Upcoming University Forum and Fall Recruiting Efforts

Monday 10, 2016

NMU Students, Faculty and Staff,

We are in the process of gathering information about NMU students who may have families living in the areas impacted by Hurricane Matthew. When one looks at the combination of all three address types we keep on a student record - admission, permanent and next-of-kin - our count is 74 students who may have immediate family in affected areas. The Dean of Students Office, Student Service Center and other departments are developing plans to deal with the various issues these students may have over the next few weeks. In past natural disasters, we've also had National Guard personnel and students who belong to relief organizations sent to help. When called upon, I ask faculty and staff to work closely with the Dean of Students Office to make sure that the needs of students impacted by Hurricane Matthew be addressed quickly and with care and sensitivity. There are also faculty and staff with families in these areas. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your loved ones. Keep the communication lines open with your supervisors and department heads about your specific needs and we'll do our best to help you do what you have to do to help your family.

UNIVERSITY FORUM SCHEDULED: I have scheduled a university forum for 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, to be held in Michigan Room of the University Center. At the forum, you will receive updates on the residence hall complex construction and the students' choices on interior design elements; learn about the next steps in other facility renovations; get updates on the work of several presidential advisory committees; and discuss the five-year strategic enrollment implementation plan. I hope your schedule permits you to attend and participate in these discussions. A video link will also be available the following day at nmu.edu/president.

BIG ENROLLMENT PERIOD: Fall is one of the busiest and most important student recruitment periods for the traditional-aged college students. During September and October, our admissions counselors will have attended about 160 college fairs and have made nearly 500 high school visits – and that's just in those two months. Upcoming are a few of our biggest traditional-aged college student recruitment events with Wildcat Weekend being held Saturday, Oct. 15 (we also hold one in the spring, March 18); Jacobetti Open House on Thursday, Oct. 27; and the Presidential Scholars Competition on Sunday and Monday, Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 13-14. If you are asked to participate in any of these important recruiting activities, please do so. Remember that facilitating enrollment growth is part of everyone's job.

INTERNATIONAL RECRUITING: I recently returned from Korea where NMU Board of Trustees Chair Sook Wilkinson, student Jimin Kim, NMU English Language Institute Director Diana Vreeland and I visited six universities. Much of our discussions centered on intensive English language programs for this summer, but we also discussed student and faculty exchanges and possible program partnerships. Northern will also send a contingent to China this fall to further the relationships we initiated last year with several Chinese universities. Follow-up is critical to the development of relationships with foreign universities. You cannot visit just once and expect an airplane full of students to arrive. Thank you to Chair Wilkinson for taking the time to help us make the connections we made in Korea, her native country.

BUDGET REALIGNMNET: At the recent NMU Board of Trustees meeting, the board approved the 2016-17 general fund budget, as well as the divisional budget realignment figures. You can review the budget realignment information that was presented to the board here. Since it is not the board's responsibility to oversee day-to-day operations, it should be made clear that the board was not approving the individual budget realignment proposals but rather the overall realignment dollar amounts as it impacts the overall general fund budget. As most of you are aware, some of the proposals have already been implemented, some are nearing implementation, and some are still being researched for possible implementation. These will be discussed at the university forum in more detail.

EMPIRE MINE WORKERS: In mid-September, Northern held an informational fair at Ronn Union Hall in Negaunee for former Empire Mine workers interested in pursuing educational programs and retraining options. To those of you who are new to the Marquette area, about 300 employees lost their jobs when the mine in the west Marquette County was idled in late August. Northern's fair featured information on several academic programs, financial aid, the admissions process, student advising and transcript evaluation, veteran services and more. Bob Eslinger, interim dean of the College of Technology and Occupational Sciences, has been NMU's point person on our efforts to help the displaced workers. Bob serves on the Cliffs Natural Resources Transition Team along with representatives of several local and state organizations. Bob has convened an NMU task force for developing a defined process on how the university can best aid the affected workers with an interest in educational opportunities. Our goal is to get them into their desired academic programs in the most efficient manner possible. While we don't have exact numbers of those who might look to enroll at Northern, according to a Michigan Talent Agency survey of about 200 of the affected employees, 38 percent want to enroll in training or school and, when asked what kind of training they would like, 44 percent said training in a new field.

ELECTIONS: Several students in our political science and communication-related majors participated in Saturday's (Oct. 8) 1st Congressional Candidate Forum between Jack Bergman (R) and Lon Johnson (D), which was put on in Jamrich Hall by WLUC-TV 6. The forum will be aired at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 12) on WLUC-TV 6. Speaking of elections, I encourage everyone to perform their civic duty and vote on Tuesday, Nov. 8, but between now and then here's a reminder that university resources, such as the NMU network, should not be used for political messages or activities unless they are part of an academic endeavor. Also, when you choose to represent a particular candidate, please do so without reference to the university unless the affiliation is directly tied to your academic research or teaching. We've not had any serious concerns regarding these issues this election period, which I appreciate. There can be serious consequences when a university violates state and/or federal laws regarding use of university resources for political means. The American Council on Education (ACE) provides a good outline of the do's and don'ts for universities and their employees here, if you'd like to learn more.

BIG THANK YOU: What a busy couple of weeks at Northern. Thank you to all of the students, faculty and staff involved in making Homecoming Week, Family Weekend, the UNITED Conference, recruitment activities at the hockey series vs. Wisconsin in Green Bay, and the College of Business "Celebrating Entrepreneurship" Conference so successful. I tried to attend as many events as my schedule allowed and enjoyed all those in which I participated. I've heard nothing but rave reviews for these events. Also, thank you to those of you who presented or provided services to one of the three boards on campus during Homecoming: the NMU Board of Trustees, the NMU Alumni Board and the NMU Foundation Board. Having three boards on campus at one time makes for some creative juggling of logistics, but I heard many compliments about the work of students, faculty and staff from board members.

Sincerely,
Fritz Erickson, President





Fritz Erickson
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