Dr. Anne Dahlman, current interim associate provost and interim dean of global education at Minnesota State University–Mankato, has been appointed to serve as NMU’s provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.
In this position, Dahlman says she will be overseeing the Academic Affairs pillar, which includes all faculty and students. This includes all academic experiences, the global campus, the Rural Health Center, SISU Innovation Institute and the registrar’s office.
“Everything that relates to teaching and learning and grades, making decisions about who we hire, what kind of faculty we hire, what programs need new faculty, creating new programs so students have this state-of-the-art kind of experience, that’s all academic affairs, and that’s what the provost does – making everything better,” Dahlman said. “My motto is excellence in everything.”
Prior to serving as the interim associate provost and interim dean of global education at MSU–Mankato, she previously was the university’s department chair and program coordinator, honors program director, and assistant associate and professor of educational studies.
She also holds three master’s degrees. Her first is Swedish and German education from the University of Eastern Finland-Joensuu. The second is teaching English as a second language and the third is German, both from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Dahlman also has a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities.
Dahlman says she plans to use her expertise to expand the educational goals and missions of NMU.
“It’s not about one person getting super far, we want everyone to get far, but we also want to take care of everyone. We are in this together,” Dahlman said. “I definitely sense that at Northern, it is a community where everyone’s wellbeing is everyone’s job, and that’s huge.”
As provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, Dahlman says her main goal is to provide quality education to NMU students.
“The main goal really is to provide the best education possible for students,” Dahlman said. “So, when [students] graduate, they are the best nurses, they are the best researchers, they are the best scientists in the world. They are just absolutely superbly prepared and they’re leaders in their communities. They ask tough questions. They’re ready to serve.”
Dahlman adds she hopes to bring more experiences and opportunities to NMU.
“We have a lot of great things going on and I hope to connect the dots so that we are working in sync together toward the same goal and [with] even more alignment so that students feel that when they go to classes or engage in experiences that it all fits. That [it] is like a cohesive plan,” Dahlman said. “Another thing is experiential learning. I know that students already do a lot of that, but every student should have an opportunity to apply their skills [and] gain real world experiences as part of their study.”
She says she hopes to make this all happen by asking the campus population what they want through visits with departments, faculty and students.
“What is it that we want to do together?” Dahlman said. “My job is to find resources and bring everyone together and move us all toward the same goal of being an amazing institution where people say, ‘have you heard about Northern?’”
Dahlman says she noticed that NMU scores low in ‘discussion with diverse others,’ according to the National Survey of Student Engagement. In her role, she will be looking at intercultural communication and engagement as an area for improvement.
“How can we create experiences for students where they regularly engage with all kinds of people? And this can be studied abroad but also on campus,” Dahlman said. “How do we create opportunities where people learn about other cultures and do projects that help them solve issues and problems in communities?”
Dahlman shared that she is looking forward to joining the staff at Northern Michigan University.
“I am very, very excited. Northern is a very unique place. I have known about Northern for a long time, I know you do great work and to be honest, this position is a dream come true,” Dahlman said. “People [here] just really want to be part of a community that does great things together, and that’s what I’m all about.”
Dahlman will officially begin her role as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs on April 1, 2024.
