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Northern Michigan University will host the 2025 Great Lakes Cannabis Collaboration Conference from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, at the Northern Center. The event will showcase developing trends in cannabis education and research, featuring insights from industry leaders and experts at the forefront of the evolving sector. The schedule includes speakers, an NMU alumni panel discussion, a networking lunch and student oral presentations/research posters.

Northern Michigan University Theatre & Dance has finalized a merger between its Wildcat Performing Arts Academy (WPAA) and Superior Arts Youth Theater (SAYT), which has been part of the Marquette community for more than 20 years and recently performed The Wizard of Oz on campus. WPAA will continue to focus on education and training, with workshops, summer intensives and other programming. SAYT will remain as the performance and design branch as it moves forward under the WPAA umbrella.

Five Green Fund project proposals for student-led sustainability initiatives on campus have been selected for implementation this year. They include pollinator habitats, bat boxes, a bike share program, birdfeeders, and apartment composting. The combined budget for all is nearly $27,000, and will be covered by the Green Fund, a student-paid fee that supports sustainable project ideas submitted by students from any major and approved through a selection process.

Over spring break, 43 Northern Michigan University students and faculty members traveled to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, for immersive field courses in marine and terrestrial ecology, research, and destination catering. The experience provided hands-on learning opportunities in diverse environmental and culinary settings and fostered interdisciplinary collaboration.

Northern Michigan University 2017 outdoor recreation leadership and management graduate Samantha LaLonde was named Rookie of the Year at the 2025 Iditarod race in Alaska. She recorded the best time by a first-time musher, completing the longest route in Iditarod history—1,128 miles—in 15th place. 

Lexi Hagan, a 2024 Northern Michigan University business management alumna and one of the first NMU Rural Leadership Fellowship Program participants, is the new executive director of the Menominee Business Development Corporation. Her role is to attract new businesses to the area, retain existing businesses, and help them identify available grant opportunities.

Northern Michigan University's Platform Personalities will host "An Evening with Rachel Dratch." The multifaceted comedian, actress and writer is perhaps best known for her seven-year run on "Saturday Night Live," where she created many memorable characters, including Debbie Downer. She will participate in a conversation at 7 p.m. Monday, March 31, in the Northern Center Grand Ballroom. Admission is free for NMU students with ID and $5 for the general public.

Eleven students from NMU Theater and Dance recently attended the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) annual conference and stage expo in Columbus, Ohio. Four of the students were selected as conference assistants, and one presented a poster presentation.

Northern Michigan University students at Radio X (WUPX-FM) will broadcast an all-day NMU 125th Anniversary Alumni Show from 6 a.m. to midnight Saturday, March 22. Radio X alumni are scheduled to guest-DJ radio shows, and there will be interviews with other alumni. Radio X announcements from the past will air, and students will present NMU history moments that they have researched in the NMU Archives. 

As part of Northern Michigan University's 125th Anniversary Celebration, a special public event is planned to recognize the 30th anniversary of "Haywire," the Forest Roberts Theatre musical about an 1880s logging camp that was one of five productions selected from more than 900 national submissions to perform at the Kennedy Center's American College Theatre Festival. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held March 11 for Gretchen's House-Marquette,  the newest satellite location for the Ann Arbor-based childcare provider, which is offered in partnership with Northern Michigan University. It is located close to campus in Messiah Lutheran Church, with its own secure entrance, three classrooms and two playgrounds.

When large-scale natural or man-made disasters occur in the United States, such as Hurricane Helene or the recent Washington, D.C. plane crash, a Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) may be deployed at the request of the local medical examiner's office to help identify deceased individuals and store the bodies until they are claimed. DMORT has never deployed in cold weather, so to ensure its processes would function well in that environment, it held its first full cold-weather training exercise at Northern Michigan University last week, shortly after the blizzard. Organizers gave NMU high marks for the professionalism of students from various disciplines who participated, and for help facilitating the setup a disaster portable morgue unit in a Jacobetti Complex parking lot.

A trio of talented Northern Michigan University alumni collaborated on a short film shot in Marquette County about family members who have a falling out over addiction. “My Sister” will premiere at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at the Marquette Regional History Center. It was written, produced and directed by Negaunee native Dan Aho, who has worked as an actor in Chicago and Los Angeles. His credits include “Contagion” and “Man of Steel.” Local thespians Jessica “Red” Bays and Han Numinen star as the sisters at odds with each other. All will participate in a discussion after the premiere screening.

This month's Northern Michigan University Jazz Festival will be preceded by a presentation on the history of jazz at NMU to coincide with the university's 125th anniversary and feature opening and closing concerts with guest artist Matt Wilson, a drummer, band leader and educator. The annual festival brings middle and high school students from throughout the region to campus for performances and clinics. 

Northern Michigan University hosted a March 8 visit by the touring group 1° of Separation, which presents a comedy show and suicide prevention program aimed at ending the stigma of mental illness. NMU Veterans Services Coordinator Mike Rutledge is on the board of Upper Peninsula Together With Veterans, the organization that brought the show to several U.P. locations. He also collaborates with other organizations that help area residents who have served in the military—outreach that extends beyond his role assisting student veterans and elevating NMU's position on national Military Friendly Schools rankings.

Northern Michigan University cybersecurity students took second place in the March 1 regional event of the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) national competition. Five students spent 10 hours on a spring break Saturday working diligently in the Northern Center lab, showing they can compete with the best cybersecurity student across the country.

Northern Michigan University's Social Work Department will hold two events marking the 50th anniversary of its "unwavering dedication to social justice, community engagement and transformative education." A reception will take place from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 20, at the Landmark Inn's Harbor Room. An open house on campus is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. in 2400 Jamrich Hall. Alumni, students, faculty and community partners are invited to honor the department's legacy and envision its future. 

The calendar shifted to 2025 a short time ago, but it has already been a “banner year” for Northern Michigan University assistant professor of education Kristen White. She co-authored “Teaching with Literacy Programs,” which received the 2025 Gloria J. Ladson-Billings Outstanding Book Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) last week. She also will be honored in March as the 2025 Michigan Reading Association Teacher Educator of the Year. It is an impressive start for a woman who said her only other award in life was “Student of the Week” in 10th grade.

Northern Michigan University alumna Anna Dravland's efforts to develop and expand Spread Goodness Day, an annual event that celebrates the “explosive and empowering” impacts of simple acts of goodness, inspired fellow NMU alumna and retired elementary teacher Sue Meier to coauthor a related children's book, The Goodness Garden. With support from generous donors, hundreds of free copies have been distributed to pre-kindergarten through second-grade classrooms in Michigan, Illinois and beyond in advance of this year's Spread Goodness Day celebration on March 14.

Northern Michigan University's automotive technology program has received a brand new 2023 Ford Escape to further assist students in gaining hands-on experience with modern vehicle systems and technology they are likely to encounter in their careers. The vehicle was donated by Fox Marquette and Ford Motor Company, which also stand to benefit from the career preparation NMU provides for their potential future workforce of automotive technicians.