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Erickson talks enrollment, updates

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University President Fritz Erickson gave an update on enrollment numbers and upcoming projects Friday morning at the President’s Community Leaders Breakfast at The Lights Dining Hall at NMU.

He lauded the increase of freshmen students over the past several years.

“This fall has been a very, very good fall for us,” Erickson said. “Last year, we were happy to report we were up 11.6 percent, and this year, we were very happy to report that we were up 9.9 percent in new freshman and transfer students. We’re the only institution in the state that went up in both freshmen and transfer students.”

He explained how NMU counts student enrollment.

“If we count our traditional student group, we’re at about 7,600 students now,” Erickson said.

However, he noted that when “learners” — the people with whom NMU engages in a wide variety of learning opportunities, such as its high-speed internet Educational Access Network — are counted, enrollment in the community exceeds 13,000.

“We think a lot about how we impact the whole community, and by whole community, we think not just Marquette, not just Marquette County, but primarily the Upper Peninsula,” Erickson said.

The EAN, which provides high-speed internet to communities without access to it, now is at 22 sites, he said, with nine more planned this fall.

For example, Erickson said a mother had been driving 25 miles to the McDonald’s restaurant in Harvey several nights a week so her 12-year-old daughter could get web access for homework.

“The fact they don’t have to do that anymore is an important thing,” Erickson said.

He also addressed program enrollment.

Currently, NMU’s largest major is nursing with 486 students, he said, followed by biology with 484 students. Art and design stands in third place with about 400 students.

Coming up strong in enrollment numbers, Erickson said, is NMU’s medicinal chemistry program with 231 students. That relatively new program had 27 students a year ago.

“It’s really not ‘the marijuana program,'” he said.

Instead, the program focuses on the whole industry.

“It’s not a program for the faint of heart,” Erickson said. “I’ve made the suggestion that if you can pronounce the names of the classes, we should just give you the degree.”

Regarding building projects, Erickson said NMU is trying to get capital outlay funding to redo the Jacobetti Complex, with the university’s emphasis on career and technical programs at the heart of its mission.

“It’s not just going to be about putting new windows in or a new roof or a HVAC system in there,” Erickson said. “It’s really going to drive a rethinking of how we do career and technical education, to really modernize it, to really be able to expand programs like welding where we can engage all kinds of simulators, these high-end simulators, that even someone like me could learn to weld without burning the place down.”

During a question-and-answer session, former Marquette City Commissioner Don Ryan asked about the student response to the new housing, called The Woods.

“The student response to the new housing is long waiting lists,” Erickson said.

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.

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