Volume 9, Issue 3 -- October 2, 2009
Dear NMU Parents,
What a busy fall! We've received international attention for the WiMAX launch, played host to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Short Track Speedskating, celebrated NMU's 110th birthday, put on a wonderful Homecoming week (see anyone you know?) and just completed a fantastic UNITED Conference. I hope your NMU student has been actively participating in the many, many events taking place on campus. If not, do a little parental nagging and send him or her the link to the NMU calendars: www.nmu.edu/calendars.
FAMILY WEEKEND: One of the big events this month is NMU Family Weekend on Friday through Sunday, Oct. 16-18. I strongly encourage you to make lodging arrangements soon if you haven't already done so. Marquette is a city that has so much going on at all times ' youth hockey tournaments, NMU activities, fall color tours ' it would be unwise to assume you can get a hotel/motel room in the city upon your arrival. Local lodging information is available at www.marquettecountry.org. The full slate of Family Weekend activities can be found at www.nmu.edu/familyweekend. When you see me at the events, please let me know how your NMU experience is going so far, as well as that of your son or daughter. We look forward to having you on campus.
UPCOMING DATES: Other upcoming dates of note include next week's three-day weekend. There are no classes on Friday (Oct. 9) to accommodate the annual U.P. Education Conference. The week of Oct. 12-17 is midterm week. The last day to withdraw from a class with a 'W' grade is 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 30. This is an option for students who are really struggling in a course, but it is recommended that students discuss this option with their academic advisers to consider any ramifications of withdrawing. Thanksgiving break for students is Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 25-29. Final exam week is Dec. 7-11 and commencement is at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 12.
CAREER BUILDING: The Academic and Career Advising Center (ACAC) is sponsoring a 'month of majors,' which started on Sept. 28 and goes through Oct. 29. Throughout the month academic departments will hold informational sessions to talk to students about the degree programs they offer. NMU students who are undecided about what to major in should go to the NMU master calendar and view the month of October to find the dates for the departments with degree programs they are interested in learning more about. ' On Wednesday (Oct. 7), the 42nd annual Fall Job Fair and Career Expo will be held in the University Center. The event is an opportunity for employers to share information with NMU students about a wide range of career possibilities, as well as full- and part-time employment and internship openings. More information is available at www.nmu.edu/careers. ... An event that previews the job fair is 'Backpack to Briefcase' at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Jamrich 103 where a panel of employers will share career development advice with students.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: If you're a Michigan resident, you've been hearing and reading about the work of the Legislature and Governor to finalize the budget for fiscal year 2010, which officially began Thursday (Oct. 1). In the wee hours of Thursday morning, a continuation budget bill was signed to avoid a government shutdown. This means the Legislature has another 30 days to finalize agreements on the various state funding bills, including the higher education bill and establish our budget for this academic year. Of key importance to all public and private colleges and universities in the state is the outcome of the Michigan Promise Scholarship program. This year, 1,200 NMU students are slated to receive $1.5 million in Michigan Promise funding. The higher education bill that was passed in the House and Senate this week eliminated this program. Students slated to receive this scholarship do not yet know if they will get this funding for this year. I know ASNMU, Northern's student government, has been encouraging students to contact their legislators to voice their concerns over this issue. This is an action I hope parents will also consider. This funding is critically important to some of our students.
INFLUENZA INFORMATION: Last week, the NMU Health Center identified its first student with confirmed H1N1 influenza, making Northern one of many, many colleges and universities to have a confirmed case. Dr. Tom Schacht, director of the Health Center, sent out a letter to all students, faculty and staff at the start of the semester and then again as soon as the H1N1 case was identified, in both cases informing the university community of preventive measures and what they should do if they have flu-like symptoms. We are closely monitoring illnesses on campus. While we do have some sick students, we have not seen an exceptional increase in the number of influenza-like illnesses (known as ILIs) that many colleges and universities have been reporting recently. However, we remain vigilant in our readiness to deal with a more widespread situation. We've been told that NMU's portion of H1N1 vaccination may be available in November.
FLU-LIKE SYMPTONS: The information we've shared with the students is also available to you on the NMU Health Center site at www.nmu.edu/healthcenter. We are stressing that students running a fever over 100 degrees and who have other flu-like symptoms should stay home ' don't go to class or work or venture out in public until the fever has been gone for at least 24 hours. The housing staff has also been trained in 'isolation' procedures. Students who are out sick should contact their instructors and employment supervisors via e-mail or phone (or have a friend or roommate do it) to inform them that their absence is due to a flu-like illness. Most who become ill suffer mild to moderate symptoms for several days and recover fully in about a week. Ill students may also consult with the Health Center at 906-227-2355. It is best to call first to see if staying home is recommended over going into the center. However, those who need physician care will be seen promptly. Warning signs of complications that may require treatment are chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe or persistent vomiting, confusion, sudden dizziness, or flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough. Please ask your NMU student if she or he has reviewed the preventative measures and the information on 'what to do if I have the flu' materials on the Health Center Web site.
TRANSPORTATION: The weather for most of this fall has been unseasonably warm. On Monday and Tuesday, though, it was cold and windy ' the rain was moving sideways! Again today (Oct. 2), it is cold and rainy. The blustery weather reminds me to highlight the Wildcat Shuttle again, which has new and improved routes this year. It's a free and convenient service to students. They can learn more at www.nmu.edu/wildcatshuttle. ASNMU has also started a new bike borrowing program. Students can check out a bike at the library when they need speedier transportation than foot power. About 25 bikes are available for short-term borrowing.
HIDDEN CITY: Thursday (Oct. 1) a cardboard house town was built in the academic mall. The 2nd annual Hidden City contest, sponsored by the Progressive Student Roundtable, focuses on bringing attention to helping the homeless in the U.P. Participating groups paid $10 or give 10 cans of foods as an entry fee (donations go to the services that assist U.P. homeless) to build a cardboard house in which two people had to stay in throughout the night. Prizes were awarded for the 'best' cardboard houses. It is quite an impressive sight to see the cardboard village spring up on the mall, and it sure gets people talking about homelessness.
MSU-NMU AGREEMENT: Today (Oct. 2), Northern and Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine officially announced their Early Assurance Program partnership, which will provide an enhanced opportunity for admission into MSU's medical school to qualified premedical students who wish to practice in the underserved areas. Preference for admission will be given to students who are the first generation to attend college, students who graduated from a low-income high school, those eligible for Pell grants or those who express interest in a high-need medical specialty area. During the announcement ceremony, Dr. James Randolph Hillard, MSU associate provost for human health services, pointed out that MSU's medical school has 200 spots for which it received more than 5,000 applications, highlighting the significance of the reserved interview spots for select NMU students. 'The students we've had from Northern have been uniformly excellent,' Dr. Hillard said. Click here to read the press release about the program.
FACULTY CONTRACT: As you may be aware, the NMU faculty voted down the proposed new three-year contract. While I was disappointed the contract didn't pass, I feel confident that the faculty and administration negotiating teams will meet again soon and resolve any questions that are need to lead to an approved contract. Everyone is committed to working on the issues that raised concerns for the faculty. As those of you who work in a union environment know, contract negotiations can take time. Please know that our faculty members remain as dedicated as always to their students. While the discussions continue, faculty are hard at work in the classrooms and labs, working under a continuation agreement until the new contract can be settled. Providing an excellent student experience remains the top priority for all of us. I'll keep you informed as we move forward in this process.
ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING: A reminder that Northern Michigan University has a zero-tolerance policy for illegal file sharing. Students are informed of this policy when they register their new computers. There are also posters about illegal file sharing placed around campus. It is illegal to download and share copyrighted materials such as music and films. NMU has software that monitors when copyrighted material is being downloaded. A student caught downloading copyrighted material is deregistered from the NMU network and sent an e-mail warning. If the practice continues, a student can be locked out of the NMU network for 60 days (or about a 1/3 of a semester) and the student code violation would be reviewed by the Dean of Students Office for possible additional punishment. Please talk to your NMU student about the consequences of illegally downloading copyrighted material. If they need more information or would like to talk to someone about what is and isn't illegal to download, they should contact the Dean of Students office at dso@nmu.edu or 227-1700.
HONORING ALUMNI: Congratulations to the NMU ROTC program, which celebrated its 40th anniversary during homecoming. Last Saturday (Sept. 26), a dedication ceremony in honor of Lt. Col. Kip Taylor was held. Kip was a 1985 NMU alumnus who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. A plaque in his honor was erected on Veterans' Rock, located outside of the University Center. Kip, a Wildcat basketball player and ROTC member, was 38 at the time of his death. ' Northern's three alumni award recipients, honored during homecoming, were Cynthia Peck, Alumni Achievement Award, and retired Rear Adm. Michael Roesner and Ronald Stump, Distinguished Alumni Awards. Peck ('76) is a well-respected chemistry instructor at Delta (Mich.) Community College who spent 14 years in the industrial arena as a quality control and analytical chemist, earning awards for her efforts in laboratory robotics. Roesner's ('74) distinguished U.S. Navy career spanned 39 years and a broad range of missions, from control of aircraft to command of the Navy's largest logistics and procurement center. He saw combat duty in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently an associate partner for global supply chain management with IBM Corp. Stump ('69, '71) has been a higher education administrator for more than 40 years, including a stint as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he is currently interim director of the alumni association.
THIS AND THAT: The Wildcat football team has gone 3-1 this season, most recently winning the Miner's Cup vs. Michigan Tech two weeks ago and downing Ferris State in last Saturday's homecoming game. Go 'Cats! ... NMU and the Upper Peninsula were the focus of last Sunday's (Sept. 27) National Public Radio's Weekend Edition. If you missed hearing the many U.P. stories, click here to listen. ' The 2009-10 Forest Roberts Theatre season 'New Directions' opens next week with the play ACT-letes. ' Don't forget the World Cup speedskating event Nov. 12-15. This is the last event countries have to qualify their short track speedskaters for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. More than 40 nations are expected to compete. Get your tickets now.
A FINAL NOTE: I have told students often that learning occurs in and outside the classroom. A university experience is when you make yourself do something you haven't done before, or you attend something you normally wouldn't, you read something that challenges you. The students have taken up my call and I am happy for them. Student clubs are active, students are attending guest lectures and concerts and I've seen some students at athletic events who are attending for the first time. Seeing them with new friends who will be lifelong friends tells me that Northern is doing what it should be doing. The success of the One Book, One Community program tells me that our students are reading and talking about what they've read. What a good day to be a Wildcat.
Les Wong, President
Northern Michigan University
