October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, drawing attention to potential threats and the importance of having adequate safeguards in place to thwart hackers. Critical infrastructure components can be primary targets because any disruptions in their operation can have a widespread impact. Northern Michigan University assistant professor of political science Jongeun You recently wrote an article for the IBM Center for the Business of Government that contends the U.S. water sector is particularly vulnerable.

Andrew Port, a leading scholar of modern Germany and professor at Wayne State University, will present “Never Again: Germans and Genocide after the Holocaust” at Northern Michigan University on Thursday, Oct. 19. He will discuss how the Holocaust shaped German responses to modern-day genocides in other countries after 1945, and how these foreign atrocities recast Germany's understanding of its horrific history. NMU professors will also be present to contribute their expertise on the topic.

High school seniors who reside in the Upper Peninsula and plan to pursue studies in a healthcare-related field at a college or university next fall are invited to participate in the fourth annual National Rural Health Day Essay Contest. The Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health is coordinating the contest with the Michigan Center for Rural Health and the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan. The essay submission deadline is Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Northern Michigan University is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and the task force dedicated to realizing that goal is seeking campus input on the draft plan for how to get there. While NMU has already reduced its carbon footprint by more than 30% since 2010 and has one of the smallest footprints among the state's public universities, it is striving for further reductions. Remaining information sessions on the plan are scheduled at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 (via Zoom), and 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, in Jamrich 1322. A flipbook and feedback survey are also available online.

As a Northern Michigan University trustee, Greg Toutant recently attended the dedication of the new WellBeing Center on campus, which provides comprehensive physical and mental health services in one easily accessible location. A few weeks earlier, in his full-time role as CEO of Great Lakes Recovery Centers Inc., he had participated in a ribbon-cutting and open house for the John Kivela Center, a new behavioral health campus in Negaunee that also offers integrated care and services under one roof.