Former Northern Michigan University President James Appleberry passed away Monday in Louisville, Ky., from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 86. He began his NMU tenure in July 1983 and resigned in 1991 to become president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), which had previously recognized NMU under his leadership as “one of the top 10 institutions for innovation and change in American higher education.”
Appleberry was a Missouri native. He served as president of Pittsburg State in Kansas for nearly seven years before arriving in Marquette.
“Dr. James Appleberry, being the first president who was from outside of Michigan, opened Northern to the world,” said Russell Magnaghi, NMU history professor emeritus. “He promoted academic excellence on all levels with new programs, which ranged from the Seaborg Center for the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics to the Olympic Education Center [the first of its kind in the country where world-class athletes could train for competition while pursuing degrees]. He also expanded Lee Hall Gallery to the University Art Museum. In addition, Dr. Appleberry introduced computers, which headed Northern into the 21st century by the time he resigned.”
According to Magnaghi's encyclopedia of Northern, Appleberry oversaw increased enrollments after nearly a decade of decline, along with a jump in both ACT scores of entering freshmen and retention attributed to elevated admission standards. Other strides under his leadership included establishing the Northern Economic Initiatives Center and the Center for Excellence in Leadership and Personal Development.
Magnaghi conducted an oral interview with Appleberry in 1995, while he was working with the AASCU in Washington, D.C. It is available online through the Central U.P. and NMU Archives' UPLINK digitization project here. In reflecting on his NMU presidency, Appleberry described what he considered his greatest achievement.
“Working with the faculty, and with some good leadership from Vice Presidents Donovan and Beukema in particular, we developed and refined a review process for each of the academic programs on campus,” he said. “That is something that—if engaged in honestly—provides the faculty in each discipline area and the broader campus community with the capability of making sure that the academic strength of the campus remains strong.”
View Appleberry's complete obituary here.