 Bookstore, Dining Services Reviews Completed
Two independent consulting firms have completed reviews of the NMU Bookstore and Dining Services. Both recommend that operations housed in the University Center be moved to a more central location.
“There’s been a shift in density in terms of where people eat and where they spend most of their time,” said Andre Mallie (Dining Services). “What used to be the center of campus is no longer the center of campus. Both recommendations recognize this and suggest that we create a synergy between the bookstore and dining operations so that they feed off each other. Retail outlets need traffic to be successful and there would be more traffic in a different location.” Full Story
 Dining Services Wins National Awards
Northern has received two Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards. The nationwide competition honors the most successful ideas in menus, presentations, special-event planning and new dining concepts. It is sponsored by the National Association of College and University Food Services.
Among medium-sized schools, Northern won silver in the category of stand-alone, single-concept retail outlet for Temaki & Tea (pictured). Full Story
Board to Set Tuition Next Month
The NMU Board of Trustees is expected to set tuition at its next meeting July 19-20.
Recent legislative action has put increasing pressure on Michigan universities to focus on tuition and cost-saving measures to compensate for state cuts, delayed payments, unfunded mandates and rising operational expenses.
Under an agreement reached by Gov. Jennifer Granholm and lawmakers to address this year’s budget deficit, Northern will have to give back $806,000 of its previously allotted $1.3 million state funding increase for FY2007. Because the university’s budget cycle ends June 30, most of the money has already been spent. The state will also delay Northern’s August payment of $4.2 million until after the government’s new fiscal year begins in October. Full Story
 Whalen Named Peter White Scholar
Robert Whalen (English) is giving 17th century poetry the high-tech treatment through his project titled The Digital Temple. His goal is to transcribe and encode the English verse of devotional poet George Herbert into an electronic edition that can be thoroughly examined with sophisticated text analysis software. Whalen has received the 2007-08 NMU Peter White Scholar Award to help fund the project.
Full Story
New P-Card Program Effective July 1
Northern’s new procurement card program takes effect July 1. Cards are no longer being issued to a department; they are issued to individual employees at the discretion of the department head or account manager. There are no credit checks of cardholders’ personal finances and no link is provided to their personal financial records.
Billing will remain the same. Individuals will receive copies of their statements and one bill will go directly to accounts payable for prompt payment. Call Kaylie Anthos (Purchasing) at ext.1188 for more information.
 NMU 'Zambassadors' Return
Thirteen NMU students and two professors have returned from a field studies course in Zambia. They are eager to qualiify the experience as a science class, not a travel tour. The students conducted hands-on research of their own design in a rugged outdoor environment.
“They did not do exercises written for them—they did the scientific process themselves and spent eight weeks preparing for this,” said Alec Lindsay (Biology), who led the group with colleague Jackie Bird. Full Story
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“The value of a textbook is measured by degrees,” reads a bumper sticker posted in Paul Wright’s office. As the assistant manager of the NMU Bookstore, textbooks are his primary concern. 
