October 2020

Communications professional Ron Beacom ('82 BA) is the new managing editor for Catalyst Midland, an online media/news company that shares stories of people and their businesses or organizations making positive changes across the region.

Northern Michigan University student organizations will offer area children a safe, drive-through "Trunk or Treating" experience on Halloween. They will decorate trunks of vehicles and have them set up from 4-6 p.m. in the PEIF parking lot at the corner of Presque Isle Avenue and Fair Street.

Jill Deno ('20 BSN), an oncology nurse navigator at OSF St. Francis Hospital in Escanaba, was selected from 13,000 nurses employed at 14 OSF HealthCare hospitals to receive the 2020 Nursing Legacy Award. The graduate of Northern's online RN to BSN program was nominated by her manager for her efforts with cancer patients. As a breast cancer survivor herself, Deno works to ensure that no one goes through the journey alone. 

Northern Michigan University's Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center and Center for Upper Peninsula Studies will present the 2020 Sonderegger Symposium Friday, Nov. 6. The event will be entirely virtual and will feature 18 sessions and 35 presenters. The theme of this year's event focuses on "Insider/Outsider" issues in the Upper Peninsula region.

The Northern Michigan University Alumni Association has launched a Wildcat Authors directory. Similar to its Wildcats Mean Business campaign supporting alumni-owned businesses, the authors directory is an effort to promote the published books of Wildcat alumni across the country and encourage the NMU community to support these authors.

NMU alumnus Brom Stibitz ('05 MPA) was recently appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as director of the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB), after serving as acting director since March. He is also the state's chief information officer, managing all aspects of cybersecurity and information technology across state government.

WNMU-TV at Northern Michigan University has joined the Michigan Learning Channel, a statewide public television partnership offering instructional content to support the education of students and to provide alternative curriculum resources for families and teachers.

Northern Michigan University's Theatre and Dance department will host its 2020-21 academic season of performances in a virtual mode in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

Northern Michigan University will restrict guests on campus for a two-week period to mitigate risks associated with rising COVID-19 cases in Marquette County , other areas of the Upper Peninsula and neighboring Wisconsin. The restrictions will be effective from 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, to Friday, Nov. 6.

Northern Michigan University and Peter White Public Library will host a presentation by Barbara Carney-Coston, author of To the Copper Country: Miheala's Journey, at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20. The children's book is one of the 2020 selections of Two Books Two Communities. Register for the Zoom event here, by visiting nmu.edu/onebook/twobooks or the group's Facebook page. A recording will be available for later viewing.