Around NMU

Northern Michigan University President Brock Tessman will share campus updates and answer questions while connecting with alumni and friends during a Northern Now virtual event hosted by NMU Alumni Relations at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 17. 

Northern Michigan University is among the 12 “Best U.S. Colleges and Universities to Get Outdoors and/or Pursue an Outdoors Career,” according to a listing posted by Outdoors.com, founded by adventurer and TV host Bear Grylls in partnership with the Nashville-based firm Savage Ventures. 

Northern Michigan University's DeVos Art Museum will soon unveil the 2024 installment of its UP Focus exhibition, which highlights artists living and working in, or inspired by, the Upper Peninsula. This year's featured artists are connected to the Copper Country: Catherine Benda and Carrie Flaspohler VanderVeen. An opening reception with artist talks is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18. The event is free and open to the public.

Northern Michigan University will hold a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 15. The event will include a noon program featuring NMU President Brock Tessman and 2014 alumna Taylor Johnson, lunch and four service project options from 1-3 p.m. All will take place in The Woods Lodge.

Anne Dahlman, whose higher education experience spans 27 years as a teacher, faculty scholar and administrator, will become Northern Michigan University's next provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, effective April 1. The Finland native most recently served as interim associate provost at Minnesota State University Mankato, where she advanced through the faculty ranks and various leadership positions over the past 17 years.

The Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health, in partnership with Everyday Life Consulting, will offer a Community Health Worker (CHW) certification training program for Upper Peninsula residents in a virtual format starting Tuesday, Jan. 9. The training consists of 12 days of instruction on the nationally recognized CHW core competencies, plus Mental Health First Aid and Adverse Childhood Event training.

Michigan's 15 public universities have joined a nationwide effort to make student financial aid offers more transparent and standardized. The College Cost Transparency (CCT) Initiative is intended to combat inconsistencies in financial aid communication.

Northern Michigan University will receive $13.4 million in state funding toward construction of a $19.1 million Northern Enterprise Center to house the College of Business and serve as a catalyst for workforce, economic and community development across the Upper Peninsula and beyond. The university's top strategic facilities priority was included in the supplemental appropriations bill signed today by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

A Northern Michigan University librarian was accepted into the highly competitive American Library Association's (ALA) Emerging Leaders Program. The program accepts no more than 50 participants each year, and Emera Bridger Wilson is one of them for 2024.

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees today voted to fully divest its endowment fund from the fossil fuel industry by 2028, while also increasing sustainability-related investments by up to 15%. The move aligns with NMU's core values and strategic priorities, which include a focus on building a culture of sustainability. It also expands on related initiatives such as implementing a carbon neutrality plan, creating a new assistant vice president for sustainability position, and enhancing trustee support for the EcoReps student organization.