Thank you all for everything you do in pursuit of “Keeping Learning at the Center.”
Activities of Note: Faculty and Staff
This section recognizes the good work being done at NMC. Linkages to the Strategic Agenda, Strategic Directions and Goals will be made where possible.
- Information Technology Services and Technology Support Services have streamlined the process for requesting and approving security in our enterprise systems such as Banner. These changes will take less time for each request and improve the turnaround time, so employees will have access to the tools they need sooner, while ensuring the security of our systems. (Financial Thriveability)
- The History Department presented this year’s Constitution Day event. Jim Press discussed the historical origins of the Electoral College and its impact on American History. Brian McCall presented on the conflict between civil liberties and treason within the Anti-War movement in the North during the Civil War. Tom Gordon discussed the three constitutional amendments that resulted from the Civil War and their impact on our nation today. The presentations were facilitated by Mindy Morton. There were several questions from the audience that numbered about 40 students and faculty. (SD1)
- The Talent AQIP action project is evolving from phase II to phase III. Talent Phase III: Implementing the Talent Management Model, was recently declared as active to AQIP. Under the leadership of Linda Racine, the Talent III project will focus on accelerating leadership development, implementing the new Employee Performance PDCA process, and aligning the workforce planning and recruitment/selection processes with the leadership competency model. (SD3)
- This September NMC launched two new AQIP Action Projects aimed at improving learner success. Redesigning the Learning Experience action project team, led by Jim Press and Keith Overbaugh, will focus on improvements in several areas, including increased active learning, reduced absenteeism, and improving course completion and success in 100-level courses. The second action project, Enhancing Developmental Education with Judy Chu and Mark Nelson as team leaders, will focus on improving course completion and success rates in developmental math and English courses. (SD1)
- The PR and Marketing booth at Pine Palooza was a success with more than 360 attendees casting votes for a potential NMC mascot. The winner was the Northern Hawk Owl with 157, the Black Squirrel was a distant second at 77, with the Pine Marten (68) and Bison (59) bringing up the rear. This is the first step in getting feedback from the campus community. The next steps will include a Student News, Intercom and Facebook polls. (SD4)
- Andy Dolan, Executive Director of Public Relations and Marketing, has been selected to participate in the Chamber’s Leadership Grand Traverse program. (SD3)
- A very successful Business After Hours took place Wednesday, September 19. Well over 150 participants gathered at the Parsons-Stulen Hall of Technology visiting booths staffed by the organizations that form the Regional Entrepreneurial Collaborative (SCORE, SBTDC, MIWorks, Chamber, DDA, EDC), plus NMC program affiliates to REC (MMTC, EES, Tech, training). (SD3)
Activities of Note: Tim
Whew! It’s been a busy couple of weeks!
I met with Brian Klump and our group of Dow retirees to discuss our strategic efforts and status. We do this on a quarterly basis and I find it helpful to receive feedback from people who are not immersed in the day to day operations of the college.
- Ross Childs and I attended a Regional Leadership Forum hosted by the Chamber on September 25. The speaker was Doug Rothwell, CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. He reviewed the BLM Turnaround Plan which you can view online. As I have in the past with this group, I questioned the lack of any focus on community colleges as part of their higher education platform. I’m crafting a letter to their board on this issue and will share it with you when I’m finished.
- The annual Lobdell Culinary Scholarship Dinner, on September 26, to benefit the Culinary Program was well attended. Terry and Wayne Lobdell continue to be great supporters of the program and this is always an enjoyable evening. As you can imagine, the food was outstanding!
- I met with the TEDx Advisory Council as they plan for next year’s event that will take place on May 13, 2013. Mark your calendars. It looks to be another great day.
- Hettie Molvang was honored as our new inductee as a Fellow of Northwestern Michigan College on the evening of September 27 at Dennos Museum. Bill Myers, Cheryl Follette, and Ross Childs joined me, along with a tremendous turnout of family and friends to help Hettie celebrate this momentous occasion. We had many compliments on the wonderful event, the outstanding location (Dennos) and the delicious meal provided by our Hagerty Center staff. Thanks to all who attended and made this a meaningful night.
- I attended the funeral of Barbara Thompson, a generous, long time donor to several NMC initiatives who passed away on September 26.
- Ross and Helen Childs joined me in attending the Dennos Museum opening of the Miao Xiaochun and Marshall Fredericks Sculpture exhibitions, followed by the and Hanggai concert, from Beijing, the evening of September 29. Mr. Yao, our partner from China, was in attendance with his wife and two sons. It was a great opportunity to continue our conversations.
- I had a good meeting with TCAPS Superintendent Steve Cousins, this past Tuesday, to continue our conversations on linking the TCAPS and NMC strategic plans. At this juncture, we are considering three areas of focus. These are aligning our english and mathematics curriculums, working to design a STEM related early college, and investigating the linkage of NMC online programming with TCAPS Global (their online programming), tilting it towards STEM as well. In all these areas, student success and efficient use of regional assets are drivers.
- Ross and I attended the Bridging to Opportunity Luncheon Thursday, October 4, with the Consul General of Canada, Roy Norton, to participate in a discussion on the CanadaMichigan trade relationship and address Canada’s interactions with northwest Michigan. I will send you a fact sheet provided by the Consul General.• Ross and I attended the MCCA Fall Board of Directors Meeting at Delta College in Bay City Thursday and Friday, October 4-5. It was a well-run meeting and we will provide an update at the next Board meeting.
- I had my first periodic phone conversation with Kathy Cole, our Foundation and Resource Development Consultant. I remain pleased with the work she is doing and the approach she is taking. Her main report will be delivered in December.
- I held an all employee forum on Wednesday, October 3 to review the process and reasons for our classification and compensation review strategic goal. The forum was well attended and was recorded for those who could not attend. Here is a link to the PowerPoint and recording of the session https://intranet.nmc.edu/compensation.
- Nancy and I had a wonderful lunch with Dudley and Barb Smith. The Smiths have been and continue to be great supporters of NMC and our community as a whole.
Legislative Issues
- The legislature is now out of session until after the election. We continue to work on the priorities of the MCCA and NMC. I will report out if there are any new developments. We still are hopeful that a number of our issues will come to resolution in the post-election session.
Miscellaneous
- The Boardman River flood from this past weekend did some minor damage to the Appel property. We are drying it out and contacting the county. I’ll let you know if anything else needs to be done.
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