PRESIDENT NICK NISSLEY WAS INAUGURATED AND RECEIVED HIS PRESIDENTIAL MEDALLION AT THE 2022 COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY.

NMC student Amber Marsh is one of 15 Phi Theta Kappa members selected as a 2022 Guistwhite Scholar, and will receive a $5,000 scholarship for her baccalaureate studies.

Winners were chosen from among 2,700 applicants nationwide based on academic excellence, leadership accomplishments, and engagement in PTK, the international community college honor society. Marsh, of Kalkaska, has been president of NMC’s PTK chapter for two years and led it to its best performance ever in the organization’s Most Distinguished Chapter competition. She was NMC’s Student Government Association president in 2021-22 and active in other student groups as well.

➤ More info: nmc.edu/ptk

The two Traverse City recipients of NMC’s highest honor have supported the college for decades. Childs was a member of the NMC Foundation Board from 1990-1999 and an elected member of the Board of Trustees from 2001-2020, including two years as chair. He bookended those two decades by serving on the search committees that led to the selections of both Tim Nelson and Nick Nissley as NMC presidents. Childs and his late wife, Helen, have also supported NMC philanthropically for 35 years.

Rogers’ late husband, science instructor and 1985 Fellow Joe Rogers, spearheaded the construction of NMC’s Rogers Observatory, and she created a science scholarship as a birthday gift to him. She went on to create four scholarships, the most recent supporting students who are active in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work at the college. A longtime member of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, Rogers can frequently be found walking across campus, taking stock of the native plants and trees she helped to plant.

➤ See a list of all NMC Fellows since 1964 at nmc.edu/fellows

NMC resumed its place as a leader in short-term study abroad experiences this spring, with 50 students traveling to the United Kingdom (nursing, above), France (humanities), Spain (culinary) and Colombia (water studies).

They are the frst trips since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and many colleges are still hesitant to travel, said Jim Bensley, director of International Services and Service Learning and co-leader of the France trip.

“We are on the leading edge,” Bensley said.

Studying abroad is one form of experiential learning and required for the global endorsement credential NMC began offering eight years ago. Bensley said that global experiences add another dimension to classroom education.

NMC also offers up to $1,000 Global Opportunities scholarships to defray the cost of the study abroad experiences.

➤ More info: nmc.edu/study-abroad

Longtime college staff member Marcus Bennett, Ed.D., begins serving as Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) beginning July 1.

Bennett, who holds a doctorate in community college leadership and a certifcate on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace, has worked at NMC for more than a decade. He is currently associate dean of campus and residence life.

“I am proud to have the opportunity to help our college grow in this area. I’ve seen frsthand some of the challenges our students face and am inspired by the commitment of our NMC community to create positive change,” said Bennett. He has also been a member of NMC’s DEI advisory committee, chartered by President Nick Nissley in summer 2020.

DEI duties will comprise half of Bennett’s job. He will continue as associate dean of campus life. Establishment of the new position fulflls a key objective within the DEI area of NMC’s strategic plan, NMC Next.

➤ Read more about the plan and see progress trackers at nmc.edu/strategic-plan

IN MAY, THE TIMOTHY J. NELSON INNOVATION CENTER WAS DEDICATED IN HONOR OF NMC’S IMMEDIATE PAST AND LONGEST-SERVING PRESIDENT (PICTURED WITH HIS WIFE NANCY JOHNSON). DURING HIS 2001-19 TENURE, NELSON BUILT A CULTURE OF INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.