All News Releases

Wheeler Prepared for Job Market

While college is designed to prepare students for their chosen career fields, there can be uncertainty about the job market that awaits them after graduation. But some Northern Michigan University seniors, like Savannah Wheeler from Midland, already have jobs lined up before they walk across the commencement stage.

Wheeler

Women Well-Represented in FRT Scene Shop

Men typically outnumber women in theater technical production jobs, but this underrepresentation is not an issue at Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre (FRT). Ten of the 15 students working at the FRT scene shop on Scrooge! and other productions are women who handle everything from lighting, set and sound design to props and even technical direction.

Women in the NMU scene shop

NMU Quiz Bowl Wins Home Tourney

A Northern Michigan University Quiz Bowl team won an intercollegiate tournament held Dec. 1 at NMU. Four squads from Northern took on two squads from Michigan Tech in the double round-robin tournament. The teams were playing for the Superior Cup, a traveling trophy that is held by the top collegiate quiz bowl team in the Upper Peninsula. The NMU A team finished with a perfect 10-0 record to win the tournament and keep the Superior Cup in Marquette.
Image of NMU Quiz Bowl Participants

Researchers Assess Animal Model of Mental Illness

A chance discovery of unexpected behavioral changes in genetically modified mice prompted two Northern Michigan University researchers to embark on an interdisciplinary project. If their collaboration reveals the mice more closely replicate mental illness in humans than existing animal models, it could lead to increased understanding of human psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and more effective drug treatments. Erich Ottem of Biology and Adam Prus of Psychological Science received a Northern PRIME grant to support their research.

Ottem and Prus

Grant Supports Consent Awareness Campaign

Northern Michigan University has received about $15,400 through the Michigan Campus Sexual Assault Grant Program to support an awareness campaign titled “Consent: Back to Basics.” The topic plays a pivotal role in sexual assault cases, yet student feedback obtained through an NMU survey supported by a previous program grant indicated that a number of students do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes consent.

Logo from 2018 Michigan Campus Sexual Assault Summit

Committee Seeks Big Ideas for Potential Investment

An Internal Campaign Planning Committee composed of faculty, staff and students will facilitate the collection of proposals and opportunities with broad university scope that, with potential philanthropic investment, would enhance Northern’s levels of innovation and excellence. The committee will be responsible for developing and presenting recommendations to the NMU Administration, the NMU Foundation and their respective boards as part of the ramp-up to a proposed campaign currently scheduled to begin in 2020.

Winter campus stock photo

Mozambique Student Attends NMU

Bruno Amilcar of Maputo City, Mozambique in East Africa, is one of three students attending NMU this fall through the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD). The program is designed to promote cultural exchanges between American institutions of higher learning and foreign students. Amilcar is a junior political science major with a minor in theater. He is anticipating his upcoming role as Father Christmas in the NMU production of Scrooge! 

The U.S. Department of State assigned Amilcar to the UGRAD program at NMU through a scholarship.

Bruno Amilcar (foreground) with other UGRAD students Josh Cahatol and Reem Hakeem

NMU Move to 2FA Will Enhance Security

Northern Michigan University is moving to a two-factor authentication (2FA) system that adds an extra layer of security to MyNMU and GSuite services in order to prevent hackers from obtaining users’ personal data. It will be required by May 1 and is a response to a series of recent phishing emails, which attempted to obtain sensitive information by disguising as trustworthy NMU entities. In one October incident, the bank account details of 53 NMU community members was compromised by emails that looked like they were coming from the Vielmetti Health Center.

Video screen shot

'Scrooge!' Coming to NMU

Northern Michigan University’s Forest Roberts Theatre will introduce a few surprising twists to its longstanding holiday production of Scrooge!, a musical retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12–Saturday, Dec. 15, with additional shows at 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16.

File photo of previous production

Holiday Collage Concert Dec. 6

Northern Michigan University's music department will host its third annual Holiday Collage Concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, in Reynolds Recital Hall. It is free and open to the public, but donations are appreciated. The concert will feature the NMU band, choirs, orchestra and a variety of student soloists and ensembles. 

Holiday Lights

Mexican Plays Performed at NMU

A Northern Michigan University Mexican theater class will perform two plays starting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4, in room 2902 of the West Science building. They will be presented in Spanish, with English subtitles. Total run time for both is about 45 minutes. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

NCLL Presents 'Summer Rounds' Author Talk

The Northern Center for Lifelong Learning will offer a presentation by local author B.G. Bradley on his latest Hunter Lake novel, Summer Rounds. The event will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at the Peter White Public Library Shiras Room. The registration deadline is Tuesday, Dec. 4.

Bradley will discuss the adventures of local handyman Dale Slyvanus and other characters such as his wife, Carrie, Father Bill, Big Ol’ Rex and Jen O’Brien-Hicks.

Meinert Named Missouri State Business Dean

NMU alumnus David Meinert (’82 BS, ’84 MBA) will become the new dean and David D. Glass Distinguished Leadership Chair of Missouri State University’s College of Business on Jan. 1. He has been interim dean for the past year, according to a press release. Meinert previously served as associate dean of the college and director of the Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) and Executive Master of Health Administration programs. He started working at Missouri State as a computer information systems assistant professor.

David Meinert

Grad Noted for Ski Hill Energy Savings, Tech

NMU alumnus Tim Smith ('03 BS), general manager of Waterville Valley Ski Resort in New Hampshire, was featured in a GoNOMAD story on the energy savings two ski areas in the state have realized via new gear. Waterville Valley has new snow guns that make better quality snow with a 90 percent reduction in electric costs. Smith also implemented Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), a state-of-the-art lift access system that knows electronically if skiers belong there and makes dangling ski passes on wires obsolete. He has started a new business to install RFID systems at other ski areas.

Tim Smith

Egyptian Student Attending NMU

Reem Hakeem, an international student from Egypt, is one of three participants in the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD) attending NMU this fall. The program is designed to help foster cultural exchanges between students from other countries and American institutions of higher learning.

Hakeem is a freshman dentistry major with a minor in history. She was selected for the UGRAD program at NMU by a scholarship from the U.S. Department of State back at her university in Egypt.

Reem Hakeem