Building by building: Look at how we've grown
50 years of commitment is evident...
When meandering through the hardwood forests of the Michigan Campus or the pecan trees of the Texas Campus or the tropical setting of the Florida Campus, 50 years of commitment is evident.
Throughout our history, our many friends who believed in The Northwood Idea partnered with Northwood to provide an outstanding learning environment for our students. Our founders, Drs. Turner and Stauffer, created a university setting founded on one basic principle -- free-enterprise. The philosophy grew and so did our campuses.
From our small beginnings in Alma, Mich., to the move to Midland, and thanks to the generosity of such visionaries as Alden and Vada Dow, Arline DuBois, Orpha L. E. Miner, Wesley and Berneda Jordan, Vera A. Griswold, John and Hannah Church and their families, the Thrunes and the Arnolds or the Strosacker family, Helen and Macauley Whiting, the National Automobile Dealers Association, John Collinson, the Earl W. Bennett families, Gilbert and Eleanor Currie, the Automotive Old Timers group, the Brouwer McIntyre and Hohman families, the Karl Story, Reed Draper, Putnam and Caldwell families, as well as the key contributions of the DeVos Family foundations, Patricia and Robert Naegele, Kathryn Hach-Darrow, the Gerstacker/Schuette families, the A.J. Fisher family, Frank Gerace and Gerace Construction, John Hantz, John and Judith Rapanos, The Herrick Foundation, a long list of renovation contributors for whom campus building areas have been named, generous area foundations, and most recently the families and employees of CARQUEST & GPI honoring the Sloan family, the Michigan Campus remains today as beautiful and "state of the art" as its master architect Alden B. Dow envisioned in 1962.
Our second campus, founded in 1966, in Cedar Hill, Texas and built in a ravine surrounded by rich lime stone cliffs, also blends with nature. Our many friends, Joe and Evelyn Lambert, Joan and Doc Swalwell, Dr. Jerry Fullinwider, Amy Hopkins and Madelaine Wade, Kathryn Hach-Darrow, Tom and Jack Gaubert, Charles and Grace Reed, General Maurice and Winifred Hirsch, Jane Murchison Haber, R. J. and Sandy Smith, Rosemary Haggar Vaughn, John and Dorothy Sohrweide and the DeVos family, have generously shared their legacy with Northwood and contributed to the growth of our Texas Campus.
Our Florida Campus in West Palm Beach opened its doors to students in 1983. All the land was a gift of Charles and Alene Dubois. We have many friends to thank for the beauty of the Florida Campus -- Kathleen and Arno Dalby, Maureen and David Smith, Helen and Richard DeVos, Peter and Pat Cook, Renee Silvester, Norris and Mary Ellen Chumley, Julie and Bill Edwards, Leo Vecellio, James Arrigo, Gus Broberg, Jeanette Hare, and Bea Tinsley. Most recently, in 2004, Countess de Hoernle generously led the way for a state-of-the-art Student Life Center which has become the home of the "Seahawk Nation."
Great commitment and great friends of The Northwood Idea created magical learning environments for students of the past and for students well into the future. Our buildings are the jewels in our crown; yet, we recognize that gifts of all sizes have allowed Northwood to remain independent. The contributions we receive have enabled many students to attend on scholarships. Our friends and supporters have allowed us to become leaders in business education. Thank you to our wonderful friends for helping us discover the leaders of tomorrow.
If you haven't been back to visit in many years, this is the year to stop by! You'll be pleasantly surprised to see where we're going. The first stop in the 50th year is at the Michigan Campus and the 46th Annual NU International Auto Show and Homecoming weekend activities, October 2-4, 2009. Homecoming on the Texas Campus begins the week of Sunday, September 27 and culminates with The Great Feast and Crossing Over ceremonies on Saturday, October 3. January 22 - 24, 2010, Florida will host the Outstanding Business Leader Association Awards and the 21st Annual "Auto Show of the Palm Beaches." Visit www.northwood.edu/50 for upcoming events in your area!
Stephanie Brown
