MARQUETTE, Mich.—Northern Michigan University Professors Kenneth Janson, Shelley Russell and Mary Jane Tremethick are recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Faculty Awards for their university and professional contributions. They will be honored at commencement on April 30.

Janson joined the NMU College of Business faculty in 2001 after serving as director of D&N Capital Corporation. He previously taught accounting at universities in Michigan and Wisconsin. In addition to teaching at NMU, Janson is a consultant to financial institutions, law firms and commercial/industrial firms. Some recent papers he coauthored include "Investing Ideas from the Late 1910s," which appeared in the Journal of Industrial Business and Economic Research; “Developing the Network Forensics Curriculum: A Survey of Contemporary Practice,” presented at the International Business and Economic Research Conference last fall; and “Exchange Traded Funds as a Vehicle for Implementing End-of-Month Trading Strategies” in the Journal of Academy of Finance.

Russell has taught theater courses in the communications and performance studies department since 1983. She has directed more than 60 NMU and professional theater productions, most recently Rent, Of Mice and Men and Peter Pan. She is also an established playwright often inspired by Lake Superior and the Upper Peninsula. One of her biggest achievements was Haywire. The musical about an 1880s logging camp was one of five productions selected from more than 900 nationally to be performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Others include Beacon on the Rock, Holdin' Our Own: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Dracula, Pendragon and Superior Heroes. Some shows have been performed at Lake Superior Community Theatre, where Russell formerly served as executive director. She has also contributed her expertise in stage combat and dance choreography, costume design and acting to numerous productions.

Tremethick is a past recipient of the NMU Excellence in Teaching Award and co-recipient of Michigan Campus Compact's Faculty/Staff Community Service Learning Award. The latter honored her efforts to develop and implement a service learning/cultural immersion class in Honduras with NMU nursing professor Eileen Smit. The colleagues have traveled with students the past four summers to Santa Cruz de Yojoa, a rural, medically underserved area of Honduras. Tremethick once worked as an RN in addition to teaching at other institutions. Some of her research and publications revolve around health issues and aging. She also volunteers at U.P. Home Health and Hospice and with the Marquette County Aging Advisory Committee. Recent papers include “Promoting Healthy Lifestyles for Older Adults: Understanding Arthritis,” "Disaster Plannning and Response: Considering the Needs of the Frail Elderly," and “Nurse Educators who Work in Central and South America.” She joined the NMU faculty in 2000.