Alumni Reorganized to make "One Northwood"

Alumni are one of our special assets and the continuous improvement in the life of their alma mater should be of great to value to them and the university. This is an area where our themes for this year, continuous improvement and engagement, can be greatly enhanced.

As we move forward toward our 50th anniversary, we are taking several steps to ensure all our alumni can maintain contact with Northwood.  To facilitate a consistent effort to develop relationships with Northwood alumni, we have divided the alumni organization into three North American regions.  In the past, we have had alumni operations based on each of our three traditional campuses and each unit focused primarily on alumni who attended classes on their respective campuses.  Given the mobility of our graduates in the business world, it has not been unusual to have, for example, Michigan campus alumni living in Georgia.  Up until now, there was no comfortable connection with the closest campus in West Palm Beach, Florida.

In an effort to overcome these “disconnects”, we have broadened the roles of alumni directors and asked campus Alumni Boards and directors to also broaden their focus to several states in their respective regions.

Kelly Fason, Regional Alumni & Friends Director–Southeast Region and Florida Alumni Board, will now oversee the East/Southeast Region, comprised of the following states: Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Quebec & Eastern Canada.

Julie Felske, Regional Alumni & Friends Director–Midwest Region and Michigan Alumni Board will be responsible for the Midwest Region consisting of the following states: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ontario & Central Canada.

Denise Ward, Regional Alumni & Friends Director–Southwest Region and Texas Alumni Board will be responsible for the West/Southwest Region consisting of the following states:  Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, British Columbia & Western Canada.

We will ensure our alumni in Hawaii, Alaska and around the world will not be forgotten.  We have a European alumni network and a Malaysian alumni network that are independently active; to ensure that these networks and others around the world thrive they will be further developed by the alumni staff in a collective effort.  Since we have such a large concentration of alumni in southeast Michigan, Nicole Gize will remain as Director of Alumni & Friends in Southeast Michigan. 

From this point forward, the respective Alumni Boards will be known as the Regional Alumni & Friends Leadership Council for each region. The addition of the Friends component is to encourage the inclusion of our non-graduate “Friends of Northwood” with alumni chapters when feasible.

If you know Northwood alumni who we have lost contact with or who desire to play a greater role in alumni activities, please share this information with our regional alumni directors, Vice President Kavanagh, or me. One of our goals for the 50th anniversary is to engage ALL alumni in the appropriate activities of their alma mater. You can assist in this goal. Our “One Northwood” concept certainly should include all of our graduates as the success of our alumni creates the reputation of our university.

Have a great weekend,

Keith A. Pretty, J.D.
President and CEO
Northwood University
4000 Whiting Drive
Midland, MI 48640
989.837.4203 (phone)
989.832.9590 (fax)