Strategic Plan

Three new leadership appointees at Northern Michigan University will advance NMU's core values and strategic priorities related to inclusion and belonging, sustainability and academic excellence. Shawnrece Campbell, previously at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, is assistant vice president for Diversity and Inclusion. NMU professor and alumna Jessica Thompson is assistant vice president for Sustainability. Anne Dahlman, most recently at Minnesota State University Mankato, will begin as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs on April 1.

In a continuing effort to advance conversations surrounding mental health, WNMU-TV will host a “Facing Suicide: Town Hall” at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday, Sept. 27, in NMU's Northern Center. A panel of Upper Peninsula mental health professionals will discuss suicide awareness and prevention. The public is invited to attend in person or virtually at no charge. 

Northern Michigan University's fall convocation featured several speakers who addressed new wellbeing initiatives for students and employees, the budget outlook, updates on facilities projects, the strategic planning process and the presidential search.

The $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package that passed the U.S. House and Senate and was signed by President Joe Biden last week includes $1.2 million in congressionally directed spending that will enable Northern Michigan University to expand LTE broadband service to rural communities in the Upper Peninsula and northeastern Lower Peninsula through its Educational Access Network (EAN).

The Upper Peninsula Manufacturing Consortium, convened by Northern Michigan University to meet industry workforce demands by facilitating multiple career pathways, has received a grant worth nearly $1.3 million. 

The Upper Peninsula Cybersecurity Consortium, convened by Northern Michigan University in collaboration with industry and education partners, has received two innovation grants totaling $2.47 million through the State of Michigan's Marshall Plan for Talent. 

Biology graduate student Sierra Gillman is the first Northern Michigan University recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF-GRF), one of the most prestigious awards available to students in the STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in the United States. 

Northern’s new bronze wildcat statue, a much-anticipated addition to the campus landscape, was unveiled and dedicated Sept. 21. The statue was made possible through a gift from the estate of former NMU Board of Trustees chair and longtime NMU supporter Gil Ziegler (’60 BS).