NMC Board of Trustees approves balanced budget, sets tuition and fees for 2017-18

Jun 27, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — During its regular monthly meeting, the Board of Trustees for Northwestern Michigan College unanimously approved a balanced budget and set tuition rates and fees for the fall 2017 and spring/summer 2018 semesters.

General tuition rates for residents will not change for in-district students, leaving the rate at $103.70 per contact hour. The Board approved changes to the general fee, which supports technology and facility infrastructure upgrades and student activities. In-district students will now pay a total of $30.50 in fees per contact hour. The Board eliminated the student registration and application fee. NMC’s in-district tuition is the 13th lowest of the state’s community colleges and is 75 percent lower than the average public universities in Michigan.

“Northwestern Michigan College is committed to providing our learners with world class educational opportunities, while limiting barriers, including affordability,” said Timothy J. Nelson, president, Northwestern Michigan College. “We are proud of the work we have done to limit the financial impact on learners by remaining agile and responsive in a rapidly changing environment. We will have more work ahead of us, but are dedicated to keeping NMC as the top choice for our learners.”

College leaders have been working to make the institution more efficient and lower costs, including reducing 16 positions through restructuring in the last four years and offering a voluntary separation plan this year. Those efforts combined with support from donors, lawmakers and community members are helping the college achieve its goals.

For 2017-2018, NMC’s revenue will be 21 percent from state aid, 22 percent from local property tax, 52 percent from tuition and fees and four percent from other sources.

Northwestern Michigan College general rate tuition categories

Release Date: June 27, 2017

For More Information:

Vicki Cook
Vice President for Finance and Administration
vcook@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1144

Janie McNabb chosen to fill NMC Trustee vacancy

Jun 27, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College’s Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Janie McNabb, an alumna and strategic policy consultant, to fill a vacant trustee slot on Monday. She will serve through the November 2018 election.

“I am interested in serving as a trustee in order to support the college’s role in responding to the needs of the economy, promoting lifelong learning, and providing cultural experiences to the community,” McNabb said in her application materials. “I believe that my experiences in workforce development, strategic planning, and organizational leadership will be of value to the board of trustees and to the administration. As both a former student of the college and a lifelong advocate for academic and professional training, I would consider it an honor to participate in this level of leadership for the organization.”

She has previously partnered with the college to provide job training in high-demand industries, develop programs based on employer demand and align skilled trades grants with regional planning through her work as Chief Operating Officer at Networks Northwest. She views NMC as a “critical partner to achieving our common goal of developing a quality workforce.”

McNabb attended NMC for two years before transferring to Grand Valley State University. She returned to NMC’s University Center to earn her master’s degree through Spring Arbor University.

Trustees thanked all the applicants and noted the high caliber of the applicant pool. Nine individuals applied to fill the vacancy created by Marilyn Gordon Dresser’s resignation June 1, 2017. Per Michigan law, McNabb will serve until the next election, November 2018, when voters will determine who will fill the remainder of Marilyn Gordon Dresser’s term, which expires December 31, 2020. McNabb will be eligible to run for election for that two-year term or any other open trustee term on the ballot in November 2018.

Release Date: June 27, 2017

For More Information:

Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019

Editor’s Note: High resolution photo available upon request.

NMC earns final approval for 21st Century Innovation Center from Michigan Legislature

Jun 22, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College will begin construction in 2018 on its new multi-million-dollar 21st Century Innovation Center after receiving final funding approval today in the Michigan legislature’s FY18 Omnibus Budget, which now goes to Governor Snyder for his signature.

Once complete, the center will combine state investments of more than seven million dollars for important renovations and modernizations of the 50-year-old West Hall with NMC-funded investments of more than seven million dollars for a new multi-story library and learning space.

“We are extremely thankful for the support that our state legislative leaders have shown NMC and the 21st Century Innovation Center,” said Timothy J. Nelson, President of Northwestern Michigan College. “Especially the support of Representative Inman and Senator Booher who both serve on the Joint Capital Outlay Committee and Senator Schmidt who has been a strong supporter in the Senate.”

The approved project received input from faculty and staff, including 270 comments during a campus-wide opening conference and 17 user group workshops led by architectural firm Stantec. The new center will encompass an approximately 54,000-square-foot facility, including both state and NMC self-funding portions. It will incorporate innovative and transformative learning environments, a new library and multiple academic and simulation spaces.

“As a result of extensive campus and community input, our program planning team agreed that for the 21st Century Innovation Center to be a success it must complement all NMC facilities, replicate none; be agile in space and technology to meet changing learning needs and encourage users to be curious, experiment, take thoughtful risks and create,” said Nelson. “As a result, once complete, this project will not only help meet our strategic direction of ensuring that NMC learners are prepared for success in a global society and economy, but also will help to enhance our ability to deliver learning through a networked workforce.”

Since 2005, among Michigan’s 28 community colleges, NMC ranks 23rd in capital outlay appropriations, having received only $650,000 in state investment. In addition, the project was one of only five community college projects to receive construction approval by the House and Senate Joint Capital Outlay Committee this year. President Nelson says, “Creating this centralized space on campus is critical for the new community college model of providing competency-based, content-based knowledge application in the pursuit of social, economic and talent development. Over the last six years, we have invested significant time and effort in requesting funding for this project. We are pleased our legislators have recognized our dedication and commitment and are helping to make this investment a reality, for our learners now and into the future.”

“Among my top priorities as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee and vice-chair of the Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee on Appropriations was to fight for this capital outlay funding for Northwestern Michigan College,” said State Representative Larry Inman, 104th district, Grand Traverse County. “I am so pleased as a past NMC Outstanding Alumnus of the Year, along with Senator Schmidt and Senator Booher, that we were able to bring this project across the finish line, among the many other capital outlay projects that were considered. This is a huge win for NMC and students in our area, and to attract more students to NMC, having one of the most innovative community college campuses and learning centers in the state. I am so proud I was part of the team to get this project awarded to NMC.”

“As a longstanding supporter of Northwestern Michigan College, I am very pleased to have played a role in helping to secure resources for this significant project,” said State Senator Wayne Schmidt, who represents the 37th State Senate District in Northern Michigan. “This investment by the state will not only benefit learners in my community, but will also support innovative spaces for learners from around the state and world who are attracted to NMC for its diverse educational opportunities. I am proud of NMC for their work on this and am glad I was able to push this project across the finish line.”

State Senator Darwin Booher, representing the 35th State Senate District, said, “The 21st Century Innovation Center project expands the educational opportunities that NMC offers and helps continue to make NMC a leader in higher education in our region. As senate chair of the Capital Outlay Subcommittee, I have reviewed all of the projects submitted and know that this is one of the best projects for equipping people for the jobs of tomorrow.”

Release Date: June 22, 2017

For more information:

Vicki Cook
Vice President of Finance and Administration
vcook@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1144

Open Recreation Basketball Summer Hours and Fees

Jun 20, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

Summer Hours:

• Mondays and Wednesdays – Noon to 2 p.m.
• Tuesdays and Thursdays – 8 to 10 p.m.

Fees:

• CURRENT NMC Students and Employees = Free
• Adult Community Members = $6.00/play
• Punch card available = $4.00/play

Thank you from NMC’s Smart Commute team!

Jun 12, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

NMC had a great showing for Traverse City’s 23rd Annual Smart Commute Week—a record 141 commuters enjoyed breakfast in the beautiful Health & Science Building atrium!

A special thanks to the Wellness Team for providing day-of volunteers as well as sponsoring Sodexo’s beautifully catered breakfast. It was a great success! Thanks, too, to The Dennos and NMC Extended Education for generously donating prizes for Friday’s finale celebration at Oryana.

NMC’s 17-member team included Alan Beer, Ann Geht, Brian Sweeney, Cari Noga, Craig Mulder, Dave Weaver, Dennis Schultz, Hillary Voight, Jason Dake, Judy Druskovich, Lisa Molmen, Lynn Geiger, Mary Beeker, Meg Young, Michele Howard (team captain), Rochelle Hammontree and Shayrrl McCready.

Thanks to TART Trails, and the Smart Commute planning committee, for organizing another great week of events and congratulations to all of the teams involved!

For a complete list of team rankings, visit traversetrails.org/smart-commute/team-rankings. Hope to see you next year!

Where Great Powers Meet: America and China in Asia

Jun 10, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY —  Dr. David Shambaugh,  director of the China Policy Program at George Washington University will speak at a June 28 International Affairs Forum global hot spot event on the current state of U.S.-China relations.

Shambaugh opened a 2014 conference convened by IAF, bringing together 40 experts on foreign policy, business, education, art and culture to debate what China’s emergence would mean for northern Michigan. Since then, China’s economic, military and political clout has grown enormously. Shambaugh has just returned from an extended study tour of key Asian countries and will discuss how the continuing growth of China’s influence is shifting the dynamics of U.S. and China relations. 

In addition,  NMC President Tim Nelson will provide an update on connections between northern Michigan and China. What has grown? What has withered? And what are the “next big things” between our region and Asia. 

The presentation is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Hagerty Center. Reception begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 for IAF members and $20 for non-members and available at MyNorthTickets.com.

NMC student wins Oakton Community College Short Play Contest

Jun 8, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

NMC student Taylor McLain’s ten-page one-act play Evilla recently was one of the 5 winning submissions to Oakton Community College’s Playwriting Festival: Play On 2017, in Des Plaine, Ill. The play is currently in production and will be performed July 24, 25 and 26. Taylor hopes to be in attendance and will receive a $200 award at that time. He created the play to fit the requirements for a fractured fairy tale in ENG 210.

Biederman family commits $1 million to NMC

Jun 8, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — The Les and Anne Biederman Foundation and Ross and Brenda Biederman have announced a $1 million gift commitment to Northwestern Michigan College.

The Biederman Foundation’s $500,000 gift, the largest single grant in its history, will support NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, helping ensure that students are prepared for future careers in water-related fields, train industry professionals, and cultivate generations of Great Lakes stewards.

The balance of the gift includes $250,000 toward scholarships for accounting, business, nursing, and maritime students from the foundation, and a $250,000 personal gift from Ross and Brenda Biederman to the NMC Annual Fund, providing unrestricted support to meet the college’s greatest needs. The gift was announced Wednesday at the 2017 NMC Fellows dinner, where the Biedermans were presented with NMC’s highest honor, in recognition of their decades of philanthropy and support of the college.

“Making the gift was an easy decision,” said Ross Biederman. “The college is important to our whole community.”

President Timothy J. Nelson said, “The Biedermans have always been supportive of what’s going on here at the college and in the community, especially when it comes to water. We are grateful for this gift and all that it will make possible for NMC and our students.”

The Biederman family’s connection to Northwestern Michigan College dates back to Ross Biederman’s father Les, a leader in the effort to found the college in 1951 until his retirement from the Board of Trustees in 1981.

A 1959 NMC alumnus, Ross Biederman has continued that support both with his wife Brenda and through the family’s namesake foundation. The Biederman family has helped establish a culture of generosity in the Grand Traverse region—particularly in support of natural resources and higher education. The Water Studies portion of the gift combines those passions. In recognition, the Water Studies labs, both inside the Great Lakes Campus and aboard the research vessel Northwestern, will be named for the Biederman Family Foundation.

Release date: June 8, 2017

For more information:

Rebecca Teahen
NMC Foundation
(231) 995-1855
rteahen@nmc.edu

Success Story: NMC instructors will debut courses in China

Jun 7, 2017 | Intercom, Student News

June 7, 2017

NMC officials tour the Yellow River Conservancy Technical Institute campus in 2014NMC instructors will pioneer NMC courses in Chinese classrooms next week, the culmination of a partnership five years in the making.

They’ll teach two Water Studies courses and two basic construction courses to about 40 students at the Yellow River Conservancy Technical Institute in Kaifeng, China. The two-week courses are the first in a sequence to be completed later this year. Scott Swan and Brian Sweeney will teach in English with interpreter support.

“We are delivering our courses there for the ability to augment their training with our coursework,” said Hans Van Sumeren, director of NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, who’s traveled to China twice since 2015 as NMC has nurtured the partnership with the three-year technical school. Van Sumeren and Construction Technology director Dan Goodchild will round out the NMC contingent to plan delivery of the second part of the sequence, set for late fall or early winter.

“They’re very well positioned to do the terrestrial mapping,” Van Sumeren said. “We bring the competencies needed to work in and under the water.”

The June courses are Blueprint Reading, basic carpentry, Underwater Acoustics and Sonar and Great Lakes Research Technologies. Besides connecting with a school with a growing enrollment – Yellow River’s surveying program enrolls about 1,800 students – Van Sumeren said the partnership could afford NMC students both a study abroad opportunity and a chance to apply their coursework in a completely different geographic environment.

China’s large, fast-flowing rivers flood frequently and catastrophically, Van Sumeren said. The Yellow River alone has flooded 1,500 times in last 2,500 years, wiping out millions of people. NMC students could study what the Chinese have done to turn floodplains into protected cities.

“Those are things we can’t show students in Grand Traverse Bay or other Great Lakes waters,” Van Sumeren said.

Both instructors, who are making their first trip to China, said they’re looking forward to the teaching experience.

“It’s going to be incredibly different,” Sweeney said. “I thought it’d be a fun adventure.”

“It’s an opportunity that not only can further the goals of the college, but for me to expand as an instructor, branch out beyond the comfort zone,” Swan said.

Read more about the NMC-Yellow River partnership’s development »