Former NFL defensive end R.K. Russell will give a keynote speech and answer questions in a moderated Q&A at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, in Jamrich 1100 at Northern Michigan University. He will also sign his memoir The Yards Between Us: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Football, which will be sold at the event and has been optioned for a TV series.

Northern Michigan University Alumni Relations will host two virtual events as part of its Northern Now series for NMU alumni and friends: a holiday cooking segment on Wednesday, Dec. 13; and a chat with President Brock Tessman on Wednesday, Jan. 17. Both begin at 7 p.m. EST. 

A Northern Michigan University librarian was accepted into the highly competitive American Library Association's (ALA) Emerging Leaders Program. The program accepts no more than 50 participants each year, and Emera Bridger Wilson is one of them for 2024.

Liz Preston recently discovered what many other Northern Michigan University students have come to realize: that if they present an ambitious idea they want to pursue, NMU personnel will typically lend an attentive ear, support and helpful resources that will increase their chances of making it a reality. Preston, who was diagnosed with epilepsy at 14, wanted to promote Epilepsy Awareness Month on campus and in the community in November.

NMU Trustee Brigitte LaPointe-Dunham did not have to look far for inspiration on effective leadership qualities when she became CEO of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) in July 2021. She had two prominent role models within her own family. Her grandfather, Donald LaPointe, formerly served as president and CEO and guided the KBIC through some pivotal moments of progress and growth. Her paternal grandmother, Myrtle Tolonen, had blazed a trail as the first female tribal council president.