Cecilia Ruiz will be the student commencement speaker for the virtual Dec. 6 graduation recognition ceremony honoring all 2020 Northern Michigan University graduates. With the COVID-19 pandemic, NMU is offering one comprehensive celebration for May, August and December graduates. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m.  

Mariah Goeks entered Northern Michigan University as a Freshman Fellow, immersing herself in research typically reserved for juniors and seniors at other colleges. Her research alongside physics faculty mentor Rick (P.W.) Mengyan has included several trips to Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom as part of their work with their small international collaboration, which has resulted in two journal articles Goeks has co-authored so far. Recently, the laboratory featured one of their projects as a “science highlight” in its annual review.

The construction management program at Northern Michigan University will host virtual presentations Friday morning on senior projects completed on campus and on behalf of community organizations. The online format was necessitated by safety protocols associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

NMU will hold a virtual celebration honoring all 2020 graduates at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6. The event will include messages from President Fritz Erickson, Board Chair Steve Mitchell, May 2020 graduate Cecilia Ruiz and student-selected faculty speaker Kia Jane Richmond of the English Department.  

NMU's Educational Access Network (EAN) has a firmly entrenched mission of providing broadband internet service through the university's high-speed LTE wireless network to learners of all ages across the Upper Peninsula. But with COVID-19, the EAN's existing technology also helped to prevent an Iron River call center from losing valuable employees whose home internet speeds couldn't handle the demands of working remotely.