April 2019

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. 

Northern Michigan University biology graduate student and teaching assistant John Whitinger was recently awarded Best Poster at the Michigan Chapter of the American Fisheries Society-Wildlife Society meeting, held recently at the Treetops Resort in Gaylord. The win marks the first time that NMU has been recognized for a top research project at the meeting, according to NMU biology professor Brandon Gerig.

Northern Michigan University is celebrating its fifth annual Anderton's Earth Week April 15-19. Several activities are planned to honor John Anderton, a former geography professor and department head who passed away unexpectedly in March 2014. Students from NMU's Gamma Theta Upsilon International Geographical Honor Society planned the events, all of which are free and open to the public. 

Northern Michigan University student and McNair Scholar Marissa Bekkering is one of 20 students accepted into the Keith Sherin Global Leaders Program at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in The Hague, Netherlands. The Hudsonville, Mich., native will participate in the program from June 29-July 21.

Northern Michigan University will host an inaugural Bike Week on campus. During the week of April 22, there will be various events across campus to encourage bicycling for students, faculty, staff and community members.

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.