Northern Michigan University Graduate Studies and Research will present its fourth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition virtually at 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15.

Thirteen Northern Michigan University faculty members, including a team of five, were selected to receive 2020-21 awards for teaching, scholarship, leadership and technology innovation. The annual celebration was canceled by COVID-19, but here are the recipients and their awards (more detailed feature stories on each can be viewed by clicking on their names).

NMU President Fritz Erickson held a virtual forum Wednesday to update the campus community on topics including the university's COVID-19 statistics and response, enrollment and retention, the state budget process and plans for the fall semester. He also responded to questions. The most common inquiry related to the chance of NMU's Health Center obtaining COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Sarah Mittlefehldt, as associate professor in the Earth, Environmental & Geographical Sciences (EEGS) Department, is Northern Michigan University's 2020-21 Excellence in Scholarship Award recipient. She is working on two National Science Foundation-funded projects related to wood energy in Michigan and sustainable coastal development on Lake Superior's South Shore.

Northern Michigan University alumnus and assistant professor Evan Lucas was selected for NMU's 2020-21 Faculty Emerging Leadership Award. The Marquette native has taught in the construction management program since 2017. He also helped to develop the new indoor agriculture associate degree program that launched this past fall.