Addendum #4
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2003
NEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DIVISION
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Gary R. Bertoline, Associate Vice President for Industrial Technology and Director of the Envision Center for Data Perceptualization at Purdue University, and 1974 graduate of NMU's Industrial Technology program, will be our Midyear Commencement speaker and will receive the honorary degree, Doctor of Technology. The recommendation is in the Formals, D-1.
The Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan hosted the inaugural State of the Public Universities Address on November 12 in Lansing. This event was held in response to recommendations from the University Investment Commission. The event provided an opportunity to communicate the collective value of Michigan's public university system in serving the public interest and the state of Michigan. Dr. Irvin D. Reid, chair of the Presidents Council and president of Wayne State University delivered the address which was made available as a live broadcast to the state's 15 public universities.
We have completed our first ever articulation agreement with Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC). Associate Dean of Technology and Applied Sciences Bill Rigby worked out an articulation agreement that enables FVTC graduates to apply their 2-year degree credits to a baccalaureate degree in Electronics Engineering Technology at NMU.
Dean Jim Scheiner of the Walker Cisler College of Business reports that we have been named a Premier Chapter for 2002-2003 by Beta Gamma Sigma and this is only the second year of having the honor society at Northern.
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION NEWS
The project to move the university to new administrative software (Banner) is proceeding as planned. Training on the use of the new system is continuing and staff members are devoting a great deal of time to learning how Banner works. The Finance portion of the project has been live as of July 1 and the Human Resources portion will be next, with an anticipated go-live date of Jan 2. Admissions and Financial Aid will follow in February. The first registration on the new system will be set up for Fall 2004 and will occur in March.
ALUMNI/DEVELOPMENT NEWS
The NMU Alumni Association Board of Directors has not met since Homecoming. Our next meeting is February 7th in Detroit.
Events held:
Post-hockey reception in Ann Arbor Oct. 24th—more than 75 Wildcat fans had a chance to meet Mike Roy and Walt Kyle.
NMU Night at the Theatre in Chicago, Nov. 20th
Upcoming:
Pre-game hockey reception in Lansing January 3rd
We are scheduled to go live with Banner, our new database system right after the first of the year.
The Fall issue of Horizons went out. This issue went to an additional number of donors because of the special insert highlighting the success of the recent campaign.
We currently have 734 alumni email accounts.
We continue to see an increase in online updates from alumni, reminding us of the value of an up-to-date web site.
We designed a new web page specifically for the December grads to encourage them to sign up for their free year of membership in the Alumni Association.
With JOBSearch, we are promoting the new online resume system.
An update on the Annual Fund:
The Annual Fund has completed almost a full semester of calling. They are on-target for meeting their goal in unrestricted giving.
We recently completed a target membership mailing to alumni who were in fraternities or sororities.
We finalized a moving discount for Alumni Association members with B & J Moving and Storage, a North American Van Lines company.
Approx. 300 NMU license plates have been sold.
Lifetime memberships in the Alumni Association have almost doubled in the last 5 years for a total of 534.
There are currently 759 affinity credit card accounts with MBNA.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
It is a real pleasure to acknowledge the Westwood High School Girl's Basketball Team Members, Coaches, Parents, and Supporters on winning the State Class C Championship. Congratulations to an outstanding team on reaching this milestone. It is the first state athletic championship for Westwood High School and we are very proud of their accomplishment!
Congratulations also to the NMU Cheer Team and Coaches, first place winners in a competition on November 16 at St. Xavier College in Chicago. We are proud of you.
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A copy of the President's Activity Report is in the front pocket of your Boardbooks.