Thank you all for everything you do in pursuit of “Keeping Learning at the Center.”
Notable Accomplishments provided by Faculty and Staff
This section recognizes the good work being done and linkages to the Strategic Directions (SD) and Institutional Effectiveness Criteria (IE) are provided where possible.
- The CIT Department pulled out all stops gathering together students, their families, and professors at the Spring Recognition Mixer held at the NMC Hagerty Center on Sunday, April 9, 2017. Guests were treated to a taco bar and presentations on virtual reality, the NMC Game Development student club, and the NMC Women and STEM group. Students who were on target to complete their AAS or stackable certificates were recognized individually and the afternoon was topped off with opportunities to try out virtual reality gear, an activity that had people lined up until closing. The event promoted a sense of community in the CIT program and pride in our impending graduates. Parents, spouses, and children; who had previously only known that their CIT family member was missing to school; were able to see firsthand the people, programs, and some of the technologies for which their loved ones trek off to NMC on a daily basis. (IE3, IE4)
- Two CIT program students and an alum were recently featured in a Record-Eagle article published April 9, 2017, about internships at Frontier Computer Corporation. Nolan Wurm stated that he had not yet completed his first year of classes at NMC when hired as an intern by Frontier. Collin Schlegal, who is in his second year of CIT study at NMC, was hired to a full time position after interning with Frontier. The article states that their supervisor is Greg Bright, an NMC alum who started as an intern at Frontier 14 years ago. CIT instructor Keith Weber points out in the article that CIT prepares students not just for jobs in technology but also in virtually any business, nonprofit, or government role one might care to pursue and that CIT graduates can land great jobs and pay their way through college. The article closes by mentioning the 6th Annual IT Career Fair that was held at the NMC Hagerty Center on April 17th. (IE2, IE4)
- BUS 231 students raised over $40,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters from the Big Little Hero Race, held on Saturday, April 15. This year’s race was in memory of Sonja Olshove (IE1, IE2, IE4)
- Alissia Lingaur, Communication’s adjunct instructor who teaches advanced creative writing this spring semester, will have her short story, “Everything that Matters”, published in MSU’S literary magazine, The Offbeat, this spring. (IE1)
- Full-time Communications faculty member, Bronwyn Jones, had an essay published in the February issue of Traverse Magazine entitled, “Chasing Wonder Woman”. (IE1)
- Nick Gerstner, adjunct instructor teaching Spanish this spring, has been accepted to Michigan Tech’s graduate program in rhetoric, theory, and culture. (IE1, IE5)
- Janet Lively and Melissa Sprenkle, both full-time Communications faculty, presented at the 4Cs conference March 15 through 17, held in Portland, Oregon. This year’s theme was “Cultivating Capacity, Creative Change.” (IE1, IE3)
- Congratulations to full-time faculty member, Nancy Parshall, whose chapbook in fiction, Proud Flesh, is the winner of this year’s Michigan Writer’s contest. Her chapbook will be published and released at a celebratory reading and reception on Sunday, June 11, 2017, 7:00 p.m., on the campus of the Interlochen Arts Academy. (IE1)
- NMC’s World Languages department, working with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, plan to offer two new language classes this year: Anishinaabemowin I and II. NMC’s curriculum committee recently approved the courses. (IE1, IE2)
- The NMC Financial Aid office presented to a group of seniors at West High School on “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” of student loans. We helped them understand the various options to help pay for college, applying for federal aid, and provided scholarship information. (IE1, IE2, IE3, IE4, IE5)
- The Advising Center provided “on-the-spot” advising and registration assistance to students during the Long Night Against Procrastination on April 20. With more than 120 students present, this was an excellent outreach opportunity to encourage students to create academic plans, apply for graduation, and register for summer and fall courses. (IE2, IE3)
- Advisors from the NMC Advising Center held after-hours Walk-In Advising sessions in East Hall to meet the needs of resident students and to encourage continued persistence at NMC. Students were advised using NMC’s degree-tracking tool, MAP (My Academic Plan), helped to create academic Plans within MAP for summer and fall semesters and beyond, as well as assisted with registration. (IE1, IE3)
- Advising Center staff partnered with Student Financial Services, as well as other areas on campus, to provide the “Geocache for College” event to NMC students. This event was led and planned by Katie Malone, financial aid specialist, in partnership with TBA Credit Union, to send students on a geocaching hunt through campus to learn about being financially responsible. (IE1, IE2)
- Kay Harris (EMT) partnered with Kristen Salathiel (CIE) to create the Sharing Showcase online video wall as a new addition to the Teaching@NMC website. The showcase page celebrates faculty and staff best practices in categories such as Active Learning & Student Engagement, Building Community, Course Development & Assessment, Service Learning, and Integrating Technology in the classroom. This is an ongoing project that will continue to add more videos in the future. https://teaching.nmc.edu/showcase/ (IE2, IE4)
- In 2016, the College became a member of the Education Advisor Board (EAB), an advocate for colleges to help the College discover peer-tested ideas from institutions of higher learning around the world. The Office of Research, Planning, & Effectiveness (ORPE) has helped to provide faculty and staff access to this service on the ORPE website under EAB. In addition, ORPE has hosted several EAB webinars at various times during the year and is a hub for EAB research forums and white papers. (IE1, IE3, IE5)
- Deirdre Mahoney, Bronwyn Jones, and John Zachman were recently honored at the 42nd Annual OPIE Awards, held at the Traverse City East Middle School. They were named Outstanding Person in Education by their peers for their exemplary contributions to public education. This award ceremony is sponsored each year by the Michigan and National Education Association. (IE1, IE2, IE3, IE4)
- Enrollment Services, in collaboration with Student Life, hosted 4 Evenings at NMC events, for the 2017 Commitment cohort. The events covered the following topics: Commitment Scholarship, paying for college, budgeting, and student life (and NMC resources). Over 65 students and their families attended the events over the past month. (IE1, IE2, IE3, IE4, IE5)
Activities of Note: Tim
- Nancy and I attended the NMC International Dinner on April 18 at the Hagerty Center. Hosted by the NMC International Club, the strolling dinner of international cuisine featured fine dining from various regions and cultures. International Entertainment was also provided from NMC students and staff, as well as Interlochen Center for the Arts, and local community members. This is always an enjoyable evening for us, with an opportunity to visit with many of our international students.
- Thank you to trustees Kennard Weaver, Chris Bott, Rachel Johnson, and Ross Childs who were able to join us for the NMC Foundation’s Scholarship Luncheon on April 21. The annual luncheon is a great opportunity for donors to meet scholarship recipients and to celebrate all that is made possible by the generosity of our donors.
- I traveled to New Orleans for the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Annual Convention where I participated in two presentations. MCCA President Michael Hansen and I presented on the growing community college baccalaureate movement and NMC’s journey to offering bachelor’s degrees. For another presentation I worked with Erica Orians, executive director for the Michigan Center for Student Success, and representatives from New Jersey to discuss guided pathways reforms to impact student success.
- On May 3 we hosted our second in a series of four legislative roundtable discussions this year. This Legislative Lunch and Learn was held in Lansing, which allowed us to welcome the participation of several non-northern Michigan legislators who serve on important House/Senate committees. This included Rep. Tom Cochran (D-Mason), Vice Chair of the Joint Capital Outlay Committee, and Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-Lawton), Vice Chair of the Senate Community College Appropriations and Capital Outlay Committees. Our northern Michigan legislators and/or their staffs were also present and we appreciate the continued support of Senators Booher and Schmidt and Representatives VanderWall, Rendon, Hoitenga, Inman, Cole and Chatfield. Topics at our Lunch and Learn included a discussion of our capital outlay project, the FY18 budget, the importance of funding the Michigan Transfer Network website overhaul, and the need for increased data sharing between community colleges and the State of Michigan.
- Our annual Retirement & Recognition Reception on April 27 celebrated 7 retirees and service anniversaries of 83 current NMC employees. Thank you to our trustees Kennard Weaver, Doug Bishop, and Rachel Johnson for joining us to extend our appreciation to NMC’s dedicated faculty and staff. Congratulations is also in order for Board Treasurer Doug Bishop on his 10 years of service on the Board of Trustees. Thank you, Doug, for your service and dedication.
- This past weekend was a busy one on campus with both NMC Honors Convocation and Commencement taking place. Over 50 students received awards at Honors Convocation while 240 students and 3 service dogs celebrated their hard work and achievements at Commencement on Saturday. Wei Cao and Hon. Kevin Elsenheimer were honored as Outstanding Alumni while the Imogene Wise Faculty Excellence Awards went to Health Occupations instructor Mac Beeker and Culinary Arts instructor Robert George. Over 750 students earned degrees this academic year. Thank you to trustees for their participation in these important events, ending Saturday evening with the GLMA Graduation Dinner held at Hagerty Center with cadets and their families. Congratulations NMC Class of 2017!
- I would like to pay tribute to Lake Superior State University President Thomas Pleger, who died unexpectedly last weekend while recovering from brain surgery. President Pleger was a great friend to community colleges and will be greatly missed. NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute has long had a productive and highly engaged collaboration with LSSU in support of students in our Freshwater Studies degree program. President Pleger and LSSU faculty have been very supportive in connecting programs and providing opportunities for our students to continue their academic careers through water based bachelor’s programs offered at LSSU. More recently, President Pleger engaged GLWSI’s marine technology program capabilities in support of subsurface structural surveys for the new Aquatic Research Laboratory and a new Center for Freshwater Research and Education at LSSU. President Pleger had toured our facilities and wanted to connect NMC capabilities with those at LSSU, he was visionary and highly supportive of connecting our institutions and our unique programs for the betterment of all. I have also had the pleasure to get to know President Pleger while serving with him on the Governor’s 21st Century Economy Commission. Please keep his both his personal and LSSU families in your thoughts during this difficult time.
Legislative Issues
State
Capital Outlay—West Hall 21st Century Innovation Center
We continue to move forward with design plans for a 21st Century Innovation Center on our main campus, in hopes that a construction authorization will be granted by the legislature in a FY18 Joint Capital Outlay bill. We have now submitted our design plans to the Department of Technology Management and Budget in Lansing and hope that, following a prompt review, they will recommend our project to the Joint Capital Outlay Committee. It is then up to the Committee to include the project in their final bill, which would hopefully pass in early summer. We will continue to advocate for this with our regional legislators and those legislators on the Joint Capital Outlay Committee.
State Budget
State budget deliberations continue to move forward in the state legislature with both the full House and Senate voting out their respective FY18 budgets. This includes the FY18 Community College budget which we have been tracking closely as to how it would affect NMC. Neither the full House nor the Senate changed their versions with final passage and we continue to be supportive of the Senate passed budget. As you may recall, the Senate version would increase total community college funding by 1% and concurs with the Governor’s recommendation to fund an overhaul of the Michigan Transfer Network website. In addition, the Senate version supports reinstatement of the Part Time Student Grant. The House version of the FY18 Community College budget does not include funding for the Transfer Network upgrades, the reinstatement of the Part Time grant, or any increase in overall funding.
Specifically, as it relates to NMC, the impacts of the Senate Budget would be as follows:
- Increase state funding for NMC by 2% or $190,000
- While a modest increase, this shows a statewide recognition of the strong return on investment presented by the community college business model
- For NMC this increased funding means additional investments in faculty, staff, equipment and facilities—all of which directly benefit our learners, allowing NMC to continue delivering needed occupational and technical degrees and certificates to meet the needs of industry and our State’s economy
- The inclusion of funding for upgrades to the Michigan Transfer Network will greatly benefit NMC learners who are currently faced with the daunting challenge of navigating a cumbersome outdated website
We expect that the House and Senate will announce conference committee members after the Revenue Estimating Conference on May 17. The conference committee will work through the differences between the House and Senate versions before sending a final budget bill back to each chamber for final passage and signature from the Governor in early June.
Additional state items
In addition to the budget and capital outlay bills we continue to track the movement of legislation that would allow for increased data sharing between the State and community colleges, legislation that would create strict limitations on speech-related polices at community colleges, and the State’s merit curriculum.
Federal
In addition to work on federal healthcare policy, Congress also passed a FY18 budget that funds the government for the remainder of the fiscal year (through the end of September 2017). In all, the budget was fairly positive for community colleges and included funding for not only the Pell Grant program, but also one of our advocacy priorities which was to re-instate the Year Round Pell Grant Program. Additional items of interest included a boost to the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The bill also includes language regarding student loan servicing, permitting students who are consolidating their federal loans to select their servicer and instructing the Department of Education to develop common metrics to help borrowers select their servicer.
Miscellaneous
- NMC BBQ is on Sunday, May 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- NMC Fellows Dinner honoring Ross & Brenda Biederman is Wednesday, June 7, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Hagerty Center.