On April 27, 2023, NMU President, Dr. Brock Tessman, announced a University Alignment Plan that will organize NMU's leadership structure around five pillars. The purpose of this plan is to elevate the right voices, align the right resources, and pursue the right strategies. 

Northern Student Experience

The Northern Student Experience represents our bold commitment to further enhance the campus life experience that we provide for our students. From the moment a potential student gets their first recruitment hello from admissions to their time in campus housing; from their involvement in student activities to their joyful graduation, the “Northern Student Experience” will be supported through a strategic alignment of offices, activities, and resources that will collectively foster greater positivity, enrichment, and belonging on our campus.

This pillar is led by Jeff Korpi as an Associate Vice President with a seat on Executive Council and a direct reporting line to the president.

Academic Affairs

This pillar is led by the Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Dale Kapla.

People, Culture & WellBeing

People, Culture, & Wellbeing integrates and elevates our efforts to make NMU an even more diverse, supportive, and healthy place to learn and work. This pillar aligns our efforts to develop greater Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) on campus, expand professional development opportunities for employees, and find new ways of promoting wellbeing through better physical and mental health for all.

This pillar is led by Rhea Dever as a Vice President, directly supported by Abigail Wyche as an Assistant Vice President of Campus Wellbeing, and a new Assistant Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion. The D+I position will be filled through a national search that will commence during the late summer of 2023 and be co-chaired by Dr. Amy Hamilton and Jill Compton.  All three of these leadership positions have a seat on Executive Council.

Finance & Administration

This pillar is led by Vice President Gavin Leach.

  • Auxiliary Services
  • Broadcast (TV & FM)
  • Business Intelligence
  • Controller's Office
  • Facilities
  • Financial Aid
  • Finance & Budget
  • Health Center
  • Information Technology & Information Services
  • Internal Audit & Risk Management

Student Affairs & Success

Student Affairs and Success leads the way when it comes to strategically deploying our various academic advising resources, career development services and programming, and student services units in order to substantially improve our retention, persistence and completion rates across all academic disciplines. This pillar also includes units specifically dedicated to narrowing equity gaps across all student success measures.

President's Division

President’s Division and the NMU Foundation supports success across every area of the university.