Northern Michigan University and the region as a whole recently lost a figure who played a major role in shaping the university’s trajectory and physical presence in Marquette: former NMU President John X. Jamrich.

Jamrich passed away Sunday in Savannah, Georgia, at the age of 101. He served as NMU’s eighth president from 1968 until his retirement in 1983. His 15-year tenure — the third-longest of any Northern president — was marked by tremendous growth in enrollment, academic programs and community outreach, NMU said in a news release.

“Dr. Jamrich was the president who handed me my degree at commencement when I was a Northern graduate,” said NMU interim President Kerri Schuiling, a 1973 graduate. “In his 101 years, he set the example of what it means to be a lifelong learner. He was a dedicated Wildcat throughout his time as president and thereafter.

“Under his leadership, Northern enjoyed many remarkable achievements. We owe him a deep debt of gratitude for the foundation upon which the university continues to build today.”

According to “John X. Jamrich: The Man and the University,” Northern’s physical campus grew substantially under his leadership, with construction of the Learning Resources Center, Jacobetti Skills Center, Physical Educational Instructional Facility and Cohodas Hall. It was also a time of new university-business partnerships, the start of women’s athletics, student protests, union organization and — near the end of his term — financial hardship due to state budget cuts.

“John was personally on top of everything during his presidency,” said history Professor Emeritus Russell Magnaghi, the book’s author, in a Northern Magazine story on Jamrich’s 100th birthday. “In fact, it’s hard to find things that were happening on campus during his administration that he wasn’t involved in. He wasn’t concerned about looking for another job and was completely devoted to NMU. He fulfilled the philosophy of Edgar Harden of turning Northern into a quality undergraduate/ graduate institution.”

Northern remained an integral part of Jamrich’s life after he retired.

Jamrich and his wife, June, who passed away in April 2020, were longtime philanthropic supporters of NMU. They established the John X. and June A. Jamrich Endowed Music Scholarship, which the family has requested those wishing to express sympathy for John’s death consider supporting, and the John X. and June A. Jamrich Family Art Endowment.

In addition, they helped to sustain a variety of scholarships and funds over the years, and gave to the Center for Upper Peninsula Studies, the DeVos Art Museum, NMU athletics and many other programs and initiatives.

In 2014, Jamrich was honored with the naming of a new instructional facility on the NMU campus, John X. Jamrich Hall, serving as speaker at the opening ceremony.

Jamrich’s achievements in life were many, and are impossible to adequately sum up in this small space — or even a much larger one — but his leadership, forward-thinking, generosity and care for others will never be forgotten.

A brief walk or drive through the Marquette area makes it clear that Jamrich left an enduring legacy on campus and throughout the community. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Marquette resident who hasn’t entered — or at least seen — a university building bearing Jamrich’s name, or that he was invovled in developing. His leadership empowered the university and its students to learn new things, set new goals and dream big.

Schuiling summed it up perfectly — we owe him a debt of gratitude for where we are today.

Jamrich, and his late wife, June, touched many lives throughout the NMU community and beyond. He will never be forgotten.