Around NMU

Northern Michigan University graduate assistant Benjamin Fidler won first place in the most recent international 3-Day Novel Contest. Elijah Sparkman, an MFA graduate of NMU, also participated and advanced to the final selection. Instead of relaxing during Labor Day weekend 2021, both wrote tirelessly to create a novel or novella in 72 hours, competing against other writers worldwide. The judges take nearly a year to read hundreds of submissions and recently released the results. 

The Finnish folk group Kardemimmit will perform at Northern Michigan University on Saturday, Sept. 17, as part of the Beaumier Heritage Concert Series. The performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will take place at Reynolds Recital Hall. Tickets cost $10 for the general public and $5 for NMU students and those under 18.

A Northern Michigan University-led research project focusing on bobcats found evidence that human activity can exert a greater impact than environmental factors on carnivore predator-prey interactions, daily activity patterns and movement. The findings were recently published in Biodiversity and Conservation. Understanding that some animals perceive humans as “super predators” is critical for establishing successful wildlife management practices to promote functioning communities.

Northern Michigan University is emphasizing a holistic, integrated approach to student and employee wellbeing as it identifies priority goals and strategies for the coming year. Abigail Wyche, who transitioned in June from social work department head to a 12-month appointment as special adviser for mental health and wellness, detailed some of the plans at Wednesday morning's fall convocation.

Northern Michigan University has successfully renewed a competitive U.S. Department of Education grant to continue the Upper Peninsula's only Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, which provides disadvantaged college students effective preparation for doctoral studies through research and other scholarly activities. NMU will receive about $1.3 million over five years.

As vice chair of the NMU Board of Trustees, Alexis Hart interacts regularly with a number of Northern students. One bit of advice she shares with them is that they should avoid getting locked into a restrictive career path simply by virtue of the degree they earn and focus instead on developing the skill set to be adaptable when exciting opportunities surface, or it becomes necessary to pivot and pursue a new profession. She has learned that through her experience in the human resources field.

A collaborative effort to increase Upper Peninsula residents' access to health care by expanding relevant workforce training, education and employment in the region has received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The project is called U.P. WIN, short for the Upper Peninsula Workforce Innovation Network.

A new website dedicated to the symbiotic relationship between the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University will be launched with a free public event at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, in Ballroom I of the Northern Center at NMU. The website was created by the Beamier U.P. Heritage Center and funded by a donation from NMU History Professor Emeritus Jon Saari.

Northern Michigan University's DeVos Art Museum will open an exhibition Aug. 15 that features three groups of new acquisitions from the permanent collection on display for the first time. The exhibit is titled “New to the Collection: Kinngait: Artists' Reflections in Print, Lundmark and the Lake, and Selections in Contemporary Illustration.”

The Upper Peninsula Cybersecurity Institute (UPCI) at Northern Michigan University will host a cybersecurity symposium Tuesday, Aug. 30 through Thursday, Sept. 1. This inaugural event will bring together multiple state, federal and civilian cybersecurity resources to connect with regional cybersecurity practitioners and decision makers. The UPCI is able to offer the event free to participants, thanks to funding from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.