Around NMU

Northern Michigan University students enrolled in a new course this semester had to interview for a spot on the limited roster, undergo a background check and sign a non-disclosure agreement. They also lock up their cell phones and laptop computers before they enter the associated classroom/lab, and pore over materials retrieved from a storage room that was re-keyed for restricted access. Such precautions are necessary because the students are tasked with re-examining and digitizing the entire file for an actual Upper Peninsula cold case that began as a missing person's report and shifted to a homicide.

For the first time in Northern Michigan University history, the student commencement speaker will be an NMU Global Campus graduate. Jeff Ferrington has completed a bachelor's in Applied Workplace Leadership entirely online from his home base in Macomb Township, but he will bridge the distance and deliver his speech in person at the Superior Dome on Saturday, Dec. 17. Ferrington calls himself a “second chancer” for getting the opportunity to finish the NMU degree he first started as an on-campus student in 1996.

Diana Lafferty, assistant professor of wildlife ecology, will be the faculty keynote speaker for Northern Michigan University's Dec. 17 commencement. She was selected through a nomination process overseen by ASNMU, the student government organization. 

Higher education and public policy leader Linda Thompson will receive an honorary doctorate degree in nursing at Northern Michigan University's Dec. 17 commencement. She has served as president of Westfield State University in Massachusetts since July 2021. In a previous capacity as dean of nursing at Oakland University, Thompson played an instrumental role in facilitating the creation of NMU's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.

Northern Michigan University ranks as the top Division 2 school in the nation in the 2022 Higher Education Social Media Engagement Report released by Rival IQ. The social media analysis company said NMU dominated D2 overall by ranking 5th on Facebook, 9th on both Instagram and Twitter and 12th on Tik Tok through “prolific posting and high-quality content.”

Northern Michigan University student Rev Derek Baluyut is a 2022-2023 American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholar. The program awards renewable scholarships of up to $5,000 per academic year to undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences, majoring in chemistry-related disciplines, and intending to pursue chemistry-related careers.

Northern Michigan University's sixth annual Day of Giving event on Nov. 29 has raised $950,000 in gifts and pledges to date, offering a blend of support to build endowments, increase scholarship dollars and provide direct funding to departments and programs.

Northern Michigan University criminal justice major Jersey Hoover, who successfully harvested an 8-point buck with her bow over Thanksgiving weekend, has received a scholarship for her commitment to engaging new audiences and/or generations with Michigan's natural resources and rich outdoor heritage. The Hancock native is one of only five college students statewide selected for the 2022 John A. Muter Memorial Scholarship, named for a sportsman who passed away in 2016 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. 

“Food for Fines” returns to Northern Michigan University, giving individuals an opportunity to alleviate parking fines by contributing non-perishable food items or personal care products to the NMU Food Pantry. The NMU Police Department will accept donations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, through Dec. 9.

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) has again selected Northern Michigan University for its list of Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous Students. The 2022-2023 list appears in the 29th annual Special College Issue of AISES' quarterly magazine, Winds of Change.