NMU officially celebrates newest President Brock Tessman during Investiture Ceremony

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Brock Tessman received a standing ovation after being formally welcomed as NMU’s 17th President.

Tessman started as President in February and has already seen the impact of the NMU community.

“NMU is on the rise in so many ways,” Tessman said. “We have faculty excellence in and out of the classroom. We have distinctive academic and workforce programs and positive enrollment growth.”

The Investiture Ceremony has been a long-standing tradition at Northern. 124 student leaders and more than 100 first and third graders, including Tessman’s two daughters, led the ceremonial procession.

“The Investiture is a great opportunity to bring a lot of people together. We have donors, alums, trustees, and a lot of people coming back to campus,” said Derek Hall, NMU Spokesperson.

Tessman started in academia at the University of Georgia more than 15 years ago, where he mentored then-freshman Chad Peltier. Peltier commended Tessman’s ability to connect with students and his love of board games. He said these qualities will help him succeed at Northern.

“He stood out to me because he seemed like a three-dimensional person. He was more than just a bullet point list of research interests and resume items,” Peltier said.

Tessman said he will continue to push innovation and diversity across NMU. The President said the university was one of the first in the country to join a diversity and wellbeing charter in April.

“NMU was the 17th campus in the country and one of the first in Michigan to sign onto the Okanagan Charter. We will push and we will push, and we will be second to none in implementing the spirit of that charter,” Tessman said.

Tessman concluded his remarks by saying as society continues to innovate and become more digital, the importance of human connection cannot be replaced in academic learning.