April 2024

Political Science Department Head and Professor Carter Wilson is the 2024 recipient of the Stephen Young & Tricia Kinley Distinguished Faculty Award, Northern Michigan University's top honor for significant professional contributions to teaching, scholarship and service. He will be honored along with other faculty award winners at the Celebration of Excellence at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 22, in Ballrooms I and II of the Northern Center.

Elementary education major Grace Cook of Memphis, Mich. will appropriately reference the premise of a popular children's book when she delivers the student commencement address at Northern Michigan University on Saturday, May 4. She said author Patrice Karst's story about The Invisible String that permanently connects every person to the hearts of those they love has impacted her, and seems relevant as graduates leave their college friends to embark on their careers.

Educational innovator and author Milton Chen will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary Doctor of Education degree at Northern Michigan University's May 4 commencement. He is senior fellow and executive director emeritus at the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF)—on his 50th birthday, Lucas named him a Jedi Master—and once served as director of research at Sesame Workshop in New York. His honors include the Fred Rogers Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Robin W. Winks Award for Enhancing Understanding of National Parks and touting their value as outdoor classrooms.

At the end of World War I, American soldiers—mostly from Michigan—were deployed to join the Northern Russian Expeditionary Force for a vaguely defined mission. They found themselves embroiled in a civil war, battling Bolshevik revolutionaries for months after the Armistice ended fighting in France. A new play inspired by these men, known as the Polar Bears for enduring harsh winter conditions, will have its world premiere May 9-11 at Northern Michigan University. The idea for Ghost Soldiers by Keli Crawford-Truckey stemmed from a war-time journal bound by leather from the boot of a dead Bolshevik soldier. It was kept by the grandfather of NMU employees Dan and Paul Truckey.

Northern Michigan University honored several individuals and teams during its recent Faculty and Staff Recognition Celebration. Years of service milestones and retirees were also honored. 

UPDATE 4/19: The union ratified this agreement on Thursday and the NMU Board of Trustees approved it during a special meeting Friday morning.

The Northern Michigan University Dance Team qualified to compete in the National Dance Alliance (NDA) college nationals for the first time in history. Team members traveled to Daytona Beach, Fla, earlier this month. They competed in two Division II categories: pom, placing 8th in the nation; and jazz, placing 11th.

Northern Michigan University is seeking student applications and community project proposals for the second cohort of its Rural Leadership Fellowship Program, which offers immersive project-based learning for students while also supporting Upper Peninsula economic and community development projects. The submission deadline for both is May 31.

Northern Michigan University's Administration of Outdoor Recreation and Nature-Based Tourism program is hosting a campus seminar with guest speakers focused on the theme of diversity, equity and inclusion outdoors. Alex Bailey, the originator of "Black Outside," will deliver the keynote address. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, April 19, in Peninsula I in the Northern Center.