At the Oct. 27 campus forum, Northern Michigan University Interim President Gavin Leach provided updates on the presidential transition, enrollment-related initiatives, facilities projects, and impacts of both the finalized state budget and federal funding cuts. Other staff members gave presentations on progress related to the Grand Challenges in “Our Compass,” Northern's strategic plan. 

The nine recent appointees to the Northern Michigan University Alumni Advisory Board bring a diverse range of professional experience and perspectives. They represent decades of leadership across education, law, healthcare, engineering and public service. The recent additions are: Charlita Anderson White, Dan Blood, Cody Bonk, Alejandra Magaña, Ryan McAllister, Dan Miller, Jessie Neece, Kate Sartori and Josh Todd.

Northern Michigan University's AFSCME union, which represents 119 food services staff and maintenance employees, ratified a three-year contract Oct. 27.

WNMU-TV will host a preview screening and panel discussion related to "The American Revolution," a new Ken Burns six-part, 12-hour documentary series that explores the country's founding struggle and its eight-year War for Independence. The screening is open to the public and takes place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the Northern Center Ballrooms on Northern Michigan University's campus. 

Northern Michigan University faculty member Theresa Camilli will discuss and premiere the late piano teacher and Marquette resident William Weber's "Lake Superior Piano Suite," a composition depicting the view atop Sugarloaf Mountain. Her solo concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, in Reynolds Recital Hall. A selection of Weber's never-before-seen paintings, inspired by the vivid colors and textures of the Upper Peninsula, will be available for purchase, with 100% of proceeds directly benefitting NMU music scholarships. 

Northern Michigan University alumna Shannon Konoske is getting settled in to her relatively new role as news director at WLUC-TV6 in Marquette. She oversees the station's news operations, guides editorial direction and fosters innovative approaches to engage viewers across TV6 & FOX UP platforms. 

Migrant workers are an instrumental part of America's agriculture industry, comprising about 68% of hired crop farmworkers in the United States from 2020-2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite their contributions, many encounter challenges related to their jobs. Northern Michigan University students Citlali Esparza-Salvador and Abby Martin discovered this first hand through their internships with a Grand Rapids nonprofit organization.

Northern Michigan University alumni and friends are invited to join fellow Wildcats at NMU Night at the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, in Little Caesars Arena. A free pre-game gathering with complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at The Taphouse presented by Bell's Brewery.

High school seniors who reside and attend school in the Upper Peninsula who plan to continue their education in a healthcare-related field are eligible to participate in the sixth annual National Rural Health Day Essay Contest. Northern Michigan University's Center for Rural Health is partnering with Michigan's State Office of Rural Health to make this possible. The submission deadline is Thursday, Oct. 30.

Northern Michigan University Theatre and Dance will stage Ctrl+Alt+Delete, a darkly comic look at tech startups, speculative investment, and the value we assign to ideas in a rapidly evolving economy. The production runs Oct. 30–Nov. 2 and Nov. 6–9 in NMU's Panowski Black Box Theatre.

The Northern Michigan University Music Department will host its first NMU choral concert of the fall semester at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, in a new location: St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Marquette. Admission to the "Sacred Currents" concert is free and open to the public. 

Former Northern Michigan President, Kerri Schuiling, was inducted into the inaugural class of the Frontier Nursing University (FNU) Alumni Hall of Fame in recognition of her distinguished career as a nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner and educator. The induction ceremony was held last month at the Kentucky Castle in Versailles, Ky.

Northern Michigan University nursing student Courtney Rajala of Cooperville, Mich., has been selected as one of four recipients of Lake Trust Foundation's 2025 New Beginnings Scholarship.

STORM, a historical multi-media performance on Great Lakes storms and shipwrecks, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, in Jamrich Hall 1100 at Northern Michigan University. It is hosted by NMU's Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center. Maritime historian Ric Mixter returns to his hometown of Marquette with musician Dan Hall to tell the Edmund Fitzgerald story in a unique way: with Hall's custom music on key characters in the storm and Mixter's exclusive interviews from those who were eyewitnesses to the search and discoveries made 550 feet below Lake Superior. 

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University is hosting an exhibition titled "Gales of November: Shipwrecks on Lake Superior," which explores the fascinating and tragic history of shipwrecks that occurred during that most dangerous month of the year for sailors on the Great Lakes. 

Northern Michigan University Theatre and Dance will host its production of The Rocky Horror Show Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 23-25, in Forest Roberts Theatre. 

Chris Standerford, director of both the Seaborg Center at NMU and the MiSTEM Network's central U.P. region, recently received the 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award from the MiWorks! Association. He was honored for being a longtime champion of education and workforce development, particularly related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers.