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Northern Michigan University alumnus Jim Hiller ('95 BS) has joined the National Hockey League's LA Kings as an assistant coach. He will primarily work with the forwards and focus on the power play, according to a Kings press release. He most recently served in the same capacity for the New York Islanders, helping the club reach two Eastern Conference Finals.

Alberto Alexander, who earned a master of arts in education (MAE) degree from Northern in 1974, is managing director of the international consulting and training firm Eficiencia Gerencial y Productividad, located in Lima, Peru. He wrote an Aug. 3 online column on the major components of an effective cyber risk management process. Alexander addressed threat categories facing organizations, cyber risk management frameworks and challenges, and best practices related to assessment.

NMU reinstated a mask mandate for in-person classrooms and labs, effective Aug. 1, in response to an uptick in local COVID cases that has elevated Marquette County to the CDC's "high transmission" category. President Kerri Schuiling provided an update of NMU's pandemic protocols heading into the fall semester in an email to the campus community.

J.D. Phillips is drawn to “the intellectual beauty and depth of pure mathematics.” He describes mathematics as closer, in some ways, to poetry, painting and musical composition than to the laboratory sciences.

The Upper Peninsula has higher rates of substance use than most areas in the state, yet by virtue of its population, a smaller workforce to adequately treat individuals struggling with related disorders. To address that gap, Northern Michigan University will offer a new substance use academic minor this fall. 

Northern Michigan University alumna Tara Laase-McKinney is the new executive director of the Marquette Downtown Development Authority. The 2010 NMU graduate earned a bachelor's degree in outdoor recreation leadership and management. She has worked for MDDA for nearly eight years, most recently as business development and promotions director.

In a historic selection, Northern Michigan University alumnus Eric Frederick has been chosen as the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office's (MIHI) first chief connectivity officer. He graduated from NMU in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in planning and a minor in geographic information systems. 

Northern Michigan University's master of social work (MSW) program is now fully accredited through the Council on Social Work Education's Commission on Accreditation, after three years of candidacy. NMU's bachelor's degree in social work (BSW), which has been continuously accredited since 1974, was reaffirmed for another eight years.

Northern Michigan University ranks as the fifth best online college in Michigan, and first in the Upper Peninsula, according to ZDNet.com's 2022 rankings.