May 2022

Northern Michigan University alumna Nanette Hanson has been named the 2022-23 Michigan Teacher of the Year. She is a first-grade teacher at Lemmer Elementary School in Escanaba. Hanson earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education and creative arts from NMU in 1994, and a master's in educational administration and supervision in 2009.

Northern Michigan University student Gwen Feamster, a political science major from Linden, Mich., has been selected to serve on the Michigan Department of State's Collegiate Student Advisory Task Force. She is among 25 undergraduates chosen from more than 200 applicants who will act as civic engagement liaisons between the Secretary of State's office and their campuses throughout 2022.

The Northern Michigan University Arts and Athletics Golf Outing will be held on Thursday, June 23, at the Marquette Golf Club. This is the 4th annual event, which supports students and programs associated with the Departments of Theatre and Dance and Intercollegiate Athletics.

The Northern Michigan University Department of Theatre and Dance world-premiere production of Above the Timberline won 14 special achievement awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival national awards ceremony, a virtual event streamed May 21 from Washington, D.C. Productions from institutions invited to the eight regional festivals held earlier this year were eligible for national recognition of the outstanding work by individuals and ensembles.

Northern Michigan University Alumni Relations continues its Northern Now digital event series with a campfire cooking segment at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, June 8. Chef Alden Griffus CCC '10, executive chef for NMU Dining Services, will showcase her favorite campfire dinners that can be made either in the kitchen or over a campfire. Current hospitality management student Trixie Maguran Jacobson will cook alongside Chef Alden.

The 2022 IncredibleBank Hope Starts Here Challenge, which raises funds and awareness for the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center, will be held in person Saturday, June 11. There is also a virtual participation option. 

Northern Michigan University's branch of the national Student Veterans of America organization, along with several local volunteers, cleaned about 50 veteran tombstones at Holy Cross Cemetery in Marquette on Saturday. 

Northern Michigan University is among 171 colleges and universities nationwide and one of only three public institutions in Michigan named to the 2022 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society's Transfer Honor Roll for “creating dynamic pathways” to support transfer students.

This winter, the Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health brought Upper Peninsula universities together for the second annual Fight the Flu competition. Students, staff and faculty from Finlandia University, Michigan Technological University and Northern Michigan University competed to see which school could get the highest percentage of its total population vaccinated against the flu. Based on the self-reported statistics, the winner for the second year in a row is Finlandia University, coming in at a 17.6% vaccination rate.

Northern Michigan University alumna Amber Kinonen, a full-time English instructor at Bay College, is one of the recipients of Bay's Outstanding Educator Award. She is being honored not only for her "tremendous knowledge, but her commitment to the Arts and Letters Division and her passion to help students succeed."