“Blood on the Table” talk about NMU unionization

“Blood on the Table” was the title of a discussion this evening at NMU. The talk was about the battle for shared governance over the University from 1968 until 1976. At that time faculty had little power over what went on at the University, something that didn’t sit well with them. So they decided to unionize and the battle was a tumultuous one.

“There is a principal in higher education called shared governance.  It is highly valued by the faculty and it is something they will fight for the death for, just as much as they would academic freedom.  They wanted a greater role in the determination of the curriculum, instruction, peer review and disciplinary actions. They did not believe that the structure that was established by Jamrich as that time was working,” said Marcus Robyns, NMU Archivist.

Jamrich did manage to bring about a union between the two sides. The new Jamrich Hall is being dedicated tomorrow and University staff thought this talk was a great way to pay tribute to a man who did so much for the University. Jamrich will be 95 years old this year.