All News Releases

As part of its 125th anniversary celebration this year, Northern Michigan University is collecting stories and reflections from alumni, faculty, staff and community members to share throughout 2024 across various NMU platforms. Photos and recordings up to a minute in length are also welcome.

Elise Bur, director of Northern Michigan University's Center for Rural Health, has been elected to the Superior Health Foundation's board of directors. She brings to the role a a vast background in health care and issues related to improving health in the Upper Peninsula.

Emily Lanctot, director/curator of NMU's DeVos Art Museum and a 2008 BFA alumna, is profiled in a recent video as part of Travel Marquette's "Made in Marquette" artist series. The video was produced by fellow Art & Design alumni Matthew Hill, a 2011 BFA grad, and Elliot Kennedy, who earned his bachelor's in 2021. Both majored in digital cinema and now form The Elm Creative, a video production and marketing firm based in Marquette. Watch the video here. 

Dallas Seavey, who trained as a wrestler at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at NMU, won a record-breaking sixth Iditarod. The victory came despite a fatal encounter with a moose that his team became entangled with on the trail, which resulted in a two-hour penalty for insufficiently gutting the animal.

Actor Eric Roberts, star of “Intent Unknown,” the first screenplay by Northern Michigan University alumna Beth Rondeau Deacon, delivers a video message to NMU. The shoutout is timed with today's campus visit by Deacon and director/producer Terence Gordon. They are screening the film and conducting a casting call for NMU students for the upcoming sequel and another project on a prominent female pilot. Deacon is also the author of “Seven Doors In: One Teacher's Mission within Prison Walls,” which has been optioned by a prominent production company for a streaming series. View the video here. Read more about the visit by Deacon and Gordon here.

Northern Michigan University and Bay College have announced an articulation agreement designed to streamline academic pathways, offer online degree opportunities and empower aspiring social workers.

Five Northern Michigan University Faculty Members have been selected as Reassigned Time Award recipients for the fall 2024 semester. Each award provides up to four credit hours of release time to support scholarship activities.

A new college scholarship that honors the memory of former Northern student Barbara (Golenda) Forsberg will be available beginning this year from the Alger Regional Community Foundation.

Northern Michigan University's DeVos Art Museum will host a family night from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 21. The event will feature a guided look at the museum's exhibitions and an activity in which participants can paint a Munising Ware-inspired plate to take home. The event is free of charge and suitable for all ages; supplies and guidance will be provided.

Northern Michigan University athletic training students are getting hands-on experience at the Injury Evaluation and Care Clinic powered by the Health and Human Performance Department. The clinic also provides the campus and community with a healthcare opportunity that specializes in the assessment and primary treatment of sport and physical activity-related injuries.

NMU 2016 graphic communications alumna Alexa Haferkorn is a website design specialist with Packerland Websites, a Green Bay-based digital marketing company that recently opened an office in Marquette. She will also manage the new location.

Michael Blaustein, a headlining comedian and actor who co-hosts the popular podcast called “Stiff Socks,” will visit Northern Michigan University on Thursday, March 14. Doors to Jamrich 1100 open at 6:30 and the show—recommended for 18 years and older—begins at 7. The opening act is comedian Kase Raso.

The Michigan Association of Broadcasters presented WNMU-FM with three 2023 Broadcast Excellence Awards. News Director Nicole Walton won “Best in Category” for Hard News and Current Event Story for Social Media Extortion, about a case that ended in the suicide of a Marquette teenager. Classical Music Host and Producer Kurt Hauswirth won “Merit” awards in both the Musical Programming and Music Feature categories. Both are NMU alumni.  

Northern Michigan University alumna and Ironwood native Beth Rondeau Deacon will return to campus on Wednesday, March 13, for a series of events related to her work as a screenwriter, book author and mathematics teacher. She and director/producer Terence Gordon will present a free 6 p.m. showing of the movie based on Deacon's first screenplay, Intent Unknown, followed by a Q&A in Jamrich 1100. The psychological thriller stars Eric Roberts and revolves around four ambitious psychology students who embark on a risky experiment to unravel the mysteries of human behavior.

Northern Michigan University's UNITED Conference will feature workshops and presentations that revolve around a "Continue the Conversation" theme as it relates to the intersection of well-being and diversity, equity and inclusion. The main conference runs from 8:45 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the Northern Center. Keynote speakers are: Patrick Yankee from Corktown Health, on affirmative healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community; and Stefanie Foo, author of "What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma," this year's selection for NMU's Diversity Common Reader Program. All events are free and open to the public.

Scottish folk-rock group Skerryvore will return to Northern Michigan University on Thursday, March 14. The band's frontman Alec Dalglish participated in a Zoom interview to preview the concert and provide some background on the group. Skerryvore is a three-time winner of Scotland's “Live Act of the Year” award and performs for audiences worldwide.

Immunizations are an essential component of public health against infectious diseases. A Northern Michigan University assistant professor co-authored a recent publication that contends the COVID-19 pandemic provides a case study for how social equity is a global issue. Dr. Jongeun You in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration examined vaccine sharing policies across nations and found a significant imbalance in the international distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income nations, leading to severe disparities in access and vaccination rates.

In conjunction with Women's History Month, the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University will open its “Extraordinary Women of the U.P.” exhibition at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 23, in its Gries Hall gallery. Admission is free. The exhibition will remain on display through Saturday, July 27, and begin touring the Upper Peninsula in fall 2024.

Northern Michigan University student finalists participated in The Big Pitch, the culminating event in the College of Business' New Business Venture Competition, on Feb. 23. They presented their ideas before a panel of judges for a share of thousands of dollars in funding. The winners were announced at the close of Innovation Week, hosted by Innovate Marquette SmartZone and SISU: The Innovation Institute at NMU.

James A. Strain, professor of percussion at Northern Michigan University, will present a faculty recital featuring the music of Clair Omar Musser at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, in Reynolds Recital Hall. Musser, considered the founder of the modern concert marimba, was instrumental in the development, design, promotion and early pedagogy for the instrument.