NMU's College of Business is pursuing a virtual path around COVID-19 restrictions in order to wrap up its New Business Venture Competition and reward student finalists for the extensive time and effort they've invested in their proposals since last fall. The virtual event will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 26. 

With recommendations for social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak, the NMU Alumni Association has picked an appropriate time to host its first Virtual Alumni Happy Hour. Based on the response to the inaugural event, scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 20, other virtual alumni events and meetings may follow. 

Northern MIchigan University President Fritz Erickson will discuss NMU's response to the COVID-19 pandemic during a virtual town hall meeting at 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 20. The event can be viewed at nmu.edu/townhall. It will also be simulcast on WNMU-TV's Facebook. 

Many U.S. universities have shifted from face-to-face instruction to online platforms in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The conversion can be more challenging for labs and performance classes that don't lend themselves well to written material or slide presentation software. Some faculty members, including NMU Director of Dance Jill Grundstrom, are exploring innovative ways to engage students in a virtual environment.

NMU alumna Melissa (Missie) Holmquist, president and CEO of Upper Peninsula Health Plan (UPHP) in Marquette, has been appointed secretary of the Medicaid Health Plans Board of Directors. She is also one of Crain's Detroit Business' 2020 Notable Women in Health.