Here are links to recordings of the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Candidate Forums:
Forums included a presentation by the candidate and time for Q&A for both in person and virtual attendees. Thank you for your participation and input in this important process.
Thank you to NMC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, which presented its State of DEI Benchmarking Report to the college last month following more than a year of work. The committee prioritized three areas of focus going forward, and will work within the strategic planning framework to explore short- and long-term initiatives.
DEI core committee members are Craig Hadley and Lisa Thomas, co-chairs; Lisa Blackford, Judy Chu, Denny Nguyen and Kerrey Woughter. More than a dozen other faculty and staff serve on subcommittees, including:
Subcommittees:
Chelsie Niemi, NMC Staff
Nicole Speelman, NMC Faculty
Nicco Pandolfi, NMC Staff (co-chair)
Hollie DeWalt, NMC Staff (co-chair)
Briana Mills, NMC Faculty (co-chair)
Marcus Bennett, NMC Staff
Diane Bolton, NMC Adjunct Instructor
Betsy Boris, NMC Faculty
Erica Cotner, NMC Staff
Taylor Nash, NMC Staff
Ben Post, NMC Staff
Alison Thornton, NMC Staff
Sarah Montgomery-Richards, NMC Adjunct Instructor (co-chair)
Sally Smarsty, NMC Staff (co-chair)
Kristy Jackson, NMC Staff
Past members:
Mark Liebling, NMC Staff
Leanne Baumeler, NMC Staff
Amari McGee, NMC Staff
Mindy Morton, NMC Adjunct Instructor
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media recently. 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 NMC Library.
Gaming ground: Esports make way into TC classrooms
Record-Eagle, October 3 (more…)
TRAVERSE CITY — A free COVID-19 vaccination clinic will be held from 1-4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11 in the West Hall Innovation Center on NMC’s main campus.
It is open to the general public as well as NMC students, faculty and staff. Vaccinations will be administered by staff of the Traverse Health Clinic.
Diana Fairbanks
Associate Vice President of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019
The NMC Jazz Big Band will be performing at the Grand Traverse Circuit on Thursday, Oct. 14, and the NMC Jazz Lab Band will perform there on Thursday, Oct. 28. The programs, from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. each night, will also feature the Jeff Haas Trio plus Laurie Sears.
Suggested donation of $10, masks required.
The Grand Traverse Circuit is located at 225 W. 14th Street in Traverse City.
Learn about the NMC October Conference and other upcoming professional development opportunities for you! Sign up now for these high-quality learning opportunities that won’t impact your budget.
Read more in the PDI September Newsletter!
What is NMC doing to hire with diversity front of mind for staff and faculty? Check out this article from NMC Human Resources to learn more.
Please fill out this DEI Intercom Post Feedback Form to be part of our conversation and offer feedback or suggestions on what is being shared.
Suicide Prevention and Awareness- Check out this newsletter from Ulliance.
Kudos to Julie Hansen and Deb Maison: Julie and Deb worked together to assist a student to register for two late-start classes. This prevented the student from losing her Frontliners Scholarship. Our student has been through several difficult situations in the past month, putting her education on the back burner. However, due to the quick work and understanding on behalf of Julie and Deb, our student can move forward with her education!
Kudos to Beth Norconk: Beth has been holding down the ship as many in the dept have retired or left. She fixes everyone else’s hardware and software problems and deserves a HUGE KUDOS !!!
Kudos to Jason Dake: Thanks for hosting the Introduction to Education class at the Dennos Museum. Observation and interpretation are skills that Jason typically teaches during our visit to the Museum. This year he not only taught those skills but reworked our entire visit to include the “Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories” exhibit. It was very powerful and Jason did an outstanding job as always.
Kudos to Lisa Blackford: Lisa presented at the August Board of Trustees meeting during the Faculty Report. Lisa showcased the importance of social responsibility and how she creates meaningful experiences for her students. Lisa is an awesome educator who not only teaches important theories in Social Work and Psychology but also aims to create engaged and emphatic citizens. Thank you, Lisa!
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. Please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
I realized as I started this list that I wasn’t certain about the difference between Hispanic & Latinx. So, I did some research. Hispanic is a cultural identity of Americans who trace their roots to Spanish speaking countries. This is different from Latinx, though there is overlap. And that also means a lot of diversity! This short film is a quick primer about what it means to be Hispanic and a little info on the significance of HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH and how it came to be.
This list includes fiction, poetry and podcasting by Hispanic-Americans, as well as work that celebrates the myriad cultures they represent.
The Whole Island: Six Decades of Cuban Poetry, a Bilingual Anthology edited by Mark Weiss
Deeply rooted in Cuban culture, many of these poets have been at the center of political and social changes. The poems offered here constitute an essential source for understanding the literature and culture of Cuba. Presented in a beautiful Spanish-English edition.
Ameriscopia by Edwin Torres
Shattering the definition of Latino into a million little pieces, poet Edwin Torres reassembles identity into something that is more likely and at the same time unexpected, complex, and multifaceted. From conversations in cars to fast-beat lullabies, Ameriscopia is a collection that taps into rhythms both distinctive and dynamic.
The Real Horse by Farid Matuk
A sustained address to the poet’s daughter, this collection asks readers to think deeply about our place in the world, multiracial connections and intersectional feminism.
Buzzing Hemisphere : Rumor Hemisferico by Urayoán Noel
Imagines an alternative to the monolingualism of the U.S. literary and political landscape, and proposes a performance attuned to marginalized forms of knowledge, perception, and identity.
Twelve Clocks by Julie Sophia Paegle
This book consists of interconnected poems concerned with various modes of time and their relation to personal and historical events.
Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar
In 1960s New York, fifth-grader Ruthie, a Cuban-Jewish immigrant, must rely on books, art, her family, and friends in her multicultural neighborhood when an accident puts her in a body cast.
The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa
It is 1961. The Dominican Republic languishes under economic sanctions, the Catholic church spurs its clergy against the government from its highest ranks down, the country is arrested in bone-chilling fear. Vargas Llosa unflinchingly tells the story of a regime’s final days and the unsteady efforts of the men who would replace it.
Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
Latinas of Indigenous descent living in the American West take center stage in this haunting debut story collection—a powerful meditation on friendship, mothers and daughters, and the deep-rooted truths of our homelands.
Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd
Sixteen-year-old Emilia, secretly a dedicated gamer, competes with her elite team in a major tournament at the same time she and her best friend are running for class president and vice president.
A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende
In the 1930s, civil war gripped Spain. Thousands are forced to flee over the mountains to the French border. Among them is a pregnant young widow who finds her life irreversibly intertwined with an army doctor. In order to survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither wants, and together embark with 2,200 other refugees in search of a new life.
Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner
In Havana, a cabaret dancer meets a French agitator whose seductive demeanor can’t mask his shameful past. Together they become enmeshed in the brewing political underground. When Fidel Castro leads a revolt from the mountains above the cane plantation, K.C. and Everly begin to discover the brutality that keeps the colony humming.
Explore movies in Kanopy for free. Go to nmc.kanopy.com and login using your NMC ID and password.
Wait, Hold Up!
Hosted by Jessica Molina and Yarel Ramos, the Wait, Hold Up! podcast brings a weekly interview with luminaries on the moments that changed their lives. Molina and Ramos also delve into the latest pop culture and politics with refreshing candor. Recent highlights include an episode on changing toxic relationship patterns, immigration reform, and fighting imposter syndrome.
Tres Cuentos
Carolina Quiroga-Stultz hosts this bilingual storytelling podcast that’s dedicated to the traditional narratives of Latin America. It explores the myths, legends, and folktales that are told in the Hispanic, Indigenous, and Afro-Latin American world. It’s a truly beautiful podcast, and lit lovers will enjoy their series interviewing Latino authors across different countries and cultures.
In The Thick
If you’re looking for a daring podcast that doesn’t hesitate to feature difficult conversations, try In the Thick, hosted by award-winning journalists Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela. They don’t hold back when discussing race, identity, and politics with episodes that feature topics such as domestic terrorism, the cycles of trauma, and census suppression
Good afternoon NMC community,
We are excited to welcome three finalists for the new Vice President of Strategic Initiatives to campus next week and hope you will take the time to meet them during a series of candidate forums.
Since the spring we’ve been looking at ways to reimagine the Lifelong and Professional Learning area of the college when Marguerite Cotto announced she would retire at the end of 2021. To advance this work, and the strategic plan we are co-creating, we launched a nationwide search for a new Vice-President of Strategic Initiatives in September. You can read more about the position in NMC Now and watch my video to welcome candidates to our college and this exciting opportunity.
Now thanks to the work of search firm Spelman Johnson and our NMC search team, we have narrowed down a competitive pool of more than 90 candidates to the top three to bring to campus and meet our community.
When: 2-3 p.m. on October 4, 5, and 6, 2021 (one candidate per day)
Where: Milliken Auditorium and livestreamed via Zoom (same link for each day)
Please watch your email for more information on these upcoming forums and opportunities to provide input. If you have any questions, please contact the President’s Office. I hope to see you there!
Nick
—
Nick Nissley, Ed.D. | President | Northwestern Michigan College
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our comprehensive strategic planning process during the last six months. It has produced robust discussions, engagement and opportunities for input. Based on this participation, we’ve added some additional sessions along the way to give the strategic planning steering committee and work team adequate time to co-create these important draft mission, vision, values, and strategy statements.
As a result, we will move the all employee feedback session originally scheduled for October 6 to later in the month. We will share more details soon and look forward to advancing this work together.
If you have any questions, feedback or ideas, please email strategic-planning@nmc.edu. You can also find more information and updates at nmc.edu/strategic-planning.
President’s Office
1701 E. Front Street
Traverse City, MI
Phone: (231) 995-1010
In conjunction with the Marine Technology Society and others, NMC is sponsoring Lakebed 2030 Sept. 29–Oct. 1. This major international virtual conference brings together scientists and researchers, policy makers and government officials and industry professionals to map the Great Lakes. The event has over 275 registrants from 8 countries. Register for the free event here and view the event schedule here.
NMC President Nick Nissley will provide opening remarks for the conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, discussing the Blue Economy and NMC’s role as a leader in Great Lakes innovation.
Congratulations to Extended Educational Services for a successful 2021 College for Kids program led by Kristy Jackson. On key benchmarks of enrollment, safety, and of course, fun, the program excelled. Zero COVID-19 exposures were reported and 90 percent of seats were filled.
“NMC’s commitment to the human ‘learning span’ is one of our fundamental and enduring values — most happily illustrated in the energy of our youngest learners,” said Marguerite Cotto, Vice President for Lifelong & Professional Learning. “What a way to start a learning journey!”
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media recently. 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 NMC Library.
NMC set to kick off first esports season
TV 9&10, Sept. 20 (more…)
TRAVERSE CITY — Military veterans can now convert active duty sea service into credit toward an engineering officer bachelor’s degree at NMC’s Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
Coast Guard Capt. Bradley Clare signed the approval letter for the Academy’s Military Veterans Program (MVET) on September 23 at the American Merchant Marine Veterans annual convention. MVET will allow student-veterans to transfer sea service and training completed while on active duty into the GLMA engine officer program before GI education benefits expire.
“I am excited to approve this program for the Great Lakes Maritime Academy which greatly supports providing a pathway for military members to integrate into the maritime industry,” Capt. Clare said. “The Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center is very committed to ensuring the success of our transitioning military members.”
More credentialed engineers graduating sooner will also help the merchant marine industry, whose workforce is aging.
Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, a trade group representing the U.S.-flag Great Lakes cargo fleet, echoed the importance of the MVET program to the shipping industry.
“As a veteran and the son of a Vietnam veteran, who benefited from the G.I Bill, I can personally attest to the value of the GLMA program and the need to make it as cost effective for our veterans as possible,” Weakley said. “Our commitment to veterans should not end with their service. We need to honor their time in uniform and expedite their transition to good paying jobs. They can continue to serve our nation in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Our national security, homeland security and economic security will continue to benefit from their skills and work ethic.
GLMA Superintendent Jerry Achenbach said the (MVET) program is the result of more than four years of work involving several members of the Academy’s faculty and staff and USCG officials. It is expected to improve recruitment to the Academy’s engineering program.
In addition to allowing cadets to bypass redundant training, the approval will allow student veterans to complete the engineering program within the constraints of GI bill benefits. Due to sea service requirements, the current GLMA program exceeds the 36 months of benefits awarded to veterans by the GI bill.
Approval is good for five years, until 2026.
Jerry Achenbach
GLMA Superintendent
gachenbach@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1200
TRAVERSE CITY — Military veterans can now convert active duty sea service into credit toward an engineering officer bachelor’s degree at NMC’s Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
Coast Guard Capt. Bradley Clare signed the approval letter for the Academy’s Military Veterans Program (MVET) on September 23 at the American Merchant Marine Veterans annual convention. MVET will allow student-veterans to transfer sea service and training completed while on active duty into the GLMA engine officer program before GI education benefits expire.
“I am excited to approve this program for the Great Lakes Maritime Academy which greatly supports providing a pathway for military members to integrate into the maritime industry,” Capt. Clare said. “The Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center is very committed to ensuring the success of our transitioning military members.”
More credentialed engineers graduating sooner will also help the merchant marine industry, whose workforce is aging.
Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, a trade group representing the U.S.-flag Great Lakes cargo fleet, echoed the importance of the MVET program to the shipping industry.
“As a veteran and the son of a Vietnam veteran, who benefited from the G.I Bill, I can personally attest to the value of the GLMA program and the need to make it as cost effective for our veterans as possible,” Weakley said. “Our commitment to veterans should not end with their service. We need to honor their time in uniform and expedite their transition to good paying jobs. They can continue to serve our nation in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Our national security, homeland security and economic security will continue to benefit from their skills and work ethic.
GLMA Superintendent Jerry Achenbach said the (MVET) program is the result of more than four years of work involving several members of the Academy’s faculty and staff and USCG officials. It is expected to improve recruitment to the Academy’s engineering program.
In addition to allowing cadets to bypass redundant training, the approval will allow student veterans to complete the engineering program within the constraints of GI bill benefits. Due to sea service requirements, the current GLMA program exceeds the 36 months of benefits awarded to veterans by the GI bill.
Approval is good for five years, until 2026.
Jerry Achenbach
GLMA Superintendent
gachenbach@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1200
Traverse Health Clinic will hold a COVID-19 vaccination clinic on NMC’s main campus Monday, Sept. 27 from noon to 3 p.m. in the West Hall Innovation Center.
NMC students: Remember to register for NMC’s Win Big drawing after getting your vaccine! Prizes include a semester’s worth of free tuition and fees or free NMC housing, $500 NMC Bookstore gift cards and $100 Amazon gift cards! Enter now through September 30.