August 2019

First Judicial District Chief Judge Kathryn Davis Messerich ('79 BSN) of Hastings, Minn., received a 2019 Trial Judge of the Year Award from the American Board of Trial Advocates at its recent annual meeting.

A tree-planting ceremony to honor the memory of longtime Northern Michigan University political science professor Bill Ball is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, in front of C.B. Hedgcock. 

NMU professor Gary Brunswick spent part of his summer teaching a services marketing course to students from several countries at XAMK, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. It was the sixth time he has taught at the school in Mikkeli since his first faculty exchange in 1995. The local newspaper, Lansi-Saavo, recently published a feature story on Brunswick. 

Northern Michigan University senior biology major Tyler Penrod received a $5,000 Honors Program Summer Research Fellowship to study native and invasive plant species near Marquette's Lakeshore Boulevard relocation project site. His faculty mentor is biology professor Diana Lafferty.

Northern Michigan University's Fall Fest is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, the first day of classes. The event will take place on the academic mall bordered by West Science, Weston Hall and Harden Hall.

Half of the 10 new U.P. Sports Hall of Fame inductees announced Aug. 3 have ties to Northern Michigan University. They include Al Mitchell, former U.S. Olympic Education Center boxing coach who currently coaches onetime NMU student and Olympian-turned-pro boxer Mikaela Mayer, and Todd Dagenais, former Wildcat assistant volleyball coach who now heads an NCAA Division I program. 

Northern Michigan University's Criminal Justice Department, in cooperation with Michigan InfraGard, will host a free cybersecurity workshop from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Aug. 8, in room 109 of Harden Hall (formerly the Learning Resources Center). 

A Northern Michigan University student is conducting research on how location can affect the availability of fair trade coffee.

NMU alumnus Mat Fraser ('12) was crowned "Fittest Man on Earth" Aug. 4 after winning his fourth-straight CrossFit Games title in Madison, Wis. The former U.S. Olympic Education Center weightlifter also tied the record for most consecutive wins.