Around NMU

Diana Lafferty, assistant professor of wildlife ecology, will be the faculty keynote speaker for Northern Michigan University's Dec. 17 commencement. She was selected through a nomination process overseen by ASNMU, the student government organization. 

Higher education and public policy leader Linda Thompson will receive an honorary doctorate degree in nursing at Northern Michigan University's Dec. 17 commencement. She has served as president of Westfield State University in Massachusetts since July 2021. In a previous capacity as dean of nursing at Oakland University, Thompson played an instrumental role in facilitating the creation of NMU's Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.

Northern Michigan University ranks as the top Division 2 school in the nation in the 2022 Higher Education Social Media Engagement Report released by Rival IQ. The social media analysis company said NMU dominated D2 overall by ranking 5th on Facebook, 9th on both Instagram and Twitter and 12th on Tik Tok through “prolific posting and high-quality content.”

Northern Michigan University student Rev Derek Baluyut is a 2022-2023 American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholar. The program awards renewable scholarships of up to $5,000 per academic year to undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups in the chemical sciences, majoring in chemistry-related disciplines, and intending to pursue chemistry-related careers.

Northern Michigan University's sixth annual Day of Giving event on Nov. 29 has raised $950,000 in gifts and pledges to date, offering a blend of support to build endowments, increase scholarship dollars and provide direct funding to departments and programs.

Northern Michigan University criminal justice major Jersey Hoover, who successfully harvested an 8-point buck with her bow over Thanksgiving weekend, has received a scholarship for her commitment to engaging new audiences and/or generations with Michigan's natural resources and rich outdoor heritage. The Hancock native is one of only five college students statewide selected for the 2022 John A. Muter Memorial Scholarship, named for a sportsman who passed away in 2016 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. 

“Food for Fines” returns to Northern Michigan University, giving individuals an opportunity to alleviate parking fines by contributing non-perishable food items or personal care products to the NMU Food Pantry. The NMU Police Department will accept donations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, through Dec. 9.

The American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) has again selected Northern Michigan University for its list of Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous Students. The 2022-2023 list appears in the 29th annual Special College Issue of AISES' quarterly magazine, Winds of Change. 

Northern Michigan University Biology Professor Neil Cumberlidge collaborated on a Sierra Leone expedition that located two land-dwelling crab species “lost to science” and feared to be extinct. For one, last spotted 225 years ago, the only clue was a specimen label that read “Sierra Leone.” The team's work was featured in The Guardian in November as part of a series on rediscovered species by prominent British journalist and photographer Graeme Green.

A Holiday Masquerade Ball open to the campus and community will serve as a fundraiser for the new Marquette County chapter of Families Against Narcotics' (FAN). Three NMU students are hosting the event as a community service internship through the Student Leader Fellowship Program. The ball is scheduled from 6:30-10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in Northern Center Ballrooms III and IV. Admission is $10 for the public and free to NMU students, though donations are requested.