Sep 21, 2020 | Intercom, Media Mentions
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media in the past two weeks. 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.
Northwestern Michigan College awards more than $1 million in federal funding to students
UpNorthLive, September 15
The Ticker, September 15 (more…)
Sep 18, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom
Monday, Nov. 9 at 10 a.m. – Virtual Meeting (calendar invites to come).
Open Enrollment for the 2021 calendar year will last from November 9 through November 18.
Sep 18, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom
Step Challenge (access the flyer here)
- Challenge 9/21/2020 – 10/18/2020
- Goal this week is 3000 steps daily
Sep 18, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them! (more…)
Sep 18, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom
Multiple NMC departments are being honored with kudos this week, including the Help Desk, IT, Systems and LAN Management; Enrollment Services, Student Life, and Residence Life; Maintenance Team and Grounds Crew. Read the reasons below!
Honoree’s Name: Help Desk, IT, Systems and LAN Management
Honoree’s Dept./Division: Learning Resources & Technologies
Reason for Kudos: Kudos to the Help Desk, IT, and Systems and LAN Management for their ongoing work in helping prepare our facilities for students and also helping students with anxiety regarding online learning and more. Thank you.
Honoree’s Name: Enrollment Services, Student Life, and Residence Life
Reason for Kudos: Kudos to all of Todd Neibauer’s group for the work done to welcome students and help orient them coming into this unusual fall session. The tables at the entrance doors with your greetings, information and materials were very helpful and welcoming for our students. Thank you.
Honoree’s Name: Maintenance Team
Honoree’s Dept./Division: Facilities
Reason for Kudos: Kudos to the entire Maintenance Team for all of your hard work over the summer and into the fall semester in getting West Hall ‘wired’ up and ready to go for the students’ return this Fall. Thanks also for the work done in the Osterlin building to get Tutoring up and running and the food pantry set up. We appreciate all that you do! Thank you…
Honoree’s Name: Grounds Crew
Honoree’s Dept./Division: Facilities
Reason for Kudos: Kudos to the entire Grounds crew for all of their hard work over the summer and into the fall semester in getting people moved into West Hall and moving people around in Osterlin as well as getting the Osterlin building spruced up and ready for the students’ return. We notice and appreciate your hard work. Thank you!
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. During our “Stay Home, Stay Safe” directive, please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
Sep 18, 2020 | Intercom, Student News
TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan Technological University and Northwestern Michigan College have formalized their intent to collaborate on Great Lakes research, with a focus on marine technology, freshwater science and professional development.
At a signing ceremony held Wednesday, Sept. 16, Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek and NMC President Nick Nissley noted their shared mission and complementary strengths in advancing Great Lakes research, as well as their mutual goal in collaborating to develop an internationally-recognized center of excellence in freshwater science and research.
Under a two-year Memorandum of Understanding, MTU and NMC agreed to:
- Cooperatively develop marine technology and operations plans
- Partner on freshwater science and research projects, and
- Collaborate on professional development projects that showcase Michigan Tech science and technology development and NMC workforce development programming
“I am especially grateful to Andrew Barnard at the Great Lakes Research Center along with Guy Meadows for their leadership and expertise,” Koubek said. “Our partnership with Northwestern Michigan College reiterates our mutual commitment to the protection and rehabilitation of the Great Lakes ecosystem and helps to ensure the economic longevity of our region and our state well into the future.”
“The collaboration is a great opportunity to re-imagine this important work for the future. Not only does it build upon the existing expertise of NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, led by Hans Van Sumeren, but amplifies it through the assets of a trusted partner, Michigan Technological University,” Nissley said. “Together we are accomplishing great things for our region.”
Wednesday’s signing builds on a history of collaboration between the public institutions that dates back nearly 30 years. Last year, the two institutions signed seven new articulation agreements that allow engineering students to complete their first two years of study at NMC and then transfer to Michigan Tech with junior status.
The new MOU also demonstrates Michigan Tech’s continued commitment to northern Michigan’s Grand Traverse region. In March 2019, the university announced a three-year Memorandum of Understanding designed to explore collaborative opportunities in the Grand Traverse area. The memorandum included exploration of educational opportunities and services with and through NMC.
The MOU signed Wednesday reflects MTU and NMC’s mutual intentions to develop and implement collaborative activities and is not intended to create binding or legal obligations on either party.
Release date: SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
For more information:
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019
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
Sep 18, 2020 | Intercom, Student News
TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan Technological University and Northwestern Michigan College have formalized their intent to collaborate on Great Lakes research, with a focus on marine technology, freshwater science and professional development.
At a signing ceremony held Wednesday, Sept. 16, Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek and NMC President Nick Nissley noted their shared mission and complementary strengths in advancing Great Lakes research, as well as their mutual goal in collaborating to develop an internationally-recognized center of excellence in freshwater science and research.
Under a two-year Memorandum of Understanding, MTU and NMC agreed to:
- Cooperatively develop marine technology and operations plans
- Partner on freshwater science and research projects, and
- Collaborate on professional development projects that showcase Michigan Tech science and technology development and NMC workforce development programming
“I am especially grateful to Andrew Barnard at the Great Lakes Research Center along with Guy Meadows for their leadership and expertise,” Koubek said. “Our partnership with Northwestern Michigan College reiterates our mutual commitment to the protection and rehabilitation of the Great Lakes ecosystem and helps to ensure the economic longevity of our region and our state well into the future.”
“The collaboration is a great opportunity to re-imagine this important work for the future. Not only does it build upon the existing expertise of NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, led by Hans Van Sumeren, but amplifies it through the assets of a trusted partner, Michigan Technological University,” Nissley said. “Together we are accomplishing great things for our region.”
Wednesday’s signing builds on a history of collaboration between the public institutions that dates back nearly 30 years. Last year, the two institutions signed seven new articulation agreements that allow engineering students to complete their first two years of study at NMC and then transfer to Michigan Tech with junior status.
The new MOU also demonstrates Michigan Tech’s continued commitment to northern Michigan’s Grand Traverse region. In March 2019, the university announced a three-year Memorandum of Understanding designed to explore collaborative opportunities in the Grand Traverse area. The memorandum included exploration of educational opportunities and services with and through NMC.
The MOU signed Wednesday reflects MTU and NMC’s mutual intentions to develop and implement collaborative activities and is not intended to create binding or legal obligations on either party.
Release date: SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
For more information:
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019
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
Sep 17, 2020 | Intercom, Student News
To mark Constitution Day (September 17, 2020), NMC Library has collected submissions of personal “appreciations” of real and imagined Constitutional amendments, or patches, that have been (or might be) stitched over the years to span holes in the founding document of our national government.
The word amendment finds its roots in the Latin emendare (e “out of”; menda “a fault”) and retains the spirit and connotations of the shortened Middle English variant, “mend” — to repair, restore or fix; to patch a hole in.
You can view the first round of appreciations in the library’s Patch✹Work video gallery. These appreciations represent the personal views and reflections of individual members of our college community, and should not be construed as institutional positions.
We’d love to add more perspectives over time, so we welcome more submissions even though the deadline for this Constitution Day has passed.
Sep 17, 2020 | Intercom
Snow by Orhan Pamuk (Turkish author; fiction) is our fall read, to be discussed over Zoom, Noon–1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19.
The first batch of copies has arrived at the library and is available at the subsidized price of $5/book. Please contact Nicco Pandolfi at npandolfi@nmc.edu if you’d like to get a copy (happy to send via interoffice mail, or arrange a curbside pickup at the new library – or if you are comfortable coming in, you can pick up a copy at the Library service desk).
The library now has Square, so you can pay your $5 remotely by credit or debit card if you prefer, but cash is also accepted. Please let Nicco know your preference when you request your copy.
Also of note, we will be joining forces with the NMC Green Team for our spring read, The Future We Choose, by Christina Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac (Costa Rican and British co-authors; non-fiction) an international partnerships and collaboration on climate change policy.
For a list of previously selected books, please visit the Global Literature Reading Group website.
Sep 16, 2020 | Intercom, Student News
September 16, 2020
This fall NMC celebrates the ten-year anniversary of its Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program, a foresighted curricular addition that has helped diversify northern Michigan’s economy.
In 2010, UAS, also known as drones, were chiefly a military tool. But Tony Sauerbrey, left, then NMC’s chief flight instructor, and others in the college’s traditional manned Aviation program spied opportunity ahead.
“We started looking at the future of aviation, all this drone technology coming along,” said Sauerbrey, now NMC UAS program manager (far right, above.) “It was a little ahead of its time.”
Years ahead, in fact. Three classes in 2010 grew into a degree with a UAS specialty by 2013. The FAA established its commercial license in 2016. Today, drones are used to inspect crop health and infrastructure integrity, photograph and sell real estate, conduct land surveys and monitor everything from shoreline erosion to invasive species. In the future, Amazon promises drone delivery to customer doorsteps within 30 minutes.
With that significant lead in training time and experience, NMC UAS students have a decided edge in the industry with nearly 200,000 license holders nationwide. (In fact, Amazon employs several.) In northwest Michigan, the industry is growing to occupy a larger niche.
Justin Bentsen, left and Pierce Thomas, right, during the filming of an Interactive Aerial product video. Both 2016 NMC grads, they are two of the company’s four founders.“NMC is the epicenter of all of the robotic and drone companies in the area, with an emphasis on aerial applications,” said Christian Smith, president of Interactive Aerial, a Traverse City company founded by four NMC alumni.
Interactive Aerial is also the 2020 winner of the Emerging Business award sponsored by Traverse Connect, the region’s economic development organization. President and CEO Warren Call said the company exemplifies the organization’s desire to diversify the economy away from traditional employers like tourism/hospitality and agriculture.
“Our mission is to grow family-sustaining careers,” Call said. “The best way to do that is to develop and grow sectors that are technical, high-skill, scientific.”
A year like 2020, where both hospitality and health care, another established regional employer, suffered shows the risk of not diversifying, he said.
“We could be a leader in industries and sectors that deal with remote environments. I would love to see us be known for that,” Call said.
Fittingly, NMC launched the UAS program by partnering with one of the region’s oldest industries. Fruit growers and college supporters Dorance and Julia Amos offered their land in Yuba as a training facility back in 2010.
“For us to have access to airspace that close, that really allowed for the program to develop,” Sauerbrey said.
NMC will continue to play a pivotal role as the industry matures. Locating the program in Engineering Technology, where students learn to build and repair the units, as well as to process and analyze the many different kinds of data generated, is key. In addition, students are taught safe operating practices, airspace, weather, regulations, aerodynamics, and even aeronautical decision making.
“Industry demands more now than simple piloting skills,” Smith said, who credits Sauerbrey for guiding the program to meet industry demands. He left NMC for the private sector in 2014 but returned in 2018.
“I was very passionate about the school and what had been started,” Sauerbrey said. He sees a “second coming” of the industry ahead, as drones begin to fly beyond line of sight and over people.
“The next ten years will be very interesting,” Sauerbrey said. “Drones are not a novelty anymore and have cemented themselves as an invaluable tool in many industries and will continue to do so.”
Specialization, like Interactive Aerial’s concentration in GPS-denied environments, like tanks and boilers, will continue. Another NMC-incubated drone company, Hybrid Robotics, is about five years behind Interactive Aerial. Smith looks to NMC for the new hires he needs, and eventually for entrepreneurial colleagues.
“I hope we can be an inspiration to the next group of kids sitting in that classroom,” Smith said. “I hope that can be a snowball that doesn’t stop.”
Call agrees, adding the remote/robotic industry can help the region attract more than retirees.
“We’ve been losing that core working age demographic. Part of the reason is they have career challenges,” he said. “Developing this industry, we see as a great way to address that goal.”
Read more about the program, courses, instructors and career opportunities at nmc.edu/uas.
Sep 15, 2020 | Intercom, Student Events
We can’t wait for everyone to see it in person, but until then, join us virtually at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18 as we celebrate the opening of NMC’s new West Hall Innovation Center. Highlights include a ribbon cutting ceremony and a video tour of the new 54,000-square-foot, multi-story library and flexible learning space.
The project has received extensive campus, community and legislative support since its 2016 inception and 2018 groundbreaking. Learn more about the project here and view a photo gallery here. And thank you to everyone who helped make it happen!
Sep 15, 2020 | Announcements & News, Intercom, Student News
The Traverse City Parking Patrol will begin issuing citations for parking violations at NMC on Monday, September 21. All NMC students and employees must have their 2020-2021 permits displayed by that date. If you haven’t received your permit, they’re available at the Campus Safety & Security office in the West Hall Innovation Center (#9 on the Main Campus Map).
The Traverse City Police Department has provided the following information on how to avoid parking tickets on campus by properly displaying your parking permit:
- Place your permit in the bottom left-hand corner of your windshield.
- Place your permit right side up. An upside-down permit will be considered invalid.
- Hang tags must be on the rear view mirror.
- Be sure that the expiration date on your permit can be seen from the outside of your vehicle. (Some vehicles have a tint on the edges of their windshield, so be sure your permit is not behind a tint, as it will make it difficult to see from the outside.) When it doubt, get out of your vehicle and be sure you can see the entire permit from the outside.
If you do get a ticket, payment can be made at the red drop-off payment box at the east end of the Cedar lot in front of the Health & Science Building on main campus. You can also mail the fine in to the city, or pay at the parking services office in the public parking garage at 303 E. State St. Payment information is also on each ticket.
If you have any questions about parking enforcement on campus, please call Campus Safety & Security at (231) 995-1111.
Sep 14, 2020 | Intercom, Student News
TRAVERSE CITY — In less than six months, Northwestern Michigan College has awarded more than $1 million in CARES Act emergency funding to students facing economic challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic.
705 students had received awards as of September 8, for an average award of $1,500 per student.
NMC received $2.1 million in federal CARES Act funds for emergency student relief and institutional support in late April, which must be spent by May 2021. At least 50% of that is dedicated to providing emergency aid to students for food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care expenses. It cannot be used to cover tuition expenses.
“I am so thankful for this fund,” said nursing student Makayla Kramer, 20, recipient of CARES Act funds and scholarships. “It has really lifted a lot of financial issues off of my shoulders during this time.”
“We are incredibly proud of the commitment and care for our students from across the college community and the work to get the help to those in need as quickly as possible” NMC President Nick Nissley said. “This emergency federal relief funding has been an important lifeline to help ensure the continuity of education for students facing tremendous adversity during these challenging times.”
Along with the federal funds, the NMC Foundation announced in May it is raising an additional $1 million to meet the needs of students and the college in response to the pandemic. These funds target three areas: student support including scholarships, food pantry access and flexible funding for emergency needs; academic support to increase capacity of key areas including the Writing & Reading Center and Educational Media Technologies; and program stabilization to ensure programs continue to operate for the benefit of students and the greater community.
The emergency student aid is part of $13.2 million in grants, loans and scholarships that NMC’s financial aid office has awarded to NMC students to date for the 2020/2021 school year, including $1.1 million in scholarships alone.
Release date: SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
For more information:
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director, NMC Public Relations, Marketing & Communications
(231) 995-1019
dfairbanks@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
Sep 14, 2020 | Intercom, Media Mentions
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media in the past two weeks. 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.
State rolls out scholarship for frontline workers
Record-Eagle, September 11 (more…)
Sep 14, 2020 | Hawk Owl Helpers and Heroes, Intercom
Thank you to the International Affairs Forum for reengaging with its audiences for a new season dedicated to Finding Solutions to Global Crises, and for reimagining how that engagement happens in the midst of a pandemic.
The IAF kicks off its 27th season this Wednesday at 5 p.m. with a timely discussion on Grappling With Pandemics: Global Public Health Policy In The 21st Century, hosted by global health expert Dr. Julio Frenk and moderated by IAF board member Kenneth Warner, former dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Anyone can register for the virtual event here and pay what they can to attend, and all are invited to submit questions for the discussion to iaf@nmc.edu.
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!
Sep 14, 2020 | Intercom, Student News
TRAVERSE CITY — In less than six months, Northwestern Michigan College has awarded more than $1 million in CARES Act emergency funding to students facing economic challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic.
705 students had received awards as of September 8, for an average award of $1,500 per student.
NMC received $2.1 million in federal CARES Act funds for emergency student relief and institutional support in late April, which must be spent by May 2021. At least 50% of that is dedicated to providing emergency aid to students for food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care expenses. It cannot be used to cover tuition expenses.
“I am so thankful for this fund,” said nursing student Makayla Kramer, 20, recipient of CARES Act funds and scholarships. “It has really lifted a lot of financial issues off of my shoulders during this time.”
“We are incredibly proud of the commitment and care for our students from across the college community and the work to get the help to those in need as quickly as possible” NMC President Nick Nissley said. “This emergency federal relief funding has been an important lifeline to help ensure the continuity of education for students facing tremendous adversity during these challenging times.”
Along with the federal funds, the NMC Foundation announced in May it is raising an additional $1 million to meet the needs of students and the college in response to the pandemic. These funds target three areas: student support including scholarships, food pantry access and flexible funding for emergency needs; academic support to increase capacity of key areas including the Writing & Reading Center and Educational Media Technologies; and program stabilization to ensure programs continue to operate for the benefit of students and the greater community.
The emergency student aid is part of $13.2 million in grants, loans and scholarships that NMC’s financial aid office has awarded to NMC students to date for the 2020/2021 school year, including $1.1 million in scholarships alone.
Release date: SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
For more information:
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director, NMC Public Relations, Marketing & Communications
(231) 995-1019
dfairbanks@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
Sep 11, 2020 | Intercom, Student News
NMC Admissions is holding open Zoom sessions for people to get their questions answered regarding the Futures for Frontliners program.
People can register for the sessions online and will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link after registering.
Here is the URL link to go directly to the web page to register: nmc.elluciancrmrecruit.com/Apply/Events/List?ID=9
Starting Monday, September 14, sessions will be available each week on the following days/times through the end of December:
- Monday evenings: 5–7 p.m.
- Wednesdays: 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
- Saturday mornings: 9:30–11 a.m.
- Sunday evenings: 6–8 p.m.
Sep 11, 2020 | Dennos News, Intercom, Student News
Welcome back to school from the Dennos Museum Store!
All NMC students and employees receive 20% OFF in-store and online during the month of September.
- Shop our new website with both curbside pickup and shipping options. Enter NMC20 at checkout.
- Shop in-store and show your ID.
- All NMC students and employees enjoy 20% off all regular priced merchandise.
The Dennos Museum Store is open during museum hours Tuesday-Thursday, 1-5 p.m. You can shop 24/7 when you visit our website: shop.dennosmuseum.org.
