volunteer and student at all the community colleges in the state, to participate in an online survey. The survey asks only nine questions, but they are important questions about what we do well, our competition and what you all believe our communities should know about our college.
As a member of this college and in turn a part of the larger sector of community colleges across the state, your voice, input, and insight are extremely valuable to this research process. Please use the following link that will direct you to an online survey. This survey is taken anonymously, and the data will only be used in aggregate, so feel free to be honest. The survey itself will only take you 5-10 minutes to complete.
Thank you for your time and input.
As part of the ongoing collaboration between Northwestern Michigan College and Western Michigan University, two WMU courses focused on freshwater research will be offered summer 2013 at NMC.
Faculty and staff from WMU and NMC will be offering an information session about the courses and our freshwater studies program collaboration.
Come join us for pizza, fun and the latest news.
Mark your calendars!
March 15, Great Lakes Campus Room 112
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The courses are:
BIOS 5545, Human Impacts Great Lakes (3 cr)
Dr. Charles Ide
Online May 6 – June 26
Meets face to face:
Friday, May 31 1:00-5:00 p.m.
Saturday June 1 9-5:00 p.m.
Sunday June 2 9-12:00 p.m.
BIOS 5535 Freshwater Ecology (4 cr)
Julie Ryan
Online June 27-August 16
Meets face to face:
June 27, Thursday 3 hours, times to be determined
July 1 – August 12 Monday’s 10 -3:00 p.m.
NMC Painting Instructor Joan Gallagher Richmond is the featured artist for March and April at Gallery 50 in Traverse City.
Community members of all ages, from students to retirees, interested in learning about global studies and international opportunities here in northwest Michigan are invited to attend the second annual Go Global Fair and Expo from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, March 10 at NMC’s Hagerty Conference Center.
Free for all attendees, the event features information about programs, services, and other opportunities for making global connections in northwest Michigan. Exhibitors will include study abroad and international youth exchange programs, area language clubs, service learning opportunities, travel clubs, international adoption services, and organizations with a cultural or ethnic appreciation focus such as the Traverse Area District Library and the Dennos Museum Center.
International dessert samples and coffee will be available as well.
The event is sponsored by NMC and Traverse City Area Public Schools.
The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will present, Leslie McCurdy in “The Spirit of Harriet Tubman” Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 7 PM in Milliken Auditorium. Tickets are $10 plus ticket fees. Tickets may be purchased on line at www.dennosmuseum.org or by calling the box office at 231-995-1553. This production is part of the Embrace the Dream project supported by DTE Energy Foundation and with additional major support from the Michigan Humanities Council and NMC Student Life.
Ticket holders to this performance will have free admission to the museum’s galleries prior to the performance.
There are many plays about Harriet Tubman, but none share her entire life story like a visit with The Spirit of Harriet Tubman. Leslie McCurdy invokes the ‘spirit’ of Harriet Tubman as she portrays the life of the famous Underground Railroad conductor, recreating stories familiar and some rarely told, using words said to have been Harriet Tubman¹s own. Through it all we learn of the faith and conviction that drove Harriet Tubman to follow her dreams; the spirit of the past connecting with the present, inspiring her charges to have the courage to do the same in envisioning their future.
Born into slavery in Maryland, Harriet Tubman not only ran away alone to escape slavery, she returned to the south nineteen times to lead over three hundred other slaves to freedom in the northern United States and Canada. Her work as a nurse and a spy during the civil war was instrumental in helping the North defeat the South, thus forcing the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Leslie McCurdy captivates her audience in “The Spirit of Harriet Tubman” with only a trunk of costumes and a barren stage as her landscape. For a breathtaking hour, she embodies the “spirit” of Harriet Tubman and shares Harriet’s empowering story woven with words said to have been Harriet’s own. Leslie takes the audience through Ms. Tubman’s childhood, her harrowing solo flight from slavery, her dedicated involvement with the Underground Railroad, her victorious rescue mission during the civil war and her commitment to others in her later years. This inspiring solo performance, by an artist described as being “of exceptional skill and grace”, teaches of the faith and conviction that drove Harriet Tubman to follow her dreams; the spirit of the past connecting with the present, inspiring her charges to have the courage to do the same in envisioning their future. It has been called “brilliant!”, “a powerful, must see performance!!”, “something to be experienced by everyone!”
Named Outstanding Performing Artist of Windsor Ontario, Canada, Leslie McCurdy, has been performing for many years in Southwestern Ontario and the Mid-Western United States, a privilege her dual US/Canadian citizenship affords her. Also a teacher, with an honors B.F.A. in dance from the University of Michigan, Leslie was slated to go to New York to apprentice with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre when she literally tripped, fractured her hip, and fell into acting. While she has many theatre credits, Leslie is best known for the one-woman plays that she wrote and has toured with internationally for 15 years.
Leslie McCurdy will offer two performances for schools on Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 9:00 AM and 11:30 AM in the Milliken Auditorium of the Dennos Museum Center. Call 231-995-1029 for information or to purchase tickets for the school performances.
The Dennos concert season is made possible with support from the Robert T and Ruth Haidt Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Begonia Foundation with media support from WNMC 90.7, CMU Public Broadcasting and TV 29&8. Housing for our performers is provided by the Cambria Suites and Days Inn.
The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday’s until 8 PM and Sundays 1-5 PM. Admission is $6.00 adults, $4.00 for children and free to museum members. For more information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1701 East Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.
The Chestnut parking lot will be closed from Friday, March 1 at 5 p.m. until Sunday, March 3 at 7 p.m. to clear out the excess snow.
This is being done over the weekend to impact the fewest amount of people possible.
The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will present Dervish from Ireland on Friday, March 2, 2013 at 8:00 PM in the Milliken Auditorium. Tickets are $25 in advance, $28 at the door, $22 for Museum Members. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Museum Box office at 231-995-1553 or on line at www.dennosmuseum.org.
Dervish plays music from the West of Ireland with passionate vocals and dazzling instrumentals. The Sligo Borough Council’s decision to award Dervish the Freedom of the Borough of Sligo cemented the group’s position as preeminent band in Ireland’s wild west. It raised them into the exalted company of poet W.B. Yeats, who was the first person to be awarded the freedom of Sligo.
Built upon two sturdy pillars — the hauntingly charismatic vocals of Cathy Jordan and the dazzling virtuosity of award-winning instrumentalists like Tom Morrow on fiddle, Liam Kelly on flute, and Shane Mitchell on accordion, Dervish is a solid structure of a band, its foundation in legendary pub sessions, its shape the result of years of international touring. In the most recent of many honors, Dervish was recently chosen to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2005, just after the group toured China in the company of the Prime Minister, Ireland’s premier music magazine Hot Press voted the band Best Traditional / Folk Group.
The solid rhythm playing of Brian McDonagh and Michael Holmes drives the band, whose concert performances are a myriad of tones and moods ranging from high energy tunes, played with fluidity and intuitiveness, to beautifully measured songs, from charming lyrics of life and love, to inspiring melodies that lift audiences from their seats. All the elements are drawn together by Cathy Jordan’s masterful stage presence. Her stories to the songs and her interaction with the audience draws people into the music in a way very few performers can achieve
Now, more than twenty years since first coming together and with four of the original members still at the helm, Dervish are more in demand than ever. Their colorful career has taken them to every corner of the globe and has seen them share center stage with such names as James Brown, The Buena Vista Social Club, Oasis, Sting, REM, Beck and many more. Dervish is a band that both celebrates Irish music and has been instrumental in bringing it to a worldwide audience.
With the purchase of a ticket to this performance, concert goers are invited to visit the museum’s galleries one hour before the concert and attend a post-concert reception with the performers.
The Dennos concert season is made possible with support from the Robert T and Ruth Haidt Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Begonia Foundation with media support from WNMC 90.7, CMU Public Broadcasting and TV 29&8. Housing for our performers is provided by the Cambria Suites and Days Inn.
The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursdays until 8 PM, and Sundays 1-5 PM. Admission is $6.00 adults, $4.00 for children and free to museum members. For more information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1701 East Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.