NMU Alma Mater

Hail Northern, by Luther S. WestHail Northern, we thy sons and daughters

Now bring thee tribute long deserved,Thou beacon light 'mid nature’s grandeurThrough passing decades well preserved.

O may we labor with untiring zealThat when these golden days have flown

We may with honor face the futureAnd match thy courage with our own!

We shall go forth inspired, devoted,The light of wisdom to extend

That liberty of thought and worshipWithin our land may never end.

And when in years to come, we ponder wellOur sojourn 'neath thine ivy’s walls.

Our hearts will pledge renewed devotion.In hallowed memory of thy halls.

Musicians and VocalistsNMU Green Saxophone Quartet

Dr. Jeffrey Vickers, Director; Nathan Selfridge, Audra Hagan, Timothy Ovist, Logan Galindo

NMU Brass Ensemble

Dr. Steven Grugin, Director; Nicholas Andrews, Jacob Barnby, Robert Cyne, Amanda Fliflet, Rick Frankowski, Winter Keefer, Kyle Mol, Zachary Ott, Katie Rogers, Tyler Scott, Robert Taylor,

Austin Wilkins, Katie Wronski

Vocal GroupDani Anderson, Ethan Burk, Kate Cordes,

Matt Gilbertson, Howard Harding, Cheyenne Kaufman, Jonathan Korpi, Chloe Laban, Kaitlyn Tramp, Amanda Woods

Investiture Ceremony of Dr. Fritz J. Erickson15th President of Northern Michigan University

Monday, February 9, 2015 • John X. Jamrich Hall

Northern Michigan UniversityMarquette, Michigan

The present university seal features an outline of the Upper Peninsula, historically NMU’s main service area; the block “N” indicating the university’s longstanding name; the torch of learning; four stars that stand for Northern’s four-dimensional program of instruction: undergraduate and graduate studies, public service and research; and two circles symbolizing continuity. (A Sense of Time)

About the Northern Michigan University Seal

1899 - 1927 1927 - 1942 1942 - 1955

1955 - 1963 1963 -

Northern Michigan University Board of TrusteesRichard M. Popp, Chair

H. Sook Wilkinson, Vice ChairScott L. HolmanL. Garnet Lewis

Robert E. MahaneySteven M. Mitchell

Tami M. SeavoyThomas H. Zurbuchen

Investiture Program

Northern Michigan University Green Saxophone Quartet: Selections from Quartet, Op. 109 (Glazunov)

Processional Bagpipe: Mr. Pierre Ogea ’92 BS

NMU Brass Ensemble: Triumphal March (Verdi)

Welcoming RemarksDr. Lesley Larkin, NMU Acting Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Mr. Richard M. Popp, NMU Board of Trustees Chair

Ms. Rachel Nye, NMU Academic Senate Chair

Ms. Kat Klawes, Associated Students of NMU President

Saxophone Quartet: The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba (Handel)

The History of NMU Presidential CeremoniesDr. Russell Magnaghi, NMU Historian

Presentation of the Chain of OfficeMr. Richard Popp and Dr. H. Sook Wilkinson, Chair and Vice Chair of the NMU Board of Trustees,

with Dr. Fritz J. Erickson

Investiture Address: “Uniquely Northern”Dr. Fritz Erickson, Northern Michigan University President

Vocal Group: Alma Mater, Hail Northern (Luther S. West)

Closing RemarksDr. Lesley Larkin

Recessional NMU Brass Ensemble: Coronation March (Meyerbeer)

Reception Jamrich Hall lobby

Dr. Nancy Redfern: Centennial Suite (John X. Jamrich) and various repertoire

Hors d’oeuvres and beverages by Simply Superior

NMU Presidential Investitures: Present and Past The investiture of a university president is one of the most enduring traditions in academia. It is defined as a “formal ceremony of conferring the authority and symbols of high office.”

Investiture has symbolized the pursuit of knowledge since the Middle Ages, but modern universities view it as an opportunity to celebrate as a community and welcome a new era under new leadership while preserving academic tradition. The ceremony typically is held during or at the conclusion of the president’s first year in of-fice. Whether labeled an inauguration, installation or investiture, the practice began at Northern with President Edgar Harden in 1956.

According to university historian Russell Magnaghi’s A Sense of Time encyclopedia, Northern presidents prior to that time merely took office and did not participate in a public event. Harden’s ceremony was impressive in scope. It was witnessed by delegates of 80 U.S. colleges and universities, as well as the campus community and business, industrial, labor and civic leaders.

The ceremony for John X. Jamrich, by comparison, was a “simplified and streamlined” affair for individuals and institutions connected with Michigan. It was held in the former Hedgcock Fieldhouse and televised.

The Jamrich inauguration marked the debut of the presidential medallion, or chain of office. It is a silver-plated bronze circular disk, about three inches in diameter. The inner portion of the circle contains an engraving of the university seal. Two laurel branches at the bottom encircle the medallion. A heavy silver chain connects silver-plated bars listing past NMU presidents and their years in office.

Two other forms of regalia were used for the first time at Jamrich’s ceremony: the mace, developed from the war-like medieval mace to represent authority and carried by the longest-serving faculty member, considered the grand marshall of the academic procession; and a green academic robe and sash specially created to be worn by that senior faculty member.

The next such event did not occur until the installation of President Judith Bailey. Held in the Superior Dome and centered on the theme “A Celebration of Learning and Discovery,” it included an academic symposium highlighting faculty research. President Les Wong’s investiture featured a week of student and faculty presentations leading up to the ceremony in Vandament Arena. The ceremony was followed by a combined reception/Homecoming block party and NMU football game.

Dwight B. Waldo 1899-1904

James H.B. Kaye 1904-1923

John M. Munson 1923-1933

Webster H. Pearce 1933-1940

Henry A. Tape 1940-1956

Edgar L. Harden 1956-1967

Ogden E. Johnson 1967-1968 Fritz J. Erickson 2014-present

John X. Jamrich 1968-1983

James B. Appleberry 1983-1991

William H. Vandament 1991-1997

Judith l. Bailey 1997-2003

Michael J. Roy 2003-04

Leslie E. Wong 2004-2012

David S. Haynes 2012-2014

Presidents of Northern Michigan University

From the Beginning

Fritz Erickson grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, wanting to be a teacher like his parents. He studied liberal arts

at Central Michigan University and transferred to Western Michigan University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences in 1980.

He accepted an elementary school teaching position in the high plains of Utah. Eventually, he became a middle school teacher in Greeley, Colorado, where he taught everything from math, science, social studies and reading to health and physical education. It was during this period when Erickson developed a deep interest in instructional technology – so much so that he even considered leaving teaching to purse a computing career.

He combined the two interests, putting his efforts into studying rapidly developing technology along with curriculum and instruction, earning a master or arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 1984.

Erickson was hired by the Colorado Department of Education as senior educational technology consultant, advising school districts on how to employ computer technology in order to meet new state requirements. He presented in-service programs, worked on curriculum development teams and collaborated in developing Colorado’s first educational telecommunication system.

He went on to receive an interdisciplinary doctorate of education in educational psychology, technology and research methodology from UNC in 1987.

His collegiate teaching career then began at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, where he was a faculty member until 1997.

The state of Michigan lured him back when he took a position as chair and professor of the Department of Education and Psychology at Michigan Technological University. In 2000, Erickson accepted a deanship at Eastern Washington University where he was responsible for one of the largest colleges on campus—the College of Education and Human Development.

He took on a similar role at the University of Wisconsin-

Green Bay from 2003-09 where he would oversee business, education, nursing and social work, along with the Office of Graduate Studies, the Institute for Research and the NEW Partnership for Children and Families. In each of these roles, he found success in pursuing community, business, industry and K-12 partnerships.

In 2009, he became the provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Ferris State. Some of his largest initiatives there included creating an open and transparent budget process, strengthening the shared governance between faculty and administration, overhauling an antiquated budget and organization model and realigning Academic Affairs.

Erickson has authored numerous magazine and journal articles and a technology book series. He has published textbooks based on a pedagogical model designed to enhance learning outcomes, as well as books on the topics of youth suicide and children with reading problems. He also worked on the second edition of Wilbur Brookover’s Creating Effective Schools—a book that influenced the effective schools movement.

Dr. Fritz Erickson became Northern Michigan University’s 15th president on July 1, 2014.

He and his wife, Jan, have two grown children, Jenna and John, who are respectively in the pre-dental program at Ferris State and taking classes at NMU. Two Labrador dogs and a cat round out the Erickson family.

About the President