All News Releases

NMU alumna Elle Gallager recently found herself on lockdown in the Veneto region of northern Italy, one of the first COVID-19 hot spots in the country. Her earlier-than-planned journey back to the U.S. on March 17 was markedly different than when she left, with added declaration documentation, temperature screenings and face masks required for air travel.

NMU's College of Business is pursuing a virtual path around COVID-19 restrictions in order to wrap up its New Business Venture Competition and reward student finalists for the extensive time and effort they've invested in their proposals since last fall. The virtual event will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 26. 

With recommendations for social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak, the NMU Alumni Association has picked an appropriate time to host its first Virtual Alumni Happy Hour. Based on the response to the inaugural event, scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 20, other virtual alumni events and meetings may follow. 

Northern MIchigan University President Fritz Erickson will discuss NMU's response to the COVID-19 pandemic during a virtual town hall meeting at 2:30 p.m. Friday, March 20. The event can be viewed at nmu.edu/townhall. It will also be simulcast on WNMU-TV's Facebook. 

Many U.S. universities have shifted from face-to-face instruction to online platforms in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The conversion can be more challenging for labs and performance classes that don't lend themselves well to written material or slide presentation software. Some faculty members, including NMU Director of Dance Jill Grundstrom, are exploring innovative ways to engage students in a virtual environment.

NMU alumna Melissa (Missie) Holmquist, president and CEO of Upper Peninsula Health Plan (UPHP) in Marquette, has been appointed secretary of the Medicaid Health Plans Board of Directors. She is also one of Crain's Detroit Business' 2020 Notable Women in Health.

Northern Michigan University's Forest Roberts Theatre will postpone its production of Cats and cancel its summer North Coast Theatre Festival in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Northern Michigan University director of theater William Digneit received the Dr. Dawn Gallup Honor Recipient Award on March 5 from the Michigan Council for Exceptional Children. Digneit was honored for his efforts to create sensory-friendly productions of shows produced by the NMU Theatre and Dance department in partnership with the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) in New York City.

The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Foundation announced March 9 that its 2020 Legend of College Hockey recipient is Rick Comley, the first and longest-serving head coach of NMU's program. He spent 26 years behind the Wildcat bench and guided NMU to the 1991 NCAA Division I Championship. The rink in the Berry Events Center is named in his honor.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University will present "Where the men are men and the women are, too: stereotypes of the Yooper." The free talk by Finlandia University professor Hilary-Joy Virtanen will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, March 16, in 1320 Jamrich Hall.

David Harbour, the versatile actor best known for his role as Chief Jim Hopper on Netflix's "Stranger Things," will give a presentation at Northern Michigan University on Tuesday, March 17. 

Northern Michigan University English professor Marek Haltof's book, “Screening Auschwitz: Wanda Jakubowska's ‘The Last Stage' and the Politics of Commemoration” has received the Wadclaw Lednicki Humanities Award from the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America (PIASA). 

Climate scientist Steve Ackerman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will present "The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald: The Ship, the Song and the Storm" at Northern Michigan University. 

NMU is preparing for the June 1 conversion from PeopleAdmin to PageUp, a new talent management system that offers an expansive suite of modules related to employee recruitment, onboarding and performance. Human Resources will offer a sneak peek of PageUp at its New Automation Open House for NMU staff and faculty from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, in Cohodas 109.

NMU senior Jessica Parsons, an English/writing major from Clarkston, Mich., wrote a feature story on Marquette Mountain general manager Andrew Farron for MyNorth.com, the online home of "Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine." Parsons also writes columns for "The North Wind." Read her profile of Farron here. 

The escalating COVID-19 coronavirus situation has led Northern to restrict university-sanctioned travel to any countries issued Level 3 or higher travel warnings by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and/or the U.S. Department of State. These currently include China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.

A couple who wishes to remain anonymous has established a $600,000 endowment at Northern Michigan University to help Kalamazoo Promise students from Kalamazoo Central High School pay for books, room and board. 

The Northern Michigan University Orchestra will present a free concert geared toward elementary-aged children at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11, in Reynolds Recital Hall. 

Marquette and Alger County high school students and their families will receive a special publication detailing Career Technical Education (CTE) opportunities to train for many of the country's most in-demand occupations.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO SEPT. 10:Human trafficking has victimized more than 8,000 people in Michigan over the last decade alone. The U.P. Human Trafficking Task Force and the Zonta Club of Marquette Area will screen "Ring of Silence," a dramatic film about the epidemic, at Northern Michigan University. A panel of local experts will participate in a Q&A session immediately afterward.