Former trustee talks beliefs during NMU commencement ceremony
Former Northern Michigan University Trustee James K. Haveman gives the keynote address during Saturday’s commencement ceremony at the Superior Dome in Marquette. Haveman also received an honorary doctorate in public health. (Journal screen shot by Christie Mastric)
Northern Michigan University senior Alexandra Johnson gives the student commencement speech during Saturday’s commencement ceremony at the Superior Dome. Johnson is a computer science major. (Journal screen shot by Christie Mastric)
Former Northern Michigan University Trustee James K. Haveman gives the keynote address during Saturday’s commencement ceremony at the Superior Dome in Marquette. Haveman also received an honorary doctorate in public health. (Journal screen shot by Christie Mastric)
Northern Michigan University senior Alexandra Johnson gives the student commencement speech during Saturday’s commencement ceremony at the Superior Dome. Johnson is a computer science major. (Journal screen shot by Christie Mastric)
Trending
MARQUETTE -- The word "believe" was used a lot in Saturday's Northern Michigan University commencement ceremony at the Superior Dome.
Former NMU Trustee James K. Haveman, who was appointed by former Gov. Rick Snyder to serve the remaining term of a vacated position on the NMU Board of Trustees from Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2020, delivered the keynote address in which he shared thoughts with the new graduates.
"I believe Northern Michigan University graduates, sitting out in front of me today, are uniquely gifted, able to render world-class service if they also believe," Haveman said. "Your beliefs will deepen, I believe, if you spend time in nature, inhaling the surrounding forest, listening to Lake Superior's waves thundering against the shore.
"I believe that relationships or friendships are a source of healing and well-being."
Haveman also expressed his belief that history and culture matter.
"The past shapes the way we are today, and we must learn from the past," Haveman said. "Be open about how you are feeling."
Haveman had advocated for the board's investment in creating a new NMU Center for Rural Health and later led a comprehensive review of the university's mental health services.
"I believe help will come if it is sought," he said during the commencement ceremony.
Haveman also told the audience that he is a believer in the "power of forgiveness."
"Don't yield to the pessimism of today's politics," he said. "Stay hopeful. Believe what is true and what is good. I believe in affirming and celebrating our differences. I believe that meanness and intolerance have never, never solved anything.
"Speak out against against injustice, and speak our against authoritarianism."
Haveman also received an honorary doctorate in public health on Saturday.
According to NMU, there were 1,012 undergraduate and graduate students eligible to graduate this month, with the 879 students expected to participate in Saturday's ceremony to include May and August grads.
One of those graduates was senior Alexandra Johnson, a computer science major who served as the student commencement speaker.
She said people commonly are asked what they want to be when they grow up.
"If I'm being completely honest, I still haven't figured out what 'grown up' means," Johnson said. "I mean, think about it. When you are 5 years old, you are sure that people who are 10 years old had it all figured out.
"And then you hit double digits, and you thought it would be impossible to get through something like high school. But then you were in high school, and you told yourself, 'All right. There's absolutely no way it can get harder than this.' And now we're here today, graduating from college."
Johnson said it's easy for people to get lost wondering about their futures.
"People are constantly telling us that every decision will affect our future, and it seems like that's often said with a negative connotation," she said. "But let's turn that around and make it into something more positive, that at any moment in our lives, we have the opportunity to write or rewrite our future, and we can start right now -- and I think that's truly amazing."
Mary Lincoln Campbell of Ann Arbor on Saturday was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from NMU, having served as a member of the NMU Board of Trustees from 1997-2004. She retired in 2017 from a nearly three-decade career as managing director and co-founder of EDF Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage health care and technology companies.
Before cofounding EDF Ventures, Lincoln Campbell's professional roles included director of development properties and assistant to the vice president in charge of commercial lending at Percy Wilson Mortgage & Finance Corporation in Chicago, loan officer and credit manager at National Bank of Detroit, and president of Michigan Capital and Service Inc. She holds a bachelor's degree in English and an MBA from the University of Michigan and a master of special education degree from Fairfield University.
In retirement, Lincoln Campbell serves her alma mater -- the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business -- as adviser to the Wolverine Venture Fund, which she cofounded, and the Zell Lurie Institute.