Northern Michigan University alumni are invited to participate in the fifth annual Return North Professional Careers Fair from 3-6 p.m. Thursday, May 20. The three Upper Peninsula-based SmartZones are collaborating on the virtual event, designed to connect jobseekers with local companies to network and explore career opportunities in the region.

Northern Michigan University will host the 14th Biennial Lake Superior Youth Symposium from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 14. Students in grades 8-12 are invited to attend the virtual event with a teacher from their school who is registered by the May 6 deadline. Activities will include watershed research, investigations, artistic expression, team/leadership building skills and recreational opportunities. 

Northern Michigan University English Professor Kia Jane Richmond is the first recipient of the newly endowed Stephen Young & Tricia Kinley Distinguished Faculty Award, NMU's top honor for significant professional contributions to teaching, scholarship and service. Richmond will be recognized during the May 1 virtual commencement. She was previously the student-selected faculty speaker for December 2020 graduates.

To increase inclusivity, Northern Michigan University introduced a new tool for its existing EduCat learning management system this past semester. More than 600 courses used Ally software to automatically check for accessibility issues and generate alternative formats for common course content, and students downloaded more than 5,000 related materials. Ally increases usability for all students, particularly those with learning disabilities such as visual impairments and dyslexia. It also gives faculty feedback and training on how to improve accessibility.

Northern Michigan University's May 1 virtual commencement will feature 24 graduates who have earned an Honors Program designation, the most since the program's inception in fall 1998. This follows another achievement last fall, when the Honors Program recorded its largest incoming cohort ever, with 88 new students.