Around NMU

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Northern Michigan University will host a campus Sustainability Summit from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18. The event will kick off in Forest Roberts Theatre with keynote speakers Chef Bryan Flower and Courtney Gallaher from Northern Illinois University discussing their Edible Campus. Other activities are scheduled throughout the day in Jamrich Hall and the Hedgcock Atrium.

Northern Michigan University students are encouraged to apply for donor-funded scholarships for the 2025-2026 academic year before the midnight deadline on Monday, Feb. 17. Last year, NMU awarded more than 700 scholarships totaling about $1.4 million in aid. Award amounts can range from $500 to a full ride.

Northern Michigan University WellBeing will hold a grand opening for the new outdoor ice rink, located behind the Northern Center, from 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. The public is invited. The event will include a food truck, ribbon-cutting and hot chocolate bar.