CAMPUS

News for NMU Employees

Achievements

NMU alumna Caitlin (Compton) Gregg was part of a historic achievement yesterday in U.S. cross-country skiing. For the first time, Team USA finished with two athletes on the podium at the Nordic World Ski Championships. This year's event is in Falun, Sweden. Charlotte Kalla from the host country finished first in the 10K freestyle race. Team USA's Jessie Diggins and Gregg earned silver and bronze, respectively. Gregg's previous best world cup finish in an individual race was 14th in the 10k freestyle in 2010. “This was a goal of mine from the beginning of the season,” said Gregg in a Team USA press release. “I don’t think my expectations were anything other than what I usually go into the race thinking, but I kept the thought that anything is possible. I skied really aggressively, like I was going out for a medal.” Gregg was a two-sport athlete at NMU, participating in cross country and Nordic skiing from 1999-02. She was a four-time All-American in cross country and an All-American in skiing. She was a 2013 inductee into the NMU Sports Hall of Fame. Read the full story on this achievement here

Kathy Richards (Facilities) and Jim Thams (Facilities) presented “Northern Michigan University’s New High Tech Classroom Facility - A Catalyst for Change” to the Michigan Association of Physical Plant Administrators at the Winter 2015 Conference hosted by Central Michigan University. The presentation illustrated the design process for John X. Jamrich Hall and highlighted how this process fostered a campus-wide overhaul of class scheduling and classroom utilization, the building’s cutting-edge technology and operational efficiencies incorporated into the new building.

Neil Cumberlidge (Biology) was the first author of a recent peer-reviewed publication on the conservation of the freshwater crabs of the New World. The article was titled "Results of the global conservation assessment of the freshwater crabs (Brachyura, Pseudothelphusidae and Trichodactylidae): The Neotropical region, with an update on diversity." It summarized the results of an NMU/Mexico collaborative research project that was presented by Cumberlidge at the Summer Meeting of the Crustacean Society and the Latin American Association of Carcinology held in Costa Rica. The article appeared in the international journal Zookeys as part of the Conference Proceedings.

Guðmundur "Gummi" Oddsson (Sociology and Anthropology) was quoted in a recent Washington Post article on five countries where police officers do not carry firearms and it works well.

The International Programs Office received a $1,000 external grant from the Allstate Foundation. These funds will be used to supplement operating costs of the office, whose mission is to serve the university community and provide leadership in all aspects pertaining to the creation and sustainment of a campus culture that values and promotes both international and intercultural engagement as essential components of a meaningful 21st century education.

The Glenn T. Seaborg Mathematics and Science Center at NMU received a positive external evaluation as conducted by the Michigan Department of Education. Its creativity, partnerships, collaboration and distinct connection to pre-service and in-service teacher education programs were some of the review highlights. Also cited were student/parent workshops in technology, partnerships with MARESA on grants and resources, and revisions made in pre- and post-surveys for data collection over the past year.