Mark Ruge

MARQUETTE — Mark Ruge, a 1980 Northern Michigan University political science alumnus who grew up in Menominee, will serve as the keynote speaker for NMU’s Saturday commencement. As a partner at K&L Gates, one of the largest global law firms, his practice includes a focus on the American maritime industry and the Great Lakes. He is the only lawyer ever inducted into the Great Lakes Marine Hall of Fame. Ruge previously worked for former U.P. and northern Michigan Congressman Bob Davis.

“The rocket fuel of my life came from my time at Northern, where I met amazing people who opened me up to new ideas and many possibilities,” he said. “I am honored and excited to speak at commencement because Northern means so much to me. When your whole life’s in front of you, I don’t think you fully appreciate how much you got out of Northern and being able to live in a place like the Upper Peninsula. But for me, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see how it basically shaped and changed everything.”

When he enrolled at Northern, Ruge served as a student assistant in the Sports Information Office, which was then part of the former News Bureau. He treated it as a full-time job, working 40 hours per week with those he considered his “community,” but still managed to play varsity tennis and write occasionally for the North Wind student newspaper.

Ruge also met his wife, the former Mary Bishop of Marquette, at Northern. They held their wedding reception in the former University Center. Mary’s immediate family represents an impressive Northern legacy, with seven NMU graduates and a total of 11 NMU degrees.

“Almost everything good that happened in my personal and professional life can be directly traced to Northern,” Ruge said. “The university didn’t offer a journalism major at that time, but I combined some of those courses taught by [the late] Gerald Waite with the requirements for a political science degree. A defining moment was when Dr. Bob Kulisheck took me to Washington, D.C. for a conference. I was a classic small-town boy who never envisioned moving very far from where I grew up, but that experience opened the world to me. I never could have imagined that I would spend most of my professional life living in Washinton, D.C.”

Kulisheck also helped his student secure an internship in the nation’s capital. Ruge spent the summer before his senior year as an intern with Congressman Davis. After graduation, he joined Davis’ full-time staff for a decade, both as a district representative based in Marquette and in a number of positions, including twice as his chief of staff, in Washington, D.C.

Davis’ district was surrounded by three of the Great Lakes: Superior, Huron and Michigan. He became the top Republican on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, so that became Ruge’s area of focus and specialization.

“It was a perfect fit, based on the fact I grew up near Lake Michigan and went to college on the shore of Lake Superior,” he said. “I’ve always loved the lakes, like everybody up there does. When you walk or drive along Lake Superior, or look out over it, it’s so awe-inspiring. And water is so important; it’s like air in many ways. For me, Lake Superior is like a water highway. Most people have no idea how much our national economy, even our North American economy, is dependent on shipping on the Great Lakes.” 

NMU’s ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, in the Superior Dome. It will be broadcast live on WNMU-TV and streamed online at nmu.edu/commencement.