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Jim Thorburn of Livonia, Mich., a decorated police officer whose law enforcement career spanned nearly 30 years, accepted Northern Michigan University's Alumni Achievement Award during a 125th anniversary Homecoming celebration. He was a two-time Police Officer of the Year, and retired in 2022 as a detective and public information officer for the Allen Park Police Department. It was in the latter role that he helped to bridge the divide between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

After retiring as a university administrator, Northern Michigan University alumnus and former Wildcat football player Jim Mansfield found fulfillment in his longtime volunteer role as a blood courier in Spokane, Wash. He was honored last year with a President's Lifetime Achievement Award, signed by Joe Biden, for his “7,304 hours of service to this nation.” He also received every award bestowed by his local blood center for his efforts. 

Northern Michigan University will present the daring and provocative musical Cabaret Oct. 3-5 and 10-12. The play is set in a Berlin nightclub as the 1920s draw to a close. It explores the tumultuous life of the city's natives and expatriates as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich.

Northern Michigan University will host a grand opening garden party for its new Campus Nursery as part of the 125th anniversary celebration at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1. Participants are invited to tour the garden and learn about native plant species and efforts to increase biodiversity on our campus. There will also be an opportunity to get hands dirty by helping with fall tree and bush planting. Light refreshments will be served.  

Northern Michigan University has announced a new partnership with Shift Labs Network™, an initiative spearheaded by Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) da Vinci Center for Innovation. The Shift Labs Network™, a Fast Company 2023 Innovation by Design award winner, is dedicated to accelerating access to innovation and entrepreneurship educational opportunities through a collaborative network of educational institutions, partner organizations and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The Trouble Notes, a trio that blends traditional folk, gritty progressive rock and explosive dance music, will perform a concert and deliver two free public presentations at Northern Michigan University on Friday, Oct. 4. An "enchanting and usually very fast-played violin" is the voice of the group, but guitar and percussion complete their unique sound, which mixes influences from all over the world.

Two Northern Michigan University students have embarked on a project to research, write and record a new “U.P. History Moment” radio series. Each episode, roughly four minutes in length, is broadcast twice weekly on WNMU-FM Public Radio 90. The students are using the resources of the Central U.P. and NMU Archives to select topics and develop content.

Northern Michigan University's DeVos Art Museum will host an artist talk and reception featuring Liz Ward and Robert Ziebell at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26. The artists will discuss their work currently on display. Their project titled “Across Time and Place” explores the artists' approaches to understanding and interpreting place through multimedia artworks. Their works examine the nuance of place and delve into the richness of our world today and in past periods.

Northern Michigan University alumnus Jack Deo will present an artist's talk pertaining to his collection of photographs featured in the NMU DeVos Art Museum exhibition titled “Standing Still - Studio Portraits from the Upper Peninsula.” The event begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, in Art & Design 165 and will be followed by a reception. 

Northern Michigan University's jazz ensembles will return to the Reynolds Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30 for their first concert of the fall 2024 season. This event is free and open to the public.

With Northern in the midst of its 125th anniversary Homecoming celebration, it seems an appropriate time to look back on the first incarnation and the subsequent evolution of this annual event.

As the NFL season ramps up, a 2023 NMU graduate is reflecting on the digital content internship for the Green Bay Packers' community development, Titletown, this past spring. Communication and media studies alumnus Will Corgan said the opportunity pushed him to take projects further, taught him about self-confidence, and helped to prepare him for his new career.

Northern Michigan University Professor Kel Sassi is among the 2024 recipients of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Leadership Awards. She received the Julia E. Berry Research Award for a project titled “Versatility and Resilience in English Alumni from a Rural-Serving Institution.”

Northern Michigan University WellBeing will host “Wildcat World Mental Health Day” Thursday, Oct. 10, coinciding with the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Day, which raises awareness of related issues on a global scale and mobilizes efforts in support of mental health.

The transfer team within Northern Michigan University's Admissions Office is making tactical changes to streamline the process and provide proactive support for students who transfer from another university or bring college credit from high school. The team has also developed 18 new articulation agreements with partner colleges and completed an audit of the process through the new Transfer Advocacy Committee.

Northern Michigan University will host a traditional Anishinaabe lacrosse game—or bagodowe—as part of its 125th anniversary homecoming celebration, at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, in the Superior Dome. The game originated on a small island on Lake Superior, just north of Wisconsin's Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The public is invited to play or watch.

Northern Michigan University's 125th Anniversary Homecoming will be held Sept. 20-21. Homecoming features several events for alumni and community members. All activities can be found on nmu.edu/homecoming. 

“It was a pretty nontraditional pathway that led me to Northern Michigan University,” said Matthew Jennings, assistant professor in the School of Clinical Sciences. One week before graduating with a bachelor's degree in biology, he made a spontaneous decision to start his career overseas based on an unexpected series of events.