June 2023

Marquette native and former Northern Michigan University student Leah Hocking has appeared in 10 Broadway shows, including Billy Elliot, Mama Mia, The Wild Party and Hairspray. She will return to her hometown to present Out of the Window, an evening of songs and remembrances about her life and career. The show is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 28 through Friday, June 30, at NMU's Forest Roberts Theatre.

Northern Michigan University will remain second-most affordable among the state's 15 public universities after the NMU Board of Trustees approved new tuition and fee rates for the 2023-24 academic year. Northern will also invest $2.7 million in new initiatives that will increase student access and enhance campus wellbeing, safety and the student experience.

NMU 2020 alumnus Simon Berghoef is featured in a June profile in SNOWBOARD Magazine for his Midwest action photography, which focuses on snowboarding, lake surfing and skateboarding. Berghoef is from Grand Haven. He said he found his niche documenting and photographing the snowboarding runs of friends he had shredded with, and cemented his love for the medium in high school classes before pursuing a BFA with a photography concentration at NMU.

Northern Michigan Athletic Director, former Wildcat hockey head coach and 1973 MAE alumnus Rick Comley will be among the 2023 inductees into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, according to Bally Sports Detroit. 

Northern Michigan University's Criminal Justice Department and Regional Police Academy recently hosted Alpena Community College (ACC) Director of Criminal Justice Robert Mills. The two schools are firming up a partnership to offer a 3+1 program, in which students would attend ACC for three years before transferring and completing a bachelor's degree at Northern.

Northern Michigan University Alumni Relations will present a virtual family cooking segment with NMU Dining Services Executive Chef Alden MacDonald, CEC, at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, June 28. To help attendees prepare for 4th of July festivities, MacDonald will showcase red, white and blue recipes that can be made and enjoyed by the whole family. She will be cooking inside the state-of-the-art kitchen at the Northern Center, the new home for the NMU Hospitality Management program, and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the facility.

Five randomly chosen local organizations will receive automated external defibrillators (AEDs) donated by the Green Bay Packers. This winter, the Packers and Bellin Health announced that the team would fund $100,000 toward providing 80 AEDs to eligible organizations in need throughout Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The decision was made in the wake of the January cardiac emergency experienced by Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin.

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) Foundation, in partnership with the City of Marquette, has selected Adamo Group, a family-owned demolition company founded in 1964, based in Detroit, as general contractor for the blight elimination project at the former hospital property adjacent to NMU's campus in Marquette. It was the lowest of seven bidders. Adamo Group and the NMU Foundation entered into a demolition services agreement on June 12 after finalizing approvals with funding partners, including the State Land Bank Authority, City of Marquette, and Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Northern Michigan University researchers are exploring the feasibility of using hemp to remediate soil contaminated with PFAS, a group of manufactured chemicals that make a wide range of industry and consumer products non-stick, greaseproof and flame retardant. NMU Chemistry Professor Lesley Putman said the hope is that hemp will not only draw up PFAS from the ground, but ultimately be able to degrade them, unlike the typical and more costly remediation methods using granular activated charcoal or reverse osmosis.