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NMU's president, Dr. Fritz Erickson, kicked off the new academic year by addressing faculty and staff at the 2019 Fall Convocation.

NMU alumnus Mark Ruoff ('97 BA) is featured in a media story on a German restaurant, Mountain Brauhaus, which three generations of his family have owned and operated since 1955 in Gardiner, N.Y.

A Northern Michigan University student spent his summer teaching English at an accredited Mongolian military university. Through the Cadet Coalition Warfighter Program (CCWP), senior political science major and NMU ROTC member Hunter Wernholm had the opportunity to teach English classes to military officers at National Defense University in Ulaanbaatar.

NMU alumnus Matt Nord ('07 BS) is the new manager of commercial lending at Embers Credit Union, which is based in Marquette and has five U.P. locations.

Northern Michigan University President Fritz Erickson will deliver his fall convocation to faculty, staff and students on Wednesday, Aug. 21, in Jamrich Hall 1100. 

Tickets are available for Northern Michigan University's alumni awards brunch, scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, in the Northern Center. The five NMU alumni who will be honored over Homecoming weekend and their awards are: Joseph Evans of Marquette ('81 BS, '83 MA) and Kristine Poole of Santa Fe, N.M. ('92 BFA), Distinguished Alumni; Tom Fish of Wilmington, N.C. ('69 BS), Alumni Achievement; Jon Mommaerts of Marquette ('91 BS), Alumni Service; and Nicole Weber of Washington, D.C. ('09 BA), Outstanding Young Alumni.

Representatives of the Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit visited NMU Aug. 13 while in Marquette to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its Sister City relationship with Higashiomi.

In The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin portrayed both a caricature of Adolf Hitler and a Jewish barber, using his first sound picture to make a boldly satirical political statement on anti-Semitism. NMU English major Eric Pitz is exploring the film's cultural significance as the recipient of a $5,000 Anna and Rich Lundin Honors Summer Research Fellowship.

NMU School of Health and Human Performance professors Randy Jensen and Sarah Breen, along with students from the sports and exercise science programs, gave seven presentations at the recent International Conference on Biomechanics in Sports in Oxford, Ohio. The total made NMU the second-most productive university in the world at the event. 

NMU's new online applied science in management degree completion program offers anyone with an associate degree in ski area operations/business management the option to complete the bachelor's degree online, except for a one-week residency capstone course during the off-season in Marquette. The program and its director, Brian Zinser of the College of Business, are referenced in the latest issue of NSAA Journal, published by the National Ski Areas Association.

Northern Michigan University's School of Nursing invites alumni of all of its programs to attend a 50th anniversary celebration that will coincide with NMU's Homecoming weekend Sept. 20-21. Advance registration is requested by Sunday, Sept. 15, at nmu.edu/nursing/50. 

Northern Michigan Unviersity senior history major and Army ROTC member Derek Hentkowski spent his summer working alongside Rwandan Defense Force cadets, assisting with peacekeeping missions in the African nation while also experiencing a distinctive culture.

First Judicial District Chief Judge Kathryn Davis Messerich ('79 BSN) of Hastings, Minn., received a 2019 Trial Judge of the Year Award from the American Board of Trial Advocates at its recent annual meeting.

A tree-planting ceremony to honor the memory of longtime Northern Michigan University political science professor Bill Ball is scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, in front of C.B. Hedgcock. 

NMU professor Gary Brunswick spent part of his summer teaching a services marketing course to students from several countries at XAMK, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences. It was the sixth time he has taught at the school in Mikkeli since his first faculty exchange in 1995. The local newspaper, Lansi-Saavo, recently published a feature story on Brunswick. 

Northern Michigan University senior biology major Tyler Penrod received a $5,000 Honors Program Summer Research Fellowship to study native and invasive plant species near Marquette's Lakeshore Boulevard relocation project site. His faculty mentor is biology professor Diana Lafferty.

Northern Michigan University's Fall Fest is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, the first day of classes. The event will take place on the academic mall bordered by West Science, Weston Hall and Harden Hall.

Half of the 10 new U.P. Sports Hall of Fame inductees announced Aug. 3 have ties to Northern Michigan University. They include Al Mitchell, former U.S. Olympic Education Center boxing coach who currently coaches onetime NMU student and Olympian-turned-pro boxer Mikaela Mayer, and Todd Dagenais, former Wildcat assistant volleyball coach who now heads an NCAA Division I program. 

Northern Michigan University's Criminal Justice Department, in cooperation with Michigan InfraGard, will host a free cybersecurity workshop from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, Aug. 8, in room 109 of Harden Hall (formerly the Learning Resources Center).