All News Releases

Author David Heska Wanbli Weiden will read from his celebrated debut novel, Winter Counts, and participate in a Q&A as part of a Northern Michigan University English Visiting Writers Series event at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 23, in Peninsula 1 of the Northern Center. The groundbreaking thriller about a vigilante on a Native American reservation who embarks on a dangerous mission to track down the source of a heroin influx was a New York Times Editors' Choice. It was also named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, The Guardian and other magazines.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center is putting out a final call for people willing to loan examples from the late Mary Wright's public art projects around the Upper Peninsula for a retrospective exhibition of her work that opens April 15.  

Northern Michigan University has added an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiving station to the university's Mt. Mesnard tower in South Marquette as a safety tool to help boaters detect marine traffic they are likely to encounter.

Northern Michigan University 1997 alumnus Sam Laturi describes his craft of blacksmithing as “a spiritual journey, combining the four ancient elements to make objects of art and function.” The Iron River native is in his 25th year of shaping steel, and said he enjoys the fact his work will continue to exist long after he is gone.

The new edition of Career Technical Education (CTE) magazine, produced by Northern Michigan University, is now available online. The annual publication includes information on high-demand, high-skill and relatively high-wage occupations, along with the available training and educational pathways to achieve employment in those fields.

Six Northern Michigan University music majors will perform vocally and on instruments to vie for scholarships during the annual Music Performance Competition at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Reynolds Recital Hall. Admission is free. 

Northern Arts and Entertainment will host the five-person band Hippo Campus on Friday, March 17, with opening acts Lisa Heller and NMU student LPM. Doors open at 7 p.m.. Tickets are available at nmu.universitytickets.com for $10 for NMU students at and $20 for the general public.

Northern Michigan University and USA Weightlifting jointly announced today the discontinuation of the NMU campus-based men's and women's weightlifting program, effective May 6, the last day of NMU's winter semester. This is a result of a mutual agreement to wind down the relationship. 

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University will present a concert by the folk duo Newberry & Verch as part of the 2023 Winter Roots Festival. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 18, in Forest Roberts Theatre. The duo has toured across North America, Europe and the United Kingdom.

Northern Michigan University's Global Campus will host a meet and greet in Grand Rapids so that online students can network with each other. The event will take place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6th, at Founders Brewery. 

Northern Michigan University's Lydia M. Olson Library and the NMU Center for Teaching and Learning will host a panel discussion on the topic of open educational resources (OER) for faculty, graduate students, local educators and community members. The event is scheduled from 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, in the Olson Library Atrium, with a reception to follow. The panel will serve as the kick-off event for a two-year pilot program to increase OER use on NMU's campus. 

Northern Michigan University's hospitality management program is preparing to open its new student-operated restaurant, tentatively named the NMU Training Kitchen, each Wednesday evening from March 22-April 19. Community members can enjoy fixed-price, four-course meals, with an option to purchase non-alcoholic mocktails and wines from a new Dry Bar menu. This will mark the public debut of the dining laboratory in the Northern Center.

The Northern Michigan University Jazz Festival will include two evening performances featuring guest artist Dean Sorenson. The trombonist will perform with the NMU Jazz Festival Faculty Combo during a 7:30 p.m. opening concert on Thursday, March 23, in Reynolds Recital Hall. He will also share the Forest Roberts Theatre stage with the NMU Jazz Band and Jazz Combo for the closing concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24. 

Northern Michigan University's 16th annual UNITED Conference will revolve around the theme of “Writing Our Own Stories” and celebrate the 10th anniversary of NMU's Diversity Common Reader Program. It will also be presented in a new one-day format on Monday, March 20, with two keynote speeches and several brief sessions on a variety of topics from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Northern Center. 

Northern Michigan University ranks fourth among small public schools nationwide that have been designated 2023-24 Military Friendly Schools by VIQTORY Media. Northern is making its sixth-consecutive appearance in the Top 10, and is the only Michigan institution to achieve that upper tier within the category.

Northern Michigan University is launching a new financial assistance program to provide qualified incoming Michigan resident first-year students free tuition for four years, beginning in Fall 2023.

Northern Michigan University Public Relations Professor Jessica Thompson's commitment to sustainability permeates the courses she teaches for the College of Business, her interdisciplinary research with colleagues to improve climate change communication and increase environmental awareness, and her service activities on campus and in the community. Thompson's achievements and positive impact on students have made her the 2023 recipient of the Stephen Young & Tricia Kinley Distinguished Faculty Award—NMU's top academic honor.

Northern Michigan University Theatre & Dance is presenting Oscar Wilde's Salome, a “darkly thrilling one-act tragedy” and lyrical drama that has inspired creative minds across the ages. The final performances are scheduled March 1-4.

Northern Michigan University graduate students Michael Woodworth and Amy Munes were recently selected as Presidential Management Fellows (PMF), a prestigious program that partners early-career professionals with U.S. Federal Agencies to make a difference in government and impact their communities. There were 850 fellows chosen from more than 10,000 applicants.

NMU Center for Native American Studies Professor Martin Reinhardt is featured in a YES! Magazine article on the abundant varieties of fungi that can be foraged in the wild and what they symbolize to Indigenous cultures. Reinhardt said the Anishinaabemowin term for mushroom is “papowii,” which means “to swell up in stature suddenly and silently from an unseen source of power.”