Arthur E. Turner*
Class of 1981
- Chairman of the Board of Trustees Northwood Institute
Usually, it takes a team to produce success.
Arthur Turner was born in 1931 in Hemlock, Michigan. His father was a farmer who also worked as a carpenter to supplement the family's income. Turner did farm chores and worked as a hospital orderly. He worked his way through Alma College and then joined the school staff to work in admissions, fundraising, and alumni affairs. During this time, he also earned a master's degree in education from Wayne State University.
In 1959, at age 27, he co-founded Northwood University, a private business management college. The college quickly expanded to include branches in Dallas, Texas, and West Palm Beach, Florida, in addition to the main campus in Midland, Michigan. Later, Turner developed the external degree program and expanded its international base to include a program in France.