Thursday, December 1, 2005

Provost Search

Co-Chairs Named

At Wednesday’s university forum, NMU President Les Wong announced the co-chairs for the provost search committee – Peter Goodrich (English) and Darlene Walch (AIS) – and invited nominations for the remaining 11 positions. The committee will work with a professional search firm to find a successor to Fred Joyal (Academic Affairs). The goal is to have a new provost in place by July 1.

Other topics covered at the forum included rising utility costs, an update on enrollment and retention, and an overview of new academic initiatives being explored.

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Reijula to Speak at Commencement

Peter Reijula, a 1976 NMU alumnus and President of Foodservice Business for McCain Foods USA Inc., will be the keynote speaker at the Dec. 17 commence-ment ceremony at the Superior Dome. He will also receive an honorary doctor of business degree.

A native of Finland, Reijula moved to the United States for his college education. He received a bachelor’s degree in general business from NMU, and a master's of business administration degree from Michigan State. Reijula joined McCain Foods in 1994.

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Students Reach Out to 'Sister School'

Like many people across the country, special education majors at Northern were motivated to take action in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They had discussed traditional fundraising measures as an academic service learning project for their ED 400 class, but decided a long-term commitment would fill the palpable void anticipated after the initial flurry of support to the region had tapered off.

The students voted to "adopt" a school for the entire academic year. After an online search of impacted facilities and some phone calls, they settled on Bayou Woods Elementary. It has an enrollment of 500 students in grades K-3 and is located in Slidell, La., about a half-hour west of New Orleans. Full Story

WNMU Premieres Mining Documentary

NMU faculty, staff and students assisted with the Public TV 13 documentary Copper, Iron and Gold: Upper Michigan’s Legacy, which covers the early days of mining in the Upper Peninsula. Broadcasts are scheduled at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, and noon on Monday, Dec. 12.

"We traveled from Copper Harbor to Ironwood to Sault Ste. Marie, capturing memories from communities built by mining," said Sonya Chrisman (WNMU-TV), the show’s producer.

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Old Books Make for a 'Better World'

Northern's Olson Library recently entered into a partnership with Better World Books (BWB), a business dedicated to getting more mileage out of used books by turning them into funding for non-profit literacy programs, and providing an environment-friendly recycling option. BWB was founded in 2001 by University of Notre Dame graduates heading a book drive.

SaraJane Tompkins (AIS) said that Olson Library is in the process of weeding out unusable books from its collection. Full Story

Holiday Celebration Dec. 8

NMU employees are invited to a campus holiday celebration from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, in the Great Lakes Rooms of the University Center. There will be a light buffet and a cash bar. Attendees are also invited to bring a canned good for donation to a local food pantry, or an unwrapped toy for the Mining Journal's Cheer Club.

Sonderegger Symposium Next Week

A full slate of presentations on the Upper Peninsula, given primarily by NMU faculty, will be featured during the Sonderegger Symposium V on Friday, Dec. 9. It is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the Charcoal Room of the University Center. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

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Sears Tower Demolished

The scale model of the Sears Tower in C.B. Hedgcock is pictured in the midst of its demolition Wednesday.

The event had been postponed by the snow day on campus, but many spectators filled the viewing area to watch four robots assist in leveling the structure.

Bryant Varney (AIS) collected the 15,000 Jenga blocks for use on his next project: Big Ben.

 An NMU employee profile.

After a busy day of lectures and note-taking, hungry students can be found at one of Northern's dining areas.

Renee Burns (Dining Services) is one of the people in charge of keeping them fed. Burns is a cook at the Marketplace, which features a hot food buffet and salad bar, as well as pizza, pasta, deli, Mongolian barbecue and grill stations.

"We prepare a lot of food for each meal because we feed a lot of kids," she said.

"Keeping the food bar stocked with the lunch menu while preparing dinner at the same time gets a little crazy, but we cooks work well together." Full Story

 

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Updated: December 1, 2005

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