Employee Anniversaries – October
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them! (more…)
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them! (more…)
Kudos to Marguerite Cotto: Marguerite contributed a substantial amount of effort to translating text for Ellie Harold’s exhibition “Bird’s Fly In.” We appreciate her contribution to the arts and to this very special exhibition for our community.
Kudos to Todd Parker: On behalf of all of us at the Dennos Museum Center, a special thanks to Todd Parker for all that he did to help us connect “Away from Home: American Indian Boarding Schools” with our campus and community audiences. Todd went well beyond his usual job duties to help us reach out to GT Band and LTBB stakeholders to build a more meaningful conversation around this timely and important topic.
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!
Skylar Berry has been recently promoted to Financial Aid Office Assistant.
On Thursday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. EDT the International Affairs Forum at Northwestern Michigan College will connect remotely with Vanessa Acker, political unit chief of the U.S. State Department Office of Russian Affairs to discuss the current state of US-Russian relations and strategies going forward.

Tracy N. Busch, PhD
The event will be moderated in person by Tracy N. Busch, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Ferris State University. Dr. Busch holds a Doctorate of Russian and European History from Georgetown University.
This event will be held in person at the Dennos Museum Center Milliken Auditorium and via livestream. IAF events are free to current students and educators and open to the general public, $15 at the door. Capacity is limited to 170 people inside the auditorium. Masks are required of all attendees.
Register for the livestream here, suggested donation $10. Learn more at TCIAF.com.
Registration is open for the next session of the library’s new discussion series, Curiosities: Voyages Beyond the Stacks!
Curiosities is a ‘book club’ for those of us who are wary of a cover-to-cover commitment but still want to meet up and talk about interesting stuff with fellow lifelong learners. We welcome students, staff, faculty, and community participants!
Each session meets once a week for four consecutive weeks, discussing material ranging from podcast episodes to articles to mini-documentaries. Our next session, Food & Gratitude, will run from October 21 to November 11, meeting on Thursdays, noon–1 p.m. via Zoom.
Exploring the myriad ways that gratitude – or lack thereof – affects our experience of food, we’ll delve into the people, plants and systems that contribute to what we eat. What do we appreciate, and what is overlooked? We’ll ingest a range of sources, from economics to culture, and pair each week’s material with a suitable recipe.
Decorate your car, get in costume, and hand out candy! Prizes for best decorations!
Want to Trick or Treat with the kids? Bring the family Wednesday, Oct. 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. for this outdoor Trunk or Treat fun!
Located in the Cherry Parking Lot across from the West Hall Innovation Center.
Come watch a Native American Drum and Dance Performance with special guests the Nishinabe Singers, Monday, Oct. 11, 2–4 p.m. under the pines in front of the Osterlin Building. Public welcome. Bring a lawn chair.
Sponsored by NMC’s Native American Student Organization
Dissect, dedicate, and escape into your favorite media with the NMC Magazine this fall. We want all your obsessive creations—from visual art to cosplay to non/fiction. Whether it’s in admiration of shows, films, books, games, bands, content creators, or a piece of satire or analysis of fan culture, we invite you to dine, cope, and dissociate with the fellowship of other stans. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Submitted works can include art, design, illustration, photography, sculpture, cosplay, comics, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essay, recipes, and more.
Submission Deadline: Monday, November 1st
Submit to nmcmag@mail.nmc.edu. Visit nmc.edu/nmcmagazine to complete a submission form for each entry. Hard copies can be delivered to Fine Arts (attn: Caroline Schaefer-Hills) or Scholars Hall 214 (attn: Alissia Lingaur).
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!