Personnel Changes Announced

President Les Wong used his convocation as an opportunity to announce recent or upcoming personnel changes. Mike Roy (Finance and Administration) plans to retire on Feb. 1, 2008 – the same year he will mark three decades of service to NMU. Roy has been vice president since 1991, except for a one-year hiatus when he was interim president between Judi Bailey’s departure and Les Wong’s appointment. His previous titles included assistant vice president for finance and controller, and chief accountant. Prior to joining NMU in 1978, he was controller at Central Michigan University.

“Announcing my retirement date from NMU gives ample time for a smooth transition and gives me plenty of time to think about what I am going to do next,” Roy said. “After spending nearly 40 years in higher education administration, I look forward to doing something different.”

Wong said the university will resume its efforts to find a successor to Fred Joyal (Academic Affairs). In the first attempt, a number of leading candidates accepted positions at other universities before a final decision could be reached. The timeline for completion will be moved up this year and a majority of the original provost search committee will return for service.

In another change, Northern recently moved to an internal legal counsel model. It previously depended almost exclusively on legal services headquartered downstate. In addition to her equal opportunity duties, Cathy Dehlin is the university’s general counsel. She will sit on the President’s Council and coordinate the use of external legal assistance, as needed.

Wong said Northern has “moved aggressively to rebuild and reshape our Foundation and Alumni infrastructure” in advance of a second and larger capital campaign. Recent hires include an assistant director of Alumni and a development officer for athletics and business. Other new positions in the process of being filled are development officers for the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Professional Studies, and public broadcasting/general university needs.

In other changes not mentioned during convocation, Paul Lang will serve as interim associate dean of Technology and Applied Sciences. In Lang's absence, Greg Warchol will be interim head of the Criminal Justice Department.