New Faculty - 2003
Jon
AddisonAssistant Professor - English
email: jaddison@nmu.edu
Jon is a UP native who spent the last 23 years in Marquette. He likes poetry, short fiction, and contemporary myth. Jon was educated at Albion College and the University of Pittsburg.
Darlene Buck
Instructor - English
email: dbuck@nmu.edu
Darlene grew up in the Copper Country area of the UP, and has been working at NMU in Student Support Services for 10 years. Darlene's strong academic background in English, History, and Education has given her a variety of teaching jobs in the past, and now she will be an English instructor here at NMU. Her interests include History, music, reading, gardening, hiking, photography, and spending time with her family.
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Loren
Clifford Adjunct - Mathematics
email: lcliffor@nmu.edu
Loren is a Marquette native. He has a strong physics background, and is interested in flying.
Gary Ebrecht
Assistant Professor - HPER
email: gebrecht@nmu.edu
Gary hails from Muskegon Michigan and is interested in hunting and fishing, travel, sports, and innovations in schools. He holds a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in Education from Michigan State. Prior to becoming assistant professor in the HPER department, Gary worked as Director of Curriculum and Instructional Services for the Marquette/Alger Intermediate School District. Gary is excited to be teaching at NMU.
[return to top]Elizabeth M. Ellis
Adjunct Associate Professor - Psychology
email: elellis@nmu.edu
Elizabeth is a Marquette native who earned degrees in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Development from the Bank Street College in Washington, D.C. She has 28 years of experience in her field, and is interested in improving things for children. Elizabeth enjoys traveling the country and renovating her home.
[return to top]Susan
Hewitt
Instructor - Math
email: shewitt@nmu.edu
Susan is from Marquette who taught secondary ed math before coming to NMU. She enjoys many outdoors activities, including swimming, camping, and walking her English Setter.
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Ira
W. Hutchison Professor, Department Head, Sociology & Social Work
College of Professional Studies
email: ihutchis@nmu.edu
Dr. Hutchison was raised in Midland Michigan, and has lived in the south for the past 30 years. He holds a B.A. from Michigan State University, an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Hutchison taught for seven years at Florida State University, and 23 years at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. His academic interests include marriage and family sociology, especially family change. For the past twenty years, he has been intensely involved in the study of family violence - one of the most critical problems facing American society.
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Frances
A. IlnickyAdjunct - English
email: filnicky@nmu.edu
Frances is from Marquette, and attended Northern Michigan University and also spent some time at University of Wisconsin. Reading, music, animals, watercolor painting, bird-watching, traveling, piano, and golf are just some of Frances many interests.
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Nicholas
J. IlnickyAdjunct - History
email: nilnicky@nmu.edu
Nicholas is a Marquette native who attended and taught at NMU, among other places. He has a wide variety of interests; historical reading, classical music, ornithology, travel, hunting, and fishing, are just a few of them.
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Patrick Jennings
Adjunct - Math
email: pjenning@nmu.edu
Patrick has two Math degrees and a law degree. He is a private practice lawyer, and spent time at University of Alaska before coming to NMU. His interests include cross-country skiing, motorcycling, hiking, and camping.
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Nell
KupperAssistant Professor - Languages
email: nkupper@nmu.edu
Dr. Kupper spent most of her life in Virginia before coming to NMU. She holds a B.F.A. from Commonwealth University in Richmond, and a M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Tennessee. Her interests include literature, art, philosophy, and creative writing.
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Susan
Landess-TowneInstructor - Communication Disorders
email: slandess@nmu.edu
Susan taught at Illinois State University before coming to NMU in 1997 to work in the speech and hearing clinic as an instructor and supervisor. She enjoys spending her free time gardening, hiking, and being a mother.
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Jill Leonard
Assistant Professor - Biology
email: jileonar@nmu.edu
Jill has a B.S. in Biology, an M.S. in Marine Biology and Biochemistry from the College of William and Mary, Virginia, and a Ph.D. in Fisheries Biology from the University of Massachusetts. Her research interests include migratory fish physiology and ecology; personal interests are gardening, crafts, and canoeing. Jill will be teaching Ecology 310 this semester, and is looking for undergrad and graduate students interested in working with fish.
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Sarah
MartinAdjunct - AIS
email: samartin@nmu.edu
Sarah comes from downstate, and graduated from NMU in May with an English degree. Outside literature, gardening and jazz are her hobbies.
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Howard L. Nicholson
Assistant Professor - History
email: hnichols@nmu.edu
Howard left Mobile Alabama to join NMU. He holds a B.S. and M.A. from Ball State University, an M.A. from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. from Miami University in Ohio. Howard enjoys travel, antiques and photography; and he has a son who is an undergraduate at Indiana University!
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Wally
NiebauerAssociate Professor - CAPS
email: wniebaue@nmu.edu
Wally comes from Wisconsin, where he attended University of Wisconsin. He later earned a Ph.D at Michigan State. He likes just about anything outdoors except football, and is new to the Marquette area, which he feels is a 'well kept secret.'
[return to top]Karl P. Numinen
Adjunct - Criminal Justice
email: knuminen@nmu.edu
Karl grew up in the Marquette area, but has spent the last 12 years downstate earning his law degree and practicing law. He is interested in reading, writing, collecting books, and classic literature. Karl is also conducting an experiment to study the use of caffeine to achieve higher states of consciousness.
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Judith
L. PlaceAdjunct - Psychology
email: jplace@nmu.edu
Judith is from Cheboygon, Michigan, and has attended both Northern Michigan University and Central Michigan University. She likes to grow and arrange flowers in her free time and also likes seeing her grandchildren.
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David Savola
Instructor - English
email: dsavola@nmu.edu
David attended both NMU and Michigan Stat06/22/2005rom Trenary, Michigan, and enjoys backpacking, fishing, hunting, and cross-country skiing.
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Maya
SenAssistant Professor - Psychology
email: msen@nmu.edu
Maya comes from Palo Alto California, and attended three different colleges before coming to NMU as an assistant professor. She likes mystery novels, movies, and her cats.
Darren
SmithAdjunct - Physics
email: dsmith@nmu.edu
Darren hails from Minneapolis, Mn., but he has lived in this area for fifteen years. He holds a B.S. from the University of Minnesota, and an M.A. from NMU. Darren has been teaching at the Gwinn High School since 1986. Hobbies and interests of Darren's include skiing, kayaking, and guitar. He is the Region 13 Director of Michigan Science Teachers Association, is married with two children, and is a ten year science olympiad coach.
[return to top]James E. Somers
Instructor - Foreign Languages
email: jsomers@nmu.edu
James is a Michigan native who presently lives in Negaunee. He has attended several universities and also taught languages in high school for 30 years. James enjoys several outdoors activities, including gardening, kayaking, and cross-country skiing.
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Stephen
J. SpeckerInstructor - CIS
email: sspecker@nmu.edu
Stephen is from Marquette and has a BS in Business/CIS and an MBA in Business. He enjoys golf, fishing, and trading stocks.
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Mary
Jane TremethickAssistant Professor - HPER
email: mtremeth@nmu.edu
Mary is a Michigan native who earned two degrees at NMU before going to Tennessee and Kansas to complete her education. She currently resides in Negaunee and enjoys travel and reading.
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Cecelia
L. ViitalaAdjunct - Physical Education
email: cviitala@nmu.edu
Cecelia is from Gwinn, Michigan, and graduated from Northern Michigan University. She spent 27 years teaching health, phys. ed., and interpersonal skills at Gwinn High School. Currently working at the YMCA developing programs for women and teaching aerobics, she also enjoys the beauty of the outdoors, traveling, and seeing her grandchildren.
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Ruth
Ann WatryAssistant Professor - Political Science
email: rwatry@nmu.edu
Dr. Watry has lived in nine different states since High School, but her family is in Minnesota. She has a strong political science background, which is where her interests lie. She will also be one of the pre-law advisors.
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