Strategic Plan

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees today received a draft of the Strategic Resource Allocation (SRA) report from the implementation task force. The SRA project aligns with the university’s strategic plan by identifying opportunities for transformational change and reallocating resources to implement them. Beginning last year, it reviewed more than 600 academic and support programs campus-wide. The draft report extends beyond the individual program summaries to recommend several transformation initiatives.

NMU President Fritz Erickson summarized the Campus Master Plan at Wednesday’s meeting of the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Advisory Committee. Key elements, all of which are contingent on external funding, include strengthening the academic core and creating an expanded arts corridor with a new university-community performance venue and parking ramp.

Northern held its second NMU Day of Giving Nov. 27, in conjunction with the global charitable event, Giving Tuesday. Focus areas receiving significant support included the Northern Fund, the Flexible Aid Fund, student scholarships and the NMU Food Pantry. The university collected 2112 non-perishable food items and personal hygiene products for the pantry, surpassing its goal of 2,000 and doubling last year's total. The pantry also received more than $2,500 in cash gifts.

Northern Michigan University is seeking community input on its campus master plan, which will provide a guide for future physical changes on campus. NMU recorded a recent campus forum where alternatives surrounding seven planning themes were presented, and created a corresponding online survey to gather feedback. The survey will remain open through Friday, Nov. 2.

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees has directed the administration to ensure compliance with federal and state laws governing sexual misconduct, including the recent Doe vs. Baum ruling. In that University of Michigan case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that when a Title IX disciplinary proceeding involves competing narratives that require a credibility determination, both parties have a constitutional right to cross-examine each other and witnesses in the presence of decision-makers.

Northern Michigan University English professor Wendy Farkas is using an Endeavor Foundation grant to integrate civic learning into the English general education curriculum. NMU is among 24 institutions selected for funding from 134 applicants. The funding supports an Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) initiative called “Civic Prompts: Civic Learning in the Major by Design.” The initiative seeks to incorporate civic-minded studies and social responsibility as components within students’ major fields of study.