An annual at-home stool test could be an effective alternative to a colonoscopy for patients at average risk of colon cancer, according to a paper co-authored by NMU alumna Rachel Gruber (BS '12) and published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Because these FIT tests are easy, non-invasive and inexpensive, adopting their use could improve lagging CRC screening rates. Gruber is a research coordinator with the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis. She was the “linchpin” for the complicated project, synthesizing medical literature four times the length of War and Peace. Read a feature story on her role here.

Northern Michigan University's Center for Academic and Intellectual Freedom is the newest "Oasis of Excellence" identified by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. An ACTA press release stated the center has been "extremely active in promoting civic dialogue and robust debate for students" through campus presentations. This includes the April 22 event featuring Greg Lukianoff, CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.

The annual Northern Michigan University Jazz Festival will be held Wednesday, April 10-Friday, April 12. Thanks to a unique collaboration with the Marquette Symphony Orchestra, this year's Jazz Festival will feature trumpeter Allen Vizzutti. He will participate in an educational clinic and perform with the NMU Jazz Band and Combo in the closing concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Kaufman Auditorium.

The 24th Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship at Northern Michigan University will be held from on Thursday, April 11, in Jamrich Hall. The event kicks off with an awards presentation at 9 a.m. in room 1320. Posters and art will be on display in the first-floor common areas of Jamrich Hall. Presentations are scheduled in Jamrich 1320 and 1311 from 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. The public is invited.

The Historical Society of Michigan presents “Votes for Women: A Century of Suffrage” with author Elizabeth Ann Homer as part of History Hounds™ Lecture Series. The program will be viewable via teleconference at Northern Michigan University's Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center.