NMU to give 20,000 masks to students and faculty, announces further plans for fall

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University has announced it will be providing 20,000 face masks to faculty and students, along with revealing other plans as they prepare for the fall semester.

Each employee and student will receive two face masks, as one of NMU’s many plans to safely reopen in the fall. Along with receiving a mask, each student and employee will be tested for the COVID–19 virus at the Northern Center prior to the start of classes.

According to one NMU representative, the university is diligently using its resources to ensure a safe semester.

“We’re working with the health professionals,” said NMU Chief Marketing Officer Derek Hall. “We’re getting all the advice from county, state, federal, and we’ll be working through those things. Safety first, we know that. We’re working as hard as we can, bringing in the resources to campus that we need to, to make that happen.”

Other major changes include a reduced semester; classes will start August 17th, a week earlier than they normally would. Classes will end the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so students won’t return after Thanksgiving recess. Finals week won’t be held, so professors will have to figure out when to issue final exams.

Rather than having students move into the dorms on one day, students will move into residence halls in scheduled blocks.

Crews have been going through each classroom to accommodate smaller class sizes and social distancing.

Currently, NMU has 10 committees dedicated to safely reopening the university.