Kudos

Nancy Durecki is always kind and courteous with all contact made by UC staff concerning facility requests. We frequently have short-notice issues, and Nancy handles all issues quickly and professionally. Recently she assisted with a University Center partner office carpet installation and the project went smoothly. The UC partner was very happy with the outcome. You always know when you call Nancy, you will get great service!

A BIG THANKS to all the staff and faculty who give of their time and energies to be present at and support New Student Orientation. We have implemented quite a few changes to the orientation process, all of which we believe are student-centered changes that will aid our students in getting off to a great start here at NMC. Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and understanding as we implement these changes, and for all you do on orientation days for our new students.

Kudos and a special thank you to Michelle Autry, Mary Beeker, Mark DeLonge, Steve Dix, Ann Geht, Sara Hartley, Lori Hodek, Ashley Horak, Kari Kahler, Fred Laughlin, Emily Magner, Jan Oliver, Shannon Owen, Michelle Poertner, Linda Racine, Karen Ruedinger, Kim Schultz, Ali Thornton, Tina Ulrich, Mitchell VanderKam and Meg Young for participating in the Administrative/Professional A-3 Work Party! It was a very successful night of creative thinking and brainstorming focused on specific A-3 projects across the Institution. We appreciate you for giving up time to make this project a success. Thank you! (Apologies if we missed anyone who attended.)

Great Work” to Tracy Russo, Jan Oliver, Lori Hodek, Mary Beeker, and Karen Ruedinger for their work in developing and implementing a successful A3 Work Party! Overall, 7 A3’s had cross-disciplinary teams work together to explore creative options for meeting their deliverables. Thanks everyone!

 

myPDCA Reminder

We are about 3 weeks out and we have about 50% completion in the Overview and Getting Started modules of myPDCA.  Hopefully, you are finding the tools you need to prepare for end of year reviews and goal-setting conversations for FY14.  All of the documents, worksheets, resources are available through the “myPDCA Process” link on the HR Intranet page.  If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lori Hodek at 5-1143.

Don’t forget, completed Annual Reviews for FY13 and Goals for FY14 are due June 30.  Please send a copy of your Annual Review form to Human Resources.

The FY14 goals will be entered into our new electronic tracking system called WingSpan; you will be receiving more information on WingSpan next week.

Jill Hinds commemoration, Saturday, June 15

Ray Paddock and daughters Anna and Comilla invite you to attend a joyful celebration commemorating the life of former NMC Visual Communications instructor, Jill Hinds.

Date & Time: Saturday, June 15 from 12 noon to 10 p.m.Location: 386 Neuman St., Traverse City (the Hinds-Paddock residence)

Attendees are encouraged to wear purple, Jill’s favorite color.

Food and drink will be provided – please bring your stories and photos to share!

Employee anniversaries

The following employees are celebrating anniversaries soon. Please join us in congratulating them!

 

Kirby Anderson            Coordinator/Instructor – Construction Technology                    3 years

Mary Beeker               Librarian                                                                                    10 years

Maureen Carlson        Publication Assistant – Extended Educational Services             21 years

Susan Denoyer            Office Manager – Maritime Academy                                        7 years

Darby Hiller-Freund    Executive Director – Research Planning & Effectiveness         11 years

Amy Klei                        Programmer/Analyst                                                                           10 years

Michelle Poertner       Program Manager – Tutorial Services                                                 26 years

Lisa Rollin                     Grant Coordinator – Research Services                                   27 years

Dennis Schultz             Technician – Video & Instructional Support Systems                16 years

Mary VanderKolk        Health Occupations Instructor                                                  28 years

Summer safety- Drowning doesn’t always look like drowing, remember to swim safely

With warmer weather finally arriving in Northern Michigan, many will be looking forward to beach days, sailing and more. But before you jump into the water to cool off, you should be educated on a major risk that may be involved.

Drowning is a very real threat for those who indulge in a water activity. It can often go unnoticed and victims can go unattended because of improper education on the signs of drowning. Both for your safety and the safety of those around you, we recommend this article from Slate.com which details the facts and the myths about what happens when someone is in danger of drowning. Have a safe summer!

 

Benefits corner

Need a personal business day off?  If you are a regular employee, you are entitled to 2 personal days off during your anniversary year, using time that you have accrued as sick leave.  Personal days are intended for completing business such as appointments with accountants, lawyers, etc.  See Policy D-725.00 for details.

Your anniversary year starts on the date you started as a regular employee with NMC, so if you converted from adjunct or supplemental, it will be the day in the new job and not your original hire date.  Unfortunately these days off do not specifically show under your Leave Balances in Self-Service because the time used is your sick leave, so you may need to call HR for a status on your personal leave balance.

If you are not sure what your anniversary date is or whether you have used your personal days for this year, you can contact Human Resources at 995-1362 or 995-1025.

Early Morning Computer Wake-Up, Important Update

As communicated on April 4, 2013, Systems and LAN Management (SLM) has activated a system to provide automated maintenance to Active Directory (AD) (***see definition below) computers during the early morning hours.  This automated process will wake up computers, apply system changes, and ready your computer for the start of the day.  These updates include:  Anti-virus, Windows, 3rd Party, and Applications Updates.

Update:  If your machine receives an update during the computer wake-up (which can happen any night), the system may need to reboot to finalize the update.  This could occur at any time of the night.  Therefore, it is of great importance to…

~ Save your work at the end of the day! ~

Systems and LAN Management will continue to update you with any information we have regarding this automated maintenance.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact the NMC Technology Help Desk at 231-995-3020 or https://www.nmc.edu/departments/help-desk/

*** To tell the difference between an AD computer and a Novell computer, remember this…AD computers require you to press CTRL + ALT + DEL upon start up.  Novell computers show a Red N in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.

Kudos

Kudos to Kim Goll and Gary Schettek of Grounds for the extra effort put in to the front appeal of the museum and general maintenance working with Kim Hanninen of the museum, in preparation for the Helen Milliken Memorial event on June 3 at the Dennos.

Sara Wilk took time out of her busy schedule to introduce TBA students to the Nursing Lab. Not only was she enthusiastic about speaking to the students, but she was also extremely informative. The students were very impressed with the nursing program at NMC. Sara is an amazing representative of the college and our Health Occupations. Being able to count on someone like Sara to have a smile on her face and ready to welcome students makes our campus a better place. Thank you Sara! The Welcome Center staff appreciates you!

Position vacancies

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.

Employee anniversaries

The following employees are celebrating anniversaries soon. Please join us in congratulating them!

 

Patty Cron-Huhta        Front-of-the-House Coordinator – GL Culinary Institute           10 years

Judy Druskovich          Admissions Specialist – Maritime Academy                               7 years

Eric Hines                      Radio Station Manager                                                           13 years

Josh Slabaugh              Desktop Computer Support Specialist – Intermediate               3 years

Canticum Novum presents three evenings of “Musical Pairs”

NMC’s newest choral ensemble, Canticum Novum, will present an evening of “Musical Pairs” at three locations June 8-15.

Meaning “new song,” Canticum Novum is under the director of Jeff Cobb. Each concert will feature the choral music of Verdi, Palestrina, Bach, Mozart, Brahms, Randall Thompson, Ward Swingle, and Eric Whitacre. The pieces are paired by theme, inspiration, or other common bond. The 40-member multigenerational ensemble is open by audition only.

Concert dates are:

  • Saturday, June 8,  7:30 p.m., Elk Rapids High School, Peterman Auditorium
  • Friday, June 14, 7:30 p.m. , Milliken Auditorium
  • Saturday, June 15, 7:30 p.m., Suttons Bay Congregational Church

Tickets for all shows are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors (ages 62 and older) and children (ages 12 and younger). Tickets are available at the door. Call (231) 995-1338 for more information.

Peer Guides group seeks new members to be peer guides for new hires and staff transitions

Do you remember life as a new employee?

Could you help a new employee adjust to working at NMC?

If yes, we need you!

We are looking for experienced NMC employees to serve as Peer Guides for our new hires. Guides provide support to newly hired faculty and staff members during their transition to NMC, befriending them, answering questions and introducing them to colleagues from outside their immediate work area.

If serving as a Peer Guide sounds rewarding, please review the website here which outlines the program and includes an informational form to complete. Please return the completed form to any member of the Peer Guide Committee or to the Human Resources Department. Thank you.

 

The PEER GUIDE COMMITTEE-

Cheri Garvin, Kay Hall, Lori Hodek, Shayrrl McCready, Jan Oliver, Shannon Owen, Bonnie Shumaker and Alice Sluss