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Northern Michigan University's 2022 Homecoming features several events for alumni and community members. This year's celebration is Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23 and 24.

As a past president of ASNMU, Northern's student government organization, Jason Morgan recalls feeling “somewhat terrified at the prospect of talking to people I thought were so important” when he had to present updates on student issues and activities at each NMU Board of Trustees meeting. Now that the 2011 political science alumnus is a trustee himself, it is the ASNMU report that he looks forward to hearing the most.

Northern Michigan University's Lydia M. Olson Library is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected from more than 250 applicants to host the “Americans and the Holocaust” traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The exhibition examines the motives, pressures and fears that shaped Americans' responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.

Jimmy Ludwig's 30-year acting career in New York City—from Broadway productions and performance art to film and television—taught him a valuable lesson: “Grit and a willingness to outwork everybody else” are far more important for sustained success than either talent, which is pervasive in such entertainment epicenters, or connections. He plans to share that sage advice with students in the new Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in acting program he is heading for Northern Michigan University Theatre and Dance.

Northern Michigan University's College of Business will host NMU alumnus John Baltes as the 2022 Executive in Residence Sept. 27-29. He is the retired CEO of SVA, a multi-entity professional services company. Baltes will share insights from his 30 years of leadership and business strategy experience, as well as a strong data systems background, with the NMU and Marquette communities.

“Mending the Stress Fence,” a presentation on managing the stressors faced by farmers and agricultural professionals, will be held at Northern Michigan University on Friday, Sept. 9. The presentation begins at 3 p.m. in the Northern Center Peninsula II room. It will be about 30 minutes in length with an open discussion at the end. 

Northern Michigan University Theatre and Dance will present its third annual Spotlight Variety Show to kick off the fall semester at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 8-9, in Forest Roberts Theatre. The show features 24 acts, including singers, monologue performances and magic.

Pendziwol will give a presentation on October 11 at 7 pm at the Northern Center, on the campus of Northern Michigan University in Marquette and on October 12 at 6 pm at Munising School Public Library. In conjunction with the lighthouse theme, there is also a special presentation by Dianna Stampfler on Death and Lighthouses on the Great Lakes on September 8 at 6 pm at Munising School Public Library. 

Northern Michigan University graduate assistant Benjamin Fidler won first place in the most recent international 3-Day Novel Contest. Elijah Sparkman, an MFA graduate of NMU, also participated and advanced to the final selection. Instead of relaxing during Labor Day weekend 2021, both wrote tirelessly to create a novel or novella in 72 hours, competing against other writers worldwide. The judges take nearly a year to read hundreds of submissions and recently released the results. 

The Finnish folk group Kardemimmit will perform at Northern Michigan University on Saturday, Sept. 17, as part of the Beaumier Heritage Concert Series. The performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will take place at Reynolds Recital Hall. Tickets cost $10 for the general public and $5 for NMU students and those under 18.

NMU alumnus Cory Gylock has been promoted to vice president and general manager of Nexstar Media's digital operations of WLAX-TV (FOX) and WEUX-TV (FOX) in La Crosse/Eau Claire, Wis., and their related digital and social media channels. The 2012 marketing graduate previously served as general sales manager for the stations.

Debra Greenacre, a 2003 NMU elementary education alumna and executive director of the Manistee Public Library, demonstrates the importance of following your dreams, no matter how long it takes for them to come into clear focus. Greenacre was featured in the Huron Daily Tribune as a part of a series on women in leadership positions.

Northern Michigan University alumna Karen Saari was commissioned to co-write a musical titled Ten Days in a Madhouse, about journalist Nellie Bly's experience infiltrating a notorious insane asylum to report on the abhorrent conditions. The show had its world premiere Aug. 19-27 through Music Theatre of Madison in Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula native said it was research for an NMU class assignment that sparked her lifelong fascination with Bly.  

The late Michael Zuke, a 1971 NMU alumnus and former Wildcat gymnast, is featured as part of the “Sault Legends” series on the Ontario website saultonline.com for his contributions to the sport as a competitor and coach. He passed away in 2014, two years after being inducted into the Sault Ste. Marie Hall of Fame.

A Northern Michigan University-led research project focusing on bobcats found evidence that human activity can exert a greater impact than environmental factors on carnivore predator-prey interactions, daily activity patterns and movement. The findings were recently published in Biodiversity and Conservation. Understanding that some animals perceive humans as “super predators” is critical for establishing successful wildlife management practices to promote functioning communities.

Northern Michigan University is emphasizing a holistic, integrated approach to student and employee wellbeing as it identifies priority goals and strategies for the coming year. Abigail Wyche, who transitioned in June from social work department head to a 12-month appointment as special adviser for mental health and wellness, detailed some of the plans at Wednesday morning's fall convocation.

Northern Michigan University has successfully renewed a competitive U.S. Department of Education grant to continue the Upper Peninsula's only Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, which provides disadvantaged college students effective preparation for doctoral studies through research and other scholarly activities. NMU will receive about $1.3 million over five years.

As vice chair of the NMU Board of Trustees, Alexis Hart interacts regularly with a number of Northern students. One bit of advice she shares with them is that they should avoid getting locked into a restrictive career path simply by virtue of the degree they earn and focus instead on developing the skill set to be adaptable when exciting opportunities surface, or it becomes necessary to pivot and pursue a new profession. She has learned that through her experience in the human resources field.