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William Vandament, the10th president ofNorthern Michigan

University who served from 1991-1997, died April 20 at his home inSignal Hill, Calif.. He was 81.

After teaching psychology for afew years, Vandament had a longcareer as a university administrator.At Ohio State University, he was vicepresident for finance and planning.He went on to become senior vicepresident of administration at NewYork University. On the West Coast,he was provost and vice chancellor foracademic affairs for the CaliforniaState University System at LongBeach. In 1989, he publishedManaging Money in Higher Education.

Vandament came to NorthernMichigan University in June 1991 asinterim president; he was asked bythe Board of Trustees to become full-time president in the spring of 1992.

Vandament’s time as presidentwas marked by significant budgetcuts due to reduced state appropria-tions, which led to tough decisions.Even with this level of cuts,Vandament was respected throughoutNMU and the Marquette communi-ty. He valued transparency on cam-pus, encouraged input from the entire

campus community and asked repeat-edly for the community to cometogether during the tough financialtimes. Students liked him, too,because of his willingness to spendtime with them, including participat-ing in student activities such as play-ing with the pep band during hockeyand basketball games.

“Bill Vandament was an excep-tional leader of Northern MichiganUniversity during a challengingtime,” said NMU President DavidHaynes. “I worked closely with Billduring his tenure as president and Ialways admired his integrity, ability tobring people together to make strongdecisions, his vision and his sense ofhumor. He was such a dear friend toso many of us at NMU and in thecommunity, and he will be missed.”

During Vandament’s tenure asNMU president, he implemented theflat tuition rate, a tuition structurethat continues today for students. He

also maintained a strong relationshipwith the Michigan Legislature. Otherimportant contributions byVandament include putting up recog-nition plaques across campus of thepeople for whom each building isnamed. This effort earned him aDwight B. Waldo History Award inJune 1996 for the preservation andpromotion of Upper Peninsula histo-ry. He established a temporary officeat NMU to assist community leadersin jump-starting the process of con-verting K.I. Sawyer to civilian use.He also initiated contracts with SouthAfrican universities to make studyabroad possible for NMU students.

When Vandament retired and leftNMU, the campus community cametogether to celebrate his time at NMUand his contributions. At the May 1997commencement ceremony, he and his

wife, Margery, received honorarydegrees. Students gathered a month ear-lier and presented a gift of $1,200 tocreate the Vandament ScholarshipFund. In July, others presented an addi-tional $65,000 toward the scholarship.

Vandament was born inHannibal, Mo., on Sept.16, 1931. Hereceived his bachelor’s degree fromQuincy College and his doctorate inpsychology from the University ofMassachusetts. He and Margery(Lampe) are the parents of Lisa andJane.

1991June - Named interimpresident, succeedingJames Appleberry, wholeaves to become pres-ident of the AmericanAssociation of StateColleges andUniversities.September - Governoruses line-item veto totrim state appropria-tions for higher education. Has $1.3 million impact onNMU, including a$600,000 decrease insupport of the UnitedStates OlympicEducation Center.1992February - Speaks touniversity communityon status of efforts totry to preserveLongyear Hall, NMU'soldest building.March - Joins horn sec-tion of pep band forNMU hockey game,the first of many such occasions.

April - Named permanent presidentfollowing nationalsearch in which he isnot an active candidate.August - Announces1992-93 budget cutsof $2.8 million andeliminates 49 positions.August - Leads Carson& Barnes Circus, ridingan elephant.1993May - Board of Controlextends contract forone year, citingVandament's outstanding work.August - Establishes atemporary office atNMU to assist community leaders injump- starting theprocess of convertingK.I. Sawyer Air ForceBase to civilian use.August - Citing inabili-ty to raise funds for preservation, announcesplans to proceed with demolition of LongyearHall.

1994January - Gives NMUpsychology colloquiumon "Adaptive Behavior,Teleology and Reality,"one of many academic presentations.June - Delivers commencementaddress at IronMountain High School. August - Boardextends contract fortwo more years.August - Tells university of need tofocus on core: educational programsand enrollment marketing.December - Declinespersonal pay raise;widely publicized.1995March - Faces thirdconsecutive round ofbudget cuts; purposesconsolidations and cut-backs to cover $1.28 million shortfall.1996August - Co-chair ofFinnFest USA.

October - Invites pub-lic to see the changingface of NMU, callingattention to the resultsof five years of inten-sive construction,expansion and renova-tion, involving 53buildings and costing$114 million.December - Urges U.P.residents to donatemusical instrumentsfor use in South Africanschools.1997January - OperationAction U.P. givesVandament award foroutstanding contribu-tions to the U.P.April - Announces sup-port for new flat-ratetuition structure; goesinto effect fall 1997.May - President andMrs. Vandamentreceive honorarydegrees at NMU.June - PresidentVandament receivesCharles Follo Awardfrom the Michigan

Historical Society forhis contributions to thepreservation and pro-motion of U.P. history.July -- Vandaments bidfarewell to NMU,returning to Calif. tocommence delayedretirement. Judith I.Bailey assumespresidency of NMU.

Remembering NMU President Bill Vandament

I have many fond mem-ories of PresidentVandament, specificallyof seeing him at ourNMU women’s basket-ball games cheering uson! I also remember hiskind words of encour-agement before I gavethe commencementaddress at graduation;the picture from that dayhangs on my office wall.—Carie Kaniszewski ‘95

“He was very unassuming andvery easygoing. He was a goodmentor and a good coach for meand I think other people on cam-pus, too. He was just that kind ofperson.”

—Former NMU Interim President Mike Roy

“I am reminded of thestudent goodbye weorganized for theVandaments, disguisedas ‘Spring Carnival,’and the initial startupof the endowmentfund. We were fortunate to see lots ofthe Vandaments overthe years since theyleft Marquette. Thoseyears with them oncampus, however, willforever remain as avery special time.”

—Holger ‘97 BA andAndrea ’98 BS Wagner

Timeline of Events Marking the Vandament Presidency

Photos from the NMU and Central U.P. Archives