Weekend College for working professionals

1990-2000

Presidents

  • James B. Appleberry 
  • William H. Vandament 
  • Judith I. Bailey

Campus

  • Superior Dome
  • Seaborg Science Complex
  • Berry Events Center
  • Services Building
  • University Center renovations including Peter White Lounge, Food Court, game room with pool tables, air hockey and video games and student organization offices

Events and speakers:  Nobel Prize Winner Elie Wiesel; Activists LaDonna Harris, Vine Deloria; Architect John Lautner ’33 BA; Actor Tim Allen; Comedian George Carlin; Poet Gwendolyn Brooks; Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist David Hacker; Weatherman Willard Scott; Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz '75 BS; Musicians Helmet, Faith No More, Goo Goo Dolls, Buffalo Tom, The Beach Boys

Construction of the Superior Dome

The Superior Dome opened in 1991

In the last decade of the 20th century, the Cold War ended, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and the Internet changed life as everyone knew it. In many ways, the 1990s seemed a decade of both hope and relief. But the decade also saw its fair share of tragedy, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine High School massacre, and the genocide in Rwanda.

The Center for Native American Studies forms and starts an interdisciplinary minor in Native American Studies and receives a $100,000 grant. It goes on to offer the first and only Native American Studies bachelor’s degree in the state. Powwows are held on campus and in 1991 the annual Learning to Walk Together powwow debuts.

The Student Leader Fellowship Program (SLFP) is established to develop competent, ethical and community-centered leaders and continues to this day, welcoming the 35th cohort in Fall 2025. What color will they be?! 

In 1990, the average age for NMU students is 26 for undergraduates and 32 for graduate students, and they are more likely to have jobs and families. NMU adapts with innovative approaches including offering a wide variety of non-credit and professional development courses such as school bus driver certification and legal education. Word Processing for WordPerfect, Lotus and Desktop Publishing are the most popular. There is also Weekend College and courses offered around the U.P. via correspondence, TV and videotape.

Also at that time, it is estimated that 30 to 40% of students are children or spouses of alumni.

Student callers reach out to 20,000 alumni each year to share their experiences and ask for pledges, boosting the percentage of alumni who donate to the university from 13.6 % to 40% and providing employment to more than 100 students each year.

A new committee is formed to create an action plan to develop, encourage and support education, awareness andtraining programs in ethnic and cultural diversity and make NMU a more interracial and international community. KI Sawyer Air Force Base closes in 1995 with an expected loss of 500 students.

As part of NMU’s Centennial celebration, The U.S. Postal Service authorizes an official postmark for use on April 28, 1999. The university offers a Philatelic Station on campus and a set of commemorative envelopes on which to have the postmark stamped.

 

Towing a plane

NMU's new aviation maintenance program is the only FAA-certified program in the upper Midwest.

125th Memories

“I believe that NMU played an important part in developing my networking skills. I recall the incoming class of 1997 - the fi rst freshman group to receive a laptop. The LRC or Learning Resource Center was where everyone had to go to jump online. Advances in technology, smaller class sizes, easy access to professors, and a laid-back atmosphere develops the way you interact with people across the board. Those are people-skills that carry across to your professional career.”

—John N. German '92 BS