Judith I. Baily - Maamawi-Ozhigi - Together We Grow

Judith Bailey graduated from Cooper College in 1968 with a major in English and history and a minor in Spanish and religion, thinking she “would write the great American novel” (interview with Russ Magnaghi). When that romantic option hit the wall of feasibility, she decided she should teach. She started teaching 7th grade language arts and social studies, then went on to teach high school. From her teaching positions she began to dabble in academic administration, pursuing her doctorate in education and administration in 1976, which is where she decided she wanted to work in higher education. She worked in cooperative extension for multiple institutions along the east coast before becoming the vice president of the University of Maine. When she took up her post at Northern, the university was in a period of flourishing: everyone had loved President Vandament, and enrollment was up. In order to maintain this trajectory, President Bailey oversaw the dedication of the Seaborg Science Complex, as well as the renovation of the Hedgecock field house into the Student Services Center and Whitman Elementary School into a campus building. After six years at Northern, she took up the presidency at Western Michigan University.