For the week of May 12, 2003
From the 6th floor
I am sorry to report I am having some digital camera "issues" today, so you won't get to see a photo from my window. But you're not really missing anything because it would just show a bunch of people walking around with umbrellas. We have had a rainy couple of days. Flood warnings are in effect in some areas and high winds continue to blow through Upper Michigan. It's rainy and windy and dreary. But it's a good thing it isn't cold because I would hate to see what it would look like if this were snow.
NMU Board elects Roy as interim president
Michael Roy is the interim
president of Northern Michigan University, effective immediately. The NMU Board
of Trustees held a special conference call Friday, May 9, to accept Judi Bailey’s
resignation, following official approval of her appointment as the next president
of Western Michigan University.
Bailey’s last
day of active service as president was May 9. She will use accrued vacation
until June 6.
Roy most recently
served as vice president for finance and administration. His previous titles
at Northern included assistant vice president for finance and controller, and
chief accountant. Prior to joining NMU in 1978, he was controller at Central
Michigan University.
The board will convene
a special meeting – possibly by the end of May – to appoint a presidential
search committee and to select a national executive search firm.
“Once the committee
is in place, our plan is to move expeditiously and get a lot of work done over
the summer,” said Mary Campbell, board chair.
In addition to electing
Roy interim president, the trustees also appointed Gavin Leach '85 acting chief
financial officer and treasurer of the board. Leach has worked at NMU since
1989, most recently as associate vice president for finance and planning.
Membership drive kicks off
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Your name here |
The NMU Alumni Association
kicked off its annual Membership Drive this past week. Perhaps you received
our recent mailing with the NMU return address labels? If you are not
currently a member of the Alumni Association, you should have received these
mailing labels. It's our way of encouraging you to join the NMU Alumni Association.
Show your Wildcat spirit by using the labels and join the Alumni Association!
Northern is striving to be the university of choice in the Midwest for students
seeking an outstanding collegiate experience with high-quality education in
a high-tech learning environment. Much of our success depends on the involvement
of alumni who maintain a relationship with the university. Alumni memberships
play a critical part in helping us connect graduates to NMU. Some of the
programs and services supported by our members include the Student Welcome Rally,
hockey broadcast parties, Homecoming activities, regional events, Horizons
magazine, and our newest service: permanent email accounts. Without our members,
these services would not be possible.
Beyond the satisfaction of supporting your university, you'll find that membership
in the Alumni Association carries other benefits. As a vital link between alumni
nationwide and Northern Michigan University, the Association offers many ways
to get connected and stay connected to other graduates. Members receive reduced
rates at alumni and university events. And, as a member, you're eligible for
a wide range of other benefits including short-term group insurance, lodging
and auto rental discounts, on-campus privileges, bookstore discounts and exclusive
alumni merchandise.
Joining is easy! Sign
up now!
P.S. If you join as an Annual Member before Friday, May 30, 2003, you'll receive
an NMU alumni t-shirt as our special gift--absolutely free! If you join as a
Life Member before May 30, not only will you receive your NMU alumni T-shirt
as our special gift, but also an NMU brass bookmark in addition to our exclusive
life member gift, a leather picture frame.
Delta Sigma Phi plans Detroit area reunion
They had such a great time
in 1999, they're doing it again. Except this time, the reunion will take place
in the Detroit area.
I'm talking about the Delta Sigma Phis. They were one of the largest reunions
during the Centennial Celebration in 1999 and they had such a fun time, they're
planning another reunion. This one will take place in Novi and Northville the
weekend of Jun 27-29.
If you belonged to the fraternity and haven't received any information on the
reunion, or want to know more, email Robert
LaCosse.
50th Anniversary Classes highlight Reunion Weekend
The classes of 1952, 1953
and 1954 will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary this summer during Reunion
Weekend, June 27-28, 2003.
A final schedule has been put in place and contains a variety of activities.
The cost for the entire weekend is $40 per person for NMU Alumni Association
members and $55 for non-members and includes all reunion activities, a 5"x7"
group photo and a memento.
In addition to the 50th anniversary, other alumni and friends will be returning
to campus the same weekend for various events including: members of the NMU
Alumni Association Board of Directors; fraternity and sorority groups, and the
Barracks Boys. The Wildcat Club hosts its annual golf outing at the Marquette
Golf & Country Club on Thursday, June 26; organize your foursome and join
the fun! The Marquette community is celebrating the 100th anniversary of John
Voelker's birthday with a festival designed to honor and commemorate the life
and achievements of John Voelker (aka Robert Traver).
If you are a member of
a 50th anniversary class and haven't received details on the reunion, please
get in touch with us.
For a complete look at the 50th Anniversary schedule, visit the
50th anniversary page.
For a complete look at all the groups getting together, visit our Reunion page.
NMU prof studies benefits of animal-assisted therapy
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The
word is out: dogs are more than our best friends. Helen Kahn (Communication
Disorders) set out to document why animal-assisted therapy works, specifically
in speech-language pathology. Her findings are definitely something to bark
about. “This research could apply to any type of therapy in general,” Kahn said. “People are really interested in how animals impact us. Using animals in therapy is not a new concept, but it is only now beginning to be scientifically documented and supported. My goal, then, is not to prove it works, but to see how it works through the study of communication between a therapist and a patient in both regular and animal-assisted therapy (AAT) sessions.” Full story. |
Jonathan Wilson named NMU swimming coach
Jonathan Wilson has been
named the head women's swimming coach at Northern Michigan University. He takes
over for Chris Coraggio who resigned last July. Bob Laughna served as the interim
head coach for the past season. Wilson has been the head men's and women's swimming
and diving coach at Ripon College since 1996.
He led the Red Hawks
women to a sixth place finish at the 2003 Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving
Championships and the men were fifth at the meet. The women had finished in
eighth place the two previous years at the championship meet. For his effort,
Wilson was named the 2003 Midwest Conference Men's Swimming and Diving Coach
of the Year.
"I am very excited
for this opportunity," Wilson said. "There is excitement around the
swimming program again. I can't wait to get to Marquette to get started."
A 1995 graduate of
the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a bachelor's degree in health
promotion and wellness, where he was an All-American freestyler and is a member
of the Hall of Fame started at Ripon with five women and two men on the team.
Wilson was the associate head women's soccer coach for the Red Hawks during
the 2002 season. Since 2001, Wilson has been the aquatic center manager for
the City of Berlin, Wis.
He just completed
his course work at Ripon for his education degree in physical education and
health.
Plenty of opportunities this summer to use your golf clubs and support NMU
A number of golf outings are scheduled for NMU Alumni and Friends throughout the state of Michigan this summer. These are great ways to get together with fellow alumni AND support NMU scholarships and programming.
Summer golf outing schedule and contact information.
Thanks for your response!
Thank you to all those folks
who emailed me and expressed their willingness to be an Alumni Contact in their
area. We were able to add four new states to our Alumni
map.
If you are interested in being an alumni contact in your area, please drop
me a note and I'll tell you what's involved.
"What's
New, NMU?" is a service of the NMU Alumni Association.
Consider joining today!