All News Releases

Former Wildcat Accepts New Coaching Position

Aug. 1, 2018
Mark Simon ('86), former Wildcat basketball player and NMU Sports Hall of Fame member, has been hired as girls basketball coach at St. Thomas Aquinas (formerly Catholic Central) in Marinette, Wis. Simon played for Stephenson High School, including the 1981 Class C state championship team. He returned there to coach the girls team to a 20-3 record in 2014, according to the Escanaba Daily Press.

Alumnus Combines Culinary and Graphic Art

Jul. 31, 2018

Drake Nagel ('12 BFA) puts his graphic design skills honed at NMU to work on behalf of his two culinary ventures: Happy's Taco Shop in Petoskey; and a food truck business that extends to Traverse City. In a Petoskey News-Review artist profile, Nagel said cooking is his first love, but he also recognizes the importance of establishing a brand through a logo and other visual elements. So he has combined both talents, creating a number of menu boards for the food trucks and designs for available merchandise offered through the company.

Drake Nagel ('12 BFA)

Schwenke Joins NRRI

Jul. 30, 2018

NMU alumna Stacy Schwenke ('07 MAE) has joined the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth. She fills a new position dedicated to strategic management of the organization's grants and contracts, which comprise about 55 percent of NRRI's research funding. NRRI's mission is to "deliver research solutions to balance our economy, resources and environment for resilient communities." Schwenke's previous research administration work experience included positions with University of Wisconsin System campuses and the Marine Biological Laboratory.

Stacy Schwenke

Former OTS Weightlifter Helps Revive Infant

Jul. 26, 2018

Ronnie Tucker, a former weightlifter at NMU's Olympic Training Site, helped to save the life of an unresponsive newborn outside the Michigan State Police Jackson Post. He has been a state trooper for eight months. Tucker was first on the scene to assist a couple in an SUV parked outside whose baby emerged feet first and wasn't breathing. With CPR equipment from his vehicle and the training he underwent in the police academy, he kept the newborn's airway open and tried rubbing her chest for stimulation, eventually finding success.

Ronnie Tucker, a former weightlifter at NMU's Olympic Training Site

NMU in 'Forbes' Overview of Cannabis Programs

Jul. 25, 2018

Northern Michigan University is listed first in a Forbes article titled "From Chemistry to Culinary: 10 Educational Programs for Students Eager to Learn About Cannabis." The description for NMU states that there is renewed and enthusiastic interest in medicinal plant chemistry as it relates to the herbal extract market and, more recently, to the emerging cannabis market. "The degree balances coursework in chemistry and biology with lab experience.

Students in the lab

Alumnus is KSTP-TV Investigative Executive Producer

Jul. 23, 2018
Paul McEnroe ('72 BS) is the investigative executive producer at KSTP-TV, the ABC affiliate in St. Paul, Minn. Prior to joining the station in 2015 as executive producer for investigations and special projects, he worked as an investigative reporter for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. McEnroe was named an Ochberg Fellow by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University for his international coverage of victims of violence. He also received a Mastery Certificate from the Harvard University Program in Refugee Trauma, stemming from his reports on the Iraq and Gulf Wars, along with the conflict in Bosnia-Croatia. He is the recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Grand Prize for Reporting on the Disadvantaged and has received awards from the Investigative Reporting & Editors Organization (IRE) and the Society of Professional Journalists (the Bronze Medallion-Investigative Reporting).
Image of Paul McEnroe

Alumnus Partners with Nike to Help Chicago Youth

Jul. 23, 2018
Artist Julian Gaines (BA 2015), who works under the moniker Juwop, has partnered with Nike Chicago to give the city's youth new creative platforms. He has established a reputation for juxtaposing art and athletics, particularly through customized sneakers. The new “Working on Projects” collaboration with Nike is a conceptual initiative that tells Gaines' story through new products and community events for the next generation of Chicago creatives. His Game-Worn Collection, released July 21, features two ’80s silhouettes: the 1982 Nike Sky Force and 1985 Nike Air Vortex. Read a Nike story on the effort here.
Image of a pair of Nike Sky Force 3/4 Black

Alumna Joins WBPN Lansing Bureau

Jul. 19, 2018
Mikenzie Frost (BA 2015) is the new Lansing bureau reporter for WBPN-TV in Traverse City. She joined the news team in July and covers "all things politics and public policy" in the state capital. Frost grew up in metro Detroit. She studied multimedia journalism at NMU, then became a reporter and later evening anchor for KTVH in Helena, Mont. A 30-minute special she wrote, shot and produced about the charms and challenges of rural education in Montana won "Best NonCommercial Program of the Year" in 2018 from the Montana Broadcasters Association. She also won a 2017 second-place award for "Best Newswriting" for a piece on a 30-year cold case.
Image of Mikenzie Frost

Alumnus Assumes TRIO Role at Finlandia

Jul. 19, 2018
Frank Pergande ('96 '02) is the new the TRIO Upward Bound academic coordinator at Finlandia University. He earned his bachelor of arts in English and his master of arts in creative writing from NMU. Pergande previously taught English at NMU, Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea and the Marquette Prison through Jackson College. 
Image of Frank Pergande

NMU Student-Veteran Places Second IN National Arts Competition

Jul. 18, 2018
Traci Dietz, a Northern Michigan University student-veteran from Negaunee, won second place in the photography category of the 2018 National Veterans Creative Arts Competition. The senior photography major entered a local competition through the Iron Mountain VA Medical Center. Her first-place finish qualified her for the national judging process. Dietz’s winning submission is an image titled “broken.”
Image of Traci Dietz's photo "broken"

NMU Student Returns to Congo

Jul. 18, 2018
What began as a surfing and camping trip in 2010 has evolved into a mission for NMU nontraditional student Billy McCoy of Florence, according to a story in his hometown paper, the "Florence Mining News." The French language and literature major plans to leave in August to study abroad at Institute Francais du Congo, a private school run by the French government in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. Before classes start, he will serve an internship at Mwana Villages, which serves mothers and orphans in the impoverished area of Pointe Noire, Congo. This will be his second trip volunteering for the organization.
Image of Billy McCoy

NMU's Online MPA Among Most Affordable

Jul. 17, 2018
Northern Michigan University offers one of the most affordable online Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees in the nation, according to a new ranking by bestvalueschools.com. NMU’s program is offered 100 percent online. It is designed for both current public administration professionals and those who are new to the field, with a concentration in criminal justice, human resources, state and local government, or public management.
Image of "Most Affordable" Ribbon

NMU Grad Joins Grand Rapids Law Firm

Jul. 16, 2018
Attorney and NMU alumnus Rock Wood ('84 BS) has joined Dickinson Wright PLLC’s Grand Rapids office as Of Counsel. He has more than 30 years of litigation experience as lead counsel in a wide range of business-related trials, including corporate mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, construction and real estate. He has also successfully handled numerous disputes under non-competition agreements employment issues, insurance and UCC utilized in a wide variety of industries and employment positions.

Board Recognizes President's Performance with New Contract

Jul. 13, 2018
The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees today recognized the “outstanding performance” of President Fritz Erickson with the approval of a new long-term presidential contract. The five-year contract places Erickson’s base salary at $385,000. It also includes a performance-based bonus component, through which he will receive $50,000 for achieving established goals in 2017-18.
Image of Board Chair Robert Mahaney and President Fritz Erickson

Miniature Murder Scene a Teaching Tool

Jul. 12, 2018
The first female police captain in the United States, Frances Glessner Lee (1878-1962), was perhaps best known for her “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.” These exquisitely detailed, miniature reproductions of real-life crime scenes revolutionized the emerging field of homicide investigation in the first half of the 20th century, according to the Smithsonian. The state of Maryland still uses them to train forensic professionals. Northern Michigan University criminal justice students will benefit from exposure to a similar dollhouse-sized diorama this coming academic year. Marquette resident and NMU alumnus Dave Mastric ('05 BA) was commissioned to create his first nutshell study of a gruesome murder case he discovered online.
Image of Mastric working on the nutshell