Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has announced her first appointment to the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees. Bridget Summers of Baraga will fill a vacancy created by the unexpected death of Travis Weber in February. Summers is vice president of the Baraga County Chamber of Commerce and director of the Village of L'Anse Downtown Development Association. She previously served as director of Settlements and Global Operation at Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.

Northern Michigan University ranks No. 4 on a list of the best online colleges in Michigan. SR Education Group released its 2019 national rankings on GuidetoOnlineSchools.com.

In large part because it is home to NMU and situated near Lake Superior, Marquette has been ranked among the "10 Great Active Outdoor Towns in the North Country" by northoutdoors.com.

The Marquette Choral Society's upcoming spring concert is titled Russian Nights: Rachmaninoff and Chesnokov. Under the direction of Music Director and NMU Professor Erin Colwitz, the group will perform without instrumental accompaniment. Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 28, in Reynolds Recital Hall.

An awards ceremony kicked off Northern Michigan University's 24th Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship on April 11. Undergraduate and graduate students were honored in various categories of poster presentations. There were also awards for an essay competition, projects using Lydia Olson Library and/or NMU Archives resources, and technology innovation.