| Wednesday,
January 14, 2004
 NMU
to Acquire Wright Street Property
The
NMU Board
of Trustees last month approved the purchase of property and
structures located at 1010 and 1020
Wright Street – adjacent
to Ripley Heating Plant – at a cost of $725,000 plus related
miscellaneous expenses.
The
amount will be funded through the transfer of Magers Hall,
a state building, to the Housing and Residence Life auxiliary
operation for the purposes of converting it back to its original
use as a residence hall.
“Northern
has been interested in this land for some time because it
is part of the university’s long-range master plan,” said
Carl Pace (Facilities and Services). “We
began exploring a purchase several years ago, when it became
apparent that we would have to begin the process of replacing
our boilers within the heating plant and electrical gear,
which may require additional space." Full
Story |
Universities
Explore Ways to Use Purchase Power to Cut Costs
The
state of Michigan is partnering with public universities to
explore joint purchasing opportunities that may help reduce
rates for products and services. The idea that pooled buying
power can drive down costs is certainly not unique or new.
However, Michigan’s economic woes and related decreases in
state support for universities –
combined with skyrocketing increases in costs
related to such things as health care and utilities –
have prompted schools to be more
aggressive in their search for savings.
Gavin
Leach (Finance
and Planning) said an existing example of the joint purchase
advantage relates to Internet service. For several years,
all 15 public universities have managed and run their Internet
services through the statewide Merit system.
“Obviously,
if you have 15 institutions that need the same thing, they
will be able to negotiate a lower price for the product or
service by pursuing it in a cooperative manner,” he said.
The
same logic is being applied to a recent effort in which universities
have issued a request for proposals to utility companies,
asking them to submit bids for providing natural gas to the
group. Full Story
|
Employee Relief
Fund Update
The Employee Emergency
Relief Fund, originally established for those impacted by
the 2004-04 budget reductions, will also be available to those
displaced as a result of the latest round of budget adjustments
announced in December. It is intended to help individuals
overcome severe hardship they may encounter as they transition
to new careers.
A disbursement committee
composed of representatives from each employee group – union
and non-union – was formed to review applications.
Individuals who
will be displaced through position eliminations or bumping
procedures may qualify for assistance, provided they have
not retired or obtained full-time employment at the time of
the application.
Martha Van
Der Kamp (Development and Alumni Relations) is co-chair
of the committee. She said contributions to the fund are still
being accepted. Employees who would like to assist with the
effort can contribute via payroll deduction, or by sending
a personal check designated for this purpose through campus
mail.
A joint adjustment
committee composed of representatives from NMU, Michigan Works!
and the State of Michigan Office of Career Development will
sponsor a workshop for displaced employees on Monday, Feb.
23. Details will be announced in a future issue of CAMPUS.
|
 'Dream
Alive' Begins Jan. 20
NMU will honor the life of Martin
Luther King Jr. during a “Dream Alive” celebration. A highlight
will be the “Dream Alive” program featuring Joe Rogers, the
former lieutenant governor of Colorado. It is scheduled at
7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the Marquette, Nicolet and Cadillac
Rooms of the University Center. The public is invited to attend
free of charge.
Rogers' program
will feature live commentary that will take audience members
back in time to the renowned 1963 March On Washington where
King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, up to his final
words, delivered in 1968 in Memphis, Tenn. The director of
Black Student Services at Colorado State University described
his presentation as “ … uncanny, electrifying, spellbinding,
awesome and touching – like King was in the room … ”
Rogers served as
America ’s youngest lieutenant governor and was only the fourth
African American in U.S. history to be elected as a state’s
number two chief executive. Now a practicing attorney in Colorado
, Rogers received the 2001 Trumpet Award from Time Warner’s
Turner Broadcasting System. It is one of the nation’s highest
honors for African American achievement.
For complete activities,
go to Full Story.
|
| Coletta
to Discuss Creative Cities at NMU
Students,
faculty and staff are invited to participate in an interactive
discussion with Carol Coletta, president of Coletta &
Company. She has been pioneering innovative strategies to
improve cities since 1974. Her free campus presentation, which
follows her speech to the Economic Club of Marquette County
the previous evening, is scheduled from 9-10
a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, in 102 Jamrich Hall. Coletta
will address the qualities that make a city appealing to people
who want to live and work there, and how to turn ideas for
developing creative cities into a reality.
As
one of the first urban pioneers to move into a loft in downtown
Memphis – where she still lives today – it is evident that
her commitment is more than professional … it’s personal.
Her firm Coletta &
Company anticipates trends and develops action-oriented public
policy. She conceived and wrote the Talent Magnet Report
, the first city blueprint aimed at attracting and retaining
the creative class. She also co-authored Cultural Development
in Creative Communities for Americans for the Arts.
Full Story
|
Robare
Wins Snow Day Contest
Cynthia
Robare (Education) submitted the only correct entry
in the annual Snow Day contest. She is shown being awarded
a $50 gift certificate to the Marquette restaurant of her
choice by the contest sponsor, Fred Joyal
(Academic Affairs).
Robare
was correct in guessing that Dec. 11 was the first day that
on-campus classes were canceled because of inclement weather.
|
Saville
Recruits ‘Under the Gun’
There are recruiting
opportunities everywhere – even in the middle of a crisis.
Just ask Kathy Saville (CITE). She was between
conferences in California, driving to her next destination,
when she stopped for a soda at a gas station on the corner
of Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Boulevard in Malibu.
The gas station
had a nice balcony over looking the ocean. Saville decided
to sit there and drink her soda on that sunny California morning.
As she stepped onto the balcony, she saw a police car literally
jump the curb and pull into the gas station. When she turned
around to go enter the building, there stood a police officer
with his gun pointing directly at her telling her to get inside.
Without a word, she did as she was told.
Saville and seven
others were told to stay inside the gas station with no further
instructions. A short time later they learned the officers
were in the middle of a drug bust at one of the outside pumps.
Full Story
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