CAMPUS

News for NMU Employees

Friday, May 3, 2013

Full screen previewBoard Approves Housing, Dining Rates

The NMU Board of Trustees has approved 2013-14 housing and dining rates. The annual cost of a standard double-occupancy room and the “constant meal pass” option will be $8,488, an increase of 3.5 percent over last year. NMU ranks 11th among the state’s public universities for its combined housing and dining rate, excluding fees that vary among institutions.

 

The board also authorized the university to continue in 2013-14 at a budget level no greater than the current year—with the exception of increases required by negotiated union contracts—until the state’s appropriation is determined and a new general fund budget is approved. For these and other highlights from today's meeting, read the Full Story.

 

Departments Change Names, Structure

The NMU Board of Trustees today agreed that the School of Education be renamed the School of Education, Leadership and Public Service. It also approved recommendations to create the School of Clinical Sciences and the School of Health and Human Performance. Also, the Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology department will be divided as follows: Sociology and Anthropology will remain together and report to the College of Arts and Sciences; Social Work will be a separate department reporting to the College of Professional Studies. All revisions are effective July 1.

 

Groundbreaking Held for New JXJ

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for the new John X. Jamrich Hall, which is being built between C.B. Hedgcock and the Learning Resources Center. Participants included (from left) Amber Lopota, ASNMU student body president; David Voss Jr., Miron Construction president; Larry Pagel, Faculty Senate chair; Luke Oberdorfer, NMU graduate student; Gene Carroll, Neumann Smith Architecture partner; L. Garnet Lewis, NMU Board of Trustees chair; and NMU President David Haynes. President Emeritus John X. Jamrich was able to watch the groundbreaking from Florida via Skype.

The facility will meet LEED certification standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council and replace the existing Jamrich Hall, where more than 40 percent of university classes are held. The new building will house classrooms and five academic offices: criminal justice, English, sociology and anthropology, social work and math/computer science. It is scheduled to open in fall 2014.

 

Three Earn Distinguished Faculty Awards

 

Recipients of the 2013 Distinguished Faculty Award for their university and professional contributions are Timothy Compton (Modern Languages and Literatures), Alec Lindsay (Biology) and Suzanne Standerford (Education). They were honored at a reception April 17 and will be part of the platform party at Saturday's commencement. Full Story

 

Reassigned Time Awards, Faculty Research Grants Announced

 

The Faculty Grants Committee has awarded faculty members reassigned time and research grants for their research and scholarship in the upcoming year. Eleven faculty members received reassigned time and 11 received research grant money. This program provides financial support for faculty research projects, scholarly activities, papers for publications and creative works. Full Story

 

 

Travel Safety Procedures in Place

Political tensions between the two Koreas have resulted in the closure of an industrial complex in a North Korean border town. This severs the last economic ties between the countries, according to The New York Times. South Korea withdrew all of its remaining managers and officials from the complex this week. North Korea had pulled out all of its workers in early April to protest joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises, which ended Tuesday.

Some NMU students are in South Korea participating in Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK), a scholarship program sponsored by the Korean government that enhances public English education in rural schools. TaLK, like all of Northern’s partners in international study, closely monitors potential emergency situations—from escalating political unrest to natural disasters—and has a safety action plan in place. The agency is communicating as needed with students in that location and with NMU’s International Programs office (pictured are Susan Morgan and new director Kevin Timlin). Full Story

 

 

One Book, One Community Selection Announced

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker is the 2013 One Book, One Community selection. The program encourages Marquette County and the Northern Michigan University community to share the joy of reading and the free exchange of ideas through a common book. Full Story

 

ScholarshipNow Has Immediate Impact on Students

 

The new ScholarshipNow program approved by the NMU Foundation Board of Trustees allows donors to make a one-time or annual gift of $1,000 to eligible students. Gifts received by Dec. 31 will be advertised to students during the winter scholarship application period and be awarded the following academic year. Full Story

 

 

Looking 'Fore'ward to Summer Golf Outings

 

The NMU Golf Course was scheduled to open today. With lingering cool temperatures, it might not feel like golf season at the moment, but activity will soon heat up with two NMU outings—the Football Golf Classic and Blueberry Classic—an NMU league, twilight rates and a junior golf camp. Faculty and staff can also spread out the cost of a membership through payroll deduction.

 

The annual Football Golf Classic will be held on Friday, June 21. It will help the NMU football purchase or upgrade critical safety gear such as helmets, braces and shoulder pads for Wildcat student athletes. Individual registration is $100. The fee covers 18 holes with a cart, lunch and refreshments at the course and an after-golf buffet dinner/complimentary bar and awards presentation at the Waterfront. The four-person scramble format features challenge holes and will begin with check-in at 10:30 a.m. Full Story

 

Student-Produced Music Show Airs on WNMU-FM This Weekend

Students in the advanced audio production class taught by Charles Ganzert (CAPS) will record and produce a live, in-studio performance by a traditional blues trio. "Harp, Hart & Bones" will air at 3 p.m. today, 11 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday on Public Radio 90.

Hans Ahlstrom (WNMU-FM) hosts the program. The trio features "Fast Eddie" Consolmagno on harmonica and
slide guitar, Bill "Dock" Hart on resonator guitar and Randy "da Bones Man" Seppala on drums and folk
percussion. Harp, Hart & Bones (H2B) draw their material largely from the blues tradition that dates from the 1920s to the early 1950s.

                                         

 

Bruce Turner (WNMU-TV) is celebrating a milestone few ever reach: 50 years of service to a single employer. To give it some perspective, he has worked with nine NMU presidents. He has witnessed the station’s conversion from closed circuit to broadcast, black and white to color, mono to stereo and analog to digital HD.

 

Turner is a familiar fixture to regional television audiences, appearing regularly on camera to solicit viewer support during station fundraisers. His presence also is detected behind the scenes, with recorded audio breaks that feature his unmistakable deep, velvety voice and polished delivery. Full Story