Achievements
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has found that “NMU gives the biggest bang for the tuition buck among all publicly funded Michigan universities.” The center weighed various factors in calculating a tuition cost per degree and NMU proved most affordable. Read the full commentary here.
NMU is ranked 50th nationwide for its online master's degree in public administration (MPA), according to topmanagementdegrees.com. The data for the ranking was derived from the most recent and publicly available sources, including The Princeton Review, US News and World Report. the National Center for Education and Statistics and PayScale.
Neil Russell (Physics) wrote a paper titled "Finsler-like structures from Lorentz-breaking classical particles" that was published in Physical Review. The paper presented research completed by Russell during his recent sabbatical, spent visiting the Indiana University Center for Spacetime Symmetries in Bloomington. This theoretical work presents new mathematical functions that describe particles with tiny unconventional features. The search for minuscule effects like these, which have deep implications for the theory of relativity, is a major current effort in experimental physics.
Marek Haltof (English) delivered three invited 60-minute presentations in Poland. At the University of Gdansk, he presented “Building a Nation: Australian New Wave Cinema in the 1970.” He delivered another lecture, “Polish Feature Film 1944–1964 and the Holocaust,” at the University of Silesia in Katowice. The third presentation, titled “Representation of the Holocaust in Post-war Polish Cinema,” was at the state archive – Książnica Cieszyńska – in Cieszyn, his hometown. Haltof also has published the second edition of his Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield). This is a revised, updated and expanded version of his 2007 book (50 new entries, 100 pages added). It presents an extensive factual survey of Polish film through a chronology, introductory essay, appendixes and bibliography. With more than 300 cross-referenced dictionary entries on films, directors, actors, producers, and film institutions, a balanced picture of the richness of Polish cinema is presented. For more information, click here.
Neil Cumberlidge (Biology) recently authored two peer-reviewed publications on research projects that he completed with former NMU biology students Kirstin Meyer and Jennifer Koppin. Both women, now in graduate school, contributed to the writing of the manuscript. Meyer also prepared photographs while Koppin made the zoological illustrations of the new species used in the publication. The first co-authored article reports on the discovery of a new genus and species of Madagascan freshwater crab that came to light during a research visit by Cumberlidge and Meyer to examine the collection at the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2010. The specimens were later brought to NMU on loan for further analysis. The article is titled "A new genus and species of freshwater crab from Madagascar (Decapoda, Brachyura, Potamoidea, Potamonautidae)" and appeared in the international journal Zootaxa. The second co-authored article reports on the discovery of another new species of Madagascan freshwater crab that was collected by German scientists during a recent expedition to that island. The crabs were sent to Cumberlidge at NMU for identification by his German colleague Dr. Sebastian Klaus (also a co-author), and some of the specimens proved to belong to a species that was new to science. The article is titled "New collections of freshwater crabs from northern Madagascar, with the description of a new species of Foza Reed & Cumberlidge, 2006 (Brachyura, Potamonautidae)" and appeared in the international publication European Journal of Taxonomy. The new species described in the latter work was named Foza manonae in honor of Cumberlidge's late wife and NMU professor, Louise Manon Bourgault. This is the third species of crab that Cumberlidge has named to honor his wife.
Chuck Ganzert (CAPS) and retirees Paul Duby and Dave Bonsall wrote a chapter published in New Directions for Institutional Research: Assessing Civic Engagement. Their chapter was titled "Creating an Organizational Framework for Assessment of Civic Engagement." Much of the article describes how they grew and began tracking/assessing Academic Service Learning and the development of Superior Edge as an “umbrella” program for civic engagement. The Student Leader Fellowship Program is also referenced as the starting point for NMU's civic engagement initiatives.
Breanne Kanak, an art education major (painting), won the NMU student Technology Innovation Award for her project, “Vicissitudes.” Her artist statement reads: “Vicissitudes are natural changes or mutations, which are usually out of the realm of human control or prediction. Cancers, diseases, broken bones, deterioration, and conversely growth and healing, can all be considered vicissitudes. In the past few years, a number of my family members have had several serious health issues. The structures I have designed loosely reference the body parts and systems being addressed in the aforementioned illnesses. Each group of four drawings operates as a series and represents a different person or people, condition or event. I draw directly onto standard sketchbook paper using Micron pens of varying sizes. The biggest challenge in this process is learning to accept whatever mistakes are made or directions are taken. The 3D prints of the drawings present a new view of the existing lines on the paper and create a more accurate sense of scale.”
The Student Leadership Fellowship Program (SLFP) at NMU has received a $7,000 program support grant from the C. Charles Jackson Foundation. Undergraduate students Kara Jacoboni and Savannah Mallo, along with graduate students Andrea Knudson and Geneva Martin, wrote much of the grant application with help from Hannah Lewis and Jon Barch (Center for Student Enrichment). For more than 20 years, SLFP has been facilitating leadership growth and character development in college students through a comprehensive two-year program that includes an annual fall retreat, fellowship meetings, mentorships, workshops and community internship projects. The grant period began in March and ends in June.