Strategic Plan

Northern Michigan University is seeking student applications and community project proposals for the newly created Rural Leadership Fellowship Program, which is designed to support immersive project-based learning for students while also supporting Upper Peninsula economic and community development projects. The fellowship is a paid and scholarship-supported applied learning experience for students interested in rural economic development and public sector careers.

High school seniors who reside in the Upper Peninsula and plan to pursue studies in a healthcare-related field at a college or university next fall are invited to participate in the fourth annual National Rural Health Day Essay Contest. The Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health is coordinating the contest with the Michigan Center for Rural Health and the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan. The essay submission deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Northern Michigan University is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and the task force dedicated to realizing that goal is seeking campus input on the draft plan for how to get there. While NMU has already reduced its carbon footprint by more than 30% since 2010 and has one of the smallest footprints among the state's public universities, it is striving for further reductions. Remaining information sessions on the plan are scheduled at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 (via Zoom), and 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, in Jamrich 1322. A flipbook and feedback survey are also available online.

Northern Michigan University has welcomed 40 new international students this fall, including exchange program participants and new freshmen, transfers and graduate students. Combined with returning students, the total international enrollment is 88 from 40 countries—the most NMU has had in recent years. While all of these students help to enhance diversity on campus and contribute their unique global perspectives, seven are employed as graduate assistants who actively support NMU faculty in various departments.

Northern Michigan University's School of Clinical Sciences is hosting its second annual Open Lab Day. The event is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, and takes place in rooms and labs around The Science Building.

Northern Michigan University's Carbon Neutrality Task Force is gathering input on its draft plan outlining NMU's path to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 or sooner. A flipbook of the plan and feedback survey are available online at nmu.edu/president/carbon-neutrality-task-force. Also, information sessions are scheduled as follows this month:

North Carolina-based artist, curator and author Endia Beal will visit Northern Michigan University, where she will give a keynote presentation at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, in Art & Design room 165. Those who register to attend can also sign up to participate in a two-hour workshop with Beal at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, in the Peninsula V room at the Northern Center.

Northern Michigan University's Native American Student Association will host four events on Indigenous Peoples Day Monday, Oct. 9. Activities include morning and evening celebrations, a healing march and a reception. 

The investiture of a university president is an enduring tradition in academia, typically held during or at the conclusion of the individual's first year in office. Northern Michigan University's 17th president, Brock Tessman, was formally invested with the rank during a ceremony this afternoon. The event provided an opportunity for the campus and community to welcome new leadership and celebrate successes early in Tessman's tenure that signal Northern is on an upward trajectory.

Northern Michigan University held a rededication ceremony and open house for the newly renovated Jacobetti Complex. The facility and its labs are equipped to provide students in STEM and technical programs the required tools to be successful in industrial, engineering and service-related fields that are critical to the support of economic growth in the region and state.