Northern Michigan University has received about $15,400 through the Michigan Campus Sexual Assault Grant Program to support an awareness campaign titled “Consent: Back to Basics.” The topic plays a pivotal role in sexual assault cases, yet student feedback obtained through an NMU survey supported by a previous program grant indicated that a number of students do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes consent.

An Internal Campaign Planning Committee composed of faculty, staff and students will facilitate the collection of proposals and opportunities with broad university scope that, with potential philanthropic investment, would enhance Northern’s levels of innovation and excellence. The committee will be responsible for developing and presenting recommendations to the NMU Administration, the NMU Foundation and their respective boards as part of the ramp-up to a proposed campaign currently scheduled to begin in 2020.

Bruno Amilcar of Maputo City, Mozambique in East Africa, is one of three students attending NMU this fall through the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD). The program is designed to promote cultural exchanges between American institutions of higher learning and foreign students. Amilcar is a junior political science major with a minor in theater. He is anticipating his upcoming role as Father Christmas in the NMU production of Scrooge! 

The U.S. Department of State assigned Amilcar to the UGRAD program at NMU through a scholarship.

Northern Michigan University is moving to a two-factor authentication (2FA) system that adds an extra layer of security to MyNMU and GSuite services in order to prevent hackers from obtaining users’ personal data. It will be required by May 1 and is a response to a series of recent phishing emails, which attempted to obtain sensitive information by disguising as trustworthy NMU entities. In one October incident, the bank account details of 53 NMU community members was compromised by emails that looked like they were coming from the Vielmetti Health Center.

Monica Prelle is one of two visiting professors for the English Department at Northern Michigan University. This is her first teaching position, but she hopes her 15 years as a freelance journalist will give her credibility in emphasizing the importance of truth and ethics in the media to her students.