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Dr. Michael Lee Burkhardt, Ph.D., CPCU

Associate Professor, Insurance & Risk Management Program Head

A man with short red hair and a blue suit poses for a professional headshot against a grey background.

Degrees, Certificates and Certifications

  • PhD, Business Administration/Marketing Concentration, Trident University International
  • MBA – Masters of Business Administration, Olivet College
  • CPCU – Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Designation, The American Institutes
    • The CPCU designation is the premier designation in the insurance industry (8 exams).
  • Licensed Michigan Secondary Teacher, Ferris State University
  • BS, Marketing, Ferris State University

My Teaching Philosophy

In the Collected Works of Lincoln (1953), our 16th President exclaims; “actions speak louder than words”; my actions have prepared me to teach. Aspiring to be a part of the educational process, sharing with students a deep well of experience and knowledge; inspiring, nurturing, facilitating the learning process is my endeavor.

Lesson plans should include learning techniques from applied tasks toward the support of specific objectives, to scaffolding, learning probes, mixed group activities, and both traditional and Top-Down construction. Through the use of these teaching methods, students become fully engaged, fostering confidence and bolstering academic achievement.

Nourishing an appetite for learning, students discern academic potential, grow a curiosity for learning and acquire tools for a meaningful and prosperous life.


Why I am at NU

As a faculty member, I am afforded the occasion to bring real-world experience into the classroom. I offer a listening ear, patience, understanding and wherewithal that I hope make a difference in my students’ lives.

Teaching Insurance, Finance, and Marketing courses allows the opportunity to draw on my 21-year career as an Independent Insurance Agent where I represented numerous insurance companies, sold all lines of insurance, executed marketing plans, customized insurance programs, and provided financial/risk management analyses.

I have the awesome privilege of developing the future leaders of a global, free-enterprise society. I believe in an entrepreneurial, free-enterprise society, individual freedom and responsibility, ethics and integrity, and I promote the diverse, multicultural nature of enterprise.


Selected Professional Experience

Sales, Service, Marketing, Financial and Risk Analyses, Independent Insurance Agent – State of Michigan, 21 years.

Dr. Michael Lee Burkhardt also serves as Curriculum Lead and Program Quality Leader.