All News Releases

The Northern Michigan University Alumni Association has announced the four recipients of 2021 Alumni Awards who will be honored during Homecoming this fall. They are: Mary Jo Mulligan-Kehoe, Ph.D. ('68 BS) of Huntington Beach, Calif., Distinguished Alumni; Susan Meier ('87 BS) of Riverdale, Mich., Alumni Achievement; T.J. Weber, ('11 BS) of San Luis Obispo, Calif., Outstanding Young Alumni; and Lina Blair ('05 BS, '08 MS) of Grand Rapids, Mich., Alumni Service.

Kimberly Hongisto, benefits and onboarding specialist in Human Resources at Northern Michigan University, is one of the 2021 Excellence in Service Award recipients. 

Kyle Hawn, a building and grounds attendant at Northern Michigan University, is one of the 2021 Excellence in Service Award recipients. 

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees today approved a new five-year contract ratified by the Technical and Office Professionals union (UAW 1950). The agreement is effective July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026.

When Melaina Mrozek Stypulkowska ('16 BA) was an NMU freshman, she and her mother made a pact to bike the scenic route from their home state of Minnesota to Marquette. They planned to tackle it her senior year, but the dream was deferred by injury and a study-abroad program that led to an extended stay overseas. The women finally achieved their goal at the height of a heat wave in June, traveling 411 miles over seven eventful days.

Protocols for diagnosing and treating concussions have improved significantly through enhanced education and training, expanded academic research, and more sophisticated technology tools. Maggy Moore of NMU's School of Health and Human Performance is dedicating more time to all of the above as the first five-year recipient of the Mark. R. and Eileen Lovell Endowed Professorship. 

Northern Michigan University Theatre & Dance has released its schedule of 2021-22 productions, which will be performed for live audiences again after the pandemic required a pivot to virtual shows last season.

Lee Gould, NMU safety/fire marshall, is a 2021 Excellence in Service Award recipient. He was asked to co-chair the Safety and Risk Enforcement Logistics team, composed of individuals from different areas across campus and charged with developing a plan to promote the health and safety of the university. The group met at least weekly, and often multiple times a week, to work through safety plans. 

Two women with Northern Michigan University connections were appointed to state boards by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on June 30. NMU accounting instructor and certified public accountant Kathleen Isleib of Negaunee will serve on the Michigan Board of Accountancy. NMU alumna Stephanie L. DePetro of Marquette will serve on the Michigan Board of Nursing.

Jill Compton, director of internal audit and risk management at Northern Michigan University, is a 2021 Excellence in Service Award recipient. She was asked to co-chair the Safety and Risk Enforcement Logistics team and, according to her award description, “took this responsibility seriously and provided outstanding leadership.” 

Incoming NMU freshman Thomas Chicka of Foxboro, Wis., recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts of America's highest honor. He plans to pursue a degree in nursing at Northern, with a music minor.

David Lindbeck, a 2001 NMU alumnus, will assume his new role as principal at Kingsford High School on July 1. The Iron River native taught four years in residential treatment for students with emotional/behavioral disorders in Illinois and Wisconsin. He also taught high school special education for a combined 15 years in Waterford and Wausaukee, Wis.

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees set tuition and fees for the 2021-22 academic year today. It also continued to recognize the ongoing financial stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with the approval of a grant program that will use federal stimulus money to lower students' overall costs.

A team of Northern Michigan University faculty and student researchers contributed to Snapshot USA, the first coordinated nationwide mammal survey that consisted of 1,509 motion-activated camera traps from 110 sites across all 50 states. The data was published June 8 in the journal Ecology.

Northern Michigan University's Diversity Common Reader Program encourages faculty to consider adopting its 2021-22 selection, “We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration,” for a fall or winter course.

Northern Michigan University's DeVos Art Museum is hosting its 14th Annual North of the 45th juried exhibition for artists living north of the 45th parallel in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The show runs through Friday, July 30. A closing reception is scheduled that night at 6 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. talk by this year's juror, Ron Platt, chief curator at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

The NMU Student Leader Fellowship Program expresses its appreciation to the following faculty and staff members who served as mentors for the program. For one academic year, they acted as a role model, adviser and friend to a Student Fellow by providing guidance and support to the students as they strive to become leaders of their communities through service. The SLFP also seeks new mentors from campus or the broader community. Contact slfp@nmu.edu.

The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center will open a new exhibition on the architectural history of Northern Michigan University titled “A Beautiful Location” on Saturday, June 12. The exhibition looks at how NMU progressed from a campus with one building in a remote part of Marquette, to its expansion as a modern campus of the 1960s, to its wired community of today.