Friday, May 6, 2005

Board Sets Housing Rates

The NMU Board of Trustees today approved student housing and dining rates for 2005-06.

The trustees will not set tuition until this summer, when administrators have a better handle on the state economic outlook. Because of the uncertainty, the board also authorized the university to continue operating at a budget level no greater than in 2004-05 until the new general fund budget is approved.

A final decision on WNMU-TV will come in October. Full Story

New Business Dean Named

Rajib Sanyal is the new dean of the Walker L. Cisler College of Business. His appointment is effective July 1.

Sanyal has served as a professor of management in the School of Business at The College of New Jersey – formerly Trenton State – since 1987. He also spent four years as division head. Full Story

NMU Involved in Brain Tumor Program

Northern will play a role in a new, comprehensive brain tumor program being established by The Upper Michigan Cancer and the Upper Michigan Neuroscience Centers at Marquette General Hospital.

The biology department and MGH will collaborate on a research program that will examine the genetics of primary brain tumors in an effort to identify the mechanisms that cause a cell to become cancerous. Improved understanding of altered genetic pathways may lead to new treatment approaches. Robert Winn (Biology, pictured in a file photo with an NMU student) will lead the research effort. Full Story

Commencement Tomorrow

Nearly 930 students are eligible to graduate this May, making this one of the largest classes in NMU history. About 800 May and prospective August graduates are expected to participate in Saturday's commencement ceremony.

Tara Baker (pictured) of Lakemoor, Ill., will be the student speaker. She is an electronic journalism major and a speech communi-cations minor.

Gregory Abell, a senior music education major from West Chicago, Ill., will be the student soloist.

Goodrich Visits the 'Killing Fields'

Robbie Goodrich (History) has immersed himself in the study of genocide, but a recent trip to Cambodia proved that his scholarly research has hardly desensitized him to the atrocities associated with the systematic extermination of a targeted population.

Like many visitors, he was stunned by the sight of 8,000 human skulls in a glass shrine, or memorial stupa (pictured). It was built in the middle of the "killing fields" of Choeung Ek – one of many sites where Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge soldiers murdered an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians in the mid- to late '70s.

"When you tour the killing fields, you literally walk right over these sunken areas that served as mass graves," he said. "You can see exposed human remains all around you. It was a gory sight – to the point that I actually felt nauseous while I was there." Full Story

Extended Heating Plant Shutdown Begins May 8

The annual Ripley Heating Plant shutdown for maintenance on the university's boilers and steam distribution system is typically a weekend job. But this year, it will be extended to nearly 10 days because some campus manholes are in need of extensive repairs.

The shutdown will begin at 11 p.m. Sunday, May 8, and is scheduled to end at 6 a.m. Wednesday, May 18. The entire campus will be without hot water except for Whitman Hall, which has a stand-alone system. The Berry Events Center, Cohodas, Jacobetti, Jamrich, Learning Resources and the University Center will not have air conditioning as those chillers require steam. All other buildings on campus have stand-alone units or electric chillers, which will be able to provide air conditioning.

For more information, contact Plant Operations at ext. 2292.

 

TLC Staff Awards Presented

Teaching, Learning and Communication (TLC) Staff Awards were presented at the retirement and service awards luncheon held Tuesday, April 19.

The following recipients were recognized for their work on three campus projects (pictured left to right): Gerry Ely (Learning Resources), who was honored for classroom and lab teaching support through his work with docking stations; Gerri Daniels (Admissions) and Tony Bertucci (AdIT), who collaborated on a direct mail search process used for recruiting prospective students; and Jan Crawford and Karl Mulder (both of AdIT), who were recognized for developing and promoting online course evaluations. Full Story

Kane Receives Houston Award

Ruth Kane, a senior writing major from Bark River-Harris, is the recipient of the 2005 Houston Award from the English department. She is pictured with (from left) Mark Smith (English), director of composition, and Alan Rose (English), her adviser.

The Houston Award honors the memory of Howard Houston, an English professor at NMU from 1968-1983. It recognizes an exceptional paper prepared in EN 211: College Composition II. Kane wrote a narrative titled "Through a Glass."

 

NBEA Honors Pagel with Teaching Award

Larry Pagel (Business) received the 2005 Collegiate Business Teacher of the Year Award from the National Business Education Association. The award recognizes Pagel for his achievements in developing the business curriculum to meet the new state standards, and for receiving a mean of 4.35 on a 5.0 scale from students during the 2003 evaluation period.

“I was surprised when I first learned that I would receive the award,” said Pagel. “I have taught for 30 years and I know several other collegiate teachers who certainly deserve it.” Full Story

 

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Updated: October 26, 2005

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