MARQUETTE — For nearly 20 years, Northern Michigan University has brought together students, faculty, staff and people from throughout the community through its annual UNITED Conference.

Since its inception, UNITED has served as a cornerstone event at NMU with a goal to advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion on campus and in the broader Marquette community.

“It is a combination of four events happening at one time,” said Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Shawnrece Butler. “It’s UNITED, then we have the Diversity Common Leader program, last year they added the Wellbeing Health Fair, then this year we are hosting the state’s King Chauvez Park within the Classroom Conference.”

This year’s theme, Voices of the Earth: Learning, Leading, and Advancing Equity Together, centers the connected nature between environmental justice and social equity. ​​The UNITED Conference is free and open to the public. NMU invites students, faculty, staff and area residents to participate in this day-and-a-half-long event. 2025 UNITED gets underway this afternoon and continues throughout Tuesday. No tickets are required and all sessions are open to the public.

2025 UNITED includes workshops and presentations to magnify the voices of the Earth with themes centering around how people learn, how people lead and how people can advance equity together.

“For me it means a lot to unite your neighbors and the experience of diversity,” Butler said. “Letting everybody experience the diversity of what we have to offer and what people bring to the table. So it is an awesome conference for that.”

Once again, UNITED includes the Wellbeing Fair, many conference sessions and various keynote speakers. Today, the keynote speaker will be Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, the author of “As We Have Always Done — Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance.” she speaks on a plethora of Indigenous topics, including the rejection of contemporary colonialism. Her book is the 2024-25 selection for the NMU Diversity Common Reader Program. Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, scholar, musician and is a member of Alderville First Nation in Ontario, Canada. She is the author of eight previous books, including the novel “Noopiming: A Cure for White Ladies” which is shortlisted for the Dublin Literary prize.

“We will have a session about civic and civil dialogue,” said Butler. “A session on leading into your why and being mission forward in uncertain times and how you can do that and brew your light and keeping your light shining in that situation and moving forward. We have got all types of good stuff happening.”

The main conference sessions will run from midday today through all day Tuesday culminating in Poetry Without Borders during the, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday session. The content covers wide fields of study. All sessions will be held in the NMU Northern Center.

“I think there is something for everybody,” said Butler. “Student-led sessions about belonging, thriving, athletics, you name it. We have tried to make sure that we had something that appealed to every community member on campus and community members off campus also.”