Northern Michigan University history

Members of the first graduating class in 1902.

The football team was founded in 1904.

The College of Business had its origins in business education beginning in 1914 at a time when the mission of Northern Michigan University was teacher preparation.

When construction began on the John D. Pierce School in late 1922, the Pierce school garden and the old tennis courts were destroyed.

With expanding programs, the name Department of Commerce was assigned in 1933.

Graduate education began in March 1935 when courses at the master's degree level were offered in cooperation with the University of Michigan.

In 1950, the university officially established a facilities department.

In 1955, Spooner Hall opened its doors and became the men’s dormitory.

During Harden’s time, from 1956–67, the campus began to take the form of what it looks like today.

The first graduate program was established in 1960.

In 1963, through the adoption of a new state constitution in Michigan, Northern Michigan was designated a comprehensive university serving the diverse educational needs of Upper Michigan.

By 1966, the need for business graduates had increased to permit the formation of a School of Business with three departments of accounting and finance, business education, and commerce and industry with offices in Kaye and Payne Halls, located near where Cohodas Hall stands today.

In 1967, Walker L. Cisler, then president and general manager of Detroit Edison, pledged support to Northern’s business programs and the academic area was renamed the Walker L. Cisler School of Management.

David H. McClintock was made the coordinator of campus development and capital city in 1968.

NMU Football NCAA Championship Team 1975

Inspired by a 1983 trip to Italy, where he discovered that Milan alone boasted 1,500 coffeehouses, Schultz envisioned turning a tiny regional operation into a national coffeehouse chain via rapid store expansion.

The campus in Marquette became the first United States Olympic Education Center (one of four Olympic training facilities in the country) in 1989.

The Superior Dome, constructed in 1991, stands 14 stories high and encompasses 5.1 acres under its roof, making it the largest wooden dome in the World.

The College of Business was reorganized in 1996, with the disbanding of the departmental concept.

In the fall of 2000, NMU implemented the laptop program and is the first public university in Michigan to pursue a “laptop” campus.

Faculty offices were moved to the Learning Resources Building, later to Magers Hall, and in 2005 to Cohodas Hall, where it currently serves about 700 majors each year.

The Masters of Business Administration program was re-established in the fall of 2010, with 28 students enrolled.

Jamrich Hall, which replaced the old Jamrich Hall building that was located across the academic mall from its current location, was opened in 2014.

In 2015, the College of Business was reorganized into two discipline areas: Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship and Accounting, Finance and Information Systems.

Northern’s bronze Wildcat statue was placed in front of Jamrich Hall during homecoming 2017.

The Woods, a residence hall complex constructed through a public-private partnership, contains six halls that opened in 2018.

Northern Michigan University has achieved bronze-level Bicycle Friendly University status, according to the awards announced in October 2019 by the League of American Bicyclists.

© 2021 by the NMU Board of Trustees.