February 2019

NMU alumna Elizabeth Mowers’ first published book, A Promise Remembered, will be released March 1. The novel details the story of a man who returns to his hometown in Michigan for a brief visit. He runs into his old high school sweetheart and is reminded of everyone and everything he left behind years ago. When selecting a beautiful, romantic setting for her novel, she was inspired by Marquette and the Lake Superior shoreline.

Enrollment at two-year colleges and four-year regional institutions in Midwestern states is projected to decline more than 15 percent by 2029, according to Nathan Grawe, author of Demographics and the Demand for Higher Education. Positive enrollment trends are expected to continue for the next few years into the early part of the next decade. But in an effort to better prepare the university for the impending drop in the later part of the decade, NMU has invited Grawe to campus for small-group discussions and a faculty/staff forum on Wednesday, March 20.

Northern Michigan University has been awarded a nearly $300,000 MiSTEM Advisory Council grant that will incorporate the Add+Vantage Math Recovery program for Upper Peninsula elementary schools and provide related training for teachers.

There are three MiSTEM Network regions in the Upper Peninsula. Chris Standerford directs the central region that covers Marquette, Alger, Delta, Menominee, Schoolcraft, Dickinson and Iron counties. He also directs NMU’s Seaborg Center, which will contribute expertise to the grant-funded effort.

NMU is seeking two faculty members to research and author the university’s assurance argument as the next step in maintaining its accreditation. They will interview key leadership across campus and develop narratives and assemble evidence based around different criteria and core components. The application deadline is Feb. 22. Release time is available to compensate for the estimated 20 service hours per week from Summer 2019 through May 2020.

Northern Michigan University will host a heated hospitality tent for the general public near the starting gate of the UP 200 sled dog race on Friday, Feb. 16. The tent will be open from 6-8:30 p.m. next to the old City Hall on Washington Street. Admission is free. This family-friendly event will include hot chocolate courtesy of Simply Superior and snacks provided by Econo Foods.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center will host a Historical Society of Michigan presentation titled "Murder and Mayhem II: True Crime in Michigan History." This free History Hounds Lecture Series event, offered via teleconference from Lansing, features author Tobin Buhk. It will explore cases including the 1916 poisoning of the Peck family of Grand Rapids, murderer Helmuth Schmidt and Mary McKnight, the "Strychnine Saint." The presentation begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, at the center in Gries Hall at NMU. 

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University will open a new exhibition titled “From Chalk to Light Boards: Technology at NMU.” The exhibition will feature dozens of artifacts, not only from the Beaumier Center’s collection, but from offices and storage facilities as well. A free opening reception with food and refreshments will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, in the center’s Gries Hall gallery.