NMU - The Mining Journal

2016
NMU
SECTION A
PROGRESS
Wednesday, March 30
A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE MINING JOURNAL
ALSO
INSIDE
PAGE 2A
NMU enrollment
Tuition Hike
PAGE 4A
Promise to students
‘The Northern Promise’
PAGE 5A
NMU approves budget
‘A Catalyst for
At top, Invent@NMU Founder David Ollila
shows off one of his inventions, the Marquette Backcountry Ski, which is a waxless
ski-snowshoe hybrid designed to allow the
user to easily climb hills as well as ski down
them, Ollila said. Below, Northern Michigan
University human centered design major
Sarah Nixon, Invent@NMU industrial designer, is seen working at the invention center updating its website, www.nmu.edu/invent, in this 2013 photo. At left, Northern
Michigan University construction management major Jon Slack, Invent@NMU project
manager, removes a plastic printed object
from the center's onsite 3-D printer. The
process, also called additive manufacturing, consists of making three dimensional
solid objects from a digital file. (Journal
photos by Mary Wardell)
Conversation’
PAGE 6A
Selling broadband
Promising changes
NMU ratifies union contracts
PAGE 7A
NMU approves strategic plan
Partnerships for technology
Invent @ NMU
New ideas, concepts and conjectures
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan Universitys innovation center, Invent@NMU,
sees about three new ideas walk through
its doors every week.
The center offers students and others
from across the Upper Peninsula a chance
to bring their inventions, concepts and conjectures to the light of day — and even into
commercial production.
Founding Director and Marquette native
David Ollila called it a “sandbox,” a safe
space for adults to build and play.
“The changes in technology and access
to markets are empowering individuals in
ever expanding ways,” Ollila said. “Very
much like desktop publishing enabled writers in the mid-1990s and micro-breweries
are challenging the market share of massproduced beer, the advent of 3-D printing,
e-commerce and digital manufacturing
technologies are making it easier for consumers to become producers.”
The program gives students, both employees and inventors, real-world experience taking physical products from concept
to market, as they develop skills in design,
manufacturing and marketing with the help
of professional mentors. While the centers
focus is on providing competitive experiences for students, the services are available to students, individual inventors, startups and even existing companies that lack
the experience or resources to fully execute their idea, according to the centers
website.
An initial consultation is free, and there is
a fee of $75 for students and $150 for community members to pursue their concept
further, Ollila said.
Since opening in October 2014, community and student inventors have worked on
dozens of projects.
They are “people from all walks of life who
are taking their clever ideas off of the back
burner and turning up the heat,” Ollila said.
The center focuses on inventions such as
household products, tools, animal or recreation products and other physical items
that require a start-up investment of less
than $100,000 and take less than one year
to bring to market, Ollila said.
This and some other distinctions make
the program stand out, according to Robert
Eslinger, NMUs special assistant to the
president for economic development and
the director of the Center for Innovation
and Industrial Technologies.
“We have not seen another program that
is exactly like this one; we believe we have
a very unique program, ...,” Eslinger said,
adding, “Invent@NMU adds another layer
to the community's entrepreneurial ecosystem and does so in a manner that ... doesn't duplicate any of the other economic development activities that already exist.”
Several research institutions in the state
are interested in collaborating with NMU,
including the University of Michigan's Center for Entrepreneurship as well as Michigan Tech University's Office of Innovation
and Industry Engagement, Eslinger said.
For the centers initial three-year pilot, the
university has committed up to $500,000,
after which time it is expected to be selfsupporting, NMU President Fritz Erickson
said.
See Invent @ NMU
Continued on 8A
2A -— The Mining Journal, Wednesday, March 30
PROGRESS2016
NMU enrollment
Tuition hike
Falls short of projections
NMU raises tuition by 3.2 pct
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE
—
Northern Michigan Universitys 10th day enrollment report this fall undershot already declining projections, but administrators said they
were optimistic about
multiple initiatives in
place to increase retention and enrollment
moving forward.
The total headcount of
undergraduate
and
graduate students is
8,169, a decrease of
423 from last years figure, according to former
Vice President for enrollment management and
student services Steve
Neiheisel.
Neihseisels position
was eliminated in January as part of cost-saving administrative restructuring, but he spoke
to The Mining Journal in
September about the
enrollment decline.
“We anticipated a noticeable decline based
on the enrollment challenges Northern and
many other institutions
are facing,” Neiheisel
said. “While we budgeted for a smaller decrease, final numbers
are below the budget
levels, and we will have
to implement some additional cost-saving measures across campus.”
Administrators are discussing a variety of options as to what those
measures may be, Neiheisel said. He added
that despite the downturn, this year “really
marks the beginning of a
turning point for Northern.”
“We expect positive
strides for fall 2016 with
the institutions core values in place, a strategic
plan being finalized, and
the new brand and related marketing campaign
completing a full-year
enrollment cycle,” Neiheisel said.
Efforts to expand and
improve recruitment in-
NEIHSEISEL
clude the Northern
Promise, which allows
Upper Peninsula high
school students to complete 12-15 college
credits prior to graduation at no cost. Neiheisel
said NMU is also
launching an innovative
referral program for students and alumni and
other marketing outreach efforts with plans
to significantly increase
the prospect and applicant pool for fall 2016.
He said these new efforts will build on and
complement
ongoing
enhancements to recruitment strategies and
events, such as open
houses for prospective
students in the fall and
winter.
“This may sound a little
ironic as you look at that
number, but (Im) incredibly optimistic at this
point that we are at a
turnaround point,” Neiheisel said.
Efforts to improve student retention are continuing with an expanded First Year Experience
program, which is a
learning community to
help students transition
to college, cultivate relationships,
develop
strategies to maximize
academic success and
become familiar with
campus resources.
Neiheisel also noted
that the cost-saving reorganization that resulted in the Office of Student Success Services
will enhance support for
both recruiting and retaining students representing a wide range of
populations.
“What we hope is that
will provide more support and student services to help students
stay.
To be honest if we can
improve our retention
during the year, the budget impact wont be as
severe,” Neiheisel said.
“So some of this is truly
a moving target, but at
this stage in the game
you have to address the
numbers as you see
them at the same time.”
Neiheisel attributes the
decrease to declining
high school demographics and larger graduating classes in recent
years.
Michigan high school
graduation demographics are projected to decline by 15 percent over
the next 10 years, Neiheisel said. Regionally,
enrollment numbers for
post-secondary education have been declining
since about 2007, he
added.
“The schools that are
facing the toughest challenge I think from the demographic decline are
schools like Northern
where youre a regional,
youre a public institution
(and) youre in a declining demographic,” Neiheisel said.
This is compared to
larger public and selective private schools, who
can simply increase the
number of students they
admit, he said.
“Were an access institution already. Were admitting students who are
qualified. The pool is
smaller,” Neiheisel said.
“A selective institution
can take a bigger piece
of the pool, whereas we
have to grow our pool.
And were not alone in
this by any stretch.”
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-2282500, ext. 248. Her
email
address
is
mwardell@miningjournal.net.
Thanks
for over
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Mares– Chip
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By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — The
Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees
increased tuition rates in
June for the current academic year.
Tuition increased by the
state cap of 3.2 percent
for a total of $9,683 per
semester, up from $9,383
last year.
The graduate tuition
rate increaseed by 7.5
percent.
The school is the second lowest in the state for
tuition and fees, more
than $2,000 below the
state average.
President Fritz Erickson
said NMU is the most affordable university in the
state when scholarships
and aid are accounted
for, but will continue to lag
behind other universities
in revenue because of the
state's tuition cap.
"This strategy of just doing whatever the tuition
cap is will ultimately have
to come to an end. There
won't be a way out of it,"
Erickson said. "Other
schools' tuition is so
much greater than ours
that it puts us at a significant disadvantage."
The board decided to
task Erickson with creating a strategy for an appropriate tuition increase
for next year, with a likelihood the school will "bust
the cap," as trustee
Robert Mahaney said,
that will ensure the ongoing financial health of the
institution.
In other action, the
board
Approved the negotiated agreement between
the university and the
NMU chapter of the
American Association of
University
Professors
covering the period of July 1 to June 30, 2020
Approved a modification in the Technology,
Learning and Communication notebook program
from a lease agreement
to a purchase agreement.
The administration will be
authorized to purchase a
maximum quantity of
2,000 ThinkPad X1Carbon, LTE network ready
premium model notebooks or equivalent models and a maximum of
200 MacBook Pro models. It is the university's
intent that notebooks be
held as assets for four
years and can be sold for
at least fair market value
prior to the four year peri-
od to enable the university to meet changes in
technology and usage.
Approved the donorfunded Beaumier Alumni
Welcome and U.P. Heritage Center project of $1
million.
Approved a new Freedom of Information Act
policy
Increased the student
athletic fee by $5 to a total of $240 beginning with
the fall semester
Approved a fee of $10
to be charged to Communication and Performance
Studies majors to cover
maintenance and technology replacement in the
Mac computer lab
Approved $20 and $25
fees for a mountain bicycling course and an
emergency health care
lab, respectively, to cover
needed materials and
trail use
Changed the name of
the Department of Identity, Brand and Marketing
to University Marketing
and Communications
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-2282500, ext. 248. Her email
address
is
mwardell@miningjournal.net.
The Mining Journal, Wednesday, March 30 — 3A
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4A — The Mining Journal, Wednesday, March 30
PROGRESS2016
Promise to students
‘The Northern Promise’
‘The Northern Promise’
starts in Westwood
NMU expands opportunities for U.P. high schools
From left, Northern Michigan University President Fritz Erickson presents NICE
Community Schools Superintendent Bryan DeAugustine an NMU banner in thanks
for the schools participation in the Northern Promise Program as Steve VandenAvond, NMU vice president for extended learning and community engagement,
looks on. (Journal photo by Lisa Bowers)
By LISA BOWERS
Journal Ishpeming
Bureau
ISHPEMING- Westwood High School was
the first stop for Northern
Michigan
University
President Fritz Erickson
and Vice President for
Extended Learning and
Community
Engagement Steve VandenAvond as they traveled
to three Upper Peninsula high schools that participate in the Northern
Promise program on Friday.
Northern
Promise
gives students from
Westwood, Escanaba
and Kingsford high
schools the opportunity
to complete college
credits prior to high
school graduation at no
tuition cost to the student, according to an
NMU press release.
Erickson and VandenAvond presented a
banner to NICE Community Schools Superintendent Bryan DeAugustine
as part of the tour with
DeAugustine said this
year marks the third year
that Westwood High
School has partnered
with NMU in the Northern Promise program.
And that the school has
a 100 percent completion rate of the courses,
meaning all the students
who have taken the college
courses
have
passed them and earned
college credit.
“We are really proud of
the fact that the idea
started here at Westwood High School. And
again just with that really
small experiment three
years ago, and Northerns willingness to give
it a try,” DeAugustine
said.
The purpose of the tour
was to thank Westwood
and Escanaba High
Schools for participating
in the concurrent enrollment program and sign a
memorandum of understanding with a Kingsford High School making
a two-year commitment.
Westwood High School
has been a frontrunner
in concurrent enrollment,
offering NMU credit in
English and calculus,
with the possibility of expanding course offerings.
Westwood students also can earn credits toward NMU's Superior
Edge leadership development program, in
which students accumulate hours in four areas:
citizenship,
diversity,
leadership and realworld experience, the
press release stated.
High School Senior
Kyle Manzoline who has
earned 24 college credits with the program said
every student should try
the courses.
“I would recommend it
because you can get college credit paid for by
Westwood. If you take
more, like I have taken
more throughout the
years, you go in with a
lot of college credits,”
Manzoline said.
“We made a commitment to provide our students college courses.
So we have been paying
the full tuition. We budget about $60,000 a year
to pay for the roughly 20
students who take the
classes. Northern has
been a great partner,
and they are looking at
ways reduce those costs
for us, because they
know we are paying the
full tuition, to make it
more affordable for each
student who takes a
class.”
Westwood H.S. Senior
Katie Etelamaki who intends to attend Ferris
State University for a
pre-med, or pre-farm
who has taken 16 credits
in the program.
“I would tell them to do
it, it is a lot like the high
school classes, not
scary or intimidating, the
workload is a little bit
more, but youre still
comfortable.”
The goals of the Northern Promise are to ease
the transition to college
while still promoting academic rigor, reduce the
time required to earn a
degree and save on tuition costs, the press release stated.
DeAugustine
said
there are two teachers
on staff that are accredited to teach college level courses. The teachers
are paid for one hour per
day by NMU and the rest
of the day they are paid
by the school district.
“We wanted to give our
kids a college experience without putting
them on the road and
having to drive,” DeAugustine said. “What better way to do that than to
bring the professor to
them?”
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE
—
Northern Michigan University rolled out a threepronged outreach program this fall called “The
Northern Promise” to offer Upper Peninsula high
schoolers the chance to
earn free college credit
at a reduced price to districts.
President Fritz Erickson said the goal is simple.
“Wed like to to provide
to every student in the
Upper Peninsula whos
in high school an opportunity to earn between 12
and 15 credits before
they graduate,” Erickson
said. “Because — there
are lots of great reasons,
but chief among them —
if you really want to control the cost of education,
you control the time to
degree. And if you can
come (to college) with a
semesters worth of work
done, thats real savings.”
Westwood
High
School, Escanaba High
School, Forest Park High
School and Kingsford
High School are participating this year, according to NMUs Vice President for Extended Learning and Community Engagement Steve VandenAvond.
“Next year we hope to
see Norway/Vulcan and
Gwinn on board,” VandenAvond said. “The response has been good
and gets even better as
more schools understand what we are doing.”
High schoolers in the
program are full NMU
students, with a photo
identification card, the
same services and facility access, an NMU email
account and academic
transcript.
“Im not one who believes that everyone
needs to go to college,
but everyone needs an
opportunity for some
form of post-secondary
education, and thats
what this is about,” Erickson said.
The Promises three
options are general education, for high-achieving
students on a collegepreparatory track; career-technical education,
emphasizing hands-on
learning as a path to a
college education or apprenticeship; and the
second start path, designed for students who
struggle in high school,
“but who are smart and
capable learners when
given the right circumstances,” according to
NMUs brochure.
“Frankly, one of my favorites is the second
chance program,” Erickson said. “There are a lot
of kids that are coming
through high school that,
you know, werent terribly motivated, didnt necessarily come from the
most conducive environment for pursuing secondary education, but ...
if they can get those basic college classes and
demonstrate that they
can be successful, well
give them admission to
the university. It really is
a second chance.”
Students in the second
start program who complete any necessary developmental courses and
can demonstrate college-level competency in
reading, writing and
math will be guaranteed
acceptance into NMU
without regard to grade
point average or test
scores.
While second start students will not earn credit
toward a degree since
the courses are remedial, they will save the cost
of taking the classes at a
university their freshman
year.
NICE
community
schools implemented the
general education program two years ago and
currently offers college
courses at Westwood
High School. Based on
the success of the funding model and the interest of students, NMU is
expanding the program.
For the career-technical pathway, NMU is
building on the Marquette-Alger Technical
Middle College, which
began at NMU in 2013 in
partnership with the Marquette-Alger Regional
Educational
Services
Agency.
VandenAvond, hired
last spring, said the reduced cost for general
education courses, under a model called concurrent enrollment, is
based on where the
class is taught and by
whom. The cost of percredit tuition is reduced
by one-third if the course
is taught at the high
school and another third
if it is taught by a vetted,
qualified high school
teacher, who would become an adjunct NMU
instructor.
“In all these programs,
academic rigor is not being
sacrificed one bit,” VandenAvond said. “Were not accepting students who
shouldnt be at a university;
were not using instructors
who arent qualified to teach
at a university level. Were
simply finding ways to deliver what we already have to
a greater number of people,
either in different locations
or using different instructors
or using different technology. So were bringing the
university to people rather
than requiring people to
come to the university.”
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-228-2500,
ext. 248. Her email address
is mwardell@miningjournal.net.
See Promise
Continued on 8A
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The Mining Journal, Wednesday, March 30 — 5A
PROGRESS2016
NMU
approves
budget
‘A Catalyst for Conversation’
Forum highlights entrepreneurship efforts
President obtains raise
NMU President
Fritz Erickson
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees in July approved a $108 million general fund operating budget for the current
school year, an increase of about $400,000 or 0.4
percent from the previous year, according to an
NMU press release.
The budget factors in increased expenses related
to contractual obligations, health care costs, minimum wage increases and other inflationary costs.
Most of those will be offset by cost-saving reductions realized through restructuring and operational
adjustments, according to the release.
The board also approved an executive committee
recommendation to increase President Fritz Ericksons base salary by 2 percent consistent with the
increase for non-represented NMU employees, according to the release. Within the contract guidelines, the board offered Erickson a $20,000 performance bonus for his achievements in his first year.
Ericksons contract, originally set to expire in 2016,
will be extended to 2018.
In other action at the meeting, the board:
In other action at the
meeting, the board:
Approved a distance education fee of
up to $50 per credit hour for all online
courses
Approved the universitys sexual
misconduct policy, a modified version of the former sexual assault policy. Universities and colleges are developing or revising their policies in
response to changes in federal laws
and regulations
Authorized the purchase of a new
$280,000 nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer for the Chemistry department
Approved the following capital and
long-term maintenance projects: New
Science Facility heat recovery and
coil replacement, $300,000; and
Learning Resources Center and West
Science classroom renovations,
$560,000
At left, Gov. Rick Snyder speaks via live-stream at a campus forum about
entrepreneurial development at Northern Michigan University. Above, A
panel of entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders participated the
forum aimed at promoting entrepreneurship. Pictured, from left, is moderator Ray Johnson, CEO of the Innovate Marquette SmartZone;
Invent@NMU Founder David Ollila; Megan Frost, an associate professor
of biomedical engineering at Michigan Technological University and cofounder of FM Research Management, LLC; Jeff Nyquist, CEO of Home
Health & Hospice and creator of NeuroTrainer; Robert Mahaney, president
of the Veridea Group, LLC; and Chris Rizik, CEO and fund manager of Renaissance Venture Capital Fund. (Journal photo by Mary Wardell)
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — While
the Upper Peninsula
doesnt always bring to
mind cutting-edge technological advancements,
efforts are underway to
change that perception
and the local economic
landscape.
One Marquette man
has developed virtual
brain-training technology.
A Houghton woman has
invented a medical polymer that could save lives
and billions of dollars.
Both shared their stories
at a forum last month on
the campus of Northern
Michigan University.
Gov. Rick Snyder, via
internet live-stream, and
a panel of entrepreneurs,
investors and business
leaders participated in “A
Catalyst for Conversation:
Driving
Entrepreneurship in Northern Michigan,” moderated
by Ray Johnson, CEO of
the Innovate Marquette
SmartZone.
Innovate Marquette is a
Michigan Economic Development Corporationdesignated SmartZone
with a mission to help position Marquette County
and the wider U.P. as a
world-class
entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Snyder congratulated
the U.P., NMU and other
organizations — like Invent@NMU, 40 Below
Marquette County Young
Professionals and the Angel Network of local investors — for promoting
innovative opportunities
and partnerships.
Snyder said creating an
environment of innova-
tion and entrepreneurship
requires at least five key
elements: technology, talent, capital, infrastructure
and a culture of success.
“This is a team sport.
Trying to do things on
your own is not the best
answer. Its how you
reach out and build networks and relationships
that count,” Snyder said.
The region has improved dramatically, Snyder said, but he encouraged stakeholders to
continue on that path.
“Hopefully, you can see
Im fired up about this
stuff, and I am fired up
about your opportunity in
Northern Michigan,” Snyder said. “I want to get up
there; I want to learn
more from you. So as you
go through this, if youve
got more questions for
me, line them up. Im
happy to talk more about
this because I see a great
opportunity for success in
Northern Michigan.”
Invent@NMU
is
a
unique campus space
helping local inventors
bring their ideas to market, while offering students a training ground to
propel them into the job
market.
Founder and Director
David Ollila, one of Fridays panelists and an inventor with 12 patents,
said the center gets a
new idea walking through
the door on average every three days.
Four other panelists also shared their stories
about the conversations
that served as catalysts
for their success.
Megan Frost, an associate professor of biomedi-
cal engineering at Michigan Technological University and cofounder of
FM Research Management, LLC, developed a
nitric
oxide-releasing
polymer with life-changing applications for medical devices.
Frost became motivated to research and develop the product after getting an infection from
having her wisdom teeth
out.
Jeff Nyquist is the CEO
of Home Health & Hospice and president and
sole owner of NeuroTrainer, which offers athletes advanced brain
training through virtual
technology to improve
their
performance.
Nyquist, who has a Ph.D.
in cognitive neuroscience
from Vanderbilt University, also helped develop
two multimillion dollar
non-profit corporations:
the Trillium Hospice
House of Marquette
County and the Western
Marquette County Health
Foundation.
“The goal is not so
much about having a
conversation,” Nyquist
said. “The goal is to learn
from people that have already gone through
things and figure out how
to fail quicker and to learn
quicker and to succeed
quicker.”
Chris Rizik, CEO and
fund manager of Renaissance Venture Capital
Fund, is also the founder
and publisher of SoulTracks.com, the most popular online soul music
magazine in the U.S.
Finally, Robert Mahaney, president of the
Veridea Group, LLC, has
a long professional history of corporate banking
and successful start-ups,
in addition to being a local Angel investor and
serving on the NMU
Board of Trustees.
Steve Arwood, CEO of
the MEDC gave the
keynote address, saying
that he is also “fired up”
about the entrepreneurial
efforts happening in
Northern Michigan.
Arwood
called
Invent@NMU one of the
freshest things he has ever seen in the U.P.
But the U.P. has one
other major advantage: a
sense of place, he said,
adding that nobody that
grows up or goes to
school here seems to
want to leave.
“Its an incredible
sense of place, something that you dont find
in other parts of the
state — and a community of excellence,” Arwood said. “If you look
at
Marquette
and
Houghton and across
the U.P., that place and
that undeniable attachment to the natural
beauty and attraction of
the setting gives rise to
these opportunities that
we see right in front of
us.
“So congratulations on
moving the conversation
to this level, and I ask
that we keep the conversation going.”
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-2282500, ext. 248. Her email
address
is
mwardell@miningjournal.net.
Estate Planning
Isn’t About Death,
It’s About Life
Approved the following reorganization: NMU concessions, previously
under Intercollegiate Atheltics/Recreational Sports, will now be under Dining Services in the finance and administration division
Approved a request by Francis Reh
Academy in Saginaw, one of NMUs
charter schools, to add an additional
site that will be used for grades 7-12
Appointed the following board members at NMUs public school
academies (terms expire June 30,
2016 unless otherwise indicated):
Richard Hotchkin, East Shore Leadership Academy; Patricia Edwards,
Experiencia Preparatory Academy;
and Charles Wandahsega, Nah Tah
Wahsh Public School Academy (June
30, 2018)
Adopted revisions to the NMU Board
of Trustees bylaws
Extended the external auditor contract of Anderson, Tackman & Company PLC through June 30 2017
Granted professor emeritus status to
Kenneth Janson, business, and
Steven Oates, education
Mary Wardell can be reached at 906-228-2500,
ext. 248. Her email address is mwardell@miningjournal.net.
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6A — The Mining Journal, Wednesday, March 30
PROGRESS2016
Selling broadband
WNMU participates in FCC spectrum auction
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan
Universitys local public television station, WNMU TV13, is participating in an
auction conducted by the Federal Communications Commission to sell off
broadband spectrum.
The auction will take place March 29,
but programming wont be affected by
the outcome, said WNMU General
Manager Eric Smith.
“The reason Northern would participate in the auction is because theres
the potential for us to take the channel
assignment that we have and receive a
cash payment for that, and then explore
some of the other options that the commission has offered so that we can continue broadcasting,” Smith said.
“The important thing here is that
Northern is intending and is committed
to preserving the broadcast station.
Well continue to provide programming
and continue to stay on the air. None of
that will change. Its just a question of
how we provide the service and
whether we can take this one-time offer
from the FCC and use that to stabilize
the operations and make it more sustainable.”
The goal of the incentive auction is to
make more broadband spectrum available to wireless carriers due to the
growing demand for internet and video
streaming on cell phones and other devices.
The maximum proposed opening bid
price for the Marquette market is $37
million, but the estimated maximum
high-end compensation is only $4 million, according to the FCC.
Smith said participating in the bid
merely preserves the universitys options, allowing administrators to see
what the spectrum is worth monetarily
without making a commitment.
“Nobody knows what that number will
look like,” Smith said. “So thats why we
have to go through the process and it
ultimately could reach the point where
we look at that and say ..., for what we
would get by releasing our spectrum,
the cost associated with moving to a
new channel, its not worth it. And we
reserve the right to exit the auction and
everything stays the same.”
The auction has two simultaneous
parts meant to assess the demand and
value for spectrum held by TV broadcasters, which can also be used for internet broadband, Smith said.
In the reverse auction, broadcasters
have an opening bid amount, which
drops as the auction proceeds. In the
forward part, wireless carriers bid on
spectrum that would potentially be released by the broadcasters, Smith explained.
Smith said broadband was once considered an endless commodity, but
thats no longer true.
“When broadcasting first began, when
we had radio and television, there
werent many competitors for the spectrum,” Smith said. “But when you think
about the world we live in today, we
have wireless all over the place. ... All of
that uses digital technology, all of it requires spectrum. ... So as the devices
have mushroomed and exploded in
growth, wireless carriers have said they
need additional spectrum and unfortunately, not all spectrum is created
equal, so some spectrum is better for
some purposes than others and its co-
Public TV13 Producer-Director
Robert Thomson works at the control
panel at Northern Michigan University's public TV station, which is participating in an auction conducted by the
Federal Communications Commission to sell off broadband spectrum to
wireless carriers. (Journal photo by
Mary Wardell)
incidental that the upper bands of the
television spectrum happen to be also
suitable for wireless broadband, which
the cell phone companies use for their
services as well.”
So the FCC, which is designed to
grant licenses based the public interest,
has been tasked with repacking the
spectrum and freeing up space to accommodate the demand, Smith said.
“Ultimately, its all about efficiency and
how can we get all of these services out
to the public in a way that makes
sense,” Smith said. “This is such a new
process, nobody for sure really knows
how this is going to play out. Its never
been done before, so were all trying to
do our best to figure it out. I think the important thing to keep in mind is, ... our
licenses are designed to serve the public ..., and thats what will drive our ultimate decisions.”
For more information about the auction, visit the FCC online at
www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/fcc-initiatives/incentive-auctions.
Mary Wardell can be reached at 906228-2500, ext. 248. Her email address
is mwardell@miningjournal.net.
Promising changes
Erickson announces new alignment plan for NMU
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University
President Fritz Erickson
rolled out a new alignment plan Jan. 11, the
first day of the winter
semester,
promising
changes across all divisions of the university.
“The (important thing) is
to look at the future of the
university and make sure
we have the kind of academic programs that
have real appeal to the
students, real appeal to
employers, real appeal to
the state, so we want to
make sure we have the
most modern up-to-date
programming, and the
dollars that weve identified will help us move that
forward,” Erickson said.
The new alignment plan
calls for budget reductions by departments coordinated with student
demand for classes, as
well as significant spending on facilities. Alignment also includes a program incentivising innovation in academic programming,
reshuffling
and reduction of administrative positions, efforts to
increase private giving,
and growing enrollment
through NMUs new Ex-
tended Learning and
Community Engagement
division, improving athletics and appealing to minorities.
“Investing in the future
of NMU students and the
university demands reductions in some areas
while simultaneously directing additional resources to other areas,”
NMUs press release
states.
NMU will seek to invest
up to $175 million into
modernization and asset
preservation over the
next five years through
the universitys capital reserves, state capital out-
Union contracts ratified
AAUP president calls vote a ‘break even’ effort
By MARY WARDELL and
CHRISTIE BLECK
Journal Staff Writers
MARQUETTE — The
American Association of
University Professors at
Northern Michigan University in June voted 135-25 to
approve a contract offer
from the administration.
The NMU Board of
Trustees ratified the contract later that month.
Rebecca Mead, history
professor and union president, called the vote a
"break even" effort.
"A lot of people aren't totally thrilled about it," Mead
said.
However, she said it
would have been disruptive
and complicated to continue negotiations.
"It's better to accept what
we can now," Mead said.
NMU and the union had
been negotiating since December, said Derek Hall,
assistant vice president of
identity, brand and marketing at NMU.
"It's been a long process,"
Hall said.
He also noted ratification
of the contract is great for
the university.
"It gives stability to the re-
lationship and doles out future raises for a longer period of time," Hall said.
Under the agreement, fulltime faculty at Northern
Michigan University will receive 1.6 percent pay increases in year one and
then a 2 percent pay increase in years 2-5. Contingent faculty will receive 4
percent in year 1 and a 2
percent pay increase in
years 2-5.
Health care also was an
issue.
Mead said the union accepted a new health care
package, but hopes to have
more "mutual discussions"
with the administration in
the future.
The new plan significantly
increase deductibles and
co-pays and institutes a
tiered plan with premiums,
she said.
"People who are single
will do a little bit better with
premiums, but families will
be hit hard," Mead said.
N
M
U

s
administrative/professional union, UAW Local 2178,
voted in September to ratify a new three-year contract by a 109-12 margin.
The union represents 189
members.
The agreement includes
base salary increases of 2
percent for each of the
three years and an additional one-time payment of
$400 the first year. Employees would also be eligible to receive a cash
bonus of 0.5 percent of
base salary for each 1
percent increase in enrollment above the current
academic year, as measured by student credit
hours. A similar incentive
was included in the AAUP
contract.
The A/P union will join
other NMU employee
groups in shifting to a new
health care plan with adjusted
co-pays,
deductibles and maximum
out-of-pocket expenses.
Effective Jan. 1, all represented and non-represented NMU employees
were on the same plan.
The newly ratified contracts term began Oct. 1
and runs through Sept. 30,
2018.
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-228-2500,
ext. 248. Her email address is
mwardell@miningjournal.net.
lay, bonding, private giving and public/private
partnerships, according
to the release.
Investments will include
modernization of housing
and dining facilities from
a potential $100 million
public/private partnership, a state-funded $40
million transformation of
the Learning Resources
Center, a $15 million renovation of the University
Center, a $10.5 million
academic teaching and
business innovation center, a $9.5 million military
and veterans education
center and a yet-to-bedetermined update of the
Jacobetti Complex.
Erickson is also launching a program investment
fund of $1 million available directly to academic
departments, colleges
and collaborations to
support innovation and
investment in academics
programming, the release said.
“We want our faculty to
think about the future and
if they need money to review curriculum, to invest
in equipment, to develop
and redesign programs,
all of those things should
be considered and thats
why its important to have
and make a significant in-
vestment in that future,”
Erickson said.
Meanwhile academic
affairs will balance that
investment with mandatory cuts, based on student enrollment and other factors.
But Erickson also said
enrollment isnt the universitys only concern,
adding that the individual
needs of each department must be taken into
account and that with excellent programming, enrollment will take care of
itself.
See Changes
Continued on 8A
The Mining Journal, Wednesday, March 30 — 7A
PROGRESS2016
NMU approves strategic plan
Focus on prestige and distinction, growing enrollment
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan Universitys
new strategic plan focuses on creating outcomes
that will enhance prestige
and distinction, establish
new and responsive approaches, expand partnerships and grow enrollment.
NMUs
Board
of
Trustees unanimously
approved the strategic
plan in December, with
the allowance that the details of the plan within the
areas of focus will continually evolve.
The plan, titled “Investing in Innovation: The vision and courage to lead
transformational
change,” can be viewed
online
at
w w w. n m u . e d u / p r e s i dent/strategic-plan.
The strategic plan was
the culmination of 12 different drafts and numerous meetings and forums
with students, faculty,
alumni, and community
and business leaders.
President Fritz Erickson
at a presentation to the
Economic Club of Marquette County in October
said, “It became clear in
all that discussion that
what we need to do as an
institution is really focus
on investing in innovation, that this is a time of
transformation for the
university.”
On the academic side,
this means new programs, off-campus and
online delivery, and hybrid programs, he said.
Erickson said NMU cre-
ated seven programs last
year including a 16-week
manufacturing production
technician program, and
cyber security and paralegal programs.
At an alumni strategic
planning
forum
in
November, Erickson said
the NMU community
tends to be humble about
its accomplishments —
such as the fact NMU has
the most distinguished
faculty of all 15 state universities and has the
highest medical school
placement rates. NMU
has the second lowest
cost of any public university in the state and the
lowest
administrative
costs, he added.
Erickson said NMUs
marketing team is aiming
to improve perceptions of
the university through targeted advertising to
young people on social
media and a billboard
campaign downstate with
the slogan, “Same state,
different state of mind,” to
emphasize the unique
environment and culture
of the U.P. and the university.
Improving student opportunities for internships
and practicums through
connections with alumni
will also be a major focus
for the university moving
forward, Erickson said.
Internships lead to jobs,
he said. And getting students their first job is critical, “Because if you get
the first job, you get the
second job.”
Other examples of
NMUs innovative efforts
are Invent@NMU, the
College of Businesss
new venture competition,
a collaborative partnership with Duke LifePoint
and Michigan State University for health science
research, the Northern
Promise program, collaboration with Marquette
Countys new SmartZone
and more.
“We have a special obligation as part of this
community to help find
the jobs, create the jobs
and create the kind of environment that will keep
(graduates) here,” Erickson said in October. “So
economic development is
central to the mission of
our institution.”
A community grants office is in the early stages
of development to address the needs of the
more-than 130 small nonprofit organizations in the
area. Erickson said these
non-profits do great work,
but lack support for seeking grant funds from state
and federal programs,
corporations and community foundations.
The goal is to move
NMUs successful grant
office off-campus to
downtown Marquette,
he said. There community members will be
able to learn if they qualify for a grant, then get
help writing, managing
and bringing the grant to
closure.
“The financial operations of a grant are always a challenge,” Erickson said. “Our goal is
to help people” navigate
that process.
Erickson described the
Northern Michigan University President Fritz Erickson speaks at a strategic planning forum for alumni in November. About 50 people attended the event, which was
one of about a dozen discussion forums to offer campus stakeholders an opportunity to contribute to the final draft of the plan. (Journal photo by Mary Wardell)
Don H. Bottum University Center as nostalgic
but not attractive to
prospective students.
He presented slides depicting a two-story, high
ceiling addition with a
large ballroom, citing
plans to remove the Peter White Lounge and
update the Great Lakes
Rooms upstairs.
“So well probably
leave a lot of the design
upstairs but well really
make it a much more
modern, much more attractive facility,” Erickson said. “I think its
something we can all
use in the community,
something that will be
useful for all of us.”
He also wants to rebuild the four dormitory
housing facilities in
Quad I into more modern,
apartment-style
housing, saying, “To this
generation of students,
housing matters.”
To build the dorms, administration is moving
ahead with a public-private partnership in which
the university will lease
the property and an outside company will build
and manage the facility.
“We expect to move
very quickly,” Erickson
said. “This kind of commitment to investment is
something that is really
important to the life and
the future of the institution. Our institution is really on the move and,
while losing 423 students
is not the best thing in the
world, the opportunities
that we have before us
far outweigh, far exceed
our challenges.”
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-228-2500,
ext. 248. Her email address is mwardell@miningjournal.net.
Partnerships for technology
Officials promote growing tech fields in U.P.
By MARY WARDELL
Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — The
Michigan Department of
Technology,
Management & Budget is developing partnerships with
Upper Peninsula schools
and businesses to promote expanding opportunities in the fields of IT,
cyber security and mobile
development.
Providing administrative and technology services and information, the
DTMB aims to make
Michigan one of the most
innovative, efficient and
responsive governments
in the world, according to
its website.
DTMB directors visited
Marquette in December
to lead a town hall meeting with area employees
and continue the conversation with universities
and the private sector
about the growing need
for trained professionals
in these fields.
“Some would say in the
cyber security field,
theres negative unemployment, so theres
more cyber jobs than
there are people with the
skills to do them,” Director David Behen said.
“Application
development, ... mobile applications, thats just taking off
too, and we dont see that
slowing down for the foreseeable future. I mean
that is really (going to) be
booming.”
The opportunity for professionals to work remotely makes technological fields particularly appealing to U.P. communities, where young people
often want to stay, but
face challenges finding
jobs, Behen said.
“Those are the skill sets
and the talent that can be
done from anywhere, and
that is going to help ... diversify and transform the
economy here,” Behen
said. “Companies cannot
find enough talent on
both the cyber security
side and the mobile application development side,
just those skills are in
great demand. Quite
frankly, I think the U.P.
and Marquette are wellsuited to take advantage
of that.”
Behen said the DTMB
is building relationships
with universities, colleges, local businesses
like 906 Technologies
and Elegant Seagulls, the
SmartZone technology
business incubator, city
and county officials and
young professionals to
help facilitate economic
growth.
Northern Michigan University started a cyber security undergraduate program in fall of 2014 and
offers programs in business computer information systems, computer
science and mobile and
web application development.
Assistant Vice President of Marketing and
Communications Derek
Hall said NMU is training
a growing number of students to work in the fastchanging world of business and technology.
“For us, we want to recruit more students, of
course. We talk to a lot of
industries and companies
... and we also talk to
people that say, Man, I
wish I could move back to
the U.P.,” Hall said. “You
look at Elegant Seagulls
down the street, theyre
able to work for clients
across the world, and all
but the owner are NMU
grads, so thats a great
opportunity case study
right there.”
The DTMB started an
ongoing partnership with
NMU last year to hire students for web and mobile
application
design.
Theyve hired two students so far that work
from NMUs campus
while finishing their degrees. One went on to
work at a local technology company and DTMB
hired another student for
the winter semester.
David Nyberg, director
of the governors office
for northern Michigan,
said one of Governor
Rick Snyders initiatives
is developing and retaining talent in fields that are
growing and in demand.
“One of the reasons I
get really excited when
David and his team come
to Marquette is we have a
pretty diverse economy
up here but (in) some of
the more growing fields in
Michigans
economy,
Marquette has a great
opportunity to be a part of
that and Northern is taking action by creating cur-
riculum programs to develop talent in those
spaces, DTMB is providing opportunities for
those students to get onthe-job training and, at
the same time, we have a
state agency up here actively learning about what
the needs are in the pri-
vate sector and helping
them to be a catalyst for
growth in that space.”
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-2282500, ext. 248. Her email
address
is
mwardell@miningjournal.net.
8A — The Mining Journal, Wednesday, March 30
Invent @ NMU
Promise Continued from 4A
Continued from 1A
Twice recognized by
President Barack Obama
for his entrepreneurial efforts and with a portfolio
of 12 patents, Ollila has
founded multiple start-ups
across several categories, including the now
multi-billion dollar consumer electronic helmet
camera category, according to the centers website.
Ollila said Invent@NMU
follows in a long line of
predecessors.
“The history of the U.P.
is steeped with innovators
and entrepreneurs,” Ollila
said. “From the most fa-
PROGRESS2016
mous in the world, like
Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone
and E.G. Kingsford, to our
home town heroes like
Kelly Johnson, Glenn
Seaborg and George Shiras. There are even a few
products that have been
invented in the U.P. nearly 100 years ago, like the
Kingsford charcoal briquette and Marble Safety
Axe, that are still sold today.”
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-228-2500, ext.
248. Her email address is
mwardell@miningjournal.net.
Concurrent enrollment
differs from Advanced
Placement
classes,
which require that students take the courses in
high school and then
take AP exams to determine if they will earn college credits.
Concurrent
enrollment credits are guaranteed and the grades
students receive for the
courses will appear on
their NMU transcripts.
NMU ensures qualified
instructors who are vetted through the relevant
university academic departments and mentored by NMU faculty.
Erickson said that the
courses in the program
count for both credit toward high school graduation and credits on a
college transcripts.
While participating in
a Northern Promise
program,
the
high
school student will also
receive a Northern
identification card that
can be used for many
of the same services
and facility access
available to NMU students, as well as an
NMU email account
and academic transcript.
Erickson said that access to NMUs WI-max
internet could be a pos-
sible additional benefit
to students enrolled in
the Northern Promise
program at Westwood
High School.
“Our commitment and
our agreement with the
FCC is for educational
institutions, so it really
fits within our goal of
providing high speed
internet to all the U.P.
We have been really
clear about wanting to
provide high speed educational internet to the
entire U.P., and there is
no better place to start
than here,” Erickson
said.
NMU develops and
oversees the Northern
Promise curriculum, the
press release stated.
With the Northern
Promise, schools can
choose to offer any of
three program paths:
concurrent enrollment
courses; career-technical middle college; and
Second Start. The latter
is designed for students
who did not plan on going to college and didn't
take the courses needed
for university admission.
Lisa Bowers can be
reached at 906-4864401. Her email address
is lbowers@miningjournal.net.
Changes Continued from 6A
“We have to look at
each one of these (departments) on their own
merits and on an individual basis, so declining
enrollment or increasing
enrollment isn't the only
data point. you have to
look at all of these other
factors,” Erickson said.
Departmental reductions can be made
through rebalancing term
positions, buyouts, retirements, reduction of adjuncts or overloads or
other alternatives, Erickson said.
“So we have to look and
say, What is right with
what were doing, where
can we make improvements, how can we do
things in the most cost-effective fashion and most
importantly, how do we
meet the needs of our
students? So all of these
pieces really make up
that puzzle,” Erickson
said.
The realignment plan
also heralds the arrival of
a complete administrative
and programmatic review
of the academic affairs division, a process com-
mencing “immediately”
with recommendations
due no later than Feb. 11,
according to the release.
The review is to determine the optimal number
of administrative units,
academic departments
and programs. Part of
this review will include an
analysis of the programs
in the Jacobetti Center on
the future directions, partnerships and program offerings for the full range
of career and technical
programs, the release
states.
Erickson
proposed
looking at potential partnerships with business
and industry to improve
programming at the Jacobetti Center.
“Many of the programs
in the Jacobetti Center
have done extremely
well, but weve also had
others that have really
struggled,” Erickson said.
“Sometimes you just
have to stop and take a
look and say for those
programs that are struggling, Whats the best we
can do for the program?
There are ways to re-en-
vision those programs or
have we reached a point
where some of those programs will need to go
away?”
The NMU Foundation is
also under review by a
consulting firm for a complete analysis of its structure and organization
with the goal of building
on a strong legacy of
fundraising,
Erickson
said, a process he expects to be done by the
end of February.
“i think thatll give us a
pretty good roadmap for
where well end up moving and going with the advancement office,” Erickson said.
Administrative reshuffling includes elimination
of the vice president for
enrollment and student
services position, creation of development officers from existing personnel to build athletics
and business on campus,
and changes in what divisions report to whom, the
release states.
“The impetus for the
reshuffling is actually
pretty simple. We want as
flat an administrative organization as we can
possibly have that empowers different departments and different programs to really control
their destiny,” Erickson
said. “Im a huge believer
that our academic programs need to be empowered to manage and
move those programs
forward. And so in looking
at the structures that we
have, my conclusion was,
here was an opportunity
to create a much flatter
structure, a much less
administratively heavy
structure.”
Growing
off-campus
student
enrollment
through K-12, community
college and business and
industry partnerships is a
high priority, as is expanding international student recruitment and international partnerships,
conference services and
online and off-site programming, according to
the release. Distance education will be a major focus, and the Extended
Learning and Community
Engagement division will
develop a revenue sharing budget model for online and off-campus programs to encourage new
and innovative academic
offerings.
A new coordinated effort will support enrollment through athletics
and increase attendance
and community engagement at sports events,
according to the release.
Fundraising initiatives
will focus on the college
of business, research institutes and enhancing
the athletic program, Erickson said.
“Its hard to say exactly the timeline ... other
than were optimistic
that we can — one, set
some pretty precise
goals and two, very
much achieve those
goals,” Erickson said.
Another major enrollment effort lies with the
new chief diversity officer, charged with expanding recruitment of
minorities, retaining students from diverse communities,
identifying
barriers to broader engagement of diverse
populations and developing a comprehensive
strategy for addressing
these barriers, according to the release.
“Actually this is a real
opportunity for the university,” Erickson said. “This
is about setting up the
structures that we think
will move the institution
forward in some really
positive ways. It gives us
the opportunity to revitalize programs, invest in
new programs, create a
vibrancy on campus.
“This is a point in time I
think well look back on
20 years from now and
say, This was the point in
time that the university
began a major transformation. And providing
the resources and making the investment to provide the kind of high-quality academic degree programs is really important
to us, and thats what
were going to do.”
Mary Wardell can be
reached at 906-228-2500,
ext. 248. Her email address is mwardell@miningjournal.net.