White Pine

N O R T H W E S T E R N M I C H I G

September 15, 2011 Vol. XXVIII No. 1

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We hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may

They bring the culture to Traverse p. 3 city

The first of several profiles of NMCs international students.

Your guide to nMc Life p.6

Insider info on must-know campus lingo, finding parking (when there isnt any) and how to smoke on a smoke-free campus.

NMC President Timothy J. Nelson is commited to building an international future for the college.

Photo Credit//Jess farraN

President Nelson takes international initiative to the next level

jack hagen Press Editor-in-Chief Today, its a deserted piece of property, owned by the college but as yet undetermined in its use. Someday, though, the 54 acres of land on the north side of Eastern Avenue could be home to a hotbed of global activity. At least, this is what NMC President Timothy J. Nelson envisions for the space. One day, he said during an interview with the White Pine Press this week, the property could be a multigenerational, multinational, experiential learning sitea learning village of sorts. Nelson, who this year is celebrating his 10th anniversary as president of the college, has spoken of his global vision for the college in the past. But hes now giving it an even greater priority, devising and funding projects that will allow students to embark on international discovery expeditions, hosting international scholars and lecturers, and designing curriculums that allow students to understand that there is a global dimension to everything we do, he said. The world is certainly not the same place it was 10 years ago, Nelson said. Our students now face an environment in which they need to understand the experiences of other cultures, the values that drive decisions, and they need to find opportunities to do more than just read about that. Along with eventually creating space here thats devoted specifically to global-focused projects, Nelson believes that NMC must provide learning opportunities that are not just place-based on campus. As technology has made great inroads and continues to expand, place may become less important than the competence of whos involved in the experience and how theyre involved, he said. To kick start his re-invigorated global push, Nelson has introduced the Global Opportunities Fund. As Nancy, my wife and I talked about this, we said weve had some great experiences here at the college where weve kind of gone through an incubation phase, Nelson said. And so there are a lot of these bits and pieces that we just think its time to consolidate and move into an acceleration phase. Nelson aims to raise between $100,000 and $200,000 to invest and facilitate these projects; once that is done, the goal will be to establish an endowment. So part of this fund is to provide dollars for at least four faculty discovery expeditions each year, where the expectation is that the faculty member will either go to or in some way communicate with other parts of the world, finding ways in which we can incorporate joint learning opportunities with that part of the world and Northwestern Michigan College, Nelson said. Another target of the fund: seek out groups and individuals in the region with international connections, and then bring

global growth

Farm Fresh
NMC Dining Services offers more local foods than ever before.

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See gROWTh on page 2

2012 Michigan Community College Press Association Judging Form

Place of award: Third Category: Front Page Design Headline/title of entry: Sept. 15, Oct. 13, Feb. 2 Contestants name: Staff College name: Northwestern Michigan College (White Pine Press)

Judges comments: Like the second place winner in this category, I had to get over the fact that this tab formatted newspaper only allows for one story on the front page. However, a strong use of the rail on the left side of the page gives readers a good glimpse to the rest of the presentation. Also, each front page package was well thought out and very creative.