August 2022

NMU alumnus Cory Gylock has been promoted to vice president and general manager of Nexstar Media's digital operations of WLAX-TV (FOX) and WEUX-TV (FOX) in La Crosse/Eau Claire, Wis., and their related digital and social media channels. The 2012 marketing graduate previously served as general sales manager for the stations.

Debra Greenacre, a 2003 NMU elementary education alumna and executive director of the Manistee Public Library, demonstrates the importance of following your dreams, no matter how long it takes for them to come into clear focus. Greenacre was featured in the Huron Daily Tribune as a part of a series on women in leadership positions.

Northern Michigan University alumna Karen Saari was commissioned to co-write a musical titled Ten Days in a Madhouse, about journalist Nellie Bly's experience infiltrating a notorious insane asylum to report on the abhorrent conditions. The show had its world premiere Aug. 19-27 through Music Theatre of Madison in Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula native said it was research for an NMU class assignment that sparked her lifelong fascination with Bly.  

The late Michael Zuke, a 1971 NMU alumnus and former Wildcat gymnast, is featured as part of the “Sault Legends” series on the Ontario website saultonline.com for his contributions to the sport as a competitor and coach. He passed away in 2014, two years after being inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Hall of Fame.

A Northern Michigan University-led research project focusing on bobcats found evidence that human activity can exert a greater impact than environmental factors on carnivore predator-prey interactions, daily activity patterns and movement. The findings were recently published in Biodiversity and Conservation. Understanding that some animals perceive humans as “super predators” is critical for establishing successful wildlife management practices to promote functioning communities.

Northern Michigan University is emphasizing a holistic, integrated approach to student and employee wellbeing as it identifies priority goals and strategies for the coming year. Abigail Wyche, who transitioned in June from social work department head to a 12-month appointment as special adviser for mental health and wellness, detailed some of the plans at Wednesday morning's fall convocation.

Northern Michigan University has successfully renewed a competitive U.S. Department of Education grant to continue the Upper Peninsula's only Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, which provides disadvantaged college students effective preparation for doctoral studies through research and other scholarly activities. NMU will receive about $1.3 million over five years.

As vice chair of the NMU Board of Trustees, Alexis Hart interacts regularly with a number of Northern students. One bit of advice she shares with them is that they should avoid getting locked into a restrictive career path simply by virtue of the degree they earn and focus instead on developing the skill set to be adaptable when exciting opportunities surface, or it becomes necessary to pivot and pursue a new profession. She has learned that through her experience in the human resources field.

A collaborative effort to increase Upper Peninsula residents' access to health care by expanding relevant workforce training, education and employment in the region has received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project is called U.P. WIN, short for the Upper Peninsula Workforce Innovation Network.