News Release from Northwestern Michigan College 1701 E. Front St., Traverse City MI 49686 Contact: Paul Heaton, 231 995-1019, email: pheaton@nmc.edu Date: July 7, 2008 News Archive

Hans VanSumeren appointed new GLWSI director

TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Northwestern Michigan College is pleased to announce the appointment of Hans W. VanSumeren as Director of its Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, effective July 14.

A faculty/staff selection committee unanimously agreed that VanSumeren's background and experience would add the most diverse range of skills to the mission of this strategic enterprise at a time when NMC is seeking to strengthen the successful work to date and to launch new directions for the future. He will bring a combination of skills considered most desirable for the position, including technical expertise, grant and resource development, budget administration and staff management.

NMC formed the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute in 2003 with a vision of inspiring lifelong stewardship of freshwater through education and partnership. Key initiatives to date include:

• The annual DTE Freshwater Teacher Institute with its focus on place-based education
• The annual Invasive Species field course, a collaboration with the Inland Seas Education Association
• Facilitating the Boardman River dams study project

VanSumeren's expertise in research and technology transfer (both private and governmental), paired with his administrative experience promises to expand WSI's capabilities. This includes partnerships and collaborations externally and with NMC's own science, technology, engineering, energy and maritime disciplines.

VanSumeren, of Traverse City, has a bachelor's degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and a master's of science degree in Marine Environmental Engineering, both from the University of Michigan. He has worked in numerous capacities at the University of Michigan Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory, most recently as its Associate Director. He has worked in the Great Lakes, Alaska, the Bermuda Triangle (for the Discovery Channel) and with private and governmental agencies.

For more information on the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, visit www.nmc.edu/glwsi