Northern Michigan University deployed one of thelargest active WiMAX networks in the country on the10th anniversary of its campus-wide notebook computerprogram in late August.

WiMAX is a fourth-generation protocol (4G) thatoffers broadband wireless Internet access. Compared withthe more common WiFi, WiMAX is capable of transmit-ting data over much broader areas with less interferenceand more efficient bandwidth use.

NMU is one of the first universities in the nationwith a WiMAX network. The 3,000 Lenovo ThinkPadcomputers issued to students this fall have built-inWiMAX/WiFi Intel cards. Students with year-old com-puters are able to check out a WiMax card from thelibrary or purchase one from the bookstore. In additionto Intel and Lenovo, Motorola also participated in theWiMAX network deployment.

“Over the past few years, with WiFihot spots, NMU covered about 10 per-cent of the City of Marquette. WiMAXallows us to cover nearly 100 percent,”says Gavin Leach, NMU vice presidentfor finance and administration. “Thismakes us one of the first universities inthe United States to be able to providewireless access to nearly our entire stu-dent population. This would not havebeen possible without the efforts of ourtechnology industry partners.”

“It was with great pride that Intel engineers assistedwith the rollout of the WiMAX network,” says Eileen Lento,government and education strategist, Intel Americas. “Thecity-wide connectivity unleashed will help drive educationaladvancement and technological innovation.”

“The joint collaboration between Intel and NMUhas spotlighted on a national and international level whattwo dynamic and forward-thinking organizations canachieve when working together for the greater good,”says Leach.

The NMU notebook computer initiative was imple-mented a decade ago to bridge the “digital divide” byfacilitating equal access to the latest technology.

NMU’s license, one of only 59 granted worldwide,is restricted to education or government use. Northern isworking with the City of Marquette and outlying town-ships to enable WiMax use for their departments and isalso discussing ways to enhance the wireless capabilitiesof the area’s K-12 schools.

Lenovo recently awarded NMU the2009 ThinkTank Campus InnovationAward, in large part for its progress withthe new WiMAX network.

The award is given to the institu-tion that has implemented the mostinnovative technology program over thepast year. Elementary, secondary andhigher education institutions from 23countries compete for the award eachyear. A committee of education expertschooses the recipient based on innova-

tion, service to constituent users and quality of imple-mentation.

“Northern Michigan has again proven that they areone of the most innovative campuses in the world, deliv-ering high-bandwidth wireless connectivity throughoutthe campus using the new WiMAX standard,” saysMichael Schmedle, director of worldwide education atLenovo. “Building on their award-winning notebook ini-tiative, Northern has added incredible value to students,faculty and staff with the new 802.16 network.”

2 H O R I Z O N S

WiMax: Reaching widerwirelessly

On campus todayNEW DIRECTIONS

Helping students go further and farther

Future physicians

F A L L 2 0 0 9 3

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds will now have more opportuni-ties for involvement in research and other scholarly activities that will betterprepare them for doctoral studies, thanks to a federal four-year McNair grantworth $880,000–the largest grant in NMU history. The Ronald E. McNairPost-Baccalaureate Achievement Program is named for one of the firstAfrican-American astronauts. McNair died in the 1986 Challenger spaceshuttle explosion.

“It’s a wonderful initiative that benefits students who are traditionallyunderrepresented in Ph.D. programs in the STEM areas—science, technolo-gy, engineering and mathematics—as well as history and English,” saysCynthia Prosen, dean of graduate studies at NMU. “It’s designed for studentswe often interact with at Northern: those from low-income households whoare often the first in their families to attend college and who wouldn’t nor-mally consider graduate school. This gives them the necessary support topush them to the next level in their educational experience.”

Northern will select 25 McNair Scholars per year. As a part of theirexperience, they will be paired with a faculty mentor, plan a research projectduring the spring of their sophomore or junior year and then conduct thatresearch over the summer. Scholars will receive a $2,800 stipend for thiswork, while faculty members will also receive support for their mentorship.

“The McNair program is about more than financial assistance,” Prosenadds. “The students will also receive academic counseling, help in under-standing and preparing for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and guidanceon seeking admission and financial aid for graduate programs. ”

Another grant received by Northern will expand opportunities for NMUstudents and faculty to become more globally engaged. Tim Compton,department head of Modern Languages and Literatures, received a two-yeargrant for $156,892 for the U.S. Department of Education’s InternationalEducation and Foreign Languages Program. The International Studiescurriculum will be enhanced to make it more accessible, coherent andattractive to students. There will also be competitive faculty travel money forproposals todevelop coursesin four coreareas: Africanart, politics orgeography;Latin Americanart or politics;European art orpolitics; and acourse focusingon Asia.

Michigan State University Collegeof Human Medicine and NMU haveformed a partnership that will helpdisadvantaged pre-medical studentsand underserved areas of medicine.

The Early Assurance Programprovides preference for admission toMSU’s medical school to studentswho are the first generation to attendcollege, graduated from a low-incomehigh school, are eligible for Pellgrants or express interest in a highneed medical specialty.

NMU students interested in car-ing for underserved populations willcomplete a program of enriching clin-ical and service experiences, as well asacademic advising directed towardadmission to MSU College ofHuman Medicine.

During their junior year, stu-dents who excel in the NMU pro-gram may apply to the College ofHuman Medicine and selected stu-dents will be assured of admissionand begin a relationship with MSUduring their senior year. There will bethree seats reserved for this program.

Announcing the new agreement atNorthern are Kane Beauchamp, SenatorDebbie Stabenow's U.P. staff assistant;Dave Lucas, NMU pre-med adviser;David Luoma, MD, MSU-CHM communi-ty assistant dean and UPHEC CEO; JamesRandolph Hillard, MD, MSU associateprovost for human health affairs; CindyProsen, NMU associate provost foracademic affairs; and Jerry Kooiman,MSU assistant dean, government rela-tions and community outreach.

“This makes us one ofthe first universities in the United States

to be able to providewireless access to nearly our entire

student population.”

F A L L 2 0 0 9 5

On campus todayCHANGES AND ACHIEVEMENTSRemembering,

honoring

Educator excellence

Fall preliminary figures showed a 1.4 percent increase in student headcountat Northern, an addition of 128 students over last year. The strength is atthe junior level, where the number of students has increased by 107, whichhelped to offset a slight dip of 1.3 percent in graduate enrollment and a 3percent decrease in new freshmen. Undergraduate transfers are up significantly, from 435 to 524.

Lt. Col. Kip Taylor ’85 BS, whowas killed in the 9/11 terroristattack on the Pentagon, was memo-rialized with the dedication of aplaque on Veterans' Rock near theUniversity Center.

The dedication on Sept. 26coincided with the 40th anniversaryof ROTC at NMU. Kip was theson of Kay Taylor ’85 BS and thelate Lt. Col. Donald Taylor, whoheaded the university’s military sci-ence program. Kip was the Wildcatbasketball team captain, earned abachelor’s degree in managementand was commissioned by his fatherinto the Adjutant General Corps.

Taylor was 38 at the time of hisdeath. He was killed six weeks beforethe birth of his second son. His wifepassed away in 2003. Taylor’s manyservice awards include the Legion ofMerit and Purple Heart, both award-ed posthumously.

"A cornerstone of strength forNMU cadets past, present andfuture, remains Kip Taylor, for noother cadet sacrificed so much forhis country," said Maj. Kyle Rambo,new commander of the ROTCWildcat Battalion.

Professor Tawni Ferrarini hasreceived the 2009 EconomicsEducator of the Year Award from theMichigan Council on EconomicEducation and was named the inaugu-ral recipient of the Abbejean KehlerTechnology Award by the NationalAssociation of Economic Educators.

Ferrarini was praised by theMCEE for her service as a professorand director of the NMU Center forEconomic Education andEntrepreneurship, for going “above

the call” to provide teacher educationand professional development oppor-tunities and for her role in advocat-ing technology and online programs.

Harvey Wallace, head of thehealth, physical education andrecreation department at NMU, isamong four new appointees to theboard of directors for the PublicHealth Accreditation Board. Theboard will help PHAB in developinga successful national public healthaccreditation program.

Art and Design professor Michael Letts ‘84 BFA, ‘93 Cert. competed in ArtPrize, aninternational exhibition and contest judged by the public. He was one of 29 artists frommore than 1,000 chosen to display his works at the DeVos Place in Grand Rapids as partof the city-wide exhibit. Shown above is his “Plum Beach,” a 60” x 72” acrylic oncanvas painting.

Enrollment up despite tough times

4 H O R I Z O N S

To mark the 50th anniversary ofthe release of the film “Anatomy of aMurder,” based on the best-sellingnovel by Ishpeming native andNMU alumnus John Voelker (underthe pen name Robert Traver), anumber of exhibits and activitieshave been taking place on campusand around Marquette County.

The Beaumier Upper PeninsulaHeritage Center is displaying anexhibit titled “Hollywood Comes toMarquette County: the Making ofAnatomy of a Murder” through Dec.23. It tells the story of Voelker’s lifeas an attorney, judge and author, andexplores his work on the People vs.Peterson murder case, which was theinspiration for the book and thefilm, and focuses on the shooting ofthe film in Marquette County andthe impact it had on the communityand movie industry. The movie wasdirected by Otto Preminger and

featured such stars as Jimmy Stewart,George C. Scott, Eve Arden andDuke Ellington.

The center’s exhibit and anonline exhibit hosted by the CentralUpper Peninsula and NMU Archives(see www.nmu.edu/voelker) featuresdozens of photographs, artifacts,original manuscript edits, court tran-scripts, movie memorabilia and otherinformation about this classicAmerican film and novel.

A film symposium was held oncampus and WNMU TV-13 staffhelped produce a behind-the-scenesdocumentary by independent film-maker John Pepin, which exploresthe events leading up to and includ-ing the making of this courtroomthriller. DVDs are available bycalling 800-227-WNMU or 227-1300.

John Voelker ‘25 with Lt. Coleman Peterson, who was played by BenGazzara in the movie, and Charlotte Peterson, played by Lee Remick.

Celebrating Anatomy

of a Murder Dorm and campus food just ain’twhat is used to be. Nathan Mileski,senior chef for NMU’s DiningServices, won first place in the 9thannual National Association ofCollege and University FoodServices culinary challenge inMilwaukee this summer, whileNMU Dining Services, as a unit,picked up two gold medals.

In the NACUFS challenge, sixregional winners from around thecountry competed to create, in onehour, a nutritionally balanced plateusing the featured ingredient oflocal organic rainbow trout withside dishes and sauces. Mileski wonwith his trout schnitzel withmohrengemuse carrots, sauteed beetand celeriac morel mushroomspaetzle with riesling beurre blanc.

Prior to NMU, he was the execu-tive chef and food and beverage direc-tor at Drummond Island Resort’sBayside Dining, which was featured inGourmet and Bon Appétit as one of 12“Great Restaurants of America” duringhis tenure.

Dining Services received a goldmedal for top residence hall themeevent for its Lumberjack Brunchbuffet and for a challenge whereteams received a mystery basketwith a list of 13 ingredients thathad to be used in their menu.NMU’s three-course menu includedbraised beef short ribs with shiitakemushroom risotto, sautéed shrimp,caramelized nectarines with a straw-berry rhubarb vinaigrette and pan-seared striped sea bass in a lemonherb beurre blanc. Hungry yet?

Top chefs

The dedication ceremony, with the Taylorfamily in the front row, holding hands.

Rach

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6 H O R I Z O N S

On campus todaySPORTS AT NMU

As of press time, the NMU Wildcatfootball team was off to its best startsince 1995. In fact, between Sept.12 and Oct. 10, the ’Cats roared forfive consecutive victories, includingwins over then ranked No. 16Saginaw Valley State (23-20) andNo. 22 Wayne State (45-20). Thestrong showing put NMU in theAmerican Football CoachesAssociation’s Top 25 poll for theweek of Oct. 12 for the first time inschool history. The ’Cats came in atNo. 23.

Coach Bernie Anderson ’78BS, ’84 MA says all aspects of theteam are stronger this year: offen-sive, defense and special teams.

“We’re more two-dimensional.We can run. We can pass,” saysAnderson. “A key to our success sofar has been the strong play of theoffensive line that has allowed ourrunning game to be productive.Defensively, the players haveresponded well to the system put inlast year by Randy Awry ’78 BS,’81 BS, ’86 MA and the otherdefensive coaches. The defense hasbeen making the stops, the offensehas been moving the ball and thespecial teams have given us goodfield position. Things are clickingon all cylinders.”

Training Week

In June, the U.S. Short Track Speedskating National Program trained for 10 days at Northern Michigan University, preparing the skaters for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and World Cup that would take place at the Berry Events Center in September andNovember, respectively. Pictured are the skaters running Mt. Marquette, training on the Upper Harbor sands, signing autographs at the Superior Bikefest, posing with young friends during a “skate with the team” event and resting during a training break.

Olympic Trials action

The crowd goes wild

Victory!

Based on their performance at the U.S.Olympic Team Trials for Short TrackSpeedskating, five men and five womenwere nominated for the U.S. OlympicTeam that will compete in Vancouver atthe Winter Olympic Games. The skatersbecome official members of the squadbased on spots earned in World Cupaction. NMU was the site of the final shorttrack World Cup Nov. 12-15. Pictured are(left to right): Lana Gehring, KimberlyDerrick*, Alison Baver*, Alyson Dudek,Katherine Reutter*, Apolo Anton Ohno,Jordan Malone, Travis Jayner* and SamCho*. Missing is JR Celski, who wasinjured during the Trials. *Former United States Olympic Education Center skaters.

Football ‘CatsRoar

U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Sept. 8-12: The top five men and women chosen as Olympic Team nominees meet with the media; action at the Berry Events Center; Katherine Reutter (in red), the top female skater at the Trials, makes an outside pass on the wayto another gold medal; Jordan Malone (blue helmet) holds onto a slight lead; Jimmy Jang, U.S. National Program assistant coach and former USOEC coach, provides encouragement to a skater.

What makes a speedskating event in Marquette something special? It’s the fan participation! Cheerleaders from Negaunee, Wildcat Willy and an NMU science major who loves ApoloAnton Ohno all had fun at the Olympic Trials. Ohno (pumping fists), the top male skater at the Trials, used the crowd’s energy to squeak past 19-year-old rising star JR Celski (left) andveteran Jordan Malone. All three were named nominees to the Olympic Team (right).