Letter from Dean of Academic Affairs, EGF campus
Dear Students and Employees:
The fall term at Northland College is off to a very good start. In fact, you may find this hard to believe, but it’s almost mid-semester. Hopefully the rest of the semester will proceed as well as the first half, and I hope the wonderful fall weather that we have had continues on.
The opportunities to partake of the richness of being a member of a choir have never been better on the EGF campus! We now have two choirs – one is a credit course for students, and the other an open community choir. Both choirs are under the direction of Charles McCauley, a well-known music director in the greater Grand Forks area. I am pleased to announce that the student choir, known as the Chamber Choir, has 17 registered students and 15 community members have signed up for Community Choir. The choir is accompanied by Marlys Murphy, whose well-versed background makes her dedicated presence a true “standing ovation.”
Director McCauley is planning a December 6, 2007 performance of the two choirs in the EGF campus Commons, and also an evening performance at the Heritage Village to say “thank you” to the Heritage Foundation for allowing us to use their facilities for practice. Stay tuned for additional information regarding the performances.
During the past ten days, two very important visits have taken place. On Thursday, September 20, the Minnesota House Committee on Higher Education was here, and on Wednesday, September 26, the Minnesota Senate Committee on Higher Education was here. The committees are charged with determining whether or not the state will bond a project that would add 7,600 square feet of new classroom space and renovate an additional 30,500 square feet of existing classroom space on the EGF campus. The proposed addition would house the nursing program and would renovate space for the surgical technology program. The project would also provide much needed space for the library, bookstore and general classroom areas.
To understand the importance of these meetings, one may need a little history. The East Grand Forks campus has not had a major building addition since 1992. At that time, our campus enrollment was 900 students. Since that time, our enrollment has increased by more than 900 students, and we have added several programs. During the last few years, we have used our own campus general fund dollars to renovate five different areas of our building. We are now at a point where we can no longer create more usable space from our existing space without a substantial bonding project.
With these thoughts in mind, I hope that students and employees will convey the urgency of this needed bonding project. If all goes well, the project will be approved by the legislature in the spring so construction may begin in the fall of 2008.
Mike Normandin
Dean of Academic Affairs, EGF campus
