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As NMU students arrive on campus this week in advance of Fall Fest and first day of classes on Monday, it is intriguing to reflect on the institution's hurried and humble beginnings 125 years ago. After Michigan's governor signed the bill establishing Northern State Normal in Marquette in April 1899, there was too little time for a campus to take shape by fall. The first class of 32 students convened on Sept. 19 in rented quarters in old City Hall, with Dwight B. Waldo as the school's principal. By the end of the second week, 61 students had registered.

Northern Michigan University recently became the first higher education collaborator in the 12-year history of Northern Strike, one of the Department of Defense's largest joint military readiness exercises held at the largest National Guard training facility in the country. Eight NMU information assurance/cyber defense students had a rare opportunity to work alongside military cybersecurity teams from the U.S. and NATO ally Latvia Aug. 11-12. Their mission was to regain control of a network used for communications and war command that had been compromised by a foreign adversary, determine how the network was infiltrated and remediate the vulnerability.

Northern Michigan University student Sami Brown of Waco, Texas, has demonstrated her dual talents as a soccer player, entering her final season as a Wildcat, and as a singer/guitarist. She advanced through an early-stage American Idol qualifier as a high school junior and performs at Marquette-area venues in her limited free time. She will play before her largest audience yet when she opens for country duo Maddie & Tae during NMU's 125th anniversary Homecoming celebration.

Award-winning country duo Maddie & Tae will headline a free outdoor concert as part of Northern Michigan University's 125th anniversary Homecoming celebration at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, in the gravel parking lot behind the Superior Dome. Their opening act, NMU student and singer/guitarist Sami Brown, will take the stage at 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Sara Sutherland, a 2017 NMU alumna who earned a bachelor's in biology/physiology and a minor in chemistry, has joined the team of emergency medicine physicians at UP Health System – Marquette. The Munising native has come full circle after working at the hospital's information desk and as a "patient sitter" while attending Northern.

Northern Michigan University musical theater major Don'Tae Mitchell has received a full scholarship to attend the summer 2025 training intensive at Giordano Dance Chicago, “America's original jazz company.” Artistic director Nan Giordano made the surprise announcement while the company was on campus to perform at NMU's recent North Coast Dance Festival (NCDF).

Northern will kick off its 125th year with a series of activities to leading up to the fall semester, which officially begins with the first day of classes on Monday, Aug. 26. 

Northern Michigan University hosted an international conference on existential aesthetics July 26-27. NMU Philosophy Professor Antony Aumann, who is on sabbatical to write a book on the transformative power of art, served as co-organizer with Hans Maes, senior lecturer in history and philosophy of art at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. Six NMU students comprised the support staff who coordinated and managed the logistics. The event investigated how works of art and certain aesthetic practices/experiences can be of existential importance to people.

Michigan Humanities will present a special event titled "Bridging Michigan: Building Understanding through Poetry" on Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Northern Center at Northern Michigan University. NMU English professor emerita and Upper Peninsula Poet Laureate Beverly Matherne will converse with Michigan's Poet Laureate Nandi Comer about how poetry creates understanding between one another. NMU Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Shawnrece Campbell will moderate the discussion.

Northern Michigan University is partnering with Michigan Technological University to prepare 30 middle school science teachers to become leaders in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The National Science Foundation is providing $2.7 million through the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program to support this six-year initiative, named Partnering to Prepare STEM Master Teachers for Michigan's Middle Schools. 

Percussionist Britton-René Collins, Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition and the 2021 Chicago International Music Competition, will perform at Northern Michigan University as part of the Siril Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6. She will also present two additional free events earlier in the day: a music appreciation talk at 11 a.m. and a percussion masterclass at 1 p.m. All will take place in Reynolds Recital Hall.

Northern Michigan University President Brock Tessman will celebrate the institution's 125th anniversary during his Fall Convocation at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21, in the Northern Center Ballrooms. The program will also address enrollment and housing numbers, vital indicators for measuring success and the "three grand challenges" of a new mission, vision and strategic plan. 

Northern Michigan University 1985 marketing alumna Barbara Benda was hired to fill a new position as director of development with the West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC). She is focused primarily on supporting the $11 million “Winning Streak for West Michigan” expansion campaign for the Meijer Sports Complex, and on overall development work for the WMSC.

In conjunction with Northern Michigan University's 125th anniversary, the DeVos Art Museum on campus is presenting "Standing Still: Studio Portraits from the Upper Peninsula" through Nov. 2. The historic portraits, provided by the Jack Deo Collection, were taken at U.P. photo studios from 1890-1910. They depict local legends, friends, neighbors and everyday heroes of the past.

Todd “Stix” Honch, who passed away suddenly in early 2019, was a skilled drummer who played in all Northern Michigan University bands and an enthusiastic supporter of Wildcat sports teams. His dedication is symbolized by three items still on display in his basement bedroom at his parents' house: a set of gold drumsticks; a “golden ticket” for free lifetime admission to athletic events—sadly, he only used it for one year; and the inaugural Wildcat Fan of the Year Award he received with friend Lindsay Griffith, which now bears their names. 

Many people get their weekdays started by listening to the familiar voice of Nicole Walton, longtime local host for NPR's “Morning Edition” and news director at WNMU-FM, Public Radio 90. She has more than two decades of professional experience with the station, but the NMU alumna first began working there as a student employee while pursuing an English degree.

A half-dozen NMU entities collaborated on a new summer initiative to provide students in need with free bikes that had been abandoned on campus and unclaimed after reasonable efforts to contact the owners. A total of 16 bikes were distributed.

Dr. Doug Roberts, former chair of the NMU Board of Trustees. He was a member of the board from 2002-10, serving as vice chair 2007-08 and chair 2009-10. 

NMU 2019 environmental science alumnus Scott Culbert was recently appointed forest ecologist and climate change coordinator with the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. Covering three million acres, it is the largest national forest east of the Mississippi and includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.