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Incoming NMU freshman Thomas Chicka of Foxboro, Wis., recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts of America's highest honor. He plans to pursue a degree in nursing at Northern, with a music minor.

David Lindbeck, a 2001 NMU alumnus, will assume his new role as principal at Kingsford High School on July 1. The Iron River native taught four years in residential treatment for students with emotional/behavioral disorders in Illinois and Wisconsin. He also taught high school special education for a combined 15 years in Waterford and Wausaukee, Wis.

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees set tuition and fees for the 2021-22 academic year today. It also continued to recognize the ongoing financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with the approval of a grant program that will use federal stimulus money to lower students' overall costs.

A team of Northern Michigan University faculty and student researchers contributed to Snapshot USA, the first coordinated nationwide mammal survey that consisted of 1,509 motion-activated camera traps from 110 sites across all 50 states. The data was published June 8 in the journal Ecology.

Northern Michigan University's Diversity Common Reader Program encourages faculty to consider adopting its 2021-22 selection, “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration,” for a fall or winter course.

Northern Michigan University's DeVos Art Museum is hosting its 14th Annual North of the 45th juried exhibition for artists living north of the 45th parallel in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The show runs through Friday, July 30. A closing reception is scheduled that night at 6 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. talk by this year's juror, Ron Platt, chief curator at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

The NMU Student Leader Fellowship Program expresses its appreciation to the following faculty and staff members who served as mentors for the program. For one academic year, they acted as a role model, adviser and friend to a Student Fellow by providing guidance and support to the students as they strive to become leaders of their communities through service. The SLFP also seeks new mentors from campus or the broader community. Contact slfp@nmu.edu.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center will open a new exhibition on the architectural history of Northern Michigan University titled “A Beautiful Location” on Saturday, June 12. The exhibition looks at how NMU progressed from a campus with one building in a remote part of Marquette, to its expansion as a modern campus of the 1960s, to its wired community of today.

Biology Professor John Bruggink has been selected as Northern Michigan University's 2021 Peter White Scholar. He will receive $17,500 to support his involvement in research on the homesite ecology of gray wolves in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem, and the participation of a master's student. 

Northern Michigan University biology students are doing field research in Chocolay Township to determine how blood-borne pathogens affect the nesting patterns of white-throated sparrows. The work involves catching the birds in a mist net, banding them and collecting blood samples to test for two widespread pathogens impacting birds: avian malaria and West Nile Virus.

NMU Art & Design alumnus Josh McKenzie (BFA '13) is profiled by the VoyageLA publication as one of Los Angeles' “rising stars.” McKenzie is a storyboard artist at Nickelodeon, and in the process of shopping around his first young adult-focused graphic novel.

Dody Huuki, principal secretary in Counseling and Consultation Services at Northern Michigan University, is one of nine 2021 NMU Excellence in Service Award recipients. She was nominated for her unwavering commitment to serving students with warmth and compassion when they summon the courage to call or stop by seeking services.

Northern Michigan University Music Professor Erin Colwitz is featured in a series titled “Women Choral Conductors and Clinicians You Need to Know,” compiled by Janet Galván, recently retired director of choral activities at Ithaca College. 

Northern Michigan University in Marquette and Finlandia University in Hancock have launched a joint initiative to explore high-level collaborations between the Upper Peninsula schools.

NMU psychology alumnus Todd Hillhouse ('09 BS, '11 MS) is already making his mark as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He joined the faculty last August and opened a new Pain and Addiction Neuropharmacology (PANE) lab in November. Hillhouse works with a half-dozen student researchers to develop novel treatments for pain management, addiction and associated depression.

NMU alumnus Dale Moilanen ('91 BS) recently ran a distance to match his age: a 60K, which equates to 37 miles. His goal was to raise $600 to support construction of a new facility named after another NMU grad: the Steve Mariucci Family Beacon House. Moilanen ended up raising 10 times that amount—nearly $6,000—when he asked friends to donate $60 each to the cause. 

Northern Michigan University is participating in the national COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge. The White House and U.S. Department of Education have invited colleges and universities to join efforts to end the pandemic by getting their campus communities vaccinated. There is a particular emphasis on young Americans represented in the traditional-age student population, who lag behind older generations in getting their shots, stated the challenge website.

Northern Michigan University Executive Chef and alumna Alden Griffus ('10) will share her favorite summer recipes during a virtual cooking segment for the next Northern Now event hosted by NMU Alumni Relations. She will be joined by Scott Bousson ('11), operations manager of Dining Services, at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, June 9.

NMU alumnus Mike Angeli ('87) has retired after 45 years of service to the City of Marquette, most recently as city manager since 2015. He began his career as a police officer, applying his bachelor's degree in criminal justice. After a brief stint as detective captain, he was promoted to police chief in 2008.