This unofficial history collection of Central Michigan University (CMU) Global Campus includes newspaper clippings (copies), photographs, posters (copies), and a Certificate of Appreciation to CMU from Carswell Air Force Base. Newspaper clippings (copies) are mostly from the Bay City Times. Photographs include commencement of CMU graduates at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Dyersburg State Community College, 2005-2012, CMU classrooms and offices at Carswell Air Force Base, 1993, Dr. Nikkari’s EAD 564 class, 1974, and undated group photographs of unidentified people in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and in the CMU University Center. The photographs are either black and white or in color and some are taped together. The collection is in good condition and organized alphabetically and chronologically. Researchers may be interested in multiple collections in the Clarke documenting the history of the above-named CMU units.
Processing Note: Five cubic feet (tenant renovation drawings, acidic clippings) was withdrawn during processing.
Biography:
The only teacher with unique material in the collection is Dr. Nikkari. Dr. Eugene M. “Gene” Nikkari was born on February 27, 1927 in Watton, Michigan, a Finnish farming community in the Upper Peninsula. Gene spoke little English when he started school. After his mother died when Gene was six, his father married his mother’s sister, Senia (Hendrickson) Mars. After graduating from high school, Gene honorably served in the U.S. Navy, 1945-1946. On January 23, 1950 he married Gloria R. Romagnoli. Gene began his teaching career in 1951 at Merrill High School. He became principal of Almont High School (1955) and then superintendent of the Almont Public School District (1960). He served as the St. Louis School District superintendent, 1963-1988. Gene was known and respected for his “quiet confidence” and credibility. In his honor, the State Street Elementary School, St. Louis, was renamed as the Eugene M. Nikkari Elementary School. Gene earned a B.S. from Northern Michigan University (1951), a M.A. from Central Michigan University (CMU) (1955) and a Ed. D. from Wayne State University (1971). He also attended other colleges and universities during his career. As a temporary assistant professor he taught educational administration courses at CMU, 1972-1979, and also library science courses I 1979. On January 15, 2020 Gene died in Big Rapids, Michigan, survived his descendants and a stepsister. (This information is from his obituary in the Saginaw News, January 20-21, 2020, https://obits.mlive.com/us/obituaries/saginaw/name/eugene-nikkari-obituary?id=6592662, accessed in March 2023.)
Organizational History:
In 1971 Central Michigan University (CMU) established the Institute for Personal Career Development (IPCD) to coordinate existing off-campus degree delivery programs. This allowed students to take CMU classes at local colleges near military bases or through programs at the bases for transfer college credits. The IPCD became the College of Extended Learning (CEL), then the School of Continuing Education and Community Services, and then the School of Extended Learning (SEL), which shifted its focus to degree programs coordinated by the IPCD. In 1989 SEL became the College of Extended Learning (CEL), which offered extended degree programs, credit courses and education and professional development programs. Students in these programs were supported first by the IPCD Library Program, then by the IPCD Library, which became the Off-Campus Library Services (OCLS) in 1982. OCLS staff helped students find research sources, and photocopied and mailed materials to students before sources were available online. The program’s first cohort in a non-English speaking country was in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1991. CEL offered its first internet courses in 1994. CEL celebrated 25 years of distance learning in 1996. In 1999 CEL moved to 802 Industrial Drive in Mount Pleasant. CEL became the Professional Education Center for Instructional Design to advocate for online teaching and instruction with its own Student Services call-in center in 2004. In 2012 CEL’s name changed to Global Campus. By 2014 Global Campus had sites in Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario.
In summer 2022 Global Campus was reimagined into Innovation and Online to focus on flexible learning opportunities, expanded partnerships with business, industry and community organizations to identify and address employee skill gaps, develop stackable degrees and competency-based educational programs, expand non-credit courses, training and workshops to meet the needs of adult learners seeking to upskill or reskill throughout their careers, and to build upon CMU’s strong history of serving U.S. Military services members and veterans, as well as launch the new unit’s online presence and assist with marketing it. The first vice president of CMU Innovation and Online was Dr. Elizabeth Kirby. (This information is from the collections, and CMU news announcements.)
