Kylie Bunting, director of Alumni and Foundation communications, received an Innovation Award. She joined NMU prior to the pandemic in a new position focused on creating a strategic approach to digital engagement and communication with more than 70,000 alumni nationwide. Bunting identified the opportunity to showcase NMU faculty, staff, students and alumni by utilizing Zoom.
After piloting an event featuring NMU Athletics, the Northern Now digital event series was launched. The alumni base responded well to the digital programming, with more than 470 alumni who attended a Northern Now event since its inception in October 2020.
The program was important to keep alumni engaged during the pandemic. Additionally, it diversified alumni attendees depending on the event and attracted alumni who had not attended prior events. The two most recent events generated more than 100 registrations: a cooking segment by chef Alden and a current student; and a local alumnus discussing a significant archaeological find in Marquette County. Northern Now content is uploaded to the NMU Alumni YouTube channel following each event.