July 2020

The Northern Michigan University Alumni Association has announced five recipients of its 2020 Alumni Awards: Steve Mariucci ('77 BS, '83 MAE) of Monte Sereno, Calif., and Per Utnegaard ('82 BS) of Oberaegen, Switzerland, Distinguished Alumni; Anita Mattson ('02 BS) of Worcester, Mass., Alumni Achievement; Amanda Rosenburg ('02 BS) of Astoria, N.Y., Outstanding Young Alumni; and Greg Toutant ('94 BS) of Negaunee, Alumni Service.

NMU English professor Jaspal Kaur Singh is the author of the recently published monograph, Violence and Resistance in Sikh Gendered Identity. The publisher's description states that the book "explores the constructions and representations of male and female Sikhs in Indian and diasporic literature and culture through the consideration of the role of violence as constitutive of Sikh identity." 

NMU alumnus and former Wildcat football player Vincent Propson is the new activities director at Randolph High School in Wisconsin. He told the Daily Citizen the job was a perfect match. The school wanted someone to teach physical education and health, who also had experience as an athletic director and could be a strength and conditioning coach.

NMU broadcasting alumnus Jim Gleason (BS '90) was recently featured in a newspaper profile of his Radio Wasteland Records store, which opened in 2017 in Midland. Gleason turned a longtime collecting hobby into an entrepreneurial venture. He sells new and vintage vinyl while working to replicate the 1970s and ‘80s atmosphere of people listening to music playing on a turntable while thumbing through records.

Northern Michigan University continues to lead a collaborative effort to monitor data on weather and wave conditions at three locations along the southeastern shore of Lake Superior. The goal is to enhance safety among commercial and recreational users by generating real-time data that can aid in their decision-making. The first buoy was placed July 3 near Munising, 4.5 miles offshore. Two more will be deployed near Grand Marais and at Granite Island, about 12 miles north of Marquette.