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Northern Michigan University alumnus and retired Emmet County Circuit Judge Charles Johnson of Petoskey recently donned his robe again to preside over a July jury trial at the Marquette County Courthouse. He is one of two grant-funded visiting judges helping to clear the county's backlog of criminal cases. As Johnson sat behind the bench in the historic courtroom, which also served as a pivotal location in the book and film “Anatomy of a Murder,” he developed a sense of déjà vu.

Northern Michigan University Theater & Dance has released the lineup of eight productions that will be featured during the 2023-2024 season. The kick-off event is the "Wildcat Theatre Follies," a showcase of students performing scenes, songs, monologues and dance pieces.

Northern Michigan University is hosting the North Coast Dance Festival, an annual event where dancers from across the country come to the Forest Roberts Theatre to perform a professional ballet routine alongside NMU's CO/LAB company. The performances take place at 7:30 p.m. July 27-28.

Northern  Michigan University biology student Maddy Saddler will address freshwater acidification and its implications for the Great Lakes ecosystem during a Thursday, July 27 presentation in her hometown of Alpena. She will give details about her role as a research intern working on the ongoing freshwater acidification monitoring project with Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, and Michigan Sea Grant. 

NMU alumna Kami Harvey will begin her newly appointed role of Southern Door (Wis.) Middle School principal on Aug. 1. She began her career as a 1st-grade teacher in Michigan, and has accumulated more than 24 years of experience in education.

NMU 1995 criminal justice alumnus John Gudwer is Escanaba's new director of Public Safety. He was recently promoted from his previous role as detective/lieutenant after the former director retired.

The world-famous Mackinac Island attracts visitors from far and wide, but August 18-20 will have a more Upper Peninsula flair as Northern Michigan University hits the docks for an Arts and Athletics Showcase.

The Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives, located on the campus of NMU, recently received the Historical Society of Michigan's Superior Award. It was recognized for its leadership and service related to UPLINK, an effort to digitize and preserve Upper Peninsula historical records.

Northern Michigan University President Brock Tessman and his family will participate in a meet and greet at the NMU-sponsored tent at Lower Harbor Park after the 2 p.m. July 4th parade through downtown Marquette. There will be giveaways of bottled water, NMU swag and patriotic and Wildcat cookies provided by Northern Lights Dining. 

NMU BIology Professor Neil Cumberlidge recently attended a week-long freshwater crab workshop at the Museum für Naturkunde (Natural History Museum) in Berlin, Germany. He joined international colleagues working on new collections of freshwater crabs resulting from the group's biological surveys of three central and West African biodiversity hotspots in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.

Northern Michigan University 1987 financial management alumnus Joe Havican has been promoted to senior loan officer with First Bank, Upper Michigan. He joined the organization in 2022 as vice president, commercial loan officer in the Marquette office.  

The Northern Michigan University student-dominated crew that produces video coverage of Wildcat hockey games surpassed seven larger institutions nationwide in its division to win the outstanding live game production award in the Sports Video Group (SVG) 2023 College Sports Media Awards. The five-minute video clip they submitted for the competition showed the conclusion of a Wildcat hockey game in which NMU beat rival Michigan Tech in overtime on a breakaway goal.

Northern Michigan University President Brock Tessman will meet with NMU alumni and friends at a reception-style event from 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, July 12, at the Houghton venue Bonfire at The Continental Fire Company. He will provide a university update and chat with attendees over complimentary hors d'oeuvres and beverages. 

Marcus Tucker, a 2016 Northern Michigan University criminal justice alumnus and former Wildcat football star, is the new head coach of Westwood High School's varsity football team. He played professionally over six years with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. 

Dr. Ashley Parent, a 2012 Northern Michigan University graduate, has joined the Marquette Family Medicine Residency Program as a faculty member, according to an announcement from UP Health Systems and Michigan State University. 

NMU alumni Becca Fitch and Grace Krajenka have published their research projects in peer-reviewed international scientific journals. The students each worked for more than two years in the Cumberlidge Crustacean Systematics Laboratory and Museum in NMU's Biology Department under the supervision of Professor Neil Cumberlidge.

Northern Michigan University has created an open educational resource (OER) Faculty Learning Community representing a broad range of academic departments as part of a two-year pilot program to increase OER use across campus and provide related professional development opportunities. 

Northern Michigan University's most recent admissions viewbook, which is distributed to prospective students at high school and community college recruiting events and often serves as a “first impression” of NMU, has earned a gold award for individual student recruitment publication in the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Awards. NMU Admissions and University Marketing and Communications collaborate on the annual project, which drives the messaging for other NMU recruitment materials.

Marquette native and former Northern Michigan University student Leah Hocking has appeared in 10 Broadway shows, including Billy Elliot, Mama Mia, The Wild Party and Hairspray. She will return to her hometown to present Out of the Window, an evening of songs and remembrances about her life and career. The show is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 28 through Friday, June 30, at NMU's Forest Roberts Theatre.