Two students at Presque Isle during the sunset

About the People, Culture & Wellbeing (PCW) Pillar

The People, Culture & Wellbeing Pillar aligns our work as a health-promoting campus. With a focus on the wellbeing of our people and wellbeing of our place, the PCW team collaborates across our campus and community to ensure that our students and employees have a healthy and positive learning and working environment, feel empowered to be the best version of themselves, and feel supported across all dimensions of their wellbeing. This pillar includes Campus Wellbeing, Opportunity, Empowerment & People, Sustainability, Human Resources, and Equal Opportunity/Title IX.

Meet the Team

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Rhea Dever

Vice President, People, Culture & Wellbeing

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Image of Chelsey Cebulski, Admin

Chelsey Cebulski

Executive Administrative Specialist

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Image of Angie Stebbins, AVP Holistic WellBeing

Dr. Angie Stebbins

Assistant Vice President | Holistic WellBeing

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Image of Shawnrece Butler, AVP of Opportunity, Empowerment, and People

Dr. Shawnrece Butler

Assistant Vice President | Opportunity, Empowerment, and People

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Image of Jes Thompson, AVP Sustainability

Dr. Jes Thompson

Assistant Vice President | Sustainability

The Okanagan Charter


Northern Michigan University is committed to embedding wellbeing into the culture at NMU, and to do that to the fullest extent, on April 26, 2023, former President Brock Tessman signed the Okanagan Charter. 

The Okanagan Charter is a landmark document that serves as a guide for educational institutions worldwide to prioritize and enhance the health and well-being of their students, faculty, staff, and communities. It was first developed and endorsed at the International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges in 2015, held in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada. 

The Okanagan Charter recognizes that the pursuit of health and well-being is not just the absence of illness but a holistic approach encompassing physical, mental, social, and spiritual dimensions. It emphasizes the vital connection between individual well-being and the health of the broader community and environment. The charter encourages a collaborative approach, engaging multiple stakeholders within and beyond the academic community to create healthier and more sustainable environments.

Image of the official Okanagan Charter document, an international framework guiding health-promoting universities and colleges. The charter outlines a vision for embedding health and well-being into all aspects of higher education and calls on institutions to integrate health into campus culture while leading collaborative health promotion efforts in local and global communities.

Opportunity, Empowerment & People


Northern Michigan University strives to be an inclusive community where differences are recognized as assets of the institution, respected attributes of the person, and a valuable part of the university experience. We aspire to learn from and encourage each other as global citizens, neighbors, colleagues, and family. We desire to be a role model in embracing all types of diversity and diverse points of view, engaging in civil society and governance, protecting human rights, and promoting social justice.

Human Resources


The human resources department works to attract and support Northern Michigan University’s diverse faculty and staff through comprehensive benefits and wellbeing offerings and programs, competitive compensation, and professional development and recognition experiences reflective of our core values to help foster an inclusive, thriving campus community where every employee feels valued and equipped to excel.

HR staff talking with students

Equal Opportunity/Title IX


Northern Michigan University is committed to nondiscriminatory employment, admission, and educational policies, ensuring fairness and a discrimination-free environment. The university supports Title IX, prohibiting sex-based discrimination, including gender-based discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, relationship violence, sexual misconduct, and stalking.

Students walking in the academic mall.

Care Management - CARE Team


The CARE Team is a service provider that prides itself on being a free resource for students, faculty, and staff in need of support, furthering NMU’s ongoing commitment to wellbeing. The CARE Team is not a disciplinary entity. Students, faculty, and staff who go to the CARE Team don’t get in trouble; they get help.

Sustainability Hub for Innovation & Environment (SHINE)


Supporting, encouraging, and contributing to a diverse and sustainable world

The purpose of SHINE is to improve planning and coordination for sustainability on campus, increase the implementation of sustainable initiatives and practices on campuses, and support education on sustainability inside and out of the classroom.

Anishinaabe Ancestral Homelands Statement

ᑮᐧᐁᑎᓄᒃ  ᒥᒋᑲᓐ  ᑭᓄᒫᑫ'ᑲᒥᑯᒃ  ᑮᐧᐁᑎᓄᒃ  ᒥᒋᑲᓐ  ᑭᓄᒫᑫ'ᑲᒥᑯᒃ  ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯ  ᐧᓯ  ᔥᑯᑌ  ᐊᑭᒃ᙮  ᑭᒋᓇᒣᐱᓂ  ᓰᐱᒃ  ᐁᔑᓂᑲᑌᒃ ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐧᐃᓂᒃ Marquette᙮ 

Giiwedinong Michigan Kinomaage'gamigong ayaa gete-anishinaabewaking Anishinaabe Swi Shkode Aking Gichi-namebini Ziibing ezhinikaadeg Anishinaabemowining Marquette.

Northern Michigan University is located on the ancestral homelands of the Anishinaabe Three Fires Confederacy.  Gichi-namebini Ziibing is the traditional name of Marquette. Translation and permission to use it courtesy of the Center for Native American Studies at NMU.