Northern Michigan University Biology Professor Neil Cumberlidge collaborated on a Sierra Leone expedition that located two land-dwelling crab species “lost to science” and feared to be extinct. For one, last spotted 225 years ago, the only clue was a specimen label that read “Sierra Leone.” The team's work was featured in The Guardian in November as part of a series on rediscovered species by prominent British journalist and photographer Graeme Green.

A Holiday Masquerade Ball open to the campus and community will serve as a fundraiser for the new Marquette County chapter of Families Against Narcotics' (FAN). Three NMU students are hosting the event as a community service internship through the Student Leader Fellowship Program. The ball is scheduled from 6:30-10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in Northern Center Ballrooms III and IV. Admission is $10 for the public and free to NMU students, though donations are requested. 

Northern Michigan University is among four project partners awarded a $700,000 Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the creation and management of the Marquette Outdoor Venture (MOV) Innovation Center. The funding was awarded to Innovate Marquette SmartZone, along with partners NMU, Lake Superior Community Partnership, and Michigan Works!

SISU: The Innovation Institute at Northern Michigan University is seeking campus proposals for its new funding program, “Illuminating Ideas.” The deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, Dec 19.

The Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health has announced the winners of its annual essay competition for U.P. high school seniors to coincide with National Rural Health Day. This year's contest was sponsored by the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan and the Michigan Center for Rural Health. The top three prizes in each U.P. region—east, central and west—were $500, $250 and $100.