It is with mixed emotions that I provide you notice that I will retire from my position as President of Northwestern Michigan College fourteen months from now on December 31, 2019. By providing this notification now, there is sufficient time to execute a thoughtful, inclusive search for my successor. Rest assured, I will continue to give you my all during the ensuing time. (more…)
NMC President Timothy J. Nelson on Thursday announced his plans to retire December 31, 2019, bringing to a close his tenure as the longest-serving president of the college.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have worked to achieve during my time at this college,” said Nelson, who has led NMC for 18 years. “I have committed myself to our ultimate purpose, which is to provide our learners and communities with the skills, experiences and values that will help them to create social and economic wealth during their lifetimes.”
Nelson first worked at NMC as residence hall supervisor in 1975 and returned to campus as executive director of administration in 2000. He was named president Feb. 26, 2001, and since then has made his motto “keeping learning at the center.”
Elaine Wood was a member of the Board of Trustees that hired Nelson. She said he was the clear choice in a search that yielded candidates from around the country.
“He was the ideal person to take NMC into the 21st century, in very creative, substantial ways,” said Wood, a trustee from 1990-2008. “Tim really stood out as having the kind of vision for NMC that was not only the most creative and the biggest, but also the most consistent with this community, the values of this community and the character of this community.”
From technology to a global economy, Nelson foresaw and prepared the college and community for changes and challenges, Wood said, adding that he brought both financial acumen and a grasp of learning systems.
“That is kind of a rare combination, to get somebody who’s well-rounded in both aspects,” she said.
As a result of Nelson’s leadership at the college, NMC has been recognized as:
“President Nelson has served this college and this community well during his tenure,” said NMC Board of Trustees Chairman Kennard Weaver. “We are fortunate to have had a leader of this caliber for much longer than the average community college president. The role of the college president is to provide vision, leadership, and focus to the growth of a college. Bringing in a new president means NMC can build upon the successes and stable system built by President Nelson, while also benefiting from new energy and ideas to continue to propel the college forward to the benefit of our students and our community. The Board is committed to a public and transparent process during this transition.”
The Board, with more than 42 years combined experience, has begun thinking about the succession process and how best to seek input from the college’s many stakeholder groups. Nelson looks forward to continuing in his current role and serving actively as an advisor during the transition period with support from the college’s long-serving leadership team. Updates to this public process will be made available at nmc.edu.
Nelson, 66, and his family plan to remain in Traverse City after his retirement, where they will continue to support NMC and other initiatives to improve the community.
TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) President Timothy J. Nelson today announced his plans to retire December 31, 2019.
He is the longest-serving president of the college and has led the institution for 18 years.
“I am incredibly proud of what we have worked to achieve during my time at this college,” said Nelson. “Beginning with my first job after college as the Residence Hall supervisor in 1975, to my return to campus as an Executive Director of Administration in 2000, and then being hired by the board to serve as President in 2001, I have committed myself to our ultimate purpose, which is to provide our learners and communities with the skills, experiences and values that will help them to create social and economic wealth during their lifetimes,” said Nelson. “I am humbled to think that as I look to the future, the people, programs and systems that we have developed together, position this institution for continued success in meeting that purpose well into the future.”
As a result of Nelson’s leadership, NMC has been recognized as:
“President Nelson has served this college and this community well during his tenure. We are fortunate to have had a leader of this caliber for much longer than the average community college president,” said NMC Board of Trustees Chairman Kennard Weaver. “The role of the college president is to provide vision, leadership, and focus to the growth of a college. Bringing in a new president means NMC can build upon the successes and stable system built by President Nelson, while also benefiting from new energy and ideas to continue to propel the college forward to the benefit of our students and our community. The board is committed to a public and transparent process during this historic transition.”
The board, with more than 42 years combined experience representing the voters in leading NMC, has begun thinking about the succession process and how best to seek input from the college’s many stakeholder groups. Nelson looks forward to continuing in his current role and serving actively as an advisor during the transition period with support from the college’s long serving leadership team. Updates to this public process will be made available at nmc.edu.
Nelson, who will turn 66 in 2018, and his family plan to remain in Traverse City after his retirement where they will continue to support NMC and other initiatives to improve the community.
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Communication
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019
The annual Walk for Health & Housing begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Great Lakes Campus, Monday November 12 and will continue through downtown Traverse City with speakers addressing various topics along the way. The walk will last approximately two hours. The walk is hosted by Ryan Hannon of Street Outreach, Good Will in collaboration with ENG111, SOC101 & SWK121 classes. The walk helps to raise awareness to the issues of homelessness and food insecurity. Students, faculty, staff and all community members are strongly encouraged to come and participate in this powerful event.
Monday, November 19 from 2-6 p.m. at the Physical Education building, students and staff are invited to drop in and play dodgeball or cornhole. Take a break from studying/work and show up and play. No sign up needed.
Want to learn how to cook with affordable and healthy ingredients?
Need new recipes to spice up your life?
Wednesday, November 7, 1-3 p.m. in the Osterlin Library
Sponsored by:
NMC Culinary student groups
NMC Food Pantry
Lakeview Hill Farms
Please join us in welcoming these new additions to our NMC staff, and congratulating current NMC staff on their new positions!
NMC Black Student Union, the International Migrant Foundation, NMC International Affairs, and Youth Peacebuilders presents “A Justice for A Justice: Ensuring the Rule of Law and Democracy for Peace”, an event with guest speaker Kumar Sinha (left), former Chief Justice of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, and Speaker Golam Rabbani, an international social worker and human rights attorney.
Come learn about international politics and grasp the tools to promote international peace!
Read about what our Training Services team is up to including upcoming classes that you may be able to take for free using the tuition reimbursement benefit: mailchi.mp/nmc/nmc-training-services-november-2018-newsletter.
This month’s topics include Manufacturing Day 2018, the impact of modern manufacturing in Michigan, upcoming workshops and more!
KUDOS- (praise or respect that you get because of something you have done or achieved) defined by Merriam-Webster.com
Thank you for participating in the READY SET MOVE challenge this year! The challenge was to average 30 minutes per day of exercise time, over a 26 day time frame! That’s an average of 780 minutes. Here are our challenge champions!
David Hosler– finished with the highest number of minutes at 8297, and the winner of $100 VISA Gift Card!
Exceeded the Challenge Minutes!
Be sure to say CONGRATULATIONS!
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them! (more…)
Are you looking for career opportunities? Find them here! jobs.nmc.edu. (more…)
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media in the past week. We want to share your media involvement too. Please send information about your NMC-related interview or appearance to publicrelations@nmc.edu. If possible, please include a link to the piece and information about where and when it was used.
(Please note access to some stories may be limited by paywalls set up by the media outlet. This includes the Traverse City Record-Eagle, which limits free clicks to five per month. You may also read Record-Eagle articles in the print edition at the Osterlin Library.
NMC rises to No. 2 in veterans rankings
Ticker, Oct. 24
Best for Vets Colleges: The best schools for military students in 2019
Military Times, Oct. 22
Students helping students
Record-Eagle, Oct. 21
Dennos opens three new exhibitions
Record-Eagle, Oct. 19
Discussion on immigration and border issues (IAF speaker)
UpNorthLive (TV 7&4) Oct. 19
Free breakfast from 0830-0900 in NMC’s Dennos Museum for veterans, Active Duty, Reservists and National Guard members. Following breakfast will be our annual Honor Walk to the flagpole between the Tanis and Osterlin buildings. Presentation of the colors, Taps and the three-volley salute will be performed by VFW Post 2780, The Traverse City Central High School marching band will perform the National Anthem.
A quartet of NMC student entrepreneurs won the top prize at TC New Tech’s October Pitch Night, bringing their product another step closer to market and bolstering the college’s reputation as an innovation incubator.
Hybrid Robotics, comprised of four students in NMC’s engineering technology and marine technology programs, was the crowd’s “clear favorite” at the October 2 event, said Russell Schindler (on the left), founder of TC New Tech. In a Traverse City version of the Shark Tank TV show, they competed against four other companies seeking the $500 prize decided by a live audience vote at the City Opera House.
Each company got five minutes to pitch their idea and responded to five minutes of questions.
CEO Matt Goddard (second from left) co-presented their innovation, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of floating and deploying a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) into the water. The students built it in an engineering technology class last spring semester by customizing an off-the-shelf drone with everything from unique parts manufactured in the college’s 3-D printers to foam balls from JoAnn Fabrics. They are now refining the unit and concept.
“We’re trying to make a hybrid platform for the marine inspection industry,” Goddard said. “All this is proof of concept and we’re trying to get a production model by early next year.”
The $500 prize won’t get them there, but Schindler said Hybrid Robotics walks away with more than that one check.
“They now have bragging rights. They won the competition. It’s kind of an endorsement of their product, that they’re on the right track and deserve a second look by a serious investor.”
Goddard confirmed he and his colleagues, Ryan Mater, Clayton Harbin and Aaron Bottke have had such conversations since, but couldn’t reveal details.
Hybrid Robotics is now shaping up to be the second viable company to emerge from NMC’s Maker Space. Begun in 2014 at the Parsons-Stulen Building, the Maker Space offers both a place and a process for team-based, project learning that, when evolved to its highest level, can turn students into entrepreneurs. Interactive Aerial, a Traverse City company that specializes in drone inspections of interior, confined spaces, is the first.
“We wouldn’t have been able to build this without the support of NMC,” Mater told college trustees at an August presentation of the drone.
Instructor Keith Kelly (above), who taught the class in which the Hybrid Robotics team formed and developed their first unit, wants to see more.
“How can we make the transition with these teams from the college classrooms into startups?” Kelly asked. “That’s really the exciting stuff.”
TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College is offering a fun and unique way to give back to the community while getting an up-close look at some of the most exciting new technology available on campus.
Students will host the STEM Exploration Day from 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Parsons-Stulen building on NMC’s Aero Park campus. The event benefits the Food for Thought “Fill the Pantries: Food Drive Challenge.” Products and funds collected will help fill shelves at four local student-based pantries, including:
Community members of all ages are invited to explore and play with some of the latest equipment from NMC programs including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, aviation flight simulators, welding, hybrid vehicles, 3D printer, virtual reality, building and programing games, cloud computing, engineering technology, marine technology and interactive robots. Participants will be able experience LEGO robotics, drones, virtual reality and more family-friendly activities.
Two presentations geared towards students ages 13 and above will explore first STEM programs at NMC from 11 a.m.- noon and second, the STEM industry from 1- 2.m. Attendance at these two presentations are mandatory to be entered into a drawing to win a XBox and other fun prizes.
Other activities include face painting, a bake sale, crafts and a raffle. Suggested admission is five non-perishable food/hygiene items or $5 per person. There will be interactive exhibits for children and adults of all ages.
The NMC Food for Thought “Fill the Pantries: Food Drive Challenge” is a semester-long experiential learning project that pairs NMC students and the Northwest Michigan Food Coalition.
Kristy McDonald
NMC instructor
(231) 995-1059
kmcdonald@nmc.edu
Fayth Lautner
Project Leader, NMC’s Food for Thought
(231) 590-0626
lautnef@mail.nmc.edu
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY NOTICE
Northwestern Michigan College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, height, weight, marital status or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. nmc.edu/non-discrimination
TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College has risen to the rank of second-best community college in the nation for its service to veterans, according to Military Times magazine.
The new, 2019 ranking improves upon the third-place position NMC achieved for 2018 among two-year colleges. NMC was also the only Michigan two-year college to make the publication’s Best for Vets list, published this week.
To determine the rankings, Military Times evaluated five factors veteran students say are important to them: culture, student support, cost and financial aid, policies and academic quality. Data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments as well as three federal education sources were also factored into the comprehensive assessment. Culture, weighted as the most significant category in all scores, was NMC’s strongest category.
NMC established an office of Military and Veteran Services in 2012. Led by Point of Contact Scott Herzberg, it works with the larger college community to foster an environment that leads to veteran success year-round.
“The men and women who have chosen to serve our country deserve our respect, our gratitude and our support,” Herzberg told Military Times. “They have invested time, energy, and passion with their whole being to do a job few in our nation now do. It’s our turn to serve them.”
Here are some of the investments NMC has made to earn the No. 2 ranking:
About five percent of NMC students are veterans or active-duty military.
Scott Herzberg
POC, Military and Veterans Affairs
(231) 995-2526
sherzberg@nmc.edu