Tuesday, May 4, 2004

Joint Operating Agreement Explored for Public Broadcasting

The NMU Board of Trustees at its April 30 meeting authorized Fred Joyal (Academic Affairs) to begin negotiations with Michigan Public Media regarding the potential for a joint operating agreement to run the public broadcasting stations. Joyal will update the board in August. At the request of the trustees, he will also present budget scenarios of what would be required to operate radio and TV independently. The stations had previously been factored together in the university's annual base budget allocation.

The board received an update on the U.S. Olympic Education Center’s budget reductions to date and continuing efforts to secure external funding sources.

The board previously agreed to provide limited university funding to allow operation of public broadcasting and the USOEC through June 30, 2005. Full Story

Wong Contract Approved

The NMU board approved a three-year contract for new President Les Wong, effective July 1.

The first year includes $150,000 in base salary; $35,000 in deferred compensation, which is contingent upon successfully completing the entire contract period; and a potential to earn $5,000 in incentive compensation awarded at the discretion of the board for exceeding expectations in overall performance and the ability to meet goals. Full Story

Faculty Honored, Promoted, Tenured

The NMU Board of Trustees granted Professor Emeritus of English status to Leonard Heldreth, Lillian    Heldreth and the late Thomas Hruska. Ronald Parejko was named Professor Emeritus of Biology.

The board also voted to promote and grant tenure to the following faculty members: Full Story

Graci Named Interim Dean

Sam Graci (Business) will serve as interim dean of the College of Business while NMU begins a national search to replace James Scheiner, who has accepted a position at Stetson University in Florida.

Ferrarini New Academic Senate Chair

Tawni Ferrarini (Economics) was elected chair of the Academic Senate for 2004-05. She succeeds Bob Allbritten (CAPS) and officially assumes the duties July 1.

Parking Update

Reconstruction of Northern Michigan University’s parking lot 28 as part of the East campus renovation project began Monday. Lot 28 is located between the Student Services Center and the Learning Resources Center. The lot will be unavailable for use until July 23.

During the construction period, lot 25, which runs alongside of the McClintock Building will be taken over as a staging area for the construction crews. Current users of lot 25 may park in lot 39, which is located directly behind the Thomas Fine Arts Building on Fair Avenue, or in lot 17, located in front of Whitman Hall. Full Story

Public TV Earns Emmy Nominations

Two Public TV 13 productions have earned Emmy nominations from the National Television Academy's Michigan Chapter.

An Evening with the Governor received a nod in the category of outstanding interview/discussion. Produced by Bob Thompson, the program was a live town-hall meeting held in November that featured Gov. Jennifer Granholm interacting with a studio audience.

Lumberjack Life: U.P. Days of Yore, produced by Sonya Chrisman, is in contention for outstanding documentary. It chronicles the history of logging in the Upper Peninsula. Full Story

Teaching with Technology June 2-3

NMU faculty will participate in a practical exploration of using technology to achieve educational goals at the Teaching with Technology institute June 2-3 in Whitman Hall. Sharon Smaldino (pictured) of Northern Illinois University will be the featured speaker. She is president-elect of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology.

The schedule includes theoretical and application sessions, as well as a presentation by a panel composed of high school and university students sharing how they use technology. While the target audience this first year is NMU faculty, Kathy Saville (Instructional Technology) said the hope is to make the institute an annual event for higher education faculty from all over the country. For more information, contact Saville at ksaville@nmu.edu or 227-2413. Teaching with Technology is sponsored by Academic Information Services.