Articles

Beth Millner ('08 BFA) started a jewelry business in the corner of her tiny kitchen while attending NMU. She was committed to creating sustainable, handcrafted designs inspired by the U.P. landscape and Lake Superior. She opened a storefront studio and shop on Marquette's Washington Street in 2012 and now employs seven full-time and part-time staff, including NMU alumni. The growth, innovation, philanthropy and workplace culture at Beth Millner Jewelry led to its selection as the 2020 Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year in Michigan.

NMU alumnus and 5th-grade teacher Brandon Wislocki ('02 BS) is featured in a USA Today education piece presenting a “parent's guide to online school.” He works at Stonegate Elementary in Irvine, Calif., which is among a growing number of K-12 districts that plan to start the new academic year with online-only instruction.

A book co-edited by NMU public relations professor and alumna Jes Thompson has been named a Silver Winner in the national Nonfiction Book Awards. America's Largest Classroom: What We Learn From Our National Parks offers insight and practical advice for improving educational outreach at national parks, as well as suggestions for classroom educators on how to meaningfully incorporate National Park Service sites into their curricula.

After falling from a roof and injuring his back, NMU alumnus Greg Ormson ('99 MA) found that yoga delivered both pain relief and a new vocation. He became a certified instructor in the practice, just as he had with another avid interest: motorcycling. Ormson has found a unique way to blend both passions. He leads “Yoga and Leather: Yoga for Bikers,” the first—and, to his knowledge, only—specialized class of its kind in the nation to be held in a Harley-Davidson dealership.

Northern Michigan University's CDL truck driving program—temporarily halted by the COVID-19 crisis—will resume Monday, July 27, with new safety guidelines and procedures in place. Students who complete the intensive course should be ready to test for a Commercial Driver's License and begin their careers in five weeks.

The Northern Michigan University Alumni Association has announced five recipients of its 2020 Alumni Awards: Steve Mariucci ('77 BS, '83 MAE) of Monte Sereno, Calif., and Per Utnegaard ('82 BS) of Oberaegen, Switzerland, Distinguished Alumni; Anita Mattson ('02 BS) of Worcester, Mass., Alumni Achievement; Amanda Rosenburg ('02 BS) of Astoria, N.Y., Outstanding Young Alumni; and Greg Toutant ('94 BS) of Negaunee, Alumni Service.

NMU English professor Jaspal Kaur Singh is the author of the recently published monograph, Violence and Resistance in Sikh Gendered Identity. The publisher's description states that the book "explores the constructions and representations of male and female Sikhs in Indian and diasporic literature and culture through the consideration of the role of violence as constitutive of Sikh identity." 

NMU alumnus and former Wildcat football player Vincent Propson is the new activities director at Randolph High School in Wisconsin. He told the Daily Citizen the job was a perfect match. The school wanted someone to teach physical education and health, who also had experience as an athletic director and could be a strength and conditioning coach.

NMU broadcasting alumnus Jim Gleason (BS '90) was recently featured in a newspaper profile of his Radio Wasteland Records store, which opened in 2017 in Midland. Gleason turned a longtime collecting hobby into an entrepreneurial venture. He sells new and vintage vinyl while working to replicate the 1970s and ‘80s atmosphere of people listening to music playing on a turntable while thumbing through records.

Northern Michigan University continues to lead a collaborative effort to monitor data on weather and wave conditions at three locations along the southeastern shore of Lake Superior. The goal is to enhance safety among commercial and recreational users by generating real-time data that can aid in their decision-making. The first buoy was placed July 3 near Munising, 4.5 miles offshore. Two more will be deployed near Grand Marais and at Granite Island, about 12 miles north of Marquette.