Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness, affecting about 40 million adults in the United States. The Department of Psychological Science at Northern Michigan University is researching a nontraditional approach—a mobile phone app—to treat negative emotional symptoms related to anxiety. NMU’s Cognitive x Affective Behavior & Integrative Neuroscience (CABIN) Lab is seeking participants for a six-week study involving cell phone use. A National Institute of Mental Health grant is supporting the project.

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees has directed the administration to ensure compliance with federal and state laws governing sexual misconduct, including the recent Doe vs. Baum ruling. In that University of Michigan case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that when a Title IX disciplinary proceeding involves competing narratives that require a credibility determination, both parties have a constitutional right to cross-examine each other and witnesses in the presence of decision-makers.

Northern Michigan University English professor Wendy Farkas is using an Endeavor Foundation grant to integrate civic learning into the English general education curriculum. NMU is among 24 institutions selected for funding from 134 applicants. The funding supports an Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) initiative called “Civic Prompts: Civic Learning in the Major by Design.” The initiative seeks to incorporate civic-minded studies and social responsibility as components within students’ major fields of study.

NMU Honors Program student and Wildcat football player Aaron Rochow researched the political and economic institutions in the neighboring African countries of Botswana and Zimbabwe to better understand their different development paths. He traveled to Botswana through a Lundin Summer Research Fellowship. Rochow and four other students will give presentations on their summer projects at an Oct. 25 event honoring donor Rich Lundin.