January 2025

Giving Tuesday Results Advance Student Support

Jan. 31, 2025 —
The Northern Michigan University Foundation's Giving Tuesday event in December raised more than $81,000 from 143 donors. The gifts will elevate the student experience by helping to increase the number of available scholarships, enhance programming related to the university's strategic priority of well-being, support the NMU Food Pantry, and assist students struggling with financial hardship.

NMU Money Games Feb. 7

Jan. 30, 2025 —
Northern Michigan University students are invited to participate in the NMU Money Games from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7. in the McClintock Building room 106. This interactive team-based game puts students in control of a budget as they aim for the highest net worth, credit score and quality of life. 

Saleh Returns to 49ers

Jan. 30, 2025 —
Former Wildcat football player and Northern Michigan University alumnus Robert Saleh has returned to the San Francisco 49ers as defensive coordinator. Saleh had previously worked with the 49ers from 2017-2020, then served as head coach of the New York Jets for three seasons. The Dearborn native attended Northern Michigan University, where he started at tight end for four years and earned all-conference honors before graduating with a bachelor's degree in financial management in 2001. 

DCRP Book Aligns with NMU Strategic Plan

Jan. 30, 2025 —
The book selected for this year's Diversity Common Reader Program (DCRP) at Northern Michigan University is As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. Held annually since 2013, the DCRP revolves around a nonfiction book of interdisciplinary interest that advances discussions of diversity, inclusion and social justice.

U.P. Students Win Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Jan. 28, 2025 —
Northern Michigan University's Northern Shores Storywork Writing Project has announced the 31 Upper Peninsula teens selected as regional award winners for the 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7-12. There were 113 submissions from the Upper Peninsula, a significant increase over the eight received last year.

Former Wildcat Shine Signed by Red Wings

Jan. 28, 2025 —
Former Wildcat hockey player Dominik Shine has signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. The forward played for NMU from 2013-2017 and signed with the Grand Rapids Griffins as an undrafted free agent soon after. He compiled 170 points (72-98-170) and 513 penalty minutes in 462 AHL games with the Griffins, and ranked among the team leaders in scoring, assists and other categories in 40 games this season.  

Finnish Folk Supergroup Frigg to Perform at NMU

Jan. 28, 2025 —
The Finnish folk supergroup Frigg will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27 in Reynolds Recital Hall at Northern Michigan University. This concert will be part of the 2025 Winter Roots Festival, a collaboration between the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at NMU, Hiawatha Traditional Music Co-op, the Peter White Public Library, and the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center. Frigg's new album, "Dreamscapes," is scheduled for release on Feb. 21.

Harris Praised for Help Identifying Human Remains

Jan. 27, 2025 —
Northern Michigan University's Center for Forensic Science Director Jane Harris has elevated her professional reputation, the center's profile and student hands-on learning opportunities by contributing her expertise to Operation UNITED, an effort by the FBI and law enforcement agencies in Detroit and Philadelphia to exhume the remains of unidentified victims of decades-old homicide cases. The hope is that advanced DNA testing can provide names and answers for their respective families. She was highly commended for her most recent work in letters from the former FBI director and the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD).

Berrys Are Leaders in Lifetime Giving to NMU

Jan. 27, 2025 —
Northern Michigan University alumnus John Berry Jr. has continued the philanthropic legacy passed down by his grandfather and father, whose entrepreneurial success heading the largest Yellow Pages advertising agency in the United States inspired them to give back to future generations in ways that reflected their core values, including education. John and Shirley Berry have become the leaders in lifetime giving to NMU, surpassing $10 million. Their most recent gifts of $3.5 million include $2 million to endow in perpetuity the College of Business Deanship in their names, and $1 million as an expendable fund to support the Northern Enterprise Center, the future home of the College of Business.

Rural Leadership Fellows Advance U.P. Projects

Jan. 27, 2025 —
Four Northern Michigan University students have been selected to participate in the second cohort of NMU's Rural Leadership Fellowship Program, a public-private partnership with InvestUP that promotes immersive, project-based learning while also supporting U.P. economic and community development projects. The fellows and their project partners are: Aimee Doyle, Marquette County Emergency Management; Travis Garvey, Michigan Office of Rural Prosperity; Rachel Raak, Village of Laurium; and Miki Rogers, Partridge Creek Compost in Ishpeming.