donated by local businessman and philanthropist John M. Longyear, whose namesake academic building, Longyear Hall, opened in 1900.
Throughout the school's first half-century, education and teacher training was the school's primary focus. During this time, the school built the native sandstone buildings Kaye and Peter White Halls, as well as a manual training school next to the campus buildings, J.D. Pierce School.The institution has undergone several name changes:
Northern State Normal, 1899
Northern State Teachers College, 1927
Northern Michigan College of Education, 1942
Northern Michigan College, 1955
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. Graduate education began in March 1935 when courses at the master's degree level were offered in cooperation with the University of Michigan.
== Academics ==
=== Admissions ===
NMU is considered "selective" by U.S. News …
