Alumni

As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer prepares to deliver her first State of the State address, Northern Michigan University alumnus Mark A. Burton (’99 BS) is helping to formulate the vision for her administration and assembling the teams that will work toward achieving it. The Champion native was appointed the governor’s chief strategist in January.

The three leaders of the "small but mighty" NMU Rec Sports team are featured in the cover story of the May/June issue of "CAMPUS REC" magazine. All are alumni who worked there as students. Tricia Bush stayed in her hometown after graduation and is director of campus recreation. John Fancher returned after a stint in the Pacific Northwest running and opening successful bike shops to serve as intramural sports and outdoor equipment manager. Katie Moe completed a graduate assistantship and took a job at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, but came back to NMU a short time later.

Northern Michigan University 1995 alumna Michele Arquette-Palermo has been promoted by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida from water policy manager to the newly created executive-level role of chief program officer, according to a CSF press release. She completed a bachelor's degree in biology/ecology from NMU and also some graduate-level coursework in biology, ecology, botany and fisheries management. 

In her 1990 student commencement address at Northern Michigan University, Rebecca Slough encouraged her fellow graduates “to lead with integrity, not because anyone is looking, but because it's who you are.” Twenty-five years later, her daughter Kylee (Slough) Deckert stood behind the podium, urging peers to approach the future with courage and “embrace success in all of its forms—not only what we achieve in our respective careers, but the type of people we become.” It is no surprise they expressed similar themes, because Kylee said her mom and dad instilled those qualities in their three children.

Five Northern Michigan University alumni who have taken diverse academic paths to find success in the cannabis industry will participate in a “Wildcats in the Weeds” panel discussion at the Great Lakes Cannabis Collaboration Conference at NMU on Tuesday, April 23. They commented in advance on how NMU prepared them for their careers.

Northern Michigan University alumnus Joe Tinti has been named Athletic Director of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association for Region 1. Tinti is the athletic director and principal at Norway High School. He was presented with the award on March 16 at the annual MIAAA Mid-Winter Conference in Traverse City.