Around NMU

Beverly Matherne, professor emerita of English at Northern Michigan University, has been selected as the 2023/2024 U.P. Poet Laureate. The former director of NMU's Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing and poetry editor of Passages North literary magazine is the author of seven poetry books.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center is hosting a live virtual event, “An Evening with Jeannie Thoren,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 30. The Marquette native and NMU alumna has spent the past three decades researching the way women ski and developing specialized equipment for them, earning her a place among Skiing magazine's “Top 25 Most Influential People in Skiing in the last 50 years.” She will share her career experiences, as well as what it was like growing up skiing on Cliff's Ridge (Marquette Mountain). Participants will be able to ask questions during the live stream.

Steve Burns, best known as the original host of the long-running children's television program Blues Clues, will visit Northern Michigan University. He will participate in a moderated Q&A session titled "What Happened to Steve?" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in the Northern Center Grand Ballroom. A meet and greet will follow at 8:15 p.m. 

Northern Michigan University alumna Sharon Valascho is one of six finalists for the Detroit Red Wings Teacher of the Year, a title that comes with a $5,000 classroom grant and a virtual meet and greet with a Red Wings player. The elementary art teacher and avid hockey player earned Red Wings Teacher of the Month in January, and said she is hoping she has what it takes to clinch the overall win.

A company formed by three Northern Michigan University alumni that is focused on keeping space clear of orbital debris has earned its second straight Michigan Best Small Business award. Marquette-based Kall Morris Inc. (KMI) will be among the honorees at the 19th annual Michigan Celebrates Small Business gala on May 2 in East Lansing.

The Central U.P. and Northern Michigan University will host visiting scholar Camden Burd for a free presentation titled "The Nature of the Upper Peninsula: Environment and Identity in the North Country, 1955-1978" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in Harden Hall 126. Snacks and refreshments will be provided during this Evening at the Archives event.

Northern Michigan University is hosting the 2023 U.P. Food Summit from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, March 27th at the Northern Center. The event will celebrate local foods, highlight projects from around the Upper Peninsula and provide networking opportunities. NMU began offering a bachelor's degree in controlled environment agriculture—the first northern climate, indoor growing degree program in the nation—last fall, two years after the successful launch of an associate degree in the field. 

Northern Michigan University student Scott Pendergraft was among 47 recipients of a total $81,000 in scholarship awards presented to those studying to become technicians in the HVACR and water heating industry. The funding is provided by the Clifford H. "Ted" Rees Jr. Scholarship Foundation charitable foundation of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).

Author David Heska Wanbli Weiden will read from his celebrated debut novel, Winter Counts, and participate in a Q&A as part of a Northern Michigan University English Visiting Writers Series event at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 23, in Peninsula 1 of the Northern Center. The groundbreaking thriller about a vigilante on a Native American reservation who embarks on a dangerous mission to track down the source of a heroin influx was a New York Times Editors' Choice. It was also named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian and other magazines.