An extraordinary year of 50th anniversary celebrations

As 2009 draws to a close, Northwood University has enjoyed an extraordinary year of 50th anniversary celebrations. The anniversary has presented a golden opportunity–an opportunity to celebrate our founders' vision; to thank our many friends; to reconnect with our thousands of alumni; to spread the mission and philosophy of Northwood University; and to open new educational and professional opportunities for current and future students.

While the full year of 50th events will not come to completion until the 2010 Founders’ Day gatherings, we would like to salute the people who brought our celebrations to life. The network of events honoring Northwood University, commemorating our Founders, Dr. R. Gary Stauffer and Dr. Arthur E. Turner and Dr. Willa Stauffer and Dr. Johann Turner, and setting the stage for the next 50 years have been a true pleasure for those of us who had the opportunity to participate. As any organization or endeavor is only as vital as the people who engage in it, we would like to thank the Alumni and Friends who have stood up and come forward–we thank them all, each and every one.

Officially our anniversary was launched at convocation last fall, but our loyal West Baden alumni had their own pre-celebration when they gathered in fall 2008 to reconnect and remember the wonderful times they had on the Indiana Campus.

In addition to convocation events, students enjoyed Omniquest panels in Florida and Michigan which were made extra special with the presence of Jeffrey Zaslow, co-author of The Last Lecture.Texas Campus students were able to view Mr. Zaslow’s presentation online.  The 46th  Annual  Northwood University International Auto Show and fall homecoming had the 50th theme front and center throughout the weekend.

In February 2009, alumnus Steve Turner, son of Founder Dr. Arthur E. Turner, hosted the first of special Alumni & Friends receptions in Phoenix, Arizona. Alumni in Chicago and Cleveland celebrated around their auto shows.

By Founders’ Day 2009, events were in full swing with Dr. Willa Stauffer reminiscing on the Michigan Campus and the Texas Campus committing to sustainability with a full day of activities. The Fashion Marketing & Management students produced a style show focusing on environmentally friendly clothing, entrepreneur Tom Kemper spoke on “Why and How We Should  Pursue the Triple Bottom Line,” a Time Capsule was unveiled, and games, dinner, and dancing concluded the day. Our Florida Campus celebrated for an entire week. Monday was Ethics Day; Tuesday was Free Enterprise Day; Wednesday focused on Business & the Arts; Diversity & Cultural Awareness took place on Thursday; and Friday was Entrepreneurship Day with Outstanding Business Leader and NU Honorary Doctorate recipient Frank McKinney speaking.

The official 50th anniversary history book, One Northwood: The First Fifty Years, was unveiled in March.Sponsored byDr. David E. Fry, President Emeritus, and written and edited by Dr. David Richards, Assistant Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Library, it tells our story well. Beginning with free-enterprise as the idea that built Northwood, moving on to the growth of our campuses, detailing the extraordinary success of our international programs the world over, and mixing in plenty of tales about the people who built this University, the book is a soft-covered treasure.

We wanted to make sure our communities joined in the fun so we planned family-friendly festivals with games, food, fun, and prizes. Michigan’s was in April, Texas’ in October, and Florida’s will take place in February 2010.

Northwood is a worldwide, world-class University and our friends across the globe pulled out all the stops. 2001 alumnus Jonathan “Jiggee” Seevaratnam hosted a wonderful celebration in Malaysia; in Switzerland our colleagues at Hotel Institute Montreux (HIM) hosted an elegant reception; in Sri Lanka, American Education Center, Ltd., the parent of American National College, Northwood's partner in Sri Lanka extended gracious  hospitality; and in China, our partners at Jiangnan University-Lambton College in Wuxi, China and Jilin University-Lambton College in Changchun, China rolled out the welcome wagon.

This summer Al Zehnder and Bill Parlberg treated Alumni & Friends to a reception in Frankenmuth coinciding with the golf outing at The Fortress; our Board of Trustees as well as local Alumni & Friends gathered in Bay Harbor; Mike Cassidy of Starwood Hotels hosted a group in Chicago; and Rick Portwood, owner of Display Group, held a reception for Detroit area Friends & Alumni.

The Distinguished Women Awards held their own 40th anniversary this past November and Outstanding Business Leaders will be honored for the 30th time in January. Fun Auction Days (FAD), a Michigan Campus tradition and a major contributor to scholarship funds, held its 41st fundraiser in November.  Detroit Scholarship Showcase has also been a strong source of scholarship funds and will host their annual event in May 2010.

On the academic side of this year’s events, we were proud of the successful launch the Texas Campus DeVos MBA program. The Florida Campus will begin offering MBAs in August. We can thank the Dr. Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation for their outstanding commitment to graduate education at Northwood University.

Founders’ Day celebrations in March will cap off our year and at that point it will be time to print the photos, put them in an album, and enjoy the wonderful memories of Northwood University’s 50th anniversary.

This milestone has been a golden opportunity to celebrate the outstanding success of our Founder’s vision and to thank our alumni and friends for their support. Our alumni, numbering over 33,000 strong, are powerful testimony to the power of The Northwood Idea. As we move forward to the next 50 years, it will be through them and our legion of friends that this University will fulfill its Big Hairy Audacious Goal – to be globally recognized as one of the foremost institutions in the development of leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs.

It’s been quite a year and the best is yet to come!

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

pretty@northwood.edu